Chapter 48: He Felt Like He Was Drinking Poison...
Xiao Li looked at Wen Yu's complexion, which had darkened by a shade, and the red spots on her face, hesitantly saying, "Your face..."
On that rainy night when they were being pursued, under the firelight, the rash marks on her face had faded to the point of being almost invisible, but now they seemed much more severe again.
Wen Yu explained, "To avoid unnecessary complications, I used pot ash and flower petal juice to smear on."
Only then did Xiao Li feel relieved. It was good that she hadn't used cat fur to trigger her allergies again. Not only was it suffering, but the rebels searching for her with her portrait didn't seem to just glance briefly before letting people go; instead, they carefully examined facial features and contours against the portrait.
Even if she ruined her own face, she probably wouldn't be able to avoid the search.
After simply heating up some food for Xiao Li, Wen Yu went back to helping in the yard.
The young man called A Niu glanced toward the kitchen, drawn by the smell, and with difficulty swallowed his saliva as he looked at the bowl in Xiao Li's hand. Only when the old woman called him did he pout unhappily and turn back to continue working.
Xiao Li had initially thought this young man was just childish, but he soon noticed that the youth liked to stick close to Wen Yu.
Perhaps because of his childlike nature, Wen Yu didn't keep her distance from him, instead speaking to him gently and softly.
The young man would also take every opportunity to fiddle with the carp pendant hanging from Wen Yu's waist. Wen Yu just shook her head with a smile, said something to the youth, and he would blush, scratching his head with a simple, honest laugh.
Xiao Li found this inexplicably irritating to watch.
He finished his meal hastily and went over to help too.
When the old woman saw him, she repeatedly refused, saying, "Young man, you're still injured. Go back and rest. How can we let you do these things?"
Xiao Li calmly sat down beside Wen Yu, picking up the fresh medicinal herbs on the ground, and said, "I've been lying down for two days. My bones are about to fall apart from lying around. Doing some work to stretch my muscles and bones would be good."
Unable to persuade him to leave, the old woman cheerfully taught him how to process the medicinal herbs.
During this time, A Niu found another opportunity to try touching the wooden fish pendant hanging from Wen Yu's waist, but suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. Turning around, he saw the recently awakened man looking at him with a cold smile.
Instinctively, A Niu withdrew his hand, like a child caught doing something wrong, and hung his head as he continued cleaning the herbs.
As dusk approached, the old woman went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Wen Yu followed to help. A Niu, feeling inexplicably afraid to stay with the injured young man, shifted his large feet as if wanting to go to the kitchen too.
But the young man called out to him with a clear, bright smile, "There are some other herbs here that I don't know how to process. Could you stay and teach me a thing or two?"
Although A Niu was somewhat afraid of him, being simple-minded, he immediately picked up a plant to demonstrate when he heard he was being asked for advice on processing herbs. "You have to do it like this..."
Xiao Li watched with a warm smile, then suddenly asked, "Why do you always fiddle with that thing hanging from that sister's waist?"
A Niu's face instantly turned bright red. He stopped processing the herbs and muttered in a muffled voice, "I... I'm going to the kitchen to help my grandma..."
He tried to stand up, but the smiling young man placed a hand on his shoulder. A Niu strained with all his might to rise, but surprisingly couldn't stand up.A Niu looked at the young man's handsome, clear-cut face and suddenly felt even more afraid. Like a bullied child, he asked plaintively, "Why are you holding me down and not letting me get up?"
Xiao Li didn't withdraw his hand from the other's shoulder, maintaining an amiable expression as he said, "You still haven't answered my question."
A Niu hung his head and refused to speak further, his large frame curling into a ball that carried a pitiful air.
Xiao Li raised a brow slightly. "A full-grown man like you—surely you're not going to cry?"
A Niu mumbled, "I... I'm not!"
The evening breeze stirred the strands of hair on Xiao Li's forehead as he stared at the hulking youth before him. "That elder sister is a young woman. She treats you like a child and indulges you in every way, but you're not actually a child. How could you lay hands on her? If you behave like this with other young women in the future, they could report you to the authorities, and you'd be caned!"
A Niu grew agitated, tearing apart the medicinal herbs in his hands as he hung his head. "I didn't..."
Xiao Li said, "I saw it with my own eyes."
A Niu sniffled and confessed, "I... I just wanted the wooden fish pendant she was wearing, but elder sister said it was given to her by someone very important and she couldn't give it to me."
Xiao Li froze.
Just then, Doctor Tao returned from the herb garden with a bamboo basket hanging from his hoe. Seeing his foolish grandson tearing up the medicinal herbs, he immediately flared up and scolded, "You spendthrift! Those herbs aren't for you to play with!"
