Chapter Fifteen: Nocturne

  Whooshing sounds, several arrows flew through the air.

  One of the arrows shot through this leaping wolf and carried it forward, with such force that it rolled to the feet of the maidens by the campfire.

  The maid let out a shrill cry and turned around to hug Jingniang tightly.

  Fortunately, Jingyuan's movements were now agile and she quickly threw away the torch in her hand. Otherwise, this maid would have been burned if not bitten by wolves.

  She raised her head and saw arrow after arrow coming in succession, each one hitting its mark, with even two wolves being hit by a single arrow.

  The threat from this side soon disappeared.

  Several horses appeared in the distance under the night sky, and the people on horseback let out a series of loud whoops.

  "It's been ages since I've had so much fun!"

  "Big brother, it seems like he's killing wolves in the northwest again!"

  "Make way, let Grandfather have it! Grandfather will make a quick kill!"

  Another wolf was shot through the waist, and the remaining few wolves howled and fled.

  The crowd erupted in cheers, celebrating their escape from crisis.

  The bonfire was rekindled in three heaps. After a narrow escape, all the estrangement disappeared and instead there were several more intimate ones.

  The attendants joined forces to chase back the scattered horses, bandaged their wounds and laughed at the intensity of just now.

  Mr. Chen and Manager Cao chatted with the young man, of course, neither of them asked about each other's background, they just thanked each other mutually.

  "Traveling at night is perilous," said Mr. Chen with a lingering sense of fear.

  "You don't know if you haven't been there, but once you've been there, you'll understand. It's great, it's great," the young man said.

  How is it... pretty good?

  Mr. Chen and Manager Cao were taken aback.

  Look at this young man, only fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing seemingly simple clothes. However, he can't hide his rich and noble aura, as if afraid of the night wind, he wore a hood. The firelight shines on him, making it hard to see his face clearly.

  He sat by the bonfire, holding a branch in his hand, poking at it.

  Young people playing with fire...

  Mr. Chen shook his head and looked at Cao Guan Shi.

  "If it weren't for those few men who caught up, this time we would have been in a bit of danger." he said.

  Cao Guan Shi was bitten by a wolf on his arm and now had it wrapped in bandages. He nodded slightly.

  As he said this, everyone looked over and saw those men sitting by another bonfire, like timely rain suddenly descending on a dark night.

  "What did they come for?" The young man also looked over and asked.

  "It's said that he is ill," said Old Master Chen.

  "Visiting a patient?" The young man was surprised by the voice, looked at Old Master Chen Si, then looked at the person on that side, and finally his gaze fell on the woman who, like himself, was wrapped in a large cloak with a hood, making it impossible to see her face.

  Jiangniang was watching the maid bandage Jin Ge's leg, the child had just been bitten by a wolf and was still young, with tear stains on his face.

  The maid bandaged him on one side and praised him on the other. The two men beside him also patted his shoulder, praising him as a young hero who would surely achieve great things in the future.

  The most dangerous situation Jin Geer has encountered since growing up is meeting a few vicious dogs at the entrance of the alley, and now he's actually encountering a pack of wolves at night. After being scared, he also feels extremely stimulated. He was told to smile with his mouth open, and he felt that after this battle, he would become a good young man.

  "The injury is not too serious." said Cheng Jiaoniang, and then she glanced sideways at the man who was being carried down from a horse cart by several men.

  It's been several days since I last saw him. The wounded man no longer looks like he's on the verge of death as he was initially.

  Like other Han men, the wounded man stood up to be five big and three thick. Compared with before he got sick, his figure was also majestic, but now his beard was messy. His face still had some wax yellow, but his eyes were very spirited.

  "She is a divine doctor with sacred hands." He said with a smile, his voice hoarse and lacking in energy.

  "Daughter, what else does your third uncle need to take?" The person beside her asked hastily.

  "It's fine," said Jingniang, no longer looking at these people but staring at the bonfire, "just eat some meat and drink some wine to replenish ourselves."

  The man burst out laughing.

  "Good, good, I like this kind of recuperation." He smiled, with a hint of regret, "Not having meat or wine for several days is suffocating me, I'd love to have a big feast and drink to my heart's content."

  Jiang Yao turned her head and glanced at him.

