104 Good Sleep
At that time, it was still, "Doctor Ying, sleep well."
Huai Zhou and Doctor Du's home was a small courtyard house with a well in the middle, making it very convenient to fetch water. Huai Zhou was strong and started helping his family fetch water when he was four years old.
She let go of the man's hand and ran to the well. With ease, she turned the well pulley and drew up a bucket of water. She then squatted down by the well to wash her face and hands.
She had just fought with Feng Dalang. Although she didn't lose, her face and hands were all dirty. There was a doctor in the family, and without realizing it, Huaizhou had developed a habit of being clean. As a result, she became the cleanest child in the alley, and was highly praised by the aunties.
With no mirror nearby to see if her face was dirty, she simply used the well water as a mirror, carefully examining herself against the rippling surface. But in the blink of an eye, she vaguely saw a woman's face in the well, a face different from her own. No, it wasn't entirely different; the eyebrows and features were very similar, only the face opposite her was more mature, like... her grown-up self.
Just as Huai Zhou was about to open her eyes wide to look again, the reflection suddenly returned to normal. She suddenly remembered the rumor that someone had died in her family's well, and that it was a well of the dead.
She used to be indifferent to stories of gods and ghosts, believing them to be false. But after experiencing it firsthand, she panicked immediately, and her first reaction was to ask an adult for help.
"Dr. Du! Dr. Du!"
Hearing the child's hurried footsteps, the man turned around, a strand of white hair slipping from his temple. He casually tucked the hair behind his ear, and as his fingers brushed aside the black veil, the skin beneath was slightly revealed, as white as his hair.
He glanced at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Children's attention is always drawn to beautiful things, and Huai Zhou's fear was immediately replaced by another kind of curiosity.
What does Dr. Du actually look like?
Even though there were many rumors circulating in the alley about Doctor Du—some said he was an old man over seventy, hence his white hair and slow movements; others said he was a demon, with unusual hair and appearance, which was why he dared not reveal his true face—Huaizhou thought these people were all talking nonsense! Doctor Du often wore a veil simply because he was a doctor and liked cleanliness; there were no other strange reasons.
Only occasionally, like now, will she have a slightly rebellious thought.
What kind of face is hidden beneath the veil?
Seeing her standing there blankly, he frowned slightly, walked over and checked her fingers. Finding that they had been washed, he nodded in satisfaction: "Come and eat after you've washed your hands."
"Oh... okay." Huai Zhou tried to shovel rice into his mouth, attempting to use the rice to cover his flushed face so that the person opposite him wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Oh dear, what was she thinking just now! To actually try to guess what her elders looked like, how rude!
Filled with shame, she washed the dishes very carefully this time, as if she wanted to scrub the bowls until they shone. As she washed, her thoughts began to wander again, drifting to tonight's dinner.
Dinner was the same as usual: plain porridge, pickled vegetables, and two boiled eggs. The portion wasn't large, just right. However, even after she finished her portion, Dr. Du still had more than half a bowl of rice left in her bowl. Naturally, she ate it all in the end, without wasting a single bit.
Huaizhou knew from a young age that her family was poor, and every meal was hard-earned. She and Doctor Du, one small and one frail, lived in the capital, where land was incredibly expensive, making ends meet was a constant struggle. At first, Huaizhou thought Doctor Du was trying to save food for her, even if it meant going hungry himself. But over time, she realized she was overthinking it; he seemed to simply have no appetite. Regardless of summer or winter, regardless of the abundance of the meal, he would only take a few bites and then watch her eat.
Today was no exception, sigh.
Huai Zhou began to worry as he looked at the two bowls of the same size.
How can a body grow if it doesn't eat? Moreover, Dr. Du's robes were getting looser and looser, and several times she could see his pale and slender arms through the sleeves billowing in the wind.
She was so thin that she didn't even dare to speak loudly to him, for fear that her breath would be too heavy and blow him away.
A round, pearl-like moon fell into a white porcelain bowl, swaying back and forth on the shallow water. Huai Zhou quickly put his palms together and made a wish to the moon in the sky.
Oh, moon, you must ensure that Doctor Du lives to be a hundred years old.
————
The Du family had a very healthy lifestyle; in other words, to save money on candles, they had to rest at sunset.
Moonlight streamed in through the open window. Ying Jianhua put down the book she was reading and gently rubbed her temples.
My eyesight is failing... Under the same moonlight, I could read a few pages last year, but now I can barely manage two lines.
He silently put down the book, his gaze then lingering on his wrist, and he was momentarily stunned.
Facing the moonlight, he slowly raised his hand and examined it carefully, as if this hand had only grown today.
This is... his hand? It looks like skin attached to bone, withered and emaciated, not only devoid of any beauty, but even... terrifying.
The bronze mirror, which had been sealed away for a long time, finally saw the light of day again, but it only lasted a moment before being covered up again.
He slowly covered his face, and cold liquid flowed from between his withered fingers, drop by drop, onto his black robes that had remained unchanged for decades.
What color is the damp black? It is a deeper black, like countless vortexes growing on the body, one by one, growing larger and larger until they merge into one, completely swallowing the long-dead soul.
He stared blankly at the bronze mirror lying face down on the table for a long time. Although the glance was only for a moment, the scene was deeply imprinted in his mind and could not be erased.
Monster... No wonder they shouted that. What else could that face be but a monster?
If she saw this, she would probably be so shocked that she would burst into tears.
Ying Jianhua gave a self-deprecating smile, but didn't actually laugh. He dragged his weary body toward the bed, and after taking only one step, he heard Huai Zhou's voice from outside the door.
"Dr. Du...are you asleep?"
His voice was a little muffled, as if he had caught a cold. He paused, and before she could leave, he said, "Come in."
Unexpectedly, Huaizhou arrived carrying his own blanket and pillow.
She first observed his expression, and seeing no change in it, she whispered, "I didn't mean to disturb your rest... I... I had a nightmare and can't sleep..."
During the day, she didn't find the face at the bottom of the well particularly terrifying, but once night fell and she was alone, the words "Dead Man's Well" kept echoing in her ears, giving rise to countless terrifying ghost stories.
She knew she was a big girl now and couldn't act like a child anymore. But whenever she closed her eyes, all she could think about were those frightening things. She had no other choice but to seek help from Doctor Du.
"I can sleep on the floor! I can make a makeshift bed on the floor!" Seeing his hesitation, Huai Zhou immediately put the blanket and pillow on the floor and lay down on it himself, putting his words into action.
Ying Jianhua watched as she huddled under the covers, only her eyes showing, and sighed, saying, "You sleep on the bed." With that, she opened the closet.
"Okay." Huai Zhou quickly got up from the ground, quietly lifted the quilt, and then quietly slipped himself back inside.
It's so thin! Doesn't Dr. Du feel uncomfortable when he sleeps like this?
As she was thinking this, she felt a shadow fall over her, and then a brand new quilt was placed over her.
She reached out and touched it; it was very soft, much softer than the bed she was lying on now. Why didn't Dr. Du use it?
But he couldn't ask the question because he had already blown out the candles and was getting ready to rest.
In the darkness, Huaizhou quietly lay down beside the bed and whispered to the person on the floor, "Dr. Du, sleep well." After saying that, she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
A moment later, the person on the ground opened their eyes.
Ying Jianhua was unable to suppress the turbulent emotions surging within him.
How long has it been since he heard that sound of peaceful sleep?
Back then, it was still, "Doctor Ying, sleep well."
[Author's Note]
Because we were constantly on the road, it was only a short... [poor thing][poor thing]
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