TBTTSP - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Xu Wanqing Tells a Story (9)

In a courtyard, there were two or three straw mats and four or five torches. Fifteen or so women were gathered, surrounded by guards. Nine men held spears and ten had drawn their swords, lining both sides. A burly man stepped forward.

"Stay here and wait quietly for the master's address! If one person tries to escape, everyone in this courtyard dies with them!"

The women huddled together, terrified.

Every woman in the courtyard was bound. Most were from Squire Wang's household, but there were a few unfamiliar faces who, judging by their dress, seemed to be maids who had accompanied the scholars to the banquet.

Having only recently married into the family, Xu Wanqing didn't dare assume the airs of the household's mistress. Besides, the extraordinary matter of her soul transmigration weighed on her mind, so she hid silently within the crowd. The thought of the seven pills inside the dragon-patterned box made her break out in a cold sweat, certain that something was terribly wrong.

The man glanced around. Seeing that no one dared to respond, he grunted impassively, then turned, pushed his way into the crowd, and vanished.

The courtyard wasn't large, but packed with fifteen or so women and a throng of guards, it felt cramped. Xu Wanqing stood amidst the crowd with her eyes lowered, her mind racing uncomfortably.

The women seemed to have lost their nerve. They didn't dare speak much, nor did they dare lie down on the straw mats. They simply huddled in twos and threes with acquaintances, whispering guesses about what was happening until their words turned to tears. Many of their husbands were dead, and having witnessed the gruesome sight, their faces showed a mixture of emotions.

The moonlight shone from directly overhead, like a sharp blade hanging high above, casting a cold glint.

A few of the bolder women tried to ask the guards for information, but the guards were like statues cast from steel, utterly motionless.

A woman in a date-red, front-fastening jacket laughed. "Officer, we humble women don't have much to do all day. Has some official taken a fancy to our looks and decided to take us home as wives?"

She could still manage a laugh at a time like this. Smiling, she sidled up and gave the young man a provocative pinch, causing his pale face to flush bright red. "Shut up!"

The tip of his spear shot straight toward the woman's chest. "Get back! Get back!"

"Oh, would you really have the heart to kill me, officer?" Instead of retreating, the woman lunged forward, her fair, delicate hands wrapping around the spear shaft. Though she clearly had little strength, her action forced the young man to roar, "Where did this slut come from!"

Although the spear pulled back, the young man mustered his courage and thrust forward.

The women cried out in alarm. A spear was no joke—it would pierce her belly and spill her intestines. The more timid ones were already screaming, squeezing their eyes shut, unable to watch.

"Officer, please calm your anger. She is one of my household and is ignorant. She has caused you trouble."

A soft voice suddenly halted the impending tragedy.

With one hand, Xu Wanqing pulled the woman back; with the other, she grabbed the spearhead. Blood oozed from between her fingers. Her fair hand trembled and released its grip, leaving behind a streak of shockingly crimson blood.

"Stop this nonsense!"

Another guard finally stepped forward, shouting an order before declaring in a loud voice, "Next time, there will be no mercy!"

The guard glanced at Xu Wanqing, who stood quietly cradling her injured hand, causing no further trouble. The troublemaking hussy stared at the hand in alarm, apparently frightened as well.

"You… weapons have no eyes. How could you just grab it like that?"

Xu Wanqing bowed. "You've been troubled, officer. The women of my household lack worldly experience, and encountering this situation has left them flustered. We just don't know why we are being kept here, or for how long. If you would be so kind, officer, could you just tell us what we are supposed to do…"

"You'll find out when the time comes. No more questions!"

The guards stood ramrod straight again, saying nothing more. None of the other women were as bold as the one in the date-red jacket; they all huddled together and sat on the ground, heedless of their dignity.

The old woman who served Xu Wanqing finally squeezed out from the crowd. "My dear lady, why did you grab that blasted thing? This… this…"

"The bleeding seems to have stopped. It's just a small cut, nothing serious." Xu Wanqing glanced around. She had a strong feeling that this situation was related to the pills, but she didn't dare say a word and could only wait and see.

