It was late spring. The lingering rains had finally stopped, leaving the skies above Yuhu Town clear and bright. In the distance, mist wound through the forests of the mountains.
Jiang Yaoyao tossed a freshly gathered dendrobium into the bamboo basket on her back and dusted the dirt from her hands. Thinking of the person waiting for her at home, she couldn’t help smiling, and her steps grew a little lighter.
“Sister Yaoyao, wait for me!”
Xing’er hurried after her, panting heavily, only to stumble over a trailing vine.
Seeing her in such a sorry state, Jiang Yaoyao couldn’t help laughing. “I’ve told you to walk more often, but you never listen.”
Xing’er was the daughter of the town’s medical hall proprietor. She usually spent her days helping fill prescriptions and keep the accounts, only occasionally accompanying Jiang Yaoyao into the mountains to learn how to identify medicinal herbs. At first, she’d found the outing rather exciting. But after more than two hours of climbing mountain paths, all that excitement had turned to regret.
She couldn’t help grumbling, “You’re married now. Why do you still run off into the mountains every day? Doesn’t your husband mind?”
Jiang Yaoyao stopped to wait for her.
“No. Besides, what does gathering herbs have to do with being married?”
Xing’er was momentarily stumped.
Most women in town settled down after marriage, staying dutifully at home to care for their husbands and raise their children. Someone like Jiang Yaoyao was indeed a rarity.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked another question. “I heard your husband isn’t from around here?”
Jiang Yaoyao pushed aside the branches blocking their path and gave a soft hum of assent.
“Then how did you two meet?”
At the memory of their first encounter, Jiang Yaoyao’s gaze grew distant, and a faint smile appeared in her eyes.
“I met him when I got lost.”
“Lost?”
It had happened not long after she first moved to Yuhu Town.
One day, after finishing a house call, she’d found that it was already growing late.
Somehow, without realizing it, she’d wandered onto an unfamiliar path.
The area had been unnaturally quiet. It was precisely the hour when cooking smoke should have been rising from household chimneys, yet there wasn’t a single human voice to be heard.
The farther Jiang Yaoyao walked, the more uneasy she became. After winding through one turn after another, she finally came upon an old residence at the end of the road. Its gate stood half-open, and from somewhere inside came the faint sound of a man coughing.
If someone lived there, she could ask for directions.
After hesitating briefly, Jiang Yaoyao raised her hand and pushed open the weathered wooden gate.
Sunlight spilled into the courtyard, where shadows from the trees swayed gently. At its center stood a red sandalwood chair, and someone was resting quietly against its back.
The man in the courtyard wore moon-white robes, their wide sleeves draping over the sides of the chair. Beneath the sunlight, his exposed wrists were so pale they seemed almost translucent.
Jiang Yaoyao stopped in her tracks without realizing it.
Sensing movement at the entrance, the man turned his face toward her and slowly lifted his eyes.
Their gazes met.
Jiang Yaoyao’s fingers went slack.
The basket of persimmons she’d brought from her patient’s home slipped from her grasp, sending bright red fruit rolling across the courtyard. One persimmon spun and rolled until it came to a stop right beside the man’s chair…
“So that’s how you two fell in love at first sight?”
Xing’er couldn’t resist leaning forward to interrupt, a teasing smile on her face.
“No.” Jiang Yaoyao shook her head gently. “After that, I often passed by his house, and we’d occasionally run into each other. Later, I realized he’d been in poor health for a long time. It was only after I started treating him that we gradually became acquainted.”
Xing’er was completely absorbed.
“And then?”
Jiang Yaoyao answered casually.
“After that, my mother kept complaining that I was always running around outside. She said if I carried on like that, no one in town would dare marry me. So I went and asked him whether he wanted to marry me.”
Xing’er stared at her in disbelief.
“You… you were that straightforward?”
Jiang Yaoyao laughed at her astonished expression.
