Chapter 385: A Full Meal

Huguang's Xiangyang, a vital north-south transportation hub in China's heartland, had flourished in times of peace. For the same reason — its position on key routes — after the Mianchi South Crossing, the area around Xiangyang became an unavoidable corridor for the Roving Bandits. Within a few years, its prosperity had vanished like smoke.

Outside a stretch of broken wall at Thirty-Li Post, east of the city, Wang Dashan shivered uncontrollably as he wrestled with a piece of wall brick.

The force under Master Liu that he belonged to was at the very rear of the Western Camp. Too many people had scattered and fled along the way, so the Great Laoye had ordered Master Liu to bring up the rear and take charge of capturing those fleeing Servants. Wang Dashan and the others thus marched at the very end of the entire Western Camp, which also meant they could plunder the least.

Today was the first day of the first lunar month. Xiangyang was far colder than Anqing. Snowflakes drifted down sporadically. Inside and outside the market town, crowds pressed thickly together. With materials so scarce, even crude shacks were rare, and most people no longer had the strength to dig pits or build shelters. Those who had arrived early occupied the ruined houses, which barely blocked the wind and held warmth from a fire better — perhaps enough to keep a person alive.

Wang Dashan hadn't managed to seize a spot indoors, but he counted himself lucky to have grabbed a place against a wall outside, which at least blocked the wind from one side. There was even a pit in the ground, the soil still fairly fresh. Someone who passed through earlier must have dug it; lying inside would be a little warmer. Along this stretch of broken wall, three families of Servants were huddled. One who hadn't secured a pit was still laboriously digging.

Wang Dashan did not go to help. He had found this brick by the wall and, with great effort, carried it over and set it beside a pit on the ground, just right for propping up a pot. He wore not a single piece of winter clothing, only several layers of tattered odds and ends. His outermost garment, a long gown, was covered in patches, its hem already half-split. The size was so loose and baggy that on the emaciated Wang Dashan, it looked like he had thrown on a sack.

He had grown even thinner. His cheeks were deeply sunken, and his fingers were little more than bone joints. After laboriously setting the pot in place, Wang Dashan turned his left hand over. A patch of skin had dried. His right hand trembling, he picked at it. The skin peeled off like tree bark, revealing dark red muscle beneath, and beneath the muscle, white bone was starkly visible.

"Hng... hng..." Wang Dashan let out two low sobs, then lifted his head to glance around. The surroundings were chaotic. His wife lay behind him and had not noticed, so he turned back, pressed his left hand against his chest, and rocked his torso forward and back. Tears streamed down his face, but he dared not make a sound of weeping.

He had followed the Western Camp the entire way. Originally, he had heard they were going to raid Yangzhou, but at Jiangpu they encountered the Anqing Army. Master Zhang led everyone toward Henan. At Nanyang, they ran into Government Troops, and the Western Camp suffered another defeat. Wang Dashan did not go onto the battlefield. After the great Defeat, chaos reigned. The various family masters scattered large amounts of silver and coin along the road, and the Government Troops did not pursue relentlessly.

By now, Wang Dashan had experienced fleeing after defeat two or three times and had gained considerable experience. He did not become separated from Xiaowazi Laoye, but they had discarded a great deal of Rice and Beans. After the Nanyang defeat, the main force moved from Nanyang to Macheng, and then from Macheng to Xiangyang. The entire route lay in ruins — this was a disaster zone repeatedly ravaged by bandits. The common folk who still survived had learned their lesson too: at the slightest sign of trouble, they fled into the city or hid in the countryside far from the Official Road.

Along the way, there was almost nothing to plunder. Food was desperately scarce. The corpses of Servants frozen to death lined the road without end. Of the more than twenty thousand people the Great Laoye had rallied, fewer than ten thousand remained. The Servants endured hunger and cold. Cannibalism was no longer rare, but he had never yet eaten it. The one thing that gave him solace was that his wife was still alive, and the child in her belly was still alive too.

Wang Dashan had given nearly every scrap of food he could find to the woman, yet she was barely clinging to life. He stopped his weeping and turned his head to look at his wife. The woman lay in the pit. Her headscarf was lost, and her hair lay tangled across her face. She had lost so much hair that her scalp was visible. Her face was utterly bloodless. On her withered body, only her belly showed a slight swelling — nothing at all like a woman carrying a child.

Ever since leaving Macheng, the woman had hovered on the brink of death every day, but each time Wang Dashan thought she was about to die, she somehow pulled through again.

"Husband, food. Food."

