There is no year in the mountains, and I don’t know the year when the cold ends.
The Valley of Divine Medicine is indeed a paradise on earth. There is no calendar here, and it is difficult to distinguish between spring, autumn, cold and heat.
When Wen Qingci just woke up, he still remembered the time, but later he simply threw it aside.
A few days, a few weeks
Or a few months or years
Wen Qingci couldn't tell how long he had been back in the valley.
He stayed near the bamboo house all day, tending to the flowers and plants, and lived an extremely leisurely life. As time went on, everything that happened in Yongdu seemed like a dream and became unreal.
Or it seems as distant as something that happened in a previous life.
The method left by the old valley master was indeed effective. After day-by-day treatment, Wen Qingci was finally able to lift his hand.
Although it still hurts, when I'm in good condition, there's nothing wrong with drinking tea.
The only regret is that Wen Qingci's wrists are left with countless scars from snake bites.
They were densely packed, like thorny vines, entwining his body.
Song Junran tried many kinds of ointments, but none of them worked to get rid of the acne.
Wen Qingci himself didn't care about it at all.
Even when Song Junran asked him to look through medical books or study ointment formulas, he was too lazy to do it.
Wen Qingci slowly lowered his wide sleeves and hid his arm. He said nonchalantly, "It's fine if there's a scar. No one can see it except me. Besides, as long as the hand can be used, it doesn't matter if it's ugly or not."
Wen Qingci meant what he said, and he gently touched the little white snake's head after he finished speaking.
When Wen Qingci tried this treatment for the first time, he felt a little scared.
But as time went by, he actually felt that this cold-blooded animal that bit him several times every day looked quite cute.
Wen Qingci discovered that there were many silver knives in the original owner's room, which should be the scalpels he made himself.
After seeing it so many times, he couldn't help but want to try it.
He has been silently estimating the time and the recovery status of his arm in his mind these past few days.
The breeze passed through the bamboo house, and a rustling sound came to my ears.
"You only dare to say this to me. If my father were still alive, he would definitely care about the scar on your wrist more than I do." Song Junran sighed helplessly and simply ignored Wen Qingci.
He lifted up the zither on his knees and played it slowly to the sound of bamboo.
The next moment, a sound like sawing wood came from the piano.
Hearing this sound, even the little white snake wrapped around Wen Qingci's wrist bit a little harder.
Wen Qingci: “…”
Song Junran not only looks like a hermit, but also likes to do elegant things in his daily life.
However, Wen Qingci discovered that apart from medicine, Song Junran had no talent in other fields. For example, until now, he still could not find the pitch of the piano.
When Wen Qingci first heard Song Junran play this erhu-like instrument, he thought it was his first time.
I didn’t expect to find out later that Song Junran had actually been learning since he was a child…
Song Junran himself didn't seem to think that his playing of the violin was bad at all.
Whenever I have nothing to do, I will take out my guitar and play a few tunes.
Wen Qingci touched the little white snake's head, then silently stood up and wanted to leave.
"Wait," seeing him about to leave, Song Junran suddenly said, "I'm going to take you to a place later."
Wen Qingci paused and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Back Mountain," After the song ended, Song Junran slowly put down the bow in his hand. He turned and looked at Wen Qingci, "Go and pay respect to your master and his wife."
Wen Qingci couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. It turned out that it was already the Qingming Festival of the second year without him noticing.
On the green hills behind the Divine Doctor Valley are the graves of all the previous valley masters and all the medicine servants who once lived here.
Song Junran took Wen Qingci for a long time and finally found the two graves.
"Dad, Mom, Qingci has returned to the valley safely, and has avenged himself and the people of Songxiu Mansion... The new emperor is very cruel to his father. Xie Zhaolin was tortured to death, you can all rest assured!" As he said this, Song Junran poured a glass of wine on the open space in front of the tomb, "Hey... It's not your fault for what happened back then, you just saved one person."
After saying that, he poured another glass of wine on it. He paused, smiled and said, "I think you should have let it go. I won't mention it here any more."
What does Song Junran mean
Wen Qingci found that he didn't quite understand what he was saying.
Fine drizzles fell from the sky and kissed the cinnabar on Wen Qingci's forehead.
A chill spread throughout my body.
