Luzhou Moon

Chapter 11

Without even looking at him, she casually picked up some food and started eating.

Tang Yanchu hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her right foot, picked up her chopsticks, bent down, and ate her meal face to face with her.

The two ate in utter silence. After a while, Yue Ruzheng glanced up at him furtively. He looked up alertly, and she deliberately asked, "Is it good?"

Tang Yanchu couldn't help but smile and said, "I made this, why are you asking me?"

Yue Ruzheng picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks and said, "Honestly, you cooked very well. It's such a waste for someone to live alone."

Tang Yanchu replied, "It's not wasteful. When I live alone, I rarely cook."

She paused, then asked, "Why? Are you slacking off?"

"No, I can just eat whatever dry food I have. Living alone is very simple," he said calmly.

Looking at the dishes he had carefully prepared, Yue Ruzheng said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I'm staying here and causing you so much trouble."

Tang Yanchu relaxed her beautiful brows and said, "Thank you for coming; otherwise, I could eat normally. I should thank you."

Yue Ruzheng laughed and said, "Little Tang, you can be quite eloquent sometimes."

Tang Yanchu smiled slightly and lowered her head.

The two sat facing each other at the same table for the first time, with a small lamp on the table flickering and casting their shadows onto the plain white wall.

Chapter Eight: Spring Chill Deepens Along the Fragrant Path

Yue Ruzheng often watched Tang Yanchu carry a bamboo basket into the mountains. Some of the herbs he brought back were still wet with raindrops, green and fragrant, while others bore bright red berries, vibrant and appealing. Yue Ruzheng felt that she could walk now, so she pestered Tang Yanchu to take her to see how to gather herbs.

Tang Yan initially refused, but Yue Ruzheng looked at him with bright eyes, and he turned his face away. Yue Ruzheng walked to the corner of the room, slung the bamboo basket over her shoulder, turned around, and said with a grin, "If you don't take me, you won't be able to pack the herbs."

Tang Yanchu said somewhat angrily, "Don't blame me if you get hurt." With that, she walked out on her own.

Feeling that her plan had succeeded, Yue Ruzheng happily followed behind him.

Leaving the courtyard, the two walked one after the other towards the peach grove. It was late February, and the flower buds, which had been small and delicate, were gradually blooming, pink and white blossoms clustered together, creating a vibrant scene. Colorful butterflies fluttered about, and orioles sang sweetly, adding a touch of life to the otherwise quiet and secluded mountain. This was the first time Yue Ruzheng had come here since her injury. Seeing such a beautiful sight, her heart lightened, and her pace quickened.

She had been following behind Tang Yanchu, but now she walked beside him, shoulder to shoulder. Tang Yanchu glanced at her; she carried a bamboo basket on her back, but her brightly colored clothes seemed out of place.

"When you pack the herbs later, I'll carry them myself," he said.

"Okay." Yue Ruzheng didn't stand on ceremony with him. Holding the straw ropes on both sides of the bamboo basket, she looked at the path ahead and asked, "Little Tang, where do you usually go to gather herbs?"

Tang Yanchu raised her chin and said, pointing towards the end of the path ahead, "After passing this point, we still have to cross a hill."

Yue Ruzheng paused, glanced at her sideways, and slowly said, "That's why I told you not to come."

"I'll just walk a little slower, you can wait for me." Although she felt a little regretful, she wouldn't admit it.

Tang Yanchu smiled noncommittally, her eyes revealing a penetrating insight into her thoughts.

Yue Ruzheng followed him along the winding path until they reached the hillside. She recognized this place as the steep slope where she had fallen. Now, with the light bright, she looked up and saw that the narrow, rugged mountain path and uneven rock walls still sent a chill down her spine.

Tang Yanchu stopped and said, "Give me the bamboo basket."

Yue Ruzheng was taken aback and said, "Didn't you say you'd carry me back?"

Tang Yanchu frowned and said, "If you carry me on your back, you can hold onto it. Otherwise, I can't support you."

Yue Ruzheng hesitated for a moment, then took the bamboo basket off her shoulder and slung it over his shoulder. He turned to look at her and said, "Hold onto the basket, I'll help you up."

Yue Ruzheng gripped the bamboo basket tightly, while Tang Yanchu leaned forward slightly, slowly pulling her up the slope. Although the wound on Yue Ruzheng's right foot appeared scabbed over from the outside, it still throbbed with pain inside. Not daring to exert too much force, she held onto the rock face with one hand and gripped the bamboo basket with the other. Tang Yanchu, head down, looked at the path beneath her feet and practically dragged her up the hillside with the strength of his shoulders.

