A Path to Survival

Pan Dehai uttered a threat, demanding that this group of three-headed people leave Haichiling. Among the three-headed people, each of the three heads had its own name. The head on the far left was an adult man named Mengzi. The adult woman in the middle was named Juanzi; most of the time, she was the one who controlled the three-headed body. The child on the right was named Xiaoshan. Mengzi flew into a rage. "You surnamed Pan! Never mind going without food for two days—even if we starve to death right here, we're going to demand an explanation from you today!" "What backbone," Pan Dehai praised mildly. "Since you are all people of virtue, this old man shall grant your wish." With that, Pan Dehai waved a hand, and the provisions resting on the ground vanished without a trace. From the middle, Juanzi cried out, "Lord Pan! We were wrong! Please don't take it to heart! Just give us the grain, and we'll leave as soon as we've eaten!" Pan Dehai sighed. "With my temper, once you say you don't want it, I would never offer it again. But today, I'll make an exception. Take the grain." As he finished speaking, the provisions reappeared on the ground. Juanzi thanked him profusely. Pan Dehai waved his hand. "Hold your thanks. I gave you the grain, but I will not allow you to finish eating before you leave. Get moving right now. Walk a hundred li before you eat a bite." Pan Dehai was worried they would stir up trouble after eating. Once they were a hundred li away, even if they caused trouble, they would only do so where they stood; they couldn't possibly double back to Haichiling to cause more trouble. Otherwise, after trudging another hundred li back to Haichiling, they would be starving all over again, and this meal would have been wasted. Mengzi still wanted to stand his ground. Once Pan Dehai vanished, he lowered his voice and said to Juanzi, "Let's find a spot, eat in secret first, and then come back to risk our lives against that old bastard! We can't let this go!" Juanzi shook her head. "Don't act rashly. Take the grain and let's go." "What gives him the right to—" "Another fucking word out of you and I'll sew your mouth shut!" Juanzi snapped, furious. "What are we? Who do you think you are? We're escaped sinners, worse off than stray dogs! And you want to fight a local spirit to the death? While we've still got something to eat, let's find somewhere else to go." Mengzi gritted his teeth. "Where else can we go? Are we really going back to Sinner City?" "We definitely can't go back to Sinner City—not even if we die!" Juanzi pulled out a map and checked the markings on it. "Let's go to Wuqin Township. If we ration our food along the way, we can definitely hold out until Wuqin Township." "Let's hunt!" Mengzi said resentfully. "Xiaofu and the others saw plenty of deer in the woods yesterday! If you hadn't forbidden hunting before, they would've gone after them already!" Juanzi frowned. "I didn't allow it before, and I won't allow it now. Under no circumstances may we hunt along the way! Our benefactor specifically warned us of that!" As they were talking, several other three-headed people approached. "Juanzi, can we enter Haichiling?" Juanzi answered, "There's no place for us here. We're going to Wuqin Township." "Will Wuqin Township take us in?" "Let's go and try." ... Over three thousand three-headed people divided up the grain and trudged slowly through the snow. As the freezing wind blew, every li they covered saw many three-headed people collapse into the snow. Those who could get back up continued walking; those who could not left their corpses behind. Concealed in midair, Pan Dehai quietly observed the direction of their march. He was very curious about how these three-headed people had made their way from Sinner City to Haichiling, and equally curious about where they would head next. ... "Newland is so treacherous to navigate. Where did they get their route? We never even knew such a path existed!" Pan Dehai was not the only curious one. Behind the column of three-headed people trailed several scouts from the Garrison Commissioner, and they were wondering the same thing. "Never mind where they got their route. On the proper land side, Commissioner Liao gave word to all the local spirits; no one dares take them in." "What about newland?" "They aren't of newland stock—what could they eat in newland? Even if they found food, would a newland local spirit dare harbor them? These three-headed people are so formidable in a fight—who knows what they might do?" ... Relying on the meager grain Pan Dehai had given them, the group of