Chapter 36 - Sudden Happiness (1)

Chapter 36 – Sudden Happiness (1)

Translator: Lunarise

Editor: Lunarise

Proofreader: Livyuna

Shen Fei lay under the blankets with his eyes closed. Zhao Xi couldn’t tell if he was really asleep or just faking it. He didn’t respond, no matter how loud she called his name or tried to cajole him.

She hadn’t thought it would be such a serious matter. His reaction was even more extreme than when she’d kissed his eyes or carried him up a tree. He was ignoring her utterly.

She found every excuse to talk to him, trying to force him to respond. Time to eat, time to drink his medicine. Nothing worked; he lay there in silence. Zhao Xi placed everything he needed next to the bed, but when she woke up at nightfall, none of it had been touched.

There were two things that Shen Fei considered of utmost importance: bathing, and his legs. He never missed a dose of the medicine for his legs. In the trunk beneath the bed were all the medical texts she owned. Some were so long and complex that she hadn’t finished them, but he had read them all. All for the sake of his legs.

He was so desperate to heal his legs that he was even rolling to give himself up. But now he was in such a fit of pique that he wouldn’t drink the medicine or eat. Was he going to give up just like that?

She spent another hour trying to wring any sign of acknowledgement out of him but got nothing. He’d been like this ever since she’d bathed and shaved him: silent, eyes shut, lying on the bed unmoving like a corpse. Once or twice, she feared he might actually be dead and went over to feel for a breath. She gave a sigh of relief when she confirmed he was, in fact, still alive.

Just as stubborn as a mule.

She set the medicine down on the table beside him. “It’s dark already. I’ll go catch the Brittle Snake. Drink the medicine, okay?”

Shen Fei didn’t respond. He was lying on his side, facing the wall, acting as if the world around him didn’t exist.

“In a couple of days, I’ll need to give you acupuncture,” she explained. “That’s why I had to shave you, because it would get in the way.”

There was no sensation in the lower half of his body, so she would be performing acupuncture on the entire afflicted area. Shaving him was a necessity.

“Shen Fei, please stop being angry.” She wasn’t going to give up easily. “If you’re going to be mad, then be mad at me. Don’t starve yourself. You need to take your medicine on time. You won’t recover if you don’t take it. Once your legs are better, then you can get rid of me and go wherever you want. To the skies or to the seas. I won’t be able to stop you. Starving yourself over something so minor isn’t worth it.”

That was all she had to say. Shen Fei didn’t react, and she was out of ideas. Sighing, Zhao Xi stood up and gathered the tools she needed to climb the mountain, hooked her medicinal basket onto her elbow, and walked out the door. She paused in the doorway, looking back at her husband. He hadn’t moved in the slightest. Shaking her head, she shut the door.

Climbing the mountain in the middle of the night was a dangerous undertaking. Plenty of wild animals liked to hunt at night, and Zhao Xi would look like an appetizing meal in the dark. Fortunately, she had Ping An with her. The scent of a bear was enough to scare off most beasts.

They weren’t that deep into winter yet, so food was still pretty easy to find. Most animals wouldn’t risk attacking a bear unless they were starving to death. At anywhere between four to six hundred pounds in weight, with incomparable strength, even a tiger might think twice before tussling with a bear. Unless they had an accident, Zhao Xi and Ping An ought to be safe.

She took out the small wooden box that once held the Brittle Snake powder, and let Ping An sniff it. His nose was very sensitive. Zhao Xi relied on the bear’s strong sense of smell to find many of her medicinal herbs, ginseng, and caterpillar fungi. Ping An roamed all over the mountain, cataloguing its scents. He would know where to find anything with a single sniff and lead her to it.

Today, however, the bear didn’t bound off in the direction of what she needed.

Ping An stood there for a long time, snuffling at the wooden box but not moving. Zhao Xi sighed. It seemed as if the Brittle Snakes had already moved on from this part of the valley. If she was unlucky, they might even have to climb the mountain and go down to the dangerous wetlands or miasma-choked forests to find the creatures. Ping An couldn’t go to those places. If he got hurt, Zhao Xi wouldn’t be able to save him.

She decided to try their luck and climb over the mountain first. Maybe they’d find some before they had to venture into any of the lowlands. The place she had in mind wasn’t close. It would take her at least a night and day before she could get back. Despite that, it was actually one of the shorter routes. Some of the longer ones were three whole days away.

Since they were going, she might as well gather all Ping An’s winter food on the way. The search for Brittle Snake would take them on a path they’d never taken before. Who knew what dangers lay in wait for them? Zhao Xi wasn’t the only nervous one, Ping An was too.