Luzhou Moon - Chapter 149
The wind was strong on the mountaintop, and fallen leaves covered the ground after the rain. Ashes of burnt paper money still lingered at Mother's grave. The thatched hut was empty, but on the bamboo mat, there was something tightly wrapped in white cloth.
Lian Junchu walked over in a daze, slowly sat down, and began to bite the white cloth.
The sea-blue necklace lay alone in the dim light, silently emitting a faint glow.
His breathing became heavy, and his heart felt as if it had sunk beneath an iceberg.
"Ruzheng!" Lian Junchu suddenly seemed to realize something, ran out of the thatched hut, and shouted towards the pine forest. Only the endless whistling of the wind and the murmuring of the spring answered him.
He was distraught and ran desperately toward the temple on the opposite mountain.
The monks told him that over the years they had indeed helped a woman who was sometimes normal and sometimes crazy, and that not long ago, a young girl had accompanied that woman to live in another nunnery.
So Lian Junchu rushed to that very small nunnery.
Beneath the ancient lamp and Buddha statue, the old nun was chanting scriptures, the air filled with the faint scent of sandalwood. Upon hearing his purpose, she sighed, "Ten days ago, that delirious female benefactor passed away."
"What?!" Lian Junchu was greatly surprised. "How could he have passed away?"
The old nun clasped her hands together. "She was already mentally exhausted and constantly fearful, saying that someone was trying to take her life. We did everything we could to protect her, but one day, during a torrential downpour, the woman left the nunnery alone at night. We searched all night after noticing, and finally found her near the lonely grave on the jade terrace just before dawn. Her expression was terrified, and she had no external injuries. It's likely that something triggered a deep emotional knot, leading to her death from shock."
Lian Junchu felt a chill run down her spine and pressed, "Where is that young girl?"
The old nun shook her head and said, "She wept for a long time, and after the funeral was completed, she left this place."
Lian Junchu felt as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on him. His voice trembled as he said, "How is this possible?! She said she would wait for me to come back! Didn't she say where she went?!"
"This humble nun also asked her where she intended to go, but she said nothing. She only said that she had left her belongings at Qiongtan, and if anyone came looking for her, she only needed to hand them over, and then she would be free of any further entanglements."
Lian Junchu didn't know how he got out of the nunnery, nor did he know where he had thrown the necklace away. When Yinglong found him, he was completely exhausted, sitting alone on the steep mountain path, as if his soul had been taken away by the heavens.
"Young Master..." Yinglong called out worriedly.
Lian Junchu stared at him blankly for a long time before finally saying in a hoarse voice, "She promised she would wait for me."
After a day of feeling groggy, Yinglong intended to take him back to the island, but the next morning, he found Lian Junchu already dressed haphazardly, sitting on the edge of the bed, saying, "I'm fine now, you can go back."
"Young Master isn't going back to the island?" Yinglong was surprised.
He even chuckled and said, "She promised to wait for me; I'm just late."
Yinglong was worried about the young master in this state, but Lian Junchu left alone before he could persuade her.
The first place he went after leaving Chicheng Mountain was the small courtyard in Yandang Mountain. He rushed to the place where he had left countless beautiful memories of his youth, full of hope. In his remaining consciousness, he always remembered that it was his home, the home of him and Ruzheng.
The pear tree in front of the courtyard was in full bloom with snow-white blossoms, but when he rushed into the room, he was met with only endless silence. Just like before, he frantically searched every corner of the courtyard for any trace of her, but found nothing.
He stood in the empty courtyard, trying to comfort himself, thinking that perhaps she had gone somewhere else.
After leaving Nan Yandang, Lian Junchu went to Yinxi Xiaozhu.
The moonlight over Luzhou was still elegant and alluring, and the plum trees at Yinxi Xiaozhu were still vigorous and verdant. Jiang Shuying had just received a letter from Shao Yang and was taken aback when she saw Lian Junchu's tired appearance.
After learning the whole story, Jiang Shuying slumped into her chair, dejected. "Ruzheng never returned to Luzhou. Where could she have gone?"
"I will find her." Lian Junchu tried his best to remain calm, but the deep pain in his eyes had already revealed his feelings.
...
He even went to Tingyu Villa to inquire about her whereabouts.
Wei Heng had assumed he and Yue Ruzheng were about to get married, but upon learning this, he angrily exclaimed, "You shouldn't have left her alone with Mingyu! If I had known this would happen, I would have gone ahead to bring her to Huangshan!"
Lian Junchu listened silently to Wei Heng's accusations, having no desire to argue whatsoever. These past few days, he had been consumed by guilt, but the previous resentment had long since vanished with the disappearance of Ruzheng.
Seeing his dejected appearance, Wei Heng felt a pang of pity and realized that further reprimands would be pointless. He sighed and said, "Lian Junchu, do you remember what I told you at the foot of Nan Yandang Mountain?"
Lian Junchu then paused to think for a moment and said in a low voice, "I remember."
"My only wish now is that you can find her and never be separated from her again," Wei Heng said helplessly, gazing at the distant mountains. "If she doesn't have you, she will never marry anyone else in this life."
Lian Jun's original aspiration is as sharp as a knife and saw.
As Qi Yun was leaving Tingyu Manor, he told him that Lian Junxin had just come by the day before, saying that she wanted to avenge her previous humiliation by sparring with the manor lord. The manor lord had gone to Lotus Peak with her and fought for a long time before returning.
"The master is really something, his martial arts are clearly much better than hers..." Qi Yun knew that Lian Junchu and Lian Junxin were not on good terms, so he did not hide it from him.
Lian Junchu forced a smile, bid farewell to Qi Yun, and embarked on her search journey alone once again.
After that, he searched everywhere he could think of, and he even climbed Jade Screen Peak again, hoping that she would appear in the place he had once longed for.
On a moonlit night before, she had nestled in his arms. He said, "I've never regretted knowing you." She felt the same way.
But now, all that is presented to Lian Junchu is a vast sea of clouds and towering mountains.
...
After a long and arduous journey, he dragged his exhausted body back to Nan Yandang. He planned to stay one last night before returning to Seven Star Island to arrange Danfeng's marriage. He couldn't burden anyone else. He even intended to return Seven Star Island to Commander Lian Junxin. If he couldn't find Yue Ruzheng again, he would live alone there, repeating his old days of gathering herbs.
When we returned to the small courtyard in the mountain valley, it was just dawn.
It had rained heavily here yesterday, and the yard was a mess of fallen leaves and flowers. He went into the room dejectedly, lay down on the empty bed, and stared at the cobweb-covered ceiling.
Suddenly, the deepest image in his memory came to mind: he had once lay on this bed in a huff, deliberately closing his eyes, when Yue Ruzheng quietly walked in, chewing on an almond cookie and stuffing a sugar cake into his mouth. She always did these unexpected things, sometimes unreasonable, sometimes crazy, but in the softest part of her heart lived him.
When he left, he left behind everything related to the past and to her, not daring to take a single thing with him. In those years, he didn't know what was wrong with him, nor with her. Both of them tightly wrapped themselves up, untouchable, unspeakable, ready to erupt hysterically at the slightest provocation. Just as Lian Junxin said, perhaps in the eyes of others, it was simply two people torturing and hurting each other.
Lian Junchu's eyes stung with tears. On this cold little bed, they had once leaned on each other, spending the most desolate yet warmest New Year's Eve together. Back then, they both thought those brief three days were just a snapshot of their future life, that they would soon be able to return together… He would cook for her, and she would sew clothes for him under the lamplight…