On the eastern slopes of Douchen Ridge, several carriages were swaying precariously as they advanced along a muddy path.
Upon closer inspection, the lead carriage possessed a primitive elegance. Though its carvings were not intricate, they were refined and tasteful. The aged wood of the shafts had been lacquered so many times that the beautiful grain seemed to seep with oil. An oilcloth had been specially draped over the roof, its four corners weighted down by solid bronze figurines that shimmered in the rain, their eyes carved so vividly they seemed almost alive.
The lead carriage was wider than the others, with an oil lamp hanging from its front. The lamp was made of an unknown material, for no matter how the wind and rain lashed against it, the flame refused to die. The two old horses pulling the carriage had thinning manes, yet their footing was exceptionally steady, instinctively avoiding deep ruts and muddy pits long before they reached them.
In this rustic, ancient tableau of a mountain journey through a rainy night, the only jarring element was the young attendant driving the carriage. Not only was he dressed entirely in white, but his face appeared to be dusted with powder. As he held the reins, the two smallest fingers of his right hand were daintily curled outward, while his other hand gripped a folding fan, kept tightly shut to protect it from the rain.
The wheels creaked and groaned through several more rotations before finally emerging from the potholed trail.
Hao Bai let out a secret sigh of relief, twirling the fan in his hand with a hint of regained leisure.
The Yu’an region was naturally prone to rain, but a downpour of this magnitude was rare. When the weather turned damp, the elderly often suffered from flare-ups of old aches in their legs and joints. Consequently, he had spent several days treating his great-grandfather’s waist and legs, which had delayed their arrival in the city. As the delay stretched on, the mere thought of *that person’s* half-smiling gaze filled his fragile heart with an indescribable trepidation.
Ultimately, he was the youngest in the family, yet it seemed every nerve-wracking task was destined to fall upon his shoulders.
After some deliberation, he had decided to risk taking a shortcut.
For generations, the heads of the Qu family had traveled the world practicing medicine. Every mountain range and water system they encountered was recorded and passed down through the ages. In his youth, Hao Bai had been somewhat lazy, studying perhaps only ten or twenty percent of these records—just enough to get by.
There were seven or eight official roads leading to Que City, but very few mountain paths. This was to prevent enemy forces from infiltrating undetected through a network of well-maintained trails. Thus, this particular path through Douchen Ridge had not been repaired for years and was seldom used.
Fortunately, aside from the jolting ride, nothing untoward had happened so far.
By his calculations, he would enter the city just as the Emperor’s spring hunting party returned. The timing was impeccable.
He was lost in these pleasant thoughts when, without warning, a dark shadow lunged out from the path ahead.
Startled, he yanked hard on the reins.
It was said that the more a road was traveled, the smoother it became. Seldom-used mountain paths were inevitably rugged, and in such wilderness, wild beasts were often bolder. He had heard that Douchen Ridge was once plagued by wild boars; surely he wasn't that unlucky...
Hao Bai nervously gripped his fan, using the tip of it to poke at the oil lamp in front of the carriage, hoping to cast more light. Before he could figure out how to adjust the lamp, the shadow charged straight for him and bit down on his sleeve.
The poor physician in white let out a shrill cry, frantically shaking his arm.
After a few frantic shakes, he realized something was wrong. He slowed his movements and opened his eyes to inspect his "attacker."
The shadow had a long face, with a disheveled mane draping over its eyes. Only a row of neat teeth and two flared nostrils were particularly prominent.
It was a horse.
He breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned into indignation.
These days, even a beast felt it could bully him.
He indignantly wrenched his sleeve free and let out a cold snort.
"Whose mount is this? So utterly lacking in manners."
As if to validate his assessment, the scruffy beast snorted angrily through its nostrils in the next instant, spraying a faceful of muddy water over him.
A stream of muddy slush trickled down the center of his forehead. Hao Bai was livid, his own nostrils flaring with rage, his hand trembling as it gripped his fan.
"You bold beast! How dare you... how dare you..."
He had never been good at street brawling, let alone arguing with an animal. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
At that moment, the carriage door behind him finally opened, and a man with a tanned face and a beautiful, flowing beard poked his head out.
"What is it? What has happened?"
Hao Bai awkwardly shook the muddy water from his clothes, trying to maintain a facade of composure.
"It’s nothing, nothing at all. Likely someone’s horse has wandered off and stumbled onto the path."
The bearded man’s gaze fell upon the horse, and he looked it over.
"Are there any markings on the saddle? Perhaps we can return it to its owner once we enter the city."
Hao Bai curled his lip.
"Look at its unkempt state and lack of restraint. It clearly doesn't belong to any prominent household."
