Chapter 32 The Sound of Bells Resounding Through Mountains and Rivers: Tracing Cause and Effect 2 - Family Heritage
Mingying sipped the hot water, having changed out of her wet clothes. She was wrapped in a fleece quilt, with a hand warmer under her feet. The candlelight shone on her face. When she finished drinking and looked up, she saw Mingyu staring at her. Mingying smiled and said, "Thank you. I won't be staying long."
Mingyu quickly waved her hand: "No, no, no, I just think you look kind and your surname is Ming, maybe you have some connection with our Ming family."
Zhao Yun gently patted the swaddled baby in her arms and whispered to lull her to sleep. She glanced at her daughter and said, "You really know how to flatter yourself. Miss Mingying looks like a fairy. She must be from some noble family outside the city who fled here... Sigh, these days are really tough."
Mingyu winked at her and whispered, "Don't mention it."
Mingying is still heartbroken. She went through so much trouble to pull her out of the river, we can't let her lose her.
Seeing Mingying looking at her, Mingyu leaned closer and said, "Miss Mingying, don't listen to what she's saying. We two are very destined for each other."
Mingying nodded without changing her expression: "Yes."
The little baby in the swaddling clothes listened to their conversation with great interest, his eyes darting around. Mingying greeted him with a smile, "Hello, I'm Sister Ming."
The little boy couldn't speak yet, but he just giggled at her. Mingying felt a little disappointed. Seeing the colorful lights outside the window and the banging sounds in the air, she leaned out and asked, "What's going on?"
Mingyu pushed open the window and looked outside: "The two armies are fighting again."
Zhao Yun looked worried: "I wonder how your father is doing."
"Mother, don't worry. Yuancheng is protected by the city lord's formation, and Father is just a mortal who can't go to the front. I went to check on him last time, and he'll be fine."
Despite saying that, Mingyu still stood up, lit three incense sticks, faced the shrine, bowed, and muttered some incantations.
Mingying watched her movements quietly, then looked at the statue. She had just seen the face of the statue not long ago; it was the statue of a celestial being, dressed in flowing robes and with kind and benevolent eyes.
Mingyu inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner, which already contained a lot of burnt-out ash. Turning around, she saw Mingying's strange expression and patted her on the shoulder, her expression resolute: "The princess will not let anything happen to Dongzhou."
Just as Mingying was about to ask a few more questions, a rough knocking sound came from outside the door: "Open the door! We've been ordered to conscript laborers!"
Zhao Yun's expression changed slightly. The child started crying loudly. Mingyu sighed, pushed Mingying into the house, and got up to open the door.
Outside the door stood two soldiers, their faces weathered and their eyes tired yet sharp. The one in the lead brandished a token: "By order of the superior, you two are to be conscripted to work as servants in the wounded soldiers' kitchen at the main camp until dawn!"
Mingyu and Zhao Yun exchanged a glance: "Before, it was one person per household, but my younger brother still needs someone to take care of him..."
The soldier, looking impatient, pointed behind her and said, "Isn't there another one?"
Mingying appeared out at some point, and Mingyu hurriedly explained, "But this is..."
Mingying held her hand and said seriously, "Let's go together."
A dozen or so men and women stood outside, all looking pale and sickly. The weather was getting colder and colder, and their breath was steaming. The soldiers led them in a line through the city gate. Mingying followed at the back of the line next to Mingyu, and looked up at the bright sky. A small snowflake landed on the tip of her nose.
Mingyu thought she was scared, so she held her hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, we'll be back soon."
Mingying nodded. There were many figures on the city wall, guards in full armor and armed with weapons. A pale golden light curtain rose from all around the city wall, with runes flowing and spiritual energy surging.
Outside the city gates lay a different scene: broken spears and halberds lay scattered on the red mud, and tattered flags fluttered in the night wind. Mingying, smelling the blood in the air, slowed her pace and felt nauseous.
Mingyu kept watching her. Seeing that her face was pale, she reached into her sleeve, put a piece of candy into her palm, and whispered, "I've been hiding this for a long time. Here you go."
Mingying held the candy, feeling that her breathing was much easier, so she carefully put it in her bosom and gave her a smile: "I'm fine."
The soldiers in the rear camp were mostly lying down, with few standing; many were mutilated, with few intact; the ground was filled with groans and gasps. Mingyu calmly led her through the crowd to the kitchen. Mingying's gaze swept over the area; there were probably nearly fifty stoves simultaneously decocting medicine.
Mingyu skillfully put on gloves and then handed her a newer pair: "Master Yao is too busy to handle everything by himself, so he needs mortals to come and help. Let's pour all the medicine out of the furnace first."
Mingying paused, then she and Mingying stepped forward and grabbed the handle. Together, they moved the medicine furnace down and poured the contents into the basket. The pills brewed in each furnace were a slightly different color, resulting in a colorful mixture when poured together.
Mingyu was quite familiar with the process. She led Mingying around the field, dragging the bamboo basket. Every soldier who saw it would reach out and grab a handful to start taking the drugs. In this gloomy environment, it added a strange splash of color, like giving candy to children.
Among the crowd, an old man with a white beard stood out. He was holding a set of gold needles and sewing up someone's belly. Mingying couldn't help but take a few more glances at him.
Mingyu followed her gaze and said, "That's Elder Yao. These days, medical practitioners are rare, so Elder Yao is the only one who can do the work of ten people."
A one-armed soldier, carrying only one arm, walked towards the old man, his face contorted with grief: "Old man, please reattach it for me."
The old doctor glanced at him, then turned his head away: "Your meridians are all broken and can't be reconnected. Go, go, go, I'm busy."
The soldier looked sorrowful: "Those people in the North are like madmen, and their cultivation methods are so special. I just accidentally fell into their trap... When will this battle ever end?"
