Chapter 5: Arriving at the Jiang Residence
After walking for about half a li, Jiang Huaizhen finally let go of Lin Shuang’s wrist once they rounded the large tree at the bend in the road.
“No one will ever force you to do anything again. You can go wherever you want now.”
Lin Shuang looked up at her. “You’re not taking me with you?”
Jiang Huaizhen hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You… want to go to my home?”
For all these years, let alone anyone wanting to visit their home, no one even dared to approach the valley.
“I have no parents and no home. I have nowhere else to go. Are you unwilling to let me come to your home?” Lin Shuang knew, of course, that she was willing. Otherwise, in her past life, she wouldn’t have carried her home from the grave.
“You don’t mind that I’m an executioner?”
Lin Shuang chuckled. “What’s there to mind about that? The people you kill are those judged guilty by the court. You’re just carrying out the sentence. Why should I mind?”
This was the first time anyone had said something like this to her. A flicker of light passed through Jiang Huaizhen’s eyes. “Even so, my hands are still stained with human blood…”
The villagers were unwilling to associate with their family. In the past, the mention of her father’s name could stop a child’s crying at night. From now on, the one who stopped the crying would probably be her.
Lin Shuang said, “You just told the village chief to register me under your household. From now on, I’m part of your family. Are you really going to turn me away?”
“No,” Jiang Huaizhen shook her head. “If you’re willing, then let’s go.”
With that, she led the way.
Lin Shuang watched her tall figure, a faint smile playing on her lips, and followed.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they reached the vicinity of the West Mountain Valley. The entrance to the hollow was wide, but since no one had been active there for years, it was overgrown with wild grass and trees, leaving only a narrow path for entry and exit.
From a distance, however, a few houses could be seen nestled at the foot of the mountain.
“How is your great-grandmother’s health?”
A few days ago, Old Madam Jiang had fallen gravely ill. Jiang Huaizhen had carried her to the city for treatment and then gone to the village chief’s house to borrow money. News of this had already spread throughout the village.
“Not good. She’s been bedridden for the past few days,” Jiang Huaizhen answered truthfully, leading her down toward the foot of the mountain.
“Then you can go to work without worry from now on. I can look after her at home.”
Jiang Huaizhen paused and turned to look at her. “…Thank you for that.”
These past few days, she had been rushing back and forth between home and the yamen. Her only worry was her old grandmother at home.
Old Madam Jiang had a peculiar temper. Even though she couldn’t get out of bed, she was obsessively clean. Even in her current state, she would rather die than let Jiang Huaizhen place a chamber pot in the room. As long as she had a breath left in her, she had to go to the latrine.
It was fine when Jiang Huaizhen was home, but when she wasn’t, her grandmother would use a cane and the wall to support herself and hobble there on her own.
For the past few days, Jiang Huaizhen had been waking up early every day to cook two meals and bring them to her bedside. That way, if she couldn’t make it back by noon, at least her grandmother wouldn’t starve. But the weather was cold now, and the old woman was sick. Without a sip of hot soup and only cold rice to eat, how could her body recover?
That was a small matter. Her biggest fear was that while she was away, her grandmother might suddenly fall ill or try to get out of bed and fall. What would she do then?
Hearing her thanks, Lin Shuang said, “You helped me with my family’s troubles and took me in. I don’t even know how to repay you. Being able to do a little something for your great-grandmother will put my mind at ease as well.”
“That silver was yours. I just swung my saber at the door. It was a small effort, no need for repayment.”
Lin Shuang smiled and didn’t argue. Jiang Huaizhen’s kindness to her, and those last days they had depended on each other in her previous life—for those things alone, she was willing to treat her well for a lifetime.
The two soon arrived at the house. As they passed the small woodshed, Jiang Huaizhen said to her, “You go inside first. I’ll put my tools here and take care of a few things, then I’ll be right over.”
A faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the woodshed. Lin Shuang had a rough idea of what it was for and didn’t press further. She nodded and walked toward the door.
Upon entering the house, the familiar furniture and layout were all so comforting.
