The Scene Behind the Screen (Part One)
“This is life-scattering poison. It’s one of Immortals Valley’s secret drugs. Master did not teach him how to make it. I don’t know how he managed to learn about it.”
Upon arriving at the camp, Yu Fu went straight to the barracks to see the poisoned soldiers. After meeting with the doctors, she immediately understood and quickly ascertained the poison.
An old doctor with a white beard asked: “What exactly is this life-scattering poison? We have been discussing this matter for many days, but we haven’t been able to figure anything out.”
Since it was a secret drug from Immortals Valley, it was naturally inconvenient for Yu Fu to tell them directly, “The most unique point of life-scattering poison is how quickly the poison spreads. It’s usually used when trapped in an ambush by the enemy, as it can be spread over a large area to escape. Since the wells have been poisoned, the land has surely also become poisoned.”
She turned and gave an order to a soldier, “Immediately report to head general. Have him forbid the soldiers from eating vegetables that were grown in the ground here, as well as any poultry.”
After saying this, she pulled a container out of her medicine kit and fed its contents to a soldier, “Doctors, you’ve worked hard. The method for producing the antidote to life-scattering poison is quite complicated, and I don’t have that much antidote on me. Give the soldiers that have been poisoned a bowl of four herb decoction to reduce the effects of the poison on their bodies and wait for me to finish preparing the antidote.”
“Yes, we’ll do that immediately!”
The doctors left the tent and saw Gu HuaiJiang leading Gu ShuBai and the others, along with the other generals, heading toward them. They immediately moved to the side.
With a whoosh, the curtain was pushed aside. Sitting next to a soldier’s bed was a young girl dressed in plain clothes. Her figure was extremely familiar.
Her hair was loose and puffy, her clothes were plain, and her loosely-fitting pants were covered in mud. A pair of sheepskin boots that did not match with her clothes were soaked by the rain.
Was this Yu Fu?
The Yu Fu that they knew had never looked so exhausted before.
The soldiers that took the antidote quickly opened their eyes. Blurrily seeing a beauty sitting next to the bed with a smile on her face, he thought that he had died.
Taking another look around, he saw the head general and young general standing at the entrance to the tent. It was only then that he realized he was not dead, “Head general, this subordinate can still fight and can still kill enemies…”
Yu Fu heard his words and turned around. Was that not Gu HuaiJiang and the others standing behind her?
A light flickered through her eyes. Her large and brilliant eyes were smiling. In the instant that she saw them, all of the exhaustion from the long journey dissipated.
The group across from her saw her smile, and all gloominess instantly vanished.
“Yu Fu…”
Gu ShuBai stepped forward and anxiously looked her over, quickly noticing her paper-white lips and the bruise on her right wrist.
The joy of the reunion was quickly replaced with concern, “What happened to you? Are you sick? Are you hurt?”
Yu Fu lowered her head out of embarrassment, “I’m fine. Treating the poisoned soldiers is the most pressing matter. Right, you guys weren’t poisoned, right?”
She looked at Gu HuaiJiang, Gu JiuGe, Gu HanMo, and Gu ShuBai.
Seeing that everyone’s complexion could be considered decent and seemed to be relatively alert, she felt at ease.
She stood up and handed the small container to Gu ShuBai, “This is all of the antidotes that I have. The rest needs to be made now. Give this antidote to the soldiers who are closest to death. I have already told the doctors to distribute four herb decoction to the soldiers to reduce the effects of the poison. This will buy me some time, and I will immediately go prepare some more antidote!”
Yu Fu wiped the rainwater from her brow and immediately had a soldier lead her to the tent where the military doctors were posted. Yao Lan carried her medicine kit and followed closely.
Master and servant were both young girls who had not yet become of age. To have traveled such a great distance in the wind and rain, who knew just how much they had suffered…
“Where are the people who came with the young miss?”
“This subordinate is here!”
The ten guards who had accompanied Yu Fu from the capital were covered in just as much dirt, their entire bodies covered in mud. Fortunately, none of them were injured.
Gu ShuBai asked: “The letter from the army was only sent out two days ago. How did young miss get here so quickly?”
“Young miss set out the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Based on what was said in the manor, there was a letter from the immortal practitioner of medicine, Tian Shu. Upon reading it, young miss immediately wanted to rush out.”
Gu JiuGe wore a highly critical expression, “Fourth brother and the others just watched her leave without trying to stop her?”
The soldier lifted his head with a troubled expression. He wanted to tell the truth but was afraid that the ones to be criticized would not be fourth young sir and the others.
“That… The young miss left before the sun came up. We set out before fourth young sir and the others got up.”
