Chapter 82

The Zou Mansion had been reduced to ashes in a massive blaze, with not a single soul surviving. All that remained of the Zou family after the flames died down were crumbling walls and the sighs of onlookers.

After asking around repeatedly, Nangong Yunshang finally pieced it together. Her little fool had been trying to make money to buy her a birthday gift.

Tao Chuyi trudged along like a wilted eggplant after a frost, all listless and downcast. She held Nangong Yunshang’s hand with one of hers and slung the bundle over her other shoulder.

“Alright, if you couldn’t buy anything, that’s fine. I know what Chuyi had in mind.”

Nangong Yunshang coaxed her with a smile.

But Tao Chuyi still couldn’t muster any energy. The silver had been right there in her grasp, and she hadn’t even waited until after handing it over before setting the fire.

A noodle shop came into view not far off. Inspiration struck Nangong Yunshang.

“Birthdays call for longevity noodles. Chuyi, come have a bowl with me—it’ll count as celebrating.”

Tao Chuyi was easily fooled; whatever her sister said, she took as gospel.

And so, the two happily entered the shop and ordered two bowls of yangchun noodles. The chewy strands swam in a rich, fragrant broth topped with slices of meat and crisp, tasty bok choy. Even Nangong Yunshang, who wasn’t much for noodles, found them delicious.

Tao Chuyi slurped hers down until only broth remained, then flashed a big grin.

“Happy birthday, Sister!”

“Thank you, Chuyi.”

Nangong Yunshang’s eyes crinkled with laughter. This birthday truly made her happy.

She overheard the shop hand mention the Moonwatching Tower in town and, unusually for her, grew curious enough to ask a few more questions. Little did she know, Tao Chuyi committed every word to memory until the Double Seventh Festival.

The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid was known to all. A drizzly rain started falling that morning but mercifully stopped by late afternoon.

Tao Chuyi mysteriously led Nangong Yunshang to the base of the Moonwatching Tower. They craned their necks upward, finally grasping what it meant to pierce the clouds.

“It’s even taller than the Star-Plucking Tower in the Imperial Palace,” Nangong Yunshang couldn’t help marveling.

Tao Chuyi was eager to go. “Sister, want to head up and see?”

Nangong Yunshang hesitated. “How many flights is that?”

But in the next instant, Tao Chuyi wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped into the air.

Cold wind whistled past their ears as Nangong Yunshang’s screams filled the space between the clouds.

They landed at the top. Tao Chuyi steadied her, then leaned over the edge. Amid the swirling mists, the lights of myriad homes twinkled below.

Once she’d caught her breath, Nangong Yunshang finally looked up at the sky. The stars seemed larger than usual, dotting the night canopy in brilliant array.

A full moon hung overhead, stars blanketed the heavens, and a gentle breeze caressed their faces—a rare moment of ease in the summer heat.

Lost in the starlit expanse, Nangong Yunshang didn’t notice Tao Chuyi hugging her from behind and nibbling her ear.

The bite stung, snapping her back to reality. “Chuyi, why’d you bite me?”

“I read in a storybook that when you’re admiring the moon, two people should hug and nibble each other’s ears.”

Nangong Yunshang burst out laughing. “That’s not nibbling ears—it’s nibbling lips.”

“Nibbling lips?”

Tao Chuyi blinked, her face full of eager expectation.

She slowly released Nangong Yunshang, only to see her lean in first and capture her lips.

Sister bit her, so she bit back. Quick as a flash, she caught on and turned the tables, switching from defense to offense.

Nangong Yunshang realized she was in trouble. With nowhere to retreat, she reaped what she’d sown, ending up with legs like jelly as she slumped onto the platform to rest.

How embarrassing. She’d meant to teach someone else, but here she was…

“Sister, I want to nibble more.”

Tao Chuyi squatted beside her like a chick begging to be fed.

“Shut up.”

Nangong Yunshang flushed with mortified anger, still stewing in her self-recrimination.

Tao Chuyi scratched her head. Fine, no nibbling then.

The next day, they pressed on toward home but never caught sight of the main group. Who knew where they’d gone? Suzhou was vast, and it was easy to lose one’s bearings.

Nangong Yunshang’s steps had grown unsteady. Tao Chuyi helped her sit on a rock to rest.

In that moment, not far off, a sleazy old man was blocking a young woman’s path. She gripped a wooden stick, her hands groping blindly as if she couldn’t see.

“Hand over your silver, or you won’t leave here alive.”

The woman backed away. “I have no silver—don’t come after me!”

“Damn blind bitch! Always so much trouble.”

The old man lunged to rob her outright, but Nangong Yunshang’s sharp rebuke stopped him cold. Perhaps seeing they outnumbered him, he turned tail and fled.

The blind woman nodded slightly. “Thank you for saving me, miss.”

Nangong Yunshang found it odd to see her alone in the woods. “Are you by yourself, miss? Where’s your family?”

“I have no family left. The plague hit our village—everyone in my home died.”

The blind woman said sadly, “I’m heading to my aunt’s. Could you ladies escort me to the thatched hut up ahead? Someone will come fetch me.”

Nangong Yunshang thought the woman strange but couldn’t just abandon her. So she and Tao Chuyi agreed to see her there.

The blind woman was named Cai Cha. She claimed she had no one now and could only rely on relatives. Without running into them, she might have died on the road.

As described, there were indeed two thatched huts ahead in the woods.

Cai Cha sat on a stool inside and thanked them profusely. She said there was water in the hut that she’d prepared that morning and they could drink if thirsty.

Nangong Yunshang glanced at the water jug but didn’t touch it.

