Chapter 19

Shrinking and cowering like that—how petty!

Fu Tingjun murmured in acknowledgment and silently untied her headscarf.

The fields were dried to a layer of yellow earth, and the ditches on either side held no water. Fu Tingjun wasn't too worried, though, and followed A Sen into the village with a smile, responding to his chatter along the way.

A Sen broke off a branch from a flowering tree and swept the dust from the side room.

She felt a bit disheartened.

It wasn't as if she was rushing back to her uncle's house for the Mid-Autumn Festival!

Zhao Jiuye sighed as he watched, then said, "Let me take a look around!" and circled through the room.

A Sen reached out and took the staff that was taller than him without a moment's hesitation, swinging it down in one fluid motion. The dog had just leaped up but fell back down, letting out a short, shrill whimper before lying motionless on the ground.

Zhao Jiuye had already pulled a staff from the pile of bundles and tossed it to A Sen: "Just beat them to death outright—don't bother with these dogs."

Fu Tingjun surveyed her surroundings.

Fu Tingjun didn't glance to the side either, keeping her head down as she followed inside.

A Sen ran over to crank the pulley on the well.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but sit up straight, craning her neck to look into the distance.

Fu Tingjun sat upright and proper, not even glancing at the egg.

Zhao Jiuye stopped, grabbed the sweat cloth draped over the handle to wipe his brow, and instructed A Sen: "Go take a look!"

A Sen was on his hands and knees, searching all over the room.

He had already arranged to meet his companions in Xi'an Prefecture on the fifteenth of the eighth month, so he certainly wouldn't agree to stay in Weinan for the festival. And he probably wouldn't want her to know about it either, so she had no choice but to pretend she didn't know and offer to make some mooncakes as a token of thanks.

They couldn't just stay silent with each other like this, could they?

Fu Tingjun thanked him, took the waterskin, and drank several gulps.

Zhao Jiuye was, after all, her lifesaver.

Fu Tingjun was startled and instinctively moved to hide behind Zhao Jiuye.

Silence fell between them again.

Zhao Jiuye made a vague sound of acknowledgment and said no more, his gaze drifting toward the distant village.

Fu Tingjun let out an "Oh" and, seeing that the ridge between the fields was only wide enough for one person, got off the cart.

Still, since he'd brought up the Mid-Autumn Festival, she had to be polite about it: "I don't know what kind of mooncake filling Ninth Master prefers. When the time comes, I'll have my aunt make extra, and Ninth Master and A Sen can have a taste too."

Zhao Jiuye turned to look at her: "You don't need to stand on ceremony with me. I'll deliver you to your uncle's house and then be on my way!"

A Sen had already tidied up the side room, pushed the cart inside, and then pulled out jars and pots from it: "Master, I'll go brew the young lady's medicine!"

Fu Tingjun followed his gaze and saw a three-room house with whitewashed walls and gray tiles—imposing and dignified in appearance.

She simply turned her head away, drinking water as she waited for news from A Sen.

The side room had only a dirt kang, covered in a thick layer of dust.

At the back was a courtyard. In the corner, some flowering tree had withered and died, and beneath it was a well.

The Fu family had always prided itself on "an upright household and strict propriety for the women," so the fewer people who knew about her faked death, the better. Otherwise, why would she have so tactfully asked how he planned to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival? Now that he'd plainly told her he wanted nothing to do with her, what did she have to worry about?

Zhao Jiuye seemed to think he was being foolish, not even glancing at him as he set the cart aside and pushed open the door to the adjacent side room.

She looked at him with confusion.

A Sen chased after it, raising the staff and bringing it down. The dog let out a mournful whimper.

Zhao Jiuye beckoned Fu Tingjun to the courtyard: "Take off your headscarf and get some air!"

Fu Tingjun let out a startled cry.

He could take such thorough care of her, yet he could also beat those dogs to death without mercy... And then she thought of their first meeting... He could choke her half to death, but he could also risk his life to save her and escort her to find her family... What kind of man was he, really?

She closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.

She suddenly felt that this child, with his clean features and ever-cheerful demeanor, was so unfamiliar.

"About ten more days!" Zhao Jiuye gazed at the village, his voice flat and somewhat distracted. "I'll get you there before the Mid-Autumn Festival."

She breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and handed the waterskin back to Zhao Jiuye. She was about to say "You should have some too," when she suddenly realized the impropriety between men and women, swallowed the words, and awkwardly tried to pull her hand back. Just then, Zhao Jiuye's gaze happened to meet hers, and they caught each other's eyes.

"Alright!" A Sen responded cheerfully and dashed off toward the village in a flash.

"Master," A Sen said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve, "there's no one alive in the village."

This man—he couldn't even tell good words from bad. He was simply... simply a blockhead!

Zhao Jiuye frowned: "What are you doing?"

Fu Tingjun covered her nose.

"You'll sleep here tonight!" Zhao Jiuye said from the side room.

Zhao Jiuye didn't pause, heading straight toward the back.

The flint crackled and sparked as A Sen carefully carried in the medicine: "Young lady, please drink it quickly!" Then he muttered, "Good thing those trees were all dead, or we wouldn't even have firewood." Spotting the egg on the kang, his eyes lit up. "Young lady, why haven't you eaten it?" He swallowed hard.

He was only eight or nine years old, yet he had such skill... and his movements were clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation, carrying a faint trace of cold-blooded ruthlessness... How could this be a child still in his boyhood?

"You!" Fu Tingjun trembled with anger.

But Fu Tingjun's heart turned cold, no longer feeling that joyful resonance.

Under the lamplight, that smile was shy and bashful.

