In my head, I envision Nan Man to be a place like ancient Singapore, with dangerous tropical forests, dense vegetation and hot, humid weather. Or Thailand or Vietnam since we don't have rice fields in Singapore. While the author probably has Vietnam in mind since it is geographically south of china's border just like Nan Man, some of the magical stuff in the story reminds me of the black magic in Thailand. I have only heard a handful of black magic or jiang tou stories that exists in Thailand but it is enough for me to have a healthy fear of them. Although the enchantment that Shang Guan Jing encountered today is nothing vicious like jiang tou, I nonetheless thought that she should have been more careful. The black magic of South East Asia is nothing to scoff at.
Chapter 2 (Part 1 of 2)
Shang Guan Jing enters a cave and moves quickly to where a mirror made from polished white jade rests against a rocky wall. She flicks 3 levers next to the jade mirror like the way Teacher has shown her and steps fully into the cave.
"Teacher? Where are you?" She is quite sure that Teacher is no longer around but being the persistent sort, she needs to find Teacher's body before she can be convinced that Teacher has died. Ignoring the blood dripping from left shoulder (a 'souvenir' from the fight with Da Shi Jie's), she checks the cave.
She is disappointed that there is no trace of Teacher but just as she is about to leave, the jade mirror suddenly glows until it lit up the entire cave with its brightness. She holds up a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light when suddenly, she hears a most familiar voice echoing the same instructions over and over. Sometimes the voice seems to be coming from the left; sometimes, it seems to coming from the right. Sometimes, the voice is loud like thunder and sometimes the voice is soft, but despite the intonation, the words are the same.
"Travel to the South. Take the leader's token with you and make sure you do not lose it."
"Jing'er, find the Diao family. The token will lead you to them."
"Once you have found them, you will know what to do next. Don't be afraid, Jing'er. Don't be afraid."
"Teacher!"
*******
Shang Guan Jing wakes up with a jerk. The last thing she remembers from the dream is a clap of thunder followed by the shattering of the jade mirror. In its ruins, she saw the token that signifies its possessor as the leader of Ling Feng Sect and she left the cave with it.
Before this incident, Da Shi Jie has overthrown Teacher and taken control of their sect. Following her teacher's instructions, Shang Guan Jing has travelled to the far south. She knows that Da Shi Jie is trying to search for her and she has been careful to conceal her trail during the journey south. The stress of travelling plus her initial adjustment to a different climate has caused her to be bed-ridden for 3 full days. Even till now, which is 2 weeks since she was rescued from the forest, she has yet to fully recover to her strength.
She is well enough to explore her surroundings however and walks around the guest house often. The house she is staying in is made of bamboo and has a small garden surrounding it. In one corner of the garden, clear spring water sprouts out from a bamboo snout and the small stream of water meanders across the garden before disappearing into a bamboo groove fencing the house.
Her host lives in another bamboo house behind the bamboo groove but he is apparently a big believer of peace and quiet. He may join her for meals from time to time, but otherwise, she is left to her own devices. Besides Feng Jin, the only people around are the servants who clean her room, and place fresh water, fruits and meals in her room every day.
When she has gotten stronger, she has walked to a nearby village to enquire about the Diao family. Feng Jin did not restrict her movements and gave her a sachet of herbs to hang on her belt which he told her can to ward off insects. He has also shown her which mint leaves can be eaten should she inhale any poison gases by accident and need to dispel its effects.
She is deeply thankful for Feng Jin's help and promises herself that she will not impose on him any more than necessary. The moment she finds the whereabouts of the Diao family, she will leave. But after checking out all 4 villages in the area, she only found out that the villagers have heard about a Diao family who stays in Nan Man, but one can tell her where she can find them. Sometimes, she would also show her teacher's token to the villagers but they would shake their head and tell her that they have no idea what the strange carving and symbols on the token mean.
What is she going to do next if she cannot find the Diaos?
And back to villagers, their behavior is really strange. They seem like honest, simple folks but for some strange reason, they will clam up whenever she mentions that she is staying at Feng Jin's bamboo house. They will stare at her strangely, open their mouth as if to speak, but ultimately, all of them would clear their throats and refrain from telling her more.
Shang Guan Jing suspects that their hesitation is due to Feng Jin's peculiar looks but her instincts tell her that this cannot be the only reason. Which is why when she spotted Feng Jin in one of the village one sunny evening, she decides that she shall follow him secretly.
She is not stalking him, she tells herself, but since she has stumbled across him without him noticing her…
He is wearing his customary white robes and carrying a woven basket behind his back. His long hair is tied neatly behind him and he looks neat and fresh. He has mentioned over breakfast this morning that he is going to gather herbs in the forest and from the heap of leaves in his basket, he must have a successful 'harvest'.
She does not know if he is a doctor but she has noticed some unfamiliar plants growing in his garden instead of the normal fruits, vegetables or flowers that one would expect to find in a garden. When asked about the plants, he has answered that the plants are native herbs with medicinal value and can also help to repel insects and rodents. During the 3 days when she was bedridden, she did not see a doctor and drank Feng Jin's home brew. Since she did get better after taking his medicine, she has not doubted his doctoring skills ever since.
Maybe her instincts are wrong and the villagers are only avoiding him because of how he look?