  "The wine here is only slightly thicker than water, what's the point of that? Let's just get drunk then." She said, pointing with the fire tongs in her hand, "Isn't there meat over there?"

  Over there?

  The men looked back and saw a horse lying on the side of the road that had just been torn to death by wolves.

  This side was in an uproar, shouting and jumping up, attracting everyone's attention.

  "What are they going to do?"

  "Eat meat! Eat meat!" They shouted back in response and quickly took out a knife to cut up the dead horse's flesh.

  Unfortunately, there were few dead horses, but others also had nothing to eat, which was a blessing in disguise.

  "Eat horse meat?"

  "Isn't it too hard to eat?"

  The men who started burning and roasting horse meat on the fire laughed haha.

  "You people who live in luxury, how would you know the deliciousness of horse meat? If it were in Northwest China, we wouldn't even get a chance to eat it."

  Mr. Chen shook his head and withdrew his gaze.

  "These people might be northwest escapees." Cao Guan Shi said in a low voice.

  Deserter! Old Master Chen despised him even more.

  "Wang Budang's subordinates are just these cowards, it would be strange if they didn't lose." he said.

  The young man next to him took a glance at him without saying anything and shifted his gaze over there.

  "Horse meat?" he asked, seemingly curious, "Is it tasty?"

  "It doesn't taste good, young master." The attendant beside him said, "It smells terrible."

  The young man nodded and didn't ask anymore, still looking this way.

  "Let them eat while they can, and guard their wives as best they may." said Mr. Chen.

  Cao Guan Shi seems to have not heard, his eyes are closed and he is concerned about his nose.

  If you want to drive these men away, do you still need to wait for them to speak out? That woman can say anything unpleasant and do anything unseemly.

  Don't bother her, let her be, leave her alone.

  Cao Guan Shi has already remembered Qin Lang Jun's words.

  Mr. Chen had not yet spoken up when someone came running over from the other side.

  "This old fellow, my wife says you have wine here. May we borrow some to drink?" the two men asked with a grin.

  What can he say when his daughter has already spoken?

  "I dare not. It's only right, thanks to your help. How could I mention borrowing?" Old Master Chen said with a smile, raising his hand to signal his attendants to bring down several jars of wine used for keeping warm at night from the carriage, "Let's offer some wine to these good men, everyone gets a share."

  The camp became more lively, and even someone came over to share some horse meat to eat, among them was that young man.

  Of course, he just took one bite and spat it out on the ground.

  "It's indeed unpalatable." He said, then seemed to think of something funny and his body was slightly trembling. Looking at Cao Guan Shi and Chen Si Lao Ye beside him, "Hey, hey, if I say another sentence now, 'Why not eat meat porridge', wouldn't it be even more amusing?"

  What a mess...

  Is this person sick?

  Mr. Chen and Manager Cao furrowed their brows.

  "It's so funny, can't you hear it?" The young man was still a bit dissatisfied and shook his head.

  Mr. Chen and Manager Cao exchanged two awkward smiles.

  "I'll go and see how many horses we've lost." Old Master Chen said, getting up and walking away.

  Cao Guan Shi naturally didn't want to stay behind himself either and also found an excuse to leave.

  Only the young man and his attendants were left by the bonfire.

  The flames danced down, and the boy's raised corners of his mouth slowly fell, where was there any hint of playfulness, the dark shadows flashed solemnly. The surrounding noise seemed to be isolated, until a burst of laughter came.

  "Quiet down, quiet down! My third brother is going to sing a song!"

  Singing? Everyone who was chatting and drinking looked over.

  The man sitting on the wooden frame smiled with his mouth open, and his whiskers became more disheveled.

  "Today is wonderful! Wonderful!" he said. He was holding a wine jar, his originally sallow face turned red under the stimulation of the wine. His eyes were also blurry with intoxication, "We are rough men, we don't know how to speak, we can't speak, we... sing songs!"

  Everyone burst out laughing, and indeed, they had never seen a rough man who couldn't speak but could sing. At this moment, everyone started teasing him.

  "Our third brother is a scholar!" several men shouted with some pride, "He can recite poems and compose couplets!"

  Scholar? Reciting poetry and couplets? Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing, for such a scholar is indeed rarely seen.

