Chapter 69 The woman's body was mixed with the astringent taste of herbs...
The woman's voice, tinged with the astringent smell of herbs, drifted through the small courtyard.
Under the blazing sun, the sun set, casting a faint shadow that enveloped the small courtyard.
The bright sunlight was blocked out, and the light in the courtyard suddenly became gloomy.
The astringent taste of the herbs was replaced by a metallic scent from years of immersion in water.
Numb memories awaken, and Wen Conglan's thoughts are drawn to the season when willow catkins are flying everywhere.
As dusk fell, smoke curled from the village chimneys. Wen Conglan put down the blacksmith's tools she had taken out to clean and peered into the courtyard. Wen Mao would usually be back by this time.
She turned and went to the kitchen, bringing the heated food to the table. As darkness fell, there was still no sound from the courtyard.
Wen Conglan then realized something was wrong and hurriedly got up to go to the house of someone who was acquainted with Wen Mao.
"Aunt Wen, what brings you here?" The little boy, who was squatting in the yard eating his rice bowl, called out to her as soon as he saw her.
An overwhelming sense of dread gradually crept up from the corner, and by the time Wen Conglan turned around, it was a scene of utter devastation. She calmed herself, but her voice still trembled as she spoke:
"Tiedan, didn't Mao'er play with you guys today?"
"No, we went into the mountains with Brother Mao today," Tie Dan said, shaking his head.
"So, Tie Dan, did you come back by yourself first?" Wen Conglan's emotions, which had just calmed down, began to surge again.
"I came back with everyone. We returned when the sun was setting behind the mountainside," Tiedan recalled.
Wen Conglan interrupted Tie Dan with lightning speed: "Didn't Mao'er come back with you?"
"Well, Brother Mao originally came out with us, but then he said he saw a medicinal herb and told us to go back first, and he would go back after he finished picking the herb."
As Tie Dan spoke, he belatedly realized, "Aunt Wen, hasn't Brother Mao come home yet?"
Wen Conglan responded nervously, then asked, "Where did Mao'er separate from you?"
Tie Dan told her the location, and Wen Conglan rushed out without even replying.
Tie Dan's chopsticks clinked against the rim of the bowl, and he turned and ran into the house.
"Father, Mother, Mao-ge has gotten lost in the mountains."
...
When Wen Conglan staggered to the foot of the mountain, several torches came into her view.
"Dr. Wen, it's not safe for you to go into the mountains alone so late at night. We'll all go with you to look for the person."
After searching for three days, all they found was one of Wenmao's old shoes.
Wen Conglan looked dazed, clutching the cloth shoes that had been found, and stood there blankly, unable to speak.
The village chief hesitated before speaking, "Dr. Wen, everyone has been searching for three days, putting aside their work..."
Looking at Wen Conglan's haggard face, he couldn't say anything more.
Wen Conglan's consciousness was fleeting, and her calm words of thanks seemed to emerge from her body through a barrier.
Her soul seemed to drift away, becoming a shadow in the corner, watching her own body see off the village chief and the others.
After everyone left, Wen Conglan sat alone in the main room, the flame of the oil lamp flickering with the wind blowing in through the doorway.
The elongated black shadow behind her was a ghostly figure surrounding her body.
Another incredibly important thing has been lost.
Passionate Dreams
Dear parents,
loving couple
My beloved child...
The feeling of emptiness is like returning one's soul to nothingness.
The shadow on the ground swayed in the wind and reached her feet.
The despairing loneliness, like a ghost in the mountains, devoured her.
The candlelight was suddenly extinguished by a gust of wind, and a dark shadow completely enveloped Wen Conglan's body.
The parents had no sons, but had a daughter late in life, whom they cherished dearly.
The family runs a blacksmith business, and their lives are more prosperous than most people in the village.
Blacksmithing is a lowly profession, but she doesn't dislike it.
On the contrary, she loved the moment when sparks danced in the furnace, the sound of hammers striking iron, and the creation of works that gleamed with a cold light from her hands.
But her parents loved her and didn't want her to suffer, so they sent her to school to study medicine.
She told herself that she was luckier than most people, as she had been to school when few people in the village could read.
Carrying her parents' pity, she left the sweltering forge.
But deep down, there was an emptiness, as if the childhood dream of forging the greatest weapon in the world was nothing but a fool's raving.
After her parents passed away, she had already found a good man and had a loving husband. Only when she saw old things did she feel lonely.
Sometimes, Mao'er would follow under her father's tutelage, just like she had done back then, carrying a hammer and striking down red-hot iron blocks.
She also had the chance to step into that room again, hold Mao'er's hand, and hear the sound that belonged to her.
But her happy days aroused the jealousy of heaven, and everything she possessed left her one after another, the emptiness in her heart kept growing until it completely swallowed her up...
Wen Conglan's body disappeared into the darkness, her remaining consciousness about to vanish in the rolling shadows.
A clanging sound of metal hitting the ground pulled her back to reality.
Wen Conglan felt the rough texture of the cloth shoes in her hands, and a wave of sorrow washed over her, a feeling she couldn't quite grasp.
A cold glint flashed in Yu Guangzhong's eyes, flickering in her tearful gaze.
Wen Conglan turned her head and saw a dusty longsword lying on the ground in the corner.
She put down the shoes she was holding, stepped forward, and helped up the long sword.
