It is a Straight Road Vol 1 Chapter 1.07

Years ago.

“Sun Shi Yang! Sun Shi Yang!” Zhou Wen Wu kicks and overturns several chairs. “Doesn’t Xu Zhi know that I’m pursuing her? Why is she looking for a man called Sun Shi Yang? Someone very important to her? Ha!”

Looking at the cowering eunuch in front of him, his tone turns gentle suddenly although there is a cold edge to it. “Have you found this person? I do not care how many men you have found with that name but I want them all dead. Not a single one must remain.”

“Your Second Highness….” If the eunuch is not kneeling down, he is sure his knees will be knocking together right now. “His Majesty…. His Majesty may get angry if he finds out that you have killed a group of man without reason. If you like Da Gu Niang so much, why not beg His Majesty for her hand in marriage?”

Zhou Wen Wu takes a deep breath, and forces a smile. “Stupid fool, what do you know? The daughters of the Xu Family are free to marry whomever they choose. It will be the gravest insult to any of them if they are ordered to marry. Besides, why would father think that I’m good enough for her? I don’t care. I want you to find the men she likes and when you do, I want you to kill them all!”

An elderly Wei doctor examines the fair maiden in front of him. She has the fair skin of Nan Ling maiden but her dressing is that of a Xi Xuan n.o.blewoman. He places his hand on her pulse and when he frowns, the man sitting next to her and wearing a mask, slaps his hand on the table and springs up.

Looking at the agitated man, the elderly doctor says. “Miss must learn to relax and only then will you be able to sleep well at night. You can ask your servant to look for my disciple later who will teach her how to brew the medicine. Sometimes if the fire is not controlled well, the medicine may lose some of its effects. As for the meds I’m giving you, you can take it long-term as it will be good for you.

She takes his prescription. “Thank you.”

Xu Zhi is dressed simply today and no one in the room, except her servants, has any idea that today’s patent is the famous Xi Xuan Xu Zhi. Zhou Wen Wu s.n.a.t.c.hes the prescription from her hand and glares at its contents. “What c.r.a.p is this? These herbs are meant to tranquilize. Since when are they good for headaches?”

Zhou Wen Wu is no stranger to this prescription. Years ago when his mother pa.s.sed away, the doctors have prescribed the same meds for him so he knows fully well that while these meds can keep a person stoned, it cures nothing!

Xu Zhi takes the prescription away from him calmly and pa.s.ses it to Bai Hua to brew it for her. Seeing that the elderly Wei doctor is about to leave, she quickly asks. “Old Doctor, I like to ask if you have heard of this person?”

“Please tell me his name and I’ll do my best to answer you.”

“Has Old Doctor heard of someone called Sun Shi Yang?”

As the doctor repeats the name, Zhou Wen Wu looks at her queerly while she continues. “He is supposed to be a doctor. Maybe he is from Wei, or maybe from another country.”

The elderly doctor shakes his head. “I do not know of anyone with this name.”

“Not even in the medical books?”

He shakes his head again. “If he is someone important enough to be recorded in medical books, I will be sure to have heard of him and I am sure there is no such person.”

Seeing that his patient is lost in her own thoughts, the Wei doctor packs his bags and left. When there are only the 2 of them left in the hall, Zhou Wen Wu finally manages to speak with some difficulty. “Xu Zhi, is this Sun Shi Yang a….. doctor?”

She looks at him in surprise. “Yes, I believe he is someone who can cure my headache as I have heard that there is no one else who cure head ailments as well as him. Too bad I have never been able to find him.”

Zhou Wen Wu tries to laugh although it is not easy when his teeth are grinding against each other. “Of course, it will be difficult searching for this person. Have you been looking for him for very long?”

“Yes.” She turns to look at him. She is never very good at reading people, especially when he has a mask obscuring most this face, but she thinks that something is off. “Ah Wu, your expression is weird. Are you….”

Zhou Wen Wu looks as if he has been scalded and tries to speak but no words come out. Just as Xu Zhi is wondering if he has injured his voice box like Tong Mo, she probes. “Are you feeling happy at the news?”

“Huh? Happy? Yes, I am indeed happy. Ha. Ha. I am. Very happy.”

