Chapter 9

“Just the other day you were in a rush. My work’s been done two days, and you didn’t come fetch it, so I brought it over.” Aunt Shun wasn’t young anymore; the walk from her house wasn’t short. She pounded her legs. “If you ask me, you oughta live deeper in the village. Out here, backed right up against the mountain, doesn’t it feel eerie at night?”

Tian Yao poured her a bowl of water and helped her sit in the courtyard to rest. “Auntie, I like it here. Leaning against the mountain, I always feel like my Father and Little Dad are with me.”

Aunt Shun looked at him, a sudden pang of sorrow in her heart. He’d been just a boy when his parents passed. The first few days he stayed at her house, but soon after, he insisted on returning home. No matter how anyone persuaded him, he wouldn’t listen.

Aunt Shun smiled. “Such an old soul in a young body.”

Tian Yao scratched his head and grinned, taking the clothes from her hands. He unfolded them to look. Aunt Shun’s needlework was superb—fine, neat stitches, not a single loose thread to be seen.

“There’s some fabric left; I made a pouch for each of you.” After resting her feet, she stood to leave. Reaching the low fence at the door, she remembered the other reason for her visit.

“I tell ya, old age makes you forgetful. The most important thing today, I nearly forgot to tell you. You know Squire Liu’s household in Town, right?”

Tian Yao nodded. Aunt Shun’s son, Tian Yusheng, worked as a long-term laborer for Squire Liu.

“Squire Liu’s son is getting married, to a girl from Xixin Prefectural City. To show respect to the girl’s family, Squire Liu wants a Wild Goose as a betrothal gift. But after so long, no one’s managed to shoot one. If you have some free time, go up the mountain and take a look, yeah? My Yusheng said Squire Liu’s prepared to pay three taels of silver for one.”

Hearing this, Tian Yao beamed. If he could hunt a Wild Goose, he could earn three taels of silver just like that. They’d not only have a good New Year, but Yu Nian’s wheelchair money would also be within reach.

“Thanks, Auntie! I’ll head up this afternoon to see.”

Aunt Shun waved him off and started walking home slowly. But she’d barely moved when she felt dizzy, her hand bracing against the wall for support. Tian Yao quickly rushed over. “Auntie? What’s wrong?”

Aunt Shun steadied herself on his arm. “Nothing, nothing. Just getting old, can’t sleep well at night.”

Though locked in a cold war with Yu Nian, Tian Yao still moved him from the room to the yard every day. Now, Yu Nian heard their entire conversation.

Looking at the new clothes in Tian Yao’s hands, Yu Nian spoke first for the first time: “Auntie, you could try brewing some calming tea to drink.”

Aunt Shun was taken aback, quickly waving her hand. “It’s no big ailment.”

Tian Yao had always held deep respect for Aunt Shun. Now, forgetting the cold war, he asked, “Do we have the herbs at home?”

Yu Nian nodded and described the location of the herbs he had organized. Tian Yao gathered them and handed them to Aunt Shun.

Unable to refuse, Aunt Shun could only thank them profusely. Tian Yao then escorted her home.

Tian Yao placed Aunt Shun’s finished clothes on Yu Nian’s lap. Still somewhat unwilling to talk, he simply went to the other storage room and found his Father’s old Arrowheads and Bow.

He had great strength, but his archery aim was always poor. And a Wild Goose meant for a betrothal gift, naturally, had to be alive, which was best.

He sat under the eaves, found a whetstone, and gently sharpened his precious arrowheads. Unused for so long, the arrow tips had dulled. Now, under his hands, they began to gleam silver again.

Yu Nian, also seated under the eaves, held the new clothes Tian Yao had handed him. “Going up the mountain?”

Tian Yao looked up. It had been nearly half a month since Yu Nian came home; this was the first time he initiated a conversation.

Tian Yao just huffed and turned his head away.

“To hunt Wild Geese, you can’t use such sharp arrowheads. This also isn’t the season they appear.”

Only then did Tian Yao turn back to look at him, muttering sullenly, “Still want to try my luck anyway.”

“Would it be convenient to take me along?” Yu Nian looked at that uncommon bow and arrow set, knowing Tian Yao wasn’t skilled in archery. “Though my legs are crippled, my archery skills from back then are passable.”

Tian Yao just muttered an “oh.” He thought about how Yu Nian indeed hadn’t been out much these past few days and nodded. “Then let’s get ready and head out.”

Carrying Yu Nian on his back was no hardship for Tian Yao; after all, he could haul a four or five hundred catty Wild Boar back without turning pale or breathing hard, let alone this thin Yu Nian.

Fortunately, going up the mountain from their home didn’t require passing through the village, so they didn’t care about others’ stares. Yu Nian carried the quiver and Bow on his back; Tian Yao carried Yu Nian.

The earlier argument seemed forgotten. Along the way, Tian Yao started chattering again.

“See that tree? When I was little, Father said I climbed it the moment he turned his back.”

“Over there used to be a wild fruit tree. The fruits were incredibly sweet. Too bad it suddenly withered and died two years ago.”

“Yu Nian, where on the mountain would Wild Geese be?”

Yu Nian fell silent for a moment, then asked him, “Is there a water source in the mountains?”

Tian Yao hummed in confirmation, not quite grasping his meaning.

“Wild Geese live by water. This is their season to migrate south. If they fly here and rest, they’d head for water. We can only try our luck near the water.”

