Yan Qing knew that Shi Ting’s recurring high fevers were caused by inflammation in his body that had not yet subsided, so she dared not stop the medicine — it was administered three times a day, reliably and on time.

Over these past few days, she had chatted idly with Old Man Li while sorting herbs and learned that this village was called Jiuyang Village. Due to the terrain, it received abundant sunlight, which made the medicinal herbs grow exceptionally well.

Many people in the village made their living gathering herbs on the mountain, but the herbs they brought back could not fetch a decent price. The herb merchants who came to buy pressed the prices down very low — so low that an entire month’s harvest was barely enough to survive on.

Yan Qing thought of the Li family’s three meals a day, which were all thin porridge, with nothing to go with it but pickled vegetables or wild greens.

Though a few chickens and ducks were raised in the courtyard, the eggs they laid were all sold for money. The salted duck egg Yan Qing had eaten that first day had been the very best dish this household had to offer.

“Come, come — time to eat!” Old Man Li had sold his herbs today and accordingly went to the henhouse to collect three eggs, then stir-fried them with spring onions.

Even something as ordinary as this egg stir-fried with green onions felt like a New Year’s feast to Old Man Li and Xiao Yue.

Xiao Yue, with great consideration, held her bowl and waited for Yan Qing to pick up her chopsticks first. Old Man Li would not eat a single bite himself and continued eating his pickled vegetables.

Yan Qing had come from the modern world, and at the Yan Family she had been accustomed to fine clothing and rich food — she had never witnessed such poverty in her life.

Thinking of how the Li family was already so far from wealthy, and how these past days they had given up so much grain and medicine to care for her and Shi Ting, she felt deeply ashamed to have imposed upon them.

Their luggage had been left on the passenger ship, and she wore no gold or silver jewelry on her person either.

At the thought of gold and silver jewelry, Yan Qing reached up and removed a pendant from around her neck. This pendant had been given to her by Luo Huaimeng just before they set out, and she had said it would keep her safe.

She put the pendant around Xiao Yue’s neck and smiled. “This is a good-luck charm — a gift for you.”

Luo Huaimeng had said it could keep its wearer safe, and since Old Man Li and his granddaughter had saved the two of them, this pendant rightfully belonged to them.

Xiao Yue and Old Man Li both hastily tried to decline. Yan Qing pressed down Xiao Yue’s hand as it moved to take the jade pendant off, and said gently: “Xiao Yue, I’m not giving you this pendant out of gratitude. I simply like you very much and want to give you something as a keepsake.”

She took Xiao Yue’s small hand in hers. “If you and your grandfather ever run into difficulties in the future, this pendant can be sold.”

Xiao Yue shook her head rapidly and signed that she would never sell it.

Yan Qing smiled. “If you like it, just keep wearing it — it will watch over you and keep you safe.”

Xiao Yue’s eyes brightened, shimmering like a clear spring. She held up the pendant, the corners of her mouth curved like a crescent moon.

She had never seen anything so beautiful before. She had not even known that such a lovely thing existed in this world.

“Miss Yan, thank you.” Old Man Li knew the piece must be very precious, but Yan Qing’s generous warmth was too hard to refuse — and besides, if he accepted this gift, she would be able to live at the Li household with an easy conscience.

A sigh. He just didn’t know when that young fellow would wake up.

Shi Ting had been unconscious for a full seven days, and still showed no sign of waking.

Yan Qing had also considered the question of returning to Qian Guan City. The medical facilities there were certainly superior to here, but Old Man Li had told her that this remote and impoverished area had only horse carts and boats to connect it with the outside world, and the dock was exceedingly far away.

Shi Ting had a head injury. The jolting of a cart or boat over such a distance was clearly not an option.

Moreover, the road was long and full of unknown hazards — she did not dare take that risk.

As for getting word to Shun Cheng — that was entirely impossible. No one in this village had ever seen a telephone, and many had never even heard of one.

Having dismissed the idea of going to Qian Guan City, Yan Qing could only wait quietly for Shi Ting to wake up.

One day, while Yan Qing and Xiao Yue were in the courtyard drying herbs, the front gate suddenly burst open with a tremendous bang.

Xiao Yue gave a frightened shudder and immediately ducked behind Yan Qing.

“Go inside, quickly.” Old Man Li called out urgently, his expression as tense as if facing a great enemy.

Yan Qing immediately pulled Xiao Yue inside with her, and peered out through a crack in the door at the courtyard beyond.

“Oh, Old Li — airing out your herbs?” The man who had entered was heavyset, with a fat, pig-like face. Behind him trailed four or five lackeys, all of them rat-faced and sharp-featured.

“Where’s your little girl?” The man licked his lips, revealing a lecherous grin.

Yan Qing fixed her gaze on this man, feeling a revulsion rise from deep within her. She instinctively tightened her grip on Xiao Yue’s hand and said quietly: “Don’t be afraid.”

Xiao Yue let out a sound of acknowledgment and tried to appear calm, but the hand Yan Qing was holding trembled faintly.

“Ah, so it’s Mister Niu.” Old Man Li cupped his hands in a bow and forced a smile. “My little granddaughter recently came down with a cold — she’s resting in her room. If Mister Niu wants to see her, I’ll call her out.”

The moment he heard “cold,” Mister Niu’s face changed drastically. He jumped back in alarm. “She’s got a cold and you still let her come out to see people? Are you trying to kill me?”

