Chapter 19: Slough Off The Cicada's Golden Shell (Part 2)

The chirping of birds and singing of cicadas greeted me as I regained my senses. My eyes shot open upon hearing a rustling sound nearby. Scattered sunlight gleaming through the trees overhead fell softly on the forest floor. I found myself slumped against the entrance of the carriage, and the fire which I had lit the night before was now a pile of grey ashes and spent charcoal. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I rose to my feet and wandered around the overturned carriage in search of Fu Wanxi's absent figure.

"You're awake?" Fu Wanxi appeared from behind a tree and trod over with a sheathed sword in her hand. Her clothes had also been stained with dirt. "I just took a quick survey of the area. I didn't see anyone else around here. The slope is too slippery for us to climb back up to get to the main road but I found a river further down. If we walk along the river, I reckon that we'll be able to find our way to Fanzhou City."

Yawning, I stretched out my limbs before climbing back into the carriage to haul out our belongings. My body still felt numb from the bone-chilling roller coaster ride last night but my spirits had brightened.

"Sounds good." I opened our bags and tossed out unnecessary items, only keeping valuables, food and water. "We'll have to leave behind most of our luggage and take only the important things. There's still quite a distance to walk so we'll have to travel light."

Fu Wanxi gazed intently at me as her expression hardened. A second later, she recovered to break out into a warm smile and nodded her head once in agreement. "Un, let's do that."

Seeing her squat down immediately to sort through her belongings without protesting, my smile faltered and I pursed my lips. Scratching the back of my head, I could not help but feel that Fu Wanxi's behaviour was slightly different than usual. Apart from the streaks of grey ash on her cheeks and forehead, her appearance was still the same. Perhaps after going through a life-and-death situation, she was finally starting to mature?

"Which way is the stream?" I asked when we were ready to set off.

"It's that way," Fu Wanxi replied, extending her arm in a particular direction. However, she stayed put and did not appear to be in a haste to leave. Bending over the extinguished fire, she dabbed her hands in the ash before rubbing it on her arms, legs and face, leaving sooty marks over her pale and flawless complexion. Advancing towards me, she rubbed the ash on my hands before smearing it on my face as well.

"You're so pretty, but since we're in the wilderness our makeup shall be dirt and ashes," she said with a vague smile before turning around on her heels haughtily. "Let's go now!'

I treaded lightly after her, amazed at her survival skills which were only unveiling themselves now. It had crossed my mind previously to make ourselves look unattractive and common-looking but the plan actually slipped my mind at the crucial moment. In my mind, I gave Fu Wanxi a thumbs-up.

When we reached the riverside, we found ourselves at a three-way crossroad. We could go left, go right, or cross the river. Reserving my comments, I followed Fu Wanxi unquestioningly and with full confidence that she would lead us to our destined destination—the Kingdom of Da Jin. After walking non-stop for half a day, we took a short break under a tattered pavilion near the river.

"Are you sure we're walking in the right direction?" I played my role as the clueless 'maidservant' tagging along with her master, passing Fu Wanxi a piece of unleavened flatbread. "Why does it feel like we are moving further and further away from Fanzhou City. Even the trees look different now."

"Of course, you can trust me." She bit into the bread and pulled a small piece apart with her teeth. "When we reach a waterfall, we'll cross the river then take a shortcut through the woods."

I tore off a piece of bread with my hand and chewed it multiple times to trick my brain into thinking that I was getting full, even though the constant rumbling of my stomach was loud enough for Fu Wanxi to suggest that we have some food before walking again. I had to make my supply of bread last this whole journey. As we innocently wandered about looking for Fanzhou City, we would accidentally stumble straight into the war-torn countryside of another country.

According to the plot of The Eighth Verse, when Fu Wanxi and her maidservant realised that they had inadvertently crossed the border, they tried to travel back to Bei Yue. However, they noticed there were Da Jin troops patrolling the border region and could only walk further into Da Jin; thus, ending up in Guizhong City, a large border town in the Kingdom of Da Jin. Fu Wanxi would see someone who looks familiar and approach him, asking him if he was Yi Yan, her closest friend from Wuchang Manor. The young man would state that she had mistaken him for another person and that they had never met before. Fu Wanxi would not give up and would continue following him in secret over the next couple of days before she (and her maidservant) got abducted by Yi Yan's subordinates and taken to a military camp to be interrogated as a spy. During the "interrogation", she would painstakingly force Yi Yan to reveal himself as her beloved friend from Wuchang Manor.

