Chapter 35: Rescue
The man's voice was rough and somewhat hoarse, as if deliberately lowered.
Fu Tingyun looked up and saw a face with delicate features.
Didn't this man understand the principle of propriety between men and women?
How could she possibly accept a handkerchief from a man!
Perhaps due to her unfavorable impression of them, Fu Tingyun felt a surge of irritation. But remembering they had saved Ninth Master and her, she softly muttered, "Thank you," and added, "We will never forget your life-saving kindness, but we dare not trouble you further!" With that, she turned her face away and bent down to help Ninth Master Zhao.
The man paused briefly, then smiled understandingly. "Miss, let me help. You can't lift him alone!" His voice was now soft and gentle, like a spring breeze in March, pleasant to the ear—completely different from the earlier hoarseness.
Was this his real voice?
Why had he lowered it earlier when speaking to her?
Fu Tingyun gave him a puzzled glance.
He looked slightly embarrassed as he crouched to assist Ninth Master Zhao.
"Don't move him recklessly!" The burly man approached them, his large, fan-like hands still stained with blood—whether his own or that of the square-faced man's subordinates was unclear. "He's overexerted himself and may have internal injuries. Be careful not to worsen his condition!"
Fu Tingyun grew anxious at once. If this man could diagnose Ninth Master Zhao's injuries, he must know something about medicine. Her gaze turned pleading. "Then... what should we do?"
Her dark eyes glistened with tears, making them as clear and translucent as fine jade.
The burly man couldn't help but glance at her a few more times before saying, "Let me check his pulse."
Fu Tingyun quickly stood to give him space.
He crouched, his thick, calloused fingers pressing against Ninth Master Zhao's wrist, closing his eyes as if concentrating on the pulse.
Fu Tingyun and the delicate-featured man held their breaths, so the hushed conversation at the temple entrance reached them in fragments.
"...completely looted... The authorities have been cracking down these days, so they didn’t dare linger... They hadn’t finished when they ran into us."
It was the voice of the man who looked like a shopkeeper.
Were they talking about the two women who had fainted from fright?
Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but glance in their direction.
The man with the carefree demeanor wore a grim expression as he spoke to the shopkeeper-like man. "Didn’t they say they were mobilizing the Shaanxi Regional Military Command to suppress the bandits? Why hasn’t there been any action yet?"
"Troop movements aren’t that quick!" The shopkeeper-like man smiled, his expression tinged with caution. "They should make a move in the next couple of days."
The carefree man scoffed. "If the Tatars invaded, would they dawdle like this too? The court raises soldiers for a thousand days, yet when the time comes to use them..."
Fu Tingyun suppressed her shock.
Who was this man?
Not only did he have detailed knowledge of the court’s movements, but he also criticized its failings from a position of authority!
Her guard up, Fu Tingyun strained to listen more carefully, but the burly man’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Liansheng, you must have some Danshen Yin on you, right? Bring two pills for emergency use!"
Distracted by his words, Fu Tingyun turned her attention from the two men to the delicate-featured one.The man addressed as "Liansheng" by the burly figure nodded, then hesitated before saying, "I also brought some Gongjian Powder. Do you think we should give him a couple of pills?"
"Gongjian Powder won't do," the burly man replied. "Though it helps regulate qi and relieve stagnation—good for internal injuries—he also has external wounds. We should first use Danshen Decoction to strengthen his foundation and nourish his vitality. Once he regains consciousness, we can consider the Gongjian Powder."
Fu Tingyun, who had read some medical texts herself, recognized both medicines and noted their proper application. She silently nodded in approval, her trust in the man's medical expertise growing.
Liansheng tiptoed around the corpses scattered across the temple floor and fetched two bottles of medicine.
Meanwhile, Fu Tingyun had already retrieved her bowl from the scattered belongings and prepared water.
As the burly man fed Ninth Master Zhao the medicine, he asked Fu Tingyun, "Do you have any clean old clothes? I need to apply some wound medicine to his injuries."
"Yes, yes, I do!" Fu Tingyun immediately thought of her moon-white raw silk blouse with a right-side closure. She hurriedly fetched it and began tearing it into strips.
Just then, someone entered with light, agile steps. "Sixteenth Master!"
Fu Tingyun glanced toward the voice.
It was the burly, fierce-faced man who had disappeared earlier. He bowed respectfully to the carefree-looking man. "This humble one..." His voice dropped too low for Fu Tingyun to catch the rest, "...have succeeded in my mission!"
They were together?
Then why had they pretended not to know each other earlier?
Fu Tingyun's mind reeled, her limbs going weak. For a moment, she couldn't even muster the strength to tear the fabric.
With skills like theirs, they'd rather pay than confront the square-faced man. They'd watched her teeter between life and death without lifting a hand, clearly wanting to avoid trouble... So why had they changed their minds to save Ninth Master and her?
A chill ran down Fu Tingyun's spine as she vaguely sensed she'd stumbled upon something she shouldn't have witnessed.