"Come back!" Zhao Jiuye's voice rang out, cold and stern.

Fu Tingjun hurried forward and entered the village.

Fu Tingjun looked toward Zhao Jiuye.

A Sen quickly raised the fire starter and ran over.

Fu Tingjun pressed her lips together.

Only a few stars twinkled in the gray-blue sky.

A Sen's body came to an abrupt halt, sidestepping as the dog pounced into empty air.

Fu Tingjun's heart leaped with joy.

All around was silent and still, without a single sound—Fu Tingjun could even hear her own faint breathing.

Fu Tingjun's face flushed bright red.

Suddenly, several dogs burst out, baring their teeth and growling low as they surrounded them.

He was quite puzzled.

She had felt tired after sitting in the carriage for these few hours, so how much more so the one pushing it? Surely he had long wished for a rest!

Looking at the egg in his palm, Fu Tingjun's feelings were complicated.

Zhao Jiuye took a water skin from the side and handed it to Fu Tingjun: "Have a drink of water!"

Fortunately, there was this misunderstanding—otherwise, she really wouldn't have known what to say!

The village had a dozen or so households, with houses lined up in a row. At the head of the village were several thatched cottages, low and narrow, quite dilapidated—perhaps uninhabited, as some houses had already collapsed. Because it was too dark, she couldn't make out the furnishings inside, but a nauseating stench drifted out.

A Sen turned back from time to time, saying, "Miss, be careful, there's a ditch here," and "Miss, mind yourself, it's a bit narrow here," afraid she might fall.

In the distance, a small bouncing figure appeared on the ridge between the fields.

Behind her came Zhao Jiuye's urging: "Hurry!"

He merely twitched the corner of his mouth: "Eat up! In a few days, you won't have any even if you want it."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but smile and followed A Sen onto the ridge.

"Ninth Master, how much longer until we reach Weinan?"

Zhao Jiuye said lightly, "Let's go," then pushed the cart into the house.

Fu Tingjun felt a weight lift from her heart upon hearing this.

Fu Tingjun walked inside.

But this wasn't some trivial matter—even if she wanted to be magnanimous, she simply couldn't!

"This house is indeed quite tidy!" she said with a smile.

The dogs whimpered and scattered in all directions.

A Sen had come over at some point, pulling out a fire starter from his bosom, and the room lit up with an orange glow.

So it turned out he had misunderstood her as feeling hot...

The shrine in the center of the main hall was empty, and apart from the large incense table, the room had no furnishings at all. It was clear the owner had left the house in a leisurely manner.

A Sen happily responded "Yes," and that spirited energy of his was so infectious that listening to him lifted one's spirits.

Though the sun had already set in the west, the scorching heat of the day still lingered on the ground, steaming up and drenching people in sweat—and she was wrapped up tightly, her throat already parched. It was just that seeing Zhao Jiuye and A Sen both pressing on with their heads down, she didn't feel comfortable speaking up.

Zhao Jiuye grunted in acknowledgment and sat on the edge of the kang: "Further ahead is Huayin City. The authorities have sent yamen runners to set up defenses at the city gate, and refugees are probably gathered outside the city walls. We'll take a detour. If we can find a village like this, I can still brew you some medicine; if not, we'll have to go without." With that, he fished an egg out of the cart: "Have something to tide you over first."

Zhao Jiuye silently snatched the fire starter from A Sen's hand and wedged it into the lattice of the window frame.

Fu Tingjun looked at A Sen in surprise.

"Rest assured, Ninth Master," she said submissively, "I understand!"

In the darkness, he stood silent as a mountain.

She had kept a little white Pekingese dog, with big glossy black eyes as warm and smooth as jade. Whenever she was embroidering or writing, it would crouch at her feet, and the moment she looked up, it would bark ingratiatingly at her, run over to lick her shoes—so adorable...

Zhao Jiuye could sense the change in Fu Tingjun's mood.

Zhao Jiuye clearly hadn't given it much thought, saying: "The world is in chaos right now. Don't think that just because there's no one around, we're safe—if we so much as pull out a steamed bun, we might draw a crowd fighting over it. Better to be careful. Bear with it for now; once we find a place to rest, you can take off your headscarf and fan yourself."

Zhao Jiuye pushed the wheelbarrow from behind.

"I don't want to eat!" Seeing his nonchalant, composed demeanor, Fu Tingjun felt a surge of irritation for some reason, and she sat down at the foot of the kang: "I'm not hungry yet!"

Her parched throat, now moistened by the water, made her feel considerably more spirited.

The figure drew closer and closer—it was A Sen, drenched in sweat.

Zhao Jiuye raised an eyebrow and set the egg down on the kang.

Dusk gathered on all sides, the sky gradually darkening, and in the distance, the outline of a village came into view.

After the flapping sounds mingled with a few mournful cries, silence fell once more.

A Sen rubbed his head and smiled.

Zhao Jiuye nodded and said to Fu Tingjun, "We'll rest in the village tonight."

Although there was a slight breeze, she didn't feel particularly cool because of it.

Zhao Jiuye didn't stop him and instructed A Sen, "Lead the way ahead!"

"No water!" She was very disappointed.

"Let me see if I can find an oil lamp," he said, looking at Fu Tingjun with a grin, "so that the young lady can see clearly!"

A Sen pointed ahead and said, "Miss, we'll rest there tonight—that's the neatest house in the village."

Fu Tingjun felt a dull ache in her heart.

Fu Tingjun thought, racking her brains to find a topic of conversation.

A Sen, however, was very excited: "Master, it's a dog!" As he spoke, his figure lunged toward one of the dogs like lightning, and the dog, showing no weakness, leaped up to charge at A Sen in return.