The sky was overcast, and the air was stifling. Rain was coming again.
Experienced boatmen and vendors had already packed their wares and closed shop early; pedestrians along the riverbanks hurried their pace. Qin Jiuye strolled along the winding waterway, the fifteen taels of silver clinking inside her battered medicine box—a sound as sweet as celestial music to her ears.
From the moment she stepped out of the Su residence, she had repeatedly convinced herself to cast all that embarrassment and unpleasantness to the back of her mind.
She might not be capable of the "hibernation of dragons and snakes," but she was a master of the "bending of the inchworm." Shrink the body, set aside dignity, and finally, empty the head—as long as there was silver in hand at the end, she could find a thousand reasons to convince herself that it was all worth it.
As for the murky entanglements with the Qiu family, she certainly couldn't afford to take them to heart.
Although Xu Qiuchi’s intentions were unclear and she wasn't without suspicion regarding that dandy, she held firmly to another truth: she was a person of little consequence, a "light-boned" nobody with nothing worth coveting. At most, the man might have had a fleeting moment of calculation or interest; anything more would simply be illogical.
Perhaps this was the benefit of being a small fish.
What did the struggles of the great leviathans have to do with her? She only needed a small pond with a bit of water to live quite well. No matter how many troubles the outside world held, they were not for someone like her to bear.
Taking a deep breath, her steps grew lighter.
Turning a corner, she encountered a few acquaintances on a bridge ahead. They immediately began exchanging polite greetings and pleasantries—something about "brother this" and "brother that," and "sending regards"...
*Shopkeeper Qin, this is my elder brother. Come over and pay your respects.*
A certain person’s terrifying voice rang out in her mind without warning. Qin Jiuye stumbled, nearly crashing into the stone bollard by the bridge.
A sharp throb pulsed in her temple, and even her eyelid began to twitch. She quickly composed herself, shaking the silver in her box once more. Listening to that dull, heavy resonance, she slowly regained her calm and turned her steps toward the southern part of the city.
The rivers in Jiugao City varied in width. At their widest, three large ships could sail abreast; at their narrowest, they were only the width of a carrying pole, narrow enough for a nimble adult to leap across.
Even so, a bridge had been built over the narrowest point. This short stretch of stone was called the Bridge of Naught. True to its name, it had very little presence. No one knew when it had been erected, let alone who had named it.
This bridge sat exactly on the boundary between the north and south of the city, serving as a sort of landmark. Everyone knew that in Jiugao, the north was for the powerful and wealthy, while the south was for the rough and common. They were two different worlds; even with only a river between them, there was little interaction. Over time, the stones at the bridgehead had cracked and loosened, and even fewer people passed this way. In the height of summer, the old mulberry trees on either side nearly draped over the bridge deck; from a distance, they looked more like a bridge than the Bridge of Naught itself.
Qin Jiuye was heading to Tingfeng Hall to find Jinbao. The Su residence was in the north, while Tingfeng Hall was in the south. Walking from one end to the other was a feat of physical endurance. She had to plan her route carefully to avoid unnecessary detours and stay away from crowded areas where prying eyes might notice the contents of her box.
That was what Qin Jiuye was thinking as she prepared to step onto the Bridge of Naught.
Under the thick shade, the stone bridge showed faint signs of potholes and moss. After crossing this final bridge and walking for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she would reach Shouqi Street. Qin Jiuye watched her footing carefully, intending to cross the stone bridge in a few strides.
In the next moment, she felt a dark shadow descend from above, heading straight for her head. Her heart jumped, and she instinctively—
***
By the time she finally shook off that inexplicable charlatan, the sky had already grown dark.
The figures on the street were sparse, and even on the city's great Leitian Avenue, hardly a soul was to be seen.
A few more steps and she would enter the southern city, heading toward Shouqi Street. Qin Jiuye stopped at the street corner, feeling a sudden hesitation.
Thanks to her instinctive half-step earlier, only a corner of her medicine box had gotten wet, but half of her body was now dripping with water. In the sweltering, windless air of Jiugao, even wearing half-soaked clothes was enough to make one suffer.
