Denghuaxiao

Chapter 236 Aroma
The snow has stopped on the mountains.

The frost on the branches of the plum tree was chilly, and Lu Tong shuddered suddenly.

Pei Yunying lowered his eyes and looked at her.

She stood in front of him, her thin body wrapped in a grey-green cotton gown, which made her look even paler and thinner. Everyone who had seen Lu Tong thought she was delicate and pretty, and those who knew her better knew that she was calm and crazy, but no one knew that she had worked alone as a medicine man for many years on a snow-covered desolate mountain.

Medicine man.

Pei Yunying's eyelashes trembled.

The stone tablet, the roughly carved stone tablet, had scribbled and familiar writing on it, and even more familiar was the name "Mo Ruyun". He had heard it from Miao Liangfang once at the celebration banquet of Renxin Medical Clinic.

"On that day, officials dug up the bones of many children from Miss Mo's backyard. It was later discovered that Miss Mo had been secretly buying children as medicine men."

"In the beginning, they were just maids and girls in her courtyard, but the frequent changes of servants in a month aroused suspicion. Later, she bought children from poor backgrounds from various people. Because she gave them a lot of money, she gradually included them. A group of people went to Beijing to find some beggars and farmers’ children to buy.”

"She hid these children in a secret room, provided them with food and drink, fed them various poisons, and then untied them, repeating the process. The bodies of young children are already delicate. No matter how much they can be tortured, they will die in just a few months at most."

According to Miao Liangfang, the medical officer who raised the herbalist eventually died in a sea of ​​fire. However, the stone tablet on Luomei Peak now proves that Mo Ruyun is not dead.

He didn't know how Mo Ruyun escaped from Shengjing, but he was very clear that Lu Tong, who had the words "mentor" engraved on him, was definitely not just the "good disciple" of this vicious medical officer.

Behind the tombstone were rows of unmarked graves, sixteen in total, and when she first saw them, she called herself "Seventeen".

Seventeen, the seventeenth medicine man, seventeen people who are about to be buried in the grave.

Pei Yunying's heart shook violently.

Many things that were previously unclear suddenly became clear at this moment.

When he first met Lu Tong, she was picking up dead bodies at the execution ground in southern Jiangsu. Li Wenhu also mentioned that he met her again at the execution ground later, and she picked up dead bodies more than once.

The secret letter from Changwu County stated that Miss Lu San was spoiled, willful, lively and clever, but the Lu Tong who later appeared in Shengjing Renxin Medical Clinic was cold and indifferent, completely different from what was described in the secret letter.

What on earth could a little girl who left home at a young age go through to be able to kill someone and bury the body without batting an eyelid? She was desperate for revenge and was even more crazy than determined.

Why did she always keep silent about Su Nan's past, why could she move freely on the barren mountain where others avoided, the strangely long ropes in the thatched house, the deep fingerprints on the wall... At the celebration banquet that day, she was more absent-minded than usual.

In the small farmyard of the tea garden in Mangming Township, she held a tea bowl in her hand and said to him sarcastically in a bland tone: "Then you may be disappointed. I am immune to all poisons."

She is really patient.

He didn't notice it at all.

The deliberate alienation, the so-called "absolute impossibility", the madness and weakness revealed at certain moments, finally condensed into a picture at this moment, and pieced together into a complete answer.

"Lu Tong," Pei Yunying looked at her and said softly, "Have you ever been Mo Ruyun's medicine man?"

Lu Tong raised his head stiffly.

When they first met, he was always high and mighty, confident of victory, teasing, testing, and questioning her, like an annoying yet hard-to-get-away shadow. She wanted nothing more than to pull him down and take off the mask of his ever-present ease.

Later, they got to know each other, became familiar with each other, and fought each other. He knew her hidden secrets, and she also knew that he was not as simple as he appeared.

The distance they had deliberately drawn had been crossed unknowingly. His gaze towards her became softer and softer, and his smile no longer had the meaninglessness of the past. For example, at this moment, his gaze was so complicated, so complicated that it made her eyes sore and her heart churn.

She couldn't face it.

