Village Secrets
Night fell quietly, but none of them dared to sleep after a long day. The food that the village chief had sent was still perfectly intact on the rickety wooden table.
Only one candle was left in the room, its light faint. Sui Zhixu placed it on the bed, barely illuminating the small square table. The group sat around the candle, looking at each other.
Fan Lingzhang: "Shall we take action tonight?"
The dim candlelight shone on Fan Lingzhang's face, highlighting his high nose bridge and full skull, revealing a hazy beauty.
Sui Zhixu lowered her eyes and stared at the flickering candlelight, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the table.
"Wait a little longer." Her voice was soft, yet like a heavy stone falling into still water. "We'll set off in the latter half of the night."
"Let's rest for a bit, we've been traveling for a long time," her voice sounded much gentler in the candlelight.
The sound of the commotion was almost unbearable for Chu Ke. He couldn't utter a word and turned over dramatically, as if afraid others wouldn't know his dissatisfaction.
Fan Lingzhang's arm slipped through Sui Zhixu's hair, the fabric rustling as they rubbed together. He pulled his wife into his arms, leaned down slightly against her, and said in his usual gentle voice, "A-Ling, lean on me and sleep for a while. You've been tired for days."
"I'm not sleepy, you go to sleep."
Sui Zhixu pretended to get up, but unexpectedly he did not let go. "I will call you in the middle of the night. It was not easy for them to discover your and Liu Lü's martial arts skills. You two go to sleep first."
"I can't sleep." Sui Zhixu waved for Liu Lü to go and rest, while she and Fan Lingzhang leaned against the wall and cuddled together.
"Then let's talk quietly." He pulled his wife into his arms, his chin resting on her forehead in a tender and affectionate pose.
"When did Ah Ling learn to use a sword? You never told me before."
Sui Zhixu remained calm and lied through his teeth, saying, "I learned it from Liu Lü."
"Yeah?"
Fan Lingzhang smiled, his tone questioning, but he didn't dwell on the topic, saying casually, "A-Ling was so anxious the whole way. Is Young Master Cheng very important to A-Ling?"
Sui Zhixu felt that he was a little strange. In the dead of night, the emotions in his eyes were as dark as ink, as if there was an unyielding sorrow.
She answered truthfully, "He is Father's disciple, and many people in Chang'an are waiting for him to return."
His parents were waiting for him, the emperor was waiting for his report, the court was waiting for his results, and his fiancée was waiting for him to return so they could get married.
"If I were to disappear or encounter danger, would Ah Ling rush to save me without regard for her own safety, just like she is now?" He brought his face close to Sui Zhixu's, their cheeks touching, and Sui Zhixu instantly felt a cool sensation on her face.
Without waiting for her reply, he said to himself, "No, don't answer. I don't want you to disregard your safety; it was my mistake."
Fan Lingzhang hugged her tightly from behind again, his heavy breathing falling on her ear, a mixture of pain and torment.
The darkness can amplify a person's emotions, and Sui Zhixu felt that she seemed to understand this a little. The fleeting thoughts were so fast that she couldn't quite grasp them. "Are you jealous?"
"Yes, I am jealous. I am jealous of him. I am jealous that he is just your senior brother and he can get your care and make you risk your life to save him... The distance between you and me is always so far. Is power really that good? You are fighting for it so fiercely. Even when you married me in the first place, it was because I could bring considerable rewards to Prince Xuanping. So you hate me. Now you hate me too. A senior brother who is not close to you can make you go through fire and water, while I am always left behind by you."
Sue knew that Xu had initially tricked him in order to better lure him to her side and learn more about Prince Xuanping from him, so that she could be prepared for the worst.
She deceived him and got a lot of benefits as she wished, including the manpower in the martial arts world and information about the Xuanping Prince's mansion. For example, without him, she would not have been able to find out about the Xuanping Prince's cousin, Lady Ye, let alone know that she ran a Hu Ji Tavern in Chang'an.
So generally, when he's clingy, complains, or wants her to be with him, she can always satisfy him.
