Chapter 21 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

News from Lam Thủy Town

The thick smell of herbal medicine in the pharmacist's house, seeping through the slightly opened window, mixed with the smell of dry blood that had been wiped off the old bandage that Diệp Sương was rolling up in her hand. Cố Thanh Việt sat with his back against the wooden bed. The wound on his forehead had closed, but there was still a dark red line extending from his hairline down near his temple.

"Sit still," she grumbled, gently pressing his shoulder down when she saw him about to get up. "The pharmacist said there are still three days left before you can use your strength."

"I just sit, not exerting any effort," Thanh Việt replied, but still let her turn him around, wincing slightly when she touched the painful spot. "You look worse than me. You have dark circles around your eyes, didn't you sleep last night?"

Diệp Sương did not respond immediately. Three days had passed since the night when Vân Tiêu shook, yet she still had not grown used to the new feeling—the eyes following her every time she walked through the training ground, the silent whispers when she came near, and something even heavier than that: the elders' question about the cracked battlefield still hanging in the air, unspoken but heard by everyone.

"I'm just thinking too much," he said finally, tying the last knot of the bandage. "About that crack. About why it happened."

Thanh Việt did not respond immediately, just looked out the window, where the morning sunlight was filtering through the leaves, shining into thin streaks of light on the tile floor. "I thought about it too," he said at last. "But no matter how much you think about it, you won't necessarily find anything, when even the elders don't dare to speak up. Perhaps the answer will come, just not yet," Diệp Sương nodded, even though she was not completely reassured by that comforting word. She stood up and cleaned up the leftover bandages, her hands still carrying the pungent smell of antiseptic—a smell she knew from the days she had followed Mrs. Chín Lài to pick leaves in the forest, except now it was associated with a completely different scene: a cold row of pharmacists' houses on top of the mountain, where battle wounds were healed in silence.

*

In the afternoon, a summoning bell rang, not urgently like the night alarm, but steadily and solemnly - the class meeting bell reserved for selected outer sect disciples. Diệp Sương and Âu Bội Nhi were present in the small hall next to the library, where Nhiêu Bá Tường was already waiting, his face more serious than usual.

"There's news from Lam Thủy Town," he said, without beating around the bush. "For the past three days, the water well in the market has suddenly become cloudy for no reason, the animals in the farms have panicked in the middle of the day, and last night, a patrol team at the edge of the town reported seeing a strange halo of light in the western sky — in the same direction as Tùng Lĩnh Village."

Diệp Sương's heart tightened. She did not need anyone to explain further to understand the meaning of those signs - she had lived through them, had sleepless nights because of strange dew, had witnessed animals roaming for no reason, many years ago, in that very village.

"The elders believe that this could be an aftershock from the unrest in Vân Tiêu, spreading underground to the downstream area," Nhiêu Bá Tường continued. "A small team will be sent to Lam Thủy Town and neighboring villages to survey and reinforce old household amulets and town monuments, and closely monitor the situation. I will lead the team, along with senior sister Chung Nhã Trúc."

He read each person's name one by one. When the name Diệp Sương came up, he couldn't hold back a sigh of relief - not because he was chosen, but because the list mentioned Tùng Lĩnh Village as one of the stops.

"I'm sorry," he said as soon as Nhiêu Bá Tường finished speaking, his voice was more urgent than he intended. "I would like to join this team."

Nhiêu Bá Tường looked at her for a long time. "I was about to call you by name," he said, "because you understand that land better than anyone in the sect. But I also want to ask directly—are you sure you are ready to return to the place where you lost your father and mother, when it could be in danger again?"

"That's why I have to go home," Diệp Sương replied, without hesitation. "If something happens to Tùng Lĩnh Village and I'm not present, I won't be able to forgive myself."

*

News of the survey team's list spread quickly in the outer sect disciples' housing area, and not everyone received it with equanimity. Wei Bá Tuân, when he heard Diệp Sương's name in the group, stood waiting in the hallway leading to the training ground, his eyes cold.

"It's you again," he said, his voice emphasizing each word. "Last night, I saved two people at the battlefield, but now I'm sent to survey the dangerous area. Do you know how many upper-class inner disciples in this sect have never been assigned such a task?"

