Chapter 1

Huailing Village was about to have a wedding. And it was for the village’s older, unmarriageable Ger, Tian Yao.

Tian Yao couldn’t find a husband, not because of bad character or any other flaw, but because of that immense strength he was born with.

Before the new year, a Matchmaker once brought a Young Gentleman from the neighboring village, Zhao Qing, to propose marriage. Tian Yao, feeling a host should be welcoming, received them with relative warmth. The watching villagers thought Tian Yao had tacitly agreed to the match and all offered him their congratulations. Tian Yao wasn’t particularly fond of him, but he figured marriage was just that, a way to give his fathers some closure.

But his attitude made Zhao Qing think Tian Yao was set on him and no one else. Knowing Tian Yao had no parents and lived alone, Zhao Qing conspired with his old mother to save the betrothal gift. So he snuck into Tian Yao’s room at night, only to be beaten half to death by Tian Yao, who also injured his… vital part.

The marriage was naturally off. Tian Yao wasn’t too upset, but that family latched onto him, saying if he wouldn’t marry into their family, he had to pay compensation. Tian Yao certainly didn’t want to marry him, so he could only pay to settle the matter. It was a pity about those thirteen taels of silver he had saved for two or three years to renovate his house.

Because Zhao Qing had been beaten impotent by Tian Yao, he harbored a deep grudge. He spread false rumors everywhere about Tian Yao—saying he brought death to his parents and would do the same to a future husband, and that he looked like a yaksha, green-faced and long-fanged. Even though the villagers tried to explain, the rumors spread too wide, and this was the image others had of Tian Yao. Over time, Tian Yao’s marriage prospects were shelved just like that.

At the turn of summer and autumn, Tian Yao fell ill. His already meager family situation grew even more desperate. If he didn’t recover soon, he was afraid he would freeze to death this winter.

His illness dragged on for several days. He muddled through, taking some household herbs for several days, and finally felt a little eased. Only then could he get up and prepare to go up the mountain to see if the traps he’d set before falling sick had caught anything.

Just as he changed his clothes, he heard someone calling him. It was Aunt Shun, who was nearby clearing weeds: “Yao Ge’er, the Village Chief wants you to go to his place.”

Tian Yao lived in the deepest part of Huailing Village and usually had little interaction with the Village Chief. The last time someone from another village came looking for trouble, the Village Chief had brought the village men to back him up. He had been meaning to thank him, but fell ill and didn’t dare risk passing the sickness on. So he hadn’t gone.

The Village Chief didn’t summon him easily, so Tian Yao was puzzled. Still, he found a few leftover eggs in his empty home, carried them, and went to the Chief’s house. The Chief lived right in the center of Huailing Village, in the first house built of grey bricks.

“Village Chief, you were looking for me?”

Village Chief Tian looked at Tian Yao, so thin his face had lost its shape. He took his tobacco pipe and inhaled deeply. “Doing alright lately?”

“Pretty good.” Tian Yao was baffled. In his memory, the Village Chief always had a stern, dark face and had never even greeted him.

“Well, here’s the thing. There’s a marriage proposal, depends if you’re willing.” The Chief didn’t waste words. Proper matchmaking required a Matchmaker to visit, but Tian Yao had no parents and a bad reputation, so the Chief didn’t bother with such formalities.

“Ah?” Could a meat pie really fall from the sky? Tian Yao looked at the eggs in his hand and felt this gift was far too paltry.

“Just one point: his legs are crippled. And you won’t be marrying him; he’ll be coming to your door as your Live-in Son-in-law.” The Village Chief took another fierce drag on his pipe. His face was very dark, and when he looked at someone, it always seemed like he was glaring.

“Such a good thing truly exists?” Tian Yao looked at the Chief with some distrust. “This kind of good fortune could fall on me?”

It wasn’t Tian Yao being self-deprecating. It was really because that previous family had ruined his reputation so badly that even people in Huailing Village who didn’t know him well believed the rumors, causing his marriage to be delayed far too long.

On his deathbed, his Little Dad had told him that it was best to find someone to share mutual love and joy with. Although he had taught Tian Yao to be independent, in the end, he still didn’t want him to suffer alone and hoped he would find someone to care for him.

Too bad, no one had come to propose since then.

The Village Chief choked on his smoke. This Tian Yao, he didn’t look soft and gentle like a typical Ger. He possessed that shocking strength, and even his attitude toward marriage lacked the usual modesty and shyness of a Ger. He looked almost eager.

“Hard to say if it’s a good thing or not. If you’re willing, you can take the person back today.” The Chief put away his pipe. “I’ll say this upfront: once you take him back, treat him well.”

As if Tian Yao were the strapping man and the one marrying in were the Ger.

“Th-this is too rushed.” Tian Yao waved his hands repeatedly. “Nothing is prepared. How can… how can we not prepare a little?”

