Chapter 57 Letter: Wishing you happiness and peace.
"Knock, knock."
At night, under Mu Jin's pleading gaze, Fu Yunyao finally knocked on Qiu Tingshui's door.
There was no movement inside. She lowered her eyes slightly, and the next moment, she pushed the door open with force.
The room was dark, and only a figure could be seen sitting quietly by the window.
A sense of decay and depravity permeated the air.
The letter that Qiu Tingshui hadn't been holding tightly was blown away by the wind, and Fu Yunyao picked it up.
Only then did Qiu Tingshui, who had been sitting idly, begin to move.
She gazed at the letter in Fu Yunyao's hand and spoke softly.
She said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what? I had almost forgotten everything."
Fu Yunyao reached out and placed the letter in her hand. "It's all in the past. Now, what's more important is the people around you."
She looked up and gazed towards the door. Mu Jin looked at her with concern.
"Why don't you come in?" she asked.
But Mu Jin remained unmoved; he simply gazed at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Fu Yunyao lit the candles in the room, and the flickering flames briefly dispelled the damp and chilly atmosphere.
Under the flickering candlelight, Qiu Tingshui sighed and spoke.
"She and I are twin sisters. She is smarter, prettier, and more likable than me. The only thing she is not as good as me in medicine."
The Qiu family is a family of doctors. We had already agreed that she would go into business and I would practice medicine. We sisters would support each other and spend the rest of our lives together.
only……"
She never imagined that her most beloved and respected sister would become the one who destroyed her dreams.
All the medical books passed down through generations of the Qiu family, and the medical books she had meticulously researched and written, were destroyed in a fire set by Qiu Huaishui.
No matter how much she pleaded, it was to no avail.
To this day, she still can't forget the cold and resolute look on her face back then.
She robbed her of her dreams and her freedom.
She had created a dreamlike, bright future for her, but that wasn't what she wanted.
When she heard news of another plague outbreak, she fled.
She was going to the front lines of the plague; she wanted to prove that she could become an excellent doctor.
She did it. In the years that followed, she traveled to various places plagued by disease, hoping that her sister would hear of her and come to find her.
She never saw Qiu again until the day the Qiu family's hereditary disease flared up.
"Mu Jin used all her cultivation to barely save my life, leaving me only with a wisp of a soul. And I can no longer leave Xiaochi City. Only here, in the place protected by the gods, will my stolen lifespan not attract the attention and punishment of the Heavenly Dao."
Qiu Tingshui closed her eyes. "I never expected that the next time I heard news of her, it would be because she had already passed away."
Fu Yunyao frowned. She had no experience in comforting people and could not empathize with her situation. She didn't know what she should do at this moment.
"Read this letter to me," Qiu Tingshui said. All day, she had only read the "I'm sorry" at the beginning of the envelope before she couldn't read any further.
Fu Yunyao agreed, opened the letter in her hand, and read it softly.
"Dear sister, I write this letter at the twilight of my life. If it reaches you, it will put an end to a regret."
I'm so sorry, sister. If I hadn't insisted on burning all the medical books and confining you to your room, you wouldn't have left home and wandered around places plagued by epidemics.
When I heard from you again, you were already a renowned doctor. I was pleased, but also afraid.
Every time I hear news of you, and then try to find you again, I only learn that you've already left. I miss you, sister. And you? Are you still resentful of me?
Over the past few years, I've searched everywhere for you, but I've never heard from you again. I'm afraid and terrified. Every night, I dream of you, wondering if you've passed away due to a hereditary disease in our clan?
If I hadn't stopped you from pursuing your dreams back then, would you still be by my side now?
But I'm afraid. My grandfather and father both died before they were thirty due to a hereditary disease in the family, and my mother also passed away from a serious illness because she couldn't bear the blow. In this world, you are my only family.
I searched through all the medical books my father left behind and finally found a few words about hereditary diseases in one of his notes.
It says that if one's life is smooth and successful, the onset of illness can be slowed down. Not to mention that the path of medicine involves multiple illnesses, which could trigger latent genetic diseases within one's body at any time. Being obsessed with medicine is already mentally and physically exhausting, almost like gambling with one's own life's blood; this is why my grandfather and father died young.
How could I bear to lose you, sister?
How could I possibly lose you, sister?
But why, in the end, did I still lose you?
You must be resentful towards your older sister, which is why you don't want to come back.
You just don't want to see your older sister, that's why you don't come back, right?
If possible, please let the wind carry my longing and caress your hair once more.
It doesn't matter if I can't see you again, my dear sister only hopes you are safe and sound.
May you be happy and peaceful.
After reading the letter in her hand, Fu Yunyao handed it back to Qiu Tingshui.
She held the letter carefully against her heart, tears welling in her eyes.
A very soft, very soft sound came from inside the room.
How could I possibly resent you?
...
Under the warm sunlight, smoke rises from the chimneys.
Mu Jin leaned against the threshold and called out, "You like those cloyingly sweet pastries, aren't you going to come out and have some?"
