Liu Ming'an carried the person in his arms and walked to the east end of the town, where he found the person he was looking for.
"Third Great-Uncle, have you finished delivering firewood to Fusheng Restaurant?" Liu Ming'an politely greeted the old man with graying hair.
Hearing the voice, the old man turned around. Upon seeing him, a smile spread across his wrinkled face. "Oh, it's Ming'an. Yes, I've finished delivering and was just about to head back to the village. Hey, why are you carrying a young lady?"
Liu Ming'an smiled sheepishly, "That's actually why I came to find you. I was hoping you could give us a ride back in your ox cart."
Lotus Flower Village was forty li (about 12.5 miles) from Lingshan Town, a two-hour walk. While it wouldn't have been a problem for him alone, carrying someone made traveling by ox cart the best option.
Third Great-Uncle let out a hearty laugh, said "Let's go," and beckoned Liu Ming'an onto the cart.
The ox cart, used for transporting firewood, had only two wheels and a wooden plank. After boarding, Liu Ming'an sat down, letting the unconscious young woman lean against him.
"Where did you get this girl from?" Third Great-Uncle asked curiously as he drove the cart.
Knowing the old man's penchant for gossip, Liu Ming'an didn't try to hide anything and recounted the events at the market.
The old man nodded after listening, "Oh, so you bought a wife. Those three taels of silver must have taken you a long time to save up. Spending it all at once like this doesn't seem worth it."
The old man had clearly noticed the girl's disfigured face and the injuries covering her body. Who knew what other problems she might have? Buying such a person for three taels of silver seemed like a bad deal to him.
Liu Ming'an just smiled without saying anything, then changed the subject and chatted with Third Great-Uncle about other matters for the rest of the journey back to the village.
Third Great-Uncle drove the ox cart to Liu Ming'an's doorstep. After Liu Ming'an got off, he took out the few copper coins he had left and tried to give them to the old man.
"Hey, what are you doing? I don't want that!" The old man waved his hand in refusal.
Liu Ming'an stuffed the copper coins into the old man's arms, then bent down to pick up the young woman. "Third Great-Uncle, it's just a small token of appreciation. Please take it."
"This child!" The old man watched as Liu Ming'an carried the girl into the house, then turned his ox around and headed home.
Liu Ming'an carried her into the house and laid her on the only bed, covering her with a blanket. Then he sat at the table, quietly watching the figure on the bed.
Buying her had indeed been an impulsive decision. He had just sold his calligraphy and paintings, holding the silver he had saved for so long, originally intending to buy a set of scholar's four treasures. Then he heard the commotion and went to take a look out of curiosity, just in time to see Zhao Instructor prodding her wounds with a stick.
He had wanted to leave, but then he saw her eyes. They were calm, sharp, and wary. Despite being in a helpless situation at the mercy of others, she gave off the aura of a lone, proud wolf that might pounce and tear someone apart at any moment.
This is a proud and strong woman, he thought to himself.
Perhaps it was that sense of tragic heroism about her that made Liu Ming'an unable to stand by and watch her die on a straw mat in the wilderness.
Never mind, don't think too much about it. Liu Ming'an stood up and walked to the bedside to check on her condition.
The young woman was still unconscious, her brows tightly furrowed as if in pain, unable to sleep peacefully.
Noticing her dry, cracked lips with many small cuts, Liu Ming'an went to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of water. As he held the spoon, he realized he didn't know how to make an unconscious person drink water.
After some thought, Liu Ming'an figured that even if she couldn't drink, moistening her lips would be better than nothing.
To his surprise, as soon as the spoon touched the young woman's lips, her eyes moved slightly beneath her eyelids, and she slowly regained consciousness.
"You're awake?" Liu Ming'an was somewhat delighted. Waking up so quickly meant her injuries weren't too severe.
Hearing the sound, the woman turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were full of coldness and lifelessness, without a hint of warmth, as if she were looking at a dead object. The gaze sent chills down Liu Ming'an's spine.
"Would you like some water?" Liu Ming'an asked again, bringing the spoon back to her lips.
The woman remained motionless, her eyes fixed intently on him, as if trying to see through him completely.
Liu Ming'an waited patiently for a moment. Finally, the woman opened her mouth slightly, swallowing the spoonful of water. Liu Ming'an hurriedly scooped up another spoonful and offered it to her. This time, she didn't hesitate and swallowed it immediately. One spoonful after another, until the entire bowl of water was gone.
"Are you hungry? I'll go make some food for you."
Liu Ming'an finished speaking, only to find her staring at him again without any reaction.
What strong wariness! Liu Ming'an couldn't help but marvel inwardly as he took the bowl to the kitchen.
The kitchen was just on the other side of the wall. As the woman listened to the sounds of him preparing food, she began to carefully observe her surroundings.
She was lying on a bed with a coarse cloth sheet, covered by a blanket made of well-worn linen. Above her was a thatched roof, wooden pillars, and earthen brick walls. Beside the bed were a wooden table and a wardrobe. She saw no electrical appliances, tiles, or cement – this was a room completely removed from modern conveniences.
Combining this with the clothing of the people she had seen when she first woke up, and the long hair of the man who had just left, she realized that she had indeed come to another world.
She had died in an explosion, her body likely obliterated. So this injured body wasn't hers – she had become someone else.
When Liu Ming'an came out carrying a bowl of porridge, he saw that the person on the bed had closed her eyes, as if asleep. He softly asked, "Miss, are you sleeping?"
The woman's eyes snapped open, and she turned her head to look at him unblinkingly.
"Let's eat something." Liu Ming'an sat down by the bed and, just as he had done with the water earlier, brought a spoonful of porridge to her lips.
She must not have eaten for a long time, as her stomach felt completely empty. The feeling of hunger overpowered the pain.
She opened her mouth and swallowed the porridge. As soon as it entered her mouth, she knew this man wasn't much of a cook. It was a vegetable porridge, probably made with some kind of bitter and astringent greens. The rice wasn't fully cooked either, with some grains still hard in the center.
It tastes awful, she thought, then proceeded to eat the entire bowl of vegetable porridge spoonful by spoonful. As her hunger subsided, she felt some strength returning to her body.
After feeding her, Liu Ming'an went to the kitchen to finish the leftovers. Once he had cleaned everything up, he returned to her bedside.
"Miss, what's your name?"
Name? She didn't have a name. She only had a code – N.
Or perhaps, she had many names and identities, but they were all fake, invented for the purpose of killing more effectively. Those who live in darkness have no names; as an assassin, not being remembered allows one to live longer.
Seeing her silence, Liu Ming'an tentatively asked, "Can you speak?"
The woman moved her lips, but responded with a question: "Who are you?"
Her voice was as cold as ice, and slightly hoarse from disuse.
Liu Ming'an was taken aback for a moment, noticing the coldness in her eyes, then smiled and answered, "My name is Liu Ming'an."
"Where is this place?"
"Lotus Flower Village, below Lingshan Town."
"What time is it now?"
Liu Ming'an glanced out the window: "Late afternoon, almost evening."
"That's not what I meant," the woman rephrased, "I'm asking which dynasty and era it is now? What year?"
Liu Ming'an found her question strange but answered honestly, "It's currently the Great Liang Dynasty, the 13th Year of the Chongming Era."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ming'an noticed a flicker in the woman's eyes, clearly pondering something.
The Great Liang Dynasty and the 13th Year of Chongming were terms she had never heard before, falling outside the scope of history she knew. It seemed this world was unlike any dynasty she was familiar with.