Several buildings of the Imperial Medical Bureau were severely damaged in the palace coup, so Xie Bufeng ordered that the place be sealed off and the entire Imperial Medical Bureau be moved to the other side of Taishu Palace.
Except for the palace maids who sweep the room regularly, no one else is allowed to enter.
The corner of the imperial city where the Imperial Medical Bureau was originally located fell silent for the first time.
Yet it was not all dead silence.
Every night, there would be a lantern lighting up the palace road from the Imperial Study to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Xie Bufeng refused to live in the extremely luxurious Yi Guang Palace, and slept every night in the cramped little house in the courtyard behind the Imperial Medical Bureau.
He no longer touched Wen Qingci's bed, but continued to lie on the couch at the door as before.
As the night deepened, the young man lying on his side on the bed still did not feel sleepy at all.
Xie Bufeng couldn't help but cast his gaze on the screen not far away, and then slowly narrowed his eyes.
The scenery in front of him became blurry.
The moonlight fell into the house through the gap in the window, gradually illuminating the patterns on the screen.
Wen Qingci has always been a light sleeper, and even his breathing is so light that it is difficult to hear.
In a trance, Xie Bufeng actually had an illusion - nothing had happened yet, and tonight was just one of thousands of ordinary nights.
Or maybe the past few days were just a nightmare.
At this moment, Wen Qingci was lying on the bed behind the screen, resting quietly... I only needed to get up and walk around the screen to see him again.
In this extremely quiet night, everything seemed to have returned to the past. The fact that Xie Bufeng had lived in the Imperial Medical Bureau for a long time was like a secret, and everyone in the Taishu Palace kept it a secret.
But it didn't seem like a secret. After all, the new emperor of the Wei Dynasty himself never had any intention of concealing anything.
But in a blink of an eye, the "palace secrets" floated to Yongdu like snowflakes, and then spread throughout the country through Yongdu.
Also heading south was a dragon boat carrying a coffin.
Wen Qingci's coffin was parked on the outskirts of Songxiu Prefecture and he was eventually buried there.
Everything looks like it has been settled.
Little did people know that a few days ago, Song Junran sent a small boat over late at night to pick up the person in advance.
Yellow orioles are singing and green willows are swaying.
The breeze is blowing and the water is rippling.
The faint scent of flowers slipped into the room through the half-rolled bamboo curtain of the pavilion next to the water.
It is still midwinter in Yongdu, but in the Valley of Divine Doctors, it is spring all year round.
The warm sunlight, like a layer of gauze, gently covers the human body, making people feel sleepy from time to time.
“… Hey, it’s been so long, why hasn’t the Second Valley Master woken up yet?” The medicine servant who had followed Song Junran all the way back to the Divine Doctor Valley from Yongdu asked worriedly while watering the flowers.
Song Junran removed his fingers from Wen Qingci's wrist: "He must have been possessed by a nightmare."
"Nightmare," the medicine servant sighed as if he had thought of something, "I remember that the Second Valley Master has loved having nightmares since he was a child."
Song Junran paused without saying anything, then turned around to organize the medicine box.
After a long silence, he sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I should have listened to my father and not allowed him to study medicine."
There was a hint of disappointment in Song Junran's words, as well as a hint of barely perceptible regret.
Wen Qingci was indeed trapped in a nightmare just as Song Junran said.
He saw what happened here in the past.
Unlike his previous chaotic dreams, Wen Qingci's dream this time was exceptionally clear.
It even gave him the illusion that he and the protagonist of the dream were the same person.
—The old valley master treated the original owner as his own son, even to the point of doting on him, but he never wanted him to study medicine.
Although the Valley Master nominally has only one disciple, Song Junran, all the other medicine servants in the Valley of Divine Doctors also learn medical skills.
There is a school in the Divine Doctor Valley. The old valley master teaches here every morning and never hides his knowledge.
“… ① Amaranthus seeds, bitter, slightly cold, enter the liver meridian of the foot. Clears the liver and relieves heat, brightens the eyes and drives away wind.” The old valley master’s voice came through the window and reached outside the school. He paused for a moment, then raised his voice, “Wen Qingci! Come out, don’t hide outside and eavesdrop.”
Hearing this, all the medicine servants in the school turned their eyes to the window.
Wen Qingci, wearing a light-colored gown, stood up from the window holding a book.
He didn't know how long he had been staying here. When he got up, he staggered because his legs were numb, and his face was full of unwillingness.
