Chapter 34 - Closer (1)

Chapter 34 – Closer (1)

Translator: Lunarise

Editor: Lunarise

Proofreader: Livyuna

Shen Fei didn’t enjoy the outdoors, so he was sulky. Nevertheless, nothing could dampen Zhao Xi’s spirit. She was so lively for the both of them. She promised him a treat of beautiful scenic views of the rivers, the trees and the mountains. He groaned with dismay.

The mountain trail was uneven, and sometimes it would take them hours to find a path. Shen Fei saw a fallen tree not far along, blocking the trail. He seized that moment to protest, “Zhao Xi, the way is blocked. Maybe, we should….”.

Even before he could finish his sentence, Zhao Xi hauled the wheelchair along with him and put it down on the other side. Damn, that woman was tough. Granted, she had raised that bear and might have carried all its weight around every day, still her strength seemed superhuman to him, every single time.

Zhao Xi noticed him looking at her in surprise. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Shen Fei heaved a sigh, “Nothing.”

She had insisted on carrying him on her back to the destination. But he had refused flatly. She had relented, thinking it might have made him uncomfortable, so she resorted to hauling the wheelchair whenever there was a ditch, or rugged ground so she could minimize his movements. He had several broken and dislocated bones, and she wanted him to move as less as possible for him to recover.

Zhao Xi knew that when Shen Fei was alone, he would try to walk and, at times, fall hard on the ground. She pretended to not know about it to give him some form of comfort. However, she checked for bruises and dislocated bones whenever she gave him a bath. She would inspect every inch of his body, asking if it hurt anywhere. If it did, there were always some broken bones, or dislocation.

He let her do her routine inspection, sometimes wishing she wouldn’t worry so much because he wasn’t as frail as he looked. He used to be adept in martial arts and combat when he was well, so he knew the limits of his own body. He tried to walk because he felt ready for it, and tired of lying down. He took care to walk only for the duration that he felt comfortable with, which was usually the time it took three incense sticks to burn through. He took care to keep track of the medicine Zhao Xi prepared for him, so he never missed them. He had been reading the medical books she had given him, in order to learn about the various massages that he can try on himself.

He was a grown man; he knew how to look after himself.

Zhao Xi was always supportive, though. She had made him a tripod walking stick to help him practice his walking. She had bought him a wheelchair if he wanted to get around by himself. She was skilled in many fields. It seemed she was a builder too! When she had first arrived here, she wanted a home to settle down, but she had no skills to build things, nor any money to buy them.

Once, there was a poor carpenter whose wife had been ill with tuberculosis. He couldn’t afford the money for the medicine, so she treated his wife devoid of any cost. The carpenter had felt embarrassed at that and asked her if she needed any help with anything at all. She had expressed her wish in learning his skill, and he had obliged happily. While she treated his wife, he would teach her everything he knew. In time, she was able to build things of her own. After a couple of months, she had built a small wooden cottage for herself, borrowing his tools. It wasn’t big, it only had a room, a makeshift kitchen and a small bathroom, but it was home, her home. Zhao Xi had never depended on anyone; she was an avid learner and knew how to apply what she learnt in real life.

“Shen Fei, have you ever climbed a tree?” she asked. Shen Fei knew what was coming, he didn’t even bother to protest. Her mechanical head would definitely conjure some way of getting him up to the tree. He sighed.

“Don’t be so melancholy. You’ll see the view from up there is worth the struggle. Besides, the fruits are too sweet to refuse!” she said, looking at his crestfallen face. There was no way to plug her enthusiasm.

“How are we going to ‘climb’, then?” he asked. She had brought a carrying basket with her tools, she carried them everywhere for emergencies. She thought and thought for a way, and then it hit her. She could use the rope and tie it around him like a net, tie him to her back and carry him up! She knew how to weave nets, she did it for Ping An, when it wanted fishes to eat and the market nets broke easily. So, she wove her own to catch some fishes for her, as well as Ping An. Although, when winter was near it would go up to the mountains to hunt for critters. She missed Ping An, but it was an animal and had its own needs.

She got to work. She raised his arms, tied the rope around him above the waist, and tied one below the waist. Then she wove the ropes around these two points to form a net enclosing his body like a cocoon. He helped to tie the ropes around him too. Since he couldn’t get away from this dreadful idea, he obliged. He didn’t want to fall to his death, so that was some motivation!

Zhao Xi finished the net; she was satisfied with it. She got Shen Fei tied to her back with some difficulty and was ready to climb the tree. Shen Fei didn’t know how she would be able to achieve it with the extra weight. But there was no stopping Zhao Xi. She inched her way up, bit by bit. Shen Fei didn’t want to die, so he cooperated. His hand could still function, so he wove his arm around her shoulders and held on tightly.

Shen Fei thought about this young, spirited and accomplished woman. She was a healer, practiced medicine, hunted, and built things. It seemed there was nothing in this world she couldn’t do. She had told him that she had dabbled in martial arts and was awful at it. She had also told him that she was very bad in academics.

But regardless of her social quirks, Shen Fei admired her. She seemed to have more than dabbled, seeing how strong she was. Being skilled at martial arts, he could gauge her expertise in it, and she seemed to be very talented at it. She was a bit confused on the academics since she always mixed up her characters, but she was super-human, accomplished in any field that came her way. She wasn’t as incompetent as she always made out to be.