Chapter 21: A Thousand Miles of Moonlight, An Old Friend Comes[1]

"Line up orderly! Don't push and jostle. There is enough food for everybody!"

I held out a bowl to the cook who poured rice gruel into it arbitrarily before grunting dismissively. Pouting at the dismal portion of food for the day, I carefully made my way back to my little corner. To spill a single drop of it would be a waste.

Beside me, Sanniang fed Qu'er the rice water with a spoon. In between mouthfuls, the little girl stared at me with her gleaming doe-like eyes. As she spoke, liquid dribbled out of her cute cherry lips and down her chin. "Jiejie, are you not eating? You don't like it?"

I snapped out of my daze and grinned at her with reddening cheeks. "I am, I am!"

Staring down at the cloudy water with barely any rice bits, I sighed inwardly. On the first day in the camp, we were given steamed buns for breakfast and dinner. But since yesterday, we were only given rice gruel and the ratio of water to rice only decreased with each passing meal. Some refugees grumbled at the poor quality of food but were quickly chided by their neighbours. At least we still had rice water to drink.

After downing the bland watery porridge in a couple of gulps, I stared morosely at the empty bowl and overturned it to dramatise my emotions. Rubbing my empty stomach, I lay flat on a blanket which Sanniang had kindly given to me. Being a post-90s kid and growing up in the 21st century had spoilt me. Back home, even a late lunch or dinner would cause me to feel light-headed, weak and starved. But now, I had only eaten starch for the past few day without any meat or vegetables... I wished that I could eat a whole cow.

Lolling my head to one side, I impulsively said with slurred speech. "Sanniang, when we are allowed to leave the temporary settlement, I will go to the marketplace to buy meat for both you and Qu'er."

Sanniang chuckled and massaged the back of her neck. "Then I'll have to thank you in advance. But you really don't have to. Even if you have the money, there may not be any supply."

"Don't sound so pessimistic. It's always good to have dreams! Dreams spark hope, and hope gives a reason for survival."

"Hope." Sanniang pulled out a letter from her cross-collared lapels and her eyes mused on it. It was a letter from her husband which a soldier had delivered yesterday afternoon.

Slipping the same soldier a gold leaf, I had asked him to help me to look for Fu Wanxi. This morning, he relayed information that there was indeed a girl named Fu Ah Xi from Wujia Village who was at the ding temporary settlement. However, when he tried to look for her, she was nowhere to be found.

This could mean that she had encountered General Yi Yan, also known as Sheng Yi.

It also meant that I had to find a way to get out of this place to continue my mission and to survive. If I lose her before she got taken to the military camp, I may never be able to return home to reality.

Feeling my nose sour, I pressed my arm against my eyes until the feeling of helplessness dissipated.

Hope. A letter. Ruijie's letter!

I had stuffed the letter in my trousers so that I would not lose it. Now was the right time to see what instructions he had for getting out of a sticky situation.

Feeling around for the envelop, I pulled it out from underneath my skirt. It was creased and crumpled but contained much needed sage words. Carefully, I tore open the envelop and slipped out the letter. It was a single piece of paper that was folded. From the black ink markings on the back of the piece of paper, there seemed to only be four words. I had a sinking feeling in my heart.

With weak, trembling hands, I unfolded the paper. True enough, there were only four words: "Must see a doctor."

Giving someone false hope was worse than having no hope.

Smouldering with anger, I crushed the letter and tossed it into my bag. Crazy. Ruijie was the one who needs to see a doctor instead. He was sick—sick in the mind.

I covered my mouth and let out a weak, silent scream. Calming down almost immediately, I retrieved the crumpled letter and examined it. Could there actually be more to this than meets the eye?

In the daytime, I held it up against the sunlight to see if there was any secret message—but there was none. In the evening, I gingerly grilled the paper over an open flame—but there was still no secret message. Now he was making me look like I was insane.

I was so full from anger that I did not drink the rice porridge that night. Even though everyone around me exclaimed that there was more rice that meal, I still did not touch my bowl. I gave it to Sanniang instead who looked at me with concern. But I insisted that I had no appetite. But there was another secret and selfish reason why I did not want the porridge. Every night, when everyone around me was asleep, I would secretly feed on the preserved bread that I had brought from Bei Yue. Unleavened bread could be kept for about one month. It was probably still safe for consumption.

In the middle of the night, I was rudely awoken by groans and moans around me. A foul stench emanated from the people around me.

"Niang, my stomach hurts..." Qu'er burst out in tears.

I used all my strength to sit up and looked around the shelter. Some people were lying on their sides, clutching their abdomens in pain. The fire torches around the shelter casted a dim orange light on us. Faintly, I could make out dark watery patches on the bottoms of a few of my neighbours.

"What is happening?"

"There's a disease spreading in our camp!'

"It can't be food poisoning?"

"We have been poisoned?"

In the other shelters, people were also waking up from their slumber due to the loud noises, frantic chatter, and the smell of excrement and vomit. A few soldiers who were on guard duty ran around the shelters, checking on the situation.

