When they met again, he was blind, but he said Yu was his sweetheart...
The Beilingwu tribe traveled through mountains and rivers and finally found a new habitat in a deep mountain.
Due to earthquakes and river changes tens of thousands of years ago, the mountains here are high into the clouds and the cliffs are steep. However, deep in the valley there is a flat plain facing the water with the mountains behind. From a distance, it looks like a hanging city, easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The Beiling Wu Clan is the least afraid of starting from scratch. They have the best craftsmen and the best farmers. Everything can provide materials and inspiration, and if they want to use them, they have an inexhaustible supply.
On the day the altar was completed, Wu Wen held up his staff and climbed the stairs.
He looked up at the sky and saw faint wind and thunder, and the clouds and the direction of the mountain were silently aligned, like a dragon with its back arched to carry all things. He named the mountain "Dragon Ridge Mountain".
Several years passed in the blink of an eye. Wu Wen was busy with stargazing, divination, and studying mechanisms and crops. In addition, in order to comply with the traditions of his tribe, he still maintained the habit of shaving his beard and eyebrows and dressing like a woman.
Unfortunately, no matter how many elixirs he tried, his voice could not be restored to its original state. Therefore, he became more and more reluctant to speak and only arranged things by handwriting.
For Yu Wu Wen, it was not difficult to lead the Wu clan. After all, he had been following his mother since he was a child and had learned a lot of things through osmosis.
Wu Rao once told him that since he was a man, he could not succeed the position of clan leader. So only if he learned everything he should learn, would he have a chance to be chosen by the next clan leader, become her husband, and assist her well.
But this "she" no longer exists. According to the precedent of the witch clan, the position of clan leader can only be passed on to the daughter of the ten witches who is at least twelve years younger than him.
The children of the previous generation of witches were all around his age, so he could only wait until a woman of the same age gave birth to a daughter with excellent qualifications and talents before he could consider stepping down.
Wu Gu is the oldest witch in the tribe. When she is free, she will come to visit Wu Wen.
"Awen, there has been nothing happening in the tribe recently. If you feel tired, you can take a good rest." She walked closer and saw the tribe leader hunched over the desk, holding a pen in his hand, but the paper was empty.
"Auntie," Wu Wen picked up her pen, "I was wondering why we have to live in seclusion."
"The Wu Clan preserves the wisdom of their ancestors. As you know, the more profound the study of knowledge, the more talent, perseverance, and time it requires. Even though our lifespans are relatively long, we are still mortal. Once we enter the world, how can we survive the conquests of various factions? If we cannot survive, how can we continue the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors?"
"Now the world is peaceful. The North and the South have signed an alliance and will no longer fight."
"Awen, if you're lonely, I can choose a wife for you. Even if she isn't a descendant of the Ten Witches, your child won't be able to succeed the clan leader. But when you become a husband and a father, you'll understand the value of protection and inheritance."
Wu Wen put down her pen and did not continue writing.
Do the Wu clan have a long lifespan? If no one had rescued him that year, he would have died in A Mang's tent, and the entire Wu clan would have been slaughtered by the greedy enemy army.
The young general named Shi Cheng was his benefactor and also the benefactor of the Wu clan. When his mother was alive, she taught him to be grateful and repay kindness, but after not seeing him for so many years, he almost forgot what he looked like, so how could he repay her?
Wu Wen found it difficult to face the delusions that had arisen in his mind, so he knelt before his ancestors for three days and three nights, left a letter asking Wu Gu to take charge of clan affairs, and then left Longji Mountain alone.
As far as I can remember, Shi Cheng was from the south, and his father had been loyal to the southern court.
Wu Wen headed south and, relying on his memory, returned to Mutao Village in Huaixiang, where he had lived when he was recuperating from his injuries.
In just seven or eight years, the village had doubled in size. Due to the truce between the North and the South, the once poor and dilapidated village had become a transit point for trade between the North and the South.
