Chapter 224 Jinling Cannot Cross (Stone) A black fish landed on her head...
Lin Feiran immediately stepped forward, and the sword spirit also set off, entering the kitchen a few steps ahead of her.
The room was filled with steam, and Xun Feifei had already pulled the person into her arms, showing no surprise.
He knelt on the ground, his usually high ponytail now loosely draped over his shoulder, his hair disheveled, his lips still pale, but now there was an indescribable silence about him.
Lin Feiran took two steps forward, squatted down, and carefully examined Ru Niang's face.
His face was covered in frost, and his body trembled uncontrollably. Tiny shards of ice emerged from his body, piercing his blood vessels and leaving scattered traces of blood.
"Is this... a flare-up of cold symptoms?"
Xun Feifei lowered her eyes, brushed aside Ru Niang's hair, and responded very softly.
Instead of leaving with his people, he leaned against the stove, using the firelight to ward off the cold. With his other hand, he took out a sprig of hibiscus wood and gently and slowly channeled the fire within it into Ru Niang's body.
For a moment, no one spoke. The sword spirit stood aside, watching silently as well.
Water was still boiling in the pot next to me, the sound of boiling and churning echoing in the cozy kitchen, bubbles rising and bursting one after another, gurgling so loudly it sent chills down your spine.
The fire slowly flowed into her blood, scorching a network of branches like those of a tree on Ru Niang's neck. A faint white mist immediately seeped out from under her skin, still carrying a chill.
Xun Feifei took out another pill, which was made from the prescription that Lin Feiran had widely publicized.
He fed Ru Niang the medicine, then looked at Lin Feiran and said calmly, "There is a blue medicine bottle on the table on the left side of my room. Please fetch it."
Lin Feiran immediately did as instructed, and Xun Feifei thanked her again before swallowing the pill with the liquid in the bottle, her movements practiced and skillful.
Even now, Lin Feiran couldn't see a trace of fatigue on his face. He simply held her quietly, occasionally adding firewood to the stove, waiting for his adoptive mother to wake up.
Lin Feiran couldn't help but ask, "Ru Niang, how long has she had this cold ailment?"
“Seven or eight months,” Xun Feifei replied slowly. Perhaps because he rarely talked about these things with others, he paused for a moment and then added, “She originally didn’t intend to tell me. It was only last month when she fell ill and was huddled alone in her room that people from the brothel came to visit her and secretly wrote me a letter.”
Both of them knew that the cold disease was now practically incurable, with no cure available.
Lin Feiran didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only turn around and get some firewood and put it aside.
Thank you.
He repeated the same sentence before adding more firewood.
Even though the two of them were sweating profusely from the fire, the heat was still not enough for Ru Niang.
Lin Feiran felt a pang of sadness. She pursed her lips and looked at Ru Niang, then suddenly paused, "Xun Feifei, look!"
The frost that had receded returned with a vengeance, even more fiercely than before. The frosty snow gradually turned gray, and Ru Niang involuntarily let out a cry of pain.
The next moment, she suddenly opened her eyes. The frost had already seeped into her left eye, covering it with a shadow, making it look like stone from a distance.
Xun Feifei's gaze also changed, and he immediately pressed down on Lin Feiran's hand that was taking out the Fusang Wood: "No, she is a mortal, it is impossible for her to withstand the second fire essence in such a short time!"
He took out the pills again and fed them to her. Even though his lips were slightly pursed and his eyes were tense, his hands were still relatively steady.
After taking three pills, the shadows showed a temporary relief, but there was still no significant improvement, and they had already covered half of the left eye.
Ru Niang was still conscious. She felt her vision was obstructed in her left eye and was frightened, but she still forced herself not to scream. She just held onto Xun Feifei's wrist and her breathing was a little heavy.
Lin Feiran sensed something was wrong. She immediately took out several silver needles and sealed several of Ru Niang's major acupoints. Then, in front of Xun Feifei, she summoned the Yin-Yang Fish.
In a time of urgency, one must act expediently and not worry about concealing anything.
A moment later, to Xun Feifei's astonishment, came a sound like hailstones coming from behind the black fish.
"Why are you only contacting me now? I'm about to go to sleep."
Lin Feiran explained briefly, then quickly said, "This ash is coming from a strange place. If we don't stop it soon, Ru Niang might go blind. We've tried both Fusang wood and elixirs. Is there any other way to stop it?"
As Xun Feifei had said before, Ru Niang was implicated by him and suffered the punishment of having her mouth cut off. Afterwards, Ru Xian helped her recuperate, so he should be very familiar with her physical condition.
