Chapter Five: The Five Holy Envoys

Red Candles—symbols of the happiest, most yearned-for moment in a woman’s life. Yet the colorless, tasteless aphrodisiac named “Red Candle” had brought tears to countless women over the years. Because of “Red Candle,” Fang Shu, the previous Serpent Envoy of the Five Saints Sect—a woman of incomparable beauty—lost her innocence and set off a tragedy within the sect. And because of “Red Candle,” the lovely young miss before him, Fang Gege, was born, destined for a life of hardship.

After listening to Fang Gege’s halting account, Su Lichen felt that Lu Xiuyuan bore guilt, but Lu Liao was blameless. To save a hunter, swallow poison, and sacrifice oneself as a medicine slave—such righteousness and spirit deeply impressed him as a fellow scholar. By all rights, he ought not to let Lu Liao die before his eyes; but remembering Fang Gege’s lonely childhood, the scorn and ridicule she’d endured, he found himself unable to speak the words of mercy.

Perhaps fate had brought Lu Liao here to atone for his father’s sins. With this thought, Su Lichen tried to comfort himself.

He looked apologetically at Lu Liao. “Brother Lu, for now you must remain here. I’ll try to find a way later.” With that, he left hastily, almost fleeing.

Fang Gege called out anxiously, “Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

When Su Lichen did not turn back, she kicked Lu Liao in frustration. “It’s all your fault! Senior Brother didn’t even stay for a moment because of you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be weeding my herb fields!”

She glanced up at the sky, never having imagined sunlight could be so merciless, burning her skin with searing pain. Even the seemingly innocuous leaves of medicinal plants, when brushed against one’s skin, brought unbearable itching. Compared to this, her days of study at the academy were heavenly.

There was no hope—none at all.

Poisoned by a venomous parasite, trapped in these remote mountains, her homeland now seemed impossibly distant. Yet she would never yield, never submit to that witch’s tyranny.

A group of girls in blue-flowered skirts adorned with gleaming silver jewelry approached, their bare arms and calves exposed. They pointed at Lu Liao in the medicine field and chattered in a language he did not understand, their clear voices pleasant to the ear.

Lu Liao glanced at them, blushed, and lowered his head in silence.

Fang Gege emerged from the bamboo house and addressed a graceful, attractive young woman, “Sister Ayuoduo! Why aren’t you at Sacred Scorpion Slope? What brings you to Serpent Valley?”

Ayuoduo cast a casual glance at Lu Liao and turned away. “I heard that on your last trip down the mountain, you executed a lecher and righteously freed a hunter. The Sect Leader was so pleased, she’s considering appointing you as the next Serpent Envoy. I came to congratulate you.”

Fang Gege’s heart blossomed, but her face betrayed nothing. “The Sect Leader’s favor is a great honor. I will do my best.”

“Who doesn’t know the Sect Leader dotes on you?” Ayuoduo smiled, gesturing at Lu Liao. “Is this your new medicine slave?”

Fang Gege, still annoyed, grew a bit smug. “Yes. And he’s not like all those clumsy medicine slaves—he’s a scholar, a tribute student even! Senior Brother says he’s eligible for the capital’s imperial exams and could become an official.”

Ayuoduo pursed her lips, almost indifferently. “Our medicine slaves are all boys. Yours is unusual, but he seems a bit old.”

Before Fang Gege could respond, a cold-faced girl beside Ayuoduo interjected, “You’re not picking a groom, just a medicine slave. What’s there to brag about with a handsome scholar? But this is Serpent Valley, after all. The last Serpent Envoy had a child—our dear Gege here—before she was even Ayuoduo’s age.”

Ayuoduo playfully slapped her companion and laughed, “I’m not even eighteen yet! Are you calling me old?”

Tears welled in Fang Gege’s eyes as she glared at the cold-faced girl. “Sister Xia, are you here to insult Serpent Valley? If you have the skill, direct it at me—just don’t insult my mother!”

“I meant no disrespect to the former Serpent Envoy, only stating the truth. If you, the current envoy, wish to challenge me, I’m ready.” Rong Xia looked at Fang Gege with disdain.

Fang Gege, instead of rising to the challenge, turned and fled back to the bamboo house in tears.

The other girls laughed and departed, leaving Lu Liao bewildered in the medicine field. Their conversation had been in Han dialect, so he understood it all. He’d expected to witness the famed prowess of the Five Venoms Sect, but Fang Gege turned out to be a coward, fleeing at the first sign of confrontation.

“Damn it, she only bullies me because I’m weak! Once I learn some real skills, I’ll make her pay,” Lu Liao muttered, glaring at the bamboo house.

Fang Gege was a classic bully, tough with the weak and timid before the strong. Many women had arrived at Serpent Valley recently, and the grievances she suffered seemed to be redirected at Lu Liao.

She never let him eat his fill, nor sleep enough; he could not leave the fields until sunset.

One afternoon, Lu Liao’s vision went black and he finally collapsed.

