They had assumed that once the salt-seeking party set out, it would be at least two or three months before they returned. Who could have imagined that before even a day had passed, a sentry came rushing in with news that they had already been spotted coming back?
When Duan Yan heard the report, he had just finished drilling the troops on the training grounds and was on his way back. Seeing the mounted sentry, he stopped him and asked what had happened.
“They’re back? You’d better not have mistaken someone else for them.”
The sentry hurriedly replied, “How could I have got it wrong? Lord Bai, Brother Tie the First, and the Lin brothers have all returned. They came ahead to send word!”
Duan Yan thought that even if the sentry were muddleheaded, his eyesight could not possibly be so poor that he had mistaken several people at once.
He asked urgently, “How many people came back?”
“Everyone who went has returned, and it looks like they brought a few more with them!”
Duan Yan was filled with confusion and hurried toward the yamen.
The checkpoint was not far from the town to begin with. The sentry had only just ridden ahead to deliver the news when the party arrived behind him.
Duan Yan had barely entered the yamen when the group arrived as well. Before he could even ask what had happened to make them return so quickly, he spotted among them a face that was both unfamiliar and faintly familiar.
It was unfamiliar because the man was not one of the people the town had sent out. It was familiar because Duan Yan had seen him before.
Just as he hesitated, the man spoke first. “Brother Duan, do you still recognize me?”
Duan Yan looked at the man’s withered frame and sallow, gaunt face. Even the way he raised his hand revealed that something was wrong with his arm; his movements were far from the nimble ease of a normal person.
The man looked utterly down-and-out. Only his eyes remained sharp and lively. Though they were weathered by years of hardship, they still held an unusual keenness.
Duan Yan racked his memory, and then it came to him. “You’re Nine-Beard!”
Seeing that Duan Yan had taken a moment to identify him but had ultimately recognized him, the man’s face lit up with delight. “It has been more than two years since we last parted. I didn’t expect Brother Duan’s eyes to be so good that you would still recognize this humble fellow.”
Duan Yan thought, How could I not recognize him? Back then, when he had encountered Nine-Beard in the prefectural city, it was this man who had arranged for him to purchase ten thousand jin of salt. They had originally intended to order a second batch, but the fellow had taken their deposit and vanished without a trace.
At the time, Duan Yan had been furious. But then war had broken out, and troublesome matters had flooded into the town like a torrent. He had had no time to pursue the matter. Later, the Bai brothers had brought salt to the town while seeking refuge, filling at least part of the shortfall.
Even so, Duan Yan had never expected to see this man again—and certainly not here in Red Mountain.
In a mere two years, the salt merchant who had once been eloquent, shrewd, and capable had been reduced to such a wretched state.
Now that they had met again, Duan Yan’s earlier anger had faded. He did not immediately question the man about taking the deposit and abandoning the deal. Instead, he said sincerely, “What happened to you these past two years? You’ve grown so thin that you’re almost unrecognizable. I couldn’t place you at first.”
Nine-Beard let out a long sigh.
“Lord Duan, why don’t we go inside and talk?” said Brother Bai.
Duan Yan agreed and waved for someone to arrange food and drink. After their long journey by road and river, they needed to be welcomed properly and allowed to wash away the dust of travel.
Once they entered the offices, Song Wushen and the others came over as well. Soon, everyone had gathered in one room to hear why the salt-seeking party had returned so quickly.
“After leaving the pass, I originally intended to follow the salt route straight toward Shu,” Brother Bai began, slowly recounting what had happened. “But in Fu County, I ran into an informant with whom we had long been unable to make contact. From him, I obtained some news about the routes being blocked off by Kang County. As luck would have it, we also learned of a salt route and managed to get in touch with the people who possessed the salt.
“We spent two days making preparations for a meeting and negotiations. Who would have guessed that the moment the two sides met, Brother Lin the Second would recognize the man and fly into a rage? He rushed forward to seize him and demand an explanation. The two groups nearly came to blows!”
Nine-Beard took the opportunity to explain the matter to Duan Yan as well.
“What we did before was indeed dishonorable. After receiving Brother Lin the Second’s deposit, I immediately went back to arrange for the salt and prepare it for delivery. Who could have known that with war about to begin, those forces who had received advance warning would deceive us? They lured us into sending the salt out, then not only refused to pay but openly robbed the cargo and killed people. Even the salt we had prepared for you was looted on the road, and the entire route fell into chaos overnight.
