A turbulent era has finally passed.
After Huo Zhanbai, the first disciple of Tianshan Sword School and one of the Eight Swordsmen, succeeded Nangong Mo as the leader of Dingjian Pavilion three years ago, the martial arts world entered a rare period of peace. The Great Light Palace far away in Kunlun almost disappeared after the war, and the assassins of Shura Field no longer roamed the Western Regions. Even the Moon Worship Sect in the south also stopped its activities after the succession of Tianlai Sect Leader, and no longer threatened the Southern Martial Alliance.
In that battle, most of the Seven Swordsmen were killed, the strength of each sect was weakened, and the fierce disputes in the martial arts world were temporarily eased.
It's like a torrent rushing through the most rugged and dangerous section, and finally gradually becoming calm and peaceful.
The Pharmacist Valley's resuscitation orders continued to be issued continuously, and batches of patients traveled thousands of miles to seek medical treatment - everything in the valley remained the same, except that the purple-robed Valley Master Xue was nowhere to be seen.
The former valley master, Liao Qingran, returned to Pharmacist Valley to take charge of everything, but he never showed up, and everything was taken care of by a new disciple.
Everyone was surprised that the Pharmacist Valley, which usually only had female disciples, actually accepted a male. However, they soon felt that it was natural - the disciple named Yami had strange long blue hair, was handsome and gentle, and was not only intelligent and hardworking, but also had a very good temper, which made the patients who were fed up with the previous valley master's bad temper praise him.
Moreover, no matter how vicious the patient was, he would become obedient once he was in his hands. Once, the thief Meng Hu was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was killing people crazily in the valley. He still had a smile on his face, and he just raised his hand and killed the person directly.
He quickly became a new legend in the underworld, leaving everyone speculating.
He was gentle and polite to everyone, and responded appropriately, but he kept a distance that was impossible to approach. When someone asked about his past, he just smiled and said: He was once a terminally ill patient, but was saved by the former valley master Xue Ziye, so he joined the Pharmacist Valley, hoping to repay this great favor.
No one knows whether these words are true or not, just as no one can see through the look behind his smile.
No one knew that this young doctor with a kind heart and gentle manner was once a heartless killer. No one knew how he survived.
—The process of “coming alive” is even more painful than “dying”.
But when he came back to life, the person who saved him had already died forever.
He also asked Tong to send people down to the thousand-foot glacier to look for the remains of the king's sister, but found nothing - he finally realized that the last thread between him and this world had also been cut off.
And he still just smiled faintly.
Oftentimes, people in the valley saw him standing on the Ice and Fire Lake in deep thought. The young man who had been frozen under the ice for more than a decade had already been buried with Valley Master Xue. However, he still stared at the empty ice surface in a daze, as if he had seen another time and space through the bottomless lake.
He is waiting for the arrival of another turbulent era, waiting for the moment when the two masters of good and evil from the Central Plains and the Western Regions will once again face off.
At that time, he must have done his best and not retreated even a single step, just like the female doctor.
Every year when winter arrives in Jiangnan, the new leader of Dingjian Pavilion will come to Pharmacist Valley alone.
He did not come to see a doctor, but just to sit quietly under the plum tree, drink a few cups alone, and then leave. The only person who accompanied him there and back, besides the human-like Snow Kite, was Yami, the mysterious new master of the Medicine Master Valley.
In addition, he was also a diligent leader. Every day he had to deal with a large number of cases, mediate disputes between various sects, select talents and eliminate bad elements. The lights on the top floor of Dingjian Pavilion were often kept on until late at night.
On the fifteenth of every month, he would rush from Dingjiange in Moling to Lin'an to visit Qiu Shuiyin.
She had been married for ten years. The young man who was dressed in fine clothes and rode a horse had reached the age of thirty, becoming the overlord of the Central Plains martial arts world, the object of admiration of countless people. However, his concern for her had never diminished in the slightest.
Every month, he would come to Jiuyao Villa, wearing white clothes and holding a long sword, sitting tall behind the screen, leaning forward, and politely asking her about her recent health and what she needed in life. The woman sat behind the screen and answered politely, maintaining her usual reserve and pride.
The pain of losing her son gradually subsided, and her mania was cured, but the light in her eyes was dimming little by little.
Every time he came, she said very little, just staring at the vague shadow on the other side of the screen, with a dazed look on her face: as if she already knew that this man would stay on the other side of the screen for the rest of his life and would never come closer again.
She had always been proud, and he had always just followed her.
She was used to being chased and taken care of, but she didn't know how to bow her head. So, since he was now the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world and he maintained such a distant attitude, her pride would not allow her to bow her head first.
The touching story between them has been passed down by word of mouth in the martial arts world. Everyone said that Master Huo was a talented person and a romantic man. They all sighed at his loyalty and accused her of being ruthless. But she just sneered -
Only she herself knew that she had lost him at some point in time.
For eight years, she had seen him running around for her, risking his life, and never complaining or regretting no matter how she treated him. She thought he would be her prisoner forever - but he had already broken free from the shackles that fate had put on him before she even noticed.
Where is his heart now
That day, when he politely stood up to leave as usual, she finally couldn't stand it anymore. She suddenly pushed down the screen between them and faced him. Her voice, which she had tried to control, trembled slightly: "Why? Why!"
