Chapter 169

Chapter 169

She crouched down and caught Sheng Yao as she came running back, embracing the little girl’s soft, warm body.

Sheng Yao wrapped her arms around her neck and nestled into her embrace. Curiously, she asked, “Mama, will that uncle come out of the ground again?”

Sheng Zhaoning had never told her what death was.

Sheng Yao only knew that the person Mama thought about day and night was buried beneath that stone stele.

But he had never appeared.

“He won’t.”

Sheng Zhaoning gazed at the stele, her eyes steeped in sorrow, her gaze lingering for a long time.

Sheng Yao could not understand what that look meant, but she felt downcast all the same.

She really wanted that person to appear. Then Mama would not have to sit here alone every day, talking to someone who could not answer her.

Looking at the stele, Sheng Yao asked again, “Then will he like the flowers I gave him?”

Sheng Zhaoning lowered her eyes to hide the bitterness in their depths and smiled. “Mm-hmm. He will.”

No one could dislike such a colorful bouquet, picked with such care.

Sheng Yao was delighted by the answer. She happily skipped along, holding Sheng Zhaoning’s hand as they headed back.

Pine needles drifted slowly down.

A gentle breeze wound around the two figures, one large and one small, as though softly embracing them. It lingered for a long while.

…

When the maple leaves had turned a brilliant red and gradually begun to fall, Sheng Zhaoning stopped going out as often.

The dew lay heavy and damp in the courtyard that morning. The distant mountains were pale and hazy, and birds chirped among the trees.

A furious shout shattered the morning calm.

“Ahhh!”

Zhou Lingsheng was standing in the courtyard collecting medicinal herbs when his hand trembled. He stared blankly toward the source of the sound and saw Jin He storming out of the eastern side room.

At first, he did not understand what was happening. But the moment his eyes landed on the enormous king character drawn on her forehead in charcoal, along with the three black whisker marks on each cheek, he immediately understood.

Another one of Zhou Wei’s brilliant ideas.

Zhou Lingsheng hurried to the side and craned his neck, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

Jin He’s face was flushed with fury. Without even bothering to ask what had happened, she rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and charged straight toward Zhou Wei’s room.

“Zhou Wei, I’m going to kill you!”

After another furious roar, a clanging racket erupted from Zhou Wei’s room.

Zhou Wei’s shouting and pleas for mercy rang out along with it.

The noise woke Sheng Yao. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she came out and walked over to Zhou Lingsheng. Tilting her head back, she asked, “Uncle Lingsheng, are they fighting again?”

Her utterly calm tone made it clear that she had long since grown used to scenes like this.

Zhou Wei and Jin He had a minor argument every three days and a major one every five. Sometimes, when they lost their tempers, they would grab each other by the clothes and collars and have a proper scuffle.

And yet Zhou Wei was always fond of teasing Jin He and provoking her, repeatedly driving the even-tempered young woman into a frenzy until she chased him around with a knife.

He really was asking for it.

By now, the others had also gradually emerged after hearing the commotion, eager to watch the show.

When Zhou Lingsheng saw Zhou Wei fleeing the room in panic with Jin He chasing after him, cleaver in hand, he quickly crouched down and covered Sheng Yao’s eyes, sparing her the sight of any violent, bloody scenes.

“Good girl, Yaoyao. Hurry back to your room. We wouldn’t want any blood splashing on you,” he said half-jokingly.

With her eyes covered, Sheng Yao did not struggle. She simply turned her head and asked, “Uncle Lingsheng, what are you going out to do later?”

Zhou Lingsheng could never sit still and often went out.

There were no classes at the academy today, so Sheng Yao had some free time and thought she would go out with Zhou Lingsheng.

He ran a medical clinic in town. Sometimes he took Sheng Yao along to see patients, and other times he brought her up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs.

Through constant exposure, Sheng Yao could now recognize quite a few medicinal herbs.

Zhou Lingsheng lowered his hand and looked at her. “The clinic is offering free consultations today, so I have to go into town.”

Sheng Yao had not been to town for a long time. At once, her eyes lit up. “Can you take me with you?”

Looking into her bright, sparkling eyes, Zhou Lingsheng hesitated.

Sheng Yao had never caused him any trouble. Whenever he was busy, she would sit quietly by herself, blinking as she watched him treat his patients. Only when he had some free time would she ask him to play with her.

There would be a great many people at the free clinic, though. If he took her along this time, he probably would not have much time to keep her company.

As he was weighing the matter, Sheng Zhaoning happened to come out after hearing their conversation.

Zhou Wei and Jin He were still running wildly around the courtyard.

Carefully avoiding them, Sheng Zhaoning said, “Then let’s all go together. We need to go into town these next few days to buy some things anyway.”

The village was short on supplies. If they wanted to buy vegetables or everyday necessities, they could only go to the nearest town.

With the weather growing colder by the day, they needed to buy more vegetables to store at home.

After everyone had eaten breakfast together, Sheng Zhaoning and Zhou Lingsheng prepared to take Sheng Yao into town.

The moment Zhou Wei and Jin He heard they were leaving, they set aside their personal feud and immediately insisted on coming along.

Since they were going to hold a free clinic, Zhou Lingsheng figured that the more people they had, the better, and agreed.

A swift horse and a horse-drawn carriage traveled side by side toward the town.

Suizhou had many mountains and waterways, with four distinct seasons. Located in the northeastern part of the country, it was not especially prosperous.

Zhou Lingsheng’s clinic stood in a quiet area with few passersby, yet the line of people waiting to be treated stretched a long way.

Sheng Zhaoning and Jin He helped distribute the medicine at the back, while Zhou Wei assisted Zhou Lingsheng with whatever he needed.

Sheng Yao carried over a small stool and sat beside Zhou Lingsheng, watching attentively as he took people’s pulses and examined them, memorizing which medicines were needed for which symptoms.

Whenever something caught her interest, she always studied it with complete focus.

They stayed busy until the afternoon.

“Miss, stop working and sit down for a while.”

Jin He set down a packet of medicine, urged Sheng Zhaoning into a chair, and poured her a cup of water.

The long line outside the clinic had finally come to an end. Worried about her health, Zhou Wei and Jin He did not dare let her overexert herself. They were constantly urging her to rest.

But ever since arriving in Suizhou, Sheng Zhaoning’s health had become far stronger than it had been in the Capital City.

She did not know whether it was the result of Zhou Lingsheng’s painstaking care, or whether the many things that had suddenly begun to sustain her spirit had also brought new life to her flesh and blood.

Sheng Zhaoning drank half the water, set down the teacup, and sat by the window, quietly watching the people coming and going in the street.

She had never dared imagine a life this peaceful and free.

At times, she even wondered whether these days were merely a fleeting, insubstantial dream. Once the dream shattered, would she still awaken in that cold, dark Changhua Hall?

Yet as more and more reality settled in, that unease gradually faded.

Sheng Zhaoning slowly let go of her anxiety and guardedness and began to live properly.

She taught Sheng Yao to read and practice martial arts, watching her grow little by little. Her heart was slowly being filled, yet one neglected corner continued to grow hollow, giving endless outlet to her longing.

Little by little, it devoured her.

“We’ll be busy here for a while longer. Zhaoning, take Zhou Wei and Yaoyao to buy what we need first.”

At the entrance of the clinic, Zhou Lingsheng looked back and called out.