Old Injury

The second time I came to Qing Feng Temple, the wooden door was open as before, the middle-aged Taoist priest was sweeping the yard, and the sunlight poured down through the dense ginkgo leaves layer by layer, blurring the dark blue Taoist robes. Distinguish the smell of dust.

“Hey, are you here again? Did you change your mind and ask me for fortune-telling?” When the Taoist saw me, he immediately stopped the sweeping movement in his hands. Holding the bamboo broom, he touched his mustache and smiled like a philistine, and the dust was gone.

I went into the yard with the things in my arms and stood in front of him: “I want to ask the Taoist priest, do you have services like offering tablets here?” “Tablets?” It’s a routine in a Buddhist temple, and Taoism doesn’t have that.”

I lowered my eyes in despair, “Excuse me.” I turned around and was about to leave.

“However!” He suddenly raised his voice, “We can do a dojo, a dojo for blessing, and a dojo for saving death. In fact, the effect is the same. And it’s very cheap. One-time all-inclusive service, only 3,000 yuan.”

“Dojo for saving death, If I go to this dojo, will I be able to cast a good baby in the next life?”

“That’s what I mean.”

I looked at the cloth bag in my hand, tightened my fingers, turned back and handed it to the other person.

“Then please, please make a dojo for my child.”

The Taoist priest looked at me, then at the cloth bag tightly bound by the thin coat, and asked me carefully, “This is?”

I unwrapped the clothe bag outside, revealing the white pots and dirt inside.

“My child, who died before being born. These are his… ashes.”

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“What, what?!”

With a “pop”, the broom fell to the ground.

The Taoist hurriedly reached out and took the flowerpot, looked up and down, and invited me into the room to sit down and chat.

There are only two dilapidated tile-roofed houses in the Guanli. When you enter, you will feel the darkness in front of you. It takes a little time to adjust to the dim light inside. The furniture in the room is very simple, maybe because of the poor lighting, there is a musty smell. In the corner of the room is a single bed, the quilt is neatly folded, and the sheets are not wrinkled.

Daoist Weijing put the flower pot firmly on the table, asked me to sit down, and poured me a cup of herbal tea.

“I only have this here, drink it.” He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup, and drank it after two sips.

He wiped his mouth, coughed dryly and said, “Don’t blame me for asking too much, I need to know the situation before I start the dojo. This child has been gone for a few months?”

I held the cup and stared at the tea stems floating in it and said: “Five months.”

“When did it go away?”

“Seven years ago.”

He pointed to the count, reported the year, and asked if I was right.

“Yes, this is the year. In winter…” I recalled for a moment and gave the exact date.

Xiangtan was very cold that winter, and it has never been so cold in my memory. The temperature, which has been hovering around zero all the year round, suddenly fell below minus seven degrees, which was unbelievably cold. When I turned around outside, it seemed that my bones were frozen, and the blood would stagnate.

Daoist Weijing stood up, walked over to the bed, pulled out the drawer of the bedside table, pulled out a white pen with a sense of age, and a crumpled piece of paper.

He licked the tip of the pen and walked back: “Well, do you know the gender of the child?”

“AB blood boy.”

Carefully checked the information on the paper, and handed it to me: “Look, if there is no problem, the dojo will be arranged according to the above. We live in the same mountain, and we are neighbors, so it can be considered a relationship. In this way, I will make a discount, you can just give 2,800.”

I nodded, and without saying a word, I took out my wallet and paid cash.

“Refreshing! I’m ready to contact you right away.” The Taoist took the money and counted it carefully, then rolled it into a roll and put it in his arms and patted his chest.

His eyes fell on me again, and the smile on his face faded: ” Little friend, your face is worse than the last time you came. I told you not to worry too much, why don’t you listen? You will be short-lived.”

Touching my face with my fingertips, it’s not that I haven’t looked in the mirror recently. The complexion is indeed not good-looking, it is dark and pale, looking very haggard, and the eye sockets seem to be deeper.

“Thank you, I’ll pay attention.”

