Chapter 21: A Doctor

Pan Yuelang stood there in a daze. Wen Yao noticed that his hair was disheveled, and his bare feet were already red from the cold, yet he seemed oblivious. She quickly took off her own shoes and slipped them onto his feet: “Don’t let yourself freeze.”

Pan Yuelang paid no heed, muttering under his breath: “Father, Mother... I am unfilial...” As he spoke, tears streamed down his cheeks.

At this moment, everyone felt somewhat uneasy facing Pan Yuelang. Some patted his shoulder in consolation, while others turned and walked away—they had all, in one way or another, wronged the Pan family.

Di Jiang knew Pan Yuelang to be a strong child; he wouldn’t break down like this unless pushed to the brink. Now, his heart must ache even more than before.

“Yue’er, go and bring your mother back. There are no parents in this world who are without fault,” Di Jiang sighed.

“Mother... Yes, she’s still in the river!” Pan Yuelang suddenly remembered the scene from yesterday. Though he hadn’t witnessed it himself, he had heard enough from the villagers to know how cruel and heart-wrenching the punishment of drowning in a pig cage was. If Sister Li truly deserved it, so be it—but now it was clear she had been wronged! She was the woman who had given birth to him and raised him for over a decade. The dead were gone, but no matter how deep the resentment, she shouldn’t be left to rot in the wild. He would retrieve his mother!

Seeing Pan Yuelang’s resolve, the villagers immediately ran toward the riverbank. At a time like this, how could a teenager possibly manage on his own?

Three or four strong men came to help. They searched according to their memory of the location and eventually found two large cages at the bottom of the river near the dock. However, the appearance of the cages was not as they had been during yesterday’s execution.

The cages were now completely covered in clusters of green moss, forming a thick layer. When they prodded them with bamboo poles, not even a dent appeared.

“We’ll have to go into the river to lift the pig cages up!” one of the men shouted to the shore.

Hearing this, Pan Yuelang’s heart sank. Crying out, “Mother—”, he plunged headfirst into the water.

Strangely enough, when Pan Yuelang reached the bottom and touched the cage, almost no effort was required—the pig cage floated up effortlessly with his hand. A massive green cage emerged from the water, the scene both eerie and bizarre. Everyone knew that inside lay a corpse.

The surrounding strong men, seeing this, also jumped into the water. But it took all four of them exerting their full strength to lift Zhang Quande’s pig cage to the surface.

After both pig cages surfaced, more villagers gathered on the shore. Working together, they eventually hauled the two cages onto the grassy bank.

“Mother…” Pan Yuelang collapsed onto the cage, crying until he nearly fainted.

“What’s going on?”

“This moss is strange!”

“We should invite Daoist Zhong to perform a ritual and offer prayers for them.”

“Yes, yes, otherwise this year will surely be filled with unrest!”

The villagers whispered among themselves, focusing their attention on the moss covering the pig cages. They found it exceedingly odd, interpreting it as evidence that Sister Li’s resentment had not yet dissipated.

“Yue’er, is that you?”

“Thud, thud, thud—”

Pan Yuelang’s crying abruptly stopped. He shot upright, staring incredulously at the cage before him.

“Thud, thud, thud—” Three knocks sounded again, louder this time, audible even to the surrounding crowd. They all shuddered, holding their breath. The more timid ones began chattering their teeth, and recalling the strange events of recent days, they were utterly terrified.

“Ghosts—!” Several frightened villagers scrambled away, tripping over themselves in their haste.

A few braver souls exchanged glances, then retrieved two butcher knives from a nearby stand. In front of Pan Yuelang, they began cutting through the moss covering the pig cage.

“Mother, is that you? Are you still alive?” Realizing what was happening, Pan Yuelang joined in, helping to peel away the moss while calling out to Sister Li, fearing he was imagining things.

As they removed more and more moss, they discovered that the inner layers were not as slippery or greasy as the outer surface. Instead, they were intricately woven strands, and the innermost layer was completely dry.

When they finally peeled everything away, they found Sister Li lying inside, unharmed. Aside from her disheveled hair, she showed no other signs of distress, and even her wounds had healed by six or seven-tenths.

Sister Li stared wide-eyed at Pan Yuelang outside the cage, tears welling up in her eyes.

She forced a gentle smile and softly said: “Yue’er, you’ve finally come to see me.”

Seeing this, the villagers were speechless. Only when Pan Yuelang burst into loud sobs, collapsing into Sister Li’s arms and wailing uncontrollably, did they remember that another person awaited rescue. They immediately scrambled to save Zhang Quande.

After cutting through the moss on the adjacent pig cage, sure enough, Zhang Quande was found lying safely inside. However, the cage emitted a foul stench, and upon closer inspection of his pants, they discovered they were soaked with excrement. It seemed he had been thoroughly frightened throughout the ordeal.

“Sister Li is still alive! Old Zhang is still alive! They didn’t die—”

After someone spread the news, nearly the entire village of Zhuangyuan crowded around. They saw Sister Li, unharmed, being helped out of the cage by Pan Yuelang, followed by Zhang Quande being pulled out. Though they appeared weak, their expressions were calm.

Sister Li was overwhelmed to see Pan Yuelang again, while Zhang Quande felt as though he had narrowly escaped death.

He felt as if he had truly taken a stroll through the underworld and returned to find the mortal realm distant and surreal.

Regardless, as long as they were alive, they should count themselves fortunate.

Sister Li and Zhang Quande had heard bits and pieces of what had transpired from the onlookers. Though they harbored resentment, they lacked the energy to seek retribution.

Especially Sister Li—she only had the strength to hold Pan Yuelang tightly. Beyond shedding tears, she couldn’t muster the energy to speak another word.

