Chapter 45: Verdant Mountain Hues 2

Chapter 45: Mountain Hues 2

Early the next morning, before the mist over the mountain stream had fully dissipated, the group got up.

Shen Qingge handed each person one of the smooth pebbles she had cleaned the night before, saying they were to weigh down their robes and ward off evil on the road.

Jiang Huanyun tucked the stone into his robe and glanced back at the old camphor tree.

The stream still flowed, as if carrying all the chill of the night down the mountain.

They followed the main road westward for several days. After passing Maple Ridge, the road widened, and more travelers appeared—peddlers with carrying poles, farmers herding pigs, and women leading children by the hand along the roadside.

Jiang Huanyun knew that ahead there must be water, and a dock. Sure enough, before they even reached the town, they could hear the work songs of boatmen on the river in the distance.

Xinjiang Ferry was a bustling river port.

The wind blew in from the river, carrying a faint briny scent and the fragrance of osmanthus from the shore, delivering the town's bustling energy straight to their noses.

Jiang Huanyun's injuries had healed somewhat, and he was back to his restless ways. He made his way along the riverside street, eating his way through—a piece of freshly steamed rice cake, a fried fish cake fresh from the oil pot, and a slice of osmanthus-glazed lotus root from an old woman's stall by the roadside.

Li Yu followed behind him, holding a coin purse, paying for everything while barely eating himself.

By the time the three reached the inn, night had already fallen.

The lights of Xinjiang Ferry flickered on one by one. Fishing lanterns along the river and paper lanterns on the shore reflected in the water, turning the ripples into scattered fragments of light.

They climbed to the second floor and took seats by the window. Beyond it lay the river, and the night breeze swept in off the water, carrying the damp scent of reeds from the opposite bank.

The waiter brought the dishes, steaming hot, covering the entire table.

Jiang Huanyun ate with gusto, his cheeks bulging, his chopsticks darting with speed and precision.

Shen Qingge poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, her eyes growing wider and wider.

She leaned quietly toward Li Yu and whispered, "Is your little physician a gluttonous beast reincarnated?"

Li Yu held his teacup, his gaze resting on the glow of a fishing boat's lantern outside the window. He replied flatly, "Mock him again, and I'll throw you out the window."

Shen Qingge quickly shrank back, muttering, "Hey, don't—it's a river out there, and I can't swim."

Her eyes darted around, and she brightened up again, leaning closer. "Hey, Little Fish, do you think the little physician will ask for a fourth bowl after his third? I bet he won't—he's already eaten so much on the street."

Li Yu finally turned his head to look at her, letting her new nickname slide. "I bet he will. He'll go for a fifth bowl too."

"Fine, then I'll bet you." Shen Qingge blinked. "If I win, you owe me a favor; if you win, I owe you one."

Li Yu didn't respond, which meant he agreed.

Jiang Huanyun finished his third bowl, laid his chopsticks on the bowl, and stared off into space.

Shen Qingge was about to speak when she saw him raise his hand: "Waiter, two more bowls of rice!"

Shen Qingge's smile froze on her face.

Li Yu smirked. "Heh."

Shen Qingge looked at him and muttered, "Fine, you win."

Li Yu said, "Shen Qingge, you lost."

Shen Qingge didn't answer. When she looked up again, her expression suddenly turned cold, the warmth in her eyes receding like a tide pulling back from the shore.

Shen Qingshuang had surfaced. She glanced at Li Yu, her voice cool: "Shen Qingge lost. What's that got to do with Shen Qingshuang?"

Li Yu: "..."

He set down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and looked out the window.

The night at Xinjiang Ferry drifted lazily across the river's surface. The fishing fires on the opposite bank flickered on and off, and the river wind cooled his face.

Shen Qingshuang said nothing more, only lowered her head to eat.

Shen Qingge's consciousness muttered a small protest in her mind, but she received no response.

Jiang Huanyun finished his fifth bowl, patted his stomach, and looked up to see Shen Qingshuang's cold face. He glanced at Li Yu and asked quietly, "Did you two have a fight?"

"No," Li Yu said.

"No," Shen Qingshuang said.

Jiang Huanyun made an "oh" sound and went back to his food. He always felt that whenever Shen Qingshuang appeared, she carried a chill like she'd just walked out of the deep mountains.

But what lay beneath that chill, no one knew.

The next morning, Jiang Huanyun and Li Yu were still in their room. Shen Qingge went alone to the herbal medicine shop to buy herbs, returning from the street with a bundle of herbs in hand.

The street had already grown lively, fishmongers and flower sellers crowded together. She walked through the crowd, the hem of her moon-white robes lifted by the wind.

Shen Qingge walked slowly. When she reached the corner of an alley, the wind suddenly slowed.

The clamor of the street seemed to quiet down, and her shadow stretched long behind her, overlapping with the moss at the base of the wall.

"Qingge." Shen Qingshuang's voice rose in her sea of consciousness, like something floating up from deep water. "Our time is running out."

Shen Qingge stopped, hanging the medicine bundle from her wrist, and looked down at her own hands. Her fingers were pale and thin, the lines on her palms so faint they were nearly invisible.

Shen Qingshuang spoke again in her consciousness, her voice drifting like it came from far across the water: "Qingge, have you made up your mind? As long as Jiang Huanyun is under the gu, we can get Li Yu to use the Sword from Heaven to save us. He won't refuse..."

Shen Qingge said nothing. She kept her head down, the light in her eyes flickering gently in the breeze.

Shen Qingshuang continued, "The life gu won't kill Jiang Huanyun. It only binds him to us. If we die, he'll die with us—that's all. Qingge, for us, this is the only way."

Shen Qingge tightened her grip on the cord of the medicine bundle. She raised her head, letting the morning light that spilled through the eaves fill her eyes.

After a long moment, she said softly, "I know. But sister, I..."

Shen Qingshuang fell silent.

Shen Qingge took a step forward. The morning light fell across half her face, while her other eye—the pale, clouded one—remained hidden in shadow.

She spoke as if to her sister, and as if to herself: "We can't destroy an innocent person just to save ourselves. If we did, wouldn't we become the same kind of people as Xie Zining?"

When she finished, she clutched the medicine bundle to her chest and walked toward the inn.

The wind blew in from the river, tousling her robes and the loose strands of hair around her forehead.

Shen Qingshuang said nothing more.

After a long while, Shen Qingge gently comforted her: "Sister, don't worry. I'll make sure we survive. Just give me a little more time to think."