Chapter 84 Love Amidst the Flames of War, Fleeting and Unreliable
After the army set off, Langzhou City returned to calm and bustling activity.
Pei Xiaoyun deliberately left a group of men to guard Langzhou City as a precaution, and also left He Lianqing and several trusted confidants in the city.
Mingying continued working as an incense maker in E Li Fang, while He Lianqing practiced medicine at the Four Clinics Hall, treating local people with difficult and complicated illnesses.
The Goose Pear Shop and the Four Clinic Hall are directly opposite each other. Mingying was really worried about the situation at the front and couldn't rest easy, so she went to the Four Clinic Hall to sit down and talk to He Lianqing.
He Lianqing was a carefree person who always looked on the bright side. He poured her a bowl of medicinal food: "Drink a bowl of this. It will help replenish your blood and improve your circulation. When your brother comes back, don't make yourself sick."
The medicinal food tasted sweet. Mingying drank a bowl, and the paleness on her face subsided, her cheeks became slightly rosy, and she felt much calmer.
"Once the war is over, will you still stay in the Northwest?" He Lianqing asked her.
Mingying shook her head: "Perhaps, I still want to go back to Jiangnan."
They chose to come to the Northwest to escape Pei Xiaoyun, but now their past is gone. From now on, the world is vast, and they can do as they please.
"And what about Young Master Lin?" He Lianqing asked tentatively.
“He…” Mingying remained silent for a moment.
She suddenly remembered what Pei Xiaoyun had said to her: that she didn't love Lin Xian at all.
But for her, who was already wounded and scarred, what did love or not love matter?
Lin Xian was the first person to teach her to be confident and independent, and to live for herself. Their three years together were filled with irreplaceable memories, and he has become a flawless moonlight in her heart.
She will repay those who are good to her tenfold.
If Pei Xiaoyun hadn't appeared, she might be in a completely different situation now.
He was obsessed with the word "love," and once he set his sights on someone, he wouldn't let go, pursuing them relentlessly. But to her, living was more important than the elusive concept of love.
“I will tell him and see what he thinks,” she said.
Lin Xian has always respected her, and she will respect his wishes in return.
If one day he remembers her and still wants to be with her, then she will stay by his side.
After the two talked for a while, He Lianqing realized that Xingwei was nowhere to be seen. There had been many patients at the clinic recently, and she had been leading the staff to maintain order among the patients, but she hadn't seen her today.
She harbors deep hatred for the Wuhuan people. Pei Xiaoyun wants her to stay and guard Langzhou City, which she will surely resent, and she will probably leave the city alone.
Sure enough, when he and Mingying arrived at the gate of Langzhou, they saw Xingwei, who was about to leave the city with his sword at his side.
He Lianqing raised her hand to stop her: "What are you going to do?"
Just like back in Hangzhou, he was afraid of unpredictable dangers ahead and didn't want her to go.
He remembered telling her before that he would never interfere in her affairs again, but this time, he stopped her again.
Xingwei stopped in her tracks, removed his hand, and said, "Go to the front lines."
He Lianqing sneered: "You really haven't changed at all. What are you trying to prove?"
Mingying, standing to the side, seemed to have noticed the subtle relationship between the two, and unconsciously pondered it deeply. She then heard Xingwei say to He Lianqing.
"My affairs are none of your business."
He Lianqing's breathing became slightly heavy. He was the last person he wanted to hear these words from her. He nodded heavily and looked at her: "Then why did you bother with my life or death? Why did you save me that day at Yunming Mountain? And why did you explain the misunderstandings to me after we came back?"
He looked at him, uttering so many questions, yet not a single word of concern came out.
For the first time, Xingwei felt that a person's words could be so powerful. The more forceful his words were, the more afraid she became of his approach. Her heart ached unbearably. She frowned and said, "Saving you was my mission. As for the explanation, you can pretend that I lied to you."
For some reason, there was always an invisible hand between them. Their distance had reached its limit, and if she took another half step forward, it would feel like stepping on a sharp knife.
He Lianqing's face darkened. He stopped looking at her and walked back on his own, leaving behind only the words, "Do as you please."
Xingwei unconsciously clenched his fists, then suddenly frowned and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"What's wrong?" Mingying immediately stepped forward to support her.
In her view, Xingwei was not a completely cold-hearted person. Back in Hangzhou, she accompanied her on a trip, and her brother successfully rescued her. Pei Xiaoyun couldn't find their residence for a while, which could only mean that Xingwei was helping her.
