The Journey Home (Part 5)

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you all, let's play another day!" Da Shan nestled in A Guo's arms, nursing. I hooked her little hand and smiled as I said goodbye to this group of vibrant women.

The shaman elder's words were true; after a night of north winds, sleet suddenly fell at dawn.

The flying squirrels howled in hunger, the wild cranes cried mournfully, and an even greater snowstorm was rushing toward this land.

Even faster than the bad weather came the good news that the Shimen Fan troops had retreated.

As dawn approached, villagers carried torches into the village to deliver the news, their torches illuminating the distant mountains and nearby waters.

The long, resonant hum of the bronze drum came from the deep valley, and an old man began to hum a long Yeran song. The echoing sounds followed the firelight, driving away the last trace of chill in the waning night.

Yesterday, Wang Yunhui caught a chill on the mountaintop and developed a headache. Later that evening, Liu Yu came over to take her pulse and give her acupuncture, repeatedly instructing her to rest quietly indoors for the next few days, avoid overexertion, and refrain from seeing outsiders.

The jubilant people sang and danced until dawn.

Huai Xu had long since gone off to play somewhere, and Wang Yunhui was also "itching to go," but I kept her indoors, where she could only draw her winter-warming picture stroke by stroke.

I casually ground the ink: "Dr. Liu said that we must keep warm and not catch a cold again."

Wang Yunhui was still unwilling to give up: "Can't I even go out and take a look?"

I lifted my eyelids slightly: "You can neither sing nor dance, what's so interesting about you?"

Wang Yunhui put down her brush: "Qingcheng, don't underestimate me. Although I, Wang Yunhui, am older, I'm not necessarily slower at learning than you young people."

"The music for the dancing is mainly in the Gong mode; the grand songs are mostly in the Yu mode. These songs and dances have been passed down orally from generation to generation by the Liao people, but there are very few written records."

"I do plan to write them all down, compile them into a collection, and leave it to future generations!"

I jumped up excitedly: "Your idea is wonderful! But there's plenty of time. During the holidays, I'll take you to explore every mountain and stream in Nanguang!"

Wang Yunhui clapped her hands and laughed: "Not only Nanguang, but also Mahu and Luzhou, we will travel to all the beautiful mountains and rivers of Southwest China!"

Just as the discussion was in full swing, Zhang, the steward, came looking for us, saying that soldiers from the Changning Army had brought a wounded man and specifically requested that he be handed over to me.

I quickly followed him outside the courtyard, where I saw four young soldiers carrying a basket. Inside the basket lay a person, covered with a felt cloak.

A group of toddlers surrounded them, some clinging to their legs, others pulling on their arms; a little girl held up a piece of candy, offering it to them, but seeing that no one would take it, she was on the verge of tears.

Zhang, the steward, herded the children aside like chickens, then called over several villagers to take the bags from the soldiers.

I took a closer look, and his face was completely unfamiliar. Judging from the earrings he was wearing, he seemed to be a Liao person from the nearby creek.

I said to Steward Zhang, "Let's take it to Doctor Liu first." Then I bowed to the soldiers and said, "Thank you, thank you! It's so cold, you've all worked hard."

"You're too kind, Lady Qing." A soldier returned the salute, "We are under the command of General Zhou Hong. This morning, while we were clearing the battlefield with the general, we found this person alive in a mountain stream near Shunxi."

"Because the rebel army there had already withdrawn, and he himself was in a state of confusion, his identity could not be determined. General Zhou then ordered us to send him to Yanziping and ask Qingniangzi to help him find his family."

I nodded and said, "But please rest assured, General Zhou, I will take care of this matter."

"Thank you for your trouble, Madam Qing." After saying this, the four of them prepared to leave.

"Wait!" I called out to them. "You four haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Why don't you stay and have a bowl of hot soup before you go?"

"No need—"

"Come on—" The villagers rushed over and dragged the four of them toward the kitchen; the children clapped their hands and followed behind the adults, jumping and shouting.

Such a steaming hot scene is truly delightful.

I walked back with a smile to see how things were going with Liu Yu. After waiting outside the clinic for a while, a shaman came out and called to me, "Qing Niangzi, Doctor Liu invites you in."

I thanked her and went inside. Liu Yu was packing up her needle box. When she saw me, she pointed to the man on the bed and said, "His life is not in danger, but he is seriously injured. I just gave him acupuncture. He is temporarily awake. Ask him anything, or he will faint again in a while."

I quickly stepped forward and asked in Liao dialect, "What's your name? Which village are you from?"

The man's lips moved, and he uttered indistinct syllables: "..."

"No rush, tell me slowly."

He tried to sob a few more times, but it became even harder to hear him.

Liu Yu frowned: "His sore throat is quite serious. I'll have to ask him another day. Let him rest first."

I leaned down and said, "The Shimen Fan have been defeated, and we are all safe. This is Yanziping. Just focus on recovering from your injuries. Once you're healed, we'll take you home."

I don't know which word of mine touched him. The man's expression suddenly became agitated, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Between the opening and closing of his lips, I seemed to read a familiar name.

My heart leaped into my throat, and I asked breathlessly, "You mean—Nanu?"

