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Act IV: No Change

Chapter 56: Bone Threads (I)

The Fang household of today was composed of eleven or twelve members ––

The laoye and lao-furen had recently passed away, so now the heads of the household were Fang Cheng and his wife Jiang Shijing.

Chen-shu was the steward, while Chen-sao was both the housekeeper and the cook. The two had twin sons who stood behind the pharmacy counter and were responsible for serving customers and doing the accounts, although every night it was Fang Cheng's job to look through the accounts again.

Xingzi was an orphan who had been taken in by the late laoye. Ever since Jiang Shijing married into the family, Xingzi had been her personal maid –– although, in the years that had passed, Xingzi had learned much about medicine from her mistress, and could now be considered more of an assistant.

The rest of the servants helped with miscellaneous tasks, as well as cultivating and cooking medicinal herbs. There were also some young people around who were apprentices from local families.

But the servant boys weren't always there –– they sometimes had to travel for several days in order to find certain herbs –– and the apprentices didn't come every day either, as their families were usually poor and they spent much of their time helping their own parents.

This meant that, although the Fangs’ pharmacy was always very busy, the home itself was usually quiet.

This evening was probably the rowdiest night the Fang compound had seen in many years. The beggars that Fang Cheng and Jiang Shijing had brought home happily washed and cleaned themselves, changing into fresh clothes that Chen-shu and Chen-sao had found for them. Although these clothes were not brand-new, they were clean, and — most importantly — had no holes.

There was a good reason why the Fang and Jiang families had been so close in life –– it was not just because they had coincidentally entered the same profession, but also because members of both families loved! to! fuss!

Seeing the beggars' frostbitten knuckles, Chen-sao clucked and retrieved a series of portable heaters, which she lit and put one by one into the beggars' hands, saying, "Here, hold this –– look at how cold you are... Hey! Don't scratch! That's how it is when you freeze: when you start to warm up, it gets itchy, but you mustn't scratch. Stay warm here, and I'll get you some medicine."

The beggars had not become homeless out of laziness, [a] but rather because starvation had struck their families. Being disabled, they had been more vulnerable to the circumstances that led people to end up sleeping on the streets. Even so, kidnapping was going too far. If these beggars were ordinary people, it would have been considered kind simply not to press charges. Who knew that, not only did the Fang family not press charges, they even welcomed the group as guests and agreed to do what they'd been kidnapped to do –– the Fangs were truly generous.

Now that Chen-sao was fretting over them, the beggars felt remorseful and uneasy. The rudeness they’d displayed back in the mountains dissipated and they became a row of stupid quails who stammered, "Don't –– don't worry. W-we're used to the cold, so let it be."

And now that Chen-sao was back home where she was comfortable, she became far braver. She glared at them and scolded, "Are you the ones hurt or am I the one hurt? Are you pharmacists or am I a pharmacist? Hold the heaters and don't let go. I'll be right back."

The twin brothers, who happened to be passing by, heard their mother's irritated tone and suddenly recalled the way they'd been scolded when they'd been younger. They shrunk their necks and tried to sneak past, but could not escape their mother's eye. "Where are you two going?" she shouted at them. "Are you being chased by a ghost? Come here."

Xiuping and Xiu-an awkwardly turned around and said in unison, "Mom, what is it? We've just closed the store and were on our way to bring the account booklets to Fang-shaoye."

“How big are the account booklets? Do you need two people to bring them over?" Irritated, Chen-sao pointed at one of them and said, "Bring me a cask of wine, the strong kind, and some clean rags."

"Strong wine? What do you need strong wine for? Has Dad pissed you off?" asked the brother she'd pointed to –– the younger twin, Xiu-an. His honorable older brother had already run away with the account booklets.

"Would your father dare?" Chen-sao replied. She pointed at the group of beggars standing around in one of the wing-rooms. "Everyone here has frostbite. We need to warm them up."

As soon as he heard the word ‘frostbite’, Xiu-an's face turned green.

He had been extremely naughty as a child, and was constantly wrestling with his brother Xiuping. On one particularly snowy day, the brothers had gone out to play in the snow, but had soon begun to fight again, getting snow all over their faces and in their clothes. Then, in a burst of brute strength, Xiu-an had fearlessly decided to bury his brother in the snow up to his neck. When they came home, his fingers had been frozen red, and his mother had spanked him so that his behind swelled enormously –– which had made Xiuping mock him for a month straight.

