Chapter 20: A Sen
Fu Tingyun took the medicine bowl. "I'm not hungry. You eat it!"
"Ah!" A Sen widened his eyes as he looked at Fu Tingyun.
"Go ahead and eat it!" Fu Tingyun drank the medicine.
A Sen turned to Ninth Master Zhao.
Ninth Master Zhao glanced at Fu Tingyun, who sat stiffly at the end of the kang, and gave a slight nod.
"Really!" A Sen jumped for joy.
Ninth Master Zhao couldn't help but smile faintly and nodded again.
A Sen's large eyes curved into crescents as he held the egg in his hands, examining it over and over before carefully peeling the shell.
"So pretty!" He studied the smooth, tender egg under the lamplight for a long time before taking a small bite. "So delicious!" He squinted, his face filled with bliss.
Fu Tingyun was stunned.
It was just an egg, yet A Sen savored it as if it were the rarest delicacy.
She found it hard to reconcile this A Sen with the one who had mercilessly beaten the dogs with a stick earlier!
Under the lamplight, A Sen’s expression still carried a childlike innocence.
Suddenly, Fu Tingyun felt a surge of anger.
No matter what, A Sen was just a child. What did he know? He only did as he was taught! If there was any fault, it lay with Ninth Master Zhao, the one who raised and instructed him.
At this thought, she became even more unwilling to acknowledge Ninth Master Zhao.
Once they reached Weinan, she would have her uncle give him some silver and send him on his way!
But it would be best if she could persuade A Sen to stay by her side, lest he learn to be as cold-hearted as his master...
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The three of them—Ninth Master Zhao sitting at the head of the kang, Fu Tingyun at the end, and A Sen squatting beside it—shared half a bowl of water and a steamed bun for dinner.
"Rest early," Ninth Master Zhao said as he stood up after finishing his meal. "We'll set off at the fourth watch tomorrow."
The fourth watch—before dawn!
Fu Tingyun, who hadn’t finished eating yet, couldn’t help but ask, "So early?"
"The midday sun is too harsh. You won’t be able to bear it," Ninth Master Zhao replied. "We can only travel in the early morning and late afternoon."
Again, because of her...
Fu Tingyun’s mind was in turmoil. "Oh," she murmured.
A Sen had already fetched a worn-out straw mat from the cart. "Miss, I’ll sleep in the courtyard. If you need anything, just call for me!"
Fu Tingyun smiled and said, "Alright."
A Sen happily followed Ninth Master Zhao out.
The steamed bun was dry. After Ninth Master Zhao and A Sen left, Fu Tingyun forced herself to take a few more bites before giving up, though she finished the water.
She placed the remaining bun in the empty bowl, then lay down on the cool bamboo mat A Sen had prepared. She took the fire starter from the window lattice, blew it out, and lay down fully clothed.
The porcelain pillow carried a slight chill, and she couldn’t resist pressing her cheek against it.
In the silent night, sounds seemed amplified.
Fu Tingyun could clearly hear A Sen spreading out his straw mat and moving about.
"Where are you going?" Ninth Master Zhao asked him.
"Master!" His voice held a hint of eagerness. "I’m going to skin those dogs and make jerky. Later, we can make soup for the miss. Didn’t the physician say she’s weak in both qi and blood? Brother Yuanbao said dog meat is highly nourishing. If the miss drinks the broth, she might recover quickly!"
"Nonsense!" Ninth Master Zhao scolded him in a low voice before his words faded into inaudibility.
That man—what was he making A Sen do now?
Such a good child, ruined by his teachings!Fu Tingyun was seething with anger. She quietly got up and pressed her ear against the slightly ajar window lattice.
"...How could there suddenly be wild dogs? They must have survived by feeding on the corpses of those who starved to death... Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lunged at us like that... Be careful of corpse poison... Not only should you not eat it, but you shouldn’t even touch it..."
Dogs eating humans!
Corpses of the starved!
She had been staying with such things!
The mere thought made her stomach churn. With a sudden "wah," she vomited everything she had just eaten.
"What's wrong?" Ninth Master Zhao knocked on the window lattice, his voice urgent. "I’ll have A Sen come in!"
Fu Tingyun leaned against the edge of the kang, unable to speak.
A Sen peeked in through the door: "Miss!" Seeing her clothes were tidy, he pushed the door open and ran over. "What happened to you? You were fine just now—why did you suddenly throw up?"
Hearing this, Ninth Master Zhao quickly called to A Sen, "Feel her forehead—is it hot?"
A Sen reached out to touch Fu Tingyun’s forehead. "It’s hot!"
"How hot?" Ninth Master Zhao pressed anxiously.
"Hotter than my hand!" A Sen replied. "But not as hot as my forehead!"
What kind of answer was that?
Ninth Master Zhao sighed helplessly. "Miss Fu, I’m coming in!"
"No need!" Fu Tingyun finally caught her breath. "I just felt a little discomfort in my chest." She had been unconscious for over ten days, and as soon as she woke up, they had rushed to travel. Now, after vomiting, her voice was inevitably weak.
Ninth Master Zhao fell silent. After a long pause, he said quietly, "This is the season when seasonal epidemics are most likely to break out. You should be careful."
By then, A Sen had already helped Fu Tingyun back onto the kang. Hearing this, he chimed in, "That’s right, Miss! There are several dead bodies lying in the straw hut at the edge of the village, all covered in maggots..."
No wonder the village reeked of a foul stench—it was the smell of corpses.
The thought that she had been breathing in the stench of death made Fu Tingyun’s stomach churn again. She leaned over the edge of the kang and vomited once more.
