A young woman with her hair in a topknot stood upon a mountain rock. She wore a white-and-brown short shirt, stray hairs clinging to her melon-seed face. Beneath gently curved eyebrows, her clear eyes were deep, and her back was straight as a ramrod.
As a gentle breeze stirred her hair, an air of high-spirited vigor naturally emanated from between her brows.
Lin Yue assumed the Wuji posture to start, her mind focused on a single point as she sank her qi into her dantian. Turning her waist and swinging her hands, she opened into Tai Chi, shuffling her feet and pushing out her palms. As her sinews stretched and her bones aligned, her movements were both light and steady.
At that moment, a warm current rushed through her entire body in rhythm with her breathing and movements, making her joints, sinews, and bones heat up. Even though she had practiced it many times already, she still felt an endless surge of energy within her.
Lin Yue knew this meant she had developed internal force, which simultaneously proved that this was indeed a wuxia world.
When she had first started practicing Tai Chi, she merely followed the poses, feeling only exhaustion afterward. Once she grew proficient, she calmed her mind to reflect, attentively experiencing how each joint generated force and using her body to drive the movement of her limbs. In the end, Lin Yue discovered that as long as she found a point of resistance, force would burst forth automatically.
Exerting force this way wasn't easily tiring, yet the power behind it was immense, gradually giving rise to that warm current.
Finishing her stance, Lin Yue exhaled a breath of turbid air. After three years of practice, a cozy warmth had formed at her dantian, like a small stove soothing her entire body along her meridians. Certain acupoints frequently felt a faint electrical sensation, and whenever she calmed her mind, a tingling heat would emerge at her fingertips, palms, and soles.
Was this what it felt like to possess internal force?
It was quite marvelous. The corners of Lin Yue's lips turned up slightly in a faint smile, her stray sweat-soaked hair clinging to both sides of her face, displaying a touch of youthful pride amidst her composure.
After finishing her practice, Lin Yue continued toward the town, walking so briskly it felt as though she were about to fly.
"Xiaya!"
A young man ran into the entrance of the medicine shop, gasping for breath.
Lin Yue knit her brows. "Eldest Brother, what happened?"
"Grandfather... Grandfather suddenly collapsed! You... hurry and go take a look..."
"Wait here, I'll grab my things."
Hearing this, Lin Yue froze for just a brief second, then slung her medicine chest over her shoulder and followed Lin Yun back to Lin Family Village. Upon entering the main house, she saw it crammed with people, making the air stuffy and hot. Lin Yue frowned slightly, dispersing the crowd as she squeezed her way through.
Grandfather lay on the bed with his eyes tightly closed and his face pale, a blood-stained linen cloth wrapped around his head—it seemed he had bumped his head.
He had no pulse or breathing, and his body was cold. Lin Yue checked his pupils and the wound on the back of his head; the head injury was fatal. A round trip from Lin Family Village to town took over four hours, so the prime window for resuscitation had long passed.
Lin Yue pursed her lips, shook her head, and said, "Grandfather has passed away."
"Old man—!"
Hearing this, Grandmother swayed and fainted. Her three daughters-in-law beside her quickly supported her.
"Mother! What's wrong, Mother?"
"Grandmother! Grandmother!"
"Quick, lay her on the bed!" Seeing this, Lin Yue promptly instructed them to place her on the bed.
She checked her pulse and breathing, then immediately administered acupuncture to stimulate her acupoints. Only then did Grandmother slowly wake up, gasping and weeping softly, her mind somewhat dazed.
"Mother!"
"Mother! Are you alright?"
Once she awoke, her parents, uncles, and aunts all gathered around the bed. Seeing the old woman weeping, several of them burst into tears as well, their faces filled with deep grief, causing Lin Yue's ears to buzz.
Silently picking up a charcoal pencil, she wrote out a prescription, offered a brief word, and went outside to decoct the medicine.
The Lin family arranged the funeral affairs. Three days later, everyone returned to labor in the fields; farming folk could not afford to stay idle, as the living still had to push forward for their livelihood.
