1: Rescuing a general
It was scorching summer, the sun blazing like blood.
Ruan An lay weakly on the cracked, parched earth, her lips pale. She struggled to rise from the sea of corpses, her mouth dry, her stomach growling with hunger.
The last half of a steamed bun had already been eaten. The air was thick with the stench of rotting corpses, making her want to vomit. Her eyes, empty and despairing, looked down at her feet—
The mother and daughter who had fled with her were both dead. The mother’s corpse was a gruesome sight, the knife wound on her back had festered and reeked, yet she still used her mutilated arm to shield her young child tightly.
After the enemy plundered the area, Ruan An had survived by playing dead.
The yellow earth road outside the city gate was still a living hell.
One could only imagine the tragic state of the wards where the wealthy and officials gathered.
Seven days earlier, the military governor of Lingnan, who had declared himself king, ordered a massacre.
Tens of thousands of residents in Fengzhou, regardless of age or gender, were to be left with no survivors.
The people of Fengzhou had formed their own volunteer army during the siege, resisting stubbornly alongside the local troops, causing the rebels to lose significant supplies.
To vent their rage and boost morale, the rebels unleashed a killing spree in this small city of Fengzhou.
Once-prosperous shops, eateries, and academies were burned to the ground. Even Buddhist temples were not spared, those bandits went so far as to dismembered the gilded Buddha statue that had been worshipped by thousands.
The expensive ornamental flowers, dwarf pines, and willows in the gardens turned to ashes. The colorful koi swimming in the ponds were fished out and ended up as food for the self-proclaimed king.
When Ruan An fled, she was swept up in the chaos of panicked residents, jostling and trampling one another.
All the belongings she had brough on her journey south, her medicine box containing precious herbs were lost along the way.
To survive, she had no choice but to go with the flow.
Ruan An stared blankly at the devastation before her, unsure if she was the sole survivor. She only knew that within days, the brutal king would surely order the bodies burned.
Just as she was about to step over the corpse in front of her, a rough, booming voice came from nearby. “There’s a survivor here! An old woman!”
Ruan An’s slender back stiffened abruptly.
She was sixteen years old, but since people her age were often not trusted in medicinal practice, she had distinguished herself as an elderly person for this journey south.
It was precisely because of this disguise that she had escaped being violated by the rebels.
The force behind her seemed to be a massive army. Ruan An dared not look back and broke into a run.
“Whoosh—”
“Whoosh—”
“Whoosh—”
The King of Lingnan, amused and intent on tormenting her, ordered his archers to shoot several arrows in succession without hitting her, cruelly playing a hunting game.
And Ruan An was the pitiful prey.
Several arrows suddenly struck the ground not far from her ankles. Ruan An’s eyes widened as tears and snot streamed down her face. She stumbled, nearly falling.
She gritted her teeth, her heart burning with hatred for these people.
What gave them the right to massacre an entire city out of sheer anger?
It was this very hatred that kept Ruan An going, giving her the strength to keep running.
A flicker of malice flashed in the eyes of the King of Lingnan. He sneered, “This old woman is quite nimble. After starving for so long, she can still run like a rabbit.”
From his tone, Ruan An could tell his patience was wearing thin.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Then, the sound of iron hooves striking the ground reached her ears. Ahead, yellow dust swirled as a dense mass of troops advanced towards her.
Through the haze, she vaguely made out the bold character “Li” emblazoned on a crimson banner.
It was reinforcement from the Great Li!
Hope surged in Ruan An’s heart as she continued to sprint forward.
Behind her, the King of Lingnan narrowed his eyes and coldly ordered. “Shoot that old woman dead first!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Ruan An’s legs suddenly gave way, as if weighted down with lead. She let out a cry of alarm and could not run another step.
Perhaps today would be her day of death.
In the blink of an eye, a tall, powerfully built figure charged forward. She caught sight of the cold gleam of a blade, accompanied by an aura of fierce killing intent.
Arrows, like a swarm of locusts, flew mercilessly toward her.
