As daylight broke, the floodwaters in Tongluo Alley had not yet fully receded.
Households were using basins to bail water out of their homes. Ying Xiaoman's rented house was situated higher up the alley, so their situation was slightly better. At the entrance of the alley, some families had it worse - entire households had spent the night crouched on their rooftops.
Pots, bowls, basins, and ladles that had floated away from homes were beyond hope of recovery. People were just grateful to be alive.
Fortunately, the rain began to ease by morning. Fish-scale clouds appeared on the dim horizon, suggesting the day might turn fair.
Adoptive Mother cradled two waterlogged quilts as Ying Xiaoman climbed a ladder to spread them out on the roof, hoping the sun would come out to dry them.
The courtyard was too muddy to step in. Adoptive Mother complained, "When we first rented this house in Tongluo Alley for three hundred coins, we thought we'd gotten a bargain. Sigh... No wonder it was cheap."
As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently turned to the tightly closed west room, but she quickly averted her eyes as if stung by a snake.
"Speaking of which, that thing you dragged home last night..."
Adoptive Mother vaguely referred to it as "that thing":
"You actually brought it into our home! Thankfully, it didn't come back to life in the night. We have no grudge against him, yet he died and knocked on our door. Today, while it's bright out, let's quickly send him to the Public Cemetery and lay him to rest. Having him in the house gives me the creeps."
Shocked by last night's events, with the oil lamp extinguished after falling into the water, Ying Xiaoman had fumbled in the darkness, dragging the floating corpse that had been banging against the door with the floodwaters into the house, placing it on the kang bed in the west room. The door to the west room had remained closed ever since.
But Ying Xiaoman had her reasons for daring to bring the corpse into the house.
"Let's not rush to send him to the Public Cemetery. I saw last night that he seemed to have just drowned. Perhaps..." Perhaps in the next couple of days, his family would come searching along the river. If they could successfully return the body, they would surely receive a generous reward.
But with this plan, the body might need to stay in the house for a few days, and Adoptive Mother was unlikely to agree. Ying Xiaoman was at a loss for how to convince her.
Just as she was pondering how to persuade her mother, a faint crying sound came from afar.
The crying was intermittent, like a kitten that had lost its mother, too hoarse to be clear.
Someone knocked on the door. Aunt Yang's loud voice called out, "Sister Ying!"
Adoptive Mother passed the bedding up to Ying Xiaoman, then turned to open the door. The two women discussed at the gate for a while, and Adoptive Mother wiped her eyes sorrowfully before turning back to rummage on the stove. She took out two hot steamed buns and forcefully pressed them into Aunt Yang's hands.
Wiping her tears, Aunt Yang put the steamed buns into her bamboo basket and went to knock on another neighbor's door.
"What happened?" Ying Xiaoman could see clearly from her perch on the roof tiles.
"It's a tragedy," Adoptive Mother sighed. "The Widow of Xu Family across the street passed away last night. They say a new quilt was washed away by the flood, and Sister-in-law Xu, anxious to retrieve it, waded into the water. She didn't want to waste lamp oil, so in the pitch darkness, she tripped on the doorstep and fell into the water, unable to get up... Her family lost their man long ago, just like us, with only women left. Now that the mother is gone too, how will that little girl survive?"
Ying Xiaoman climbed down the wooden ladder. As she passed the money basket, Adoptive Mother instructed her, "Bring down one string of cash. When something happens to neighbors, we should contribute our share. Take the money to the Xu family later to pay our respects."
"Alright," Ying Xiaoman reached up to grab the string of cash tied with a thin rope.
The house was muddy everywhere after the flood receded. As the two carefully swept the floor, Adoptive Mother kept sighing, "Who would have thought a great flood would rush into our homes while we were living peacefully? Now someone has even died. What a calamity."
Her gaze inadvertently turned to the tightly closed west room again, and Adoptive Mother's eyelids twitched violently once more.