Deep down, she pities him and finds it sad that a nice man like him is an outcast. She follows him from a safe distance and from where he is heading, he seems to be going home. Under a setting sun, he walks past a rice field, and she sees that the farmers have stopped working in their fields to gawk at him. Shang Guan Jing cannot see Feng Jin's expression since he is back-facing her but having known him for nearly 2 weeks by now, she imagines that he must be behaving as if everything is normal, in spite of all the obvious staring.
How does it feel, she wonders, if people dare not come within 3 meters of you and stare at you as if you have a contagious disease?
Heart heavy, she continues to follow him and this time, he walks past some children playing by the road. The children stopped playing as he approaches and she can see the face of the older children turning pale. Some of the smaller children started quivering and in the next second, some of the youngest children have burst out crying.
He walks on as if unware of the commotion he has caused and Shang Guan Jing feels even worse than before. If he has not been so calm, so accepting of fate, perhaps she would have felt better for him as a person. Just as she has enough of him being ostracized and is about to walk up to him to accompany him openly, the accident happened.
2 oxens suddenly barge out of the rice field on his left and charge at him without any warning! She has never seen any oxens move beyond a snail's pace before, much less TWO oxens charging at the same time. What strangeness is this?
"Look out!"
She shouts out a warning but he seems oblivious to the danger. In the next second, she has caught up with him and drags him backwards by the shoulder. As the first oxen charge pass, it trips over her leg and tumbles painfully to the ground. At this moment, the second oxen is upon them and Shang Guan Jing reacts by instinct.
She grabs Feng Jin by the shoulder once more and pulls him out of harm's way. Turning around, she sends 2 swift chops on the second oxen's back on where she thinks its accupoints are. She must have hit her mark for the next instant, the oxen's legs give way and the beast tumbles to the ground with a painful grunt.
Danger adverted; she turns to check on Feng Jin. "Are you alright? You….oh my god!"
Feng Jin has been pushed to the ground. He has dirt on his back and legs, and there are also specks of mud on his face and hair. He is quick to recover from sudden turn of events and smiles at her in greeting.
Shang Guan Jing has not meant to be so rough but she must have used more strength than she has thought when pulling him away. She apologize profusely and tries to explain. "I was behind you just now just as I was about to walk up to you, I saw 2 oxens charging at you. I tried to warn you but you did not react so I… I…"
Gosh, he looks like a mess with mud all over his body; how is he able to smile so graciously?
"I should have been more alert and in any case, I am not hurt. The oxens though, seems less fortunate. They are very precious to the farmer you know and if they are injured and cannot work the field, it will affect the farmer's livelihood."
"I did not mean to hurt them but it was an emergency! Besides, it will not do if you are hurt either." She has seen someone being gored in the stomach by a bull before. Such injuries are difficult to treat and it is highly likely for someone to die after such an accident.
"My life is not worth that much."
Her throat constricts at the matter-of-fact manner that he views his worth and she tries to help him up. However, he waves her away as he is worried that he will dirty her clothes. She tells him that she does not mind but he continues to reject her help until she has enough.
"Stop." She is upset by his inferiority complex and helps him up without another word. As he hoists himself to his feet, his fingers through hers, she gets the weirdest feeling that she is in the middle of a hoax.
Hoax?
She shakes her head to clear the ridiculous thought and the next thought that comes to mind is that he is actually quite tall. She has never stood close enough to him to notice their height difference and she is so close right at this moment that she can see the faint stubble beneath his chin. She reminds herself that Feng Jin is a man afterall despite his pretty looks and blotchy skin, men have stubbles. Why does she find it difficult to look away?
They remain like that, hands entwined, for several heartbeats before she comes back to reality. She tries to retract her hand but he held her hand firmly while looking at her unwaveringly. Embarrassed, she tries to shake him out of his reverie. "Master Feng, are you able to stand by yourself now?"
He releases her hand hurriedly. "I thank Miss Shang Guan most sincerely for lending a hand." Shaking his head, he walks over to the 2 oxens and looks down at them. "Such a pity…"
In contrast to their earlier aggressiveness, the 2 beasts look positively harmless right now. Their eyes are round and look like innocent newborns as they panted painfully. When Shang Guan Jing hears his second sigh, she quickly explains. "I hit the second oxen on its back just now and although it looks injured, it should be fine once I massage its back for a while."
By now, the farmer has noticed that his oxens are not in the field and has hurried over. He is shocked to see his oxens on the ground and is relieved to hear from Shang Guan Jing that they are unhurt. Ssort of. But when he spots Feng Jin, his pallor change and he looks as if he is about to faint. His mouth drop open like a goldfish out of water and he stutters in obvious fright.
"You….you…you… hexed…the oxens…."
"Hit? No, no." Shang Guan Jing tries to clarify. "He did not hit your oxens Lao Die (old father). I did." She hopes that Feng Jin is not going to become more discriminated due to this incident and explains. "I am sorry but I do not mean to hit your oxens. Rest assured Lao Die that I can make your oxens fine again. Just give me 30 minutes, I will….huh? Lao Die? Lao Die!"
Lao Die has fainted is now lying motionless on the ground.
Great, now she has 2 animal and 1 human casualty.
Seems like it is time to get really busy.