Dragon Boat Festival Special: Yu Mo, Zongzi, and Fish (Part 2)
The five people sat down around the table. Lianxin poured wine from a rough porcelain pot into a porcelain bowl. The wine was pale red and had a strong medicinal smell. Yan Dan stared at the porcelain bowl in front of her, her eyes wide: if she wasn't mistaken, this was the realgar wine that she had heard of and seen, but never tasted.
“This wine is homemade, it won’t be strong, Miss Yan, you can drink it without worry,” Lianxin said immediately upon seeing her expression. The white-haired old woman sitting to the side added, “The medicinal herbs are all prepared by ourselves, but the yellow wine is from the village entrance. Alas, we have no men in our family, and life is a bit difficult, so… we can’t buy any better yellow wine. If you don’t like it, young lady, you shouldn’t drink it.”
Yan Dan quickly shook her head: "How could I dislike it? It's the Dragon Boat Festival to drink realgar wine to ward off evil spirits." She tremblingly picked up the porcelain bowl, smelled the pungent realgar aroma, and was about to grit her teeth and pour it down her throat when a hand reached out from the side, took the bowl from her hand, and drank it all in one gulp.
Yan Dan was stunned: "Yu Mo..."
Yu Mo said calmly, "She can't drink alcohol; even a sip will make her drunk."
Yan Dan said blankly, "You..."
“She only acts crazy when she’s drunk, so I’ll drink it for her.” Yu Mo picked up the wine bowl in front of him again and drank it all in one gulp.
Yan Dan murmured, "Two bowls, to ward off evil spirits, but there's no time..."
The old woman squinted, her wrinkles smoothing out: "Young lady, this young master is so kind to you, you must remember him well." Yan Dan's hand trembled slightly as she picked up a yellow croaker with her chopsticks and placed it in Yu Mo's bowl: "Eat more while it's hot."
Yan Dan turned to look at Yu Mo, who merely frowned slightly, his expression remaining unchanged. She quickly reached for her chopsticks, her voice gentle, "Young master, could you give me the fish in your bowl?"
Yu Mo looked at her and smiled, "You're just too lazy to remove the bones, aren't you?" He pulled out the largest fish bone and picked out the smaller bones. Just as he was about to put the fish meat into her bowl, Lian Xin quickly added a yellow croaker to Yan Dan's plate and removed the skin and bones. She said with a hint of shame, "I should have picked a bigger fish. The bones wouldn't be so fine."
Yan Dan opened her mouth, but a thousand words swirled in her throat and then went back down.
"And you say it's the biggest fish? Sister, you only pick up the ones that everyone else has already picked over and no one else wants!"
Lianxin's face flushed red to the roots of her ears, and she stammered, "You two, I'm so sorry, I...I..."
Yan Dan hurriedly said, "Smaller fish taste better; if they're too big, they won't absorb the flavor as easily." She tasted a piece of fish in her bowl and smiled slightly, "It's delicious, really."
Yu Mo hesitated for a moment, then looked up and saw the old woman's earnest gaze. He could only slowly put down his chopsticks. Yan Dan watched him slowly put the fish into his mouth, and a feeling of sympathy welled up inside her.
Seeing Yu Mo slowly finish a fish, the old woman immediately asked, "How was it?" Yu Mo nodded and said, "Very flavorful." The old woman reached out and added another fish for him, smiling broadly, and said, "Eat more if you like it!"
"...Cough." Yan Dan choked.
"Are you... feeling any better?" Yan Dan gently patted Yu Mo's back as he retched against the side of the boat. "I made some tea. Why don't you drink some while it's hot to help with your digestion?" When they came out of that family's place, Yu Mo seemed normal, but as soon as they turned a corner, his face turned pale, and he staggered to the stream, sticking his fingers down his throat and retching violently.
Yu Mo gripped her fingers, slowly increasing the pressure. The force was so intense it was almost excruciating; Yan Dan nearly cried out in pain. Her fingers were connected to her heart, and being held like that by him made her feel uncomfortable as well.
"You're covered in cold sweat," Yan Dan touched his forehead and gently wiped the sweat away with her sleeve. "Mountain Lord, why don't you go inside and lie down for a bit?"
Yu Mo shook his head, unable to speak. Yan Dan thought to herself that after drinking two bowls of realgar wine on the Dragon Boat Festival and eating fish that shouldn't be touched, it was already a miracle he hadn't immediately turned into a demon. She sighed, after all, one of the bowls of realgar wine was for her: "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have gotten involved in this in the first place."
Yu Mo slowly turned his head to look at her. His profile revealed faint, dark blue scales, and black, flame-like markings spread across his neck. He closed his eyes briefly, his dark pupils turning slightly red, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips: "You can actually be embarrassed...?"
Yan Dan stared intently at the totem on his neck, unable to resist touching it with her finger: "You... are from an ancient clan, no wonder..." Yu Mo suddenly grabbed her hand, pulling her to his side in an instant. The movement was too fast, too forceful; Yan Dan felt a few warm drops of liquid splash onto her cheek, and her vision blurred with crimson. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see traces of blood slowly seeping onto the deck.