Tea and silk from the south were transported to the north by trading caravans and then exchanged for leather and gold and silver wares from the north.
Wu Wen stayed in the village as a doctor, treating patients and asking the caravan for news.
He never spoke and only charged a very low consultation fee, but his medical skills were superb and many difficult and complicated diseases could be cured quickly after his diagnosis and treatment.
He became more and more famous in the surrounding area and was often called the "Dumb Doctor".
One day, Wu Wen returned home from collecting herbs and saw several caravan guards surrounding a beggar and beating him. The beggar was clearly in great pain, but he gritted his teeth and refused to call for help.
He felt sympathy and stepped forward to stop the guards and gave each of them some money for drinks.
The guards stopped taking the money, saying that the man was a habitual thief and if they didn't teach him a lesson, everyone would be in trouble if the caravan lost its goods.
After the guards left, Wu Wen helped the beggar up and accidentally noticed that there seemed to be something hanging around his neck. He was holding it tightly with both hands, which was why he was beaten so badly.
He took the beggar's hand, lowered his head and wrote on his palm: "Where are you from?"
The beggar realized that the other party could not speak, so he did not struggle. He just said shyly, "It was given to me by my sweetheart."
There was a hint of complacency in his words, as if he was saying, you never thought that a beggar like him would receive such a precious gift.
When he put down his hands, Wu Wen could see clearly that what was hanging on his chest was the double-ring concentric jade that had been passed down from generation to generation by the patriarchs of the Beiling Wu clan.
Shi Cheng...? !
Wu Wen stared at his face, looking at it again and again.
Although his appearance was somewhat similar to before, his temperament was completely different. The young man who was once dressed in fine clothes and gallant was now unkempt and ragged. Especially his eyes that could speak...
Wu Wen stretched out her hand and waved it in front of his eyes, but he didn't react at all.
No wonder his eyelids were always drooping, like a pair of peeled walnuts, covered with wrinkles and scars.
Wu Wen didn't know what had happened, but she had to take him back and treat his injuries first.
Shi Cheng staggered as he was dragged along by him. Suddenly, he smelled the scent of medicine in the room and guessed that the person who saved him must be a doctor. "Don't worry about me. I don't have any money."
Wu Wen was anxious and wrote quickly, "Use the jade to pay for it."
Shi Cheng turned around and was about to leave: "I can't give you the jade, I can't give you the jade."
Wu Wen was quick-witted and quick-handed. He took out a knife and cut the rope. In a blink of an eye, the jade pendant fell into his hand.
"Give it back to me!" Shi Cheng was really angry and raised his fist to hit someone, but thinking that this person had saved him, he raised his fist high but did not drop it.
Wu Wen didn't try to hide. Instead, she tore the jade in half and handed him the larger piece. She then wrote, "When your injury is healed, I will return it in full."
Shi Cheng took the jade with great care, touched it, and became sad again: "You broke it?! Why did you break my jade?! I beg you..."
Ever since he became blind, he encountered many difficulties and gradually got used to asking for help from others.
Wu Wen didn't want to see him like this. In the Wu clan, no one needs to kneel down to worship anyone except ancestors and gods.
He sighed and wrote at the end: "It's not broken, trust me."
Whether Shi Cheng believed it or not, in order to get the other half of the jade back, he had no choice but to listen to Wu Wen.
One day while taking a medicinal bath, an idea suddenly came to him.
He had carried that piece of jade with him for eight years, so he was extremely familiar with it. Even he himself didn't know the secret, so how did the doctor manage to break it in two without breaking it?
Could the doctor know the origin of this jade? Would he know about the Beiling Wu tribe, and would he know Awen?
So Shi Cheng changed his usual behavior and cooperated with the treatment very actively. Even though he couldn't see, he would find ways to do what he could, such as welcoming and seeing off guests and drying and grinding medicine. He was more useful than any other apprentice.