Daoist Weijing stared at me for a long time, then shook his head and said, “You just want to be quick, but you don’t pay attention at all. Well, I didn’t want to mention the mundane things in the past, but I really can’t worry about you like this, let me tell you a story.”

He began to talk about the book in a serious manner, beginning with “Omega Once upon a Time”, and told me a story of sigh, regret, sadness and tenderness.

Once upon a time, there was an Omega who had a smooth and prosperous family since he was a child. He’s good, pretty, and smart, he gets everything he wants, and he get everything he likes. At the age of eighteen, he met his favorite Alpha. Although the other party was not so prominent, he was only the child of a lawyer, but he fell in love with him at first sight and decided to spend his life with him.

What about family opposition? He was free, easy and decisive in his work, leaving no room for leeway. When his family had never woken up, he marked each other with his Alpha.

The two are now inseparable, and even death cannot break their bond. Even if Omega’s family was reluctant, they could only grit their teeth and agree to the marriage.

He spent the happiest five years of his life, became a partner with his beloved, and had two children.

“The best dream is nothing more than this,” Daoist Weijing’s eyes passed through me, cast out the window, and sighed, “It’s a pity that the dream is easy to wake up…”

The happy days came to an abrupt end in the fifth year, when the Omega family of three encountered a huge serial traffic accident when they went out to play. Their car was attacked from the front and back, beyond recognition. The driver in the front row died on the spot, and the family of three in the back row, at the moment of the collision, Omega subconsciously tried to protect the baby in the safety seat, and then lost consciousness.

“When he woke up again, he found that he was being protected by someone. His Alpha used his body to protect him and the child firmly, but he was no longer breathing.” His voice gradually became hoarse, “When he was sent to the hospital, the doctor said that his entire spine was shattered. He suffered terrible pain when he was alive, and his spine was shattered, how painful it was.”

I saw him talking and his eyes were red, and I felt something was wrong: “Daoist..”

Later, the child was gone. After three days and three nights of rescue, he still couldn’t save it.” He raised his sleeves and wiped his eyes, “I am that Omega.”

Even if I guessed the truth, he admitted it so generously. Now, I don’t know what to do.

“I lost my child and my lover overnight. I’ve been depressed for two years, just like you are now. One day after two years, I wrote my suicide note to go up the mountain to commit suicide. This Taoist temple. At that time, there was an old Taoist priest, my master, with poisonous eyes. At a glance, I saw that I was looking for death. He explained me and told me the big truth for a day. After that… I saw through the world and became a monk. For the sake of the Tao.” He said a lot of words, his mouth was dry, and he took a long sip of tea.

“…Condolences.” The words were too pale, other than these two words, I didn’t know how to comfort him.

With a big wave of his hand, he said indifferently, “What kind of mourning is it? I have long since stopped mourning. It happened decades ago. After I became a monk in Weijing Mountain, I scattered their ashes into the mountain. This tree, every inch of the land here is them, as soon as I open my eyes, there are their shadows everywhere. I have already put it down, the flesh is just the skin of the human world, and this is the most important.” He pointed to his chest, “If they are here, they will always be there.”

No wonder Song Bai Lao couldn’t move him. There was his home in this mountain, and there were people he loved, how could he be willing to leave.

He was able to speak to me, and I am grateful to him. After all, we are not related and not related, so he can solve me without digging his own wounds. And he did so, and of course I couldn’t live up to his painstaking efforts.

I got up to say goodbye and bowed to him: “I understand the Taoist priest, the man has passed away, the past is over, and all that should be put down must be put down.”

In the past seven years, I have actually put it down a long time ago. A deception by Ningshi turned the past of my pages back and set it on the most unforgettable page.

I have made too many assumptions and plans for this dream, and even fantasized for a while… I can also have a happy home. When the illusion was disillusioned and all the presuppositions were empty, the huge mourning that poured out of the heart at that moment was not simply the pain for the children who did not survive.

Unwilling, depressed, self-deprecating, thinking “It’s impossible for a person like me to be happy easily”, sinking deeper and deeper into the dark emotions.