The Village Chief thought for a moment, then said: “Then take him back today. I see tomorrow is an auspicious day, suitable for weddings. We’ll hold the ceremony tomorrow. I’ll find a few Aunties to help you out.”

“That rushed?” Tian Yao scratched his head. “Village Chief, you’re not trying to trick me, are you?”

“What do you have that’s worth tricking?” The Chief put on a stern face. “I think, rather than waiting for someone to introduce another unreliable person, it’s better you choose someone you yourself can manage.”

Tian Yao was somewhat astonished. He had no real connection with the Chief; he didn’t know why the man was suddenly looking out for him so much.

After the Chief finished speaking, people brought the man out. He was sprawled awkwardly on a wooden board, his hair matted, obscuring most of his face. Tian Yao could only see his utterly pale lips and the veins standing out on his neck.

“Other than his legs being broken, there’s nothing else wrong.” The Village Chief looked at Tian Yao. “Can you take him back now?”

Tian Yao crouched down, still unable to see the face hidden by hair. He looked up and asked: “Village Chief, you didn’t abduct this person from somewhere, did you?”

“Pah!” The Chief spat at him. “His family met with disaster. He’s the only one left. Got to give someone a way to live, don’t we?”

Perhaps it was the phrase ‘the only one left’ that stirred Tian Yao’s heart. He grabbed his hair. “Fine, then I’ll take him back now, okay?”

“Take him back. Clean him up well. Get the matter settled tomorrow, and it’ll also fulfill one of your father’s and Little Dad’s wishes.”

Tian Yao sighed, wondering if the man was asleep or awake. He leaned closer and immediately smelled a sour, foul stench. He couldn’t imagine how filthy that wooden board and thin mattress must be.

“Dazhuang Ge, give me a hand.” Pinching his nose, Tian Yao lifted the thin mattress aside and had Tian Dazhuang place the man onto his back. He carried him away just like that.

Watching Tian Yao carry the man off, Tian Dazhuang turned to his father: “Dad, you’re pushing Yao Ge’er into a fire pit.”

The Village Chief picked up his pipe again, took a deep drag, and glanced past the courtyard wall. The figure was gone. Only then did he say quietly: “That’s a human life too. Yao Ge’er is good. It’s precisely because those people heard his reputation slandered like that, that they made me call Yao Ge’er here.”

Tian Dazhuang scratched his head, not quite understanding, but didn’t ask further.

Yu Nian lay on Tian Yao’s not-so-broad back, still clutching a hairpin in his palm. One end of the hairpin was extremely sharp.

He had lived the first nineteen years of his life freely and willfully. His parents were wealthy merchants in Yuancang Prefecture, at the height of their prestige. But a tall tree catches the wind. An error occurred with a batch of tribute goods that passed through his father’s hands. His parents were thrown in prison. The authorities above acted swiftly and decisively, sentencing them to immediate beheading. They said a mere child was ignorant and spared his life.

When he was expelled from Yuancang Prefecture, he encountered an enemy of their Yu Family. Feng Zhe had always despised him. Once Yu Nian fell from grace, Feng Zhe sought every way to humiliate him. First, he had Yu Nian’s hamstrings severed, then had men deliver him here.

Feng Zhe knew Yu Nian was arrogant and proud, so he wanted to crush all his pride to dust. At the Village Chief’s house, Yu Nian lay on a wooden board like livestock, listening to them appraise him, until the deal was struck and he was carried away on this person’s back.

The distance from the Chief’s house to Tian Yao’s wasn’t short. Even carrying a man a full eight feet tall, Tian Yao still strode swiftly, not even breathing heavily.

Tian Yao laid the person on his own bed. He lived alone. The house was built by his Father and Little Dad back then—two brick rooms. One was a bedroom, the other, where he slept as a child, was now used for storing odds and ends. A shed on the side of the courtyard was for cooking. Not far from the house was a small brick enclosure; that was his family’s outhouse.

Most other villagers in Huailing Village didn’t build separate outhouses, finding it unnecessary. But because Tian Yao’s Little Dad was a particularly clean person, his Father had built him a private one. Tian Yao remembered how his Father was ridiculed by the villagers, called henpecked, said to have lost his manly dignity. But his Father had only smiled honestly.

Bringing him back, Tian Yao felt they were kindred spirits, both having lost their parents. Whether or not they truly became husbands and wives, if Tian Yao hadn’t brought him back, he didn’t know if the man could have survived.

His Little Dad had taught him since childhood to do good deeds, not for reward, but only for a clear conscience.

He laid the man on the bed and went to the small shed to heat water. It was already autumn; he still needed to get this person cleaned up.

Luckily, he lived in the village depths and didn’t have to share the communal well. His water was channeled down from the mountain, saving him the hassle of carrying buckets.

