Fear Not, My Wife

A sound finally came from the gramophone, and Li Banfeng let out a long breath of relief. "Wife, I thought you were badly hurt and couldn't speak." "Badly hurt? What sort of talk is that, Husband? A good woman can hold court in the parlor and run the kitchen just as well. Handling a mere side dish, yet you speak of being... hurt~~" As it spoke, the gramophone's pitch began to waver, rising and falling erratically like a cart cresting hills. Li Banfeng grew tense once more. "Husband, today's ingredient was rather special, and your servant is truly stuffed full this time. Hand this carcass over to Red Lotus. She can refine a few good things for you from it. Even if you cannot eat them, Husband, they will fetch a fine price. You know your servant's nature. Once my belly is full, I just want to... sleep a while longer~ Husband, go tend to your business~ No need to mind me." The pitch of the gramophone shifted continuously. Li Banfeng looked at the scattered pieces and broken components on the floor, his brow furrowing once more. *Hiss... hiss...* "Husband, there is no need to worry~ about those few trivial bits. They were never of much use~ anyway. A few more makes no difference, and a few less changes nothing. Once your servant wakes, I shall pick out a few serviceable ones and fit them right back in." Li Banfeng picked up a cog and found several teeth broken and the axle bent. Could this really be put back in? "Husband, hurry and dispose of this insect's corpse~ Your servant finds it sickening to look upon." Li Banfeng brought the bronze lotus over. Sensing Madam Bagworm Moth's remains, the bronze lotus swiftly unfurled its petals and drew her inside. *Hiss... hiss...* The gramophone gave another instruction: "Husband, your servant is truly ex~hausted. I wish to sleep~ soundly for a while. Husband, move Red Lotus to the outer room so she does not disturb me." Afraid of being disturbed? Did she lack the strength to guard against the bronze lotus right now? Li Banfeng carried the bronze lotus out. Returning to the main room to check on the gramophone, he found it had already fallen completely silent. He gathered the scattered parts, stood in silence for a moment, and left the Portable Abode. In the outer room, the bronze lotus let out a cold sneer. "Vicious hag, even you have a day like this! Your body is wrecked and you dare not even admit it. In the end, you still don't trust that madman. Let us see how long you can hold out!" The gramophone replied in a wavering pitch, "Wretched creature, do you believe I could take your life this very second?" "If you have the skill, come try!" "Red Lotus, do not get too ahead of yourself. Once inside this room, that entity in the heavens cannot sense you. Without that one looking out for you, do you truly think I cannot kill you?" *** Following the footprints, Li Banfeng found Ma the Fifth and brought him back to Lanyang Village. Having survived by the skin of his teeth, Ma the Fifth was still gripped by lingering terror. The entire way back, he repeatedly asked how Li Banfeng had managed to throw off Madam Bagworm Moth, but Li Banfeng kept his mouth shut. Back in the wooden cabin, Li Banfeng asked about something else: "Brother Ma, do you know where to find a gramophone in Lanyang Village?" He needed to figure out a way to get replacement parts for his wife. "A gramophone?" Ma the Fifth pondered for a moment. "Those aren't easy to come by. If I remember right, the Song family should have one." "Is it a steam gramophone?" "A steam gramophone? The kind made in Amikan?" Ma the Fifth shook his head. "Those are even rarer. I only know of one, aboard the Lu family's private train. I saw it a few times—quite troublesome, needing both water and oil." Ma the Fifth had only ever seen one? Li Banfeng remembered. Shopkeeper Feng had told him that this hand-crafted gramophone from Amikan was one of only two in all of Puluo Province. One was in Li Banfeng's hands, and the other was on the Lu family's private train. Steal the other gramophone from the Lu family's private train? Li Banfeng could not even board a regular train, let alone the Lu family's private one. That was clearly out of the question. Ma the Fifth spoke up beside him. "Brother Li, if you fancy gramophones, don't buy something so flashy. A hand-cranked one or a wind-up model would both do nicely, and the price is reasonable." "Where can I buy one?" Ma the Fifth thought for a moment. "The Miaosheng Gramophone Shop in Lüshui City has an extensive stock. But in your current situation, it would be best not to enter the city." Li Banfeng unfolded the map he had bought from Shopkeeper Feng. "First tell me, where is the Miaosheng Gramophone Shop located?" Ma the Fifth looked over the map and shook his head slightly. "This map isn't detailed enough, so it's hard to say." The map Shopkeeper Feng had given Li Banfeng covered the entirety of Lüshuiwan. Yet the actual layout of Lüshuiwan was far more complicated than the paper showed. At the center of Lüshuiwan lay Lüshui City. Surrounding Lüshui City were several small towns. Beyond those towns lay proper rural villages whose inhabitants lived by farming, supplying