The pinnacle of the martial arts world

Chapter 74

Of course, this was just a casual remark; they all have inescapable responsibilities on their shoulders.

As dusk fell, the two walked along the path, the wind blowing against their faces, carrying the scents of flowers and herbs. Seeing the sky slowly turning crimson, he pulled her towards the back of the mountain and they reached the summit.

The summit is steep, with the mountain wall below. The passageway and that strange world are all nestled within the continuous mountainside at your feet. Medicine King Valley lies beautifully and serenely in the embrace of the mountains.

The sunset was beautiful.

His long hair was bathed in the glow of the sunset, as if it had been dyed into a soft red satin. Baili Wushuang reached out and picked up a strand, gently wrapping it around his fingers as he often did. The touch was incredibly delicate and smooth, like a bundle of fine silk.

He spoke softly, "You can see a sunset like this in Sading City too, right?"

"Um."

"Remember to watch it when you get back."

"Um."

She looked extremely quiet.

His heart felt like it was being soaked in something, so tender and weak, leaving him utterly powerless. He only wished time could stop at this moment and never move forward again.

She lowered her head, repeatedly winding his hair around her fingers, round and round. She wound it too many times, and it finally came undone, so she started winding it again. He lifted her chin and was startled to find tears welling in her eyes.

Chapter 144

He initially felt she lacked human emotions, so he particularly enjoyed watching her emotional fluctuations. Anger or a smile, it was always better than a blank, expressionless face. However, these "fluctuations" shouldn't include her tears.

He hadn't expected her to cry.

Seeing her in tears broke his heart, and he could only hold her even more tenderly, unable to utter a word.

She turned her head away, swallowing her tears, her voice low and hoarse: "Don't look... I don't know what's wrong with me either."

Her eyes hadn't shed a tear in a long time.

So poignant, yet so unfamiliar.

"Bai Li Wushuang," his voice was low, whispering in her ear, "I will arrive at Xuyu Temple a day before you. I will arrange our wedding in the peach grove. I will commission Hua Qianchu to make a dress covered with peach petals for you as your wedding gown. I will marry you on the day we meet. I will take care of you for the rest of my life and never let you shed a single tear. If I fail to do so, may I die a horrible death."

“No need to swear, I know you can do it.” She exhaled a long breath, as if to release all the bitterness in her chest. The long breath lingered in her chest and abdomen. The air in the mountain forest was so fresh, and the wind fluttered her clothes and hair. She used another topic to pull herself out of such emotions. “Come on, let’s guess a riddle. Bamboo leaves accumulate, angelica root is used to dispel wind, safflower is in the wind, prepared rehmannia root doesn’t need pinellia, raw rehmannia root uses plantain. This is your specialty, have you ever heard of it?”

"Huh, I've never heard of that."

They had guessed so many riddles that day, all of which they had heard from each other, so this one felt special. He said, "I can't guess it, but my master might be able to. Come with me to see him."

Baili Wushuang asked in surprise, "Your master?"

"My master who solves riddles. Uncle Du. The riddles I told you in Suoding City last time were all taught to me by him when I was a child."

To everyone's surprise, Du Zixin froze completely upon hearing only the first line of the riddle. Clearly, his entire expression went blank.

"...Bamboo shoots with husks, Angelica dahurica and Saposhnikovia divaricata, safflower in the wind, prepared Rehmannia glutinosa without Pinellia ternata, raw Rehmannia glutinosa with Plantago asiatica." He murmured the riddle, then suddenly looked at Yang Luoxue, "Where did you hear that from?"

Yang Luoxue and Baili Wushuang exchanged a glance, sensing something amiss. Baili Wushuang asked, "Do you know a woman named Bu Zhishu, senior?"

“Bu Zhishu?” Du Zixin looked blank; the name was unfamiliar to him. “No, no, no, no one but her could know the answer to this riddle. Miss, I ask you, this Bu Zhishu—” His voice suddenly stopped, his expression shifting. Neither of them had ever seen such a complex expression on anyone’s face in such a short time. He burst into laughter, “Bu Zhishu, Bu Zhishu, so that’s it! It’s her, it’s her!” But his voice lowered again, and he slumped down, sighing, “Where is she?”

