The Qiu Manor was as quiet as ever tonight, and as usual, the Second Young Master of the Qiu family was returning late.
Xu Qiuchi walked briskly through the festooned gate, heading straight for the inner courtyard. He paused just before the final moon gate. Standing still for a moment, he pricked up his ears to listen for any movement inside. Once he confirmed that his formidable elder brother had indeed not returned, a peculiar smile spread across his face.
"I suppose I was overthinking things, imagining that if he got drunk, he might actually take a detour to come home and see me."
Jiang Xin’er glanced at him and couldn't help but speak up. "The Protector has a low tolerance for alcohol, but he never overindulges. Therefore..."
Before she could finish, the man reeking of wine had already started walking forward with a cheerful stride. "Isn't that for the best? If he were back, we’d have far more trouble on our hands."
A green shadow flickered as Liu Caiwu approached slowly, brushing past Jiang Xin’er. She spoke softly to the girl, "Xin’er, you’ve worked hard today. Aunt Huaiyu has prepared some late-night snacks. Go have a bite and get some rest."
Jiang Xin’er’s gaze lingered on Xu Qiuchi’s retreating back. She seemed to want to say more, but ultimately, she simply performed a salute and withdrew.
Xu Qiuchi listened as those familiar footsteps grew distant. After a long while, he sat down on a decorative rockery by the pond as if in a fit of pique.
The rockery sat right beside the water, where a patch of white was currently wiggling its tail as it darted back and forth through the green ripples. It was the manor’s newest little tyrant—the duck known as "Manager Qin." With the vast pond all to itself, the creature was truly living a life as merry as an immortal's.
The young master in silk watched from a distance for a while, the tension in his brow finally softening. He gave a lazy instruction: "I’ll sit here for a bit before going in. Manager Liu, you’ve had a long day. Go to bed."
"No rush. There is one more matter."
Xu Qiuchi turned around, his face a picture of spring breezes and smiles. "Has my aunt changed her temperament today? Usually, you wouldn't stay in my presence a moment longer than necessary..."
The woman had already shed the mask of the flirtatious, smiling beauty she wore during the banquet. Her made-up face was devoid of expression, resembling a painted puppet from a shadow play. She drew something from her sleeve and handed it over.
"Please keep this safe, Second Young Master."
The smile vanished from Xu Qiuchi’s face. He stared at the exquisite, jewel-encrusted golden gourd in the woman’s palm, hesitating to reach out. "Manager Liu is truly quick-handed."
The corner of Liu Caiwu’s mouth twitched. Once she removed her disguise, even a smile felt like a chore. "The Second Young Master jokes."
Before these hands had learned the art of killing, they had felt the purses of countless brothel patrons, the jewelry boxes of famous courtesans, and the coin chests of willow-lane madams. She could pluck a seed pearl from a dancer’s silk slipper in the blink of an eye. What was a mere golden gourd hidden in a person's clothes?
"How does the Second Young Master intend to handle this object?"
Xu Qiuchi answered with a question of his own. "Where did Manager Liu obtain this?"
Liu Caiwu paused, then spoke truthfully. "From a maidservant in the Su Manor."
Xu Qiuchi pondered for a moment before finally taking the golden gourd. "I spent a fortune on that Blood Lingzhi, yet Su Rin didn't even spare it a glance. Looking at it now, perhaps that patient in the Su Manor simply has no use for it anymore."
"That is for the Second Young Master to investigate. However..." Liu Caiwu recalled the way that purple-clad maid had looked at her. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke plainly, "In the future, the Second Young Master must distinguish between insiders and outsiders, and prioritize what is urgent. Today it is a golden gourd; tomorrow it could be something else. I am not Jiang Xin’er; I cannot be by your side every moment. If a mistake is made, I fear the entire household will suffer for it."
If there was anyone in the Qiu Manor who still dared to speak to him in such an blunt tone, it was the woman before him.
Xu Qiuchi blinked, his voice becoming even softer. "Even if Manager Liu were by my side every moment, the world is fickle. What is meant to come will come. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you?"