Ninth Master Zhao seemed to understand what was happening. He didn’t ask again if she had a fever, only instructed A Sen, "Get Miss some water, clean the room, and bring out an egg."
A Sen swiftly followed Ninth Master Zhao’s orders—fetching water, cleaning the room, and bringing out an egg.
Fu Tingyun drank the water but hesitated as she held the egg.
"Miss, you should eat it quickly!" A Sen urged her eagerly. "Ninth Master went through a lot of trouble to find these five eggs. They’re really nourishing!" He stared at her longingly, even licking his lips as if savoring the memory of the egg’s taste.
Fu Tingyun felt a pang of unease, her throat tightening as though something were stuck there, her chest heavy.
"Alright," Ninth Master Zhao called from outside. "Let Miss Fu rest early. It’s getting late."
"Hurry and eat!" A Sen urged cheerfully before turning and running out.
She blew out the tinder and lay in the darkness.
The fan was heavy, and her wrist ached after just a few waves. The sweat from the journey clung to her body, sticky and foul... Fu Tingyun’s thoughts wandered—to Ninth Master Zhao’s sweat-drenched face as they traveled, to his indifferent expression when he handed her the waterskin, to his cold voice when he told A Sen to drive away the dogs, to the egg resting in his broad palm... One after another, these thoughts swirled like a jumble of conflicting flavors, leaving her unable to distinguish any single one.Tossing and turning, unable to sleep soundly, yet the faint fragrance of the cool bamboo mat lingered at the tip of her nose.
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It seemed she had just closed her eyes when A Sen's voice called out, "Miss Fu, Miss Fu, are you awake? We're about to set off."
Fu Tingyun responded groggily.
From the courtyard came Ninth Master Zhao's voice: "Just call her 'Miss.' No need for 'Miss Fu.' Don't address her like that from now on."
"I know, I know!" A Sen replied with a hint of mischief. "Brother Yucheng said not to talk about the young lady to others. I remember!"
Fu Tingyun sat dazed for a long moment before slowly gathering her bundle and stepping out of the side room.
Dawn had yet to break. The glow of a fire starter cast a rosy hue over Ninth Master Zhao and A Sen's faces.
"Miss!" A Sen greeted her cheerfully before darting inside to pack up.
Ninth Master Zhao merely gave her a slight nod.
Another meal of half a bowl of water and a steamed bun each, and the three set off under cover of darkness.
As they passed the village entrance, Fu Tingyun covered her nose and moved to Ninth Master Zhao's right side.
He glanced at her but said nothing, quickening his pace instead.
Having slept poorly and risen early to travel, Fu Tingyun felt listless, while A Sen was full of energy. Wielding a branch he'd picked up from somewhere, he skipped ahead, poking at pebbles on the ground and prodding withered trees by the roadside with lively abandon.
Fu Tingyun watched with a pang in her heart.
When they stopped to rest midway and Ninth Master Zhao disappeared again, she struck up a conversation with A Sen: "How old were you when Ninth Master found you?"
"Dunno!" A Sen replied carelessly. "Master said I looked about four or five, so he counted me as five and made the day he found me my birthday." There wasn't a trace of sorrow in his voice.
Fu Tingyun felt even more wistful. "Do you remember your family?"
"Nope!" He handed her the waterskin. "Master said everyone in the village was dead, only I still had breath left. Brother Yuanbao says I'm tough as nails and bound for good fortune later." He grinned at her, looking rather pleased with himself.
Fu Tingyun was shocked. "The whole village was gone?"
"Yep!" He nodded. "Master found me in Liangzhou. Tatars raid there often. Brother Yucheng says they probably slaughtered the village." His expression darkened slightly at this.
Unable to bear it, Fu Tingyun hurried to say, "Surviving at all is already a blessing!"
A Sen beamed and nodded vigorously. "Yeah! So I gotta live well—there's happiness waiting for me later!"
Fu Tingyun smiled too and reached to pat his head.
He dodged, leaving her hand hanging in the air. "Master says, 'A man's head and a woman's waist—look but don't touch.'"
Fu Tingyun burst into laughter, her voice like silver bells scattering through the air.
"Miss, your voice is so pretty!" A Sen praised sincerely.
Such blunt admiration was something Fu Tingyun had never encountered before. Blushing slightly, she murmured a quiet "Thank you."
Ninth Master Zhao returned, hearing the laughter from afar. His gaze flickered between the two.
A Sen immediately scampered over. "Master, which way now?" His eager expression resembled a puppy wagging its tail at its owner.
Fu Tingyun found it amusing and turned her face away.Ninth Master Zhao was somewhat puzzled. He had only stepped away for a short while, yet Fu Tingyun, who had been listless all along, was now chatting and laughing intimately with A Sen. Moreover, they stopped their conversation upon seeing him approach, as if he were some outsider!
A trace of confusion flickered in his eyes.
"We'll head southwest," Ninth Master Zhao said indifferently, "and bypass Huayin!"
Were they already approaching Huayin?
Fu Tingyun's smile gradually faded.
She stood on tiptoe, gazing in the direction from which Ninth Master Zhao had come.
There was only an endless expanse of yellow earth and a few withered trees scattered across the fields.
An inexplicable sorrow welled up in her heart.
Was she really going to Weinan?
From now on, would she forget the girl who chased butterflies in spring, her mother's warm embrace, her grandmother's silver-white hair, her sisters' joyful laughter, the peonies by the pavilion, the ginkgo tree behind the house, the hostas blooming in the courtyard...
Who would she become?
What would she turn into?
In the vast sea of humanity, Huayin would become nothing more than a distant memory to look back upon!
Was this choice right? Or was it wrong?
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O(∩_∩)O~
(End of Chapter)
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