Everyone was stained with blood. A young man, with long, slanted eyebrows that swept into his temples, and wearing a black cloak, leaned down to look at Zi Mo, his eyes as black as night. "You are injured."
This was when Zi Mo first met An Chen at the age of sixteen.
At that time, she was hit in the leg by an arrow, but she still gritted her teeth and said to An Chen in a cold voice, "Save me, and I will repay you."
Because she was a secret agent, she had been exposed to swords and spears since childhood, and she didn't even flinch when an arrow pierced her leg bone.
An Chen took her back to the camp, and her leg injury took several months to heal.
The soldiers in the camp greeted An Chen with "Young Master".
Zi Mo became a maid in the camp. When An Chen was observing the stars, she sat beside him and watched him use pebbles to mark the positions of the constellations on the ground. An Chen said, "Zi Mo, I'll teach you how to read the Vermilion Bird constellation."
Zi Mo asked, "Young Master, what is the Vermilion Bird?"
An Chen smiled and pointed to the starry night sky, "The Vermilion Bird is the red-feathered divine bird of the Central Plains. Look, there are the six stars of the Zhang constellation, the Vermilion Bird's crop."
Zi Mo followed his finger and looked up at the sky. She heard someone whisper in her ear, "From now on, you don't need to call me Young Master. Call me An Chen."
The heavy snow fell all winter long. An Chen taught her astrology and how to brew tea with the snow water from the leaves. The bright moon and the mountains formed a picture, and the heavy snow in the camp looked like reeds covering the sky.
Zi Mo went into the wild and shot a snow fox. She skinned it and sewed its pelt into a fur hat by lamplight in the middle of the night. She was skilled with a knife and sword, but she was very clumsy when it came to needlework. She pricked all ten of her fingers before she could barely finish sewing it.
He held the snow fox fur in his hand and stroked it gently. He pursed his lips and smiled as he said to her, "This leather hat is very well made and has a very novel design."
Zi Mo then noticed that there was a large opening on the leather hat that hadn't been sealed.
After the snow stopped, spring arrived. Xue Guo, having spent the entire winter in seclusion, finally mustered the strength to fight again.
An Chen left Zi Mo in the rear camp and went on the expedition with the army.
This battle was extremely difficult. After struggling for several months, when they finally returned, they found that Zi Mo was gone.
They met again in a dance hall in Yangzhou.
Zi Mo, her face veiled, danced a graceful dance. She climbed onto An Chen's shoulder and called him ambiguously, "An Chen."
Zi Mo said: An Chen, I am actually a spy from the Eastern Land. I was captured and taken back. They forced me to eat wolfsbane. I have been looking for you. Finally, I met you in Yangzhou.
An Chen gazed at her quietly for a moment, then said, "It's good that you're back. I will heal you."
Zi Mo said: "I never knew Jiangnan in the Central Plains was so beautiful. I want to live here forever."
An Chen smiled and looked at her: "We can keep our names secret. My name is Xia Jingnan, and your name is Xia Zimo. We'll build a house, plant some orchids, I'll be the doctor, and you'll collect the payment."
Zi Mo asked him: Why do you have the surname Xia?
An Chen said: Because it's summer right now.
At this time of year, the sky above Yangzhou is filled with seven-colored clouds, which shine on the green tiles of the houses in Jiangnan, giving them a pale, withered yellow hue.
The willows on the riverbank have sprouted new buds.
The orchids bloomed in vast expanses, like the snowy day when she first met An Chen, dancing gracefully under the moon.
Text [27] Wolf Venom Killing (VI)
The night was endless, without moonlight.
Zi Mo spoke quietly.
The vermilion pavilions and folding fans of Jiangnan, the small buildings in the drizzle, and the river boats in the evening sunshine unfold slowly like an ink painting.
I've seen such a beautiful scene before, and because I have, it's so clear in my mind, so clear that I can't blur it even if I try.
Zi Mo said: An Chen likes to smile with his lips pursed, likes to drink tea brewed by Yun Lan, and uses a stone weight to hold down the paper when writing.
I think I know all of this.
I also know that using the dew collected in the early morning, picking the second layer of petals from the stamen of a cloud orchid, and then simmering it in a teapot over a low flame for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, is just the right amount of time.
Zi Mo said: In order to find an antidote, we went to many places and tried many medicines.
An Chen consulted many medical classics and performed numerous acupuncture treatments, but still saw no improvement.
When the poison took effect, Zi Mo felt extremely dizzy, as if thousands of needles were piercing his brain.
She lay on the soft couch in the courtyard, watching the leaves outside the window gradually wither and curl, then flutter down in the wind.
Zi Mo said: An Chen, am I going to die?
An Chen said: No, I won't let you die.
He took her to taste the wine of the Central Plains and had her change into a silk dress worn by girls from the Central Plains.
They lived peacefully in a house, just like ordinary people.
That evening, An Chen was reading medical books, and Zi Mo was grinding ink for him under the lamp.
For some reason, when she told me this story, it felt very familiar.
I can picture Zi Mo lighting the oil lamp by twisting the wick, and An Chen bowing his head to write.
After reading a chapter, he would tilt his head slightly and smile at her.
The oil lamp emitted a rich, lingering scent of ink in the still night, amidst the flickering shadows of the room.
Perhaps he would even pick up his teacup and take a sip. Late at night, I would light the stove and brew another pot of tea, and the master would say, "Xiao Xiang's tea is very fragrant; take some to Third Master."