Encounter (I)
The next afternoon, Li Qingshan did not receive He Shu as he had hoped. He couldn't help but think of the sudden storm yesterday evening, and the worry in his heart could not be dispelled.
Worried, he walked carefully down the mountain. The forest, ravaged by the strong wind, looked like a crumpled and reluctantly unfolded scroll, with traces of struggle everywhere.
Broken branches and stumps lay in a mess across the path, and there was a thick layer of fallen leaves and wood chips underfoot, which rustled when stepped on. Mixed in with the ground were smashed wild fruits, overturned bird nests, bushes with overturned roots, and even a few corpses of small animals, which had not yet stiffened, stuck in the mud with twisted postures.
A pungent smell of burning suddenly filled the air, pulling him off the path and into the bushes.
Soon, a hideous scorch mark appeared at his feet. Li Qingshan followed the direction of the mark and came to the edge of a cliff.
The charred land showed that this place had been struck by lightning. Not only did the ground look like a piece had been gouged out, but the surrounding trees were also affected. The branches and leaves were burnt yellow, and the leaves curled up into charred curls, and shattered into powder when the wind blew.
The sunlight shone through the sparse, blackened branches and leaves, falling on the charred tree stumps, reflecting a dull light. A terrible silence enveloped the scorched earth, and even the sound of the wind seemed to be burned out.
There was a pile of black ash not far away. When Li Qingshan saw it, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He stepped deeply and shallowly on the broken branches and charred leaves, stumbling towards the end of the scorch mark, his fingers trembling as he pushed aside the still-warm black ash. A blinding flash of pure white suddenly came into view, and his heart suddenly stopped, as if struck by an invisible hammer.
Li Qingshan's knees weakened, and he fell into the ashes. His fingertips unconsciously picked up the edge of the yellowed, slightly warm piece of clothing. This couldn't be... this couldn't be...
A huge fear and suffocation instantly gripped him, his stomach churned, he suddenly crawled back a few steps, fell to the ground and retched violently, cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
"No... no... Master said... Brother He will turn danger into safety..."
"Yes, it will turn out well!"
He took a deep breath, stood up again, tucked the piece of clothing into his sleeve, turned around to leave, but caught a glimpse of a small gray-brown sparrow suddenly landing on a broken branch not far away, jumping anxiously and making quick and sharp "chirp" sounds.
Li Qingshan was distraught and didn't care much about it. He just continued to move forward.
The little sparrow suddenly flew past him, circled twice above his head, then dived towards the edge of the cliff, landed on a protruding rock, and continued to chirp anxiously.
Li Qingshan finally realized that something was wrong. He came to his senses and, as if possessed by a ghost, followed.
The area near the steep slope was not affected by the lightning. When I stepped onto the soft grass again, I felt a strange feeling as if I was in another world.
Li Qingshan lowered his head and smiled bitterly. He happened to catch a glimpse of bloodstains on the weeds. He instantly thought of something. Following the bloodstains, he carefully moved to the edge of the cliff and looked down over the ridge.
On the slope, half-human-high bushes and thorny vines tangled together, leaving intermittent dark red marks that snaked downward, eventually disappearing into the shimmering Yangchun Creek below. On a few blue-gray rocks, the glaring red spots were particularly clear.
Without time to think, he hurriedly found a way down the mountain and searched carefully along the stream bank. The only sounds in his ears were the gurgling stream and the rustling of grass leaves in the wind.
Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a white shadow hidden in the bushes. He ran closer hastily. When he saw that it was a dying white crane with charred feathers, his eagerness instantly turned into ice water and he froze in place in a daze.
Reluctantly, Li Qingshan stood up and looked around again, but still found nothing.
He looked around dejectedly. The dusk deepened and the stream whimpered, as if mocking his futility. The last glimmer of hope was extinguished, and he walked back to where the white crane was.
Well, we are all wanderers in this world...
Li Qingshan slowly squatted down, took off his coat and gently held Bai He in his arms.
The setting sun melted the clouds on the horizon, and a dim light flowed down, making the shadows of the mountains slanted and long.
He walked back home with the injured crane in his arms, and found that an uninvited guest had been waiting there for a long time.
"Brother! Where have you been? Why are you back just now?"
As soon as his sister Li Qinglan saw him, she was about to pounce on him. However, when her eyes unexpectedly caught sight of the blood-stained, almost shapeless white object in his arms, she cried out "Ah——" and clutched the hem of her pink skirt. She took three steps back, covered her mouth, and her face was filled with fear.
"Brother! What...what is that in your hand?"
"It's just a wounded white crane, don't be afraid, Lan."
"Merson——"
The white crane in his arms was seriously injured. If he wasn't treated quickly, he would probably die soon.
After Li Qingshan gently comforted his frightened sister, he called over the mute slave standing not far away and quickly instructed:
"Go to my room and bring the towels and medicine box to my side bed, and boil some hot water..."
The mute slave nodded and ran swiftly to the north room, while Li Qingshan hurried into the east wing.