Grandmother remained listless all day long. Word was that Grandfather had collapsed right before her eyes, cracking his head open and bleeding profusely. Having suffered such a massive shock, she lost her appetite and fell ill from grief, ultimately becoming bedridden. Lin Yue examined her and prescribed medicine several times under Doctor Chen's guidance, but her condition showed no improvement. Merely clinging to life, she passed away as well the following spring.
While Grandmother was still alive, the elders discussed the ownership of the three-village business, and Lin Yue sat in to listen. The three brothers argued endlessly, none willing to give up such a lucrative piece of meat as the tofu trade. In the end, they decided to continue working in partnership.
That year, Chen Ping got married as well, taking the legitimate daughter of a local town landlord as his bride. Before the wedding, Lin Yue received a pouch of medicinal herbs from him.
Bringing it to her nose to smell, she said, "Processed with wine to unblock meridians and relieve abdominal pain caused by cold."
Lin Yue handed the herbs back to him. "I already have some; I don't need it."
Watching her turn and leave, Chen Ping looked down at the wine-processed white peony root in his hand and sighed softly. "Sister Lin has never been educated, so she ultimately doesn't understand my meaning after all."
Doctor Chen was advanced in age and no longer treated patients. After handing the medicine shop over to Chen Ping to manage, he spent every day practicing Tai Chi in the backyard, vibrant and full of energy. From time to time, he would tell them stories of mighty warriors leaping ten feet into the air, even delaying Lin Yue's clock-out time.
After four years of treatment, Wu Yang's health had improved significantly. Under long-term care, sensation had returned to his legs, enabling him to take a few slow steps. This alone moved Madame Su to tears, her graying hair testifying to the hardship and struggles she had endured over the years.
To raise money for his treatment, Wu Yang planned to recruit students to teach literacy. By the time Madame Su came to inform Lin Yue of this news, she had long finished reading the dozen or so books in the Wu family household and hadn't visited for a year.
Her third uncle's eldest son, the snotty-nosed Lin Feng, had reached seven years old—just the right age. Since the family had some spare cash, they sent him to learn to read, so Lin Yue conveniently escorted him to and from his lessons.
Spring passed into autumn, and another year went by. Chen Ping's wife was about to give birth.
When women gave birth, it was inconvenient for men to enter the room. As a physician, Lin Yue went inside to help. The mother suffered a difficult labor and fainted from exhaustion, so Lin Yue administered acupuncture to restore her consciousness, and the child was successfully delivered.
Doctor Chen held his great-grandson every day, grinning from ear to ear with joy.
Lin Yue had formed adoptive kinship relations and learned medicine. Her two elder brothers from the Lin family, through these connections, had married into decent families. When her two sisters-in-law gave birth, they even invited her to assist from the side just in case of any mishaps.
Rural folks had little in the way of entertainment, so children were born one after another, and infant deaths followed one after another as well. Conditions for childbirth were poor—many women suffered obstructed labor due to posture, lack of hygiene, absence of medicine, improper handling, and so forth, resulting in a high infant mortality rate.
After giving birth, many women developed postpartum ailments. Lacking the money for treatment, and hampered by male physicians, the deep-seated feudal mindset made them embarrassed to speak up, forcing them to suffer for a lifetime.
Once Lin Yue became a doctor, most of the patients seeking her care were these women, many of whom traveled across mountains and hills to reach her.
Combining her knowledge from her past life, Lin Yue patiently explained issues related to childbirth to them.
Gradually, perhaps because people actually listened, the rate of difficult births in the village dropped by half. Outside the Lin family's door, gifts of gratitude such as eggs, vegetables, and coarse grains were frequently left.
In an era lacking adequate clothing and food, there was no need for flowery words—food was the best expression of thanks.
Sanya had not become pregnant after four years of marriage, so she came to consult her. Lin Yue examined her and found nothing wrong, suspecting the issue lay with the husband instead, which she shared with Sanya.
