Homecoming

After Wen Wenhai took the pulse of each person and examined them, he smiled. "None of you have any serious problems. There is only a little stagnant blood in your bodies, though your external injuries are somewhat severe. I have some commonly used healing medicine here, good for treating bruises and sprains. Apply it externally and take it internally when you return, then rest well, and you'll be fine." As he spoke, he took several small bottles from his robe and handed them to Zhang Cai. Then he added, "This brother's arm is fractured, and there is nothing I can do about it. Here is some silver. Take it to see a doctor, and it should not be a problem." With that, he pulled out some loose silver and handed it over. Zhang Cai hurriedly waved his hands and repeatedly said, "I wouldn't dare."

At that moment, Zhang Xiaohu, whose eye socket was bruised black and blue, said, "Take it, Father. We've already received so much kindness from our benefactor; one little bit more makes no difference. It is also a token of our benefactor's goodwill. Please accept it."

Zhang Cai turned back and reproached his son. "We already took the silver those people paid as compensation. How can we accept our benefactor's kindness again?" As he spoke, he took out the banknotes that had just been handed over and counted them carefully. The count gave him quite a fright. There were forty or fifty notes, each worth ten taels of silver. The short, fat man must have been so panicked and terrified that he had simply pulled them out without counting.

Wen Wenhai then handed the silver directly to Zhang Xiaohu. "This boy has a forthright nature that suits me quite well. Take it. That was what others paid you in compensation; this is what I am giving you."

Seeing Zhang Xiaohu take the silver, Zhang Cai did not blame him. Instead, he told Wen Wenhai about the banknotes. It was a massive sum, and Zhang Cai did not dare handle it on his own. Besides, he feared those people might come back to cause trouble. Silver was a small matter; the lives of his whole family were the real matter. Wen Wenhai looked at the enormous sum and smiled bitterly to himself. By his reckoning, having the short, fat man pay a dozen or so taels would have been enough. Who would have thought that his junior sister's mischief would bring such trouble upon this family? He did not dare make the decision himself, so he walked aside to discuss it with his junior sister.

Zhang Xiaohua stayed beside his injured eldest brother, but his heart was not calm in the slightest. His cheeks and the corners of his mouth still burned with pain. Being bullied by the thugs and nearly losing his life had left far less of an impression on him than the sight of Wen Wenhai descending from the sky and effortlessly dealing with those vicious dogs. He had yet to emerge from his shock and hurt. His eyes remained fixed on the sword in Wen Wenhai's hand, and the seed in his heart seemed to be quietly sprouting.

The two village girls stood behind Zhang Cai, not knowing what they could do to express their gratitude. They had wanted to go thank the woman in purple, but seeing her air of keeping strangers at arm's length, they did not dare approach and could only watch from afar.

Wen Wenhai quickly reached an agreement with his junior sister. She took a small token from the brocade pouch she carried and handed it to him. Wen Wenhai did not take it at first and said a few more words, but it seemed he could not persuade her. Shaking his head, he accepted the token and returned to Zhang Cai. "Uncle, you should keep this enormous sum yourself. Even if we took it away, if they pursued you, you would have no way to return it to them. This is a token of our sect, given to you by my junior sister. If they come seeking to reclaim the silver, simply return these banknotes to them. The loose silver I gave you is enough for your treatment. But if they have other intentions, take this token to the Lotus Escort Agency's station in town and find the person in charge. Tell them that the owner of the token sent you to them, and tell them whatever has happened."

With that, he handed the token to Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai carefully received this life-saving token and examined it closely. It was a black plaque about three inches long, surprisingly heavy in his hand, though he did not know what material it had been cast from. Its face bore two intricately drawn characters that Zhang Cai could not recognize, surrounded by strange patterns. On the reverse was a character Zhang Cai did know: "Qing." It was presumably the mark of Wen Wenhai's junior sister. Zhang Cai cautiously tucked the plaque into his robe, then pinched it again uneasily to make sure it was there. Only then did he let out a breath of relief.

Only after Zhang Cai had put away the token did Wen Wenhai cup his fists and say, "Everyone, we have urgent business to attend to, so we will not escort you back to your village. If you have the chance to visit Pingyang City in the future, you may come find me. Until we meet again." Without waiting for Zhang Cai and the others to respond, he turned and left with the woman in purple. Their movements looked ordinary, yet they were in fact incredibly swift. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from Zhang Cai and the others' sight.

From the moment they had left Lu Town, the woman in purple had not spoken a single word to them, nor had she removed her veil. Thus, Zhang Cai's family knew neither her name nor what she looked like. They only knew that her voice was very pleasant.

After the two had gone far away, Zhang Cai and the others finally withdrew their gazes. Zhang Xiaohua muttered, "Those two ran so fast."

Zhang Xiaohu said, "You don't understand, Xiaohua. That was the legendary art of lightness."

Zhang Xiaohua asked, "You've seen it before?"

Zhang Xiaohu said, "No, I'm guessing. Didn't you see? They weren't running, yet they were faster than anyone running. And they carried swords. It must have been lightness skill." Zhang Xiaohua blinked and asked no more.

The two village girls came over and bowed to Zhang Cai in thanks. "Thank you, Uncle, for saving our lives. If not for you, we..." As they spoke, tears began circling in their eyes. They were still deeply frightened by what had just happened. Zhang Cai waved his hand. "We are all agriculturalists. Helping one another is only right. Let's not say more for now. We should leave this place first. If we linger too long, someone may come by. Which village are you girls from?"