"It's cooking." Wang Dashan answered. He pulled a shriveled grain pouch from his chest, squeezed it a few times, and froze for a moment. Finally, he carefully turned it upside down over the pot's mouth. A few grains of rice fell into the pot. He shook it vigorously, and two more broken fragments dropped in. After that, no matter how he shook it, there was no further sign of anything.

His face full of disappointment, he waited a long while, then said to the woman, "Xiaowazi Laoye has gone out. When he returns, there will surely be food."

The woman's voice came faintly, "Food."

"I'll go look right now."

Wang Dashan struggled to his feet. A sudden wave of dizziness hit his head, and he hurriedly braced both hands against the earthen wall, not even daring to open his eyes. After a long while, feeling slightly better, he lifted his head and looked around. Within his line of sight, heads crowded densely. Some people were waving hoes, but where could anyone go to find food?

Dragging his heavy legs, Wang Dashan took a few aimless steps outward. The woman called to him, "Your clothes are torn. Let me mend them for you."

Wang Dashan gave a sound of assent and laboriously shrugged off his outer robe. The woman tried to prop herself up but couldn't rise. Wang Dashan quickly folded the garment and placed it under her head. "After you've eaten and have some strength, mend it slowly."

The woman gasped weakly. Even that simple motion had drained all her strength.

Suddenly, a burst of cheering erupted ahead. Someone shouted, "Dug one up! Dug one up!"

The crowd rushed toward one spot. Wang Dashan hurriedly stood and ran a few steps, then turned back to check his wife's position. Seeing that no one was approaching her, he continued running forward. As he drew near, a rank, fishy stench hit his nostrils.

Amid the crowd, curses and shouts never ceased as people shoved and jostled one another. Twice Wang Dashan tried to force his way in, only to be knocked aside each time. Finally, someone burst out of the crowd, a chunk of meat clutched in their hand. As they ran past him, the foul stench assaulted his nose. Wang Dashan got a clear look at the meat. He suddenly crouched down and began to retch. Nothing came out of his stomach, only a sharp, sour fluid that stung his eyes until they brimmed with tears.

From time to time, drops of liquid carrying that rank stench fell onto Wang Dashan's head. Unable to stand, he turned his head as he retched and began crawling along the ground in the direction he had come. Around him, people occasionally ran past shrieking madly, some even stepping on the back of his hands.

After crawling another stretch, Wang Dashan finally got to his feet. Staggering, he reached the broken wall. Nearby, someone was tending a fire and cooking food. Smoke swirled all around. When he got close and saw the woman still lying in the pit, his heart relaxed and he collapsed to the ground again, momentarily lacking the strength to rise.

People moved and clamored around him, but no one paid him any attention. Wang Dashan lay on the ground, his whole body ice-cold, yet he felt very comfortable — so comfortable he was about to fall asleep.

Someone was prodding his foot, but he didn't want to move, savoring that numb, sensationless comfort.

A voice nearby said, "Looks dead. Drag him away."

Wang Dashan's eyes flew open. He leaped up violently, his hands flailing wildly in a desperate defense. Amid the swirling smoke, two figures shrieked and fled into the distance. Seeing that his wife was still there, Wang Dashan stopped, gasping for breath. After panting a moment, his gaze shifted — and he discovered that the iron pot propped on the ground was gone.

That iron pot was his most valuable possession and an indispensable tool. Wang Dashan let out a shriek and burst out of the smoke, looking wildly in all directions. People were moving everywhere. Where could he possibly spot the shadow of an iron pot?

Wang Dashan's face turned ashen. He stood frozen for a long moment, then hurried back to the pit. The woman opened her eyes slightly. When she saw him, she reached out her hand. Wang Dashan could not speak; he simply held her hand.

"Husband... I won't eat anymore. Let's go back to Moyanpu."

"Go back. We'll go back." Wang Dashan stroked the woman's sparse hair with his hand. "But you must eat something before we leave."

The woman's gaze dropped to her belly. "Poor child. Has never yet eaten a full meal."

Wang Dashan bit his lip. "Wait a moment."

He released the woman's hand and went to the neighboring family on the other side of the broken wall. This family consisted of two brothers surnamed Xu, originally from Hezhou. The elder brother was called Xu Zhu; he had a wife and two children. The younger brother, Xu Liang, was not yet married. The two brothers had been captured together by Xiao Wazi. The elder brother was fairly strong and used to drive a donkey cart for Xiao Wazi. The cart had been lost at Nanyang, so he followed Xiao Wazi out on raids. Their life was better than Wang Dashan's — they still had grain reserves.