Amid the loud bang, the person who was leaving was slightly startled and looked at her.
"I'm sorry." He didn't say a word of excuse, just uttered three words.
Yes, when he was a young man, he had made a lifelong vow, and he had traveled thousands of miles for her, even if he died nine times, he would not regret it. If possible, he also hoped that this relationship could last forever, always as fresh as new. However, in the torrent of time and the changes of fate, he was ultimately unable to hold on to the end.
He looked at her with sadness and apology in his eyes. Then, he turned around and never looked back.
Outside the door, the sky was grey and cold, with a little snow falling, staining his clothes.
Every time it snowed, he would think of the purple-dressed woman uncontrollably. In the past eight years, they had not spent much time together. He clearly remembered that during the last period of time in Yaoshi Valley, there were seven nights when it snowed. He would never forget the moment he woke up in the valley on a snowy night: the sky and the earth were silent, snow plums were falling, the fire reflected the face of the sleeping woman in his arms, peaceful and warm - this was the life he wanted.
However, on that snowy night, he unexpectedly got everything he dreamed of, but lost it just as quickly, leaving only the vague warmth in his memory, warming the rest of his long and lonely life.
Now, it is snowing again in the south of the Yangtze River.
I wonder if the white plum blossom in the Yaoshi Valley by the Mohe River has quietly bloomed again? The jar of wine buried under the tree is empty. Under the snowy night sky, perhaps only the blue-haired doctor is still playing the lonely song "Ge Sheng"
Winter nights, summer days. After a hundred years, he returns to his room.
—However, a hundred years later, where can he go
In the far north, the cold wind on the frozen Mohe River cuts people's skin and howls like ghosts.
An abandoned village, a snow-covered cemetery, and a person kneeling in front of the tomb for a long time.
"…" The pale fingers lifted up and slowly touched the cold tombstone. On the index finger of that hand was a huge ring inlaid with a red gem, which shone brightly in the snow.
"Sister... Xue Huai." The man in the black robe raised his head and looked at the snow-covered tombstone with a rare eagerness. His pupils were as dark as night, but the whites of his eyes were a strange light blue. He whispered softly, "I'm here to see you."
Only the whistling wind answered him.
"Sister Xiaoye, I'm here to ask for your forgiveness," the black-clad priest brushed away the snow on the monument inch by inch with his hands, muttering, "In a month, the 'Breaking the Formation' plan will be launched, and I will go to war with Dingjian Pavilion."
Still only the cold wind of Mohe answered him, whistling past his ears like crying.
"Your Majesty." A subordinate beside him bowed from a distance and reminded respectfully, "I heard that a snowstorm that is rare in a century will befall Mohe soon. Please leave as soon as possible."
The black-clad pope finally stood up, turned silently from the broken monument, and walked through the ruined village towards the main road.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of metal clashing. He was startled and looked sideways at an empty house. He recognized it: it was the nightmare place in his childhood. More than a decade later, the birch bark roof collapsed under the weight of snow. The wind blew in recklessly, and two iron shackles hanging from the wall clashed with each other, making a harsh sound.
He suddenly staggered and showed a painful expression.
At that moment he recalled his childhood that seemed so distant and almost unreal: the endless nights and the pair of bright eyes in the nights… She called him brother, and held his hand and played and chased him on the glacier, so happy and free - what price should he pay to make that brief joy reappear in his life again
How much he wanted to stay in that memory forever, however, no one can go back.
Winter nights, summer days. After a hundred years, he returns to his room.
Those who had given him warmth have all returned to the cold earth forever. And he, after a long journey, has stood at the pinnacle of power. So lonely and yet so proud.
Power is a vicious tiger. Once you ride it, it is difficult to get off. Therefore, he can only drive this vicious tiger to devour more people and find more blood to feed it, so as to ensure that he will not be bitten back. He can already see the end of his life from the previous king.
Countless colors flashed across Tong's eyes, and she remained silent in the snow, not letting the heart-piercing pain rush out of her throat.
Next to the village, huge fir trees stood like black and gray tombstones pointing to the gray and cold snowy sky. Only the snow in the wasteland continued to fall endlessly, cold and silent, as if to bury everything.
"Look!" Suddenly, he heard a surprised cry from afar, and his subordinates looked up at the sky.
He also raised his head unconsciously.
Instantly, his breath was choked -
Under the gray sky, a boundless light suddenly passed by. The light diffused from the far north, shrouded the sky above Mohe, and changed lightly on the flying snow, with colors changing one by one: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... and fell on the desolate cemetery, like a dream that came suddenly.
"Light."
—Under the magical power of nature, the young pope knelt down in the snowy sky and slowly stretched out his hands towards the sky.
[Postscript:]
I traveled thousands of miles to say goodbye to you
On the first and last snowy night
We walked side by side in the cold and silent wilderness
All the words are frozen on my lips
Look up together, have you ever seen:
The snowflakes of the seven nights bloomed and withered
Like a brief reunion and a permanent separation
Please forgive me for turning away at this moment—
For those barren years
Because I couldn't hold on in the end
The deepest love in life cannot withstand the test of time.
Cangyue 2006-2-20～2006-5-26 in Hangzhou