A Niu, frightened, hid the torn herbs behind his back and said weakly, "A Niu... A Niu didn't..."
Perhaps because he'd been misunderstood repeatedly, his eyes were slightly red, as if one more word of scolding from Doctor Tao would make him burst into tears.
Xiao Li stepped in to defuse the situation, rising and cupping his hands toward Doctor Tao. "So you're the one who saved my life."
Doctor Tao studied Xiao Li's complexion and stroked his beard. "You're already able to get out of bed this soon? It must be because you martial artists have your own internal techniques to temper the body. An ordinary person with injuries like yours wouldn't recover this quickly."
Xiao Li looked puzzled. "Temper the body?"
Doctor Tao gave him a strange look. "When I took your pulse earlier, I could tell you must be a skilled practitioner with solid internal martial arts—your physique is far superior to ordinary people. How can you not know about the skills you've trained yourself?"
Xiao Li recalled the years he'd spent learning from the mad old man in prison. "The elder who taught me suffered from madness. I trained with him for a few years, only half-understanding, and know nothing about internal martial arts. It's just that whenever I circulated my energy, that elder would indicate where to direct it, where to store it, and where to release it."
"Indicate" was putting it mildly—whenever he made a mistake, the chains on the mad old man would strike hard precisely where he was supposed to be directing his energy.
The pain, as if his bones were being shattered, was something he never wanted to experience again after going through it once.
Remembering that pain, he always executed his movements and energy circulation perfectly from then on.
Doctor Tao stroked his beard. "That's it, then. When practicing martial arts, circulating energy through the meridians of the body is what we call tempering the body—far more effective than relying on brute strength alone."
Putting down his hoe and medicine basket, he walked over and said, "Come, come, let this old man take your pulse again."Xiao Li extended his hand. Doctor Tao placed his fingers on Xiao Li's wrist briefly before looking up at him with a strange expression. "Did you exert yourself forcefully after waking up? Your pulse shows chaotic qi and blood, and your wounds seem to be bleeding again."
Xiao Li recalled using some strength earlier to restrain the young man and coughed lightly. "Perhaps I pulled at the wounds when getting up."
Wen Yu emerged from the kitchen, calling A Niu to help move a table into the courtyard. A faint smile seemed to linger at the corners of her lips as she addressed the group. "Let's continue processing the herbs later. Dinner will be ready soon."
After she went inside, Doctor Tao sighed. "You have a strong constitution, but you still need to take care of yourself. During the two days you were unconscious, your wife didn't show a single smile. If not for your own sake, at least don't make her worry. A Niu's father was conscripted over a decade ago and died abroad. His mother fell gravely ill upon hearing the news and eventually passed away, leaving us old folks to raise A Niu alone."
Though Xiao Li knew his relationship with Wen Yu was merely an act, hearing that she had been despondent during his unconsciousness made his heart feel as if tightly squeezed by something.
He felt like he was drinking poison to quench thirst.
Fully aware that sinking deeper was wrong, yet those faint traces of concern had become like spider silk entangling its prey.
Having been touched by just a single strand, he found himself unable to break free, completely disarmed.
After dinner, understanding they had no means to repay the Tao family for their rescue and shelter, Wen Yu attempted to take on kitchen cleanup duties, but Xiao Li took over instead.
When he finished and went outside, the medicinal herbs had been processed and those sun-drying in winnowing baskets had been brought indoors.
The old woman sat on a low stool mending clothes while Wen Yu learned to identify more herbs from Doctor Tao. A Niu sat on the doorstep, watching them like an eager puppy, his gaze shifting between the old woman, Wen Yu, and Doctor Tao.
When Xiao Li called to him from the kitchen doorway, A Niu instinctively tried to run inside.
But Xiao Li asked, "Do you want a wood carving pendant too?"
The foot A Niu had stepped inside withdrew. He looked at Xiao Li with a mixture of longing and fear, then nodded.
Xiao Li produced a hatchet and a piece of wood found in the kitchen. "What kind do you want?"
A Niu's dark, bright eyes fixed on the wood in Xiao Li's hands, all his thoughts written clearly on his face.
No longer afraid of Xiao Li, he shuffled over like a puppy. "A Niu... A Niu wants a big tiger!"
Xiao Li refused without mercy. "Can't do that. Pick something simpler."
A Niu scratched his head and thought for a moment, then gestured. "Then a little dog!"
The corner of Xiao Li's mouth seemed to lift slightly. "Wait here."
He picked up the knife and began carving the wood with intense focus in the fading twilight.
