Chapter 27 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Dawn After the Storm

The first sunlight filtered through the old pine trees, shining down on a village that was in disarray but still standing - a few roofs were torn off, a section of fence was broken, scratches were deep on the ground of the communal house - but not a single house collapsed completely, not a single person on Diệp Sương's list of familiar faces had to lie down forever.

She woke up on a makeshift cot in the courtyard, the pain in her shoulder and arm still dull under the new bandage, but the first feeling that entered her consciousness was not pain, but a deep relief when she heard the sounds of people buzzing around her - the sound of life, not the sound of crying.

"You're awake!"

Âu Bội Nhi, with bruises on one cheek, rushed over and sat down next to her, holding her friend's hand tightly. "You scared me to death. Mộc ran to report that you fainted at Linh Căn temple, I thought..."

"I'm fine," Diệp Sương replied, trying to sit up even though her head was still dizzy. "How is everyone? Nhiêu Bá Tường? East gate?"

"Completely repelled since early morning," Âu Bội Nhi replied, her voice relieved. "No one in the group of disciples was seriously injured, although some of them had a few scratches. Some villagers were injured, but fortunately no one lost their life," As soon as she could stand, Diệp Sương asked permission to visit the injured people being cared for in a large house next to the communal house. The scene before her eyes made her heart heavy - a middle-aged man lying motionless with his arm bandaged, an old woman sitting trembling next to her little grandchild with scratches all over his body, and the smell of antiseptic mixed with soft moans creating a scene that was not as gentle as what she wanted to believe when she woke up.

"The most seriously injured is Uncle Tu," a woman doing the bandaging said when she saw Diệp Sương walk in, her voice lowered. "He was knocked down by a monster and broke his leg while trying to shield the children from running into the pavilion. The old pharmacist in the village set the bone, but it will probably take a month before he can walk again."

Diệp Sương knelt next to the man, holding his good hand. A familiar feeling arose in her heart—last night's victory, although much more complete than the night the village gate was torn apart, was still not a victory without a price. She told herself that perhaps this was what she needed to always remember, so she would never become so intoxicated with success that she forgot its true price.

*

Nhiêu Bá Tường arrived shortly after, his face haggard from a restless night, but his eyes when looking at Diệp Sương carried a look different from the familiar stern attitude - an unprecedented respect.

"I heard the boy named Mộc tell the story at Linh Căn temple," he said, sitting down beside the cot. "You used your own relatives as a fulcrum to complete a large talisman, relying neither on spirit ink nor on standard sect techniques. That is something I have never seen in more than twenty years of teaching."

"I had no other choice at that time," Diệp Sương said, her voice somewhat timid due to his frankness. "I just thought of doing something right away."

"That's why it's worth it," Nhiêu Bá Tường replied, his voice low and thoughtful. "I once told you that in a critical situation, standard techniques that have been proven over many generations are still the safer choice. Last night, you showed me something else — sometimes, it is flexibility, it is the ability to adapt to what is at hand, even if it is just the human heart, that saves the most lives."

*

In the middle of the morning, when the whole village began to clean up the ruins after a long night, Chief Lý Đoài convened a short meeting at the communal house yard, inviting the entire group of disciples to attend.

"I want to thank the sect on behalf of the whole village, and especially thank Diệp Sương," he said, his voice rare and solemn. "If it weren't for the early preparation and timely presence of the children, last night could have been another disaster, much worse than what happened."

He turned to look straight at Diệp Sương, his eyes clearly revealing an old guilt that had never been resolved. "Many years ago, when you were young, I disregarded the first signs, thinking they were just trivial things that weren't worth worrying about. As a result, one person in the village almost lost his life. This time, I acted sooner, listened better — and I think, largely because you taught me that lesson, even though you never said a word."

Diệp Sương bowed her head, not knowing how to respond, only feeling a warmth spread in her heart when she saw that the man who had been slow for years had really changed.

*

In the afternoon, while helping Mrs. Chín Lài clean up the bundles of medicine that were disturbed after the battle, Diệp Sương heard news from a postman who had just arrived from Lam Thủy Town - the group staying in the town had just experienced an equally stressful night, although smaller in scale, and Chung Nhã Trúc and two other disciples handled it well without any significant casualties.

"I heard that sister Chung Nhã Trúc also mentioned you," the postman added, smiling. "Tell me that if I had been in town, it would have been handled much more neatly, although the sister herself did a very good job."

Diệp Sương chuckled softly at that indirect compliment, but in her heart, another question arose - if both Lam Thủy Town and Tùng Lĩnh Village were attacked on the same night, could it be that these were not two separate events, but part of the same larger disturbance, more widespread than what the sect had ever recognized.

She took Thanh Việt's jade pendant out of her pocket and turned it gently in her hand in the afternoon sunlight. During the night, amid the chaos, she had completely forgotten about that object, but now looking back, she realized that the stone pattern seemed a little darker than before, as if it had silently absorbed some of the night’s chaotic energy. She wondered if Thanh Việt, recuperating on Vân Tiêu Peak, had felt anything similarly unusual, and wished there was some way to let him know that she was okay.

*

That night, sitting by the fire with Mr. Tám Mực, Mrs. Chín Lài, Mộc and Mận - for the first time since she left the village, all five people gathered together as they had in their childhood years - Diệp Sương shared that worry.

"I think this isn't the end," she said, her voice low amid the crackling fire. "I'm afraid this is just the beginning of something much bigger, like the cracks in the Vân Tiêu battlefield."

"Whatever it is," Mrs. Chín Lài said, handing her a bowl of hot porridge, her voice calm as always, "you did exactly what you needed to do last night. Worry about tomorrow, my child. Tonight, just eat until you're full and sleep well."

Diệp Sương took a sip of hot porridge, feeling the warmth spread from her throat to her stomach and dispel some of the cold left by the long sleepless night. She looked at Mrs. Chín Lài quietly stirring the pot, her back hunched but her hands still as nimble as ever, and suddenly realized that despite all the great things she had learned on Vân Tiêu Peak, what she had craved most during the two years away from home was simply a bowl of hot porridge cooked by these familiar hands.

Mr. Tám Mực nodded in agreement, then reached for the old inkstone - which had been carefully preserved by Mrs. Chín Lài for the past two years - and placed it in Diệp Sương's palm.

"Keep it with you," he said, "as you always have. No matter how far you go, no matter what happens, this inkstone will always remind you where you started."

Diệp Sương tightened her grip on the familiar inkstone in her hand, looking around at the beloved faces under the flickering firelight, and even though outside the night sky there was still a lingering uneasiness, in this moment, she allowed herself to believe that, at least tonight, all the people she loved were safe together.

"Hey," Mộc spoke up, trying to break the quiet atmosphere with his familiar joking voice, "I've finished building a spell drawing table for you. Put it in the corner of Mrs. Chín Lài's house. You can try it tomorrow. If you're satisfied, I'll pay for it."

"I told you there's no need for any effort," Diệp Sương replied, laughing, a rare feeling of relief creeping into the lingering worries.

"Then let me calculate the score another way," Mộc said, winking. "Next time you come back, remember to tell me and Mận about everything on the mountain, don't hide it anymore. Also about the general's son or something that Mận keeps mentioning."

Cái Mận blushed and lightly punched Mộc's shoulder, making the whole group laugh out loud, a burst of laughter in the quiet night, like some healing medicine that was more effective than any talisman Diệp Sương had ever drawn. Mộc laughed along, simply enjoying the warmth of a night spent with the most familiar people in his life.