Denghuaxiao

Chapter 239 Farewell
Lu Tong was walking on the road.

There was thick white fog on both sides, which piled up and could not be dispersed, but the long road under my feet looked somewhat familiar.

The streets were lined with apricot trees, and the branches were already full of green fruits. Suddenly, someone patted her from behind, put his arm around her shoulders, pressed her head and rubbed it hard twice: "I'm back!"

She turned around in surprise, staring blankly at the young man in front of her who was wearing a green shirt and a webbed headdress.

The young man, with a bookcase on his back and bright eyes, took out a handful of candy beans from the bookcase and stuffed them into her hand, "Here, this is for you."

She looked at the candy wrapped in rice paper in her palm and looked at the person in front of her: "Lu Qian?"

"You have no respect for your elders," he scolded with a smile, hooking his arm around Lu Tong's neck and walking forward, "Call me brother——"

The surroundings gradually became brighter, the red glow on the mountaintops slanted across the long street, the aroma of food in the alleys gradually filled my nose, and the noisy sounds of neighbors greeting each other could be heard.

The front door was pushed open with a creaky sound, and a beautiful face poked out from inside. The girl was wearing a yellow brocade magnolia skirt, like a bright spring flower in full bloom. She looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "Ah Qian, little sister, come in quickly and wash your hands and eat!"

She stared at it in amazement, and her eyes suddenly became wet in the lingering sunset.

This is the Lu family’s house in Changwu County.

"Coming, coming--" Lu Qian said as he pulled her into the house.

The dining hall is at the entrance, with long wooden chairs, and a small courtyard is across the window. The courtyard is cleaned up neatly, and the three rooms next to the courtyard still have paintings and calligraphy on the walls. Near the kitchen, a bluestone jar is filled with clear water, and a gourd ladle is floating on the water.

Lu Tong stopped.

The familiar house where she had lived for many years. There were no traces of fire, no charred wood or ashes. It was still the same as she remembered many years ago, like a piece of yellowed old paper with gentle ink.

"What are you still standing there for?" Lu Qian pulled her to wash her hands. "Be careful or your father will scold you."

"Why are you back so late?" I heard my father coughing behind me, and said with a straight face, "You probably played around on the way."

Lu Tong turned around.

She saw her father, wearing the familiar, half-worn cotton gown with some signs of wear on the collar. She saw her mother, coming out of the yard carrying a winnowing basket filled with dried Chinese toon, her hair stained with broken leaves from the apricot tree.

They stood before us.

Lu Tong's tears flowed down.

"Oh," Lu Rou saw this and hurried over to wipe her tears with a handkerchief: "Why are you crying?"

She hugged Lu Rou with her backhand, like a lonely traveler who finally found the way home. She was filled with joy in her sorrow and sorrow in her joy. She could no longer hold back her tears.

Lu Rou patted her back gently, just like she had done in the past when her father scolded her for getting into trouble, and comforted her softly: "Little sister, you have grown into a big girl, but you still love to cry."

"You've been a crybaby since you were little," Lu Qian rubbed her head and teased her with a smile, "But, Lu San, you've grown up so much, are you still so crybaby?"

Lu Chen was in a daze for a moment.

She is a person who cannot tolerate any injustice.

In the past, when she and Lu Qian had arguments at home, she would always cry first because of her young age, and in the end, Lu Qian would be scolded. Lu Qian always said that there was a big lake in her eyes, and tears would fall at any time. Later, when she followed Yunniang to Luomei Peak, no one could bully her.

She had almost forgotten the feeling of being wronged.

She no longer cries.

Lu Tong raised her head and whispered, "Dad, Mom, Sister, Second Brother, are you here to take me home?"

It is said that after death, people will return to the place they loved most in life.

When she was at Luomei Peak, she wondered many times whether she would return to her hometown after her death. She wanted to return to the Lu family and see her family.

The action of wiping tears stopped, Lu Rou withdrew her hand, smiled and shook her head.

"Tongtong," she said, "you have grown up."

Lu Tong stared at her blankly.

"My little sister has grown up," Lu Rou looked at her with a smile, "and can go to Beijing alone to help her family get revenge."

"Ke Chengxing, Fan Zhenglian, Liu Kun, Qi Yutai... you have done a great job. You are already very good."

Lu Tong was shocked.

It was as if her shameful past had been discovered, a part of her that she had tried hard to hide. She hesitated, not daring to look up at her family's expressions.

"Lu San, I thought you were a coward, but I was wrong." The young man's voice was as bright and cheerful as before. "This way, we can rest assured in the future."

