Ink Burns

Chapter 177 Burning the Fisherman

For three consecutive days, Xue Chen went fishing in the river east of the city. He ordered the Qingdong County to remove the guards on the outer perimeter. Every day, he changed into a royal blue straight robe, a long robe with gold thread, and an indigo straight robe. He fished from morning till night under the scorching sun and amidst the noisy cicadas.

But his gaze wasn't on the fishing float; instead, he would occasionally turn his head to look at the bamboo grove behind him, the alleyway along the embankment, and the path in the distance.

Whether the fish in the river take the bait or not is not important; what matters is whether the people behind us are coming.

When you have something to look forward to, even if you catch nothing all day, you can still look forward to the next day with joy.

Perhaps the clinic is too busy and complicated, or perhaps something is holding me back, or perhaps the gloomy sky these past few days has made me reluctant to go out.
Xue Chen had never looked forward to seeing anyone so much.

a woman.

A vibrant, lively woman.

That Wei Sibu was different from any other girl he had ever met. She loved to laugh, and when she laughed, her eyes would squint like two crescent moons. She was straightforward and spoke crisply, her voice clear and crisp, like a cucumber chilled in a well in summer.

Most importantly, she was absolutely gorgeous. She had big, round eyes that darted around like a clever and strong little horse, a small nose, well-defined ears, red, slightly parted lips, and hair—a head of jet-black, smooth hair that looked like a piece of satin!
God knows that the moment he closes his eyes, he sees her.

She's in my dreams too.

All the girls he met were like Chang Yu Niang: slender and delicate, speaking softly, like flowers carefully watered in a pot—if the seedlings were good, they would grow into neat and orderly flowers with an even number of petals, so that each petal would be symmetrical and uniform; if the seedlings were not good, like Chang Yu Niang, they would be withered and thin, wasting the soil that had been planted in them.

Wei Sibu, on the other hand, is like a wheat stalk laden with ears of grain, full of vitality as it breaks through the soil and has a nonchalant attitude. It's as if even if God were to send down a torrential downpour, she could stand with her hands on her hips and spit the rainwater that had flooded her roots back at God!

The fishing rod moved! There's a bite!
A clear female voice came from behind: "The fishing float is being pulled down!"

Xue Chen jumped up in surprise, and when she turned her head, she saw a strange village girl with a thick braid, a strong figure, and her cheeks were sunburned.

The higher and slower expectations are raised, the more dejected and dispirited one becomes in disappointment. It's like a fully drawn bow; once it loses its strength, it's no better than an earthworm wriggling on the ground.

Xue Chen frowned and hissed, "Get out!" Ignoring the obsequious advice of the official in black, he packed up his fishing rod and basket, turned and walked towards the embankment. After taking two steps, he turned back and asked, "Where is the nearest Xinglin Hall?"

*******
At Qiushui Ferry, thirty feet north of the ferry crossing, there is a single-story house. The threshold and bricks are old and worn, but the plaque is brand new. The vermilion lacquer on the signature is bright red, and from a different angle, it even looks a bit golden.

The bungalows are divided into two parts; the former is called Jimin Pharmacy, and the latter is called Xinglin Pharmacy.

The crowd was bustling and noisy.

The captain of the ship, the dockworkers, the cooks who prepared the communal meals, and the old men who were too sick to run the ship all stood waiting at the entrance of Jimin Pharmacy; outside Xinglin Hall, dozens of small wooden stools of various shapes were placed, where women and children waiting for treatment waited.

Someone is coughing at the door.

Xue Chen was quite far away. After a slight hesitation, he took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket and covered his mouth and nose.

After the person coughing left, Xue Chen stepped into Xinglin Hall.

"Hey, hey, hey—what are you doing!"

The strongest of the four stupid loofahs, named Xiaobai, held a winnowing basket filled with medicine dregs in one hand and put the other on his hip, scolding Xue Chen: "Can't you see this is Xinglin Hall? What are you doing barging in here, you grown man!"

The women and children around him all looked at him.