The woman in the date-red jacket supported her by the arm. "All the women in this courtyard are blind. They don't recognize you."

"It's better that they don't. I'm afraid if trouble starts, who knows who will be implicated."

A voice piped up from the crowd.

That was true enough. The scholars had been holding a gathering, and no one knew which of them had brought this disaster upon them. The woman in the date-red jacket stared for a moment, then said nothing. She tore a strip from her clothes to bandage Xu Wanqing's hand, but Xu Wanqing gently turned her hand away in refusal.

"Today, you have the authority of the mistress of the house, Madam."

"It's useless." Xu Wanqing glanced around and saw that all three straw mats were occupied, so she leaned against the wall. "You should go rest," she said in a low voice. "We still don't know what will happen next. Asking more questions is pointless, and this situation doesn't look simple."

The woman in the date-red jacket thought for a moment, then rushed out, argued with someone, and snatched a straw mat. Xu Wanqing knelt on it, and the woman brazenly leaned against her. Her body was warm, her expression friendly. Someone whispered that the hussy never spoke a word to the Madam on normal days but was now trying to curry favor, as if it mattered when they were all going to die anyway.

Xu Wanqing heard them, of course, but there was nothing to do but close her eyes and rest.

The Peace Talisman she had prayed for still hung around her neck, but it was for Shang Yi. Had she known this would happen, she would have prayed for one for herself.

She actually fell asleep sitting up. When she awoke, exhaustion hit her like a thunderclap, and her whole body ached. She was lying on the straw mat, and the woman in the date-red jacket was standing before a guard.

She struggled to sit up. "Is she provoking them again?"

The old woman said, "No, you don't know. Not long after you fell asleep, someone came from outside. They've been taking women away one by one for questioning. Four or five have gone already, and none have returned. Just now, they were about to take you, but she rushed forward and told them to take her first."

The woman in the date-red jacket was joking with the guard as she was shoved out of the courtyard. The gate stood open, its bronze knocker covered in verdigris and many of its studs missing, presenting a desolate sight.

Flanked by two guards, she looked terribly alone. Xu Wanqing opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

Xu Wanqing didn't even know the woman in the date-red jacket.

The courtyard grew even quieter, so still you could hear a pin drop. With fewer people, it seemed more spacious.

Xu Wanqing's heart clenched. A faint voice inside her urgently cried that something was terribly wrong.

Terribly, terribly wrong.

What were they asking? What had happened to the women who were taken for questioning?

She stood up. The wound on her left hand had already healed, leaving only a bright red mark and a thin scab.

The woman in the date-red jacket had been gone for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn when the guards rushed over again. The old woman quickly grabbed Xu Wanqing. "Madam, where are you going?"

"You can take me."

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but it landed in the courtyard like a clap of thunder.

The guards did indeed walk over and take her. As she was hauled out the gate, she glanced from side to side, her heart pounding with apprehension.

Once outside, she was blindfolded. The world went pitch-black. They pushed her around in circles as if for sport, again and again, until she was completely disoriented. Then, a rope was thrust into her hands, and she was told to follow it, like a mule being led to the slaughterhouse.

"We're here."

The blindfold was removed. She found herself in another courtyard, one that resembled a garden. She was standing at the edge of a small pond, one wrong step from falling in. The water was crystal clear, and a few red carp swam lazily, wagging their tails. The surface was covered with lotus leaves, but upon closer inspection, she saw they weren't growing there—they had been plucked and scattered on the water, merely for show.

She took a step back onto solid ground. Seeing no one around, she boldly began to survey her surroundings.

"Do you know about the Immortality Pills?"

She jumped in fright, stumbling back. A person emerged from among the lotus leaves, soaking wet. He was lying on the leaves, watching her, tilting his head as he sized her up. "Oh! They said you're the mistress of this house. You might know about the Immortality Pills."

"Who are you?"

"Do you know about the Immortality Pills?"

"Who are you?"

She grabbed a rock from the pond's edge and threw it at the head in the water.

