The Strange Wuxia Village

Zhu Lianqing went out and walked aimlessly, letting the tide of people carry her somewhere unknown.

She stopped beside a ferry landing.

The landing looked very old and dilapidated.

Zhu Lianqing spotted a bamboo raft, her favorite.

An old man sat beside it, smoking a pipe.

Zhu Lianqing took a handful of silver pieces from her pouch. "Sir, how about selling me this boat?"

The old ferryman's eyes lit up at the sight of the silver. Even with passengers every day, he would have to work for two years to earn that much, but he only had the strength left to pole a boat for another year.

Besides, everyone took the younger men's boats. No one had ridden his for a long time.

"Miss, spending so much silver on a battered old boat hardly seems worth it. This raft is over twenty years old. Wherever you want to go, I can just take you there."

Zhu Lianqing said, "It's precisely because I don't know where to go that I want to buy it. I'll follow the current downstream and end up wherever it takes me. Don't feel obliged, sir. If you can't bear to part with it, you needn't sell."

The old man shook his head. "It's a tool for earning a living. What's there to be attached to? This money will last me until I'm laid in the ground."

He accepted the money from Zhu Lianqing, smiling.

Zhu Lianqing adjusted her veiled hat and glanced back at the old man before stepping aboard.

The times were troubled, and making a living was hard. Even an old man of his years still had to come out and do physical labor.

But she could tell that the old man's remaining years were nearly spent.

She hoped he would be willing to spend that silver to make his final days a little easier.

"Thank you for selling me the boat." Zhu Lianqing thanked him, then turned and stepped onto the bamboo raft.

She did not pole it, letting it drift with the current instead. Then she lay leisurely at the bow, shading herself with her veiled hat and occasionally sipping the wine at her waist, carefree and unrestrained.

With the sun shining drowsily down, Zhu Lianqing enjoyed a good sleep. When she woke, the bamboo raft had stopped along a narrow stretch of riverbank.

Zhu Lianqing rolled over and propped up her upper body. A few meters away by the river, a smiling peasant woman sat washing clothes. Though dressed in coarse hemp cloth, she had a delicate, lovely face. Washing clothes took effort, and even in April, the exertion had brought a thin sheen of sweat to her brow.

"Did I wake you?" The peasant woman smiled as she spoke, her voice so gentle that it made people feel close to her without realizing it.

Zhu Lianqing smiled too. "No. Just carry on with what you're doing."

The woman nodded, chatting with Zhu Lianqing as she worked. "Where have you come from, miss? This waterway is out of the way. Why didn't you find someone to come with you? It would be bad if you ran into danger."

Zhu Lianqing thought that she herself was probably that danger.

"I'm out enjoying the mountains and rivers. None of my friends had time. Since you're washing clothes here, do you live nearby?"

The woman nodded. "This is Wuxia Village. The village itself is a little farther away." She looked up at the sky, then added, "The sun's nearly down. It's very deserted here. If you have nowhere to go, miss, why not come back to the village with me and stay the night? It's just a poor, remote place. I hope you won't mind."

Zhu Lianqing tugged at her water-soaked sleeve and stepped off the raft. "That's fine. Anywhere to stay will do. What should I call you?"

"I'm Liu Er's wife from the village. My name is Liu Xiuzhi. Everyone calls me Sister-in-law Little Liu."

Zhu Lianqing smiled and greeted her. "Sister-in-law Little Liu."

"Yes!" the washerwoman answered. "Wait until I finish rinsing these few pieces, miss, and I'll take you back to the village."

At dusk, Sister-in-law Little Liu picked up a large basin of clothes and called Zhu Lianqing to follow her. Zhu Lianqing helped carry a bucket along the way.

Just as they reached the village entrance, people finishing work in the fields were returning in twos and threes, greeting one another warmly.

"Sister-in-law Little Liu, Er Liu's just behind us."

"All right, I know."

The words had barely fallen when Zhu Lianqing saw someone hurrying up the winding, sheep-gut path behind them. He was dark-skinned and covered in dust, but wore the same cheerful smile. As soon as he came close, he took the clothes from Sister-in-law Little Liu's arms without a word.

"So heavy. Did it tire you out?"

"I'm not tired. Er Liu, this is a young lady I met by the river today. Find her somewhere to stay tonight."

The man called Er Liu glanced at Zhu Lianqing and simply did as he was asked. "Let her stay in the little courtyard. It's a bit shabby, but it'll keep the wind and rain out. Just take that quilt with the freshly fluffed cotton over and lay it out."

"All right," Sister-in-law Little Liu answered, then turned to Zhu Lianqing. "That little courtyard used to be our home, mine and Er Liu's. Now that we've built a new house, it's sitting empty. But people come here every few days, so it's cleaned often. I hope you won't mind, miss."

"How could I mind when you're letting me stay? Thank you both in advance. But you just said people come here every few days? It doesn't look like a busy place."

"It certainly isn't, but people do come this way, taking a roundabout route or a shortcut, and stay for a night. Sometimes they leave in such a hurry that we can barely remember what they looked like."

Zhu Lianqing nodded in understanding. The village nestled against the mountains beside the water, and that river was indeed suited to taking a shortcut.

The two led Zhu Lianqing toward the village entrance. From what she observed, the villagers were poor but simple and honest. They all worked diligently in the fields and greeted everyone they met cordially.

When they reached the village entrance, Zhu Lianqing saw a stone marker with crookedly carved lettering. She could barely make out the three characters for Wuxia Village.

Zhu Lianqing was brought to the little courtyard, where the couple bustled about settling her in, bringing both bedding and food.

Having just emerged from the heavenly silkworm cocoon and spent the whole day on the move, Zhu Lianqing felt rather drained. 191 had said that she would still need some time to adjust to this body.

Zhu Lianqing rarely felt sleepy. Though the setting sun had not yet sunk completely behind the mountains, she decided to turn in early for once.

Just as she was about to lie down fully dressed, another knock sounded at the door. Sister-in-law Little Liu had come with an oil lamp.

"Staying in this courtyard all alone, miss, you must still feel a little afraid. This lamp was filled with oil not long ago. It should have no trouble burning until the early hours."

Zhu Lianqing knew oil lamps were expensive. A household might have only this one, and would surely be reluctant to use it ordinarily, yet they had brought it out for her.

But the kindness was genuine, and Zhu Lianqing did not refuse. She could simply leave it unlit.

"Thank you. Get some rest."

"You get some rest too, miss."

After accepting the lamp, Zhu Lianqing returned indoors, her drowsiness somewhat dispelled. The setting sun had just reached the horizon, so she decided not to sleep after all and went out to wander around.

Remote villages like this were particularly prone to attracting minor demons that caused trouble, but Zhu Lianqing found nothing unusual on her circuit.

When she returned to the little courtyard, the moon had only just climbed above the hilltop, and the whole village lay shrouded in boundless night.

Zhu Lianqing felt that something was strange, but could not immediately tell what. Only when she returned indoors and saw the oil lamp on the table did she realize.

After nightfall, not a single household in this village lit a lamp.