But a month later, something else happened, and the brothers no longer had anything to laugh about. The brothers had spent all day playing in the snow, then had come back and plunged their frozen fingers into hot water. The sudden change from cold to hot had caused frostbite to creep up their fingers and feet, which had subsequently swollen as fat as carrots. It had been itchy and painful, and they'd suffered enough for a lifetime.

Chen-sao had chopped ginger into tiny pieces and boiled it into a spicy liquid, which she'd mixed with strong alcohol to soothe their wounds. Xiuping had been alright –– he'd only gotten swollen knuckles –– but Xiu-an's wounds had split. The pain from the spice had made Xiu-an cry so hard that he’d blown snot bubbles, and his brother mocked him for another month after that.

That experience had been harrowing, and Xiu-an would never forget it –– just the mention of the alcohol treatment made him grimace with sympathy.

While Chen-sao's back was turned, Xiu-an waved at the beggars and mouthed, Pray for salvation.

The beggars: “...”

Qingping County winters were extremely cold, and it was not uncommon for people to get frostbite. Some would figure it out by themselves at home, but others would come to the pharmacy. After many years helping customers, Chen-sao was adept at treating frostbite. She swiftly chopped up a bowl of ginger and ground it with a pestle and mortar until it began to leak juice. Next, she poured the wine that Xiu-an brought her into the bowl and soaked the rags in the liquid, then used the rags to wipe down the beggars' wounds.

"This is good. It's split open, so although it hurts now, it'll heal quicker later," Chen-sao consoled as the beggars began to cry from the sting.

Thus the group of rough-looking beggars were swiftly made pliable and agreeable by Chen-sao. As they each held up their ginger-soaked hands, their eyes spilling over with tears, they meekly asked Chen-sao if there was anything she needed help with –– it was undignified of them to simply sit there.

In the meantime, Fang Cheng and Jiang Shijing did not rest either –– in fact, only one room in the entire compound remained calm, with not a single sound coming from it.

That was the room occupied by Xuanmin and Xue Xian.

Although the Fang compound was not small, it was still quite limited: the beggars had been given two rooms, and those ill with plague had been quarantined in another room. Of the remaining rooms, one had been given to Stone Zhang and Lu Nianqi, as well as Jiang Shining, who did not need to sleep; so the two zuzongs had to share the final room.

It wasn't as if they hadn't had to make do before, and neither of the two really needed to sleep, so they did not mind.

Of course... Xue Xian, still under the talisman's spell, had originally wanted to complain, but then something inside him had told him not to.

Perhaps all the times Xuanmin had restricted him really had had some impact, and he'd become used to it –– it was as though, if Xue Xian now went a day without being bossed around by someone, he would feel weird...

After having saved the souls of Jiang Shining's parents in the evening, Xuanmin had shut the doors to the room and sat down by the bed.

Ever since they’d met, Xue Xian had never actually seen Xuanmin lie down to sleep –– at night, if he wasn't meditating, he would be sitting with his legs crossed, constantly keeping up that utterly indomitable manner and giving off an intimidating and unapproachable aura.

But Xue Xian himself was in the middle of healing using the power of the copper coin pendant, and could not be bothered to provoke Xuanmin either. So the entire room settled into a profound silence, and no one in the Fang family dared disturb them.

When it had been dinnertime, Jiang Shijing and Fang Cheng had come to invite them, and when no one had answered their knock, they'd worried that something bad had happened to the two. But Jiang Shining had transformed into a paper man and stuck his head through a crack in the door to look around, then had come back to his sister and said, "Let's not knock for now. If they're hungry, they'll let us know."

He did not understand precisely what Xue Xian and Xuanmin were getting up to, but it looked meaningful and he did not think they wanted to be interrupted. Besides, the two zuzongs were inherently different from normal people, and did not mind missing a meal here and there.

The Fang family did not know Xue Xian and Xuanmin well –– they only knew that the two were masters of some kind, and that masters always came with certain eccentricities. In order not to offend, they had simply agreed to what Jiang Shining had suggested.

Normally, the Fang family went to sleep before wu shi, but today, with all the visitors, they only settled down around hai shi. One by one, the lanterns in each room were blown out, and the whispers slowly faded away to silence, so that a sense of peace finally fell upon the compound.

