Chapter 14: Not He girl

Xiang Yang stood on the sunny slope supporting Xiang Dayong, looking up eagerly. When she saw the three of them returning, a weight lifted from her heart. But as they got closer, she noticed the wounds on Mrs. Su’s face and her worry deepened.

Xiang Dayong, leaning on the wood Xiang Yang had picked up, patted Xiang Yang’s shoulder. “Go… go… help Mom.”

“I’m going right now!”

The slope wasn’t very steep, so it wasn’t hard to walk up, but without steps, it was easy to slip. Xiang He helped Mrs. Su up with one hand and held the carrying pole with the other. “I’ll clear a path later, it won’t be easy to walk here on rainy days.”

“Take a good rest first. We still need to check your hand wound.”

“Don’t worry. Even though it’s bleeding a lot, the cut is actually shallow. I remember Uncle Chang once talked about bruising herbs. I’ll find some and apply them later—it’ll be fine.”

Uncle Chang was a porter who often traveled between several towns and villages.

When Xiang Dayong was injured earlier, he had given bruising herbs to the original owner of the body. In the original owner’s memory, the herbs were easy to find.

Seeing the blood-soaked bandage on her hand, Mrs. Su was still uneasy. “I’ve searched for those herbs before. I’ll go look for them. You rest well at home, and if there’s anything to do, let Xiao Yang and yun girl handle it.”

Seeing her insistence, Xiang He could only nod. “Okay, Mom, you be careful.”

Mrs. Su gently patted the back of her hand. “I know.”

Xiang Dayong stood outside the fence watching the “two mothers and daughter,” feeling an inexplicable emotion stirring inside. He glanced back at the house, and sadness filled his heart again.

“Dad, what are you thinking about?”

Her clothes were tugged. Xiang Dayong snapped back to attention and looked down. Xiang Yun stared up at him with bright, lively eyes. “Dad, sister was so fierce just now! Mom was fierce too! They gave Grandma a good beating!”

“…What?”

Xiang Dayong’s eyes were filled with worry as he glanced at Mrs. Su, who only smiled and said, “It’s nothing. We all came back safe and sound. Don’t overthink it.”

Xiang Yun’s eyes sparkled with joy as she held his hand and helped him over to the broken chair by the door. She animatedly began retelling everything that had just happened. Xiang Dayong listened, looking more and more stunned.

Seeing the two of them chatting happily, Xiang He picked up a hoe and got to work. Xiang Yang went to fetch water, and Mrs. Su, after quickly tidying up a bit, headed to the back hill to gather herbs.

The family had divided their tasks well. Xiang He looked down at her clothes—after all the commotion from last night and today, she was sticky with sweat. Looks like they really needed a bathhouse…

On her way down, she dug out steps with the hoe one by one. For now, this would do, but later they’d have to gather stones and pave it properly.

As the sun rose higher, little Xiang Yang appeared carrying a bucket of water. Although small and skinny, he was quite strong, clearly used to hard labor.

“Big sis, come wash your face. I’ve already picked up some firewood. Dad also cleaned the stove inside. It’s not perfect, but it’ll work.”

“Alright.”

The short slope now had ten steps. After eating, she still had to weed the grass—clearly, today would be a busy day.

Everyone took turns washing their faces with half a bucket of water. The rest was used to scrub a discarded old pot. Xiang He used the machete to chop up most of the rabbit meat, leaving half for dinner tonight and tomorrow.

They had to make do with what they had, but Xiang He didn’t complain. Although she had never experienced hardship before, she adapted quickly.

Smelling the not-so-appetizing meat, Xiang He’s mouth watered. Xiang Yun was already leaning on the stove, eyes wide, staring unblinking.

Seeing her like that, Xiang He smiled and pinched her cheek. “Craving it?”

“Hehe.”

Looking at the meat in the pot—it wasn’t much—but at least they could have a bite of hot meat. In her memory, ever since Xiang Dayong brought home rabbit meat, the third household hadn’t had a single bite. The rest had eaten it and then locked it away, not even allowing the third household into the kitchen.

