The group kept eating, however Ju Hua had stopped. She had looked down at the plate with distant eyes. Sen Feng noticed her quietness and placed his hand on hers.
“What’s wrong honey?” he softly said as he looked down at her. Ju Hua broke out of her trance.
“Huh? Oh, nothing my love. It’s just I used to know someone who loved eating chicken ginger soup also.” Ju Hua replied.
“Who?”
“It’s no one important. No need to talk about it.” Ju Hua waved her hand and smiled. She picked up her spoon and continued to eat. Sen Feng knew she didn’t want to talk about it anymore and continued on with his meal. Ju Hua peered up to see Yu Lin sipping on her soup. A memory flashed through her head.
----
“Yah! You are only thirteen years old! How could you be so obsessed with chicken ginger soup?!” a young Ju Hua yelled. Hu Die sat there grinning.
“Why? I’m obsessed with something because it’s good. Aren’t you obsessed with me because I’m good?” Hu Die said with a smile. Ju Hua made a puking reaction then Hu Die let out a laugh. “Yah!” Hu Die yelled as she playfully slap Ju Hua. Ju Hua laughed as she gave Hu Die a light push. After that she stared at Hu Die with soft eyes.
“But, it’s good. You are smiling again cousin Hu Die.” Ju Hua gently said. Hu Die paused for a second, her curled lips went back to a straight line for a moment. She set down her spoon and turned her body to face Ju Hua. She placed her soft hands on top of Ju Hua’s. Hu Die looked Ju Hua in the eyes and smiled.
“Thank you cousin Ju Hua… if it wasn’t for you and uncle… I probably would be on the streets right now. I don’t know how I could ever repay the two of you back.” tears started to form in Hu Die’s eyes. Ju Hua shook her head and pulled Hu Die in for a hug.
“No, don’t thank me. I know you would do the same if I was in your position. If you really want to thank me then live a long life with me, then promise me that we will always maintain this relationship. Promise me that we will grow old together, and that we will watch our kids grow up and then watch their grandkids grow up.” Ju Hua said as tears streamed down her face. She felt Hu Die nod against her shoulder.
“Alright then, I promise.” Hu Die replied. Ju Hua smiled and wiped her tears before pulling back. She grabbed the spoon and put it back into Hu Die’s hand.
“Now finish your food grandma, or I’m not sure you will be able to walk back to your room tonight.” Ju Hua teased. Hu Die made a face before lightly hitting her again. The two girls laughed as they continued to talk about their future that night.
-----
“But you couldn’t even fulfill that promise.” Ju Hua muttered.
“Did you say something Ju Hua?” Yo Mei asked.
“Huh? No, I said nothing.” Ju Hua shook her head and smiled. Yo Mei nodded and continued talking. Ju Hua just stared at Yo Mei’s face, the face that looked identical to the one in her memories. ‘At least now, she must be in a better place.’ Ju Hua thought before joining in on the conversation before her.
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Yu Lin stood in front of her room and yawned. For the whole evening the group had partied and it was already late at night. Yu Lin was tired from all the enjoyable ruckus. She entered her room and was about to hop in bed when she saw the three books lying on her table. She sighed.
“I should return those first before I go to sleep.” Yu Lin muttered. She picked up the books and started heading towards the library.
When Yu Lin reached the library she stopped. She saw Chief Chu and the physician standing there chit chatting. The physician had on a big straw backpack. Yu Lin turned her head wondering if she should interrupt but before she could decide her eyes met with the physician’s. The physician smiled at her.
“Hello Yu Lin.” he said grinning. Yu Lin put on a fake smile as she walked inside the library.
“Are you going somewhere sir?” she asked.
“Ooohhh, never thought our young lady here would be curious about my plans.” the physician snickered. The smile disappeared from Yu Lin’s face as she gave him an are you serious face. The physician let out a laugh before nodding his head. “Yes. I will be leaving soon. I already said goodbye to the others. Ho- I mean Chief Chu only asked of me to take care of your health. Now that you are fine, I will be going.”
“Oh no! Don’t go sir! I will miss you so much!” Yu Lin said with sarcasm. The physician let out another laugh.
