To Travel by the Edge of a Creek - CH 31

“He Xi, I understand.” Jiang Ling revealed a wry smile. Her inner conflict was at its peak, a voice in her heart always crying out to her, “Enough. You’ve already done more than enough. What remains is what she deserves!”

He Xi turned her head, not looking at Jiang Ling’s expression, “I’m the one who owes you so much.”

The two of them sank into silence. Jiang Ling stood up and looked at the sky. It was just past the wee hours of the morning: the perfect time to act.

They kept their voices hushed, arriving at the post close to the market entrance separately. Jiang Ling hid outside, and He Xi hid inside. He Xi lifted her head, and after seeing Luo Zhu’s miserable state, her breath stopped. Nails were embedded in his palms, the weak rise and fall of his chest the sole indicator that he was still living.

And on a distant tower, someone had drawn his bow and taken aim, ready for the hunt.

Jiang Ling nodded at He Xi. He Xi leapt up and, using a dagger, severed the restraints on Luo Zhu, the sound of the shackles shattering ringing in the night. As soon as Luo Zhu fell, his body was caught by He Xi and supported on her shoulder. Realizing that someone was rescuing him, Luo Zhu forced his eyes open, a croak escaping his throat.

“Whoosh—” An arrow split the air, and Jiang Ling discovered their secret plot, “Watch out!” She flew up and subconsciously grabbed the arrow with her right hand. The arrow was imbued with qi, and just as Jiang Ling touched it, her palm was lacerated, and in an instant, her right hand was dyed with blood. The flying arrow brushed past Jiang Ling’s palm, shooting toward He Xi.

“Damn it!” Jiang Ling watched, helpless, as the arrow pierced cleanly through Luo Zhu’s back to He Xi’s shoulder. The arrowhead, stained with their blood, struck the post. The force of the strike shook the arrow, the blood misting into the air.

On the tower, Wu Ji raised an eyebrow, “Why is there another person?”

He Xi knelt on the ground in pain, blood gushing out of her shoulder. Luo Zhu lay prone on the ground, blood flowing relentlessly out of his chest and lips. His eyes slowly lost their light.

“Shifu…” The spirit disappeared from He Xi’s eyes. Not caring for the pain, she shifted, wanting to press down on Luo Zhu’s chest as the blood poured out.

Jiang Ling suddenly pounced on He Xi, rolling the two of them away. An arrow embedded into the ground where He Xi had been. Half of the arrow’s shaft was buried into the ground, the tail undulating from the impact.

“Uhhh…” He Xi gritted her teeth, covering her shoulder and standing up, her face covered in sweat, “Shifu…”

Jiang Ling was on high alert. Enemies were hiding in the dark, and disaster could befall them at any time. She immediately grabbed He Xi by the waist and pulled her away.

“Luo Zhu!” He Xi caught empty air.

Jiang Ling paid no heed to her struggling. She brought her to the top of the city wall, arrows grazing past them the entire way. Carrying He Xi, Jiang Ling weaved side to side, dodging the arrows. She avoided the majority of them, but some of the arrows sliced Jiang Ling’s legs. She clenched her teeth and flipped over the city wall.

“Let me go!” He Xi was struggling weakly, “Shifu…My shifu’s still in there!”

“Calm down! Your shifu is already dead!” Jiang Ling rebuked harshly.

Jiang Ling’s reprimand made He Xi stop struggling, and she cooperated with Jiang Ling as she brought her into the area where the horse was hidden. She released He Xi, and He Xi collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Ling examined He Xi’s condition. Her left shoulder was soaked through with blood, the color appearing somewhat unusual under the moonlight.

Jiang Ling loosened He Xi’s clothes to her shoulder. The tender, pale skin was dyed with blood as it continued to pour out of the wound, the flesh surrounding it curling outward.

“We must stop the bleeding.” Jiang Ling removed He Xi’s belt and tore it in half with her teeth, using half of it to cover the wound on her shoulder and the other half to hold it in place.

He Xi lay on the ground woodenly, her right arm draped over her eyes as tears silently slid down her face onto the grass.

As the wind rose, stirring the trees, it carried the noise of their pursuers.

“He Xi, we have to go. They’re searching for us.”

He Xi’s expression did not change. She nodded slightly, then lowered her arm and rose with difficulty. With the blood loss, He Xi’s face was deathly pale. Seeing her like this, Jiang Ling felt a dull ache in her heart. She mounted the horse and pulled He Xi up behind her.

He Xi’s limp body stuck to Jiang Ling’s back, her head resting on her shoulder and her right hand circling Jiang Ling’s waist.

“We can’t go to Shahai Village. You know the area. Where should we go?” Jiang Ling only knew how to get to Shahai Village, but they could not go there, so they could only rely on He Xi’s directions.

“Turn left. There’s a small oasis not too far from here. Once we get there, head toward the sunset and we’ll reach a bigger oasis. There’ll be people there.” He Xi’s voice was weak, like she was about to drift off to sleep.

“He Xi, you can’t fall asleep.”

“Mhm.”

The Ferghana horse brought them out into the desert.

The small oasis was not far; they arrived before noon. This small oasis, it could be said, was quite similar to the oasis Jiang Ling had seen first. Sparse, emaciated trees struggled to survive. One well provided the only source of life-giving water.

“He Xi, we’ve reached the little oasis.”

“…”

“He Xi?” Jiang Ling turned around. He Xi’s face was blanched, and as she rested against Jiang Ling’s back, she had fallen into a stupor.

