The middle-aged man took us to the west wing. He introduced himself as Nangong Yang's son, Nangong Zhenhua.
The door of the south wing was ajar and opened easily with a push.
Before I entered the door, I heard a cough coming from the room. The sound was not loud, but I could tell it was an old man's voice.
After entering the door, what appeared in front of me were some old furniture and a stove covered with a lot of dust on one side.
Turning to the right, there is a door. The door is open and a colorful curtain is hung above the door.
Nangong Zhenhua slowly opened the curtain and said to us, "Come in, everyone. My father is inside."
I nodded and went into the inner room first. Inside the inner room, I saw Nangong Yang.
Nangong Yang was lying on the heated kang, his face swollen and red from coughing. Because he was too old, the age spots on his face were clearly visible, like patches of blackheads, densely covering his face.
He was holding a crumpled handkerchief in his hand, covering his mouth and nose. Although the cough was not loud, it was still a bit heavy for such an old man. His shoulders were shaking slightly, and the sound of panting came from his throat, "humming" like a patient with tuberculosis.
When he saw us enter the room, the old man's dim eyes moved.
"Dad, these people are here to see you. They said they know someone named Lu Sujie." Nangong Zhenhua mentioned it briefly.
When he heard the three words "Lv Sujie", a little light emerged in the old man's eyes, but soon, the light in his eyes dimmed.
I approached the fire bed and asked quietly, "Old man, do you still remember Lu Sujie?"
Unexpectedly, the old man just shook his head gently and kept saying, "I don't know! I don't know..."
Nangong Yang looked very old, but his voice could still be heard clearly.
Nangong Yang doesn't know Lu Sujie? Is this possible
According to what Lv Sujie told me, she and Nangong Yang grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. Before Nangong Yang left the cave where the people of Hongxiang Village lived, he gave Lv Sujie the red oil umbrella. It can be said that the red oil umbrella was equivalent to a token of love between the two people.
But now Old Man Nangong Yang actually said that he didn’t know Lu Sujie, which was a bit abnormal.
I frowned slightly and continued, "Old man, please think about it again. That Lv Sujie is also from Hongxiang Village. You used to live together in the stone cave. You also gave Lv Sujie a red oil umbrella. Do you remember it?"
I guessed that Nangong Yang might be a little confused due to his old age and couldn't remember some things, so I asked him again.
But the old man still shook his head in response to me.
This leaves me a little confused.
Could it be that this Nangong Yang is not the same person as the Nangong Yang who left the cave
This is impossible! Judging from their ages and where they lived before, they should be a perfect match.
I'm a little distressed and don't know what to do.
Xu Jiayin on the side also started to interrupt and asked: "Old sir, your memory may not be very good, but you should have an impression of Lu Sujie..."
But when he heard the name "Lv Sujie" again, the old man's face showed an uncomfortable expression. Tears slowly flowed from the corners of his eyes, and his body trembled slightly as if it was cold.
"Lv Sujie, Lv Sujie..."
The old man put his skinny palm on his head, repeating the three words "Lv Sujie" and hitting his head. He made a "Ulu Ulu" sound from his mouth. The sound was unclear and I couldn't make out what he was saying.
Seeing the old man's agitation, Nangong Zhenhua seemed to want to
What arrived.
After a while, he came up to me and said, "It seems that my father's mood is not very stable. I think you should not ask too much. After all, he is old, and he may not remember many things clearly."
"His health is very poor now. He has been taking medicine for the past two years and is not as good as before. You guys should leave this place first."
Nangong Zhenhua advised us to leave.
But I was very unwilling in my heart.
I lowered my voice and asked Nangong Zhenhua: "Uncle Nangong, has your father ever suffered any kind of stimulation in the past? Or has something happened to him? Why does he react like this when 'Lv Sujie' is mentioned?"
Nangong Zhenhua thought for a moment and said, "It seems that there is something wrong... How about this, you guys leave here first, and we'll talk outside."
We really can't get anything out of Nangong Yang now, so we can only leave here first.
"Okay!" I nodded.
Helplessly, the four of us left the inner room of the west wing.
As soon as I left the inner room, I ran into a woman walking towards me. The woman looked to be in her thirties, not ugly, but not very pretty either. She was about the same age as the man who was the father of the child.
The woman was holding an iron basin in her hand. The basin was filled with water and steam was coming out of it. A towel was placed on the edge of the basin.
When the woman saw us coming out of the west wing, an expression of surprise appeared on her face.
"Xiu Fen, please go into the house and check on the old man. I don't know what happened to him. His head is aching again."
At this point, Nangong Zhenhua casually introduced us: "This is my daughter-in-law, Xiufen."
The woman named Xiufen replied, "Okay, Dad, I'll go right away." Then, she walked into the west wing in a hurry, carrying the iron basin.
Slowly closing the door of the west wing, Nangong Yang raised his hand to let us pass and said, "Let's go to the stone table. Since you want to know about my father, I will tell you something."
