Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 3

Mindful of the injured person now occupying her home, Ye Zi didn’t sleep deeply. As the first light of dawn broke, she got up and headed next door to buy two bowls of porridge, returning to the room prepared to feed the woman.

The woman’s condition was slightly better than it had been the previous night, at least she looked a bit more like a living soul, though she remained unconscious. There was no telling how long it had been since she last ate.

Ye Zi sat at the head of the bed and propped her up, supporting her back with one arm while bringing the bowl to her lips. “You’re injured, so you need to start with some liquid food to line your stomach. Don’t go dying of hunger before your wounds even heal.”

It was unclear if the woman heard her, but the porridge Ye Zi tried to feed her simply trickled out from the corner of her mouth.

Helpless, Ye Zi fetched a bamboo tube from her medical kit and picked a large leaf from the backyard. After washing the leaf, she rolled it into a cone, inserting the sharp end into the bamboo tube to create a makeshift funnel.

Placing the other end of the tube in the woman’s mouth, Ye Zi steadied the apparatus with one hand and used the other to slowly and carefully pour the porridge down the leaf.

The process was grueling, but at least this time the porridge didn’t spill, it all made its way into the woman.

Feeding her a single bowl took nearly an hour. Ye Zi set the bowl aside, shook out her aching arm, and rummaged through her things to find her largest set of clothes to dress the woman in before heading out.

During the day, carrying a wounded stranger through the streets would likely cause a scene. Ye Zi went to the clinic and waited until the physician finished his rounds, eventually talking him into coming to her home after much persuasion.

Thanks to Ye Zi’s timely and meticulous treatment the night before, the physician only had to examine the poison in the woman’s system. It wasn’t difficult to neutralize. He left a prescription for detoxification and recovery before departing.

Ye Zi went to the pharmacy and picked up several sets of herbs, politely declining the apprentice’s offer to help brew the medicine. She hauled it home and personally stood over the stove for six hours. If anyone asked, she’d say she was broke and didn’t want to owe anyone a favor.

Whether it was due to Ye Zi’s care or the woman’s strong constitution, the person who had been at death’s door just the day before woke up that very evening after drinking her medicine.

Having saved a life for the first time, Ye Zi felt a profound sense of accomplishment. The moment she saw those eyes open, she leaned in with a flurry of concern. “You’re awake! How do you feel? Is your head spinning? Are you in pain? Can you sit up on your own?”

The woman had been lying there for two days and a night, her mind was still a bit foggy. She knew the talkative girl in front of her was her savior, but she couldn’t answer the rapid-fire questions. She struggled to part her lips.

“What do you need? Water?” Ye Zi lowered her head, pressing her ear to the woman’s mouth, only to hear her whisper syllable by syllable: “I… need… the… latrine”

“Uh… the latrine is in the backyard. I’ll help you.” Though she felt the reaction of this survivor wasn’t quite like the stories she’d read, Ye Zi followed through and helped her to the back.

Ye Zi wanted to offer a few more words of care to her first “patient,” but she was heartlessly shut out by the door.

The woman knew someone was waiting just outside. She didn’t intend to stay long, using this stolen moment of quiet to organize her thoughts. She had been ordered to Pingyang City to investigate a string of missing girls, only to run into Mahuraga, an elder of the Eight Desolations Pavilion. The man was a master of the Eight Trigrams and Qimen, trapping her group in a bizarre formation.

Out of seventeen people, she was the only one who had managed to escape, though she was riddled with wounds and poison. She had fled into the mountains until she lost consciousness. If it hadn’t been for… well, she would have been reuniting with her comrades in the afterlife.

The girl outside claimed to be a resident of Yuanhe Town. While the woman didn’t know how much of her story was true, she could tell from the past two days that the girl harbored no ill will.

During her unconsciousness, though she couldn’t see or speak, she had been keenly aware of her surroundings. She knew how carefully the girl had tended to her, a total stranger, offering gentle words of comfort, even if… she was a bit noisy.

And then there were the two bowls of porridge and three bowls of medicine forced down her throat. She hated to admit it, but she had actually woken up because she was about to burst from all that liquid.

By the time they returned to the room, the woman had her story straight on how to handle her savior’s curiosity. To her surprise, Ye Zi seemed like a different person, she didn’t chase her with questions.

Ye Zi sat properly in a chair, suddenly offering a considerate suggestion. “Maybe you should rest a bit more?”

Ye Zi had been reflecting on her behavior. For someone who had just woken up from a mortal injury, she realized she might have been a bit too enthusiastic, which could be frightening. But then again, she had never saved someone with one foot in the grave before, she lacked experience.

Despite her attempt to be understanding, Ye Zi couldn’t hide the curiosity in her eyes. The candlelight cast a warm glow across the small room. The woman leaned against the headboard, taking her first real look at the girl she’d spent the last two days with.

The girl wore coarse cloth clothes that looked a bit loose on her. She had a thin but upright frame, like a resilient young poplar tree. Her features were gentle and elegant, lacking any sense of aggression, just sitting there, she looked like a delicate ink wash painting.

