Early in the morning was the busiest time at the dock, there was a small boat full of fish and shrimps, there were buyers pulling up their carts. The fish owner opened the market, loud noises from buyers could be heard, and the fishy smell filled the entire air at the dock.
An oil-coated green bamboo umbrella was passing by, pulled as low as possible. The person under that umbrella passed several fishmongers, then fast climbed onto a swinging boat, entered the room, closed the umbrella and put it aside. At last he entered through the bamboo curtain.
Just as he entered the room, the boat started slowly sailing.
Shangguan Xi had been waiting for a while in the boat’s room; seeing the guest coming, she wasn’t surprised nor gave the slightest hint of friendliness.
“A few days ago, there was a ship that entered Yangzhou City.” she said with a soft tone, “It’s from the North. Although the people on the ship had not been identified, JinYiWei has been in and out of the place three or four times a day, with respectful attitude, maybe they are part of the government.”
“Respectful?” the person asked.
“After getting on the ship, they changed the boots and only then they entered the deck.”
“Could you recognize the JinYiWei going in and out?”
“They are from the Provincial Court of Li Daren, it was the commander of the city guard army, Wang Daren…” Shangguan Xi frowned, “There were representatives of the Provincial Court, Deputy, Jingli, six or seven others. These important guests had entered Yangzhou, didn’t anyone tell you?”
The long slim slender fingers carefully fixed the sleeves of the robe, then the guest said: “The good thing is there aren’t many people like this, I think I probably already know who he is… Have you found the fishmonger guy yet?”
“No, I’m afraid that person doesn’t sell fish at all.”
“Even if he’s not a fishmonger, as long as he is in the Yangzhou area, you must find him.”
Shangguan Xi’s face changed, she furrowed her eyebrows and said, “In this Yangzhou area, snakes and dragons are mixed. At Wu’An Gang, we only take care of the waterways, the things on land are beyond our abilities, it’s not good if we interfere too much. Do you think searching for information is an easy matter? After all, there was a problem with the gang a few days ago, so all the energy is drained.” The deceased brothers were buried, and the injured brothers were getting worse every day, doctors were becoming helpless, and she was overwhelmed with the work in the gang.
“A few days ago, I heard briefly you met with the Japanese people and that there were some people who died.”
“This is Wu’An Gang’s problem, there’s no need for you to worry.” Shangguan Xi said in a cold voice, “The thing I can do, I will do. When do you plan to release my people?”
The guest was not annoyed, “Is Shangguan Bangzhu in a hurry?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but as a trade, you should also show good intentions.” Shangguan Xi raised her tone and leaned forward a bit, “I was born among rude people, I’m not familiar with the tricks of educated people. If you want to play with me, I accept that, but I’m afraid my double sword doesn’t want to.”
“Those are some heavy words!” The guest smiled a little, “Alright, but I do like to work with people who are frank. Three days from now, I will arrange for their release, but there is a condition: you must bring your Young Master Bangzhu on that day.”
Shangguan Xi was alerted, “Why must it be him?”
“Shangguan Bangzhu, don’t get me wrong, I’m just helping someone to repay a favour. If Young Master Bangzhu doesn’t come, you won’t be able to take that person away with you.”
At that time, the boat shook a little, it turned out it had been docked on land.
The guest stopped talking, stood up and took the umbrella that was placed on the side, pushed aside the bamboo curtain and then opened his umbrella to finally get off the boat.
Hearing the sound of black leather shoes stepping on the pathway of stones, the young woman’s eyebrows furrowed and she let out a sigh.
The boat resumed its slow sailing.
***
Shen Mi’s clinic hall, in the back room.
“How is the Master’s condition?” Feeling worried about Yang ChengWan, Jinxia had come to the clinic early in the morning.
Probably because of the restless night, YangYue’s face was a little haggard. He took a bucket of water in the well, scooped it with both hands then watered his face, rubbing vigorously. Only after that he said, “He’s sleeping better now, don’t enter his room.”
