Deep Love Part 2
Xin Ruien got out of the car and was greeted by a wide avenue. In the middle of the road stood a row of tall, lush camphor trees, their straight, long trunks pointing to the sky, raising their canopies high, and their verdant branches spreading out in all directions.
The camphor tree divided the road into two sides, one for people entering the city and the other for those leaving. Even divided in two, the road was wide enough to accommodate four carriages side by side. However, usually, carriages would travel in pairs along the side closer to the camphor tree. The remaining road was reserved for students who aspired to a bright future and chose to walk, regardless of age or gender.
Of course, this doesn't mean that the students who rode horse-drawn carriages into the city lost hope for the future. It simply reflects a personal choice; some students valued the "sense of ritual" and naturally chose to walk into the city from there. Not choosing to walk wasn't a big deal either. The key is one's heart; one's inner thoughts are what matter most.
The camphor tree stands perfectly in the middle of the "Avenue of Books". On both sides of the avenue, there is a row of osmanthus trees of the same height. The osmanthus trees are much shorter than the camphor trees, and the whole "Avenue of Books" looks like it is higher in the middle and lower on both sides, giving people a sense of security and stability.
Looking at just one side, there's a natural sense of tilt, as if sunlight, time, and everything in the world are leaning towards the osmanthus. The name "Scholarly Avenue" also originates largely from the osmanthus.
It's still far from the season when osmanthus flowers bloom, but the branches and leaves are already beginning to flourish. The central part of the canopy is covered in tender green leaves. Above this green canopy, new red leaves are sprouting one after another, making the tree look like a ball of flame from a distance.
The tender, vibrant torches lined up neatly along the avenue, creating a picturesque scene against the backdrop of tall, flourishing camphor trees.
If the camphor tree represents "pillars of society," then the osmanthus tree symbolizes the aspiration to "achieve great success in the imperial examinations." Both offer hope. Even the heavy wheels of a long journey seem to lighten here, emitting a crisp, creaking sound.
Xin Ruien walked lightly under the osmanthus tree, her longsword strapped to her waist and her hands behind her back. Su Yishan, carrying an antique and exquisite sword, followed slightly behind, watching her retreating figure.
“This is my first time here,” Xin Ruien said happily.
“The sword-testing tournament used to be held at Mount Hua,” Su Yishan said. “This is the first time the location has been changed.”
“I heard that there is a young master of the Chen family in Wenqu City who loves talent and scholars,” Xin Ruien responded. “He covered all the expenses of the conference, which is how he persuaded the seniors who witnessed it to switch places.”
Xin Ruien turned around and saw Su Yishan walking behind her, not following her for a long time. She waved and urged with a sweet smile, "Brother Yishan, hurry up."
Su Yishan took three steps at a time and walked to a position next to Xin Ruien.
"The North is in complete chaos right now, and even the Beggars' Sect is..." Su Yishan said with emotion, "It's already a pleasant surprise that it can be held as scheduled."
"Well, it's good, I've wanted to come here for a long time." Xin Ruien looked up at the flame-like canopy of the osmanthus tree and said with satisfaction.
“Actually, if you want to, you should just study,” Su Yishan said with some reluctance. “You don’t need to be so hard on yourself.”
“No,” Xin Ruien said. “If it weren’t for me, my younger brother and sister would still end up on this path.”
Just as Su Yishan was feeling a little sad, Xin Ruien turned to him with a smile and said, "If Ruizheng grows up and decides to take over the business, I will entrust him with this important responsibility."
Ruizheng was Xin Ruien's younger brother, less than a month old. Su Yishan pictured his chubby, innocent face; the last time Ruizheng had peed all over Su Yishan. Thinking of this, Su Yishan felt a dampness on his chest; he raised his hand to touch it. His clothes were still dry.
“Besides,” Shin Ye-eun continued, “Yi-san hyung, didn’t you say that Se-hee was also going to marry a man she’d never met before?”
“He will also be attending this conference.” Su Yishan’s thoughts drifted back to a few months ago. He remembered Pei Jiangxi’s clothes, but he couldn’t recall her face at all.
"If I see him, I'm sure I'll recognize him," Su Yishan thought to himself, his mind wavering.
“Everyone has things they have to do,” Shin Ye-eun said naturally. “Don’t you, Yi-shan hyung, have those things to do?”
"Me?" Su Yishan fell into deep thought.
What is it that I have to do?
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, interrupting Su Yishan's thoughts. He sighed softly and said to Xin Ruien with a smile, "Look who that is."
"Brother Zi'an." Xin Rui'en waved happily.
The man in the distance also waved his arm excitedly towards the two of them.
Let's put aside the things we have to do for now. The most important thing is that we have the spring breeze and friends gathered together.
The three of them started running towards each other.
*
Qu You had an extremely strong premonition that the cleared forest path must be the way her mother-in-law was looking for. This time, she rented a horse and let her mother-in-law ride on its back, trying to conserve the old woman's energy before entering the jungle.
