Chapter 7: Du Yao’s Sour Face
“The Du family has three sons: one is a martial arts fanatic who only knows how to shout ‘fight, fight, fight, kill, kill, kill’ and make strange noises; one is a pervert who likes to hang out with powdered pretty boys; and one is a Daoist priest who lost his memory, went up the mountain, and never came back.” Du Yao looked at him askance. “As a result, in this huge Du family, the entire burden has fallen on the shoulders of the youngest daughter.”
Du Yu was rather straightforward and was still defending the Boundless Sect: “The Boundless Sect is not a Daoist sect, we don’t engage in superstition, and I’m not a Daoist priest…”
Du Yao brushed aside her bangs. “Third Brother, you really suck.”
Being evaluated as “sucking” by his nominal sister was a huge blow to Du Yu. He suddenly had an epiphany: was he perhaps not very good at getting along with women?
To salvage his image in Du Yao’s heart, he decided to flatter her: “I see you handle things very skillfully. Your Second Brother… no, our Second Brother is completely tamed by you…”
“But I don’t want to at all. You forgot that I… oh right, you really did forget.” Du Yao stood up and floated forward like a ghost. “Anyway, you can just push everything away with the excuse of amnesia. It’s fine if you forget everything; I don’t expect you to remember anything either. In any case, after a couple of days, you’ll go back to that broken mountain and guard that broken temple, right?”
The resentment in her tone was palpable. Du Yu thought for a moment and caught up with his sister’s footsteps. “I’ll be staying longer this time, probably a month or two, maybe longer…”
Du Yao’s footsteps paused slightly, then returned to normal. “Oh.”
Du Yao accompanied him on a tour around the Du residence. The Du residence was large but not huge; after all, they were just landlords in a town, not as luxurious as imagined. There were only eleven servants in total: seven old maids, three thugs, and one maid for Du Yao.
After a simple dinner banquet, Du Yu was taken to a main room filled with many children’s toys, such as kites, yellow cloth tigers, and clay whistles. Du Yao said this was his room when he was a child. Although he went up the mountain after the age of ten, the Du family had kept this room intact, hoping that one day he would return home.
Du Yao was speaking expressionlessly when she suddenly picked up a clay figurine from the table and threw it out the window. A cry of pain was heard. It turned out to be Du Ying. “Fourth Sister, you hit too hard!” Du Yao’s tone didn’t fluctuate at all. “Grandpa told me to watch you and not let you get close to Third Brother, to save you from leading him astray.”
“Why are you still the same as when we were kids, only close to your Third Brother and not to your Big Brother or Second Brother… Ouch, it hurts me to death!” Du Ying clutched his head and leaned against the window.
Hearing this, Du Yu couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Du Yao. Was Du Yao particularly close to him in the past? Whether it was an illusion or not, Du Yao deliberately lowered her head, letting her bangs completely cover her eyes, avoiding Du Yu’s gaze.
She picked up another colorful stone from the table. “If you don’t leave, I’ll throw this at you.”
Du Ying had no backbone in front of his sister, clutching his head like a woman. “I’m going, I’m going!”
Du Yao looked at Du Ying’s disappointing back. “He was harmed by that pale-faced young master in the county town, ending up like this.”
Du Yu was a bit worried. “Is he okay? I saw his forehead bleeding…”
“As long as he doesn’t die.”
Du Yu broke into a sweat. He might have underestimated his sister.
“Fourth Sister, have you learned martial arts?”
“…You used to call me Du Yao directly.”
“Uh, then, Du Yao, have you learned martial arts?”
“Learned a little. In this world, it would be strange not to learn martial arts.” Du Yao bowed silently. “Third Brother, rest well. You have to pay respects to Grandpa early tomorrow.”
Du Yu always felt that Du Yao was mocking him between the lines. Indeed, in this world where everyone revered martial arts, he was the strangest one for having no martial skills. Which young man didn’t dream of being a hero in white clothes, roaming the world with a sword? Once upon a time, he secretly practiced the Iron Palm Sect’s martial arts behind Master’s back, but the result was ten thousand fires devouring his heart. If Master hadn’t discovered it early, he would probably have died. He turned his right wrist over and examined the poison insect-shaped mark on his hand… Was his inability to practice martial arts related to this mark?
Lying in bed, looking at the dragon and phoenix carvings on the top of the wooden bed, the bedding was newly changed, and the room had a faint musty smell unique to old houses. The Du family wasn’t as distant as he had imagined, nor were there any complex mental battles. His two brothers had distinct personalities, and his sister was sensible and capable. He wondered what his parents’ attitude would be when they saw him.