Her hands trembled as she took several deep breaths before finally managing to tear the silk with a sharp rip.
Sixteenth Master smiled and nodded at the fierce-faced man. "You've worked hard," he said. "Are you alone?"
"We came with twenty men," the fierce-faced man replied calmly, his voice steady as a mountain. "The one with me was..." He lowered his voice again. "Only we were fortunate enough to encounter Sixteenth Master. He went to deliver a message but will return shortly."
Sixteenth Master gave a slight nod and approached Fu Tingyun.
The fierce-faced man and the shopkeeper-like man exchanged polite nods and smiles, appearing quite amiable.
Both followed two steps behind Sixteenth Master.
"How is he?" Sixteenth Master asked the burly man. "What's the extent of his injuries?"
The burly man quickly stood and bowed. "One sword wound on the shoulder and another on the back," he reported respectfully. "They appear to be no more than two days old and aren't life-threatening, but without proper cleaning or wound medicine, they've begun to fester. It would be best to find a physician for disinfecting and cooling prescriptions. His internal injuries are also severe—he'll need at least one or two months of bed rest to recover..."
Fu Tingyun, too embarrassed and inexperienced in wound dressing, had only glimpsed Ninth Master Zhao's injuries through his collar, unaware of the wound on his back.
Hearing the burly man's description, her heart ached unbearably.She had no idea how Ninth Master Zhao had endured these past days... yet he kept smiling to comfort her.
Tears welled up in her eyes as anxiety gripped her heart.
With such severe injuries, it would be best to summon a renowned physician from Xi'an Prefecture. Yet he needed absolute rest and couldn't endure the strain of travel. Under normal circumstances, she had two thousand taels in bank notes and over a thousand taels worth of valuables. Money wouldn't be an issue—she could rent a house, hire Xi'an's best physicians, and still have ample funds. But now with the famine, even money couldn't persuade those physicians to leave Xi'an, and renting a house risked attacks from migrant bandits...
She needed to find a way to persuade this Sixteenth Master to escort them to Xi'an.
Once in Xi'an, with Yucheng and Yuanbao present, Ninth Master would be safe.
Fu Tingyun bit her lip and knelt straight-backed before Sixteenth Master.
"Benefactor!" She bowed her head slightly, her strength tinged with vulnerability. "I am deeply grateful for your life-saving grace. May I know my benefactor's name? This humble woman wishes to erect a longevity tablet, praying to Bodhisattva for your health, prosperity, abundant descendants, and flourishing household..."
As she spoke, she could feel Sixteenth Master's gaze fixed upon her—an unsettling scrutiny that made her avoid looking at his expression. Her peripheral vision accidentally caught his shoes.
Fu Tingyun froze.
She saw his socks.
White Songjiang sanling cloth embroidered with ornamental flowers, tied with bright yellow ribbons.
Bright yellow ribbons... Then Liansheng's voice came to mind... official silver...
Her mind buzzed as sweat broke out on her forehead, temples, and back. Unaware, her voice grew increasingly strained and halting.
"What relation are you to him?" Sixteenth Master's voice pounded like war drums in her chest. "For whom do you mourn?"
Snapping back to attention, Fu Tingyun hesitated over her response.
Claiming they were employer and employee would invite further questions she couldn't answer convincingly. She immediately dismissed that option.
If she said they were cousins—either paternal or maternal—the family connections would require Ninth Master to also be in mourning for the same relative. How could she mourn while he didn't?
Her palms were drenched.
Yet she dared not delay.
Only one possibility remained... Steeling herself, she whispered: "I'm his betrothed!"
As an unmarried bride, Ninth Master naturally wouldn't observe mourning for his "father-in-law."
The hall fell silent.
Had she answered incorrectly?
Fu Tingyun suddenly thought of Ninth Master's appearance... and her own... one weathered by hardship, the other pampered and delicate...
Cold sweat poured down her back."My husband's family is from Longxi County," she said. That was under the jurisdiction of Gongchang Prefecture, over a thousand li from Xi'an Prefecture, and coincidentally where the earliest wave of migrant bandits had originated. Even if they tried to investigate, they'd find it difficult to uncover anything—perfect for explaining why Ninth Master was so emaciated. "I'm from Pingliang County," she continued, having taken Ninth Master's words at Li Family Hollow to heart. But Longxi and Pingliang were so far apart—how could this marriage have come about? Her mind raced. "Both our families had elders engaged in commerce abroad. They became close friends and arranged this marriage." That should be convincing enough! "Later, when Gongchang Prefecture suffered a severe drought, my betrothed came to seek refuge. Little did we know our own family would also face hardship and had to travel to Weinan to seek relatives. My betrothed searched for me along the way, and we finally reunited in Huayin County, only to be robbed by migrant bandits. He protected me as we escaped..." She began to sob softly.
As for whom she was mourning—let them figure that out themselves!
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Bonus chapter for the first day of VIP release! Seeking sisters' pink votes—each counts as two!
Regular update postponed until around 10 PM tonight!
O(∩_∩)O~
(End of Chapter)
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