"I don't ask anyone for special treatment," Diệp Sương replied, trying to keep her voice calm. "That's my hometown. Everyone will want to go home when they hear that their village is in danger."

"Your hometown," Wei Bá Tuân repeated, slightly smirking. "A small village at the foot of the mountain, there is nothing worth a whole team of elite disciples to go down to, if it weren't for the fact that you have just accomplished some merit that has caught the attention of the elders. I just hope you don't let that new reputation blind you, causing you to recklessly cause more trouble."

"Bá Tuân," a deep voice rang out from behind - Chung Nhã Trúc, holding a stack of survey books, stepped forward to stand between the two of them. "If you have any opinions about the assignment, you should meet the elder directly, not stand here and insinuate with junior sister."

Wei Bá Tuân was silent for a moment, then bowed slightly to politely bow to his senior sister, turned around and left, but before leaving, there was still a trace of something hard to name in his eyes - not exactly hatred, but more like a pent-up insecurity, exactly like what Diệp Sương had glimpsed in Đá Trắng village.

*

That night, before leaving, Diệp Sương stopped by the pharmacist's room one more time. Cố Thanh Việt was able to sit up, even though the pharmacist had not yet allowed him to leave the bed.

"I heard the news," he said when he saw it walk in, his hand immediately pointing to the luggage bag it was carrying. "You're about to leave."

"Tomorrow morning," he nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Go back to Tùng Lĩnh Village. We may not return soon, depending on the situation."

Thanh Việt was silent for a moment, his eyes complicated. "I wish I could go with you," he said at last, sounding somewhat annoyed at his own wound. "But the pharmacist said it would take at least another half a month to be strong enough to fight."

"You just stay here and recuperate well," Diệp Sương replied, trying to give a reassuring smile even though an indescribable emptiness arose in her heart when thinking about having to face what lies ahead without him standing next to her, like the night on the battlefield. "I have Âu Bội Nhi, sister Chung Nhã Trúc, and instructor Nhiêu Bá Tường. It will be fine."

"I know," Thanh Việt said, then reached out and took something from under the pillow, placing it in his palm - a small piece of jade pendant, engraved with a simple cloud pattern, still warm. "Left to me from my mother. My father said it can slightly sense fluctuations in nearby Linh Mạch, although not as strong as my true intuition. Bring it along, at least you will sense it sooner if there is anything unusual."

Diệp Sương clasped the piece of jade in her hand, the warm feeling gradually spread up her wrist and all the way to her chest. "Thank you," she said softly, not knowing what else to say.

"Don't be too reckless," Thanh Việt advised, his eyes no longer had the usual calm look, but revealed a sincere worry. "You always have the habit of rushing in first, thinking later. This time, think about returning safely first, then think about saving someone."

"I'll try," he replied, even though they both knew that was a difficult promise to keep for someone like him.

*

Early the next morning, when the mist still hung on the stone steps leading down to the foot of the mountain, the group of disciples - Nhiêu Bá Tường led, Chung Nhã Trúc followed, along with Diệp Sương, Âu Bội Nhi and three other outer sect disciples - departed in silence, each person carrying a luggage bag that was heavier than the previous internship trip to Đá Trắng village, filled with spare spiritual clothes, charm drawing tools, and even shorthand talismans prepared for emergency situations.

Diệp Sương clutched the jade pendant in her pocket, felt its familiar warmth, and looked back at Vân Tiêu Peak one last time before the trail disappeared behind the pine trees. She thought of Thanh Việt lying behind, of Wei Bá Tuân with a puzzled look in his eyes, and of the protective battlefield still littered with unsolved cracks—but most of all, she thought of Mrs. Chín Lài, Mr. Tám Mực, Mộc, and Mận, faces she had not seen for nearly two years, who might now be facing the same horror she had experienced at thirteen.

The road down the mountain stretched out before her, and this time, unlike the first time she left Tùng Lĩnh Village with a heavy heart of separation, Diệp Sương walked with a clear determination like never before: no matter what was waiting ahead, she would not let herself be late again.