Jinxia nodded her head: “His leg? How is it?”
“Swollen like an eye.”
“Oh? Is that a problem? What did the doctor say?”
“Doctor Shen said, swollen legs are normal and in two days the swelling will go flat. Hot bodies are also common and my father is old, so he must be taken good care of.” YangYue looked at her with the same worry, “Are you okay? Have you taken the pills? Any discomfort?”
“I’ve been fine since yesterday.”
Jinxia waved her hand boldly, meaning she had no problem. In her heart, she was considering if she should tell YangYue about yesterday and Lu Yi’s thoughts toward him. She was a little hesitant, and she didn’t want YangYue to feel burdened, so she said nothing at the end.
“You go get some sleep, I will do it for you.” she said.
YangYue shook his head. “I’m not tired, you better go back to the post station. There are enemies waiting in the dark, you must be careful at all times.”
“You too.”
Because she had other plans in mind, Jinxia did not think twice and left the clinic hall. At that time, the rain had stopped. She sat up straight while riding the horse and, from inside her pocket, she took out the Qian Hodan pill given to her by YangYue and examined it. As if she’d made a decision in her mind, she put the medicine bottle back into her sleeve and rode the horse at a fast pace toward the west door of the city.
Once again, when seeing the Taohualin Forest, the feeling of yesterday and today was far from different.
“Peaches are soft, blooming and shining bright. This girl is married, must make this family harmonious and happy*. I want to see who the man and woman were!” Yesterday, even though Jinxia was exposed to miasma, the scene was still vivid. From the beginning to the end, she did not believe that it was a hallucination, so she decided to risk her life and go back into the forest, hoping to understand the situation better.
*[Two lines from a poem, TN]
Before arriving at Taohualin Forest, Jinxia got off the horse, looking for a secluded place and with a lot of tall grass to tie her horse.
Taking out the Qian Hodan pill bottle given by YangYue from her sleeves, she took one pill out and put it in her mouth. In an instant, the pill slowly filled her mouth with the fragrance of water and lotus leaves, refreshing her body. She then took two more pills, put them in the palm of her hand and soak them with some dew. After that, she put the melted pills in a handkerchief, wrapping it around her nose and mouth. At last Jinxia stood up and took a deep breath; the tip of her nose started to smell the scent of the Qian Hodan pills.
“Six pills worth one taels of silver, don’t try to fool me with these fake pills!” She gritted her teeth and walked toward the woods.
The Peach Blossoms leaves contain rain drops, making it look more mesmerizing and fragile to attract people’s hearts.
Entering the edge of the Taohualin Forest, the wind blew, and little petals fell on Jinxia, one of which touched the back of her hand.
Not letting herself have a chance to turn back, she kept walking, stepping straight inside the forest. Suddenly, she felt behind her head a gust of wind passing by. She didn’t have enough time to turn her head but her right arm was gripped by someone and forcefully pulled. She was dragged out, at least three to four feet…
“Looking for death?!?” Someone shouted fiercely.
His voice was very familiar.
Her arm was stretched until it hurted, she thought it could almost be dislocated. She looked up at the person in front of her with pain, and could not help but being startled. “Lu Daren? Why are you here?”
Lu Yi let go of her arm and looked at her with a calm face, “This question, I should be asking you! Yesterday, you didn’t die, so you came here again today so you could die?”
“Of course not,” Jinxia pulled down her handkerchief that was covering her nose and mouth and she explained at once, “I have prepared everything before coming here. First I’ve taken the pills, then used the pills, mixed them with…”
Lu Yi impatiently cut off her words, “What pills?”
“Yes, here it is, the antidote… err… I’ve forgotten the name.” From the start, she had never asked what the medicine was, she only heard Da Yang say it could be used to get rid of the poison.
He took the bottle from her hand, poured out a pill on his palm, put it close to his nose and sniffed it. He frowned, “This thing can only refresh the body and mind, it cannot be used to get rid of poisons.”
