The little monkey hadn't thought about sleep at all. It seemed like a foreign concept begotten for all others except him since he claimed this body for himself.
When he opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity diseased with strife, anxiety, and lies, he felt a sense of calm and contentment he hadn't felt in a long while.
When did he last feel as though he had nothing to prove, and nothing to ever want outside of what he already had?
Ah, he remembered.
'Mom…'
…But then his eyes sprang open. Urgency filled them and for a moment, they seemed to glow with a more vibrant shade of electric blue.
Yun Jieshi hurried to sit up. He had been sleeping peacefully – a ridiculous thing to fathom as soon as he remembered where he had been when last he was conscious.
'What the…! Where…?' The little monkey's wide eyes scanned every inch of his surroundings.
The cold was gone, as was the snow. He was no longer freezing to death in the open, uncaring world. Instead, a comfortable warmth was embracing him and everything within the confined space.
Yun Jieshi was inside an old little cabin – a horrible old little cabin. He got anxious when he took in the look of the wall to his left. The stacked wooden logs threatened to collapse inward at any moment, but Yun Jieshi soon figured that they had been threatening to do so ever since the cabin was built. The floor was uneven and worn, the wood eaten through and chipped. A loud creaking noise prompted Yun Jieshi to look up. He wished he hadn't. The roofing made threats as well.
The cabin spotted no windows, but a rather large door stood opposite Yun Jieshi, lopsided but up to its task as a barrier.
The little monkey felt a sharp stabbing pain when he tried to stand. The pain from his pit had not left. It seemed that lying still abated it by some margin. Yun Jieshi groaned and struggled to at least sit up while resting his back against the wall.
'What is this? A bedroll?' he thought after running his fingers along the soft material under him. It indeed was a bedroll; a cotton one. It was old, patched, and torn, but perfect for a little thing like him.
And speaking of comfort, the unnerving reason why this cabin wasn't devoured by the cold, which Yun Jieshi could hear howling and splattering on the other side of the wall, was rather strange. A collection of red-hot coals bordered by large stones stood in the center of the cabin with some kind of grate placed over them. They were the only source of light.
'Who brought me here?' Yun Jieshi thought. He wanted to believe that an actual human had rescued him and brought him to their abode, but he didn't allow himself to.
A few signs pointed to a human touch here in the cabin though, or at least a human-like one.
The bedroll was one.
There was a collection of cups and bowls in one corner of the cabin, for another.
To Yun Jueshi's right, an assortment of frozen meats hung from a beam above and pressed against the wall.
Additionally, some kind of cloak was nailed to the right wall. It was a blend of azure, silver, and gold, made of some glossy material Yun Jieshi couldn't have fathomed. He gulped. It sparked some primal desire inside of him. It was beautiful.
How could it have been woven from mortal hands?
Who did it belong to?
The door to the cabin creaked open right then.
Yun Jieshi immediately tensed. Instinctively, his hands felt for his ruan, but he had long seen that all his stuff – the great bow, the arrows, the sack, and the ruan – was piled in a corner to his left. He would have dived for a weapon if he wasn't taken aback by the look of the figure that opened the door.
A backdrop of snow riding the harsh winds in the darkness momentarily drew itself behind the figure before it hurried in and shut the door. Oddly, there was not a single sign that the figure had weathered through the haunting cold at all.
Yun Jieshi supposed right then it was good to hope at times. His tension loosened.
It was a hunchbacked hag wrapped in an ancient yellow hemp cloak who walked in. Her long, wild tangles of black and grey hair shadowed her face, but Yun Jieshi could see it clearly, even with the dim lighting. She had sagging cheeks that hung from a long, gaunt face festering with blackheads.
Her swollen eyelids might have been sealed shut with how hard she was squinting. She must have had poor vision.
The hag made an unnerving humming noise. It sounded as though she was trying to confirm if she still had a voice in her old throat.
The fact that Yun Jieshi had awoken didn't seem to bother or garner her attention in the least. She had noticed though, he imagined.
The old woman waddled her way to the corner with the bowls and cups and sat down.
Yun Jieshi held his breath.
A part of him urged again for him to reach for his ruan in the corner, but he dreaded it.
If this old woman was the thing that had snatched him from the snowstorm, then he didn't know if his ruan would help. She was strong.
Besides, if she desired it, she could have killed him at any point after he fell unconscious. Instead, she had rescued him from the cold and gave him a place to sleep. She had even left his belongings close to him – weapons and all.
'I should still get my ruan, just in case,' the little monkey thought despite his guard relaxing a little. He crawled from the bedroll vigilantly, keeping his eyes on the hag. A moment later, he heard the splashing of water from somewhere hidden by her cloak. 'Good.'
