Chapter 6

Gu Wan was utterly exhausted and simply collapsed onto the snow to recover.

She had no idea how much time had passed.

The sky had turned a dull gray; dawn must be near. Gu Wan gently tapped his shoulder, "We should go."

"Alright."

Xie Ci's voice was hoarse. He wiped his face with his sleeve and, using the scabbard for support, slowly stood up.

After crying and wiping away their tears, the two leaned on each other, trudging forward through the wind and snow, sometimes sinking deep, sometimes shallow.

Gradually, the sky brightened. Gu Wan and Xie Ci avoided the crowds, following a winding path toward the outlying ridges of She Mountain. They walked along the mountain base for half a day before finally discovering a suitable place to rest.

It was a hunter's small woodshed, about a mile from the village below. In this blizzard, no one would trudge through knee-deep snow to visit.

The fence gate was half-buried in snow, clearly not pushed open for a long time. Gu Wan and Xie Ci observed for a while, then struggled to force it open.

The yard was small; mountain folk had no shortage of firewood. On the east side, a huge pile of black, dry branches was stacked. In the middle stood a small wooden house; the thin door had been blown open by the wind, letting snow swirl inside. The door creaked and swung back and forth.

Gu Wan pushed the door open and saw an elderly hunter, hair white as snow, lying on the clay kang, wrapped in old bedding. He had been dead for some time, unable to withstand the cold, frozen to death.

Gu Wan pressed her palms together and offered a silent apology, carefully dragging the frail old man outside and laying him in a clean patch of snow.

The two then collapsed onto the kang, and almost immediately sank into darkness and sleep.

They slept as if the world had turned upside down. When Xie Ci awoke again, it was already the next morning.

The snow was dazzling, the sky not quite fully bright. The cabin door had been propped shut with a thick stick. Firewood was piled in the kang’s opening and in the firepit in the center of the room, skillfully arranged but not yet lit.

Gu Wan had woken earlier and was squatting in the makeshift kitchen on the east side, striking flint stones with a rhythmic tap-tap-tap.

She must have struck the flint three or five hundred times, but not a single spark appeared.

Xie Ci got up, left the kang, entered the kitchen, and took the flint from her hands. With a few efficient taps, he extended his hand, and sparks fell onto the straw and fine twigs laid in the stove, and the fire caught.

On the stove was a small iron pot, filled to the brim with freshly gathered snow. Beside it was a stiff, gray-furred wild rabbit—Gu Wan had found it earlier, caught in a trap outside the fence when she went for firewood.

Xie Ci stood up slowly, covered the pot with a wooden lid, then took the rabbit and squatted again, drawing out his long knife to skin and prepare it.

"Why are you up? You should rest!" Gu Wan had woken in the night to check his wounds. Luckily, the most serious were the deep gashes and joints. When she came out, she brought the other healing salves hidden in the firewood stack. Xie Ci had the wax pills too; he applied the medicine and took the pills.

Once Xie Ci had caught his breath, he felt better. He shook his head, "I'm much better, really."

He couldn't let Gu Wan do everything while he lay around.

Gu Wan thought it over and didn't insist—mostly because she was out of strength herself. The original owner had been pampered in the inner chambers for too long; now, after such exertion, her limbs ached terribly.

The stove fire was burning; Gu Wan moved some firewood inside to the firepit and kang. The room warmed quickly.

Together, they prepared the rabbit and placed it in the half-filled pot of water. As the pot boiled, Xie Ci stared at the eastern window, gazing out at the snowy wilds. He murmured, "I wonder how my mother, Wulang, and my sister-in-law and nephews are doing?"

It was a worrisome topic.

Gu Wan stoked the fire and went outside to a sheltered spot behind the cabin. There, she had already built a firewood stack and placed the old hunter atop it.

Squatting, she cremated him, then dug a pit in the burned ground to lay him to rest.

She paid her respects, promising, "Here you are settled; we'll borrow your home for now, hope you don't mind," and stood up. Turning, she caught Xie Ci staring toward the east.

That was the direction of Tiekan Temple.

The old pride and vitality had faded from his brows; his star-like eyes were now full of sorrow.

After such upheaval, a person grows up overnight.

Gu Wan scratched her head and sighed. What a fate! She stood there for a while, until a cold wind blew, then rubbed her arms and hopped back inside.

