Chapter 23: Weinan
Because of this incident, Ninth Master Zhao no longer dared to leave only A Sen with Fu Tingyun. As a result, he couldn’t scout the path alone anymore, and bringing Fu Tingyun and A Sen along was inconvenient. Thus, he had to change their route, sticking as much as possible to the post road.
If Fu Tingyun had previously sensed what it meant for a thousand miles to lie barren, now she was witnessing firsthand what it meant for corpses to litter the fields.
"Don’t look!" Ninth Master Zhao stepped in front of her. "Didn’t you bring a handkerchief? Tie it over your face. The stench of death is everywhere—beware of the Seasonal Epidemic."
Fu Tingyun gave a soft "Mm" and pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve to cover her face.
The weather was scorching. The handkerchief, frequently used to wipe sweat and never washed, reeked of perspiration. But compared to the risk of contracting the epidemic, this discomfort became trivial.
Her gaze involuntarily drifted back to the roadside.
Under the midday sun, the bark-stripped trees had long withered, their bare brown branches stretching toward the sky like desperate pleas. Beneath them lay seven or eight emaciated corpses in disarray. The eldest appeared no older than forty-five or forty-six, their sunken eyes wide open, their expression filled with unwillingness. The youngest was still cradled in its mother’s arms, naked, limbs as thin as reed sticks, ribs protruding starkly. Its oversized head hung limply from the mother’s arm. The mother’s clothes had been stripped away, leaving only a bellyband covering her body—utterly devoid of dignity.
A chill ran through Fu Tingyun’s heart. She bent down and rummaged through the cart for a straw mat, not caring whose it was, and handed it to A Sen. "Cover that woman with this."
A Sen took it but hesitated. "Miss Fu, if we cover her now, someone will just take it away later..."
"Do as you’re told!" Ninth Master Zhao cut in. "Enough talking!"
A Sen immediately ran over.
Ninth Master Zhao sighed. "Let’s go."
Fu Tingyun nodded numbly and climbed onto the cart, not daring to look up again.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, the woman’s image surfaced in her mind.
Within just two or three days, Fu Tingyun had visibly thinned.
Ninth Master Zhao glanced at her and said, "At most three more days, and we’ll reach Weinan."
Fu Tingyun’s heart lifted at the thought. Imagining her uncle’s spacious house—warm in winter and cool in summer, bathwater scented with rose essence, clothes perfumed with lily—her spirits lifted slightly.
Yet after three more days of travel, there was still no sign of Weinan’s city walls. Only then did she realize: "So it was just wishful thinking!"
Ninth Master Zhao chuckled.
The smile softened his features, adding a touch of warmth.
"So how many more days until Weinan?" Fu Tingyun grew bolder, her tone unconsciously laced with naive bluntness.
"Three more days!" Ninth Master Zhao replied.
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace!" Fu Tingyun joked wryly, feigning resignation as she sighed.
Ninth Master Zhao laughed heartily, his bright eyes gleaming like morning stars, radiating a dazzling light that made his entire expression come alive.
Fu Tingyun was stunned.
Usually, Ninth Master Zhao wore a stern, gloomy expression. She hadn’t expected him to look so handsome when he smiled."This time, we really will arrive in just three days!" Ninth Master Zhao said, the lingering amusement in his eyes like the shimmering surface of a lake under the setting sun, dazzling enough to make Fu Tingyun's tightly wound heartstrings suddenly relax.
Yet the further they traveled, the more refugees they encountered.
The men could still push carts, the children could still walk, and the women and elderly could sit upright—clear signs they had eaten and drunk their fill. Ninth Master Zhao, A Sen, and Fu Tingyun stood out starkly among the gaunt, malnourished refugees. They were met with frequent looks of surprise, envy, and even greed, as if they carried some priceless treasure others coveted. Fu Tingyun felt uneasy, as if sitting on pins and needles, certain something dangerous was about to happen.
At noon one day, as they rested by the roadside, the inevitable occurred.
First, four or five burly men rushed toward the cart from all directions, followed by seven or eight more... Ninth Master Zhao's quarterstaff whirled with formidable force, yet the attackers seemed unafraid of death, surging forward relentlessly even as they were struck down, eventually encircling them completely.
So many men, their gazes as fierce as starving wolves spotting prey, made Fu Tingyun's legs tremble uncontrollably.
Ninth Master Zhao snorted coldly and ordered A Sen, "Protect the young lady. We head north."
North—the direction toward Weicheng.
A Sen acknowledged the command, gripping his quarterstaff before his chest.
Fu Tingyun hurriedly pushed the cart.
With A Sen leading and Ninth Master Zhao covering the rear, they moved north.
Knowing Ninth Master Zhao's prowess, the attackers focused their assault on A Sen and Fu Tingyun.
Yet Ninth Master Zhao seemed to have eyes in the back—anyone who approached was struck down with a single blow, collapsing to the ground, immobilized.
After several exchanges, the men hesitated to advance but refused to give up, keeping them encircled as they moved north for over an hour. Eventually, some grew impatient and charged again with vicious determination.
A murderous aura flared in Ninth Master Zhao's expression. Between his fingers appeared two slender, willow-leaf-shaped curved blades, flashing out and back like lightning.
One of the charging men collapsed with a thud, crimson blood spilling from his neck, soaking into the earth and leaving a dark stain.
The others froze in shock.
After what felt like an eternity, someone snapped back to reality, screaming, "Murder! Murder!" as they scrambled backward. A few still refused to yield, exchanging uncertain glances.
