Just as daylight broke, Bai Yuan and his family prepared to depart.
More than ten Bai family servants and dozens of tenant farrs would accompany him back to the Bai Family Fortress.
The journey from Gaojia Village to Bai Fortress took a full two hours, so everyone needed a hearty al before setting off.
Thirty-Two lent them pots, pans, and bowls, arranged for giant rice, cabbage, and chicken strips, and cooked several large pots of fragrant chicken and cabbage porridge. Everyone ate two large bowls each.
Many of Bai Fortress’s tenant farrs had never eaten such good food before. So ate until tears fell, thinking: I fled dozens of miles from pursuing bandits, yet the food I eat while fleeing is better than what I had at ho? What kind of matter is this?
If we also want to live like this, what path should we take going forward?
Bai Yuan sighed beside them: “I lack the capability to lead you to such a good life. But no matter, now that we enjoy the Deity’s care, our Bai Family Fortress will surely prosper.”
Before departure, Madam Bai and Young Master Bai climbed into the carriage. Soon, however, they poked their heads out, exclaiming in alarm: “Master! This carriage is covered entirely with white dust! We cannot remain inside…”
Bai Yuan snorted: “Endure it!”
So Madam Bai and Young Master Bai had no choice but to endure. The carriage was half-filled with flour balls. As the carriage moved, every slight jolt caused the balls to roll, making white dust fly until the entire interior swirled with white powder.
Madam Bai and Young Master Bai contemplated jumping out to walk several tis. Yet, as pampered mbers of a wealthy household, they could barely endure walking dozens of miles. Bearing it as best they could within the carriage, once they finally arrived at Bai Family Fortress and erged, both had been utterly transford into white ghosts.
True enough, Bai Family Fortress had been thoroughly plundered by the bandits. All the Bai family’s possessions — furniture, cloth, grain, money — were entirely carried off. Not a single item remained, just the hollowed-out shell of a mansion.
This, however, was no real challenge for Bai Yuan.
He dismissed the other servants, taking only his son to the rear courtyard. There, he pried up a large bluestone slab on the ground, revealing a long passageway beneath. They walked to its end, arriving at an underground chamber filled with gold, silver, and jewels.
Gathering a bag of gold and silver, he exited the secret chamber and carefully replaced the bluestone slab.
Hmph!
The Bai family was reborn.
Standing before Bai Family Fortress, Bai Yuan made a sweeping gesture with his hand and commanded his servants and tenants: “Each receives one liang of silver and two jin of flour. Go out and call back the scattered Villagers. We shall rebuild Bai Family Fortress. All shall rember: do not engage in illegal activities! Otherwise, not even the divine will aid you!”.
In unison, all responded: “We obey!”
Bai Yuan mused internally: I have conveyed the very words the Deity taught this ti, observing the rites perfectly. Surely this ans the ‘Rites’ aspect deducted from my Six Arts of Gentlen can now be restored?
…
In Gaojia Village, the sky was clear and bright.
Third Lady was embracing a pile of jars and bottles in manic delight.
These jars held dicines.
The Deity, Li Daoxuan, had delivered them to her with the tip of His finger. Carefully, reverently, she had placed each kind in one of her finest family jars, labeling every container.
“Burns,” “Wounds,” “Ringworm,” “Cold and Flu,” “Stomach and Intestines”…
It was chaotic equipnt – both Chinese and Western dicines jumbled together.
Li Daoxuan wasn’t an expert in dical matters; he simply gathered small samples from his household first-aid kit.
Ointnts were easy; he scraped off a blob to give her.
dicines in pill form, like cold pills or anti-inflammatories, were trickier. He could only break off a tiny fragnt for her to grind into powder herself.
This process consud two days, resulting in around a dozen jars.
Li Daoxuan repeatedly emphasized the crucial importance of dosage.
Topical dicines were sowhat forgiving; applying too much caused relatively minor issues. But internal dicines? Overdosing could be fatal. Explaining doses in grams was impossible – ancient people had no concept of “grams.” Converting to traditional units like jin, liang, or qian proved extrely difficult.
All he could do was consult the dicine box instructions while instructing Third Lady:
“For a Cold and Flu dicine like this? Err on the side of less, never more. Per dose? Give the patient no more than a fingernail-sized amount.” “Administer three tis daily, AFTER als.” “Never consu on an empty stomach! Failing this ans agonizing stomach pain…”
Third Lady bowed respectfully, noting everything. She added: “Deity, rest assured. This little girl dare not be wasteful. Overdosing is unthinkable.”
“For this anti-inflammatory dicine? Extre caution is required. Also just a fingernail amount per dose, twice daily. Less is absolutely safer than more…”
Third Lady noted this respectfully as well.
Over a dozen notes, each detailing how to use its corresponding dicine, were attached to the jars.
Holding these jars felt, to Third Lady, like clutching the whole world.
For the next two days, she was ecstatic.
She guarded the dicine jars fiercely, instinctively shielding them behind her back from anyone approaching. Even when Thirty-Two tried to touch one, she unleashed a flurry of “Tigress Fist” strikes that painted his face with bruises.
“Do you know what these ARE?” Third Lady raged at Thirty-Two. “Heaven-sent elixirs! Elixirs! Delivered personally by the Deity to my charge! My VERY LIFE binds to their safekeeping! And you dare lay a casual hand upon them?! Off with that reckless limb!”
Thirty-Two wasn’t about to amputate his hand. He could only relentlessly apologize to his wife, nearly prostrating himself until she finally cald down.
Reconciled, Thirty-Two stayed far from the precious pots, lowering his voice, “Wife, with these jars of divine elixir under our care, what path will you tread next?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We return to the county seat!” Third Lady declared. “The Deity commands us to save the people! How many can we truly save trapped within this tiny Gaojia Village? Here? Everyone already receives the Deity’s grace.” “My place is BACK in the county seat! Only THERE can we spread the Deity’s benevolence to the masses!”
Thirty-Two’s brows furrowed deeply. “The county seat… The instability there endures.” “Returning now carries significant risk. If the chaos spills into the town again? Danger is imminent.” “Rember, the Deity favors Gaojia Village. His divine interventions manifest HERE.”
His words struck icy fear into Third Lady. Death terrified her. Yet, seconds later, conviction replaced fear. She activated a fanatical belief buff, weakening her dread.
“Hmph!” Third Lady retorted. “I walk according to the Heavenly Path to save humanity! Though no Saint Lady stands here, a divine envoy does!” “Evil spirits, demonic fiends, all malcontent forces… THEY should scatter before ! What, then, is there to fear?”
Thirty-Two: “…”
How does one reply to that?
He, who prided himself on agility of thought, found his mind utterly blank.
All he could do was sigh deeply, “Very well then.” “Within a few days, after handing village affairs over… I shall select a few strong young lads from the village.” “We shall protect you all the way back to the county seat – Escorting you to safety.” “Once I see you secure? I return here to Gaojia Village to manage the Deity’s earthly tasks.”
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