"I didn't finish what I was saying earlier. Do you still want to keep the one in the west room? We were lucky it didn't come back to life last night, but who knows what might happen tonight. While the sun is strong during the day, we should quickly call someone to cart it off to the Public Cemetery-"
Just as they mentioned the body in the west room, there was suddenly a loud thump from inside.
Adoptive Mother's hand trembled in shock, "Wh-what was that sound!"
Ying Xiaoman quickly stepped in front, holding the iron door bolt in her hand, and cautiously pushed open the west room door.
The body was still wearing the same soaked clothes from last night, but its position had changed from lying face-up to a struggling posture face-down, with one pale hand draped over the edge of the kang bed.
Adoptive Mother caught a glimpse through the doorway and immediately turned pale with fright. "It's... it's come back to life..."
Ying Xiaoman's face also paled slightly. But having accompanied her adoptive father to the mountains since childhood, she had seen many animal carcasses and was less fearful in her youth. She entered the room holding the door bolt and slammed the door shut behind her.
She shouted through the door, "I've barred the west room door from the inside. Even if it has come back to life, a newly dead person's supernatural powers are limited, and it bears no grudge against us. I'll fight it. Mother, listen for any sounds from outside. If something seems wrong, don't worry about me - run out and seek help from the neighbors."
Adoptive Mother trembled slightly, her teeth chattering as she leaned against the table, straining to hear. But the room remained eerily silent.
...Which was even more terrifying.
"Xiaoman, what's happening in there? S-say something!"
The west room door opened.
Ying Xiaoman stumbled out, her steps unsteady and her gaze unfocused, almost floating.
In a daze, she walked to the eaves, mechanically pulled the rope to lower the money basket. She numbly took out the remaining string of cash from the basket, tucked it into her bosom, and walked towards the door.
Adoptive Mother cried out anxiously, "Where are you going?"
Ying Xiaoman: "To fetch a doctor."
"What do you need a doctor for?" Adoptive Mother was greatly alarmed. "I'm not feeling dizzy! That string of cash is our entire month's food money!"
Clutching the family's only remaining food money, Ying Xiaoman's gaze also showed a hint of bewilderment.
The situation had taken such an unexpected turn. In her confusion, she truly couldn't understand -
What was originally a good opportunity for windfall money - fishing a corpse out of the water, waiting for the family to come searching, returning the body intact, and receiving a handsome reward... A sure-win business, how had it turned out like this?
"Mother, we must call for a doctor," she said in a daze. "The body I pulled out of the water last night... he's still breathing."
...
The doctor, of course, was the familiar Doctor Li.
"A person rescued alive from the flood last night?" Doctor Li shook his head repeatedly. "I'm not exaggerating, but a person of unknown origin like this is a big trouble."
With only women in the house, Doctor Li had to sit by the kang bed himself, using a cloth to wipe clean the "corpse's" face, then wiping the black hair that was tangled like water weeds.
"It would be better if the person had died in the water. Then you could simply report it to the officials and have it taken to the Public Cemetery. Look at this half-dead state now."
The doctor wiped his brow and sighed, "The high fever won't break, there's water in his lungs, multiple bruises on his body, and a bloody hole in the back of his left hand that looks terrifying. This could be linked to a murder case. If he came into your home alive and dies here, it's bound to bring officials asking questions. It might even implicate your family of widows and orphans."
As the adoptive mother listened, her lips began to tremble. "We only dragged him in last night. We could throw him out now—"
The doctor's eyelids twitched violently. "Then wouldn't I be an accomplice to murder? No, absolutely not!"
Ying Xiaoman's thoughts were much simpler. "Then let's find a way to save him. After we've nursed him back to health, doctor, please be a witness for our family."
"A doctor's heart is like that of a parent, of course I'll do my best to save him," the doctor said, his eyelids still fluttering. He felt as if he'd stepped into a quagmire. "But treating illness and dispensing medicine isn't just empty talk. Saving a life isn't something you can do with mere words."