Xie Ci snapped out of it and immediately opened the door.

Gu Wan told him to watch the fire, refusing to let him come out. With his injuries, catching a chill would be disastrous; in their situation, even finding a doctor would be impossible.

Xie Ci knew better and didn't insist.

When the door opened, the north wind rushed in, carrying snow. The firepit flames flickered wildly, casting red light on his pale face. His lips were bloodless—delicate, vulnerable.

Gu Wan pulled him back to sit by the fire. The warm kang made her exhale in relief. She rubbed her hands, thinking aloud, "Don't worry. Even the Yi San tribes don't slaughter women and children."

The laws of this dynasty had been in place since its founding. Except for a few cases of treason where the emperor personally ordered execution of entire families, collective punishment never included women or children under sixteen.

She refused to believe otherwise! No matter how severe the charge, it couldn't exceed that of the Bluefield Treason.

Recent experiences had left Gu Wan with little fondness for the court, but surely things weren't so hopeless?

As long as there wasn't an outright sentence or a death in prison, they could find a way!

Xie Ci’s heart was heavy. "Let’s hope so."

...

He was anxious, frightened. Having escaped death, he now feared his jailbreak would drag his remaining family into deeper danger, turning exile into death.

He knew how much turmoil the Xie case had stirred in the court. Xie Xinzhong’s uprightness had made many eager to push the Xie family into ruin.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes.

After settling down, they ate simply and returned to the kang to rest and heal.

But Xie Ci tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

His battered body ached—especially the burns and fresh wounds. Yet none of it compared to the anxiety inside, keeping him awake.

Gu Wan knew; with only one bedding between them, Xie Ci tried not to disturb her. But in this unfamiliar place, she slept lightly, always hearing the crackle of firewood and his breathing, knowing he was awake.

But there was little she could do.

In the middle of the night, Xie Ci developed a fever. Gu Wan got up and wrung a cloth to lay on his forehead.

The fever wasn’t too high, but he started rambling, tears streaming down his tightly shut eyes. Gu Wan heard him call for "Father," "Mother," "Ying-jie" (his second sister-in-law), and the names of his brothers, nephews, nieces.

By dawn, his fever finally broke. Gu Wan brought out a wooden bowl of millet and meat porridge she had cooked, only to find Xie Ci already up, dressed neatly. He had discarded the scabbard of his standard long knife, wrapped the hilt with strips of cloth, and tied a dagger to his leg.

"I'm going to the town to find out the news."

His lips were pale. He took the old bamboo hat from the wall and placed it on his head to cover his face.

A few days was enough for the dust to settle. While there would certainly be new developments in a couple more days, Xie Ci simply couldn’t wait. He urgently needed to know what had happened.

"Alright." Gu Wan understood, but worried. "But we don't have household registration or travel permits!"

Anyone traveling needed to carry their household certificate and travel permit. Locals, especially during tense times, would certainly be checked. If they were unlucky, and got caught, it would be disaster.

Xie Ci had considered this. "It’s fine; I’ll get a forged one first."

A fake certificate?

Well, that could work.

Gu Wan paused, then said, "Alright, I'll go with you!"

His injuries meant walking around the cabin was fine, but outside was another matter. If he collapsed, at least there’d be someone to help him.

She couldn’t let him go alone.

...

They hurriedly ate their porridge, extinguished the fires, cleaned up, and changed out of their prison clothes. Xie Ci put on the hunter’s old clothes, tearing another garment to make it long enough. The clothes were worn and patched, like those of poor peasants, and blended in well.

Gu Wan, after putting on old clothes, wore her fine cotton undershirt on the outside. She had chosen it deliberately; the collar and hem were simply embroidered, and arranged well, it could pass as an outer garment.

They skirted the village, walked three or four miles, and joined the main road. The sun was out, golden winter sunlight dazzling on the white snow. More people were traveling.

Villagers from all directions were heading to the market, carrying loads or driving donkeys. Once they entered the main highway, the crowds and traffic increased. Gu Wan listened carefully, but heard nothing about Tiekan Temple or the Xie family women. Instead, Xie Ci’s jailbreak was the hottest topic, with many loudly discussing and speculating.

Gu Wan sneaked a glance at Xie Ci. They paid a few coins to board a cattle cart heading to Fengyang County. The cart was packed; they deliberately sat at opposite ends. Gu Wan looked over and saw half of his face beneath the bamboo hat, his eyelids lowered, his jaw pale against the snow.