“The whole point of sharing a life with someone is to be happy, isn’t it? If you meet someone you like, there’s nothing wrong with taking the initiative.”
There had long been rumors around town about a sickly young gentleman who rarely ventured outside. People said he was extraordinarily handsome and hardly looked like an ordinary person. He seemed more like a young master from a distinguished family that had fallen on hard times.
Xing’er hadn’t believed those stories before, but hearing Jiang Yaoyao’s account now, she began to think the rumors might not have been entirely unfounded.
Still, she muttered quietly, “But your husband’s health is so poor. The elders always say, ‘A couple who marry young are meant to grow old together.’ Who knows what will happen in the future…”
Halfway through, Xing’er realized she’d spoken out of turn. She hurriedly covered her mouth and stole a glance at Jiang Yaoyao’s expression.
Jiang Yaoyao’s figure, with the bamboo basket on her back, went momentarily still.
But she merely curved her lips into a smile.
“He’ll get better.”
For a moment, Xing’er couldn’t think of anything else to say.
The sun climbed steadily higher as the two made their way down the mountain. Only when they reached the entrance to town did they wave goodbye and part ways.
The scent of burning incense drifted through the air.
Jiang Yaoyao looked toward the towering Temple of the Divine Venerable standing beside the river.
Today was the monthly Day of Purification and Prayer.
The temple was bustling with worshippers, an endless stream of people coming and going. From a distance, smoke from incense and candles curled above the long flight of steps, half-concealing a gilded divine statue that gazed down upon all living beings with an expression of compassion.
According to legend, a great calamity descended upon the mortal world once every twenty years. Sometimes it took the form of a drought demon, sometimes a flood, and sometimes a plague or malevolent spirits.
Thus, temples to the gods could be found throughout the human realm. Common people burned incense and bowed in worship, praying for the divine officials to take pity on them and grant their protection.
In the eighteen years since Jiang Yaoyao had transmigrated into this world, her life had been remarkably peaceful. She had never witnessed demons or evil spirits wreaking havoc, nor had she ever seen a deity manifest a miracle.
At first, she’d thought the legends wildly exaggerated. But after years of living here, she’d gradually grown accustomed to the prevailing atmosphere of fervent superstition.
With her bamboo basket on her back, she made her way through the market streets, exchanging cheerful greetings with familiar neighbors.
As she approached the entrance to an alley, she spotted Granny Li standing by her door, holding a young child who was wailing at the top of his lungs.
The little boy’s nickname was Shitou.
His parents worked in the capital year-round, leaving him in Granny Li’s care. Jiang Yaoyao occasionally treated the grandmother and grandson when they fell ill, and over time, they’d become quite familiar with one another.
The moment Granny Li saw Jiang Yaoyao, she looked as though she’d found a lifeline.
“Doctor Jiang! I was just about to go offer incense at the Temple of the Divine Venerable. Could you look after this little rascal for a while?”
The piercing cries made Jiang Yaoyao’s ears ring.
She lowered her head, rummaged through her sleeve pocket, and pulled out a small packet wrapped in oiled paper.
Worried that her husband would find his medicine too bitter, she’d recently taken to carrying malt candies with her.
She unwrapped one and popped it into Shitou’s mouth.
The little boy sucked on it between hiccupping sobs, gradually quieting down.
Taking Shitou by the hand, Jiang Yaoyao led him into the long alley.
The farther they went, the quieter their surroundings became, until even the sound of the wind seemed to fade away.
Although she’d already been living here for over a month, Jiang Yaoyao still hadn’t quite grown accustomed to the almost eerie silence of this neighborhood.
While she was lost in thought, a dark shape suddenly darted through the gap in her half-open courtyard gate.
Jiang Yaoyao jumped in fright.
Little Shitou, however, pointed at the black cat and burst into giggles.
Her husband had apparently been in the habit of feeding stray cats, which was probably why this particular black cat often appeared in their courtyard.