With a loud clang—
The searing pain she expected, the kind that would pierce through her body, never came. Instead, a strong, sinewy arm wrapped around her slender waist.
When she opened her eyes again, Ruan An found herself suspended in the air.
The long-bladed sword, spanning a full zhang, was capable of shattering both man and horse alike. The small arrows were sliced cleanly in half, flying off to either side before clattering to the ground.
Ruan An looked up and met the man’s deep-set eyes.
The military officer who had saved her was around twenty years old, with a ruggedly handsome face. His demeanor was cold and detached, his bone structure exceptionally refined. Beneath the blazing sun, he was strikingly dazzling.
Her gaze lingered on his neck, on the scar that ran from just below his ear down to his shoulder.
“Old one, sit tight.”
The man’s low voice, accompanied by the warmth of his breath, brushed past her ear.
Ruan An’s heart was still racing.
He took her hand and calmly instructed, “Hold the reins.”
She did as he said, but her palm did not feel the coarse texture of the reins.
Ruan An knew she was dreaming again.
This was a real experience she had half a year ago in Lingnan Circuit.
The young general’s beast-headed helmet, the red tassel fluttering behind his head, and the wide banner snapping in the wind—symbolizing his status as a commander were still vividly etched in her mind.
The dream continued. The expression of the King of Lingnan across from them changed abruptly as he said in disbelief, “Huo Pingxiao, you just finished fighting those barbarians in Dongwan, yet you still have the strength to lead your troops to Fengzhou?”
“Less chatter!”
The military officer named Huo Pingxiao swung his long-bladed sword with force, the blade cutting through the sultry air with a sharp “swish.” His voice cold and stern, he declared, “Today, I will use your flesh and blood to honor the souls of the entire city’s people.”
The deputy generals beside him were all brimming with fighting spirit. With chariots on either side and a fierce, overwhelming killing intent, they were as formidable as tigers and wolves.
The warhorses of the opposing leaders were shaken by the man’s imposing presence, their front hooves retreating as they reared their heads and let out soft neighs.
A fire lance shot into the sky with a “whoosh.”
Huo Pingxiao issued his orders, and the various divisions of the troops behind him advanced in perfect order, without the slightest clutter or overlap.
The rhythmic beat of tightly coordinated war drums soon echoed through the air, accompanied by the clashing sounds of bronze bells and cymbals. The piercing, commanding noise seemed to shake the very earth and mountains.
Ruan An’s spirits were lifted as well. Just as she followed Huo Pingxiao’s deft pull of the reins, charging toward the cruel King of Lingnan to fight him until he was battered and bloody—
A child’s clear voice pulled her back to reality:
“Ah Xu! It’s finally clearing up today, don’t forget to gather the herbs!”
When she awoke, Ruan An went down the mountain to the town.
After returning to Jiazhou from Lingnan, she had adopted a pair of orphaned twins as her medicine apprentices. However, she had yet to register their household status with the authorities.
Every time she visited the government office, she encountered obstacles.
Today was no different.
Unable to hide her anxiety, Ruan An asked one of the clerks in the office, “Why is it still not done? I’ve come so many times.”
The clerk, dressed in a long robe, happened to be the county magistrate’s most trusted advisor, surnamed Liu.
Advisor Liu glanced up, casting a sidelong look at Ruan An, and said impatiently, “What’s the rush? You’re not the only one in the town registering household status.”
Ruan An did not dare offend him and suspected he was subtly hinting for more money.
She was about to discreetly hand over the coarse cloth pouch of money she had prepared that morning.
But Advisor Liu waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly, and said irritably, “You go back to your village for now. Come back down to town in three days. We’re busy with the county exams right now and don’t have time to handle your registration.”
Ruan An hesitated, wanting to plead further, but seeing the unfriendly expressions of the officers nearby, she swallowed her words and left.
After she departed, Advisor Liu set down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, a shrewd glint in his eyes as he stroked his beard.
Did this village woman think she could fob him off with such a paltry sum? Who did she take him for?
After noon, Advisor Liu left the government office, took a carriage, and headed straight to Baohe Tower.