“Everyone suspected it was a trap and no longer dared send salt out. We couldn’t find anyone to deal with, so we intended to return Brother Lin the Second’s deposit. Unfortunately, before we could send anyone out, war broke out. Panic spread everywhere, and the passes were hastily closed while all the roads were cut off.”
The illicit salt traders had no choice but to scatter and return to their home villages to hide from the fighting.
“Who would have thought that war alone would not be the end of it? We could have hidden in our villages and lived cautiously enough, but Heaven was not merciful. First came drought, then snow, then drought again. The common people were caught completely unprepared.
“Qianzhou suffered terribly, and neighboring Shu was no better. At first, people could still hold on, but once the food ran out, forces of every size rose in revolt. Everywhere you looked, there was nothing but killing and looting.”
The mere fact that Nine-Beard—a private salt boss with considerable standing—had been reduced to such a sorry state was proof enough of how dire the situation in that region had become.
“Before, everyone closed the passes and severed the roads in the hope of avoiding the chaos. Now there’s no food or drink left, and people can’t survive. Even if no one attacks from outside, it is just as impossible to live within. The passes have opened up in places all over. We truly had no other choice, so I contacted some of the people we used to work with. Together, we restored the salt routes and brought salt out of Shu, hoping to trade it elsewhere for a chance to survive.”
They had plenty of salt, but Shu itself had no shortage of it. Salt could not be exchanged for food there. Qianzhou, however, lay right next door and could not produce salt on its own. After two years of closed passes and disrupted trade routes, many places there were bound to be desperately short of salt. That was why they had come: perhaps the two sides could help each other, with the people here willing to part with some grain in exchange for salt.
They had spread word in every direction and contacted everyone they could. As a result, they had happened to establish contact with the salt-seeking party. When the two sides met and discovered that they knew each other, they cleared up the misunderstanding and decided to come together to Red Mountain for negotiations.
In truth, whether there had been a misunderstanding or not was no longer important. What mattered most to the Salt Town now was the salt.
“Can you truly deliver salt here?” Duan Yan asked.
Nine-Beard nodded. “The common people are starving to death. Though the government troops are supported by their offices, there are too many mouths and too little meat to go around. They’re barely clinging to life and have grown lax. The checkpoints everywhere are extremely lax as well.
“The old illicit-salt routes have already been greased, and the way out of Shu is open, so getting here is not difficult. However…” Nine-Beard paused, secretly gritting his teeth. “Red Mountain is remote, and the terrain is complicated. To get here, we would have to go all the way around Kang County. That would indeed be difficult.
“Still… there is always a way to solve a problem.”
The moment he crossed into Red Mountain with the others, he was struck dumb.
They had traveled all the way from Shu and secretly passed through the Qianzhou region. Along the road, corpses from starvation had been strewn everywhere, and every place had been scarred by fire, looting, and slaughter. The two regions had looked no different from each other.
He had subconsciously assumed that a remote little town like Red Mountain, even if it had escaped the ravages of war, could not have avoided natural disasters. Surely it would be no better than the lands outside.
Who could have imagined that on the very same stretch of earth, separated only by a shallow boundary, the worlds within and without would be as different as heaven and earth?
Red Mountain was a small town, yet several units of soldiers patrolled and guarded its checkpoint with such airtight vigilance that not even a draft could slip through. The militia stood ready and spirited, their eyes sharp. One glance was enough to tell that they were no good-for-nothing weaklings.
Being well-armed was one thing, but after passing through the checkpoint, every farmer they encountered along the road was plump and well-fed. People came and went in peace and harmony, calmly harvesting their crops in the fields. How could this possibly look like a place suffering from famine and hardship?
Regardless of how clever a person was, anyone who had endured two years of natural disasters and warfare outside these borders would have been clapping their hands and praising this place. It was practically the Peach Blossom Spring the storytellers were always boasting about.
He had concluded that Chishan had food!
But getting salt safely here would be troublesome even in times of peace. They had only been willing to transport it as far as Kang County. Given the current state of the world, the difficulty would only be greater. Still, he did not dare make any definitive claims. No matter how hard it was, they had to try. Otherwise, they could only sit on their salt and wait to starve to death.
Everyone in the administrative office was delighted to hear what Nine-Beard had to say. Duan Yan did not beat around the bush and said directly, “Money is useless here now. Salt and grain are the only hard currency. If you’re sincere about the trade, one cart of salt for one cart of grain.”
