Chapter 14
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The sound of copper bells jingled…
His body felt light and airy, going up and down.
Hearing voices, Lu Liangsheng groggily woke up. Soft sunlight entered his view, and the blurry figures moving around gradually became clear. He could also hear words being spoken.
“Liangsheng is awake.”
“Thankfully, he’s okay.”
“…Liangsheng, what happened last night? We saw that…”
Among the fragmented conversations, the old donkey’s “heehaw” could be heard. The young man on its back shook his head, feeling some lingering pain in his body. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond to their questions.
His thoughts took a while to coalesce, as he tried hard to recall what happened last night… After that giant centipede left, did I faint?
Over there, Lu Pan, who carried a hunting knife, waved to stop the others from asking questions. He turned to the youth on the old donkey’s back, somewhat unsure of how to start.
Finally, he asked: “Liangsheng, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere now? Last night…”
His thoughts were interrupted, and Lu Liangsheng came back to his senses. He looked around the road, noticing the crowd of people, and lowered his voice.
“Uncle Pan, it’s better not to talk about what happened last night.”
The meaning of his words was that the matter involving the centipede demon should not be discussed in crowded and noisy places, but Lu Pan took it to mean something else.
He quickly nodded, leaned closer, and whispered: “Uncle understands. I thought it was a bit strange that you suddenly knew how to read, now it makes sense. I’ll make sure the others don’t talk about it.”
Then he added.
“Liangsheng… did you worship some master as your teacher?”
Master as a teacher…
Suddenly reminded, Lu Liangsheng quickly reached for his backpack, only to find it missing. “Uncle Pan, where’s my backpack?”
“Oh, it’s with your Uncle Qing. He’s keeping an eye on it for you.”
Seeing that Lu Liangsheng did not respond to the earlier question, Lu Pan decided not to press further. They were nearing Fushui County, and there was a tea stall by the roadside, so he called everyone over to rest.
“Since Liangsheng is awake, let’s all rest at the tea stall up ahead and then go to the city to find the yamen.”
“Phew… finally, we can sit down.”
After traveling half the night and all morning, everyone had blisters on their feet. They dropped their bags and weapons on the ground and sat down by the roadside near the tea stall. Lu Pan then took a few coins and sent the tall, thin man named Lu Qing to buy several bowls of herbal tea for everyone to share.
The tea stall, the lone tree, with a cool breeze blowing in waves and swaying light spots made a pleasant environment. Lu Liangsheng sat leaning against the tree and, while the others were busy with the tea, quickly opened his retrieved backpack.
“Master?”
Inside, the curled-up Toad Daoist, half-opened one of his toad eyes and extended a webbed hand to pull at the bag’s opening.
“Master is sleeping, don’t disturb me.”
The bag’s opening tightened and closed.
“Master is fine, that’s good.”
Lu Liangsheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if no one had looked after the master while he was unconscious, the others might have discarded him as a regular toad. Now that the master was still here, he felt reassured.
Turning around, a ceramic bowl was handed to him, and Lu Pan squatted down in front of him.
“Liangsheng, have some herbal tea to quench your thirst. We’re still a few miles from the county, but we’re almost there. The rest will depend on you.”
“Uncle Pan, I’m not ready to speak yet…”
For someone as inexperienced as the young man, standing in yamen was no easy task. Lu Pan nodded in understanding. He originally intended to pat the boy on the shoulder for encouragement but pulled back halfway.
“Well… that’s alright. When we get to the county yamen, we’ll figure things out then. For now, I won’t disturb your rest.”
After speaking, Lu Pan returned to the group of seven rough and hearty men. Once they sat down, they began to talk loudly and animatedly, causing the other travelers resting nearby to frown. Due to the hunting knives and hatchets lying at the feet of the group, no one dared to approach.
The autumn breeze was gentle, and the official road was bustling with people and merchants coming and going. Occasionally, groups of travelers would enter the tea stall to rest and quench their thirst, gathering around the tables to discuss recent happenings and interesting stories from different places.
“You guys just got back. Have you heard about the recent incident in Fushui County?”
“What happened?”