If there was anyone in this world who still dared to poke at her wounds in such a reckless manner, it was this innocent-looking young man.
Liu Caiwu stopped looking at him. She lowered her head in a salute, her movements so precise and fluid that no fault could be found. "I only do as the Second Young Master commands. I neither know nor understand anything else. It is late. Please rest well, Second Young Master."
The woman in green turned and left without hesitation.
After another while, the man by the rockery finally moved. He grabbed a handful of bean cakes from a lacquer box on the stone table, crushed them, and tossed them into the pond. Various fish swarmed toward the commotion, but the patch of white remained floating a short distance away, preening its feathers.
Xu Qiuchi sighed softly. "I brought you here to deal with this pond of vicious fish. But look at you, only caring for your own comfort."
As if understanding him, the duck turned around and pointed its tail feathers at him.
"Manager Qin, where exactly should I put you?"
***
The moon passed its zenith; it was the hour of the rat.
Qin Jiuye was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she seemed to return to that eerie courtyard in the Su Manor. The small hole in the wall was right before her eyes, and a flower-legged centipede crawled out of it. In her daze, the hole seemed to move, transforming into an eye growing out of the wall, staring at her without blinking.
In the darkness, a faint *clack-clack* sound echoed, rhythmically striking against her bones...
Qin Jiuye snapped her eyes open. She realized the sound wasn't a hallucination; it was coming from the courtyard. She scrambled up from her makeshift bed of broken planks, listened for another moment, and then shuffled out into the yard in her slippers.
Near the wall by the small kitchen, a figure was crouching on the ground, head down, busy with something.
The sound grew clearer. Qin Jiuye observed for a long time before finally figuring out what was happening. "You... why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? What are you doing crouching there?"
The youth’s frame stiffened. He slowly stood up, holding a branch he hadn't yet broken. He seemingly hadn't expected anyone to be out at this hour, and it took a moment for him to turn his head.
"Organizing these... kindling twigs."
She looked down at his feet. By the base of the wall were several bundles of kindling sorted by thickness. Every twig was the same length and diameter, their ends cut as neatly as the chopsticks from the Lianxiang Pavilion in the east of the city. They looked nothing like their original state.
Was a crazy Old Dog Du not enough? What had gone wrong in Li Qiao’s head now? Just how many eccentrics were gathered here in Tingfeng Hall? And how much longer would she have to live under the same roof as these people?
Qin Jiuye pondered this mournfully before finally saying in a weary tone, "These things aren't urgent. You can do them during the day."
Having said her piece, she hitched up her trousers, prepared to return to her room to try and find sleep again. Unexpectedly, the youth’s voice sounded behind her.
"It’s so late. Is Sister not asleep yet?"
*Yes, it’s very late. I was already asleep, but I was woken up by the strange noises you were making!*
Her body was exhausted, but her mind wouldn't stop racing. She knew she should go back and lie down on her planks, perhaps reciting the medical classics to help her drift off, but her footsteps faltered. She turned back around.
"If you have something to say, say it."
He stood there, clutching the branch, his expression more serious than ever before. "How does Sister think I performed today?"
*He stayed up in the middle of the night breaking sticks and woke me up just to ask me that?*
Qin Jiuye felt a surge of irritation in her chest, but she managed to suppress it. She had hit a wall at the Su Manor and had been forced to act submissively before Xu Qiuchi; she couldn't very well turn around and vent her anger on her own people, lest she gain a reputation for bullying the weak. She was the manager; she could lose anything, but she couldn't lose the loyalty of her people.
After some consideration, she gave a sincere evaluation. "You performed well. Better than Jinbao."
To her surprise, the youth didn't seem satisfied. He actually frowned. "Only 'better'?"
*Is comparing himself to Jinbao something worth being so concerned about?*
Qin Jiuye was even more baffled. But then she remembered Xu Qiuchi’s way of winning people over with his 'red and green' charms and figured that satisfying this minor request from one of her own wasn't much of a burden. Praise didn't cost any silver, after all.