The taller village girl said, "We live in Baligou. My name is Liu Qian, and she is my cousin Liu Yueyue."

Zhang Cai thought for a moment. "Baligou is west of Lu Town. To return, you would have to pass through the town, and in our current state, it would be best not to enter it. If we go around outside the town, though, it will be late by the time we get there, and we likely will not reach home before dark. Girls, we live in Guo Village, north of the town. Why don't you stay at our home for the night? We can send you back tomorrow."

Liu Qian looked at the sky and said, "Then we'll trouble you, Uncle."

Everyone rose. While there was still time, they dragged their injured bodies onto the road, hoping to reach home as early as possible.

Thirty li was not a short journey even for Zhang Cai and the others when they were uninjured, much less now, when they had to circle around the eastern side of Lu Town. The hardships along the way need not be described. By the time they returned to Guo Village, the sky was already completely dark. Zhang Cai had originally planned to pass through the small bamboo grove beside the village so as not to draw anyone's attention, but seeing the darkness now, there was no need.

Guo Village in the darkness was no different from before. Few people could be seen on the village paths, and even the occasional passerby would not pay them much attention. This greatly relieved Zhang Cai, who had been worried that people would see his family in such a bedraggled state. Only when he reached the fence gate of his little courtyard and saw the figure of the children's mother beneath the lamplight did he finally set his heart completely at ease.

When the group pushed open the fence gate and filed into the house, the sight before her greatly startled Guo Sufi, who had risen to greet them upon hearing the gate. She hurried forward to support Zhang Cai and anxiously asked, "Husband, what happened?"

After helping Zhang Cai sit down in a chair, she rushed over to inspect the children. "My sons, you're not badly hurt, are you?"

Only then did she notice that there were two unfamiliar girls as well. She did not dare ask, merely turning a puzzled gaze toward Zhang Cai. Zhang Cai smiled bitterly. "Mother of the children, it is nothing serious. It's hard to explain right now. This girl is Liu Qian, and that one is Liu Yueyue. They are from Baligou. Take Xiaolong and Xiaohua to Old Chen's place first and have him look at Xiaolong's arm. We'll talk when you get back. Oh, first have Xiaolong and Xiaohua wash their faces clean. Say they fell from a tree."

Though puzzled, Guo Sufi quickly brought in hot water from outside and had the two brothers wash themselves clean. She was about to fetch water for Zhang Cai and the others as well, but Zhang Cai stopped her and urged her to have the children's injuries seen first. Liu Qian wanted to follow them, but Zhang Cai stopped her too.

Old Chen was Guo Village's old veterinarian. He had spent his entire life in Guo Village, and his medical skill was fairly good. On ordinary days, he not only treated livestock; whenever many villagers had headaches or fevers, they also came to him. At this moment, Old Chen was in his little house, having Old Chen's wife warm him a pot of wine. He had just begun pouring himself a drink when he heard someone anxiously pounding on his front gate and loudly calling for him. It was probably another villager who had fallen ill, so he could only set down his wine cup and get up to open the door. When Old Chen opened it and saw Guo Sufi and her three children, he smiled. "Sister, pounding on my door so late at night—did one of the little ones eat too much and get diarrhea?"

Guo Sufi carefully helped Zhang Xiaolong inside and said awkwardly, "Brother, Xiaolong and the others were playing on the eastern slope tonight. He accidentally fell from a tree and fractured his arm. They only just got back, so I hurried over. I've disturbed your rest."

The moment Old Chen heard that Zhang Xiaolong had fractured his arm, his expression turned serious. "What are you saying, Sister? This is such a serious matter for a child. No matter how late it is, I have to get up. Hurry inside and let me take a look." With that, Old Chen led them into a clean small room specifically used for patients. At that moment, Old Chen's wife came in as well. Old Chen had her light all the oil lamps, then told Zhang Xiaolong to remove the sleeve from his injured arm. He examined it carefully, feeling here and there with his hands and asking Zhang Xiaolong how it felt. Then he visibly let out a breath. He said to Guo Sufi, "Sister, don't worry. It's nothing serious, only a fracture. I've treated cattle and horses with fractures worse than this. Xiaolong is in my hands now."

Old Chen's wife said uneasily, "Old man, you drank wine just now. Will that be all right?"

Old Chen patted his chest. "I've been treating patients for most of my life. What does this little bit of wine amount to? Besides, I hadn't even started drinking yet. If you don't believe me, go look at my wine pot."

In truth, Guo Sufi had long smelled wine on Old Chen, but he was the only doctor in the village, so she could only rely on him. Now that she heard him say she could check the wine pot, she knew he had not drunk much, and only then was she reassured. Old Chen fetched several smoothly shaved wooden splints, then took a porcelain jar from the cabinet. The moment he removed its seal, a pungent, spicy medicinal smell wafted out. First, Old Chen carefully used his hands to set Xiaolong's broken bones back in place. Then he took ointment from the jar and spread it evenly over Xiaolong's arm, wrapped it in white cloth, and finally secured it with the wooden splints. Throughout the process, Xiaolong clenched his teeth tightly against the pain, sweat pouring down his head. Guo Sufi wiped it away again and again with a towel, her heart aching for him.

After finishing everything, Old Chen washed his hands and said to Guo Sufi, "Sister, take the child home and let him rest. Come back in half a month to change the medicine. A hundred days for injured sinews and bones—he won't be able to touch a hoe for quite a long time."

Guo Sufi thanked him profusely and left behind several copper coins before taking the two children back home.