Chapter 85

Because of yesterday’s heavy rain, the road had become muddy. The journey this time was slower than before. By noon, they still hadn’t found a restaurant to rest, not even a small teahouse. 

People like Lu Yi, Jinxia and the others were used to facing bumpy roads, whereas Chun Yumin, the servants and the old lady servant couldn’t bear it; they were feeling dizzy and tired, which made Lu Yi keep looking out for a place to rest. Finally, he found a dried and shady area perfect for a stop. Cen Fu was ordered to go examine the place first. 

Due to the different status, even though Jinxia was very in love with him, she had to be careful with her words and action. Even when she had been looking at Lu Yi for a long time, she was afraid it would raise suspicion, therefore she decided to distance herself from him.

“Miss Yuan, our Lady wants to give this to you.” The maid approached her, holding in her hand a  water bag.

“Please thank her for me, but I have my own.”

Jinxia refused. 

“There are mint leaves in it, which can help refresh the mind and the body. My lady told me to especially give it to you.” The maid was reluctant to leave, “My lady said, yesterday she fell unconscious in front of you, which caused a big misunderstanding, thus she feels really bad about it and hopes you can forgive her.”

“No, no, no, that is because of her illness, isn’t it? I understand, I can’t blame her.” Jinxia hurriedly explained, seeing that she was still holding the water bag, she couldn’t refuse it any longer, and took it drinking it quickly. 

Since Chun Yumin was understanding and reasonable, Jinxia decided to walk up in front of her. She laughed and said, “Thank you for the water. As for yesterday’s situation, you don’t need to think about it.”

“Miss Yuan, please sit down.”

Chun Yumin smiled brightly, quickly ordering her servant to take out a stool, then invited Jinxia to sit down. 

Jinxia saw that her face was a little pale, maybe sick from the bumpy road, “Ms. Chun rarely travels, right?”

“Yes…” Chun Yumin laughed shyly, “Maybe it was the rain yesterday, the horse carriage kept shaking. Everyone here is so used to working outside, no matter if it rains or storms, you guys are still alright.”

Jinxia waved her hand, “Whether it winds or rains too much, we have to take a break too or take a detour, that’s called suffering.”

Not far away, Cen Shou, who’d heard her words, instinctively frowned, but saw Lu Yi, who was beside him, smiling while looking at the woods for no reason. He followed Lu Yi’s eyes and looked into the woods, there was nothing abnormal; he was confused. 

Not long after, Cen Fu was seen walking back with a gloomy face. As soon as he got off the horse, he immediately walked in front of Lu Yi and reported, “Young master, less than two miles ahead, there is a block road, we can’t pass it. I’m afraid we have to turn back and find another way.”

Block road! Jinxia couldn’t believe his words. 

Cen Shou glared at her in annoyance; the look in his eyes was clearly showing that Jinxia’s mouth was unlucky. 

Lu Yi maintained a calm face, took out the map and examined it. A moment later, he said, “Turn back to this road, then continue to take the southeast path, Xuanyin Guan is at the front.”

“Are we going to the monastery?” Jinxia couldn’t help but ask, poking her head out. 

“Xuanyin Guan was originally a Taoist monastery, because of the incense and energy, more people came to the place, so it slowly became a part of the town under the mountain, and changed its name into Xuanyin Guan.” Lu Yi suddenly turned to look at her and smiled, “Banxin, try saying a few lucky words for us.”

_{*[banxin = Indicated a taoist who had been practicing to become god, or in the progress of becoming one. He said this because she was saying unlucky things, TN]}

“…….” Jinxia smiled happily. She was ready, “A quick promotion, the sooner the birth!”

_{*[Idiom = A person will be successful in their job and life, TN]}

Lu Yi was caught off guard by her words, but then he let out a loud laugh and said, “A good saying.”

Cen Fu and Cen Shou were right behind him; these two brothers were originally servants of the Lu family. They had known Lu Yi since they were young, they understood their young master’s nature, he was usually calm and always kept his happiness in his heart, so it was quite rare to see him laugh so freely. The two of them stared at him for a moment; one immediately understood the situation, one was confused. They were struggling with their own thoughts. 

Chun Yumin and Lu Yi were actually not that close, before this joint trip. Before Lu Yi went to visit his grandmother’s house, they had only met only about once or twice, but the family often heard about Lu Yi, how talented he was in literature and military, about his calm temperament, unlike other officials’ children. Throughout this trip, Lu Yi had been very careful with her, his speech and attitude was gentle, but she could feel that there was a gap between them. Right now, seeing Lu Yi laughing so hard, everyone’s faces lit up, his usual behaviour was completely gone. He himself was startled and looked at Jinxia beside him…

The road trip to Xuanyin Guan was a bit farther but the road was much easier to walk, especially for the horses, making their trip much faster. 