“How could it be? This item was very expensive, six pills cost one taels of silver.” Jinxia chuckled, “If this only refreshes my body and mind, I can just wash my face with water.”
Jinxia put her handkerchief back on her nose and asked in an unclear voice: “Daren, what have you come here for?”
“Last night, you said that a woman died here, I came to investigate.”
“It’s lucky that Daren has met me, it’s dangerous. Daren, please wait outside, I will go inside for a moment.” As soon as she finished saying those words, she stepped inside again. At the same moment, she was once again pulled back by a great energy, and she stumbled.
Lu Yi frowned, looking at her in anger, “How many lives do you think you have?”
“I think…” Jinxia actually thought about it for a moment before answering him, “Judging from the previous events, about six or seven lives.”
Unable to continue talking to her anymore, Lu Yi sighed in silence and gave her a strict order, “You wait here, you can’t be carelessly moving. If there is no order from me, do not enter the forest.”
“Daren…”
Jinxia was still wanting to speak until she saw how he glared at her.
“Don’t let me touch your acupuncture points.” he also added.
Jinxia immediately fell silent and took two steps back. Seeing him walking straight into the forest with no other delay, she quickly reminded him: “Daren, this air contains miasma, if your throat feels dry, come out right away.”
Hearing her words, Lu Yi’s footsteps slowed down a little, but he did not answer, his head did not turn either, he continued to step into the forest.
In the silent forest, when the wind blew, petals fell.
The soil was moist, the flower petals were deformed, the smell of branches and dried leaves were rotted. Lu Yi’s sharp eyes examined with attention the surroundings from top to bottom, the stench floating in the air hit his nose and made him frown.
At the same time, on the other hand, Jinxia took off the handkerchief that was wrapped around her face and had been wet by her: it began to dry. Feeling regretful, she thought: if you knew that, you wouldn’t waste your money, but after giving a deep thought, she decided to let it dry and then store it for next time use so it wouldn’t be a waste.
While waving her handkerchief to dry, she walked back and forth in front of the forest, with her eyes often glancing in its direction, trying to look inside.
Lu Yi’s martial art skills were better than her, that’s what she knew, but his ability to last in the forest, facing the miasma, it couldn’t be predicted.
If after an hour, he still hadn’t come out, would have it been better if she went in to have a look?
Jinxia anxiously kept looking into the Taohualin Forest, was an hour too long or not too long? What if he didn’t see the corpse? What if something went wrong with Lu Yi? Lu Bing would definitely not let it go… If that were to happen, she was afraid the people in LiuShanmen could only accept the consequences…
Once again, the wind blew. She put the handkerchief back on her nose and mouth, stepping into the forest.
On the wet ground, the place where Lu Yi had stepped was clearly visible, hence she walked following his footsteps. To her surprise, she realized the path he took was exactly the same as the one she had taken the day before.
As she continued walking, she did her best to recall her memory, which was rather messy and confusing, but based on the experience of her profession, she could still clearly remember the place where the man and the woman were hugging each other.
In that place, there was no one.
She was stunned for a moment, her hands unconsciously touched the peach tree next to her. There were several marks on the tree, holes even, and the skin of the tree was split: this was because she was the one that made those signs.
At least it was clear, it wasn’t a dream. So, had she been hallucinating?
She slowly approached the place where the man and the woman were, then she crouched down. On the ground the most recent trail was the one of Lu Yi’s footprints, for sure he’d also come to that place. There were other incomplete footprints as well, half footprints of…
Soles of the feet? Were there people who came to the forest barefoot?
Jinxia frowned, “These footprints are small and light, they should be the ones of a woman, are these footprints made by the dead woman?”
There were other footprints, and there were two that were printed deep on the ground, like if a heavy object had been placed there. The other one was a shallow footprint of black shoes, already somewhat blurry, was that the footprints left by the man?
If she hadn’t been hallucinating, then where were the man and the woman?
Jinxia looked around, she couldn’t see the shadow of the man nor the one of the woman, but she vaguely saw Lu Yi among the peach blossom trees.