"Ouch, that hurts! I heard yesterday that you bravely grabbed a spearhead, and now I see it's true. You were at that gathering of scholars, weren't you?"

"I was merely writing a book behind a screen."

"What book were you writing?"

"Just some vulgar novels, gossiping about people's affairs."

"Was The Golden Lotus written by you?"

"No."

"Oh, so Empty Against the Moon wasn't either?"

"That one was."

The person swam over, and she saw he was just a boy, about the same age as the ones Zhang Xu squabbled with. He wore a dark cyan robe and rested his arms on the edge of the pond, shaking his dripping black hair. "It's very good."

"Who are you?"

"I'm no one. Who are you? You are Xu Wanqing, courtesy name Yijiu."

Unsure how to respond, Xu Wanqing didn't. She lowered her gaze to the youth. "What happened to the women who were brought here before me?"

"Killed, of course. No one can be allowed to know about the Immortality Pills. The new emperor has ascended the throne, and if he were to learn of them, I fear he would bring suffering upon the people all over again."

A chill ran through Xu Wanqing.

Killed? Could he speak of it so lightly?

The boy's hands, resting on the edge of the pond, were long and fair. She suddenly lunged forward and stomped on one.

The boy was kicked back into the pond. Gurgle, gurgle. Bubbles rose to the surface. Frightened by her own sudden ferocity, she quickly bent down to pull him out. But the boy grabbed both her hands, and losing her balance, she tumbled headfirst into the water.

Once she fell in, she realized the water was only chest-deep.

The boy's head suddenly popped out of the water. He giggled. "You really are vicious. Men, kill—"

"What if you never find the Immortality Pills?"

"Then I'll kill them all!"

"The Immortality Pills are with me," Xu Wanqing said, steeling herself. "The others know nothing of this. Let them go."

"You say you have them, and I'm supposed to believe you? Are you trying to trick me?" The boy narrowed his eyes, raising a hand to dismiss the armed guards who were rushing in.

"Then go ahead and kill them. Kill all the women in that courtyard, and let the secret remain hidden forever."

"Torture her."

She had overestimated herself. When she was dragged into a pitch-black chamber and forced into an iron cage, she was still not prepared.

As iron needles pierced her fingertips, she finally realized that whether she spoke or not, the women in that courtyard could not escape their fate.

They had been dead men walking since they were in Squire Wang's courtyard. There was no escape; it was only a matter of time.

She didn't know if she could survive until the next day. If she could just hold on until the Zi hour of the night, her soul would escape to Zhang Xu's body, and she would have a chance to see Shang Yi one last time.

The man fitting her with iron caltrops laughed. "Your feet are bound so beautifully."

Through the pain, she mulled over the boy's words. The new emperor has ascended... again...

Was the boy one of the former emperor's men? Or one of his enemies?

The shrill screams of women echoed from the dungeon below. Remarrying, she thought, had truly been a terrible idea.

She desperately wanted to see Shang Yi one last time before she died.

The Peace Talisman on her chest was soaked with blood, clinging to her skin. The torturer grabbed it, looked at it, then ripped it off and tossed it onto a wooden table. "You're a tough one. Bring the rats! In a moment, we'll put them in an iron box and heat it red-hot. When the pain makes them scurry, they'll chew those pretty little three-inch golden lotuses of yours to a pulp!"

"They're at my home," she said.

"What?"

"In my bedchamber."

"Where?"

"I don't remember exactly. A dragon-patterned box. It's in my bedchamber."

"Go, report to the Imperial Preceptor that she's confessed. Send a team to search. And bring the rats over. We'll help her remember."

Just as she'd feared, she wouldn't be able to stall until nightfall.

"We've already searched everywhere. She says it's in her bedchamber—could she be bluffing?"

"Search first. If you can't find it, kill her!"

She endured another half-day of agony. Every inch of her body was a wreck. Under the brutal torture, she lost all track of time, which seemed to crawl by.

At some point, the boy appeared in the dungeon and threw something at her feet.

The dragon-patterned box.

"It's empty. Where are the Immortality Pills?"

