The beggar uncle kept looking up and down at Lu Yi’s appearance, shaking his head and chuckling, “Look at this…You don’t look like me at all. I tell you, men should look like warriors, their aspects should make people afraid, you see… For example, the shoulders should be broader and bigger, the stomach slightly smaller and smooth, uh, like me…”
He said in a cheerful tone. Lu Yi didn’t interrupt his words.
Jinxia returned in a hurry, her forehead creased deeply like lumps of iron, it was obvious that she had found nothing on the bodies of the pirates by the river. “I really don’t understand, why didn’t they bring the antidote? How could they never hurt their own people?”
Lu Yi tried hard to push himself upright. “Not finding the antidote is fine, I swallowed *Zi Yan earlier, I should be fine.”
*[Zi Yan = to suppress the poison, TN]
Jinxia held onto him: she could feel that his body was very heavy, it was clear that he was unable to control his lower body due to numbness, “Zi Yan can detoxify snake venom, but it can’t clear their poison… Uncle, didn’t you say a doctor found a way to cure this poison? Don’t you need someone to test the cure? Take us there!”
As soon as the beggar uncle heard this, uneasiness appeared on his face. He also did not immediately lead the way but looked hesitant.
“Uncle?” Jinxia looked at him, clueless.
“Dear niece, it’s not that I don’t want to take you there, the problem is…” The beggar uncle looked awry, “This doctor has a rule, she doesn’t treat government officials.”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, then said, “Alright!”
“Alright?”
“If he doesn’t wear his uniform, and I take his badge, who will know that he’s a JinYiWei?” As she was talking, her hand moved to remove Lu Yi’s waist badge, but she was stopped by Lu Yi’s hand.
He said slowly, “If the doctor already has this rule, let’s not force her. Jinxia, take me back to the city.”
She knew that his arrogance ran deep in his bones, but now it was not the time to be strong. Jinxia anxiously said to him, “No! We will not return to the city, or the poison inside your wound will continue to spread. The two who had been sent to the clinic last time died two days ago.”
“Life and death depend on fate, wealth and honor have been determined by the heavens.” Lu Yi struggled to speak. He rested his head on her shoulder.
“No!” Jinxia felt distressed and angry at the same time. She simply said, “Since the doctor has found a way to cure this poison, that means fate can be changed! You just rest, don’t say anything else, I will handle this matter!” After saying that, she glared at the beggar uncle, her gaze was sharp and fiery.
The beggar uncle felt uncomfortable under her glares.. He said awkwardly, “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but the doctor, she… I also have no other way…”
“Just do as I said earlier. As long as his identity is kept a secret, who will know he is a government official?”
“Isn’t that lying to people? If she finds out I lied to her, then… then… then…”
At that point, Jinxia was beyond angry, and said, “A human life is very precious. Besides, how can this be a lie? I didn’t ask you to tell her that he’s not an official, so it’s not a lie.”
“What?”
“Not saying it doesn’t mean to lie.”
“Then, what if she asks?”
“If you’re asking how to answer, uncle, you don’t need to talk. You’ll just pretend you don’t know anything, push all the blames on me and say that I lied to you.”
“Oh.” The beggar uncle was confused.
“Don’t wait any longer, let’s go!” Jinxia urged him.
At that moment, Lu Yi was being carried on the beggar uncle’s back, who was using his power to walk quicker, while Jinxia tried to keep up with him.
Just by feeling the gust of wind passing through his ears, Lu Yi could estimate their current speed: being able to carry someone and move this fast, the beggar uncle’s kung fu was beyond average, his internal strength must have been very strong.
“Thank you, Senior.” he said.
The beggar uncle did not slow down, mumbling in his mouth, “No wonder people say, when men become grandfathers, they do everything for their grandsons. That saying is definitely not wrong.”
After traveling for about half an hour, the beggar uncle started to slow down and finally stopped outside a forest.
Jinxia scanned the surroundings, and was stunned, “Isn’t this the way to Taohualin Forest located at the west side of the city? Is the place near the forest?”