"Go back to your own room. Have you finished copying the calligraphy I gave you last time?" the old valley master asked him.
“…No.” Thinking of the calligraphy that had been piled up in the room for months without being touched, the original owner shook his head in confusion for a while.
"Why don't you go back and do your work?" The old valley master looked down at the medical book, coughed twice and said, "Finish copying the calligraphy, then go and have a good rest. What's the point of coming here?"
The medicine servants in the school all cast envious glances at Wen Qingci.
The Valley of Divine Doctors is a relatively closed underworld organization, and the medicine servants are all passed down from generation to generation.
The average age of the few medicine servants attending classes in the school at this time was only eleven or twelve years old.
They are at an age where they cannot concentrate, and without exception, they are forced by their parents to come here to attend classes.
It has been more than a year since Wen Qingci entered the Valley of Divine Doctors.
Scenes like today's happen several times every month, and everyone is used to it.
After being scolded by the old valley master through the window, Wen Qingci finally left here reluctantly.
Then I walked to the stream, sat on the grass and wrote and drew with a book.
Song Junran's mother died after giving birth to him, and the old valley master never remarried.
Therefore, having grown up without any brothers or sisters, he has always been particularly enthusiastic towards Wen Qingci, the "junior brother" who suddenly appeared.
"Qingci, why are you here?" Little Song Junran, who had just returned from collecting herbs outside the valley, saw him at a glance and then ran over quickly.
Although Song Junran is a little older than Wen Qingci, he is still in the chubby childhood like Wen Qingci.
He threw the tools for collecting herbs beside him, then sat next to Wen Qingci and looked curiously at what was in the other's hand.
Song Junran couldn't help but rub his junior brother's head, and then praised: "You are really quick, much more talented than me. I really don't understand why Dad doesn't want you to study medicine, you stingy guy."
In the past, when faced with this kind of situation, Song Junran might have said, "If you have anything you want to learn, I can teach you. Why do you have to look for him?" But Wen Qingci made rapid progress, and now he is too embarrassed to say this.
"Tsk, is it possible that he is afraid that his son will not be able to learn as well as others and lose face?"
Song Junran has always had this kind of free and easy personality since he was a child, saying whatever he wants.
Little Wen Qingci stretched himself lazily, and couldn't help but frown and mutter, "I wonder what else he'll say to kick me out next time."
Thinking of his father's outrageous remarks in the past, Song Junran couldn't help but laugh.
“…By the way, Senior Brother, can I ask you a question?” Before standing up, Wen Qingci looked towards Song Junran as if he suddenly remembered something.
The beautiful black hair glows a light chestnut color under the sunlight.
The cinnabar mole between his eyebrows makes him look as cute as a fairy boy.
Song Junran, who was also young, was startled. He felt a little embarrassed to be stared at, and asked dazedly, "What?"
Wen Qingci was rarely so polite to him.
Wen Qingci secretly looked around and confirmed that no one was around. He finally approached Song Junran quietly and asked in a low voice: "I heard that the valley is looking for a new 'medicine man' recently. Brother, do you know if this is true or false?"
Song Junran was stunned for a moment, he thought for a moment and replied: "...Yes, I think I heard Dad talk about it a few days ago."
Although the Valley of Divine Doctors is often said to be "both good and evil", it is not a cult organization after all. They will not force others to become medicine people, nor will they greedily create a large number of medicine people.
Generally speaking, there are at most two or three medicine men in the valley at the same time, and most of the time there is only one.
Only after he dies will we look for a new medicine man.
The old pharmacist in the Divine Doctor Valley just passed away a few days ago.
—As soon as he was born, he was sent here by his parents to transform his physique into a medicine man.
In return, Divine Doctor Gu also fulfilled one of his parents' wishes.
This is almost the common experience of all generations of medicine practitioners in the Divine Doctor Valley, and it is also an established custom.
Speaking of the existence of a "medicine man" in the Valley of Divine Doctors, Song Junran accidentally let it slip to Wen Qingci not long ago.
After receiving an affirmative answer from Song Junran, Wen Qingci lowered his eyes thoughtfully and nodded slowly.
"What do you want to do?" Song Junran couldn't help but be alert.
"Nothing, nothing." The original owner in the memory smiled. He walked quickly to the stream and touched the cool water with his hands. "I'm just curious."
He hid the longing in his eyes.
