Examining Injuries

The group emerged from the sour jujube grove to find that dusk had already fallen. The journey back proved uneventful, without danger or mishap. The instant they left the dense forest, both Hermit Yanming and the younger members behind him let out long breaths of relief. This "harmonious" treasure hunt had finally come to a satisfactory end. Their lives had been preserved, their mission completed, and the treasure was in hand—treasure that naturally belonged to themselves. At the thought of it, everyone's hearts warmed, as though cats were scratching at them from within.

Hermit Yanming smiled at them and said, "Young heroes, please remain calm for now. We can discuss the details once we reach Thumb Peak." Then he led them back to the foot of Thumb Peak, where they had been earlier.

Everyone sat in a circle before Wo Niu Stone. Hermit Yanming spoke, "Young heroes, this operation has concluded successfully. Please take the results of this endeavor back to your respective sects and schools, along with Yan's greetings. Ask your masters to meet me again at the old place on the Second day of the second lunar month, and we shall drink and make merry."

After saying this, he seemed unwilling to linger. Before anyone could speak, he cupped his hands in salute, launched himself with qinggong, and departed down the mountain.

The others looked at one another and nodded. The Tan Brothers were the first to leave, walking away in their distinctive fashion. Wen Wenhai and Xue Qing followed, cupping their hands toward Ma Xiangyang and Situ Ping before turning to leave. Suddenly, as if recalling something, Wen Wenhai stopped and said to Situ Ping, "Gang Leader Situ, when I passed through Lu Town the other day, I meddled in a minor matter and rescued some Agriculturalists. I may have caused offense, so I hope you will be magnanimous."

Situ Ping was quick-witted as well and immediately returned the salute. "My subordinates were discourteous. I hope Young Hero Wen will excuse them. Should such matters arise again in the future, I hope you will still intervene and help me preserve the good name of my gang."

Wen Wenhai smiled. "Certainly, certainly. Until we meet again." With that, he and his junior sister sped away along their original route.

In the blink of an eye, only two people remained by Wo Niu Stone. Situ Ping began to feel somewhat uneasy, but fortunately Ma Xiangyang spoke at that moment. "Gang Leader Situ, I will not waste words. Since you know of this matter and were involved in it, please accompany me to Ten Thousand Sword Peak as a guest for some time. My Sword Master will decide everything. What do you say?"

Situ Ping nodded. "I shall follow Young Hero's orders." Then she followed Ma Xiangyang back along the original route.

For a time, Wo Niu Stone was deserted once more.

Dusk had settled in. While several martial artists galloped away on horseback, Zhang Xiaohua and Liu the Butcher also hurried back to Guo Village.

Liu Qian and Liu Yueyue had been chatting in the Zhang family's little house while helping Guo Sufi with some needlework. As Liu the Butcher approached, Liu Yueyue happened to raise her head and look outside. Her gaze passed over the low wall of the Zhang family courtyard, and when she finally saw that sturdy figure she had waited all day for, after looking toward the gate countless times, Liu Yueyue could no longer hold back. With a wail, she burst into tears, ran out, and threw herself into Liu the Butcher's arms. "Dad!" Her tears fell like pearls scattering across a jade platter, pattering down without stop. Liu the Butcher held his daughter and patted her shoulder tenderly, his own eyes reddening. He had thought he was letting the children go out and have some fun for the New Year, only for this to happen. The child must have been terrified. Liu Qian came out afterward with tears all over her face as well. After so long, she had finally seen her family again, and she too could not control her emotions.

Zhang Cai also emerged from the house on his crutch and invited Liu the Butcher inside. With so many people entering, the cramped main room became even more crowded. Fortunately, the villagers exchanged a few pleasantries before returning home. Zhang Cai saw them to the gate, thanking them again and again.

Zhang Xiaohua returned to the small room to visit his two older brothers. Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu were fairly seriously injured. They had both protected their father, keeping Zhang Cai behind them, and eighty percent of those vicious servants' punches and kicks had landed on them. Fortunately, Xiaohu had not suffered any broken bones. He lay on the kang now, listlessly talking with his eldest brother. Xiaolong's injuries were about the same as Xiaohu's, but his arm had been fractured. Old Chen, the animal doctor, had put him through quite an ordeal the previous night, and the pain had awakened him in the night. He had spent the entire day in a daze, unable to conceal his lack of energy. When he saw Zhang Xiaohua enter, Zhang Xiaohu asked, "Did Liu Qian's family come?"

Zhang Xiaohua said, "Yes, they just came inside."

Zhang Xiaohu asked again, "No one else?"

Xiaohua asked curiously, "Who else would there be?"

Xiaohu said, "A matchmaker, of course!"

Zhang Xiaohua was like a monk eight feet tall, completely unable to touch the ground.

Zhang Xiaolong smiled beside him. "Don't listen to Second Brother's nonsense."

Zhang Xiaohua understood at once and teased, "Soon. They will not come today; it will have to be tomorrow at the earliest. Preparing betrothal gifts and the like takes time. No matter what, they have to thank our righteous and courageous eldest brother. Just think—two or three dozen thugs, and Big Brother flew into a rage for a beauty. Sister Liu Qian must have been moved long ago. If she still does not offer herself in marriage, then heaven and earth will grow old for love!"

This time, Zhang Xiaohu found it strange. "Why would heaven and earth grow old for love?"

Zhang Xiaohua said smugly, "If heaven had feelings, heaven too would grow old. Isn't Big Brother's love enough to move heaven and earth?"