Wen Qingci's heartbeat suddenly quickened.
He clenched his palms, suppressing his curiosity.
"Here, Qingci, you should toast them as well." After saying that, Song Junran turned around, handed an empty cup to Wen Qingci, and then filled it up.
Immediately afterwards, the strong aroma of wine rushed into Wen Qingci's nostrils.
There was a sudden sharp pain in his forehead.
Wen Qingci's left hand holding the wine glass shook violently, and in the next second, most of the wine spilled on his wrist.
His body also staggered.
"What's wrong?" Song Junran held Wen Qingci with a nervous look on his face.
Wen Qingci smiled a little stiffly and explained hurriedly: "I'm fine, the road was a little slippery... I almost fell."
"Look at my memory. How did I pass the wine glass to your left hand?" Song Junran tapped his forehead with his fingers. "Come on, switch hands and pour another glass."
"… good."
At that moment, a large amount of unfamiliar memories flooded into Wen Qingci's mind.
Suddenly he saw—
The old valley master, with white hair and beard, opened his eyes with difficulty before his death.
His gaze passed Song Junran and fell on "himself".
The old valley master's eyes were already cloudy and his voice was hoarse and difficult to understand: "... Ahem, what a sin, what a sin."
“I, ahem… feel ashamed towards my wife and children, and, ashamed towards… the millions of people in Songxiu Prefecture, and ashamed towards Qingci…” This simple sentence seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and after saying it, the old valley master could no longer utter a single sound.
He just kept mumbling to himself: "Back then... I shouldn't have cared about the affairs of Yongdu... I shouldn't have coughed... diagnosed Emperor Ai..."
Wen Qingci, dressed in white, slowly knelt down in front of the old valley master's sickbed. He held his hands and said with red eyes: "This matter has nothing to do with Master from beginning to end. In fact, it was you who saved me and took me in. How could I hate you?"
"Really? Really?" the old valley master asked with difficulty.
"It's true, it's true, Master..." His voice was still trembling slightly.
“That’s good… That’s good…” After saying this, the old valley master finally closed his eyes tiredly.
At the last moment, he murmured, "Go, Master won't stop you..."
Although it was not stated explicitly, Wen Qingci, who recalled this scene, understood in an instant that the old Valley Master's last sentence was referring to asking the original owner to go to Yongdu and seek revenge on the old emperor.
Wen Qingci's heart ached, and then began to beat rapidly like a drum.
What the old valley master said before his death was not without reason.
It was not until he was seriously ill that the original owner learned that the Valley of Divine Doctors secluded itself from the world and stayed away from the court in order to seek peace. The only exception over the years was when they took Emperor Ai into the valley for treatment.
Logically speaking, even the royal family could not find any trace of the Valley of Divine Medicine.
Until someone showed up.
—She is Song Junran’s mother, a female official beside Emperor Ai at that time, and the person who watched him grow up since he was a child.
Emperor Ai had been weak since childhood, and the palace doctors were helpless.
There was no other way, so she, who was responsible for taking care of Emperor Ai, had to search among the people for elixirs.
Songxiu Prefecture is a well-known medicine capital, and she has visited almost every clinic in the city.
It was during this period that the female official encountered the news that the elixir of the Valley of Divine Doctors was launched. She followed the clues and found the clinic of the Valley of Divine Doctors, where she got to know the old valley master.
Although there was a big age difference between the two, the old Valley Master at that time was not as old as Wen Qingci remembered.
He stays in the valley all day and pays attention to health preservation, and looks only in his thirties or forties.
The two developed feelings for each other during their daily interactions.
Not long after, Emperor Ai became seriously ill again.
In order to save him, the female official had to plead with the valley master repeatedly on behalf of the emperor, hoping that he could lend a helping hand and bring Emperor Ai, who was still the prince at that time, back from the brink of death.
After making excuses several times, the old valley master finally agreed to the female official's request and intervened in Yongdu's affairs for the first time.
At this point, the female official left Taishu Palace and stayed in the valley to marry the old valley master.
The two lived in harmony and happiness for quite some time. Song Junran was born at this time.
At that time, the old valley master thought that he had only saved an ordinary patient.
It was not until many years later that the Yinchuan Grand Canal dam collapsed...