The woman pulled back her gaze and said softly after a moment of thought, “I am Feng Ya. I went to Pingyang City to investigate a series of disappearances, but I was ambushed and heavily injured. I am fortunate to have met you, and I will repay this life-saving debt, even if I must work like a horse or an ox.”

Feng Ya. The name sounded familiar. Ye Zi vaguely remembered a storyteller mentioning it once, though she couldn’t recall exactly who the character was. Still, anyone who became the lead in a storyteller’s tale had to be someone important.

Looking at the frail woman in front of her and remembering how pathetic she looked when she was dying, Ye Zi figured they probably just shared the same name.

Feng Ya’s last sentence was so sincere that Ye Zi’s mind flashed to those classic scenes in novels: “I can never repay your kindness, so I shall give you my hand in marriage,” or perhaps, “I shall serve you in the next life.”

Ye Zi shuddered, shaking the weird images from her head. She waved her hand dismissively. “No need for all that ‘ox and horse’ business. Just settle the bill for the medicine before you leave.”

Ye Zi brought over the pile of herbs she had bought earlier. “Between the injuries and the poison, I had to get all of this for you. There’s more already opened in the backyard. Some of these ingredients are quite rare and nearly drained my entire savings, sixty taels of silver exactly. Plus, I used an old mountain ginseng I found in the forest, we’ll call that thirty taels, which is the pharmacy’s buying price. You won’t be able to leave with those injuries anytime soon, so you’ll be taking up my room for a while. Let’s say ten taels for food, lodging, and care. As for the clothes you’re wearing…” Ye Zi glanced at her for a second before waving a hand generously. “I’ll throw the clothes in for free. In total, you owe me one hundred taels. Any objections?”

Ye Zi’s eloquent breakdown left Feng Ya speechless. She froze for a moment, though her expression eventually settled back into a calm mask. “No objections.”

“Splendid. I take banknotes or silver. If you want to settle up now, I don’t mind. Over there are your clothes and belongings, check if everything is still there.”

Following Ye Zi’s finger, Feng Ya saw her blood-stained silk robe folded neatly on the bedside cabinet. Resting on top was her family heirloom jade, translucent green and warm to the touch. Leaning against the cabinet was the precious sword that usually never left her side.

Reaching for the silk robe that was now little more than shredded rags, Feng Ya heard Ye Zi’s voice again. “The clothes are ruined, but I figured you might have something important inside, so I kept them.”

Feng Ya felt through the inner lining and pulled out a letter. Though stained with a bit of blood, it was intact.

Relieved, Feng Ya’s gaze followed Ye Zi’s moving lips up to those eyes that sparkled like stars. She didn’t say a word, she simply followed Ye Zi’s expectant look to the money pouch tied to her belt. She shook out the only few bits of silver inside, a helpless smile on her face.

Even though Feng Ya couldn’t pay her debt yet, Ye Zi was merciful enough to let her stay and recover. Now that Feng Ya could take care of her basic needs, Ye Zi’s initial curiosity and tension faded.

Feng Ya wrote several letters and sent them off. Since she was currently immobile, she could only wait patiently.

It had been a long time since Feng Ya had experienced such a leisurely pace of life, which gave her plenty of time to observe the girl she shared a roof with.

This seemingly fragile girl spent her days either testing medicines and needles on herself, or volunteering to treat neighbors and write letters for them. Other times, she would just sit alone and daze out for hours.

She looks only eighteen, Feng Ya thought, but she lives like she’s eighty. She was so chatty before, yet now she’s so quiet.

After a while, Feng Ya shook her head. Why am I so curious about someone I just met? I should focus on studying this formation map.

Spread out on the table was a diagram Feng Ya had reconstructed from memory. The images from a few days ago played back in her mind. She stared at the map, her beautiful brows furrowed. I’ve always been prideful, and I brought plenty of experts with me, yet I fell so hard to this formation. Where is the trick?

Ye Zi walked by and handed Feng Ya an apple. She glanced at the drawing casually and remarked, “The person who set this up is quite malicious. They intentionally disguised the Qian and Kun positions, hiding the Gate of Death within the Gate of Life. If you tried to break out using conventional methods, you’d have to die once first.”

The words hit Feng Ya like a bolt of lightning. Looking back at the map, the fog in her mind instantly cleared. She couldn’t believe the puzzle that had haunted her for days had been solved by a single comment.

Feng Ya looked at the young girl, stunned for a moment. She realized she might need to get to know her savior all over again.

Feeling uncomfortable under that gaze, Ye Zi rubbed her nose. “Why are you looking at me like that? It’s just a little trick. I’ve read a few miscellaneous books, I only know the basics.”

Feng Ya knew this wasn’t a “little trick” one could learn from “miscellaneous books.” The people with her that day were experts from all over, some of whom had studied the Eight Trigrams for years. None of them could see the secret, resulting in sixteen lives lost and only her escaping.

Ye Zi’s scalp felt itchy under Feng Ya’s meaningful stare. She felt like this woman was probably up to no good.

Gritting her teeth and annoyed at her own big mouth, Ye Zi suddenly reached out, snatched the apple back from Feng Ya’s hand, and bolted out of the room like a gust of wind.

Feng Ya looked down at her empty hand, still suspended in mid-air, completely bewildered.

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