If she went to Tingfeng Hall now, she would undoubtedly have to endure Tang Shenyan’s glib tongue for a long time as he complained about the inconvenience of letting Jinbao stay the night. Not to mention that Jinbao only had the one set of ragged clothes he’d been wearing for two days; even if she could charm another set out of Old Tang, the man was even more of a slob—he had once gone a whole month in winter without changing his clothes.
As a physician, she could tolerate poverty, but she could not tolerate filth.
The thought of Tang Shenyan’s grime-encrusted cuffs and his front stained with the broth of who-knows-how-many meals made the hair all over her body stand on end.
No, she had to circle back to Guoran Residence to change.
If she left the city now, she wouldn't make it back in today. But she was also worried about Guoran Residence; while she was at it, she could bring back two doses of medicine for Old Qin to dispel dampness, lest his leg ailment flare up again while he was working the boats.
Guoran Residence rarely closed its doors to guests. She wondered if the village regulars had missed her during the day and night she’d been away. Had Dou Wuniang taken advantage of her absence to haggle over prices? Had those little rascals from the herder’s family at the edge of the village banded together to steal hawthorn pills from the pharmacy? And Li Qiao...
Qin Jiuye abruptly cut off the thought.
Of all things to think about, why him!
She had only been away for a day; why was she so concerned? With the shopkeeper gone, he was probably enjoying the peace and quiet, using his silver tongue to win over the aunts and grandmothers of the surrounding villages, closing up early after a day of leisure to wash up and sleep, never giving a thought to her worries.
It was good to go back, if only to prevent the "Li monkey from claiming kingship while the Qin tiger is away from the mountain."
Qin Jiuye tightened the straps of the box on her back and hurried toward West Feng Gate.
***
Although it was now early summer and the days were much longer, night always fell earlier at the foot of the mountain than in the city. By the time Qin Jiuye stepped onto the dirt path leading back to the village, the horizon had turned completely black.
On either side of the winding path, the increasingly dense thickets turned into patches of dark blue shadows, swaying slowly whenever a breeze blew. If a city dweller were to walk this rural night path, they would surely be reminded of countless ghost stories and scare themselves half to death. But Qin Jiuye had walked this path too many times; she wouldn't even light a candle, just to save a bit of oil money.
In her eyes, the most terrifying monster in this world was a "poor ghost."
And she was a poor ghost herself.
The air held a faint, damp scent of earth—a precursor to rain. Summer rain was different from the drizzling, lingering rains of spring; it often came fast and heavy, pouring satisfyingly all night and clearing by morning.
The selfheal she had set out to dry on the porch a few days ago hadn't been brought in yet. A light rain would be fine, but if it poured, the herbs would get damp. Jinbao might remember to bring them in if he were at Guoran Residence, but Li Qiao was a novice after all; she couldn't count on him.
At this thought, her pace quickened, her worn shoes kicking up a trail of dust on the country road.
Tonight, Dingweng Village was no different from usual, still the same muddy, dilapidated place.
But tonight, Guoran Residence seemed exceptionally quiet—so quiet that the rolling thunder brewing in the distant clouds could be heard clearly.
*Patter, patter.*
Raindrops began to fall sporadically, but Qin Jiuye stopped in her tracks before her own courtyard gate.
The old brushwood gate was pulled shut, but the door god poster—half-torn as it was—had fallen off, lying somewhat desolately on the stone slab in front of the door.
This gate had some years on it, and the hinges had grown fragile with age. Whenever she entered or left, she tried to keep her movements as gentle as possible. She had instructed Jinbao and Li Qiao to do the same.
Replacing a pair of good hinges cost silver; whoever broke the door would have to pay.
Therefore, even though the door god on the panel had been half-detached, it had never completely fallen off.
Unless the last person to enter the courtyard had forgotten her instructions and used much more force than usual to close the door, causing the poster to fall. Or... an outsider had entered.
A sudden storm was coming, and there was always wind; if the wind was strong enough, it could blow off a light piece of paper. Or perhaps the door god’s "time had come," and it truly was time for a new pair.
Qin Jiuye instinctively looked for trivial reasons for what she saw. It wasn't her fault; she was always careful, and Guoran Residence hadn't had any trouble in a long time.
What could happen? Perhaps her grandfather had stopped by to see her after leaving the Su residence this morning and had been in such a hurry that he’d slammed the door.
