Chapter 5 The living are more dangerous than the dead

After the rain, two young girls in silver-gray robes supported each other on the mountain road. He Danggui complained to herself as she walked on the road. As the saying went, “It’s easier to temporize than fight against the current.” Originally, she just wanted to step outside for a breath of fresh air and pick a few herbs that would help her recuperate by the way. No one knew that so many unexpected incidents would happen on the road.

What was worse, He Danggui’s foot injury was getting serious. At the same time, the inner clothes and vest she wore were gone. Being blown by the mountain wind in the evening, she felt so cold like drinking cold water in the cold weather.

However, Zhen Jing smiled, feeling fulfilling. She sighed as she walked, “Xiaoyi, you are not only capable but also kind. It’s a good fortune for him to meet you there. If he could recuperate from this injury, you would be his savior…”

“Remember not to talk about this when we go back to the temple!” He Danggui reminded her again.

Zhen Jing’s eyes narrowed as the crescent moon. She shook her head and replied, “I know! I know! You’ve said it eight times. Why do you call me a chatty girl? You are just the same…”

Time went back to the noon.

He Danggui and Zhen Jing carried small bamboo baskets respectively and snuck out of Shui Shang Temple quietly. He Danggui picked up some useful herbs everywhere, while Zhen Jing picked mountain mushrooms and dug wild vegetables.

In the past, some Mongolian soldiers had set fires to the top of the mountain where the Taoist Temple was located. Until now, the vegetation here was sparse. They wandered around but gained few. Later, they went down the mountain unknowingly.

Along their way, Zhen Jing saw a bird’s nest in a crooked tree. Then she climbed up and found there were seven or eight eggs about the size of stones. He Danggui told her to leave two eggs in the nest, and helped her slide down the tree. When they took several steps forward, He Danggui found another bird’s nest, and Zhen Jing did the same as before.

Since they got a lot of good stuffs in a short time and had tasted the sweetness, so they began to look for bird’s nests around as they chatted.

“Xiaoyi, I’ve lived in the Taoist Temple for 4 or 5 years, but I don’t know there is a dog hole under the courtyard of the East Wing-room. How do you know that?”

“We discovered it in the previous life.” He Danggui thought in her heart but said to Zhen Jing, “Oh, because I just saw a few mice coming out from there.” She knew that Zhen Jing was afraid of mice the most.

As expected, Zhen Jing screamed with fear and covered her ears to run away.

He Danggui couldn’t walk fast because she sustained an injury on her ankle. So, she didn’t go after her but reminded behind her, “Be careful. It’s slippery!” No sooner had she finished the words than Zhen Jing fell down. Being anxious, He Danggui limped towards Zhen Jing and found her lay on the grassland. She asked anxiously, “Are you okay?”

Zhen Jing was panicky, and screamed as she got up, “There is…There is a dead body in the grass!”

Being confused, He Danggui walked there and saw a small patch of grass covered with something red like blood. When she walked closer, she saw a boy lying in the grass. His body was covered with blood. After a few more careful glances, He Danggui took Zhen Jing and went away.

“A dead body…there is a dead body!” Zhen Jing was still in shock.

“Hush! Stop screaming. I see it.” He Danggui knocked on her head and said, “First, no matter how you scream, the dead can’t come back to life and jump up to bite you or hurt you. Don’t be afraid. The living, on the contrary, sometimes would harm you for all kinds of reasons. So, the living are much more terrible than the dead. Second, the boy is still alive.”

“What? He’s alive? How did you know that?” Zhen Jing’s eyes widened in surprise.

He Danggui was speechless, “Sis, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw him panting and frowning. His wound was still bleeding. You must have stepped on his wound.”

Zhen Jing flushed with embarrassment and said, “That…that’s because I’ve never seen so much blood, I dare not to watch him anymore…But Xiaoyi, since he is still alive, why did you take me leave like this? Aren’t we going to save him?”

He Danggui shook her head and said nothing more. She dragged her sleeves to walk.

Zhen Jing was unwilling to move anymore. Then she said with pleading eyes, “Xiaoyi, let’s save him!”

He Danggui spread her hands out and asked, “How? We are not the Sanqing Immortals of Taoism (includes Yuqing, Shangqing and Taiqing, also known as Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun and Daode Tianzun respectively) enshrined in the Taoist Temple. We don’t have the ability to sprinkle a few drops of holy water over him or feed him with a kind of elixir to save him.”