Yu Mo didn't even frown. He gripped the short sword in his sleeve, turned around, and thrust it out.
With a splash, a man in black water armor, bleeding from the chest, fell into the Huanhua Creek, his blood spreading across the water like streaks of crimson. Yu Mo knelt on one knee at the bow of the boat, his sleeve brushing aside, and a streak of blue flame blazed across the creek, instantly turning the man's corpse to ashes.
Yan Dan reached out and placed her hand lightly on his back, softly chanting an incantation. A pale white light slowly spread out, but Yu Mo's wound simply stopped bleeding; not a scab had even formed. She was stunned, remembering that today was the Dragon Boat Festival, and their magic had been greatly diminished. Her healing spell was actually useless.
Yu Mo sighed softly, "It's my fault for not thinking of this. There might be more assassins coming later. Let's go to the cabin."
Yan Dan responded, took out an undergarment, tore it open and used it to wrap Yu Mo's wounds. She then used the remaining strips of cloth to wipe the bloodstains off the boat deck.
Yu Mo looked at the curtain at the cabin entrance and said softly, "Lift the curtain up a little and hang it up properly."
Yan Dan hung the curtain up and gently pulled the blanket over him, saying, "Mountain Lord, take a rest. I'll handle anything that happens."
Yu Mo looked at her for a while, smiled, and said, "That's fine too."
Yan Dan sat beside him, resting her chin on her hand, wondering when they had gotten themselves into such big trouble that someone would send assassins to hunt them down. After thinking it over, the only time it could have happened was when they encountered Pei Luo and the others. Now that the bloodstains had been cleaned up and the assassin's body had been burned by Yu Mo, his order for her to hang the boat curtains was just a ruse.
She turned to look at Yu Mo, curled up in the blanket, and felt an even bigger headache. If Bai Ling saw the new wound on his back, would she nag her to death? That was probably for sure... But right now, the most important thing was to get through the Dragon Boat Festival safely. As long as she could stay awake until midnight, she wouldn't be worried even if dozens of assassins came.
Yan Dan pondered for a moment, then put Yu Mo's short sword into her sleeve, took out a wooden basin, stuffed in a few pieces of clothing, and walked to the bow of the boat to slowly wash the clothes.
As the sun began to set and the evening glow on the horizon became dazzling, tomorrow was sure to be another bright and sunny day. Yan Dan wrung out her washed clothes, then laid them out flat and straight. In doing so, her body naturally revealed numerous weaknesses. For a martial arts practitioner, in a confrontation, distance, force, and timing of attack are all calculated, and the attack is always aimed at the opponent's weaknesses. But for Yan Dan, none of this mattered. She wasn't an ordinary person, nor had she ever practiced martial arts. No matter how she tried to conceal it, her weaknesses were numerous.
She had just placed her neatly arranged clothes into the wooden basin when she sensed a strong killing intent. It had finally come! Yan Dan dodged to the side, and with a sharp crack, a thin, gossamer-like knife slashed at her. If she were struck, a chunk of flesh would be chopped off. Yan Dan reached for Yu Mo's short sword, hesitated for a moment, then rolled to the side. Seeing that she was only dodging and not retaliating, the black-clad assassin assumed she was showing signs of weakness. His momentum waned, and his blade flashed, nearly striking her several times.
Seeing that her slash had once again missed its mark and was about to strike the wooden basin containing the clothes, Yan Dan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She flicked her finger at the basin, and with a whoosh, the basin turned into a sheet of iron in broad daylight. The assassin had no time to react. His slash struck the iron plate, and the blade struck the iron plate with a clear metallic clang, sparks flying everywhere. The thin blade broke in two instantly, and the flying end struck the man in the abdomen.
Yan Dan sighed and murmured, "That's why I say, when doing this kind of business with no capital, you have to bring a thick-backed iron-ringed broadsword, even if it's a bit ugly..." Before she finished speaking, the iron plate transformed back into a wooden basin with a whoosh. The Dragon Boat Festival was truly extraordinary; even her magic couldn't last long. She watched as half of the man's body lay in the stream, slowly moved over, pushed his weapon into the water, and pulled the section of the blade stuck in his abdomen. Blood splattered crimson onto her clothes. Yan Dan casually wiped her face, touched the short sword in her sleeve, and felt a little more at ease.
However, given her current strength, she is no match for an ordinary man. She only has one chance to launch a sneak attack, but what if three or five people come later?
As she was agonizing over her troubles, a woodcutter approached, a bundle of firewood strapped to his back. At this time of year, it wouldn't be unusual for villagers to come here, but for Yan Dan, it was one problem after another. The woodcutter drew nearer, his eyes fixed on the floating corpses in the Huanhua Stream and the emerald water stained a pale red. His legs went weak, his face turned pale, and he trembled on the ground for a long time before finally managing to stammer, "Mother...mother...you...you...Mountain King, spare me, spare me..."
Yan Dan snorted twice, her face darkening as she said, "Do I look like a mountain bandit?"
"No, no...it's...it's a heroine!"