Money and meat were tightly controlled by that old woman, Mrs. Li. The eldest daughter-in-law was good at flattering her, so she got to eat until her face was oily and her body fat. Meanwhile, the third household had a mute man and a woman used to swallowing mistreatment, who worked hard without sweet words or clever minds—no wonder their children were getting thinner and weaker by the day.

Xiang He stirred the meat in the pot, thinking about how the original host was already sixteen, yet this body was so skinny it looked like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old—clearly malnourished.

She also recalled that when she was fourteen, Mrs. Li had once schemed to sell her granddaughter. But the family that came to visit didn’t take a liking to her. They had originally intended to force the sale, but the matchmaker turned around and picked another girl from the village instead, and she was spared.

Mrs. Li, furious at being rejected, forced the original Xiang He to work nonstop from morning till night. Whether the chores were heavy or light, she had to do them all alone. Even night patrols of the fields were assigned to her—Mrs. Li didn’t seem worried at all that someone might abduct her.

Lost in thought, Xiang He didn’t notice little Xiang Yun tugging at the stove. With a curious look in her eyes, she called softly, “Big Sis?”

The gentle voice brought Xiang He back to her senses. She smiled and said, “What is it? We can’t eat yet—we have to wait for Mom to come back.”

“That’s not what I was going to say…”

Xiang He tilted her head and looked at her. “Then what is it? Can you tell Big Sis?”

Xiang Yun blinked, bit her lip, and twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands. Her small face flushed red. “It feels like… Big Sis, you’re a little different…”

At eight years old, Xiang Yun was old enough to notice things. Xiang He squatted down and pulled out a stick from the fire to lower the flames. Turning to her, she placed her hands gently on Xiang Yun’s shoulders, smiling warmly. “How am I different?”

The warmth and brightness of that smile left Xiang Yun momentarily stunned. It was the first time she had ever seen her big sister smile like that—so gently, so happily… a smile she’d never seen before.

Her face flushed even redder, but she couldn’t help smiling too, her eyes curving into crescents. “Big Sis loves to smile now!”

The cheerful voice stopped Mrs. Su in her tracks just as she was about to step over the threshold with a cloth bundle in her arms. She stood frozen, staring at Xiang He’s smiling face. The smile was just right—bright but soft—and it caught her off guard.

She had never seen Xiang He smile like that before.

A strange pause tugged at her heart. An unexpected wave of sorrow rose up from deep inside, and a thought—one that seemed impossible—flashed through her mind.

He girl… isn’t… He girl…?

Suddenly having this thought, Mrs. Su was startled herself, almost dropping the cloth bundle in her hands. A figure appeared before her—Xiang He was reaching out toward her, her smile much more faint than before.

“Mom, give this to me.”

Obviously flustered, Mrs. Su handed the cloth bundle over. “I—I also picked some wild vegetables. Just wash them and put them straight into the meat to cook…”

“Okay,” Xiang He unwrapped the bundle, sorting the herbs from the vegetables. “By the way, we don’t have any bowls or chopsticks. Mom, should we go find some sticks and whittle a few?”

“Uh, alright…”

Mrs. Su was somewhat dazed as she turned away. When she stepped over the threshold, she met Xiang Dayong’s gaze. The indescribable, strange sadness in his eyes stunned her again. She opened her mouth as if to ask something, but caught a glimpse of Xiang Yang’s face out of the corner of her eye. In the end, she said nothing and simply walked out to look for sticks.

Xiang Dayong watched her back with a heavy heart, feeling a deep ache. He wondered whether he should tell her the truth, but judging from her expression earlier, he guessed she might already have some suspicions.

Only the two little ones—he wasn’t sure if it would be better for them to know or not…

Inside the house, Xiang He carefully washed the wild vegetables. Her eyes caught the shimmer of water, and she saw Mrs. Su’s expression, easily guessing the general situation.

This morning, Xiang Dayong hadn’t given a definite answer and had been interrupted by that shameless old Mrs. Li. Tonight was a moonless, windy night—the perfect time for malevolent spirits to roam. It was also a good chance for Xiang He to quietly help guide the souls, giving them a chance to meet again.

Thinking this in her heart, she tossed the wild vegetables into the pot, stirring them with a sharpened tree branch. Sniffing, she called outside, “It’s ready to eat!”