The cart rumbled on. They passed a checkpoint and inspection, finally stopping at a market about a mile from Fengyang County.

This was their plan. Among the thirteen counties near the capital, Fengyang was the closest. In these imperial lands, whenever there was an edict or major event, all thirteen counties would post yellow notices in public places—both to intimidate and reassure the populace.

Besides the county office and city gates, busy markets and neighborhood entrances would also display these notices.

Gu Wan and Xie Ci certainly couldn’t go to the capital. They decided to try their luck here.

Before they even got off, they saw a large crowd gathered in front of the market, a scholar passionately reading out a notice.

There was indeed a notice board, and on it, a freshly posted yellow paper.

Xie Ci’s body tensed immediately.

He stood for a moment, then strode toward the notice board, faster and faster, squeezing through the crowd.

They finally reached a spot where they could see the yellow paper clearly.

Xie Ci immediately saw it was a notice about the Tiekan Temple jailbreak, urging all military and civilian authorities to report and offering a reward for those who harbored the fugitive.

He read quickly to the end, and his gaze froze.

Xie Ci's expression changed at last; he was stunned, then waves of emotion surged through him. He closed his eyes.

Gu Wan noticed something and looked as well. At the very end of the notice was the character "this," written with a flourish, its tail curling down like a tendril.

—It was a secret signal Xie Ci and his childhood friends had agreed upon.

Once, they were sons of heaven, full of spirit, riding together, playing cricket, watching opera, listening to the lute, applauding and spending freely; they righted wrongs, causing trouble big and small, chaos every day.

When disaster struck the Xie family, many former friends turned silent, avoided, or even kicked them when down. Young Xie Ci stood before his door, surrounded, furious.

Today, his old friend Zhang Ningyuan had risked everything, using their childhood secret code to send him a message.

—Don’t worry, he had persuaded his uncle to do everything possible in court for the Xie family women.

Zhang Ningyuan was the legitimate second nephew of Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Justice.

For Xie Ci, he had fasted for four days, nearly dying, retreating again and again until his only request was for his family to intervene and protect the Xie women in prison from harm.

His mother, unable to bear it, pleaded in person. Finally, Minister Zhang agreed.

As Xie Ci quietly explained this to Gu Wan, a sound of hooves approached. Two bailiffs, carrying a long yellow paper, stopped at the notice board.

They separated the crowd with their scabbards and posted the notice.

It was an update on the jailbreak!

—Thanks to Minister Zhang’s intervention, the Xie family women would have their original sentence maintained: exile three thousand miles north to Tieling as penal labor.

At that moment, tears flooded Xie Ci’s eyes.

He looked up, exerting all his strength to hold back his tears, overwhelmed with joy.

Thank heaven, thank heaven, the world was not as hopeless as it seemed.

Gu Wan exhaled deeply; she had been so tense moments ago.

She looked at Xie Ci, who met her gaze. She said, "When we have the chance, we must thank him properly."

Some things are worth it; even if they may never meet again, the friendship was not wasted.

How wonderful!

The Xie family had not been implicated.

There were so many Xie women; dying of illness wouldn’t work this time.

When they came out of prison, they could try to save them.

They squeezed out of the crowd. Gu Wan patted Xie Ci’s shoulder, "Now you can finally rest and heal, right?"

Her tone was light, tinged with laughter.

Xie Ci finally showed his first smile in days. He nodded vigorously, "Mm!"

The winter sun shone on the rutted snow, reflecting gold, casting warm light on Gu Wan’s face. Her cheeks were smudged with ash, but her teeth were white as snow.

Xie Ci was so moved, he hugged her tightly.

Thank you didn’t seem enough, and he didn’t want to say it, but he truly felt grateful.

He hugged her so tightly it hurt Gu Wan; caught off guard, she shrank back—thankfully, her chest wasn’t large and the clothes were thick.

But she was genuinely happy, and hugged him back just as fiercely.

She was under a lot of pressure too.

She’d planned to help the original owner repay the Xie family.

If the Xie family had all died, she would have felt guilty for a long, long time.

Thank goodness!

Thanks to Zhang Ningyuan.

Thanks to Xie Ci!

Thanks to everyone who had helped.

Gu Wan let go, patted him, and whispered, "Let’s go, more people are coming."