The Living Yama (Part 12)
I replied while chewing on rice cakes, "I walk on two legs, which is not as good as you riding on four legs, so naturally I have to go first."
"Are you just going to walk back like that?"
"Otherwise what?"
Xiong Tu leaned down from his horse: "I can give you a ride."
I scoffed, "Do you think this is appropriate?"
“Why not?” Xiong Tu raised an eyebrow. “If Lady Qing can ride with others, why can’t she ride with me?”
I glanced at the archers on duty at the patrol station not far away, then at Xiong Tu: "Nobody in Yuezhou recognizes you, but Inspector Guo and his men do, right? Don't you want your official reputation anymore?"
A fierce glint flashed in Xiong Tu's eyes, and he snorted coldly, "Who dares?"
Hmm... that look seems familiar.
I belatedly realized that I had probably caused trouble for the inn's regular customers...
I stroked the horse's face, fed the leftover rice cake to the yellow horse, and beckoned it down, saying, "You come down first."
Xiong Tu slid off the horse, I reached out and grabbed the reins, leaped onto the horse's back, squeezed the horse's belly with my legs, and shouted "Giddy up!"
The yellow horse was quite intelligent; after eating my rice cake, it took off running, completely ignoring its master's whistles behind it. I was too lazy to turn around, so I sat on the horse, laughing and waving.
As I strolled along the road to the inn, I suddenly saw two riders standing side by side in front of the hitching post. The familiar people and horses warmed my heart. In that instant, I felt both happy and angry.
Zhou Hong rode closer and asked in surprise, "Qing Niangzi, you are riding on our military envoy's horse. Where is our military envoy—himself?"
"Uh." I pointed the way we came. "Master Xiong gave me his horse to ride, and he's walking behind. If you're in a hurry to find him, just go and meet him."
"Very well, very well!" Zhou Hong spurred his horse and rode away.
I leaped off my horse, bent down to tie it, and asked, "What brings you here, Lord Wei?"
Wei Ji dismounted and took my hand, saying, "I'm moving the troops to Luzhou and stopped by to take a look."
I hastily clasped my hands in a fist and said, "Lord Wei, you've worked hard."
Wei Ji approached me and said, "These past few days, I am deeply grateful to Lady Qing for taking care of Lord Xiong. If Lady Qing ever needs my help, I will do my utmost. May I ask, Lady Qing, has Lord Xiong's injury healed?"
Seeing his sincere expression, my expression softened slightly: "Your external injuries should be mostly healed."
“However—” I patted my head and added, “It seems like there’s something wrong with him.”
Wei Ji paused for a moment, then laughed: "Qing Niangzi seems to find him very annoying."
I said irritably, "Remove the word 'seems'!"
Wei Ji's smile widened.
I waved my hand impatiently: "You better figure out how to get them out of here, or else..."
Wei Ji asked softly, "Otherwise what?"
I glared at him and squeezed out two words: "Friendship over!"
Wei Ji suppressed his smile and took my hand again: "Qing Niangzi, please calm down. Today, General Zhou and I will tie him up and take him back to Luzhou."
As they were talking, Xiong Tu rode Zhou Hong's horse back alone, dismounted, and walked quickly over. He patted Wei Ji on the shoulder and said, "Ji Zhou, have you come to visit me?"
Wei Ji cupped his hands in greeting: "The troop was passing by and stopped to visit our friends at Qingcheng Inn and Yanziping. I didn't expect Botong to still be here. I just saw you dismount with such agility, so I suppose your arrow wound has healed."
Xiong Tu said shamelessly, "Doctor Liu said that I have been working too hard in the past, and in order to avoid developing a chronic illness, it would be best to recuperate for a while longer."
Wei Ji said "Oh" and then said, "It just so happens that I am going to the military horse farm. Why don't we travel together? I will take you back to Luzhou to recuperate."
Xiong Tu remained noncommittal, then suddenly pointed at me and asked, "Ji Zhou, are you acquainted with Qing Niangzi?"
Wei Ji raised his eyes, his gaze filled with laughter: "Qing Niangzi is the first friend I made after coming to Yuezhou."
I put my hands behind me and looked back. Zhou Hong was running towards me, panting.
Xiong Tu nodded, then uttered another surprising statement: "That would be perfect. You and I are fellow students, and Qing Niangzi is also your friend. I am deeply grateful to Qing Niangzi for saving my life, and I sincerely wish to marry you. Ji Zhou, how about you act as my matchmaker?"
“This—” Wei Ji stared at me, his smile turning into shock.
I pointed to my head and shrugged helplessly: I told you he was mentally unstable, now you believe me...
Wei Ji seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and continued, "In truth, Lady Qing has saved me more than once. There are many ways to repay kindness, not just by offering myself in marriage."
Zhou Hong glanced over, exchanged a look with me, and grinned, "Prefect Wei is right. Qing Niangzi is a living bodhisattva on the Eight Pavilion Road. She has saved countless people, and they all come to repay her with their bodies. This inn is probably so full that there isn't even a place to stand!"
I bowed to him gratefully, chuckled twice, and said, "It was nothing, nothing to mention."
Xiong Tu's sharp eyes swept over Zhou Hong: "Deputy Military Commander Zhou, you're quite fast."
Zhou Hong's smile froze instantly. He hurriedly reached into his robes, pulled out a letter sealed with wax, and presented it, saying, "Military Envoy, urgent report from Yanzhou!"
Xiong Tu snatched it away, pried open the lacquered seal, pulled out the letter, and as he glanced at it, his expression gradually became serious.
Wei Ji asked, "What happened?"
