Jiangjiang the Skeleton Spirit - Chapter 3

When I left, Sister Suhe was still sighing over her jade bracelet, just as she had been when I arrived.

I wondered whether the man in her heart would ever come back.

I followed Song Yu’s army, encountering many refugees along the way.

Whole families—the old, the young, the sick, the disabled.

They had nothing to eat.

Some were so hungry and desperate that they could only gnaw on tree bark.

A little girl with a filthy face gazed at me longingly.

Unable to bear that look, I loosened my grip on my flatbread and broke off half for her.

She wolfed it down, almost choking.

I hurried to pat her back. “Slow down. Eat slowly.”

Once she’d finished her half, her eyes fixed on the half still in my hand.

Looking at her bony little body, I made up my mind and took out my bundle of food.

I was a skeleton spirit. I could endure hunger better than ordinary people, so giving her a few more wouldn’t hurt.

But I hadn’t expected this to draw the attention of the refugees around us.

Barely a corner of the white bread showed before someone shouted, “There’s food over there! Flatbread!”

Before I could react, a dense crowd surged toward me.

Hands snatched wildly at my bundle. I was shoved to the ground, and someone stepped on my calf, sending pain straight through me.

Grimacing, I crawled out of the crowd and found myself staring at a pair of silver boots wrapped in white.

My eyes traveled upward to the face I’d been pursuing day and night.

His brow was tightly furrowed, then eased.

Song Yu lifted me by the waist. His resigned voice came from above my head. “I give in.”

He took me to the camp where they were stationed and carefully tended the crush injury on my calf.

I looked around.

After all these days, they didn’t seem to have gone very far.

“The general was afraid you wouldn’t keep up. He’s been deliberately traveling slowly.”

I turned toward the voice. It was the guard called A-Pei.

Song Yu glared at him. “You talk too much.”

A-Pei pursed his lips and had the sense to withdraw.

Perhaps he’d touched a nerve. Song Yu looked a little guilty.

Suddenly, I felt much more confident. “You knew I was following you?”

“Yes.”

He answered readily. I grew angry.

“Then why wouldn’t you see me?”

His face went still. He gently stirred the coals without answering.

That maddening silence again.

Annoyed, I insisted on getting up and leaving despite my injured leg.

A powerful tug at my waist threw me off balance, and I fell into Song Yu’s arms.

His scent surrounded me.

“I didn’t dare.”

Emotion stirred in his eyes, his gaze enveloping me.

“I live with a blade at my throat. If I brought you with me, and one day I died on the battlefield…”

He paused.

“I don’t want you to become another Suhe.”

He helped me sit upright, his eyes so tender they seemed about to overflow.

His words were heartfelt, but my anger hadn’t entirely subsided.

I poked his shoulder reproachfully. “So you chose to abandon me forever? If you’re afraid I’ll end up like Sister Suhe, couldn’t you fight with everything you have to stay alive?”

My manner made him laugh.

He took my hand and promised earnestly, “I’ll do everything I can to stay alive. I won’t abandon you.”

Song Yu had important matters to handle in the capital and could delay no longer.

Once my leg was no longer a serious concern, he hired a carriage, settled me inside, and took me back with him.

This time we traveled quickly, reaching his residence within a few days.

He carefully helped me out of the carriage. Before my feet had quite touched the ground, I saw a woman waiting by the entrance.

Her delighted expression dimmed abruptly when she saw me, and she watched me warily.

I looked back at Song Yu. His expression hadn’t changed.

Before I could speak, he explained, “On an earlier trip back to the capital, A-Pei rescued a woman from some displaced people. She insisted on staying to repay the kindness.”

Then he added, “There’s nothing between us.”

Beside him, A-Pei opened his mouth and pointed at himself, muttering, “Weren’t you the one who told me to rescue her?”

Quiet as he was, I heard him.

The woman had already started toward us.

She gracefully bowed to Song Yu, then looked at me questioningly.

“And this is…?”

I answered openly, “My name is Jiangjiang. What should I call you from now on?”

Her eyes flickered, and she looked up at Song Yu. “From now on?”

He avoided her gaze and turned to me. “Just call her Qin Zhao.”

I nodded with a smile and cheerfully called her name.

But she didn’t seem happy. Her smile was rather forced.

She came to my side and looked me up and down.

“Will you be living here from now on, Miss Jiangjiang?”

Meeting her incredulous gaze, I answered firmly, “Of course. Song Yu promised never to abandon me.”

Qin Zhao froze for a moment and glanced at him in confusion.

His expression seemed a little odd too.

Then she suddenly relaxed and smiled warmly at me. “Then let’s get along well.”

She seemed less wary of me.

Her smile reminded me of Sister Suhe, and I felt a little closer to her too.