Martial World Full of Disguises

4: Settling Down Temporarily

The two returned to the small alley together. Ding Yi kept looking at Fu Peibai's dangling arm, his expression hesitant.

After a long while, he took off his straw sandals, fished out a string of copper coins from under the insole, and waved them at Fu Peibai. "Come on, brother will take you to see a doctor."

Fu Peibai was somewhat surprised. This man kept such hard copper coins under his feet the whole time. Didn't it hurt to walk on them?

She waved her hand and declined. "No need."

They had known each other for only a few hours, yet Ding Yi was willing to take out his entire fortune to pay for her treatment. It would be a lie to say she wasn't moved. But ever since her parents in Huailiu Village had been drugged and murdered, she had developed an extra layer of wariness and vigilance in her dealings with others.

"Come on, stop being shy about it. I told you, I feel a special connection with you. Let's go get that arm looked at together. What if it leaves some lasting problem and you become disabled? Besides, didn't you say you want to learn martial arts? How will you hold a weapon with a broken arm?"

Fu Peibai's eyes flickered. She wavered. After a short while, she softly agreed. "Then thank you. In the future, I will repay you a hundred times over."

Ding Yi didn't take these words to heart. He led Fu Peibai toward the west market. At this hour, all the medical halls were closed, but he knew a place where someone would definitely still be awake.

The two walked in winding circles for a quarter of an hour before stopping outside a simple farmhouse courtyard. Ding Yi swaggered and pushed open the courtyard gate. Seeing that the wooden house was indeed brightly lit, he kicked open the wooden door with one foot and shouted, "Old Man Wen, I'm here!"

Inside, a white bearded old man was carefully studying a small object in his hands. He was startled by this commotion and sucked in a breath of cold air. He blew out his white beard, and after seeing who it was, he pushed and shoved Ding Yi back outside. "Get out, get out! You brat, you'll scare me to death one of these days. Get lost immediately."

Ding Yi smiled cheerfully. "No, no, no. I'm here for serious business. Another day I'll buy you wine to apologize."

"You, a little beggar, buying wine? That's quite the tall tale. If you have something to say, say it. Old Man hasn't solved this eight sided puzzle yet."

Ding Yi saw that it was working. He quickly pulled the thin figure standing in the courtyard over and pointed. "Here, take a look at whether this arm is broken or what."

The white bearded old man gave Fu Peibai a casual glance, and his tone softened. "Come inside."

The three entered the house. The small room could practically be described as having four bare walls. Apart from a table and chair set in the middle and a dilapidated cabinet, the only other thing was some dry hay stacked in the corner with a grass mat on top, barely qualifying as a bed.

"Sit down. Try to lift your arm with some effort."

Fu Peibai sat down as instructed and tried to exert force to lift her arm. But the moment she did, a sharp pain shot through her elbow.

"Alright." The old man waved his hand to stop her. He lifted Fu Peibai's limp arm on his own and felt around above and below it. Finally, he placed his hand on the joint and said inexplicably, "Look over there."

Just as Fu Peibai and Ding Yi both turned their heads, the old man pressed down on her arm with one hand and pushed upward on the joint with the other. The dislocated joint snapped back into place with a crisp cracking sound.

Fu Peibai almost let out a muffled groan, but in the end she gritted her teeth and swallowed it down. Her face only turned deathly pale, and some cold sweat seeped from her forehead.

The old man glanced at her and said with surprise, "You young lady can really endure pain."

"Young lady?" Ding Yi's mouth fell wide open. He asked in disbelief, "You're a girl?"

Fu Peibai withdrew her arm and replied calmly, "I never said I was a man."

Ding Yi stood up and walked around Fu Peibai, examining her back and forth. "You, this, this, this... you don't look like a girl at all."

The old man laughed. "This young lady's bone structure is indeed more robust than the average woman. Her features also have more of a heroic quality. No wonder you mistook her."

Ding Yi still had trouble accepting this for a moment. His expression was like he had eaten something sour. After being tongue tied for a long while, he asked the old man, "How could you tell?"

The old man stroked his beard, not without pride. "What's so difficult about that? Old Man here is the world's number one Medical Sage. I've seen countless people. Every hair and every inch of bone on a person, I can detect the difference. A woman can disguise herself as a man, but her fundamental bone structure cannot change. Ordinary people can't see it, but Old Man can see through it at a glance."

