Gu Congshan helped up the young woman carrying the bamboo basket. After she stood, she paid no attention to anything else, only checking whether the medicinal herbs in her basket had been damaged. Only after confirming they were unharmed did she finally relax.
"Are you really alright?" Gu Congshan couldn't help asking again.
He hadn't sensed any spiritual breath from the young woman before him, which proved she was most likely just a mortal who had never cultivated. Her body couldn't compare to a cultivator's, which had been tempered by spiritual breath—that fall must have been rough on her.
The young woman waved her hand to indicate she was fine. As they spoke, she and Gu Congshan exchanged names.
Her name was Bai Zhi, and she had entered the Wuyin Forest to gather medicinal herbs.
Bai Zhi's teacher, Sang Niangzi, was a wandering physician. Having stayed by her side for many years, Bai Zhi had also acquired considerable medical skill.
However, Sang Niangzi had long suffered from an old ailment. As her body grew increasingly frail, she no longer wished to travel far, hoping to return to her homeland within the State of Chen before her strength gave out completely. When they passed through Zhuxi Village in the State of Jin, it was the end of winter and beginning of spring, and the villagers had fallen ill one after another with a fever.
Because Zhuxi Village was remote and had no good physicians nearby, the illness had even escalated into an epidemic.
It was Sang Niangzi who, despite her ailing body, treated these common folk, preventing Zhuxi Village from descending into a state where every household wore mourning white.
But after many villagers recovered from the fever, Sang Niangzi herself collapsed from overexertion.
They had searched all of Zhuxi Village and even the surrounding hamlets without finding the several medicinal ingredients her condition required. When the villagers said the herbs could be found in the Wuyin Forest, Bai Zhi had risked coming here to search for them.
"You're saying this place is already the outer edge near Zhuxi Village?" Gu Congshan suddenly realized after hearing Bai Zhi's story.
Bai Zhi nodded, not quite understanding why he was so delighted.
Because they could finally leave!
Even if following Ming Zhu meant they never worried about food or drink, and didn't need to fear any wild beasts, staying in this forest any longer would, Gu Congshan felt, truly devolve him into a wild man.
The branches behind him rustled, and following three rhythmic knocks from above, Gu Congshan knew it was Ming Zhu.
This was a signal he and Ming Zhu had agreed upon, to prevent her from startling him half to death every time she appeared suddenly.
"We can leave now!" Gu Congshan turned around and said excitedly to Ming Zhu, who was standing on a tree branch with a muntjac deer in hand.
Bai Zhi followed his gaze and looked up. When she saw Ming Zhu, she couldn't help but show a hint of astonishment—how had she climbed so high?
Bai Zhi had traveled to many places with Sang Niangzi, and gathering herbs required frequent trips through deep mountains and dense forests, so she had trained herself to be physically capable. But to leap down from such a height carrying a muntjac deer like Ming Zhu did—Bai Zhi knew she couldn't manage that herself.
Gu Congshan didn't expect Ming Zhu, who had barely met anyone in her life, to know how to socialize, so he took the initiative to introduce her to Bai Zhi.
"So you two aren't siblings," Bai Zhi said with sudden realization. No wonder she had thought they looked nothing alike.
Reading the unspoken words in her eyes, Gu Congshan was left speechless. Though he truly couldn't compare, he wasn't that bad-looking himself, was he…
He then looked at the muntjac deer in Ming Zhu's hand. Even if they were eager to leave the Wuyin Forest, since it had already been hunted, how could they waste it?
So Gu Congshan built a fire on the spot and roasted some meat. The flavor earned high praise from Bai Zhi, which made him quite proud for a moment—so he did have his strengths after all.
After finishing their midday meal and tidying up, the three of them finally set off toward the edge of the Wuyin Forest.
At dusk, when the sight of cooking smoke rising from Zhuxi Village came into view, Gu Congshan, who had been living like a wild man in the Wuyin Forest for days, was nearly moved to tears.
