Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Two years ago.

The wind and sand howled fiercely in the northwest, the sky a gloomy canvas threatening rain. Villagers working the fields had long since retreated to their homes.

But Yun Wan, her face etched with urgency, clutched a vegetable basket and hurried towards the village outskirts.

The elderly women idling at the village entrance watched Yun Wan rush past, their faces twisted in their usual mocking sneers. "I've never seen such a shameless little vixen," one cackled. "Who does she think she's seducing every day?"

"My mother-in-law says that red mole between her eyebrows is a mountain god's curse. It's bound to bring misfortune to her parents... Xiu'er's fate was probably because of her..."

Before the old women could finish their gossip, Yun Wan, who had already walked some distance, suddenly stopped and turned to face them.

She raised the wooden staff in her hand, pointing it at them, and declared angrily, "You'd better watch your tongues before they rot!"

With that, Yun Wan pulled down her bamboo hat and hastened away.

The old woman who had accused Yun Wan of bringing misfortune to her parents took a puff from her pipe, remarking, "How strange. That little vixen never used to talk back."

Yun Wan had never talked back before because she had never cared.

Her father, Yun Cunyi, was the most renowned hunter in the surrounding ten villages. At a young age, he had inherited his ancestors' grand bluestone compound, and their family was far more prosperous than the farming households.

But their happiness was short-lived. When Yun Wan was three, her mother passed away.

Yun Cunyi, a rough man, meticulously cared for his little daughter, unwilling to let her toil in the fields. Instead, he had her study, cook, and embroider at home.

As Yun Wan grew older and blossomed into striking beauty, people began to realize that the Yun family had raised a little phoenix.

However, beauty was often a curse among the common folk. The village's old bachelors coveted this precious little gem, and it was then that the rumors began to circulate.

But Yun Wan was never afraid.

Her father was a strong hunter, a hero who could take down leopards. He would fend off all the bad people.

But one day, without warning, he collapsed, like a great mountain crumbling to dust.

Terrified, Yun Wan rushed to fetch a doctor. But when the physician arrived, he merely shook his head.

"My father has never been sick. Why are you shaking your head?" Yun Wan couldn't believe it. She knelt before the doctor, tears streaming down her face, pleading, "Please, save my father!"

"His brain illness is too severe. He'll only be conscious for a few more days at most. There's no saving him. I can only prescribe some medicine to ease his pain."

Yun Wan felt as if struck by lightning. She collapsed to the ground, tears flowing uncontrollably, trembling with profound grief.

"Child, do you still want the medicine?"

The doctor looked at Yun Wan with concern. He had heard of this family—a precious little girl raised in a poor, remote village. She seemed terrified and unsure of what to do.

Just as he was about to offer advice, Yun Wan wiped her tears and, with trembling hands, pulled a red cloth bundle from her clothes, pressing it into his hand. "Yes, please prescribe the medicine. This is for the consultation and medicine. Please don’t spread word of my father’s illness. When you deliver the medicine, please be discreet. Thank you."

The doctor was surprised. He had thought the hunter’s daughter was like a fairy, untouched by worldly matters. But now, seeing her tear-streaked face and stubborn determination, he realized the rumors were likely false.

After seeing the doctor off, Yun Wan closed the gate and completely collapsed.

It felt as if her soul had been ripped away. Her empty eyes stared blankly ahead, her body cold and numb, her chest aching unbearably.

With a thud, she fell heavily to her knees, covering her face as she wept bitterly.

She couldn’t accept that her father, still in the prime of his life, was suddenly about to leave this world. Just yesterday, he had brought back several rabbits, saying he would save the fur for her dowry.

That very morning, her father had tucked away the flatbread she made, smiled, and waved goodbye. How could it be that in an instant, they were about to be separated forever?

For over ten years, father and daughter had relied on each other. Now, he was going to leave her.

If her father died, she wouldn’t survive in Stone Village either.

Their old family home had long been coveted by her uncle, and she would be married off to some old bachelor chosen by the clan.

Before her father lost consciousness, she couldn’t let news of his illness spread, or greedy relatives would come knocking.

Tears streaming down her face, Yun Wan leaned against the wall and staggered to her feet, stumbling weakly into her father’s room.

She couldn’t collapse yet. Her father still needed her care.

A few days later, Yun Cunyi finally woke up, but he was weak and could barely speak.

"Daughter... take the money... don’t worry about me... leave quickly... get away."

The frail Yun Cunyi could feel his life slipping away. His parents had died early, his wife had passed young, and the one he worried about most was his daughter.

Without his protection, Yun Wan would be devoured alive.

"Father, don’t say such things. Eat something first. The doctor said you’ll get better."

Tears in her eyes, Yun Wan held a spoonful of warm dough drop soup to his lips.

Yun Cunyi pressed his lips shut, mustering all his strength to push Yun Wan away. "If you... don’t leave... I won’t... rest easy. I... won’t eat."

Yun Wan’s tears burst forth. She bit her lip so hard it bled, but just as she was about to speak, she saw Yun Cunyi lose consciousness again.

That night, Yun Wan dug out the savings Yun Cunyi had accumulated over a lifetime from a disused kang stove in the storeroom.

She sat on the edge of the kang, watching her unconscious father, crying and thinking all night long.

At dawn, she knocked on the gate of her neighbor, Aunt Cuihua.

"Auntie, something has happened at home. Could you please look after my father? I need to go out for a while."