She wondered if she had been too lenient with him lately. She had clearly told him before coming that Cheng Zhijie was involved in a case at court, so what was this talk of jealousy? When had she ever asked him to stay this time?
"What does it matter to me that he has a fiancée? Didn't I tell you long ago that he was involved in the case? Why did I abandon you? I don't hate you, not before, not now. You don't need to listen to Sui Chuke's words; what he says doesn't count."
"But you never kiss me."
Although Xu understood, he still cared about what happened on the ship.
Fan Lingzhang couldn't possibly be unaware that she was using him; he was so infatuated with love that he wouldn't be so foolish as to know nothing. But he cared too much that his wife didn't love him.
Sui Zhixu felt a bit tired and thought she should rest for a while, otherwise she might not be able to wake up in the middle of the night.
"Go outside and kiss me, I'm sleepy, can you wake me up later tonight?" Sui Zhixu's hand reached back and stroked his face, gently caressing the skin below his ear.
She had seen her mother coax her father, and her husband was still easy to coax.
"Don't lie to me." Fan Lingzhang was successfully caressed again, his voice muffled and somewhat cute.
"I'm not lying to you, I'll take you on a nice boat trip on the lake when we get back."
Knowing that Xu's tone was gentle, Fan Lingzhang became happy again and adjusted her into a comfortable position.
Before she closed her eyes, she thought to herself that he was truly a delicate lotus flower, prone to anxiety and insecurity. On the surface, he appeared to be a carefree and flamboyant young man, but perhaps it was all for love.
Since Xu didn't understand, she simply stopped thinking about it; there were more important things waiting for her to consider.
She drifted off to sleep, only to wake up slowly when she heard Fan Lingzhang's voice in her mind.
It's past four in the morning.
Sui Zhixu nodded, and Liu Lü stood beside her with her sword in hand. She glanced at the sleeping Sui Chuke, whose unsheathed sword remained by the bedside.
She shoved her sword into Fan Lingzhang's arms, left him with the words "Take care of yourself," and then departed.
He clutched the sword tightly to his chest and watched her departing figure.
With a single palm strike, Xu and Liu struck the guards at the door, knocking them unconscious. They lightly touched the steps with their feet, their bodies soaring into the air, and landed steadily on the wall.
His black robes fluttered and rustled.
As she emerged, she glanced around at the layout of Yungang Village. The terrain was well-organized, with wooden buildings dotting the south and fields dotting the north, with tall waterwheels spanning the river and fields.
As Xu stood atop the wall, he looked out and saw that the village was pitch black and utterly silent.
The two exchanged hand signals, and Liu Lü went to the fields to the north while she inspected the fields to the south.
As soon as he flew over the rooftops, he realized that the entire village was symmetrical about east and west, with the tallest wooden building in the center as its center.
She climbed to the top and looked down at Yungang Village. Apart from the tallest wooden building at her feet, there was a slightly shorter wooden building on the east and west sides, five small wooden buildings connected together behind each of the two buildings, and even an exquisite wooden building on each side.
As dawn broke, Sui Zhixu peered at the wooden buildings through the morning glow. Each one was different, yet they were all remarkably harmonious.
Her hand rested unintentionally on the upper floor, the uneven texture touching her skin. Sui Zhixu gently stroked and traced the three-leaf pattern with its slender lines; the design was very old.
The honeysuckle pattern, which symbolizes the immortality of the soul and eternal reincarnation in Buddhism, was a popular floral pattern during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
The honeysuckle pattern has changed over the centuries, but it was rarely seen in the previous dynasty and the Great Qi dynasty, and mostly became the scroll pattern.
Then Xu recalled the murals in the Water Curtain Cave, and wondered if the ancestors of Yungang Village were from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
She stood up again and sketched the layout of Yungang Village in her mind. Beneath her eyes were dark and unclear thoughts, like ink splashed out and spreading freely with the unrestrained flow of ink.
As dawn approached, a child dressed in red suddenly appeared on the street. Sui Zhixu hid behind a wooden building, peeking out with his eyes.
The little girl had two strands of hair sticking out from the bun at the corners of her head. She remembered that she was the child the old man was holding when she entered the village.
