Luzhou Moon - Chapter 8
Tang Yanchu turned around and said, "Is something wrong?"
"Could you find out something for me while you're going down the mountain?" Yue Ruzheng asked, frowning. "I'm worried about Yinxi Xiaozhu. I wonder if the people from Jile Valley tried to harass my master before my senior uncle returned."
Tang Yanchu thought for a moment and simply said, "I understand." He didn't say anything more and left the courtyard with his bamboo basket on his back.
Yue Ruzheng waited by the window for his return, and time seemed to drag on endlessly. After what felt like forever, he finally came back, and she hurriedly asked him as he entered the courtyard, "Xiao Tang, did you ask him for me?"
Tang Yanchu did not answer immediately. She lowered her head, walked to the corner of the courtyard, knelt on the ground, slumped her shoulders, and unloaded the bamboo basket against the wall.
"Xiao Tang?" Yue Ruzheng felt even more uneasy when she saw that he didn't speak, so she called out loudly.
He glanced up at her, his eyes seemingly cold. Yue Ruzheng saw his expression and knew he was probably in a bad mood again, but she didn't know why. She pursed her lips, stopped calling him, and leaned against the desk in disappointment, lost in thought.
Tang Yanchu didn't go inside; he sat down directly under the eaves, took off his shoes, and gathered the firewood piled against the wall. He leaned his back against the wall, held a wood-chopping knife between his feet, and began chopping the wood with force.
Yue Ruzheng sat inside the house, unable to see him, only hearing those muffled sounds, which seemed to strike her heart, causing a dull ache.
She sat for a while, but couldn't sit still any longer, so she leaned out the window and looked in the direction the sound came from. Tang Yanchu was looking somber; the firewood, chopped and lying to one side, was forcing him to use his right foot to hold the knife handle while his left foot reached out to pick up the shards. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he abruptly looked up and saw Yue Ruzheng staring in his direction. He abruptly threw the knife to the ground, his face pale, and said, "Did I let you see?!"
Yue Ruzheng had never seen him angry before, and was startled. Finding his anger inexplicable, she snapped, "I just wanted to see what you were doing!"
"What's so interesting? I don't have hands, I can only work with my feet, isn't that strange?" Tang Yanchu leaned against the wall, her chest heaving, staring straight at Yue Ruzheng.
Yue Ruzheng truly didn't understand why he seemed like a completely different person after returning. She had always thought Tang Yanchu was just quiet and reserved, but she hadn't expected him to lose his temper like this for no reason. She wondered if she had done anything to offend him, yet he was blaming her like this. Yue Ruzheng glared at him angrily, knocking on the window frame, and said, "Tang Yanchu, what did I say or do wrong? If I did, just tell me directly. Why are you getting so angry for no reason?"
"You're not wrong, it's all my fault," Tang Yanchu said coldly, then turned and left the courtyard, leaving her alone in the house.
The sunlight was gentle, the peach blossoms were in full bloom, clusters and bunches heavy with petals, some even bending the branches and drooping downwards. Yue Ruzheng sat sadly for a long time, but Tang Yanchu did not return. The clouds in the sky slowly drifted into the distance, changing unpredictably, reminding her of the equally enigmatic Tang Yanchu. She still didn't know what she had done to offend him, only feeling very depressed.
The cheerful chirping of birds carried on the wind. Yue Ruzheng, supporting herself on the table, stood up and, holding onto the wall, slowly walked out of the house. She went to the courtyard, walked along the wall to the pile of firewood, picked up the wood-chopping knife that Tang Yanchu had thrown down, and silently began chopping the remaining firewood.
She dared not put too much weight on her right foot, so she turned her body to the left. Before long, her lower back began to ache slightly. But she vented her frustration by chopping firewood with all her might, making loud banging noises.
After a moment, the bamboo fence rustled softly. Without looking up, she continued chopping wood with all her might. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Tang Yanchu walking up to her and standing still.
She sneered inwardly, but her face remained expressionless. She deliberately turned to the side, swung her knife straight down, and cleaved a tree branch in two before tossing it aside.
One of the branches rolled right up to Tang Yanchu's feet, but she didn't go to pick it up. Tang Yanchu stretched out her right foot and gently kicked the branch back in front of her. Yue Ruzheng didn't even look at him, ignoring him and continuing with her own work.
Tang Yanchu stood silently for a long time, while Yue Ruzheng chopped the tree branch beside her into pieces.
"Stop chopping." He finally spoke first.
Yue Ruzheng acted as if she hadn't heard, picked up another thick tree trunk, and chopped it down forcefully.
Tang Yanchu seemed to take a deep breath, squatted down beside her, and after a while, whispered, "I'm sorry."
Yue Ruzheng shuddered, stopped, and turned to look at him. Tang Yanchu's gaze didn't fall on her; he simply lowered his eyes, looking at the ground, as was his habitual gesture. Although Yue Ruzheng felt that this whole affair was completely inexplicable to him and that it was his fault, seeing him squatting so dejectedly beside her, head bowed, uttering those three words, she felt a pang of pity.