After a moment of silence, Gu HanMo lifted his sword and looked at him sideways, “It’s the fourth young sir who makes the final decision in the manor. Without an order from him, you dared to bring Yu Fu here. It seems that you want to be on the receiving end of the military baton.”
All ten dropped to their knees, with none daring to argue.
“Alright, if you have time to ask for them to be punished, it would be better to arrange a tent for Yu Fu to rest in.”
Gu HuaiJiang quietly walked out, and the ten were finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
Based on this, it seemed that he did not intend to punish them for acting without permission.
Yan Zheng heard the news and ran inside. Seeing the soldier sitting on the bed, he rejoiced, “Hey, you’ve gotten better? You’re already able to sit up?”
The soldier seated on the bed cheerfully nodded, “Young miss Yu Fu gave me the antidote. She personally gave it to me!”
She had personally given it to him. What was so great about that? He actually tried to show off in front of him.
Yan Zheng unhappily looked away and saw ten people kneeling on the ground, “What are you kneeling for? Quickly get up! Head general has already left. Is it possible that the young general will punish you? Young general is all too thankful… He…”
Gu ShuBai glanced at him with a smile, but his eyes were emotionless. Yan Zheng immediately shut his mouth.
The ten took this cue to say something that nobody liked, “We atoned for our misdeeds by doing something good. We even taught young miss Yu Fu a technique for if she fell off her horse! If not for this, young miss and Miss Yao Lan would have suffered greatly from their falls!”
“Technique for if they fell from a horse?”
Gu JiuGe gnashed his teeth and spoke one word at a time: “How did you teach this?”
…
Yu Fu’s arrival at the camp was like the sun rising and scattering the clouds away. The atmosphere in the camp immediately changed.
The poisoned soldiers started recovering one by one, and the sky that had been pouring for consecutive days finally showed signs of clearing up. The air was no longer filled with the pungent smell of mud.
After a busy day of work from morning until supper, she finally had a chance to take a break.
“Yao Lan, I want to take a bath before going to the main tent.”
Yao Lan understood, “Then I will go and keep watch outside the tent. Young miss, take your time with your bath.”
Yu Fu stood behind the screen and quickly removed her clothes. During the past few days, the most important skill that she had learned was to make good use of her time.
For the women from large families in the capital, two people were needed to help remove their clothes. By the time that the clothes were removed, the water would already be cold.
In the past, this could also be said of Yu Fu. Now, with nobody to help her, she was able to quickly remove her clothes and soak her entire body in hot water.
The sky was just starting to darken. The air after the rain was particularly calming. Yao Lan sat outside the tent, and she quickly started yawning and nodding off.
The soldiers standing guard saw her and covered their mouths to laugh, quietly saying: “Miss Yao Lan and young miss are the same age. Look at how young miss traveled all the way to the camp and even worked all day. It seemed as if she wasn’t tired at all, yet Miss Yao Lan is so tired that she’s falling asleep.”
The soldier to his side sighed, “Do you really think that young miss isn’t tired? She’s just forcing herself to endure it. She doesn’t want head general and the others to worry.”
“Hah, it’s all the fault of those unprincipled bastards from Western Kun, actually using poison!”
Just as they were discussing this matter, they saw Gu ShuBai walk over from the distance with a basket of food.
The two soldiers immediately called to him and pointed at Yao Lan, who was sleeping outside the tent, gesturing for him to not make too much noise.
Gu ShuBai nodded his head and did not make a sound, carrying the food basket into the tent.
Yao Lan rested her cheek on her hand with her mouth opened wide. She was leaning her entire body against a pillar.
They had been waiting in the main tent for Yu Fu to eat dinner, but no matter how long they waited, she never came. They figured that Yu Fu must have fallen asleep from being exhausted, thus Gu ShuBai decided to deliver the food to her tent.
Who knew that when he entered the tent, Yu Fu would not be inside.
He put the food basket on a table and looked around. Steam rose from behind a screen.
Why would Yu Fu have gone out while preparing medicine? She must have become muddled from being so busy.
Between master and servant, one was missing, and the other was sleeping outside the entrance. Gu ShuBai helplessly shook his head and walked toward the screen.
Fortunately, it was not as if he had not helped Yu Fu keep an eye on the firewood.
Steam continued to rise, and he started to feel that things were strange the closer he got. Just how much water had Yu Fu boiled for medicine?
The faint smell of grass filled the air. It was completely different from the smell of medicine that he was accustomed to, but it was a little familiar. It was like… the bath beans that Yu Fu loved to use.
At the same time, the sound of something landing in the water came from behind the screen. It sounded as if someone had scooped up some water from the tub and allowed it to fall back down.
Gu ShuBai immediately stopped in his tracks and froze.
A strange guess appeared in his mind, as he slowly turned his head and looked behind the screen.
