I ate every last bite.
When I finished, no one came to clear away the bowls.
So I sat in front of the low table and waited.
I didn’t dare touch the bamboo slips on the low table, but I could make out a few characters peeking out from the edge. The script looked like small seal script, only with more intricate strokes. Some of the symbols were unfamiliar to me.
Beside the bronze ruler sat a vessel that looked like a small ding: three legs, two handles, and a lid fitted so tightly there wasn’t the slightest gap. Its surface was covered in densely carved patterns.
I stared at the patterns for a while and recognized a few recurring images—snakes, frogs, and a bird with a long beak.
I’d seen those three motifs before: snakes, frogs, and long-beaked birds.
In the first semester of my junior year, I’d taken an elective on bronze vessel ornamentation. The professor had specifically discussed the animal motifs on Dian bronze vessels: snakes represented the underworld, frogs represented water, and birds represented the heavens—the Unity of the Three Realms.
Outside the curtain, I heard the sound of knees shifting.
A Gray-Robed Maid knelt on the floor in the outer room, bowing so low that her voice was almost inaudible. “Please follow me.”
She didn’t enter the inner room.
The Gray-Robed Maids followed strict boundaries. They could enter the outer room, but had to move on their knees and were forbidden to look around. The inner room was absolutely off-limits. Even if no one was inside, they wouldn’t cross the curtain.
I climbed down from the low couch, straightened my clothes, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Hearing my footsteps, the maid turned on her knees and backed toward the door. Only after leaving the room did she stand and lead the way.
I followed her.
The route was different from yesterday’s.
We passed through a longer corridor. Sealed stone walls lined both sides, and a bronze lamp stood every seven or eight paces, though only half of them were lit. Dark material, like some kind of resin, was embedded in the gaps between the paving stones. It felt slightly sticky underfoot.
We walked for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.
The maid stopped in front of a stone staircase and stepped aside.
Two male attendants stood at the bottom of the steps. Both wore short dark-gray robes with belts around their waists. A palanquin rested between them. It was very simple: four poles supporting a wooden board covered in animal hide, with no canopy or curtains.
One attendant knelt on one knee and held out his arm, indicating that I should step onto it.
I climbed aboard and sat down.
The palanquin swayed as soon as they lifted it, and I instinctively grabbed the edge. The two attendants walked steadily, carrying me along a wider road.
Now I had time to look around.
The buildings here weren’t tall. Most were single-story stone structures with gently sloping roofs and carved patterns on their walls. There were few trees, just the occasional short tree whose name I didn’t know.
Stone pillars stood at intervals along the road, each carved with repeating symbols. I couldn’t recognize them, but the way they were arranged reminded me of the writing I’d seen on the bamboo slips.
After another stretch of about an incense stick’s burn, the palanquin stopped in front of a compound.
The compound’s walls were low and built of bluestone. It lacked the grandeur of a historical royal residence; it looked more like a side courtyard.
I got off the palanquin and followed the attendant inside.
The courtyard was small. A stone well stood in the center, its rim polished smooth.
There were three rooms on each side, all with their doors shut. Beneath the eaves on the north side stood about a dozen people, all dressed in gray robes. They looked to be anywhere from thirteen or fourteen to their early twenties.
They stood in a line, an arm’s length apart, all with their heads lowered.
A somewhat older woman, perhaps the steward, stood at the far right of the line. When she saw me enter, she bowed and said a few words.
The gist was: these were the candidates assigned to serve me, and I was to choose two.
I stood where I was and surveyed them.
Most had their heads down, shoulders hunched, and necks stiff—the classic “don’t pick me” pose.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the fourth girl from the left.
She had a square face and a well-defined jawline. She was young, maybe fifteen or sixteen. Her head was lowered too, but her eyes were moving.
She was sneaking glances at me.
The instant our eyes met, she quickly lowered her head.
She was timid, but her curiosity outweighed her fear.
I pointed to her.
Then I pointed to the girl beside her—a thin, quiet girl who looked thirteen or fourteen. She hadn’t moved at all from beginning to end, like an execution stake.
The steward waved her hand, and the others filed out.
Three people remained in the courtyard.
The steward left too, and the wooden door shut behind her.
I looked at the two maids in front of me. The square-faced girl furtively raised her eyes, then quickly lowered them again. The thin girl stood perfectly still.
I opened my mouth, pointed at my throat, and shook my head.
The square-faced girl froze for a moment, then looked up at me and stepped forward.
“Madam, you can’t speak?”
I nodded.
She sighed with relief and pointed to herself. “This servant is called A Ya.” Then she pointed to the other girl. “Her name is A Zhen.”
A Zhen dropped to her knees with a thump, pressed her forehead to the ground, and performed a formal kowtow. Then she stood, gave me a slight bow, and turned to leave.
A Zhen looked dull-witted, but she actually understood everything perfectly.
Only A Ya and I remained in the room.
I gestured, miming pouring water with both hands, then pointed at myself.
A Ya blinked twice, and a look of “I understand” crossed her face. “Madam wants to bathe?”
I nodded.
She acknowledged me and hurried out.
This room was a little larger than the Witch King’s inner room, but sparsely furnished. A wooden couch and a low table stood against the wall. A bronze mirror and several pottery jars rested on the table. In the corner were a wooden tub and a large earthenware vat.
A Ya and A Zhen spent nearly half an hour getting everything ready.
They heated and carried water, adjusting the temperature as they went, making seven or eight trips back and forth. A Zhen tended the fire and carried the water, while A Ya tested its temperature and scattered herbs into the wooden tub.
Once the water was ready, A Zhen bowed at the doorway, went out, and pulled the door shut behind her.
A Ya stood beside the tub with her head lowered, waiting for me.
I took off my outer clothes and got into the water.
When the hot water enveloped me, I couldn’t help sighing. Yesterday’s bath had been a mechanical scrubbing by the maids, no different from washing livestock. This time was different. The water was just the right temperature, the herbs had a faint bitter fragrance, and the tub was larger than yesterday’s, letting me stretch out my legs.
A Ya wrung out a cloth and began wiping me from the shoulders down. Her touch was much gentler than that of the two Gray-Robed Maids yesterday, and she avoided my wounds.
She knew how to read the room.
Soaking in hot water made me drowsy. I closed my eyes, though I was actually thinking about how to communicate with her.
I didn’t expect A Ya to speak first.
“Madam, you haven’t been here long, have you?”
I opened my eyes and looked at her.
She hurried to explain. “This servant only heard what the others said. They said the female attendants originally prepared were all killed by the King, and only one mute newcomer was left, and then she was selected.”
I neither denied nor confirmed it. I nodded, then shook my head.
A Ya didn’t press the matter. She quickly changed the subject.
“Madam may not know the rules here yet.” As she combed my hair with her fingers, she spoke in a very low voice, as if afraid someone might be listening through the wall. “This is the residence of the Witch King of the Dian Kingdom.”
The Dian Kingdom.
The instant those two words reached my ears, my whole body stiffened.
A Ya didn’t notice and continued, “The Witch King is renowned for his might. For you to become the Witch King’s first bed attendant is an extraordinary honor…”
I didn’t hear a single word she said after that.
The Dian Kingdom. The Ancient Dian Kingdom.
My first thought was of the Ancient Dian Kingdom in 《Ghost Blows Out the Light》.
King Xian, Gu Sorcery, the Muchen Pearl, human figurines, Tianzhu Mountain, the Water Dragon Vortex, Insect Valley.