“You just had bad luck with people.”
Her shoulder was in intense pain.
Xi Fuhong barely opened her eyes, momentarily disoriented.
She looked at the straw-covered roof above her, thinking she was still in the valley, but quickly realized she wasn’t.
Struggling to sit up, she lifted the thin blanket and found herself bare-chested, with bandages wrapped from her chest to her left shoulder.
She remembered being stabbed by the big man.
Thinking of this, Xi Fuhong hurriedly got out of bed to find her clothes, but only saw a set of clean, plain clothes on a chair.
She didn’t care whose clothes they were and put them on.
Not seeing Shi Cuiyan anywhere, Xi Fuhong was extremely anxious and even ran outside barefoot, squinting against the blinding sunlight.
“Miss, you’re awake.”
An old woman approached, holding a bowl of noodle soup, and said, “Have something to eat first?”
Xi Fuhong frowned and asked, “Excuse me… have you seen a woman who was traveling with me?”
The old woman thought for a moment and shook her head, “I found you on the roadside the day before yesterday, injured, so I brought you back. I haven’t seen any woman. Did you get separated from your family? How about this, tomorrow you can go to the city with me to report to the authorities, maybe you can find her.”
“But… I…”
Xi Fuhong remembered Shi Cuiyan telling her to head north, feeling hesitant.
She recalled the big man saying he would take Shi Cuiyan up the mountain before she passed out, but she didn’t know which mountain.
Even if she wanted to rescue her, she had no leads and couldn’t fight those men…
But Sister Cui’s father could definitely do it!
He’s powerful and can surely save Sister Cui!
The old woman saw her barefoot and led her back inside.
She placed the bowl of noodles on the table and had Xi Fuhong sit down, saying, “Miss, being anxious won’t help. It takes half a day to get to the city from here, and you’ve been asleep for days. You need to eat something, or your body won’t hold up.”
Hearing the old woman’s concern, Xi Fuhong realized her stomach was painfully hungry, so she didn’t refuse the old woman’s kindness and picked up the bowl to eat.
Perhaps because she was worried about Shi Cuiyan, the noodles felt chewy but tasteless as she swallowed them.
She drank the noodle soup haphazardly, her face full of worry.
“Thank you, granny, but I need to find someone quickly. Can you tell me where Li Jiang Mountain is?”
Shi Cuiyan had mentioned she was the daughter of the Shi Residence on Li Jiang Mountain, and she was sure to find Sister Cui’s father there.
“This… Miss, it’s not convenient for a young girl to travel so far. How about reporting to the authorities in the city first and then making plans?”
The old woman saw she was still young and didn’t know what had happened to her, lying injured on the roadside.
She initially thought she was a disciple of a Jianghu sect, but seeing her like this, she was clearly just an ordinary person.
“I caused Sister Cui to be captured, so I must notify her father quickly. If you know where Li Jiang Mountain is, please tell me.”
Xi Fuhong was determined, and the old woman was troubled.
“Li Jiang Mountain is to the east from here, but it’s a long journey. It might take you several days to get there.”
The old woman looked at her with concern, thinking this girl had no horse, no money, and her clothes were torn and dirty, which she had changed for her.
Now she said she wanted to go so far alone, and the old woman felt a pang of sympathy.
“Thank you, granny! I don’t have anything to repay you with, please accept my bow.”
“Absolutely not!”
The old woman quickly stepped forward to stop Xi Fuhong from kneeling, “I just helped you because I felt sorry for you. Since you’re alive, I haven’t wasted my efforts. But be careful on the road, it’s not safe for a young girl to travel alone.”
“I understand, thank you for the reminder, granny. I’ll take my leave now.”
After thanking the old woman, Xi Fuhong immediately put on her shoes and socks and left the wooden house.
She followed the old woman’s directions towards the eastern road.
As the sky darkened, she didn’t want to delay, even though her shoulder ached, she didn’t dare to rest.
Unfortunately, the weather was unkind, and it started pouring rain that night.
Xi Fuhong picked a taro leaf to shield herself, but the rain was too heavy, soaking her completely.
She shook her wet hair, took a few steps, and slipped in the mud, ending up in a sorry state.
“…Sister Cui is still waiting for me… I must hurry!”
she muttered to herself, getting up to continue her journey.
By the time she was exhausted and reached the next village, the sky was already lightening.
Xi Fuhong looked like a mess, with disheveled hair, a face marked with red and dried mud, clothes wrinkled and dirty, and bits of branches and leaves stuck to her, clearly having rolled in the mud.
But she didn’t care and quickly approached a tea stall.
“Go away! Get lost, you filthy beggar, don’t dirty my shop!”
The vendor, holding a fan, shooed her away.
Xi Fuhong quickly waved her hands, “I just want to ask, how do I get to Li Jiang Mountain?”
But the vendor didn’t answer and instead scooped a ladle of water from a jar and splashed it at Xi Fuhong.
Luckily, she dodged quickly and didn’t get soaked again.
Seeing the vendor’s unwillingness, she didn’t press further.
She turned towards a butcher’s shop, but as soon as she approached, a big man glared at her.
Seeing him wielding a cleaver, Xi Fuhong didn’t dare to go closer.
Everywhere she went in the small village, she was met with disdain.
Finally, too tired to move, she found an abandoned temple.
As soon as she sat down, she fell asleep.
The cool night breeze blew, and Xi Fuhong was sleeping soundly when she was awakened by the sound of crying outside.
Groggily, she looked out the door and saw an old man with white hair sitting on the stone steps, his back to her, saying something.
Xi Fuhong rubbed her eyes and was about to go back to sleep, but the continuous crying kept her uneasy, so she sat up.
“Juan Er… Father is sorry… If you go… Father will go with you…”
Xi Fuhong wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping, but the temple was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard, so the old man’s intermittent words reached her ears.
She noticed the old man seemed to be holding a child, and before she knew it, she was walking towards him.
“Um… are you okay?”
Xi Fuhong asked timidly.
The old man heard someone speaking and turned around slowly.
His face, marked by the passage of time, looked eerie in the moonlight, but it didn’t scare Xi Fuhong.
She only saw the old man’s expression filled with the weariness of life and a sense of despair.
In his arms was a little girl, about five or six years old, her face pale and her breathing weak.
Seeing the old man silent, Xi Fuhong realized her abruptness and quickly said, “I was just sleeping inside and heard your crying. I wondered if you were unwell or something, so I came to check.”
Hearing this, the old man cried even more sorrowfully, “If it were an illness, it should be me who is sick. How could it be my poor Juan Er?”
Xi Fuhong looked at the little girl in the old man’s arms, who indeed seemed very ill.
She thought about how she had lived in the valley for ten years without ever getting sick.
Seeing such a young child lying weakly in the old man’s arms, her heart ached, and she couldn’t bear to see the child suffer.
“Why not see a doctor?”
The books said that when you’re sick, you see a doctor, and then you’ll be fine.
At this, the old man gave a bitter smile, his expression full of pain, “I came to see a doctor, traveling a long way to Ling Xie Mountain, just to have that Divine Doctor treat my daughter. But the gatekeeper said the Divine Doctor doesn’t see male guests and drove us down the mountain. My daughter has a strange illness that no doctor can cure, and now the Divine Doctor refuses to help. Isn’t this sending Juan Er to her death?”
“Is the doctor really that eccentric?”
Xi Fuhong asked, puzzled.
“I heard that the Divine Doctor has miraculous skills and can cure any strange illness, so I sold my land to get some money to treat my daughter. But who knew the Divine Doctor would be so heartless, having the gatekeeper drive us away!”