"You didn't tell him you came to see me for a medical consultation, did you?"
"No, I came secretly," Sanya shook her head dejectedly.
Since it touched upon the man's pride, she couldn't speak of it directly or hand over medicine openly, so Lin Yue devised a method to conceal the truth.
A few days later, Lin Yue went to the Wang household to visit Sanya. Upon seeing Sanya's husband, Wang Dashi, her face filled with terror. Frowning, she stared at him with guarded dread, as if looking at something filthy, acting as though facing a formidable enemy.
The dark-tanned man squatting by the threshold to catch the breeze couldn't help but grow nervous. Especially considering that the person before him had once drowned, a chill ran straight down his spine.
"Second Sister, why are you looking at me like that?"
Seeing her shake her head with a pale face and run into the house in horror, Wang Dashi felt utterly bewildered, while an ominous foreboding welled up inside him.
Sure enough, that evening he heard Sanya say that Second Sister had seen a ghost today—an infant ghost.
"A ghost?" Hearing this late at night, combined with Lin Yue's frightened reaction earlier in the day, left Wang Dashi terrified.
Sanya said with solemn gravity, "Second Sister told me that ever since she fell into the water, her eyes could see ghosts. It scared her silly at first, but over time she got used to seeing them. She didn't dare speak of it, fearing people would call her crazy."
"Where is the ghost?" Wang Dashi's eyes quivered with fear.
"She only said it was in our house, not exactly where. Second Sister said that as long as this infant ghost is around, it takes up a slot for a grandchild. Husband, could the reason we don't have children be because of this infant ghost?"
Darkness enveloped Wang Dashi's vision, with only the moonlight outside the window casting a sinister white glow on the floor, frightening him out of his wits.
"Did Second Sister say how to get rid of this ghost?"
"No."
"Go ask your Second Sister."
"Alright," Sanya agreed.
A few days later, Sanya and Wang Dashi came to see Lin Yue. Lin Yue gave them a thorough scare. Before letting them through the door, she even went through the motions of hitting Wang Dashi and Sanya with peach blossom branches. Finally, she let out a breath of relief and hung the peach branches by the doorway before inviting them in, leaving both of them somewhat paranoid.
"I've temporarily driven that infant ghost away. He likes to cling to your shoulders and crawl around on your back..." Lin Yue said.
She even accurately described the appearance of the infant ghost from Uncle Ying's movies—how it crawled on Wang Dashi's shoulders, what its laughter sounded like, why it refused to leave, and so forth, turning their faces ghostly pale.
"Right now, he's outside the door, clinging to it and staring at you. Brother-in-law, he says he's going to follow you forever. How on earth did you provoke him?"
"I don't know... Second Sister, you have to help me!" Wang Dashi fell to his knees with a thud. Even Sanya, who knew it was an act, grew terrified and knelt down alongside him. As both trembled, blending act and reality, everything felt unnervingly genuine.
Lin Yue merely offered a faint smile and a few soothing words, providing advice on using peach wood and copper coins to drive away evil spirits. Under the pretext of assessing their exposure to evil energy, she took both their pulses, gaining an understanding of Wang Dashi's condition, though she was unsure if she could cure it.
"Brother-in-law, that child has been haunting you constantly, and the evil energy on you is far too heavy. Even I am powerless here. Even if the infant ghost leaves, it will still affect your ability to have children in the future."
"Is there really no other way?!" Wang Dashi's lips quivered. He was the eldest son; how could he face his ancestors in the future?
"There is a way. Certain people possess a layer of white light invisible to the naked eye—Old Doctor Chen had it—and those evil spirits dare not draw near. According to my observations..." Lin Yue nodded with certainty. Merit counters ghosts; she advised him to do good deeds, accumulate merit, and maintain a bright, cheerful mood in the days ahead, which would help disperse the evil energy.
After this routine, the two left in terror. A cool breeze blew across Lin Yue's back, making her shiver as she looked warily around the somewhat chilly, dark room in the summer heat, starting to feel a bit superstitious herself...