“Ah Wu, seems like your curse is coming true. So long as I am unable to find Sun Shi Yang, that’s it for me. I think your hatred for me should at least reduce by half now that your wish is coming true. Now that you will get to see my ending…”

Her next words are cut off as Zhou Wen Wu puts his hand over her mouth. Perhaps he has used too much strength for Xu Zhi stumbles backward until her back hits the wall. Before her head can connect with the wall, Zhou Wen Wu quickly reaches out a hand to cushion her head. “Xu Zhi, does Zhou Wen Cheng knows about this?”

She glares at the hand covering her mouth and he slowly releases her. “So what if he knows? Can he summon the High Deity for me?”

“High Deity?”

“Of course. Who else do you think can save me?”

He marches away to her amazement, and she wonders if the mask has caused his strange behavior. When Jiu Xing comes in to tell her that His Second Highness, no, he means Master Zhou has stomped off, Xu Zhi asks him to follow the former if he is worried, and leaves the room after Jiu Xing.

Not far from the clinic, Xu Zhi spots a stall selling lovers’ knot and walks over. The young stall owner is in the midst of setting up his stall but upon seeing a potential customer, he quickly walks over. “h.e.l.lo young lady! These are lowers’ knots from Wei and it can tie a couple in marriage bliss. Are you keen to purchase one for your friends or family?”

“Are these knots only used by Wei people?”

“Yes, but it should not stop Miss from buying one if there is a man you like. See this knot with phoenix jade carving? It is not common to find them in Xi Xuan and Miss must make use of this rare opportunity as it is not often you have a Wei merchant contingent is in town. I have heard that you people in Xi Xuan sings courtship songs to express your love but in Wei, we give lovers’ knots instead. Miss is so pretty so I am sure there must be many who have sang courtship songs to you.”

Xu Zhi thinks back to her younger days. “Yes there are but I have not kept count.”

The young stall owner thinks to himself that this young lady must be big flirt but he does not wish to offend her. “Are you married?”

“No, not yet.”

You terrible tease. “Ow, you must have broken a lot of hearts. From what I hear, once someone sings a courtship song, it is very rare for the other person to turn the singer down. “ When the young lady only ‘ooh’ in acknowledgement, he decides to try another track. After all, Customer is King. “Look, I have a red string here. If Miss does not fancy any of these knots on display, let me make one for you. I have studied from a Master before coming here and knows several interesting knots which I guarantee you will like.”

Taking the red string from him, Xu Zhi twists the string this and that, and comes up with a beautiful knot. Pulling it apart, she ties a more difficult knot next and says to the astonished stall owner. “There are 36 different lovers’ knots from Wei.” Undoing the second knot, she starts next on an even more complex knot. “Actually it is not just in Wei, lovers’ knots also exist in some countries like Little Zhou and Gao Qi but they are not as famous as their Wei cousins.” Pointing to her third knot, she continues. “See, this is the 3-people knot from Gao Qi and it is specifically used when there is 1 husband with 2 wives.” She deftly unties the knot and weaves a fourth knot. “As for this knot, you can no longer find it around and can only be found in ancient graves.”

“Wait, wait a moment! You are too fast! Can you don’t take it apart?” Can you sell it to me? Wait, can she be a compet.i.tor in disguise?

Xu Zhi straightens the string and hands it back to him. “A lovers’ knot is but a symbol. How many joined hearts are there in the world? There are many examples of couples falling out of love even when you find lovers’ knots buried in their graves, so really, there is no evidence that lovers’ knots will tie a couple in marriage bliss. Same goes for courtship songs.”

“How come Miss is so knowledgeable of what get buried in tombs?”

When she only looks at him, he tries a different track. “Miss is so good at tying lovers’ knots, did you learn it from your embroidery teacher?”

“No, I picked it up myself as an interest.”

Xu Zhi has never found it difficult to learn something, so long as there is a fixed pattern or logic to it. It is unlike human expressions, which is why she has never tried hard to read people’s intent from their faces. Picking up the knot with the phoenix carving, Xu Zhi paid for it and continues walking along the street. When she turns into an isolated lane, someone grabs her hand. Turning around, she sees a big burly man leering at her.

“Look who we have here! A prost.i.tute from Nan Ling. Come sleep with me.”

“Let go.”