However, the book did not fully describe Fu Wanxi's journey from the overturned carriage to Guizhong City. Thus, we would still have to find a way to get into the border town eventually to encounter our protagonist.

Twigs and branches snapped beneath our feet as we trod carefully through the detritus. Insects hummed around us and birds swooshed overhead, a constant cacophony of chirping and crying as the sunsets. Leaves rustled as a gust of wind blew through the forest, carrying the balmy scent of nature. But as we moved out of the forest, an acrid smell of smoke mixed with a metallic scent as well as a pungent smell with a tinge of sickening sweetness assaulted our senses.

Fu Wanxi and I exchanged startled glances before she charged forward to locate the source of the strange smells. Emerging from the woods, we flinched at the sight before us.

My stomach clenched and a wave of nausea swept over me. Holding my breath, I repeated to myself that I was only in a book and this was all fiction.

"Where are we?" I finally squeaked out, clutching onto Fu Wanxi's arm as we navigated through bloodied and decomposing dead bodies of soldiers. Some still had their bodies in tact, but pieces of limbs and detached heads told me that some of the fallen soldiers did not. Huge flies buzzed around us, hopping from one corpse to another. I jumped in fright as my feet kicked a red-stained sword and I buried my face in Fu Wanxi's shoulder.

"Judging from the military uniforms that they are wearing, they are solders of Bei Yue and Da Jin," came her quiet reply. She tugged on my hand and quickly led me out of the battleground. "This place is not safe."

My legs felt weak and wobbly but her last statement was enough motivation for me to keep moving. I had no idea that we would have encountered such a sight on our way to Guizhong City. But that was not all, as we continued walking, a half-razed small town slowly came into view. Scattered bodies of Bei Yue soldiers and civilians littered the road which passed through the charred remains of buildings, with only wooden frames left standing. As the dusk wind swept through the abandoned and desecrated small town, ashes swirled up and danced solemnly at our tired feet, leading us deeper through the war-torn place.

I whispered with a shiver, casting furtive glances around us to make sure that we were completely alone. "This can't be Bei Yue, right? We've walked for a day and we should have reached Fanzhou City by now. Have we gotten lost?"

Fu Wanxi shook her head and pointed at the rotting bodies of a few civilians who lay slain on the ground. "The style of their clothes is from Da Jin. They are Da Jin civilians. Either there were many of them living in this small town, or we have unknowingly wandered into Da Jin territory."

To understand it simply, if the people of Bei Yue wore Tang dynasty styled clothing, the people of Da Jin wore clothing from the Northern Wei dynasty.

I tugged on Fu Wanxi's hand, hiding in her shadow. "I think it's the latter. Can we turn back now and return to Bei Yue?"

"I reckon that there will be Da Jin troops right now in this area and at the border, so it will not be safe to try and travel back." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully and surveyed a nearby half-standing house. Sticking her head through the door, she seemed to have noticed something before waving me over excitedly. "Look, when this household was fleeing, they left behind their belongings."

We stepped into the house carefully, afraid that there might be wooden beams that would suddenly collapse and crush us. There was a cupboard at the side of the room, with one of its doors unhinged and the other broken. On the ransacked shelves was a pile of clothing made of coarse hemp. Fu Wanxi pulled out a dull pink top with wide lapels, a long pleated beige skirt, and a green sash to be tied around the waist and gave it to me. She quickly picked out another set of clothing with an orange top, yellow skirt and brown sash before telling me to change out of our current Bei Yue attire.

After changing and rubbing more soot on our new outfits, we left the deserted small town. Fu Wanxi said that we could follow the deep wheel marks on the ground to see where the surviving residents of this small town had escaped to. "I was briefly taught the geography of our neighbouring country back at Wuchang Manor," she explained despite my lack of any doubtful vocalisation. "The nearest city around this area with fortified city walls is Guizhong City. Let's head there and we'll find a way back home from there."