The small kitchen shed wasn’t big—a clay stove, a small cabinet for bowls and chopsticks, and a large water vat. Tian Yao sat by the stove. As the steam rose, he let out a sigh.

Meanwhile, Yu Nian lay on the bed. The bedding was very soft. He hadn’t slept in such a comfortable bed in a long time. The Ger who carried him back had disappeared. From Yuancang Prefecture, he had drifted all the way here. Someone brought him into this village. Feng Zhe knew he disliked Gers, so he wanted to force him to marry into a Ger’s household as a Live-in Son-in-law.

While he was lucid, he heard those people discussing this Ger, saying he was green-faced and long-fanged, vulgar and crude, that even before marriage, men visited his room at night, that he was dirt poor, so poor his bed boards could serve as firewood.

To humiliate him, Feng Zhe had certainly gone to some lengths to find such a Ger.

Tian Yao carried a bathtub into the room and added hot water bucket by bucket. When it was nearly ready, he found a knife and walked over to Yu Nian.

He handled the knife skillfully and swiftly cut off all of Yu Nian’s tangled, matted hair, slowly revealing Yu Nian’s face.

He was terribly thin, his entire face looking drained, cheekbones protruding. His eyes were gloomy, even a bit frightening.

Tian Yao used a handkerchief to wipe the dirt and grime from his face. Apart from being thin, the person was actually quite good-looking. With some nurturing, he’d probably be a handsome man.

As Tian Yao observed Yu Nian, Yu Nian was also observing Tian Yao. He had expected Tian Yao to be as they described—a Ger with a fierce, fleshy face and shockingly ugly. Instead, he found delicate features. A face that seemed plain at first glance grew more and more pleasing to the eye the longer one looked.

“Though every hair and patch of skin is a gift from one’s parents, your hair was far too troublesome, couldn’t even be combed out. Had no choice but to cut it.” Tian Yao spoke as he worked, quickly trimming the messy locks into a neat, manageable style.

After finishing the hair, Tian Yao reached out to unbutton Yu Nian’s outer garment, showing not a shred of a Ger’s proper modesty.

Yu Nian pressed down on his hand. But Tian Yao’s strength was immense. He simply moved Yu Nian’s hand away and continued unbuttoning. “You need a wash.”

Yu Nian hadn’t spoken in a long time. He moved his lips, but no sound came out. He tried again before managing to speak. “No need.”

“Not an option.” Tian Yao’s attitude was tough. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Yu Nian truly had no strength left and could only let Tian Yao remove his upper clothes and then tug at his trousers.

This time, Yu Nian didn’t cooperate. He simply grabbed his waistband, his refusal obvious.

“Have you ever seen anyone bathe without washing their lower half?” Tian Yao wiped sweat from his brow. “Besides, we’re about to be married. Are you afraid of me seeing you?”

This Ger really had no sense of shame at all!

Seizing his moment of inattention, Tian Yao yanked the trousers down. The first thing he saw wasn’t anything improper, but that both his legs were covered in bedsores. Those legs were swollen, the sores growing on them—an ugly sight.

Yu Nian noticed his gaze. He could do nothing, only let his legs be exposed under that stare. He looked up again, but saw no disgust in Tian Yao’s eyes, only a moment of helplessness, then immediate firmness.

“Still being so stubborn.” Tian Yao muttered to himself. Finally, he stripped Yu Nian completely bare and placed him into the bathtub.

Yu Nian hadn’t bathed in a very long time. Entering the warm water, he let out a long sigh. Tian Yao was brisk and efficient. He found the scented soap and washed Yu Nian’s hair first. As he worked, he was silent, earnestly loosening and combing through the hair.

The hair washed, wrapped in a cloth towel, Tian Yao then scrubbed his back.

His hands weren’t soft; thick calluses lined his palms. Soon, he had scrubbed Yu Nian’s back into a red flush. Still, he at least knew some shame and didn’t wash Yu Nian’s lower half, letting him do it himself.

Midway through the bath, the water was changed twice before Tian Yao had him completely clean from head to toe.

He changed the bedding Yu Nian had lain on earlier for a fresh mattress, then carried Yu Nian to the bed.

His own clothes wouldn’t fit Yu Nian, so he found an old garment of his Father’s. It fit passably.

The upper body was dressed, but the lower half was still bare. Tian Yao went to the other storage room, found some medicinal herbs, and using a pestle, crushed the medicine into a paste. Finally, he applied it to Yu Nian’s bedsores.

He carried the bathtub out, then sat back at the bedside. While helping Yu Nian dry his hair, he spoke to him.

“My name is Tian Yao. I have no parents at home. As for the family… well, it’s what you see.” If they were to marry, he had to let the other know the household situation. He was actually quite satisfied with this person. Thin? Just feed him up, and he’d regain the weight.

Yu Nian’s gaze was icy. Tian Yao then realized that perhaps Yu Nian didn’t want to marry him at all.