That day, Song Junran's mother happened to go to Songxiu Mansion with her medicine servant to buy daily necessities. After the dam burst, the two of them rushed to the scene as soon as possible.
They wanted to save people, but unexpectedly the dam collapsed for the second time, and they also died there.
The old valley master finally realized that what he did that day might have accidentally changed history.
—If Divine Doctor Valley had not taken action, Emperor Ai would have died of illness.
Xie Zhaolin, who was still relatively young at that time, would not have been able to ascend the throne smoothly, and those things that happened later would not have happened.
He felt extremely guilty from then on, and believed until his death that the root of all this was that he had interfered in court affairs because of his personal feelings.
After taking Wen Qingci in, he treated this second disciple better than his own son, even to the point of doting on him.
"What a sin, what a sin..."
Until he was lying on his sickbed and about to die, the old valley master kept repeating these words.
The memory becomes clearer bit by bit.
Wen Qingci felt an extremely bitter feeling in his heart.
He slowly poured the wine into the ground and forced himself to suppress his complicated emotions.
Wen Qingci gently placed his hand on his chest.
This was the original owner's emotion. Wen Qingci didn't know what the original owner was thinking when he heard about this for the first time.
He only knew that at this moment his heart was filled with sadness and nostalgia, but no resentment.
"Let's go and take another look at your home. Now that you have taken your revenge, you should at least go back and tell your family about it, right?" As he said that, Song Junran handed an umbrella and a white veil to Wen Qingci, then turned around and left with him.
"Can I leave the valley?" Wen Qingci couldn't help but be surprised.
Didn’t Song Junran say that if he didn’t pay back the huge sum of money, he would never be able to leave the world in this life
The man in green shirt walking in front of him paused and looked at him with a half-smile: "You don't want to go?"
"Wait!" Wen Qingci immediately held up his umbrella and followed. He chuckled and said softly, "I've been away for a few years, so I naturally want to go home today."
—
The Valley of Divine Medicine is located deep in the mountains and forests, and it is not easy to get out.
On ordinary days, it would take four to five days to complete a round trip.
Therefore, after coming out of the mountain, the two did not rush to Wen Qingci's home, but went to Song Xiu Mansion to rest first - after all, Wen Qingci's health was not yet fully recovered.
As luck would have it, the place where Song Junran took Wenqing to resign was the "Zang Ya Xuan" that he and Xie Bufeng had visited a few years ago.
It was noon at this time, and there were quite a lot of people in Zang Yaxuan.
After staying in the Valley of Divine Doctors for a long time and suddenly entering such a noisy environment, Wen Qingci frowned slightly with some discomfort.
However, his expression was blocked by the white veil on his face.
When the store owner brought the dishes up, Song Junran couldn't help but ask him, "Why is Songxiu Mansion so busy today?"
"Aren't you two locals?" Seeing Wen Qingci's attire and the sword in Song Junran's hand, the shopkeeper naturally thought they were people from the martial arts world who came from somewhere else.
Song Junran paused, nodded and said, "Yes."
Seeing this, the shop owner put the plate in his hand aside with a little excitement, and said excitedly: "Then you two finally made the right decision today!"
Wen Qingci looked over curiously, and picked up the teacup on the table and started drinking.
Song Junran: "…Why do you say that?"
Somehow, he suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Hehe, young man, you don't know. In a few days, His Majesty will go south here! He said he came here to pay tribute to the dead souls under the Yinchuan Grand Canal, but in fact... he must be here to see that Imperial Doctor Wen."
Wen Qingci's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.
"What?" Song Junran was shocked. "How many days will it take for him to get here?"
The Divine Doctor Valley has not had any contact with the outside world for several months.
Therefore, he did not know until now that Xie Bufeng was actually coming to Songxiu Mansion.
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and replied, "About four or five days left. By then we will have to close the shop and go to the dock to welcome His Majesty." His tone was quite excited.
After Xie Bufeng came to power, he issued numerous decrees with lightning speed, launching one reform after another in a short period of time.
At that time, some people did not think highly of what he did.
But now, more than a year has passed, and the policies and decrees formulated at the time have been smoothly issued and implemented.
The entire Wei Dynasty was completely renewed in a short period of time.