---

Thinking of this, Yun Wan, now leaving the village, tightened her straw rain cape and glanced down at the money pouch tucked inside her clothes, quickening her pace.

She had thought it over all night. The only way to keep their home and avoid being married off to some village scoundrel was to find a man to marry her—a man who could take charge.

But the situation was urgent. Her uncle was the local bully, and no one in the village dared to marry her.

Aside from buying a male slave and pretending to marry him, there was no other way.

Most people only knew Yun the hunter’s daughter as beautiful and delicate, but Yun Wan was determined to hold up the sky for the Yun family.

Clutching the silver, her face hidden under her hat, Yun Wan walked anxiously and tremblingly toward the slave market, fueled by her bold decision.

When she reached her destination, Yun Wan’s eyes widened in shock.

The place was completely empty.

A peddler, seeing her standing there for a long time, said, "Slaves are only sold here from the 10th to the 15th of the month. Today is the 16th. You’re too late. Come back next month."

Yun Wan’s face turned deathly pale.

Her last resort had failed; she couldn't find anyone on this street who would marry her.

Yun Wan walked back to the village, utterly dejected.

The sky gradually began to drizzle, mixing with the dust in the air, turning into muddy drops that fell on her body.

Yun Wan stood blankly by the edge of Linjiang, unmoving for a long time.

"Girl, you mustn’t think of doing anything foolish."

Yun Wan turned around and saw an elderly farmer knocking out his dry pipe, smiling as he advised her.

"Look, I even fished out a corpse today. This young lad, for some reason, gave up on life and is already not breathing. It’s raining, girl, you should hurry home."

Yun Wan felt a chill down her spine. She turned to look and suddenly noticed the corpse lying on the bank had a faint rise and fall in its chest.

"He’s still alive!"

Remembering the lifesaving methods her father had taught her, Yun Wan rushed to the "corpse," took off her bamboo hat, and pressed firmly on the man’s chest. "Hey, wake up!"

Looking at the man’s lips, she hesitated for a moment before instinctively leaning in. The old man exclaimed in shock, "Girl, you mustn’t, you mustn’t! Desecrating a corpse will bring punishment from the heavens!"

"I’m saving him!"

Struggling against the old man’s attempts to stop her, Yun Wan was about to give him mouth-to-mouth when suddenly, he coughed violently from her compressions, expelling a great deal of water from deep in his throat. Yun Wan quickly patted his back.

After a moment, the man’s hoarse voice slowly spoke.

"Miss... could you... please move aside first?"

Yun Wan looked down at the man in confusion and only then realized her collar had unknowingly come slightly open. Her fair skin was visible through the deep blue floral-patterned cloth, her chest nearly touching his neck.

Yun Wan’s face instantly flushed crimson, her ears turning red as blood. She quickly turned away, pulling her collar together.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Young man, where is your home? How did you end up in the river?" the old man asked kindly.

Lu Yu shook his head. "I don’t remember. I don’t remember where home is."

He felt as though a lifetime had passed, unsure of where he came from or where he was going.

Suddenly, a fragmented memory flashed through his mind. Holding his head, he fainted once again.

"Dead? Old man saved his life, might as well take this jade of his to trade for some silver. My wife has been sick for a long time, and we haven’t had steamed buns to eat at home for ages."

As the old man was about to take the man’s jade pendant, his wrist was suddenly gripped tightly by the girl beside him.

Yun Wan’s cheeks flushed red, her voice trembling. "I’ll give you money. I want to take this corpse away."

Trembling, Yun Wan took a piece of broken silver from her sleeve and pressed it into the old man’s hand. "Old man, remember—you didn’t fish up anything today."

The old man looked puzzled.

Yun Wan pointed to his wheelbarrow filled with corn stalks. "I want this too."

---

When Yun Wan pushed open the gate of her home, pulling the cart of stalks, Aunt Cuihua hurried out at the sound.

"Yun girl, why did you buy a cart of stalks?"

Aunt Cuihua glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then quickly helped Yun Wan pull it inside.

Too rushed to explain, Yun Wan wiped the sweat from her forehead and hurried into the inner room.

Seeing her father’s chest still rising and falling slowly, the tears she had held back the entire way instantly streamed down her face.

Aunt Cuihua quickly took Yun Wan’s hand and handed her a bowl of thick congee. "Good child, eat quickly. Don’t try to shoulder everything alone from now on—Auntie is here to help you."

Yun Wan looked at the thick layer of rice oil floating on the porcelain bowl, and her tears immediately fell into it.

"Auntie, I’m scared."

Yun Wan buried herself in Aunt Cuihua’s embrace and cried bitterly. Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly stood up and pulled out the unconscious man hidden among the stalks.

Aunt Cuihua’s eyes widened in shock. "Child, why did you bring a man back?"

Yun Wan paced a few steps, biting her lip as if she had done something wrong. "I... I bought myself a husband."

Afraid Aunt Cuihua might disapprove, she carefully wiped the man’s face clean with a cloth. "...He’ll do. See, he has eyes, a nose, good teeth, and a big bottom."

Aunt Cuihua covered her forehead. "This isn’t like buying cattle or livestock—you don’t need to check his teeth or bottom."

Yun Wan whispered, "Auntie, I have no other choice. Even if he just pretends for a while, it’s better than nothing. You know my family’s situation..."

Aunt Cuihua sighed. "But will this young man agree?"

Would he agree?

He likely would—after all, he doesn’t even remember where home is.