Chapter 48
When you're busy, the day always seems to fly by.
Chen Sanhe busied himself preparing several meals and then went to the threshing ground twice to tend to the wheat at home. Before he knew it, it was evening.
Worried about rain at night, every household in the village would take away the wheat that had been spread out to dry, and then bring it out to dry again the next day when the sun came out.
The men did physically demanding work in the fields during the day, so the women at home took over the task of harvesting wheat at night.
Chen Sanhe and his two daughters-in-law finished harvesting the wheat before the last rays of sunlight disappeared, and the three of them walked home together from the threshing ground.
They hadn't brought torches, and the roadside was overgrown with weeds. Fearing a snake might suddenly crawl out, Chen Sanhe anxiously reminded Chen Lian, who was leading the way, "Watch the road carefully. Snakes that have just come out of their burrows are the most venomous. Don't let them bite you."
"Yes, Mother. I understand."
Chen Lian slowed down her somewhat brisk pace after being advised to do so. She opened her eyes wide and stared at the road beneath her feet, gradually merging the road in front of the threshing ground with the road leading from the village entrance into the village.
Before turning the corner, Chen Lian merely glanced up at the village entrance and was immediately startled, shrinking back in fright.
"Mom! What's that?!"
"What?" Chen Sanhe hadn't seen anything, but was startled by her retreating movement, and hurriedly asked anxiously.
Chen Lian was so excited that spittle flew everywhere as she pointed to where she saw it and said, "There! That dark figure!"
In the distance, a dark, indistinct object was approaching them. It was wide, tall, and moving at a steady pace. Chen Lian didn't think it was human.
Because that thing has no neck or head! If it were compared to a human, it would only have broad shoulders, with no head in sight!
This is terrifying. What's so big that you can't even see its head?
Was it some kind of wild beast that she had never heard of or seen before?
If it's not a beast but a human... then where did the head go?
Could it be a headless, wandering ghost or a yaksha?
Some things become more frightening the more you imagine them, and Chen Lian's heart was pounding wildly from the series of imaginings she had.
Chen Sanhe pressed against the dark shadow as she pointed.
That thing was indeed moving, but even after staring intently at it, Chen Sanhe couldn't make out what it was.
Having lived a few more years than her two daughters-in-law, she managed to keep her composure and ask questions despite her panic.
"Where is that thing?!"
The three women, mother and daughter-in-law, stared intently and all noticed that the thing stopped after Chen Sanhe spoke.
Can it understand human speech?
Chen Lian felt even more terrified and grabbed Chen Sanhe's arm, whispering, "Mother, let's run and call..."
"Auntie?" The voice was a little hoarse, as if the throat had been dry for a long time.
But what came out was indeed human speech.
Chen Lian remained motionless, but Chen Sanhe carefully recalled the voice and excitedly stepped forward, "Young Master Xun?"
"It's me."
The two were about thirty paces apart, and Xun Yi slowly approached.
"Auntie, sister-in-law?" Xun Yi saw three figures and had just vaguely heard Chen Lian's voice. He couldn't be sure of their identities, so he called out to them in a questioning tone, and then sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, I've made you feel scared."
Chen Lian held onto Chen Sanhe's hand tightly, and even when Xun Yi was three or four steps away from them, she kept her eyes fixed on the position of Xun Yi's 'head'.
That area is flat.
When you get closer, you can barely see any undulations.
"What happened to your head?" Chen Lian's voice was a little strained.
"Head?" Xun Yi was carrying things on both his left and right shoulders. Hearing Chen Lian's words, he put down one of the things with one hand.
He rubbed his head a couple of times but didn't find anything wrong.
Chen Lian finally realized she had misunderstood, and her legs went weak as she let go of Chen Sanhe's hand.
"You've been gone for several months. Is everything going smoothly with your master?" Chen Sanhe was already very excited when he found out it was Xun Yi.
At this moment, her daughter-in-law let go of her arm, and she took two steps forward to get closer to Xun Yi, asking him about his situation outside during this time.