“But…he’s a man! Why are you so indifferent?” Zhen Jing’s eyes were red, “I can’t leave it alone. Anyway, I have to save him! As a Taoist nun, if I do nothing to save people from ruin, I won’t get the blessing from the immortals.” Then she got rid of He Danggui’s hands and wanted to return to save him.

Looking at Zhen Jing’s back for a while, He Danggui sighed and shouted, “Zhen Jing, listen to me, I won’t stop you to save people. The reason why I value you as a friend is that you are very kind. But there is something weird about this, and I don’t want you to do bad things with good intentions!”

Hearing this, Zhen Jing paused and turned to look at her, “Why do you think it’s weird?”

He Danggui trotted towards her, held Zhen Jing’s hand again, and said analytically, “It’s just a few steps from the main road. If he got injured accidently, he would ask for help and won’t hide himself in the grass. Also, I found that the drops of blood around were intermittent from the west to the main road. Obviously, he had crossed the main road, but he continued to move and hide himself into the grass in the end.”

Zhen Jing was confused, “So what?”

“That means he didn’t want anyone to find him!”

Zhen Jing exclaimed and her eyes widened in surprise, “He didn’t want others to find him? Does he…want to commit suicide?”

Being helpless, He Danggui was almost choked by her own saliva. She knocked on Zhen Jing’s forehead and asked, “If you want to commit suicide, will you make a dozen gashes on yourself and then try to bleed to death slowly? I guess he might be running away from the enemy.”

Zhen Jing covered her mouth in surprise and frowned, “So…what should we do? We just stand by and do nothing?”

“I’m afraid so. We are just two little powerless kids.” He Danggui shook her head and continued, “If we make a mistake carelessly, we’ll put ourselves in danger, let alone saving his life. Think about it, if we stay here, his enemy may find him easily at the sight of us and the bloodstain. That means we killed him indirectly by then. Moreover, the man is seriously injured. If we drag him rashly, we may exacerbate his wound. I know that you intend to bring him back to the Taoist Temple. But the Temple is a public place, anyone can find him there. If the enemy of that person asks about his whereabouts in the Taoist Temple, what do you think Master Tai Shan would deal with a dying person who is unknown?”

Zhen Jing’s face grew paler at her analysis. She covered her mouth and said, “It’s dangerous! I’m glad you stopped me. I nearly killed a man!” Then she pulled He Danggui and run a long way, panting and asking, “Xiaoyi, what should we do now? Can we just go back to the Taoist Temple?”

He Danggui nodded and walked a few steps. Suddenly she stopped, stared at Zhen Jing’s feet and asked, “What’s that on your shoe?”

“Huh?” Zhen Jing looked down in confusion and saw a bloodstain on her shoe, “Oh! It must have been stained just now!”

He Danggui frowned for a moment, then picked up a sharp stone from the ground and scratched her palm. Blood poured out immediately.

“Ah, what are you doing!” Zhen Jing was horrified.

He Danggui motioned for her to be calm. Then she tore a strip of cloth from her robe to bandage the wound as she told Zhen Jing, “If someone asks why there is bloodstain on your shoe, you can explain that my hand got hurt, which stained you shoe.”

Zhen Jing paused for a moment and suddenly cried, “I’m so sorry, Xiaoyi. How could I suspect your moral character and thought you’re indifferent just now? I made a mistake, but you hurt yourself to protect me. Will you get mad at me and never talk to me?”

“That’s all right, don’t cry.” He Danggui comforted her, “Look, it’s just a small cut and it doesn’t hurt. I’ll be fine in two days. Like I said, the reason why I value you as a friend is that you are very kind-hearted. You have a kind heart that I have lost. I can remember what kind of person I was at the sight of you. How can I be mad at you?”

Zhen Jing wiped her tears and whispered, “Actually, you are the kind one. I was impulsive just now. I shouldn’t have accused you of being indifferent. I’m sorry…But, what did you just say…something about the person you used to be? Why do you sometimes speak like an adult? You’re younger than me…”

They chatted with each other on their way back to the Taoist Temple.

He Danggui knew Zhen Jing was sullen for she wasn’t able to save the boy’s life. So, she kept talking with her along their way to distract her attention.