“Okay…” The young Song Junran didn’t think much about it. Seeing Wen Qingci playing in the water, he put down what he was holding and followed him over.
At that time, Song Junran did not expect that that very night, Wen Qingci, who had received a positive answer, actually slipped into the old valley master's room and secretly took all the "Tian Ci" and other medicines prepared for the medicine man.
By the time the old valley master discovered it, it was too late.
Song Junran had never seen his father so angry.
That night, Wen Qingci was punished to copy a book ten times and was not allowed to eat for three days, while Song Junran himself received the worst beating he had ever received since he was born.
"Song Junran, do you know that you are harming him by doing this?" The old valley master gnashed his teeth and said, "Becoming a medicine man? Is it easy to be a medicine man?"
He didn't expect that Wen Qingci would actually use the offer of "becoming a medicine man" as an exchange for him teaching him medicine.
He also confidently said that he just wanted to obtain the "panacea" from the bottom of his heart.
At that moment, the old valley master actually read madness in the eyes of a child.
At that time, Song Junran didn't understand why his father was so determined to keep Wen Qingci away from the path of medicine, and he didn't understand why Wen Qingci was so obsessed with medicine.
Song Junran, who was taught a lesson, was also full of dissatisfaction in his heart: "It's all your fault for not wanting to teach him!"
“Ah…” The old valley master sighed heavily and sat down with a tired look on his face.
He actually understood Wen Qingci's thoughts, and he also knew that the kid was not joking with him.
Wen Qingci really felt that if he had the so-called "panacea", then those people... might have been spared death.
And he also knew how deep Wen Qingci's obsession with studying medicine was.
But it was this obsession that made him reject the child's request to study medicine with him countless times.
"This child is too obsessed and knows too much. In the end, he might harm himself." Thinking of the child who knelt outside the valley and refused to give up until he fainted, the old valley master was silent for a while, and finally shook his head slowly, "Forget it, forget it, this is fate..."
"What a sin, what a sin," the old valley master stood outside the window, looking in the direction of Songxiu Mansion, and said in a deep voice, "... I owe him all this, and everyone in Songxiu Mansion."
From then on, Wen Qingci was no longer just the old valley master's "disciple" in name only. Instead, he followed Song Junran and studied by his side every day.
At that time, Song Junran didn't understand what his father meant by "too deep an obsession", nor did he understand why his father didn't let Wen Qingci study medicine.
But he had vaguely realized that Wen Qingci's fate might have changed because of his words.
Song Junran and the sleeping Wen Qingci recalled this past event at the same time.
He turned around and took a deep look at the person lying on the couch.
Song Junran always felt that Wen Qingci's becoming a medicine man was inevitably related to his own talkativeness in the past, so he felt guilty towards his junior brother.
Over the years, he has always responded to Wen Qingci's requests and treated him like his own brother.
After realizing that Wen Qingci's obsession was hard to shake off, and knowing what he wanted to do, and trying to stop him to no avail, she could only help him silently from behind...
“Valley Master, Valley Master!!!” At this time, the medicine servant next to him suddenly shouted loudly, “The Second Valley Master’s eyelids are moving!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Junran saw Wen Qingci on the bed sheet finally opening his eyes little by little with difficulty.
The sunlight outside the window was reflected in those dark eyes.
Wen Qingci was a little afraid of the light because he had slept for too long.
He subconsciously closed his eyes and gently called the person next to him: "Senior Brother... cough cough cough..."
Without time to think, Song Junran immediately stepped forward to take Wen Qingci's pulse.
Seeing the same scenery and bed curtains as in his dream just now, Wen Qingci finally realized belatedly that he had really returned to the Valley of Divine Doctors.
it's all over.
He had no time to feel lucky for surviving the disaster. At this moment, he just wanted to know how Xie Bufeng was doing now, and whether his blocked arrow had been in vain.
"Ahem...Yong...Yongdu..."
Wen Qingci coughed twice, and then a familiar pain came from his chest and lungs.
Miao Heng Dan is not a medicine. After its effect has completely worn off, his body has returned to its previous state.
Clearly, Wen Qingci only mentioned the two words "Yongdu", but Song Junran immediately understood that what Wen Qingci wanted to ask was how Xie Bufeng was doing now.
"He's fine," Song Junran's face darkened, "but you're not so fine." His tone was a little cold.
Medicine Servant's heart also rose to his throat as Song Junran spoke.
