Chapter 71

No one knows how much time has passed. The candles in the dilapidated wedding hall have long since burned out, leaving only the cold, lonely moonlight streaming slowly in through the carved window frame.

Xi Xiao remained in that position, tightly holding Xi Yu's already cold body. The tears in her eyes had long since dried up, leaving only dry, red eyes, staring blankly into the void.

A rambling, incoherent voice rang out: "Senior brother...didn't I promise you? Next spring, when those seedlings I planted have grown, we'll eat them together...You promised me...You broke your promise..."

She pouted, a childlike grievance and accusation appearing on her face, "It's all your fault... I didn't get to eat either... It's all your fault, all your fault..." she murmured, her trembling hand gently stroking his cold, stiff cheek, the movement careful and precious.

However, the moment her fingertips touched him, without even applying any force, a small patch of skin on his cheek was rubbed off like dried plaster on a wall, and floated lightly to the ground!

Xi Xiao froze abruptly, her eyes widening in disbelief as she looked at the tiny flakes of skin remaining on her fingertips, then at the slightly darker patch of skin on Xi Yu's face. As if burned, she recoiled as if electrocuted, then trembled violently, desperately trying to reattach the detached skin, letting out meaningless sobs, tears welling up in her dry eyes once more.

“Miss…Miss…” Yunwu stood to the side, her voice already hoarse from crying. She sobbed, pleading intermittently, “Let…let the young master…go in peace…don’t…don’t…”

Before she could finish speaking, an even more chilling scene unfolded. Xi Yu's once elegant robes began to visibly ooze dark blood from the inside out, quickly spreading into large patches of stain. Through the damp fabric, one could even vaguely see the skin beneath peeling away and decaying in pieces!

Xi Xiao frantically let go, as if she had touched something extremely terrifying. She staggered backward, waving her hands wildly and crying incoherently, "I was wrong! Senior brother! I was wrong! I won't touch you anymore! I won't touch you anymore! There must be... there must be another way! I can definitely save you! I can!" As if she had gone mad, she suddenly turned around and rushed to the bookshelf next to her, frantically tearing out the books and scrolls inside and throwing them all over the floor. Then, with trembling hands, she grabbed a book and quickly flipped through it, her eyes unfocused and eager as she scanned the densely packed words.

He Song's eyes also reddened. He took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and growled in a low, pained voice to the seemingly deranged Xi Xiao, "Miss! Young Master is gone! Let him go! Don't... don't torment him anymore!"

"Shut up!" Xi Xiao suddenly raised her head, clutching a yellowed medical book tightly in her hand, glaring fiercely at He Song. Her peripheral vision glanced down and suddenly fell on Pei Yun, who lay unconscious in a pool of blood not far away.

In an instant, a strange and terrifying light flashed in her eyes. She threw aside the medical book, grabbed a sharp dagger she had used to cut her arm from the scattered debris beside her, and stumbled toward Pei Yun!

"Girl! What are you doing?!" Yunwu cried out in alarm, rushing forward without thinking, hugging Xi Xiao's waist tightly, biting her lip, and using all her strength to snatch the dagger from her hand.

Xi Xiao turned around, her eyes wide with madness, the whites of her eyes bloodshot, filled with malice and obsession: "Let me go! Take out the mother-child Gu! I'll plant it again! Next time! Next time I'll definitely succeed! Let me go!" She struggled, her teeth even unconsciously biting hard on Yunwu's arm that was holding her tightly.

Yunwu winced in pain, but still didn't let go. Instead, she abruptly stopped crying, and with all her might, snatched the dagger from Xi Xiao's hand, throwing it violently to the ground. She roared at Xi Xiao, "How can you live after removing the mother Gu?! Girl! Young Master is gone! He's not coming back! Wake up! Stop being so stubborn!!"

"Let go! Senior brother isn't dead! He's not dead!" Xi Xiao completely lost control, trying even harder to snatch the dagger that Yun Wu was tightly gripping, acting like a madwoman.

Just then, a powerful force struck her from behind, hitting her precisely on the back of the neck. The light in Xi Xiao's eyes went out instantly, her body went limp, and she silently fainted in Yun Wu's arms.

Hesong silently lowered the hilt of the sword he was using as a hand chop. He walked forward silently and gently pushed Xi Yu, chair and all, out of the courtyard. After a moment, he returned, bent down, and scooped up the unconscious Pei Yun from the ground as if picking up a broken object, hoisting him onto his shoulder. He glanced one last time at the nodding clouds, then turned and strode into the dim night.

*

The autumn rain arrived suddenly, large raindrops pounding rapidly against the eaves, making a continuous, pattering sound. Yunwu, carrying a shovel covered in mud, hurriedly ran from outside the yard back to the eaves. Her shoes and socks were soaked through, and she frowned as she picked up a damp cloth draped nearby and carefully wiped them clean. Suddenly, she heard a slight noise from inside the house. Startled, she immediately dropped her shovel and rushed in, lifting the curtain as she entered.

She saw Xi Xiao standing barefoot on the cold floor, clutching a crumpled letter tightly in her hand, silently weeping. Her heart tightened, and she quickly stepped forward, softly saying, "The floor is cold." As she spoke, she carefully took the letter from Xi Xiao's hand.

As she unfolded the letter and saw the delicate handwriting, an indescribable bitterness instantly spread through her body. Her throat tightened, and she spoke with difficulty, her voice choked with sobs: "Miss...Young Master is gone...You...You must...live on..." Even she herself felt that these words were pale and powerless.