Li Qinglan figured out what was going on. She quickly ran to the water tank and filled a basin with water, then quietly followed her brother, wanting to help.
"Brother, can it survive?"
She carefully carried the basin of water and placed it on a low stool far away by the door. Seeing the mute slave approaching with the medicine box on his back, she asked him to take it in.
“…I don’t know either.”
Li Qingshan, who has become a doctor through long-term illness, can now handle many diseases on his own, but he is not a professional veterinarian after all, so he can only do his best.
He held his breath and concentrated, gently brushing away the feathers and blood scabs on the white crane's body, carefully examining every wound.
This unfortunate little guy was probably affected by lightning, and most of his feathers were burnt.
Li Qingshan thought so as he gently stroked the white crane's back with his fingertips, pushing aside the burnt feathers on its left wing. He could clearly feel the bulge of the dislocated bone under his fingertips. The smell of blood and burnt food in the air seemed to be stronger.
He picked up a wet soft cloth and carefully wiped the stains around the edge of the wound, fearing to disturb the wound. Then he turned around and took the medicine box, while looking for the appropriate herbs and tools, he said:
"Mosheng, go to the yard and find two peach wood branches of suitable thickness."
"Oh, let me go, I'll go."
Li Qinglan, who was standing at the door, took the initiative to take on this job, and the mute slave stayed to help Li Qingshan pound the herbs he had just picked out of the medicine box.
It was soaked in clean water and quickly mashed into a sticky medicinal paste. Li Qingshan grabbed some with his bare hands and carefully applied it to Bai He's wound.
Seeing that the poor little creature, even in a coma, was still twitching due to the severe pain, and a weak but shrill whine came out of its beak, his heart tightened and he moved more slowly.
He deliberately loosened the cloth when wrapping it, and only after he successfully fixed the peach wood branches on both sides of the white crane's wings did he breathe a sigh of relief. He applied medicine to other obvious external injuries on its body, fed it some water, and completely relaxed.
He has done everything he can. Whether the white crane can survive depends on its own luck.
Li Qingshan stood up, washed his hands in a basin of clean water, and walked out of the house. The mute slave went to the kitchen to look after the boiling water.
Li Qinglan quietly observed his brother's expression. Seeing that he looked fine, he felt relieved and continued to follow him, chattering back what he had been interrupted about:
"Brother, guess why Alan came to you today!"
She coughed twice, then jumped in front of Li Qingshan and blocked his way with her arms folded.
"Did your father and mother tell you to come?"
"yes……"
Li Qinglan said as he turned around and put his hands behind his back.
“Not really…”
She took a few steps forward, kicked the stones blocking her way, lowered her head and continued:
"Last night, they saw a strong thunderstorm at Luzhu Mountain and were a little worried, so they asked me to come and take a look... By the way, brother, you haven't been home for a long time. When will you go back to visit?"
"I will naturally go back when the coming-of-age ceremony comes."
"oh……"
Li Qinglan nodded, then suddenly turned around, raised her head, and looked directly at Li Qingshan, with a questioning tone in her voice.
"Brother, you clearly agreed to dress up as me and go to the bookstore the day before yesterday, so why did you go to a teahouse with someone else? It caused a huge uproar in the city, and it really hurt A-Lan. Mother is going to ground me for three months as a punishment!"
Li Qingshan rubbed his eyebrows and wanted to explain, but he opened his mouth and said nothing.
"It's my brother's fault. What do you want, Alan?"
Hearing this, Li Qinglan laughed again. She took Li Qingshan's arm, shook it gently, and replied:
"The Shangsi Festival is in half a month. In previous years, my mother always found excuses not to let A-Lan go. Can my brother take A-Lan with him this year?"
"Brother..."
"Then it's up to you, but let's make it clear first. During the banquet, you must stay by my brother's side at all times. You must not run around or cause any trouble. Remember that?"
"Yeah, brother loves Lan the most!"
After getting the answer he wanted, the corners of Li Qinglan's mouth seemed to be curled up to the sky.
"Okay, okay, it's getting late, let's go home with the groom."
"Okay—goodbye, brother."
Watching his sister skipping into the carriage, Li Qingshan stood at the gate for a long time. The dusk weighed heavily on his shoulders, but the chirping of sparrows came to his ears.
On the way back, he found that the little sparrow on the cliff that showed him the way was following him all the time:
"You are quite spiritual..."
Li Qingshan looked up at it, thinking of He Shu, whose life and death were uncertain.
"Little fellow, if you remember my kindness, then please show me the way again and tell me where Brother He is..."
The little sparrow seemed to understand what was said and flew away with a whoosh.
Li Qingshan's gaze subconsciously followed the small gray figure, watching it finally stop on the windowsill of the east wing and peck at the wooden window frame.
"It's really desperate."
He lowered his head and laughed at himself, then sat back on the stone bench. Looking at the darkening sky, he wondered whether he should go up the mountain to ask his master for help.
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