Waves/1【Edit】
The branches on the ground were covered in a layer of silver. Six crystal-clear snowflakes clung to the girl's dark hair, and she bowed to the heavens in a pious gesture. She didn't believe that a broken ulcer had killed everyone in just a few days, nor did she believe her master had died from a broken ulcer, unless the book Liu Dakou had given her was fake.
Ye Xuanling leaned against the brick wall, her whole body drained of energy, staring blankly at the winding cracks in the ground. She would never have cared about these things before, but at this moment, the idea of repairing the clinic popped up in her mind.
It turns out that the empty space in my heart was used to fill that crack.
"Tonight, you will come to the capital with me."
A hoarse, clear voice suddenly rang beside her ears. He squatted beside her, holding the sword, but he didn't seem to be asking her.
Liu Dakou had a daughter who had married into the capital a year earlier. Ye Xuanling had no memory of her, but at least she was a potential source of hope. No one knew where Liu Dakou was, but Ye Xuanling was certain he was still alive.
If he just fled in a hurry, the books in the secret room would not be empty. I think he must have made some preparations. Maybe this is a conspiracy.
Things kept coming one after another, and she was not ready yet, without blinking: "I am not going to Beijing. I guess you have important things to do, so you don't have to come with me." She wanted to stay here for another night, and her master would come back to see her.
"Okay, tomorrow morning," Ji Yan said, "we'll go to the capital together."
"I'm not going to Beijing." Ye Xuanling looked at him, the depression and frustration in her eyes almost bursting out, and there was a dark bruise under her eyes.
She never said that she was going to Beijing. What reason did she have to go to Beijing?
"Why don't you go to the capital?" Ji Yan asked her with hesitation and a slightly frown on his face, "Why don't you come with me?"
"Do I really have to go with you, Ji Yan?" Ye Xuanling said calmly, "Don't you have anything of your own to do?"
Ji Yan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he let out a soft sigh. A warm, moist air was about to waft out, especially noticeable on this cold day. The balance point he was looking for was about to disappear.
"Then don't pursue it, Ye Xuanling. Living well now is more important than anything else, isn't it?" Ji Yan wanted to grab her wrist, but she easily dodged and took two steps back.
"I'm very grateful for your trip to Dianhai, but now I can only say sorry." Ye Xuanling shook her head and didn't look at him. "I just have one question for you now: why did I go to the capital?"
"Find the truth."
"Why didn't I go to the provincial capital to report the crime? Instead, I made the long journey to Beijing?" Ye Xuanling observed his expression, his face appearing even paler under the gloomy sky. She stepped closer to him. "Why do you insist on me coming to Beijing with you? Are you afraid that I might uncover the truth? Or is it because it affects your own interests?"
"No."
As she expected, Ji Yan turned his gaze away, not daring to look at her. If the man in front of him was really the murderer or was related to this matter, she knew about the existence of Liu Dakou's daughter, but he had only been here for a few days. How did he know?
If it was really him, she would be merciless, using poison to make his life worse than death, and bite off the flesh from his body before she died.
Like a mad dog.
"If you want to leave, go ahead. You have your own things to do." Ye Xuanling said, "I won't see you off."
-
That night, it snowed heavily.
The cold wind swayed the branches, sending white clouds of snow falling to the ground. Ye Xuanling had fallen asleep against the wall, wearing a long coat. Her delicate wrists and palms were red from the cold; if they were left exposed, they would inevitably develop frostbite. Her face grew even paler from the cold.
He hadn't left yet, just watching the scene quietly. His bony white hands put on the still-warm black gloves for her. He sighed softly, as if he was just apologizing for the stubborn child.
His fingers touched her long eyelashes again. Only at this moment did she belong to him. He didn't dare to move too much, for fear of disturbing her.
He then lifted her up and carried her horizontally to a relatively clean room, where he laid her on a couch. Before leaving, he left her a bag of silver and burned some firewood nearby to keep her warm. He knew she would eventually come to the capital, to find him.
But in this final time, she was the only person he could not give up, and her was his eternal home.
-
When he woke up in the morning, Ye Xuanling found that he was not in the yard, but back on the couch. He looked out the window, but saw only a thick fog and could not see far away.
She seemed to have dreamed of something last night, as if she had no soul and was doing something endlessly. She couldn't tell what it was exactly, as she had never had such a dream before.
But when I woke up, I couldn't remember much and my head was aching.
There was a cloth bag next to the couch. The azure cloth was embroidered with a bright yellow fox. When she stood up, she found that there was a fire burning next to it. No wonder it was not as cold as yesterday.
When she picked up the cloth bag, she found that there were several silver ingots in it. She didn't need to think about who left it.
But they probably won't see each other again.
At that time, if the countdown Ye Xuanling saw was really the countdown of his life, it would be better for her not to say it.
She didn't tell Ji Yan about this, because she felt that it was too painful for a person to live by counting the time he had left.
After packing up a bit, Ye Xuanling prepared to go to the provincial capital first to check things out, and then go look for Liu Dakou's so-called daughter.