Without Xingwei's help, she wouldn't have had time to devise a subsequent plan.
Upon hearing this, He Lianqing suddenly turned around and saw Xing Wei collapse.
—
In the fourth consultation room, a faint scent of herbs permeated the air.
Xingwei was unconscious for not too long; he woke up around dusk and sat up on his own.
Mingying brought in a pot of hot tea and saw that she was awake. She poured her a cup of tea and said, "Have some. I'll go and call Doctor He."
Xingwei took the teacup without saying a word.
He Lianqing sat at the desk, irritably flipping through a pile of medical books.
He believed he had inherited his master's mantle, practicing medicine and saving lives. There were very few difficult and complicated diseases that he did not understand. He could even cure some of the poisons from the Wuhuan people.
But this time, he was truly clueless.
Mingying knocked on the door, her expression grave: "She's awake."
He Lianqing's anger subsided completely. Upon hearing this, she immediately entered the consultation room and saw that Xingwei's expression was relatively normal.
The two looked at each other without saying a word.
He Lianqing spoke with difficulty: "You were poisoned by a Gu. I couldn't tell when I took your pulse before because this Gu is extremely powerful. When it's first planted, no one can detect it. It's only possible to discover it as you get older after being poisoned. As for what the Gu's effect is, I don't know either. Do you really not remember anything about what happened before you pledged allegiance to Pei Xiaoyun?"
He said that when he took her pulse before, he felt that her pulse was slightly abnormal, but she didn't remember anything, so he didn't notice anything unusual about her and didn't ask any further questions.
Xingwei's pupils twitched slightly as she tried to think along the lines of his words, but her mind was a fog, and she couldn't remember anything.
She shook her head, indicating that she didn't remember.
However, she often had a strange dream in which her hands were covered in blood, as if she had killed someone she shouldn't have. Every time she had this dream, her internal organs would ache intensely.
"Then you can lie down."
Seeing this, He Lianqing's eyes lit up with stubbornness, and she continued to get up and look through the medical books.
He was determined to find out what kind of curse she had been afflicted with, what its effects were, and how to break the curse.
Mingying was afraid that Xingwei would leave on her own after waking up, so she stayed in the clinic to watch over her and brought over the prepared herbal medicine.
“We haven’t seen each other for many years. You helped me in Hangzhou that year, but I didn’t have a chance to thank you.”
Xingwei simply said, "No need for thanks."
Over the years, her master has ordered her to kill people, mostly spies from enemy countries or corrupt officials and parasites.
She won't hurt good people, even if it has nothing to do with her.
—
Cuifeng Pass was the last line of defense on the northwestern border with the Wuhuan people.
Pei Xiaoyun and Shen Mingshu were not traveling the same route. He was leading his men toward Cuifeng Pass. The climate at Cuifeng Pass was harsh, with yellow sand flying at night, extinguishing even the campfires and making the road invisible.
For the sake of military safety, he ordered his men to stop, set up camp, and wait for further orders, to continue their march early the next morning.
Fortunately, the marching route map was drawn meticulously and clearly. He guessed that Shen Mingshu's troops would also encounter a sandstorm and thus have to rest for a whole night, so neither side would delay their marching speed.
Just then, the vanguard general returned to report. He dismounted in disarray and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, the enemy has set up a poison barrier thirty miles away. We tried to break through, but the poison was too strong, and our entire force was wiped out."
After speaking, he opened his palm, revealing specks of poison powder, which were the components of the poison barrier.
Pei Xiaoyun's eyes flickered slightly, and she reached out to touch it.
"Your Majesty, do not inhale."
Pei Xiaoyun held his breath and gently rubbed the granules between his fingertips. Perhaps the Wuhuan people, having been defeated, feared that other countries might take advantage of their weakness and used poison to prevent external attacks.
Where have Shen Mingshu and the others gone?
The lieutenant glanced at the route map: "General Shen and his men are probably close to the enemy city. Your Majesty, since they have set up a poisonous barrier, why don't our army also take General Shen's route?"
Pei Xiaoyun shook her head, seemingly lost in thought.
The Wuhuan people were cunning. The original plan on the map was for him and Shen Mingshu to besiege the city from both flanks, preventing the enemy from having any chance to leave the city from either side to seek help from neighboring countries.