With a sharp “smack—”
The storyteller struck the table with his sandalwood clapper, cleared his throat, and began to vividly recount the extraordinary tales of the young herbalist surnamed Ruan, who had retreated to Mount Mei and traveled south to practice medicine.
“In our last episode, we spoke of how, after arriving in Shannan Circuit, this Lady Ruan diagnosed the reason for the widespread infertility among women in Guizhou. Once the women of Guizhou followed her prescriptions to regulate their health, within just half a year, thousands of newborns were born in the region!”
“The wealthy merchants of Guizhou were deeply grateful for her kindness. They jointly petitioned the regional governor, hoping he would permit them to build a temple in honor of Lady Ruan. After she passed away, future generations could offer incense and pay their respects.”
“In that year, Linnan Circuit was plagued by war, and malaria broke out on top of that. The local hereditary physicians sold effective remedies at exorbitant prices, yet they failed to cure the illness. Lady Ruan, however, developed prepared herbal formulas that healed patients with just one dose…”
Advisor Liu and Madam Zhu took their seats in a private room at Baohe Tower.
After pouring a cup of tea for Madam Zhu, Advisor Liu asked, “Have you spoken to Miss Ruan about that matter?”
Madam Zhu was the widow of the renowned physician Sun and also Ruan An’s second senior’s wife. She shot Advisor Liu a glare and spat, “Do you take me for a fool? Why would I tip her off?”
Her late husband’s prized apprentice was an orphaned young woman with a face so alluring it could spell trouble. She was young, and people found it hard to trust her medical skills, so she usually disguised herself as an elderly woman.
Two years ago, she had traveled south to practice medicine and made quite a name for herself across the various inspectorates of the Great Li.
Otherwise, these storytellers wouldn’t be recounting her tales time and again.
Advisor Liu nodded in approval. “Indeed. The match we’ve arranged for her is with the county magistrate’s eldest legitimate son. Though she’ll be a concubine, for Miss Ruan, it’s truly marrying above her station.”
As Ruan An’s senior’s wife, Madam Zhu had the authority to arrange her marriage.
Meanwhile, Advisor Liu held leverage over Ruan An. If she dared to resist, he could charge her with the serious crime of concealing household registrations at any time.
He could threaten her with imprisonment.
Though Ruan An was highly skilled in medicine, she was ultimately just an orphaned village girl with no parents.
She had no one to plead her case to.
Advisor Liu spoke of Ruan An’s position as a concubine as though it were a step up, but he knew full well that the young master’s household was a den of wolves.
Not only was the legitimate wife fiercely domineering, but the assortment of concubines and chambermaids were also no saints. While Ruan An was well-versed in medicine, her temperament would make it difficult for her to survive in the inner quarters.
“Tsk, tsk.”
At this thought, Advisor Liu let out a sigh.
But if she were to blame anyone, she could blame herself for coming down the mountain that day without her old crone disguise, allowing the young master to catch sight of her true face.
In three days, he would send a bridal sedan chair up the mountain to carry the beautiful young physician directly into the young master’s courtyard, where he would have his way with her.
Leaving the town, Ruan An found a clear stream and washed off the aged makeup she had applied that morning.
On her way up the mountain, she gathered dandelions and also collected some dodder seeds from a bean field. By the time she reached the mid-levels, she spotted a cliff face that was well-exposed to sunlight.
Looking carefully, she could make out a patch of fresh anemarrhena growing on it.
As the saying goes: gather anemarrhena on sunny slopes, dig up asarum on shady ones.
Spring was also the best season for harvesting anemarrhena.
Setting down her sickle, Ruan An deftly retrieved a rope and a three-pronged claw from her medicinal basket, carefully planning her route to gather the herbs.
She thought that by the Dragon Boat Festival, she could sell the rhizomes of atractylodes and Solomon’s seal she had found earlier to supplement the household income.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the mountains.