Finally out of there—at least tonight, he wouldn't have to sleep out in the open again.
As a normal person, Gu Congshan thought, he really did prefer sleeping in a bed—
Of course, that wasn't to say she wasn't normal. Gu Congshan thought this while instinctively glancing at Ming Zhu.
He still hadn't figured out how she managed to fall asleep in a tree without falling out.
Driven by curiosity, Gu Congshan had tried to imitate her, only to nearly break his neck in the attempt. He wisely gave up on that endeavor.
Zhuxi Village was located at the border of the State of Jin, named for the bamboo groves that surrounded it. Following the winding stream forward, one could see a crude earthen platform piled up among the scattered village houses, atop which stood a clay figure shaped like a human. Because the paint had peeled and faded in patches, the figure's features were blurred and indistinct.
Before the platform lay the remnants of burned firewood and ash—this was the village's earth deity altar, where Zhuxi Village held its soil sacrifices.
Ordinarily, such rustic altars wouldn't have a physical idol, but at some point long ago, a villager of Zhuxi Village had come into a small fortune after making offerings at the altar. In gratitude, he had a statue sculpted to repay the deity, and from then on, this clay figure became the earth deity worshipped by Zhuxi Village.
Beside the altar stood an old tree with gnarled, withered branches, its limbs tied with many red cloth strips, apparently for prayer. Some of them, weathered by time, had long since faded in color.
Fresh water and wild fruit were laid out before the earthen platform, and a young woman in coarse brown clothing was prostrating herself before the clay idol, her posture appearing quite devout.
"A'He!" Bai Zhi recognized her, calling out from behind the girl.
During their stay in Zhuxi Village these past days, Bai Zhi and her teacher Sang Niangzi had been lodging at A'He's home.
A'He was a native of Zhuxi Village. Shortly after her birth, she lost her parents and was raised by her grandmother. But as she grew older, her grandmother inevitably grew frailer with age.
So when the fever swept through Zhuxi Village in early spring, A'He drank the medicine, coughed blood for a few days, and gradually recovered. But elderly folk like her grandmother, advanced in years, ultimately couldn't hold on.
The villagers of Zhuxi Village all knew well that this wasn't for lack of effort on Sang Niangzi and Bai Zhi's part—human strength could only go so far. Even if they hadn't managed to save everyone, the villagers had nothing but gratitude, no room for resentment.
A'He felt the same.
During the time Bai Zhi had gone into the Wuyin Forest to gather herbs for Sang Niangzi, A'He had been the one caring for her.
But Bai Zhi had been gone for a long time, and Sang Niangzi's condition had visibly worsened. She had fallen into a coma, not once waking during the day. A'He knew nothing of medicine. Beside herself with worry, all she could do was feed Sang Niangzi some rice porridge and kneel in prayer to the earth deity worshipped outside Zhuxi Village.
Now, seeing Bai Zhi return, A'He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After hearing the situation explained, Bai Zhi's expression changed drastically. She didn't even bother telling A'He who her two companions were, and immediately hurried toward A'He's home.
A'He's gaze swept over Gu Congshan and Ming Zhu, her eyes unconsciously lingering on Ming Zhu's face for a couple of breaths, her breath catching slightly. Realizing herself, she hastily looked away, as if afraid to meet their eyes, and followed after the swiftly departing Bai Zhi.
Seeing this, Gu Congshan hesitated for a moment, then followed as well.
Nightfall was approaching. If he had the choice, he still hoped to find lodging in Zhuxi Village for the night.
Ming Zhu had no objection to this. When asked, she nodded indifferently, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the clay statue enshrined on the earthen platform.
A gust of wind blew through the old bronze bell hanging above the platform, producing a faint, lonely chime. A patch of painted color on the clay statue peeled off in response.
A short while later, Bai Zhi, who had hurried back to A'He's home, didn't even pause to catch her breath before checking Sang Niangzi's pulse.