Xi Xiao slowly raised her hand, wiping away the tears on her face with the corner of her sleeve. She turned around, her back to Yunwu, and said in a low voice, "Yunwu, come with me to see my senior brother." She reached out and took the letter from Yunwu's hand again, her fingertips gently trying to smooth out the wrinkles. She asked in a calm tone, "Was this letter found in that person's house?"

Yunwu quickly picked up the soft-soled shoes and socks neatly arranged in front of the bed, squatted down, first helped Xi Xiao sit down on a low stool, and then helped her put on the shoes while shaking her head and explaining, "Hesong brought them over a few days ago. He said... he found them in that person's personal clothing, and seeing that it was your handwriting, he... so he brought them over."

Upon hearing this, Xi Xiao didn't say anything more.

The two opened their umbrellas and stepped into the rain. A cold wind howled and swept by, carrying the chill of late autumn, making the oil-paper umbrellas in their hands sway precariously in the wind, almost slipping out of their grasp.

Yunwu subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter, forcing herself to look more energetic, and teased with a smile, "I remember this time last year, the young lady loved to dress up and insisted on going out in just a thin spring dress, ignoring everyone's advice. This year, that's impossible. Look, she's obediently wearing a cloak..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized that she had misspoke. Her current fear of the cold was probably due to the damage to her body. She lowered her head in regret, and then suddenly thought of something. Her face changed drastically, and despair surged in her eyes, almost overwhelming her.

She looked up and saw an unusually calm smile on Xi Xiao's lips. This smile, seen through Yunwu's eyes, tore at her heart, and she couldn't help but sob softly: "Hesong said...that person was severely injured and certainly won't live much longer...If...if the offspring Gu is completely destroyed, then the mother Gu within you...could it...could it also...be buried with him?!"

Xi Xiao stopped, turned around, and quietly looked at the tear-filled mist, her heart filled with bitterness and torment. She reached out, her cold fingers gently stroking her wet cheek, her smile forced, wanting to say something, but saying nothing at all.

"I don't want to!" Yunwu grabbed her hand tightly, shaking her head violently. She was already sobbing uncontrollably, her voice broken and gasping for breath from extreme grief. "I don't want to! My brother is gone... the young master is gone too... if... if even you are gone... leaving me all alone... how can I... how can I... Miss, you must have a way, right? Even if... even if it's just trying to keep him alive, so he can live, then you can live..."

“There’s no other way…” Xi Xiao looked at her, her eyes filled with unfathomable weariness and resignation, her voice growing softer and softer until it was almost inaudible, “Unless…”

"Unless what?!" Yunwu seemed to have grasped at the last straw, suddenly blocking her way, a glint of urgency flashing in his eyes as he pressed for an answer.

Looking into her hopeful eyes, Xi Xiao felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She took Yunwu's arm and gently rested her head against her warm neck, as if drawing strength from it. "Unless... there's a miracle." She paused for a moment, feeling the subtle warmth emanating from the other's body, then suddenly looked up, deliberately putting on a relaxed expression. "Maybe... there really is a miracle in this world? Let's go quickly, don't keep Senior Brother and Qingfeng waiting."

The autumn wind, carrying icy raindrops, mingled with the suppressed sobs of the clouds and mist, gradually merging into the hazy rain and fog, leaving only a trail of silent desolation.

When the two side-by-side, wordless blue stone tablets came into view, the pattering rain strangely and slowly subsided. A thin sliver of light seemed to be torn through the heavy, leaden-gray clouds.

Xi Xiao slowly knelt on the cold grass, stretched out her trembling hand, and gently touched one of the cold stone tablets. Her fingertips felt the rough and hard texture, as if she could touch the soul buried beneath the stone.

With red-rimmed eyes, Yunwu knelt down beside her as well, silently setting up a small copper brazier she had brought. With practiced movements, she placed stacks of yellowish-brown paper money into the brazier and lit it with a tinderbox. The orange-red flames leaped up, greedily licking the paper money, bringing a tiny bit of warmth in an attempt to dispel the bone-chilling cold that permeated the surroundings.

"Miss," Yunwu tossed in a crumpled piece of paper money, watching the fire grow a little stronger, and said in a low voice, "Would you like to... carve an inscription for the young master's tombstone?"

Xi Xiao remained kneeling in front, her voice ethereal: "Yunwu, could you go to the front and pick some ginseng for me?"

"Girl, what are you doing?!" Yunwu suddenly stood up, her movements hurried due to the sudden shock, almost knocking over the burning brazier in front of her. A few sparks flew out and landed on the wet grass, instantly extinguishing the fire.

Xi Xiao looked up at her intense reaction, a teasing smile on her face. "What's wrong with you? Most of the ginseng grows on shady slopes. You're good at it and stronger than me. Why don't you go and pick it for me? Or... do you want me to go?"

Looking at her overly calm face, Yunwu was momentarily speechless, stammering, "I...I thought you..." She didn't finish her sentence, but worry was written all over her face. Then, as if trying to shake off this unpleasant thought, she deliberately lightened her tone, even forcing a smile: "Of course it's my turn! You wait here, don't wander off, I'll be right back!"

She gave Xi Xiao a deep look, as if trying to find any trace of anything unusual on her face, but in the end she only saw a calm indifference. Yunwu pursed her lips tightly, turned around, and hurriedly walked towards the hillside, her figure quickly disappearing behind the sparse trees.

Xi Xiao watched her leave until the figure was completely out of sight. Only then did her body relax almost imperceptibly for a moment. The forced calm receded like the tide, revealing boundless weariness deep in her eyes. She withdrew her gaze and turned it back to the wordless stone tablet. The firelight illuminated her profile, flickering on and off.