Chapter 287 Tears of a Best Friend
Gu Nan sat in the watchtower, his thoughts seemed to drift into the vast and desolate wilderness in the distance, empty and aimless.
De Zhao couldn't bear to let go, so how could she bear to let go?
"Master Chunyi, are you willing to give it up?"
If you witnessed your fellow apprentice who had been with you for several years die of the plague, would you be willing to bear it and would you regret it?
“This is my fate with him.”
His fate has already been determined. His relationship with De Zhao will only last for a few short years. Can he change it just because he is reluctant?
Just as Gu Nan tried every possible way to save Kyoto and repeatedly asked him for details of other natural disasters, did Gu Nan still remember what she said, "It would be great if even one person could be spared from death"?
She has saved so many people, but she is not satisfied. She wants to save more and more people, and sooner or later it will exceed her ability to bear.
Because of love comes sorrow, because of love comes fear.
Her love is her weakness.
Gu Nan looked at Chunyi for a long time before chuckling, "I don't believe in fate."
She never prayed to heaven or asked the Tao, she only asked her heart.
Just do what you can and have a clear conscience.
Gu Nan put down his needle and thread, handed the watchtower to Chunyi, and headed towards the valley.
It's the third day, and I wonder how many of the refugees who escaped from the closed city will survive.
Jiang Wanying said that Cheng Zheng did not stay in the valley with the others, but rested halfway.
Gu Nan didn't know the exact location, so he looked for the person as he walked, fearing that he would leave him in the snow if he wasn't paying attention.
However, she was worrying too much, as Cheng Zheng's figure was very recognizable.
She was at the place where they had parted that day.
A small tent to shelter from the wind was set up with a few pieces of rags. The bedding sent by Jiang Wanying was neatly spread out. The food and water were hardly touched and were sorted and stacked at one end of the mattress.
But there was no one in the tent, and she knelt in the snow.
Facing Gu Nanlai, his body was covered with a layer of snow, and Zhu Qing's clothes were faintly visible under the snow. His forehead was deeply sunken in the snow, with only a small part of the back of his head exposed.
Gu Nan stopped.
The snow stopped yesterday evening, and considering the thickness of the snow on Cheng Zheng's body, she had been kneeling there since the afternoon.
Perhaps she knew that she was on her last legs, so she packed up her bed and food and crawled out of the tent. But she was afraid that Gu Nan would forget their agreement, so she begged Gu Nan again before she died.
He knelt in the direction of Gu Nanlai so that he could see her at a glance.
My eyes were burning, and even gasping for breath couldn't relieve the tightness in my chest.
All living things suffer, but some people’s suffering is unfair.
Cheng Zheng was unwilling to accept this, and so was she.
*
Seventeen refugees escaped from the sealed city, and all of them died of plague in less than three days.
A deep pit, a fire, and billowing smoke sent them off on their last journey in this world.
Gu Nan spent some time putting together a simple wooden box, took Cheng Zheng's ashes away and placed it in Jiang Wanying's yard.
Then a stele carver was asked to carve a stele for Cheng Zheng.
The other party asked Gu Nan who she was to the deceased. Gu Nan thought for a moment and replied, "A close friend."
I hope Cheng Zheng won't blame her for her unnecessary involvement.
If they could have met earlier, Gu Nan thought, they would have been able to ignore the long time of more than two hundred years and become close friends.
The next morning, Gu Nan opened the door and delivered food.
Hui Wu was sitting cross-legged in front of the bed. Seeing Gu Nan coming in with hot meals, he interrupted and said, "Donor Gu, De Zhao is gone."
Gu Nan paused, his hand holding the bowl frozen in mid-air.
She had expected it to happen in the next two days and had been prepared for it, but she was still confused when she heard the bad news.
She looked at Huiwu somewhat bewilderedly, wondering how long he had been sitting like that. Both his slightly hunched back and his lowered head showed a strange stiffness.
He looked at De Zhao lying on the bed without blinking.
Gu Nan also looked over.
De Zhao lay flat on the bed, his young face half hidden in the quilt, with traces of tears in the corners of his eyes, but his expression was calm and well-behaved, as if he had finally gotten rid of the pain completely at the last moment and saw the Buddha who was to guide him.
He went.
You Huiwu was not with him, so he left quietly.
The quilt was pressed well and the pillow was straight. Just as he said, he was the one who slept the most properly among all the disciples.
The things at the head of the bed were also neatly arranged. There was a wicker hat that Gu Nan had knitted for him, and underneath the wicker hat was a gray melon-shaped hat that Gu Nan had bought, and underneath the melon-shaped hat was an oil-paper bag containing preserved fruits.
Gu Nan didn't know whether he had finished the last bit of preserved fruit, so he put down the bowl and went to feel for it.
No.
When I opened it, there were a few shriveled dried peaches.
Gu Nan had never eaten the dried peaches he had dried himself. De Zhao didn’t finish them because he thought they were too sour?
If I had known earlier, I would have given him some sugar to pickle it. He really likes sugar, she thought dully.
They moved the body and belongings, dug a pit and burned them. When the fire started, Gu Nan was still holding the dried fruits tightly.
Junyi pried her hands apart and tried to throw them into the fire.
Gu Nan snatched it back and said, "I, I haven't eaten it yet."
Junichi frowned.
Gu Nan looked at him helplessly, "Let me try the taste."
Chunyi lowered her eyes and looked at Gu Nan. The sadness in her eyes was about to turn into reality and flow out, but she was determined to try the preserved fruits that Dezhao had not finished eating.
If she can't eat them, will these shriveled peaches become an unforgettable obsession for her?
Chunyi sighed deeply and made a hand gesture to present it to Gu Nan.
The dried peaches looked wrinkled, and they were dry when eaten. The skin was not peeled cleanly, and it was a bit prickly on the tongue. They were not sweet at all, and even had a bitter taste.
This taste is really not good.
But what did Dezhao say to her at that time?
"Master Gu Nan, why didn't you tell me you were back? My fellow disciples and I missed you so much."
"We also like the dried fruits and books you sent us."
Gu Nan asked him if he had finished eating and told him to buy more after he finished.
He swallowed hard like a greedy puppy, "No, I only eat a small piece at a time, and it can last for a long time."
The preserved fruit he was reluctant to eat turned out not to be tasty at all.
But he treated it as a treasure, like a little child, and specifically asked her to bring it down, and if she couldn't finish it, she had to hold it down with two hats.
He was indeed a child, only fourteen years old.
It will take another six years before he can receive full ordination.
In grief, Gu Nan felt his eyes burning and tears suddenly fell.
Junyi had been paying attention to her, and the moment the tears fell, he subconsciously raised his hand to hold them back.
Caught the teardrop that shone with golden light.
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