Chapter 22: Confrontation
The village was indeed clean.
They found a spacious household to rest in.
The midday summer heat made one drowsy.
After bolting the door, Fu Tingyun retired to the back chamber while Ninth Master Zhao and A Sen settled in the main hall, all taking a nap. As the sun weakened, they drank some water, ate half a steamed bun each, and resumed their journey.
That night, with no village in sight, they camped in the wild by the roadside.
Separated by the handcart, Ninth Master Zhao and A Sen slept on the left while Fu Tingyun slept on the right.
After two or three days of travel, Ninth Master Zhao noticed Fu Tingyun only drank a few sips of water at noon and didn’t touch her steamed bun.
Fu Tingyun quickly explained, "It's too hot—I really can't eat."
"Even if you can't, you must!" Ninth Master Zhao shoved the bun into her hand. "Being on the road isn’t like being at home. You have to make do when necessary."
His tone made it sound as though she were ignorant of hardship and acting willfully.
Not wanting to argue, Fu Tingyun held the bun without eating.
Ninth Master Zhao frowned deeply.
A Sen, puzzled, glanced between the silent Fu Tingyun and Ninth Master Zhao’s displeased expression. After hesitating, he finally spoke up: "Miss Fu said she doesn’t need to travel as much, so she’s saving the buns for you, Master."
Ninth Master Zhao froze momentarily.
Fu Tingyun let out a cold, quiet scoff and stood up, calling to A Sen, "Let’s take a walk up the hillside—Grandmother used to take us to the Huaxi Villa every spring for outings and taught us sisters to forage for wild greens. The trees on this eastern slope are still alive, so there’s likely a spring nearby. We might find some greens—better than drinking water and eating buns every day." With that, she turned and strode out the door, her dissatisfaction with Ninth Master Zhao unmistakable.
Ninth Master Zhao was taken aback again.
A Sen’s eyes widened. Only after Fu Tingyun’s figure vanished beyond the door did he snap out of his daze.
One was Miss Fu, whom he liked very much; the other was Ninth Master, whom he revered above all.
"Master…" A Sen looked at Ninth Master Zhao uneasily, unsure what to do.
"Go after her," Ninth Master Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Don’t let Miss Fu wander alone."
Though he had deliberately chosen secluded rural paths and avoided villages with corpses, caution was still necessary. Others might share his mindset—carrying enough food and water but fearing robbery, they could have taken the same route.
A Sen’s eyes grew even wider.
Ninth Master… was smiling bitterly!
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen Ninth Master wear such an expression.
Even if the sky were falling, Ninth Master would only nod calmly, pace the room with his hands behind his back, or sit alone by the river for a while before coming up with a solution… Yet now, just because Miss Fu had stormed off, he was smiling bitterly? Couldn’t he simply call her back?
A Sen felt he ought to remind Ninth Master.
But before he could, Ninth Master urged him, "Hurry up and go!"
A Sen had never disobeyed Ninth Master Zhao. Without thinking, he answered, "Yes!" Only after realizing he’d responded too quickly did he notice Ninth Master had already bent down to rearrange the handcart.
Miss Fu had been gone for a while… If she ran into wild dogs or worse, it’d be disastrous! He could always quietly bring it up with Ninth Master later on the road.
With that thought, A Sen dashed out the door—only to find Fu Tingyun standing right outside, in the shed where hay was stored.
"Miss Fu!" he exclaimed in surprise.Fu Tingyun smiled at him: "It's too hot. Let's go take a look later."
Though she was annoyed at Ninth Master Zhao for being so self-righteous, she wouldn't willfully run off to the hill and make everyone search for her when they were all exhausted from traveling.
At the moment, they had stopped in a village at the foot of a hill. Most of the vegetation on the hill had withered, except for a few towering trees in the northwest corner that had once been lush with foliage. Some weeds grew beneath them, but there was certainly no wild vegetables to be found. Of all things, why did Miss Fu have to insist on looking for wild vegetables?
Seeing that Fu Tingyun wasn’t going up the hill for now, A Sen was naturally relieved.
At least Miss Fu wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of Ninth Master after failing to find any wild vegetables.
The two of them sat in the shed and chatted.
The weather was so hot that, as they talked, they ended up falling asleep.
By the time Ninth Master Zhao woke them, the sky was already ablaze with sunset.
A Sen scrambled up quickly, his face flushed red. "Ninth Master..."
They had missed their travel time.
Fu Tingyun, however, didn’t even bat an eyelid. She rose leisurely, brushed the dust off her clothes, and asked Ninth Master Zhao calmly, "Shall we go?"
Ninth Master Zhao gave a nonchalant "Hmm" and turned to enter the gate without any change in expression.
A Sen idolized Ninth Master Zhao and had always imitated his every move, so he was very familiar with him. To Fu Tingyun, Ninth Master Zhao seemed no different from usual, but in A Sen’s eyes, he seemed somewhat helpless.
Helpless?
Because of Miss Fu?
A Sen stared at Fu Tingyun’s back for a long time but still couldn’t figure out why.
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From that day on, though Ninth Master Zhao still handed Fu Tingyun a steamed bun at noon as before, he no longer insisted if she refused to eat. As for Fu Tingyun, she no longer initiated conversations with Ninth Master Zhao as she once had, though she still chatted and laughed with A Sen just like before. Sometimes, when Ninth Master Zhao spoke to her, she answered plainly, never saying more than necessary. Other times, when she was happily talking with A Sen, she would immediately fall silent the moment Ninth Master Zhao approached, only resuming their lively conversation after he left.