"Ugh!" The man's face turned purple, and the veins in his neck bulged as he let out a sharp sob.

Seeing this, Liu Yu quickly took out silver needles and inserted them into several acupoints on the man's neck and chest. After twisting them for a moment, accompanied by a series of bubbling sounds, the man finally recovered.

I also breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Yu waved his hand to shoo her away: "Qing Niangzi, come back another day."

I held up one finger: "Let me ask him one more question, just one!"

Liu Yu said with a stern face, "You saw how dangerous the situation was just now; if it happened again, the person would probably be crippled!"

I looked at the man, and he stared straight at me, his eyes full of expectation. I guessed that his gaze had already confirmed most of my suspicions, and thinking of my mother on the mountain—who was still unable to get over her pain—I desperately wanted to find out the answer immediately.

"I promise I'll be extremely careful during this interrogation—very careful indeed!" I glanced back at Liu Yu. "Dr. Liu, could you please do me a favor?"

"No, no!" Liu Yu refused outright.

I clasped my hands in a fist salute to him and said, "For the sake of Qingcheng's hand-planting of 'Bone Red' for you."

Liu Yu's expression cracked slightly: "Fine—so be it..."

I crouched down, placed my hand on the bed, looked the man straight in the eye, and said gently, "I'm about to ask you some questions. You don't need to answer them verbally. If you do, just blink."

"No matter what I ask, you must remember—don't get as excited as you were just now. If you can do that, wink at me now."

The man's eyes held a hint of restraint as he winked at me.

I asked slowly, "Are you—Zhebi Azhuo from Niumendong?"

The man's pupils contracted sharply, and he blinked hard, a large tear silently sliding down his cheek.

How fortunate to have it back after being lost. This twist of fate has finally ended with the family reunited.

My nose felt a little sore, and I suppressed my excitement and said, "A-Zhuo, don't get excited. I have some good news to tell you. Just listen, you don't need to blink. Just yesterday, you became a father."

"Nanu gave birth to a chubby little girl named 'Dashan'. The in-laws have been found; they're all old acquaintances—the family of the triplets from Bajiaodong. You can rest assured and get some rest; you'll see them soon."

Ah Zhuo's tears flowed like a spring, his lips trembled slightly, and I could understand—he was saying the word "thank you".

I smiled, took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his eye, and pointed to his left ear: "I need to borrow this for a moment." As I spoke, I took off the tassel from the earring.

After a hasty farewell to Liu Yu, I clutched the tassel and headed towards the back of the mountain. Along the way, I encountered several young couples carrying bundles and babies on their backs as they came down the mountain.

Everyone greeted me cheerfully, "Qing Niangzi, let's go home!"

I smiled and waved to them: "Go back now! Be careful on the road."

"Young Lady Qing, next month during the New Year festival, you and the people from your inn and Yanziping must come to visit our village!"

"Lady Qing, and our Dong!"

"Go, all of you, go!"

The house in the mountains was much quieter now. I found Aunt Xu and told her that Nanu's man was still alive. She didn't believe me at first, grabbed me, and loudly demanded that I explain. So I told her in detail how the Changning army had sent him back that morning.

After a moment of stunned silence, Xu Sao clasped her hands together, first calling out "Bodhisattva," then "Buddha," and while murmuring the name of the mountain god, she could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

I gave her a push: "Stop howling, take me to find Nanu!"

Aunt Xu slapped my hand away: "It's in the room on the west side. Go talk to her yourself. I want to be alone and have a good cry for a while longer!"

I understand—she was still shaken by what happened yesterday. If I hadn't stopped Nanu then, given her kindness and strong will, she probably would never have been able to overcome that hurdle in her heart for the rest of her life.

Fortunately, it's all over now.

"Try to stop crying! Don't let your eyes get swollen. If Brother Xu Shan sees this, he'll be heartbroken!"

"That rough, uncouth man has no idea how to care for people. He hasn't come up the mountain to see me in all these days!"

"I saw him repairing the roof in the yard this morning." Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the window and bumped into Xu Shan, who had finished tidying up, walking towards me. I clapped my hands and laughed, "Look, look, here he comes!"

Aunt Xu rolled up her sleeves and hastily wiped her face: "Where is she? Where is she? Don't make fun of your sister-in-law."

I opened the door, stepped out, and said, suppressing a laugh, "Brother Xu, you've finally come! My sister-in-law said you haven't come to see her for a long time, and she was so angry that she sat here crying. I couldn't comfort her."

Xu Shan's expression tightened, and he bowed as he entered, saying, "My fault, my fault!"

"If she's not coming, she's just busy. What's there to be upset about? Who cries about this for no reason? She's just teasing us! Can't you tell? Are you stupid... Hey, why are you hugging me? The door's still open!"

Xu Sao's voice was carried away by the cold wind and gradually became inaudible. I went to the west room and looked inside through the half-open window. There was a charcoal fire burning in the room, and Nanu was lying flat on the bed with two Liao women by her side.

"Auntie, you haven't slept all night, go and rest. I'm fine..." Nanu's face was still pale, but her voice was no longer as weak as it had been yesterday.