Chapter 55 Seeking lodging "You're probably not going to make it."
After a torrential downpour, the ice and snow on the frozen soil of the mountains and rivers quietly melted, winter was about to pass and early spring was coming.
The wheel crushed a withered branch with a crisp "crack," startling a crow perched on a bare branch. A single, light black feather drifted down from its wing, fluttering up and down in the air, carried by the wind.
Suppressed coughs occasionally escaped from inside the carriage; Zhou Yaren covered her mouth with a handkerchief to prevent the noise from disturbing Bai Yuan, who was traveling with her.
He suffered a severe blow to his vital energy this time. Not only did the shock cause his meridians to swell and contract, but his ears also kept ringing, and sometimes he would feel a sharp, needle-like pain in his ear canals.
His hearing has deteriorated; he can barely hear the sounds of carriages and horses, as if he has been cut off from the outside world. He is now in a state similar to that of a deaf old man.
Zhou Yaren had been experiencing a low-grade fever since last night, but it wasn't a big deal for him. He was just feeling weak and listless, and even sitting up straight was extremely difficult. So he leaned against the carriage and sickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughing muffledly.
To outsiders, he looked rather frail and weak. Bai Yuan was really afraid that he wouldn't be able to withstand the bumpy ride of the carriage and would be shaken to pieces and die at any moment.
So she blurted out without thinking, "You're probably not going to make it."
The frail Zhou Yaren, exhausted from the long journey, leaned against the carriage wall in a daze, her mind completely scattered, and she didn't hear the other person's sarcastic remark at all.
"What?"
Because he couldn't hear clearly, he and Bai Yuan barely spoke to each other the whole way. In addition, he was enduring the torment and couldn't concentrate on listening to the sounds around him.
“I’m afraid you won’t make it. Before you die, I’d better remove the talisman on my body.”
Zhou Yaren listened attentively this time, but Bai Yuan didn't seem to have any good words to say, probably because he saw that Bai Yuan was on the verge of exhaustion.
Zhou Yaren said, "It's not that bad."
He thought that he had endured all kinds of torture before, and this little bit of pain was nothing. He could grit his teeth and get through it.
However, illness strikes like a landslide. Many people might not even survive a cold until the following spring, let alone Zhou Yaren, whose external and internal injuries were compounded. A slight mishap could have taken his life.
Bai Yuan said nothing more, his gaze sweeping past Zhou Yaren's pale lips and lingering on his temples. The ribbon Zhou Yaren used to tie her hair had come loose, and her black hair cascaded down her snow-white neck, inexplicably reminding Bai Yuan of the time Zhou Yaren stormed into the Ghost Bureau to break the spell—he had bravely navigated the claws of ferocious beasts, only to be whipped by a Bixie's tail, causing Zhou Yaren to tumble and fall, all her elegance gone, her hairpin broken into several pieces, leaving her a disheveled and wretched figure.
Her dark hair and ribbons swayed in the wind, making her look even more ethereal and otherworldly.
It is rare to find a man with such good looks. Even if he is frail and sickly, he is still a beautiful man who is pleasing to the eye. It is a pity that he is blind, a pity that he is deaf, and even more a pity that he is dead.
Just like those in Chang'an who were fortunate enough to see Tingfengzhi, they all regretted that he was blind, and then shook their heads and sighed: What a pity.
Then, as if to offer some consolation, he added: No one is perfect; everyone has flaws.
But he wasn't born blind; he chose to become blind in order to survive.
The phrase "to blind one's eyes" contains only four words, but how much effort and cost must be paid behind it?
Bai Yuan was somewhat lost in thought when he saw Zhou Yaren's head tilt slightly, and she closed her eyes and fainted. He had been anxiously and recklessly causing trouble in Bei Qu for several days, and after learning that Lu Bing had been kidnapped, he traveled day and night. Finally, his injuries worsened and he could no longer bear the strain, and he finally stopped traveling during this turbulent journey.
Bai Yuan didn't stop him from courting death, letting Zhou Yaren do whatever she wanted day and night. But there was always a time when he couldn't keep up, and that's when he closed his eyes and fainted.
After Zhou Yaren completely lost consciousness, the carriage drove into the village in the night and slowly stopped in front of a farmhouse.
The village is built in the gullies of the loess plateau, and the villagers live in cave dwellings under the earthen cliffs.
The driver got off and knocked on the farmer's door, but no one answered. He knocked a few more times, but still received no response, so he gave up, assuming no one was home, and drove the carriage to the next house.
He knocked on the next door several times, and just as he was about to doubt that anyone was home, a hesitant voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
The driver hurriedly said, "We're just passing by. It's getting late, and we'd like to ask if it would be convenient for us to stay the night here."
It seemed as if a pair of eyes were peering out from behind the door. After a long pause, the person said rudely, "It's inconvenient."
"We won't stay here for nothing..."
The person inside interrupted impatiently, "It's inconvenient, it's inconvenient, you should leave now."
The driver was taken aback by the other party's attitude and didn't press the matter further. He then went to another house to knock on the door, but was still refused entry.
