Mortal Dawn and Dusk, My Eternal Life - Chapter 3

The next day, Su Mingyue woke up at the crack of dawn.

The inn’s bed board was hard, making her bones ache.

It had been a long time since she had slept on such a poor bed, but she had nothing to complain about; having a place to sleep was good enough.

After a simple wash-up, she felt her still-flat purse and decided to skip breakfast today.

She returned to the same stone bridge, the same secluded corner.

Su Mingyue spread out her blue cloth, arranged her “Know Fate, Ask Fortune” sign, and then sat down quietly, like an emotionless stone statue.

Today’s weather was gloomier than yesterday, and the wind was much stronger, making the willow branches by the bridge sway wildly.

Passing pedestrians were still in a hurry. Occasionally, someone would glance her way, their eyes carrying a hint of curiosity and a subtle, almost imperceptible vigilance.

Yesterday’s drama with Liu the Scabby had clearly spread throughout the small town.

“Miss, back again?”

The old man selling malt candy had also set up his stall early today. Seeing Su Mingyue already seated, he greeted her proactively.

His gaze at Su Mingyue today held more scrutiny than yesterday.

“Yes, good morning, old sir,” Su Mingyue responded indifferently.

“Alas,” the old man sighed, lowering his voice, “Let me tell you, that Liu the Scabby, after he went back yesterday, I heard he lost everything at the gambling den, even the last memento his mother left him. After returning home, he also fell out with his group of shady friends and almost started a fight.”

Su Mingyue didn’t even move an eyelid, as if she hadn’t heard.

The old man, seeing her calm demeanor, became even more suspicious. This girl, was she truly capable, or just got lucky?

He shook his head, saying no more, and began hawking his malt candy.

The morning passed, and Su Mingyue’s stall remained quiet.

However, there were noticeably more people secretly observing her today than yesterday. Some would even deliberately detour near her stall, pretending to casually glance a few times, then hurry away.

Su Mingyue didn’t care. She had patience.

She quietly observed everyone who walked across the bridge.

She looked at their faces, their complexions, and the vague aura of joy or sorrow lingering between their brows.

This was one of the few pleasures in her long life, and also her true skill for survival.

As she watched, Su Mingyue’s brow slightly furrowed.

She noticed that several townspeople passing over the bridge today carried a faint, almost imperceptible dark aura.

It wasn’t ordinary bad luck or misfortune, but something deeper, colder—the aura of death.

Although very faint, almost imperceptible, Su Mingyue was too familiar with this aura.

She had seen too many people on the brink of death; she could distinguish the unique smell emitted when life was about to wither even with her eyes closed.

These people, male and female, old and young, all seemed relatively healthy and walked with decent vigor.

But their brows, nasal bridges, and even their fingertips subtly revealed a grayish, pallid color.

“Strange…” Su Mingyue mused inwardly.

For several people in a small town to be tainted with the aura of death simultaneously was not a good sign.

Could it be… that something major was about to happen in Wushui Town? A plague? Or some other natural or man-made disaster?

She subtly noted these individuals in her mind.

One of them was a middle-aged man carrying a vegetable load, his steps unsteady, his eye sockets sunken.

Another was a young woman holding a child. The woman herself looked fine, but the child in her arms cried incessantly, its small face flushed red, and the faint dark aura on its brow was even denser than on the woman.

Even the kind old man selling malt candy, who had warned her yesterday, Su Mingyue noticed upon closer inspection today, had a subtle, ominous bluish-black tinge on his temples.

Su Mingyue’s heart sank.

Everything has its cause and effect; let’s wait and see.

She came to Wushui Town only to find a temporary place to stay, earn some travel money, and then continue her wandering.

But if this town truly was headed for major trouble, she might find it hard to remain uninvolved.

Approaching noon, the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds, dispelling some of the chill.

Su Mingyue’s stomach started protesting again. She felt the silver dollar in her pocket and decided to fill her stomach first.

She greeted the old man selling malt candy and got up, ready to buy the cheapest whole-grain flatbreads.

Just then, a commotion erupted from the bridgehead.

“Ouch! My foot! My foot is sprained!”

A slightly overweight middle-aged man dressed in silk clothing was clutching his ankle, wailing “ouch, ouch.” He was accompanied by two servants who looked like housekeepers, frantically trying to help him up.

Su Mingyue had some impression of this man. Yesterday, when Liu the Scabby caused trouble, this man was among the onlookers, even making a few sarcastic remarks.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”

“It seems he missed a step while coming down the bridge and sprained his ankle.”

“This Shopkeeper Wang usually walks around so proudly, why is he so careless today?”