The old doctor sneered, "You wish! You'll never finish fighting me."
Mingying pursed her lips and looked around again, belatedly realizing that the soldiers on the field must all be cultivators.
Cultivators have different physiques than mortals. These wounded individuals are all extremely strong. One female cultivator's arm was a bloody mess, and she had torn off her charred skin. Another male cultivator's calf had been gnawed down to the bone by something unknown, and he was hopping around on one leg, the bone rattling and making a cracking sound.
A woman on a stretcher had a broken spear stuck in her chest and was vomiting dark red blood clots. She reached out and grabbed a handful of pills, threw them into her mouth, and then vomited them up again: "Master Yao, is there anything else?"
The old doctor ignored her, so Mingying stepped forward and said, "What do you need? I'll get it for you."
She half-closed her eyes and said, "You mortal, go away."
Mingying said, "I will also treat your wounds; it doesn't have to be a cultivator."
She lifted her eyelids slightly: "Without medicine, what's the point of you treating me?"
"Shall we bandage it up?"
The other person replied coldly, "No need."
Mingying didn't speak, but walked behind the old medicine master and asked, "Can the pills still be used if they're soaked in water?"
The old apothecary ignored her, still inserting his golden needles. The cultivator whose belly was being stitched up cried out a few times, and answered for him, "It's...it's okay, it hurts, it hurts..."
Mingying politely thanked her, then returned to the kitchen to crush the pills into powder with a hammer. She poured the powder into a kettle, stirred it, and brewed a pot of medicinal soup. Mingyu watched her actions curiously. Mingying quickly took it out, deciding to give this to any cultivators who couldn't take their medicine.
The medicinal soup was dark and shimmering with iridescent light. Someone took a sip and exclaimed, "Ugh, this is awful!"
One person replied, "How can medicine taste good? Ugh, it tastes awful."
Mingying touched her nose and boiled another kettle of water.
She waited quietly for the water to boil, looking at the person in front of her, whose face was covered in soot, also boiling water in front of the stove. Nine hundred years ago, almost the entire Ming family cultivated, but they all looked like ordinary mortals. She leaned closer: "Mingyu, does the Ming family have any cultivators?"
Mingyu chopped the firewood in half and threw it in, then shook her head and said, "No, cultivators are always fighting."
Mingying said "Oh," and then asked, "Why are we fighting?"
Mingyu said, "There are no so many questions about war. I've been fighting since I was born. When the Northern Border invades, the Eastern Continent has no choice but to fight back."
"Is there no way for the two places to reach a settlement?"
"Who knows? The Emperor is currently inactive. Things might change after the Princess ascends the throne."
Mingying moved the few remaining firewood pieces from the corner to keep the fire going for her. With a snap, she looked down and saw a bone.
She was stunned for a moment. Mingyu ran over, picked up the bones, and threw them back into the fire: "It's a dead person, don't be afraid."
Mingying remained motionless, closed her eyes briefly, and asked, "Mingyu, do you know about the Mountain and River Bell?"
Mingyu tilted her head: "I know, it's on the front lines, they ring the bell every time a battle starts."
The water boiled, and the kettle made a sharp whistling sound. Mingying stopped talking, took it down, picked up the medicine bowl, and went out.
"Fairy, here...here..."
Mingying looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person lying half-reclined in the shadows, speaking very weakly.
She carried the water bottle over. The soldier looked unwell; his clothes were stained with dried blood. Mingying bent down to hand him the medicine bowl, but the man grabbed her hand immediately: "Fairy...you're so beautiful, why are you doing this..."
Mingying: ?
She glanced at him in surprise, trying to pull her hand away, but he gripped it tightly. The man looked badly injured, yet possessed an unusually strong grip. Without hesitation, Mingying splashed the hot water she was carrying into his arm. The man released his grip and screamed in pain. People around them turned to look, and Mingyu ran over anxiously, asking, "Are you alright?"
Mingying smiled slightly: "I'm fine, he seems to have accidentally scalded himself with water."
A cold voice rang out: "What are you yelling about?"
Hearing the familiar tone of voice, Mingying suddenly turned around and met the eyes of the person who had come in.
A few snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Xiao Jingze, dressed in a dark black sable cloak, walked over with an imposing aura, stepping on the scattered snowflakes. However, his eyes looked at her with complete unfamiliarity.
People around him called him: "General Xiao".
The soldier stopped shouting as if his throat had been choked. Mingying scrutinized him closely, remaining motionless for a moment.
Xiao Jingze was also looking her over, his gaze lingering on her wrist for a moment: "What's going on?"
Mingying smiled and asked, "General Xiao, why are your soldiers still laying hands on ordinary people?"
Why did Xiao Jingze come along too? And she's still a cook, while he's become a general so quickly. Is it because of his family's scholarly tradition?
Xiao Jingze's eyelids twitched, and he gestured to the guards on both sides: "Take him away and treat him according to military law, twenty strokes of the cane."
The man yelled, and when his pleas for mercy went unanswered, he shouted at him again: "I thought it was General Xiao! Where did this bastard come from, thinking he's a general!"
Silence fell over the surroundings. The guards on both sides covered his mouth and quickly dragged him away.
The falling snow covered the bloodstains on the ground. Mingying stood motionless in place. Xiao Jingze frowned and walked up to her: "Your name is Mingying?"
Mingying wondered what was going on. Had Xiao Jingze suddenly lost his mind? She cautiously replied, "Yes."
Xiao Jingze smiled, then straightened up expressionlessly and said, "Take him away."
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Author's Note: Some brief character biographies:
Mingying really wanted to be the older sister, but Mingyan would never call her that. So when introducing herself to the children, she would add "Sister Ming" to satisfy her sisterly desire, and even wanted the ancestor to call her "Sister".
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