“Hey… you just returned from outside and don’t know? The famous Landlord Chen’s family in Fushui County has had a scandal. Several maidservants and servants died a few days ago.”
“In wealthy families, people die every year. What’s so surprising about that?”
“The issue is that people have been dying one after another, several days in a row. If you were in Landlord Chen’s household, wouldn’t you be scared?”
“With people dying one after another, Landlord Chen’s house must have something unclean.”
“Exactly… I also heard that this horrifying incident started only after Landlord Chen’s grand birthday celebration.”
“Hehe, it’s likely that Landlord Chen offended the God of Fortune during his birthday celebration…”
To Lu Liangsheng, sitting under a tree nearby, it was like listening to an old storyteller in a village. The character being discussed was the Landlord Chen, whom he had heard about recently in Fushui County, which struck him as interesting.
After resting for a while and with noon approaching, the group resumed their journey. They had a quick meal of dry rations with cool water and hurried into the city.
The city was bustling with activity. A farmer pushing a wheelbarrow stopped to look at vendors selling candied haws, and after feeling around in his pockets, bought a bundle for a coin, as if to take it back to his grandson. He carefully wrapped it and hid it in his arms to protect it from the dust. On a balcony, a woman beat the bedding she had laid out to dry with a wooden stick and scolded those inside the house. Soon, a mischievous child ran out of the house, laughing as he looked at the clay figurines displayed at the street stalls.
To Lu Liangsheng, these scenes were all vividly lively and novel. The group of nine walked past the street vendors calling out their goods, and the young man stopped at a stall where paintings of beautiful women, horses, and landscapes were hung.
Lu Pan came over and whispered in his ear: “Liangsheng, we don’t have enough money.”
“Just looking,” Lu Liangsheng said with a smile. “My own paintings are much better than these.”
The middle-aged man selling paintings, dressed as a scholar, waved his hand dismissively upon hearing this.
“Just leave. If you can’t afford to buy, don’t talk nonsense.”
“Can’t I just talk?” Lu Pan was annoyed and turned back, clenching his fists, clearly ready to confront the vendor.
But Lu Liangsheng held him back. “Uncle Pan, we’re here for official business. Besides, it was my loose tongue that disturbed the vendor’s business.”
Lu Pan shot a fierce glare at the merchant.
“So what? Open for business and not allow people to talk?”
Ultimately, Lu Pan followed Liangsheng back into the crowd, describing the incident to the others. The group of men began to grumble and complain loudly.
Before long, the nine people inquired along the way and found the county yamen in the city. At the entrance, the guards crossed their fire and water sticks and refused to let them in.
[TL_Note: The sticks are symbolic of the guards’ authority and the duality of their role. They represent the power to manage both conflict and peace, akin to the elements of fire and water, which can be both destructive and calming.]
“One matter at a time. If you want to file a complaint, you need to write a petition and submit it. The clerk will review it before it can be presented in yamen…”
Lu Pan had thought that after coming to the county yamen, he would see the county magistrate and settle the injustices in the village, but he didn’t know that there were so many twists and turns. He scratched his head anxiously and looked at Lu Liangsheng.
“Liangsheng, what should we do now? Do you know how to write a petition?”
The young man was also feeling uncertain. After thinking for a moment, he approached one of the guards at the yamen gate and politely bowed.
“Excuse me, brother. We are from a village and have never written a petition before. Could you tell me if there is someone here who can write it for us, or can we get some old samples to copy?”
“There is someone who can write it for you, ten coins per petition. Of course, there are also fees for tea and materials, totaling twenty coins. If you want to write it yourself, it’s five coins.”
Lu Pan’s eyelids twitched at the cost. They had barely any money left, and if they paid for the writing service, it would leave them without money for meals.
After some discussion, they decided to have Lu Liangsheng write the petition himself, though spending five coins on an old sample still made them feel the pinch.
“Such a profitable business…”
Lu Liangsheng looked at the five-coin petition sample in his hand and then at the words “Fushui County Yamen”.
“Perhaps setting up a stall to offer writing services could earn a few copper coins.”
However, this idea was fleeting, and soon the sky began to darken.
The group of nine still hadn’t found a place to stay.
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