“The Taohualin Forest is ahead, the place we’re heading to it’s behind that mountain.”
The beggar uncle put Lu Yi down. From inside his pocket, he took out a bottle of gourd, took off the cap, then poured the powder into the palms of his hands and, like a woman, started patting the powder on his face, neck and on all the areas of skin not covered by clothes.
“You should use the powder too.” The beggar uncle gave the gourd bottle to Jinxa, “This whole forest is filled with snakes. If you don’t use this powder, later when you get bit, it will be really bad.”
“Snakes again!”
Jinxia was still traumatized by the bright red python, therefore she quickly put the powder on her face, then poured some on her palms, meticulously applying it on Lu Yi’s face as well…
The powder was colourless, odorless, like pearl powder and, after it was applied, it made the skin glow better. Lu Yi didn’t have the strength to continue keeping his eyes open, therefore he closed his eyes and let Jinxia apply the powder on his face. All of a sudden, as her hand touched the skin on his face, in her heart rose an unusual feeling that she could not describe. Her movements became clumsy and slow.
“This little girl really knows how to take advantage of the situation.” The beggar uncle mocked him.
Jinxia unhappily glared at him, then she quickened her hand. She saw the corner of Lu Yi’s lips lifting in a faint smile.
“What are you smiling for? I’m not taking advantage of you.” Vexed, she used both hands to rub all over his handsome face, “I just want to spread it evenly on your face.”
The beggar uncle kept laughing on the side.
After applying the powder, the beggar uncle lifted Lu Yi again, walked some steps into the forest, then he reminded Jinxia, “Follow me, don’t accidentally step anywhere else, otherwise you will fall into the snake cave…”
“Understood.”
Jinxia took a deep breath, following him from behind, carefully copying his steps, not daring to take a different path.
When the wind passed, they heard the sound of blossom trees around them.
On the ground, there were piles of fallen leaves. Who knew how long they had been there? There was also a dense smell of rotting leaves, indicating the place hadn’t been visited by any human in a long time.
The moonlight shone, the shadows of trees and the ones of humans intertwined, something appeared to be swimming.
Jinxia slowly raised her head: less than two feet away from her, there was a small snake wrapped around the body of a tree. The body of the snake was as green as jade, and its upper body was twisting in the air, as if enjoying the moonlight bath.
She raised her head even higher. As far as the eye could see, there were at least dozens of green snakes, some were large, some were small, some were curled up, some were standing upright, all in a relaxed position.
The hair on her body stood up and she said, “Uncle… I saw a snake.”
“As long as you don’t bother them, it’s okay.” The beggar uncle replied calmly, “All this time, she’s always praised them for being good.”
“That’s good.” Jinxia tried to speak in a calm manner. “Who is she? Did she raise these snakes?”
“You should call her Mrs. Shen.”
Jinxia looked at the snake on top, and walked closer to the beggar uncle, while not forgetting to ask, “Shen? Is she a relative of Doctor Shen Mi?”
“Speaking of that, technically she could be considered to be the wife of Doctor Shen’s younger cousin, but Doctor Shen and she have never met.” The beggar uncle sighed and said, “She is a woman who was left behind by her fiancé. They were engaged, already chose a good day, and unexpectedly her future husband died because of a ship accident.”
“Uncle, how do you know her?” Jinxia asked.
The beggar uncle hesitated for a moment, then answered, a little awkward, “I was bitten by a snake.”
Jinxia chuckled, “It turned out it was ‘the beauty who saves the hero’. I understand, don’t be ashamed uncle!”
While they were talking, without even knowing it, they had passed through the Taohualin Forest, and could faintly hear the gurgling water coming from the spring mountain. Then they spotted a large plot of land, with a field of unknown grass and flowers, a simple wooden house was standing there, under the moonlight.
The beggar uncle turned to Jinxia and said in a low voice, “Keep calm, she doesn’t like loud people.”
“Don’t worry, adapting to people is my specialty.”
Jinxia anxiously lowered her head to look at Lu Yi’s face. Seeing that his eyes were still shut tight, she brought her hand to his nose; feeling his breath still normal, she let out a sigh of relief.