"I'm sorry..." She spoke incoherently, "I..."

She wanted to say that she didn't want such cruel and sexual means, she wanted to say that the Lu family had a strict family tradition, but she had betrayed the commandments, she wanted to say a lot, but when it came to her lips, she couldn't say a word.

"No need to apologize." I heard my father's voice.

She looked up and saw her father standing in front of her. He still had that stern look on his face, but his tone was subtly gentle.

“A kind person does not harm others to benefit himself, and a benevolent person does not endanger others to gain reputation.”

He looked at Lu Tong: "My Lu family's daughter, well done."

Lu Tong's vision became blurry again.

She obviously didn't cry much anymore, and over the years, she felt that she had gradually become hardened. But she never expected that when she was in front of her family, she seemed to be back to many years ago, and was still the Lu Min who would cry at the slightest disagreement.

"Don't cry, Third Girl," the mother came over, held her in her arms, and hugged her gently: "It's getting late, you should go back."

She suddenly shuddered: "No, I don't want it!"

"I don't want to go back!" Lu Tong grabbed the corner of her mother's clothes, "I want to stay here. I want to be with my parents, sister and brother forever!"

She hated separation and detested parting. Now that she saw the reunion ending, how could she let it end there?

"Tongtong," the mother looked at her, her voice gentle and loving: "You have grown up. When children grow up, they have to leave their parents and leave home. And now, you are still such a great doctor."

"Someone is waiting for you," she wiped away Lu Tong's tears and jokingly said, "Have you forgotten your little lover?"

Little lover?
Lu Chen was stunned.

"My daughter suffered a lot in the past," the mother touched her hair fondly, "but she grew up to be smart and beautiful, strong and brave. She did everything we couldn't do."

"Don't dwell on the past. You should look forward. Your parents, sisters and brothers all love you, and there are many more people in the world who love you. The daughters of our Lu family always move forward, don't they?"

"I don't want to go forward." She cried, as if she was persistently pursuing an impossible result: "I want to stay here, I want to be with you..."

A layer of white mist gradually rose in front of her eyes, and the figure in front of her became invisible again. She suddenly realized something and tried to reach out to grab something, but she caught nothing. Suddenly she heard a sigh in the air.

"Tongtong..."

It was the voice of my parents: "Move forward, and don't dwell on the past."

It became the instructions of Lu Qian and Lu Rou again.

"Be braver and move forward."

The surroundings suddenly fell into darkness.

She looked at the empty and lonely place, and couldn't help but squat down, hugging her knees and crying bitterly.

Why was she still left behind? Why could she never be happy? She had clearly returned home and had clearly seen her parents and siblings, so why could she not be kept?

People should move forward, but the past is too heavy and the future seems to have no end. Attachment and dependence are like a thread connecting the past and the reality. She pulls on that thread and is reluctant to let go.

But had to let go.

"Knock Knock-"

In the dead silence, there was a knock on the door.

She was stunned for a moment, and when she looked up, a window suddenly appeared in the dark surroundings.

Someone is standing at the window.

He was a handsome young man, wearing a bright scarlet brocade robe, like a warm light in this dark abyss, bright and warm. Through the window, he shook the bamboo tube filled with sweet syrup in front of Lu Tong and spoke with a smile.

"How long are you going to hide here?"

Lu Tong was stunned for a moment.

The next moment, he seemed impatient to wait, walked into the house and pulled her up from the ground.

"Come out," he said.

The door was pushed open.

He pulled her along, stumbling out of the house. The thick fog gradually dissipated, and the surroundings became noisy again. The young man's voice was as clear as the wind, and he asked nonchalantly, "Have you forgotten West Street?"

West Street?

The name sounded so familiar. As she said this, she saw a lush plum tree at the corner of the alley not far away. It was shady and green under the scorching sun. On a plaque hidden by the branches, the words "Benevolence" were neatly written.

The young boss sat in front of the table with his chin in his hand, dozing off out of boredom. The old doctor, with dim eyesight, leaned in to look at the marks on the medical book while rubbing his legs. The waiter stood on a stool and carefully wiped the glittering golden banner on the wall. A prettier girl was in the tailor shop across the street, picking up a green plum silk cotton skirt and bargaining with the shopkeeper.

The girl turned around and saw Lu Tong, and immediately smiled: "The girl is back——"

The sunlight was strong and dazzling, and the young man's smiling voice came to my ears again: "Have you forgotten the Medical Officers' Hospital?"

Medical officer's hospital?
Then she saw again the mansion that she had once hated but had to enter because of her plan.