Jiang Ling dismounted and reclined He Xi on the horse, letting the horse rest. She removed her water sack from the horse’s saddle and passed water to He Xi with her mouth, then drank her fill. Looking at the position of the sun in the sky as it rose, Jiang Ling found the direction of the sunset and continued on toward the other oasis.

The water in the sack was running low. They had already been traveling through the desert for two days. He Xi was not awake very often, and she was growing more and more wane. Jiang Ling grew fearful of once again being lost in the desert, “He Xi, how far away is this place?” Only silence answered her.

The Ferghana horse could no longer keep going. Jiang Ling dismounted, endlessly leading the horse forward.

Suddenly, the horse whinnied, like it had found something. Throwing off the reins, it ran off, disappearing behind the dune in front of her with the comatose He Xi on its back. Jiang Ling chased after it, cresting the dune.

A fresh breeze dispersed the scalding heat. Before her was a lake so clear she could see the bottom, lush greenery along its rim and a crisp wind that tousled her hair. The horse was beside the lake, its head lowered as it drank from it. He Xi had slid off of its back beside the lake.

Jiang Ling ran up to He Xi and knelt beside her, “He Xi, look! We made it!”

Along with the joy, a voice called out in her heart: Now, leave her behind. You’d have taken revenge for your shixiong.

“He Xi…” Tears pooled in Jiang Ling’s eyes, “Why is it you? Why!”

Jiang Ling clenched her jaw, wiping away her tears, “Now we’re even!” She carried He Xi on her back toward the homes of the people living in the oasis.

Beyond her expectations, despite the oasis being relatively large, there were only a few, simple homes. Furthermore, they were all from the central plains. It was entirely different from the one He Xi had indicated, so they must have run into it by accident.

An old couple, surnamed Xue, took them in.

The husband and wife were over sixty years of age, their hair gone white, but they were both full of life.

Upon seeing their plight, the old couple rushed to arrange a place for them. They gave them two sets of clean clothing and helped He Xi dress her wound. The bleeding had long been staunched, but she had already lost a lot of blood. He Xi’s face, as before, was as white as a sheet, and she still had not awoken. The injuries on Jiang Ling’s hand and legs were not serious, so she dressed them herself.

The old man was a traditional Han. The two-room home was decorated like a rural home from the central plains, the fixings frugal and simple with a lived-in feel.

They cleared out a small storage room and placed two simple sleeping pallets inside for Jiang Ling and He Xi.

The old man had tilled the land beside his house and planted several crops. Every day, when he had nothing to do, he would sit down and watch them grow. The other homes in the oasis were scattered about and also cultivated their own crops. Some also raised livestock.

“Little girl, come with me to the market to exchange some goods. Your horse looks fine enough.” The old man saw that Jiang Ling had nothing to do for the entire day and ordered her to come along.

“That horse is all I have!” Jiang Ling widened her eyes, appearing hard-pressed, “I can’t go to the market and exchange it.”

“Who asked you to exchange your lousy horse?!” The old man raised his eyebrows, “I’ve made several stone carvings, the Xiyu people like them.”

Jiang Ling let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing Jiang Ling’s expression, the old man was filled with anger, “I took you sisters in. If I wanted your horse, it wouldn’t be too much to ask.”

“Sir, that’s not what I meant.” Jiang Ling saw that the old man had misunderstood her and hurried to explain, “We need the horse to go home.”

“To the central plains?” Jiang LIng nodded, and the old man continued, “Then you’d best sell it and stay with us old folks.”

“Don’t listen to this old fart. Keep talking like this and the market will be closed by the time you get there.” The old lady hastened them on. The old man laughed dryly.

The old man had carved several stones of all kinds, the smallest about the size of a thumb and the largest about the size of a fist. Some were animals, others were people, and there were even some carved with local totem symbols. All of them were carved with great care and precision. Jiang Ling praised sincerely, “Sir, did you make these before?”

“No, my hands were just itching to do something. I always practice my skills with a knife.” The old man hurried Jiang Ling along as she placed the stones in a bag. Seeing Jiang Ling use her left hand, the old man asked, “Little girl, was your right hand injured?”

“An old affliction. I can’t carry anything heavy.”

“You should go back to the central plains, then. You can’t farm and you can’t carve, so I won’t take you on as a pupil.”

“…” Jiang Ling did not admit defeat, “How do you know that my left hand won’t work? I can carve beautifully.”

The old man roared with laughter, “Not bad, not bad.”

The two of them finished packaging up the carvings and hung the bag on the horse’s back, setting out for the market together.

The market was in a little town about a day’s walk away. By the time the two of them arrived, it was already growing late, and the temperature had dropped to a more comfortable level. There were many people out on the street hawking their wares, including materials, crops, and handicrafts. The Han and Xiyu tongues melded together, creating a lively atmosphere.

The stone vendor, upon seeing the old man, hurried to greet him, “Old Xue, we’ve got some good ones today.”

The old man picked through the stones and chose the ones that he fancied, passing them off to Jiang Ling. He gave a fist-sized stone carved into a lion to the vendor, who turned the carving over and carefully inspected it, “Definitely up to Old Xue’s level.” Pleased, he accepted the carving.

The old man exchanged more carvings for some seeds and rice. Jiang Ling saw a goat hair rug, and the old man also exchanged for it.

“…” Jiang Ling was incredulous, “These things are more useful than money.”

“It’s all just catering to people’s taste. Here, many like these kinds of things.”