"Sister-in-law Ying is here too. Let me be clear with both of you ladies. Four hundred copper coins cover the house call and today's medicine. Future prescriptions will be charged separately. Do you want to proceed with the treatment?"
The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both falling silent.
In the quiet room, only the weak, rapid breathing of the injured, feverish patient could be heard from the bed.
Ying Xiaoman spoke up to consult with her mother, "Four hundred coins is just a few days' worth of fish sales. We can exchange that for a life. Mother, let's treat him."
"We can afford four hundred coins," the adoptive mother sighed. "But didn't you hear the doctor? Future prescriptions will be charged separately. Who knows how much more it will cost? This could be a bottomless pit. To save a complete stranger..."
"It's not a bottomless pit, just a matter of killing a few more fish each day. Mother, let's treat him."
The doctor, having lived in the capital for a long time, offered some advice upon seeing the hesitation on the adoptive mother's face:
"I see this young man's undergarment is made of fine silk. Although it's badly bloodstained and won't fetch a good price, his family background must be decent. When he drifted here last night, did he have any other valuable items on him? Hairpins, fan pendants, jade pendants, or even a silk robe could be worth two strings of cash."
Ying Xiaoman shook her head. "He had nothing."
The river had overflowed its banks onto land, washing away his clothes and shoes. It was lucky that he still had a single garment to cover himself.
The doctor wrung his hands in disappointment, but quickly came up with another idea.
"Since he comes from a good family, if he's gone missing, his relatives are probably searching everywhere for him. These next couple of days, you should go out and ask around, see if there have been any recent disappearances. If you can find his family and return him alive, well, there's bound to be a generous reward."
"That's right! A living person is worth much more than a dead one," Ying Xiaoman exclaimed in realization. "Doctor, you know so much."
Doctor Li's old face reddened, and he coughed, getting up to take his leave.
As Ying Xiaoman was seeing him out, she noticed a crowd gathered outside the Widow of Xu Family's door, all wearing expressions of sympathy. A familiar matchmaker was forcefully pushing through the crowd, "Make way, make way! Let me have a look at this little girl, poor thing."
The Xu family's little girl, not yet four years old, had cried herself hoarse and was kneeling woodenly by the door. The widow's body lay in the courtyard.
The matchmaker's slanted eyes scrutinized the girl's face, looking her up and down appraisingly while muttering:
"What a disaster! The Xu family has lost its adults, leaving only this helpless little girl. Her mother's body is still on the ground. Are there any neighbors willing to pay for a coffin and funeral rites? No? This old woman has some spare money and can help with a proper funeral, to let the deceased rest in peace. But I'll be taking the little Xu girl with me..."
Ying Xiaoman felt her head buzzing. She pushed the woman aside and stuffed all the money she had brought as a backup into the little girl's hands. She told the neighbors, "I have money here. It might not be enough for the best funeral, but at least we can take care of Aunt Xu's body. Don't let anyone take advantage of the little girl."
The matchmaker sucked her teeth and complained, "Isn't this the little beauty from the fish market? This has nothing to do with your family, miss. Why are you interfering?"
Ignoring her, Ying Xiaoman called towards her own courtyard, "Mother, bring me the fishing net!"
The matchmaker cried out and started pushing her way out of the crowd.
As she ran, she grumbled angrily, "Without an adult to look after her, how long can a three or four-year-old girl survive on her own? I'd feed and clothe her well for a few years, then send her to work in a noble house where the work is light. I'm doing a good deed! Ungrateful people! Don't you recognize kindness when you see it?"
Ying Xiaoman said in surprise, "Aunt Xu's body is still in the courtyard. You want to sell her daughter into slavery and call it a good deed? Aren't you afraid Aunt Xu will come knocking on your door at night? A three or four-year-old girl is easy to care for. At worst, she can come to our house for two meals a day."
The crowd began to discuss among themselves.
The little Xu girl raised her swollen eyes and sneaked a glance at Ying Xiaoman standing in front of her.