As they were going down the path toward Xuangyin Guan, more people started to appear on the street, and suddenly the place was beginning to be filled with a lot of people walking back and forth. 

Jinxia looked around, she was surprised, then asked an old aunt*, who was walking on the street, “Aunt, are you also heading to Xuangyin Guan?”

_{*[Most middle age women are referred to as ‘阿姨‘ = ayi = aunt, TN]}

Because she was walking quite fast, her face turned red, as if she was out of breath. She couldn’t even talk to Jinxia but just nodded. 

“We’re going in the same direction, what don’t you come up and take a break?” Jinxia offered her a ride on her horse. Cen Shou turned and glanced at her but said nothing. 

The lady hesitated for a moment, but then decided to jump up and sat at the edge of the carriage, wiping her sweat while thanking Jinxia, “Thank you very much… Oh, your horse carriage is so comfortable, are you guys going to get checked up?”

“Checked up? Checked up for what?” Jinxia asked in surprise. 

The aunt was confused and asked her back, “Aren’t you going to Xuanyin Guan to visit the Taoist Monk?”

“What Taoist Monk?”

Seeing that Jinxia didn’t know anything, she kindly explained it to her, “Tomorrow is Gu Yu Day, so the festival has been going on for two days. A talented Taoist Monk has come to Xuanyin Guan to help people who want to get rid of bad luck and apart from the festival, people travel about ten miles just to see him.”

_{*[Gu Yu = Usually falls on 19-21 of April. The East Asian calendar is divided into 24 solar terms, which synchronize with the season, so Gu Yu is the 6th solar term of the year, the season would be spring, TN]}

“Taoist? Fortune-teller?”

“Not only fortune-telling, he also treats illnesses, matches bazi, he’s very good. Last year, I went to ask him when I could get married, his words were on point, so this year, I came again, wanting to ask when I will get pregnant.”

After hearing her words, Jinxia’s eyes lit up: “That’s so good, I also want to go and ask when my salary will increase.”

Hearing her speech, Cen Shou glanced at her with a scornful look. 

“What is the name of this Taoist Monk?” Jinxia asked. 

The aunt’s face was immediately full of regret, “The Taoist Monk is a great person, he’s like the dragon, you see the head, but not the tail*, he never mentioned his name.”

_{*[see the head, but not the tail = idiom, indicating those people who works in secret, their actions and words are unpredictable, but the meaning of this idiom can change depending on the situation, TN]}

As a constable in Yamen, Jinxia knew that people with unclear origins, nine times out of then, were often con men. After a short pause, she thought to herself, ‘Maybe he is a con man in the wild, who didn’t dare to leave his name, probably afraid of being chased or he’s being chased after because of debts’. After travelling for a while, they entered the city of Xuanyin Guan at dusk: at the foot of the mountain, the narrow streets were full of people passing by, even the stepping stones leading to the top of the temple were full of people’s heads going there and back. 

Almost all the inns of the place were full. It was with great difficulty that Cen Fu finally managed to find two empty rooms in an inn, and only after he had offered to increase the rent money. Lu Yi and Chun Yumin entered their room without any problems, the rest of the group had to spend the night in horse carriages. 

Cen Fu brought Lu Yi’s belongings into the room and cleaned it up. Seeing that Lu Yi still hadn’t said anything, he took the initiative to ask, “Young master, if it’s because of Miss Yuan, I can go arrange with the owner… Who knows? Maybe he can find one more room.”

Lu Yi thought for a moment, then said, “No need.”

***

Jinxia was used to enduring hardships and sleeping in the open air. Sometimes when she wouldn’t find an inn, she’d just use her bundle of clothes as a pillow and slept outside. When she saw Lu Yi and Chun Yumin entering the inn, she couldn’t help but complain a little about their good fortune, but then suddenly her eyes were captivated by a cute and beautiful item sold in the small stall by the inn. 

Because people were resting on the carriage, there was no need to unload their stuff, which saved a lot of time. In addition there was Cen Shou’s annoying face whenever they encountered, hence she was trying her best to avoid him as much as possible, even reminding YangYue to do the same, and the best way to do so was to go walk around the place. 

Even though she was a constable, who danced with knives and sticks everyday, inside Jinxia was still a girl, and seeing a fine doll being made out of woven bamboo, along with other toys, she couldn’t help but be fascinated, not being able to move from that very spot. At that time, she examined them, looking here and there, asked the price, shook her head and sighed, then shifted her focus onto other stuff…

As she walked slowly down the path, she unknowingly walked down the road that led up the Taoist temple up the mountain, which was surrounded by bright lights. She raised her head to see the winding stone stairway, and the people who were going up and down, each carrying a lantern. She hesitated, wondering whether she should have gone up to find that taoist to ask him about her future, but she was also afraid the money wouldn’t be enough…

Suddenly, someone pulled her hand: the person’s hand was soft and warm.