"I don't know. That person only gave me this box," she said weakly. Her mind was groggy. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and when she opened her eyes again, the pain in her body felt like a distant dream. She was in a soft bed, her head on an unfamiliar pillow.

She struggled to sit up, and the telephone beside her began to ring.

She didn't know how to use the device, so she just let it ring. Suddenly, Li Zhaodi rushed over and snatched it up. "Hello? You are! You're Shang Yi… Auntie, ah, okay, Zhang Xu is here. Zhang Xu!"

She couldn't quite comprehend how she was suddenly about to speak with Shang Yi, but as the strange object was placed by her ear, she nodded silently.

After handing her the strange object, Li Zhaodi left. A strange sound suddenly came from her ear, but it was easily recognizable as Shang Yi's voice. "Xu Wanqing!"

"Younger… Sister Shang…?"

She thought she could die happy now.

"I know this is going to sound completely random, and it feels a bit like cheating…"

What was Shang Yi talking about…

"Younger Sister Shang…?"

"Listen to me. In the future, maybe many, many years from now, you might meet me again. I might say some stupid things, but, but, you must remember, don't leave me!"

She didn't understand.

"I don't know where you are… no, wait, I do know where you are. Ah, I don't know if I know or not. Anyway, no matter how angry you get with me, remember to come back and find me! Do you hear me?"

How am I supposed to find you?

Xu Wanqing felt lost. She was a dying woman; how could she possibly go back and find Shang Yi? Her few brief meetings with her had been precious and rare, and she didn't dare hope for more.

"I hear you, but I might not be able to…"

"You can! No matter how far you go, you remember to come back! Even if it takes five hundred years, you remember!"

Why was Shang Yi so unreasonable?

Though still bewildered, she agreed softly, regardless of whether it was possible.

It was Shang Yi, after all, who had said it.

"What if I can't find you, Younger Sister Shang…"

"Then don't wander off. Wait for me to find you."

Xu Wanqing nodded, only half-understanding.

Perhaps Shang Yi would dig up her grave and find her bones. That would be a rather dull reunion, wouldn't it? Still, to be thought of in such a way filled her heart with light.

"Alright."

"Okay, I won't disturb you any longer. Bye! I'm going to find someone!"

What on earth was Shang Yi talking about… so impetuous, so unreasonable, and yet so free and dashing.

She felt she could die now. Exhaustion washed over her, the pain of her physical body seeming to seep into her soul, inheriting a sodden weariness. She fell back and slept. In her dreams, she seemed to hear Li Zhaodi come over and whisper, "Oh my, how can she sleep so much…"

A blanket was pulled up to her shoulders, warming her. She felt so tired, so pained. Her life felt like a dream, and this journey to the future felt like an illusion within it.

Drifting aimlessly, unable to make her own choices. Others chose her, others decided whether she lived or died.

She was nothing more than a drifting duckweed. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in bed.

"You can actually perform Soul Separation?" The boy watched her with great interest, his chin propped in his hand. "You must have a connection to the immortals. Hey, let me ask you, do you really not know where the Immortality Pills are?"

She closed her eyes, pretending she was still dreaming.

But the pain in her body forced her awake. The room was filled with the scent of medicine. Looking down, she saw her entire body had been treated and bandaged. The boy they called the Imperial Preceptor was squatting by her bed.

"When your soul left your body, where did it go?" The boy actually took out a brush and paper, preparing to take notes.

"A mirage… I suppose."

"Nonsense."

The mercurial Imperial Preceptor squatted by the bed, but Xu Wanqing was too weak to sit up. She spoke with him in a daze. True to his word, the boy didn't have her tortured again.

Even though she hadn't told him about the Immortality Pills.

The Immortality Pills were, of course, at her home. In her bedchamber.

But who ever told them that "her home" meant her husband's home?

After receiving the pills, she had felt something was amiss, so she had separated them. She hid the box at her husband's home, but she had taken the pills back to her maiden home.

The Imperial Preceptor… was he the one who had refined the pills…?

She was still sleepy and closed her eyes. The boy grumbled, "How boring."

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