The wild hills in the outskirts of Chang'an are silent and dimly lit in the dark night.
Du Yue put down the small shovel, lowered his head and focused on the herb in his hands. Qin Zhao squatted down with him, and brought the lantern closer so that he could see more clearly.
After looking back and forth for a while, Du Yue laughed, "Hey, I finally found it, it's worth it for me to come to plan the mountain in the middle of the night." He got up, carefully wiped off the soil on the rhizome, and lifted it to Qin Zhao. Lifting his chin, "Thank you!"
"It's alright." Qin Zhao stood up and looked at the unremarkable Bi Cao, "This is what you tried so hard to find?"
"That's it?" Du Yue pressed his throat to imitate his flat tone, "Do you know what's the use of this?"
Qin Zhao shook his head.
"My master has a secret recipe! Just this one plant, I can make you and the Chu person down for a few months!" Du Yue shook the herb triumphantly, "Are you afraid?"
"Master Ye is really amazing." Qin Zhao nodded.
"Damn, Qin Zhao, I really can't talk to you any longer." Du Yue rolled his eyes, wrapped the herbs, was about to take it back, but Qin Zhao pulled him, he wondered, "Did Well?"
Qin Zhao held his wrist with one hand and pulled it to the front, took out Fang Jingpa with the other, and carefully wiped his muddy hand.
Du Yue spread out his palms and let him serve him with peace of mind. Insects in the mountains were faintly chirping, Du Yue stared boredly at Qin Zhao's lowered eyebrows, and after a while, he suddenly said, "Qin Zhao, you suddenly remind me of my cousin."
The hand holding his wrist tightened immediately, Qin Zhao calmed down in time, restrained from pinching him, was silent for a long time, and then whispered: "Has he treated you like this too?"
"Almost." Du Yue thought for a while, "but my cousin usually just handed me the handkerchief and didn't wipe it for me. My mother told him that he couldn't get used to me, or he would beat me up."
Qin Zhao didn't say a word, and very seriously wiped the sand from his fingers.
"I think I was beaten all day long when I was a child. It's not like my cousin. He writes well, reads well, and has a good temper. My mother always told me to learn from him." Du Yue fell into memory. , said abruptly: "Hey, no, my cousin seems to have been beaten once, and it was very serious. It stands to reason that my cousin was obedient since he was a child, but that time my uncle did not know why he used family methods to give birth to a big child. I was so angry that I was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days with bloodstains all over my back. My aunt cried for several days. My mother scared me at that time, saying that I would be sent to my uncle’s house if I didn’t obey.”
"Okay." Qin Zhao took back the veil and let go of his wrist.
"Well." Du Yue picked up the small shovel on the ground and packed it up, "Go back!"
Qin Zhao nodded and followed behind him, the mountains and forests were as dark as a charm in the night. The wind swayed over the tree, and there was a rustling sound. Qin Zhao suddenly narrowed his eyes. He stuffed the lantern into Du Yue, raised his hand to block him behind him, and stared into the distance alertly.
I don't know why it was just for a moment, and then Du Yue heard the sound of running in a hurry, accompanied by a heavier and heavier gasping sound, a sound of urgency, almost breathless, and vaguely heard the voice of a woman.
Du Yue probed to look, the tree shadows overlapped and the next figure stumbled towards them. He couldn't help but look back in horror. When he turned his head, he saw someone in front of him, and rushed up regardless, "Help me. … help me… !"
Du Yue pressed Qin Zhao's hand that was about to draw his sword, and squeezed forward to look closely at the person who fell on the ground. She was indeed a woman, but she was described as extremely embarrassed, and her thin body fluctuated violently. She raised her eyes to see Du Yue, and hurriedly grabbed the corner of his robe, "...Please, save me, save me!" She spoke too hastily, and suddenly tilted her head and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Du Yue's face changed suddenly, he took out a small porcelain bottle and poured a medicine, then squatted down and fed it to her.
Qin Zhao retracted his gaze, raised his eyes and looked into the distance. He broke off a branch and threw it with his backhand. The figure behind the half-hidden tree trunk was startled, hesitant for a moment, then dodged away.
The woman coughed violently and tried her best to speak: "... a lot, thank you, please... please..."
"What do you want to do?" Qin Zhao asked.
"Inhale." Du Yue took her pulse and reminded.
"Chang'an!" the woman said in a hoarse voice, "I'm going to Chang'an, please... Chang'an... how far is it?"
"This is Chang'an." Qin Zhao looked at her.
"...It's already here?...Finally, it's finally here." The woman struggled to get up when she heard the sound, and there was a faint twinkle in her eyes, "Take me...to the government, to the palace, to the emperor!" She kept coughing, and Du The more she helped her get better, the more she frowned. She raised her voice stubbornly and stared into the distance, "Save us, Your Majesty, the adults in the capital!... We Huainan... have become purgatory!"
Qin Zhao leaned over, "What's wrong with Huainan? Isn't there a war going on?"
"It's not a war, it's not a war, it's an evil spirit eating people! They don't fight, they rob, they burn down houses, they all kill people!" The words seemed to be biting out of her teeth, and the woman couldn't stop Coughing up blood, a little bit of red splattered on the grass, "The conscience of those dog officials was eaten by them! ... My father refused to agree, refused to join them, and they chased and killed my whole family! They were afraid, they Don't dare to let us come to Chang'an! But... But I'm still here..."