Then we went to the stone table.
There were three stone benches at the stone table. Nangong Zhenhua sat on one. My master Zhang Chu and I sat on the other two. Yuquan and Xu Jiayin stood beside us.
"If you want to know anything, just ask. I know a little about my father."
Putting his hands on the stone table, Nangong Zhenhua said calmly.
I thought about it and said directly, "Uncle Nangong, just tell me about your father's past. I think he may have forgotten a lot of things in the past."
Nangong Zhenhua nodded and told us some things he knew about his father's past.
It turns out that Nangong ** is not just confused, but has lost his memory.
This story started decades ago. According to Nangong Zhenhua, his father Nangong Yang and his mother Chen Yayun had such an experience when they first met.
Chen Yayun's family runs a clinic in Chenzhuang Village. In addition to treating patients, they also collect herbs. One day, when Chen Yayun went up the mountain to collect herbs, she happened to meet a man who fell to the ground on the mountain road.
That man was Nangong Yang.
Chen Yayun went over to take a look and found that Nangong Yang was sick. He was shivering, had a fever, and his face was black and purple.
Doctors are kindhearted! So, the young Chen Yayun took Nangong Yang back to her family's clinic.
After returning to the clinic, Chen Yayun's father examined Nangong Yang's symptoms and concluded that this was a very unusual epidemic and speculated that it might be plague.
Plague has a high mortality rate for humans. Chen Yayun's father tried many prescriptions and folk remedies before he brought Nangong Yang back from the brink of death.
However, because it took too long, Nangong Yang's illness gradually
It got better, but my memory became fragmented and I forgot some things.
But compared to life, forgetting some things is nothing. However, after Nangong Yang recovered from his illness, he often had headaches. This has never been cured.
After Nangong Yang was rescued, he has been living in the clinic in Chenzhuang Village. He can't remember much, he only remembers that he is from Hongxiang Village, and not much else.
Chen Yayun and Nangong Yang also developed feelings for each other in the clinic.
In this way, Chen Yayun's father saw that the two had a similar relationship, so he entrusted Chen Yayun and the clinic to Nangong Yang. From then on, Nangong Yang and Chen Yayun became a couple.
The couple loved each other very much. But there was one thing that always bothered Chen Yayun. Every night after going to bed, Nangong Yang would mutter the name of a person named "Lv Sujie".
But Chen Yayun had no idea who Lu Sujie was.
Because of this, Chen Yayun and Nangong Yang had quarreled several times, but Nangong Yang didn't remember who Lu Sujie was at all. He also said that he had never dreamed of a person named "Lu Sujie" in his sleep.
Although the two had some awkwardness, their relationship was still good. They lived in Chenzhuang Village and had children, two boys and a girl. One of the boys died young. The girl later married to a neighboring village.
Now in Chenzhuang Village, only Nangong Zhenhua is left to take care of Nangong Yang.
As for Chen Yayun, she also passed away twenty years ago.
However, the Nangong family's incense did not stop. Nangong Zhenhua gave birth to a son, and his son was also very hardworking and gave birth to a grandson for their family. He was Nangong Yang's great-grandson.
Although Nangong Yang had memory problems, the four generations of his family lived together, and although they were not rich, they were happy.
It should have been a year ago, Nangong Yang had problems with his legs and feet, they said it was rheumatism, so he was bedridden...
These are some of the things about Nangong Yang’s family.
After listening to this, I felt enlightened. I asked Nangong Yang why he didn't remember Lu Sujie. It turned out that his memory was affected by the plague.
But at the same time, I felt regretful. If Nangong Yang had not contracted the plague and lost his memory, perhaps he would have kept his promise, returned to Hongxiang Village inside the cave, and brought a doctor.
If that were the case, Nangong Yang and Lu Sujie would be able to be together. This might be a happy ending.
But nothing can go as planned. The real situation is that Nangong Yang lost his memory due to the plague, and none of the people in Hongxiang Village were rescued, and they all died in the cave.
Fortunately, Nangong Yang found his love, had his own children, and had a complete family.
I sighed and said to Nangong Zhenhua: "Uncle Nangong, thank you very much this time. Your words let me know that Mr. Nangong Yang is not an ungrateful person."
Nangong Zhenhua didn't understand what I meant and stared at me strangely.
I have no explanation.
At this moment, the door to the south wing suddenly opened, and the woman Xiufang shouted outside the door: "Dad, please come quickly... Grandpa's memory has returned. He seems to have remembered something and is crying. No matter how I persuade him, he won't stop. He is still vomiting blood, and it seems that he can't hold on for much longer."
We were greatly surprised by what the woman Xiufang said.
Immediately, Nangong Zhenhua stood up and almost ran into the west wing.
Yuquan looked at me and asked, "Brother Yang, are we still going over there?"
I thought about it and said, "Since Mr. Nangong Yang has recovered his memory, he may want to see Lu Sujie's ghost. I think we should go over there."
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)