old woman
"Hey, Xiaoxi, Master, I've never ridden in a carriage before! How strange!" Yinzhen grinned innocently, and when no one paid any attention, he asked again, "But Xiaoxi, you rented a carriage yesterday, why didn't you tell me you were taking Master to see a doctor? I thought you were so anxious because of the scar on your face."
"this······"
Su Xi glanced at Shen Yunqiu, who was resting with his eyes half closed, and smiled awkwardly.
In reality, she hadn't intentionally hidden this from Yinzhen. It was mainly because Yinzhen in her previous life was a big mouth, and now he didn't know about the dirty work going on in the Shen Mansion. If she told him, the Shen family might stop her, and they might even close the corner gate of the West Garden. After all, if it weren't for Yinzhen in her previous life, Suxi wouldn't have known Shen Yunqiu's secret feelings for her.
Fortunately, Yinzhen didn't dwell on this issue. Without waiting for her response, he began to fiddle with a large bag of candies on the small table. As he looked at them, he almost couldn't help swallowing.
"Xiaoxi, you bought too many things. I haven't seen many of them. Actually, the old lady is not that mean. Last time, I gave her a piece of honey I picked from the tree and she showed it to me. You don't have to pay for the medicine!" Yinzhen said, as if feeling a little guilty. "Xiaoxi, I have to say that you are really attentive to the young master. I am still not as good as you. I will have to learn more from you in the future!"
After hearing these words, Su Xi felt even more embarrassed and wished she could find a hole to crawl into. Yin Zhen said this unintentionally, but didn't this just expose her feelings for Shen Yunqiu?
Su Xi cursed Yin Zhen's big mouth in his heart, and glanced at Shen Yunqiu who was sitting in the main seat of the carriage. He saw that he was still asleep, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, probably because he had a beautiful dream.
Suxi finally felt relieved and broke open a steamed bun and shared it with the silver needle.
The journey from Qingzhou to Pingchuan County is not short. The carriage took a long time to travel from dawn to noon before arriving at the county. The driver then followed the direction indicated by the silver needle and passed through many steep stone roads and narrow field paths. Only then did he see a dilapidated temple standing at the end of the endless golden rice fields.
When they arrived at the place, Suxi pushed the wheelchair off the carriage and looked at Yinzhen who was about to walk into the temple with some suspicion.
"Is this really the place? Why does it look a bit spooky? Yinzhen, you're not planning to kidnap us, are you?"
"What are you thinking, Xiaoxi!" Yinzhen seemed to find it funny. "That's right, this is the place! This temple was abandoned long ago. No one dares to live here. Only the old woman lives here all year round. On weekdays, the villagers ask her to treat their illnesses that ordinary doctors can't cure. She's really amazing!"
After hearing Yinzhen's praise again, Suxi felt a little moved. He lowered his head and saw that although Shen Yunqiu was awake, he still said nothing and did not comment. It seemed that he was still angry about not telling him in advance yesterday.
Without saying anything more, Suxi followed Yinzhen in pushing the wheelchair. When he arrived at the door, he looked up at the cobweb-covered plaque in front of the temple gate and was stunned for a moment.
"Saionji Temple·····"
What a coincidence.
Suxi murmured, and suddenly remembered the scene of him slitting his neck in front of the temple in his previous life. He shuddered and pushed the wheelchair that was stuck on the stones on the ground into the dilapidated temple.
Inside the temple, three walls are covered with old murals, depicting faintly recognizable golden Buddha statues, bodhi tree branches, golden cranes, and golden horses. In the center, a golden statue of a bodhisattva stands majestically, draped in silk. Even with large swathes of gold paint fading, one can still sense its vibrant spiritual energy. Simply approaching it brings a sense of peace and tranquility, a sense of emptiness. However, perhaps due to its long history of decay, the incense has long ceased to burn, and the incense burner is rusted and covered in dust.
After searching for a while, Suxi didn't see any trace of human beings. That was until Yinzhen excitedly circled behind the Buddha statue and said cheerfully, "Old lady, so you are here! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find you!"
"Xiao Tiezhu? Why are you here?"
"I brought my friend to see you!"
Upon hearing this, Su Xi and Shen Yunqiu both looked towards the back of the Buddha statue. They heard the rustling of footsteps, and an old woman in ragged clothes, with a deeply hunched back, emerged from under the altar, leaning on a crutch. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked, "Who is this? Did you bring anything delicious for the old lady?"
A wooden crutch made from a dead branch was casually hammered into the ground, and a large amount of dust and dry leaves flew up in an instant. Suxi was blinded by the wind and sand for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the appearance of the octogenarian old woman hidden in the shadow of the Buddha statue. For a moment, she even suspected that she was seeing things.
It turned out to be the old woman who gave her the bracelet.
Suxi still couldn't believe it and rubbed his eyes again, but the old woman in front of him still looked the same, not changed at all.
Suxi was momentarily dazed, frozen in place, when the paper bag she was holding was suddenly snatched away. Suddenly snapping back to her senses, she saw the old woman impatiently sitting on the ground, opening the bag and sniffing each one. She nodded with satisfaction, taking another bite, her smile growing wider and deeper, her wrinkles deepening.
