In the Dead of the Night

Unable to sleep, Yuanzheng shifted on his bed, staring at the roof and the needle of moonlight on the wall that had crept in through a crack in the wall. He could hear Granny Hong snoring softly from her bed on the other side of the thin partition, and the soft chattering of the lizards on the wall.

Abruptly, Yuanzheng sat up as he heard a knock on the door. Heavy footsteps had come up the pathway, and he heard someone's laboured breathing. Who could be coming in the dead of the night like this?

Easing himself noiselessly off the bed, he reached quietly for the axe that stood in a corner. His mother snored softly from her own bed; with her bad hearing, she had not heard the knock.

He crept to the door, tense, and peered through the cracks holding his breath. The axe head rested on the ground besides his foot, his fingers wrapped firmly around the handle.

"It's me," hissed an agitated voice. "Yuanzheng--it's me. Qingqing."

Yuanzheng gasped. He set the axe down hastily and fumbled wildly with the latch.

"Qingqing!" Flinging open the door, he saw Qingqing raise her face, bleached white in the moonlight. The beads of sweat on her forehead shone like pearls. She was bent over on the doorstep with a motionless body on her back. The arms dangled limply over her shoulders and the long black hair streamed down over the face, blending with Qingqing's own hair. Yuanzheng stared blankly at Qingqing, speechless.

She made an anguished sound and a motion as if she would have stamped her foot. "Are you just going to stand there and gawk? Help me with her, quickly!"

Coming to himself, Yuanzheng hastily pulled her in. Together they got Suzhen off her back and laid her onto Yuanzheng's bed. Suzhen's head fell sideways and the lock of hair covering her face slid aside.

Yuanzheng caught his breath sharply. "SIster-in-law--what--what happened--" he said in horror, turning to Qingqing and grabbing her arm.

She shook her head wearily. "I do not know. I found her in the lake like this, half-dead."

Raising her eyes to him, she added bitterly, "I do not know where Physician Xu is either."

"He hasn't been in the village for several days," Yuanzheng faltered. "He said--he said he was taking Sister-in-law to town."

"That was just a ruse," QIngqing said sharply. "He was trying to hide her from the monk. They were on the mountains all this time. But now--" She looked hopelessly at where Suzhen lay.

"Fahai disappeared yesterday. He went to the mountains to find the demon and hasn't come back since." Yuanzheng's voice was flat and heavy. There was a brief silence; neither of them wanted to say what they were thinking.

Qingqing turned to him with desperation written across her face. "I can't do any more for her. I gave her some of my cultivation but she's still unconscious. Can you--can you let her stay here? I have no one else to ask--"

Yuanzheng came close to her and took her hands. They were icy even though the weather was warm. He folded them into his own. "But of course, did you think we would turn her away?"

He looked at her with concern. "Sit down first and let me get you something to drink. You're trembling."

Qingqing glanced down at her hands and realized they were twitching. She sat down listlessly like an obedient child and let Yuanzheng put a hot cup of tea into her hands.

Yuanzheng bumped into the table and Granny Hong woke up, sniffling and bleary-eyed. Rather hard of hearing, she had not heard the knock earlier on. She got up and ambled over, seeing the light flickering, and opened her eyes wide as she saw Qingqing sitting by the door, disheveled, exhausted, and uncharacteristically quiet. Her face was pale and drawn through the wisps of steam that wreathed it, giving it an ethereal quality. There was a lost, brooding expression in her eyes, which had lost their sparkle.

"Miss Qing? What are you doing here?" Granny Hong faltered confusedly. She saw Suzhen's still body on the bed and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Suzhen! Oh merciful heavens, what happened?"

Scrambling out of bed, she hurried over. Yuanzheng laid a hand on her arm. "Mother, Miss Qing found Madame Xu in the lake," he explained hurriedly. "We don't know where Physician Xu is."

Granny Hong dashed the sleep from her eyes and bustled into action. "Since Physician Xu is gone, go fetch Physician Gao from the neighbouring village," she directed. "Miss Qing, you rest here for now. Don't worry, we'll take care of your sister. Oh my poor child, what happened to you?" she murmured in distress, brushing back the damp hair from Suzhen's face.

Yuanzheng nodded and snatched his cloak and staff. He glanced at Qingqing hesitantly.

"Qingqing--stay here until I come back, all right?" he said urgently.

She looked at him with bleak eyes, but finally nodded without saying anything.

Granny Hong turned to him as she bent over Suzhen. "Hurry, son!" she cried.

Yuanzheng nodded distractedly and ran out into the night.

Qingqing watched as Granny Hong rubbed Suzhen's hands and feet, warmed a little wine and tried to spoon it through her pale lips.

"Ah, why is fate so unkind to you and Physician Xu? What games are the gods playing with you? Why couldn't the two of you live happily, have children, and grow old together like so many other young couples?" she sighed, shaking her head as tears came into her eyes. "Why would you be floating in the lake, and why would Physician Xu be missing?"

Qingqing sank her head into her hands. A ghostly memory of Fahai's face swam in her mind. She knew that the monk was behind this. But she had never expected that the monk could have beaten Sister Bai like this. Had Xuxian caved in and sided with the monk, perhaps? Or had Sister Bai really been so weakened from resuscitating him that she had lost to the monk? Qingqing had long known that she herself was no match for Fahai, but she had always found comfort in the fact that Sister Bai was just as powerful as him. But now it seemed that that had changed.

Her fingers curled into a hard little fist. "He wasn't worth it," she repeated to herself. "If only Sister had never met him..."