"Ah Yu, are you feeling ok?" Sanniang asked over Qu'er's sobbing.

I turned around to face her, but before I could give an answer my eyes rolled back into my head. My body fell back onto my blankets just as I felt somebody catch my head. My heart grew full of trepidation, especially when I realised that I could not find the strength to even lift up a finger.

The last thing that I heard before losing consciousness was Sanniang calling my name.

***

My eyes fluttered open.

Dust particles danced gracefully above me, reflecting the sunlight pouring in through the large open window. There was a thick aroma of medicinal herbs in the air. Propping my body up with one elbow, I found myself lying on a wooden bed. There were other beds around me as well with individuals lying on them being either asleep or injured.

Was I in a hospital?

"You're awake?" A teenage boy scurried over when he saw me upon entering the room. "I'll go inform the physician and bring you your medicine."

"Wait," I called out after him feebly, "what's wrong with me?"

"You fainted last night and was unresponsive for the whole night. The physician said that you fainted from hunger and that you were also suffering from sleep-deprivation." He nodded generally before leaving the room.

Ah, it was a good thing that it didn't sound like it was anything serious. It seemed like many refugees had fallen ill last night, but my symptoms were different from theirs. If there was a disease spreading through the refugee camp, it seemed to be a fast-spreading and contagious one, seeing that it affected a large group of people. However, it could also have been food poisoning. I had not eaten the porridge distributed at dinner last evening; and if that was the source of the food poisoning, then it would make sense that I was not affected. But what could have been the cause of the food poisoning? Did someone spike the food with laxatives or poison or was it just unsanitary?

I closed my eyes as I felt my head spin. I should not be thinking too much when ill. Alas, I was a lawyer, not a doctor.

Sensing someone's approaching me, I opened my eyes again. A young woman carrying a tray with a bowl came up beside me. "Your medicine is here."

Moving into a sitting position, I peered into the bowl expecting the typical dark brown vile liquid, but it was actually congee. Bits of minced meat and spring onion were sprinkled on top of the pure white rice porridge. I felt dizzy with excitement as my heart leapt for joy. Food! Actual food!

Taking the bowl of warm congee from the tray, I was extra careful not to lose my grip. I stirred the ingredients into the white porridge and scooped a spoonful of the congee from around the curvature of the bowl. As the spoon entered my mouth, the well-salted congee coated my tongue before the happiness spread to the rest of my mouth. So good...

Was this why Ruijie's letter had said to see a doctor? He must have meant a physician.

The girl beside me cleared her throat. "Don't you remember me?"

"Uh?" Listing my head, I glanced up at her while delivering a spoonful of porridge into my mouth.

She did look familiar. My brain searched my memory for her identity as distant memories of our high school era popped up as search results. Didn't someone mention her name recently? Why couldn't I seem to recall it now?

"I'm Yan Shuzhen! We were high school schoolmates!"

My hand dropped my spoon back into the bowl. "Oh my gosh, yes—of course I remember! It's been so many years since we've last met but I'll always remember you."

Being in ancient wear, her fashion and hairstyle were different from what I had seen on social media. But as Yan Shuzhen beamed at me, I recognised her eye smile and those dimples showing on both cheeks.

"But why are you here?" I frowned with furrowed brows. Didn't Li Yan say that Yan Shuzhen was on a road trip overseas with a group of friends?

"Ah, I'm also a member of the Library Association. Everyone else came to help so I should also do my part!"

My eyes narrowed. If she was here, would he be here as well?

I was afraid to ask.

"Th-hen—then are you my physician?" I found myself stammering, my heart stirring in troubled waters. "I didn't know that you knew Traditional Chinese Medicine."

Shuzhen shook her head while maintaining her friendly smile. "I don't know TCM. But I am a registered nurse in real life, so I have been assisting the physicians whilst being here."

"Oh... so you did nursing in America?"

Her smile suddenly became lopsided but she quickly fixed it. However, her erratic breathing gave her nervousness away. She remained silence for a moment but after struggling with herself, she finally sighed. "You're going to find out sooner or later. I guess I can explain it to you since you are an outsider."

Outsider? Did she meant that in reference to the Library Association?

"You see, Ji Kai and I decided to tell everyone that we were going to the US for college, but in actuality we were just together in another province locally—"

"Shuzhen!" A stern voice interrupted her surprising revelation.

My eyes blazed with annoyance as I looked for who the rude person was. But the blaze was quickly put out, contrary to my own expectations.

Standing in the doorway against the bright daylight, with a bowl in one hand and a serious expression on his face, was Ji Kai.

Suddenly, a realisation dawned on me that Ruijie's message was not crazy after all.

***

[1]: This is based on a phrase 月明千里 (yuè míng qiān lǐ) + 故人来 (gu ren lai) which is poetic. "月明千里 (yuè míng qiān lǐ)" can be translated as a thousand miles of moonlight, which has been used to describe friends or lovers who are physically far apart, and miss each other dearly due to the moonlit night. (Something like that.)