Later, when news reached her about the two of them, they were living together in harmony, and their relationships with others had gradually improved.
Lin Yue continued working at the shop. Doctor Chen remained radiant with vitality every day, being the longest-lived elder in the area. Everyone said he would live to see five generations under one roof. But one day, Chen Ping suddenly informed her that Doctor Chen had passed away—he had gone peacefully in his sleep, a gentle smile resting upon his face.
Lin Yue fell silent. Doctor Chen had taught her for four years, holding nothing back—a talkative, cheerful old man.
Time flew by. Many people in life were like extras on a busy street; perhaps with a single turn, they vanished forever.
Lin Yue attended Doctor Chen's funeral and observed a hundred days of mourning for him. She did not wail at the funeral, remaining the odd one out as ever.
Without that gray-haired, stooped figure, the medicine shop felt extraordinarily desolate. When there were few patients around, Chen Ping spoke to her about his grandfather, sharing that when he was young, his grandfather always wore a stern, serious expression, talking very little and rarely smiling...
Doctor Chen was gone, and Lin Yue was now nineteen years old. Her body was robust enough that she could walk as fast as the wind, and she planned to leave this place to venture into the outside world.
As for her parents in the Lin family, the family business was enough to support them, and her filial duty as Xiaya had been fulfilled.
One day, upon returning from gathering herbs on the mountain, an unfamiliar conversation in the courtyard caught her attention.
Lin Yue paused outside the courtyard wall to listen. The village chief and her parents were discussing her marriage.
"Xiaya isn't young anymore. As her parents, you can't just keep her cooped up at home just because she's a doctor and delay her future. A daughter always has to be married off eventually..."
The village chief tried earnestly to persuade them, suggesting several prospective suitors—some older than Lin Yue, some younger, and even one whose wife had died in childbirth. Among them was a relative of the village chief, whom he strongly recommended.
Lin Yue understood now: he was acting as a matchmaker for his own relative.
"Husband, what should we do about Xiaya?" Madame Wang asked.
Lin Shi sighed, his voice filled with regret. "A daughter ultimately has to get married."
Hearing this, Madame Wang began plotting in her head. "Husband, what about Wu Yang? He's recovered now and is a scholar. If he passes the civil service exams in the future and brings honor to his ancestors, we'll share in the glory too. His mother is quite fond of Xiaya, so this should work out. If we become in-laws, our grandson won't have to pay for his schooling either..."
Lin Yue remained unmoved. A marriage full of self-interest without affection suited her just fine.
Even if it were truly for her own good, what did it matter?
Those of different paths could not make plans together.
That very night, Lin Yue packed her money and, under the pretext of gathering herbs, left Lin Family Village with her luggage in the dead of night.
Before leaving, she thought of Sanya.
In Sanya's situation, she would inevitably face mistreatment or even severe beatings in the future.
As an adult who had experienced half a lifetime of hardships, Lin Yue operated mostly on practical self-interest, feeling little sympathy or emotion toward the tragic fates of others.
What was more, they had only lived together for a year. During her most difficult times, Sanya had never provided her with any actual help, and Lin Yue was no child who needed family affection.
To Lin Yue, Sanya was more like a roommate, a neighbor, or a somewhat familiar relative—she merely lent a hand when Sanya was in trouble for Xiaya's sake.
Yet perhaps because they had gotten along peacefully enough, or because she saw the potential for oppression and awakening in Sanya...
...the thought of taking Sanya along actually crossed her mind for a fleeting moment.
But she dismissed it in an instant.
She knew no martial arts; Tai Chi merely gave her better stamina than ordinary people so she could run faster when encountering danger. Combined with the knockout powders and poisons she carried, it gave her a fighting chance to make it outside.
But Sanya was different. She was a native of this world, not yet driven to a dead end, and still harbored hope for the future—she most likely wouldn't go with her.
Besides, if they were caught, wouldn't she just be harming her needlessly?
It would have to wait for the future.
Rate on N.U.