The beggar uncle coughed uncomfortably. After looking at the wooden house for a while, he turned to Jinxia and said, “It’s really late now, you see, the lights are off, she must have fallen asleep, how about we wait until dawn…”
“A human life is at stake, uncle! Don’t be a person feeling pity for women!” Jinxia gritted her teeth while glaring at him.
“…Alright, alright…” The beggar uncle turned around, cleared his throat and in a clear voice, shouted at the wooden house, “Mrs. Shen, I Lu Ting greet you. I have brought a wounded man here.”
For a while there was no movement at all. Jinxia started to feel anxious, and she was about to rush to knock on the door, but a light flashed inside the house.
“You see…” The beggar uncle sighed, “She hasn’t been sleeping well, we didn’t come at the right time.”
“Uncle, you’re really a fool in love.”
Jinxia stretched her neck, waiting with patience. Just as she saw the door opening, a middle-aged woman carrying an oil lantern walked out. Her clothes were very neat, her hair was combed, not a single hair popped out, her face was calm. She didn’t look a bit tired or annoyed for being awoken in the middle of the night.
The beggar uncle walked forward, “I apologize for disturbing your night, but we didn’t have any other choice. Mrs. Shen, the person on my back is seriously injured by a Japanese flying weapon.”
“Brother Lu doesn’t need to be formal with me, bring the person in.” Mrs. Shen said softly, then she went back inside the house.
The beggar uncle carried Lu Yi inside in haste and Jinxia also followed from behind.
At Mrs. Shen’s instruction, Lu Yi was placed on a bamboo bed. Mrs. Shen lowered her gaze to examine Lu Yi’s wounds, Jinxia held the oil lantern and shone it down on him…
“When was he injured?” Mrs. Shen asked.
Jinxia replied, “About an hour ago.”
Mrs. Shen furrowed her eyebrows, “Did you give him any medicine?”
“…No, nothing.” Jinxia replied, “I couldn’t find the antidote on the pirate’s bodies. Yes, he did take Zi Yan.”
“Zi Yan!” Mrs. Shen turned to look at the beggar uncle and asked, “Who is he? Why did he take Zi Yan?”
“I… I…”
The beggar uncle could only look at Jinxia.
“He’s from a merchant family in the capital and has quite a lot of money. His family bought Zi Yan at the black market. He deliberately brought it in case of an emergency.” Jinxia said smoothly, “Is there something wrong with this medicine?”
“This medicine is not suitable for this type of wound, it will become poisonous.” Mrs. Shen looked at Jinixa and asked, “This lady, who are you?”
“I am his maid.”
“She is his lover.”
Jinxia and the beggar uncle answered together.
Just as they finished talking, Jinxia sighed, glancing at the beggar uncle. She tried to explain further, “At first, I was his servant, then our young master fell in love with me, and… that’s…”
“He likes you?” Mrs. Shen seemed a little surprised.
“Yes.” Jinxia continued, “At first, he didn’t bother to look at me, then I tried to entice and confuse him. He finally couldn’t hold himself back, so he left his house and followed me to Jiangnan.”
The beggar uncle immediately agreed and added more words on the side, “This girl’s story is heartbreaking… After hearing it, I was touched. A loving couple whose fate is bitter, arriving in Jiangnan with difficulty, just to meet those cruel pirates. Please, help them!”
Mrs. Shen looked at the beggar uncle for a while, not knowing whether to believe it or not. She tightened her eyebrows and said, “If he didn’t take Zi Yan, I would be 70% sure to cure him, now there are two kinds of poison in his body, treating them won’t be easy.”
“Please, Mrs. Shen, please help him.” Jinxia said, agitated.
The beggar uncle tried to persuade her, “Please, try to save him, use whatever medicine you think it’s the best choice, treat it as a dead horse.”
Upon hearing this, Jinxia angrily glared at him, “He will definitely not die!”
Mrs. Shen thought for a moment, nodded and agreed, “Carry him to the back room near the water, I will go prepare the materials.”
