Finale
According to the Dali Temple Minister, Gou Su already looked like this when he found her.
Huang Heng was charged with treason, patricide and deceiving the emperor, but he died a quick death, which is really a pity.
After learning the truth, the emperor was furious and raided the Huang family's house. He crushed Huang Heng's body into powder and fed it to the local pigs.
All this seems quite gratifying.
But Achou's death often made Gou Su feel uneasy.
"I, have no home..."
This was what Xiao Lin and Mu You overheard Gou Su mumbling in private.
The huge General's Mansion was silent for several days, until one day, Gou Su accidentally pried open the backyard door and suddenly burst into tears.
The yard was filled with flowers and plants swaying like the sea.
Flowers of various colors are full of life, crowding together as if they are competing to stick out of the wall.
If you are lucky, a draft will come in from the dilapidated doorway, blowing up a rain of petals that will fall on Gou Su's hair.
Only then did she dare to remember Achou.
The fragrance of flowers spread silently, carrying the slightly fishy moisture of soil, mixed with the clear fragrance of chrysanthemums, and lingered on.
With some colorful decorations, Xiao Lin asked Chu Mo to make a cup of tea for her and handed it to her bedside.
Accompanied by the fragrance of tea, she finally had a good dream after crying for a while.
For Yu Gou Su, his longing for Achou was the result of every moment of his departure, when he felt guilty about everything he left behind. However, he could not get any forgiveness from his old friend afterwards.
Now, some good news.
After the real murderer was captured, the emperor's rewards followed. Gou Su erected a monument to redress Wang Pu's injustice and was also promoted to a higher position, fulfilling her childhood wish.
However, one day, she wrote a petition to the emperor without telling anyone, begging him to allow her to serve her country with her life, to stay at the frontier forever, and never return to Beijing.
Xiao Lin could actually understand that the capital was a truly terrifying place for her.
So, Gou Su got what he wished for and would soon set off for the border. He also returned Xiao Lin and Mu You to Chu Mo.
After many twists and turns, starting from Liuxiangju and ending in Liuxiangju, they will also meet their own destiny.
Outside the window, the chirping of insects was interspersed, and inside the house, thin wisps of agarwood drifted up from the copper stove, spreading and entangling the new book spread out on the desk.
Chu Mo sat at the desk, the tip of his pen moving across the porcelain blue paper, leaving ink marks.
Suddenly, the heavy sound of a wooden wheel rolling over the threshold came from outside the door, breaking the silence of the study.
"Hidden West?" Qian Li, with Mu You's help, rolled across the ground in his wheelchair. "There are so many customers in the shop every day, yet you manage to have some free time, hiding here and writing."
Mu You pouted and agreed, "That's right, you solved a big case, and you've become famous, Boss Chu. Everyone's vying to see you, this 'god-like' person! The shop is obviously short-staffed, but you're still unwilling to hire more! How stingy!"
It seems that Chu Mo heard Mu You's joke, but he didn't take it personally. Instead, he put the last stroke of the book in front of him and closed it with a smile.
Xiao Lin wanted to ask, but he knew it was not the right time.
But who would have thought that just as she swallowed her worries, Chu Mo took the booklet and walked up to the two of them, and finally handed it to Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin was puzzled and turned the book over to take a closer look.
etc!
Here, here it is written, it is "Liu Xiangju"!
Isn’t this the way they came?
Does handing this booklet to them mean that their mission is complete and they can go back?
Xiao Lin held the book in his palm, but a complicated feeling arose in his heart, which he couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.
Are you...just going to leave?
Before she could speak, Chu Mo took the lead and instructed, "Please hand this booklet to the owner of the cloth shop next door. I have already agreed with him. You can go there."
Strange, it turns out that this booklet is not for them, but for someone else!
Xiao Lin couldn't figure out why he gave the "hope" of returning home to others with his own hands, and felt a little relieved in his heart?
I'm afraid that after staying with Chu Mo for too long, I have become unconscious.
"Okay!" She agreed happily, pulled Mu You and ran out.
After watching the two leave, Qian Li stared at their backs in a trance. On a whim, he joked with Chu Mo, "Yinxi, when we were young, we were also as carefree as them, right?"
Chu Mo: “…”
Qian Li was slightly surprised: "Yinxi?"
There was a long pause, and the silence between the two was so clear that even the sound of their breathing could be heard clearly.
Qian Li began to feel uneasy.
This feeling of uneasiness intensified until Chu Mo spoke again: "Xuan Du, this time, it still won't work."