She looked no more than five or six years old, and her small face revealed a caution beyond her years. She would turn her head every now and then to check if anyone was behind her.
Following Xu, they entered the narrow alleyway at the sound of roosters crowing at dawn.
An hour later, the village chief sent someone to deliver breakfast.
"Willow Green, Ah...where is Ah Xu?"
It was already past dawn, and Liu Lü had returned early, but Sui Zhixu was nowhere to be seen. Fan Lingzhang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, scurrying back and forth in a panic.
How could Xu possibly lose his possession?
Sui Chu Ke disliked his pretentious manner and wanted to mock him, but forgot that he couldn't utter a single word.
Sui Chu Ke: "..." He was furious.
A knocking sound rang in Fan Lingzhang's ears, and before he could speak, the person had already entered.
He first glanced around and noticed that one person was missing. He frowned and said, "Why is one of you missing?"
"She went to the restroom and will be back in a bit."
"I didn't see anyone outside. Are you trying to trick me? The village chief kindly let you in, and you dare to run around like this. I'm going to tell the village chief right now to kick you out. Outsiders are outsiders, they don't know any manners at all!" He angrily put the food box on the table and turned to leave.
"I'm here. I changed my clothes and it took a little while. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, sir." Sui Zhixu came out from behind and called out to the person who was about to leave.
For some reason, his anger vanished instantly, and a smile returned to his face, as if nothing had happened. "Everyone's here, come and eat."
Sui Zhixu lowered her eyes and sat in the chair, watching him place plate after plate of vegetarian dishes in front of her, just like last night.
He left quickly, but before leaving, his gaze lingered on Sui Zhixu's face for a few moments. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were narrowed into a straight line, making people feel uneasy.
Fan Lingzhang blocked his view and stared at him fiercely. The man smiled, turned around, and left.
The group sat down at the table, and Fan Lingzhang took out some dry rations from his bundle and distributed them to the group. "Fortunately, I bought some more before going up the mountain."
He glanced at the meager rations left in his bundle and sighed, "I wonder if we can last for these three days."
"Don't worry about those things for now." Sui Zhixu looked at him, a strange glint in her peach blossom eyes. "I remember you're quite knowledgeable about Buddhism, aren't you?"
"Well, my mother is a devout Buddhist and has heard a lot about the ink stains, so overall it's not too bad."
Sui Zhixu's eyelashes fluttered as she quietly looked at him, her eyes holding something he couldn't quite decipher. Like the crisp sound of bamboo in winter, her voice fell on his ears. "Today, observe the three tallest wooden buildings in the village and see if there's anything special about them."
Aren't you coming with us?
"I have other things to take care of. Don't worry, there's no danger for the time being."
As Xu looked at his tightly clasped hand, her mind raced with a thousand thoughts. She needed to verify everything that had just happened once more.
"All right."
Fan Lingzhang's face fell, and he was sullen. He had just coaxed A-Ling last night, and he knew she had important things to do. He couldn't keep bothering A-Ling.
What's in the fields to the north?
Liu Lü: "Wine and a wordless tombstone."
Sui Zhixu's lips tightened. Just then, a shout came from the doorway, urging them to hurry up. She said, "Go out."
Following Chu Ke ahead, he raised his sword, and the villagers he was leading did not stop him, their gazes sweeping indifferently over the sword.
"You must be the people who repaired the stone statues. The village chief asked me to take you to the temple." A smile appeared on his honest face, showing his simple and warm hospitality.
“Yes, my lord is in charge of collecting data and drawing diagrams.” Someone was unable to speak, so Fan Lingzhang answered on their behalf as an “assistant.”
Along the way, the villagers avoided the group like the plague, closing their doors wherever they went.
"Haha, everyone's been away from outsiders for so long, so we're all a bit scared. Please be understanding."
Fan Lingzhang smiled and nodded, indicating that he didn't mind.
As they walked, he suddenly asked, "Hey, where's your other young lady? I can't find her."
Almost instantly, Fan Lingzhang's face darkened. "Why are you asking her?"
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