“Don’t lie, I know you won’t miss me one bit! Don’t worry though, I will come back to visit.” the physician gave Yu Lin a wink. Yu Lin looked away in disgust.
“Please come back when you can. My home is your home, and you are always welcomed here.” Chief Chu patted the physician’s shoulder. The physician nodded.
“Just summon me each time you need me. I will always be at your service.” the physician said back.
“But, are you really not going to tell me your name sir?” Yu Lin put a hand on her hip. The physician nodded his head with a smile.
“One day I will eventually, but not today, besides it will make you think of me constantly.” the physician let out a loud laugh. Yu Lin rolled her eyes. “By the way,” the physician reached into his robe and pulled out something wrapped in a red cloth, “a present for you Yu Lin.” he walked over and handed it to her. Yu Lin frowned as she took the present.
“What is it?” she asked as she was ready to pull away the cloth.
“A ba-ba-ba-ba-bap, open it later not now, alright?” the physician pushed the forward so Yu Lin would stop. Yu Lin looked up at him confused before shrugging her shoulders.
“If you say so... anyways, thank you very much for your care this past month. If it wasn’t for you then I’m not sure I would’ve recovered this fast. Please be safe sir, and do come back often to tell me of your medicine journey.” Yu Lin sincerely said as she gave him a bow. The physician chuckled before patting her head.
“Alright then, I have stayed long enough. I will be leaving now.” the physician said.
“Let me lead you out then.” Chief Chu gestured towards the exit.
“I will also see you out sir.” Yu Lin got up.
“No! You stay here. If you follow us then I might get too sad and would want to stay instead. That won’t help with my medicine journey will it?” the physician firmly shook his head. Yu Lin narrowed her eyes before sighing.
“I understand. Goodbye then sir. Please do come to visit when you are not busy. Be safe on your journey.” Yu Lin gave him another bow. She heard him chuckled before the two walked away together. When she looked back up the two were already gone.
After returning her books Yu Lin finally returned to her room. She shut her doors closed and lit up a candle. She removed the cloth from the present she just received. Inside was a book. Yu Lin rose her eyebrows until she saw the author’s name. Her jaw dropped.
“Da Ma Dao?! That famous healer?” she exclaimed. Her eyes traveled up to the title. “The Different Effects of Plants and Herbs Volume 13!” she could not contain the excitement from within her. A light lit up in her eyes. ‘How did he manage to give away such a precious book? If I was him, I would never give it up!’ She thought as she started flipping through the pages of the book.
-------
Two months passed had since the physician left. Chief Chu had now started to teach Yu Lin the next steps of Ten Forms of the Thousand Iron Leg which required her to use her chi more. Due to this Yu Lin went back to practicing The Eight Forms of Yin and Yang and the Shan Clan’s Energy Balance Technique again every night. She didn’t want to risk anything happening to her again. She also started to strengthen her body by practicing what her father had taught her. She could feel her muscle and skin getting tougher due to this.
“Yu Lin, for the next couple of days you should rest. Grandpa is also going to be busy so I won’t be able to train you for the next couple of days.” Chief Chu said one day.
“Is there something going on grandpa?” Yu Lin asked as she flipped herself upright from the bar she was hanging on.
“I will have to help prepare the New Year’s Festival with the village. There will be merchants coming in from other villages. It’s a great year to make trade and get the supplies necessary for us.” Chief Chu replied. Yu Lin nodded her head.
“I understand. Then I will listen to you and rest for the next couple of days.” Yu Lin responded as she patted her knees.
“Good, then I will be on my way now.” Chief Chu turned to leave but stopped before he could get far. “That’s right, I almost forgot. After the festival I would like to talk with you and your parents about something important.” Chief Chu said. Yu Lin frowned.
“About what?”
“Hmm… now’s not the time yet, but I’m sure your parents will be fine with it… anyways forget what I just said. I will see you later at dinner Yu Lin. Please tell the others I can’t join them for lunch because I already had an appointment. Goodbye.” Chief Chu chuckled to himself before walking away. Yu Lin could only stare at him with suspicion. She was sure it was nothing bad, but she had a feeling she was going to suffer.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
After having lunch with the rest of the family, Yu Lin decided to go rest in her room and continue reading medical books. In the five years that had passed before she came back into the world, the world had upgraded exponentially. She was learning something new everyday.