Even though A Sen was young, he could tell Fu Tingyun was giving Ninth Master Zhao the cold shoulder.
Ninth Master Zhao had always been a man of few words—it was usually others who took the initiative to speak to him.
A Sen felt this was Fu Tingyun’s fault.
Taking advantage of Ninth Master Zhao going ahead to scout the path, he asked Fu Tingyun, "Why won’t you talk to Ninth Master? He even speaks to you!"
"Not at all!" Fu Tingyun wiped the sweat from her forehead. "There’s just nothing to say, so naturally, we talk less."
A Sen didn’t believe that for a second!
He pursed his lips, about to say something more, when suddenly a group of men burst out from the woods on the hill.
There were seven or eight of them, all young and middle-aged men. Gaunt, sallow-faced, with sunken eyes that gleamed with malice, they clutched hoes or wooden clubs. The way they looked at them was like starving mad dogs spotting food—their eyes glinting with a feral hunger.
Fu Tingyun’s hair stood on end.
A Sen swiftly pulled out a quarterstaff from the handcart and stepped forward, shielding Fu Tingyun behind him. "Who are you people?"
How could she let a child stand in front of her?
"A Sen—" Fu Tingyun reached out to pull him back, but the group had already surged forward in a frenzy."Get out of the way!" A Sen shouted, shaking off Fu Tingyun's hand as he brandished his eyebrow-height staff and charged forward, striking the leader of the group squarely on the side of the neck.
Caught off guard, the man slumped to the ground.
The others following behind froze in shock, their steps faltering as they stared at A Sen.
Undeterred, A Sen swung again, this time cracking the staff against the head of the nearest man.
"Ahh!" The man clutched his head as blood seeped between his fingers.
The rest snapped out of their daze, howling as they lunged at A Sen.
A Sen met them head-on without hesitation.
Though they were grown men, taller and stronger than A Sen, they crowded together clumsily, swinging hoes and wooden clubs with sluggish, uncoordinated movements—as if weakened by hunger. In contrast, A Sen wielded his staff with fierce agility, striking from unexpected angles. His small stature allowed him to dart around, keeping the group disoriented and unable to land a hit.
A Sen was brilliant!
Fu Tingyun let out a sigh of relief.
But no matter how skilled, a child couldn’t hold out against so many.
Summoning all her strength, she screamed for help in the direction Ninth Master Zhao had gone.
Two men lingering on the outskirts of the fight exchanged a glance before abandoning the skirmish and rushing toward Fu Tingyun.
Panicked, she scrambled to find something to defend herself in the handcart—but it held only a straw mat, a cool bamboo mat, bowls, chopsticks, steamed buns, and a waterskin.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as desperation set in.
The two men were already upon her.
"What do you want?" she snapped, darting to the other side of the cart. "Our master will be back any moment—don’t risk your lives!"
Both men had a cruel air. One, of average height, wore a parrot-green silk Taoist robe with dried blood on the sleeve. His eyes lit up with greed when he saw Fu Tingyun. "Brother, this woman’s a real beauty. She’d fetch at least fifty taels..."
Fu Tingyun paled, grabbing the nearest object to shield herself.
The other man was short and horse-faced, his triangular eyes gleaming with avarice—but his gaze quickly shifted to the cart. "This is no time for nonsense! Even if she’s worth fifty taels, we’d have to live long enough to sell her to the brothel. Survival comes first! Help me take this cart!" He seized the handles, muttering, "A woman like this means good loot. With luck, there might even be valuables..."
Finally, Fu Tingyun understood.
Compared to life-saving food, she—worth fifty taels—was expendable.
If they lost the cart, they were as good as dead.
The phrase "three peaches kill three warriors" flashed through her mind.
She shrieked, "You can’t take our food! What will we eat if you steal it?"
The men fighting A Sen immediately abandoned him and rushed toward her.
Fu Tingyun bolted toward where Ninth Master Zhao had gone, screaming, "Ninth Master, help!"
Her desperate cries echoed across the barren fields.
Then, Ninth Master Zhao’s figure appeared on the distant ridge.For some reason, Fu Tingyun's nose stung, and tears blurred her vision.
In a flash, Ninth Master Zhao leaped forward and reached her side in a few bounds. Without a word, he swung his fist. She heard a "crack" like the sound of breaking bones, and when she turned around, she saw the horse-faced man lying motionless on the ground.
Fu Tingyun quickly stepped aside.
Ninth Master Zhao grabbed the man wearing the parrot-patterned silk Taoist robe and hurled him onto the group of looters.
With a "boom," five or six of them immediately collapsed to the ground.
"Ninth Master!" A Sen's spirits lifted. He shook off the man grappling with him and ran over, delivering a solid blow to each of the fallen men's heads.
Ninth Master Zhao had already knocked down the men harassing A Sen with single punches.
"Ninth Master!" A Sen choked up as he ran toward him.
"What happened?" Ninth Master Zhao glanced at the men on the ground before turning to Fu Tingyun.
Fu Tingyun hurriedly explained the situation.
"We can't stay here!" Ninth Master Zhao said immediately. "Let's go!"
Both Fu Tingyun and A Sen grew tense. They hastily loaded the scattered belongings onto the cart and followed Ninth Master Zhao as they hurried away.
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O(∩_∩)O~
(End of Chapter)
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