Early in the morning was the busiest time at the dock, there was a small boat full of fish and shrimps, there were buyers pulling up their carts. The fish owner opened the market, loud noises from buyers could be heard, and the fishy smell filled the entire air at the dock.
An oil-coated green bamboo umbrella was passing by, pulled as low as possible. The person under that umbrella passed several fishmongers, then fast climbed onto a swinging boat, entered the room, closed the umbrella and put it aside. At last he entered through the bamboo curtain.
Just as he entered the room, the boat started slowly sailing.
Shangguan Xi had been waiting for a while in the boat’s room; seeing the guest coming, she wasn’t surprised nor gave the slightest hint of friendliness.
“A few days ago, there was a ship that entered Yangzhou City.” she said with a soft tone, “It’s from the North. Although the people on the ship had not been identified, JinYiWei has been in and out of the place three or four times a day, with respectful attitude, maybe they are part of the government.”
“Respectful?” the person asked.
“After getting on the ship, they changed the boots and only then they entered the deck.”
“Could you recognize the JinYiWei going in and out?”
“They are from the Provincial Court of Li Daren, it was the commander of the city guard army, Wang Daren…” Shangguan Xi frowned, “There were representatives of the Provincial Court, Deputy, Jingli, six or seven others. These important guests had entered Yangzhou, didn’t anyone tell you?”
The long slim slender fingers carefully fixed the sleeves of the robe, then the guest said: “The good thing is there aren’t many people like this, I think I probably already know who he is… Have you found the fishmonger guy yet?”
“No, I’m afraid that person doesn’t sell fish at all.”
“Even if he’s not a fishmonger, as long as he is in the Yangzhou area, you must find him.”
Shangguan Xi’s face changed, she furrowed her eyebrows and said, “In this Yangzhou area, snakes and dragons are mixed. At Wu’An Gang, we only take care of the waterways, the things on land are beyond our abilities, it’s not good if we interfere too much. Do you think searching for information is an easy matter? After all, there was a problem with the gang a few days ago, so all the energy is drained.” The deceased brothers were buried, and the injured brothers were getting worse every day, doctors were becoming helpless, and she was overwhelmed with the work in the gang.
“A few days ago, I heard briefly you met with the Japanese people and that there were some people who died.”
“This is Wu’An Gang’s problem, there’s no need for you to worry.” Shangguan Xi said in a cold voice, “The thing I can do, I will do. When do you plan to release my people?”
The guest was not annoyed, “Is Shangguan Bangzhu in a hurry?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but as a trade, you should also show good intentions.” Shangguan Xi raised her tone and leaned forward a bit, “I was born among rude people, I’m not familiar with the tricks of educated people. If you want to play with me, I accept that, but I’m afraid my double sword doesn’t want to.”
“Those are some heavy words!” The guest smiled a little, “Alright, but I do like to work with people who are frank. Three days from now, I will arrange for their release, but there is a condition: you must bring your Young Master Bangzhu on that day.”
Shangguan Xi was alerted, “Why must it be him?”
“Shangguan Bangzhu, don’t get me wrong, I’m just helping someone to repay a favour. If Young Master Bangzhu doesn’t come, you won’t be able to take that person away with you.”
At that time, the boat shook a little, it turned out it had been docked on land.
The guest stopped talking, stood up and took the umbrella that was placed on the side, pushed aside the bamboo curtain and then opened his umbrella to finally get off the boat.
Hearing the sound of black leather shoes stepping on the pathway of stones, the young woman’s eyebrows furrowed and she let out a sigh.
The boat resumed its slow sailing.
***
Shen Mi’s clinic hall, in the back room.
“How is the Master’s condition?” Feeling worried about Yang ChengWan, Jinxia had come to the clinic early in the morning.
Probably because of the restless night, YangYue’s face was a little haggard. He took a bucket of water in the well, scooped it with both hands then watered his face, rubbing vigorously. Only after that he said, “He’s sleeping better now, don’t enter his room.”
