The sharp creaking of the wooden axle against the loose gravel set the torturous rhythm of the crossing.
The morning heat weighed heavily over the valley. The crude cart traveled miles of ruined road. Coming from the opposite direction, a small caravan of merchants dragged itself south; the mules foamed at the bit, and the men, drenched in sour sweat, coughed on the dense dust that poisoned the air.
Sitting in the back of the Yù family cart, the base of Yù Méi's spine throbbed with every jolt. Sweat ran down the back of her neck and soaked the raw cotton of her newly bought golden dress. The new fabric itched against her damp skin, clinging to her waist with suffocating stubbornness. She wiped her dirt-streaked forehead with the back of her hand, drawing in short breaths that tore at her dry throat.
On the driver's seat, half a meter away, their nature was different.
Zhì Yuǎn guided the horses with thick leather reins. The young man's broad muscles and tendons absorbed the impact of the stone road without effort, his body settled on the wood with the heavy stability of a monolith. Beside him, Yù Qíng's navy-blue silk remained untouched. The dark cloth covered the woman's face from the bridge of her nose to the nape of her neck.
The contrast irritated Yù Méi. The cloud of dust raised by the passing merchants veered millimeters away before touching the couple's clothes in front. Zhì Yuǎn's skin did not sweat. Yù Qíng's forehead gleamed perfectly cold and dry. The dust and heat of the road were naturally repelled by the sheer carnal density of the two.
Heat and frustration rose in Yù Méi's stomach. She pressed her sweaty palms against the wooden floorboards, pushed her body backward, and hiked the hem of her golden skirt upward.
The cotton wrinkled, exposing her bare calves and ankles to the hot wind. The girl's almond-shaped eyes locked onto the sharp line of Zhì Yuǎn's jaw—the only visible piece of skin beneath the brim of his black hat. She bit her lower lip, waiting in silence for the driver to turn his head and sweep the back of the cart with that heavy gaze.
But the driver's seat presented an impassable barrier.
Yù Qíng's head tilted to the left. The young woman rested her temple perfectly against her husband's thick bicep. The curve of her shoulder and the cascade of black hair merged with his gray tunic. The calm, seamless movement completely blocked any gap that would allow Zhì Yuǎn to look back and admire the legs stretched out on the wood.
Yù Qíng did not need to say a single word, nor did she turn to face her younger sister. She only clenched her jaw and dug her knuckles into her own skirt, watching the intact horizon.
The air escaped Yù Méi's lungs in a choked sigh of pure frustration. Her nails sank into her own thigh. The younger girl violently yanked her golden skirt back over her knees, her face burning with anger as the cart continued grinding over the stones of the road.
The gravel gave way to craters carved by the old autumn storms and camouflaged beneath the thick dust of the road.
The right front wheel sank into a ditch.
The impact was violent. The oak axle cracked and the cart lurched hard to the left, throwing Yù Méi across the floorboards. The girl's body was hurled toward the edge, the brutal inertia threatening to eject her onto the road.
Zhì Yuǎn released the right rein and twisted his torso. His left arm shot backward in a calm, effortless motion, positioning his thick forearm as an exact barrier before the edge.
Yù Méi's shoulder collided against his arm with force. The weight of the girl being thrown struck the man, but the muscle beneath the gray tunic did not even tremble.
Zhì Yuǎn's skin radiated an intense, continuous heat. The shock of hitting that hard arm and the fever emanating from it changed the atmosphere in the back of the cart.
Keeping his arm extended and anchoring the girl, Zhì Yuǎn turned his face slightly to the side, evaluating her from beneath the brim of his black hat.
"Are you alright?" His deep voice vibrated close to her.
Yù Méi remained paralyzed. The rustic voice of her brother-in-law awakened an instinctive hunger that overwhelmed the girl's reason in the same fraction of a second. She slowly raised her face. Her almond eyes were glassy and feverish, openly displaying a raw desire that crushed her own fright. The girl only nodded quickly, lowering her gaze as her cheeks burned with shame from the attraction boiling in her blood.
Zhì Yuǎn held her gaze for a heartbeat. The shift in the air was obvious.
Problems, Zhì Yuǎn thought, catching the girl's look. He had seen that gleam before. Only this time it came from the wrong person.
He withdrew his arm with unusual haste, turning his face back to the front.
Without the support of the barrier, Yù Méi recoiled on the floorboards. The air left her lungs and she began to pant, her face burning with shame as she clutched the fabric of her dress tightly.