Perhaps people from other regions would say behind his back that Xie Bufeng disregarded etiquette and human ethics, and was an unfilial son and a cruel king.
But the people of Songxiu Prefecture, who had suffered greatly from him, would only think that Xie Zhaolin deserved it.
When talking about the current emperor, their mouths are full of pride and praise.
Song Junran: “…”
Seeing that Song Junran didn't reply, the shopkeeper simply sat down next to them and chattered non-stop: "Young man, you don't know! When the current emperor was still a prince, he was called a 'monster'. He had only one imperial physician who was very considerate to him. His Majesty unknowingly fell in love with the imperial physician. But before he could express his feelings... the imperial physician died to save him, and they have been separated since then. Alas, it was not until this moment that His Majesty realized that the imperial physician also had feelings for him..."
"Ahem..."
This story is too elliptical! And what does it mean to "not have time to express one's feelings"
I and Xie Bufeng have clearly...
The scene of that night in the North once again appeared in his mind.
Wait, stop!
Wen Qingci immediately cut off his train of thought and threw away all the waste.
"Qing... Uh, Junior Brother, are you okay?"
The climate in the Divine Doctor Valley is conducive to recuperation. Wen Qingci took his medicine on time after returning to the valley. Now he has not coughed up blood for some time.
Hearing him cough, Song Junran became nervous.
"It's okay..." Wen Qingci took a deep breath, waved his hand gently and said, "I just choked on my tea."
Wen Qingci's cough interrupted the shop owner's train of thought, and he finally remembered that he still had important things to do: "Okay, okay, two young men, I'll go and continue serving the dishes. If you are curious and want to listen more, I'll come to you when I'm free." After he finished speaking, he finally picked up the tray and slipped away.
The atmosphere at the table suddenly became tense.
In order to ease the embarrassment, Wen Qingci picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of cake and put it to his lips, then slowly lifted the gauze curtain.
Song Junran finally came back to his senses from what he had just said. He sighed and turned to look at Wen Qingci: "What nonsense! How could Xie Bufeng allow these things to spread around? It seems that he is not a very good emperor."
However, Song Junran did not expect that as soon as he turned around, he saw Wen Qingci's face was visibly flushed.
Song Junran's heart sank.
No way
He looked at Wen Qingci with a complicated expression, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "Let's go to Shanyujian quickly after we finish eating, and return to the valley before the emperor arrives at Songxiu Mansion."
"Okay." Wen Qingci nodded slowly without objection.
Seeing this, Song Junran finally felt relieved.
He didn't care what Xie Bufeng was thinking about Wen Qingci, as long as his junior brother didn't run away with the little emperor!
The original owner’s hometown has a nice name called “Shanyujian”.
There are not many fields here, and most people make a living by collecting herbs in the mountains.
After the incident in my memory where corpses were everywhere, there was no one left alive in Shanyujian.
The original owner buried his family with his own hands before going to the Valley of Divine Doctors.
But he was too young at that time to erect a tombstone, and before long, weeds swallowed up the grave, and their burial place could no longer be found.
Therefore, during the Qingming Festival in previous years, he would just go back home to visit his family.
Shanyujian is not far from Songxiu Mansion and can be reached in just one hour by horse carriage.
When Wen Qing arrived here, it was sunset.
The light pink sunset glow lingers obliquely on the horizon.
The shadow of the mountain fell from the west and fell into the ravine.
More than 20 years have passed, and the once bustling mountain village has been completely swallowed up by overgrown weeds.
If the stone sign at the entrance of the village was not still there, no one would believe that there once was a village here.
"Yuzujian..." Wen Qingci murmured.
Countless memories flooded into his mind along with a sharp pain.
Wen Qingci slowly closed his eyes, and he saw that the Shanyujian many years ago was like a paradise on earth.
There aren't many fields here, but since it's close to the mountains, everyone has the ability to collect herbs.
Influenced by his surroundings, “I” have been able to recognize various wild medicinal herbs since childhood and have a keen interest in practicing medicine.
My parents had planned early on to send me to the medical clinic in Songxiu Prefecture to be an apprentice and study medicine.
After all, he is just a child, and he cannot always be calm.