Unlike other strays, it wasn’t sneaky or afraid of people. It always swaggered in and out through the front gate as though it belonged to the household.
The black cat shot toward the corner of the alley and vanished.
Jiang Yaoyao patted her chest to calm herself, pushed open the courtyard gate, and set the basket from her back on the ground before turning to close the gate behind her.
A low voice sounded from behind.
“You’re back?”
Jiang Yaoyao paused and looked toward the figure standing in the dim corridor.
It was her husband.
Si Qinye stood beneath the shadowed corridor, his figure slender and upright. Over his plain white clothes, he wore a loosely draped black outer robe, while his ink-dark hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall.
Dusk had cast the courtyard into gloom, shrouding even the contrasting black and white of his clothing in shadow.
Though she now saw him every day, there were still moments when Jiang Yaoyao found herself momentarily entranced by the sight of him.
With looks like his, her husband truly didn’t seem like someone who belonged in a place such as Yuhu Town, just as the townspeople had said.
It was only that, perhaps from spending so many years confined to a sickbed, his complexion was rather pale. And when he wasn’t smiling, he seemed somewhat brooding, distant, and cold…
Si Qinye watched Jiang Yaoyao, his gaze lingering for a moment on her leg.
Jiang Yaoyao gently pried the little hands from around her leg, then took Shitou by the hand and led him toward Si Qinye.
“This is Granny Li’s grandson, little Shitou. She asked me to look after him for a while.”
The fair-skinned, chubby little boy gazed up at him timidly.
Si Qinye spared him a glance before looking away.
“Mm.”
When Jiang Yaoyao came closer, Si Qinye raised a hand and brushed a stray bit of grass from her hair.
“Tired?”
Jiang Yaoyao shook her head.
Suddenly, she very much wanted to throw her arms around him. But remembering that someone else was present, she restrained herself.
Instead, she tilted her face up toward him, smiling so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents.
“Not at all. On the way home, I suddenly had the strongest craving for that songhua fish soup you make.”
Her eyes sparkled, and a faint dimple flickered in her cheek.
Si Qinye lowered his gaze and regarded her for a moment before answering softly.
“All right.”
Her clothes were stained with mud, so Jiang Yaoyao went inside to wash her hands and change.
As she passed through the outer hall, she noticed a packet of pastries wrapped in oiled paper sitting on the table.
They were sugar-taro cakes from her favorite shop.
Taking the pastries with her, she stepped outside.
“Ah Ye, did you go out today?”
Si Qinye was lounging lazily on a reclining chair beneath the eaves.
“I went into town to buy a few things.”
Jiang Yaoyao wanted to remind him that it had been windy lately with the changing season, and with his poor health, it would be better if he avoided going out unnecessarily.
But after thinking it over, she said nothing.
Instead, she shared some of the sugar-taro cakes with Shitou, took a piece for herself, and nibbled on it at her leisure.
Since she’d moved in, the courtyard had changed considerably.
Originally, there had been nothing in the courtyard but a stand of slender bamboo, lending the place a cool, austere air.
Later, Si Qinye had turned it into a garden plot for her. At first, she’d planted only medicinal herbs, but Jiang Yaoyao found that too monotonous, so she’d gone to the flower market and bought all sorts of flower and fruit seeds to plant alongside them.
Now that spring had arrived, the courtyard was filled with swaying blossoms.
Looking at the flowers, she suddenly remembered something.
“Keep an eye on Shitou for me. I’m going to prepare your medicine.”
With that, she put down her sugar-taro cake and headed toward the back courtyard.
Shitou was squatting on the ground, poking at ants with a little stick.
When he realized Jiang Yaoyao was gone, he immediately panicked, opened his mouth, and began to cry.
Si Qinye acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing.
He remained reclined in his chair, eyes closed, resting.
Before long, Jiang Yaoyao’s voice came from the back courtyard.
“Ah Ye, soothe him a little!”
Si Qinye slowly opened his eyes.