She could almost see the scenes from her past life, of Jiang Huaizhen carrying her in and out of these rooms.
Cough, cough, cough—
A few coughs reached her ears. She quickly suppressed the sudden sting of tears that welled up in her nose, crossed the main hall, and entered the room on the left.
The room was filled with a thick smell of medicine, yet it was surprisingly neat and orderly. On the bed lay a withered old woman in her sixties, her back to the door.
Lin Shuang had never seen Old Madam Jiang before. In her past life, by the time Jiang Huaizhen brought her back, the old woman had already passed away.
Her eyes swept over the bowls and dishes on the table by the bed. The food was untouched, and the medicine hadn’t been drunk.
It seemed her resentment ran deep.
Hearing footsteps, the old woman didn’t even raise her head. “You still know how to come back? If chopping off heads is so much fun, you might as well do it for the rest of your life.”
Lin Shuang said, “Chopping off heads isn’t fun. It’s just an ordinary job.”
Hearing an unfamiliar voice, she struggled to open her eyes and turned her head. She squinted, looking Lin Shuang up and down, her tone laced with caution. “Where did this little girl come from?”
No stranger had entered the West Mountain Valley for decades. Only the village chief would come over on business, but even he would call out from a distance and never enter the house.
“My name is Lin Shuang, daughter of Lin Dahe’s second son.”
“Didn’t the Lin family’s second son and his wife both die? You’re a tough one, and bold too, daring to come here…” Old Madam Jiang’s words were cut short by another violent fit of coughing. She had to clutch her chest and take a moment to recover.
The room was cold all over, let alone having any hot water. Lin Shuang dismissed the thought of giving her water and explained, “My uncle and aunt wanted to sell me to a brothel. Sister Jiang saved me. From now on, I’ll be living here. You won’t drive me away, will you?”
Old Madam Jiang had a naturally sharp tongue. Her husband had died early, and for over thirty years, she had watched over her son. After her son passed away, she had watched over her granddaughter. Plagued by illness, she rarely left the valley. Even when she did, the villagers avoided her. Over time, she simply stopped going out, and her heart filled with resentment.
Now that her granddaughter had followed in the executioner’s footsteps, she was even more furious. Recently, she had been at odds with her granddaughter, deliberately choosing the most vicious words to stab at her heart.
Now, a young girl had suddenly appeared, saying she would be living here from now on. She thought she had misheard and didn’t know what expression to make.
But the thought that her body had become a burden anyway made her face darken instantly, making her seem very difficult to get along with.
Lin Shuang, however, paid it no mind. The old hag she had faced in her past life was countless times more formidable than the one before her now.
Besides, this old woman was the only family Jiang Huaizhen had left.
So she smiled faintly and softened her tone. “From now on, when Sister Jiang is out on duty, I’ll take care of you at home. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll go boil some hot water for you to drink first.”
Without waiting for the old woman to reply, she cleared the dishes from the table and carried them to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, the firewood was neatly chopped to the same length and stacked in an orderly fashion, but the room felt cold and lacked any sign of life.
Just like Jiang Huaizhen herself.
Lin Shuang found a flint by the stove and started a fire.
There was some leftover rice in the pot, and half a bag of rice in the cabinet.
After the fire had been burning for a while, a wisp of steam began to escape from the lid of the pot. Lin Shuang was thinking about what to cook for dinner when Jiang Huaizhen entered through the back door of the kitchen, carrying a chicken.
With a guest in the house and having left her grandmother alone all day, she didn’t dare to spend too much time cleaning up in the small hut.
The reward for the executions would only be settled after all of them were completed. Her pockets were empty now, so she hadn’t dared to buy anything on her way back. Fortunately, there were still a few chickens and eggs at home.
“Are you going to kill the chicken?” Lin Shuang asked.
Jiang Huaizhen grunted in affirmation. “Grandma is sick. She needs some meat to regain her strength.”
Lin Shuang walked over. “You’ve been tired all day. Let me do it.”
