Like all the times when she was in the shower in her past life, Yun went deep into thought about her situation then before. That, and her thoughts ran over themselves. Well, she also had the times where she just gave up thinking and started signing because she was sure that everything was going to work out eventually. And so, that’s what she did. She just washed her body to the best of her abilities with the resources she had while singing a little tune, and she kept singing until the song was finished and decided to get out of the water, seeing that it was dirty from her own dirt. But then here came a little stump in her attempt to obtain perfect hygiene. Her clothes were still covered in all sorts of dirt, and she didn’t know how to put them back on seeing who there were two full layers of clothes to put on.
Now, she had to decide whether or not she wanted to stand nude in a holy place. And honestly, as long as nothing is going to attack her, she was fine with it. Plus, she could just swing and pat her clothes around to get the dirt off then put them back on. Though the nice fresh feeling after having a shower was going to be nonexistent, there was nothing she could do about it. If this was as clean as she was going to get for today, then she could take it and just do a full sanitation of her body later.
So, after coming to the terms that it was going to be a while before she could keep up the proper hygiene. She stood up from the water and stepped out of the dirty bucket. She picked up her dirt filled clothes and started waving them in the air like a mad man.
Multiple pieces of dirt came flying off of the clothes, and when dirt stopped flying out, Yun laid the different pieces out, trying to figure out what piece she took off last, so she could put it on first.
But, she was a bit impatient, so she rushed the thinking process of putting everything on. Thankfully, it didn’t bite her in the butt since she did a bit of research about historical Chinese clothes for a project she had to do one time, and she read quite a few manhua and manga so she knew what went over what. So with only a few mishaps, she managed to wear everything correctly, and had yet another problem to think about.
Her teeth. She had to clean them, but how? World History taught her that in ancient times, China was advanced in their hygiene, unlike in Great Britain when they only washed once a year. So, there had to be a way of brushing her teeth. She just didn’t know how to go about that. And since this was about brushing her teeth, it wasn’t something she could just brush off. Because of her perfect and well kept hygiene from when she was a kid, Yun’s brain didn’t allow her to fall asleep without brushing her teeth and washing her face. It was a good mindset to have in the modern era and nowhere else.
“I’ll probably find a way in a village or something.”
But she was self conscious, and didn’t like talking to people before she brushed her teeth for the first time that day. Another thing she picked up when she was younger, along with not wanting to stink which led to daily shows, constant applications of deodorant, and the occasional spray of perfume. Which led her to have good hygiene, that supported her weak immune system because of her eating disorder. All in all, it showed just how put together her past life was even though there were multiple things wrong with her.
Guess the only thing left to do now is to start traveling as the dirt and grime on her body continued to build up.
“At this rate, I’ll be great for cockroach infestations,” she said, remembering her high school having a big cockroach problem.
“Are you a foreigner?”
Yun was pulled out of her head by the voice of the same guy who pulled her out of the ground. Honestly, she was so scared that she almost hit the guy, but she stopped herself. Hitting someone was never a good first impression whether they scared you or not.
Truthfully, she was a foreigner. One that traveled a few thousand years back in time and across the world. She was the ultimate foreigner. No one would compare to her, but at the same time, no one would believe her. Especially since she was in the body of a native, but the guy’s statement meant that she could still speak English as she used to, and had no clue how to tap into the Mandarin inside of her.
First, she only had a few seconds from the low shake of her head to figure out how to access her Mandarin speech.
And there, her one step plan was put into action. Like any child would, she shook her head as slowly as she could, and while doing that, she tried drawing out every native memory that remained inside of the body she inhabited. She manifested her new life with everything she could, and thankfully, it worked.
“A foreigner taught me…”
In her head, Yun was celebrating. She managed to complete the manifestation and have a conversation. A real conversation in another language.
“When they stayed at my village for a while…”
The guy looked at Yun up and down trying to find anything of a lie in her speech which he wouldn’t because she was the best liar. She remembers, in middle schooler, that people would call her the best bullshitter because she would spit out lies, on the spot, that made sense. Honestly, it was her best talent, but it was something she used only when she had to.
“What else do you remember?” The guy asked.
This was a little suspicious, but then again it wasn’t. Anyone would find it weird that they pulled a body, with their head stitched onto their body out of the dirt. And thankfully, Yun had her special little talent and a tiny bit of imagination.
“Not much really,” she said, pathetically, “I remember my name, and that I was…kicked out from my village.”
The Han Dynasty looking man retained his dignity and pulled a, “No matter,” while waving his hand like any historical person would.
“Since you do not have anywhere to go, would you like to become my apprentice?”
Study under this good looking guy?! Yun would love to, but at the same time she didn’t want to study anything. And remembering history, people were all into martial arts and this guy wasn’t dressed like a commoner, so he was most likely a skilled martial artist. So to be his apprentice, she was going to learn his martial arts or something like in the books. However, Yun hated to break it to the guy, but she wasn’t all into physical work except the days she lifted weights because she was feeling bad about herself which only lasted about a week before her laziness took over.