On her way back, she saw a dazed He Lan standing in front of her door. She cocked her head as she approached him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Huh?” He Lan said before breaking out of his gaze. “Oh, uh, uh, yeah! Mei Rong and Leng Zhuang was wondering if you wanted tag along with us to the festival this year. It’s going to be your first year and they wanted to show you around. They have a lot of fun games for kids to play there.” He Lan said. Yu Lin felt conflicted. She had originally planned to stay in that day to read, but she also wanted to see how the festival looked like. Her mother didn’t take her the previous years because she didn’t want to frighten other children. This year wasn’t the same though. After pondering she made up her mind.
“Sure,” she nodded, “I would like to tag along too.” He Lan’s eyes brightened up.
“Really? Sounds good. I will ask Zheng Jiao to prepare some festival clothes for you! See you later!” He Lan left with a big smile on his face. Yu Lin smiled and shook her head when she saw this.
“What a dork.” she mumbled before entering her room. When she was inside, she sat down. She sat an open book on one side, and paper on the other side. Then she mixed some ink and with a brush she started taking down notes. ‘I still have a lot to catch up on.’ She thought to herself.
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After a week the festival finally came. The festival was always held during the nighttime because at midnight fireworks were launched into the air. Yu Lin was in her room still preparing for the festival. She had received some fancy looking clothes from Zheng Jiao to wear. It was a white robe with blue, red, and yellow patterns sewn onto it. The three colors represented the type of chi in the world.
Yo Mei was fixing Yu Lin’s hair as Yu Lin looked in the mirror. Yo Mei smiled as she gently tucked the silky white strands underneath a white hat. Yu Lin looked at her mom’s smiling face and raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you smiling mother?” she asked. Yo Mei turned Yu Lin around to face her. She looked into Yu Lin’s eyes before kissing her forehead.
“It’s cause I’m happy that my daughter is still here with me.” she said as she gave Yu Lin a tight hug. Yu Lin blushed before smiling and hugging her back. After a brief moment they heard footsteps in the hallway. They turned to look to see He Lan standing there. He Lan had a smile on his face as he saw Yu Lin. When he noticed Yo Mei though, he cleared his throat and bowed.
“Hello Mrs. Du. I’m here to pick up Yu Lin.” he announced. Yo Mei smiled at him.
“Yes, thank you He Lan. Be safe my daughter, I will see you later.” Yo Mei said as she pushed Yu Lin forwards. Yu Lin eyes widened before she balanced herself. She peered back to see Yo Mei giving her a thumbs up. She frowned before rolling her eyes.
“Let’s go.” she told He Lan.
“Uh, yeah. Leng Zhuang and Mei Rong are waiting for us at the entrance.” He Lan said as he walked by Yu Lin’s side. As they walked side by side He Lan kept averting his eyes to Yu Lin and then away. Yu Lin frowned.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Do I look weird?” He Lan quickly shook his head.
“No, no, no, no! You look fine… you look cute.” He Lan’s face grew red. Yu Lin smiled.
“Thanks, you look pretty handsome today too.” she said back. He Lan’s face grew redder as he heard this.
“Thanks.” he mumbled as the two kept walking.
When they were close to the entrance, Yu Lin could see Mei Rong waving back at her. Leng Zhuang stood there glancing occasionally at Mei Rong.
“Come on you two! Let’s go!” Mei Rong yelled. Yu Lin nodded her head as she and He Lan slightly jogged to the entrance. When they go there, Mei Rong wrapped her arms around He Lan’s. “What took you guys so long?” she pouted.
“Sorry, I was still getting ready.” Yu Lin apologized. Mei Rong narrowed her eyes before smiling.
“It’s fine. Now that you’re here let’s go!” she yelled in a high pitch voice. The three of them laughed at her enthusiasm before they finally set off.