The beggar uncle kept looking up and down at Lu Yi’s appearance, shaking his head and chuckling, “Look at this…You don’t look like me at all. I tell you, men should look like warriors, their aspects should make people afraid, you see… For example, the shoulders should be broader and bigger, the stomach slightly smaller and smooth, uh, like me…”
He said in a cheerful tone. Lu Yi didn’t interrupt his words.
Jinxia returned in a hurry, her forehead creased deeply like lumps of iron, it was obvious that she had found nothing on the bodies of the pirates by the river. “I really don’t understand, why didn’t they bring the antidote? How could they never hurt their own people?”
Lu Yi tried hard to push himself upright. “Not finding the antidote is fine, I swallowed *Zi Yan earlier, I should be fine.”
*[Zi Yan = to suppress the poison, TN]
Jinxia held onto him: she could feel that his body was very heavy, it was clear that he was unable to control his lower body due to numbness, “Zi Yan can detoxify snake venom, but it can’t clear their poison… Uncle, didn’t you say a doctor found a way to cure this poison? Don’t you need someone to test the cure? Take us there!”
As soon as the beggar uncle heard this, uneasiness appeared on his face. He also did not immediately lead the way but looked hesitant.
“Uncle?” Jinxia looked at him, clueless.
“Dear niece, it’s not that I don’t want to take you there, the problem is…” The beggar uncle looked awry, “This doctor has a rule, she doesn’t treat government officials.”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, then said, “Alright!”
“Alright?”
“If he doesn’t wear his uniform, and I take his badge, who will know that he’s a JinYiWei?” As she was talking, her hand moved to remove Lu Yi’s waist badge, but she was stopped by Lu Yi’s hand.
He said slowly, “If the doctor already has this rule, let’s not force her. Jinxia, take me back to the city.”
She knew that his arrogance ran deep in his bones, but now it was not the time to be strong. Jinxia anxiously said to him, “No! We will not return to the city, or the poison inside your wound will continue to spread. The two who had been sent to the clinic last time died two days ago.”
“Life and death depend on fate, wealth and honor have been determined by the heavens.” Lu Yi struggled to speak. He rested his head on her shoulder.
“No!” Jinxia felt distressed and angry at the same time. She simply said, “Since the doctor has found a way to cure this poison, that means fate can be changed! You just rest, don’t say anything else, I will handle this matter!” After saying that, she glared at the beggar uncle, her gaze was sharp and fiery.
The beggar uncle felt uncomfortable under her glares.. He said awkwardly, “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but the doctor, she… I also have no other way…”
“Just do as I said earlier. As long as his identity is kept a secret, who will know he is a government official?”
“Isn’t that lying to people? If she finds out I lied to her, then… then… then…”
At that point, Jinxia was beyond angry, and said, “A human life is very precious. Besides, how can this be a lie? I didn’t ask you to tell her that he’s not an official, so it’s not a lie.”
“What?”
“Not saying it doesn’t mean to lie.”
“Then, what if she asks?”
“If you’re asking how to answer, uncle, you don’t need to talk. You’ll just pretend you don’t know anything, push all the blames on me and say that I lied to you.”
“Oh.” The beggar uncle was confused.
“Don’t wait any longer, let’s go!” Jinxia urged him.
At that moment, Lu Yi was being carried on the beggar uncle’s back, who was using his power to walk quicker, while Jinxia tried to keep up with him.
Just by feeling the gust of wind passing through his ears, Lu Yi could estimate their current speed: being able to carry someone and move this fast, the beggar uncle’s kung fu was beyond average, his internal strength must have been very strong.
“Thank you, Senior.” he said.
The beggar uncle did not slow down, mumbling in his mouth, “No wonder people say, when men become grandfathers, they do everything for their grandsons. That saying is definitely not wrong.”
After traveling for about half an hour, the beggar uncle started to slow down and finally stopped outside a forest.
Jinxia scanned the surroundings, and was stunned, “Isn’t this the way to Taohualin Forest located at the west side of the city? Is the place near the forest?”
