Fifteenth: The Two Elements and the Four Symbols, Part One
Mingjin almost died that day, a diagnosis made by both Huang Jing and Ji Zhen.
When Mu Ning brought her back, she was soaked in sweat from the pain she was in. She lay in the Medicine Sect for ten days. For the first five days, Ji Zhen and Huang Jing took turns watching over her, ensuring someone was always nearby. On the sixth day, after Mingjin opened her eyes, Mei Chong and Pang Ming joined in, taking turns caring for her. On the sixth day, Mingjin's condition was so bad that she could only open her eyes, glance at the people sitting beside her, and then faint again. Three days later, Mingjin finally felt like she had truly woken up. It was as if she had just woken from a deep sleep, and now her mind was clear; she could speak properly on her own and recognize the people around her.
These were the changes that Pang Ming and Mei Chong observed. For Ming Jin herself, she could only lie in bed, with only her legs, shoulders, neck, and head able to move slightly. Although the pain had subsided, she couldn't use them freely at all. Even if she held a bowl to eat for a long time, her shoulders and arms would shake. Fortunately, she was eating less now, and her mealtimes were shorter, so probably no one else noticed this. The recovery process was very slow, but Ming Jin was using her body every second. She felt that rather than waiting for the wounds to heal, she was fighting against the pain for the right to use her body. However, every time she opened her eyes, all she saw was a dark ceiling, and she couldn't even turn her head to look at the scenery outside the window, which made Ming Jin feel extremely desolate.
Because Ji Zhen had ordered that no one else was allowed to visit, it wasn't until the ninth day that Du Gewen, Rong Shao, Mu Ning, and Pei Xuanzhen came to visit her. However, Ming Jin was still unable to control her injured neck and couldn't get up. Rong Shao went to Ming Jin's house and brought over all her daily necessities, piling them high on a small table nearby. Du Gewen originally planned to prepare some good food to nourish Ming Jin, but Ji Zhen and Huang Jing persuaded him to go back, telling him that it was fine for visitors to come if they had good intentions, but they were not allowed to do anything unrelated to what had been said.
"Even the sect leader can only listen to Master." When the elders visited the sick man in the room, Mei Chong could vaguely see the figures inside through the paper window, but he could hear their words clearly.
“After all, this is the Medicine Sect’s territory, so we can’t disobey the sect leader.” Mei Chong said as he stood in the small courtyard outside the door, while Pang Ming sat on the veranda next to him, brewing medicine.
Mingjin spent a month in the Medicine Sect before her injuries fully healed, but she was far from fully recovered. She disliked the smell of medicine to begin with, and this month of lying in bed was truly unbearable. Finally, Jizhen agreed to let her move to Lu Ying's old residence on the mountain to recuperate, but she was not allowed to leave the mountain. She could leave, but only to He Geng Tang and the Medicine Sect, and she was not allowed to go to He Geng Tang when it was crowded, and she was not allowed to leave for more than half an hour a day.
"Autumn is almost here." Mingjin could only sit inside, watching Pang Ming sweep fallen leaves in the yard. "Won't it be killed by the medicinal fumes?"
In the middle of the courtyard stood a tall magnolia tree, taller than several houses. The tree was very close to the gate; in spring, passing by, one could see its branches laden with pale white blossoms, a vibrant splash of color against the sky. Now, the season is over, the flowers have all fallen, leaving only leaves. After a month of inhaling the medicinal scent, even the remaining leaves look sickly.
"It's just about to shed its leaves. The hot weather is over, and the crisp autumn air is coming. Don't sit by the door, or you'll catch a cold. Did you finish reading all the letters you received?" Pang Ming was still sweeping when a leaf suddenly fell from the tree and landed on his head. He quickly dusted off his shoulders. "You can sit here for a little longer and then go inside. There are some things to do on the back mountain today, so I won't be back for lunch. But this morning, Senior Sister Tianhua said she'd come to have lunch with you."
"That's great! It's hard to get through the days without practicing martial arts. I've missed everyone so much." Watching Pang Ming close the door, Ming Jin got up and went to the study on the left to continue reading the letters.
After Lu Ying's death, the house remained empty. Only Ming Jin and Yan Junyou had time to visit throughout the year; the rest of the time it was vacant. Fortunately, it wasn't far from the Medicine Sect, which is why Ji Zhen agreed to let her stay there. When her parents went out to hunt ghosts as a child, Ming Jin would come with Lu Ying. If Lu Ying was busy, she would practice calligraphy and read in Lu Ying's study. Back then, the desk and chairs were designed to fit Lu Ying's size, making it difficult for Ming Jin to get in and out, but now she found them perfectly comfortable.
Time really flies.