Nine-Beard and the others’ hearts pounded. One cart of salt was nothing special where they came from, but one cart of grain could save lives!
Thus, they resumed their old trade. They had managed to complete two deals, but food was precious everywhere now, and the other parties had driven the price up. They would only exchange one cart of grain for three carts of salt. It was blatantly unfair, but with nowhere else to turn, they could only swallow their anger and agree.
On the way to complete those two deals, they had been stopped and robbed repeatedly. Of the twenty carts of salt they had brought out of Shu, only five carts of moldy grain remained after all their losses.
Who among them was not furious? But in these times, even a single mouthful of food was exceedingly hard to come by.
Suppressing their excitement, Nine-Beard and the others said, “Good, good! Then it’s settled!”
No matter how difficult it was, they were willing to make Chishan this trade’s priority.
Once the salt-for-grain exchange had been agreed upon, Nine-Beard and the others hurriedly prepared to leave. Duan Yan, however, kept them back. He had a sumptuous meal of good wine and fine dishes prepared for them, along with plenty of dry provisions. No matter how urgent things were, he insisted they rest for one night before setting off.
It was not because he was some sort of benevolent saint who took pity on people in hardship. The salt trade was of great importance, and their own hopes were likewise pinned on Nine-Beard and the others.
Once the men had rested, they would naturally handle matters more efficiently. Besides, this was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and one good meal of meat and vegetables was nothing to them.
That evening, Nine-Beard and the others went to the lodging Duan Yan had specially arranged for them. When they pushed open the door, they found a table laden with steaming chicken, duck, fish, and meat waiting inside.
The men swallowed hard. After closing the door, they rushed at the table like starving wolves. Even if the food had been poisoned, they would have eaten their fill and died happy that night.
They could not even spare the time to distribute the chopsticks among themselves. They simply grabbed the food with their hands and gnawed at it, enjoying a truly satisfying feast.
That evening, Duan Yan washed Song Fengsui’s feet, carried him to the soft couch, and, as usual, massaged his legs and loosened his muscles. While doing so, he told him about Nine-Beard.
“After going around in circles, I never thought we’d meet again.”
Song Fengsui found it rather poignant. In such troubled times, many people parted once and might never meet again in their entire lives. Yet somehow, fate always had a way of bringing certain people together again.
“Did he settle the matter of the deposit with you?”
Duan Yan chuckled and took out a banknote. “After he met up with Lin Er and learned that I was the buyer, he prepared the deposit and came to see me in person to return it.”
“You said all of them were so thin they looked emaciated. If they had money, why couldn’t they use it?” Song Fengsui asked. “Are banknotes no longer accepted outside?”
Duan Yan answered, “From what I heard, they can still be used in some places. But prices have soared, and silver and banknotes are nothing more than dead objects and scraps of paper. Whether you can buy rice or grain depends entirely on the seller’s mood. Most of the time, people have money but still cannot buy food. In places with order, money retains a little value. But in places without order, where even soldiers rob people as they please, it is naturally worthless.”
Song Fengsui let out a long sigh and took Duan Yan’s hand. “Though he was willing to return the deposit, which shows that he still has some sense of honor, even people who were not demons to begin with can easily be forced into becoming monsters by a world like this.”
“Now that they’ve entered the town, we still have to keep an eye on them.”
Duan Yan nodded. “Of course. I specifically arranged lodging for them near the drill ground. I also assigned heavily armed soldiers to guard the place. They are not to be allowed to cause trouble, nor are they permitted to wander around asking questions or looking about.”
Hearing that everything had been arranged, Song Fengsui finally relaxed.
He patted the spot beside him, signaling Duan Yan to sit down, then naturally lay across his lap.
Duan Yan picked up a fan and gently fanned him.
Song Fengsui lifted his eyes. “When you carried me just now, did I feel heavier?”
“Mm. You’re quite a bit heavier than you were last month.”
Duan Yan looked at Song Fengsui’s belly. Through the thin gauze of his clothes, it appeared round and full. He nodded and said, “Your belly seems to have grown again. A-Ji must have eaten so many osmanthus cakes that the little fellow has fattened right up.”
Song Fengsui could not help laughing. “The baby is about to be born, and you’re saying things like that. What if he hears you?”