After being turned away three times in a row, the driver finally realized something was wrong. In previous years, he had carried travelers south and stayed at farmers' homes when passing through this village. They would always treat him warmly if he spent some money, and he had never been treated so coldly before.
The coachman walked back to the front of the carriage: "Miss, this village is strange. We knocked on three houses but none of them would let us stay. I'll go ask a few more houses ahead. Please wait here for a moment."
Bai Yuan gave a faint "hmm" and glanced at Zhou Yaren, who was sleeping soundly against the carriage.
A moment later, the driver returned, clearly having failed to knock on the farmer's door: "Young lady, the villagers are unwilling to do us this favor. We're afraid we'll have to continue on our way. It's just that the dark road is difficult to travel, so please be careful and hold on tight."
"good."
The carriage moved forward, and Bai Yuan lifted the bamboo curtain amidst the clatter of hooves. He glanced at the silent village and saw only two or three houses with faint lights on, while the rest were completely dark, as if they had gone to bed early.
Further on, we passed a house with mourning cloth hanging on the door frame. It seemed that a family member had recently passed away and the funeral had just been held. Several pieces of paper money that had not yet been put away were still scattered in front of the closed doors and windows.
Seeing such a scene at night is bound to make one feel uneasy, so the coachman shouted "Giddy up!" and intentionally urged the carriage to pass by quickly.
At the crossroads, three sticks of incense were burning brightly, their embers barely extinguished. Next to them, an upside-down grayish-white ceramic bowl contained half-cooked rice, likely a local custom for offering sacrifices to the road.
The intersection was covered with paper money, a custom where the bereaved family would scatter some money to appease any "evil spirits" when the funeral procession passed through a crossroads or a bridge over a river.
Bai Yuan's gaze swept across the road and he inadvertently caught sight of something lying on the side of the road.
Because the carriage was moving too fast, Bai Yuan passed by in a blur and didn't see clearly, so she leaned forward to try and get a better look. However, just as she got close, the carriage suddenly jolted, causing the unconscious Zhou Yaren to tilt her body and her head to rest on Bai Yuan's shoulder.
Bai Yuan: "..."
After hesitating for a long time, she finally slowly lowered the bamboo curtain. Feeling the weight of a head pressing on her shoulder, Bai Yuan stopped moving.
She sat upright as if in meditation, though she was actually a little uncomfortable being leaned on. Her eyes were fixed on a certain spot on the carriage, and she didn't even glance at Zhou Yaren leaning on her shoulder.
Bai Yuan sat upright, her shoulders straight, even more so than the teachers in the school. Even as the carriage swayed from side to side, she remained perfectly still, as steady as a mountain.
The carriage wheels rolled over an uneven surface, causing it to sway violently, and Zhou Yaren's head drooped limply. Bai Yuan, still looking straight ahead, expressionlessly raised his hand and steadily and precisely supported her chin.
Only when she touched him did she realize that his skin was incredibly hot.
Zhou Yaren was clearly delirious from the fever. In his dazed state, he felt the cool touch and unconsciously rubbed against it.
Bai Yuan felt as if a flame had been lit in the palm of his hand, and the flame was burning her neck and shoulders. Zhou Yaren's hot forehead pressed against her side of the neck.
Bai Yuan, who had remained motionless like an old monk in meditation, frowned. She was even more uncomfortable with being pressed against someone, especially since the other person's body temperature was so hot and burning, like a furnace.
She can push people aside with a simple wave of her hand.
So Bai Yuan hesitated for a long time, then slowly closed his eyes and finally put down the hand that had once lifted the other's chin.
It's not that you're not used to it, but that it's not insurmountable.
It's not that I'm not used to it, but that I can't tolerate it.
It's not that I can't make do with it just because I'm not used to it.
That's all.
Bai Yuan sat upright, trying to ignore the burning sensation on his neck, intending to enter a meditative state.
Unexpectedly, the coachman suddenly pulled on the reins, and the carriage came to a sudden stop. Zhou Yaren, who was leaning on Bai Yuan's shoulder, almost fell off, but fortunately Bai Yuan pressed her down to the spot.
"Ouch……"
"Oh my..."
At the same time, the voices of the coachman and another stranger could be heard outside.
Then came a series of barks, howling and whining like dogs.
Bai Yuan asked coldly, "What happened?"
"I wasn't paying attention just now, and I think I bumped into someone." The coachman immediately jumped off his horse to check.
A peasant woman, nearly forty years old, was slumped on the roadside, wearing a patched-up jacket. Her face was sallow, and she was clutching her ankle, groaning in pain.
The driver frantically tried to help her up, but the thin, mongrel dog blocked the woman's path and barked fiercely at him.
The driver, fearing the dog might lunge and bite, dared not make a move: "Are you alright? Did you hit anything?"
The peasant woman fell to the ground and cried out in pain: "My foot, my foot hurts! I can't move this leg!"
"This..." The driver wanted to go forward to check, but the dog kept him at bay. "Sister, I'm so sorry, it's so dark here. I didn't notice you suddenly turning from the side road... Could you please call your dog? I'm afraid it will pounce and bite me. Let me check how bad your leg injury is."