He felt as though he were lying on clouds, sweet fragrance wafting around him, soothing and pleasant. A gentle hand caressed his forehead, filling him with comfort and warmth.

He reached out unconsciously to grasp the warm hand and murmured, “Mother…”—though he’d never had a mother.

The hand withdrew instantly, and a woman’s laughter rang out, soft and clear, “Mother? I’m not even married—how could I have a son your age?”

Lu Liao opened his eyes to see a serene, gentle young woman, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, watching him kindly.

“A grown man, still longing for his mother,” she teased.

Her aura was so gentle and inviting that one couldn’t help but open up.

“I was abandoned at birth, left at my foster father’s door. I never had a mother. Forgive me, sister.” Lu Liao tried to sit up, forcing a self-deprecating smile.

“So another orphan—there are many in these mountains,” the woman sighed.

Lu Liao fell silent.

“I heard from the sisters you’re Fang Gege’s medicine boy—a scholar, no less. How could a pampered scholar bear such hard labor? If I hadn’t found you unconscious in the herb field, who knows what might have happened?” Her voice was always gentle and mild, soothing to the ear.

He noticed she called him “medicine boy,” not “medicine slave.” Though the word “boy” embarrassed him, he couldn’t help but feel fondness for this gentle woman.

“Thank you for saving my life, sister! May I ask, are you also of the Five Saints Sect?”

She smiled. “You scholars do speak differently. I am Feng Yao, the Jade Toad Envoy of the Sect.”

Lu Liao was slightly dazed; in his heart, he felt that all women should be like this Sister Feng Yao. Fang Gege and Ayuoduo, for all their beauty, were nothing by comparison.

“So Sister Feng Yao is one of the Five Sacred Envoys! You must be truly formidable,” he said with admiration.

Feng Yao shook her head. “As the Jade Toad Envoy, I’m only skilled with herbs and healing. I can’t match the other envoys’ abilities. There’s nothing formidable about me.”

Lu Liao looked disappointed, protesting, “In my eyes, healing and saving lives is the greatest skill of all!”

She laughed softly. “What is that compared to the imperial physicians of Chang’an and Luoyang? They’re said to snatch lives back from the brink of death. I’ve always dreamed of leaving the mountains to witness their art—then I could die without regret.” Feng Yao’s tone was wistful, self-mocking.

Lu Liao wanted to boast that his own grandfather was an imperial physician, but the words stuck in his throat, and silence fell between them.

Just then, Fang Gege’s voice called from outside, “Sister Feng Yao! Is my medicine slave here?”

“Yes, I found him unconscious in the field while gathering herbs. He was suffering from heatstroke and drug poisoning. I gave him a clearing powder, and he’s only just woken,” Feng Yao replied, unhurried and gentle as ever.

Fang Gege entered, her brows arching sharply. “Lu Liao, get up! How dare a filthy creature like you lie on Sister Feng Yao’s bed!”

Feng Yao smiled placidly. “It’s nothing. In my eyes, he’s just a child—a patient.”

Lu Liao, still reeling from the warmth of her care, found himself abruptly cast out. A nameless anger flared within him, and he rose from the bed, bowing deeply to Feng Yao. “Sister, I owe you my life, and know not how to repay you.”

Feng Yao glanced at the two young people, so close in age, and shook her head with a sigh. “Just visit me sometimes and read Han poetry aloud. That would please me greatly.”

Feng Yao’s medicine worked wonders. In less than two days, Lu Liao’s health improved dramatically. The demon Fang Gege, in an uncharacteristic show of mercy, let him rest from fieldwork, assigning him only kitchen and laundry chores.

Su Lichen, upon seeing Lu Liao washing clothes by the stream—some of which were unmistakably women’s undergarments—couldn’t help but wince. If others saw this, what would they think?

But then he remembered that Fang Gege had lost her mother at the age of three; there had been no one to teach her such things. He didn’t know what to say.

As for Lu Liao—though a scholar and tribute student—he, too, had grown up motherless. His clothes, faded white from constant washing, were always clean. Su Lichen wondered how, with just one set, the boy managed.

He sighed and greeted Lu Liao, then went to the bamboo house to chat briefly with Fang Gege, urging her not to be too harsh with Lu Liao, before leaving in haste.

Fang Gege muttered to herself, “Senior Brother hasn’t visited in so long. He only came to Serpent Valley because this guy fainted.”

She turned her head, casting a mischievous glance at Lu Liao.

Lu Liao immediately caught her meaning and his heart leaped. “You see, your Senior Brother and I are on good terms. He said he’d send me some clothes. If you keep making me ill or injured on purpose, he’ll scold you for it.”

Fang Gege remained unmoved, plotting how to keep her Senior Brother from discovering her mistreatment of Lu Liao.

“I know how to make your Senior Brother come often, and stay longer, too,” Lu Liao nearly shouted.

And so the curtain fell on another day in the secluded, venomous valley.