Chapter Forty-Seven: The Uninvited Guest

“So eloquent—are you cultivating this to sell?” Ming Xia took a sip, pursed his lips, found the taste agreeable, and followed the Village Chief’s example, downing it in one gulp.

“No, no,” the Village Chief shook his hands emphatically. “These, like the sacred tree, are gifts from the mountain. We mustn’t tamper with them lightly.”

“So this grass grows in the mountain—same place as the tung tree?” Yu Bing set down her cup, quietly inquiring.

“Yes, though it grows here, it’s not easy to obtain. That place is cursed. Each trip, a dozen go, but only one or two return, and those who come back fall into a coma for a long while.” The Village Chief lowered his voice, carefully shutting the door before retaking his seat. “People say those are mountain spirits and demons. Those with strong yang energy shouldn’t take them.”

“My interest in this place only grows!” Chang Xiao’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

“By the way, I heard there’s a missing young lord here. Do you know anything?” Ming Xia, seeing the conversation drifting, seized the moment to remind them.

“Who hasn’t heard of the young lord?” The Village Chief immediately understood. “So you’re here for that, then you must be officials?”

“Ming Xia, Wan Qiu,” Ming Xia didn’t wait for Yu Bing to speak, stepping forward, “We were sent to pay our respects to the county magistrate.”

“Oh! So you’re honored guests of the county magistrate!” The Village Chief’s wife entered, carrying two plates of food, setting them on the table. “We’re at least seven or eight li from the county office. There are many wild beasts in the mountain. Tomorrow, I’ll have the master find some young men in the village to accompany you—when there are more people, the beasts keep away.”

“Let’s do as the wife suggests,” the Village Chief replied, apologizing to Yu Bing and her companions before heading out.

As Yu Bing and the others chatted, time slipped by.

“That old man—why hasn’t he returned? The food’s all ready!” Bringing in the last bowl of soup, the Village Chief’s wife grumbled about her absent husband. “I’ll go look for him!” She wiped her hands on her apron, set the soup down, and said, “Sit, if you’re hungry, eat. Don’t stand on ceremony, don’t mind us. I’ll see where he’s gone!” She untied her apron, placed it on the bench, and hurried out to the courtyard.

“The Village Chief is truly hospitable,” Chang Xiao murmured, setting down his bamboo cup.

“Wait,” Yu Bing seemed to realize something, and paused, cup at her lips. “Kaixin, did you meet him at home or on the road?”

“On the road!” Kaixin was puzzled. “Why? Is there a problem?”

“When guests visit your home, what do you do?”

“Of course, invite them in and serve tea,” Kaixin looked at Yu Bing, confused. “Isn’t that just what he did? Seems normal enough.”

“No, didn’t you notice? He brought us to the courtyard, didn’t go straight inside, but waited for the mistress’s permission to bring us in!” Yu Bing rotated her cup thoughtfully. “If he were truly the master of the house, why would he need the woman’s consent to let us in, rather than simply welcoming us himself?”

“What’s the difference?” Ming Xia interjected. “Just means the man’s afraid of his wife!”

“No, not just that.” Yu Bing set down her cup. “If she were truly the mistress, she’d be familiar with every room, moving about with ease. Yet she carried dishes into the adjoining room by mistake, only realizing when she went wrong.”

“That happened?” Chang Xiao tightened his grip on his sword. “I was too careless!”

“How did I miss that?” Wan Qiu picked up his cup, about to drink, but at Yu Bing’s words, he set it down. “Forget it! Who knows what was added to the water!”

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“Even if there was something else, you’ve been drinking it for ages!” Kaixin rolled his eyes. “Whatever it was, it’s already in your stomach!”

“You—” Wan Qiu, whenever he matched wits with Kaixin, always met his defeat.

“What do we do now?” Chang Xiao stood by Yu Bing, ever vigilant. “Do we keep waiting?”

“The best defense is offense!” Ming Xia grabbed his silver spear. “Let’s go! Find him!”

No sooner had he spoken than sounds of fighting erupted in the courtyard.

They exchanged glances, nodded silently, extinguished the nearest candle, and crept toward the door.

Peering through the crack:

Two figures in black fought fiercely in the yard—one wielding a knife, the other a folding fan. Blow for blow, their duel shattered everything in the yard; nothing remained intact.

“Sister Bing, which side do we help?” Kaixin whispered beside Yu Bing.