On the driver's seat, Yù Qíng watched the interaction from the corner of her eye. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw locked when she noticed the way her sister had looked at her husband. She said nothing, but deliberately leaned her body to the side, pressing her shoulder against Zhì Yuǎn's arm with a quiet, firm possessiveness, as if marking territory.
------
The carriage rolled forward. Yù Méi remained kneeling on the floorboards, her chest still tight from the lingering heat on her arm, as the sun began to sink and the path narrowed into the Split Rock Gorge.
Zhì Yuǎn pulled the reins. The horses halted, kicking up a cloud of dust. Three massive tree trunks lay across the road, blocking the way. Behind the timber, six men guarded the chokepoint. They were mercenaries; their leather armor was stained, and the swords at their belts were rusted. The wind carried their stench: sour sweat and cheap liquor.
The gang's leader spat on the dirt and swaggered to the side of the carriage. He rested his hand on the hilt of his saber, baring a mouthful of rotting teeth.
"Twenty pieces of silver for us to move the logs," the man's hoarse voice rasped through the air, thick with mockery.
Zhì Yuǎn did not answer. His hands remained still on the reins, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his black bamboo hat. His silence made the mercenary bolder. The man dragged his gaze away from Yù Qíng and peered into the back of the wagon, fixing his eyes on Yù Méi's legs and face.
He licked his chapped lips and took a step back.
"Village silver runs out fast," the leader hissed. "We accept trades. The girl in gold sleeps in our camp tonight, and the road stays clear."
Yù Méi's stomach churned. Terror seized the younger girl's throat, shrinking her against the carriage's wooden boards. The man's foul breath corrupted the air mere inches from her face.
Zhì Yuǎn executed a single, sharp twist of his left wrist, and the raw strength of his forged muscles transferred the weight of the motion straight into the leather rein.
Whoosh! Crack!
The tip of the leather whipped through the air and struck the mercenary's collarbone, shattering the bone on the spot. The dry snap echoed through the gorge as the leader fell to his knees with a mangled shoulder, trying to scream, but only managing to let out a wet gurgle of blood before collapsing sideways into the dirt.
The other five drew their swords almost in unison, steel scraping against scabbards.
"Fuck, he's fighting back!" one of them shouted, his voice too loud.
Zhì Yuǎn stepped down from the carriage without haste and did not cast a single glance at the armed men. He walked straight to the fallen leader, who was still trying to crawl, his bloodstained teeth bared and trembling fingers grasping for the saber in the dust.
Zhì Yuǎn stopped beside him and clenched his right fist.
"Hey, you piece of shit, if you don't stop we'll make you watch wh—"
Crack!
The fist descended in a short, brutal strike against the side of the leader's head. The jawbone shattered, his eyes rolled back, and the body went entirely limp on the spot. His expression unchanging, Zhì Yuǎn wedged his boot under the man's hip and kicked him to the shoulder of the road like someone kicking aside a stray stone.
The five men stood frozen for a heartbeat, watching their leader's body roll like a straw puppet. Without hesitation, they scattered in different directions. Some sheathed their swords, others dropped their weapons along the way, but none dared to look back.
Zhì Yuǎn then walked to the "toll" barrier. He crouched and, gripping the end of the first massive trunk with only one hand, dragged the heavy timber to the edge of the gorge with a single, silent pull. The second and third trunks followed suit, shoved to the shoulder as if they were dry bamboo stalks. Not a single joint in his broad back popped, nor did a single vein of exertion show on his neck.
In the back of the wagon, Yù Méi watched it all with parted lips, the breath caught in her throat. He had dismantled the leader and cleared a path that would require the labor of six men with the same ease as someone sweeping dust from a cedar table.
Zhì Yuǎn returned to his seat.
Without breaking his calm under the shadow of the hat, he snapped the reins. The carriage jolted forward. The journey resumed without him casting a single glance backward.
In the back, Yù Méi's cold sweat dried. Her chest still heaved rapidly. She looked at her own hands, then at her brother-in-law's broad back. Her fingers gripped the golden fabric of her dress with white-knuckled force.
Her gaze rose and met Yù Qíng's. The elder sister offered a faint, mocking smile as she rested her face against Zhì Yuǎn's arm once more.
Yù Méi clenched her teeth until her jaw ached, tearing her eyes away—her blood boiling beneath her skin.