Xiong Tu's expression was stern: "The custodian of Yujing gambled away a huge sum of money, owing a huge debt to Luo Zhan, the leader of the Yan Yi tribe, and even injured Luo Zhan's sister. The Yi people were enraged and wanted to take revenge. They gathered with weapons and marched towards Yujing gambler's camp in three separate groups."
After a moment's thought, Wei Ji said, "The debt and the assault are probably just an excuse; the real reason they're taking such a risk is the profit from the Yujing salt mine."
Fourteen years ago, a conflict erupted between the Duzhang people and the Yan Yi over the salt profits of the Yujing well, eventually escalating into a bloody battle between the Nan Guang Liao people and the Yan people. The Yan people were defeated and, under the mediation of a Song envoy, were forced to surrender their territory to the Song. Unexpectedly, only a decade or so later, the Yan people have rebelled again.
I stepped into the courtyard and called to Feng Qiao, "Lord Xiong has urgent military business. Go and pack his things quickly."
Feng Qiao responded and left. Huai Xu hurriedly ran over and said, "Godmother, Lord Xiong is leaving now. Will we... ever see each other again?"
"I don't know." I looked at Lin Zhong. "He's outside, go see him off!"
I led the three of them to say goodbye to Xiong Tu at the entrance of the inn.
Feng Qiao handed the packed package to Xiong Tu, saying, "Take care on your journey, sir."
Huai Xu's eyes were a little red, and he pouted, saying, "Goodbye, sir!" Before he finished speaking, he turned and ran away.
Upon seeing this, Feng Qiao disregarded the reins and hurriedly gave chase.
I frowned as I watched their retreating figures: "Childish temper." Turning to Xiong Tu, I said, "I'll go fetch the horse for the adults."
Xiong Tu held his hand and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
The hitching post wasn't far away, and every word Xiong Tu said to Lin Zhong pierced my ears.
"Lin Zhong, you are highly skilled in martial arts and have a calm and steady temperament. You are a fine young man who should make achievements and aspire to great things. Why don't you reconsider and come with me to the Changning Army to earn a future?"
My heart trembled, and then I heard Lin Zhong say, "Farewell, Lord Xiong." After saying that, he went into the courtyard without looking back.
Xiong Tu gazed at Lin Zhong's figure, seemingly lost in thought. I led my yellow horse closer and said, "Lord Xiong, please."
Xiong Tu leaped onto his horse and leaned down to me, saying, "Qing Niangzi, I still owe you a drink. I'll make it up to you when I get back."
I tossed him the reins, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "You'd better not say things like 'wait for me to come back'."
Why?
Memories are always bittersweet. I reached out and rubbed my horse-like face with the back of my hand: "Because someone once said something similar to me, and later... none of them came back."
"Are they very important people to you?"
"certainly."
"Thud—" Xiong Tu released the reins, spurred his horse forward with a smile, and said, "Don't worry, Qing Niangzi, I'll be the exception!"
From the inner room came the faint sound of Huai Xu crying; I was the same way back then. Young hearts always fear separation, but even the most beautiful flowers wither; even the closest people must eventually part. The only one who can accompany you for eternity is yourself.
Lin Zhong was pruning the flowers in the courtyard; although it was late autumn, a few plants were still stubbornly blooming. I sniffed the hollyhocks in the bamboo tube and said carefully, "I heard what Lord Xiong said to you. If you're interested, you might as well give it a try. As for the rest... there's no need to worry too much."
Lin Zhong, with his back to me, said, "The master heard what I said."
I said sincerely, "It is because I heard that I hope that wherever you go and whatever you do, you can do it according to your heart, not according to your own will."
Lin Zhong turned around and put down the scissors: "It's up to the heart, not the person. Did the boss achieve that?"
“Me?” I instinctively avoided his gaze. “At your age, I’ve already accomplished that.”
"What happened next? Why couldn't it be done anymore?"
“That’s because—” I looked at Lin Zhong and saw his indifferent expression, and a nameless anger instantly rose in my heart, “Why should I explain all this to you? I was only saying it for your own good! You don’t appreciate it, fine, but you’re even questioning me…”
Lin Zhong glanced at me expressionlessly, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.
I slammed my fist on the table in anger: "I'm talking to you, why are you running away? Come back here!"
Lin Zhong ignored me completely, which made me even angrier: "Go away! Go away! Don't come back!"
I stormed into the kitchen, quickly washed, chopped, stewed, and cooked, preparing dinner early, and then called Huai Xu and Feng Qiao over to eat.
Huai Xu asked cautiously, "Godmother, aren't we going to eat together when Uncle Lin comes back...?"
"What are you waiting for?" I shoveled rice into my mouth. "Eat up, eat up!"
Feng Qiao replied, "Then I'll pick some vegetables and save them for later."
"Save what?" I glared at him. "Eat your food!"
After dinner, Lin Zhong still hadn't returned.
In a fit of anger, I dumped all the leftover food into the chicken trough and said to Huai Xu and Feng Qiao, "I'm going out for a walk. If your Uncle Lin comes back, no one is allowed to cook anything for him. Let him fend for himself!"
As dusk deepened, I walked to the riverbank, where several fishermen were still fishing. I asked them one by one, but they all said they had never seen Lin Zhong.
I hurriedly returned to the inn, where the two younger children were chatting and laughing. I put on a stern face and asked them, "Has the person returned?"
The two looked at each other and shook their heads: "No..."
I pressed my temple, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over me: "What are you all standing there for? Go out and look for them!"
Huai Xu came over to help me up: "Godmother, don't worry. Uncle Lin is a big man with good martial arts skills, he'll be fine."
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