By the time we had left the small town, the sky was completely dark. The moon was only a thin silver crescent in the sea of stars. We lit up the lantern taken from the carriage and used it to illuminate the road ahead. We walked in silence, a tense atmosphere looming over our heads. My feet and legs were sore from walking all day but I bit my lower lip to keep from complaining. Who had not suffered physically when placed in a life-and-death scenario? I shuddered to think about what may happen if we were to encounter soldiers, rogues or bandits.

Leaning on each other for support, we trudged our way down the dusty road until we saw a light in the distance. Creeping closer, we found ourselves standing in the middle of an almost abandoned village. On our way here, I had made out vast farmlands veiled in the thick darkness of the night.

Fu Wanxi bravely knocked on the door of one of the houses. A yellow scruffy dog tied to the fence got up on all fours and barked at us twice. Beside the dog, a buffalo grunted from within its pen. Fu Wanxi was about to open her mouth to declare that we came in peace when the wooden door creaked opened slightly. The owner of the house stood behind the door and merely peered through the slight crack. The raspy voice of an elderly woman sounded from behind the door. "Yes? How may I help you at this late hour?"

Fu Wanxi immediately unleashed her sweetest smile and her most pitiable voice. "Granny, my sister and I were the only ones from our family who managed to escaped from the nearby town that got attacked by the Bei Yue army. We were accidentally left behind by our townspeople when travelling to Guizhong City to seek refuge. We wandered around and got lost, and finally we found the way to Guizhong City. But seeing that it is now night and we still have some distance to travel, we are wondering if you could take us in for the night? If there is anything that we can repay you for, we are willing." Ending her heartfelt plea with a sniffle, she even managed to shed a few tears.

The owner of the house was silent for a moment before she opened the door to invite us in. Closing the door behind her and bolting it tight, she gestured for us to take a seat at a low wooden table with a weak candlelight at the centre.

"What are your names and which village are you from?" She took in our appearances before assessing us as harmless.

Fu Wanxi offered the fake names that we had prepared beforehand on our behalf: "My name is Ah Xi and my sister is Ah Yu. We came from the nearby Wujia Village." After reporting our fake identities, she quickly followed up with a question. "How may we address you, granny?"

"My husband's family name is Lu. Just call me Granny Lu."

"Thank you for taking us in for the night, Granny Lu."

"You girls are fortunate tonight," the old lady said as she shuffled to through an arched doorway leading to another room. Her wrinkly voice rang out in the quiet house: "My old man and I will be heading to Guizhong City tomorrow morning. The few remaining families in our village will probably be leaving as well. If you came a day later, this whole village will be empty."

She tottered out slowly, balancing a plate of white steamed buns and two bowls of water on a tray. I immediately stood up and offered to bring the tray to the table for her.

"The both of you can stay here for the night and leave for Guizhong City tomorrow. We have only some steamed buns with scallion fillings left for dinner—please eat them to appease your hunger if you don't despise them."

We thanked the old granny for her kind hospitality but I eyed the food and drink hesitantly. A thousand thoughts flashed across my mind but Fu Wanxi had already taken a dainty bite out of the bun.

"Granny, only the two of you live here in this house?" She started to make small talk with the old lady, who sat down at the table and took a sip of water out of her bowl.

"Yes, but we have a son who lives in Guizhong City with his family. He had repeatedly urged us to move over to live with him. Because of the war between Da Jin and Bei Yue in this region, it has been chaotic and unsettling the past few months. Our village is still under the protection of General Yi at the moment, but most of our neighbours have gone to Guizhong City to seek refuge after hearing rumours about Bei Yue soldiers attacking civilians in the nearby villages and towns." Granny Lu sighed deeply while shaking her head. Her eyes clouded over with misery and helplessness, deep creases formed between her brows.

Fu Wanxi and I nodded sadly upon hearing Granny Lu's mention of the attack on the nearby villages and towns. I looked intently at my bowl of water and forced my eyes to turn watery.

"My old man is fixing the cart right now. We'll go to Guizhong City tomorrow together, shall we? It's better to have companions when travelling. I can't possibly let two young girls roam about in the unrest alone. Even though it's not like an old person like me will be able to help much..."

Fu Wanxi shook her head and stared at Granny Lu, her eyes flashing resolutely. "Don't say that! You've helped us a lot by taking us in. When we've regain our strength tomorrow, we'll protect you and Grandpa Lu!"

***