She was about to offer a few more comforting words when she looked up and realized he had suddenly drawn close. Li Qiao’s silhouette looked exceptionally tall and thin in the night, like a banana tree spirit from the courtyard. He didn't block her path or take a threatening stance, yet she felt as though she couldn't move a single step.
It had been the same when he held her hand at the Su Manor.
Wasn't he just some unlucky wretch who had been chased and hacked the moment he entered the martial world, nearly dying before he could even seek revenge? Why did he occasionally put on this profound and inscrutable act?
"Instead of comparing yourself to others, you should focus on continuing your efforts," she tossed out the line and turned to go back inside.
"Actually, that golden gourd... I saw it today."
Qin Jiuye’s footsteps finally stopped. When she turned to look at him after a long pause, her expression was unreadable. "What do you mean?"
"I said I saw that golden gourd. It was on a maidservant in the Su Manor. I was afraid that acting rashly would alert them, so I let her go first..."
He was about to continue when the woman suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his collar. Her voice was very low, and there was a fierce light in her eyes he had never seen before.
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Do you think I'm easy to fool?"
Why hadn't he said it before, but was choosing to tell her privately now? How much of this was true, and how much was a lie? What was his purpose in telling her? She had felt something was off from the moment he insisted on coming to the Su Manor, and now this. Qin Jiuye was no fool; she wouldn't let a stray boy she’d picked up lead her by the nose.
She rarely showed this side of herself; even those close to her would be stunned by it. Yet, for some reason, the youth didn't retreat. Instead, he leaned in, his light brown eyes almost shimmering with moisture as he looked at her.
"Because I only wanted to tell Sister," he paused, his voice dropping even lower. "There are some things I don't want others to know. Just the two of us is enough."
Despite having dealt with all sorts of people in the martial world, this scene left Qin Jiuye utterly confused. She didn't understand what he was thinking, nor what he wanted. She stared at his face for a long time before slowly releasing his collar.
"What else did you see?" she asked slowly.
Li Qiao shook his head. "Nothing else. Just that. But if you need, I can return to the Su Manor and kidnap that maid for questioning."
The conversation was heading in a strange direction. Qin Jiuye quickly cut him off. "I only paid you for your work at Guoran Ju; I can't order you to do more than that. This Su Manor business was an unexpected complication. It’s enough that you returned safely and gathered some information. Anything more is unnecessary."
"I heard that if Guoran Ju’s accounts look good for the month, Brother Situ gets two extra chances to eat pastries. Since I performed well this time, does Sister have no reward for me?"
*That idiot Jinbao. He usually looks like he’s at odds with everyone, yet he blabbed everything about the monthly pastries.*
As he spoke, he looked at her with that direct gaze, making her heart drum and her forehead break into a sweat. "What reward do you want?"
"For example..." He kept leaning in until she could feel his warm breath against her ear. "...For example, the antidote Sister promised me."
So, it was about the antidote.
Her heart rate slowed, and her breath hitched. Qin Jiuye felt as though she had breathed a sigh of relief, yet it also felt as if something had been suddenly pulled from her chest. After a moment, she nodded. "Very well."
*Very well.* If she gave him what he wanted sooner, perhaps he would stop interfering with her with these strange behaviors every day.
Qin Jiuye thought for a moment, then went back into her room. A short while later, she emerged with a square, palm-sized packet of coarse paper. It didn't look like an antidote; it looked more like a scrap of candy wrapper left over by a child.
He reached out to take it, but she didn't let go. Li Qiao paused and looked up at her. "Does Sister have more concerns or requirements? Speak them all at once."
She looked at his now-calm face. After adjusting her own state, she spoke in a flat, level voice. "I don't have full confidence yet, so this can only be considered a semi-finished product. I haven't made much. I originally thought to wait until it was more refined before giving it to you, but if you don't mind, it’s fine to try it early. I can adjust the medicine and dosage based on your reaction."
"I don't mind."
How could he mind? Over the past years, he had tested dozens, if not hundreds, of medicines and poisons on himself. His life was something he had reclaimed for himself; only he knew why he made such reckless attempts.