Plus, she had just risen from the dead in a different time, world, or wherever she was at. She wanted to live it up. Get drunk or whatever people do when they decide to “live it up.” She’d never done such a thing before as the concept never really caught her eye for a long enough period of time.
Also, was the body she was in capable of growing up? Like, it was dead! Her neck was being held together by a long string! How could she get drunk if she didn’t even look older than 15! Was she even allowed to touch a bottle of wine looking this young? Then again, she doubted that they had a minimum drinking age given the time period. She remembered reading something online that the age limit for alcohol wasn’t established unlike 1836, and that was only in Wisconsin. And, seeing as she was nowhere near the west, there was no way that had affected this civilization yet. Though, she didn’t know if that was really true seeing as the majority of the things on the internet were either wrong or half of the truth at best.
‘You really can’t know anything without experiencing it first hand,’ she thought.
But, putting all of that aside, being a martial artist was still a lot of work and work was never something she was willing to do! She had to find a way out of this, so Yun carefully observed the man for the first time. She saw his face that had soft yet defined features. Certainly something that didn’t belong to a martial artist who usually had rigid features from the hours of training every day for years. Then, there were his mannerisms that were dignified and soft as though he was from a high standing family. Of course, such manners were required from every high standing person whether they were a fighter or not, but it always seemed–in book anyways–that martial arts tended to bother less about those things once coming to his age. However, his clothes didn’t match that assumption seeing as it was only a step up from pheasant clothes. At least, that’s what it looked like. She wasn’t used to this type of clothing and was never good at recognizing expensive brands in her past.
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There were also his hands, that Yun noticed barely had any callus or anything one would get from wielding a sword or punching people. And, his body wasn’t toned as though he spent most of his days inside or in the shade. Plus, he smells more of plants, then metal and sweat. So, in a world where people still wore two to three layers of clothes on a normal basis, it was clear what this man’s job was. Rather than fighting and killing, he chose to save people by healing using all sorts of herbs. Which means, being his apprentice meant that she was going to study medicine, which took even more energy than wielding a sword as proven with the 12 years of medical school people went through in her past life. Then again, it was an opportunity offered to her that gave out free hygiene which was her worst problem right now.
If she weighs the pros and cons. There were definitely more cons, but the pros were just too good to ignore. But, if her carefree luck held out in her past life, it should hold on in this one. They say that Lady Luck smiled down on the soul not the body.
“I would like that.”
The guy nodded, “Then your master’s name is Ning Qian, and from this day on, we are family.”
Yun slightly tilted her head, “Excuse me?”
Was she just adopted by some random hot looking guy? Last time she checked this wasn’t the standard master, apprentice type of thing. She was just adopted by some random man who, for all she knows, could be a groomer.
“With a body like yours, you cannot wander around by yourself, and it is easier to convince people that we are related. It will keep your little revival a secret in case we end up in your old village.”
Ning Yun. That sounded a bit too put together for this sudden adoption to be a coincidence. The two names fit together like two puzzle pieces. Peaceful clouds. What were the chances of that? A bit too ironic, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to take it. Working in medicine was perfect for her current life. If she needed to run away, she could use her learned knowledge to apprentice elsewhere. Plus, it would be disrespectful to turn down such a nice sounding name. It was a name that was given to her, and it was impolite to turn gifts away.
Besides, like the man said, her current state was a problem. She knew nothing about her body and having a doctor looking after her 24/7 made it easier if something was to go wrong. Though, the medical techniques are lacking then in the modern era. Still, she was a dead person, so there was probably a different way to go about taking care of her body. So, Ning Qian could become her insurance plan, and after he died or she ran away, Yun would have enough knowledge to, then, take care of herself. Perfect solution.
“If you’ll have me as your child, I’d gracefully accept it.”
“Then, child,” he said, all dignified, “Tell me your name.”
Yun almost laughed at how novel-like he sounded. People of this era really were like characters out of a novel. She was in awe. but this was a serious moment. She had to be serious and keep herself together. It was the most she could do.
“Ning Yun.”
Ning Qian nodded his head, “Then, we will start immediately. Your first lesson is hygiene.”
There is a god! Ning Yun cheered in her head. The exact problem she was complaining about was going to be solved moments after it arose. Really, Lady Luck was always on her side.
“Okay!”
Just like that, the newly made father-daughter pair walked to the nearest village.
The village didn’t have many stalls, rather all of the stores were in red, brown, and gray historical chinese buildings. It was just like all of those cultivation shoes she watched in her past life. It was all so magical.
She was in awe. When she went to China in her past life, she saw all of the historical buildings, but at that point they were rundown. However, seeing them relatively new, it was amazing, and the lively people that walked around made the pace even more beautiful. There were so many colors in the walkway, and unlike modern sidewalks, people were constantly talking to each other and moving in groups. It was exactly what a major city downtown should look like, and with the unpolluted air and bright skies, everything just looked so nice. It made Ning Yun think that the modern world wasn’t as great as people thought it would be. Sure it was more developed and advanced, but the historical times were pure and social. It was a good environment for someone who was sick of modern life. Then again, it also drove her anxiety into overtime.
