Reunion with an Acquaintance
The night wind scattered Jiang Wan’s thoughts, but the old man’s words inexplicably surfaced in her mind:
“You don’t belong here…”
The more she wondered whether he knew something, the more restless she became. Right now, she knew nothing and could see nothing clearly, leaving her with no idea where to begin.
Sheng Zixu had been taken away.
The clues about her younger sister had been cut off.
And the pursuers were still hunting her relentlessly.
Jiang Wan felt like her head was about to explode.
At that moment, the Mirror System spoke up.
“Host’s survival rate has fallen to fifty-two percent. Host is advised to find a solution as soon as possible. If assistance is required, an equivalent exchange will be necessary.”
Jiang Wan said flatly, “You really are heartless.”
Mirror System: “Thank you for the compliment, Host.”
Jiang Wan: “…”
The air fell silent for several moments.
After confirming that the system had gone offline, Jiang Wan began thinking about where she would sleep tonight.
She wasn’t sure whether the pursuers were still lurking around the village or had set up an ambush.
If she were discovered, the consequences probably wouldn’t be pleasant.
Jiang Wan decided to stay inside the crevice until dawn.
By now, the sky had completely darkened.
She felt around for the stone, moved it aside, squeezed into the crevice, and closed the entrance behind her.
The night wind seeped through the cracks, carrying a faint chill that eased some of Jiang Wan’s anxiety.
I wonder how Sheng Zixu is doing right now.
He was probably still alive.
It wasn’t realistic for her to charge in and rescue him by herself. She needed to find a way to sneak inside first, establish contact, and then figure out what to do.
The figure of the girl she had glimpsed in Sheng Zixu’s memories was simply too similar to her sister.
Even though everything around her was quiet and the night wind howled through the crevice, Jiang Wan didn’t dare relax for even a moment.
The slightest rustle of wind or grass could startle her awake.
Around midnight, with the moon hanging above the treetops, Jiang Wan was sleeping deeply against the stone when a faint sound made her open her eyes.
She peered through the crack, her eyes darting around outside.
It was only a rabbit foraging for food.
She leaned back again.
But the sleepiness she had worked up was now completely gone.
Before long, unable to fall asleep, she became bored and looked outside.
The rabbit was still eating grass.
It reminded her of the lop-eared rabbit she and her younger sister had raised during summer vacation.
Unlike this one, their rabbit had unusually colored eyes—a reddish-brown—and floppy ears.
The rabbit outside had upright ears and red eyes.
It didn’t take long before the rabbit seemed to have eaten its fill and began moving out of Jiang Wan’s line of sight.
Jiang Wan called out to the system in her mind.
“System, are you there? Are you asleep?”
The Mirror System heard her, but arrogantly and coldly refused to respond.
Jiang Wan called it several more times.
The system finally seemed unable to tolerate it anymore.
Its cold, mechanical voice rang in her ears.
“For the sake of the host’s schedule tomorrow, the system recommends that the host rest now. Do not disturb or harass the system.”
The corners of Jiang Wan’s lips lifted into the faintest curve.
“Oh. Good night, heartless profiteer.”
This time, it was the Mirror System’s turn to feel speechless.
How had it failed to notice that its host was so vindictive?
In the end, it said nothing.
Jiang Wan adjusted her position, finding a sleeping posture that was relatively comfortable for her.
She rested her head against the stone and, with the cool night breeze blowing across her face, slowly drifted into sleep.
The next morning, the first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the rocks.
Warmth spread across Jiang Wan’s face.
She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Once she was fully awake and accustomed to the brightness, she crawled out of the crevice.
A thin mist spread across the surroundings, making the place look almost like a fairyland.
But Jiang Wan had no time to admire the scenery.
She stretched her hands and feet, which had gone sore from being curled up inside the crevice all night.
Only then did she head toward the village.
After carefully observing the area and confirming that the pursuers had all left and there were no ambushes, Jiang Wan finally entered the village.
She arrived at the old doctor’s house and knocked three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
…
It wasn’t long before the old doctor’s wife opened the door.
The old woman seemed to recognize her.
“Oh, it’s you, miss. Is there something you need? If you’re here to see my old man, he’s still grinding medicinal herbs. You’ll have to wait a while.”
Jiang Wan gave a slight nod.
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m here to see the old doctor.”
The old woman opened the door and let Jiang Wan inside.
She asked Jiang Wan to sit on one of the small stone stools in the courtyard while she went to call her husband.
The small stone table and stools happened to be in the shade.
Jiang Wan sat quietly and waited for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick before the old man finally came from the backyard.
“Miss, did you rest well last night?”
“Thank you for your concern, Doctor. Well enough.”
The old doctor nodded.
“May I ask what brings you here?”
Jiang Wan didn’t beat around the bush. She went straight to the point.
“What did you mean when you said I was ‘someone who wasn’t supposed to come here’?”
The old man didn’t answer her question.
Instead, he came up with another explanation to brush it aside.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just some traveler from the city, that’s all.”
Jiang Wan let out a quiet breath of relief.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
The old man waved his hand.
“You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Come eat with us.”
Jiang Wan lowered her eyes in silence, her fingertips lightly rubbing against her palm.
“Alright. Thank you, Doctor.”
The old man said, “My surname is Li.”
“Doctor Li.”
Doctor Li nodded.
“Come on.”
Jiang Wan followed him into the main house.
Doctor Li’s wife had just finished setting out the food, with three sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
As soon as Jiang Wan sat down, Doctor Li’s wife, Chen Tian, began putting food into her bowl.
“Eat more. Look how thin you are. It breaks my heart just looking at you.”
