Chapter 485: Chapter 175: Old Friend
The night wind swept through the camp, carrying the floating aroma of alcohol from the night market everywhere.
Lu Tong’s thoughts blurred for a moment.
Seventeen.
It seemed as if no one had called her by that name for a very long time.
Since Lady Yun left, no one had addressed her that way, making her suddenly feel as if she were still in the thatched cottage on Luomei Peak in Su Nan, never having left.
Lu Tong stared blankly at the silver ring in her hand for a long time before she finally snapped back to reality.
"How did it end up with you?"
"Zhizi found your medical box, it got accidentally broken."
He watched Lu Tong, "Instead of that question, shouldn’t you be asking me something else?"
After a moment of silence, Lu Tong spoke.
"What should I ask you? Why did you appear at the Su Nan execution ground five years ago? You know I never pry into other people’s private affairs."
Her words were quite heartless.
He "tsked," a dimple forming fleetingly on his lips, "Why speak so distantly? Old acquaintances are reuniting after all."
Lu Tong remained silent.
Now that he had seen the silver ring, he must have guessed that she was the one who had saved him that day in Su Nan.
Pei Yunmeng propped up his head, tilted it to look at her, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly: "If I had known we would meet again, I would have removed your mask that day in the ruined temple."
After a pause, Lu Tong retorted: "But I was afraid the Marshal would silence me."
"It seems that line should be mine," he raised his eyebrows, put the silver ring down, and smiled at her, "Dear lifesaver, how have you been these years?"
After a long silence, Lu Tong said: "Not bad." She then asked, "And you?"
He nodded, his tone light: "I’ve been well too."
Both fell silent for a moment.
In the quiet darkness, he sat across from her, a figure in a raven blue robe, making his features captivatingly handsome. When he smiled at her, perhaps it was the warmth of the lamp light, but his usually severe eyes also held a moment of tenderness.
Lu Tong lowered her brows: "Aren’t you afraid?"
He was taken aback: "Of what?"
"I steal corpses from the execution ground. I’m a thief."
Lu Tong turned to look outside the tent, where the Helian Night Market glowed brightly.
She spoke indifferently: "Qi Yutai’s dog was killed by me, didn’t you see? No one dares to look at me now."
The body of the grey dog was dragged down the mountain alongside others; it must have died miserably, catching the diverse gazes of the crowd. It was uncertain if Qi Yutai added fuel to the fire, but the gazes of several medical officers from the Medical Officer Institute changed when they entered the tent to deliver medicine to her, their eyes revealing a subtle fear.
They were afraid of her.
Pei Yunmeng said, "A little."
Seeing Lu Tong look at him, he laughed it off, "But it is only natural for debtors to fear their creditors. Nothing else matters."
Lu Tong felt a stir in her heart.
The young man was handsome and striking, casually speaking as if jesting, yet his expression was exceedingly gentle, like an illusion shrouded in moonlight.
Noticing her gaze, Pei Yunmeng’s lips curved, "Even if my looks are exceptional, Doctor Lu need not stare so intently."
Lu Tong: "..."
For some reason, she suddenly remembered what Lin Danqing had told her before in the Medical Officer Institute’s lodgings.
"The Empress Dowager intends to arrange a marriage for Little Pei, and the person she has in mind is the daughter of the Qi Family!"
Without reason, Lu Tong’s heart felt some displeasure, and she sarcastically shifted her gaze, "Lord Pei is indeed exceedingly handsome; without such charm, how could you have caught the eye of the Grand Preceptor’s daughter?"
He was smiling as he listened to Lu Tong, but at her words, he was taken aback, "What did you say?"
"I heard you’re to become the son-in-law of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion."
Pei Yunmeng frowned, "Where did that rumor come from?" He added, "Don’t tarnish my reputation. If I had intended to become kin with the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, I would have been mad to come to your rescue."
Lu Tong looked at him seriously, "Perhaps you were planning to present my head as a declaration of your loyalty."
Pei Yunmeng: "..."
After observing her for a while, he sighed, "You truly know how to make an accusation before being accused."
"Flies don’t bite seamless eggs. If Lord Pei were virtuous, you wouldn’t attract unwelcome attention."
"I attract unwelcome attention? I’m not virtuous?"
He looked astonished, incredulously speaking, "Doctor Lu, I helped you. You don’t thank me, but instead, you slander me?"
Lu Tong turned to face him, "I was injured because of a scheme by Qi Yutai, which was because of the Marshal. Not holding the Marshal to account is already generous of me. Where does the Marshal get the audacity to expect my gratitude?"
"Because of me?" Pei Yunmeng’s eyebrows knitted together, "What do you mean?"
Lu Tong huffed, and after some thought, she finally recounted to him everything that had happened at the Medical Officer Institute’s gate with the Qi Family’s carriage, and the encounter with the vicious dog on Huangmao Hill, including what Qi Yutai had said.
In the end, Lu Tong coldly said, "Just because you court trouble wherever you go, alive Qi Yutai to fight his sister’s battles. Now Qi Yutai bears a grudge against me, making it difficult for me to get close to him again. Lord Pei," she angrily said, "you’ve completely disrupted my plans."