The sun hung high in the sky, reaching its zenith as the four people continued to sit in the old pavilion. The story of the past had now brought them to a shocking name.
"Cao Fengge?" Bazar Batu repeated, a puzzled look on his face. He turned to Kuo Lok. "Lok gege, who is Cao Fengge?"
Kuo Lok's expression turned somber. "Chief Cao, of the Cao Household. I've personally never had the opportunity to meet him."
Bazar Batu then looked at Yan Zhanjin, a new question forming in his eyes. "How did he know the Mu acupuncture technique?"
Yan Zhanjin simply shook his head. "I don't know. My master never mentioned it."
"What happened then?" Bazar Batu asked, leaning forward with anticipation.
"He stole the human skin and left," Yan Zhanjin replied, his voice flat.
Bazar Batu blinked. "Da ge… that's it?"
Yan Zhanjin simply met his gaze. "That's it."
A sigh of disappointment escaped Bazar Batu's lips. He shook his head slowly. "I don't understand," he said, his voice full of frustration. "You spent two hours telling us a detailed story about your shifu taking the map, but for Cao Fengge, you just say he 'stole the human skin and left'? It doesn't make any sense."
"That's just what my shifu told us," Yan Zhanjin said, his voice curt.
"Shixiong," Chen Dandan began, her tone gentle yet firm, "if you're going to tell the story, why are you skipping all the details?"
"Exactly!" Bazar Batu agreed with a nod and a grateful smile toward Chen Dandan. "And that's the way it should be."
Chen Dandan sighed. "Since you aren't doing a good job," she said to her brother, "I'll tell the story myself." She turned to the others. "My father said that Cao Fengge visited our household in Chen village a few years ago."
The present slowly faded away as Chen Dandan's voice wove a story from the past.
On an open road, the wind gently hushed through the trees, a rhythmic melody that sounded like ocean currents rushing against the shore. It was on this road that a young man named Cao Fengge walked. He was on a dirt path when the sound of women's voices, talking and singing, caught his attention. He stopped and watched five women washing clothes on the bank of a winding river, their songs drifting peacefully on the breeze.
The voices of the women sang, their words a mournful, steady hum:
"She set the table for a final meal,
A last moment with her love.
For in the morning, he will march to war.
Who knows when he will come home?
Who knows if he'll walk, or return on a horse's back?
She painted her lips the color of blood.
Smiled as she waved goodbye, no tears to fall.
He'll remember her smile when he thinks of her face,
Not the sadness she held back.
For who knows when he will come home?
Who knows if he'll walk, or return on a horse's back?"
After their song ended, the women put their freshly washed clothes into wooden basins. They walked to the dirt road, and as they came into full view of Cao Fengge, they stopped talking and singing, a collective hush falling over them.
Cao Fengge gave them a gentle, disarming smile. "Xiaojie," he said, his voice as smooth as the breeze, "your songs are beautiful. I beg your pardon, but do any of you know Chen Fa?"
The women giggled shyly. Then, the eldest woman in the group pulled a younger woman forward. "She knows him," she said, her voice teasing. She looked at the shy young lady. "Liqin, you can take him to find him."
Cao Fengge gave her a final, charming smile. "Xiaojie, thank you," he said.
Liqin led him to a small house on the outskirts of the village, where they found a young man outside, diligently mixing medicine in a mortar and pestle.
"That's Chen Fa," she said shyly, leading Cao Fengge closer. "Chen ge, this man is looking for you." With that, she left them, carrying her wooden basin to the back of the house.
Chen Fa stood up, wiping his hands on his apron. "How can I help you?" he asked, his voice polite and welcoming.
"Chen Yisheng," Cao Fengge began, his voice laced with feigned humility. "I came here hoping to learn some medical skills from you. I tried to study with the Mu family, but they refused to accept me because I don't share their surname."
Chen Fa reacted with a sudden burst of anger. "Those Mu are arrogant and selfish!" he said, his hands clenching into fists. "They think they are the best, and I refuse to share my knowledge with anyone who admires them!"
Just then, Liqin walked to their table and gently set down a pot of tea. Cao Fengge's gaze lingered on her for a moment before she turned away shyly.
As soon as she was gone, Cao Fengge leaned forward. "Chen Yisheng," he said softly, "I happen to know the Mu acupuncture technique. I can teach you if you want."
"I do," Chen Fa said, his expression firm. Then, his gaze hardened as he looked at his visitor. "Cao-xiong, what is it you want?"
Cao Fengge returned a polite smile. "I'll be honest with you," he began, his voice smooth and sincere. "I am looking for the scholars who took the loyalty exam a year ago. The court has put me in charge of finding something Eunuch Sun lost. I'm not here to hide anything from you."