It was a sentence without any beginning or end, but it made Qian Li really panic.
His tone was filled with pleading, and he uttered a half-truthful joke: "Yin... Yinxi, if it doesn't work out, forget it. Isn't it enough to have me by your side in this world?"
But Chu Mo turned around indifferently and touched his desk.
"Yeah, that's fine if it doesn't work..." Chu Mo looked dejected for the first time, like a reed in the rain, unable to raise his head. "Xuan Du, go pack up and go home."
"Go home?" Qian Li frowned, feeling uneasy as he said, "You...why...why are you still angry and wanting to send me away?..."
Even so, Chu Mo's heart was as hard as stone.
He suddenly lowered his head, his jaw tensed, his fingers tightly twisting the cuffs of his sleeves. Under the devilish mole on his left eye, a teardrop hung in the corner of his eye, swaying in the candlelight, refusing to fall.
He finally lost his voice, his voice deep and hoarse: "...Xuan Du, it's time."
Outside Liu Xiangju, Xiao Lin and Mu You, who knew nothing about it, ran to the cloth shop next door in a serious manner, not even paying attention to the sweat beads that almost slipped into the corners of their eyes, and went straight to the door.
"Boss! Boss! Here's your stuff!" Mu You rushed inside and shouted first.
An old man with white hair came over after hearing the sound. Although his hair and beard were all white, he was full of energy and spirit.
"Boss, this is what our boss Chu asked us to give to you." Xiao Lin strode forward with a warm smile on his face and respectfully handed the booklet with both hands.
The cloth shop owner had a kind expression on his face. He stroked his beard with one hand and took the book with the other. His face immediately lit up with a smile. "Thank you both very much. Please also tell Mr. Chu that I have received the book. I will take good care of it and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Although they didn't understand the deeper meaning, Xiao Lin and Mu You nodded as if to show their support, and then walked out of the cloth shop.
Suddenly, for some reason, Xiao Lin had a sudden impulse. When the two of them were about to step into Liuxiangju again, he leaned forward and glanced at the plaque of the cloth workshop.
Mu You also glanced sideways.
There were four big characters written on the gold-inlaid plaque - Xiao's Cloth Shop.
They were both startled, looked at each other and then smiled with relief.
"I see." Xiao Lin said.
It turns out that my fate with Liuxiangju started here.
Filled with joy, Xiao Linmu You skipped back to the study, opened the door, but saw only Chu Mo.
She asked, "Where is Mr. Qian?"
"He's back where he belongs."
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
But even so, Chu Mo still did not give a direct answer. Instead, he stretched out two slender fingers and placed them on the foreheads of the two people. Then he made up his mind and slowly closed his eyes.
Xiao Lin Mu You didn't know what he was doing. He only knew that a layer of fog suddenly covered his eyes, and the vision became dark and bright, and the beads of sweat on Chu Mo's temples also appeared and disappeared.
"Boss Chu, you..."
Chu Mo's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, blue veins gradually covered the back of his hands, and a chill followed.
Xiao Lin immediately realized something was wrong and tried to break free from Chu Mo's control, but found it was too late.
She yelled, "Boss Chu! Stop it! Stop it!"
But Chu Mo didn't stop.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to shout at the top of her lungs, "Stop it now!"
He still held on.
Even Mu You, who was usually slow-witted, could see that he was trying his best.
“Stop it—!”
Xiao Lin let out a shrill scream, and a white light suddenly appeared, just like when the two of them came here.
But this time it was different. The overwhelming white light became soft, so soft that they could only watch. The things that were previously within their reach became illusory in an instant.
"This...what's going on?" Mu You's voice trembled, and his fingers couldn't move anything in front of him.
Xiao Lin stood there in a daze, his eyes suddenly red.
She hated her innate sixth sense, because this time, her sixth sense told her that Chu Mo was saying goodbye to them.
Then, as she expected, Chu Mo staggered in front of the two of them, and insisted on bowing deeply to them.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
He opened his mouth and explained the cause and effect in detail: "Chu, I would like to express my gratitude to both of you for your generosity. This kindness is beyond measure. I only hope that we can continue this friendship in the next life..."
"Everything you two have encountered here is part of Chu's unfinished plan. I have experienced life over again, so I know everything about cause and effect. I will use my humble income to help you..."