“Do you know how?” Jiang Huaizhen wasn’t tired, but having just beheaded someone outside, she felt a little uncomfortable facing another killing so soon.
Lin Shuang had lived for twenty-seven years in her past life, working like an ox. What kind of hard and tiring work hadn’t she done?
She reached out and took the chicken from Jiang Huaizhen. “Just you watch. The water is almost boiling. Grandma hasn’t had any water all day. We need to be quick.”
With that, she placed the chicken under a bamboo basket, washed her hands, and first ladled out a bowl of boiling water before adding two more scoops of clean water to the pot.
Seeing her swift and familiar movements, Jiang Huaizhen didn’t stand on ceremony and took the hot water to the old woman’s room.
As expected, Old Madam Jiang still didn’t give her a pleasant look. After scolding her a few times, she asked, “You brought her back. Won’t Lin Mancang come looking for trouble?”
“He won’t. I gave him the silver.” Then she explained, “The silver was her own. I just helped with the formalities.”
Old Madam Jiang was clearly a little disappointed. “For such a young girl to have the silver to get herself out, it seems she won’t be staying in our family for long.”
The grandmother and granddaughter had been in the valley for so many years, sometimes not seeing a stranger for a whole year. Now that a girl of similar age to her granddaughter had arrived, it felt as if the house had a bit more life. Although she didn’t know the girl’s character, the thought of someone being there to talk to her granddaughter brought her some comfort.
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t answer the question. Although Lin Shuang had said on the way that she didn’t want to leave, people’s hearts were fickle. Who knew how long she would stay?
Besides, with the profession she was in…
Seeing her expression, Old Madam Jiang impatiently shooed her away. “Go, go, don’t bother me here. Go see how things are in the kitchen. She’s a newcomer, and you’re just standing around doing nothing.”
Jiang Huaizhen grunted in agreement and turned to leave.
When she entered the kitchen, she found that Lin Shuang had already killed the chicken and was plucking its feathers.
Her movements were very deft.
Seeing her enter, Lin Shuang looked up and asked, “It’s still early. Should we start making dinner?”
The sun wouldn’t set for another hour or so.
As if on cue, Jiang Huaizhen’s stomach let out a faint protest. She pursed her lips and said, a little embarrassed, “I’m hungry.”
What an honest child.
Lin Shuang felt that the seventeen-year-old Jiang Huaizhen, compared to the twenty-eight-year-old version, was not only younger but also lacked that sense of deathly despair. She even had a touch of adorable cluelessness. Although she had already embarked on her father’s old path, apart from her slightly pale face, she still had a spark of life in her.
She had to protect that spark.
“Then you go start the fire and cook the rice. I’ll cook the dishes later. To be honest, I’m a pretty good cook,” she said.
Jiang Huaizhen agreed and turned to wash the rice.
Ever since she was brought back by Jiang Gui at the age of three, she had been raised by Old Madam Jiang. Back then, the old woman’s health wasn’t so weak, and she could handle work both in the house and in the fields. Jiang Huaizhen, being by her side, naturally knew how to manage household chores.
The family used to raise pigs, but after a few rounds, they all mysteriously died within a few months. The old woman said it was because the baleful aura on Jiang Gui was too strong and had scared the pigs to death. After that, the family never raised pigs again and just kept a few chickens to get by.
“Cook the porridge a little thicker. If it’s too dry, Grandma won’t be able to eat it. If it’s too thin, you won’t be full.” Jiang Huaizhen’s work was physically demanding, and she was seventeen. If she made thin porridge for her grandmother’s sake, she would end up going hungry herself.
She wasn’t worried at all that the other girl would misunderstand and think she wanted to eat thicker porridge. After all, they had a long future ahead of them. Having lived two lives, was she not capable of supporting this grandmother and granddaughter?
Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen’s hands paused. She then poured a little more rice into the pot, seemed to think it was too much, and scooped some out again, looking a bit unsure of how much rice was appropriate.
Seeing this, Lin Shuang smiled. “Leave it. I’ll cook it later.”
