Touched Heaven, Rouge Traded for Life

"Uncle Wang, are you all right?"

Li Xian helped Wang Yonghou up and brushed the snow and sand from him. Wang Yonghou held his waist, howling in waves of pain, his face mottled blue and purple.

When he discovered a huge tear in his homespun clothes, his heart bled even more. He would rather take a few more punches than have a great hole torn in his clothes.

"I'm fine, Li... Li Xian. Thank you."

"I told you you'd amount to something. That martial arts you showed just now was downright incredible."

"You really helped me vent my anger. Th... thank you."

As he spoke, Wang Yonghou suddenly realized something and hurriedly said, "Th... that, I still haven't chopped any firewood. C... could you let Uncle Wang off this time?"

"I wasn't going to hit you. Otherwise, wouldn't Aunt Liu curse me to death?" Li Xian said with a smile.

Only then did Wang Yonghou relax. Since they were both returning to Qingning County, they naturally traveled together.

"You brat, your greatest virtue is that you never forget your roots."

Wang Yonghou sighed with feeling. Seeing him limp along with great difficulty, Li Xian bent down and twisted his ankle bones back into place. It still hurt afterward, but walking was no longer a problem.

"Those sons of bitches really hit hard."

"If you hadn't come, I might really have been done for here."

Wang Yonghou sucked in a cold breath.

Li Xian asked, "Uncle Wang, why did you steal firewood? Didn't you know how dangerous that was?"

"Ah..." Wang Yonghou sighed. "What else could I do?"

"Aunt Liu fell ill some days ago. Her fever wouldn't go down for days. The doctor said that if we couldn't afford medicine, then at the very least, we had to make sure she didn't catch cold."

"Only then might she get better."

"That doctor was full of shit. In the dead of winter, who could avoid catching cold? Let that stinking old woman freeze to death, damn it."

"I'm done caring. Done."

Yet as he spoke, he began to sob, wiping his tears with his sleeve. Then he saw the footprints on his clothes and found himself unable to voice his bitterness.

He swallowed all the sourness and misery.

It became nothing more than a soft sigh.

"Aunt Liu is sick?" Li Xian frowned.

At this time of year, ordinary people could hardly afford to fall ill. Young and strong people might still be able to endure it.

But those a little older could easily grow sicker and sicker until they lost their lives.

"That demon wind the other day nearly flayed us alive. Is it strange that she got sick?" Wang Yonghou cursed. "That stinking old woman, why couldn't she get sick earlier or later? Why now?"

"Making me take a beating for nothing."

Yet Li Xian could tell that the couple truly loved each other. Wang Yonghou cursed and grumbled, but he had still run more than ten miles to steal firewood for Aunt Liu.

Unfortunately, luck had not been on his side, and he had been caught.

Li Xian told Wang Yonghou that he happened to be going that way and would accompany him to see Aunt Liu. Wang Yonghou agreed.

Inside Leaking Bottle Alley.

"Stinking old woman, I'm back! Don't you dare die on me!" Wang Yonghou shouted several times.

A fit of light coughing came from inside. "You bastard, you'll curse me to death sooner or later," Aunt Liu cursed weakly.

Wang Yonghou gently opened a crack in the door and practically squeezed into the room, trying his best to keep the cold wind from pouring in. But the house was already freezing. What difference could that make?

Li Xian squeezed into the house as well.

"Oh, Xiao Xian is here?" Aunt Liu froze, then hurriedly added, "Don't come too close to me. It would be bad if I passed it on to you."

"Your Xiao Fan went to take the winter examination some time ago. Maybe when he comes back, he'll have made something of himself."

Aunt Liu said with a cheerful smile.

Li Xian felt somewhat miserable. Ever since his father had incurred gambling debts and killed himself, the two brothers had depended on each other. They had only managed to survive because Aunt Liu had offered them a little help.

Leaving aside everything else, merely letting them borrow her stove was already a kindness.

Whenever the two brothers came to borrow the stove, Wang Yonghou would always grumble and curse, while Aunt Liu would make the decision herself and agree to lend it to them.

"Aunt Liu, are you feeling any better?" Li Xian moved closer.

"Ah, this illness..." Aunt Liu said. "Whether I can recover is still uncertain."