Abandoning the original route would be extremely risky, and could very well lead to the tiger returning to the mountains.
Taking the route through Cuifeng Pass is the best option.
He trusted Shen Mingshu's strategy; even if he arrived outside the city first and didn't see the signal here, he wouldn't act rashly.
"Someone come here." He beckoned, "Take some of that poison powder and ride back to Langzhou at top speed. Go and ask He Lianqing if there is any antidote."
Cuifeng Pass is only a six or seven-day round trip from Langzhou. If one rides at full speed, it can be even faster and will not take more than a few days.
If He Lianqing can solve it, that would be best; if not, we will discuss it further.
—
He Lianqing still couldn't figure out what kind of Gu had afflicted Xingwei, but fortunately, she had been acting normally since she woke up from her coma that day, which put his mind at ease.
Fearing that Mingying and Xingwei might have wild thoughts or act rashly, he took the initiative to teach them to recognize medicinal herbs to pass the time.
Xingwei no longer mentioned going to the front lines, and the disagreement with He Lianqing that day was simply forgotten.
Mingying would also take her to E'li Fang and teach her how to make a sachet for herself.
Mingying taught Xingwei step by step, grinding spices, stuffing herbs, cutting velvet, and tying knots. They worked until sunset, and Xingwei finally made one.
She looked at the sachet she had made, her fingertips tracing the knotted silk thread. Although it wasn't very pretty, she felt a strange mix of emotions.
It turns out that these hands, besides holding cold swords, can also grasp such soft objects.
This was the first time she had sat down and fiddled with these things. Compared to the numbness brought on by killing, these little gadgets allowed her to temporarily forget her hatred and calm her mind.
The next morning, when they received the message sent back from Cuifeng Pass, He Lianqing was teaching them to distinguish between motherwort and mugwort.
Upon seeing the battle report, all three men looked tense.
He Lianqing opened the envelope sealed with sealing wax and took out a letter and a crumpled piece of paper.
Perhaps it was his medical instincts, but he took out the contents of the crumpled paper, opened it first, and saw the powdery substance inside. His pupils widened in shock, and he immediately said, "Hold your breath, don't inhale it."
Mingying held her breath, her eyes darkening as she stared at the clump of powder in his hand.
"What is this?" She then took the letter and opened it.
The sharp and vigorous characters flowed freely, catching her eye. She recognized Pei Xiaoyun's handwriting at a glance, blinked, and read through them.
“This thing is poisonous.” Mingying finished reading the letter, her knuckles curling slightly. “He asked you if there was any way to cure it.”
In his letter, Pei Xiaoyun said that they encountered a poisonous obstacle at Cuifeng Pass and could not move an inch. He sent a message seeking a way to cure the poison and wrote the word "quickly" at the end of the letter.
She didn't know what she was feeling, but her wrist did tremble a few times.
He Lianqing's expression was solemn. "The Wuhuan people have run out of tricks. Back when my master was still alive, they used this trick before, and my master was able to cure this poison. I vaguely remember that he wrote down the antidote in his medical book."
Mingying felt a tingling sensation creeping up her palm and asked him, "Where is that medical practice book now?"
This is a medical manual that could save the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.
“Back then, our dynasty fought a battle with the Wuhuan. My master and senior sister risked their lives to go to the rear of the front line outside Langzhou to rescue the soldiers, but they died under the swords of the Wuhuan people for no reason.”
As He Lianqing spoke, his voice grew deeper and deeper. "I buried this medical book, which my master never parted with during his lifetime, under a tree next to his grave. If you want to obtain this book, you must go to Yanshan Mountain outside Langzhou City as soon as possible."
Upon learning of the existence of the antidote, the scouts quickly wrote a letter to report back to Pei Xiaoyun.
Upon hearing the name Yanshan, Xingwei's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, she frowned deeply, clutched her chest, and gasped for breath, knocking over a porcelain teapot on the table.
"What's wrong?" Mingying happened to be sitting next to her and reached out to help her.
He Lianqing also asked her if there was anything unusual about her body.
"I'm fine." Xingwei pursed her lips, the pain she had just felt vanished in an instant.
"Let's hurry to Yanshan."
-----------------------
Author's Note: There will be a few plot chapters. These chapters are foreshadowing of the main characters' romantic relationships and explaining the development of the side couples. Skipping them may cause the plot to become disjointed. [kissing emojis]
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