Chapter 72 – Heavenly Dragon (2)
The Gusu City of the Northern Song was very prosperous. Lin Yu Tong had been from the north, but because she lived in Yangzhou in the Red Chamber and Lin Ru Hai’s old home was in Gusu, she had some feelings towards this Gusu City of a different world. Lin Yu Tong was able to understand the soft Wu dialect, and was also able to speak it. She found one of the best inns, and wanted a first-class room. She ordered food to be delivered. Lin Yu Tong finally sighed in relief. Just now, she had been worried about not having any papers. Who knew that no one checked them?
It seemed that in this world, the use of the government had been diluted, and Lin Yu Tong was just a bit not used to it.
The busboy was very enthusiastic and the food looked clean. Lin Yu Tong asked them where she could buy a horse in Gusu.
” Young Brother is buying a horse for yourself?” The busboy glanced up and down at Lin Yu Tong.
Lin Yu Tong was a bit annoyed. Yes, with her present height, it was very difficult to ride a horse. She said with a smile, “I want to buy a small horse.” In any case, she was not in a hurry to travel, and it would be faster than walking.
The busboy was relieved. “Walk to the east of the city, you will get there after two streets. You can get a young horse with twenty taels of the silver.”
Lin Yu Tong gave him a silver bean. “Thank you.”
The busboy’s eyes lit up. He immediately said, “Young Master, if you have anything, tell this one. This one will be downstairs, and can come with a call.”
Just now, he called her little brother, and now young master. It could be seen that money spoke no matter the time.
After resting a night in the inn, Lin Yu Tong went to the east of the city the next morning. Absorbing the lesson from yesterday that people judged her by her attire, she went to the clothing shop and brought a few ready made outfits. She found a place with no people, entered her pocket space, changed her clothes, and put a jade hairpin to hold up her hair, and a jade pendant to hang from her waist. It was more convenient to dress as a man than a woman. Dressed like this, she did look like a young master who came from a rich family.
The other said it was just two streets away, but the two streets were not very close. Before she reached the place, she got hungry. Then she thought she had left without eating breakfast. She found a clean shop, and got a steamer of dumplings and a bowl of soup. She managed to eat it. She probably was the least used to the food. In the Red Chamber, she had several chefs to serve her. Every meal would be very fine. It seemed she had to prepare some food to put in her space, so she could eat at any time.
Lin Yu Tong felt the food was not suited to her tastes, and heard rumbling of the stomach. She turned and saw a young beggar of seven or so sitting on the threshold, looking at the food on her table and swallowing.
The storekeeper came out, and said to the young beggar like he was swatting a fly, “Go go go! Is this a place someone like you can come to?”
Lin Yu Tong could not endure seeing a child suffer and stood, saying, “Storekeeper, do not do that.” Then she beckoned to the beggar. “Come here, I cannot finish all this.”
The young beggar shot over. “Thank you, Young Master, may I take this?”
The storekeeper appeared to feel the beggar had dirtied his place and said, “Take it. Young Master, you will not be able to eat looking at him.”
Lin Yu Tong did not waste words with the storekeeper. Such a small business could not make a lot of money, just enough to make a living. She would not ruin the other’s business. These storekeepers disliked these beggars. For the leftovers of the customers, the chefs ate first, and the busboys would not get a turn. If the beggars got the leftovers, it was stealing food from them. Lin Yu Tong had learned this back when she had been selling pickled vegetables. She learned that when the harvest was low, and the taxes were high, many people were unable to fill their bellies. People did not care if they were eating leftovers. If they did not give, the business would appear unkind, but if they gave, they could not help but hurt over this. Lin Yu Tong understood other people’s difficulties. She did not make trouble. She paid the silver, and had the beggar take the dumplings. Then she left the store with him, asking, “You do not eat them yourself, who are you bringing them to?”
“My brother is ill, I came to beg for food,” the young beggar said.
Lin Yu Tong suddenly felt sad. They all said that the Beggar Sect was powerful, but if the world was prosperous, who would be willing to be a beggar. She said, “Where are you living?” Then, she bought a large bag of steamed buns from the next shop.
“This is all for us?” The young beggar asked uncertainly.
“Yes,” Lin Yu Tong said with a smile. “Everyone who sees will get a share.”
The young beggar was wary, and was not willing to speak.
Lin Yu Tong sensed that she had been rash. People who met people who were good to others for no reason would appear abnormal.
Lin Yu Tong said with a smile, “I know a bit of medicine, but other people do not trust me. They feel that I am young and do not want me to heal them. I want to test with your brother, is that fine?”
The young beggar now looked normal and said in a low voice, “My brother…… Being able to eat a full meal before death is worth it. Come with me.”
Lin Yu Tong followed the young beggar to a dilapidated temple outside the city. There was a boy of twelve or so lying in a pile of dry grass.
The young beggar ran over and put down the dumplings. He said, “Young Master, come look.”
The child was so feverish he was shaking. Lin Yu Tong took out the medicine she had prepared from her space, and fed it to him. To people who never had antibiotics, such medicines seemed to be miracles. After two hours, the fever faded.