Despite his words, he grabbed the horse’s bridle and inspected it from all sides.
The saddle was of the most primitive style, its pommel worn smooth and shiny. The left stirrup appeared to have been broken once and crudely reattached, making it look a bit short. Various messy bags were slung across the sides, and there wasn't a single stitch of embroidery on the mudguards or saddle flaps, let alone a family crest or insignia.
Hao Bai was about to withdraw his hand when he realized his palm was covered in the beast's mud. With a look of disgust, he wiped his hand twice on the horse’s rump.
The horse suddenly let out a sharp whinny and kicked its hind legs. As the mud slid off its haunch, an arrow wound—deep enough to see the bone—was revealed.
Hao Bai’s movements froze. His gaze fixed on the familiar greyish-white mottled hair on the horse’s rump. After a long moment, a memory resurfaced, and his expression became one of utter disbelief.
"I was wondering... how could a horse from an ordinary family have such a foul temper?"
Whether the horse understood his muttering or not, it remained stubbornly sideways in front of the carriage, its hooves pawing at the puddles and turning the already muddy ground into a complete mess.
The bearded man looked on with a jovial expression, though he had already surmised the situation.
"You know this horse?"
"I do not."
He denied it instantly, turning his face away and trying his best not to look at the filthy horse.
"Then it must know you."
Hao Bai looked up at the sky.
"The rain is too heavy. It’s gone blind and mistaken me for someone else."
This time, before the bearded man could respond, a burst of laughter erupted from inside the carriage, which soon dissolved into a low cough.
Hearing this, the man hurried back inside the carriage to offer comfort.
A moment later, the coughing ceased, followed by the sound of an aged voice.
"This horse seems quite spirited. It is possible its master has met with misfortune."
Hao Bai lowered his head, his demeanor becoming more restrained.
"Then, according to Great-Grandfather’s wishes, should we... go and take a look?"
"Mm." The voice hummed in thought before adding, "You go and take a look. Not us."
The physician in white shrank back, muttering, "But Great-Grandfather, it’s raining so hard right now."
"Xingzi."
Hearing his name, the bearded man respectfully answered.
"Go and get a piece of oilcloth for Mo’er and let him be on his way. If he delays any longer, he’ll miss the roast goose banquet at Wangchen Tower tonight."
Qu Xingzi obediently went to fetch the oilcloth, handing it to Hao Bai with a friendly smile.
"Dear nephew, if you please."
Hao Bai stared at the oilcloth, his fingers clenching and unclenching. Finally, he took it through gritted teeth.
The rain grew heavier. He looked down at his white boots, which he had only changed into yesterday, then at his two spotless white sleeves. With a surge of tragic indignation, he threw on the oilcloth and jumped down from the carriage.
The horse watched him in the darkness, and he stared back at the horse.
Only when the sound of the carriage wheels had faded into the distance did he resign himself to his fate. He stepped forward and grabbed the pommel of the saddle.
"I haven't ridden a horse in a long time. Don't you dare bully me."
****** ****** ******
The heavy rain drummed a frantic rhythm.
A chaotic sound of hoofbeats approached from the distance, lingering for a while before a figure finally emerged through the curtain of rain.
Hao Bai gripped the tuft of hair on Jixiang’s head with both hands, hanging precariously off the horse’s back.
He had never liked riding, let alone traversing such rugged mountain terrain on horseback. The rain had made the mountain rocks exceptionally slick. The horse’s hooves slipped and slid along the edge of steep cliffs; though he was on the horse’s back, his heart was in his throat, entrusting his very life to those four hooves.
Due to his nerves and the jolting ride, he had nearly slipped off several times. The oilcloth had long since vanished, and he was now soaked to the bone. He tried to keep his eyes open amidst the splashing rain, but it was futile; he could only rely blindly on the beast beneath him.
In his anxiety, his grip was incredibly tight. Yet Jixiang, who usually threw a fit if its coat was even slightly ruffled, endured it the entire way. Scenting the faint trace of blood in the heavy rain, the horse finally found the place.
It was a mountain path that had partially collapsed, its end vanishing into a chaotic void. A faint, cold glimmer of dawn spilled onto the road, reflecting off the night’s puddles with an eerie blue light.
The rain continued to fall, creating a white mist that obscured everything.
Aside from the sound of the rain, nothing could be heard. Jixiang stopped and paced in circles, but Hao Bai didn't dare dismount.
He had the intuition of a traveling physician: something had definitely happened here.
"Is... is anyone there?"
He spoke, but found he couldn't even hear his own voice.
"Xiao Nanhui?"
He raised his voice, but there was still no movement around him.
Jixiang snorted, the sound far more resonant than his own. Sensing the beast’s mockery, he finally decided to risk everything to reclaim some dignity.