Mister Niu swept his eyes over the bare and humble courtyard, picking his teeth with a toothpick. “Old Li — count the days: today is your turn to go to Qiong Shan. Hurry up and get ready — the group is about to set out.”

At the words “Qiong Shan,” Old Man Li’s face went ashen. Inside the room, Xiao Yue’s fists clenched tight, and tears began to fall.

Once Mister Niu had gone, Old Man Li dropped heavily into a chair in the courtyard and began sighing mournfully.

“Uncle, where is Qiong Shan, and why do they make you go there?” Yan Qing asked, deeply concerned.

Old Man Li said: “Qiong Shan is a mountain range south of Jiuyang Village — it stretches for a hundred li. Legend has it that an ancient general of great renown is buried somewhere in those mountains. During his life this general killed and pillaged, amassing a vast fortune, all of which was buried with him in his tomb. When the village chief and his son learned of this, they led men up the mountain to dig and plunder the grave. But despite digging for several years, they haven’t found anything particularly valuable. They have dug up some smaller graves, and while those graves held no gold or silver, they did contain some bronze pieces and porcelain wares — which only made them more certain that there must be treasure hidden somewhere in Qiong Shan.”

Old Man Li let out a long sigh. “This man called Mister Niu is the village bully. Ever since he began searching the mountain for treasure, he has forbidden anyone else from going up, and beats anyone who defies him. Not only that, he has been conscripting the able-bodied men of the village to help him dig. That mountain is overrun with wild beasts and riddled with precipices and cliffs, and many men have died up there while digging graves.”

Yan Qing thought of Xiao Yue’s parents. They too had died when they were buried alive while digging graves. Could this have something to do with Mister Niu?

Indeed, at the mention of Mister Niu’s name, Xiao Yue’s fists clenched tighter and tighter, and her usually clear eyes filled with a fierce and angry light.

“Mister Niu has had his eye on Xiao Yue for some time now — he finds her attractive. To keep him from harassing her, I had no choice but to agree to go up the mountain in his service.” Old Man Li looked at Xiao Yue with a loving gaze.

She was his only grandchild now. No matter what, he would never allow her to be seized by an evil man — it would destroy her entire life.

Hearing this, Xiao Yue let out great rolling tears.

Yan Qing said with anger: “With Mister Niu running roughshod over everyone like this, isn’t there anyone in the village who will do something about it?”

“The village chief has absolute authority in Jiuyang Village, and the village chief is Mister Niu’s father. Mister Niu’s bullying in the village is all done under the protection of his father.”

Yan Qing sighed. As they said — the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. In a remote backwater like this, the village chief was the absolute ruler, and probably held the power of life and death over everyone here.

“Enough of that.” Old Man Li stood up to go gather his tools, and at the same time he instructed Yan Qing: “Miss, I’m leaving Xiao Yue in your care. While I’m away, make sure you keep the doors bolted tight — no matter what, do not let those wicked people in.”

“Uncle, don’t worry. They know Xiao Yue has a cold, and they won’t dare come near.”

In a village where medical care was so primitive, a cold was a disease that could easily take a life.

After Old Man Li left, Yan Qing took Xiao Yue’s hand and quietly comforted her for a while, then urged her to go rest in her room.

What was happening was like a forced conscription. In the face of absolute power, no one dared to defy it. These people knew that even if they dug up a grave, their share of the reward would amount to nothing — yet they had to stake their lives on it all the same.

Yan Qing sat on the edge of the bed, using a damp cloth to wipe Shi Ting’s face, talking quietly to him all the while. Even though he could not hear, she still told him everything that happened each day.

“Shi Ting, do you see? Injustice is everywhere. Even a good man like Uncle Li is being dragged off to dig ancient graves. But we can only stand by and watch, with no way to help.”

“Xiao Yue is such a pitiful child too. Both her parents died in the grave-digging. Her grandfather is so old, yet he still has to risk his life for these people. Why is this world so unjust? It is far too cruel to those who are good and poor.”

Yan Qing rambled on for a long while. In the end she reached out and touched his increasingly gaunt face. “All right — I won’t disturb you anymore. I hope Uncle Li will be able to come home safely tomorrow.”

The following day, Yan Qing’s wish went unfulfilled. Before dawn had even broken, the sound of pounding at the gate rang out, and when Xiao Yue ran over and opened it, two men came in carrying a stretcher, which they dropped carelessly onto the ground without a second glance.

“Useless old wretch.” Mister Niu gave the person a kick and spat. “The tomb hasn’t even started to be dug yet and he’s already gone and crippled himself.”

Xiao Yue dropped to her knees in front of the stretcher, examining Old Man Li’s injuries while tears poured down her face.

Mister Niu’s lecherous eyes roamed over her, but because Xiao Yue was “ill,” he did not dare come any closer. “Let me tell you something, Old Li — you’d better get yourself back up that mountain tomorrow and keep digging. Don’t lie around playing dead here. I’m telling you, it doesn’t matter if it’s just a broken leg or even if your head’s fallen off — you’re going up that mountain. And if you don’t go, heh heh — then just hand over that lovely little granddaughter of yours. I’ll spare you the labor after that.”

Old Man Li trembled all over with fury, glaring at Mister Niu but unable to get a single word out.

“I’ll give you one day to think it over — decide whether you’d rather keep digging graves, or hand your granddaughter over to me.” Mister Niu let out a cold snort, and then he and his men swaggered off.

After Mister Niu left, Xiao Yue could hold herself together no longer. She threw herself down over Old Man Li and wept openly.