She also lowered her head, looking at the wood chips scattered on the ground.
"I asked around for you, but nobody in the town knows anything about Luzhou. Later, I went to the ferry, and a few disciples from the Emei Sect happened to be passing by... but they didn't say anything either." He spoke very softly, as if he were talking to himself.
Yue Ruzheng gripped the wood-chopping knife, displeased, and said, "Then why didn't you say so when you came back? Do you think I'd blame you for not finding out?"
"No," Tang Yanchu looked away and said, "It has nothing to do with you; I'm just in a bad mood."
"Tang Yanchu, I thought you were like an old monk, devoid of any emotions. But you're quite unexpected; you took your bad mood out on me?" Yue Ruzheng snorted and threw the wood-chopping knife at his feet.
Tang Yanchu turned her face away and remained silent.
"Tell me, why are you in a bad mood?" she asked, looking directly at him.
Tang Yanchu said sullenly, "Don't ask anymore. It's no use asking more about things I don't want to talk about."
Yue Ruzheng said angrily, "It seems I'll have to re-evaluate you from now on. Tang Yanchu, why are you so stubborn?"
Tang Yanchu looked up at her and said, "That's just how I am. No one has ever been able to change me from childhood to adulthood."
Looking at his face, Yue Ruzheng suddenly felt that the boy was quite frightening when he was angry, but now his eyes held a stubbornness that made him seem still somewhat childish. She couldn't help but want to ask him if his parents were still alive and if they ever suffered from his stubbornness. But the words caught in her throat.
Regarding Tang Yanchu's first unprovoked outburst at Yue Ruzheng, he never revealed the real reason. After Yue Ruzheng calmed down, she asked him about it, but as he had said, he refused to speak no matter what she tried, whether it was gentle persuasion or force.
It wasn't until much later that Yue Ruzheng learned why he had been depressed after returning from the mountain. But by then, this small matter had faded into the depths of her memory, like an old object covered in thick dust...
After calming down, Yue Ruzheng figured that since the Emei disciples hadn't mentioned Yinxi Xiaozhu in Luzhou, nothing serious should have happened yet, which put her at ease. In the afternoon, she rested at her desk, and the scent of peach blossoms carried by the breeze lulled her into sleep. She didn't know how much time had passed when she vaguely heard voices outside. Yue Ruzheng groggily opened her eyes and looked out the window. She could only see Tang Yanchu standing with his back to her at the courtyard gate. There seemed to be another person opposite him, but they were obscured by a large tree in front of the bamboo fence, so she couldn't make out their face.
Yue Ruzheng was surprised; she had never seen another person since she arrived. This small courtyard was located deep in the mountains of Nan Yandang, and usually no one passed by, nor did she see anyone coming to look for Tang Yanchu.
Yue Ruzheng wanted to lean out and take a closer look, but remembering the unpleasantness of the afternoon, she didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she rested her chin on her hand and sat obediently by the window. The person outside the courtyard sounded quite old; he was speaking to Tang Yanchu in a dialect Yue Ruzheng couldn't understand, and he sounded very urgent. Tang Yanchu stood quietly by the bamboo fence, only occasionally replying. He spoke purely in the local dialect to the person. Even though Yue Ruzheng strained her ears, she couldn't understand a word.
The man spoke again, but Tang Yanchu only replied with a few simple words. The man could only sigh, as if bidding him farewell, before leaving the courtyard. After walking a short distance, he glanced back into the courtyard. Only then did Yue Ruzheng notice the man. He was about fifty years old, dark-skinned and short, with many signs of sun damage on his face. His clothes were quite decent, and he didn't look like a local villager.
Tang Yanchu turned back, and Yue Ruzheng stood up and walked to the desk. She saw a sense of loneliness in his expression as he sat alone by the well, gazing at the tree in front of the courtyard.
"Little Tang..." Yue Ruzheng leaned out and called out to him.
Tang Yanchu turned around, raised her eyebrows and looked at her, as if waiting for her to ask a question.
Yue Ruzheng pointed to the trees in front of the bamboo fence and asked, "Did you plant these?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Tang Yanchu's eyes. "No...why are you asking this?" she asked.
Yue Ruzheng smiled and said, "This should be a pear tree, right? It will bloom in a while. My master loves these flowers, trees, and plants, and I've learned a lot from her."
Tang Yanchu gazed towards the bamboo fence. The pear tree was just beginning to unfurl its branches and leaves; it wasn't yet time for it to bloom. A gust of wind blew, rustling the lush green leaves. The leaves, with their slender stems and elegant forms, rippled in waves, producing a soft, rustling sound. His initially aloof gaze gradually softened, though a hint of melancholy lingered between his brows.
The afternoon sun had a gentle warmth, and his eyes appeared even more profound in its light.