The light in the cave flickered. The surroundings were crude, but the firelight made the scene somehow moving.
Shrubbery had been used to block the cave mouth tightly so that the cold wind could not enter. Jiang Ruan leaned against a rock in front of the fire and closed her eyes in weariness.
At such a tense time, they were a single man and a single woman together in a secluded setting. Yet, contrary to what one might expect, she was not the least concerned that Xiao Shao would do anything to her. In her previous life, he had been notorious for being cold and detached, completely indifferent to feminine charms. Xuan Li had attempted to gift him with beautiful women many times but, in the end, had to return without success. Moreover, at present, she was still quite young, and was currently in such a sorry state; if he could even consider making a move towards her in this state, then he must be blind.
After using Xiao Shao’s medicine and eating something, her body was gradually warming up. After rushing about the entire day, she was truly exhausted. Thus, she could not stop herself from drifting into slumber.
Before she fell asleep, she thought about the question she had asked Xiao Shao, and how he had answered.
He said, “Xiao mou[1] owes you his life.”
[1] 某 (mou) – It is used to refer to oneself.
What did this mean?
Jiang Ruan fell into a deep sleep. The young man who was staring into the fire, lost in thought, turned to look at her pensively for quite a while.
The young lady had shed the incisiveness and hostility that accompanied her customary antagonistic, tit-for-tat nature, and all that remained was a gentle and beautiful appearance. The facial features she had been born with were bright and beautiful, and the glow of the fire enhanced them with a faint charm. In time, she would definitely be a vibrant beauty.
However, the beautiful scene before his eyes did not tug at his heartstrings in the slightest. He merely lowered his head and retrieved an object from his sleeve – that bright, inlaid jade die lian hua pendant earring.
Time seemed to run backwards to five years ago…
Five years ago, he had already accepted command of the Jinyi guards for five years. He had just finished his martial arts training when he received a mission, and his opponent was a fierce, tough Commander in South Xinjiang. It was not the Commander himself who was to be feared, but the sorcerer by his side whose methods were bizarre. In order to cement his standing in the Jinyi guards, as well as to preserve the secrecy of the mission, he had penetrated deeply into South Xinjiang by himself.
After seven days and seven nights of moving around, he killed the Commander and the sorcerer. However, the sorcerer used his familiarity with the region’s terrain to harm him via gu poison[2].
[2] 蛊 (gu) – a legendary venomous insect; could also mean to poison, bewitch, drive to insanity, harm by witchcraft. Also an intestinal parasite.
The people of South Xinjiang would not help him remove the parasite. So, the teenaged youth spurred his horse on towards the capital, barely managing to hang on to life the whole journey. The people who wanted him dead in the capital were too many to count, and as soon as the people of South Xinjiang broadcasted the news that he was grievously injured, the dark, hidden places of the capital were crawling with assassins.
Even though he was highly skilled in martial arts, he was unable to hold back the overwhelming effect of the gu . His entire body felt weak, and he was ambushed multiple times on his way back to the capital, leaving him bruised and wounded. This was the worst state of injury he had ever experienced..
In front of him, more men in ambush; behind him, troops in pursuit. In a moment of desperation, he sought refuge in a prayer hall in Bao Guang Temple.
But there was someone there.
Under the moonlight, a young girl stared at him dumbfounded. Xiao Shao frowned, and a glinting dagger appeared in his hand.
However, the girl moved forward clumsily and asked in surprise, “You’re hurt?”
He had suffered countless serious injuries, and his black clothes were soaked with blood. Even though it could not be seen, the reek of blood was evident.
As he sat there in a daze, she quickly knelt down beside him and retrieved a small porcelain bottle from her clothes. She said, “This is medicine for your wound. Are you all right?”
The medicine was ordinary, without any special healing properties. When the young girl carefully pulled away his clothes, he was initially wary, but observing her awkward posture, he thought to himself that the situation was quite ridiculous. Such a young girl! Who knew which family’s maidservant she was.
He assumed she was a maidservant because she was dressed as one. Her words were unaffected yet quick-witted. Although the illumination provided by the moonlight was faint, her face was clearly visible. It was delicate and smooth, and her aura was captivating. Her big eyes were alert, clear, and glistening; she was indeed a natural beauty.
However, even though she was a maidservant, her demeanour did not seem to be like one.
He felt slightly astonished.
The young girl insisted on applying medicine for him. He was exceedingly weak and unable to move, and believed that he would, without a doubt, die that night. Even if he could elude the assassins pursuing him, he did not know if he could endure the full force of the gu poison. Either way, the result would be death, which would cause the young girl torment.
When the young girl saw that his breathing was becoming weaker, her eyes filled with tears. Without warning, she stood up and ran outside.
He thought that she had run out to call someone, but he had absolutely no strength to stop her, and also had no will to do so. He slumped in the room, waiting for his moment of death to arrive.
Under the waning moonlight, the youth’s appearance was exceptional, yet his expression was cold and detached. All this time, he had battled extreme danger just to take one step after another, to move forward. The higher his position, the more stable it was, yet the more desolate and empty. He did not know the meaning of life, and neither did he know why he lived.
But, not long after, the young girl returned.
She held food and clean water in her hands, but her face was bruised. Shly, she pushed the items towards him and said, “Eat, if you eat, you’ll regain your strength.”
Xiao Shao had some knowledge of medicine, and when he looked at the marks on the young girl’s face, he knew she had been beaten by someone. Such a quick-witted and graceful young girl, how could anyone beat her so? He frowned and glanced at the food on the ground. Then, he understood – this little maidservant had probably been caught by someone as she stole the food for him, resulting in her bruises.