“The Taohualin Forest is ahead, the place we’re heading to it’s behind that mountain.”
The beggar uncle put Lu Yi down. From inside his pocket, he took out a bottle of gourd, took off the cap, then poured the powder into the palms of his hands and, like a woman, started patting the powder on his face, neck and on all the areas of skin not covered by clothes.
“You should use the powder too.” The beggar uncle gave the gourd bottle to Jinxa, “This whole forest is filled with snakes. If you don’t use this powder, later when you get bit, it will be really bad.”
“Snakes again!”
Jinxia was still traumatized by the bright red python, therefore she quickly put the powder on her face, then poured some on her palms, meticulously applying it on Lu Yi’s face as well…
The powder was colourless, odorless, like pearl powder and, after it was applied, it made the skin glow better. Lu Yi didn’t have the strength to continue keeping his eyes open, therefore he closed his eyes and let Jinxia apply the powder on his face. All of a sudden, as her hand touched the skin on his face, in her heart rose an unusual feeling that she could not describe. Her movements became clumsy and slow.
“This little girl really knows how to take advantage of the situation.” The beggar uncle mocked him.
Jinxia unhappily glared at him, then she quickened her hand. She saw the corner of Lu Yi’s lips lifting in a faint smile.
“What are you smiling for? I’m not taking advantage of you.” Vexed, she used both hands to rub all over his handsome face, “I just want to spread it evenly on your face.”
The beggar uncle kept laughing on the side.
After applying the powder, the beggar uncle lifted Lu Yi again, walked some steps into the forest, then he reminded Jinxia, “Follow me, don’t accidentally step anywhere else, otherwise you will fall into the snake cave…”
“Understood.”
Jinxia took a deep breath, following him from behind, carefully copying his steps, not daring to take a different path.
When the wind passed, they heard the sound of blossom trees around them.
On the ground, there were piles of fallen leaves. Who knew how long they had been there? There was also a dense smell of rotting leaves, indicating the place hadn’t been visited by any human in a long time.
The moonlight shone, the shadows of trees and the ones of humans intertwined, something appeared to be swimming.
Jinxia slowly raised her head: less than two feet away from her, there was a small snake wrapped around the body of a tree. The body of the snake was as green as jade, and its upper body was twisting in the air, as if enjoying the moonlight bath.
She raised her head even higher. As far as the eye could see, there were at least dozens of green snakes, some were large, some were small, some were curled up, some were standing upright, all in a relaxed position.
The hair on her body stood up and she said, “Uncle… I saw a snake.”
“As long as you don’t bother them, it’s okay.” The beggar uncle replied calmly, “All this time, she’s always praised them for being good.”
“That’s good.” Jinxia tried to speak in a calm manner. “Who is she? Did she raise these snakes?”
“You should call her Mrs. Shen.”
Jinxia looked at the snake on top, and walked closer to the beggar uncle, while not forgetting to ask, “Shen? Is she a relative of Doctor Shen Mi?”
“Speaking of that, technically she could be considered to be the wife of Doctor Shen’s younger cousin, but Doctor Shen and she have never met.” The beggar uncle sighed and said, “She is a woman who was left behind by her fiancé. They were engaged, already chose a good day, and unexpectedly her future husband died because of a ship accident.”
“Uncle, how do you know her?” Jinxia asked.
The beggar uncle hesitated for a moment, then answered, a little awkward, “I was bitten by a snake.”
Jinxia chuckled, “It turned out it was ‘the beauty who saves the hero’. I understand, don’t be ashamed uncle!”
While they were talking, without even knowing it, they had passed through the Taohualin Forest, and could faintly hear the gurgling water coming from the spring mountain. Then they spotted a large plot of land, with a field of unknown grass and flowers, a simple wooden house was standing there, under the moonlight.
The beggar uncle turned to Jinxia and said in a low voice, “Keep calm, she doesn’t like loud people.”
“Don’t worry, adapting to people is my specialty.”
Jinxia anxiously lowered her head to look at Lu Yi’s face. Seeing that his eyes were still shut tight, she brought her hand to his nose; feeling his breath still normal, she let out a sigh of relief.