A slight, knowing smile touched Chen Fa's lips. "Are you talking about a bamboo tube?" he asked, his voice low.
Cao Fengge's smile faltered, his eyes widening. "You know?" he asked, the words a strained whisper.
Chen Fa laughed, a sound of pure satisfaction. "Yes," he said. "I found it on the ground and planned to return it, but the old eunuch was so unreasonable. He called me an uneducated peasant and slapped me twice. I figured he needed to be taught a lesson, so I decided to hold onto it."
Cao Fengge's eyes glinted. "You, have it?"
"Yes," Chen Fa confirmed.
"To be honest," Cao Fengge said, a casual wave of his hand dismissing the matter, "I don't really care about the object itself. You can keep it. Let Sun Eunuch keep searching."
Chen Fa threw his head back and laughed. "Ha…ha…ha…I'd love to see his arrogant face now!"
Cao Fengge joined him, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "It's not so arrogant anymore," he said. "He was demoted to a yard worker."
The two men laughed, their conversation continuing as the sun began to set upon the orange horizon. The warmth of the moment was a stark contrast to the web of lies and secrets being woven between them.
Later that night, after dinner, Chen Fa retired to his study. Liqin stood alone in the courtyard, her gaze fixed on the quiet moon. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the moonlight and sat down next to her. It was Cao Fengge.
"Is your name Liqin?" he asked, his voice soft.
She turned to him, surprised. "How did you know?"
"I remember that Xiaojie called you Liqin this morning," he replied, his eyes holding hers. "Your name is as beautiful as you are."
Liqin looked away shyly. "Thank you for the compliment."
He paused for a moment before asking his next question. "What is your relationship with Chen Fa?"
"He is my husband," she replied with a deep sigh.
Cao Fengge leaned closer. "Are you truly satisfied with this marriage?" he asked gently.
A deep sadness filled Liqin's eyes. "I never had a choice," she confessed. "He was my fiancé before I was even born. The husband I imagined for myself is not a doctor who devotes all of his time and energy to medicine." She stood up, a quiet finality in her movement. "Thank you for listening to me."
Early the next morning, as Cao Fengge walked past the water well, he heard Chen Fa's voice raised in anger.
"I have told you countless times not to touch my medicine!" Chen Fa shouted at Liqin. "These plants cannot be watered in the morning!" He picked up a pot, carefully pulled the delicate plant from its soil, and placed it into a different pot, his movements gentle with the plant but rough with his words to his wife.
"Fa ge," Liqin asked, her voice trembling with sorrow. "Is that plant more important than the person standing in front of you?"
Chen Fa didn't turn around. He simply said, "I am making a powder that can protect a corpse from decay." He then turned and spoke softly to his plant. "Nothing can compare to this. Precious... please don't die on me." With that, he picked up the pot and walked into his medicine room, leaving his wife behind.
Liqin ran to the back of the house, where she sat beside the water well and wept silently into the gathering darkness. She was still there when Cao Fengge found her. He said nothing, simply held out a clean handkerchief.
"Why are you crying?" Cao Fengge asked softly, his voice full of feigned concern. "A beautiful lady like you shouldn't have tears in her eyes."
Liqin took the handkerchief he offered, her hand trembling. "Do all men think the same way?" she murmured, her gaze distant. "Do they always put their ambition before everyone and everything else?"
Cao Fengge's eyes were sharp in the moonlight. "It depends on who you ask, doesn't it?" he replied, his voice a low, cunning whisper.
Her eyes, full of pain and longing, met his. "How about you?" she asked.
"If you ask me," Cao Fengge said, his voice a low, soothing murmur, "my answer is that all men are not alike. Other men may be too ambitious, but I… I will only see what is in front of me. I will take care of and cherish those who love me."
He reached out, his hand gently turning her face toward his. He leaned in and kissed her. After a long moment, he pulled away slowly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his eyes filled with feigned remorse. "I've never seen a person as beautiful as you. I simply couldn't resist."
Since her marriage to Chen Fa, no man had ever said such kind words to Liqin. She knew she was Chen Fa's wife, but he had never regarded her as one. She didn't know what love was or how to give or receive it. In her confusion and her desperate longing for affection, she stretched out her head and kissed Cao Fengge back.
Cao Fengge quickly helped Liqin out of her dress, and in a moment of shared passion, they surrendered to their desires on the kitchen table.
In the gentle moonlight, the wind whispered through the trees, and the crickets sang their quiet, nightly song. The only other sound was the insistent squeaking of the table. Both of them knew wholeheartedly that they were committing a grave act of adultery, but their desire for each other had become an irresistible and irretrievable force.