She saw a handsome and elegant man in the pharmacy bending down to pick up the scattered medical books on the ground, carefully sorting the notes of different categories and putting them into the medical box. She saw the good-natured doctor holding the list of people who were helping with the epidemic in southern Jiangsu, arguing with others to add her name to the list.

The bright and cheerful girl opened her heart to her in the drenching night rain, the plum wine tasted sour under the solitary lamp, and she shouted while patting her shoulder in drunken talk.

"In the future, you will be the chief minister and I will be the deputy minister. Together, we can hold our heads high and be proud of ourselves!"

"I wish you and I can become the envoy of the academy!"

She was in a trance, her eyes fixed on something further away.

The fog gradually dissipated, revealing a clearer view of the past.

There is a woman with a sallow face in the garden full of red flowers, a kind scholar in a thatched house in front of a fishy stall, a noisy and long-bearded official, and a shrewish woman who wants to find a good husband for her daughter in the imperial city and secretly gives her a basket of plums...

They talked and laughed as they passed by her, and their greetings and old conversations gradually condensed into thin and delicate silk threads, which bound her and formed a soft net around her.

It turned out that, without realizing it, she had been connected with so many people. It turned out that she had been here for such a long time.

She suddenly felt a little reluctant.

A voice came from behind: "Stay, Xiao Shiqi."

She was startled.

All the worldly affairs suddenly dissipated and disappeared everywhere. Lu Tong turned around and Yunniang was standing in front of her.

The woman was still as charming and attractive as before, wearing a gold and red feather satin cloak. In the snow, she looked like a gorgeous red plum blossom, looking at her with a half-smile.

"Do you want to leave here?" she asked.

Luomei Peak was covered in silver white, and the mountains seemed to have no end in sight. Lu Tong took a step back.

"Stay here." She said gently, her tone bewitching, and waved at Lu Tong from afar. "Stay with me."

"In this world, people's hearts are unpredictable and the world is dangerous. What's good about Shengjing?" She smiled and told her the story. "Ke Chengxing killed his partner for his own selfish desires. Fan Zhenglian ignored the innocent for his future. Your cousin Liu Kun sent his nephew to the execution platform for a hundred taels of silver. The Grand Tutor's Mansion was extremely powerful. In order to quell the trouble, they killed all the members of the Lu family."

She walked towards Lu Tong.

"You did a great job." Yunniang praised: "You did it cleanly and neatly, and didn't let anyone go. There are so many people coming to Luomei Peak, and you are the first good kid who knows how to kill people."

"Xiao Shiqi, you and I are the same kind of people."

Lu Tong was shocked and subconsciously retorted: "I am not."

"Of course you are." Yunniang walked up to her and smiled as she tucked the loose hair on her forehead behind her ears. The woman's fingers were cold, but even colder were her words.

"You have killed so many people. You have avenged your great hatred and have nothing to worry about." She looked at Lu Tong lovingly, "You are so tired, my dear child. Why don't you stay here and be free from it?"

She took Lu Tong's hand.

"After all, you never left, did you?"

Lu Tong was at a loss for a moment.

She knew that Yunniang was right.

She had always felt that everyone and everything was moving forward, except her. Looking back, there was no Lu family courtyard, and looking forward, there was no end in sight. She seemed to be left alone in the thatched cottage on Luomei Peak, not knowing how to get out.

So she always doesn't want to think about the future.

"You and I are the same. So, stay."

Yunniang took her hand and walked towards the thatched hut in front of the plum tree.

"You have nothing left."

Lu Tong let her pull him, just like the first time she went up the mountain as a child, leaving the unknown future in her hands, and walked towards the secret place that she was very familiar with and where she had spent many years.

My parents, brother and sister are all gone.

The enemy is gone too.

She couldn't go back to the Lu family's old house. Thinking back, she realized that there was no place to stay except Luomei Peak.

All the old friends are gone, and I am left with nothing.

She let the woman lead her forward in a daze, but at this moment, she smelled a fragrant and cold aroma.

The fragrance was faint and indifferent, and it made her mind clear for a moment, as if someone was talking in her ear.

He said, "Are you really willing to abandon all this and have no attachment to these people and things?"

He said: "You must learn to cherish yourself."

He said: "Lu Tong, I like you more."

It was as if something deeper was gradually becoming clear in my mind, driving away the fear and hesitation.

Lu Zhuo paused.

"You're not right," she said.

Yunniang was stunned.

She looked at Yunniang: "I am different from you."

"Oh? What's different?"

"I am a healer."

"Doctor?"