Something stirred in his heart. The young girl looked at him eagerly, and realising that he was not moving, she did her best to lift the bowl and brought it to his lips. He was indeed thirsty, so he lowered his head to drink. Although the young girl was struggling to help him, her movements were practised, by which he surmised that she regularly served people tea.
“Don’t die,” the young girl looked at him and said, “I won’t tell anyone you’re here.”
Xiao Shao remained silent.
The young girl started to feed him a steamed bun.
Slowly, she began to talk. She spoke of nothing serious, just that the pear blossoms in the western mountains would be blooming in a few days’ time, and so would the peach blossoms in the eastern mountains. She wanted to see the flowers with her mother and father, she wanted to make new clothes and new shoes, the girl next door had raised a small hunting hound so she wanted one too. The essay her older brother had recently written had won her father’s praise, one day in future he would definitely be the zhuang yuan (top scorer in the Imperial examinations)…
Thus, she chitter-chattered away, doing her utmost to talk about something of interest to lift his spirits so that he would not become drowsy and sleep. Xiao Shao clearly understood her tender and innocent intentions, and her determination caused him to act as if he had heard something funny, even though he had no interest in what she was saying.
He felt that this young girl must come from a happy and blessed family in order for her to be born so kindhearted and warm. Indeed, all the descriptions that tumbled out of her mouth were expressed with abundant interest.
Surprisingly, the gu poison did not flare up that night. Moreover, applying the rudimentary medicine and eating the food offered to him had helped him gradually regain his strength. In that prayer hall in Bao Guang Temple, a night of moonlight, a night of spring breeze, a youth and a young girl, one person sitting quietly, one person prattling on- the scene was surprisingly harmonious.
She talked the entire night, but when dawn broke on the second day, and the gong for the morning gruel sounded, a soft call came from outside, “Miss, Miss.”
The young girl stood up abruptly and said, “My maidservant is calling for me. Leave quickly when you have recovered. Be careful not to be discovered.”
So, she was not a maidservant after all.
Xiao Shao whispered, “Many thanks.”
The young girl had already walked to the door, but she suddenly turned her head on hearing his words. She looked at him with a smile and said, “There’s no need for thanks. Today, I saved your life. In future, should I be trapped in some dangerous circumstances, and you happen to pass by, just save my life in return.”
In the end, he did not die that day. After his health had slowly been restored in Bao Guang Temple, he sent the Jinyi guards a signal. He waited until his return to the capital before moving swiftly with unstoppable power to deal with the assassins out for his blood who were lurking in the capital city. He cemented his position as the commander of the 300,000 Jinyi Guards, and for a period of time, the secret alleys of the capital were purged clean.
From that time onwards, everyone in the imperial court avoided him as if he were taboo, and he was given the name, ‘Rebellious Scoundrel’.
He had absolutely no idea who the young girl in the Bao Guang Temple that night was, his only clue being the earring that she had dropped. The Xiao family understood the meaning of gratitude, and so he dispatched Ye Feng to investigate. Ye Feng discovered that a young lady from the Jiang family had been at the temple that day to offer incense, and it was Second Jiang Miss .
Therefore, when Jiang Su Su found herself in a desperate situation on Ling Long Boat, he remembered the commitment he had made: “In future, should I be trapped in some dangerous circumstances, and you happen to pass by, just save my life in return”, and he had helped her once.
From a young age, Xiao Shao had lived a cruelly dangerous life, often walking on a knife’s edge, as entrapments and risks were commonplace[3]. He had endured what ordinary people could not, he had experienced what ordinary people never would, and his intuition was spectacularly precise. After he had rescued Jiang Su Su, he had already felt that something was amiss.
[3] 刀口上舔血 (dao kou shang tian xue) – the background for this idiom seems to be as follows: hunters will bury sharp knives, coated with sheep’s blood in the snow. A hungry wolf will lick the knife, and unknowingly cause its own blood to flow (thereby also increasing its bloodlust), but will not realise it, until it faints and/ or dies from blood loss. It, therefore, is used to describe a life that is full of danger, and cruelty.
In the capital, Jiang Su Su had a wonderful reputation, and she was also called ‘ethereal’ and ‘fairy-like’. She was good-hearted and innocent, and her talent was peerless. She was truly the Jiang family’s much beloved pearl. This was very much in accordance with the wholly good-hearted young girl from that night.
However, with one glance he had ascertained this female’s hypocrisy and pretense, and found it difficult in reality to connect the two persons.
It was at this time that Jiang Ruan appeared.
Jiang Ruan’s eyes and those of the young girl were strikingly similar, yet they were also not similar. Jiang Ruan’s murderous spirit and vicious tendencies could be seen in her eyes, her behaviour was merciless, and she had honed to perfection[4] the art of attacking using the strength of another[5] while keeping her own hands clean. Such a shrewd and subtle person was a complete contrast to the young girl from that night.
[4] 炉火纯青 (hu huo chun qing) – lit. the stove fire has turned to bright green (allusion to Taoist alchemy); Fig. brought to the point of perfection.
[5] 借刀杀人 (jie dao sha ren) – lit. lending someone a knife to kill someone else. Fig. to get someone else to do one’s dirty work; to attack using the strength of another.
What’s more, his Jinyi guards had found out that Jiang Ruan was not regarded as someone of value in the Jiang fu. Jiang Quan was not fond of her, her mother had died young, and her older brother was dejected by his unfulfilled aspirations. Where was the happiness that the young girl had spoken of?
His intuition and reality were poles apart.
Yet, now that the whole truth had been revealed, everything gained clarity in an instant. So, it turned out that Jiang Su Su was not the young girl that night, after all.
