The Sound of an Axe

Yuanzheng put his axe down and stared unseeingly at the pile of kindling in front of him. He should be busy tying them up into bundles he could carry down the mountain, but his thoughts were occupied.

The whole village was buzzing with the shocking news about Physician Xu and Madame Xu's separation. Various people had tried to interrogate Yuanzheng, frustrated at Xuxian's silence, but Yuanzheng was just as clueless.

He thought pensively back to last night. Xuxian had gone to town without telling anyone, and come back looking pale and unhappy. Yuanzheng had seen him through the window, drinking steadily with a kind of reckless abandon, hardly seeming to taste the wine. Granny Hong had been much shocked. She'd never expected Physician Xu to be the kind of man that took to alcohol when he was upset, and she was seriously worried that he might end up a wine ghost like Zheng Haoran had been. Yuanzheng had recognized the wine label--it was from the shop that Sister-in-law liked--and he knew Xuxian was trying to drink away his pain. For someone who had always scolded Gong Yezi for his alcoholism, it was a bad sign. That strangest part was that it had not worked. Late in the night, long after he expected Xuxian to have fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, the physician had come knocking on their door.

"Do you have any strong wine?" he had asked desperately, his face white and ill. "I can't get drunk. There's something wrong with this wine. It was her favourite. I could never drink more than a few cups before I got drunk, but tonight, it doesn't seem to work..."

Yuanzheng had felt a stab of compassion. Ignoring Granny Hong's glare, he had taken some wine from their shelf and took his friends' shoulder firmly. "I'll drink with you," he offered. "Here, let's go together."

Sitting in Xuxian's hut by the window, he had waited patiently as Xuxian drank yet another bowl of wine, and put his head down on the table like a sick child who did not care what what he was eating or drinking, but only wanted to go back to bed.

Tentatively, Yuanzheng reached out and patted his shoulder. "You'll hurt your health, at this rate. So much alcohol."

Xuxian turned bright, restless eyes to him, burning in his pale face. "Yuanzheng. Did I do the right thing?"

Yuanzheng bit his lip. He did not know what to say.

"She lied to me, all this while. And she hurt others. Though she meant it for the best. Am I wrong to have sent her away?"

Xuxian sighed and gestured hopelessly. "Forget it," he said despairingly, reaching for the wine. "What would you know? I promised her I would not tell the others. I must not break my promise. I must not...I am such a useless husband already. I have failed in everything I meant to do..."

His voice slurred as he poured the wine with an unsteady hand, spilling most of it on the table.

Yuanzheng shook his head, coming back to the moment. For the hundredth time, he wondered what Xuxian was talking about. What had Sister-in-law lied about? And she had hurt people? With good intentions? For the life of him, he could not figure out what had happened. If only Qingqing were around, he could ask her if she knew...

He sighed. Qingqing was another one. He had not seen her since their quarrel that day when he confronted her about using the love philtre on Mao Xiang. She had been hurt, and surprised, he could see that much--she had never bothered to hide her emotions very well--and he was starting to feel twinges of guilt now. Had he been too harsh? His anger had faded away and now he was repenting of having spoken so coldly to her. How long was she going to avoid him like this? Even if he wanted to apologize he would never get the chance.

There was a rustle in the grass and he turned to see a small green snake wriggling clumsily under one of his pieces of kindling. Its tail was badly mangled, the bone showing through the torn flesh, leaving smears of blood in the grass as it moved.

Yuanzheng crouched down to examine it. "You're quite the fighter, aren't you," he murmured. "That must have been a close shave. What animal attacked you?"

It tried to slither past him and hide under the pile of wood, but he put his foot in front of it, wanting to look at it a little closer before it disappeared.

"That's a nasty wound, I'm not sure if you can still keep that portion of your tail," he said, peering at the broken tail. The snake hissed and reared feebly at him, knocking against his boot without seeming to be afraid of him. Yuanzheng started back, surprised that it hadn't bitten him.

"You're feisty," he remarked, with a short laugh. "Why are you in such a hurry? I was just wondering if I put a splint on that, if it would heal faster. I've never tried doctoring a snake before, but it would be a pity to go around in such pain after you fought so hard to survive."

He reached out carefully to catch it by the neck.

There was a small puff of smoke and Yuanzheng stumbled back with a startled gasp.

"Qingqing?" he stammered incredulously.

Qingqing looked up at him with resentful eyes from where she was huddled in the grass, exhausted and pale with pain. For some reason, she felt herself close to tears ,and she hid it by being angry. "Well, so you know now. Not that I care. You wouldn't leave me alone, so I had no choice. Listen to me, you big idiot."

Catching her breath sharply in a wince, she dragged herself together. "You need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Leave that stupid pile of wood and make yourself scarce, do you hear? Someone's coming after me and if even I escaped looking like this, there's no hope for someone as useless as you. Now, get out of the way!"

Yuanzheng caught her by the shoulders. "Your leg," he said confusedly. "You're hurt. Let me help you."

"Don't be a fool," she snapped, striking his hand away with a sound like a sob. "Get out of my sight before I hit you. Get yourself off this mountain and go home as fast as you can. Hurry up, are you deaf?"

Yuanzheng stared in anguish at her, barely understanding what she was saying. Unexpectedly, Qingqing burst into tears. She hit him on the chest, hard, pushing him off his balance so he fell backwards. "Did you hear me? Go away! Go away!"