The sharp creaking of the wooden axle against the loose gravel set the torturous rhythm of the crossing.
The morning heat was heavy over the valley. The crude cart traveled kilometers of ruined road. Coming from the opposite direction, a small caravan of merchants dragged itself south; the mules foamed at the bit, and the men, drenched in sour sweat, coughed on the dense dust that poisoned the air.
Sitting in the back of the Yù family cart, the base of Yù Méi's spine throbbed with every jolt. Sweat ran down the back of her neck and soaked the raw cotton of her newly bought golden dress. The new fabric itched against her damp skin, clinging to her waist with suffocating stubbornness. She wiped her dirt-streaked forehead with the back of her hand, pulling in short breaths that tore at her dry throat.
On the driver's seat, half a meter away, the biology was different.
Zhì Yuǎn guided the horses with thick leather reins. The young man's broad muscles and tendons absorbed the impact of the stone road without any effort, his body settled on the wood with the heavy stability of a monolith. Beside him, Yù Qíng's navy-blue silk remained untouched. The dark cloth covered the woman's face from the bridge of her nose to the nape of her neck.
The contrast irritated Yù Méi. The cloud of dust raised by the passing merchants veered millimeters away before touching the couple's clothes in front. Zhì Yuǎn's skin did not sweat. Yù Qíng's forehead gleamed perfectly cold and dry. The dust and heat of the road were organically repelled by the new carnal density of the two.
Heat and frustration rose in Yù Méi's stomach. She pressed her sweaty palms against the wooden floorboards, pushed her body backward, and hiked the hem of her golden skirt upward.
The cotton wrinkled, exposing her bare calves and ankles to the hot wind. The girl's almond-shaped eyes locked onto the sharp line of Zhì Yuǎn's jaw — the only visible piece of skin beneath the brim of his black hat. She bit her lower lip, waiting in silence for the driver to turn his neck and sweep the back of the cart with that dense gaze.
But the driver's seat possessed impassable barriers.
Yù Qíng's head tilted to the left. The young woman rested her temple perfectly against her husband's thick bicep. The curve of her shoulder and the cascade of black hair merged with his gray tunic. The calm, velvety movement completely blocked any gap that would allow Zhì Yuǎn to look back and assess the legs stretched out on the wood.
Yù Qíng did not need to say a single word, nor did she turn to face her younger sister. She only clenched her jaw and dug her knuckles into her own skirt, watching the intact horizon.
The air escaped Yù Méi's lungs in a choked sigh of pure frustration. Her nails sank into her own thigh. The teenager violently yanked her golden skirt back over her knees, her face burning with anger as the cart continued grinding over the stones of the road.
The gravel gave way to craters carved by the old autumn storms and camouflaged beneath the thick dust of the road.
The right front wheel sank into a ditch.
The impact was violent. The oak axle cracked and the cart lurched hard to the left, throwing Yù Méi across the floorboards. The girl's body was hurled toward the edge, the brutal inertia threatening to eject her onto the road.
Zhì Yuǎn released the right rein and twisted his torso. His left arm shot backward in a calm, lethargic motion, positioning his thick forearm as an exact barrier before the edge.
Yù Méi's shoulder collided against his arm with force. The weight of the girl being thrown struck the man, but the muscle beneath the gray tunic did not even tremble.
Zhì Yuǎn's skin radiated an intense, continuous heat. The shock of hitting that hard arm and the fever emanating from it changed the atmosphere in the back of the cart.
Keeping his arm extended and anchoring the youngest, Zhì Yuǎn turned his face slightly to the side, evaluating the girl from beneath the brim of his black hat.
— Are you alright? — His rustic voice vibrated close to her.
Yù Méi remained paralyzed. The rustic voice of her brother-in-law awakened an instinctive hunger that crushed the girl's reason in the same fraction of a second. She slowly raised her face. Her almond eyes were glassy and feverish, openly displaying a raw desire that crushed her own fright. The teenager only nodded quickly, lowering her gaze as her cheeks burned with shame from the attraction boiling in her blood.
Zhì Yuǎn held her gaze for a second. The shift in the air was obvious.
Problems, Zhì Yuǎn thought, catching the girl's look. He had seen that gleam before. Only this time it came from the wrong person.
He withdrew his arm with unusual haste, turning his face back to the front.
Without the support of the barrier, Yù Méi recoiled on the floorboards. The air left her lungs and she began to pant, her face burning with shame as she clutched the fabric of her dress tightly.
On the driver's seat, Yù Qíng watched the interaction from the corner of her eye. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw locked when she noticed the way her sister had looked at her husband. She said nothing, but deliberately leaned her body to the side, pressing her shoulder against Zhì Yuǎn's arm with a quiet, firm possessiveness, as if marking territory.
Without showing any change, Zhì Yuǎn twisted his left wrist. The force of his forged muscles transferred the weight of the movement directly into the reins.
Crack.
The tip of the leather whip cracked through the air and struck the mercenary's collarbone. The impact broke the bone instantly. The dry snap echoed through the ravine.
The leader fell to his knees, his shoulder twisted. He tried to scream, but only a wet sound of blood came from his mouth before he collapsed sideways onto the dirt.
The other five mercenaries recoiled. Fear froze their hands on their swords. Zhì Yuǎn looked at the men. The empty calm in his eyes made fear rise in the bandits' throats. Without him saying a word, the survivors dropped their weapons, turned their backs, and ran into the forest, abandoning their injured leader on the road.
Without altering his expression beneath the shadow of his hat, Zhì Yuǎn snapped the reins. The horses pulled the weight. The cart lurched forward, and the oak rear wheel rolled mercilessly over the fallen leader's shoulder and arm, crushing flesh and bone into the dust. The journey continued without the driver even looking back.
In the back of the cart, Yù Méi's cold sweat dried. The shock passed and her blood ran hot again. The fear of the mercenaries evaporated completely, swallowed and replaced by a heavy desire to possess that same strength. She looked at her own hands and then at her brother-in-law's broad back. Being weak in this world was the shortest path to the ditch. She no longer wanted to be a burden; she wanted the absolute shelter of that wall of muscle, the same way her sister had.
Yù Méi clutched the golden fabric of her dress tightly. Her gaze rose and met Yù Qíng's eyes directly. The eldest imposed absolute silence. She gave a short, mocking smile, dissecting her younger sister's envy in the same instant and treating that "competition" with crushing boredom. Yù Qíng pressed her face against Zhì Yuǎn's arm again, marking her territory with the brutality of that simple gesture.
Yù Méi clenched her teeth until her jaw hurt. She turned her face away, blood boiling beneath her skin. From that moment on, the dust of the road was the least of the problems between the two.