In the end, Yaoguang stayed on the master couch with Su Qingluan for one night - although Mu Xingzhi and Su Qingluan probably didn't mind where she slept, Yaoguang still didn't have the courage to touch her master's things.
But in the second half of the night, Yaoguang couldn't sleep. The kang was very warm, but for Yaoguang, who already had strong fire power and internal strength, this "warmth" feeling was too "heavy" - she felt a little too hot.
Then when Su Qingluan woke up the next day, she saw a huge Buddha sitting cross-legged at the end of the kang, motionless, which scared her.
"So it's you!" Su Qingluan patted her chest to calm her overly active heartbeat. "Why are you sitting here all night instead of sleeping?"
“…It’s too hot.”
"What?"
"This bed is too hot. I can't sleep on it." Yaoguang restrained her breath and looked at Su Qingluan. "Don't worry. For those who practice martial arts, meditating like this at night can also help them rest."
"...There are obviously many beds with kangs over there, why don't you sleep over there?" Su Qingluan wondered: How come this person can't think flexibly?
"That's the bed where the master sleeps peacefully. How could I..."
"Anyway, he's not here right now, and I've also replaced the mattress on the bed with a new one, so it's not the one he's slept on." Su Qingluan felt very magical. "Besides, I believe that in an emergency, we should act with caution. He won't care about such trivial matters, right?"
Su Qingluan felt that although Mu Xingzhi was a bit of a germaphobe at times, it wasn't something he couldn't live with. Furthermore, in her opinion, Mu Xingzhi definitely wouldn't embarrass his subordinates over such trivial matters. If he was truly so petty, she, a master of courting death, wouldn't know how many times she would have to report to the King of Hell.
Moreover, Su Qingluan really didn't want to clean the room in such cold weather without any heating, so she happily decided that Yaoguang should stay in the room tonight and suppressed all of Yaoguang's objections.
After all, Yaoguang had been feeling guilty since the beginning, so she still had no confidence to refute Su Qingluan's words.
The two of them ate breakfast leisurely, chatting occasionally. Su Qingluan also understood why Yaoguang, although a "secret guard", chose to drive a donkey cart in the slowest and most ostentatious way to come to Huaxi Village, pretending to be Mu Xingzhi's "distant cousin".
In short, Yaoguang was going to visit relatives as a "cousin" and convey a message to everyone in the village: Mr. Mu's distant relative was not in good health, and this "relative" had taken good care of him in his early years. As someone who had received the other person's favor, Mu Xingzhi had to go to the funeral for both emotional and logical reasons.
Su Qingluan didn't think it mattered whether this "relative" existed or not - although she felt that according to Mu Xingzhi's strict character, even if this "relative" was fictitious, he could still come up with an identity document - the important thing was that it gave Mu Xingzhi, a man who was unable to walk and was frail, a reason to travel far away.
After all, in the traditional concept of the ancients, "the dead are the greatest", and if the other party has done you a favor, then no matter where you are, as long as you can leave, you should go to pay your respects.
What's more, Yaoguang's statement that "I'm not feeling well, but there's still some time left" is very subtle: generally in this situation, there's still some ample time, and you just need to set off as soon as possible, but there's no need to rush every second.
"So I'm going to leave in the dead of winter?" Su Qingluan frowned. "What if the mountain is closed due to heavy snow?"
"So that's why the master... the boss is 'seriously ill', right?" Yaoguang took another sip of the century egg and lean meat porridge. The tenderness and smoothness of the century egg was very much to her liking.
Su Qingluan: ...I never expected that "a serious illness is like a brick, it can be moved wherever it is useful."
"But being 'seriously ill' all the time isn't a solution," Su Qingluan shook her head. "Mu Xingzhi may not be a living Buddha in Huaxi Village, but he's loved and cared for by many villagers. A month or so of bedridden illness might be okay, but if it lasts longer, everyone's bound to come and visit."
In fact, Mu Xingzhi has been "staying indoors" for nearly a month. Su Qingluan was relatively quiet at the beginning, but in the past ten days or so, some people have been unable to sit still and have come to visit him, but they were all turned away by Su Qingluan with reasons such as "can't be exposed to the wind" and "afraid of contracting the disease".
But Su Qingluan also understood that this was just a temporary measure.
In Huaxi Village, Mu Xingzhi has always played the role of "responding to every request". No matter whether the villagers are sick and can't afford to see a doctor, or someone has problems with their farm, they will go to Mu Xingzhi for help with big or small matters. He is actually more like the head of the village than the head of the village himself.
Even the village head himself once wanted to give this position to Mu Xingzhi - after all, because clans were prevalent in Sheng Dynasty, the village heads of many villages were elected by the villagers themselves - but he gave up because Mu Xingzhi was "too weak and unable to do the job".
"I'm confident I can hold out for another half a month. After that, Mu Xingzhi will definitely come back and show his face or something. Yaoguang, you should be able to see him at least once during this period, right?"
Although the question was a question, Su Qingluan's tone was very certain. After all, if Mu Xingzhi's "absence from home" was exposed, no one saw Mu Xingzhi and Song Bo leave. Even if Su Qingluan could find a reason to say that the two of them went out to seek medical treatment because Mu Xingzhi suddenly fell ill, such matters could be solved by checking the customs records in the town.
Su Qingluan can guarantee 100% that "Mu Xingzhi" has no record of passing customs.
Sure enough, Yaoguang didn't say much, just nodded, which made Su Qingluan feel a headache: looking at the situation, she would have to deal with the villagers who came to visit the patient for several days.
Unfortunately, these people were kind-hearted, so Su Qingluan couldn't resort to intimidation or threats, and could only persuade them kindly. Especially since these visitors might include her own family members, Su Qingluan felt even more troubled when she thought of this.
"Oh..." She sighed deeply: Since she traveled through time, apart from making money and doing business, she hasn't racked her brains to deal with these "well-intentioned" people who cannot be taken lightly or seriously for a long time, and they are a group of them!
After being idle for so long, being forced to turn it over is still very tiring.
Thinking of this, Su Qingluan turned her head and looked at Yaoguang: "When are you going to see Mu Xingzhi?"
In a blink of an eye, Yaoguang has lived in Huaxi Village for three days. Every day she would go out under the pretext of buying frozen food, getting some fresh air, or some other excuse.
Seeing someone come out, naturally, those curious people came to inquire about Mu Xingzhi's health. Su Qingluan and Yaoguang had already put together the words, and they both had a basic "set" of what Mu Xingzhi's symptoms were and how serious his illness was. So Yaoguang, with a worried look on her face, explained the purpose of her visit.
"Alas... I originally thought that my father only wanted to see my cousin one last time, but who could have known such an unfortunate coincidence that my cousin is so seriously ill... I just beg my father to hold on for a few more days..." Yaoguang's tears rolled down as she spoke. If Su Qingluan were there, she would definitely say: "Masterful acting! You owe an Oscar!"
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