The Scene Behind the Screen (Part One)
“This is life-scattering poison. It’s one of Immortals Valley’s secret drugs. Master did not teach him how to make it. I don’t know how he managed to learn about it.”
Upon arriving at the camp, Yu Fu went straight to the barracks to see the poisoned soldiers. After meeting with the doctors, she immediately understood and quickly ascertained the poison.
An old doctor with a white beard asked: “What exactly is this life-scattering poison? We have been discussing this matter for many days, but we haven’t been able to figure anything out.”
Since it was a secret drug from Immortals Valley, it was naturally inconvenient for Yu Fu to tell them directly, “The most unique point of life-scattering poison is how quickly the poison spreads. It’s usually used when trapped in an ambush by the enemy, as it can be spread over a large area to escape. Since the wells have been poisoned, the land has surely also become poisoned.”
She turned and gave an order to a soldier, “Immediately report to head general. Have him forbid the soldiers from eating vegetables that were grown in the ground here, as well as any poultry.”
After saying this, she pulled a container out of her medicine kit and fed its contents to a soldier, “Doctors, you’ve worked hard. The method for producing the antidote to life-scattering poison is quite complicated, and I don’t have that much antidote on me. Give the soldiers that have been poisoned a bowl of four herb decoction to reduce the effects of the poison on their bodies and wait for me to finish preparing the antidote.”
“Yes, we’ll do that immediately!”
The doctors left the tent and saw Gu HuaiJiang leading Gu ShuBai and the others, along with the other generals, heading toward them. They immediately moved to the side.
With a whoosh, the curtain was pushed aside. Sitting next to a soldier’s bed was a young girl dressed in plain clothes. Her figure was extremely familiar.
Her hair was loose and puffy, her clothes were plain, and her loosely-fitting pants were covered in mud. A pair of sheepskin boots that did not match with her clothes were soaked by the rain.
Was this Yu Fu?
The Yu Fu that they knew had never looked so exhausted before.
The soldiers that took the antidote quickly opened their eyes. Blurrily seeing a beauty sitting next to the bed with a smile on her face, he thought that he had died.
Taking another look around, he saw the head general and young general standing at the entrance to the tent. It was only then that he realized he was not dead, “Head general, this subordinate can still fight and can still kill enemies…”
Yu Fu heard his words and turned around. Was that not Gu HuaiJiang and the others standing behind her?
A light flickered through her eyes. Her large and brilliant eyes were smiling. In the instant that she saw them, all of the exhaustion from the long journey dissipated.
The group across from her saw her smile, and all gloominess instantly vanished.
“Yu Fu…”
Gu ShuBai stepped forward and anxiously looked her over, quickly noticing her paper-white lips and the bruise on her right wrist.
The joy of the reunion was quickly replaced with concern, “What happened to you? Are you sick? Are you hurt?”
Yu Fu lowered her head out of embarrassment, “I’m fine. Treating the poisoned soldiers is the most pressing matter. Right, you guys weren’t poisoned, right?”
She looked at Gu HuaiJiang, Gu JiuGe, Gu HanMo, and Gu ShuBai.
Seeing that everyone’s complexion could be considered decent and seemed to be relatively alert, she felt at ease.
She stood up and handed the small container to Gu ShuBai, “This is all of the antidotes that I have. The rest needs to be made now. Give this antidote to the soldiers who are closest to death. I have already told the doctors to distribute four herb decoction to the soldiers to reduce the effects of the poison. This will buy me some time, and I will immediately go prepare some more antidote!”
Yu Fu wiped the rainwater from her brow and immediately had a soldier lead her to the tent where the military doctors were posted. Yao Lan carried her medicine kit and followed closely.
Master and servant were both young girls who had not yet become of age. To have traveled such a great distance in the wind and rain, who knew just how much they had suffered…
“Where are the people who came with the young miss?”
“This subordinate is here!”
The ten guards who had accompanied Yu Fu from the capital were covered in just as much dirt, their entire bodies covered in mud. Fortunately, none of them were injured.
Gu ShuBai asked: “The letter from the army was only sent out two days ago. How did young miss get here so quickly?”
“Young miss set out the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Based on what was said in the manor, there was a letter from the immortal practitioner of medicine, Tian Shu. Upon reading it, young miss immediately wanted to rush out.”
Gu JiuGe wore a highly critical expression, “Fourth brother and the others just watched her leave without trying to stop her?”
The soldier lifted his head with a troubled expression. He wanted to tell the truth but was afraid that the ones to be criticized would not be fourth young sir and the others.
“That… The young miss left before the sun came up. We set out before fourth young sir and the others got up.”