Gu Congshan, who had followed along, took one look and saw the woman on the bed with a pale, bluish complexion. Her gaunt face bore the weathered traces of years of hardship, and a hint of sorrow lingered between her brows.
Bai Zhi had stayed by her side for many years, and her medical skill was now no less than Sang Niangzi's own. A single touch of the pulse told her everything. But when the oil runs dry and the flame gutters, even the finest physician cannot turn back fate.
All that remained was to prolong her life as long as possible, long enough to return to her homeland in the State of Chen.
Bai Zhi's expression dimmed. She suppressed her grief and prepared to light a fire to brew the medicine.
A'He quickly stepped forward to help as well. Seeing this, Gu Congshan, who had come along, took it upon himself to split firewood.
Half an hour later, Bai Zhi finally fed the dark brown decoction to Sang Niangzi, who lay on the sickbed. Only then did she pause in her work and find the energy to ask about the plans of Ming Zhu and Gu Congshan, who had come with her to Zhuxi Village.
What did they intend to do next?
Gu Congshan planned to go to Pingxiang Town.
Pingxiang Town was the nearest administrative town to Zhuxi Village. The spiritual treasures Gu Congshan had brought out of the Wuyin Forest could only be traded with cultivators in a town of that size. He didn't deliberately mention his identity as a cultivator, and Bai Zhi simply took him for an ordinary wanderer who mingled among the common folk.
The journey from Zhuxi Village to Pingxiang Town would take at least a dozen days, so there was no rush to set out that very night. With a hint of embarrassment, Gu Congshan spoke up: "Would it be possible for us to stay the night here?"
This wasn't an unreasonable request. A'He was the only one left in her household now, so she naturally had the authority to decide. Yet upon hearing this, she still showed a trace of hesitation.
It wasn't that A'He was unwilling—it was that the old house left by her parents only had one spare room. Ming Zhu and Gu Congshan were of different genders, so how should they be arranged?
After thinking it over, she spoke in a timid voice: "If you don't mind, you could rest in my room for the night…"
As for herself, she could squeeze into the room where Bai Zhi and Sang Niangzi were staying.
Wouldn't that be inappropriate? Just as Gu Congshan was about to say something, he heard Ming Zhu say, "No need."
She looked out the window. "I'll spend the night in a tree."
What?
Hearing this, A'He looked at her, then at the tree outside the window, a bewildered expression on her face. She couldn't quite understand.
Gu Congshan, however, knew that Ming Zhu had slept in trees even in the Wuyin Forest. But how could sleeping in a tree compare to sleeping on a bed?
"I could sleep in the woodpile…" he offered. Though Ming Zhu's strength surpassed his own, Gu Congshan felt that since she was younger than him by a few years, it was only right for him to look after her.
Ming Zhu didn't respond. In her view, sleeping in a tree was far more convenient.
Gu Congshan couldn't comprehend her reasoning. He wanted to say more, but Ming Zhu had already leaped up into the tree, turning her back to him—clearly signaling she didn't want to hear another word.
Gu Congshan's words died in his throat. He felt like a mother facing a rebellious daughter—worrying himself sick over her, yet never being understood.
The sky gradually darkened. Accompanied by a few barks of dogs, the whole of Zhuxi Village sank into the soft embrace of the night.
In the silence, black mist rose from somewhere unknown, spreading across the village, drifting in soundlessly without disturbing a soul.
Ming Zhu leaned against the tree, eyes closed, expression serene, appearing to be fast asleep.
The fog swirled around her, its thick ink-black darkness gradually surging like rolling waves, until it gathered in the air into a vague shape.
Two dim flames flickered within the black mist, like a pair of eyes. A monster of unknown origin opened its hollow mouth toward Ming Zhu, baring fangs, poised to devour her.
At that very moment, the girl sleeping in the tree suddenly opened her eyes.
Their gazes met, and both fell into an unspoken silence.