"Not bad, not bad. You are really thoughtful, little girl. Let me show you!"
"No, old man, it's not for me to see, it's for him to see!"
Su Xi pointed at Shen Yunqiu who was sitting silently beside him, and saw that the young man was also staring at the old woman with a mouth full of greasy residue, with suspicion in his eyes.
Following Chen Yunqiu's scrutinizing gaze, the old woman also looked at the young man sitting in the wheelchair. When their eyes met, the old woman chuckled lightly, turned around and returned to Su Xi.
"Hey, little girl, these candies were bought by you, not by him. He wanted to see a doctor, so he bought some candies himself. Today, the old lady will only see you!"
"How did you know I bought this?"
Suxi was puzzled. When she lowered her head, she saw that the old woman had already grabbed her wrist, rolled up her sleeves, and her eyes were fixed on the bracelet with double carp patterns.
"Old woman, do you recognize this bracelet?"
Suxi asked, the old woman paused for a moment and answered,
"I don't recognize him."
As she spoke, the old woman removed the bracelet and touched her pulse, remaining silent for a long time.
Su Xi was still skeptical and asked again, "Do you recognize me? Have you seen me before?"
For a long while, Su Xi didn't hear any response. It was not until the old woman finished taking his pulse and slowly opened her eyes that he took a few steps back and looked into her eyes.
"Little girl, everything in this world is subject to karma and reincarnation. The old lady recognizes everyone and no one. As for you..."
The old woman paused, then suddenly smiled and said, "You're quite appealing to my eyes. Well, well, since you've come all this way, I'll make an exception and let him see you today."
"real!"
Su Xi was delighted and smiled at Shen Yunqiu who was looking at him from the side, "Thank you so much!"
"But the old lady has a taboo when she sees patients. She can only see one person and no one else is allowed to accompany her. Since she is seeing him, you and Tie Zhuzi should go out and wait."
"Okay, let's go out!"
Suxi took the silver needle back to the carriage outside the temple and waited for about half an hour. Then he heard the buzzing sound of a wheelchair shaking inside the temple. Suxi hurriedly jumped off the carriage and ran over. He saw that only Shen Yunqiu was in front of the temple gate. The old woman had disappeared without a trace.
"Chen Yunqiu, where's the old lady?"
"have no idea."
The young man spoke in a low voice, and Su Xi realized that he seemed a little stammering, as if he had lost his mind.
"Chen Yunqiu, what's wrong with you? Can't this old lady cure your illness?"
"No." Shen Yunqiu answered, looking up at the girl's face full of worry, and suddenly felt a little sour in his heart.
"Xiaoxi, why don't you let that old man see your face?"
"This..." Suxi didn't know how to answer for a moment. He couldn't tell him about his life experience.
"Oh, my face doesn't matter. Besides, I'm used to this. It doesn't matter."
"If she has a way to cure it, do you want to be cured?"
"In no mood."
Suxi blurted out subconsciously, realizing that something was wrong. However, Shen Yunqiu did not ask any more questions, but just shook the paper bag in his hand: "Xiaoxi, you don't have to worry about my illness. The doctor prescribed pills and said it can be cured."
"Really? Can it really be cured? Then will you be able to stand on your legs again in the future?"
The girl supported herself on the two wheelchair armrests, standing with her back to the light, almost completely blocking out the scorching sunlight. Shen Yunqiu then opened his squinting eyes, but suddenly realized that the girl's gaze was even hotter than the sun, making him almost dare not look directly at it, for fear that once he fell into it, he would unconsciously cling to this warmth and never be able to get out.
After a while, Shen Yunqiu smiled at her, but the smile was extremely forced.
“It can be cured.”
"Really? Can it really be cured? You're not lying to me!"
"real······"
Before he could finish his words, Shen Yunqiu felt his body sink, and he was instantly embraced. He froze for a moment, feeling the girl's arms wrap around the back of the chair, tightly encircling his shoulders and neck. It was so tight, yet he barely felt the breath coming in. He could only feel the round, furry head rubbing against his neck, tickling it. The hair, dripping down his neck, carried the faint scent of soapberry, and seeped into his collar, instantly tickling his heart, which was on fire and pounding. He couldn't tell if the heat that suddenly surged to his cheeks was due to the congestion in his neck or something else.
But what he was certain of was that his dependence on this little girl was more than just a simple dependency. So what was it?
Before he could figure it out, the person who was hugging him tightly suddenly jumped away, leaving his two hands that wanted to hug back suspended in mid-air. He was caught in a dilemma and could only let them down as if nothing had happened.
"Hold... I'm sorry, Chen Yunqiu," Su Xi hurriedly moved behind the wheelchair to prevent him from noticing the abnormal redness on his face.
"I...I was just too excited...acting on impulse..."
"I know." Shen Yunqiu tightly grasped the oil-paper bag in his hand, finally figuring out what the strange feeling in his heart was. But...
"I don't blame you, just be more careful next time."
"oh."
Suxi, feeling inexplicably lost, pushed his wheelchair onto the carriage. A moment later, the driver reined in the reins again, and the carriage sped off, stirring up gusts of dust and sand along the country road.
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