Jiang Wan’s brows furrowed ever so slightly for half a second before relaxing again. A trace of helplessness appeared in her eyes.
“Thank you. Don’t worry about me. You should eat too.”
This meal was much better than the previous ones.
The atmosphere was also quite harmonious, allowing Jiang Wan to relax considerably.
After the meal, Doctor Li asked her to give him the medicine he had prescribed earlier so that he could brew it for her.
“Thank you, Doctor Li.”
“It’s nothing, nothing.”
With that, Doctor Li took the packet of medicine to the backyard.
Chen Tian began clearing the bowls and chopsticks, and Jiang Wan immediately helped her.
After working for a while, they finally had a chance to rest.
Chen Tian spoke kindly.
“Thank you for helping.”
Jiang Wan shook her head.
“No, I should be thanking you both.”
Chen Tian told her to stay and rest while she went to mend some clothes.
After the old woman left, Jiang Wan began observing the layout of the room.
Reencountering an Acquaintance
The layout was extremely simple: a dining table, a bed, a few small decorations, and an altar. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual.
The sun gradually shifted across the sky. Perhaps because she had eaten and hadn’t rested well, Jiang Wan found it increasingly difficult to resist her drowsiness. Without realizing it, she leaned forward onto the table, buried her face in the crook of her arm, and fell asleep.
In the backyard, white smoke slowly rose.
Doctor Li placed the prepared medicine into a clay medicine pot. After thinking for a moment, he added a few more herbs, covered the pot with its lid, then went to the side to grind medicine and wash the herbs.
Whenever the fire was about to die down, Doctor Li noticed it in time and added more firewood. The herbs he was washing today were covered with tiny woody thorns, making the normally simple washing process much slower and taking considerably more time.
It was only after the fire had gone out four times that the medicine was finally finished. Doctor Li also finished washing the herbs and then spread them evenly on a bamboo drying rack.
He poured the dark, murky medicinal liquid from the pot into a bowl and set it aside to cool slightly. Once it was no longer scalding hot, Doctor Li carried the bowl into the room where Jiang Wan was.
When he entered, he found Jiang Wan sprawled over the table, sleeping soundly. He gently placed the bowl of medicine on the table.
He reached out and softly patted Jiang Wan’s back.
“Miss, wake up. The medicine is ready. Get up and drink it. Miss, miss…”
Jiang Wan opened her eyes. The light was somewhat harsh after waking, so she squinted again. Once her eyes adjusted, she opened them once more.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips before quickly disappearing. Her expression was gentle and calm.
“Thank you, Doctor Li.”
Doctor Li shook his head.
“Drink it quickly, otherwise it’ll get cold and you won’t be able to drink it.”
“I added a few more herbs to it. They’re meant to replenish your qi and blood.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Wan lifted the bowl and took small, measured sips. Her wrist remained steady, without the slightest tremble.
The medicinal smell rushed straight into her nose, and the taste was unbearably bitter and astringent, enough to make anyone want to vomit. Jiang Wan forcibly suppressed the urge and quickly finished the dark medicinal liquid in small sips.
She lowered her eyes, her fingertips resting lightly against the rim of the bowl. Her voice was soft and even.
“Sorry to trouble you. Thank you. I’ll leave in a little while.”
Doctor Li looked as though he had expected this and showed no surprise.
“It’s nothing. There’s no need to hurry. I’ve already prepared your medicine packet. Miss, you can just take it from the small stone table in the courtyard. I still have herbs to sort out, so I won’t see you off.”
Jiang Wan merely nodded and simply said a few words.
“Thank you, Doctor Li. I’ll gather the money for the medicine and pay you as soon as possible.”
Doctor Li waved his hand.
“No need. Saving a person’s life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda.”
Jiang Wan was about to say something else, but Doctor Li had already hurried away.
After bidding farewell to Chen Tian, who was sewing clothes, she picked up the medicine packet from the stone table in the courtyard and left.
It was already afternoon.
The sunlight was bright but scorching. Before long, Jiang Wan began to sweat. She raised a hand to wipe the beads of sweat from her forehead and continued toward the center of the village.
Along the way, she saw people returning home from working the fields to fetch tools, while children darted happily through the alleys.
When Jiang Wan passed beneath a relatively large tree, she suddenly heard people discussing the black-clothed men who had entered the village yesterday looking for someone.
“You should’ve seen how terrifying those men carrying knives were. Their knives were that long…”
“And—and they were all so tall and intimidating…”
“Exactly! Some of them were even wearing masks. They looked absolutely vicious…”
“The ones without masks were scary too. They all had scars on their faces, and they were deep. They looked just like… what do you call them? Desperadoes…”
“Do you know who they came looking for?” asked a woman in coarse hemp clothing sitting at the edge of the group.
Everyone immediately became curious.
“Who?”
“There can’t be some wanted criminal hiding around here, right?”
“Besides, they don’t look like people from the government.”
The woman in coarse clothing spoke again.
“Hey, they were looking for a woman. A young woman, and she was injured.”
“A woman?”
“Could she be some wealthy family’s young lady who ran away from home?”
The woman in coarse hemp clothing continued explaining.
“She does seem like she might be some young lady from a wealthy family. Those black-clothed men went to Doctor Li’s door and told him to open it. Doctor Li absolutely refused. And that woman from his family too…”
“In the end, they still went inside…”
“…”
Jiang Wan silently listened for a while before continuing forward.
As she passed an intersection, she suddenly saw someone familiar.
She recognized him.
It was Lin Yuan—the Lin Yuan who had entered through that gate.
He was actually still alive.
Jiang Wan immediately quickened her pace toward him.