A young man lounged lazily on a bamboo sedan chair, chewing on a blade of grass, his legs croosed. He said with resignation, “These past few days, with the market fair in town, everyone coming up the mountain has been carrying heavy loads. Brother, are you sure you don’t want to go down to the foot of the mountain to find customers?”
The man he called “brother” was a porter from the mountains, known to the villagers as Ah Shun.
Ah Shun shook his head, his eyes never leaving the petite young woman scaling the cliff face.
She was dozens of feet above the ground. One slip, and if she fell, she would either die or be crippled for life.
Ah Shun watched, his heart racing with fear.
Unlike Ah Shun’s nervousness, Ruan An was calm as she climbed and leaped along the cliff face. Her bright almond-shaped eyes carried a composure beyond her years as she gathered the herbs.
As a traveling physician, she had no formal lineage in any orthodox medical school, and she was often looked down upon by established physicians.
But while established physicians placed great emphasis on theory, they did not necessarily possess the practical experience of a traveling physician like Ruan An, who had dabbled in various skills and disciplines.
Ruan An treasured the few remaining medicinal fields and lands on Mount Mei, handling her digging with great care.
After she returned to Jiazhou, banditry had erupted in the area. The local officials were incompetent, allowing the bandit leader Qi Yixiong to run rampant. Qi Yixiong had seized most of the medicinal fields, cutting off the livelihood of many herb gatherers.
The sun blazed fiercely.
The young woman’s face had been kissed to a light pink, as if dusted with rouge, lending her an air of innocent charm.
Though Ruan An was petite and delicate, she was remarkably agile. Clutching the rope and swinging across the cliff face, she resembled a nimble mountain hare.
“Ah Xu! Be careful!”
Ah Shun called out Ruan An’s nickname.
Ruan An pressed her lips together, tossing the last anemarrhena she had gathered into the basket on her back. Her voice rang out clearly as she replied, “I’m coming down now!”
Moments later, Ruan An landed steadily on the ground.
Ah Shun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ruan An gazed contentedly at the fresh anemarrhena in her basket and said cheerfully to Ah Shun, “While the weather’s fine, you and your brother should head down the mountain to find work. I need to return to Xinghua Village.”
Ah Shun scratched his head, but just then, his younger brother’s panicked voice came from behind—
“Something’s wrong, brother!”
“Over there… there’s a man lying there! He’s… he’s bleeding so much!!!”
“Rumble—”
A spring thunderclap erupted over Xinghua Village, and in an instant, a torrential downpour lashed down.
The villagers abandoned their farming and tea-picking, each taking shelter in their homes.
After Ah Shun and his brother helped Ruan An carry the injured man into her thatched cottage, their younger sister called them away to help their parents gather dried vegetables.
Ruan An called out loudly for her apprentices: “Sun Ye? Where have you all run off to?”
No one answered.
It turned out the children had defied her orders and secretly gone down the mountain to the market.
A flicker of anger crossed Ruan An’s fair little face.
She decided that when they returned, she would punish them by making them copy the Thousand Golden Remedies three times and the Spiritual Pivot three times—and forbid them from eating meat for ten days!
But anger aside, Ruan An did not forget the urgent matter of treating the injured man.
She had just administered some ginseng decoction, and his pulse was gradually stabilizing, yet he still showed no signs of waking.
With this in mind, Ruan An turned her gaze to the low couch—
The man was tall and imposing, dressed in a plain yet meticulously crafted military attire, complete with a belted waist adorned with dangling straps. His two legs, clad in black boots, were exceptionally long. Dark blood had soaked through the ferocious beast motifs on his shadow-colored robes.
He reclined against the mottled wall, his head slightly tilted. Even with his eyes closed in unconsciousness, his demeanor carried an untamed arrogance.
The scent of bitter medicine, the chilling odor of blood, and the dampness of the spring rain mingled in the room, stirring a restless unease.
Ruan An studied his face repeatedly, still finding it hard to believe.
As the rain intensified, showing no sign of abating, her eyes finally settled on the scar running across the man’s neck—confirming his identity as the military officer who had saved her life in Lingnan Circuit: Huo Pingxiao.
**