The next day, Wen Yu bid farewell to Doctor Tao and his wife, exchanging their last valuable possessions for medicines that might be useful on their journey.
Granny Tao had intended to simply gift them the supplies, but Wen Yu knew well that the elderly couple was aged and A Niu was simple-minded - this family already struggled to get by. Having not yet repaid their debt for the rescue and shelter, how could they accept more charity?A Niu's eyes reddened with distress upon learning they were about to leave. He handed back the small dog wood carving Xiao Li had carved for him, insisting, "A Niu doesn’t want it anymore. You... don’t go!"
Amid her own sorrow at parting, Wen Yu felt a flicker of surprise. She hadn’t known Xiao Li had carved a little dog for the boy—when had that happened?
Xiao Li pressed the wooden dog back into A Niu’s hand and patted his shoulder. "Silly boy, I once had a younger brother about your age, but he never cried. From now on, don’t be so quick to tears. Take good care of your grandparents."
Clutching the carving, A Niu wiped his eyes roughly with his sleeve. "A Niu won’t cry."
Xiao Li said, "If there’s a chance someday, I’ll come back to see you."
Then he turned to Doctor Tao and his wife. "Please, no need to see us off any further."
Wen Yu didn’t know how long it would be before she could return to the Central Plains after heading south to Nan Chen. Unlike Xiao Li, she didn’t dare promise to visit them again. She could only look at the elderly couple and say, "Take good care of yourselves."
Granny Tao dabbed at her eyes. "You two be careful on the road. Don’t run into any more bandits…"
Doctor Tao scolded, "You old woman, why bring up such ill omens?"
"You old fool, I’m just telling the children to be cautious…"
Listening to the old couple bicker, Wen Yu’s heart felt a little lighter. After bidding farewell once more to the Tao family, she and Xiao Li set off again on their journey south.
Early spring blossoms dotted the mountains and fields. As they walked, Wen Yu asked Xiao Li, "What made you suddenly decide to carve that wood carving for the boy?"
Xiao Li kept his gaze ahead. "Didn’t he always want your carp pendant?"
Wen Yu wondered how he had managed to coax that out of A Niu but decided to drop the subject.
Unfortunately, their luck seemed truly abysmal. Every time they sought refuge after misfortune, they claimed to have encountered bandits. Yet, a few days later, while crossing a mountain ridge, they actually ran into highwaymen.
Luckily, it was only three petty rogues posing no real threat.
Since the empire had fractured, local authorities and mountain warlords had raised their banners, leaving ordinary folk with no means to survive. Some joined the army, while others turned to banditry.
These three had originally scraped by under a local mountain chief. But when the regional authorities and the chief clashed for dominance, the chief was defeated. Seeing the situation turn sour, these lowly followers fled and, trading on their former reputation, took up highway robbery.
Though still injured, Xiao Li easily subdued them.
To save their lives, the three scrambled to offer up the few taels of silver they had, kowtowing and weeping. "Hero, we’ll never dare again! We were just trying to survive! We’ve never killed anyone—please spare us!"
Xiao Li handed the silver to Wen Yu, leaving the decision to her.
After hearing their story, Wen Yu’s mind began to churn. "Pei Song has already taken Mengzhou, and Xiangzhou is besieged. Everything south of the Wei River is practically in his grasp. His troops have been active around the major prefectures lately. Do you think the Prefect of Xinzhou, who styles himself the Prince of Anshan, has the nerve to confront Pei Song head-on?"
Still kowtowing on the ground, the bandits didn’t dare lift their heads. One sobbed, "How would we know what the Prince of Anshan thinks? But we’ve heard Pei Song was assassinated in Dingzhou. Xinzhou is quite far from the Wei River region where Pei Song stations his troops. Maybe the Prince of Anshan is gambling on that..."Upon hearing that Pei Song had been assassinated, Wen Yu's expression immediately changed.
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me with their overlord tickets or nourished me with nutrient solutions between 2024-01-09 18:02:12 and 2024-01-10 23:59:17~
Special thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Bing Tao, Ren Ta Ming Yue Xia Xi Lou, jenniferCA (1 each);
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solutions: Miss Friday (24 bottles); Ya Yaya (15 bottles); Xiao Xiao, Juaner (10 bottles each); Flying Catkins (9 bottles); Night (7 bottles); jjea (2 bottles); Future Bamboo Lover, Suisui Hates Chattering, Stella, Bean Flower, Hairpin Adorned with Begonia, Fallen Petals, Mint Aroma, Treat You to Lettuce, kfpy_L, Ji Ji (1 bottle each);
Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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