Since Deng Lin and Yu Hong were unable to come up the mountain, they sent a letter. After Deng Lin and Zhou Wei got married, they lived separately in a house three streets away from Ming Jin, but the two of them often visited each other. At the time of their marriage, Deng Lin's parents gave her three fruit tree saplings, which are now planted in the open space in their backyard. Deng Lin knew how to make candied fruit and pastries, so she set up a small stall near her home, attracting many children who drooled over them. Unfortunately, Ji Zhen forbade Ming Jin from eating these.
Yu Hong, the town's tailor, had recently made a new set of clothes and brought them up the mountain. In his letter, he said that to help Mingjin heal her injuries, she should start by changing out of those clothes. When Yan Junyou told Yu Hong that when Mingjin was injured, the two children who had been playing outside suddenly returned. After hearing the news, they also wanted to go up the mountain to visit her. After arguing for a while, they finally listened to Yan Junyou and wrote two thick stacks of letters in their limited vocabulary, which they then brought up. Meng Sheng had something to discuss with Mingjin, but she was unconscious at the time. Ya Zai screamed and tearfully told her the truth: firstly, not many people from Jizhen came to see her, and secondly, Meng Sheng's senior brother, Wei Jing, was coming to check her studies that day and was being very strict. Meng Sheng and Shen Bai were both suffering and couldn't leave, so they wrote a letter and brought some food that could be stored for a long time.
After Mu Ning returned with Ming Jin, they searched the surrounding area and eventually, together with Yu Qiao, found a haunted stronghold. Although they couldn't determine who owned the stronghold, they heard that it contained many bones, both human and various insects. It seemed the haunted spirit waited for the bodies to decompose naturally before collecting the bones, which explained why the bodies of the four recently missing people were still relatively intact, allowing their families to identify them, thus completing their mission.
But to Mingjin's surprise, Shaojie somehow also found out about it. Actually, Yazi, realizing that Mingjin was so seriously injured that he probably wouldn't be able to visit her as usual during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, or even the Lunar New Year, went to tell Shaojie, hoping he could understand. Shaojie then scolded Yazi, saying he was useless and couldn't protect Mingjin. Before leaving, he told Yazi to take the letter back safely.
Shao Jie had a loud voice and a commanding presence. Ya Zai, the oriole formed from magic, had the worst temper, but even he was defeated by Shao Jie. Ya Zai didn't dare to confront him, so he could only return the letter with tears in his eyes, feeling wronged and scared after being yelled at. After arriving, he didn't dare to tell Ming Jin, but could only chatter and make a fuss with Pang Ming.
"Don't worry about it. You know your uncle has always been like this. It's not necessarily for any particular reason," Pang Ming said helplessly.
There was one last letter left. The envelope contained nothing but the words "To be opened by Mingjin" and wasn't even sealed. Mingjin didn't open it immediately; he just stared at the five characters on the envelope, completely unable to recall whose handwriting it was.
Voices could be heard coming from the courtyard; there were three voices.
After Pang Ming left, Ming Jin didn't lock the door, so he could see Zhu Zhenyun, Chen Du, and Mei Chong entering through the slightly ajar window. Chen Du had been here before, but it was the first time for Zhu Zhenyun and Mei Chong. They looked around and said, "I've been on the mountain for so long, and although I've passed by here occasionally, this is the first time I've ever been here."
“After all, Elder Lu passed away before we got to know each other on the mountain. It’s such a pity,” Mei Chong said.
Mingjin got up to greet them. Zhu Zhenyun had prepared some side dishes and brought them up in a food box. Since neither of them were good at cooking, Chen Du and Mei Chong went to Changhe Town to ask the chef at a restaurant to stew a pot of chicken soup, and also brought some flatbread. When the soup pot was opened, the aroma filled the entire room, making all four of them involuntarily drool.
"It's still warm, let's eat quickly," Zhu Zhenyun said. Chen Du brought in a stack of bowls and other items, and the group sat around the round table, enjoying a rare lunch.
"Elder Mu's face was pale when he came back, but your faces were both quite frightening. Master Rong and Elder Du both had long faces before they almost burst out cursing." Mei Chong took a big sip of chicken soup. Because she was the youngest, she also received a large chicken leg, in addition to Ming Jin, so she was very happy.
"Changqi, please give my regards. Yuanxi is busy taking care of you, and with the autumn harvest in progress, he's really overwhelmed. He could have been relieved of his punishment of farming long ago, but because there are too many things to do in the back mountains, he's still helping Yuanxi now." Zhu Zhenyun took out a still-warm steamed bun from the box. Mingjin had always liked this taste, and now he eagerly accepted it.