Today, Xu Zhu had also gone out with Xiao Wazi. Xu Liang had found some dried grass and tattered clothing somewhere to use as fuel. His sister-in-law and her daughter were tending the fire and Cooking.

The moment Xu Liang saw someone approaching, he snatched up a firewood chopper from the ground. Even after recognizing Wang Dashan, he did not lower the blade.

"Brother Xu, did you... did you just see who took my family's pot?"

"Didn't see. Can't even keep an eye on your own things, and you come asking me?"

The pot had no lid. Through the swirling smoke, Wang Dashan saw grains of rice tumbling ceaselessly in Xu Liang's pot. A faint aroma of congee drifted over. Saliva immediately flooded his mouth, and his throat felt as if it wanted to reach out a hand and grab the food in that pot.

Wang Dashan lowered his head and averted his gaze. "Could you... could you spare some congee for my family? She's about to give birth..."

"I've got none extra for you." Xu Liang stared warily at Wang Dashan. "Xiaowazi Laoye said it himself: he has no surplus grain."

Wang Dashan dropped to his knees with a thud before Xu Liang. "I beg you, Brother Xu, just lend us some. On this New Year, let the child eat one full meal. Next time I get something, I'll pay you back double or triple."

"What can you even plunder? Every time, you get the least. Pay me back? Not likely. No loan. Get away from here. This belongs to my elder brother." Xu Liang was also thin and weak, but the moment he mentioned his elder brother, his confidence seemed to swell.

Xu Zhu's wife, tending the fire, also spoke to Wang Dashan. "Wang family, no one has extra. Go back."

"Get lost!" Xu Liang brandished the chopper at Wang Dashan. In the past, this would have sent Wang Dashan retreating far away in terror, but today, Wang Dashan acted as if he didn't see it. He simply knelt there in a daze, his eyes fixed intently on the congee churning in the pot.

Xu Zhu's wife sighed. "If we had any to spare, we would give it to you."

The words had barely faded when a sudden uproar erupted outside, drawing closer from the distance.

Xu Liang was alarmed and uncertain. He gripped his chopper nervously and stood on tiptoe to peer outside. Through the smoke, he couldn't see clearly, but many figures were running. He wanted to go out and look, but with Wang Dashan still kneeling right there, he dared not leave his sister-in-law alone to guard the food.

From the Official Road came the faint sound of hoofbeats. Xu Liang's mouth slowly fell open. The various family masters had all gone out to forage for grain. They would not be returning from that Official Road.

A panicked cry rang out: "Government Troops are here!"

"Mounted Household Retainers!"

Wails and shouts erupted all around. The crowd scattered like a nest blown apart. Xu Liang panicked too, hastily tugging at his sister-in-law and his nephew and niece. The four of them fled outward in confusion.

Amid the smoke, Wang Dashan remained kneeling in a stupor, as if he had heard nothing at all.

Through the din came his sister-in-law's shrill cry: "Bring the rice bag! The pot, take the pot! It's all cooked!"

The thunder of hoofbeats rolled in from the Official Road. Wang Dashan finally reacted a little. He propped himself up and stood, then staggered over to the Xu family's pot. The fire beneath it still burned. A pot of thin congee churned hotly. Beside it lay a ladle and two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

From the other side of the broken wall came shouts in an Anqing accent, but they were indistinct amid the howls of the Servants. Wang Dashan had no time to listen. He threw himself beside the pot, scooped up congee with the ladle, and shoved the scalding gruel straight into his mouth. The heat made him hiss sharply, but he paid it no mind. He blew on it haphazardly a few times, then shoved another mouthful in.

Piercing shrieks rang out all around, but Wang Dashan acted as if he heard nothing. After two mouthfuls of congee, even his belly began to warm up.

"Congee's here." Wang Dashan tossed down the spoon, feeling as if he had boundless strength. He grabbed the pot handles with both hands, intending to carry it back to his family's pit cave.

"Put that down for me!"

The voice was somewhat familiar. Wang Dashan did not look; he only felt a force slam into him, and he instantly toppled into the corner. He slowly raised his head. Through the blur of smoke, he could make out Xu Liang. He did not see Xu Liang's sister-in-law or his pair of children.

Wang Dashan did not know why Xu Liang had come back, but he knew Xu Liang was taking the pot, and the pot could not be taken away.

Xu Liang paid Wang Dashan no mind at all. He slung the grain sack over his shoulder, then crouched down to lift the pot. His firewood chopper lay on the ground.