Ru Xian was sitting in a dark valley with a faint firelight beside her. He paused upon hearing this, but did not blame her for revealing the contract. Instead, he formed a hand seal and, through the eyes of the yin-yang fish, quickly saw the three people in the kitchen.
He brushed away the falling snow, but his gaze remained quietly fixed on Ru Niang's face: "I taught you the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine: observation, listening, questioning, and palpation."
Lin Feiran immediately pressed on Ru Niang's wrist pulse, and after a few breaths said: "Weak pulse, short and weak, sometimes stopping and sometimes starting, dark circles under the eyes, and extremely cold hands."
Ru Xian nodded and said, "Several acupoints should be sealed, and then needles should be inserted into several major acupoints on her right arm, abdomen, side of the neck, between the eyebrows, and top of the head."
Lin Feiran did as instructed, and saw a faint wisp of heat emerge from the silver needle between her eyebrows. She immediately took the hibiscus branch from the side and guided the fire essence into Ru Niang's body in accordance with the procedure.
Coldness is not a disease and cannot be cured. She knew that the sensation of "snowflakes falling like needles" meant that her meridians were being expanded so that she could withstand more heat.
It took three full stages for the white frost to finally fade away.
Ru Niang's complexion improved, but the grayish tinge covering her eyes remained.
Xun Feifei had completely forgotten about the yin-yang symbol. He looked at the person in his arms and immediately asked, "Godmother, how are you feeling?"
"..." Ru Niang gave a weak smile, her slightly white hair was damp on her forehead, and the horrifying long scar on her lip looked much calmer.
"Just like before, I don't feel anything special."
Xun Feifei remained silent for a moment, then extended her hand: "Your left eye..."
After saying this, she swayed again and fainted once more. Xun Feifei immediately caught her and subconsciously looked at Lin Feiran, who in turn subconsciously looked at the Yin-Yang symbol.
"It's alright. It's normal for a mortal to be exhausted after bearing so much fire energy. Warm up for a while, and then take him back to rest after all the cold has dissipated."
Xun Feifei looked at the fish and remained silent for a moment. He didn't actually know the origin of the Yin-Yang Fish, and only thought that it was Ru Xian himself, or his clone. It took him a while to accept this fact.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
“No need.” Blackfish flicked its tail and came close to Ru Niang’s eyes. “Open your left eye, let me take a look.”
Xun Feifei did as she was told, and Lin Feiran also joined in.
Ru Xian raised her eyebrows and suddenly said, "Petrified."
The people in the kitchen were startled. Lin Feiran pushed the fish back a little and examined it carefully for a long time. Originally, it was just a thin layer of gray, but after he said that, it looked more and more like a smooth stone surface.
Xun Feifei paused, put his hand down, and after considering it for a moment, he lightly tapped his eyelids. There was no sound, but he could clearly feel a thin layer of hardness coming from it.
This level of hardness is something that the eyes cannot perceive.
"It seems... to be true."
The blackfish swam back to its original spot, landing on Lin Feiran's head. It stopped moving and stared down with its fish eyes.
“It’s not just a feeling, I can see it very clearly. Remember this acupuncture point. Next time, just expand her pulse directly. The fire essence that mortals use is no longer enough for her.”
What did "not enough" mean? None of the three spoke up to elaborate.
Xun Feifei simply lowered her eyes and gently wiped away the thin layer of sweat from Ru Niang's face. Even in her usually calm eyes, a slight ripple appeared.
Lin Feiran didn't stay any longer. She knew it would be better for the two of them to be alone at this moment, so she left. But when she looked back, she saw that the sword spirit was still sitting on the beam, silently looking at the two people in the room, showing no intention of leaving.
When Mother stayed here, Jinlan Sword must have accompanied her. Ru Niang is a mortal, and we don't see her on ordinary days, but that doesn't mean she can't see Ru Niang.
To the sword spirit, Ru Niang should be an acquaintance she had never met. Lin Feiran did not call out, but simply returned to her room.
With the yin-yang symbol on her head, her expression remained somewhat somber. After a moment, she lay down on the bed, staring straight at the top of the tent. The black fish, caught off guard, rolled a few times on the bed before finally stopping.
"You said yesterday that you found the entrance to the secret realm. Are you inside now?" Lin Feiran deliberately avoided mentioning what had just happened and instead chose a more relaxed topic.
"More or less," Ru Xian replied, then added, "What's wrong? Are you feeling uneasy?"
Lin Feiran turned and lay face down on the pillow, her voice low and somber: "Have you ever experienced separation?"
Ru Xian held her arms around her, watching her turn over: "From the moment I was born, the first thing I experienced was separation."