“I can’t just go out casually either. I only saw Changqi once at He Gengtang. But his eyes were dark then, and he was nodding while eating, almost falling asleep sitting up. He didn’t even notice me. I also ran into Tianzuo and the others once or twice. When they first saw me, they acted like they’d seen a ghost, and then they were so excited they couldn’t speak. It felt like they had suffered a serious injury and were recuperating, as if they had disappeared from the world.” Mingjin sighed. “Master Rong said that Master has gone out to investigate the person who spread the news, so he’s not on the mountain. Have you seen Master Mu?”
Chen Du said, "I don't know what Elder Mu has been doing lately. It's even harder to see him than before. Elder Mu used to visit the sect leader often, though not frequently, but Shihe and I could see him quite often. Now, we see him less often. The sect leader is still the same as usual. I told him I'd come to see you today, and he was planning to come, but then he suddenly brought up some unresolved matters and went down the mountain with Shihe."
“That’s true, the beginning of autumn is coming soon, everyone should be busy. When the sect leader came last time, I asked him, and he said I could go to Yuanxi’s place to help out, which would also be a way to regain my mobility,” Ming Jin said, eating a steamed bun and holding a soup bowl in one hand.
"So soon?" Shen Du stopped drinking his soup and asked in surprise.
“Not now,” Mingjin said with a smile and shook his head. “It has to wait until the autumn harvest officially begins. And even though I’m going to help, it’ll just mean going out more. Although I’d like to get back to normal as soon as possible, after secretly trying a few times, I realized that it’s not something that can be forced.”
"You know that's fine." Seeing that everyone's bowls were empty, Zhu Zhenyun asked a question and learned that everyone was full. So, everyone cleaned up together, fetched water to wash the dishes, and then the three of them said goodbye.
Mingjin saw them to the door, and the three of them didn't let him see them off any further. They waved goodbye and said they would come back soon.
Back in his study, Mingjin thought he should reply to all the letters as soon as possible. After sitting down, he picked up his pen and saw the letter that he had not yet finished reading.
It was written on only one sheet of paper, but it was extremely strange. Normally, people write letters from top to bottom and from right to left, but this letter was written from left to right and from top to bottom. Furthermore, Ming Jin hadn't even read the contents yet, but the handwriting in those few lines of letter looked increasingly familiar. Each character flowed like clouds and water, yet was full of vigor and strength; it was truly the hand of an expert, perhaps even a master among experts.
After looking at it for a while, Mingjin suddenly realized that this was the calligraphy model he had been practicing since he was a child.
That master passed away a hundred years ago, and it is likely that his successors admired his writing skills. However, to be able to write with such skill is truly admirable.
"I am greatly relieved to hear that Tianguang has recovered from his illness. The Autumn Equinox will surely be an auspicious day. I have arranged with Tianguang to visit him on the afternoon of the Autumn Equinox. Please do not let anyone else know. Daoxin's letter."
After reading it, Mingjin was at a loss.
Who is this?
Is Dao Xin a name?
Although it's said that he should arrive in the afternoon of the Autumn Equinox, this person shouldn't be from Kongyun Mountain. How exactly will he cross the barrier to get to Lu Ying's doorstep? But what's even stranger is how this letter ended up on the table? Yuan Bei probably doesn't know about this letter, otherwise he would have mentioned it to me.
She might not be a good person. Should we tell the sect leader and elders? Given her current physical condition, she probably couldn't even outrun a five or six-year-old child. If something were to happen, I wouldn't be able to handle it.
However, Mingjin carefully read the first sentence, "I heard that Tianguang has recovered from his illness." Did this person named Daoxin know about his injury? Besides his elders and friends, there was another person who knew about his illness and was probably willing to visit him. It must be the strange person who silently saved his life and then quietly left.
During the month he lay in bed, Mingjin carefully recalled the extraordinary encounter that day and vaguely realized one thing: his benefactor had briefly treated his wounds. Perhaps it was during that brief moment of that person's appearance that Mingjin was able to hold on until Mu Ning took him back to Kongyun Mountain for treatment, thus saving his life.
Mingjin suddenly realized that he hadn't mentioned what happened that day to anyone. Although the elders were always busy, and Yuanxi and the others always looked worried, he must have mentioned it to someone, right?
But why didn't I say anything? Was it because I hadn't found an opportunity in the past few months?
After thinking for a long time, Mingjin, who was deep in thought, suddenly looked up. At the edge of his vision was a vast expanse of darkness, but directly in front of him were green mountains, and clouds swirled around them. The main entrance of the house faced west. Opposite the door was a table with a large kettle and five or six cups on it. Several long benches were placed on either side, their dark surfaces gleaming softly from prolonged sitting. On either side of the door were piles of farm tools such as hoes and rakes, originally neatly arranged, but one rake, because it wasn't placed securely, was leaning precariously against a nearby iron hoe.
Ming Jin is now sitting in a wooden bungalow nestled among the fields behind Kongyun Mountain.
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