  The man didn't think much of it and laughed haha.

  "...brotherly love..." He suddenly opened his mouth and sang.

  It's better to say it with a shout rather than singing, because of illness, the voice is hoarse, but it sounds quite unique.

  Did he really sing? Everyone gradually quieted down.

  "...a knife inserted between the ribs..."

  It doesn't seem like a melody, but shouting it out in this way, on this kind of night, somehow has some flavor to it.

  "...Life and death are at stake....Emotions and righteousness surpass the heavens..."

  The young man on this side turned his head.

  "It seems you really have read books." he said.

  The followers didn't say anything either and looked away.

  The man seemed to be at a loss for words, scratched his head, and suddenly looked towards the woman sitting by the bonfire.

  "Come on, little girl, give me a smile..."

  The maid's eyes widened and she immediately stood up.

  The young man laughed.

  "He's still a romantic bookworm, he's going to make that little girl cry, how entertaining, how entertaining." He said.

  If it were sung at a different time, this kind of teasing lyrics would definitely get cheers from men.

  But strangely, the scene was eerily quiet, to the point where those men who had already curled up their lips in preparation for a loud laugh were involuntarily left with just a silent, gaping mouth.

  Although Mr. Chen and Cao didn't say it explicitly, they came from afar for this daughter-in-law, its importance is self-evident.

  Let their masters and themselves have something to ask for, these attendants dare not make a noise.

  "It's impolite to one's benefactor." The elder brother said with a frown.

  This young lady is obviously a noblewoman from a wealthy family, and even ordinary people are not allowed to take a second glance at her, let alone flirt with words. Although he knew his brother didn't mean to provoke him, the speaker may be innocent, but the listener has ulterior motives.

  The man didn't know whether he was at a loss for words or also nervous, and after singing this sentence, he fell silent.

  "Bring me a wine jar." said Cheng Jiaoniang.

  Everyone heard it in the silence.

  "Let's use a wine jar to smash his head." Cao Guan Shi said with schadenfreude to the attendants beside him, "This woman is really capable of doing it."

  The maid responded by handing over a wine jug, and Cheng Jiaoniang stretched out her hand.

  "He..." The big brother got up and apologized, then opened his mouth, and Cheng Jiaoniang took over the conversation.

  "Give me a knife," she said.

  The big brother happened to stand up and, upon hearing this, didn't hesitate at all, raised his hand and handed over his own knife.

  "My daughter, my brother at home..." He lowered his voice again, about to speak.

  Jiang Niang raised her knife and used the back of it to knock against the wine jar, producing a dull thud.

  Big brother's words stopped there.

  Jiang Niang's knife handle struck again and again in different places. The wine jar, which had been silent for a while, gradually emitted high-pitched and low-pitched sounds that were somewhat strange to hear in the dark of night.

  The young man let out a sound of surprise and slightly lifted his hood to look over this way.

  "What's wrong?" he said.

  "Thousand... ancient... wind... flow... one... shoulder... carry..." Cheng Jiaoniang sang slowly.

  Her voice was flat and even, except for a drawn-out tone, with no ups and downs.

  The scene was quiet, which made the originally soft voice of Cheng Jiaoniang spread far and wide.

  "For those who know me, everything can be abandoned..."

  The knife struck the wine jar with a slow rhythm, just like her voice.

  With her own voice, Jiang Nang's heart gradually became turbulent.

  She knows herself, and she seems to have someone who knows her too. It seems that for this person who knows her, everything can be abandoned.

  But she couldn't remember anymore, she forgot, forgot all those things that made people cry or laugh...

  "Rush... Crown one angry... Offend heavenly decree..."

  She lowered her head, sat on the ground with her legs crossed, and covered her face with a hood, singing softly to herself.

  With memories and experiences, there is naturally joy and anger.

  What if she gets angry?

  The waves crashed against his chest, but in the end, his face was calm and his voice was silent.

  She is like a wild beast trapped in a cage, no, even worse than a wild beast, unable to let out a scream.

  The low-pitched sound of striking tiles. The lyrics, one word at a time, slowly immersed everyone in it.

  Especially this "one angry roar against heaven" actually came from the calm and gentle tone of Mu Na's voice, and heard the excitement.