After a moment of silence, he rose, picked up the remaining half-packet of sugar-taro cakes from the table, and wordlessly held it out to the child.
Following the hand with its prominent knuckles upward with his gaze, Shitou finally got a proper look at the tall man standing before him, gazing down at him with an indifferent expression.
The sight frightened him even more.
His little mouth turned down, and he began crying harder.
But he’d only managed a few wails when his eyes suddenly met a pair of pitch-black eyes, now carrying a trace of impatience.
The child’s cries—and his expression—froze in an instant.
…
The courtyard outside abruptly fell silent.
Curious, Jiang Yaoyao poked her head out to take a look before emerging from the house with a bowl of medicine.
Si Qinye took the bowl from her hands.
Jiang Yaoyao watched as he tipped back his head and drank every last drop. Then she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
As if performing a magic trick, she produced a candy and held it out in front of him.
“A reward for you.”
Her smile was full of mischief.
Si Qinye leaned forward and took the candy from her fingers with his teeth. His slightly cool lips brushed against the pad of her finger.
Jiang Yaoyao’s fingers curled slightly, and she pressed her lips together.
“Is it sweet?”
“Sweet.”
A faint smile touched Si Qinye’s lips.
Ordinarily, he carried himself with a reserved elegance that made him seem rather cold. But when he smiled, it was like watching wind and snow melt away.
Under his gaze, Jiang Yaoyao felt her ears grow warm.
She sat down beside him and casually searched for something to say.
“How did you get Shitou to stop crying?”
Si Qinye’s gaze settled on the reddening tips of her ears.
“He does as he’s told.”
Jiang Yaoyao eyed him suspiciously.
“Really? He was crying so hard earlier that neither Granny Li nor I could calm him down.”
Si Qinye’s expression didn’t change.
“Perhaps I’m simply better at soothing children.”
Jiang Yaoyao couldn’t help smiling. She shot him a playfully reproachful glance.
“Oh, you’re just bragging.”
A gentle breeze stirred through the courtyard.
Jiang Yaoyao leaned against Si Qinye’s shoulder and chatted away, telling him about the things she’d seen and heard during the day, then moving on to the flowers and plants growing in their courtyard.
Si Qinye listened quietly, occasionally offering a few words in response.
The evening shadows gradually deepened.
It wasn’t until two knocks sounded at the courtyard gate that Jiang Yaoyao finally sat up from his embrace.
She smoothed down the creases in her skirt and trotted over to open the door.
Granny Li was standing outside, having come to take Shitou home.
Jiang Yaoyao nodded, then turned and beckoned to the little boy.
Shitou obediently ran over with his head lowered.
Granny Li scooped him into her arms and carried him away.
Jiang Yaoyao watched them for a while before closing the gate.
But no sooner had she shut it than the alley suddenly rang with the sound of a child crying as though his heart were breaking.
Jiang Yaoyao froze.
Her brows drew together in confusion.
“Wasn’t he perfectly fine just now…?”
“Hungry?”
Si Qinye’s voice interrupted her.
He stood beneath the corridor, leisurely rolling up his sleeves.
“Besides the fish soup, what else would you like to eat?”
No lamps had yet been lit in the courtyard.
As the wind blew past, the shadows of the trees on the hillside behind the residence swayed.
Jiang Yaoyao instinctively raised her head to look.
The dense, black shadows of the trees overlapped in layer upon layer. Beneath the cover of night, they looked almost like countless figures standing in the darkness.
A sudden chill crept up her spine.
Receiving no answer, Si Qinye turned his head slightly, his eyes dark and deep.
“Yaoyao?”
Jiang Yaoyao came back to herself.
Her husband was watching her attentively.
She was just about to tell him what had crossed her mind, but the thought suddenly seemed absurd.
What ghosts or monsters could there possibly be?
Besides, she wasn’t alone anymore.
With her husband by her side, what was there to be afraid of?