Yu Lin’s eyes were in awed as she stared all around her. Every stall was hung up with lanterns of different colors. The aroma of food surrounded her and she could feel saliva collect in her mouth as she swallowed. The street was filled with adults and kids everywhere. ‘I missed festivals.’ she thought as they headed towards the kids area. ‘Mom used to take me to these.’ a distant smile appeared on her face.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?” He Lan asked as he noticed her dazed expression. Yu Lin snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.
“No, nothing like that.” she smiled. He Lan looked at her worried but before he could say anything he felt himself getting pulled away.
“Hey let’s go play that game first!” Mei Rong dragged He Lan with her to a booth as Leng Zhuang and Yu Lin trailed behind.
Throughout the night the four kids continued to play games after game. Whatever game they played though, Mei Rong would most likely end up losing and Yu Lin would end up winning. Since Yu Lin had already played all, and mastered, the games in her past life she did not difficulty with any of them.
“Urrgh!” Mei Rong got upset. “Why can’t I win any?!” she stomped on the floor. The three of them stood there and laughed at her.
“Now now Mei Rong, don’t get angry I will give you my prizes.” Yu Lin said as she didn’t need any of the toys she won. Mei Rong’s annoyed expression immediately switched to a happy one.
“Really? Yay!” she danced. The four of them laughed together. ‘Oh, it’s good to be young again. So carefree.’ Yu Lin thought as they traveled to another booth. She was the last one in the line they had formed when Leng Zhuang abruptly stopped in front of her. She braked as fast as she could, almost bumping into him.
“Woah! What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Well, well, look who's here. Isn’t it the troll lover?” a familiar voice said from in front of them. Yu Lin stepped to the side to see Wu Pu standing in front of He Lan with his hands on his hips. He also had a group of boys standing behind them. The group of boys had evil looks on their faces as they smirked at Yu Lin them. Mei Rong looked at him with an uncomfortable expression before hiding behind He Lan.
“Get out of our way Wu Pu. We don’t want to cause any trouble here.” He Lan said back as he glared at Wu Pu.
“Who said we were going to cause any trouble? I just wanted to ask how you were old friend.” Wu Pu smiled with a glint in his eyes. He Lan glared back.
“I’m doing well, now if you’ll excus-”
“Not so fast, we should sit down and talk about things He Lan… like how you punched me over a troll’s daughter! It’s not like she’s human anyways, she’s an animal!” Wu Pu hissed. He Lan gritted his teeth as he inched closer.
“Don’t call her that Wu Pu! Even if we used to be friends, I’m not going to let you talk about her like that!” He Lan warned.
“Tch! What are you going to do? You’re nothing without your grandpa anyways!” Wu Pu spat on the ground and the boys behind him followed suit.
“Yeah, you’re weak! If it weren’t for your grandfather you would be nowhere right now!” one of them jeered.
“You should be grateful that Wu Pu was even your friend! If he didn’t befriend you then no one here would like you at all!”
“You’re the one to cause your mother to disappear! If you had listen and didn’t go out to play at night then maybe she might still be here!”
“Yeah! Now you’re siding with the animals who took your mother! How do you think you’re mother will feel if she knew her son was siding with the animals who took her?!” another one yelled out. He Lan balled his fist as he looked down in shame. Yu Lin looked at the boy with a sad face.
“Don’t say that to He Lan! It’s not his fault!” Mei Rong yelled back with tears in her eyes.
“Troll lover! Troll lover! Troll lover!” the group started to chant pumping their fists up and down. He Lan looked away as he bit down on his lip. Yu Lin couldn’t stand it any longer. She was going to step up when Leng Zhuang blocked her way.
“No, don’t go,” Leng Zhuang whispered to her as he covered her with is figure, “He Lan is taking all this to protect you. If you go out, something worse than this can happen. Are you going to let He Lan’s efforts go to waste?” Leng Zhuang shook his head. Yu Lin shook her head back as she placed her hand firmly on Leng Zhuang’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry Leng Zhuang. Everything’s going to be fine.” Yu Lin began to move up but Leng Zhuang blocked her again.
“No Yu Lin! Although the majority of the people in this village may accept your parents, the ones who don’t will cause a ruckus if something happened here. You guys might even get kicked out!” Leng Zhuang said. Yu Lin looked at him with a complicated expression. She took a step back. She wasn’t used to being protected. She didn’t know how to react, even if she was mentally older than the kids.