A burst of hoofbeats passed just beyond the smoke. Blurred rider silhouettes streaked by with strange howls. Xu Liang crouched in alarm, peering outside but not daring to rush out.

Wang Dashan lay against the wall. He turned his head to look at his own pit cave and could just make out the woman's forehead. He stared blankly for a moment, then struggled to his feet. Reaching out, he grabbed the firewood chopper and stood swaying behind Xu Liang. Those galloping Government Troop cavalry seemed not to exist at all. Xu Liang before him was utterly oblivious, his attention wholly fixed outside.

Wang Dashan suddenly let out a shrill scream. Gripping the chopper with both hands, he hacked down fiercely at the top of Xu Liang's head.

……

"Eat, quick!" Wang Dashan blew on the spoon, noticed the bloodstains on the back of his hand, wiped them on his clothes, then placed the spoon to the woman's lips.

The instant the woman tasted it, she jolted as if shocked by lightning. Both hands snatched the spoon, and she poured it into her mouth.

Wang Dashan bared his teeth in a grin and raised a chipped bowl, full to the brim with congee. The woman tossed aside the spoon, clutched the bowl, and tipped it straight into her mouth.

"Slow down, don't burn yourself."

The woman mumbled a vague reply, but the chipped bowl was empty in an instant. Her eyes fell on the congee pot. She threw herself onto it with a thud, using the bowl to shovel it into her mouth without pause, never even noticing the bloodstains floating on top.

The fire in the Xu family's pit beside them was nearly out, the smoke growing thin. Government Troop cavalry figures raced across the wilderness, and shrieks sounded one after another, yet Wang Dashan felt no fear at all. He simply bared his teeth and watched the woman.

The woman finally raised her head. "Husband, you eat too."

Wang Dashan answered and reached for the spoon on the ground. He had just dipped it into the pot when a figure suddenly burst through the thin smoke before them.

The newcomer was a soldier wearing an uncommon earth-colored uniform. He wore no armor of any kind. Though his expression was fierce, one could see he was still just a youth.

The moment Wang Dashan saw the soldier, his senses gradually returned. The conduct of the Government Troops he had witnessed and heard about along the way made his scalp prickle numbly. He did not even think to put down the spoon. The woman also raised her head, staring blankly at the soldier.

The soldier held a sword. He swept a glance around, then began walking slowly toward Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan moved to shield the woman, turned and dropped to his knees, and kowtowed repeatedly to the soldier. "I beg you, officer, let the child eat a full meal before you kill us."

The young soldier actually stopped in his tracks. "You're from Anqing?"

Wang Dashan lay prostrate, not daring to raise his head. "Your humble servant is from Susong, Moyanpu, Moyanpu."

The young soldier roared in fury, "Then why would you become a Roving Bandit!"

"Your humble servant is no Roving Bandit. I was captured by the Bandit Spawn, captured."

"A Roving Bandit is a Roving Bandit. Who knows how many you killed to steal this food."

Wang Dashan instinctively glanced to the side. The wound on Xu Liang's head and neck was still steaming white vapor. He hurriedly turned back, raised his hands and waved them, his palms covered in blood. "No, no…"

Seeing the bloodstains, the young soldier said no more. He raised his sword and pressed forward, fresh blood still dripping down the blade. Wang Dashan howled in despair, meaningless shrieks bursting from his mouth. With one arm clutching the woman tightly, he retreated until his back pressed against the pit wall.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from outside. The young soldier halted at once upon hearing it. After the whistle paused, the young soldier visibly hesitated for a moment, then made to walk toward Wang Dashan again. At that moment, the whistle rang out once more, and faintly, an Anqing-accented voice could be heard shouting, "Battalion Commander's urgent order! Assemble immediately! Fall in!"

Wang Dashan's back was pressed against the pit wall; there was nowhere left to retreat. The young soldier glanced at the woman, then shot Wang Dashan a vicious glare. Spurred by the urgent whistle, he swiftly disappeared beyond the broken wall.

The two of them panted heavily. The shrill whistle pierced across the wilderness. All around, the Government Troops were withdrawing in unison, leaving only the wounded to emit harrowing wails. Once Wang Dashan caught his breath, he crawled over, dragged the congee pot closer, and huddled before it with the woman. Using the spoon and the chipped bowl, they continued wolfing down the food.

The lingering beads of blood in the congee pot swirled with the movement of bowl and spoon, then gradually vanished without a trace.