Jinxia nodded her head: “His leg? How is it?”
“Swollen like an eye.”
“Oh? Is that a problem? What did the doctor say?”
“Doctor Shen said, swollen legs are normal and in two days the swelling will go flat. Hot bodies are also common and my father is old, so he must be taken good care of.” YangYue looked at her with the same worry, “Are you okay? Have you taken the pills? Any discomfort?”
“I’ve been fine since yesterday.”
Jinxia waved her hand boldly, meaning she had no problem. In her heart, she was considering if she should tell YangYue about yesterday and Lu Yi’s thoughts toward him. She was a little hesitant, and she didn’t want YangYue to feel burdened, so she said nothing at the end.
“You go get some sleep, I will do it for you.” she said.
YangYue shook his head. “I’m not tired, you better go back to the post station. There are enemies waiting in the dark, you must be careful at all times.”
“You too.”
Because she had other plans in mind, Jinxia did not think twice and left the clinic hall. At that time, the rain had stopped. She sat up straight while riding the horse and, from inside her pocket, she took out the Qian Hodan pill given to her by YangYue and examined it. As if she’d made a decision in her mind, she put the medicine bottle back into her sleeve and rode the horse at a fast pace toward the west door of the city.
Once again, when seeing the Taohualin Forest, the feeling of yesterday and today was far from different.
“Peaches are soft, blooming and shining bright. This girl is married, must make this family harmonious and happy*. I want to see who the man and woman were!” Yesterday, even though Jinxia was exposed to miasma, the scene was still vivid. From the beginning to the end, she did not believe that it was a hallucination, so she decided to risk her life and go back into the forest, hoping to understand the situation better.
*[Two lines from a poem, TN]
Before arriving at Taohualin Forest, Jinxia got off the horse, looking for a secluded place and with a lot of tall grass to tie her horse.
Taking out the Qian Hodan pill bottle given by YangYue from her sleeves, she took one pill out and put it in her mouth. In an instant, the pill slowly filled her mouth with the fragrance of water and lotus leaves, refreshing her body. She then took two more pills, put them in the palm of her hand and soak them with some dew. After that, she put the melted pills in a handkerchief, wrapping it around her nose and mouth. At last Jinxia stood up and took a deep breath; the tip of her nose started to smell the scent of the Qian Hodan pills.
“Six pills worth one taels of silver, don’t try to fool me with these fake pills!” She gritted her teeth and walked toward the woods.
The Peach Blossoms leaves contain rain drops, making it look more mesmerizing and fragile to attract people’s hearts.
Entering the edge of the Taohualin Forest, the wind blew, and little petals fell on Jinxia, one of which touched the back of her hand.
Not letting herself have a chance to turn back, she kept walking, stepping straight inside the forest. Suddenly, she felt behind her head a gust of wind passing by. She didn’t have enough time to turn her head but her right arm was gripped by someone and forcefully pulled. She was dragged out, at least three to four feet…
“Looking for death?!?” Someone shouted fiercely.
His voice was very familiar.
Her arm was stretched until it hurted, she thought it could almost be dislocated. She looked up at the person in front of her with pain, and could not help but being startled. “Lu Daren? Why are you here?”
Lu Yi let go of her arm and looked at her with a calm face, “This question, I should be asking you! Yesterday, you didn’t die, so you came here again today so you could die?”
“Of course not,” Jinxia pulled down her handkerchief that was covering her nose and mouth and she explained at once, “I have prepared everything before coming here. First I’ve taken the pills, then used the pills, mixed them with…”
Lu Yi impatiently cut off her words, “What pills?”
“Yes, here it is, the antidote… err… I’ve forgotten the name.” From the start, she had never asked what the medicine was, she only heard Da Yang say it could be used to get rid of the poison.
He took the bottle from her hand, poured out a pill on his palm, put it close to his nose and sniffed it. He frowned, “This thing can only refresh the body and mind, it cannot be used to get rid of poisons.”