Amidst the crowd’s escort, Sister Li and Zhang Quande were sent back to their respective homes.

“Wen Yao and Shu Xiang, the two of you stay here. Lend a hand if they need anything,” Di Jiang instructed. Wen Yao and Shu Xiang nodded in response.

Thoughtful Shu Xiang immediately went to the firewood shed to boil water, thinking that Sister Li, having spent a day in the river, should drink something warm to warm her body. Wen Yao, meanwhile, discreetly retreated to the doorway, ready to step in if needed.

The sight of Sister Li left Wen Yao feeling somewhat awkward.

The villagers spread the story far and wide, as if the heavens had suddenly opened their eyes and granted these two a lifeline. Soon, people from neighboring villages flocked to witness this miracle.

Outside Sister Li’s door, Wen Yao stood guard, ensuring no one disturbed her. However, Zhang Quande’s threshold was nearly broken by the influx of visitors. Being naturally hospitable, he didn’t mind the attention. Previously ignored and wronged, he now basked in the limelight, happily regaling everyone with tales of his supposed riverbed experiences.

In truth, he knew nothing of what had happened—he had simply passed out and woken up on the riverbank.

These events stirred up commotion throughout the day. Though Zhong Xu was still recovering from his injuries, the horrifying screams of the three culprits were unbearable. Dragging his weakened body downstairs, he observed everything, including Pan Yuelang retrieving an unharmed Sister Li from the river.

He followed Di Jiang from a distance, watching their every move.

His mind brimmed with countless questions, too many to count. The only certainty he had was that Di Jiang was far from the seemingly harmless little rabbit she appeared to be.

She was more like a cunning sparrow, smiling serenely while orchestrating everything from the shadows, waiting for the mantis to catch the cicada before resolving matters entirely.

In the evening, as Di Jiang emerged alone from Pan Yuelang’s home, she turned around only to find herself pinned in Zhong Xu’s arms. A gleaming sword pressed against her neck.

The blade was sharp and menacing.

“Who are you really?” Zhong Xu’s cold voice came from behind her.

“A doctor,” Di Jiang replied. She felt the sword inch closer—if it moved even a fraction further, her neck would surely bleed profusely.

Sensing Zhong Xu’s murderous intent, Di Jiang relented.

Finally, she curved her lips into a faint smile and sighed: “I am a doctor, but I don’t heal humans—I heal ghosts.”

Feeling the sword slowly withdraw from her neck and the grip on her left arm loosen, Di Jiang exhaled deeply. Turning to Zhong Xu, she smiled: “I truly am just a doctor, without any ill intentions.”

“I know. Otherwise, I would have already brought you to justice.” Zhong Xu’s tone was frigid, his piercing gaze enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

“Tsk tsk. Yesterday, you said no one could lay a finger on me, and today, you talk of bringing me down. How ruthless of you.” Di Jiang feigned tension, but there wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes. Though she spoke as if afraid, she was confident that Zhong Xu wouldn’t harm her.

Zhong Xu snorted coldly and sheathed his sword.

“Whose disciple are you?” Zhong Xu asked.

Di Jiang froze at the question: “Disciple? What do you mean?”

“Who is your master?” Zhong Xu rephrased his question.

Di Jiang remained bewildered, shaking her head: “I have no master.”

“…” At this moment, Zhong Xu felt as though his head was splitting in two. The person before him looked utterly innocent, not appearing to lie, yet her actions were inexplicable. He was determined to get answers today.

“Where did your artifacts come from?”

“Artifacts?” Di Jiang blinked, then smiled: “You mean…?”

“The green moss,” Zhong Xu reminded her.

“Oh… That’s called ‘Resurrection Grass.’ A friend gave it to me to play with—I didn’t expect it to save lives today.” Di Jiang smiled innocently, but to Zhong Xu, her grin seemed anything but sincere.

“Such a treasure—how could someone just casually give it away?” Zhong Xu raised his voice, startling Di Jiang into a shiver.

Di Jiang looked aggrieved: “It really was a gift! I have many such trinkets! If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you…” As she spoke, she rummaged through her pockets and sleeves, pulling out several small objects. Spreading her fingers, she presented them to Zhong Xu: “Look, this chessboard was from Old Zhou, this golden egg from Bai, and this wooden fish from Li. All of these can be used to save lives—I just haven’t encountered anyone in need yet…”

Seeing the array of incomprehensible items in her hands, Zhong Xu couldn’t make heads or tails of them. But after listening to her explanations, he understood—they were all meant to save lives.

“Enough, enough. Put them away,” Zhong Xu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

Seeing his lack of interest, Di Jiang lamented: “My little trinkets may not compare to your divine artifacts, but you don’t have to look so disdainful!”

“When did I look disdainful?”

“It’s written all over your face!”

“…” Zhong Xu fell silent, suddenly unwilling to continue arguing with her. Knowing he couldn’t win against her words, he turned and walked away.

“Daoist, where are you going?” Di Jiang called after him.

“Back to Taiping Prefecture.” Zhong Xu didn’t look back.

Di Jiang immediately chased after him, surprised: “You’re leaving just like that?”

“What else? With you here, I’m reassured.”

“But I’m just a frail woman!”

“You have so many treasures at your disposal—why would you need me? Cough, cough…” As Zhong Xu spoke, his expression suddenly changed. Clutching his chest, he began coughing violently, eventually spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“What’s wrong with you?” Di Jiang quickly supported him, concerned. “Something’s been off about you recently. What happened? Who injured you like this?”

“I’m fine.”

“This is fine?”

Zhong Xu shook his head: “A few days of rest, and I’ll recover.”

“Let’s go back for now. We’ll talk later.” Seeing his pale complexion, Di Jiang knew he was being stubborn. Wrapping her arm around him, she guided him toward the inn.