Above Anping County is Kanzhou, which is more than 200 miles away from here. A rough calculation shows that the journey will take at least three days. She found a driver to take her there, but the price is also very high in this cold winter.
Although Ye Xuanling felt embarrassed to take other people's money, since it was given by him, she would rather accept it.
So she said thank you to the air.
The journey was bumpy, but relatively smooth. Although it was already the twelfth lunar month, Kanzhou was bustling with activity. It seemed like no one here wanted to stay home.
She had never been here before and didn't know the way around. She wondered if the governor had heard about Anping. She randomly approached a vendor, pretending to be selecting pastries, and asked, "Sir, do you have any recommendations?"
The old man’s shop was full of candied fruits. She loved these sweet things, but her master never let her buy too much.
"Hey, girl, look at my freshly made candied green plums. Would you like to try some?" The old man smiled and wrapped a small piece in a piece of oil paper and handed it to her.
"Thank you." Ye Xuanling took it and put it in her mouth. Her gums felt numb and the acidity was so strong that it made her teeth ache. She held back the acidity and continued to ask the old man, "Master, I'm here looking for my relatives. My cousin works in the provincial government office. Can you show me the way?"
Ye Xuanling looked at the old man in front of her with a smile, trying her best to show kindness. This action made her look like a little fox, with her eyebrows and eyes curved like crescent moons. "Uncle, I'll have some winter melon strips. These green plums are delicious, but I'm not used to them."
As he said this, he stuffed money into the old man's hand.
She had already exchanged the silver for copper coins on the way, as it was small and convenient. She figured out the route: the provincial government office was west of the city. Go straight ahead until you see a restaurant, turn right, and cross the bridge.
Ye Xuanling felt it was inconvenient to hold the candied fruit in her hand, so she put it in her bag. In winter, everyone wore heavy clothes, and it was a bit inconvenient for her to carry the bag on her back.
A group of people passed by, and she dodged by stepping aside. She held on to the straps of her bag tightly, afraid they would be knocked off, but she couldn't help but wonder why they were running past in such a hurry.
With doubts, Ye Xuanling leaned forward and happened to see a familiar figure.
Wearing a headscarf and a navy blue satin gown with a circular pattern, he looked much younger. As the saying goes, clothes make the man. At first glance, he really did look like a wealthy businessman.
"Brother Liu?" Ye Xuanling asked tentatively. At first, she felt she had something urgent to attend to, so she didn't say hello. But in case Liu Wen saw her and thought she was pretending not to know him, it would be awkward to skip him. "What a coincidence?"
"Hey, let me see who this is?" Liu Wen walked over to her and patted her shoulder. "Ye Xuanling, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah." Ye Xuanling pointed around, "Brother Liu, what are you doing?"
There was a crowd of people crowded around, and it was obvious that it was organized by Liu Wen who was standing on a high place.
Liu Wen scratched his head and smiled innocently. "I'm just doing some simple business. Although Kanzhou isn't as big as the capital, it's still a wealthy place. I let those rich girls trade their old jewelry for medicinal herbs for beauty and skincare. So, is this a good deal for me?"
Ye Xuanling nodded, agreeing with him: "Brother Liu's intelligence is unmatched by anyone."
"Eh? Oh right." Liu Wen looked around, "Where's Ji... Ji Yan?"
Liu Wen's sudden remark left Ye Xuanling at a loss for words. If she answered truthfully, Liu Wen would surely think she was a worthless person. Someone lent you money, saved your life, and bought you clothes, and you still doubted them? That was truly unbelievable.
"Oh, well, he went back for something." She swallowed. Wasn't that a lie? "Brother Liu, I have something important to attend to. How about we talk about it another day?"
"This Lord Ji is not very capable?" Liu Wen muttered secretly.
"?" Ye Xuanling didn't hear clearly and continued to ask, "What?"
"Oh, oh, it's nothing, go ahead."
After bidding farewell to Liu Wen, we crossed the bridge and arrived at the government office. The river beneath the bridge was icy cold, yet people were still playing in it. Clusters of wintersweets on both sides of the bridge were fragrant, radiant as clouds, and dazzling.
It's already noon, and I wonder if the provincial governor is still in the government office.
The laughter of passersby was so loud that it attracted attention. Then, they whispered to the person next to them.
"You haven't heard that Anping County was deserted due to the epidemic." The two men were dressed the same, a bright red round-necked, narrow-sleeved short shirt and earth-brown trousers.
Hearing the words "Anping County", Ye Xuanling couldn't help but turn around to eavesdrop. Two people passed by her. After thinking for a moment, she decided to follow them.
"A plague-stricken empty city? What does that mean?"
"Today, I heard from the clerk that some citizen in Anping was infected with the disease, and it spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and now everyone in the county has died." The speaker laughed and stuffed two peanuts into his mouth.
"Everyone died? I haven't heard about the disease in that county recently. How come everyone died when the news came?"
The man waved his hand. "Not really. I just heard from the clerk that the county magistrate was negligent in his duties. By the time we got the news, they were all dead a few days ago."
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