Chapter 101: Cane

Lan'er’s injuries have already shown clear improvement, so you need not trouble yourself with concern. Gongsun Wenda nodded and said, "A few days ago, Lan'er would not stop going on about you in my ear, saying he wanted to learn that art of dislocating joints from you. Heh, go and see him. Oh, and that boy from the Du family is there as well. You young people should keep company more often."

At that, Liu Yitiao rose, bowed to Gongsun Wuda and Gongsun Wenda, and said, "Then this junior will take his leave first."

With that, he turned and went out the door, following a servant toward Gongsun Helan’s room.

"Second Brother, what did you make of Young Friend Yitiao’s performance just now?" After Liu Yitiao had gone some distance away, Gongsun Wuda took a sip of tea and asked for Gongsun Wenda’s opinion.

Gongsun Wenda let out a slow sigh. "I saw only a trace of surprise in his eyes. Nothing else. There was not the slightest hint of fear or panic. He did not even blink when Mount Tai seemed ready to topple before him. This young friend of ours is truly no ordinary man."

Gongsun Wuda took up the thread. "Indeed. If it were an ordinary person, merely hearing that news would have been enough to scare the urine out of him. Even old fellows like us were startled when we first heard it. Who could stay as calm as he did? Very few possess such composure. That alone proves he is no simple man. Lan'er has chosen a splendid elder brother."

Gongsun Wenda nodded in agreement.

Of everyone in the Gongsun family, he had been the earliest to come into contact with Liu Yitiao. Liu Yitiao understood poetry and prose, was skilled in calligraphy, and knew martial arts; he could truly be called a man of both civil and martial talents. Otherwise, with merely the status of a peasant, he would never have been able to step through the gates of the Gongsun residence, let alone become sworn brothers with Gongsun Helan.

What puzzled Gongsun Wenda most was precisely this. Since Liu Yitiao was only a farmer, where had he learned all these abilities?

His martial arts were still easy enough to explain, after all his forebears had also been military men, just as the Gongsun family had long-standing traditions of its own. But who had taught him literature and refinement? By rights, anyone capable of raising a student like Liu Yitiao would have to be at least a renowned scholar, if not a celebrated man of letters known throughout the realm. Yet the master Liu Yitiao spoke of was merely some Peach Blossom Hermitage recluse named Tang Yin, a name neither of them had ever even heard before.

Of course, it was not impossible that Tang Yin, the master of Peach Blossom Hermitage, was indeed a hidden hermit. In the chaos of wars more than a decade ago, there had been no shortage of scholars and gentlemen who chose to vanish from the world and flee the calamity. But among those who had hidden themselves so thoroughly, Gongsun Wenda had truly never encountered another like Tang Yin. The manor’s informants could find no trace of him; neither Liu Yitiao’s family nor his neighbors had ever seen him. The head and tail of the dragon were nowhere to be found.

In short, he was a mystery.

When Liu Yitiao reached Gongsun Helan’s door with the servant, he had not even entered before he heard Gongsun Helan’s hearty laughter. It seemed the fellow was recovering quite well.

"Brother Helan, how have you been? Your elder brother has come to see you." Liu Yitiao did not wait for the servant to announce him. He pushed the door open and stepped inside with a smile.

"Big Brother?" Gongsun Helan sat up straight on the bed, looking at Liu Yitiao with delight.

"Young Master Liu!" Du Zigui also rose to his feet and cupped his hands in greeting. When he looked at Liu Yitiao, his expression was one of frank curiosity.

Du Zigui had seen Liu Yitiao during the Lantern Festival festivities, but at the time he had not paid him much mind. He had thought that even if Liu Yitiao possessed some talent, he was still only a peasant and not worth lowering himself to befriend.

He had never expected that in just a few short days, Liu Yitiao would become an honored guest of Gongsun Manor. Not only had he won the favor of that old fox, Gongsun Wenda, but he had even become sworn brothers with Gongsun Helan. From the excited look on Gongsun Helan’s face upon seeing Liu Yitiao, Du Zigui could tell it was no pretense at all; Liu Yitiao had truly earned his sincere recognition.

These were the very things Du Zigui had yearned for all these years, only to never obtain them.

So what, then, did Liu Yitiao have that he did not?

"Oh, Young Master Du is here as well. Liu, in turn, offers his respects." Liu Yitiao returned the salute with cupped hands, then strode directly to Gongsun Helan’s bedside and motioned for him to recline against the headboard. "Brother, do not move about recklessly, lest you injure your sinews and bones again."

"It is nothing. Why do you sound like some anxious little wife? You are being far too careful." Gongsun Helan leaned back against the bed and gestured for Liu Yitiao and Du Zigui to sit. "Big Brother, please sit. Brother Zigui, please sit as well."

The servant attending nearby promptly fetched a stool for Liu Yitiao, and Liu Yitiao and Du Zigui both sat down.

Liu Yitiao looked at Gongsun Helan and said, "From the looks of your complexion, Brother, your internal injuries should already be much improved, yes?"

"Thanks to Big Brother’s blessing, I am already out of danger," Gongsun Helan replied with a wry face. "It is only that the bones in my leg and the collarbone in my chest still ache from time to time. That vicious old eunuch really had a cruel hand. With a single strike he beat me into this miserable state. At this rate, I am afraid I will still have to lie on this bed for another month before I can get up."

Gongsun Helan’s temper was a little like Gongsun Wuda’s: hot and impatient, unable to sit still for long. Forcing him to lie in bed for a full month would be like shutting a tiger in a cage. It truly was hard on him.

Liu Yitiao smiled. "Do not be anxious, Brother. As the saying goes, when sinews and bones are injured, a hundred days are needed to recover. Your condition requires quiet rest; any reckless movement will only worsen the injury and make you lie there even longer."

After a moment’s thought, he went on, "Mm. In another two days, when your injuries have truly stabilized, I shall give you a gift that can help you get around. I guarantee you will be able to move freely out of bed without aggravating your bones and tendons."

Seeing Gongsun Helan like this, Liu Yitiao suddenly thought of one thing: crutches, and not just one pair, but a set of two. In later generations, after a person injured a leg or foot, such devices were commonly used for mobility. Their structure was simple and practical, and any ordinary carpenter could make them. If Gongsun Helan had a pair like that, he would no longer have to suffer this confinement to bed.

"Really? There is such a thing?" Gongsun Helan sat up again, excitement creeping into his voice as he begged, "Then why not give it to me now, Big Brother? My injuries are already much better, and being stuck on this bed is unbearably stifling. In just these few days, it already feels as though insects are biting at the very marrow of my bones."

"That will not do. There is no need to rush." Liu Yitiao shook his head slightly and refused firmly. "Whether your wounds are truly healed is not something you get to decide yourself. You must know that internal injuries are harder to heal than external ones, and it is only safe once a physician has examined you. Before coming to see you, I already asked the doctor about your condition, so you had better remain安心 and stay on the bed for a few more days."

"Young Master Liu speaks reasonably. Brother Helan, your injuries are what matter most; resting quietly is the best course," Du Zigui added from the side. "Sinew and bone injuries are the hardest to recover from. In my view, even if Young Master Liu truly has some device that could help you get around, it would still be best not to use it."