The woman looked at his face, clearly unaware of his thoughts. Immersed in her own professional mindset, her voice was more serious than ever. "The poison you carry is similar to the 'Xiaoyao Powder' taken by Daoists of the previous dynasty. Xiaoyao Powder was originally intended for shamans or cultivators who wished to communicate with spirits. Because the refining process was complex, the potency of each batch varied. Some were weak, barely providing a sensation, while others were so potent the user would die instantly from bleeding out of their seven orifices. But regardless of the quality, Xiaoyao Powder is addictive."
"In an era ruled by shamans and priests, the raw materials for alchemy were often exhausted, and Xiaoyao Powder became worth more than its weight in gold. At its peak, blood would flow like rivers over a single unrefined batch. Later, people finally woke up and tried to use other methods to negate the power of the powder, but all ended in failure. Few who took Xiaoyao Powder met a peaceful end, and the formula was eventually listed as a forbidden prescription, gradually fading into obscurity."
She finally stopped, but he still didn't understand the point of her long explanation. "So, there is no antidote for Xiaoyao Powder?"
Qin Jiuye shook her head. "No, quite the opposite. In those days, there were far more skilled physicians than there are now. Many created antidotes. But few people were willing to persist in taking them."
"Why?"
"That is what I must tell you. Not all antidotes make one feel refreshed and comfortable upon ingestion. That is usually the rhetoric of swindlers trying to sell medicine. A true antidote must suppress the toxins accumulated in your body or sever your body’s dependence on a certain poison. This process is extremely painful. Once you begin, you must not stop the medicine, and you absolutely cannot use the poison again, or all efforts will be in vain. Do you understand what I am saying? Even so, are you willing to try?"
The youth fell silent. He stared at the paper packet in her hand, seemingly stumped by her question.
*Fine.* Sometimes a person’s willpower has little to do with whether they have a strong physique. She had learned this well from watching martial artists wail for their parents while having their wounds cleaned.
After a long silence, just as Qin Jiuye was about to pull the crude packet back, Li Qiao finally reached out. He took the packet, opened it, and looked inside. Then, he picked out one of the bean-sized pills and swallowed it.
Qin Jiuye watched him finish the act before saying solemnly, "As the physician developing your antidote, I will record your symptoms and reactions truthfully. During this period, you must not hide anything from me. To hide one's illness from the doctor is to invite disaster. Even if the symptoms are... embarrassing, you must tell me everything. Do you understand?"
He didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he tilted his head and looked at her, posing a question she had long avoided. "The detoxification process is so difficult, and I cannot pay the consultation fee. Since Sister doesn't require me to do anything more, what is the reason for putting so much heart and soul into all of this?"
Qin Jiuye fell silent. Her face looked exceptionally thin in the moonlight, the shadows on her cheeks deepening as she clenched her jaw.
"What do you think I want from you?" Her voice sounded hollow, yet it carried a trace of unprovoked resentment. "You should know there are many patients in this world who cannot pay. What makes you so special?"
He wasn't deterred by her strange reaction. Instead, he gave a reckless smile. "I didn't know Sister was such a benevolent person who enjoys helping others for the sake of it."
The woman looked up at him. In her clear, dark eyes, there was a surge of emotion she couldn't hide. He knew he had stepped on her most painful spot. But in the next moment, those emotions vanished from her eyes, replaced by a dull numbness.
"One pill a day. Come find me again in seven days."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
垂花门 | Festooned Gate | A traditional Chinese gate with hanging lotus-like pillars.
月门 | Moon Gate | A circular opening in a garden wall.
督护 | Protector | A high-ranking military or administrative official.
血芝 | Blood Lingzhi | A rare and precious medicinal fungus.
金葫芦 | Golden Gourd | A gourd-shaped ornament or container made of gold.
逍遥散 | Xiaoyao Powder | Literally "Free and Unfettered Powder"; here described as an addictive, toxic alchemical drug.
柴秧 | Kindling Twigs | Small branches or twigs used to start a fire.
果然居 | Guoran Ju | The name of the pastry shop/business (Guoran Pavilion).
司徒 | Situ | Jinbao's surname; used here as "Brother Situ."