He had originally thought that any family with some assets would inevitably have internal strife. His two brothers might ostracize him, his uncles might celebrate his misfortune, and he, Du Yu, would at least have to shout the line “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, do not bully the young for being poor” to live up to expectations.
Thinking aimlessly, he felt drowsy. In a daze, he saw someone sneak into his room. It was Junior Sister: “Brother Yu, are you asleep? Talk to me, okay…” Du Yu had been running around all day and was so tired his eyelids were fighting. He replied dreamily, “Okay, you talk,” and then fell dead asleep.
***
Du Yu didn’t wake up early the next day. He patted his head, suddenly remembering the worldly rules: juniors had to pay respects in the morning and evening, unlike the freedom on the mountain. Looking at the sun rising halfway up the sky outside the window, Du Yu quickly lifted the quilt that had been warmed up. As soon as he lifted it, a fragrant breeze wafted from the quilt, like the scent of a woman. Du Yu sniffed; it seemed to be the scent of his Junior Sister. She always had a faint musk scent on her, occasionally mixed with the smell of small flowers sprouting from the soil.
He called out “Junior Sister” but got no response. As he was dressing, an old maid came in holding a wooden basin and a bamboo toothbrush. Du Yu wasn’t used to being served, so he dismissed the old maid and washed up quickly by himself.
The sun at the turn of summer and autumn was most pleasant, neither as scorching as summer nor as listless as autumn. The sun’s brilliance covered the Du family courtyard like a golden translucent curtain, and the small lake at the foot of the rockery reflected sparkling spots of light.
Du Yu couldn’t find his Junior Sister anywhere, so he walked forward. After a few steps, he saw Du Yao sitting alone in the pavilion reading a blue-covered book. The bright sunlight didn’t reach into the long pavilion, leaving her in a cold shadow. Du Yao might have inherited the Du family’s good genes; although her demeanor was as cold as a female ghost, her appearance was petite and lovely. Her features weren’t flamboyant but bloomed with restraint, very much like a young lady from a deep boudoir.
“Du Yao, have you seen Gongsun Ruo? The young woman about your age who came with me yesterday?”
Du Yu stole a glance and saw that the book in Du Yao’s hand was titled “The Unofficial Biography of Du Shuzi”.
“Is she my sister-in-law?” Du Yao didn’t look up, still reading the book. For some reason, Du Yu felt that Du Yao wasn’t in a good mood today.
“…No, she is my Junior Sister.”
Du Yao looked up, finally sizing up her Third Brother properly. “Sit down. Your Junior Sister went to the kitchen to show off.”
Went to the kitchen to show off? What does that mean?
Seeing Du Yu’s confused face, Du Yao explained, “She insisted on making morning soup for you, saying only she knows best what you like to eat in the morning, so she fought to cook… Heh, she certainly made Grandpa happy…”
That was indeed something that girl would do. It sounded like Du Yao was very dissatisfied with her. No, so far, Du Yu hadn’t found anyone Du Yao was satisfied with. She seemed to have a naturally world-weary face, unhappy seeing anyone.
“Du Yao, why aren’t you reading in your room? The sun is strong out here, and servants are coming and going; it’s somewhat noisy.” Du Yu stopped looking for Gongsun Ruo and simply sat opposite Du Yao.
“They’re burning yellow vitex in the room, so no one can sit there. I came out.” Du Yao asked casually, “Were there no autumn tigers in your room last night?”
There really weren’t… It was amazing to say, but living on the mountain for so many years, he had never been bothered by mosquitoes, even though there should be the most mosquitoes on the mountain. The townspeople of Lotus Seed Town down the mountain didn’t have such luck. Every autumn, they would burn yellow vitex in their houses every week to drive away mosquitoes with smoke.
“Is Grandpa at home right now?” Du Yu remembered he hadn’t paid his respects today.
Du Yao rolled her eyes at him. “Third Brother, even Second Brother does better than you in this regard. What time is it now? There’s no logic in paying respects at this hour.”
Du Yu smiled awkwardly. He was used to sleeping in on the mountain. Master was also lazy; sometimes the three of them in the sect would sleep soundly until the afternoon before getting up.
“But you don’t have to worry, Third Brother. Grandpa treasures you right now. Even if you went to pull his beard, he wouldn’t get angry. At most, he’d scold Second Brother a few more times for being a scoundrel.” As Du Yao spoke, she suddenly heard a bright and loud shout.
“Brother Yu… come drink soup!”
Du Yao’s face darkened a few shades. She silently straightened the book in her hand and ignored Du Yu.