Ding Yi rolled his eyes and leaned close to Fu Peibai, whispering, "Ignore him. He's dreaming. What nonsense about being a Medical Sage."

The old man finished recounting his glorious past in grand fashion, feeling thoroughly pleased. Seeing Fu Peibai staring unblinkingly at the eight sided puzzle die on the table, he asked, "Do you know how to play with it?"

Fu Peibai silently extended a hand, picked up the oddly shaped die, and her fingers nimbly flipped and turned it. In no time, each face returned to its original position, with the numbers carved on top perfectly aligned.

The old man's eyes went wide. He snatched back the die and examined it up and down. This ingenious little toy that he had spent several nights unable to solve had been cracked so simply?

"You, how did you do that?"

Fu Peibai lowered her eyelids and stared at the corner of the table. "My younger brother liked playing with these things. I used to play with him often. After seeing them so much, naturally I learned how."

The old man was just about to ask if her younger brother was also skilled at solving them when Ding Yi quietly tugged at his arm and reminded him in a low voice, "From the west."

Hearing this, the old man's excited expression faded. He scratched his head and said, "This thing, Old Man spent a full three days without solving it. I can't believe you, little girl, solved it in one go. Old Man is truly impressed, truly impressed."

"It's nothing. There's a technique to this thing. Once you know the technique, you can apply it to other similar objects and solve them too."

"Oh? There's such a shortcut? Quick, tell Old Man about it."

"Hey, Old Man Wen, I brought someone here for you to treat, not to be your teacher. The arm is treated, now you need to look at this face. The eye is swollen so high. What if she goes blind? Also, check if there are any internal injuries. Hurry up and take a look." After saying this, Ding Yi pulled out that string of copper coins from his chest and slapped it onto the table.

The old man smacked his forehead, realizing he had gotten overly excited. Treatment was the priority right now. He ran outside to a large clay vat in the courtyard and rummaged around for a moment. Then he returned to the house with some dried herbs. In front of the two of them, he put the herbs in his mouth and chewed them up. After a while, he spat them out and slapped the crushed herbs onto the wound on Fu Peibai's face.

Ding Yi frowned and shouted, "That's so disgusting!"

The old man paid it no mind and spoke while chewing. "You brat, the year before last when your head was beaten open like a flower, Old Man treated you the same way."

Ding Yi immediately spat several times.

Fu Peibai didn't move a muscle. She didn't even blink. She just sat quietly and let the old man apply the medicine to her.

When the medicine was applied, she said, "Thank you, uncle."

"Small matter, not worth thanking."

Ding Yi saw that the external injuries were treated and urged again, "Old man, take her pulse. See if there are any internal injuries."

Actually, taking the pulse wasn't necessary to determine internal injuries. One look at Fu Peibai's condition and the old man could tell. Sallow and thin, dull eyes, cracked lips. Probably just malnutrition. Eating some meat would fix it.

His expression became hesitant. After struggling with the decision for a long while, he went to the courtyard and took down a piece of air dried meat.

Ding Yi's eyes lit up, his gaze following that piece of meat closely.

The old man sighed. He dangled the meat in front of Fu Peibai's eyes. "These two liang of meat are fine pork belly. Old Man has stored it for months without bearing to eat it. How about I make a trade with you right now? You teach me how to solve these puzzles, and I give you this meat in exchange. What do you say?"

Fu Peibai didn't speak, but Ding I hurriedly answered for her. "Good, good, good! Hurry up and cook it."

The old man gave him a kick, not too light but not too heavy. "None of your business. I'm asking the young lady. This meat doesn't have your share."

Fu Peibai looked at Ding Yi and met his expectant gaze. She could only give a small nod.

Soon, curling cooking smoke rose from the farmhouse courtyard in the deep of night.

The three of them used empty wine jars as stools and sat together, looking at the dish of dark meat on the stone bench.

Ding Yi hesitated to use his chopsticks. He asked suspiciously, "Can this be eaten?"

The old man also felt uncertain. His cooking could only guarantee that the food was thoroughly cooked. Anything beyond that, he couldn't promise. But after all, he had made it himself. He couldn't lose face. So he was the first to reach out with his chopsticks.