A gentle breeze blew across the hillside, carrying wisps of mist from the nearby waterfall that touched her face, feeling slightly chilly. Yue Ruzheng frowned slightly, leaning against his bamboo basket, her breathing quickening. Tang Yanchu straightened up and supported her, saying, "Yue Ruzheng, you're just being stubborn."

Her face flushed slightly. She wanted to argue, but seeing his shoulders tightly bound by straw ropes and his sleeves fluttering in the mountain wind, she could only lower her head guiltily and say, "I didn't know we were going to climb a mountain."

Tang Yanchu paused for a moment, then said, "Going down the mountain is even harder. You should wait for me here. I'm in the valley ahead; just call me if anything happens."

Yue Ruzheng was a little frustrated, but not wanting to be a burden to him, she slowly walked to the side and found a sheltered spot to sit down. Tang Yanchu easily carried the bamboo basket down the hillside and walked briskly towards the valley not far away.

Yue Ruzheng gently rubbed her right leg, gazing at the surrounding green hills and white waters. A light cloud hung in the sky, and a pool of water below rippled gently in the sunlight. She sat down in the shade of a tree, hugging her knees, and after a short while, she suddenly heard light footsteps echoing from the mountain path she had come from. Slightly surprised, Yue Ruzheng turned to look and saw a woman walking briskly up the steep slope. The woman appeared to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, dressed in a dark blue, wide-sleeved dress with a black ribbon tied around her waist. Her black hair was styled in a high bun, and she was tall and slender. Her skin wasn't particularly fair, but her appearance was dignified, giving her a clean and efficient air.

This woman was clearly not a mountain dweller, nor did she seem to be someone who bought herbs. Yue Ruzheng wondered why such a person would suddenly appear on this deserted mountain path. She looked at the woman in the blue dress with curiosity, but the woman gave her a sharp look, her face as cold as frost, and strode past her.

Yue Ruzheng felt a chill run down her spine from that glance, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She instinctively reached behind her waist and realized she wasn't carrying her sword. Fortunately, the woman only glanced at her before turning and heading down the slope without looking back. Yue Ruzheng suppressed her displeasure and watched her retreating figure. She saw the woman descend the steep slope and head towards the valley.

Yue Ruzheng frowned and stood up, leaning against a large tree behind her. The woman's long dress fluttered, her ribbons swaying gently, and she soon disappeared behind the bushes at the entrance of the valley. Yue Ruzheng suddenly worried about Tang Yanchu, so ignoring the injury in her right foot, she carefully made her way down the slope, supporting herself on the tree trunks. She had cautiously made her way halfway down when she suddenly heard two people talking loudly at the entrance.

Although Yue Ruzheng couldn't understand the words, one of the voices was Tang Yanchu's. She was anxious to go down the slope quickly, but she slipped and fell heavily on the slope. Fortunately, there was a tree nearby, and she quickly grabbed the branch to avoid rolling down the hillside.

At this moment, Tang Yanchu had already run quickly out of the valley with a bamboo basket on her back, with the aloof woman in the blue dress in hot pursuit. Yue Ruzheng gripped the tree trunk with her right hand to prevent herself from slipping, while her left hand pulled out a hairpin, her eyes fixed on the woman, ready to strike at any moment. Tang Yanchu ran down the slope and saw Yue Ruzheng sitting sideways on the steep slope, her face showing anger. She suddenly turned around and shouted at the woman, seemingly questioning her.

The woman's face turned cold. She exchanged a few words with Tang Yanchu, but seeing his still indifferent gaze, she quickly stepped forward and said to Yue Ruzheng, "He said I pushed you down. Tell him, is that true?"

The woman switched from her dialect to Mandarin. Yue Ruzheng looked at Tang Yanchu with a puzzled expression and said, "No, I accidentally fell. Little Tang, she is…"

Before she could finish speaking, Tang Yanchu, his lips pressed tightly together, quickly climbed the steep slope with the bamboo basket on his back. Reaching her side, he squatted down and said, "Hold onto the basket and stand up."

Yue Ruzheng put away her hairpin, grabbed the bamboo basket, and Tang Yanchu gritted his teeth, straightened his back, and forcibly lifted her up before heading back.

Yue Ruzheng looked at him, puzzled, then turned to look behind her.

At that moment, the woman in the blue dress suddenly stepped forward and said to Tang Yanchu's retreating figure, "Are you really not going back?"

Tang Yanchu glanced back coldly, offering no reply. Seeing Yue Ruzheng still in a daze, she pulled her forward forcefully and whispered, "Let's go."

Yue Ruzheng hurriedly grabbed the bamboo basket and followed him with a limp.