The instinct is to escape.

She wanted to escape this sad and tragic ending. She hoped that her story would end more lightly, even suddenly, instead of sinking into the mire so heavily and slowly, making the onlookers on the shore grieve for her.

The familiar dull pain in the chest gradually came, like a surging tide of pain that was about to drown her. Lu Tong pushed him away and turned back.

After taking only a few steps, he couldn't help but cover his chest, leaning against the wall and slowly bending down.

Pei Yunying saw this and stepped forward to hold her body from sliding down, and asked nervously, "What's wrong with you?"

Lu Tong turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wow".

Pei Yunying's eyes changed drastically, and he hugged her: "Lu Tong?"

"I……"

The pain in her chest was more intense than ever before. The pain that she had been trying so hard to suppress came all over at this moment. She was shaking with pain and broke out in a cold sweat. She curled up in the other's arms and said with difficulty: "Take my flowers back... Huang Jinqin..."

After saying this, she could no longer hold on, her eyes went dark, and she fainted.

The last thing she heard was Pei Yunying's hurried shout.

"Lu Tong!"

……

Lu Tong had a short dream.

She dreamed of the heavy snow in Changwu County that year, and she met Yunniang who was about to get on a carriage in front of the gate of Li Zhixian’s mansion.

Yunniang helped her up from her kowtowing and saved the Lu family. She followed Yunniang to southern Jiangsu and lived in Luomei Peak.

She tested drugs, tested poisons, studied medicine, and learned pharmacy. She wandered around Luomei Peak for many years and visited every place. When she finally came down the mountain, she looked back at the lonely cabin left on the mountain and the seventeen messy and desolate graves hidden deep in the grass.

The person in the seventeenth grave was not her.

It was Yunniang who brought her up the mountain.

When she woke up, everything in front of her eyes was white. She felt like she was lying on someone's back, being carried down the mountain.

The man walked very fast. Her back felt safe and warm. She moved her fingers and looked sideways: "Pei Yunying?"

The hot breath fell on the other person's ear. Pei Yunying was startled and asked, "Are you awake?"

"What are you doing?" Lu Tong said weakly. The pain just now was no longer obvious, like a raging tide, and then only calm.

But her body was very tired, so tired that she found it difficult to say more than one word.

"You just fainted. There are doctors at the foot of the mountain." Pei Yunying carried her on his back without stopping and said, "Hold on. I'll take you down the mountain now."

Lu Tong just fell ill.

He had looked at her arms and found no peach or purple spots, which showed that she was not suffering from an epidemic. However, the way she lay in his arms and trembled all over was frightening.

He was not a medical officer, so the only thing he could do was to take Lu Tong down the mountain to find Chang Jin as soon as possible.

"Where are my flowers?"

"They're all here."

Lu Tong felt relieved.

She put her hands around his neck, and for some reason, she felt calm at the moment. It was like a huge rock hanging in the air finally fell to the ground at some point, and she felt helpless but also relieved.

Pei Yunying finally found out.

She actually didn't want him to know that she had tried hard to save herself. But after spending those years at Luomei Peak, the poison became like a part of her body, forever fused with her.

Perhaps there is no poison in the world that can poison her anymore.

Likewise, there will be no medicine in the world that can save her.

She was destined to sink into the quagmire, but at the last moment of sinking, she met the person she wanted to be with.

What a pity.

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

"You're crazy," she said, with tears in her eyes, but she smiled slightly and complained in a low voice, "How dare you go down the mountain without me leading the way."

Pei Yunying turned his back to her and spoke in a gentle tone: "I tied a red cloth as a mark when I went up the mountain. Doctor Lu, don't worry, our Palace Front Department's selection is not based on appearance alone."

Lu Tong burst out laughing.

He had said this before, when he didn't know everything, when she had been fantasizing about the future. It sounded ironic and funny, but listening to it now, there was also a bit of sadness hidden in the joke.

"Why don't you tie a cloth?" She touched Pei Yunying's eyes. His long eyelashes were like fluttering butterfly wings, slightly itchy in her hands. "Aren't you afraid of going blind?"

