Raindrops fell along the eaves drop by drop into the water tank below, making a soft "pop" sound, dissipating the ripples on the water surface, and the door opposite creaked open.
The maid brought out the doctor with a medicine box hanging on his shoulder. They walked to the other side of the corridor. A figure came under the eaves, came to the door and gently pushed it open.
The lights in the room were flickering. An old woman with white hair was sitting on a stool beside the bed, holding the hand of an old man lying on the couch. When she heard the door open, she thought the maid had returned.
"Listen to the bottle, the doctor sent..."
Her wet and red eyes were a little cloudy. When she saw that the person entering the room was not a maid, but someone from the mansion, she immediately stood up, picked up the candlestick on the table, and while the flame was extinguished, she held the old man sleeping on the couch in front of her chest to protect him behind her.
"Who are you!"
Lu Liangsheng recognized this old lady. When she saved her daughter Zhou Rong, he came out to thank her. Now, when he saw her again, he smiled.
"Madam, do you still recognize Lu Liangsheng?"
"Lu..."
The old woman hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but move forward a little while holding the candlestick, looking carefully at the young man at the door, who was wearing quite impressive robes.
"Mr. Lu, is it really you?!"
After a long while, the old woman finally recognized the young man in front of her and quickly put down the candlestick to greet him. Lu Liangsheng naturally would not let her salute.
"I came to see Mr. Zhou. What did the doctor say?" Lu Liangsheng helped her up.
The old woman looked back at her husband who was sleeping on the couch and shook her head.
"The master was already weak and old, and he got angry because of this incident. He was also caught in the rain on the city wall, and was frightened. He has been sleeping since he came back..."
Lu Liangsheng got up from the table, walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, with his fingertips on the old man's wrist. He had read some medical books and had also received medical advice from Li Yishu, the ghost doctor in Wanhe County. He felt the old man's pulse, which was smooth and weak. He slightly opened his lips and looked at his tongue, confirming that what the doctor said was true.
"Madam, you don't have to worry. Mr. Zhou is just weak and caught a cold. He will wake up soon."
As he spoke, he placed his fingertips on the old man's pulse, transferred some magical energy, and carefully swam over the old man's aged organs.
Under the quilt, the sleeping old man's breathing gradually became a little stronger. The old woman next to him could probably see what Lu Liangsheng was doing, so she didn't disturb him and quietly retreated. She called the maid to get medicine for her husband, and instructed the kitchen to prepare wine and food. Then she turned around and looked at the silhouette sitting on the edge of the bed, clasped her hands together, and tears flowed out.
…
The raindrops dripping from the eaves gradually stopped after falling a few drops. The gloomy dark clouds dissipated, and a ray of sunlight shone down to the earth through the gap in the clouds.
Chirp, chirp, chirp…
Birds flew out of the branches and landed on the roof, singing happily. The sunlight poured into the open window frames. The old man on the bed squared his palms, moved his fingers, and slowly opened his eyes.
He groaned through his tightly closed mouth and nose, but found that he didn't feel any pain, and he still had enough strength to sit up on his own.
He found the walking stick leaning against the wall beside the bed, put on his robe, and walked with a lighter and steadier pace than usual. He opened the door and gently knocked on the door of the maidservant's room, Tingping, who was dozing off on the fence, to wake her up.
"Master?!" Tingping was startled. Seeing Zhou Zhen standing in front of him, he called out quickly and was about to call his wife, but was stopped by the old man.
"How did I get back?"
"It was the county magistrate who sent the master back..." The maid put her finger on the corner of her lips, thought for a moment, and added: "I heard from the madam that there were distinguished guests at home, but I didn't see any distinguished guests anywhere."
Zhou Zhen frowned, then relaxed his brows, remembering the figure on the city wall before. He immediately understood who the distinguished guest was. He woke up and felt much better than before.
After thinking about it, he stopped asking the maid and walked towards the study room with his crutches without the help of the servant. Through the slightly opened window, the aroma of tea wafted from the desk. Lu Liangsheng was sitting at the table, flipping through a book. Occasionally, he took a sip of tea, and when he saw the content of the book, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a hint of a smile.
Hearing footsteps outside the door and the sound of the door being pushed open, Lu Liangsheng put down his tea and stood up: "Mr. Zhou, why don't you rest more?"
"I wanted to sleep a little longer, but I was afraid the 'distinguished guest' would run away."
The old man said jokingly, came over with a smile, sat next to the scholar, stretched his neck and glanced at the book the other was reading.
"Liangsheng has always liked reading these weird books."
