Chapter 37: Linchun Town
Thank you, sisters! For now, we're ranked third in the monthly pink votes!
O(∩_∩)O~
Because from May 1st to 7th, pink votes count double, and every 40 pink votes will add an extra chapter. The bonus chapters start tonight, so please continue your support!
※※※※※
When they entered Linchun Town, the sky was just beginning to lighten with the pale glow of dawn.
The flagstone-paved streets were cluttered with refugees sleeping haphazardly on either side. Some had tattered straw mats beneath them, while others lay directly on the cold stone in their clothes. A few had nothing at all, bare-chested with only trousers, their faces and limbs filthy and dark. At the sound of footsteps, some lifted their heads to glance before turning back to sleep, while others sat up and stared blankly as the group passed by. Nearby, a child startled awake and burst into loud, piercing wails, shattering the quiet of the midsummer morning. The mother immediately gathered the child into her arms, murmuring soothingly, but the cries only grew louder. She unfastened her clothes to nurse the child, but after a few desperate sucks, the baby pulled away and screamed even harder. A man beside her leapt up in fury, snarling, "Cry, cry, cry—if you don’t stop, I’ll trade you for meat!" The mother’s face drained of color. She pressed the child’s head tightly against her chest, as if that could muffle the cries, then shakily rose and retreated to a quieter corner of the street. Stuffing her breast into the child’s mouth, she whispered frantically, "Don’t cry, don’t cry—your father will trade you for meat if you don’t stop!"
Fu Tingyun lowered her head, heart heavy.
A Sen tried to comfort her. "If he really wanted to resort to that, he’d have done it long ago. He wouldn’t wait until we’re just two days from Xi’an to start thinking about it."
Walking beside them was one of Mo Yi’s men, introduced as "Xiao Wu," a young clerk from the trading company.
Xiao Wu hesitated, as if wanting to say something but holding back.
A Sen shot him a cold smirk and challenged, "What, you think I’m wrong?"
Last night—no, early this morning, around yinshi (3-5 a.m.)—A Sen had caught the faint scent of blood on his way back. Fear gripped him as he thought of Ninth Master Zhao, unconscious and defenseless, and Fu Tingyun, who couldn’t fight at all. He sprinted back to the City God Temple. The closer he got, the stronger the metallic stench grew. When he finally stepped into the main hall, the sight of corpses strewn everywhere froze him in horror. If Fu Tingyun hadn’t called out to him in time, he would have thrown himself into the pile of bodies, digging through them in panic.
When he learned that Mo Yi was one of Ninth Master Zhao’s rescuers, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed nine times, then clung to Ninth Master Zhao’s leg, sobbing, "It’s all my fault… If only I’d come back sooner!"
Ninth Master Zhao chuckled and ruffled his hair. "What good would that have done? Just made you another target." His tone was gentle.
But A Sen only felt worse. He hung his head and muttered, "The moment I left the temple, I felt like someone was following me. I circled the area a few times to shake them off, but when I headed back to town, it felt like they were on my tail again. I got so mad, I set a trap in the willow grove outside town and toyed with them for ages…" He looked up at Ninth Master Zhao, eyes wide with remorse, and vowed earnestly, "Ninth Master, I swear I’ll never do anything like that again!""Glad you're back!" Ninth Master Zhao smiled nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal, then said to Mo Yi, "Then we'll trouble you, Manager Mo. Let's head to Linchun now!"
Mo Yi had a fierce appearance, and his expression seemed somewhat stiff at the time, but no one paid it much mind. After packing up, Mo Yi helped Ninth Master Zhao onto the small cart, and the group left the City God Temple. It was only then that Fu Tingyun and the others noticed two "young assistants" accompanying Mo Yi. Both were ordinary-looking, the type who would blend into a crowd. One, in his early twenties, was named Chen Liu, while the other, about fifteen or sixteen, was called Xiao Wu. Both wore short coarse clothing, though Chen Liu was neat and tidy, while Xiao Wu was covered in dust and reeked of manure—an unpleasant odor. The moment A Sen saw Xiao Wu, his eyes widened, and he was about to say something when Sixth Master Zhao instructed him, "Dawn is approaching. If we run into officials, we won’t be able to explain ourselves even if we jumped into the Yellow River. Better hurry to Linchun Town!"
Mo Yi shared the same sentiment.
The group hurried along the road.
On the way, A Sen whispered to Fu Tingyun, "The guy who was following me—I tricked him into falling into a pit I dug. And I left a pile of shit in there."
Fu Tingyun was stunned. "You... you..."
A Sen, however, looked rather pleased. "Serves him right for tailing me. I treated him to something special!"
Fu Tingyun barely held back her laughter, though she couldn’t help feeling a bit skeptical.
But she trusted Ninth Master Zhao the most.
If something this obvious didn’t warrant questioning from Ninth Master Zhao, there must be a reason for it.
"We’ll talk later," Fu Tingyun whispered to A Sen. "Mo Yi and the others are here."
A Sen nodded but couldn’t shake his irritation toward Xiao Wu. From the City God Temple to Linchun Town, he kept nitpicking at Xiao Wu, finding fault with everything he did. Xiao Wu, for his part, remained composed, acting as if he couldn’t be bothered with A Sen’s pettiness, which only fueled A Sen’s frustration.
This time, A Sen was determined to pick a fight, deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Wu.