Duan Yan placed a hand over Song Fengsui’s belly. “I’ve covered my ears. I can’t hear anything.”
Song Fengsui’s smile grew broader, and his mood was unexpectedly good. It was already the end of September, and even the dry weather could not resist the changing season. At last, the nights had grown cool, no longer so hot and stifling, which naturally lifted his spirits.
After chatting with Duan Yan for a while, he could not help yawning. He tried to keep his eyes open so he could talk with Duan Yan a little longer, but at some point he tilted his head—and could no longer hold on. He fell asleep.
Duan Yan watched the young man sleeping on his lap. After sitting still for a while and making sure he was sleeping soundly, he carried him to the bed, gently laid a thin quilt over him, and quietly left the room.
Dog Three came forward and reported, “They’ve eaten and drunk their fill. They’re all snoring like thunder now. There doesn’t seem to be any trouble.”
Duan Yan nodded. He had mixed a little sleeping medicine into the wine and meat. It would not harm their bodies, but it would help them sleep more deeply. Now that they were in a safe place, they could sleep peacefully.
He raised a hand, signaling Dog Three to instruct the men to continue keeping a close watch.
The night was clear, and the moon shone bright. Duan Yan stood where the wind blew strongest, gazing at the full moon on the horizon. Without realizing it, he had become increasingly burdened with thoughts.
A gust of wind lifted his sleeve and pulled his thoughts back to the present. It was much cooler outside than in the room. If not for the mosquitoes, he would have liked to arrange for Young Master Song to sleep outdoors. It would have been much cooler than having to fan him himself.
As his thoughts drifted, an urgent cry suddenly came from inside the room.
“...Duan Yan!”
Duan Yan sprang into motion and hurried into the room.
He had assumed that Song Fengsui had merely woken from a nightmare and grown anxious when he did not see him. But when he entered, he saw that the young man who had been sleeping peacefully on the bed moments ago was now drenched in sweat. He clutched his belly, gritting his teeth tightly, his face contorted with pain.
Duan Yan dropped to his knees beside the bed almost instantly and seized his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel awful. The baby must be coming!”
Hearing this, Duan Yan immediately shouted for help.
The night had only just settled into silence after the second watch, but the entire residence was instantly roused. Lamps were lit everywhere, hurried footsteps echoed through the halls, and before long, midwives and physicians began arriving from outside.
One basin of water after another was carried in and out of the room. Duan Yan, who had been driven outside and could do nothing but keep watch, was beside himself with worry, his mind filled with the sight of his loved one suffering on the bed moments earlier.
He paced back and forth, circling around the yard. Every so often, when he heard the pained moans coming from inside, his steps became even more hurried and disordered.
Song Wushen, whose brows had long since knotted into a tight frown, could bear it no longer. He grabbed Duan Yan by the arm. “Stop pacing, child. You’re only making me even more anxious!”
Song Xuemu kept craning his neck forward, then drawing it back, only to stretch it out again. Seeing the father-in-law and son-in-law pacing about, he walked over and said, “He ate and slept well during the day. How did he suddenly go into labor? Did he trip or bump into something?”
Duan Yan carefully thought everything over again, frowning. “No. We only talked for a while, and he was still quite relaxed before going to bed. I merely stepped out for a moment, and suddenly he was in distress!”
Song Wushen drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “He’s already nine months along, after all. It isn’t as though a child must be born only after a full ten months. Giving birth a little early is perfectly normal.”
Fortunately, the family had already arranged for a midwife to stay there in advance, so they weren’t afraid of labor beginning at any hour. Even so, Duan Yan still felt it wasn’t enough. That night, he went so far as to summon every midwife in the vicinity.
The few men in the courtyard turned about like headless flies. Births were exceedingly rare in the Song household, and the only one with any experience in childbirth, Mu Linghui, had already gone inside to keep the laboring person company. Now they had no one left to answer their questions. Faced with such a situation, it was only natural that they felt utterly at a loss.
They rushed about in a panic, accomplishing nothing at all, yet somehow working up sweat across their foreheads. They wiped it away, only for more to spring up, and wiped it away again.
It was not until the moon had begun to sink westward, after the turmoil had continued well into the latter half of the night, that a baby’s loud, clear cry rang out.
The hearts of the several men in the courtyard, which had been suspended so high they seemed level with the moon in the sky, finally dropped back into their stomachs with a heavy thud.