  Some people clenched their fists.

  "Brotherly love, a knife in the ribs. Life and death are bound together, loyalty is higher than heaven. My dear wife, smile for me..."

  The man suddenly reacted and immediately followed suit, repeating what he had just said.

  "...A thousand years of elegance on one shoulder, for a kindred spirit everything can be abandoned, rushing to the crown with one angry offense against heaven's rules." He continued singing about Cheng Yaoniang.

  The male voice sings with more vicissitudes.

  Everyone in the audience was shocked and surprised, it turned out to be a harmonious response.

  This woman actually raised her hand and responded to this man's nonsense song!

  Jiang Nang's clapping in her hands didn't stop and harmonized with his melody.

  The people on the scene finally came to their senses, and this woman not only didn't get angry, but also wanted to join in the fun.

  But no one dared to cheer loudly, for fear of missing the woman's singing.

  "Beauty remains... though hair turns white... foolish heart still young..."

  Jiang Niang sang slowly, still wooden and waveless, but with the sound of drums rising and falling in harmony, showing a different flavor.

  A female voice, a monotonous knocking sound, heard in the ear, yet carrying the vicissitudes of thousands of years.

  Is it the singer who has changed, is it the instrument that has changed, or is it the lyrics that have changed?

  "Ask the hero... what's wrong... it's all over..."

  What's troubling our hero?

  What's wrong? What's going on?

  These words entered the ears of the people present and their hearts suddenly felt a few points of sorrow.

  What's wrong? What's wrong?

  An elderly mother at home is waiting for me to make a name and establish a career...

  The neighbor's bamboo horse pricks up its ears in anticipation...

  The wine market on East Street has yet to be visited...

  The achievements in the west have yet to be savored...

  The kindness of parents, the love of children, loyalty and filial piety are renowned virtues.

  Bang bang, the third brother who was originally leading the way was stunned and lost his mind.

  "Life is but a fleeting dream, empty and hollow!" he shouted loudly.

  "In the blink of an eye, I advise you not to worry..." Cheng Jiaoniang continued, "...A thousand pieces of gold scattered away... Dreams have no rest..."

  In an instant, the vast ocean has changed; I advise you not to worry. Even if a thousand pieces of gold are scattered and gone, dreams will never end.

  The people present were stunned again.

  It doesn't matter, even if you don't know who you are, even if nothing can be retained, and nothing can be done.

  It doesn't matter, she has come this far, despite all the setbacks.

  It doesn't matter, no need to worry, she can walk now, move now, think now, gain something lose something, come and go, just a moment in the vast ocean, as long as she is still here, everything will be alright.

  Jiang Niang raised her hand and with a "pa" sound, knocked over the wine jug, spilling out the wine, which splashed up in a burst of flames.

  The song of withdrawal is finished.

  "Great." Jingniang spat out two words, curved her hand downwards and handed over the knife.

  "Hah!" The third brother, now sobered up, let out a hearty laugh and grabbed the wine jug beside him, tilting his head back for a long drink.

  What a relief! Chen Si's face was flushed with excitement as he picked up his wine jug and took a swig.

  What a relief! Cao Guan Shi didn't participate in the drinking, and now he's so excited that he can't bear it. He simply grabbed a piece of tea cake from his waist and put it in his mouth, using tea instead of wine.

  What a relief! Others also shouted in their hearts and grabbed their wine bowls to drink them dry, smashing them to the ground with a loud crash.

  The sound of drums beating in my ears, the hoarse and wooden singing voices of men and women echoing, the crackling of torches in the darkness, it's as if there's a tragic and heroic atmosphere after a life-and-death battle.

  "It's just that, killing a few wolves, how did it bring about such a bleak and desolate scene... The young man sat by the bonfire, speaking slowly, as if he was talking to everyone, yet also talking to himself."

  Vote for me, everyone give me a satisfying vote, thank you very much!

  Note 1: The lyrics come from the theme song of the 1994 Taiwanese TV series "The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants", written by Zhang Yongxiang. I happened to hear it that day, and was deeply moved, so I borrowed the lyrics for this scene. You can go listen to it, when I listened to it, I always tapped my hand on the table, it felt great.