"It's very dangerous, so Dr. Lu, keep an eye on me and don't sleep."

His tone was as gentle as possible, but Lu Tong saw that there was no smile on his face. She had never seen Pei Yunying look like this before, which reminded her of the night when Pei Yunshu gave birth to Baozhu in the Prince Wen's Mansion.

Feeling so helpless yet trying so hard to stay calm.

She suddenly felt sad. The people who were left behind were in pain, and she knew how it felt.

She didn't want Pei Yunying to experience that feeling.

But at the moment, it seems that the opposite of what we wanted is happening.

The refreshing fragrance coming from him was gentle and indifferent. Lu Tong leaned her head against his face and whispered in a trance, "You smell so good... I like the smell of this sachet."

Pei Yunying was startled.

She had said more than once that she wanted his "Xiao Guang Leng". At first he thought it was a joke, but later he found out that she didn't understand the meaning of "Lover's Fragrance". He restrained himself and avoided it to avoid misunderstanding, but now he regretted it at this moment.

Why wasn’t it discovered earlier?
Why do you regret it now?
It was too late, he was always too late.

Pei Yunying lowered his voice: "If you like it, when you get better, I will give you a sachet, okay?"

Lu Chen didn't answer.

She was very thin, like a snowflake, heavy and yet light. She lay on his back, breathing weakly, and was more docile than he had ever seen her before.

But he would rather she was still the same as when they first met, powerful and smart, playing everyone around. At least she was alive then, like a fire, but not like now, when the fire was gradually burning out, leaving only a few dying embers.

Lu Tong tilted her head, put her lips close to his ear, and murmured a few words with soft, warm and gentle voice.

Pei Yunying turned around. Her voice was so soft that it was drowned out by the wind and snow and could not be heard clearly.

"What did you say?"

Lu Tong turned his head away.

The snow on Luomei Peak began to fall again. The light snow at the beginning turned into heavy snowflakes, falling on people. She lay on Pei Yunying's back, covered with a cloak. The snow particles soon covered the top of their heads. From a distance, it looked like a white head.

"Snowing?"

She gently stretched out her hand towards the sky and caught a snowflake in the distance. The snowflake fell into her palm in a complete shape, then melted away little by little and disappeared.

Lu Tong murmured.

"Snow and moon are the most suitable, plum blossoms and snow are both pure and beautiful... Last year, when snow fell in the south of the Yangtze River, plum blossoms bloomed at the end of the month..."

"The plum blossoms are blooming early this year, and the moon is still the same as last year... The cold and beautiful light shines brightly in the eyes, but it is missing... some snow..."

Pei Yunying was startled and asked in a gentle voice: "What is this word?"

She didn't say anything, but put her head on the young man's shoulder and closed her eyes quietly.

……

The snow from Luomei Peak drifted down from the mountain, and when it reached the city of southern Jiangsu, it became less cold.

Two more bodies of sick people appeared at the execution ground overnight.

The bodies of the plague victims were buried in the ground, covered by deeper snow. In the vast expanse, it became increasingly difficult to tell which grave was where.

Chang Jin looked unhappy.

New people died of the disease every day, and the medical officers were trying to save lives from the clutches of the dead. It was a blessing in disguise that the disease in southern Jiangsu was no longer spreading, but it seemed to have plunged the infected people into deeper despair.

The purple cloud spots on Cuicui's body have also worsened. She has fainted twice last night, and the poison from the thick and thin poison has not yet been eliminated. She is already weak and will not be able to hold on if this continues.

Ding Yong's only wish before his death was that his daughter was still alive. The medical officers were treating nobles in Shengjing, and they were only on duty for minor illnesses and pains. However, his gradually cold heart came to life again at the critical moment of Sunan's life and death, and he once again felt the pain of separation from life and death.

After the bailiffs who buried the bodies left, Chang Jin returned to the plague center with a heavy heart. As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Danqing and Ji Xun sorting medicinal herbs at the table.

Seeing Chang Jin coming, Lin Danqing stood up, and Ji Xun's expression also looked a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Chang Jin asked.