"Stop talking nonsense. Shut your mouth, stinking old woman," Wang Yonghou cursed.

"Aunt Liu, what did the doctor say?" Li Xian touched her forehead to check her temperature and found it scorching hot. Her fever was no light matter.

"The doctor said I have a cold ailment. If we had money, a few doses of decoction would make me better. But where would we find money?"

"And those doctors are black-hearted too. They said herbs were hard to gather in winter, so medicine was expensive."

As Aunt Liu spoke, she suddenly noticed the bruises on Wang Yonghou's face. She immediately sat upright. "You old bastard, were you beaten?"

"N... no..." Wang Yonghou shrank his neck.

"Did you go steal firewood?" Aunt Liu frowned. Though sick in bed, she still carried an intimidating authority.

"I did..." Wang Yonghou was very obedient now.

"Your clothes are torn." Aunt Liu said painfully, "Come here. I'll patch them for you."

The couple was past fifty and childless, yet they treated each other with the respect of honored guests. The sight of the injured husband and sick wife leaning on one another, relying on one another, moved Li Xian as well.

"Even if the world is in chaos, there will always be true feelings revealed in some unknown corner."

Li Xian watched silently, not disturbing them.

He had no money on him, but he did have a box of rouge—the box he had bought last time but never given to Madam.

Madam naturally would not care for such a box of rouge.

But right now, it could save a life.

Li Xian turned and left. When he reached Dream Immortal Pavilion in Water Gauze Alley, he saw that bewitching middle-aged woman again.

"Oh, young master, you're not dead yet?"

The woman said with a cheerful smile.

"I'm here to pawn this rouge. It's never been opened." Li Xian stated his purpose directly.

After some bargaining, the woman smiled. "Fine. You bought this rouge for three taels of silver. I'll only give you seven hundred copper coins for it."

"Don't think it's too little. Seven hundred coins are enough to keep one person alive. Perhaps even two."

"When you sold yourself back then, you only fetched a few hundred coins, didn't you? If you agree, then we have a deal. If you think it's too little, go elsewhere."

"After all, people pawn jewelry, calligraphy, paintings, and bronze wares. But rouge... aside from this old lady's kind heart, nowhere else will pay you any mind."

Li Xian nodded readily. "Deal!"

The woman smiled and fetched a cloth bag containing seven hundred copper coins. Not one coin more, not one coin less.

"Shopkeeper, you're usually not so easy to talk to."

After Li Xian left, a clerk of Dream Immortal Pavilion could not help saying so.

"Get lost, get lost."

"I like the look of him. If you lot were handsome like that too—"

"Forget pawning rouge. Even if you wanted this old lady herself, I might consider it."

Hearing that, the clerk hurriedly said, "No need, no need."

The words had barely left his mouth when smack, smack—two slaps landed squarely on his face.

The woman slapped his face swollen, then sneered. "You? You dare look down on me? Can't tell your place anymore, can you?"

Meanwhile.

"All right."

Aunt Liu put away her needle and thread. Wang Yonghou's clothes now bore several patches.

"You mustn't steal firewood again."

"Actually, we both know I probably won't pull through. Our children, the brothers in the neighborhood—haven't plenty of them gone like this?"

"Take it in stride. It's no big deal."

Aunt Liu gently patted her husband's back.

"Stinking old woman, once you're gone, what reason will I have to go on living?"

"You know, starving, suffering, being tired—day after day, the two of us counted out our days and endured them together. It still had a certain flavor to it, didn't it?"

"But this... this..."

Wang Yonghou turned his head away. The husband and wife wept silently.

Suddenly.

Aunt Liu spotted a conspicuous brocade pouch. She patted her husband, signaling him to take a look.

When he opened the pouch, he found seven hundred copper coins inside. Wang Yonghou was beside himself with joy. This windfall from heaven was no different from saving both their lives.

"Stinking old woman, you don't have to die now! With money, we can buy medicine. With medicine, you'll get better."

"We must have moved Heaven, hahaha!"

Wang Yonghou said delightedly.

"Pah, pah, pah."

"What moved Heaven? I'm afraid this money—"

"Was... left here by Xiao Xian."

"Only he would do such a thing."