The room was stuffy, filled with the smells of medicine, people, the stench of fermenting breath, the sour smell of sweat from under the armpits, and the sickly smell of rotting flesh. Xue Chen suppressed a gag: "Wei Sibu, is Wei Sibu here?"

Xiao Bai frowned: "What do you want with her?"

It really is here!

Xue Chen was overjoyed, but didn't know how to answer. She stammered, "She...she went fishing that day and forgot her fishing rod on the shore."

"Oh." Xiaobai said dismissively, "She went to Qinghe Village for medical treatment. You stay here, and I'll give it to her." Xue Chen didn't want to leave, and shuffled her heels on the ground.

Xiao Bai got angry: "What's wrong! Are you afraid I'll steal your fishing rod!?"

Xue Chen kept her head down and remained silent.

The women, children, and patients around Xinglintang all laughed: "They want to return it to Doctor Wei personally!"

Xue Chen's face was flushed, but a surge of intense excitement and satisfaction welled up inside her.

Xiao Bai frowned, pushed open the door to the inner room, and casually made room for Xue Chen: "If you don't trust me, then sit here and wait—don't come out! There are women and children outside, young ladies and wives who have come to see a doctor! If you dare to come out, I'll beat you to death!"

Xiao Bai raised his palm, as big as a palm leaf fan, high to intimidate Xue Chen, and then threw him a low stool that looked exactly like the one in front of the hall.

Xue Chen sat down awkwardly, and soon his back was sweating and his face felt hot from the hot stoves standing around him.

It's already May.

The sun shone brightly outside the window, while inside, more than twenty stoves burned glowing red.

Xue Chen shrugged, sweat trickling from his forehead into his eyes, blurring his vision and making everything appear as overlapping shadows. He felt as if he had fallen into the Heavenly Origin Cauldron where Laozi was refining elixirs, and he himself was a spirit about to be refined.

The sky turned from daylight to dusk, then to night. People bustled in and out of the medicine preparation room. Xue Chen opened his mouth: "I'm...thirsty...thirsty...hot...hot too."

But no one cared.

"It's been three hours," Xiaobai said in a low voice. "The fish are practically dried out!"

Through the half-open window, Shui Guang crossed her arms and looked calmly at the man wedged between the window frames. After a while, she tilted her head: "Looking at him like this, he really does resemble that kid, the one who didn't say much the night of the Fushoushan wildfire."

The boy remained silent until he saw blood and flesh flying everywhere, then he finally feigned crying twice.

The slut in the purple clothes in the middle laughed at him: "Here's a bottle of medicine—if you dare to apply it to this old lady, we'll spare her life!"

The "aunt" she mentioned was their own mother, Qiu Erniang, whose tongue had been cut out by them.

The woman in purple threw a bottle of medicine at them.

The young man surnamed Xue caught the medicine tremblingly, glancing at Qiu Erniang's bleeding lips as he frantically threw it away, stammering, "I, I, I couldn't! I, I couldn't!"

The medicine powder was scattered all over the ground.

Her mother leaned against her, blood gushing wildly from her severed tongue.

Her mother leaned against her, blood spilling from her mouth and dripping from her shoulder onto her skirt and the back of her shoes.

Shui Guang shook her head, clearing her mind of the memories, and smiled broadly, her expression innocent and pure: "Let it bake a little longer."

"The show's over now that the performers are gone!" Xiaobai exclaimed anxiously.

Shui Guang smiled, revealing two dimples at the corners of her mouth, and said with certainty, "He won't leave now—if he wanted to leave at the beginning, he definitely would have. Now that he has held out for three hours, he can't bear to leave."

It's like fishing; if you don't catch a fish for an hour, you can pack your things and leave immediately.

If no fish bites within two hours, they will hesitate and hope for the best on the shore.
If the fish doesn't bite for three hours—all anglers share one belief: "As long as you don't reel in the line, how can you expect to come away empty-handed?"

How many people have bet that this chapter is the fisherman's winter?!
My rhinitis flared up a couple of days ago due to the changing seasons; my eyes were swollen and I felt terribly uncomfortable.