Realization

Granny Hong sighed as she came back from the window for the fifth time. She had been peeking surreptitiously at Xuxian as she did her housework.

"Ah, it's not right I tell you. He shouldn't have sent her away, no matter what, and he knows it. Look at how miserable he is. Driven to drink, shame on him," she said agitatedly, as if she had not been repeating it the whole day.

Xiaohu gnawed on a dried red date, looking and feeling sorry for himself. He was grateful for the snacks Granny Hong fed him but spending the day listening to her worrying was not his idea of a good trade. He hadn't been able to find Qingqing anywhere--she was probably sulking after being scolded by Yuanzheng--and he hadn't dared to face Yuanzheng himself after the incident.

With a sigh, he hurled the date pit out of the window and snuck a few into his pockets.

Granny Hong sighed as well and busied herself with a pile of laundry. If either of them knew that Yuanzheng was hurrying down the path right at that moment, with Qingqing on his back, they would have ran to the window to see. As it was, they missed seeing Yuanzheng barge into Xuxian's house.

Xuxian started up as the door burst open and Yuanzheng's voice was heard frantically calling him. Instinctively, his eyes lit up and he reached swiftly for his medicine kit.

"Physician Xu!" Yuanzheng gasped. "Physician Xu, hurry--she's hurt. Her leg--look at her leg."

He was wide-eyed and frantic. Qingqing's legs dangled limply in the air and her head hung down over his shoulder. From the glimpse of her face that Xuxian caught through the veil of her hair, he could see how pale she was.

Yuanzheng laid her down on the bed according to Xuxian's instructions and watched on anxiously as Xuxian folded back the bloodstained edge of her robe. The mangled leg lay exposed, making Yuanzheng wince instinctively. Xuxian said nothing, but he hurried to his cabinet and rummaged in the drawers.

"Get me some long thin pieces of wood for a splint," he commanded, snatching up a basin and thrusting it at Yuanzheng. "And fill this with some clean water on the way."

Dazed, Yuanzheng clutched the basin and obediently ran out of the hut. Xuxian glanced keenly at the wound and mumbled distractedly to himself as he reached for another drawer. For the moment, he was not thinking of Suzhen, or that Qingqing was one of the snake spirits. Grateful for something to do, he focused on his work, cleaning the wound carefully, aligning the bone edges, and searching for some string to bind the splints together.

Yuanzheng watched silently, anxiety written all over his face.

"Will--will her leg be all right?" he asked, as Xuxian's hands worked nimbly.

"She kept telling me to go. Saying there was someone after her," he added hesitantly. "Who could have hurt her so badly, and so mercilessly? Could it--could it be Sir Mao's men?"

Xuxian shook his head briefly. "This doesn't look normal. It's like her leg was caught between two sides and snapped, almost like a large bite. Look at the flesh, the edges of the bone."

Yuanzheng averted his eyes, unable to bear the sight. "Then who could it be?"

There was no answer, as Xuxian busied himself with the bandages. Yuanzheng stared at Qingqing's face. He had never seen her so peaceful, so still. Pale and drawn with pain, still with smudges of dirt on her face, she had her brows drawn together slightly, and there was a slight droop to the line of the lips that made one's heart ache, like that of a hurt child repressing a sob. Suddenly her features looked unnaturally sharp and delicate, like a porcelain figurine's that could be crushed to powder if you were too rough with it.

Reaching out, Yuanzheng used his sleeve to rub away the dust on her cheek, wordlessly.

"I--I saw something strange just now," he said lowly and uncertainly. He dared not look at Xuxian. The physician said nothing. The hut was quiet and peaceful, and he gathered up his courage to continue.

"When I first saw her--it was a snake. A small green snake. I noticed its tail was hurt and I wanted to examine it closer."

Yuanzheng's words became quick and hurried. "It--it turned into Qingqing. At least, that's what it seemed. It all happened so quickly, I couldn't reason out any other way she could have appeared without me noticing otherwise. Maybe there's something wrong with my eyes--"

"There is nothing wrong with your eyes," Xuxian cut in. His voice was steady and emotionless and his hands continued to work without faltering.

Gulping, Yuanzheng looked timidly at him. "You mean--"

Xuxian sighed. "Just say what's on your mind."

There was a brief silence. "Qingqing--she's a snake spirit--isn't she?" Yuanzheng said finally, sounding both tense and somehow ashamed.

Xuxian tied the last bandage and let his hands fall onto his lap. "Well, it looks like that might be the case."

"You're not surprised at all," Yuanzheng said slowly and incredulously, looking at him. "Did you--did you know before this?"

He gasped suddenly. Xuxian lifted his head and returned his gaze without saying anything. Yuanzheng stared back at him with shocked eyes as realization hit him.

"So--so that was why," he said shortly.

Trying to grasp the significance of it, Yuanzheng sat there without moving, eyes fixed in fascination on Qingqing's face.

"Are you going to tell others?" Xuxian's voice was quiet, but it sounded loud in the silence.

"I--I don't know," stammered Yuanzheng. "Should--should we?"

"I told Susu I would not tell the others, if she did not come back. Please don't tell anyone about Susu, at least. As for Qingqing--" Xuxian stopped.

Yuanzheng made a decision. "We can surely let her recover first," he said hurriedly. "We should let her recover first." He did not ask what was hovering on his lips--whether Qingqing, or Susu, had been the demon behind the gruesome deaths that had terrorized the village. Or both.

How harmless Qingqing looked right now. Anyone would think that she was just a beautiful young girl, badly hurt and in need of protection. Without the mischievous gleam in her eyes, her old vivacity was like a dream from many nights ago.

He could not imagine her killing people and eating their hearts.