A Wen used to be a pageboy serving my father. My father gave him the formal name Du Wenzhong, meaning he hoped the boy could read and write and make something of himself.
However, when this lad came to our Du family at the age of five, he was at that annoying stage. His favorite things to do were either climbing trees to rob bird nests or going into the river to catch fish. Or he would encourage me to take my pocket money and sneak out to buy snacks.
Every time we got caught for our mischief by my father, he would punish A Wen by hitting his palm with a paddle. But even with his palm swollen, the next day he would still crawl out through the dog hole to buy me delicious osmanthus cakes!
I've been in poor health since childhood. I've been a regular consumer of medicine since I can remember. I took more medicine than I ate meals on a regular basis.
Those medicines were bitter and fishy. In my memory, only the osmanthus cakes A Wen bought for me could mask that nauseating taste.
I don't remember when it started, but I began to take less medicine. My father believed in some folk remedy and wanted to use dietary therapy. He would cook many delicious and beautifully presented dishes for me every day. After I started eating those things, the snacks A Wen bought no longer tasted good. They were as tasteless as wax in my mouth.
A Wen's punishment also changed. My father no longer hit his palm but instead punished him by making him drink a kind of ink - like potion.
Every time he was punished, I would plead for him.
Because that stuff looked like road - paving asphalt. A whole big bowl of it. I was afraid A Wen would be poisoned to death!
But A Wen never resisted. He would hold that big black bowl of potion and pour it down his throat as if it were honey.
It seemed... ever since I started the dietary therapy, A Wen's punishment had also become taking medicine!
Previously, I didn't think there was anything wrong. My parents were well - known kind people in the town. They gave out cotton - padded jackets in winter and porridge in summer. They were kind not only to the servants but also to the beggars. They wouldn't harm anyone.
I held my father's arm and went with him to the servants' quarters.
Our Du family was wealthy and powerful. Half of Du Yang Town was our family's property. Near the east side of the town was our three - courtyard siheyuan. The servants' quarters were right next to the courtyard facing the street. There was a row of six back - facing rooms where all our long - term workers lived.
After A Wen started drinking that asphalt - like potion, my father didn't let him live with the ordinary servants.
There was a small single room next to the gatehouse. A Wen usually slept there.
"A Wen, are you done? The young lady is here!"
The little maid following behind us shouted into the room, "You're lucky today. Master is being especially kind to you. After your punishment, you can still go out and play with the young lady!"
"Hehe, thank you, Master!"
A Wen's voice came from inside the room. "But the young lady has to wait for me a while. I'm a bit inconvenienced right now..."
"Slacker Wen, the young lady is looking for you, and you're still being so high - and - mighty!"
Our family was very lenient towards the maids and servants, so they weren't too restricted. The little maid pushed the door open with a smile to take a look. But as soon as she poked her head in, she let out a shrill scream and sat down on the ground.
"A... A Wen..."
"What's wrong with A Wen?"
My father quickly protected me behind him and slowly walked into the room.
"A... A Wen?"
I was extremely worried about A Wen's safety. I tightly grabbed the corner of my father's robe and peeked into the room from his side.
The room wasn't big. There was a small window about a foot square, more than a person's height up on the opposite wall, letting in a thin stream of daylight.
Below the wall was a small wooden bed. In front of the bed was a small square table. A Wen was sitting beside the table... There was nothing scary at all!!
I couldn't help but turn my head and look at the little maid sitting on the ground, shaking like a leaf. I wondered what she was so afraid of!
"A Wen, what's going on with you!"
My father also didn't notice anything unusual, so he walked in angrily.
"Master, I... I feel a bit dizzy and can't stand up!"
A Wen rubbed his face hard.
But I was attracted by the things on the small square table in front of him and couldn't take my eyes away... On the square table in front of A Wen was the big bowl he usually used to drink medicine. Now the bowl was full of... osmanthus cakes?!
The snow - white cakes were covered with a layer of golden osmanthus sugar. The smell I loved the most filled the small room.
"A Wen, when did you go and buy these?"
I was a bit surprised. But this guy loved to sneak out, so it wasn't strange for these things to appear in his room.
"A Wen is the best to you. I'm even embarrassed to punish him anymore," my father said with a smile, shaking his head. "Eat. Don't let this boy's kindness go to waste."
Saying that, he actually walked out of the room.
I found my father's actions even more strange... He usually didn't allow me to eat these things. Although he didn't strictly forbid it, he would still scold me a bit every time he found me sneaking to eat them.
But although I felt something was wrong in my heart, my stomach suddenly cramped with hunger. The smell of the cakes was like an invisible little hand leading me to the table...
I reached out and grabbed a piece of cake and put it into my mouth. It was sweet, completely losing the previous tastelessness.
Suddenly, there was a small scream of horror from behind, and then it stopped abruptly.
I quickly turned around and saw that my father had covered the little maid's mouth at the door and dragged her out.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
When I opened my mouth, I found that my mouth was full of the taste of blood.
"Just enjoy yourself, Xiao He. Don't worry about other things!"
The look in my father's eyes when he looked back at me was full of helplessness and fear...
As if I were a terrifying monster.
A drop of liquid ran down my lips.
Something was wrong. How could osmanthus cakes have juice?!!
I quickly turned my head to look at the pastry in my hand. To my horror, what I was holding wasn't an osmanthus cake at all?! It was clearly one of A Wen's arms, tightly grasped in my hand. I had already gnawed off a large piece of flesh and skin from his shoulder...
"Ugh!!"
The sweet osmanthus smell at my nose instantly turned into a fishy and bitter smell. A Wen's flesh was still in my mouth. I vomited violently.
A Wen wasn't sitting beside the table at all. He was clearly tied up with ropes, naked, and laid on the table like a sacrificial lamb!
"Miss... Wuwuwu!! Miss, run away quickly!! Master and the others are out to get you!!"
A Wen's weak voice finally reached my ears.
Everything I saw, everything I heard, and even all my thoughts seemed to become clear at this moment!
My family is the Du family from the north of Henan in Du Yang Town. We made our fortune from corpse - driving and amassed millions of assets. And over the past hundred years of interacting with both the living and the dead, our clan leader has mastered some secret techniques of immortality.
As the saying goes, "Once you've learned the arts of civil and martial skills, you sell them to the emperors."
After the clan leader obtained the method of immortality, he naturally had to serve the warlords who held the power in that chaotic era.
My father, Du Changqing, the clan leader of the Du family, found the most powerful warlord in Central China at that time, Si Jiangchen!