While feeling the pulse, Song Junran said angrily, "Your vitality is seriously damaged. Until you recover, you should lie here and not go anywhere. Just take a good rest."
"Oh, by the way, even if you recover, you must stay in the valley obediently," Song Junran muttered to himself for a long time, and finally said, "You ate one of my Miao Heng Pills, which is worth more than a thousand gold coins. From now on, you must grow herbs and make pills for me in the valley until you make up the thousand gold coins, and then we can talk about other things."
The medicine servant couldn't help but widen his eyes... When did the Valley Master become so stingy
The breeze dragged a small unknown blue wild flower and it fell into Wen Qingci's hair.
Without waiting for Wen Qingci to try to ask something, Song Junran just said "Have a good rest" and left with his medicine servant.
The Divine Doctor Valley was too warm, and the strong fragrance of flowers urged Wen Qingci to fall into a deep sleep again.
—
In the evening, Xie Bufeng left Taishu Palace and went to the Ministry of Justice prison.
This prison cell, like the Taishu Palace, was built in the previous dynasty. It has three floors in total, two of which are buried deep underground.
The interior of the Ministry of Justice prison was eerie and damp. From time to time, a dark liquid oozed out from the huge stone walls on both sides, and it was impossible to tell whether it was water or blood.
“Help… Help…” In the center of the lowest level of the prison, Heng Xinwei was tied to a pillar with half of his body showing his white bones.
He prayed with his last bit of strength: "Long live the emperor... Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please, please give me pain, pain... "
After saying that, he let out another terrible scream.
Even the executioner who was carrying out the execution began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Why don't you continue?" Xie Bufeng, who was sitting in the middle of the cell reviewing memorials, didn't even raise his eyelids. "Three thousand swords, if there is one sword missing, you will make up for it."
Xie Bufeng's tone was nonchalant, and even contained a hint of smile, but to everyone in the cell, this voice sounded as terrifying as the cry of a ghost urging their lives.
"Yes... yes, Your Majesty." The executioner suppressed his trembling and brought the knife down again.
"ah-"
Xie Bufeng smiled and picked up the teacup and took a sip.
As if listening to a piece of music, he squinted his eyes and enjoyed the scene.
But that smile never reached his eyes.
The light amber eyes were as cold as if they were frozen.
The strong smell of blood and the bloody figures made the other rebellious Hengxin guards who were imprisoned here feel like vomiting.
Also trapped in this huge cell was Xie Zhaolin, who was still being bled. At this moment, he was talking nonsense like a madman.
—Xie Bufeng was not in a hurry to execute them. Instead, he put them all here and executed them one by one.
Before he arrived, a Hengxin guard had already been executed by slow slicing.
The mental state of the other people imprisoned here has also reached the limit of collapse.
Realizing that his death was imminent, Heng Xinwei, who had been begging him just now, suddenly started cursing, as if he wanted to anger Xie Bufeng in this way so that he would die quickly.
“… Hahahaha, if I had known earlier, I should have killed Wen Qingci directly. If it weren’t for him, if it weren’t for him, I would have killed you a long time ago!”
Xie Bufeng slowly narrowed his eyes and put down the red pen in his hand.
Heng Xinwei, who was imprisoned here, had no idea what happened in the palace.
But when he saw Xie Bufeng's expression suddenly change, he felt that he had figured out something: "Hahaha... But, it's not a loss!"
The Heng Xinwei gritted his teeth and said, "When Wen Qingci was alive, he was imprisoned in the palace by the old emperor and couldn't get out. Hahaha, he died earlier than me! It's worth it... It's worth it—"
His voice echoed over and over again in the empty prison of the Ministry of Justice, and the smile on Xie Bufeng's face disappeared completely.
The word "before death" is too harsh.
It was like a heavy sword, slashing straight towards Xie Bufeng.
He hated these two words so much.
The emperor in black suddenly stood up and walked over quickly. Xie Bufeng snatched the knife from the executioner and held it tightly in his hand: "... What did you say?" He lowered his voice and asked with narrowed eyes.
Xie Bufeng was full of murderous aura.
But only he himself understood that the fear in his heart at this moment was no less than that of Heng Xinwei in front of him.
Heng Xinwei realized that what he said seemed to have really irritated Xie Bufeng. He just wanted to die quickly, and continued loudly: "Oh? Our wise and mighty Majesty didn't know? Wen Qingci hadn't left the palace for more than a year before his death, right? Hahaha, especially in the last few days, living in that yard that was only a few feet long, hahaha, all day long, ah... We were watching him all day long, his every move was under our eyes, it was really refreshing!"