"All of this causation stems from Chu's desire to summon his deceased wife's soul. Years ago, Chu stumbled upon an ancient text that stated: if the wishes of a hundred people were fulfilled, one person's soul could be found. So, to the utmost of my ability, I toiled tirelessly day and night, and fulfilled ninety-five wishes. However, I ultimately fell short, failing at the last five steps. Therefore, it's all because of my persistence that the two of you are dragged into this situation. It's truly Chu's fault..."
At this point, Chu bowed again, but his trembling back showed that he was already at the end of his strength.
"You two have accomplished your mission and should return home. It is a blessing to meet you. Now we say goodbye. May everything go as planned for you both."
After he finished speaking, he stood up with a faint smile on his face.
Xiao Lin felt a sore throat and was about to say something when Chu Mo ruthlessly turned away and walked towards the lobby of Liuxiangju.
She didn't care about anything else and hurriedly pulled Mu You to follow.
But when he arrived, he waved his sleeves swiftly and shouted, "Thank you all for your patronage, but I have other matters to attend to and must close the door. I kindly ask you to move on. I will treat you as my host while the bill is still unsettled. I sincerely apologize for the hasty closure and thank you for your understanding."
As expected, when the "eviction order" was issued, the guests were in an uproar, but they really couldn't argue with the store owner, so they had to leave in disappointment.
At that time, Xiao Lin and Mu You were like spirits. Others could not see them, and they could not touch the bowls and chopsticks. They could only stand there blankly, watching what Chu Mo would do next.
However, this next step came much faster than expected.
After dismissing the distinguished guests, he began to dismiss the servants. "I appreciate your hard work in our shop. I have urgent matters to attend to, and have not been able to pay you all in detail. I am deeply apprehensive. Therefore, if you would not mind, please take any amount of porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings from our shop as a token of your gratitude."
It all sounds ridiculous!
Chu Mo is about to spend all his family wealth!
What on earth was he going to do? Or...what on earth had he calculated?
Similarly, the waiters also felt that there was a reason for this, and they whispered to each other for a long time before they began to pick up the fine porcelain with half belief and half doubt.
Everything in front of him seemed to be in Chu Mo's plan, proceeding step by step.
Until the sound of horses stepping on greenstone was heard outside the door, disrupting all the plans of those present.
The sun is blazing in the sky, all cloud shadows have disappeared, and the heat is stagnant like thick glue.
At some point, Gou Su was standing at the bottom of the steps in armor, with dozens of black-armored soldiers standing behind him like iron towers, solemn and silent.
Xiao Lin was about to step forward and call out to Gou Su, but was shocked to find that she couldn't see him.
The hand that was stretched out had to be retracted.
Gou Su reined in his horse in front of Liu Xiangju first, his face as hard as steel, looking down at Chu Mo who was walking slowly out of the shop.
Her behavior really scared the neighbors, but along with her iron hoof came the holy will of Huang Juan.
Holding the reins and standing in front of the door, Gou Su pacing the horse said, "Boss Chu, do you know why I am here?"
Chu Mo smiled calmly and bowed: "Of course."
"This imperial decree was issued by His Majesty according to the wishes of the Prime Minister. You are hindering the Wang family..." Gou Su lowered his eyes, a hint of helplessness showing at the corners of his lips, "But you saved me, so I want to save your life too."
"How can the General save me?"
Gou Su: “…”
Chu Mo smiled and said bluntly: "General, if you can't save me, no one can save me."
"I can hold on for about half an incense stick. Find a fast horse and run as far as you can."
Upon hearing this, Chu Mo lowered his eyes, smiled slightly, and nodded in thanks.
Before Chu Mo could escape, the armored men arrived. The leader unfurled a yellow silk scroll and read aloud, "Chu Mo, the commoner, has been spreading rumors among the people, claiming to have received orders from the emperor. He has misled the people and undermined the majesty of the heaven. Capture him immediately and bring him to the Dali Temple for strict prosecution and correction."
In an instant, the neighbors flocked to the door, and the shade of the locust tree in front of the door was densely packed with people, their sweaty necks were pressed against each other, and the buzzing sound of discussions was like the sound of mosquitoes in summer.
Xiao Lin glanced at the bustling crowd and his eyes became wet unconsciously.
Out of the corner of her eye, she happened to see the backs of Gao Hui and Rong Ye walking side by side on the street. It seemed that there were so many people that their sight was blocked, so although they came here, they could only look from afar and saw nothing.
She also saw Xu Niao squeezed in the crowd, holding an unfinished embroidered shoe in her hand, and soon she was called away by a little kid calling for his mother from behind.