The old woman either didn't hear him or pretended not to when he pulled his ruan from beneath his sack and the arrows. Whichever it was unsettled the little monkey.
When he was back on the bedroll, he took a deep breath, his ruan pressed against his chest.
"Uh… Hello," he said.
The hag said nothing.
The coals under the grate sent sparks flying, answering in the old woman's stead.
Yun Jieshi gulped. He tried again.
"Er…what's your name?"
Again, he received no response. He wanted to frown.
Was making everything so eerie really necessary?
"Uhm… Thanks for saving me out there."
The hag abruptly stood, startling the little monkey. She wobbled towards the coals and sat by them on her legs. She then placed an ancient-looking teapot with a broken nozzle on the grate and only after that was done did she turn her attention to Yun Jieshi.
She beckoned to him with a thin, wrinkled hand.
"Little Sage…"
Her raspy voice was frightening in the gloom. It didn't scare Yun Jieshi though.
'Her too?' he thought with a constipated look.
He didn't quite like that even the old hag addressed him with that title. It was one thing when bizarre creatures did, and another when an elderly woman called him something so… grand.
Still, he took a deep breath and acquiesced to the call. He was a guest… or perhaps a captive. He had to behave appropriately. He crawled, wincing, and sat by the coals opposite the hag.
He hesitated to look into the old woman's eyes. He could hardly see them anyway even if he paid a good look to her face. (They were hidden behind those thick eyelids.)
The teapot on the grate issued steam from its nozzle. Yun Jieshi spared it a small frown.
'It must be some magical teapot to still be intact. It even looks like it's made of porcelain,' he thought. 'The fire isn't normal either. With the cold outside, we should be freezing in here.'
The old woman reached behind her. She found what looked like a tuanyuan (a small dining table), and two stone cups and placed them beside her. Then, taking the teapot off the grate, she poured some hot liquid into the two cups. She offered one to Yun Jieshi, who hesitated to receive it.
"Little Sage…" she said. Those might have been the only words she knew.
Yun Jieshi grimaced and grabbed the cup… slowly. He took a whiff of the contents, half expecting to be prompted to sleep by a jasmine scent – the one he remembered smelling before he lost consciousness. It wasn't that, however.
It was some kind of tea in the cup.
The hag pointed at his abdomen.
"Fresh pit…"
Yun Jieshi jerked.
'She knows?' He subconsciously touched his belly.
Was the tea for the pain perhaps?
But how would it help? His pain… It didn't seem wholly physical.
He hesitated only for a second longer before putting the stone cup to his lips. A sip told him the profile of the flavor. It wasn't the best he'd ever tasted, but it also wasn't the worst. Yun Jieshi simply thought it strange. He only managed to isolate the flavor of scallions and some kind of ginseng. A vinegary aftertaste assaulted his tongue and he made a face that appropriately defined his dislike for it.
When he struggled with the idea of finishing the tea, the hag urged him.
"Little Sage…" she said and she began drinking her own.
Yun Jieshi looked at his cup and then at the old woman. By the time he put it to his lips again, the hag was already finished with her tea.
'Let's get this over with. I hope it really helps with the pain,' the little monkey thought and he drank what remained of the tea in one gulp. It helped that the heat from it didn't bother him at all.
As the last drop sank down his gullet, Yun Jieshi felt a sudden change in his abdomen. His pit's strong, merciless pull grew less vicious by a margin. A wave of relief washed over him. He subconsciously sat up straight.
The little monkey could hardly believe it.
He looked at the old woman with round eyes.
She gave him a slow, uneven nod… and poured him another cup.
Yun Jieshi groaned when she extended it to him. He didn't hesitate to take it and drink it all at once though. It wasn't all bad if it actually solved the pain.
And solve the pain it did.
The pit's baleful influence was reduced to an intermittent, needlepoint itch somewhere deep in Yun Jieshi's being. He gave a great outward breath of relief.
"Wow…"
He stood up. It didn't hurt.
He twisted his torso left and right. It didn't hurt.
Yun Jieshi beamed.
The hag watched him silently. After a few seconds, she took away the tuanyuan, the cups, and teapot and placed them in the corner.
And then, turning to Yun Jieshi, who was still flexing, she pointed at the bedroll and said:
"Sleep…"
Yun Jieshi ceased his celebration and slowly walked over to the bedroll and sat down. He didn't know if he could sleep though. But beyond that…
'This was her bed, wasn't it?' he thought, his face a knot of conflict.
The hag, on the other hand, laid on the floor, and pressed against the wall, right below the beautiful cloak. She huddled against herself and closed her eyes. Soon, she was snoring, deep in sleep. She didn't seem to mind that she had left her guest with a great wad of guilt.