The beggar uncle coughed uncomfortably. After looking at the wooden house for a while, he turned to Jinxia and said, “It’s really late now, you see, the lights are off, she must have fallen asleep, how about we wait until dawn…”
“A human life is at stake, uncle! Don’t be a person feeling pity for women!” Jinxia gritted her teeth while glaring at him.
“…Alright, alright…” The beggar uncle turned around, cleared his throat and in a clear voice, shouted at the wooden house, “Mrs. Shen, I Lu Ting greet you. I have brought a wounded man here.”
For a while there was no movement at all. Jinxia started to feel anxious, and she was about to rush to knock on the door, but a light flashed inside the house.
“You see…” The beggar uncle sighed, “She hasn’t been sleeping well, we didn’t come at the right time.”
“Uncle, you’re really a fool in love.”
Jinxia stretched her neck, waiting with patience. Just as she saw the door opening, a middle-aged woman carrying an oil lantern walked out. Her clothes were very neat, her hair was combed, not a single hair popped out, her face was calm. She didn’t look a bit tired or annoyed for being awoken in the middle of the night.
The beggar uncle walked forward, “I apologize for disturbing your night, but we didn’t have any other choice. Mrs. Shen, the person on my back is seriously injured by a Japanese flying weapon.”
“Brother Lu doesn’t need to be formal with me, bring the person in.” Mrs. Shen said softly, then she went back inside the house.
The beggar uncle carried Lu Yi inside in haste and Jinxia also followed from behind.
At Mrs. Shen’s instruction, Lu Yi was placed on a bamboo bed. Mrs. Shen lowered her gaze to examine Lu Yi’s wounds, Jinxia held the oil lantern and shone it down on him…
“When was he injured?” Mrs. Shen asked.
Jinxia replied, “About an hour ago.”
Mrs. Shen furrowed her eyebrows, “Did you give him any medicine?”
“…No, nothing.” Jinxia replied, “I couldn’t find the antidote on the pirate’s bodies. Yes, he did take Zi Yan.”
“Zi Yan!” Mrs. Shen turned to look at the beggar uncle and asked, “Who is he? Why did he take Zi Yan?”
“I… I…”
The beggar uncle could only look at Jinxia.
“He’s from a merchant family in the capital and has quite a lot of money. His family bought Zi Yan at the black market. He deliberately brought it in case of an emergency.” Jinxia said smoothly, “Is there something wrong with this medicine?”
“This medicine is not suitable for this type of wound, it will become poisonous.” Mrs. Shen looked at Jinixa and asked, “This lady, who are you?”
“I am his maid.”
“She is his lover.”
Jinxia and the beggar uncle answered together.
Just as they finished talking, Jinxia sighed, glancing at the beggar uncle. She tried to explain further, “At first, I was his servant, then our young master fell in love with me, and… that’s…”
“He likes you?” Mrs. Shen seemed a little surprised.
“Yes.” Jinxia continued, “At first, he didn’t bother to look at me, then I tried to entice and confuse him. He finally couldn’t hold himself back, so he left his house and followed me to Jiangnan.”
The beggar uncle immediately agreed and added more words on the side, “This girl’s story is heartbreaking… After hearing it, I was touched. A loving couple whose fate is bitter, arriving in Jiangnan with difficulty, just to meet those cruel pirates. Please, help them!”
Mrs. Shen looked at the beggar uncle for a while, not knowing whether to believe it or not. She tightened her eyebrows and said, “If he didn’t take Zi Yan, I would be 70% sure to cure him, now there are two kinds of poison in his body, treating them won’t be easy.”
“Please, Mrs. Shen, please help him.” Jinxia said, agitated.
The beggar uncle tried to persuade her, “Please, try to save him, use whatever medicine you think it’s the best choice, treat it as a dead horse.”
Upon hearing this, Jinxia angrily glared at him, “He will definitely not die!”
Mrs. Shen thought for a moment, nodded and agreed, “Carry him to the back room near the water, I will go prepare the materials.”
