The next day at noon, when the sun was high in the sky, I finally woke up from my bed.
Lou Xiyue has already left.
When I got up, I saw Ji Jiu. She seemed a little disappointed.
I comforted her, "Lou Xiyue will come back after she leaves, so you don't need to worry too much."
Ji Jiu's eyes dimmed. "Master has arranged a marriage for the Seventh Young Master."
I said, "Ji Jiu, you've got it wrong. It's not your seventh young master who's getting married, it's his sister."
Ji Jiu said, "He's lying to you. The Seventh Young Master is going back to get married."
I paused for a moment, "Then I haven't congratulated him yet."
Ji Jiu and I headed towards Nanyang, and I felt incredibly lonely along the way. Ji Jiu would only suddenly appear and pull me back to the right path when I went astray; otherwise, she would disappear underground.
I began to miss the days when the wind was strong, and I missed its sharp gaze.
Half a month later, we returned to Nanyang and were shocked to hear another earth-shattering piece of news.
Two days ago, the Eastern Dark Men attacked the Jade Luo Sect again, resulting in many casualties among the sect's disciples, who swore to protect Lou Sanjian to the death.
I asked Ji Jiu, "How many people are there in the Jade Luo Sect? It's very dangerous that they keep coming in waves."
Ji Jiu said, "I don't know."
I asked again, "Is there any way to improve defensive capabilities?"
Ji Jiu said, "I don't know."
I originally had many insightful thoughts that I wanted to discuss with her in depth, but after some consideration, I decided against it.
I compared the ingredients to my master's notes and used snow plum and bloodstone grass as medicinal guides to administer the acupuncture to Lou Sanjian to detoxify him.
The detoxification process was lengthy. During this time, I enjoyed the flowers and operas in Nanyang and incidentally did something sensational: I cured the mentally challenged son of Du, the richest man in Nanyang. Du was very grateful and wanted to repay me by taking me as his concubine.
Right now, I've just finished stitching Lou Sanjian up and am sitting on a stone bench in the garden, flipping through a comic book.
A disciple in a long gown stepped forward, bowed, and said to me, "Miss Qi, Master Du has sent the betrothal gifts to the door, saying he wishes to meet you."
I asked him, "Was the betrothal gift very large?"
He nodded. "Ten boxes."
I said, "Is this matter causing a huge uproar?"
He replied, "Yes, the whole of Nanyang knows about Miss Qi's marriage to Master Du."
I thought for a moment, then smiled and said to him, "Isn't it said that the Jade Luo Sect has many disciples, lurking in every corner of society? Can you do me a favor?"
He asked, "I will do my best to fulfill Miss Qi's request. What is it?"
I closed the comic book and stared intently at him. "Help me spread the word. The bigger the commotion, the better."
The man asked doubtfully, "You want the entire martial arts world to know?"
I looked at him expectantly, "Is it possible to let the Emperor of the East know as well?"
He said, "..."
Three days after the acupuncture treatment, Lou Sanjian's symptoms still showed no signs of improvement, which made me a little worried: Could it be that he was poisoned by wolfsbane instead of black needles?
As night fell, I racked my brains trying to figure out how to cure this poison, while the noise outside remained as bustling as a marketplace. Legend has it that Master Du had increased the betrothal gifts to twenty chests and publicly declared that his mentally challenged son was actually my illegitimate child with him. He claimed that we had an unspeakable past when he was young, and that he had turned over a new leaf, a son more precious than gold.
A disciple came to report, "Miss Qi, a young master is outside who wants to see you."
I thought to myself, "Master Du is indeed incredibly talented and has a rich imagination. He calls himself 'Young Master'."
I waved my sleeve and said, "Tell him I'd rather die than marry him."
Just then, a long howl echoed from the sky, and a dark, blurry thing fell down, darting to my side in a flash. I looked closely and saw it was Da Feng, who had been missing for many days. Da Feng showed no signs of the joy of reunion after so long apart; he merely turned his head indifferently to glance at me, then kicked his legs, placing one foot on top of the other, standing on one leg on the stone table, expressionless.
After a few days apart, Da Feng had learned to stand on one leg like a rooster. I thought sadly that Da Feng had figured out his place; he thought he was a rooster.
He had a bundle of small notes tied to his ankle. I took them off, and the master's clear handwriting on them read: Where are you?
I was overjoyed. Could it be that Master remembered me?
The disciple who had just left walked back and said to me, "That young master said he is your master."
I paused and said to him, "Go and tell that young master that I didn't say those words just now."
Main text [33] Acacia chinensis
Taking advantage of a moment when the disciples and master were apart, I slipped back into my room and tucked a silk flower behind my ear. (8 9 Literature Network)
I happened to run into my master as I went out. He was still wearing a clean, plain white shirt, and he held a medical book in his fair and slender hands. He sat down in front of the stone bench, turned a page of the comic book that I had spread out on the table, tilted his head slightly, and smiled gently.
I was just about to leave the house when I suddenly wanted to turn back, because the comic book had an unusually sentimental plot and extremely skewed values. The page my master was looking at was the climax of Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian.
As I hesitated between returning and not returning, my master called out to me, "Xiao Xiang."
I lowered my head and slowly shuffled over, "Master."
My master's eyes were clear as he asked me, "I thought you were still in the Eastern Land Palace. Why did you leave?"
I said, "Lou Sanjian's illness can't be left untreated for long. I'll come back once I've earned enough money for my journey. Master, are you going to the Eastern Land to treat the Emperor's illness?"