Changliu and Ye Feisheng - Chapter 3

After years without walking, the muscles in my mistress’s legs had inevitably wasted away.

I massaged them every day, and the physicians of Medicine King Valley visited regularly to stimulate them with acupuncture, but…

As I worked, a small sigh escaped me.

She lay facedown on the bed and seemed to be asleep.

But at my sigh, she spoke. “What is it now?”

I bit my lower lip and said nothing.

She sighed too.

“Keeping them as they are after all these years is already an achievement. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Changliu.”

“Young Mistress, I want to go to Great Tan.”

“…What for?”

“There’s a physician there called Zhu Jun’an. They say she can bring the dead back to life and put flesh on bare bones. Perhaps she could make you walk again.”

“They say the same thing about Medicine King Valley.”

Her eyes stayed closed, and her voice was a little muffled, but she laughed. “Changliu, when will you stop believing every rumor you hear? You believe anything anyone tells you. You’re so adorable.”

“But how can we know without trying?”

“No.”

“Why? I’ll be back as quickly as I can!”

“It’s at least three months to Great Tan and another three back. You’d spend half a year on the road alone.”

“I’ll hurry!”

“I can’t do without you, Changliu.”

She propped herself up a little and turned to look at me. “Things are unstable. I need you here to hold the fort.”

“…Then could you send someone else to find Zhu Jun’an?”

“I won’t send anyone.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t believe anyone in this world is that much better than the physicians of Medicine King Valley.”

“…But what if?”

My words came urgently. “What if there is someone? What if Zhu Jun’an really is that good? What if she really can make you stand again?”

“Do you know how small a chance that is, Changliu?”

She brushed my hand away. “Help me up.”

I swallowed everything I wanted to say and settled her against the head of the bed.

She looked at me with helpless affection.

“A chance like that is going out on New Year’s Eve, having the carriage somehow miss a snowdrift in the road, and lifting the curtain at just the right moment to see a tiny hand sticking out.”

“It’s feeling curious enough to stop the carriage and have someone dig through that snowdrift.”

“It’s finding a child frozen blue all over, who somehow isn’t dead.”

“It’s having that child, who should have died on New Year’s Eve, grow up to become the greatest martial artist in the world.”

A tender smile rested on her lips. She looked at me as though I were a priceless treasure. “That is a one-in-ten-thousand chance, Changliu.”

“You only get one in a lifetime.”

“Miracles can’t keep happening.”

“You have to accept that I will probably spend the rest of my life in this wheelchair.”

“I accepted that ten years ago.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

My eyes reddened.

It felt as if someone had forced a stone into my chest, choking off my breath.

I turned away and refused to answer.

She reached out, her smooth, jade-like fingertips touching my cheek.

“Accept it, Changliu. Let it go.”

Still I wouldn’t speak.

But my eyes grew hotter, and my nose began to sting.

She sighed.

“All right. I won’t force you. That’s enough for tonight. You may go. I want to rest.”

“But I haven’t finished the massage…”

“Never mind. Missing a day won’t hurt.”

“No, Young Mistress. Your legs must be massaged every day. The physicians said we can’t skip even one day.”

“…Not even one day, yet someone wants to disappear for half a year.”

She gave me a sideways look. “Who knows what state my legs would be in by the time you returned.”

My face went red. “I’m not the only one who knows the technique. Jingxian knows it too.”

“Jingxian has her own work. Where would she find time to massage my legs every day? Don’t forget, she’s still cleaning up after you.”

“…”

“She’d thank her lucky stars if you stopped giving her more work.”

“…”

“If you want to continue, then continue. But no more sighing. What goes on in that head of yours all day? Always finding something to mourn over. It’s tiresome.”

“…All right. I won’t sigh. Please don’t be annoyed.”

“Mm.”

She lay facedown again.

As I massaged her legs, I thought:

If I couldn’t go to Zhu Jun’an, I could at least find a way to send her my mistress’s medical records.

But those records couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone. I’d need someone reliable…

Not Jingxian. My mistress couldn’t do without her either.

Yingshi? No, she managed all the records and archives. She was busy every day too.

Yayin, then! She spent all her time shut indoors. A little exercise would do her good.

But Yayin wasn’t dependable enough. She’d nearly blown up her own main hall before. What if she burned the records too?

Who else?

Plenty of people were loyal to my mistress. Any of them would do, except everyone was so busy they couldn’t leave.

If all else failed, Sangluo. She often traveled far on my mistress’s business. Really, she was the best choice. I’d speak to her when she returned.

And if Sangluo couldn’t, there had to be someone else. Immortal Manor was full of talented people. Surely carrying some medical records couldn’t be that difficult…

A jumble of thoughts filled my head.

My mistress’s voice interrupted them.

“Changliu.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Shut that brain of yours off for a moment. It’s too loud.”

“…”

I stuck out my lip, utterly aggrieved.

She was bullying me!