Qin Zhao looked solemn, and was about to ask again when the woman suddenly clenched Du Yue's sleeve, her fingers trembling with force, "Are you a doctor? Are you a doctor? ... You, please! Help me! ... Doctor, my family has been killed, it's just me... I can't die... I haven't seen the emperor, I haven't..."
The voice got stuck in his throat and stopped abruptly.
Du Yue only felt his sleeves loosen, and then saw the woman fall limply to the ground with a dull sound. He widened his eyes, froze for a moment, and then kept rummaging through his body.
Qin Zhao stretched out his hand to probe it, and sure enough, he was no longer breathing, but he refused to close his eyes. Glancing across the woman's waist and abdomen, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised. After pressing it lightly, he stood up and sighed, only to see Du Yue pull out the roll bag neatly, spread it out on the ground with one hand, and draw out a few silver needles in the cold light to stab them. Down.
Qin Zhao stopped his hand, "Enough."
"Let go!" Du Yue tried hard on his wrist, but he couldn't break free.
Qin Zhao slowed down, "Du Yue..."
"Let go of me, you fucking let me go!" Du Yue was annoyed and turned to stare at him, "She was calling me a doctor just now, she begged me to save her!"
"She's been shattered in half, and it's rare to be able to last until just now. How can you save her?"
"I can save lives, but my subordinates have never died!" Du Yue shouted.
"... There will eventually be doctors who can't be saved." Qin Zhao whispered.
Du Yue threw his hand away ruthlessly, and knelt down beside the woman in front of him. The cold light flickered and he applied the needle with precision, but when he retracted his hand, he clearly touched the body and cooled down. His fingers trembled, as if being caught by ice, Du Yue stared blankly for a long time, and was at a loss.
"Du Yue." Qin Zhao said.
"I haven't killed a single person under my command, not even one. The master's medical skills are so brilliant, I have learned all of them..." Du Yue hoarse, suddenly weak, slumped on the ground and hugged himself.
A line of moonlight leaked through the branches and leaves, and the mountains and forests were secluded.
Qin Zhao squatted down in front of him, "Life and death are impermanent, we should get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it." He said in a muffled voice for a while, "When I was a child, my mother wanted me to be an official like my cousin, and I thought it was fine. Later, I went to the pond with the little brother next door. Play, he caught the cold and died within a few days. I think that doctor is really useless, how could it be that a little cold could kill him, he must have used the wrong medicine to kill the little brother. My brother's family also thought the same, and went to the doctor to ask for an explanation, but the doctor was blocked in the room and refused to say anything, and then moved out of Jinling. I even thought it was his fault. After that, I kept pestering me every day. My mother said, I don't want to be an official, I want to study medicine, and I will never become that kind of person after I become a doctor."
The lamp was put aside just now, smearing a thin warm color on his blue shirt. Qin Zhao was in a trance for no reason, and couldn't help reaching out to touch the light on the clothes.
"But the master always told me that I shouldn't think that medical skills are omnipotent, and he can't save everyone. The feeling of being powerless is very uncomfortable, and the doctor can't forget the patients who died under his hands, even if the relatives of those people forget , but the doctor can't forget the feeling that the living life is lost in his hands." Du Yue said, "So my master said that I can't be a doctor because I can't stand it. I heard this at that time. Very unhappy."
"She said she couldn't die, but I couldn't save her. Qin Zhao, I've never watched a patient die under my hands." After a long silence, Du Yue suddenly said, "...So that's how it feels."
Qin Zhao looked at him quietly, his eyes softened and darkened, and he put his hands on his shoulders and hugged him in his arms. Du Yue buried his head in his arms, stretched out his arms and hugged him tightly, his fingers were blue and white and clasped tightly on his shoulders, and finally cried out uncontrollably.
The neck was hot and wet, Qin Zhao slowly tightened his arms.
"Qin Zhao," he suppressed his sob and said in a low voice, "I cried tonight, so I'm used to it."
"Okay." Qin Zhao replied.
The crescent moon sets in the west, and the sky breaks.
Chu Mingyun leaned against the window, watching the black feather bird flutter far away, and then looked back at Qin Zhao who pushed in the door, "What's wrong?"
Qin Zhao stepped forward a few steps and saw at a glance that he was holding a piece of paper, "Where is the news?"
Chu Mingyun glanced casually, "First tell me what's wrong with you."
He repeated the words of the woman from last night carefully, Chu Mingyun stared at the letter in his hand, and a smile appeared on his lips, as if he was interested. When Qin Zhao's voice fell, Chu Mingyun nodded and said, "The court sent Luo Xin to conquer Huainan's army, what's going on now, guess what?"
Qin Zhao thought for a while, "It's been more than half a month since they left, and they should have arrived in Huainan to fight against the rebels."
Chu Mingyun laughed, "I guessed wrong." He handed the letter to Qin Zhao, "The army disappeared the next day after arriving in Huainan, and together with the King of Huainan betraying the party, it disappeared out of thin air overnight. "
"They disappeared without a trace, and the city occupied by the rebels became an empty city." He straightened up, took off his robe as he walked to the inner room, and threw it on the table beside him.
Seeing his movements, Qin Zhao said in surprise, "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Changing clothes," Chu Mingyun loosened the placket with one hand, without turning his head, "Enter the palace."
Qin Zhao put down the letter and walked out of the house, but he didn't forget to turn around and close the door.
The lamp was still lit under the corridor, and the commander of the Imperial Army hurried forward and respectfully said, "Please let the leader announce that your majesty has ordered the lord to enter the palace immediately."