Underneath A Thousand Skies ✔️

85 Foster Son, Don't Be So Crazy (22)

"What were you thinking?!"

Nian Shou shook Song Jia's shoulders, his face pale.

They were given by the Magistrate time to reunite as a 'family' before the trial. It was easy to see, not even the Magistrate thought that Nian Shou would survive the trial of ordeal by fire alive.

Song Jia threw away her veiled hat. She ran her fingers through her hair, unperturbed.

"Relax. Since I suggested it, that means I have a solution for it. Look at Xiang Feng. He doesn't even look the slightest bit worried."

Xiang Feng was sitting on one of the chairs in the small enclosed chamber, his eyes closed.

Nian Shou wanted to cry. The sight of that little bun's peaceful face made him feel even more anxious. It must mean that his death was certain.

"Solution? What solution could you have? I have to be burned alive to prove my innocence! Is there any way a person couldn't be burned alive by fire?"

Song Jia wrinkled her nose. "Naturally. You've been with me for the past three years. Don't you know by now that there's nothing in this world this grandma can't do?"

Nian Shou paused. Looking back, it seemed that this girl was hiding many secrets and knew a lot of knowledge that this world still don't know about. But, he couldn't think of himself as having overreacted. No matter who, when encountering that kind of situation, one wouldn't maintain a clear head.

"So...you do have a plan?" Nian Shou asked cautiously.

"Of course. Look, you sit there. I'll explain it to you."

The trial of ordeal was set to happen that afternoon. They were only given the time it takes to burn an incense stick by the Magistrate to bid their farewells to each other. Song Jia naturally didn't want to waste any more time.

There were many ways to clear Nian Shou's name, but the trial of ordeal was the quickest and easiest way to prove his innocence. Song Jia didn't want to stay in the capital any longer than necessary. She cared for Nian Shou as a friend, but her mission was still the most important. It was best to whisk Xiang Feng away from the capital as quickly as possible.

"Here." Song Jia pretended to reach down into her purse and took out an amber bottle she had stored inside her storage space ring. "Apply this all over your body."

Nian Shou took it with a doubtful expression.

"What is this?"

"It's fire-retardant gel. Never mind, you wouldn't know what it is. Just apply it on your skin, and it'll protect you from being burnt by the fire."

"This small bottle will keep me from being burned alive?"

Hearing the dubious tone in his voice, Song Jia sighed in exasperation. She grabbed the amber bottle from his hands and started applying it all over his skin herself.

"We don't have much time. Just trust me."

Song Jia's greatest advantage was that she came from the future. Her things, and her knowledge, were beyond what the people in this era could imagine. That's why, she could easily use a watering can and make those frogs in the well think that it was raining. When the gap of knowledge between two people were too wide, deception was as easy as lifting a hand [1].

While Song Jia was busy applying the fire retardant gel, a small hand grabbed the amber bottle from her. When she looked down, she only saw Xiang Feng's long eyelashes covering his pitch-black eyes. Because he was shorter than her, and his head was tilted down, she could not see his expression.

However, Song Jia felt that the little bun was somehow in a bad mood.

Xiang Feng thrusted the amber bottle towards Nian Shou. His voice was cold and faint.

"Apply it yourself."

"..."

Nian Shou wordlessly took it. Only a small brat, yet already drinking so much vinegar. If he was this possessive when still young, Nian Shou was half-afraid to think of how possessive he would be when he got older and knew the matters between a man and a woman.

Nian Shou looked at the amber bottle and was still a bit hesitant in his heart. He trusted Song Jia, but he did not trust the origins of the things she gave him. What if she got it from a quack doctor?

"Why don't we just cancel the trial by ordeal?" he said weakly.

Xian Feng snorted. "Now that the trial by ordeal has been ordered, everybody will think you're guilty if you don't go through it. If you're innocent, you'll undergo the ordeal because you believe that God will protect you. Do you want all of Jia's efforts to go to waste?"

Nian Shou's face fell.

Song Jia let out a breath. In a way, she could understand how Nian Shou felt. It must have been hard for him to trust her when his life was on the line.

"Alright, if you don't want to apply it, I won't force you. Walking through flames isn't the only trial of ordeal by fire. I only chose it because it's the most believable and foolproof way to get you out of this sticky situation."

Her gaze turned thoughtful as several ideas spun inside her mind.

"There are many ways to do trial by fire. If you go through the ordeal of carrying hot iron, we could find ways to cool it before the task. And if we do the ordeal of letting you fish a ring in a cauldron full of hot boiling water, I've read that the priest prepares the fire in private, and the defendant isn't tested until the priest is done praying. If we bribe the priest to draw out his prayers and let him give time for the water to cool down..."

"It's also the priest who judges the ordeal's final outcome," Xiang Feng pointed out.

Song Jia nodded. "That's right. But the trouble in bribing a priest is that if a person can be bribed once, he can be bribed again. If that merchant madam decides to also copy what we did, they would quickly find out what happened and Nian Shou's sin would double. That's why I like doing the ordeal of walking through fire better. Not even the priest would know how you would have survived through that."

Nian Shou didn't know what to say. He didn't realize that they thought of this so thoroughly for his sake.

"I..."

Just as he was about to agree, Xiang Feng grabbed the amber bottle from him.

"If you're too afraid to do it, then let me first demonstrate it for you. I trust Jia."

Xiang Feng's face was still indifferent, but the corners of his lips were tilted upwards. His white cheeks revealed small dimples, which should have made him look even more delicate.

But, Nian Shou didn't know why, this child's lovely smile only made him break out in cold sweat.

[1] Ch. idiom that means something that requires minimal effort.