“You know so much.” He complimented Yu Nian first, then remembered: near the deep mountain area, there was a small stream carved out by a mountain spring. Not wide, but barely a creek.

They walked about the time it takes an incense stick to burn before reaching the small stream Tian Yao mentioned. Tian Yao found a large rock for Yu Nian to sit on, then ran to the stream’s edge to drink. Worried Yu Nian would be thirsty, he cupped water in his hands and brought it back, but Yu Nian just shook his head, saying he wasn’t thirsty. Tian Yao returned to drink again.

Sitting on the rock, Yu Nian tested the Bow Tian Yao brought. The string was very tight; it took him considerable strength to draw it. He gained an even deeper understanding of Tian Yao’s strength at that moment.

Recently, Tian Yao had nursed him back to much better health. When he first arrived here, he probably couldn’t have drawn this Bow at all.

“My Father made this before he died.” After drinking, Tian Yao sat beside him. “He used this Bow to provide for our family.”

These past days, hearing Tian Yao speak of his parents, the image of them formed ever more clearly in Yu Nian’s mind: a stern but fiercely devoted father, a Little Dad full of knowledge who adored his child.

“I just saw small fish in the water. Don’t know where they came from. If we can’t catch a Wild Goose, let’s catch some fish. Little Dad taught me how to stew fish soup.”

“Alright.”

The mountain was very quiet. Sitting there, they could hear the gentle trickle of the stream and the occasional autumn insect chirp.

Tian Yao wasn’t someone who could stay quiet. Days of silence were driving him mad; now he wanted to pour out everything.

“Tian Yao, quiet for a moment.”

Tian Yao, chatting happily, was interrupted by Yu Nian. He felt a bit miffed, but seeing the look in Yu Nian’s eyes, he held it in and shut his mouth.

Yu Nian looked at the sky. Tian Yao followed his gaze and saw two Wild Geese slowly descending lower and lower, finally landing at the edge of the stream, both drinking.

Tian Yao’s eyes went wide; he tugged urgently at Yu Nian’s sleeve.

But Yu Nian was much calmer. With practiced ease, he took two arrows from the quiver. With his other hand, he rolled up his ragged sleeve, raised the Bow, and casually nocked the arrows. His eyes, fixed on the distance, flashed with a cold, sharp light as the arrows tore through the air straight towards the Geese at the water’s edge.

Tian Yao stared at him, somewhat stunned. In that instant, he saw a spark of true vitality in Yu Nian.

If his family hadn’t met with disaster, he would have been like those heroes in the operas, unrestrained and full of life.

Watching his fingers release, both arrows flew from the string towards the Geese.

Tian Yao’s heart leaped to his throat. He remembered Aunt Shun saying they needed them alive. If Yu Nian’s two arrows hit vital spots and killed them instantly, they’d be worthless.

Tian Yao rushed over. The two Geese, hurt and in pain, cried out mournfully. Their wings were injured so they couldn’t fly, only thrashing wildly in place.

Tian Yao quickly grabbed them, one in each hand, and ran back to Yu Nian. “You’re amazing! How could you hit two Geese with two arrows at once, and only wound their wings, not killing them?”

Yu Nian simply shook his arm. Unused to exertion for so long, drawing the Bow had been somewhat difficult. At least his aim held true.

“I practiced with a Martial Arts Instructor in the past.”

The past.

This was the first time Yu Nian ever mentioned his former life.

Tian Yao tied the two Geese up, had Yu Nian hold them, and then carried him home.

The most skilled person he’d ever seen was his Father. But the way Yu Nian nocked the arrows and drew the bowstring, fluid and without hesitation, his aim deadly accurate—the sound of it cutting through the air had startled Tian Yao to his core. Even his Father might not have managed two arrows from one bowstring hitting two separate Geese. Yu Nian was truly formidable.

Even after returning home, Tian Yao kept thinking about that fleeting flash of vitality he’d seen in Yu Nian. If his family hadn’t fallen, he wouldn’t be here, drawing a Bow on such a crude, giant rock just for five taels of silver. He should be like the youths in stories, riding a white horse in the spring breeze, exuding confidence and grace with every gesture, dashing and unrestrained. The center of attention, where a single arrow loosed would draw countless cheers of admiration.

Yu Nian watched Tian Yao carefully put the Geese away, then sit to the side, silent. Even having gotten what he wanted, he still seemed unhappy.

But Tian Yao’s unhappiness didn’t last long. He rubbed Little Gray’s head, played with him for a while, then went to the kitchen to make dinner. It was as if the unhappy person that afternoon hadn’t been him at all.

After the meal, he pulled Yu Nian to try on the new clothes. In the sky-blue robe, his complexion seemed especially fair; he looked incredibly handsome. Tian Yao’s heart ached with an unidentifiable feeling. He asked him, “Wearing your new clothes, want to come to Town with me tomorrow?”

But Yu Nian shook his head. “No, you go by yourself.”

Tian Yao just said “Oh.” After washing up, he lifted the quilt and climbed into bed. Tonight, he didn’t face away from Yu Nian. “My archery is bad. Father tried and tried to teach me, but I could never learn.”

“Another time, if there’s a chance, I can teach you too.”

Tian Yao couldn’t keep the smile off his lips. He shuffled a bit closer to Yu Nian. “The New Year isn’t far off. I’ll give you a New Year’s gift then.”

Yu Nian acknowledged with a sound. His heart ached with a dull pang.