Chapter 31 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Road to Tiêu Sa Pass

Twelve days of travel—mostly by horse-drawn carriage along the official road, then by rented camel from the last small town with a prosperous market—were enough for Diệp Sương to realize that the land she was entering differed from any place she had ever known.

The trees thinned out with each mile, the land turned from a rich dark brown to a dry pale yellow, and the air, though still damp from the morning, carried an unfamiliar taste of fine dust that clung to the throat with every deep breath.

"I don't dare imagine how weak Linh Mạch is here," Diệp Sương said, sitting on the back of a camel next to Cố Thanh Việt, looking out at the endless stretch of land ahead. "Even the trees seem to be trying their best just to survive."

Thanh Việt did not respond immediately, just closed his eyes for a moment, focusing all his mind on his sharp, heirloom intuition. "I can feel it," he said finally, his voice low. "It's not a weak flow, but more like a flow that's being choked somewhere, only leaking out little by little. This feeling is different from anywhere I've ever been."

Behind them, another disciple in the group - the only person besides Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt sent along, a quiet young man named Vệ Chinh who was good at logistics and map drawing - spoke up, his voice somewhat worried. "The two of you saying that makes me feel even more uneasy. How far do we still have to go to get there?"

"According to the map, there's about a day and a half left," Diệp Sương replied, checking the directions Nhiêu Bá Tường had prepared before they left the sect. "We should take advantage of the rest while we can, there probably won't be many more opportunities like this ahead." The caravan continued to move through low sand dunes mixed with cracked patches of land, occasionally encountering the dry skeleton of a small animal lying in the sun, with no signs of life other than a few thorny bushes rooted deep into the barren ground. Diệp Sương couldn't help but think of Tùng Lĩnh Village, of the green fields during harvest, and wondered if one day, if no one stopped it in time, her hometown would also become a desolate place like this.

*

Tiêu Sa Pass appeared before our eyes at sunset on the thirteenth day, a cluster of gray stone military structures built along a low hill, the city walls were worn out by wind and sand, faded flags fluttered weakly in the dry wind.

"This is the place that is considered the last defense point before entering the wilderness to the northwest," a soldier standing guard said when he saw the group of Tông Vân Các disciples approaching, his voice mixed with surprise and relief. "It's been a long time since anyone from the sect came down here."

Captain Sầm Nguyên Trạch, the commander of the garrison at the pass, greeted the group right at the city gate, with a sturdy figure, a face tanned by the sun and wind, and sharp eyes of a person accustomed to surviving in the harsh frontier.

"We sent a report to Khâm Vân Ti and the court half a year ago," he said, his voice somewhat bitter as he shook hands to greet the group. "No one came down until now. I don't blame you, it's just... the official road from here to the capital Lệ Dương is much farther than people think."

*

The first dinner at Tiêu Sa Pass took place in a simple stone hall, the oil lamps were flickering, the food was more frugal than what Diệp Sương was used to at Tông Vân Các, but it brought a rustic warmth reminiscent of meals in Tùng Lĩnh Village.

"What is the specific situation?" Diệp Sương asked, taking advantage of the time when Sầm Nguyên Trạch seemed more open after a few cups of rice wine.

"Three years ago, this area was still arable, although the soil was not very fertile," he replied, his voice low. "But since about a year ago, things have rapidly deteriorated. The wells have dried up, the crops have failed continuously, and the talismans we bought from passing trade groups, which were not cheap, now only last for less than a third of their normal validity period."

"Are there any signs of a demon attack?" Cố Thanh Việt asked, his eyes serious.

"It hasn't reached the level of demon tide," Sầm Nguyên Trạch replied, "but there have been a few sporadic attacks from strange creatures never seen before — perhaps species that have mutated to adapt to this depleted Linh Mạch region. We lost two soldiers this past winter."

The entire dining table fell into a heavy silence. Sầm Nguyên Trạch poured more wine into his cup, drank it all in one gulp before continuing, his voice less cautious than before. "The people around here, most of them live in a small village about an hour's walk from the border, called Diêm Cốc village. They have stubbornly stuck to their homes for many generations, not wanting to leave their ancestral land, although in recent years, many families have had to move to other places because they can no longer farm."

"So how many households remain?" Diệp Sương asked, her heart sinking when thinking about the scenes of families having to leave the place where they were born.

"Less than thirty households," Sầm Nguyên Trạch replied, his voice sad. "Most are old people who have nowhere else to go, or families who are too poor to move far away. Mr. Mười Khoan, the village leader, still tries to keep things as stable as possible, but an old man's strength is limited."

*

After the meal, Diệp Sương asked permission to walk around the border before it was completely dark, wanting to personally feel the land she was about to have to stick with for many months to come. Cố Thanh Việt went along, the two walked slowly along the old city wall, looking out at the desolate land stretching to the horizon.

"It's so different from Tùng Lĩnh Village," he said softly, a vague sadness creeping into his voice. "There, even though there is a demon tide, at least the land is still fertile, the trees are still green. And here..."

"Here it's like a body that has been exhausted for a long time, just holding on," Thanh Việt continued, his voice carrying a rare heaviness. "I don't understand why the royal court allowed such an important area - the last point of defense before the wilderness - to fall into neglect for so long."

Diệp Sương was silent, recalling Khâm Vân Ti setting up the measuring stake in Lam Thủy Town and Nhiêu Bá Tường's vague answer about the "troublesome approval process." A familiar feeling of insecurity arose in her heart again, although she could not clearly name its source.

*

That night, when returning to the rooms temporarily arranged in the fort—two small adjacent rooms for disciples of Tông Vân Các - Diệp Sương sat by the narrow window, looking out at the dense starry sky rarely seen in other places, perhaps because the air here was much clearer due to the lack of humidity and kitchen smoke of a rich land.

She took out Mr. Tám Mực's old inkstone, placed it on the door sill, and set Thanh Việt's jade pendant next to it, two souvenirs from the two most important people in her life, now traveling together in a strange land.

There was a light knock on the door. Thanh Việt stood outside, holding an old map borrowed from Sầm Nguyên Trạch. "I think you should look at this before you go to sleep," he said, walking in and spreading the map on the table. "This is the entire area around the pass, marking the weakest Linh Mạch points as recorded by the patrol team."

Diệp Sương bent down to look closely, red dots scattered across the map like small wounds on a large body, and among them, an unusually dense cluster of dots gathered around a location simply noted as "Hạn Thủy ravine".

“Maybe that will be the first place we need to go,” he said, his voice determined, although he couldn't help but feel a sense that the road ahead, like the dry land beyond, would require more than anything he had ever been prepared to face.

Thanh Việt rolled up the map, but did not leave immediately, leaning against the narrow window, looking out at the starry sky. "I think we should get a good rest tonight," he said. "Tomorrow starts a long journey, I don't know how long it will be before we have a quiet night like this."

"Are you scared?" Diệp Sương suddenly asked, her voice smaller than usual.

Thanh Việt was silent for a moment, considering his answer. "Yes," he finally admitted, something he rarely did. "But I'm not afraid for myself. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect everything you want to protect here, just like you once worried about Tùng Lĩnh Village."

"We will try together," Diệp Sương replied, looking straight into his eyes. "Like at the Vân Tiêu battlefield, like at Linh Căn temple. I no longer feel alone when I have you by my side." Thanh Việt nodded slightly. A fragile smile flickered at the corner of his lips, then he quietly left, leaving Diệp Sương alone by the window, her heart both warm and heavy at what awaited her.