"Squeak—"
The tightly closed door was opened from the inside. Fu Yunyao glanced at him, too lazy to pay attention to this somewhat childish person.
"Sister Yunyun—"
The children in the yard greeted her happily when they saw her.
Fu Yunyao agreed to each one, her eyes filled with a smile.
Qiu Tingshui placed a plate of pastries on the stone table in the courtyard and waved to her.
"Here, this dish was made especially for you."
She discovered by chance that this seemingly aloof girl actually had a sweet tooth.
"As expected, my mother-in-law still likes Sister Yunyun the most."
A child on one side held a pastry and made an exaggerated expression of envy on his face.
Qiu Tingshui couldn't resist reaching out and pinching the tender flesh on his face. "Grandma likes you too."
"Then Grandma still prefers Sister Yunyun."
This time, a little girl responded, "I like Sister Yunyun too!"
As if on cue, the other children echoed, "I like Sister Yunyun too!"
"I'm best friends with Yunyun!"
Mu Jin, who was standing to the side, felt a little jealous. He made a gesture with his teeth and claws in front of the little girl.
"I've been with you guys for much longer, so why don't you say you like me? Is it just because you can't see me?"
Qiu Tingshui looked helplessly at this somewhat childish person, sitting on the recliner that Fu Yunyao had prepared for her over the past few days.
"I also like the hibiscus in Grandma's house!" As if hearing Mu Jin's words, the little monster cub, who had been quietly staying to one side, spoke up.
Mu Jin was stunned. After a while, he moved closer to Fu Yunyao and asked, "Quick, ask him if he likes the hibiscus or if he only likes me?"
Fu Yunyao glanced at him, as if to say, "Is there a difference?"
Mu Jin understood. "Of course there's a difference. If you like Mu Furong, you'll like me. If you just like me, you'll just like me."
Fu Yunyao found it somewhat amusing, but ultimately went along with his question and asked, "Do you like hibiscus?"
The cub shook its head, its fluffy ears twitching slightly. "I only like the hibiscus in Grandma's house."
This time, without Mu Jin asking, Fu Yunyao spoke first, "Why do you like it?"
He seemed puzzled by her question and tilted his head. "Because only that hibiscus tree will keep Grandma company when we're not around. It's good to Grandma, so I like it."
Children's innocent words can always bring warmth to people in unexpected ways.
A smile appeared in Qiu Tingshui's eyes, and she slowly closed them as the gentle breeze caressed her.
The children, who had been playing, quieted down when they realized she was asleep, and obediently said goodbye and left.
Mu Jin sat on the stone chair, watching her quietly from a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Fu Yunyao got up, preparing to go back to her room, but stopped when she passed Qiuting Water.
She held the slightly yellowed letter in her hand, close to her heart.
She slept peacefully, the corners of her eyes gleaming in the sunlight.
Fu Yunyao stood beside her, the shadow cast by her eyelashes falling on her eyes.
"Shh," Mu Jin said, "Don't wake her up."
Under the sunlight, Qiu Tingshui's silver hair and wrinkles, etched by the years, slowly faded, revealing a beautiful face.
"This is what she looked like at twenty-eight years old."
Mu Jin spoke softly, her voice filled with longing.
"This time, it's for real. She'll never wake up again."
Fu Yunyao looked up at him, and his figure became increasingly transparent.
He said.
"I'll have to trouble you to give her a proper burial."
“You…” Fu Yunyao frowned slightly, “Why?”
Unlike mortals, spirits can slowly regain their form and be reborn as long as they retain a remnant soul under the nourishment of spiritual energy.
Mu Jin stood up, her eyes filled with longing. "I want to stay with her. It will take too long for her to transform back into human form. I don't want to never see her again."
"So you and she formed a life-and-death pact?" Fu Yunyao asked coldly.
"Why are you still angry?" Mu Jin walked to Qiu Tingshui's side and reached out to touch her hair.
A breeze happened to blow, and her hair moved slightly, as if he had actually touched her.
"Look, isn't this better? If she lives, I live; if she dies, I die."
His figure slowly disappeared in the wind.
"I have no regrets about going with her."
A hibiscus flower drifted down and finally landed on the heart of Qiutingshui.
Sunlight fell on Fu Yunyao, causing her pure white clothes to sway gently.
She slowly raised her head and felt that the wind had picked up and it seemed a little cold.
This is the second time in Fu Yunyao's life that a monument has been erected for someone.
As the sun set, she stared at the name on the stone tablet, speechless for a long time.
All around were children's hushed sobs.
"Grandma likes us to laugh, but it makes me so sad..."
"Why is Grandma lying under this low yellow earth?"
Fu Yunyao stood still when she suddenly felt someone tugging at her hem.
She looked down and saw a pair of furry ears and a pair of bloodshot eyes.
He asked, "What about the hibiscus in Grandma's room? I want to grow it."
Fu Yunyao thought that if Mu Jin knew that someone would still remember him after his death, he would be very happy.
She reached out and gently stroked his hair.
He spoke softly.
"Hibiscus is sleeping with Granny Qiu."
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