The air grew thick with restless tension.
Ninth Master Zhao's gaze turned even colder. The willow-leaf blades flew from his hands once more, and two more men fell.
Only then did fear take hold, scattering the crowd like frightened birds and beasts.
Ninth Master Zhao urged Fu Tingyun and A Sen forward without pause.
They encountered two more attempted robberies along the way.
The first involved seven or eight men—Ninth Master Zhao used the willow-leaf blades without hesitation.
The second was a lone man. Staggering to his feet, he lunged at them, but before A Sen could raise his quarterstaff, the man collapsed weakly to the ground.
Fu Tingyun covered her eyes.
They took a side path and traveled through the night, resting by the roadside only at dawn.
Fu Tingyun drank water numbly, but as the morning light broke, she suddenly noticed something different about the trees nearby.
"Ninth Master, Ninth Master, look!" she exclaimed in delight, pointing at the roadside trees. "There are green leaves!"Ninth Master Zhao and A Sen both looked up.
Amid the dusty branches of a large tree, two green leaves had sprouted.
A Sen ran over and plucked the leaves. "Master, look!"
Ninth Master Zhao's expression turned grave as he straightened up and surveyed their surroundings.
Fu Tingyun felt a sudden unease. "Ninth Master, is something wrong?"
"It indicates the disaster situation here has somewhat eased," Ninth Master Zhao said sternly. "There might even be normal water access in Weinan County. But precisely because of this, more refugees will flock to Weinan, making it harder for us to enter the city."
"Why do we need to enter the city?" Fu Tingyun smiled. "We're heading to Fengyuan, not Weinan County. We can go directly from Li Family Hollow to Fengyuan!"
Ninth Master Zhao raised an eyebrow, signaling her to explain further.
"When I used to visit my uncle, sometimes my mother thought the prepared gifts were too simple but didn't want my aunts gossiping. So I'd go directly from Huayin to Weinan first to supplement the gifts before proceeding to Fengyuan. If no expensive gifts were needed, we'd leave the post road heading south and take the route through Li Family Hollow to Fengyuan. This saved a full day's travel."
Ninth Master Zhao's eyes brightened slightly at this information, clearly pleased.
Fu Tingyun quickly added, "But I don't actually know the way—I just know this route exists."
Ninth Master Zhao looked at her with a strange expression, as if suppressing laughter.
Fu Tingyun's face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm not a carriage driver—why would I pay attention to such details..." she said unhappily.
"We'll just ask for directions!" Ninth Master Zhao said briskly, instructing A Sen to carefully guard Fu Tingyun while he went up to the post road himself.
Soon, Ninth Master Zhao returned.
"The entrance to Li Family Hollow is just ahead," he said, urging Fu Tingyun and A Sen to finish their meal quickly.
"Aren't we resting?" Fu Tingyun asked in surprise, looking at Ninth Master Zhao.
He had been pushing her all night.
"It's better to reach Fengyuan quickly," Ninth Master Zhao said. "The road is too dangerous."
Remembering their earlier encounter with robbers, Fu Tingyun felt her fingertips turn cold. She hastily finished her steamed bun and drank some water before setting off with Ninth Master Zhao.
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Li Family Hollow was a village inhabited entirely by the Li clan, named for its location in a hollow among the hills.
As they approached, they saw few people along the way. At the village entrance stood a wooden palisade twice a man's height, with several burly villagers patrolling before it, large knives in hand, appearing quite fierce. A dozen severed heads hung from the palisade, their dried blood staining the wood blackish-red.
This was no ordinary village—it resembled a bandit stronghold more than anything.
Horrified, Fu Tingyun looked to Ninth Master Zhao.
Ninth Master Zhao frowned slightly, his expression solemn. "It seems Li Family Hollow has both water and food."
Otherwise, they wouldn't have sealed off the village to protect their resources.
Fortunately, they only needed to pass by the village.
Fu Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief.
The men near the palisade had already spotted them and gathered at the barrier, gripping their knives and staring at them with predatory intensity.
Expressionless, Ninth Master Zhao pushed Fu Tingyun past. Even after they'd gone some distance, she could still feel those knife-like gazes boring into her back.
Two youths approached from the opposite direction.One wore a dark blue silk straight robe, the other a pale purple silk straight robe. Both were empty-handed, their faces pale and expressions frantic, not resembling refugees in the slightest.
Ninth Master Zhao couldn't help turning to look.
He saw the two youths quickly approach the wooden fence at the entrance of Lijia'ao village, shouting loudly: "We're from the Eleventh Madam's household in Fengyuan. Fengyuan has been pillaged by migrant bandits, leaving only about a dozen of us who escaped. Please inform the clan leader—our elderly patriarch is being supported by female family members behind us. We beg the clan leader to send help..."
Fu Tingyun's mind buzzed chaotically.
Fengyuan had been attacked by migrant bandits!
She jumped down from the pushcart and ran swiftly toward the two youths.
But someone reached them before she did.
"Young masters!" Ninth Master Zhao's face had turned somewhat ashen. "I'm a relative of the Xie family from Fengyuan. Due to disasters in my hometown, I was going to seek shelter with them—"
Before he could finish speaking, the youth in the dark blue silk straight robe exclaimed, "Ah! You're a relative of Scholar Xie's family... The entire Xie household has been slaughtered by the migrant bandits!"
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Fixed typos!
( ^__^ ) Hehe...
(End of chapter)
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