"Qingci, why did you come home so late? Mother has been looking for you for a long time, did you know that?" The woman in a coarse cloth shirt hugged him in her arms, rubbed his head, and said with a sigh of relief, "Mother thought she had abandoned you in the mountains."
Seeing the dirt on his face, the man next to him frowned and asked seriously: "Where have you been?"
At night, the Yuzu stream is so quiet that only the chirping of cicadas can be heard.
The blue moonlight fell on his forehead, illuminating the cinnabar spot.
The child stuck out his tongue a little embarrassedly, hugged his mother, and finally took out the bamboo basket hidden behind his back like offering a treasure: "Mom, I went to touch the little fish~"
"Little fish?"
The two adults then noticed that the child's clothes were mostly wet.
There are also a few crucian carps swimming slowly in the bamboo basket.
Although Shanyujian is considered a wealthy village, it is still rare to see meat on weekdays.
That night, the crucian carps turned into milky white fish soup and all went into "my" stomach.
The taste was sweet and fragrant. Even after so many years, he still remembered it...
"Qingci, what's wrong with you?" Song Junran's voice brought Wen Qingci back to his senses.
The next moment he realized that there was a chill on his cheek.
“Nothing…” Wen Qingci slowly lowered his eyes, hiding his strange emotions.
"Let's go in and take a look." Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, Song Junran seemed to understand something and changed the subject, "Here, this is the key to your house." After saying that, he handed over the thing in his hand.
Wen Qingci smiled and took the things: "Thank you."
"Why are you being so polite to me?"
Wen Qingci was carried into the Valley of Divine Doctors after he fainted. Even then, he still had not forgotten to hold tightly what was in his hand.
The old valley master took great effort to pry open Wen Qingci's fingers and saw what he was holding tightly in his hand.
At that time, he had buried his family and came to the Valley of Divine Doctors, but he still didn't realize it.
Once you leave home this time, it will be difficult to go back.
But in the blink of an eye, the sunset had dissipated.
The sun was blocked by the mountains and the surroundings suddenly became dark.
In a trance, Wen Qingci recalled that night in his memory, the bowl of sweet fish soup, and his last clear thought before going to bed - if only he could drink sweet fish soup every day in the future.
—
The dragon boat sailed south along the Yinchuan Grand Canal without stopping, heading straight to Songxiu Prefecture.
The ship carried hundreds of civil and military officials, and the momentum was no less than that of the southern tour that year.
"… Your Majesty, this is a newly written confession of guilt. Please take a look at what needs to be added or revised?"
The newly crowned number one scholar, dressed in red, knelt on the ground and held the imperial edict high in both hands.
In the past few months, the new emperor has spread his wisdom widely.
People from all over the country, mainly from Songxiu Prefecture, took this opportunity to write down what they had heard and experienced in books and sent them to Yongdu.
Everything that happened back then has finally come to light.
What was written in the "confession of guilt" mentioned by the top scholar was the evil deeds committed by the deposed emperor.
Once it arrives at Songxiu Mansion, the current emperor will make it public to the world to comfort the thousands of dead souls.
The top scholar knew very well that this confession would be recorded in the history books.
He racked his brains to write this book and had hardly slept during this period of time.
Xie Bufeng slowly took the things.
This is also the tenth version he has revised.
The top scholar's heart immediately rose to his throat.
Although he was the new top scholar, he was already over 40 years old.
But he was still overwhelmed by the aura of the new emperor in front of him, kneeling on the ground and not daring to look up.
Xie Bufeng has the murderous intent honed on the battlefield, and those eyes... can see through people at a glance.
Thinking of how he dealt with the deposed emperor and the rebels, the top scholar's body began to tremble.
After a while, Xie Bufeng gently placed the confession on the table.
"Please copy it according to this version."
A low voice came from above my head.
There was no emotion in Xie Bufeng's tone, only dead silence.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The top scholar heaved a sigh of relief. He bowed deeply in haste and walked out holding the confession of crime.
Only after leaving the cabin did he breathe a sigh of relief.
It was already late, but after reading the confession, Xie Bufeng was not in a hurry to rest. He even changed into a black robe that was convenient for walking.
After another cup of tea, Xie Guanzhi was brought into the cabin.
"In the next few days, you will be responsible for all the sailing matters. I will come back after we reach Songxiu Mansion." Xie Bufeng gave these instructions lightly as he walked out.