Su Mingyue paused her steps and glanced over.

Shopkeeper Wang’s face also carried a faint dark aura, though not as obvious as the previously mentioned individuals, but it was definitely there.

“It seems the trouble in this town has already begun to manifest,” Su Mingyue thought.

She didn’t linger and turned to walk towards the flatbread stall.

With two copper coins, she bought two hard whole-grain flatbreads. Su Mingyue found a secluded corner and slowly gnawed on them.

The flatbreads were coarse and scratchy, but they filled her stomach.

As she ate, she recalled the people she had seen today who were tainted with the aura of death.

Was there anything common among these people? Which part of town did they live in? Had they been to any special places recently?

These thoughts swirled in her mind.

She knew that she might once again be caught up in trouble.

She had experienced this feeling too many times. Each time, she wanted to avoid it, but each time, it seemed beyond her control.

Perhaps, this was one of the prices of her imperishability. Never truly able to stand outside of things.

In the afternoon, Su Mingyue returned to the bridgehead to continue her stall.

Business was still slow.

However, the harsh words Liu the Scabby had uttered yesterday were once again being discussed by some busybodies.

“Do you think that Liu the Scabby will really come looking for trouble with this girl tomorrow?”

“I doubt it. Liu the Scabby is just a bully who picks on the weak. He was scared off by a few words from that girl yesterday; he’s probably still at home pondering that ‘bloody calamity’!”

“That’s true, but this girl is really strange; what she said sounded so plausible.”

Su Mingyue listened to these discussions, her expression calm.

She knew that Liu the Scabby’s “bloody calamity” was unavoidable.

She just hadn’t expected the “waters” of Wushui Town to be deeper than she had imagined.

In the evening, the sky grew gloomy again, looking like it was about to rain.

Su Mingyue packed up her stall, preparing to return to the inn.

As she passed “Hui Chun Tang,” the only pharmacy in town, she saw many people gathered outside its door.

She vaguely heard arguments and a woman’s crying from inside.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I heard it’s Old Master Huang’s young miss; she’s had another attack. Dr. Zhang from Hui Chun Tang was called, but it’s still no use.”

“Miss Huang’s illness is really strange; she’s seen so many famous doctors, but no one can cure her.”

“Yes, I heard that at night, she’s like she’s been possessed, crying and screaming, it’s terrifying.”

“Old Master Huang’s young miss?” Su Mingyue paused her steps.

She remembered hearing people discussing the Huang family yesterday at the bridgehead.

Huang Baiwan, the richest man in Wushui Town, was extremely wealthy, charitable, and well-regarded in the town.

However, his only daughter, Huang Yingying, had been frail and sickly since childhood, and recently contracted a strange illness that left all famous doctors helpless.

Su Mingyue stood at the periphery of the crowd, glancing into the pharmacy.

She saw a richly dressed middle-aged man anxiously talking to an old man with a goatee, while a maid-like woman sobbed quietly beside them.

That middle-aged man should be Huang Baiwan.

Su Mingyue noticed that Huang Baiwan’s brows were also shrouded in a thick aura of sorrow, but it didn’t have the deathly pallor she had seen earlier.

“It seems Miss Huang’s illness is not simple,” Su Mingyue thought.

She didn’t join the crowd and turned to leave.

She was in no position to meddle in others’ affairs when she could barely take care of herself.

Back at the inn, the plump auntie greeted her warmly, “Miss, you’re back? How was business today?”

Su Mingyue shook her head: “Still the same.”

“Alas, these days, it’s not easy for anyone,” the plump auntie sighed. “Oh, by the way, Miss, let me tell you something, but please don’t take it to heart. This afternoon, Liu the Scabby and his gang were wandering the streets again, and they were asking people which inn you were staying at!”

Upon hearing this, Su Mingyue’s eyes narrowed slightly: “Oh? Is that so?”

“It is!” The plump auntie looked worried. “I reckon he’ll definitely come looking for trouble tomorrow. Miss, you… you should leave quickly, right? That Liu the Scabby is no good; you can’t afford to provoke him!”

Su Mingyue remained silent for a moment, then smiled faintly at the plump auntie: “Thank you for the warning, Auntie, I understand.”

She didn’t say she would leave, nor did she say she wouldn’t.

The plump auntie, seeing her unruffled demeanor, stomped her foot in exasperation, but there was nothing she could do.

At night, a light drizzle began outside the window.

Su Mingyue lay on the bed, listening to the rain, completely sleepless.

Liu the Scabby’s threat didn’t bother her.

What concerned her was the ominous aura lingering over Wushui Town.

And those people tainted with the aura of death.