three-headed people barely held out until they reached Wuqin Township. The local spirit of Wuqin Township did not show her face. She dispatched a middle-aged woman named Qiao Shaofen, who came before Juanzi. Qiao Shaofen looked at Juanzi and said, "Go somewhere else. There is no place for you here." Juanzi pleaded, "We only came here looking for a place to settle down. Any spot at all will do." Qiao Shaofen said, "Those who live in Wuqin Township are people without ties or attachments. Over three thousand of you have come here, and you want to live together—doesn't that break our rules?" Juanzi hurriedly said, "We don't have to live together! We can scatter, and we'll never contact each other again!" Qiao Shaofen still shook her head. "Even if you disperse, you still come from the same place. You say you won't contact one another, but in your hearts you'll still yearn to be together. That is called having ties and attachments. Wuqin Township cannot take in people like you." "We'll sign a covenant deed! We'll never associate again! I beg of you, please put in another word for us!" Juanzi dropped to her knees. Helpless, Qiao Shaofen left her with a promise: "I'll go back and discuss it with the Madame, then give you an answer." "All right, we'll wait. Thank you for your trouble, Sister Qiao." So long as she could see even a glimmer of hope, Juanzi would strive for it with everything she had. This wait lasted another two days. Qiao Shaofen came to the boundary line and said to Juanzi, "The Madame has agreed to let you stay." Juanzi was overjoyed, but Qiao Shaofen was not finished. "However, the Madame instructed that not just anyone may stay. What Wuqin Township fears most is troublemakers. Men are hot-tempered by nature, so none will be permitted." No men permitted—did that mean half of them couldn't enter Wuqin Township? It was not that simple. The gender of these three-thousand-plus people was not so easy to define; their physiological structure was very unusual. Juanzi asked cautiously, "When you say male or female, do you mean distinguishing from down below?" Qiao Shaofen shook her head. "It's not about whether your bodies are male or female; it's about whether your minds are male or female. Otherwise, if a woman carries a man's mindset, she'll still end up causing trouble!" With her putting it that way, things became even more complicated. One person with three heads—which one determined the gender? Juanzi asked again, "Are you saying that so long as the one who takes charge among us isn't a man, that will do?" Qiao Shaofen still shook her head. "The Madame said that if there is any man at all, it's out of the question." Juanzi's head buzzed. Among the three thousand-odd people, every single one had three heads, and almost all were a mix of male and female. Were there any where all three heads were female? There were, but only a little over ten percent—around three hundred people. By the other side's criteria, only these three hundred or so counted as women. Even settling just three hundred would be something. Juanzi intended to entrust these three hundred-odd people to two women, but Qiao Shaofen raised another condition: "To come to Wuqin Township, one must be free of all attachments. You carry your kin right upon your bodies, so this still won't do." The head on Juanzi's left—Mengzi—demanded, "What kind of crooked trick are you playing now?" Qiao Shaofen frowned. "How dare you speak to me like that? What do you mean by 'crooked trick'? These are the rules of Wuqin Township!" Mengzi raged, "Then tell me, we all grew three heads! How are we supposed to sever these ties?" Qiao Shaofen said, "Out of three heads, only one may remain." All the three-headed people who were about to enter Wuqin Township were terrified. Juanzi was struck dumb with horror, while Mengzi roared, "You want us to chop off our heads?!" Qiao Shaofen nodded. "If you can't bring yourselves to do it, I can find someone to do it for you." "You bastard! You're utter filth! If you don't want us, just say so—why play us for fools?!" Mengzi lunged forward to attack her, but Juanzi fought desperately to control their body, preventing him from doing anything reckless. Qiao Shaofen regarded Juanzi with cold eyes. "If you cannot sever your attachments, I cannot help you." With that, Qiao Shaofen walked away. Heavy snow fell in flurries. Juanzi sat on the ground, tears falling one by one. The head on the right, the child named Xiaoshan, comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't cry, Elder Sister. We'll find somewhere else. Don't cry, Sister... I won't ever say I'm hungry