Yang Luoxue then told him what she knew, and finally turned to Baili Wushuang, saying, "Now I know why such a minor deficiency syndrome has stumped so many doctors. Your master doesn't want to get better. What she needs to be treated is not the deficiency syndrome, but her heart disease."

"I've been away for days, and I don't know how she is doing."

Chapter 145

Yang Luoxue said, "It's a pity I've been busy these days and haven't been able to go to Suoding City. Uncle-Master, would you mind going in my place?"

Du Zixin's expression was strange; his eyes clearly held an uncontrollable gleam, yet his brows were tightly furrowed.

That must have been a painful yet joyful past for him, a knot in his heart that he wanted to untie but couldn't.

Yang Luoxue didn't ask any more questions and left with Baili Wushuang. After walking for a while, she sighed and said, "I forgot to ask the answer to the riddle."

"Lanterns," Baili Wushuang said.

Yang Luoxue thought for a moment, and realized, "Indeed. Angelica dahurica is white paper, and red flowers are red candles—isn't that a lantern? Come to think of it, I have a riddle about this too." "Oh? Tell me about it."

"Flowers bloom inside the wall, but their red blossoms bloom outside; thoughts pluck the flowers, but the path remains unclear. Once the path is revealed, the flowers will wither; all joy is but fleeting emptiness."

It was very fitting. However, the last sentence gave her a vague sense of foreboding. Perhaps no girl in love likes to hear such bleak words. She said, "It seems that your uncle and my master used to play riddles together. I wonder what happened between them."

Yang Luoxue smiled, the evening breeze ruffling his long hair, strands gently touching her face. He said, "We'll know soon enough. My uncle will definitely go to Suoding City."

Du Zixin isn't called Du Zixin, it's Su Zixin. Bu Zhishu isn't called Bu Zhishu either, it's He Yuanbi. Bu Zhishu means "unknown Su," right? I wonder what she was thinking when she chose that name—did she hope she never knew Su Zixin?

Su Zixin and He Yuanbi were childhood sweethearts. In their second year of marriage, Su Zixin took in a female patient, which greatly displeased He Yuanbi. After several arguments, the patient quietly left and soon died. A doctor cannot bear to face the death of his patients. The couple had a major falling out; He Yuanbi left for another place, while Su Zixin stayed at home for a year, but could no longer bear it. He changed his name and went to Medicine King Valley.

They were separated forever. Fifteen years later, they met again. They had spent fifteen years arguing, and then proved one thing: the other was the most important person to them.

It was a month later that she learned all this. The letter from Suoding City bore strong, vigorous handwriting, the very hand that had forged the sword. Yang Luoxue carefully read it through and then put it away.

Attached was a letter from Du Zixin, in which he said he was taking good care of his wife's qi deficiency in Suoding City, and that he would continue to entrust the Chinese medicine clinic to Yang Luoxue, etc.

So Yang Luoxue spent most of her days at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Academy, and the rest of the time she would check her disciples' medical records at the Upper Academy or visit Xiao Yan at the Lower Academy. Baili Wushuang had also entered the Beiling Tower at that time, and the two of them hardly had any time to write letters. But one day, Yang Luoxue was lying on a bamboo bed when she suddenly remembered that Baili Wushuang had said that Medicine King Valley was a good place to cool off in the summer, so she ordered someone to make a bamboo bed and send it to Suoding City.

Half a month later, Suodingcheng sent over a bottle of wine. Yang Luoxue smelled it; it was the Daughter's Red wine they had drunk in the pavilion in the drizzle that night.

In September, Du Zixin brought He Yuanbi back to Medicine King Valley.

That day, the two, uncle and nephew, were exchanging medical cases in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Garden until late at night. When they finished, Du Zixin suddenly asked, "How much do you know about the sword energy on Baili Wushuang's body?"