Am I walking straight? Am I breathing too loud? Do I stink? Do I look weird? Are people staring at me? Am I sweating? The questions ran through her mind over and over. Her breath quicked, her heart started racing, and she could feel cold sweat going down her back. Then, the single thought that always repressed the mental illness surfaced in her mind.
“I don’t care,” she said under her breath. There was no point in caring. All of it was going to pass, so there was no point in caring. She just had to keep walking and ignore everyone. They didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, so there was no point in caring.
She didn’t care. She didn’t need or want to care. There’s no point in caring about anything.
And, everything was gone. At least, Ning Yun felt like they weren’t there anymore. All of her problems just disappeared as she wished it to be. That was what she wanted to believe anyway. To convince herself that nothing could get to her. Life is easier that way.
She couldn’t hold her head high, but she continued walking through the street forcing herself to focus on the architecture rather than the people.
After walking, a while, two stopped in front of an inn. Like all inns at the time, the first floor was a restaurant, and there were stairs that led up to the second floor where the rooms were. Before eating or going up the stairs, Ning Qian walked to the receptionist desk and asked for a bath to be prepared in the room. Then, unexpectedly, they walked out of the inn and went back onto the streets.
They stopped at a few of the stalls, but Ning Yun was too preoccupied looking around to notice what her new parent was getting. She took more interest in the different scenery as it passed by her eyes brick by brick and panel by panel. Everything was just so colorful, joyful, and different that her eyes couldn’t stop wandering. It was nothing like her boring, almost black and white past life.
It was hard to tell how long they were walking around seeing as Ning Yun didn’t know how to tell time from the position of the sun, and there weren’t any clocks, watches, or phones to check the time. However, when they got to the inn, the restaurant entrance was filled with people which probably signified that it was time for a meal.
This time, the two walked up the stairs to the second floor where the rooms were, and entered a two person room. In the room, there were two beds on the opposite wall of each other. In the middle of the two beds, against a wall, was a classic folding screen that didn’t have anything painted on it. Behind the folding screen were two large buckets like the one Ning Yun previously bathed in at the abandoned shrine and one regular sized one that was probably going to be used to poor water somewhere. Seeing all of this, Ning Yun was so happy. Though, she still wondered how she was going to brush her teeth.
Ning Qian pulled a ribbon out of his sleeve pocket and used it to tie up his long, open sleeves. After, he pulled the ribbon holding half of his hair out, and used it to tie all of his hair in a ponytail. Then, he looked at the dirty Ning Yun, “The first step in hygiene is washing your hair. Now take your clothes off and step into the empty bucket.”
“...”
Now, this was, well, it was something. Ning Qian didn’t know this, but the “kid” he adopted was actually a 20-something year old, so she was a bit uncomfortable when a grown man asked her to undress. Besides, wasn’t it like a custom for the first person to see a woman's naked body was her husband. She remembered there was an eastern courtesy that was something like that. Even if that wasn’t so, she still thought that it was a bit weird. Ning Yun even had the thought of this guy being a predator cross her mind but told herself no. After all, he probably didn’t even know what that meant when coming to humans. Thinking about it now, age really wasn’t a number during these times.
“Come now child. We do not have all day.”
Well, contemplating this was going to take a whole day. Would stranger danger even work in this situation? She didn’t have a child alarm to pull, not like she had one in her past life, but she would love to have one handy. She didn’t have peper spray or a taser either. She had zero self defense weapons, and she sucked at fighting. Though, if something did happen, was she going to have to run through the inn with no clothes on? That’s super embarrassing! That was worse than dying.
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
Ning Qian started walking towards Ning Yun, his intent obviously being known.
This is it, Ning Yun though, keeping her eyes shut. You know, if something really does happen, I’ll just block it out or something. Everything was going…Then, she felt her ragged clothes being ripped and taken off her body.
Trying to block everything out, Ning Yun remembered something from her past life. It was a dream she had when he first started high school. The time where teenage hormones were reaching their peak.
It was a dream, so she only remembered bits and pieces of it. However, she remembered enough. She remembered seeing herself getting intimate with one of her many classmates. Ironically, it was one that owed her a couple hundred dollars. As she watched herself do this, she screamed her lungs out. She kept telling herself to stop, to not let him touch her, to push him away. But, no matter how much she yelled, in her own dream, she found herself being blocked by soundproof glass. It was impossible to get through to her other self, but she screamed and pleaded anyway. As loud as she could.
“STOP IT!” she would yell. Or “GET AWAY FROM ME!”
But it was never heard.
Then, when she woke up, her throat was sore. As though all she saw was real and all the unheard yelling she had done happened.
After realizing just what her own mind cooked up, she couldn’t stop shaking, and no longer could she talk to that classmate again. It was her first real nightmare, and it never left her mind even after all these years.