Several guards, also dressed in black, walked out from the darkness and followed behind him.
In the past, perhaps no one would have expected that after Xie Bufeng became emperor, he would not "deal with" Xie Guanzhi, who was once the most popular heir to the throne.
He even entrusted him with important tasks and gave Xie Guanzhi power second only to himself.
Xie Guanzhi was a little cautious at first. He was unsure of Xie Bufeng's thoughts and was afraid of accidentally offending the other party.
But later he discovered that Xie Bufeng really didn't seem to be afraid of him taking the throne... But think about it, Xie Bufeng's world was won by military power.
Even if he wanted to seize the throne, the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in the north would not agree.
What he should care about is not whether Xie Bufeng would argue with him about such a trivial matter.
But... Not only did Xie Bufeng handle government affairs day and night, even his court officials were forced to work overtime with him.
As the second-in-command of the court, I haven't had a rest for more than a year.
Seeing Xie Bufeng was going on a long journey, Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but frown and said a few more words: "Where are you going, Your Majesty?"
"… Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and you should always put the overall situation first."
Unlike the reckless Xie Bufeng, Xie Guanzhi grew up receiving orthodox royal education.
Although he had been severely cheated by his father, Xie Guanzhi's personality had not changed much.
Xie Bufeng paused.
Just when Xie Guanzhi thought that he would not answer him, the new emperor in black clothes slowly spoke: "Shan Yujian."
"Yuzujian?" Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but repeat it.
After a pause, he finally remembered that Shanyujian should be the place where Wen Qingci lived in his childhood, which was discovered not long ago.
Xie Guanzhi had not expected that Xie Bufeng, who had already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, would choose to take a boat alone and go to that place in advance.
But think about it, once the dragon boat arrives, the people and officials of Songxiu Prefecture will definitely surround Xie Bufeng.
If we go to Shanyujian by then, we will only disturb the place.
"Your Majesty, I also want to..." Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but speak.
Before Xie Guanzhi finished speaking, Xie Bufeng slowly turned around, looked at him coldly and asked, "In what capacity are you going there?"
This look was full of hostility, which made Xie Guanzhi shudder.
He suddenly remembered that on the night when he wanted to commit suicide but was rescued, Xie Bufeng seemed to have looked at him like this before...
Xie Guanzhi was frightened by his eyes and had to stand where he was, watching Xie Bufeng and his men leave.
"Me?" After a long while, Xie Guanzhi finally couldn't help but muttered as if it was natural, "... But you don't have any status either."
Xie Guanzhi's voice was not loud, but it reached the ears of Xie Bufeng, who had profound internal strength.
The emperor in black robes paused for a moment before continuing to walk slowly forward.
*
Xie Bufeng took a small boat and arrived at Songxiu Mansion before Longfang.
Without stopping, he went straight to the recorded location of Zhongshan Yujian.
In order to facilitate the collection of taxes and the dispatch of corvée labor, the Wei Dynasty, like previous dynasties, retained a strict household registration system.
After becoming emperor, the first thing Xie Bufeng did was to retrieve all the records of Songxiu Prefecture at the beginning of his reign, and checked them year by year. He finally found the "Shanyujian" that had suddenly disappeared from the records.
The breeze blew across the horse's back, gently blowing up Xie Bufeng's slightly curly long hair.
He held the reins in one hand and slowly clenched the copied account book with the other.
During this period of time, he didn't know how many times he had looked at that address.
These few short lines had already been engraved in Xie Bufeng's mind, and he could recite them by heart.
But he was still worried, so he copied the account book several times by hand and carried it with him at all times.
The black warhorse was tied to an old tree at the entrance of the village.
"You wait here, no need to go in."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xie Bufeng left the guards accompanying him and walked in alone along the path overgrown with weeds.
"… West Street, No. 29." He recited the address quietly.
At this moment, a hint of tenderness appeared in the usually cold light amber eyes.
Although it was his first time here, Xie Bufeng actually felt homesick.
Even the rhythm of breathing became tense and chaotic.
It was early morning when Xie Bufeng arrived here.
It was still dark, and everything was shrouded in a layer of green mist.
The cold wind whistled through the hall, like the howling of wronged souls.