again." Juanzi stood up, looked at the map, and led the crowd forward through the snow. After trekking over a dozen li through the newland, Xiaoshan began nodding off beside her, seemingly at his limit. "Xiaoshan, don't sleep. Sister will find you something to eat soon. Whatever you do, don't sleep!" "Mmm... not sleeping, not sleeping..." Xiaoshan mumbled in response. A fierce gust swept over them, and everyone halted. These three-headed people possessed keen senses; they knew someone was approaching. Midair, Juanzi spotted flecks of green light, and she knew a local spirit had arrived. A man's voice reached their ears: "This journey of yours truly hasn't been easy. That you've reached my territory is a kind of fate. Would you be willing to make a home with us?" Looking up at the green lights, Juanzi asked, "My lord, how should we address you?" "I am called Liangzhenjiao, the master of this territory." Juanzi glanced at the people around her and asked, "My lord, are you truly willing to take us in?" Liangzhenjiao replied, "I do have that intention." "But we aren't from newland. We're afraid we won't be able to find food..." "Put your mind at ease. A few days ago, several Tillage Cultivators came here to open up wasteland and planted plenty of crops that people from proper land can eat. I've brought some for you." With that, Liangzhenjiao gave a prolonged chime: "Clang—" The sound was like the chiming of a mantle clock on the hour. After the chime faded, a pile of millet appeared on the ground. "Have a taste, everyone, and see if this is something you can eat." Juanzi grabbed a handful of millet, stuffed it into her mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it. "We can eat it!" Juanzi said excitedly. "My lord, we can eat this grain!" "Heheh," Liangzhenjiao chuckled. "Since you can eat it, don't leave. First have a full meal here with me." Mengzi was a bit skeptical. "Can you really take us in?" Having traveled this far and suffered so many hardships, Mengzi didn't believe a local spirit could be so benevolent. The will-o'-the-wisp lingered in midair for a moment before addressing the crowd: "I truly hope you all will stay. I lack for nothing here, save for houses. This winter is cold—bitterly cold. Could you help build a few houses? For one, it will give you a place to live, and for another, it will add shelter for the people of my territory. Then we can all live well together from now on." "That's no problem at all!" Juanzi agreed immediately. Liangzhenjiao praised, "Young lady, you certainly are straightforward! Everyone, eat your fill first, and once you're full, we'll start work!" Once they finished eating, Juanzi truly led the three-headed people straight to work. These three-headed people were strong and diligent. In just two days, they built over five hundred wooden cabins on Liangzhenjiao's territory. Juanzi made plans to keep two hundred cabins for themselves to live in, and hand the remaining three hundred-plus cabins over to Liangzhenjiao as an expression of gratitude. Liangzhenjiao appeared troubled. "Everyone, I have a large population under me, and these houses still aren't quite enough. But if I ask you to labor more, I'd feel terrible about it." Juanzi quickly said, "It's no trouble! We'll build another five hundred! Just give us a little food, that's all." "Then I shall trouble you all." Two days later, the three-headed people finished another five hundred wooden cabins. Housing should have been sufficient, but Liangzhenjiao was troubled once again: "Everyone, I checked our grain stores yesterday, and there still isn't quite enough to eat. I told those Tillage Cultivators to put in more effort, but relying solely on them, the farmwork simply can't be finished." Juanzi hastened to say, "Leave it to us!" Liangzhenjiao sighed. "I truly find it hard to ask this of you; it makes me feel quite guilty toward you all." Without another word, Juanzi led everyone to reclaim the fields. In ten days, they cleared a vast expanse of farmland. They thought the matter was finally settled, yet Liangzhenjiao looked troubled once more. "Growing grain isn't something achieved overnight. I've calculated over and over for days, and there still won't be enough grain to go around." With an anxious expression, Juanzi looked at Liangzhenjiao. "Tell us, is there anywhere else we can help?" Liangzhenjiao let out a long sigh. "I am truly sorry to all of you. I'll give you some more grain; please choose another place rich in water and food to make your home." PS: Finding a path to survival is so difficult—just what crime did they commit after all?