“Lie back down,” Zhang Ming said, pulling a scroll from his robes.

  One by one, he pressed the mysterious artifact to each girl’s forehead. They obeyed without protest, simply closing their eyes. The scroll began to glow, transmitting meditation techniques and methods of guiding inner energy, along with an entire training system, supplemented by crucial nuances and subtle points of application. Which version of the techniques the scroll was passing on, Zhang Ming did not know, but the process took longer than when he himself had first received them.

  Carefully, as if afraid to harm them, he helped all three climb out of the shelter. After checking the surroundings, he led them out of the shed and into the fresh air beneath the starlit sky. Swaying on weakened legs, the girls slowly stepped outside, brushed their hands over the drying grass stalks, lifted their faces to the sky where clouds drifted unhurriedly, and began to cry. Quietly, barely audible, like the squeaking of a mouse, yet their sorrow felt boundless. The wind carried the scent of the autumn forest and gently tousled their hair, as if trying to comfort them.

  “Sit down and start guiding your energy until it calms,” Zhang Ming reminded them. “You’ll feel better right away. We can’t delay any longer.”

  “Mhm,” they nodded, and as if they had done this many times before, closed their eyes and began to meditate.

  While they struggled with the raging energy inside them, Zhang Ming cleaned out the shelter. He carried away the foul-smelling rags, replaced the woven mats that had served as bedding with fresh ones, borrowed from Lin Bo’s new house. Before putting everything back in place, he washed the floor, the chamber pots, and parts of the walls. As a final touch, he prepared new clothes for each of them. The stench in the cellar did not vanish completely, but it lessened noticeably, and fresh air flowed in through the open hatch.

  A couple of hours later, when the girls finished the first stage of meditation, Zhang Ming brought them hot roasted potatoes along with a pot of meat porridge. He touched the youngest girl’s forehead, fortunately, the fever had gone down. The technique from the scroll was working. After checking the other two, he finally let out a breath of relief. The crisis had passed.

  Another day or two… I don’t even want to think about it. What matters is that the worst was avoided, he thought, glancing at the youngest girl. Her mental state seems badly shaken. I don’t know whether it was the pills or simply everything she’s been through… I just hope she’ll recover with time.

  Up until now, Zhang Ming had not asked the captives’ names, as if doing so would make the loss hurt less. It hadn’t helped. The guilt only pressed down harder. Three pairs of eyes looked at him with hope and trust, and he found he could no longer keep his distance. Their fates had become tightly intertwined, and now he intended, no matter the cost, to get the girls out of the bandits’ lair safely and unharmed.

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  “Ahem. My name is Zhang Ming. You can call me Uncle Zhang,” he suddenly said. “We never really introduced ourselves properly. What are your names?” He gestured toward the eldest girl.

  “Um… uh… I… My name is Hai Ling.”

  “And you,” Zhang Ming said, pointing to the quiet middle girl, who was still staring fearfully into her bowl of porridge.

  “I-I-I… Cao Siwen,” she squeaked, barely audible.

  “My name is Zhang Xiao Mei!”

  “Huh? Wasn’t it Zhou Xiao Mei?” the eldest asked in surprise.

  “No,” the girl shook her head firmly. “Zhang. Definitely Zhang!”

  “You changed your family name?”

  “All right, let it be so,” Zhang Ming did not argue. “You have good names. Doesn’t sound like you’re from ordinary families. Hm… by the way, how did you manage to eat all four candies? They made you feel unwell.”

  “It didn’t get bad right away,” Hai Ling said thoughtfully. “At first, there was just warmth…”

  “They were very tasty,” Xiao Mei added. “Sweet.”

  “I see. Those pills were no joke…” Zhang Ming scratched his chin. “You probably swallowed the equivalent of a chest of gold. Body-tempering masters would be crying tears of blood. Which figurines did you find them in?”

  “The pretty ones,” the eldest girl answered carefully, taking his questions seriously. “They looked like either gods… or demons.”

  “Hm. So you broke the most expensive figurines,” Zhang Ming nodded. “Nothing to be done now. You eat. I’ll go check the surroundings.”

  While they eagerly ate the hot food, he swiftly circled the livestock yard once more, making sure none of the bandits had woken up. Second level of body tempering allowed him to sense an approaching person from afar, the rustle of grass underfoot, the faint whisper of clothing in motion. Pausing for a moment, he could hear the breathing of every bandit nearby.

  Dawn began to glimmer in the distance. It was time to send the girls back underground. After everything that had happened, Zhang Ming hated the thought of locking them there again.

  “No! I won’t go! I don’t want to go back there!” Xiao Mei resisted, clutching Zhang Ming’s clothes with a death grip. “Papa, don’t leave me there!”

  “I’ll come back. Very soon,” he coaxed her, unable to remain as detached as before. “Be a strong girl. You just need to endure a little longer.”

  With great difficulty, and a promise of very delicious food, Zhang Ming finally persuaded her. He left the girls in the shelter and returned to the barracks, where he slept until noon. He had gone without proper sleep for days, relying only on meditation, and now he couldn’t even remember when he had passed out.

  When he woke up, the place was bustling with activity. Most of the Brown Boar squad had slept from the previous evening until late morning, so breakfast was only being served now. He had woken up just in time.

  “Brother Zhang,” Lao Yu waved at him, picking grains of rice out of his bowl with a finger. “How are you? We were so worn out yesterday that everyone just collapsed. Sometimes you really have to give yourself a break!”

  “As if you work that hard,” Zhang Ming smiled. “But you’re right. Everyone needs rest.”

  “That’s what I’m saying! Actually, I was waiting for you to wake up. Didn’t want to rouse you. Come on, let’s step aside and talk,” the shaggy drunk glanced at the other bandits.

  “Something important?” Zhang Ming frowned, immediately thinking of the girls.

  “Well… you shouldn’t come clean manure or help around the livestock yard anymore,” Lao Yu said quietly.

  “Huh? Since when?”

  “You’ve sort of been… promoted. It’s beneath your standing to muck around with us now. And besides, you’ve got a new job.”

  “A new job? What are you talking about? Why do I know nothing about this?”

  “They didn’t tell you?” Lao Yu said. “You’re joining the patrol.”