Yan Dan smiled slightly: "That's more like it." As soon as she finished speaking, her face darkened, and she adopted a bullying demeanor: "If you want to live, go back to where you came from, and don't you dare shout!"
The woodcutter crawled on the ground, trembling, for a while, then cried out with a mournful face, "Heroine, I can't crawl anymore..."
Yan Dan sighed. Just moments ago, in that life-or-death moment, she had managed to hold on by sheer willpower, but now that breath had left her, she didn't even have the strength to stand. She was preoccupied with her own survival, how could she have time to care about the lives of ordinary people? She slowly calmed herself, racking her brains for a solution, when suddenly she caught sight of a dark figure approaching along the banks of the Huanhua Stream. The person walked slowly, with a strange rhythm in their steps. They saw the corpses floating on the stream, their eyes twitching slightly, but they didn't stop, slowly walking to the small boat.
Yan Dan couldn't help but think to herself that, judging from that person's movements, his skill was definitely higher than the previous one, and he was also much more cautious. If she tried to be clever, she would definitely be exposed. However, while this kind of person was cautious, she was probably too suspicious. She smiled slightly at the black-clad assassin, and in that instant, her beauty was enhanced.
The assassin was startled and took two steps back. Yan Dan sat on the deck, staring at him intently. "I'm no match for you now. Will you just give me a quick death?" The man was even more astonished. He cautiously stepped forward, suddenly slashing her arm with his sword before abruptly retreating. Yan Dan groaned, covering her wound with her hand, but blood continued to seep from between her fingers. Seeing that she remained motionless, the assassin knew she was truly no match for him and confidently stepped forward. "You want me to give you a quick death?"
Yan Dan bit her lip and glanced into the cabin: "My skills are insignificant, not even half as good as my young master's. You could easily deal with me with just one finger."
"Wouldn't it be better if I used you to force your young master out?"
Yan Dan hurriedly said, "My young master is ill, otherwise how could you be so presumptuous?" After she finished speaking, she hurriedly covered her mouth.
"Sick? Fine, I'll give you a quick death!" The sword tip pierced towards Yan Dan's heart, but she suddenly lunged forward. The sword missed, and she was already inches away; it was impossible to deflect the longsword and injure her. Yan Dan drew her short sword and plunged it into the man's chest with a soft thud. She thought it would require a lot of force, but she hadn't expected Yu Mo's sword to be so sharp, penetrating several inches in an instant.
Yan Dan gasped for breath, and before she could push the assassin away, a cold wind suddenly swept over her from behind. She turned around and nearly fell under the corpse. Yan Dan stared in disbelief at the sword piercing her abdomen, then slowly looked up along the blade. The woodcutter was grinning at her: "So you really don't know any martial arts, yet you managed to kill two of my companions. Impressive, impressive." He sheathed his sword, casually wiped the blood from the blade with his sleeve, and turned to pull back the curtain outside the cabin.
He was about to bend down and go inside when he suddenly felt a chill on his back, followed by a sharp pain that slowly spread throughout his body. He turned around and saw Yan Dan struggling to sit up, her arm slightly raised, a short sword already thrown in her hand. The man, forcing himself to stay upright, rushed in front of her, raising his long sword to strike her down.
Yan Dan raised her wrist, her pale green sleeve slipping down to her elbow. A trickle of blood was flowing down her slender white arm, forming a bead of blood that dripped from her elbow. "I only have this one wound," she said, lifting the arm of the corpse on the deck. "You stabbed me here with your sword just now."
Yan Dan's tone was calm: "Do you want to know why I could tell you were in cahoots with those two assassins, and that you were the leader?" She looked directly at him and slowly said, "A person without malice wouldn't be this cautious when approaching someone. If you had no intention of harming anyone, and you were just an ordinary woodcutter, why would you be wary of me?"
The man murmured, "So that's how it is..." As soon as he spoke, his breath caught in his throat, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood before collapsing to the ground. As soon as he fell, Yan Dan immediately began coughing repeatedly, taking a while to recover. She mumbled, "I was barely able to breathe, and I had to hold my breath and talk to him... cough... cough, it's killing me..."
The sun finally set slowly, and a cool evening breeze carrying dampness brushed against her face. Yan Dan stretched gently, feeling her magic slowly returning. She raised her wrist, first using a spell to heal her wounds, then changed out of her blood-stained outer garment, pushed both corpses into the Huanhua Creek, and fetched a basin of water to wipe the bloodstains off the boat planks.
She tidied up everything in front of her, knelt down by the boat, looked at the three corpses floating on the stream, put her hands together, and softly recited: "May the dull and wicked be far from ignorance and darkness, free from greed, and not be bound by worldly desires..." The water of Huanhua Stream rippled, and white lotus flowers slowly bloomed, their fragrance wafting in the air.
"Make the perilous road seem as smooth as a calm path, free from calamity... and restore the six senses." She loosened her tightly clasped hands, and saw large patches of lotus flowers slowly wither, spreading a pale white halo on the Huanhua Stream, turning the three corpses into dust along with them.
Yan Dan leaned over the gunwale and looked out, unable to resist saying, "I used to think these spells were hard to chant and useless, but now they look surprisingly beautiful..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