"Xiao Nanhui!"
He roared into the rain with all his might, but the sound seemed muffled by the dense downpour, heard by him alone.
Refusing to give up, he took a deep breath and bellowed again, "Xiao Nanhui! Your grandfather has come to find you! If you’re not dead, make a sound!"
The surroundings remained filled only with the cacophony of rain. No matter how hard he strained to listen, he could detect no subtle change.
Hao Bai’s heart sank bit by bit. He gritted his teeth, unfastened the stirrups that had been tangled around his feet, and stumbled off the horse, fumbling around in the dim light.
He didn't dare wander far, counting his steps as he searched. Every ten paces, he would turn back to check on Jixiang, being exceedingly cautious. In this desolate wilderness, the only thing that gave him a sense of security was a horse.
After repeating this seven or eight times, he finally spotted a blurred shape on the ground.
His footsteps faltered, then quickened, only to stop again when he reached her.
She lay prone in the mud, motionless. The clothes on her back were torn into several pieces, revealing faint traces of blood and filth beneath. The rainwater had pooled in the hollow where she lay; her face was buried in the mud, with only half of her nose and mouth exposed.
Hao Bai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his expression was much calmer. He stepped forward, carefully turned her over, used a handkerchief to clear the mud from her face, and checked her breathing.
There was no breath at all.
"Xiao Nanhui!"
He shivered as he slapped her face.
The person on the ground remained unresponsive, as if she were merely asleep.
He quickly pulled out his silver needles and applied three in rapid succession. When three didn't work, he applied five. The five silver needles were driven in one after another, each strike more forceful than the last.
"Xiao Nanhui, you turtle-bastard! You’ve wasted two of my Bone-Subduing Needles for nothing! You even made me sit in that godforsaken prison for three months! If you die, I’ll flay your skin to get my needles back! Do you hear me?! I’ll flay you alive..."
The person on the ground finally let out a weak groan, followed by a faint breath.
Hao Bai collapsed onto the ground, feeling as though all his strength had been drained.
"Grandmaster, be my witness... I only said I would treat those on the verge of death, I never said I would treat those who were already dead."
He retrieved his needles and took a moment to compose himself before checking her injuries.
She had taken two hits; there were two sharp-edged gashes in her inner tunic, though he couldn't tell if they were from a blade or a sword. Judging by the damage to the fabric, those two strikes should have been fatal—enough to disembowel her or shatter her bones.
Yet her wounds were not that severe. Though she had bled, they were by no means untreatable.
The only real trouble lay in the bruising on the back of her neck and waist. She must have been thrown with immense force, striking the mountain rocks without any way to cushion the impact.
If it was just internal bruising, it might be manageable, but if her spine was injured or her head was damaged...
"I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to keep saving your little life. Grandmaster above, pray let this be the last time." He stood up, muttering to himself as if to convince himself. "The last time. Yes, the last time..."
He used the torn pieces of her clothing as bandages and gathered some branches to crudely stabilize her head and limbs, preventing the jolting ride from worsening her injuries. Once finished, he prepared to lift her onto the horse. Jixiang, who had been waiting nearby and wagging its tail, obediently knelt down. Even so, Hao Bai’s limbs, which lacked regular exercise, cramped from the exertion.
In his years of practicing medicine, he had encountered situations where Heaven decided to take a life and he was powerless. But he had never been involved in handling the aftermath or moving a body. Only now did he realize what "dead weight" truly meant.
Once a person lost consciousness, they became as heavy as a corpse. No matter how lively or light-footed she had been before, she was now no different from a stone monument.
After a grueling, sweat-drenched struggle, he was finally able to set off again.
Leaving the mountain path, they returned to the uneven terrain of the forest. If the weight of one person had been difficult before, the weight of two was nearly impossible.
The swaying of the horse’s back made him feel drowsy. After an unknown amount of time, Hao Bai felt the jolting horse suddenly come to a halt.
He wiped the water from his face, and when he looked up, he froze.
Perhaps the sound of the rain through the trees was too loud, or perhaps he had been too focused on maintaining his balance to notice his surroundings, but it felt as though the carriage had appeared there in a mere blink of an eye.
The carriage looked ordinary, with nothing eye-catching or suspicious about it. The person sitting at the front in a straw raincoat was so unremarkable that one would forget them instantly.
Yet the more ordinary it seemed, the more eerie the situation felt. How had such a carriage appeared here? Had it been here all along, or had it followed his trail? Was it a chance encounter, or...
Hao Bai’s temple twitched with tension. He clenched his teeth, not daring to make a sound.
Finally, the driver in the straw raincoat moved. He removed his hat, revealing a plain but somewhat familiar face.