Zhang Xiaohu retorted, "Why flaunt your pedantry? And betrothal gifts? Those are called dowry. Besides, Liu Qian's father is a schoolteacher, and our future sister-in-law has read ten thousand volumes herself. Once Big Brother is steeped in her influence, won't he become even more of a scholar than you?"

Zhang Xiaolong could not keep his face straight any longer and snapped at Zhang Xiaohua, "What does a little brat like you know? Stop talking nonsense with Second Brother. We brothers are only joking around—do not drag Liu Qian into it. How awkward would it be if she heard?"

Just then, someone came over from the main room. A crisp yet slightly hoarse voice said, "Who is talking about my sister? How did you drag her in? I just happened to hear it."

The three brothers looked up. Liu Yueyue had brought Liu the Butcher to visit them.

Liu the Butcher's eyes were smiling as he looked at them, and Liu Yueyue wore an equally teasing expression. Behind them, Liu Qian's face was flushed red. She lowered her head and said nothing. Zhang Cai, the host, had fallen behind on his crutch and had not clearly heard what they were saying.

When Zhang Xiaohua saw them enter, he clumsily jumped down from the kang. Just as he was about to clear off a place for Liu the Butcher to sit, Liu Qian and Liu Yueyue beat him to it, swiftly tidying things up and helping Liu the Butcher's burly body sit down. It seemed that while Zhang Xiaohua had been gone, the two girls had cleaned this room more than once. Zhang Xiaohua's eyes rolled as he even thought, Could it be that the two elder brothers were fed by these two sisters today?

At the sudden intrusion of so many people, who knew what Zhang Xiaohu felt, but Zhang Xiaolong's face turned red as though he had done something guilty. Zhang Xiaohu rolled over and sat up, intending to get off the kang, but Liu the Butcher pressed him down and said kindly, "Worthy nephew, you are still recovering. Do not move about." Zhang Xiaohu struggled, yet he could not break free and could only lie back obediently. Looking at the "kindness" squeezed onto Liu the Butcher's face, Zhang Xiaohua grumbled inwardly. Zhang Xiaolong also tried to rise, but one of his arms was inconvenient to use. After attempting it, he still could not get up. Liu Qian hesitated, then went over and supported his shoulder, helping him sit up. Their gazes met briefly before separating as if struck by lightning, and both their faces reddened even more.

Liu the Butcher saw it too, and his face bloomed like a flower. He said to Zhang Xiaolong, "Worthy nephew, you truly possess great righteousness. You stood forth before those bullies and saved my daughter and niece. Old Liu must pay his respects to you." As he spoke, he climbed down from the kang and gave Zhang Xiaolong a deep bow. Zhang Xiaolong hurriedly reached out. "Please do not, Uncle. It was what I should have done. Aren't you shortening my life by doing this? Xiaohua, hurry and help Uncle up." Zhang Xiaohu took the chance to sit up as well. Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly grabbed Liu the Butcher, but how could he match Liu the Butcher's strength? The bow was completed in the end. This left Zhang Xiaolong even more flustered. He turned to Liu Qian with a pleading look, but she did not dare speak, nor did Liu Yueyue.

Zhang Cai spoke up. "Brother, do not stand on ceremony with them. Young people are hot-blooded; were we not the same when we were young? No need for so much etiquette. Their injuries are not serious. They will be fine after resting a while. Why do we not go outside and have a couple of drinks?"

At these words, Liu the Butcher beamed. "Heroes truly come from the young. We are old now. All right, you young people have a good talk. We old fellows will not disturb you; we will go have a drink."

With that, he turned and returned to the main room alone. Zhang Cai followed him, leaving Liu Qian and Liu Yueyue in the Zhang brothers' small room.

Seeing Liu Qian's peach-blossom face and Liu Yueyue's darting eyes, Zhang Xiaohua sensed the awkwardness in the room and immediately said, "Sister Liu Qian, you look so beautiful today. You all talk; I am going out to play." With that, he slipped away in a flash, leaving behind two pairs of lone men and women.

The stirrings between men and women were indeed strange. Zhang Xiaolong and Liu Qian had met only once in the cloth shop. Had they not encountered those bullies in Lu Town, the two might never have met a second time in this life. Yet the disaster in Lu Town had brought out Zhang Xiaolong's hot-blooded side and left Liu Qian with an excellent impression of him. Now, after only a few hours together, and under certain people's deliberate encouragement, Liu Qian truly began to feel a little attached to him. Thinking that someone like him might protect her for all her life, perhaps this was a bond arranged by heaven. Looking again at Zhang Xiaolong's rather handsome face—darkened by wind and sun, yet possessing a masculine vigor her own brother lacked—her heart became ever more filled with private little thoughts.

Liu the Butcher stayed overnight at the Zhang home. The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Zhang Cai accompanied Liu the Butcher in conversation about farming and silkworm cultivation. Guo Sufi, meanwhile, stayed with Liu Qian and Liu Yueyue in Zhang Xiaohua and his brothers' room, tending to the two injured brothers. The more Guo Sufi looked at Liu Qian, the more she liked her. Her looks, her figure, and her skill at housework were all beyond reproach. The girl even knew many household-management tricks Guo Sufi herself did not. Early that morning, Liu Qian had helped her arrange several pots of plants in the main room and placed several pots of flowers in Xiaolong and Xiaohu's room as well. The whole house immediately looked brighter and more pleasing to the eye.

What a fine candidate for a daughter-in-law...