When Xue Xian finally opened his eyes again, the san geng had already struck, and those in the compound were fast asleep, snoring lightly. The oil in the lantern was half gone, and the core of the flame had not been refreshed for a while, so that the light was slowly waning like a sunset.

But the reason that Xue Xian opened his eyes was not because of the snoring nor the lantern –– it was because the talisman stuck to his forehead had begun to feel hot.

Because he was busy digesting a dragon bone, Xue Xian was already feeling quite flushed, but now the talisman on his head was getting even hotter than he was –– to the point where it really began to bother him. He hissed with pain and frowned over at Xuanmin, gently saying, "Bald donkey?"

Xuanmin did not respond.

"Bald donkey? Can you take off the talisman now? I'm not going to do anything in the middle of the night," Xue Xian said, gritting his teeth against the searing heat of the talisman.

Still no response.

"Bald donkey?" Now Xue Xian felt that something must be amiss. He called out again, then switched it up and said, "Xuanmin! Stop pretending to be dead. I know you're not actually sleeping."

In the dim glow of the lantern, he stared intently at the person sitting by the bed and waited –– but Xuanmin still did not move.

"Are you o––" Before Xue Xian could finish, he suddenly felt the burning hot talisman on his forehead loosen. It gently floated off his face and onto the floor.

Now that the talisman had fallen off, Xue Xian could move again. He immediately rolled his wheelchair to the bed and hesitantly prodded Xuanmin’s hand, which rested on his knee.

But as soon as he touched Xuanmin, he was startled by a feeling of extreme heat.

Right –– that talisman was Xuanmin's, so any strange behavior had to be caused by Xuanmin himself.

"Hey, bald donkey?" Xue Xian reached out to feel Xuanmin's pulse and found that the pulse was rapid and strong, giving him a sense of anxiety.

Was there another issue with the mole?

Although Xue Xian had only seen a few of Xuanmin's episodes, [b] he automatically went to check the neck while keeping his hand on Xuanmin’s wrist. But because of the dimness of the light, it was hard to see anything at all. Xue Xian had no choice but to shuffle closer.

There didn't seem to be any blood vessels coming out of the mole this time, but Xue Xian began to feel even more unsettled —

Because Xuanmin’s body temperature was so high that, as Xue Xian got closer, the steaming heat from the crook of Xuanmin's neck poured itself onto Xue Xian. The wave of heat brought with it the slight moisture of sweat, making the already overheating Xue Xian feel even hotter. The heat going straight to his head; he suddenly felt dazed.

Somehow, as he struggled to focus his vision, Xue Xian’s gaze moved from the mole on Xuanmin's neck to the side of Xuanmin's face.

Maybe it was the disorienting heat that made him feel lethargic, but Xue Xian's vision was still blurry, so that he wasn't sure if he was looking at Xuanmin's brow, or the bridge of his nose, or...

Indeed, high priests were on another level –– despite the sweltering heat emanating from Xuanmin, his face betrayed no hint of discomfort.

Xuanmin looked exactly the same as he'd looked earlier in the evening, when he'd first shut his eyes. If Xue Xian hadn't felt his quickened pulse, and if he couldn't feel the scorching heat coming out of his body, he might really have been fooled by Xuanmin's serene manner.

And now — perhaps because he'd been affected by the heat surging from Xue Xian’s body, or perhaps it was something else — Xuanmin's pulse was getting faster and stronger. The warmth in the crook of his neck was becoming increasingly hot. Xue Xian idly watched Xuanmin serene, shut eyelids; for some reason, Xue Xian didn’t want to move away from him at all.

Just as Xue Xian's brain was about to become entirely clouded over by the unbearable heat, the hand that he had placed on Xuanmin's wrist to feel his pulse accidentally twitched.

Xuanmin's disturbingly violent pulse suddenly jolted, and as his eyelids fluttered open, he locked eyes with Xue Xian.

In that moment, they leant so close to each other that their inhales and exhales seemed to intersect. It gave the incorrect impression that what was happening here was incredibly intimate…

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The author has something to say:

I was reading the comments from the previous chapter and wondered if I had accidentally walked into a class on mythological creatures’ biology. The homework seemed to be “the X uses of dragon spit” and everyone wrote 2-foot-long essays. *leaves*

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[a] No one becomes homeless out of laziness.

[b] Musuli uses 异状 (yi4 zhuang4) here, meaning “abnormal state”.

This chapter was beta'd by Rogue!