"Director," Ji Xun glanced at the patients in the plague center and walked outside to talk with Chang Jin, "The person transporting the redwood vines wrote to say that the heavy snow delayed the trip, and the redwood vines from Pingzhou may arrive three to five days later."

After hearing this, Chang Jin's face changed: "Three to five days? No, they can't wait that long!"

Even these two days are tight on time. If we wait another three or five days, there will only be a few more corpses on the execution ground.

Lin Danqing walked over with a worried look on his face.

Now only red wood vine can cure the poison of Houbian, but the nearest Pingzhou can't deliver it in time. At present, no other alternative medicine has been found, which is extremely difficult.

"Can we ask Marshal Pei's men to go and meet them? Their guards may be able to move faster."

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it, but once he did, Chang Jin's face became even more anxious.

Pei Yunying went up and down Meifeng Mountain with Lu Tong yesterday.

Normally, these two people were not impulsive people, and they acted steadily. It was unknown why they suddenly went crazy and went into the mountains in such a heavy snow. Unfortunately, Pei Yunying's subordinates did not take it seriously and rejected Chang Jin's proposal to take people into the mountains to search for people immediately.

He hasn't returned after a day and a night, and no one knows what happened.

Ji Xun said, "Doctor, why don't you talk to Lieutenant Li and ask him to go into the mountains."

The medical officers could not order the imperial guards around, but the county lieutenant of Southern Jiangsu might be easier to talk to.

Chang Jin was about to speak when Lin Danqing beside him suddenly looked away and shouted, "Chief Doctor, is that Sister Lu? They're back!"

Everyone looked in her direction.

A person was walking slowly in the snowy field. The young man was dragging a medicine basket in his hand and carrying a person on his back. Seeing this, everyone ran towards him. As they got closer, they could see clearly that the person on his back had his eyes closed and leaned on Pei Yunying's shoulder. His face was as pale as paper. It was Lu Tong.

Lin Danqing was startled: "Sister Lu?"

Lu Tong was silent and did not respond.

Pei Yunying put down the medicine basket, turned around and held her in his arms, his eyes cold and cold: "Take her back to the dormitory first."

"Yes, yes, yes," Chang Jin said, "It's snowing too hard here. Let's take Doctor Lu back first."

After a quick trip back to the medical officer's quarters, Pei Yunying put Lu Tong on the bed. Lin Danqing quickly sat beside the bed and pulled open Lu Tong's sleeves.

"I've seen it, there are no peach blossom spots." Pei Yunying said.

"Then this is..."

"She vomited blood once on the mountain. I don't know what happened to her, whether it was an old illness, but she looked very painful."

"Vomiting blood?" Chang Jin's face changed. He left everyone else and stepped forward to check Lu Tong's pulse.

Everyone in the room looked at him nervously.

After a moment, Chang Jin withdrew his hand, looked at the person on the couch and frowned: "Strange."

"how?"

"The pulse is weak and the qi is weak, but other than that, there is nothing abnormal. Why did he suddenly vomit blood?"

Lin Danqing thought for a moment and said, "Is it because she has been too tired from working on the epidemic these days? Sister Lu had a nosebleed once before."

Ji Xun shook his head: "Fatigue does not cause pain." He looked at Pei Yunying: "Master Pei just said that she was in pain?"

Pei Yunying nodded silently.

He still remembered the way Lu Tong curled up in his arms and trembled. He knew that Lu Tong was always very patient and would not even groan unless she was in extreme pain.

"First, go make her a bowl of calming and nourishing medicine." Chang Jin said, "It snowed heavily yesterday and it was cold on the mountain. She has no energy at all now."

Ji Xun nodded and was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly heard Pei Yunying say, "Wait."

Everyone looked at him.

He said, "Ordinary medicines are useless to her."

Ji Xun frowned: "Why?"

"She worked as a medicine man."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room suddenly became silent.

Lin Danqing looked at him in disbelief: "What did you say?"

Pei Yunying lowered his eyes, his tone bitter.

"Lu Tong, may have worked as a medicine man for many years."