Lin Feiran pondered for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever thought, for a moment, that it would be great if we could start over? If we could start over, there would be no more separations."
She's not someone who regrets things, but in this particular case, she occasionally feels remorse.
Especially after learning about Qiu Tong's rebirth.
In the quiet of the night, she couldn't help but think, what if she could be as lucky as Qiu Tong...
But she couldn't help but ponder: would starting over be any better? Would everything be different?
She didn't know.
Ru Xian replied, "Of course, that's human nature; no one can have everything go their way."
Lin Feiran let herself lie on the bed and roll around a few times, but she still couldn't come up with her own answer, so she simply put it out of her mind.
"I can't find the answer to this kind of thing no matter how hard I think about it. I can't sleep, so I might as well get up and meditate."
Just as she was about to sit up, the black fish rushed up and knocked her back.
"You're so late getting back tonight, you must have done something important. You still have a long way to go, so you can't stay up all night."
Besides, at your age, if you sleep a little longer, you might even grow taller.
Lin Feiran looked up, her attention diverted by these words, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "How tall do you want me to grow?"
"Same as me?"
Lin Feiran turned back, pretending not to hear.
Ru Xian chuckled lightly: "In my spare time these past few days, I've flipped through a few storybooks, and the little heroes in them are all this size. I think you're perfect for it."
Lin Feiran continued, "That's true, but in reality, humans only grow to sixteen years old, and by sixteen they're pretty much set."
"Lin Feiran, whose image was already set at sixteen, you should go to sleep." Ru Xian looked at the snow piled up in the valley. "Parting is an inevitable part of life, and no one can stop it."
"Ru Xian, how did you meet Xun Feifei? I remember he was your first envoy?"
Ru Xian sighed, "After I finish telling you this, you'll rest?"
Lin Feiran nodded.
"My meeting with Xun Feifei actually took place before I ascended the throne."
At that time, I was still in the mortal realm. He somehow heard about the reputation of some kind of immortal healer and came to me.
I remember it quite clearly; it was a rainy day, and he appeared outside the door, soaked to the bone, begging me to save his adoptive mother.
“At that time, Ru Niang suffered greatly from the torture of being ripped open. No matter what method she used to heal the wound, it would burst open again the next moment, gushing out even thicker blood. When he found me, Ru Niang was almost on the verge of death.”
“I originally had no interest in this. There are too many people like this in the world, and I don’t have the compassion to spare for them, so I closed the door and refused.”
He knelt for three days, and it rained for three days.
I was lazy and didn't want to go out in the rain, so I stayed in the room to make medicine. He just stayed there quietly, bowing and paying his respects day after day. After a while, the stitches on his face opened up, and blood stained the doorway red.
Then he finally got up, but instead of leaving, he went to find some cloth, wiped the blood off the ground, and then knelt down again…
Lin Feiran asked, "You agreed?"
Ru Xian chuckled lightly: "It's hard to refuse someone like that, isn't it?"
"I carried the medicine box and went with him to see Ru Niang. I administered acupuncture and medicine, and asked him to find some medicinal herbs. Only then did the injury stop."
Over time, I became acquainted with him.
Later, when he ascended to the throne of the demon realm, he lacked people to handle some troublesome matters, so he thought of him and appointed him as an envoy.
He did a really good job.
Lin Feiran stared at the top of the tent, lost in thought again. Thinking of Xun Feifei kneeling by the fire, and of Ru Niang, a feeling of deep sorrow welled up in her heart.
She then asked, "Why was the Spirit Raven clan subjected to such a gruesome punishment?"
Ru Xian shook her head: "Although we are both from the Feather Clan, I was almost completely isolated from the human world when I was young. After I came out, I went to the human world. I don't know much about their affairs, I have only heard about them."
Their clan was skilled in divination and prediction, and it seems they revealed some heavenly secret, for which they were later punished with extermination.
Lin Feiran turned to look out the window, but her brows gradually furrowed.
Heavenly secrets...
Does the so-called "heaven" really exist?
She thought this through, but still couldn't fall asleep.
Ru Xian spoke up: "If you really can't sleep, then I'll have to use some external help."
Lin Feiran, recalling his methods that could almost instantly put her to sleep, couldn't help but say, "You're not even here, so how could you possibly use drugs on me?"
"Medication?" Ru Xian couldn't help but laugh. "Even the best medicine has toxicity, and I won't give it to you casually. But there are some methods that you can't resist. Do you want to try them?"
Before Lin Feiran could finish speaking, her head lolled to the side and she fell asleep, as if in a coma.