Since Xun Ai got married, Xun Yi's closest person in the entire Wupai Village has become Chen Sanhe.
Receiving the other party's concern, his eyes warmed, and he not only answered all of Chen Sanhe's questions, but also shared some interesting things he had heard outside.
Chen Sanhe's two daughters-in-law listened silently, and their impression of Xun Yi's taciturn nature changed.
As darkness fell, they relied entirely on the stars and moon for light. Since they couldn't stand on the road and chat for long, they talked briefly before continuing their journey.
Xun Yi had his legs bound, and his eyesight was better than that of ordinary people, so he went ahead to clear the way.
They came to a fork in the road, where the two families were heading in different directions.
Chen Sanhe stood on Xun Yi's side and told her two daughters-in-law to go home so she could help tidy up Xun Yi's house.
“No need,” Xun Yi said. He had seen many villages along the way busy with wheat harvesting and planting, and the villages must be too busy to handle everything. “I won’t pack today. You should go home and rest early. I’ll take you home.”
"That won't do. If no one lives there for months and the house isn't cleaned at all, the dust will choke you to death."
"Just wipe it casually," Xun Yi said.
Chen Sanhe couldn't refuse, and Xun Yi ended up taking him to his doorstep.
She guessed that even if she called Xun Yi, he wouldn't come in and sit down, so when her own house was in sight, she said, "I wonder how long you've been traveling today. Your throat must be hoarse."
"Wait here, your aunt will pour you a bowl of water. You can go back after you finish drinking it."
This time, Xun Yi obediently stopped.
After drinking the water, before parting, Xun Yi said to Chen Sanhe through the bamboo fence, "I brought you two things. I will take them to you tomorrow during the day after I have cleared them out."
Chen Sanhe shook his head. "I don't want the stuff. Just come over and talk to me."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "The wheat has just been harvested and will need to be dried tomorrow. Come over in the morning!"
Xun Yi responded loudly.
...
After being away for several months, even someone like Xun Yi, who had no one at home to look after him, began to feel homesick.
He traveled non-stop today, and even though he knew it would be late when he returned to the village, he did not stay overnight in the county town, preferring to travel a mountain road in the dark.
The journey from the county town to the village was dozens of miles, but he didn't stop for a moment and went straight to the village.
After exchanging a few words with Chen Sanhe and having a drink of water in front of the Pang family's house, his tense mood eased, and he was no longer so anxious.
He gripped the two sacks on his shoulders firmly with both hands and walked steadily toward his home at the foot of the mountain.
Let him think about... what's the state of his home right now?
He received his master's letter last year and set off that very day, carrying only some money and a change of clothes. He didn't have time to pack anything else, as it was probably covered in dust.
Men can be a little rough around the edges, so let's just make do for tonight.
He walked steadily forward.
As I approached my front door and was about to unlock it, I suddenly felt something was amiss.
He turned around and looked at the courtyard, looking down and then up again.
The Xun family's house is nestled against a mountain, with many camphor trees around it.
Although camphor trees are evergreen, they sprout yellowish-green buds every year in late April or early May.
At the same time, the old leaves turn red and fall off, completing the replacement of the old with the new.
Xun Yi remembers very clearly that the camphor tree would shed a lot of leaves every year at this time.
Why did it leave such a deep impression?
Because Artemisia argyi is afraid of insects.
There is a small insect with a yellow body and a black head that feeds exclusively on the tender leaves of camphor trees. Every year during this season, Xun Ai is so afraid that she doesn't even dare to leave her house, and she doesn't dare to air her clothes or quilts, for fear that the insects will crawl onto her body.
As the elder brother, Xun Yi had to sweep the yard two or three times a day to clean up the insects and fallen leaves. Otherwise, the insects would crawl everywhere, and Xun Ai would still be afraid when they got into the house.
There are very few fallen leaves on the ground this year, so few that it looks like someone just swept them up a couple of days ago.
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Author's note: Xun Yi: A man who always rushes through the night and frightens the villagers.
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