“Look!” He Danggui pointed to a cluster of small white flowers on the side of the road, “This is rhizoma atractylodes, which tastes bitter and spicy. When it is used with pork liver and semen cassiae, eye diseases can be cured. Together with notopterygium incisum and radix angelicae pubescentis, the anemofrigid-damp arthralgia can be cured with excellent effect. Have you ever heard the beautiful and touching legend about this traditional Chinese medicine…”

“Ha-ha!”

Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter behind them. As they looked back simultaneously, they saw about ten tall and burly men walking on the mountain road behind them. They were about 50 meters away, well dressed with neat steps. Among them, the one in blue robe seemed to be honored.

He Danggui kept her countenance, but she couldn’t help pondering over the identities of these people.

Walking on the mountain road covered with gravels and fallen leaves, they were very close to He Danggui and Zhen Jing. But until some of them laughed, He Danggui and Zhen Jing didn’t notice them. Looking at them again, He Danggui found their clothing were not unified, but they walked at a surprisingly consistent pace, and that kind of tacit understanding couldn’t be developed overnight. What’s more, they all walked with their toes pointing outwards, and even at the same angle! Were they…

Just when He Danggui analyzed in her mind, those people were approaching.

Zhen Jing had never seen so many tall and strong men on the mountain, and she was involuntarily awed by the momentum of these people. Then she couldn’t help holding He Danggui’s hand, and took two or three steps back.

“Ha-ha, don’t be afraid. We’re not bad people!” A young man in scarlet robe with gold lines, about 23 years old, laughed, “Hearing what this little girl said along the way, I think you are familiar with many kinds of herbs. I couldn’t help laughing. Don’t take it to heart!”

He Danggui’s eyes dropped. She was shocked that they had heard her words all the way. More surprisingly, she said in a soft voice because she was tired and weary, and they were not too close to her…With such excellent hearings, they were definitely seniors.

Thinking of this, she held Zhen Jing who was in a cold sweat, and then stood sideways and smiled, “Excuse me for my nonsense. You first.”

The man at the front of the line dressed in blue robe. He slightly nodded and climbed up the mountain road three steps at a time, and others followed him. He Danggui and Zhen Jing bowed their heads and held their breath subconsciously, waiting for them to pass.

“Hey! Why is there blood on your shoe? Where have you just been?” The man at the end of the team suddenly stopped beside them, staring at Zhen Jing coldly. He Danggui took a glance at the man. He was wearing a black suit which embroidered with red patterns. The intricate pattern made the black robe bright and uncanny.

Hearing this, the ones ahead all looked back simultaneously. Zhen Jing couldn’t help drawing back.

He Danggui held Zhen Jing with her right hand, and showed the bandaged wound of the palm of her left hand. She replied quietly, “We picked up some herbs just now, and my hand was scraped by the branches. Then my blood soiled my partner’s shoe accidently.”

The young man in a scarlet robe smiled again and apologized, “I’m sorry. He’s a rough man. I hope he didn’t scare you.”

He Danggui shook her head and bowed her eyes, “My Childe, don’t mention it.”

The man in scarlet robe asked the head, “Sir, they had picked up herbs on the mountain. Why not ask them?” The man in blue robe bowed his head, and the man in scarlet robe looked at them again, “Ladies, may I ask if you have met anyone strange or anything weird along the way?”

He Danggui showed a thoughtful expression, and said, “Strangers…you respected guests are strangers. As for the weirdness…The first weird thing we encountered today is that we met nine people dressed in fine clothing and with capital accents. They are not merchants, not farmers, not woodsmen, not hunters, not hermits, or the heroes of the forests. But they wandered on the mountain road and spoke hearsay evidence. Do you think that’s a strange thing?”

“Ha-ha!” The man in scarlet robe laughed, and others smiled too. The man stared at He Danggui with interest, “Interesting! I didn’t expect a little nun in this deep mountain is not only familiar with pharmacology, but also talkative and humorous!”

He Danggui smiled, “Thanks for your appreciation. May I ask is there anything else you want to know?”

The man in scarlet robe folded his hands, tilted his head and smiled, “You don’t need to be so vigilant. In fact, we are all officials, chasing an important criminal here. So, we want to ask you if you have met a seriously injured man who looks suspicious.”

He Danggui realized suddenly that they were imperial guards!