“Or are you a kept woman from some rich household? Are you trying to resist? It is futile you know. If I keep don’t tell and you don’t tell, no one will know. Come with me now.”

Xu Zhi looks at the main street just around the corner and figures no one can see what is happening here. Unafraid, she mutters to herself. “Although you look like a drunk merchant from another country, your accent has given you away. You are from the Tu Yue Performing Group.”

Shocked, the burly man jerks back his hand and she falls to the ground. Her hand wraps around her head by instinct, uncaring of what happen to other parts of her body. Although it is her kneecaps that hit the ground, the vibration that rocks through her is still enough to cause a splitting pain in her head.

“Xu Zhi! Stop! Be careful with her head! You wretched man!” From a distance, she can hear Zhou Wen Wu’s bellow. Today, she has Jiu Xing, Bai Hua and Zhou Wen Wu with her but the first 2 has not given her any reason to feel safe in their presence. She is thankful at Zhou Wen Wu appearance but this man is a body of contradiction. She can predict all his moves in the past when he tried to usurp the throne, but she finds that she totally cannot read him now.

Suddenly, she hears a crisp ‘dang!” and everything went blank. Even Zhou Wen Wu has stopped shouting and the lane resumes its quiet.

Biting down on her headache, Xu Zhi lifts her head to check out what has made the sound and sees that the burly man has moved to stand in front of Zhou Wen Wu. “What is your name?”

“Zhou Wen Wu.”

Obviously, the burly man has never heard of the name and he turns around to grin his yellowed-tooth smile at Xu Zhi. When he walks over, she thought that he is going to hurt her but he merely shakes something yellow in front of her which gives a ‘dang!’ sound.

The sound vibrates through her brain as a dazed spell hits her. She blanks for out a moment but quickly regains her senses. She looks at the yellow object in front of her and recognizes it as a hand bell. As she stares at the ancient words carved on it, she hears the big man ask. “What is your name?”

Thinking quickly, she replies in the same monotonous way that Zhou Wen Wu has answered. “Xu Zhi.”

“Xu Zhi? Are you from Nan Ling?”

“I’m fron Xi Xuan.”

“Pei! I thought only Nan Ling people have fair skin.” Staring at her face, the man strokes at her exposed skin and leers. “So smooth and soft. Seems like I have myself a Xi Xuan serf here! No wonder you are there that day at Yuan Bao Lou. Ok Xu Zhi, get up from the floor.”

Taking a quick look at Zhou Wen Wu who is standing very straight, she picks herself up and straightens as she sneaks another peek at the hand bell.

A young man turns into their corner and rushes up to them. “Lou Quan Guang! You touched that thing? I thought we have agreed to leave Xi Xuan quietly?”

“She has recognized me. Of course I have to protect myself.”

“Don’t give me excuses! You must have approached her deliberately. She is only at the clinic to see a doctor, why would she pay attention to us? Did you see that she has several people with her? What if they found out that we are hiding at the clinic….”

“It is precisely because we need to leave that we need her! With the tight security at the city gate, do you think we can leave unharmed if we have no hostage or two? Besides, this Xu woman killed many of our man, it is only right to demand some payment from her. I have found out that she is a kept woman from a n.o.ble household. So long as we can control her with the bell, she can help us get out of the city safety.”

“Look, you can’t blame her when we are the ones who mistook her as Zhao’s friend!”

“Yi Lang, you are too soft-hearted! Ok, I promise you, if we manage to leave safely, I’ll let her go, although I must say it is a really pity to let off such a pretty woman.”

“Don’t you know the trouble you have gotten into? Her maid is now searching for her in the streets!”

“Yi Lang, I still think worry for naught. See, if she is important enough to have a maid, she will be quite useful to us. I bet that man there is her guard and since we are able to control them without spilling any blood, I say it is our good luck to have run into them!”

Shaking the hand bell in front of her, he commands. “Xu Zhi, go down that flight of stairs and when your maid comes along, tell her to go off without you.”

Xu Zhi follows his orders and is soon spotted by Jiu Xing and Bai Hua. She tells them to leave first and refuses to let them follow her. When Bai Hua tries to protest, she reminds her that she is the Mistress and does not need her permission to be alone. Dismissing them, she walks back to the 2 men from Tu Yue Performing Group.