His gaze remained fixed on the spot, next to the long sword were the forging tools that Wen Mao had found before his disappearance.
Before she could even get lost in her memories, she was interrupted by a noise coming from the courtyard.
Wen Conglan took the long knife and left the main room. The bright moonlight illuminated a sneaky shadow.
When Feng Laosan saw what Wen Conglan was holding, he was clearly taken aback and shrank back unsteadily.
"Feng Laosan, what are you doing here?" Wen Conglan shouted sternly. Feng Laosan was a notorious rogue in the village. Anyone who didn't know that sneaking into the yard in the middle of the night was up to no good.
Feng Laosan's guilty gaze swept over the long sword, his previous evil intentions dissipating. He then said:
"Dr. Wen, I heard your son is missing and hasn't been found yet. How about I help you look for him? If I find him, you can pay me."
Wen Conglan understood that this was just a temporary measure, but she had no mind to deal with him at the moment. She agreed haphazardly, watched him leave, and then went back into the house with the knife in her arms.
She dared not sleep, nor could she fall asleep. She fetched a basin of water, found the millstone in the house, and sat in the main room to polish the long sword that, along with her dream, had been shelved.
The moonlight shone on the gradually brightening blade, and the long night passed in the midst of subtle sounds.
As the first rays of dawn fell into the courtyard, Wen Conglan's gaze, a mixture of sorrow and joy, lingered on her work reconstructing the skylight.
A hundred emotions swirled in my heart, and I couldn't immediately recall the feelings that had forged it in my youth.
At the gate, a figure with one bare foot appeared indistinctly against the morning light.
An expression of disbelief flashed in Wen Conglan's eyes:
"Mao'er!"
The figure at the door approached her with uneven steps.
The light and shadow faded from Wen Mao, revealing his figure. His clothes were disheveled and still bore traces of blood.
The next instant, Wen Mao was embraced by Wen Conglan, who had put down his long sword.
Wen Mao's face was blank and his body stiff until Wen Conglan released him and gently brushed away the dust from his head as if wiping a long knife.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
After a long while, a voice, like a child learning to speak, finally came from his body:
...
"I guess he was frightened during those days in the mountains. After that, Mao'er didn't talk much and didn't want to go out and play with others."
Fortunately, Mao'er wasn't seriously injured; it's good that he's still alive...
A happy expression appeared on Wen Conglan's face. The dark aura in the courtyard gradually faded, and sunlight shone in faintly.
Xie Heng looked at the black energy that was blocked by spiritual power half a foot away from his body, pursed his lips, and made up his mind, but did not rush to draw his sword.
"Is Dr. Wen sure that the Wen Mao who has returned is really your son?"
A fleeting look of astonishment crossed Wen Conglan's face, and the black mist in the courtyard began to surge.
"What does Immortal Xie mean by this?"
Xie Heng scanned the solidified shadows around him, confirming his suspicions, and directly stated the truth:
"Dr. Wen should already know that the current Wen Mao is not the same Wen Mao as before."
The mask of happiness was completely torn off; Wen Conglan's expression stiffened, unwilling to admit it.
"Why do you say this, Immortal Master Xie?"
Seeing her stubbornness, Xie Heng frowned.
"A young child, who had been lost in the deep mountains for many days, returned safely, his clothes covered in bloodstains, but without any injuries on his body."
How much truth does Dr. Wen find in this story?
"Mao'er is just blessed by the heavens..."
Wen Conglan murmured, her words seemingly intended to convince Xie Heng or to encourage herself to continue indulging in the lie.
However, the black mist surrounding her almost completely swallowed up all the light in the courtyard.
"Dr. Wen, you..." Xie Heng's words were abruptly interrupted by the approaching black shadow.
Suddenly, Wen Conglan's shadow materialized and disappeared into the black mist.
Xie Heng drew the sword from his back, but did not remove it from its sheath, and directly struck away the attacking shadow.
"Dr. Wen!"
Xie Heng's clone looked over and saw that Wen Conglan's body was shrouded in black mist, with only half of her face showing. She looked lost and confused, and her mouth opened and closed, with a hoarse voice that didn't sound like her own.
"As long as you disappear, my life will go back to normal..."
As long as the person who destroyed all of this disappears...
if only……"
Xie Heng sighed, and the scabbard flew towards the shadow that was about to disappear into the black mist.
"What are you doing?!
"Let go of my mother!"
The three people who had returned from gathering herbs saw this scene as soon as they entered the courtyard.
Without hesitation, Wen Mao threw down his basket, drew his sword, and charged toward Xie Heng.
Xie Heng glanced at the extra figure in the courtyard; he had clearly set up a barrier...
When his gaze fell on Wen Mao rushing over and Xie Baoqiong holding Xie Zhuo back, he suddenly understood.
Xie Heng brushed aside the shadow in front of him and turned to block Wen Mao's sword strike, which was imbued with spiritual power.
"Wen Mao, calm down."
Wen Mao gripped the knife tightly, and the spiritual energy of the blade and scabbard collided, creating a gust of wind that billowed the robes of the two men.
When it reached Xie Baoqiong and Xie Zhuo, only a gentle breeze remained, lightly brushing past the two of them.
"Brother Cat..." Xie Baoqiong hadn't finished speaking when Xie Zhuo picked her up and took her to a place a little distance away from the two fighting.
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Author's note: The illustrations will probably be back online during the day, and I've replaced them with a few new ones :D
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