“How could it be? This item was very expensive, six pills cost one taels of silver.” Jinxia chuckled, “If this only refreshes my body and mind, I can just wash my face with water.”
Jinxia put her handkerchief back on her nose and asked in an unclear voice: “Daren, what have you come here for?”
“Last night, you said that a woman died here, I came to investigate.”
“It’s lucky that Daren has met me, it’s dangerous. Daren, please wait outside, I will go inside for a moment.” As soon as she finished saying those words, she stepped inside again. At the same moment, she was once again pulled back by a great energy, and she stumbled.
Lu Yi frowned, looking at her in anger, “How many lives do you think you have?”
“I think…” Jinxia actually thought about it for a moment before answering him, “Judging from the previous events, about six or seven lives.”
Unable to continue talking to her anymore, Lu Yi sighed in silence and gave her a strict order, “You wait here, you can’t be carelessly moving. If there is no order from me, do not enter the forest.”
“Daren…”
Jinxia was still wanting to speak until she saw how he glared at her.
“Don’t let me touch your acupuncture points.” he also added.
Jinxia immediately fell silent and took two steps back. Seeing him walking straight into the forest with no other delay, she quickly reminded him: “Daren, this air contains miasma, if your throat feels dry, come out right away.”
Hearing her words, Lu Yi’s footsteps slowed down a little, but he did not answer, his head did not turn either, he continued to step into the forest.
In the silent forest, when the wind blew, petals fell.
The soil was moist, the flower petals were deformed, the smell of branches and dried leaves were rotted. Lu Yi’s sharp eyes examined with attention the surroundings from top to bottom, the stench floating in the air hit his nose and made him frown.
At the same time, on the other hand, Jinxia took off the handkerchief that was wrapped around her face and had been wet by her: it began to dry. Feeling regretful, she thought: if you knew that, you wouldn’t waste your money, but after giving a deep thought, she decided to let it dry and then store it for next time use so it wouldn’t be a waste.
While waving her handkerchief to dry, she walked back and forth in front of the forest, with her eyes often glancing in its direction, trying to look inside.
Lu Yi’s martial art skills were better than her, that’s what she knew, but his ability to last in the forest, facing the miasma, it couldn’t be predicted.
If after an hour, he still hadn’t come out, would have it been better if she went in to have a look?
Jinxia anxiously kept looking into the Taohualin Forest, was an hour too long or not too long? What if he didn’t see the corpse? What if something went wrong with Lu Yi? Lu Bing would definitely not let it go… If that were to happen, she was afraid the people in LiuShanmen could only accept the consequences…
Once again, the wind blew. She put the handkerchief back on her nose and mouth, stepping into the forest.
On the wet ground, the place where Lu Yi had stepped was clearly visible, hence she walked following his footsteps. To her surprise, she realized the path he took was exactly the same as the one she had taken the day before.
As she continued walking, she did her best to recall her memory, which was rather messy and confusing, but based on the experience of her profession, she could still clearly remember the place where the man and the woman were hugging each other.
In that place, there was no one.
She was stunned for a moment, her hands unconsciously touched the peach tree next to her. There were several marks on the tree, holes even, and the skin of the tree was split: this was because she was the one that made those signs.
At least it was clear, it wasn’t a dream. So, had she been hallucinating?
She slowly approached the place where the man and the woman were, then she crouched down. On the ground the most recent trail was the one of Lu Yi’s footprints, for sure he’d also come to that place. There were other incomplete footprints as well, half footprints of…
Soles of the feet? Were there people who came to the forest barefoot?
Jinxia frowned, “These footprints are small and light, they should be the ones of a woman, are these footprints made by the dead woman?”
There were other footprints, and there were two that were printed deep on the ground, like if a heavy object had been placed there. The other one was a shallow footprint of black shoes, already somewhat blurry, was that the footprints left by the man?
If she hadn’t been hallucinating, then where were the man and the woman?
Jinxia looked around, she couldn’t see the shadow of the man nor the one of the woman, but she vaguely saw Lu Yi among the peach blossom trees.