crops to Lüshui City. Beyond the proper villages were the improper ones, of which Lanyang Village was one. Almost nobody farmed in these improper villages, yet they supplied Lüshui City with special resources. "Looking at this, it's quite a distance." Ma the Fifth measured with his fingers on the map. "Around a hundred and twenty li. Brother Li, if you insist on going into the city, let's pick a suitable day. I'll send someone ahead to scout the situation..." "No picking days. Today." "You want to enter the city today?" Ma the Fifth was stunned. "Just to buy a gramophone?" "Yes, just to buy a gramophone," Li Banfeng nodded. "I want to listen to music. If I go a single day without it, my whole body feels miserable." "You have such a hobby, Brother Li?" Ma the Fifth wanted to laugh, but Li Banfeng wasn't joking. Seeing his resolve, Ma the Fifth quickly began packing things. "I'll pack some food. We'll go together." "You don't need to come. Just tell me the location." Li Banfeng had no intention of taking Ma the Fifth along; he walked far too slowly. Ma the Fifth was at a loss for words. "Brother Li, what are you really going to Lüshui City for?" "Didn't I just tell you? To buy a gramophone. I can't wait another moment." *** At the Lu family mansion, Lu Dongliang summoned a fifth-tier Literary Cultivator to test Lu Chunying's scholarship. In Puluo Province, literary and martial cultivation were widely regarded as the orthodox paths, and the Four Great Families were no exception. The Lu family was not as conservative as the Ma family and held no prejudice against other pathways, but for a daughter of a noble house, a Literary Cultivator was clearly the more sensible choice. The fifth-tier Literary Cultivator posed over a dozen questions, and Lu Chunying answered them with effortless fluency. This was thanks to Xiao Yeci's regular instruction; though Xiao Yeci was only a first-tier cultivator, the foundation she had imparted to Lu Chunying was exceptionally solid. Lu Dongliang nodded and offered Lu Chunying a few words of praise. "Good. Quite good." Hearing that these compliments sounded somewhat perfunctory, Lu Chunying carefully scrutinized Lu Dongliang's thoughts. In truth, she had not begun watching him just now. Ever since stepping through the gates of the Lu family, she had been reading his every mood. Lu Dongliang was a high-tier journey cultivator, though his exact level remained unknown. Yet not one of his children had chosen the journey pathway. Was it because Lu Dongliang didn't want them to? Of course not. The defining trait of a journey cultivator was having no fixed abode. Over the years, Lu Dongliang had rushed from place to place to manage the family enterprise. To him, cultivation had never felt like a burden. However, there was no reason for his children to endure such hardship. Xiao Yeci had once told Lu Chunying a story about a young lady from a wealthy family who eloped with her beloved three times. All three attempts had failed because the young lady could not bear the trials of the road. Living on the road, sleeping in the open and eating in the wind, was a hurdle not easily cleared. Xiao Yeci had warned Lu Chunying: if a young master from a wealthy family ever claimed he was sick of restraints and yearned for freedom and far-flung travels, she must never take him seriously. He only wanted to stroll around for fun, not truly suffer the grueling toil of a journey with her. A journey cultivator and a traveler taking a leisurely tour were two entirely different things. Watching Lu Dongliang's expression, Lu Chunying asked cautiously, "Dad, I'd like to see my mother." She had not seen Xiao Yeci for a long time. "We'll talk about it later," Lu Dongliang said, his face clouding as he brushed the matter aside. Lu Chunying asked in a soft voice, "Dad, do you think she isn't my mother at all?" Lu Dongliang frowned and countered, "Do you think she's your mother?" By Lu Dongliang's reckoning, Lu Chunying ought to say she considered the woman her mother, recount their years of clinging to each other for survival, and weep while begging him to take Xiao Yeci in. He despised such worthless sentimentality most of all. Yet Lu Chunying merely replied in an even tone, "I think she isn't." Lu Dongliang narrowed his eyes. "How can you tell?" "She looks young enough to be my elder sister. How could she possibly be my mother? It's plain as day." Lu Dongliang smiled. "Then why do you still want to see her?" "I just want to make things clear to her. I've returned home, and I've been reunited with my family. What's in the past should stay in the past. She isn't my mother, nor is she my family. As for where she actually comes from, that doesn't matter either. Whatever notions she's clinging to, she needs to let them go. But we can't let her run off blabbing outside and making strangers think I'm heartless. Give her a sum of money and send her away. That will be that." Lu Dongliang was very pleased with this answer. It aligned closely with his own thinking. The only difference was that Lu Dongliang had never intended to simply send Xiao Yeci away; he meant to ensure she disappeared permanently. Yet the two outcomes were