As she thought, she reached out to feel for the iron plate behind the latch. Just as she touched the rough wood, she felt a sudden stickiness. Looking down, she saw a blurry smudge of red on her fingertip in the dim light.
The gate wasn't locked; with this movement, it creaked open halfway.
The rain grew denser, turning into a thick curtain of pearls within moments.
Her half-dry clothes were soaked through again, clinging to her like a shell through several layers of fabric, making every pore on her body feel suffocated.
The last bit of wishful thinking in her heart shattered. Qin Jiuye swallowed hard and looked up.
Behind the dilapidated gate, the courtyard was pitch black. Not a soul was in sight; there was only a deathly silence.
Had mountain bandits entered the village to rob them? Or had she offended someone she shouldn't have at Treasure Mirage Pavilion, and the Bai family had come looking for her? Or perhaps something had gone wrong with someone she had treated before...
Qin Jiuye panicked. She wanted to turn and run, to scream for help.
But in this desolate wilderness, the houses were far apart, and everyone stayed behind closed doors once night fell. Even if she screamed herself hoarse, few would come to her rescue. Besides, there was nothing valuable in this broken grass hut of hers, except for the silver she had hidden under the stove...
The silver for her house!
Fear was instantly drowned by fury. If the money she had worked so hard to save was taken by someone else, she would rather fight them to the death than simply run away.
Qin Jiuye found a sudden surge of reckless courage. She shoved the door open and rushed into the courtyard regardless of the consequences.
The rain fell harder, the drops hitting the fine sand of the courtyard and creating small craters. She looked at the puddles forming in those craters, and for some reason, she was reminded of the black stains she had glimpsed on the stone slabs while passing through Sangma Street.
Rain could wash away many traces, including red ones.
Everything within sight was a chaos of falling rain; she could distinguish nothing, see nothing clearly.
But the next moment, as she looked up, her hurried steps abruptly slowed.
On the weathered wooden pillar in front of the porch, there was a palm print. A dark red, bloody palm print.
When the blood was on the gate, she could still comfort herself that the villain might not have entered the yard. Now that there were marks on the porch, the person had definitely entered Guoran Residence. The only question now was whether they had entered the house and whether they had already left.
However, the presence of blood meant the person might be injured; she wasn't entirely without a chance of winning.
There was a medicinal trowel on the porch. Qin Jiuye grabbed it, but after a few steps, she felt it wasn't enough. She retreated to pick up a medicinal winnowing basket to use as a shield for her chest. Only then did she creep toward the small kitchen in the east wing where her silver was hidden.
A crack of lightning struck behind her, illuminating the ground a few paces ahead. There was a row of watery footprints.
She held her breath and moved forward, hesitating between staying quiet and calling out for her own people.
The rain was noisy, but the east wing was terrifyingly quiet. No one seemed to be there; only a few shriveled heads of garlic hanging from the rafters swayed in the air with the wind blowing in from the door.
The candle was on the stove against the wall, but moving further meant stepping completely into the darkness.
Qin Jiuye gripped her tools tightly. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the scene in Treasure Mirage Pavilion that day.
As if possessed, she tentatively called out in a soft voice.
"Li Qiao?"
The room was pitch black. Her eyes were useless, so she could only strain her ears to listen for any movement.
There seemed to be a faint sound in the darkness.
However, there was a cacophony of noise in her ears, which instantly swallowed that subtle sound. She wasn't sure if it was just her own heartbeat and the rush of blood.
She took another step forward, half of her body now in the darkness.
"Li Qiao, are you there..."
This time, she finally heard it.
In a dark corner of the room, a heavy, ragged breath echoed faintly, like a ghost whispering.
Someone was in the room.
Qin Jiuye’s heart skipped a beat.
Just as her legs began to tremble and she prepared to retreat the way she came, the sound of splashing water came from the water vat in the corner. In the next moment, a wave of moisture mixed with a familiar scent lunged from behind her, followed by a damp, heavy body collapsing onto her.
"It's me."
***
Li Qiao was struggling in an endless darkness.
His perception was shredded by pain and searing heat; the world was collapsing and overturning in his eyes.
He could no longer remember how he had fought his way out of the encirclement or stumbled out of that alleyway. He only remembered the sunset casting a blood-red light in his eyes as he fled the city in a daze, walking back to the village step by step, returning to that broken courtyard.