Jinxia was stunned. She turned her head and noticed it was Lu Yi. 

Lu Yi looked calm and relaxed. He stared at her and said, “You’re enjoying the walk so much that you forgot about dinner time?”

Jinxia was dumbfounded. As if she just woke up from a dream, her face immediately filled with regret, “All of you had dinner?” Skipping dinner meant she had to pay for the meal herself. For Jinxia, this was an unforgivable mistake that she shouldn’t have made. 

Lu Yi nodded his head, “Cen Fu, the others and YangYue have eaten.”

Jinxia suddenly noticed something that gave her a chance to live again, “Daren, you haven’t eaten yet?”

Lu Yi was speechless, continuing to look at her for a moment, then looked up at the lit lanterns. 

“What a coincidence, I want to accompany you. Eating alone is very unpleasant.” Jinxia tilted her head while smiling at him, “Daren, what do you want to eat?”

“How about you?” Lu Yi asked her back.

“I can eat anything, fly in the sky, fish in the water, as long as it’s cooked, there is nothing I can’t eat.” Jinxia said with confidence. 

“My fault, my fault.” Lu Yi glanced at her. 

Jinxia pretended to be humble, “No need, it’s because LiuShanmen taught their disciples well.”

Lu Yi walked ahead, still holding her hand, and said, “I heard that in this place the jungle fowl is very famous, the meat is soft and tastes fresh. Since we’re here, let’s try it.”

There was a restaurant nearby, Jinxia happily walked with Lu Yi. As soon as they arrived, she noticed a person in a blue robe, quickly stepping forward, “Taoist Xiao Lan!”

Lan Daoxing raised his head and smiled when he saw Jinxia, “You’re looking more excited today than last night.”

As he said that, he saw Lu Yi, who was behind her, and also noticed  them holding each other’s hand, thus he smiled and looked at Lu Yi. 

“It seems that we’re fated to meet, if you don’t mind, please sit down.” He got up and invited them.

Naturally, Jinxia wouldn’t mind, but she wasn’t sure if Lu Yi would be alright. She turned and looked at him. Lu Yi saw that Lan Daoxing’s eyes were innocent, his behaviour was not like those dangerous men. He hesitated for a moment, after looking at Jinxia, he sat down, “Thank you for the hospitality.”

Lan Daoxing’s bag was placed on the bench next to him, a thin bamboo stick was leaning against the banner. Jinxia looked at the banner and enthusiastically asked, “Taoist Xiao Lan, will you be doing fortune-telling?”

“Just wandering around and finding food.” Lan Daoxing laughed, he stretched his hand and shook the banner, “Qimen Dunjia fortune, Fate of Ziwei Doushu, Bazi, Yin Yang Feng Shui, I quite understand them.”

_{*[Qimen Dunjia = A form of divination, it is used to help form military strategy and tactics. The method involved astronomical observation, Chinese metaphysic and Yin Yang, TN]}

_{*[Ziwei Doushu = a form of fortune-telling in Chinese culture, which could provide more elaborate reading and detail of the fortune by using stars in the skies to calculate a person’s health, life, death and wealth, TN]}

_{*[Yin Yang Feng Shui = Yin, stands for the passive energy, whereas Yang stands for active energy, combined together they are to express something a person needs to improve their luck and energy in the house, for example colour, the direction of your bed, etc. TN]}

“You understood so much…” Jinxia chuckled, “Just for a bite of rice, you are sure desperately trying hard.”

“Well, I won’t hide it from you, I have very little medical skills for what concerns people diseases like nail fungus, skin disease and other unspeaker disease, while I’m good with cats and dogs. In fact I’m good at treating them.”

Jinxia suddenly stood up and bowed to him: “You have very diverse skills…Your skills are real, right? Not to deceive others, right?”

Lan Daoxing didn’t rush to explain to her, instead his reply surprised her, “What can be treated is a disease, what cannot be treated is fate.”

Lu Yi, who had not said anything this whole time, after hearing his words, smiled a little, “What do you do if it’s fate?”

“Fate, it’s a disease in the bones. If you throw in the stove of the cave, pressing the five mountain elements, with bronze iron starch to produce liquid, maybe you’ll be able to save yourself.” Lan Daoxing answered quickly, it seems that he had already known Lu Yi would ask such a question. 

The two of them looked at each other…

This Taoist monk seemed normal, but might not have been as such, he had indeed a different vision from most people. He shouldn’t let his guard down too much, Lu Yi said in his heart.