“Let’s go guys. If we stay here any longer we might start smelling like those monsters.” Wu Pu said. A boy behind him pretended to puke, before they all turned their backs on the group and left. He Lan glared at the ground. He then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. After that he turned around and smiled at the group.
“Let’s go, there are still more things to do!” He Lan cheerfully said. Yu Lin looked at him with clear eyes.
“Thank you.” she said. Their eyes met and He Lan only smiled before turning back around.
--
Yu Lin sat in her room as she stared blankly at the plant in the middle of the table. She let out a sigh before setting her head down on the tea table.
“What’s wrong?” she heard a voice call out. She turned around to see Ju Hua standing there with a small basket hanging from her slender arm.
“Nothing… just thinking.” Yu Lin replied as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Ju Hua looked at her with gentle eyes as she sat down next to her.
“Thinking about what?” she asked as she set the basket on the table.
“About the kids… they grow up pretty fast.”
“What are you talking about? Aren’t you a kid yourself?” Ju Hua giggled. Yu Lin frowned and sigh.
“That’s true too I guess…” Yu Lin cocked her head to one side. “Anyways, what did you bring for me?” she asked with a smile. Ju Hua removed the cloth covering the food and set a plate on the table. Yu Lin’s eyes sparkled as she saw what laid on the plate. “Peaches?” she could feel saliva gathering up in her mouth.
“You know about peaches Yu Lin? Have you had them before?” Ju Hua asked, shocked. Yu Lin quickly shook her head.
“No. Just… I read about it in a book a while back.”
“So you know they are only grown in Sky Continent?”
“Yes. They are one of the best food to try if one is going there!” Yu Lin clapped her hands together. Ju Hua giggled as she pushed the plate of food towards Yu Lin.
“It’s a New Year’s gift from me to you. Happy New Year!” Ju Hua said. Yu Lin smile as she picked up a slice and took a bite. She closed her eyes and smiled as the sweet taste exploded in her mouth. She opened her eyes and wiped a bit off a bit of juice that was at the corner of her mouth.
“But, do you have salt?” she asked as she licked the juice off her thumb.
“Of course! Here you go…” Ju Hua smiled disappear as she handed the salt shaker over to Yu Lin, her eyes grew distant.
“Thank you!” Yu Lin said as she shook some salt on top of the slice of peach before devouring it. She squirmed of happiness in her seat before grabbing another slice. Ju Hua stared at her a familiar scene playing through her head.
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“Ugh. How can you eat peaches with salt?” Ju Hua looked at Hu Die in disbelief.
“How can you eat peaches plain?” Hu Die retorted as she shoved another slice into her mouth. The peach juice dripped down her chin. Ju Hua giggled as she took a napkin and wiped the juice off.
“You’re like a little kid.” she laughed. Hu Die just gave her a silly smile. Ju Hua laughed again as she set the napkin. “You know, I think you may be the only one in the world who eats peaches with salt.” Ju Hua said. Hu Die just shrugged her shoulders.
“You never know. There could be other people out there eating peaches with salt, so always carry the salt around with you when you have peaches, okay?” Hu Die said. Ju Hua let out another laugh as she nodded her head.
“Alright, I will do as you say then cousin.” Ju Hua smiled as she continued watching Hu Die eat the peaches enthusiastically.
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‘There is a person other than you who eats peaches with salt.’ Ju Hua thought as she continued to watch Yu Lin devour the peaches in front of her. ‘How can they be so alike in so many ways?’ She wondered. She didn’t know why but at that moment she felt the hole which she had tried for years to cover up reopen. She could feel the pain again on the day when her beloved cousin, her best friend died. ‘Please heavens… please don’t let this girl who reminds me so much of my cousin have the same fate as her.’ Ju Hua prayed as she started to rub her hand through Yu Lin’s hair. Yu Lin was too busy to even notice her action. ‘Please… don’t let her suffer like cousin Hu Die… if you do, I will give you anything, even my life for this person not to suffer the same fate.’