"Oh, only your stupid sister would come and talk to him through the door. The rest of the time... Hahahaha, everyone in the entire Taishu Palace avoids him!"
The dying Heng Xinwei cried out in pain and gritted his teeth, "Until he died, he was only free for a few hours, hahaha..."
Xie Bufeng stared at him intently.
Lonely.
It turns out... Wen Qingci spent his last moments in solitude.
The young man said nothing, but his eyes were filled with death and murderous intent.
Then he laughed slowly.
"Give him some ginseng and let him put it in his mouth." Xie Bufeng whispered.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The jailer immediately stepped forward and stuffed the elixir for survival into the mouth of Heng Xinwei.
But no one present envied him, for everyone knew what ginseng meant here.
—Accompanied by countless people's screams and cries of pain, a barrel of strong liquor was slowly poured over the man's bloody body.
Even from a distance, everyone could feel his fear and pain from his uncontrollable trembling and broken and suppressed screams.
Xie Bufeng doesn't care about his image, even if he is directly called a tyrant. In the eyes of everyone, his ruthlessness is far beyond that of his father.
"Thank you for meeting me, you will die a miserable death!!!"
"…Hahahaha, when I die, you will definitely come to claim my life first."
At this time, Heng Xinwei was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He could only curse Xie Bufeng over and over again in his heart.
But he didn't expect it.
He had just cursed in his heart, and Xie Bufeng smiled and lowered his voice to repeat his words in his ear.
The next second, Heng Xinwei stood there motionless.
"No, it's impossible. How could he hear what I'm thinking?" Heng Xinwei was filled with fear.
"Why can't I hear it?"
When human hearts are at their most fragile, they can only place their hopes on false ghosts and gods.
Xie Bufeng looked down on such people.
But he is also best at taking advantage of the weaknesses in such people's hearts.
The young man's voice was extremely hoarse. He chuckled, put the cold blade against the opponent's wound and said, "Don't you all call me a 'monster'? Since I am a monster, it's not surprising that I can hear what you think in your heart."
The Hengxin guard's eyes widened, and fear came over him. His mind went blank and he even stopped cursing.
impossible…
How can this be
Xie Bufeng smiled, raised his hand, and poured out the remaining wine.
"ah-"
Xie Bufeng smiled in pain and warned him in his ear: "There are countless lonely ghosts who died in my hands in the North. Even if you come together, I will only let your souls fly away."
After he finished speaking, he gently twirled the knife between his fingertips and placed it on the flesh of the person in front of him.
crazy.
At this moment, the only word left on Xie Bufeng's face was "crazy".
The execution did not end until early morning.
On this day, screams of pain were heard from the Ministry of Justice prison, and even the people around heard a few.
Xie Bufeng, covered in blood, didn't know how he returned to Taishu Palace.
The hell-like scene in the Ministry of Justice was far behind him.
There was only one sentence lingering in Xie Bufeng's mind.
—Wen Qingci spent the last part of his life in confinement.
Only Xie Fuyin spoke to him.
The heavy feeling of sadness and loneliness was like an invisible hand, tightly grasping Xie Bufeng's heart.
Crazy thoughts fell into his mind like a blizzard.
Xie Bufeng tried hard to calm down.
The last words that Wen Qing said to him before she left once again echoed in the boy's ears... Cherish the person in front of you.
Mother, and Xie Fuyin.
Yes... After I went to the North, Lan Fei also helped me.
It started snowing again in Yongdu, and soon the snow turned Xie Bufeng's black hair white.
On the long palace road, only his footsteps echoed again and again.
In a trance, the boy realized that from now on, there would be no one to hold an umbrella for him and walk back to the small bedroom in the Imperial Medical Bureau with him as before.
Xie Bufeng was trying his best to suppress the madness in his heart.
Supported by Wen Qingci's words, he appeared in front of the gate of Huixin Palace in the early morning with full of energy.
This was his last bit of sanity.
It was also the last bit of warmth that Wen Qingci could find...
In the midst of chaos, he didn't understand what exactly he was doing here.
Only Wen Qingci's words were still lingering in Xie Bufeng's mind again and again, like a thin rope, leading him like a walking corpse, slowly stepping into Huixin Palace.
(End of this chapter)