Hao Bai’s twitching temple stopped, replaced by a trembling at the corner of his mouth.
"Ding... Ding..."
Before he could finish "Ding," the carriage door behind the man slowly opened.
"It has been a long time, Mr. Qu."
As soon as he heard that form of address, he knew the man before him was not the "Lord Zhongli" he had first met, but was showing another face entirely.
The Emperor’s dark eyes were like those of a Buddha depicted in the scriptures, yet his gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing through the curtain of rain and striking Hao Bai directly, making him shudder.
How could someone with such features possess such an expression?
"This... this humble subject, Qu Mo, greets Your Majesty."
No one responded in the darkness. Fragmented light filtered through the leaves, illuminating the pitted puddles on the ground, followed by the sound of distant thunder echoing across the horizon.
A wave of coldness crawled up Hao Bai’s spine to his head. Even when facing the uncertain dangers earlier, he had never felt this terrified.
"Weixiang, bring her here."
Ding Weixiang leaped down from the carriage and reached him in a few strides, swiftly transferring the woman from the horse to the carriage.
The moment she was brought inside, the man who had been wearing a cold, indifferent expression fixed his gaze upon her like a hook.
He saw that only a day ago, on that warm and pleasant morning, he had personally fastened the buttons that were now completely torn away. Her dark tunic was shredded like waste, and the dark spots upon it were an indistinguishable mix of mud and blood.
He thought he should act now, to investigate how terrifying the nightmare beneath those ruined clothes truly was. Or perhaps he should find a way to wake her and demand to know why she had allowed herself to become like this.
But he hesitated.
A strange emotion plagued him—a worry he had never known before.
He knew that emotion was called fear. He feared the answers; he feared facing her suffering.
In an instant, he withdrew his gaze.
There seemed to be someone else inside the carriage. Faint, indistinct whispers could be heard, and the Emperor’s expression became even more inscrutable.
After a long while, the whispering stopped, and his calm voice spoke again.
"Why are you here? And why is she injured like this?"
The man being questioned felt seven parts aggrieved and three parts choked with emotion.
Heaven be his witness, he was just a passerby. No, to be precise, a meddling passerby.
Hao Bai forced himself to remain calm. He had a clear conscience and wished to maintain some dignity for his family.
"This humble subject was traveling to Chizhou with his kin. We intended to enter Que City today and took a shortcut. While passing through Douchen Ridge, we encountered Miss Xiao’s mount. By the time we found her, she was in this state. This humble subject merely used needles to save her life; I truly know nothing of the rest."
The other man did not respond immediately, merely studying him with a neutral gaze.
The physician in white was a mess. The white powder on his face had been mostly washed away by the rain, revealing his natural tanned complexion, which made him look considerably more honest and dependable.
Finally, the man in the carriage withdrew his gaze.
"We shall take her back. In consideration of your service in saving her life, We shall pardon your lack of etiquette."
Hao Bai felt a sudden wave of relief, but the Emperor continued.
"Mr. Qu, today you were traveling through Douchen Ridge with your kin when you lost your way in the heavy rain. While searching for the path, you witnessed Adjutant Xiao accidentally fall from a cliff and rescued her. Officer Xiao has injured her spine and must not be moved after the bones are set. Therefore, you have temporarily settled her at Wangchen Tower to recover, and she will see no outsiders for three months. Do you understand Our words?"
As he spoke, a woman with a build similar to Xiao Nanhui’s stepped out of the carriage. She was wearing the same dark tunic, and even her hair was styled identically.
She gave the stunned Hao Bai a slight bow. When she spoke, even her voice was indistinguishable from Xiao Nanhui’s: "I have injured my spine. I must trouble the gentleman to help me onto the horse."
Hao Bai stood with his mouth half-open for a moment before instinctively complying. By the time he regained his senses, only two people and a horse remained in the forest.
The carriage had already vanished silently into the mist, as mysterious as the moment it had arrived.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
斗辰岭 | Douchen Ridge | A mountain ridge near Que City.
雨安 | Yu'an | A region known for its rainy weather.
瞿家 | Qu Family | A family of renowned traveling physicians.
郝白 / 瞿墨 | Hao Bai / Qu Mo | A physician of the Qu family; Hao Bai is likely an alias or courtesy name.
伏骨针 | Bone-Subduing Needles | Specialized medical needles used by the Qu family for emergency stabilization.
肖参乘 | Adjutant Xiao | Xiao Nanhui's military rank/title.
望尘楼 | Wangchen Tower | A location in the city, likely an inn or a private residence.
丁未翔 | Ding Weixiang | The Emperor's attendant and driver.
赤州 | Chizhou | A province or administrative region.