It’s a pity that Xu Niao didn’t care about what happened in Liu Xiangju, and didn’t even recognize anyone named Chu Mo.
There are also Ai Ye and Zhao Mugen, who seem to be visiting Tianling.
The two of them each held Ali's hand, and the family walked happily on the street. They didn't understand what was happening here, but they were afraid that Ali was too small to be swept away by the crowd, so they hurried past without even looking at him.
Finally, Xiao Lin didn't know whether she was blurry-eyed or what, she seemed to have caught a glimpse of a sandalwood harp at the corner of the street, but in the blink of an eye, the figure disappeared.
Was it Jiang Yu? Did he return to Kuixi? Did he meet Li Chiyin?
Amid the clamor, her eyes lost focus.
The broken past filled her heart, tenderness and sadness intertwined, leading her to the distance.
Perhaps there were still many people in the crowd who had received Chu Mo's favor and asked for a cup of tea, but they were like river water flowing into the sea, temporarily drowned out by the noise and clamor.
Chu Mo stopped arguing and waited until all the waiters in the store had left. Then he gently pushed the remaining teacup on the table to the center with one hand, his movements still steady and peaceful.
Then, he suddenly twisted the thumb and middle finger of his right hand, and then rubbed them hard.
“Bang!”
There was a crisp sound, like the crack of ice jade, so clear and melodious that it instantly penetrated the dull summer air outside the door.
Almost at the same time, a strong and strange smell of tung oil suddenly spread from the depths of the teahouse, suddenly strangling everyone's breath.
Gou Su's face suddenly changed and his pupils suddenly contracted.
Before she could react, she heard a loud bang, and a ball of blazing red flames seemed to burst out from the ground, swift as a snake, greedily licking the dry bamboo curtains, the stacked tea boxes, and the hanging cloth banners...
The flames danced wildly, engulfing all the furnishings in an instant.
Then, the fire suddenly rose, like countless manic red beasts, roaring and biting the beams and pillars, devouring everything they could touch.
The scorching air waves wrapped in black smoke rushed towards them, burning the iron armor and forcing passers-by outside the door to retreat repeatedly while shouting.
“Chu Mo——!”
Gou Su ignored the thick smoke and tried to rush into the fire, but was unable to open his eyes due to the high heat.
In the blazing fire, the corners of Chu Mo's dazzling clothes were instantly burned, and the flames quickly rose.
“Chu Mo——!”
Xiao Lin and Mu You called out his name almost at the same time as Gou Su, but he stood in the flames, unmoved.
He was cruel and did not leave a single word for his friend. He walked calmly, even with a hint of relief, straight ahead, step by step, into the depths of the roaring red sea of fire.
“Chu Mo——! Cough cough cough…”
His figure quickly blurred in the leaping and twisting flames and thick smoke until it melted.
The sleeves of his clothes fluttered for a moment, and were then completely swallowed up by the greedy red lotus, leaving no trace.
"No--!"
Xiao Lin screamed heart-wrenchingly, but no one could hear him clearly.
Her body rushed forward uncontrollably, and Mu You was unable to react in time and fell behind by a step.
“Chu Mo——!”
Just as Xiao Lin was about to touch the flames, a blinding white light immediately engulfed the two of them. Burning tears instantly gushed out, but were immediately evaporated by the scorching waves in their faces, leaving only two stinging marks on their cheeks.
“Chu Mo——!”
She finally screamed, and finally couldn't bear it any longer and covered her eyes with her elbows.
Only when the familiar white light gradually dimmed were they able to open their tear-filled eyes.
But what he saw was no longer the bed curtains in the backyard wing of Liu Xiangju, but the ceiling fan with cobwebs hanging on it in Xiao Lin's grandmother's house.
The old-fashioned ceiling fan creaked as it turned, blowing away the summer heat, making their eyes hurt.
"Oh, was this a nightmare?" My vision was hazy, but I could vaguely hear the voice of an old friend in my ears, "Wake up slowly, wash your face, it's time to eat."
At his grandmother's gentle call, Xiao Lin managed to stand up with a pair of red and swollen eyes. When he turned his head, his eyes happened to meet Mu You's.
All the memories of this trip came to her mind, and tears filled her eyes again.
"Yo yo yo, why are you crying?"
Xiao Lin pursed his lips to wipe away his tears, suppressing his sorrow as he choked out a sob and said, "I'm fine, grandma... I just... I just had a very, very, very long dream..."
"What did you dream about?"
"I dreamt of a teahouse called 'Liu Xiang Ju'..."
(End of full text)
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