Maybe one day I can really let go, a month, a year, a decade… It could be right now, or it could be a long time later, but not now.

Song Mo’s injuries were serious and he would stay in the hospital for a few days for observation. The doctor said that if there was no problem, he would be discharged next week.

I go to accompany him every afternoon and bring him some snacks that I make myself. Eat a cake, play a few games of flying chess, and I’ll read him a storybook for a while, and the afternoon will quickly pass. At about seven o’clock in the evening, he had eaten and was going to bed, and I could go too.

Song Bai Lao seemed to be busier and busier. Zhu Ruan’s marriage and employees leaking secrets were a big blow to Xia Sheng. He came to the hospital to see Song Mo several times, but he came and went in a hurry, without any communication with me, and he didn’t even look at me.

Li Xun came here often, he would tease Song Mo for a while, and would chat with me for a while.

“The wedding of Zhu Li and Ruan Linghe is scheduled for the 18th of next month.” After Li Xun coaxed Song Mo to sleep, he tucked the quilt and whispered to me, “They invited a lot of people this time, as if they were going to make a mess. A wedding of the century. They also sent invitations to President Song and Mr. Luo, I really don’t know what they think.”

Don’t think about it, this must be Zhu Li’s idea.

He just wants everyone to see his victory, admire his glory, and hate him. In this way, he can derive great joy from it.

“Will they go?” I asked Li Xun.

“Mr. Luo probably won’t go, Ruan Linghe’s wedding still won’t invite him, his father’s can be considered.” Li Xun’s tone was full of disdain for the Ruan family, “Mr. Song didn’t say whether to go or not, but the invitation was accepted. He also asked me to prepare a red envelope, I don’t know if I should go there myself or send someone to send a red envelope.”

“He will go by himself.”

Li Xun was puzzled: “Mr. Song told you?”

He said he didn’t, but I can imagine the expression on his face when he received the invitation.

“How could someone like him tolerate such provocative behavior.” Not only would he go, but he would go with great fanfare. I doubt whether he would throw the red envelope directly on Ruan Linghe’s face.

“You know me very well.” The voice fell, and a low male voice came from the direction of the door.

Li Xun and I looked over at the same time. Song Bai Lao was leaning against the door, holding the doorknob in his hand. He pushed open the door halfway through, apparently overhearing our conversation.

When he walked into the ward, Li Xun stood up consciously, nodded at him, and quietly retreated.

I didn’t know where he came from. He casually held his coat in his hand, unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt, and sweated profusely from his temples and neck.

He slumped down beside me and exhaled a long breath, seemingly exhausted.

He casually brushed his forehead hair, his fingers were soaked with sweat, maybe he felt that the bite stopper was in the way, he pulled the mask-like device and let out an impatient tsk.

“Trouble.”

In public places, all marked Alphas and Omegas are required to consciously wear bite stoppers and collars.

I stared at a storybook by the bed, picked it up and turned over a few pages, when I suddenly heard the man beside me say, “You’re not leaving yet?”

I looked at him and didn’t understand what he meant.

“Don’t you want to stay with me?” He leaned over, his eyes drooped slightly, and his eyes landed on my nose and mouth, “I’m so disgusting, living under the same roof with you, breathing a piece of air, what are you doing? Can you stand it?” He deliberately blew at me.

The nose is the salty smell of sweat, and it seems to have a faint scent of sweet-scented osmanthus.

I turned my face away, put down the book and stood up from the sofa chair, without saying a word to him, and left the ward without looking back.

After getting on the car at the gate of the building, the driver started slowly. And at this moment, very coincidentally, a black Phantom came from the opposite side, we went out, they entered, and the two missed each other.

I knew the car, and I looked at it involuntarily, but with the curtains drawn in the back row, it was impossible to see if Luo Qinghe was sitting in it.

The next day, Li Xun called and said that Luo Qinghe was furious when he heard the news of Song Mo’s injury, and quarreled with Song Bai Lao directly in the hospital. After Song Mo is discharged from the hospital in the afternoon, he will be sent directly to Luo Qinghe to be taken care of by him until he recovers.