Suddenly, Wu Wen felt that the young general had returned. He was busy running around, almost exactly the same as when he took care of her back then.
Three months later, all of Shi Cheng's injuries were healed, except for his eyes.
Wu Wen kept her promise, put the two pieces of jade together and returned them to him.
This time Shi Cheng listened carefully. There was a mechanism on the two pieces of jade, which could be closed with a "click". The doctor must know its secret.
"Miss, thank you so much for saving me and healing me. I have no way to repay you, but there is one thing I want to ask of you. As long as you tell me, I will work like a slave to repay you!" Shi Cheng was already familiar with his habits and spread out his palm to make it easier for him to write.
Wu Wen was almost choked by the word "girl". Apart from the elders of the Wu clan and the dead A Mang army, he was the only one in the world who knew that he was a man.
He squeezed his fingers, motioning him calmly to continue.
"Do you know the Beiling Wu Clan? Do you know their leader, Wu Wen?" Shi Cheng was excited. He thought he would hear the long-awaited answer.
But Wu Wen remained silent and did not answer anything.
Before going down the mountain, he was prepared to not get any information, and was willing to bear the consequences and guilt of losing the patriarch's heirloom jade. However, he never expected that he would be able to meet Shi Cheng again and live with him as ordinary people for a few months.
If Shi Cheng hadn't told him when they met that the jade was a gift from his sweetheart, perhaps they could have remained friends. But what should he do now? How should he respond to Shi Cheng's feelings?
He didn't answer, and Shi Cheng became even more anxious: "Is he okay? Did they encounter an accident?"
Wu Wen remained silent.
Shi Cheng thought he just agreed, and suddenly sat down on the ground, covering his face and crying.
He was blind and could not shed tears. Only the wrinkles on his face showed how sad he was.
Wu Wen didn't know how he had been through these years, but he could vaguely guess that since he had no father or mother and was the son of a criminal, the chances of overturning his father's verdict were not great. Moreover, with the North and the South forming an alliance, it was meaningless to advocate war or peace.
If those old subordinates also left him, he would be the only one left, and the world was so big that he would have nowhere to go.
Wu Wen had his own considerations for concealing his identity, but if concealing his identity would cause harm to Shi Cheng, that was not his original intention.
So, he leaned forward, and like comforting a wronged child in the tribe, he hugged him very lightly and gently, yet irresistibly, patted his back, and persuaded him to stop crying.
"Girl, you...!" Shi Cheng did not forget about his reputation, but as soon as he struggled, he knew that the other party was not a woman.
Women's clothing is common in his home, but he is a man. Could it be that he is also a man dressed as a woman like Awen?
Shi Cheng could not forget the stunning glimpse he got when they parted that year. Awen was not only beautiful, but also had an indescribable gentleness and compassion. It seemed that no matter how much she suffered, she would be healed as long as she was by his side.
"...Awen? It's you, you are Awen, right?" He couldn't see, so he could only reach out and grope.
Wu Wen placed his hand on the side of her cheek and nodded seriously.
Shi Cheng was so happy that he hugged him back tightly. Despite the mountains and rivers blocking his way and countless difficulties and dangers, he finally found him!
"What a pity, I can't see it." Although he was excited, this was his biggest regret.
"It can be cured, but it requires some effort." This time, Wu Wen wrote on his back, "How did you get hurt?"
Shi Cheng closed his eyes and felt his breath. "I returned to the army and wanted to make military achievements. I always rushed to the front in every battle. One time, the enemy used a fire bomb and my eye was injured."
Wu Wen held the jade on his chest. His eyes were injured, but the jade was fine. Could it be that the jade is more important than his eyes?
If he wanted to treat his eyes, he had to go back to the witch clan, but the witch clan had another rule: if an outsider came in, he had to either stay forever or have his eyes gouged out and his hands chopped off. He was not allowed to reveal the witch clan's affairs to anyone else.
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