In the distance, the trees that had died at some unknown time were swaying in the wind with their claws and fangs bared.
The farmhouses and courtyards around me have long been dilapidated and look like they will collapse at any time.
At the corner of the alley, a piece of blood-stained coarse cloth floated by from somewhere.
There were even skeletons rolling by his feet.
This place is like a haunted place, no different from the legendary City of the Dead beside the Naihe Bridge.
But there was no trace of fear in Xie Bufeng's eyes.
He only knew that this was where Wen Qingci once lived.
If ghosts really exist.
It actually suited his taste.
Wen Qingci had walked the path he was walking on before, drawing water from the dry well next to him and looking for playmates in the small courtyard nearby.
There are traces of his presence everywhere.
Xie Bufeng even had an illusion.
Just wait for the next turn, and Wen Qingci will come towards me with an oil-paper umbrella and a smile, just like in my memory.
What is death
Xie Bufeng couldn't explain it clearly either.
He thought maybe Wen Qingci was just sleeping quietly somewhere... or maybe he just returned home.
The closer they got, the faster Xie Bufeng's heartbeat became.
His heart was filled with anxiety.
West Street, twenty-nine households.
He almost walked here by breathing heavily.
—The courtyard in front of me is no different from any of the ones I just passed by.
The same high walls, which are about to be swallowed by weeds, are also shaky and extremely mottled.
But when Xie Bufeng saw all this, all that was left was warmth.
He took a deep breath and walked over slowly.
Then he raised his hand and knocked lightly twice on the rotten wooden door.
At this moment, there was a hint of expectation in Xie Bufeng's eyes, and even the corners of his lips were slightly raised.
Like a real visitor.
The sound of "knock knock knock" spread throughout the entire mountain village.
No one in the hospital answered.
Xie Bufeng paused, then raised his hand again with determination as if possessed, and knocked on the door.
“Knock knock.”
Still no one answered the door.
Knock knock, knock knock.
There were knocks on the door one after another. Xie Bufeng walked cautiously, fearing to disturb the owner of the courtyard, and blended into the desolate mountain village and the lingering morning mist.
It looks extremely weird.
"Wen Qingci..."
"Wen Qingci?"
Xie Bufeng stood by the door, whispering his master's name over and over again.
In the sky not far away, the sun rose higher and higher, completely illuminating the dilapidated courtyard.
The courtyard, which has not been inhabited for twenty years, has returned to its original state and become part of the forest.
The old wooden door was cracked, rotten, and even covered with moss.
A tear slid down Xie Bufeng's cheek without any warning and fell heavily to the ground.
Xie Bufeng couldn't help sobbing, and finally he hugged his knees and slowly sat down in front of the door. There was no emperor in him anymore.
Like a little animal abandoned by its owner.
From beginning to end, no one came to open the door for him.
Xie Bufeng sat here in silence.
His empty gaze passed the dry well and fell on the hill not far away.
For a moment he didn't know what to do.
After sitting there for an unknown amount of time, Xie Bufeng's brows suddenly furrowed slightly.
He suddenly stood up as if he suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at the wooden door.
Then his eyes slowly fell on the rusty door lock.
Ash.
dust!
Xie Bufeng's originally numb heart began beating wildly again.
He realized belatedly that the door of this courtyard was locked and there was not even a trace of dust on it!
Xie Bufeng raised his hand and touched the door panel, and the next moment there was a thick layer of dust on his fingertips.
Then he changed his hand and rubbed the door lock hard.
No…
There was nothing on his fingers.
Xie Bufeng was like a drowning man who had touched the last piece of driftwood. His hands were shaking and his breathing rhythm was completely disrupted.
Then he flew over the wall like crazy and walked into the courtyard.
Xie Bufeng slowly squatted down and looked at the weeds on the ground with red eyes.
—At some point, it was bent by someone.
Shanyujian was destroyed in the ninth year of Tianchu, and Wen Qingci was the only survivor in the village.
So who could have opened the door and walked into the courtyard
The dreamlike thoughts and possibilities in his heart suddenly grew at this moment, like vines tightly wrapping around his heart.
The new emperor, dressed in black, slowly closed his eyes and finally couldn't help laughing little by little.
That smile was like madness and devil.
(End of this chapter)