The closer Erhua got to Tangli Village, the more he felt his legs were becoming uncontrollable.
He walked very fast for most of the way after he left the house, as if there was a war drum beating in his heart urging him on. But now that he was almost there, he became like a deflated soldier, walking and stopping.
Even so, the gate of Tang Sannan's house appeared before his eyes.
Erhua stood at the door, which was locked. He didn't know whether his master and Luo Zhen were at home today.
He breathed a long sigh of relief: Maybe not...
"Squeak--" Before he could react, the door suddenly opened and Luo Zhen stood inside the door with a cane.
Both of them were stunned. Luo Zhen quickly retracted his surprised expression and replaced it with a polite and courteous smile.
It was as if the person standing in front of him was not Erhua, but just a familiar young man in the village.
Luo Zhen was leaning on a crutch under his left armpit and holding a wooden basin in his right hand, apparently preparing to pour water.
Erhua's heart trembled, and he reached forward with both hands to take the wooden basin. Senior sister had never done such chores before!
Luo Zhen retracted his hand holding the wooden basin. Erhua was stunned, and a feeling of sadness rose from the bottom of his heart: Don’t you want me to get hurt at all?
"Don't bother, I can do it myself."
Luo Zhen walked outside slowly with his cane, raised his right hand slightly, and poured out a basin of water. The weather was hot, and a layer of dust was raised. The water seeped into the mud and disappeared.
"Hey, I'm the one who does this kind of thing. What are you doing? It's so hot outside!"
Tang Sannan couldn't find his daughter anywhere. When he saw the gate open, he came over immediately, fearing that Luo Zhen might fall and get hurt.
Before reaching the door, Tang Sannan saw Erhua. The young disciple looked increasingly thin. He rushed over in such hot weather, sweating profusely. He couldn't help but feel warm in his heart and shouted, "Erhua, Erhua is here, hurry! Come in!"
"Master! I, I, let me take a look!"
The master nodded and waved his hand, indicating that Erhua didn't need to say more and asked him to go into the house first.
The room still had the same furnishings, and all the carving tools were on the wooden table. Luo Zhen sat back and buried his head in his work, as if Erhua had never been there.
"Hey, Luo Zhen, please stop when Erhua comes!"
The master urged, but Luo Zhen remained unmoved, fiddling with the carving knife in his hand and saying, "You guys chat, I'll just listen."
Erhua felt depressed. He originally thought that Luo Zhen might be angry and blame himself, and might even refuse to open the door for him. But now, she was very polite and distant, and you couldn't find any fault with her. He felt uncomfortable in his heart, as if it was a cat's claw.
The master asked Erhua to wait, and then got up and went to the well. There was a big stone on the ground at the wellhead, with a hemp rope tied to it, one end of which led into the well.
Tang Sannan grabbed the rope and pulled it up, and soon he pulled up a big, round, emerald green watermelon.
"Come, have some watermelon." He handed over the cut watermelon and said, "Look at you, you're sweating all over."
Erhua took the watermelon with both hands, but stood there without eating it. She said, "Sister, stop for a moment. Come and eat the watermelon."
Luo Zhen looked up, then quickly lowered her head and said, "I don't want to eat it. It's too cold. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Let's put it aside for a while."
Erhua felt very embarrassed and sat down woodenly. The cold and delicious watermelon in his mouth was just like cold water in winter, and it did not bring any warmth as it passed through his throat.
Tang Sannan ate happily. He picked up the piece of watermelon at the edge and finished it in three or two bites, swallowing it whole, including the seeds. Finally, he carefully nibbled off a little white-green flesh on the watermelon wall, leaving only a thin layer of dark green rind.
After eating, he wiped his hands with the back of his hand. Seeing that Erhua took a long time to finish one piece, he picked another piece from the middle and gave it to him.
"Why are you eating so slowly? Is it not tasty?"
Erhua shook his head repeatedly: "It's delicious! It's especially sweet!"
The master smiled and it was obvious that he was very happy about Erhua's arrival. He scanned Erhua from head to toe several times.
"When did you come back?"
It seems that they all know that I am going away.
"I've been back for a while now. It's the busy farming season, so I've been doing farm work at home. I've only had a few days off these days." Erhua explained hurriedly, "I came here today for no other reason than to come and see Master and Senior Sister."
The master nodded, without a trace of doubt or displeasure on his face. He was quite confident in his own judgment, even though Erhua had committed a crime and cut off his fingers, and hurt his daughter's heart.
"What are your plans for the future?"
The master asked tentatively.
"I haven't found any work to do yet, so you can help with the farm work at home first." Erhua paused and looked around. It didn't seem like his master had found a new apprentice.
"When you were injured at home, I went to your house to see you and said something to you. Do you remember?"
Tang Sannan spoke slowly, and every word he said passed through Erhua's ears and fell into his heart. He looked at his master's eyes in disbelief, and he knew that there were tears in his eyes at this moment.
"Master!"
He excitedly called out to the skinny old man in front of him. Tang Sannan smiled lovingly and nodded. Erhua understood what he meant. He stood up and, without caring about the fallen bench, knelt on his knees in front of his master.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Tang Sannan went forward to help him, but he didn't stand up and instead kowtowed three times.
"Master, please don't help me. If I don't kowtow, I won't be able to get over this hurdle in my heart."
As Erhua spoke, his chest heaved violently, with thousands of words running around in his chest, and he didn't know which to say first.
"Good boy, don't be anxious. Get up first and let's talk slowly..."
Tang Sannan tried to help him up again, but Erhua still refused to get up. He felt regretful, as if this was the only way to alleviate his guilt.
"I, Erhua, must have accumulated great merit in my previous life, which allowed me to meet a good master like you in this life. I have no reputation, no peace of mind, and still, still..."
Erhua couldn't continue speaking and secretly glanced at Luo Zhen from the corner of his eye. Yes, he, Erhua, was not a human being and he had let down such a good Luo Zhen!
"Today, I didn't intend to shamelessly call you Master. I just wanted to come and take a look and then leave. I really didn't expect that you would not bother with me like this.
If you are still willing to accept me, I will be your disciple for eternity if I enter your sect now!"
These words were so heartfelt that Tang Sannan burst into tears.
"Alright, alright, a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. The disciple I, Tang Sannan, choose will definitely not be a coward. There's no such thing as a third time, isn't this the second time?
I have found something great today! Get up quickly!
The master and the disciple wiped away their tears so as not to make a fool of themselves.
Luo Zhen continued to carve without raising his head, but his hands seemed to have lost strength and his mind seemed to have lost consciousness. He carved the wood in his hands for a long time but it didn't take any shape.
She was angry with herself: Tang Luozhen, have some backbone!
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