Yunniang's expression gradually changed, and she laughed sarcastically: "What kind of doctor are you? Who can you save? You can't even save yourself, Xiao Shiqi."

"I can save it."

She looked straight at the woman, no longer silent and dull as she had been many years ago, avoiding the other's meaningful gaze in panic.

The plum blossoms on Luomei Peak are gorgeous and passionate. She always felt the blood-red plum blossoms were creepy in the past, but now when she looks at them, she feels calm inside.

"I have saved many people. Wu Youcai, He Xiu, Lin Danqing's aunt, Pei Yunshu, the people of southern Jiangsu... I will save more people in the future."

Lu Tong said: "I can save myself."

Yunniang looked at her and said, "What are you lingering on? This filthy world, where people's hearts are unpredictable, what is there to linger on?"

"I did see a lot of indifferent people." Lu Tong broke away from her hand: "But I also met a lot of good people."

She met a lot of good people.

The rough county lieutenant who gave her candy at the execution ground, the weak girl who was rescued from the mass grave and stayed with her all the way, the dandy boss of the shabby clinic in the alley who was hard-mouthed but soft-hearted, and the kind-hearted medical officer who happened to pass by on Sunan Bridge when she was a child...

In southern Jiangsu, in Luomei Peak, and in Shengjing Street.

Although they look inconspicuous and not strong enough, like the most insignificant dust among the countless living beings, they are kind and tenacious, giving her warmth in the fireworks of the city and allowing her to see a stronger vitality.

This life could save her.

"I'm going back," Lu Tong said, "Someone is waiting for me."

"Little Seventeen..."

"My name is not Xiao Shiqi," Lu Tong looked at her and shook his head slowly, "You never asked me my name. My last name is Lu Mingmin, and my nickname is Tongtong."

"I am the daughter of the Lu family, a doctor at Renxin Clinic, and a medical officer at the Imperial Academy of Medical Officers."

"I'm no longer your medicine man."

After saying this, she turned around and ran down the mountain.

The mountain breeze once again brushed across her cheeks, passing by the places she had passed countless times. Many noisy voices came to her ears, each sentence vivid and clear.

"No matter what Dr. Lu wants to do, I wish Dr. Lu everything goes well and his wish comes true."

"Come, I wish you and me to become the envoy of the academy!"

"Girl, I'm waiting for you here, you must come back."

"Deputy Dean Miao told me that you are his benefactor and also his student, and asked me to take good care of you in the Medical Officers' Court."

"Let us pay tribute to this good master, thank her for her careful teachings to our Dr. Lu, and for teaching a goddess doctor to our West Street——"

"You and Ah-Ying are friends, so calling me princess is a little strange. You can call me sister."

"Seventeenth Miss, if you get injured in the future, you must seek medical treatment in time. You are a doctor, so you should understand this principle even more."

The sounds were getting closer and closer to her ears, warm, noisy, and bustling, filling the empty gaps.

She was no longer alone, as the fine web gently enveloped her. In this tragic story, countless accidental people appeared, calling her name, with some tenderness, some worry, some joy, some sadness. Together they held her, connecting her to the world.

There are friends, confidants, and people you like.

She is no longer alone.

Lu Tong ran faster and faster, and the white mist gradually dissipated with her running steps. She saw a door at the end. The door was emitting a dim light in the darkness, flickering on and off, refusing to rest in the snowy night.

She opened the door.

……

"Yes! There is breath!"

Suddenly there was a shout in the room.

Chang Jin held the arm of the person on the bed in ecstasy.

It was a faint pulse, as subtle as the beat of a candle about to go out, but it reappeared like a sudden miracle, shocking everyone in the room.

Lin Danqing burst into tears: "Sister Lu——"

They thought everything was settled, she was like a candle that was about to go out, and would never be rekindled. But at the last moment, everything turned around.

Lu Tong opened his eyes.

It was very noisy outside. She heard Chang Jin shouting loudly, and he seemed to be talking to the medical officer outside the door. Lin Danqing's laughter was extremely excited. Ji Xun's voice asking her was drowned out by the messy footsteps outside the door and could not be heard clearly.

She saw a shadow in front of her.

The young man was not as calm and relaxed as in the dream. He looked into her eyes without blinking, his eyes frighteningly red.

She was stunned for a moment, then laughed softly.

"Pei Yunying," Lu Tong reached out and touched his eyes, "Are you crying?"

The next moment, he leaned over and hugged her. She felt his body trembling, and it seemed that he used up all his strength to hold her.

Lu Tong let him hold her without saying anything, but she felt warm liquid falling into her neck, burning her.

So she reached out and gently hugged him back.