Frühlingsreise - Kapitel 40
"Forbidden Garden".
The Forbidden Garden is located within the mountain, and entry requires traversing a long passageway. On rainy days, moisture seeps from the stone walls, making the entire passageway feel chilly and oppressive.
This seems to be the gap between the mortal world and the underworld, a path of reincarnation.
Through it, find the person on the other side.
Suddenly, a bright light shone before my eyes, almost blinding me; all I could see was pure white.
The forbidden garden of Medicine King Valley, a place said to be filled with rare flowers and medicinal herbs, is actually, surprisingly, a world of ice and snow.
The world is infinitely vast, with a snow-white sky, snow-white mountains, snow-white earth and rivers, all covered in ice and snow.
Amidst the vast expanse of white snow, a figure in lotus-green lay quietly on the icy river.
Tang Qiefang's heart skipped a beat, and she wanted to step forward, but Yang Luoxue stopped her. Yang Luoxue said, "Don't disturb the immortal."
Beside Tang Congrong, there was another person, but he was completely white, indistinguishable from the rest of the world, and Tang Qiefang did not see him for the time being.
“Although I cured the poison of the silver chain and saved his life, he overdosed on the Rejuvenation Pill and summoned the Cloud Barrier with his mortal body, exhausting his spiritual power. He is now just an empty shell,” Yang Luoxue said. “The only one who can truly save him is this immortal.”
Tang Qiefang was slightly taken aback. "What exactly is the Cloud Net Barrier?"
“That is an object from the celestial realm.” Yang Luoxue’s voice was slightly low. “The last time the owner of the Cloud Barrier used the Cloud Barrier was to protect this immortal. Tang Congrong’s thoughts at the time were the same as the owner of the Cloud Barrier, otherwise, even if he spent his entire life’s spiritual power, a mortal could not possibly summon the Cloud Barrier… It was fortunate that he brought the Cloud Barrier, so the immortal was willing to help him.”
Protect...him?
Tang Qiefang remembers that at that moment, it was as if a soft veil was covering her eyes, and everything was hazy and indistinct, as if she were in a dream.
For a fleeting moment, I thought it was the world I would see after death.
It turned out that Tang Congrong had sacrificed her entire life's spiritual power to give him a chance at life.
Tang Qiefang took a deep breath. Being able to live peacefully was the greatest joy. But amidst this joy, the memory of those scenes brought an indescribable sadness, and joy was mixed in with the sadness.
Even knowing how filthy and despicable he was, he remained calm and still protected him.
A mix of joy and sorrow welled up inside her, and she couldn't quite explain it. She turned to look at Yang Luoxue and said, "Thank you."
"I never imagined Tang Qiefang would thank me one day," Yang Luoxue said expressionlessly.
Tang Qiefang laughed and pulled him out of the passageway. "I know you're the kind of person who holds grudges. Okay, I was wrong back then. Yang Luoxue, I'm here to apologize to you."
The disguise on his face had not yet been washed off, and his face was still that of the ordinary Tang Kunsha, but his eyes were dark and bright, as if they had a pearly sheen—there was no other pair of eyes like that in the world except for Tang Qiefang.
Such eyes, always have been like this.
Chapter Seventy-Four
It felt like I was back to the time when we first met.
That year, Tang Congrong brought his niece Hua Qianye to Medicine King Valley for treatment. Hua Qianye was extremely weak and it took a full year of treatment for her to recover. At that time, Tang Congrong had not yet become the head of the family, and Tang Qiefang had not yet become the lord of the pharmacy. Both of them were carefree and often came to visit Hua Qianye, which is how they became friends with Yang Luoxue.
The three were of similar status, age, and temperament; birds of a feather flock together, and they naturally got along very well. Tang Qiefang and Yang Luoxue, in particular, shared similar interests in medicine and poison, spending their days studying the properties and toxicity of the same herb. Unfortunately, in their most impetuous youth, both were arrogant and domineering. When they couldn't agree on a word, neither would back down—Tang Qiefang would only bow to Tang Congrong, while Yang Luoxue would never bow to anyone, thus becoming enemies.
Yang Luoxue said slowly, "This sentence is five years too late."
Tang Qiefang raised an eyebrow. "I'm only giving you face because you saved Congrong. Don't push your luck."
Yang Luoxue glared at him, "What does it have to do with you that I'm saving my friends?"
"If you keep looking like that, do you believe I'll sprinkle bone-dissolving powder on you again?"
"Sprinkle it," Yang Luoxue said calmly. "Sprinkle as much as you like."
Tang Qiefang flicked her sleeve, scattering bone-dissolving powder onto a stone by the roadside.
At the same instant, Yang Luoxue condensed a drop of blood from her fingertip and flicked it gently. Her energy transformed it into a cloud of blood mist, which met the bone-dissolving powder in mid-air and fell onto the stone together.
The stone was completely unharmed.
Tang Qiefang was stunned. No, that's impossible. There's no antidote for bone-dissolving powder; it dissolves upon contact with anything, and there's no time for medicine to counteract it.
"There is no poison in this world that I cannot cure," Yang Luoxue said slowly, "including your Heavenly Fragrance."
For a moment, Tang Qiefang's face turned ashen.
Although the so-called "hatred" between the two was nothing more than a battle of wits, they were both serious when they were fighting, giving it their all. Their efforts to develop new poisons or antidotes were a contest of skill and pride.
At this moment, the result is obvious.
He lost.
However—if Yang Luoxue didn't have such abilities, how could she have cured the poison of the silver chain?
This thought was like a gentle breeze after the rain, blowing away all the gloom. Tang Qiefang smiled, first at the corners of her mouth, then at the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, her whole being shining like a pearl. "Good, good, good, as expected of Yang Luoxue, I am convinced of you from now on."
Yang Luoxue was slightly surprised. "I thought you would never admit this, even if you were beaten to death."
“It’s fate that I can’t beat you,” Tang Qiefang said. “When my skills improve, people will only be afraid. When your skills improve, people will be happy. Yang Luoxue, your medical skills have improved, which is a blessing for you and for me. Come on, buy me a drink.”
The medicinal wine unique to Yaowang Valley exudes a faint aroma of bamboo leaves and has a smooth and mellow taste. Tang Qiefang savored the aftertaste for a long time, saying, "I haven't drunk such good wine in a long time."
"I never imagined I'd be buying you a drink one day."
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Years of estrangement were shattered in an instant.