Secret path
Days without Xia felt strange to Imani while he waited in Shuijin. Even knowing she would return soon from visiting her family, he missed holding her close to him. She had burrowed so deeply into his life; she was simply that kind of person. Back in their village, Tambara, people could not help but watch her, always confident and purposeful. She seemed destined to accomplish whatever she set her mind to. Imani could not deny it: Xia was his muse, his strength, his main reason to feel alive.
To fill the void of her absence, he kept himself as busy as he could. Xia had once explained the long workdays in the Empire of Linghua. While Imani might have found such working hours outrageous in Zimori, now he welcomed them. They were what he needed not to think about Xia.
Each morning, he would leave Muya’s workshop for a few hours to discover the unfamiliar flora of Shuijin. Then, when he returned in the afternoon, he helped Muya with her paperwork. Thanks to his past life as a merchant, he was able to review her expenses and purchases from recent years, helping Muya optimize them for the future. As evening fell, Imani only waited for the night to end so he could once again search for healing plants he had never seen before.
His daily explorations outside felt refreshing, and he found enjoyment in them. However, looking for plants was not as easy as he thought. The city area of Shuijin was well restricted. Only citizens from the Empire of Linghua could pass the gates. Those limits made Imani’s search area for healing plants much smaller than he had wished. He was reduced to walking along the wooden walls protecting the city; they were the sole places with wild vegetation. As if that were not enough, another difficulty presented itself. This one, at least, did not surprise him. In Linghua, Imani did not know which plants were effective for healing; the flora was too different from his land. And so, he relied on his own knowledge and experience to find new plants.
The first day, he picked some plantain herb. Like bluebush, an herb from Zimori, it had thick wild leaves growing in a circle from the center. Seeing the texture and sturdiness of these leaves, Imani was almost certain that they would be great to cover a wound.
The second day, he found some mugwort. It looked exactly the same as wormwood, with its finely divided leaves similar to a hand when the fingers are splayed out. He hoped this plant shared the healing effects of the wormwood to soothe coughs and colds. In any case, he would not use them until he traveled back to their village; only there did he have the furniture to work with them. On his way back to Muya’s workshop, he spotted an old man who gazed at him intently. Imani did not care and continued on his way.
The third day, as he went even further near the city borders, he caught sight of lovely vine plants climbing on the wooden walls. Their tubular white and yellow flowers made them marvelous to observe. When you were close enough, you could smell their powerful, sweet herbal scent. It invoked memories of home to Imani, to be precise, memories of his mother’s favorite plant: zumbani. Except for its perfume, this plant was nothing like honeysuckle. It made him think about Xia and himself. Opposites on the outside, same heart on the inside. He relied on his feelings and cut some. Regarding the similar scent to zumbani, it had to also be useful for colds and breathing problems.
Suddenly, while he finished picking honeysuckle, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Thanks to Xia’s training, he had developed strong reflexes and jumped backward to block his body against the wooden walls. Two guards, wearing blue uniforms and straw hats, had their eyes fixated on Imani, bamboo sticks in their hands.
“Stop there, foreigner! This is the third day you’ve been watching our walls a little too closely. You can’t leave this city with your current status. We must arrest you and conduct a thorough inspection to determine if you are a threat to our Empire,” shouted the tallest guard in a strong voice.
“This is just a misunderstanding, sir. I assure you, I was simply collecting plants.”
“Silence! Your explanation makes no sense, no foreigner picks up plants. If you don’t come quietly with us right now, we’ll have to use force! And that won’t help your case during our inspection, believe me.”
Desperate, Imani showed his hands, ready to be bound. At the same time, an old voice called out from behind the guards:
“Bo, Tao, why are you bothering a young friend of mine?”
Astounded, both guards turned to look at the old man. The tallest guard, Tao, answered him:
“You say you know this foreigner, Master Yusheng?”
“Of course. I told you, he is a friend. Now, let us go, we were meeting here today before heading to my place. I’m the one who showed him this place. Don’t you know how often I pick up plants for my work in this area?”
The guards had nothing to say back to the old man, and they left without saying anything else. Meanwhile, Imani recognized this man; he was the one who looked at him the other day. He wondered why that Master Yusheng had helped him at all. Yet, the old man stayed mute and simply waved for him to follow. Out of curiosity and gratefulness, Imani assented and walked with the stranger.
His house was far from downtown compared with Muya’s workshop. It was on a small hill at the southeast corner of the city. Both its outside appearance and interior were rustic. Apparently, he had the bare minimum to live. However, Imani was not certain about the inside; he could not see much as Master Yusheng stopped at the entrance. Then, he asked Imani’s name and thanked him for accompanying him back to his house. As he closed the door, he invited Imani to come back tomorrow morning to his place, at least if he wished to discover the healing effects of the plants he had collected over the last three days.
On his return, Imani could not make sense of what had happened. He thought about it the whole day and could hardly focus on Muya’s paperwork. Still, being in her study helped him remember how she encouraged him to explore and enjoy the city. After a comforting night, he decided to try his luck and visit the old man’s house in the morning. Barely had he had the time to signal his arrival when the man was already opening the door for him.
