LUO FAN
I opened my eyes but all I saw was darkness. The surrounding was so silent I could hear my own breathing.
Where am I? Am I dead?
Air still passed through my nostrils. My chest was rising up and down.
I am still breathing… still alive.
I was not sure if I should be thankful or be disappointed. I had already accepted my fate. I had not expected to wake up again and continue my existence as a pathetic failure.
I blinked my eyes several times but I still could not see anything. Darkness still engulfed me.
Is it nighttime?
I heard the door open, and then I saw a shadow loom over me.
Indeed, it must be nighttime.
Since I was able to see a shadow, I presumed the light inside the room was just faint.
"You're awake," a man said.
This man's voice was different. It wasn't that man who had rescued me. "W-where am I?" I asked, my voice soft as a whisper.
"You're in an inn," the man replied. "I found you unconscious in my wagon, buried under my merchandise. How did you end up there?"
At first, I had no idea what he was talking about. It had taken a while for me to recall those final moments before I had fallen unconscious in a wagon.
"S-someone…" I struggled to speak louder but I just did not have the strength. "…Put me there."
He sighed. "I don't know why that someone had to put you in a wagon instead of taking you to a healer. When I found you, you were not breathing. I thought you were a corpse."
From the way he had spoken, I imagined that I must have looked so pale that he thought I was dead. "I apologize… for having troubled you."
He sighed again. "It's no trouble at all. I was glad I found you before it was too late. I brought you to this inn and called for a physician to check on you. You've been unconscious for the last two weeks."
Two weeks?
I did not realize it had been that long already, yet, I still felt like I had not rested at all. I still felt weak. "C-could I trouble you to light a lantern, please? I can hardly see anything."
"It's daytime. The window's wide open. Can you not see?"
I was dumbfounded. I blinked twice and still, my vision remained the same. I could only see shadows.
"You've gone blind?!" the man exclaimed.
I could not answer. A lump formed in my throat. I thought that the worst was over, yet I was hit by another catastrophe.
The man lightly tapped my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
"I've already sold all my merchandise," he said. "I have to go back to my family soon. If you want to come along, I'll take you with me. However, I'm concerned about your health. You might not be able to withstand the long travel."
I pondered for a moment. "What place is this?"
"We're in the town of Guishan. This is the last town at the border of Wun Empire before you cross to the South."
The South. That's how many people called it because it was located in the southernmost part of the continent, but its name was Xianru Empire, the most prosperous and most peaceful among the five empires in the entire continent.
I had gone quite far already… but not far enough. If possible, I wanted to go as far as possible from Kan Empire, and probably, I could move on from my past.
"Where are you heading to?"
"I'll first head to the South to collect some debts, and then I'll return to my hometown in Shishan at the westernmost part of Wun Empire."
That was indeed very far. The South should be much closer.
"Where in South?" I asked.
"In the city of Yueshu. It's somewhere near the capital."
I was not familiar with the city, but I knew that the capital was located right at the heart of Xianru Empire.
That should be far enough from Kan Empire. My pursuers would not be expecting that I had gone all the way there.
"If you don't mind, can I come along with you to the South?" I asked. "You may drop me at the most convenient location that you know."
"What kind of location do you prefer?"
"I'm not really sure, but you've been to different places. Can I bother you to decide which place is best for me to settle down?"
He sighed. "Life in the countryside will be peaceful if you prefer that, but it's a difficult survival. In your present condition, I don't think you're capable of growing your own food. Besides, it's a hard life. No one may be willing to take you in. It's probably best if you settle in the city. There, you might find some easy jobs to sustain you, or you can beg along the street for food and money."
Beg?
The word left a bitter taste in my mouth. I hoped I would not be reduced to something like that. There should be some good people out there who would help me out. I still believed in the goodness of humanity.
"Alright," I replied. "In the city then. Thank you."
"We will leave tomorrow at dawn. Can you make it?"
"I'll try my best not to be of burden to you."
"Don't think yourself a burden. I'm willing to help in whatever way I can. By the way… here."
I felt him press a small pouch in my hand. "I took that from you when I found you. I'm just a simple merchant so I cannot afford to pay the physician. Your room is all that I can help you with. So I hope you don't mind if I've taken a few pieces of silver."
That man who had put me in this merchant's wagon must have left me this money. "It's fine. Thank you very much."
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes."
"Wait here. I'll have someone bring you something to eat."
"Thank you. By the way, what's your name?"
"My name's Li Yao. What's yours?"
I pondered about it first. So far, very few people knew of my name. They only knew me as the High Priest of Frost Mountain Tower, but my surname…
Being attached to such a famous surname may attract unwanted scrutiny from curious people, or from those who were looking for me. I'd rather revert to the name that my father had given me.
"It's… Luo Fan."