“Now that we’ve brought you here, we should be on our way.”

But Cai Cha suddenly begged them to stay a bit longer, to keep her company while she waited—just in case that creep came looking.

Tao Chuyi pursed her lips and paced restlessly behind Nangong Yunshang. Taking advantage of their distraction, she swiped the water jug and slipped outside. At the door, she encountered a flock of sparrows and poured water for them to drink. The birds happily pecked at it at first, but one by one, they keeled over.

“Little birds!”

Tao Chuyi cried out in alarm, then dashed back inside and grabbed Cai Cha by the collar.

“You’re… a bad guy! The water—the little birds are dead!”

Cai Cha paled in shock but stubbornly denied it.

“What are you talking about, young master?”

Nangong Yunshang’s expression darkened. “How did you know he’s a young master and not a young lady? I don’t think I mentioned that to you.”

By voice alone, Chuyi’s wasn’t particularly deep or gruff; it was her clothes that suggested it.

Cai Cha faltered, then laughed it off. “I figured a lady traveling would have her husband with her for protection.”

At that, Nangong Yunshang stood, smashed the already cracked porcelain bowl into smaller shards, picked up a sharp fragment, and advanced on Cai Cha. She held the point aimed straight at her eye.

“If you were truly blind, you wouldn’t be afraid.”

Just as the shard neared Cai Cha’s eyeball, she screamed and confessed everything.

It turned out she and the old man were partners, preying on passersby’s sympathy to abduct women and children, then splitting the profits sixty-forty.

Sure enough, half an hour later, the old man showed up. Tao Chuyi trussed him up with hemp rope in one swift go.

She strung the pair from a big tree in front of the hut, fashioned two signs from local materials, and hung them on the trunk.

These are wicked human traffickers. Kindly deliver them to the authorities!

With everything sorted, the two went on their way. When they passed a yamen, Tao Chuyi tossed a paper note inside, tipping off the location of the villains. Who among the bailiffs wouldn’t want such an easy merit badge?

They crossed the woods, passed two villages, and entered the mountains. Legend had it that once they crested this peak, they’d reach the Xia Family Old Residence.

But the mountain was treacherous to climb, and money was useless out here.

Tao Chuyi was dead set against letting her sister fall ill, so whenever Nangong Yunshang tired, she carried her. She wouldn’t let her sister lift a finger with the baggage. Nights in the mountains brought fierce winds, so Tao Chuyi used her own body to shield Nangong Yunshang and keep her warm. In the end, Nangong Yunshang stayed healthy, but Tao Chuyi looked utterly drained.

“Chuyi, let me carry the bundle. You rest.”

Tao Chuyi shook her head. “No can do. Daddy said protecting your wife is the real skill.”

Nangong Yunshang’s heart ached terribly. Her Chuyi was a delicate girl who deserved pampering—how could she let her suffer like this?

“Be good, Chuyi. You’re a girl—Tao Siqing wasn’t talking about you.”

Tao Chuyi held firm. “Girls have to protect the people they like, too.”

“Chuyi…”

They reached a certain mountaintop as darkness fell around them. Evening had come, and wolf howls echoed nearby. Suddenly, countless green eyes gleamed in the gloom.

Nangong Yunshang clutched Tao Chuyi’s arm. “Chuyi, we took a wrong turn. Hurry—back the way we came.”

Tao Chuyi curbed her curiosity this time and obediently turned to flee.

But humans couldn’t outrun wolves for long. Soon, the pack had them surrounded.

With no weapons in hand and facing relentless beasts bent on killing them, they had no choice but to fight their way out.

Tao Chuyi shoved Nangong Yunshang behind her, dropped all their belongings, and charged into the fray barehanded. As the lead wolf lunged, she counterattacked, diving straight into the pack.

“Chuyi!”

The wolves seemed fixated on Tao Chuyi, ignoring Nangong Yunshang entirely. They tore at her viciously as she dodged left and right. She smashed a rock into one wolf’s skull, killing it, then used its corpse to batter the others lunging at her.

Tears streamed down Nangong Yunshang’s face in her panic. She didn’t know what she could do.

Suddenly, a wolf clamped onto Tao Chuyi’s arm and wouldn’t let go until it tore a chunk of flesh off. Tao Chuyi kicked its belly hard and flung it away, but blood already welled from the gash on her forearm.

In her frenzy, Nangong Yunshang stepped on some dry twigs. Right—fire!

She fumbled out her fire starter, lit bundle after bundle of twigs, and hurled them into the wolf pack.

The wild wolves indeed panicked, their formation crumbling. Tao Chuyi seized the moment to snatch up a dry branch and slay the pack leader. At last, the rest scattered and fled.

Tao Chuyi dropped to one knee on the ground, blood streaming down from the gash on her forearm.

“Chuyi! Chuyi!”

Nangong Yunshang scrambled over, half-crawling in her haste. She tore a strip from the hem of her own skirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

“We’ll go find a physician.”

Tao Chuyi’s vision swam with haze. She shook her head vigorously before slumping into Nangong Yunshang’s arms.

“Sister, don’t cry.”

Only then did Nangong Yunshang realize tears were streaming down her own cheeks.

That night, Tao Chuyi spiked a raging fever.

Nangong Yunshang hoisted her onto her back and searched desperately from homestead to homestead. Any dwelling with a living soul would do, so long as it offered a clean place to rest, even if just for a night.

“Chuyi, don’t be scared. I won’t let you die.”

Laboring under the weight, Nangong Yunshang pounded on a rickety wooden door.

“Anyone there? Please… save her!”