After a moment of silence, Gu HanMo lifted his sword and looked at him sideways, “It’s the fourth young sir who makes the final decision in the manor. Without an order from him, you dared to bring Yu Fu here. It seems that you want to be on the receiving end of the military baton.”
All ten dropped to their knees, with none daring to argue.
“Alright, if you have time to ask for them to be punished, it would be better to arrange a tent for Yu Fu to rest in.”
Gu HuaiJiang quietly walked out, and the ten were finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
Based on this, it seemed that he did not intend to punish them for acting without permission.
Yan Zheng heard the news and ran inside. Seeing the soldier sitting on the bed, he rejoiced, “Hey, you’ve gotten better? You’re already able to sit up?”
The soldier seated on the bed cheerfully nodded, “Young miss Yu Fu gave me the antidote. She personally gave it to me!”
She had personally given it to him. What was so great about that? He actually tried to show off in front of him.
Yan Zheng unhappily looked away and saw ten people kneeling on the ground, “What are you kneeling for? Quickly get up! Head general has already left. Is it possible that the young general will punish you? Young general is all too thankful… He…”
Gu ShuBai glanced at him with a smile, but his eyes were emotionless. Yan Zheng immediately shut his mouth.
The ten took this cue to say something that nobody liked, “We atoned for our misdeeds by doing something good. We even taught young miss Yu Fu a technique for if she fell off her horse! If not for this, young miss and Miss Yao Lan would have suffered greatly from their falls!”
“Technique for if they fell from a horse?”
Gu JiuGe gnashed his teeth and spoke one word at a time: “How did you teach this?”
…
Yu Fu’s arrival at the camp was like the sun rising and scattering the clouds away. The atmosphere in the camp immediately changed.
The poisoned soldiers started recovering one by one, and the sky that had been pouring for consecutive days finally showed signs of clearing up. The air was no longer filled with the pungent smell of mud.
After a busy day of work from morning until supper, she finally had a chance to take a break.
“Yao Lan, I want to take a bath before going to the main tent.”
Yao Lan understood, “Then I will go and keep watch outside the tent. Young miss, take your time with your bath.”
Yu Fu stood behind the screen and quickly removed her clothes. During the past few days, the most important skill that she had learned was to make good use of her time.
For the women from large families in the capital, two people were needed to help remove their clothes. By the time that the clothes were removed, the water would already be cold.
In the past, this could also be said of Yu Fu. Now, with nobody to help her, she was able to quickly remove her clothes and soak her entire body in hot water.
The sky was just starting to darken. The air after the rain was particularly calming. Yao Lan sat outside the tent, and she quickly started yawning and nodding off.
The soldiers standing guard saw her and covered their mouths to laugh, quietly saying: “Miss Yao Lan and young miss are the same age. Look at how young miss traveled all the way to the camp and even worked all day. It seemed as if she wasn’t tired at all, yet Miss Yao Lan is so tired that she’s falling asleep.”
The soldier to his side sighed, “Do you really think that young miss isn’t tired? She’s just forcing herself to endure it. She doesn’t want head general and the others to worry.”
“Hah, it’s all the fault of those unprincipled bastards from Western Kun, actually using poison!”
Just as they were discussing this matter, they saw Gu ShuBai walk over from the distance with a basket of food.
The two soldiers immediately called to him and pointed at Yao Lan, who was sleeping outside the tent, gesturing for him to not make too much noise.
Gu ShuBai nodded his head and did not make a sound, carrying the food basket into the tent.
Yao Lan rested her cheek on her hand with her mouth opened wide. She was leaning her entire body against a pillar.
They had been waiting in the main tent for Yu Fu to eat dinner, but no matter how long they waited, she never came. They figured that Yu Fu must have fallen asleep from being exhausted, thus Gu ShuBai decided to deliver the food to her tent.
Who knew that when he entered the tent, Yu Fu would not be inside.
He put the food basket on a table and looked around. Steam rose from behind a screen.
Why would Yu Fu have gone out while preparing medicine? She must have become muddled from being so busy.
Between master and servant, one was missing, and the other was sleeping outside the entrance. Gu ShuBai helplessly shook his head and walked toward the screen.
Fortunately, it was not as if he had not helped Yu Fu keep an eye on the firewood.
Steam continued to rise, and he started to feel that things were strange the closer he got. Just how much water had Yu Fu boiled for medicine?
The faint smell of grass filled the air. It was completely different from the smell of medicine that he was accustomed to, but it was a little familiar. It was like… the bath beans that Yu Fu loved to use.
At the same time, the sound of something landing in the water came from behind the screen. It sounded as if someone had scooped up some water from the tub and allowed it to fall back down.
Gu ShuBai immediately stopped in his tracks and froze.
A strange guess appeared in his mind, as he slowly turned his head and looked behind the screen.