As he entered, Imani asked some questions to make an acquaintance with the old man. But he would not answer him; he was only waiting for the plants. And so, Imani complied. He presented the various plants he had gathered over the previous days. Master Yusheng revealed their names and uses to Imani. One was not a healing plant, but the other two were. Imani had mostly been right about their effects and was proud of his deductions. On the other hand, the explanations given by the old man regarding the plant techniques were outstanding. He was able to give precise details on the body anatomy and how or where the plants would be effective. After two hours had passed listening to him, Imani understood how knowledgeable he was. And that was not all, this man was a doctor and a good one, likely better than his own mother. He knew the Empire of Linghua had no traditions of mixing work and gender. Still, it felt unreal for Imani. The man facing him had likely been a doctor well before his own birth.
This morning, the hours passed in a glance for Imani. Hopefully, the old man had offered him to come back the next day. Without hesitation, he accepted. During the two following weeks, Imani went to Master Yusheng’s house every single day. He learned the basics of anatomy and new plant uses. He even discovered acupuncture, a technique based on thin needles that could not hurt but which redirected the body’s energies to help it heal itself.
While Master Yusheng explained it all, he used his various books and instruments to demonstrate his techniques. Imani had not suspected he had so many things. All the man’s medical treasures were in his cave, accessible only from a narrow trap in the corner of the main room.
Through those shared moments, Imani glimpsed some details of Master Yusheng’s life. It had been hard because the old man was not the type to speak lengthily about himself; he preferred to keep his voice for the art of medicine. Yet, Imani had discovered that he was once a renowned doctor in a larger city than Shuijin. That is why people called him Master: he was as old as educated. Nowadays, he was the main doctor for the city, and people seemed to respect him deeply. Imani could believe this. In two weeks, he too had developed a huge sense of respect and consideration for the old man and his profound knowledge.
Sadly, their meetings stopped one morning after a specific discussion between the two of them occurred. Out of nowhere, Master Yusheng had asked Imani if he wished to become his apprentice. He could teach him the most important techniques in only two years, considering Imani’s passion and knowledge of plants. At first, Imani had tried to politely refuse the old man’s offer. As seducing as it seemed, he preferred to keep his wondrous life with Xia.
Still, for one hour, Master Yusheng tried to convince him again and again. At some point, Imani reached his limits of gentleness and left the house with these crude words:
“Listen to me, Master Yusheng, you shared incredible things with me, and I’m grateful for that. But I won’t let you harass me any longer. I’m leaving.”
No answer came to Imani’s ears.
On the morrow, he did not leave Muya’s workshop and continued to work on her paperwork. Muya found it surprising and decided to speak with Imani. He was as sad as angry from his last discussion with Master Yusheng. As Muya asked gently if something had happened to him, he accepted and told her everything, getting it off his chest. She listened patiently and waited for him to finish. At the end, she conveyed what she knew about Master Yusheng.
Actually, he was a friend of hers. They liked to speak about their respective passions. Since he had come to Shuijin, she had learned to understand the man. He had been one of the most prestigious doctors for the emperor himself. He had met his wife in the capital; she was a doctor like him. They had one son, who had remained in the emperor’s court as an advisor. Unfortunately, Master Yusheng’s wife had died five years ago. Since then, he had left the capital and remained in his faraway hill house, going out solely to find plants, heal people, or have tea with Muya.
Thanks to his respected career, many people from the capital had tried to send their children to become Master Yusheng’s apprentices. Some even made the trip to ask directly for it. Yet, he had never accepted one. They were more interested in the glory of his name than the complex art of medicine. Being his apprentice would mean deep recognition and an assured seat with the emperor’s personal doctors.
As Muya finished recounting Master Yusheng’s life, Imani felt shocked and ashamed. He had known almost nothing of it. Even though he did not wish to change his mind about the old man’s offer, Imani knew he had to apologize for his words. Only now did he understand the honor the doctor had given him by making the offer.
Quickly, Imani ran to his house and knocked on the door. Nothing happened. He explained it was him, but the handle did not move. Still, he could hear someone breathing on the other side of the door. Imani could not blame the old man for ignoring him. It must have been very hard to request so desperately for an apprentice when you were a prestigious doctor like him. Abandoning, Imani finally said,
“I had marvelous mornings with you, Master. Never did I know the art of medicine could be so complete and precise. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Then, the door opened. Master Yusheng, his face solemn as ever, answered Imani.
“It’s been a long time since I met such a rude, passionate young person like you. Until the end of my days, you will always have a place as my apprentice. I hope you will continue to consider my offer even when you leave.”
Without turning his back, a smile on his face, Imani retorted,
“I will.”
As he stepped away from Master Yusheng’s door, his thoughts naturally turned to Xia and the quiet changes her absence had brought. Those few weeks without her had definitely impacted Imani. He remembered she would soon come back from her trip and felt relieved. If all had gone well, she would have lived restful days with her family. Perhaps she, too, had changed a bit.
While the thought crossed his mind, Imani had no idea how much their month apart had changed Xia or himself. In the next weeks, many things will change in their lives.
Next chapter
8 - Slowing down