“Let’s wait and see,” Yu Bing watched the battle, feeling one of the figures oddly familiar.

Just as she prepared to intervene, one of the fighters seemed to sense their presence. After a few fierce moves to stall his opponent, he slipped from the courtyard, vanishing into the night.

The other fighter merely nodded to Yu Bing and company, then disappeared in pursuit.

“Come on, let’s see!” Yu Bing charged after them.

“What—?” Wan Qiu could only utter a single syllable before Yu Bing vanished.

“What’s what? Hurry up!” Kaixin said, vaulting over the courtyard with Chang Xiao.

“I—” Wan Qiu pointed at himself, then at the direction they vanished. Ming Xia grabbed his hand. “No more hesitation, let’s go!”

“Sister Bing, there’s a corpse!” Chang Xiao, leading the way, stumbled over something and squatted to inspect it, calling to Yu Bing.

“Ah! Sister Bing, there’s one here too!” Kaixin exclaimed.

“We’ve found some as well!” Ming Xia echoed right behind.

“So many dead!” Wan Qiu joined in last.

“They’re dressed like villagers from the place we just visited,” Yu Bing knelt beside a corpse, examining it closely. “Their hands and feet are calloused from years of farm work. All of them are young and able-bodied.”

“At that age, they shouldn’t have died of illness,” Ming Xia noted. “Even if they did, it wouldn’t happen all at once. There should be a gap in time.”

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“Hey! Isn’t that the Village Chief?” Kaixin ventured deeper into the woods and made a startling discovery. “Why is he dead here?”

“What did you say?” Yu Bing quickly got up and walked over. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Of course! We were just at his house. I couldn’t be mistaken!” Kaixin affirmed.

She knelt by the corpse, seeing the once amiable face now swarmed by flies. She inspected it closely with a handkerchief. “It’s him!” She pressed the cold skin. “Judging by the degree of decay, he’s been dead for about half a month!” Rising, Yu Bing took another handkerchief from Chang Xiao, wiping her hands, perplexed. “Strange, how did he die?”

“Could it be these people weren’t killed?” Wan Qiu was surprised.

“No,” Yu Bing shook her head. “There’s no sign of external injury. Heart and lungs are normal. Nor did he suffocate.” She paused, then continued, “He must have starved to death!”

“Starved?” Even Chang Xiao found it odd. “Wouldn’t they look for food? There’s plenty to eat nearby. Why starve?”

Ming Xia rummaged among the corpses, soon gathering an assortment: “More precisely: ‘Why did none of them eat?’” Ming Xia laid out what he found—fire starters, insect repellent, some tung tree fruit. Most notable was a bundle of scallion pancakes, now moldy and fuzzy.

“Isn’t there food?” Kaixin looked at the corpses sprawled everywhere, then at Ming Xia’s finds. “Why would they rather starve than eat?”

Chang Xiao, suspecting something, took his silver hairpin and tested each item—finding the hairpin as bright as ever, no sign of poison. “No poison! So why didn’t they eat?”

“Weird!” Yu Bing absent-mindedly plucked a wild flower, twirling it in her hand. “There’s no miasma here, so no hallucinations. No signs of fighting, nor any collective stomach illness. Why then?” She paced, sorting her thoughts. Suddenly, she stopped, sniffed the flower, examined it, and smiled.

“What is it?” Wan Qiu saw her smile and was puzzled.

“Fool!” Kaixin replied proudly. “Sister Bing found the answer!”

“Oh? The wild flower?” Wan Qiu noticed it might be connected. He picked one nearby, about to smell it.

“Don’t!” Yu Bing warned.

He was baffled. “Why? You’ve been smelling it for ages and nothing happened.”

“If you don’t want to end up like them, lying here forever, listen to Sister Bing!” Kaixin snatched the flower and played with it, keeping it far from his nose.

Yu Bing moved the flower away from her nose, seeing Wan Qiu’s confusion, and patiently explained: “This flower is called ‘Muffled Head Flower,’ also known as ‘Poison Fish Herb.’ Smelling it isn’t fatal.” Before Wan Qiu could object, she continued, “But if you inhale it for long, you’ll feel dizzy, nauseous. If you don’t escape in time, you’ll gradually lose strength, your body will go limp, and you’ll collapse helplessly. It won’t kill you instantly! It wants you to slowly experience the agony of dying—most suffocate, unable to breathe, others, like these here, starve to death.”

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