"Just killing time." Lu Liangsheng took the tea on the table and moved it towards the old man, as if the tea and water were overlapping, and took out a new cup of tea and placed it in front of Zhou Zhen.
"… Besides, what book in Mr. Zhou's study has he not read?"
The steam from the tea rose, giving off a faint tea fragrance. The old man was no longer surprised. He took a sip of the tea and said, "Since you have read my book, then I will test your knowledge again to see if you have been slacking off over the years."
"Haha, Mr. Zhou, just ask the questions."
The old man and the young were sitting in the study discussing academic matters as before, laughing from time to time. The eavesdropping servant told the lady, who smiled, quickly had cakes brought over, urged the kitchen to prepare the meal quickly, and secretly ran to the study to take a look.
The sun shines through the old trees in the courtyard, swaying their branches. Birds fly to the window frames and jump back and forth, looking curiously at the old and young sitting opposite each other at the desk, reading and chatting.
The cups on the table are silent, and the steam from the tea is rising.
…
The dark clouds dispersed, and the foothills of Fulin Prefecture were covered with a thin layer of mist. Amid the rain-dripping woods, the sound of rustling footsteps could be heard at the end.
"Master... Master, hold on."
In the woods, a slender figure was carrying an old man out of the tree. The old man seemed unable to walk anymore, and he leaned softly from the young man's shoulder and leaned against the side of a tree.
The two people were master and apprentice Chen Fu and Chen Jing.
“Jing’er…” The old man leaned against the tree trunk and opened his eyes weakly. His face was pale as he watched his apprentice hurriedly untie the water bag around his waist. Chen Fu waved his hand.
“…No, it’s not necessary…”
"Master, please don't say anything. You have a high level of cultivation, so you will be fine."
Chen Jing took off the water bag, unscrewed the wooden stopper, and handed the bag mouth to the old man's mouth. "Master, take a sip to quench your thirst. You will be fine after a rest."
"No... Jing'er, listen to what the master says."
Over there, Chen Fu turned his face away and rejected the water bag at his mouth. His eyes had turned gray and he looked blankly in one direction.
He said weakly: "... The Chen Dynasty wants to be restored... It cannot be thrown away in your hands, you must 'pick it up'."
He paused for a moment, then continued weakly.
"Jing'er, remember, a king cannot be merciful. Your father is the best example. Don't make the same mistake again..."
Chen Jing knelt on the ground, listening to the old man's weak words, tears flowing down his cheeks. The old man raised his hand tremblingly, wiped the tears from his face, and forced a smile between his gray beard.
"From now on, I can no longer accompany you. You have to rely on yourself for everything. Be brave... Go, go back to Fumo Mountain first. I have some things left in the cave. Take them..."
After wiping the tears from his apprentice's face, the old man's hands gradually couldn't support him anymore and dropped down. His lifeless eyes were still looking at Chen Jing, and the words that came out of his lips became smaller and smaller.
“… From now on, you will go alone.”
His hands fell heavily to the ground, and he looked at his apprentice's eyes, which slowly closed as he finished his last sentence.
“Master!!!”
"Master, wake up—"
"Don't ignore Jing'er... Master!"
The young man who was sobbing quietly burst into tears, hugged the old man on the ground and cried loudly, but in the end no one answered him.
Not long after, an earthen tomb and a stone tablet made of several stones appeared on the cliff overlooking the mountains at the foot of the mountain. There was no name engraved on it.
Chen Jing's eyes were red and bloodshot. He knelt in front of the tombstone and kowtowed three times. "Master, I am leaving now. If I can restore my country in the future, I will come back to move your grave."
He slowly stood up and looked towards the south, bathing in the sunset glow and walking away alone.
Wow wow —
As the sun sets and after the continuous drizzle, the air becomes fresh, and on the quiet cliff, a piece of soil suddenly slides down from the lonely grave.
"Jing'er, I hope you can understand your teacher's painstaking efforts. Only in this way can you truly grow up."
A faint sound was heard in the tomb, and in an instant, with a bang, a large rock flew out from above, rolled on the ground, and bounced out of the cliff.
There was a gap on the raised grave mound, and the dead old man was lying inside, motionless, but there were sounds coming from his mouth.
"I have practiced Taoism for fifty years, how could I not have a way out? I will take the Purple Light Golden Spirit Pill and find a way to break Lu Liangsheng's illusion and come back... come back..."
When he repeated it, Chen Fu, who was lying inside, suddenly felt that something was wrong.
He hurriedly called for the elixir hidden in his body, but all he heard was an empty bag.
…Oh no, could it be that the golden elixir was taken away by the disciple
This, this… this, what the hell should I do—