He was merely relying on instinct to find a sanctuary, and this was the only place he could go.
Thirst. He was so thirsty.
He had never felt this thirsty before. Deep in his throat, there seemed to be a bottomless well that could never be filled, and at the bottom of that well was nothing but shifting sand.
He plunged his head into the water vat in the corner. The icy water submerged his chest but could not quell the persistent burning sensation there.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard someone calling his name.
His wavering vision could not focus in the darkness, but his hearing became sharp at that moment.
*Thump, thump, thump.*
What was that sound?
She called again, her voice tight with an irrepressible fear.
He heard it clearly—it was the sound of blood rushing through her neck. Fear drove her chest to squeeze her heart, sending full, vibrant blood into those vessels.
Warm, moist blood.
He felt the deep well in his throat suddenly erupt with a scream. Countless grains of sand seemed to boil and surge upward, scraping against every inch of his bones and sinews, causing a fire-like torment to flare up throughout his body.
He needed that fresh, hot red to stop the parching thirst.
"Hey? What's wrong with you? Why aren't you speaking?"
The light reflected from the rain danced on her face like shards of a broken mirror.
Qin Jiuye anxiously patted the man’s cheek, almost unable to resist slapping him a few times.
The temperature under her palm was terrifyingly hot. She had seen many patients with fevers, but none like this.
The youth’s face was pale and bloodless, yet his rapid breath was scorching. His pupils were terrifyingly dilated in the candlelight, his gaze fixed on her face as if he had lost focus.
It was pitch black all around; she couldn't distinguish anything more. Qin Jiuye steeled herself, intending to pull a silver needle from her medical box to strike a few major acupoints, when the man finally spoke.
"Qin Jiuye..."
He suddenly leaned in, resting his head on her shoulder and calling her name. His voice was so raspy he sounded like a dying man who had been bedridden for a long time.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then, remembering the fear she’d just endured, her anger flared.
"I’ve only been away for how long, and you dare call me by my full name? You haven't even paid back the silver you owe, and you've already turned yourself into this ghostly state! Why didn't you answer when I called? Why didn't you latch the door? Playing ghost in the dark all by yourself..."
Qin Jiuye’s grumbling came to an abrupt halt.
A strange sensation tickled her neck. She felt something warm sliding across her skin, leaving a wet trail.
It took her a moment to realize it was his tongue.
He was licking her.
His movements were slow, interspersed with heavy, nasal breaths, like a wild beast licking the fur of its prey.
"Li Qiao!" Qin Jiuye finally panicked. She reached out to push the man off her, but found he was like a mountain—immovable. "Quick, let go of me..."
A pair of arms wrapped around her head and waist from behind, pinning her in place.
She was unable to move.
Panic gradually turned into a primal fear. Qin Jiuye struggled harder, but in the next instant, a sharp pain in her neck caused her to lose all strength. A surge of warmth erupted from her skin.
*Gulp, gulp.*
The sound of swallowing, mixed with the youth’s satisfied sigh, rang in her ear, gradually drowned out by the thunderous pounding of her own heart.
Who was it that said she would face a calamity of blood today?
To hell with it all.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 了无桥 | Bridge of Naught | A small, insignificant bridge marking the boundary between North and South Jiugao. |
| 西葑门 | West Feng Gate | One of the city gates of Jiugao. |
| 丁翁村 | Dingweng Village | The village where Qin Jiuye's clinic/home is located. |
| 果然居 | Guoran Residence | Qin Jiuye's home and medical clinic. |
| 唐慎言 | Tang Shenyan | A physician at Tingfeng Hall, described as slovenly. |
| 听风堂 | Tingfeng Hall | A medical hall/pharmacy in the southern part of the city. |
| 守器街 | Shouqi Street | A street in the southern part of the city. |
| 夏枯草 | Selfheal | Prunella vulgaris, a medicinal herb. |
| 窦五娘 | Dou Wuniang | A local villager/customer. |
| 李樵 | Li Qiao | The mysterious young man working for Qin Jiuye. |
| 血光之灾 | Calamity of Blood | A traditional fortune-telling term predicting injury or bloodshed. |