But unlike before, Xiao Wu didn’t just laugh it off—nor did he engage in a war of words. Instead, he turned to Fu Tingyun with a serious expression and said, "Everyone thinks things will be better once we reach Xi’an Prefecture, but the truth is, Xi’an is worse off than Linchun Town. At least here, we have a place to sleep. Xi’an sealed its gates half a month ago—no one’s allowed in, only out. The authorities patrol daily, and no one is permitted to rest within fifty zhang of the city walls. Violators are beaten to death on the spot. Countless have starved or been killed. The Nine Mile Gulch south of the city is practically a mass grave now."
A Sen argued, "Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi. Surely someone must be running a porridge kitchen?" His tone was half-doubtful.
Xiao Wu scoffed. "Without official approval, who would dare set up a porridge kitchen?"
Fu Tingyun frowned. "Doesn’t Governor Dong do anything about it?"
"Governor Dong?" Xiao Wu sneered. "Right now, he’s too busy currying favor with Hong Du, the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and arranging accommodations for Prince Jian, who’s taken refuge in Xi’an. If the Emperor reprimands him, he’ll need someone to speak up for him and shift the blame. How could he spare a thought for whether the people of Shaanxi live or die?"
Fu Tingyun and A Sen fell silent, recalling all they had witnessed on their journey.Two boys around ten years old suddenly darted out from the side: "Uncle, sister! We haven't eaten for three days and nights. Please, have mercy and spare us some food!" Their eyes were extremely lively.
Chen Liu, pushing the small cart, hesitated and glanced at Mo Yi walking beside him. Mo Yi shook his head slightly.
With a sudden commotion, seven or eight more children appeared from nowhere, all ragged and emaciated, clamoring "Uncle, sister, have mercy!" as they surrounded the group, reaching out to beg. Some even stretched their hands directly into the cart.
"Get the hell out of here!" Mo Yi roared like thunder, grabbing one of the children and flinging him onto the stone-paved road.
The entire street fell silent in an instant, everyone staring at Mo Yi with fearful eyes.
"Scram now, you brats!" Mo Yi bellowed again. The children, as if jolted awake, hastily picked up the thrown child and fled.
Thanks to this incident, they easily occupied an abandoned shop.
With Mo Yi and Chen Liu's help, Ninth Master Zhao settled in the inner chamber upstairs, while Fu Tingyun stayed in the adjacent side room.
"I must trouble Manager Mo, Chen Liu, and A Wu to rest downstairs," Ninth Master Zhao said apologetically. "I have female family members here..."
Mo Yi was straightforward: "Call me if you need anything."
"Thank you!" Ninth Master Zhao clasped his hands in salute to Mo Yi, then instructed Fu Tingyun to clean the room and sent A Sen to escort Mo Yi and the others downstairs.
Once the sound of their footsteps faded on the stairs, Ninth Master Zhao said to Fu Tingyun, who was searching for a cloth to clean: "Rest for now. A Sen can do this when he returns."
Hadn't he just told her to clean the room? Why wait for A Sen?
Fu Tingyun was puzzled.
Ninth Master Zhao lay pale on the bed without curtains and smiled at her: "I have something to discuss with you."
His tone was uncharacteristically gentle.
Perhaps illness makes people unusually vulnerable, Fu Tingyun thought as she pulled up a stool to sit by the bed. "Are you uneasy about Mo Yi and the others? Is that why you sent them downstairs?"
There were four or five other rooms upstairs, while downstairs was the shopfront with only a small storeroom.
Ninth Master Zhao nodded slightly. A Sen returned and, seeing Fu Tingyun by the bed, immediately said, "Master, I'll fetch a bucket of water!"
"That can wait," Ninth Master Zhao said. "Stand guard at the door and alert us if anyone comes." To Fu Tingyun, he added, "Find that name card of Sixteenth Master."
A Sen obeyed and stood watch at the door. Fu Tingyun found the card and handed it to him. Since there were no beddings, she cushioned his back with a bundle of clothes for support and opened the window for better light.
Outside the window was a grove of withered trees, with the post road to Lantian County visible in the distance. A warm breeze drifted in.
Even this small comfort moved Fu Tingyun. "It's been days since I felt a breeze," she remarked. "In a good year with favorable weather, the view here must be beautiful!"
Ninth Master Zhao smiled silently, carefully examining the name card in his hand.
Fu Tingyun watched him quietly.His forehead was broad, his nose straight, giving him an intelligent appearance. His lips were somewhat thin, and when pressed tightly together, they carried an air of aloofness that kept others at bay. Yet when he smiled, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and his brow radiated an open, unrestrained boldness... He looked much better when he smiled.
Perhaps sensing her gaze or finally recognizing the Name Card in his hand, Ninth Master Zhao suddenly looked up, meeting Fu Tingyun’s stare head-on.
Ninth Master Zhao was momentarily taken aback. “What is it?”
Looking at him like this… without the slightest restraint… They weren’t on such familiar terms, were they? Suddenly recalling her words— I had no choice but to say we were engaged —he felt slightly uneasy and cleared his throat softly.
Fu Tingyun’s ears burned.
What a stroke of misfortune—just a glance would have been enough, so why had she kept staring? And not only that, she’d been caught red-handed… What if he misunderstood her as being too forward? Then she remembered how she had declared in front of Sixteenth Master and the others that they were betrothed… At the time, the situation had been urgent, and no one could say much about it. But now that they were alone, she ought to find a chance to explain properly.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel