"Don't move, let me retie it for you. The night..."
The stall by Naihe Bridge wasn't the entirety of Meng Po's Shop. The real Meng Po's Shop was a three-story luxurious building where the main ingredients for Meng Po Soup were stored. Di Yao first accompanied Meng Po back to the main shop, helped her tidy up, then headed home along a path she hadn't taken before.
Meng Po said this path wound along the meandering Wangchuan River, leading straight to Wrongful Death City, and was much more convenient than the previous route. Since Di Yao also wanted to see different scenery, she traveled alone in the dead of night.
Meng Po's Shop was at the easternmost edge of Fengdu City, and Wrongful Death City lay at the southernmost tip. From north to south, the terrain descended in elevation, but the flow of the Wangchuan River was entirely opposite.
After walking for about two quarters of an hour, the Wangchuan River branched into a small tributary, splitting the land in front of Di Yao. The tributary flowed like a babbling brook, spreading into Fengdu City. Di Yao stepped on the stones in the middle of the stream to cross, and shortly after, she saw the boundary marker of Wrongful Death City.
Standing before the marker, Di Yao turned to look at a small river about three zhang wide not far away, realizing that this river was the very tributary of the Wangchuan that separated Wrongful Death City from Fengdu City. Surrounded by the green waters of Wangchuan, Wrongful Death City seemed like an isolated island.
And across the river, one side was quiet, the other bustling.
Somehow, Di Yao didn't want to return to Wrongful Death City just yet, so she crouched down by the riverbank.
Earlier, she had seen many skeletons in the section of the river near Naihe Bridge, but now downstream of Wangchuan, there were no bones piled up.
Just then, Di Yao heard a strange sound not far away. She stood up and slowly traced the source of the noise.
She circled around to the side of Wrongful Death City and saw a mass floating in the middle of the main current of Wangchuan. The sound was coming from that mass.
To get a better look, Di Yao climbed down the small slope to the riverbank and saw that the thing's head was submerged in the water, its body covered in wounds, skin torn open, and only a few scattered patches of fur left on its back.
The thing seemed to sense the presence of a stranger and tried to lift its head from the water, but after raising it halfway, it lost strength.
Di Yao recognized it as a dog. Recalling the scene full of skeletons in the river near Naihe Bridge, she felt sympathetic and wanted to rescue the dog.
She paced back and forth a few steps. Within her sight, there were only scattered stones, no ropes or sticks. She called out a few times, "Little dog," and when it responded, she immediately ran back home.
The road was pitch dark, but a lantern hung in her own yard, making it much brighter.
Seeing the main hall lit, Di Yao pushed open the door and found Wei Xunzhou leaning against the headboard in a thin undershirt, reading a book.
When Wei Xunzhou saw it was Di Yao, he closed the book, pulled open the blanket, and was about to lie down to sleep.
Di Yao picked up the clothes from Wei Xunzhou's rack, took a thick cloak from the wardrobe, threw back the blanket, and pulled Wei Xunzhou up from the bed.
Seeing Wei Xunzhou frown, Di Yao quickly withdrew her hand that had been gripping his wrist, her voice soft: "Husband, could you do me a favor?"
...
Di Yao brought every rope and broom she could find from home, and even took her own cloak.
When Wei Xunzhou saw that Di Yao was breathing heavily from walking, he reached out and took the tools from her hands.
"Thank you, husband." Di Yao smiled at him.
She hadn't expected Wei Xunzhou to be so agreeable. Not only did he agree to help rescue the dog, but he also allowed her to bring it back home, and now he even took the initiative to carry things for her.
Wei Xunzhou held the tools in one hand and the lantern in the other. Di Yao noticed that his cloak was slipping and called him to stop.
Then she placed the clothes on her shoulder and untied the sash of his cloak.
Wei Xunzhou stepped back, causing the lantern to sway. The flickering candlelight reflected in his eyes, sparkling.
"Don't move, let me retie it for you. The night is cold—be careful not to catch a chill."
Wei Xunzhou stood still, holding the lantern a bit farther away, then lowered his gaze to watch.
The black sash wove through Di Yao's slender, pale fingers, and in no time, she tied a sturdy and beautiful knot.
Finally, she smoothed out the wrinkles on his shoulder with satisfaction.
The two arrived at the bank of the Wangchuan River. Seeing the dog still soaking in the water, Di Yao leaned forward with her hands on her knees and called out, "Little dog, are you okay?"
As Di Yao's toes were about to touch the Wangchuan river water, Wei Xunzhou pulled her aside. Then he picked up the rope he had tied into a loop and tossed it toward the middle of the river.
The dog struggled to lift its head in response to Di Yao, and the rope just happened to loop around its neck.
Seeing the dog about to struggle, Di Yao soothed it while straightening the rope Wei Xunzhou pulled back.
The dog was dragged to the shore. Wei Xunzhou stopped, staring at the curled-up dog, motionless for a long time.
Di Yao picked up the cloak from the ground and lifted the dog out of the river. The cloak was thin and not very absorbent, so it was quickly soaked through with Wangchuan water.
Before Di Yao could breathe a sigh of relief, she felt a burning sensation on her hands. At first, she thought it was because the dog's body was too hot, but the pain grew more intense, like being pricked by needles. She quickly set the dog down on the ground.
Blisters had already begun to form on her palms.
"What's going on?" Di Yao gently blew cool air on the wounds.
Wei Xunzhou grabbed her wrist to examine the injury, then looked at the dying dog. "Wangchuan river water can corrode flesh and skin. Do you still want to take it back?"
Di Yao suppressed the pain. "I've already saved it—might as well see it through. I want to take it back. If you don't want to, husband..."
"Then let's go." Wei Xunzhou said, taking off his furry cloak and draping it over the dog.
The cloak was large, covering the dog completely. Suddenly, a piercing bark came from under the cloak, startling Di Yao.
"I didn't expect the dog to be so fierce..." Di Yao steeled herself and was about to gently lift the dog when Wei Xunzhou beat her to it.
Without any hesitation, Wei Xunzhou wrapped the dog tightly in the cloak. The dog barked and struggled in his arms, but he showed no reaction. Turning sideways, he saw Di Yao's conflicted expression as she held the rope and instructed her: "Leave the rope. Let's go home."
Di Yao tossed the rope that had touched the Wangchuan water aside, picked up the remaining tools, and followed Wei Xunzhou home with the lantern.
"I wonder if the dog can survive without medicine." The dog had been struggling in Wei Xunzhou's arms for a while and finally calmed down. Di Yao spoke a little sheepishly.
"It will."