Ru Xian raised her hand and made a gesture. The black fish paused, but still spit out a bubble and swam over. It grabbed a corner of the blanket, swung its tail like a windmill, and finally pulled the blanket up and spread it on Lin Feiran.
...
The next day, Lin Feiran woke up from his deep sleep and, to be honest, felt quite refreshed.
Just as she sat up, she saw a figure sitting next to her, it was Ru Niang.
She looked at Lin Feiran quietly, the shadow in her left eye still lingering, but it couldn't hide the nostalgia and curiosity in her eyes.
“I was thinking the other day, why are you waking up so early?” Ru Niang was still a little surprised. “You know, that person doesn’t get up until the sun is high in the sky.”
Although neither party explicitly stated who she was referring to, they both knew the answer in their hearts.
Lin Feiran sat up, feeling a little reserved but also a lot of warmth: "Ru Niang, is there something you need?"
Ru Niang shook her head: "There's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I was afraid you'd think it was presumptuous, but even if you think it's presumptuous now, I still want to do it."
Lin Feiran looked at her with some confusion, but saw her take out a fine-toothed comb from behind her back and bluntly say, "Your mother loves beauty. She used to nag me to teach her a fashionable hairstyle. I treated it like a carrot dangling from a donkey, saying that as long as she didn't cause trouble, I would teach her. But she never stopped causing trouble."
Later, she left without saying goodbye, and I never had the chance to teach her again.
Your coming to my home may be a blessing in disguise, and I don't want to have any regrets.
Lin Feiran was deeply moved by the reason and agreed.
She sat at the table, looking at her reflection in the mirror, and for a moment she was lost in thought, remembering how her mother used to stand behind her and comb her hair when she was a child.
She was very skillful, and every time she went out, Lin Feiran's hairstyle was always the most beautiful among the children.
Now that it was her turn to style her own hair, she did it quickly, doing whatever was convenient for her.
As Ru Niang combed her hair, she hummed a tune from the brothel. Outside, the winter sun rose, casting a not-so-warm light that reflected off the bronze mirror, creating a bright ray.
At that very moment, the two of them thought of the same person.
"Do you miss her?" Lin Feiran suddenly asked.
Ru Niang chuckled, as if she were angry, but then said, "Just like you, she's the kind of person that makes you both love and hate her! But in all my years, she's the only good person I've ever met."
Lin Feiran looked up and saw the sword spirit standing outside the window, arms crossed, facing them, seemingly also reminiscing.
With her hair half-combed, Xun Feifei walked to the window and gently knocked: "Eat noodles..."
He noticed Lin Feiran's hairstyle, paused for a moment, but quickly coughed lightly, said he wanted to eat noodles, and then turned and left.
It's not that it's particularly attractive; this hairstyle, created decades ago and originally for dancers, is no longer fashionable today. It's even somewhat archaic and exaggeratedly comical, so it's understandable that people find it laughable.
Lin Feiran looked in the mirror and was quite satisfied.
This is something her mother liked back then, so of course she wouldn't dislike it. If possible, she would like to learn how to make it so that she can make one for Ruxianwan in the future!
When the two arrived in the courtyard, the soup noodles were already steaming hot. As soon as Lin Feiran picked up her chopsticks and put them in her mouth, she tasted an extremely familiar and delicious flavor, just like the one her mother used to make.
"So, my mother learned how to cook noodles from you?"
Ru Niang was also somewhat surprised, but couldn't hide her joy: "Did she make this taste for you too?"
Seeing Lin Feiran nod, Ru Niang's heart softened. She smiled and told Lin Feiran about the fun of making noodles, but her eyes were full of nostalgia.
"...Actually, after she left, everyone in the brothel missed her. Your mother was a very capable woman, and the time she was alive was the best time for everyone."
But she is ultimately different from us; she must go far away, to find the ends of the earth.
After saying that, she began to talk non-stop, as if she had opened a floodgate.
Xun Feifei stood aside without saying a word, only occasionally serving her food. After asking the two what they wanted for lunch, she went out to buy groceries.
This was almost the most leisurely day Lin Feiran had had since arriving at Jinlingdu. They had endless things to say about Jinlan, and they were still talking about it late into the night.
The sword spirit, standing to the side, seemed a little uncomfortable when they heard them talking about the former sword master. He kept shifting between sitting and standing, clearly embarrassed for Jin Lan.
The two talked until late at night, and only parted reluctantly after Lin Feiran received a secret letter.
Lin Feiran returned to her room, unfolded the letter, and saw the words written at the top.
The matter is settled; we await your return tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be the day to take action.
pd: I forgot to mention, such as 186, a very auspicious number (x).
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