not mutually exclusive. Anyone else sitting here might have found Lu Chunying far too cold-hearted. Lu Dongliang, however, did not think so. He felt this was exactly how his daughter ought to be. He nodded slightly. "Very well. In a couple of days, you can go see her once. Now let's talk about your initiation. That Literary Cultivator from earlier—I intend to make him your master. What do you think?" Lu Chunying blinked her bright eyes. "Dad, do you want to hear the truth?" "Need you even ask?" Lu Dongliang glared affectionately. "Would you dare lie to me?" "Dad, to be honest, I don't want to become a Literary Cultivator." "Why?" Lu Dongliang paused, taken aback. "Xiao Yeci was a Literary Cultivator. Following her all these years, I always felt she amounted to nothing." Lu Dongliang laughed. "Then who do you think amounts to something?" "Reading ten thousand books cannot compare to traveling ten thousand li. Only by journeying across the length and breadth of the land does one gain true insight. Dad, I want to learn the journey pathway from you." "You want to become a journey cultivator?" Lu Dongliang was both startled and overjoyed, though he worried the girl could not endure the hardship. "Think this through carefully. The journey pathway is grueling. You won't have a single idle day." "Dad, I'm still so young. If I spend my days hiding away in idle comfort, how long can I keep hiding?" The more Lu Dongliang listened, the more delighted he became. "Yingying, since your mind is made up, when do you plan to undergo the initiation?" Lu Chunying thought for a moment. "Today." Lu Dongliang said in surprise, "Today? Why such a rush?" "If I hadn't worried that you wouldn't agree, Dad, I would have done it days ago. I've been waiting for this for so long." Lu Dongliang chuckled. How could this child's temperament be so much like his own? Even this impatience resembled him. No, this wasn't mere impatience. Knowing when to act fast and when to go slow—this was knowing how to conduct oneself with proper measure. "Yingying, let us agree on this first: I will summon an apothecary shortly to make preparations for you. Initiation hurts a bit, so I'll have him prepare an anesthetic first." Lu Chunying shook her head. "No anesthetic. It's just a single moment of pain. Dad, did you use an anesthetic when you were initiated?" Lu Dongliang shook his head. "Your grandfather wouldn't let me pursue the journey pathway back then. I found a peddler to initiate me. Where would I get an anesthetic? I slapped the initiation powder right onto my belly and gritted my teeth through it myself." "If you didn't use it, Dad, neither will I!" Lu Dongliang shook his head. "That won't do. I suffered because I had no other choice. How could I let you endure that kind of pain?" *** That evening, Lu Chunying was successfully initiated into the journey pathway, and Lu Dongliang arranged for Xiao Yeci to come see her. At the sight of Lu Chunying, Xiao Yeci grew emotional and asked with deep concern, "Did my Nannan suffer? Initiation is very painful, isn't it? Does it still hurt? Have you eaten anything...?" Lu Chunying looked at Xiao Yeci with an icy expression and cut her off impatiently. "I had you called here to tell you that our ties have reached their end. From now on, we will live our own lives. I thank you for looking after me all these years. Hurry and leave." Xiao Yeci looked at Lu Chunying in shock, unable to utter a word for a long time. Lu Chunying brought out a box containing a hundred silver dollars and handed it to Xiao Yeci. "This is a token of my regard. My father will give you another sum when the time comes. After this, let us not see each other again." Xiao Yeci's eyes rimmed with red, and she called out, "Nannan..." "Take the money quickly. You'll need traveling expenses, after all." Lu Chunying turned her face away, refusing to look at her any longer. Holding the box, Xiao Yeci left Lu Chunying's bedroom. She did not know how she made it back. Once inside her own quarters, she stared at the box of silver dollars for a long while. She desperately wanted to throw the box away and sneak out of the mansion. She had to watch their expressions when eating, watch their expressions when stepping out, and even watch their expressions just to use the latrine. All of that she could bear, but she could not endure Lu Chunying's attitude. She felt she had been stripped of every shred of dignity. She was a first-tier Literary Cultivator; finding any ordinary livelihood out in the world would grant her a far more dignified life than this. Yet in the end, she opened the box. Because she truly did not have a single copper left for travel expenses. A hundred silver dollars rested inside—no small sum, enough to sustain her for quite some time. Beneath the silver dollars, there seemed to be something else. A slip of paper. Xiao Yeci unfolded it. Written upon it were the words: *Mom, I've completed my initiation. After resting for a day, tomorrow night we find a chance and run!* *** In her bedroom, Lu Chunying gripped her bedsheet tightly. She had chosen the journey pathway specifically so she could run fast. *Mom, you must open that box and look.*