"Anyway, it won't kill you."

He picked up a piece of blackened meat and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. The meat was so tough it nearly cracked his old teeth. The surface was burned and tasted slightly bitter. He quickly washed it down with a mouthful of cold cornbread, swallowing it whole.

Then he said as if nothing had happened, "Mm, not bad, not bad. Seems like Old Man's cooking skills are improving."

Ding Yi hesitantly picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. A moment later, his face twisted into a grimace. "Pah, what is this stuff? Is this meat or rocks? Old Man Wen, are you fooling us with rocks?"

While the two were bickering, Fu Peibai had already started eating with a calm expression. One bite after another with cornbread, eating unhurriedly, until her eyes grew red and her throat choked up.

This was probably the best meal she had eaten in over half a month. For over half a month, she had braved the elements, filling her stomach with wild vegetables and fruits. Sometimes when the hunger was fierce, she had almost resorted to gnawing tree bark.

Seeing this, the other two stopped their antics as well. They closed their mouths, and the three of them quietly finished the plate of meat on the ground.

After eating, the old man impatiently pulled Fu Peibai back into the room. He hauled out a sizable box from the corner and placed it on the ground like someone showing off war trophies. He opened the box and waved his arm grandly. "These are all the ingenious little things I've collected over the years. The ones on the left are solved. The ones on the right aren't. Young lady, help me take a look at them."

"You old man, look at what time it is. Even a landlord wouldn't exploit people this much. Fu, Fu..." Ding Yi scratched his head, suddenly not knowing how to address the other person. Now that he knew she was a girl, naturally he couldn't call her brother anymore.

"So, what should I call you?"

"Just call me Peibai."

"Calling you by just your given name is too distant. You look a few years younger than me. From now on, I'll call you Little Bai."

Ding Yi continued, "Then Little Bai, let's go back. We've been messing around for half the night. Time to rest."

The old man glared at him. "Go back where? Back to that drafty broken alley of yours? Please, you brat. She's a young lady. Men and women should keep their distance. You still want to sleep together and take advantage of her?"

Ding Yi's eyes went perfectly round. "How could that happen? I've always treated Little Bai like a brother. It's just that she has nowhere else to go. She could only make do at my place. I, Ding Yi, may be just a little beggar, but I walk straight and sit upright. I would never take advantage of someone in a vulnerable situation or have any improper thoughts. Little Bai, don't worry."

Before Fu Peibai could speak, the old man said again, "No, that won't do. How about this? Over there, look, it used to be a herb storage room. Now it's empty. If we clean it up, it can barely serve as a place to sleep. Miss Fu can stay here temporarily. That way I can also ask you for instruction."

"You're showing favoritism, old man! I begged you so many times before to let me sleep there, and you refused no matter what. Now Little Bai shows up and you let her stay. You, you, you..." Ding Yi sputtered, unable to form a complete sentence.

"Go on, go on. What business is it of yours? You don't bathe for ten days or half a month. Stinking to death. If I let you stay, you'd probably choke Old Man to death. Besides, you're a grown man. How can you compare to a young lady? A great man takes the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed. What's wrong with that? Get lost. If you don't leave, I'm going to chase you out."

The two argued back and forth, leaving no gap for Fu Peibai to interject. She wanted to say it wasn't necessary, that she wasn't that delicate, and sleeping in the alley would be fine.

In the end, her lodging situation was settled between the two of them and their ceaseless chatter. Fu Peibai would sleep in the old man's herb storage room.

She naturally had no objection. Getting a place that provided shelter from wind and rain was already an enormous blessing.

After Ding Yi left, she raised her newly reconnected arm and recalled the way her father had taught her to bow. She performed a standard formal bow of thanks.

"Thank you, uncle."

The old man looked at Fu Peibai's frail frame. Without asking, he knew what kind of upheaval and hardship she must have endured to make her way here. He spoke with a kindly expression. "It's nothing, young lady. I haven't asked your full name yet. What are you called?"

"Fu Peibai."

The old man chuckled twice. "I'm called Wen Xuefeng. Usually just call me Uncle Wen."

"Yes. Thank you, Uncle Wen."