If the jungle was indeed as deep as she imagined, it would certainly be a considerable challenge for both her and her mother-in-law. Qu You was very worried, especially given that her mother-in-law's mental state was clearly deteriorating.
Besides the horse, Qu You also prepared plenty of dry rations. Fortunately, neither her mother-in-law nor she herself needed to eat much each day. A bulging bundle was enough to hold the water and food that the grandmother and granddaughter needed.
If the journey is so long that it will exhaust all the food in the bag, then let's go back. Qu You thought to herself, that's not something a girl with an old lady can accomplish.
"In that case, let's go back to the city, spend some money, and find a local hunter who knows the area well to take us in." Qu You had already planned her escape route when she entered the jungle path.
The forest path was slippery after the rain, making it difficult for the grandmother and granddaughter to walk. Even so, Qu You didn't give up. Her only criterion was that the food would run out. No matter what, she had to ensure her mother-in-law's safety and health.
But Qu You still returned to the inn, not because of her mother-in-law, nor because they had run out of food. They hadn't even unpacked their bundle once by the time they got back. At that moment, her mother-in-law was holding a young girl's hand with great enthusiasm, while the girl looked worriedly at the bed.
The grandmother and granddaughter returned to the inn. In the corner of the room, rainwater that had seeped in the previous night still lingered on the wooden floor. The only difference was that there were now two unknown girls in the room, one sitting at the table and the other lying unconscious on the bed.
"I will never let my child touch a sword again," Qu You thought as she applied medicine to the conscious girl. "How pitiful."
The girl suffered more than just one or two sword wounds; there were unhealed wounds all over her body, face, and even on the back of the hand that her mother-in-law was holding tightly.
"It will hurt a little, just bear with it and don't move around too much," Qu You comforted the girl. "After the medicine is applied, there won't be any scars on your face."
However, to everyone's surprise, the girl's face remained completely unchanged after the medicine was applied.
"That's true. People from the martial world wouldn't cry out over a little pain," Qu You thought to herself. She couldn't help but recall the time she pulled the sword out of Xiang Wu's hand. Although Xiang Wu was grimacing in pain that time, he didn't wail or scream.
"Thank you." The girl turned her gaze back to Qu You and thanked her earnestly. Her beautiful eyes seemed to have lost their soul.
"How did you get injured like this?" Qu You asked in confusion. "Is the woods dangerous?"
Qu You met the two girls on a path in the woods, which is why she turned back with her mother-in-law.
Two girls lay face down in the mud, their clothes covered in blood. If Qu You hadn't been practicing medicine with her grandmother since childhood, she probably would have fainted from fright. Despite their severe injuries, they were still breathing and had heartbeats, and the girl at the bottom was still tightly clutching a brownish-yellow longsword.
Qu You couldn't abandon these lives, but she hadn't brought any of her medical equipment, nor did she have any suitable herbs with her. So she had no choice but to leave her mother-in-law behind and return to the inn alone for help. There was absolutely no way she could bring the two girls back to the inn by herself.
Everyone was very worried when they learned of the situation, and many men who usually did heavy manual labor came. Before long, the two patients were safely returned to the inn. The innkeeper didn't charge the two girls for their rooms and gave them a separate room—the same room Qu You and her mother-in-law had stayed in the previous day.
At this time of day, the mother-in-law would usually be asleep in bed. But today she was sitting upright, holding the girl's hand tightly with one hand and tidying her hair with the other.
"It shouldn't be dangerous now," the girl replied.
The girl's words left Qu You completely bewildered. "Does this mean the crisis is over?" Qu You wondered, perplexed.
"Do you have any way to help my junior sister with her injuries?" the girl asked pitifully.
“She was badly injured, the sword wound went straight through her chest,” Qu You glanced at her mother-in-law and said, “If we were in Wuling, I might still be able to try. My mother-in-law and I went out without taking anything with us.”
"Is she someone very important to you?" The mother-in-law, who had been sitting silently for a long time, suddenly spoke.
The girl looked at her mother-in-law, tears welling up in her eyes: "She is a very important person to me, mother-in-law."
Qu You had done all she could for the initial treatment. She looked at the girl on the bed, whose vital signs had temporarily stabilized, then glanced at her mother-in-law, gritted her teeth, and said, "Don't worry, I'll introduce you to a doctor. Go to Wuling City and find him; he'll definitely have a solution."
The girl looked up at Qu You, her pale, chapped lips moving slightly. She then said, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss."
Qu You said apologetically, "I have to take my mother-in-law to a place we have to go, so I can't go back to Wuling City with you."
Qu You looked at her mother-in-law with a sorrowful expression. Although she was unwilling to admit it, she vaguely sensed that it was something that would cause sadness, something Qu You could never bring herself to say or think about. Perhaps Qu Peng herself had also realized this, which was why she had resolutely left Wuling City.
So that's how it is. The girl looked at Qu You and immediately understood the sadness in Qu You's heart.
It was something that couldn't be said.
“Let’s go back,” Qu Peng said. She looked at the two little girls in the room. For some reason, tears were streaming down their faces.
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