Her small hands clutched tightly to the money that was her lifeline.
*
That evening, Ying Xiaoman indeed invited the little Xu girl over for dinner. The little girl, named Zhi, entered quietly, finished half a bowl of steaming rice porridge, but didn't leave.
She tugged at Ying Xiaoman's sleeve, raised her clear eyes, and timidly called out, "Sister."
Then she turned to the adoptive mother and shyly called, "Auntie."
The adoptive mother's heart melted. She bent down to pick up Zhi, weighing her in her arms, and turned back to Ying Xiaoman with a sigh, "She's as thin as a cat. Much lighter than you were at three or four." Without mentioning sending her back to the Xu house, she carried the girl to the kang bed to sleep.
The little girl tossed and turned a few times on the bed. With a full stomach and warm body, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
The adoptive mother sat by the bed, looking down at the rosy little face.
Now that they had taken her in, she began to worry.
"Go check the hanging basket," the adoptive mother muttered softly. "Last night we dragged in one person, and all the grocery money in the basket was spent. Now there's only about a hundred copper coins left in the basket. How many days will that feed us?"
Ying Xiaoman actually went out and carefully checked the hanging basket. "There's still over five hundred coins. That's enough for our family to eat for eight or ten days, no problem."
The adoptive mother glared at her. "And after eight or ten days? Eat and drink everything, then go out begging?"
Ying Xiaoman replied, "Even the longest spell of rain won't last half a month. In eight or ten days, the weather will clear, and I'll go back to the fish market to sell fish. As long as customers are eating fish, we'll have money for food."
Ying Xiaoman's adoptive mother couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. She picked up the sewing basket from the kang bed and started working on some needlework. "You, child, wouldn't worry even if the sky were falling. I'll do some more sewing to earn a little extra money. We can't really go out begging, just the two of us."
"Mother, take a rest. We're not that desperate," Ying Xiaoman moved her adoptive mother's sewing basket aside. "Doctor Li just said that since we saved a life, there will surely be a way forward."
It was time for the cold compress to reduce the fever, as Doctor Li had instructed to do every two quarters of an hour. She got up and pushed open the tightly closed door of the west room.
The young man on the kang bed was in a deep, feverish sleep. His body was still burning with a high temperature.
Perhaps he had briefly regained consciousness for a moment in the early morning, showing signs of struggle, but he hadn't appeared awake since then for the entire day.
His face had been cleaned by Doctor Li. His skin, extremely pale from being submerged in water for too long, now flushed an unnaturally deep red due to the high fever.
Ying Xiaoman sat on the edge of the kang, changed the cold, wet cloth on his forehead, and took a comb from the house to carefully comb through the man's half-wet, half-dry hair.
There really weren't any hairpins. Nor was there an expensive jade pendant around his neck.
She felt a bit disappointed, but not surprised. She casually used a strip of cloth to tie up the man's hair, brought an oil lamp to the bedside, and carefully examined his facial features.
Since the man was unconscious and couldn't move, she planned to draw a portrait to carry with her. If she encountered any friends or relatives searching for him by the river in the next couple of days, she could immediately show them the portrait, making it easier for both parties to communicate.
She leaned in close under the lamplight to study his appearance.
A straight nose, thick dark eyebrows, beautifully shaped lips. His eyes... remained closed. They seemed to be slightly hooded, but she couldn't be sure.
Ying Xiaoman silently marveled: Among the million inhabitants of the capital, there really were many good-looking people. Even a corpse fished out of the water, once tidied up, could look quite presentable.
Under the harsh light of the oil lamp, his nearby eyelashes suddenly twitched.
Ying Xiaoman's hand holding the oil lamp jerked back abruptly. Her round eyes widened slightly, staring intently at the quivering eyelashes before her.
The eyelids didn't open completely.
Beneath the closed lids, the eyeballs trembled for a moment. The eyelids parted slightly, revealing dull, black pupils that moved unconsciously a few times.
Then the man fell back into a deep slumber.