“Young Master, thank you for your boon,” the young beggar kowtowed to Lin Yu Tong.
Just as Lin Yu Tong helped him up, she heard voices from outside.
“Xiao Hei Zi, is your brother better?” The voice was loud and bold.
Then a big man walked in. He was dressed in tattered gray robes. He looked to be in his twenties. His face was square, he had thick eyebrows, and looked very dignified.
“Big Brother Qiao!” The young beggar called Xiao Hei Zi ran over in joy. “When did you come to Gusu?”
Lin Yu Tong stilled and thought, would it be such a coincidence?
She heard the young beggar say, “They feared that Elder Brother’s illness is a plague, and had Elder Brother move out. If not for this good hearted young master, I fear that Brother would have passed away. Right now, Brother has stopped having a fever. He should be fine.”
The young man called Big Brother Qiao looked at Lin Yu Tong and bowed, “This one is Qiao Feng. Young Brother, thank you for helping.”
It truly was Qiao Feng. Lin Yu Tong remembered in the novel, when Qiao Feng appeared, he was said to be in his thirties. Right now, Qiao Feng was definitely not thirty, but twenty-seven or so.
While she was thinking, she was not slow and bowed as well, “So it is Master Qiao, greetings.”
Qiao Feng in the north, Murong in the south was a saying that already existed. Who in the jianghu did not know of Qiao Feng? However, at this time, he was not yet the leader of the Beggar Sect.
“Young Brother, thank you very much for saving a disciple of the Beggar Sect,” Qiao Feng said with a smile. “May I ask Brother for your name and where you come from? If there is some way the Beggar Sect can help in the future, I will not refuse. From how Young Brother is able to eliminate the illness, you must be skilled in medicine.”
“This young boy is Lin Yu Tong, and has been with my teacher on the mountain outside the city. My master has passed away, and I have come down the mountain. I just harvested herbs on the mountain, and know the qualities of some herbs, I am not an expert,” Lin Yu Tong said modestly. With Qiao Feng’s reputation, he was able to visit a young pair of brothers in a dilapidated temple, and be so respectful to a child like him. It was not a coincidence that he was popular in the Beggar Sect. It had to be said that he was a very charismatic person.
“So you have a hard lot too? Brother, are you alone, and going to settle in the city?” Qiao Feng asked.
“I originally wanted to buy a horse and travel around, when I met Xiao Hei Zi,” Lin Yu Tong said with a smile.
“Come! I will take you. With Young Brother’s age, a steed is hard to find.” Qiao Feng pulled Lin Yu Tong and walked out, saying to Xiao Hei Zi, “I will come get you brothers later.”
When they left the temple, the two walked towards the city. Walking for a while, Qiao Feng said, “Brother, you do not know any martial arts at all.”
“Yes!” Lin Yu Tong smiled and said, “If I travel around, maybe I will get lucky.”
“Brother, you are a very free person. But the road is not very peaceful, you have to be careful,” Qiao Feng warned. Then he said, “If you encounter trouble, just ask a branch of the Beggar Sect for help. If you give them my name, people will help you.”
Upon first meeting, he was so honest. Lin Yu Tong could not help but admire this great hero.
The two talked happily on the way. When they got to the animal market, they were very good friends, calling each other ” Big Brother” and “Brother.” After selecting a horse, Lin Yu Tong did not plan to keep staying in Gusu. Without martial arts, in the world of the powerful, she did not feel safe at all. She still wanted to go to Wuliang Mountain.
“Big Brother Qiao!” Lin Yu Tong got on the horse, “Big Brother is a honest man, and I should not have hid from you. Big Brother, call me ‘Sister’ in the future!” Then she laughed, flicked a whip, and left.
Qiao Feng looked at Lin Yu Tong’s back for a long time and then said in shock, “So a girl. I was rash.” Then he raised his voice, “Sister Lin, be careful on the road.”
Lin Yu Tong heard from the distance, and responded loudly.
While it was safer to be shameless and stay by the master’s side, everyone had their own paths to walk. Also, after a few years, Qiao Feng’s side would become the most dangerous place.
Maybe because the story had not started, the jianghu was not as evil as she imagined. There were all kinds of merchants traveling. Lin Yu Tong just followed the bigger merchant caravans. At the start, people saw her alone and had thoughts, but after Lin Yu Tong used the dart gun and the itching powder two times, no one came to provoke her.
When it was winter, Lin Yu Tong successfully made it to Dali.
Translator Ramblings: I’m not sure how different the Wu language would be from the time of Song (this story) to the Qing Dynasty (last story). In any case, for most people who grew up in the last decades of the 20th century and a lot of the 21st century in China, Wu (or Shanghainese) is not their first language, and they grew up much more fluent with Mandarin.
- Grafting Life Chapter 71 – Heavenly Dragon (1)
- Grafting Life Chapter 73 – Heavenly Dragon (3)
- Grafting Life Chapter 74 – Heavenly Dragon (4)
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