The peasant woman found the man's words quite agreeable and he didn't immediately turn around and accuse her of being blind and not watching where she was going, saying that she dared to approach a passing carriage and was probably trying to extort money from her.
In the peasant woman's memory, most of these carriage drivers were arrogant and short-tempered. They were more vicious than anyone else when they hit someone, and after cursing, they would drive away without caring about who lived or died.
But the driver knew to get off and offer his concern, so he was clearly not a bad person. Thus, the peasant woman lowered her guard a little and called the loyal dog to the side.
The driver quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully rolled up a section of the peasant woman's trouser leg. There was no visible damage, but the slightest touch or movement caused the peasant woman unbearable pain.
The carriage didn't actually hit her much; it was just that the peasant woman was so frightened that she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground while trying to back away.
Bai Yuan lifted the bamboo curtain to peek over: "Are you badly injured?"
The coachman looked up and replied, "This lady may have twisted her ankle and can't walk."
Bai Yuan glanced at the other person's ankle indifferently: "Do you live around here?"
The peasant woman nodded, not seeing clearly who had spoken: "Yes, I live not far ahead."
"Then I'll give you a ride back."
So the driver helped the peasant woman up and, with all his might, helped her onto the carriage.
Once the peasant woman was settled, she noticed that there was a man and a woman sitting inside the carriage. The man was very handsome, but his face was pale and bloodless, and he looked seriously ill and weak, as if he were suffering from a serious illness. He was unconscious and leaning on the woman's shoulder.
The woman who had just spoken to her was masked, completely covered up, and exuded an aura of coldness that kept strangers at bay.
The peasant woman felt a chill for no reason. She wanted to thank him, but for a moment she didn't know how to start. She shrank into the corner as if she were afraid and stammered, "Um... I'm sorry to bother you."
Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Bai Yuan simply gave a perfunctory "hmm."
As if she had truly been disturbed, the peasant woman felt somewhat fearful and embarrassed, and couldn't help but lower her head, her ankle still throbbing slightly.
The driver outside asked, "Sister-in-law, is this the road ahead?"
The farmer's wife quickly leaned out and gave directions to the driver: "Yes, that's right, just turn one more corner and you'll be there. Just follow my big yellow dog, it knows the way."
Okay.
So the peasant woman pulled her head back, secretly glancing at Bai Yuan, then at the unconscious Zhou Yaren, and wondered to herself, "These two are so close together, they must be a couple, right?"
The peasant woman couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.
The carriage soon stopped in front of a semi-sunken cave dwelling. The coachman kindly helped the peasant woman down and into the courtyard. He almost earnestly told her to watch her step while also inquiring about her foot injury. In just a few words, he had already established a good relationship with her.
The peasant woman casually asked them where they were going. The driver, a seasoned traveler who often picked up passengers, was quite smooth-talking and adept at dealing with people. He naturally revealed his purpose: "Our destination is far away. We've been traveling non-stop all day and are exhausted. We haven't found a place to rest yet. We were planning to continue to a town to find an inn, but it was too dark and we couldn't see the road clearly. That's how we accidentally bumped into you, sister-in-law. We feel really bad. I'll check your injury later to see if you've broken any bones. The horse has also been traveling all day and definitely can't keep going. Now that we're both tired, if we continue, we might bump into someone else. So, we'd like to ask if you could do us the favor of letting us stay here for the night."
Before the other party could refuse, the driver quickly added, "Oh, of course, we certainly won't stay for free. We'll pay for your food and lodging, as well as the medicine for your leg."
The peasant woman was initially wary, but after the events that had just transpired, she vaguely felt that they didn't seem like bad people who would kill or harm others. In particular, the driver seemed kind-hearted and honest, so she only hesitated slightly before nodding in agreement.
The driver immediately beamed with joy, thanked him repeatedly, and then ran outside, saying, "Miss, there's no need to travel all night. Let's stay at your sister-in-law's house tonight."
The peasant woman had sprained her ankle and couldn't walk. Since she and her big yellow dog were the only ones at home, the driver took over the task of tidying up the guest room and making the bed.
The peasant woman told him to get a quilt from the cupboard in the inner room, and also told him where the rice and grain were stored, and that they should start a fire and cook for themselves.
Although the peasant woman had twisted her ankle, she was still able to sit behind the stove and help add firewood to the fire.
The driver quickly added water and washed the rice. In that short time, he learned that her family originally consisted of three people, but her husband and son were not at home. The woman said, "Isn't the river thawed? Both men have gone to work at the docks to earn money. Otherwise, what will we eat and drink? And we can't grow crops in the frozen soil now."
The two were chatting about everyday things when Bai Yuan suddenly appeared in the kitchen without making a sound and interrupted, "I just saw a family in the village holding a funeral. Who passed away?"
Bai Yuan's voice carried a slight chill, and his sudden interruption made the peasant woman somewhat apprehensive. Moreover, Bai Yuan was still concealing his face, a disguise that made her uneasy.
But when the other party mentioned the funeral, the peasant woman's face changed drastically: "Several days ago, a thug wearing an iron mask came to our village and killed Old Zhang's son, Xiao Tiezhu."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
