Chapter 474: Chapter 172 Rabid Dog_2
At this point in the story, Duan Xiaoyan looked up and gazed at the empty grassland ahead, "Hey, where did Zhizi run off to again?"
After a trip up the mountain, Zhizi returned excessively excited. Having been pampered with good food and drink at the Palace Front Office for too long, he lacked any interest in hunting. Cavorting about all day chasing butterflies and smelling wildflowers, he failed to catch even a single mouse, prompting Duan Xiaoyan to rack his brains for excuses to cover for him: "Zhizi is getting on in years and he’s had children. Giving birth ages people, it’s very common!"
Xiao Zhufeng coldly retorted with a sneer, "Overindulgent mothers often raise spoiled children."
As they spoke, far off, a black dog suddenly emerged from behind the forest and dashed towards the three men lagging behind the cavalry, its mouth clenched around a bundle of something.
Duan Xiaoyan, delighted, promptly sat up straight: "Zhizi’s back! What has he hunted, something quite sizable? Good boy, let me have a look. Is it a badger, a rabbit? It looks like a white fox!"
The black dog, swift as the wind, leaped towards the men in just a few bounds, rushing under the horses’ hooves and wagging its backside eagerly as if to claim credit for its find.
The three men were stunned.
What was in its mouth was not a white fox at all, but clearly a white medical bag!
Duan Xiaoyan blinked, "Zhizi, whose medical officer’s medical bag did you steal?"
The black dog, still shaking its tail with excitement, Pei Yunmeng glanced at the bag in the dog’s mouth.
The medical bag looked just like any ordinary bag used by practitioners of the Medical Officer Institute, similar to those carried by the old doctors of the marketplace, with no distinct features. However, the strap was embroidered with a circle of hibiscus flowers; the stitch work was meticulous and delicate, lending an air of gentle grace to the old medical bag.
Pei Yunmeng’s expression subtly changed.
The medical bag clenched in the dog’s maw looked somewhat familiar.
Lu Tong, after intervals, would go to the Palace Front Pavilion to treat the Imperial Guards. Even if it were merely a nominal duty, she took great care in her work. That medical bag was different from ordinary ones; the strap of the bag had been fully embroidered with hibiscus flowers after the previous one had worn thin, to prevent it from snapping mid-journey. Yin Zheng had reinforced it for Lu Tong.
He remembered clearly that the hibiscus flowers on the strap were white, but now, the hibiscus flowers he saw before him had turned a faint red, as though they had been stained by blood.
He abruptly pulled on the reins, dismounted, and approached Zhizi. Seeing his master come closer, Zhizi wagged his tail faster, and obediently opened his mouth—
With a "snap," the medical bag fell to the ground.
The bag must have already taken a fall, as it was covered in dents and scratches. Having been gnawed on by Zhizi along the way, the lid finally gave way and split down the middle, spilling bottles and jars all over the ground.
A silver ring rolled to a stop beside his boot with a "clink."
Pei Yunmeng paused, his gaze inadvertently falling upon the ring.
It was a very ordinary silver ring.
The color had turned dark, and it was crudely made. It wouldn’t merit a second glance in any jewelry store.
Yet, it was so different, seemingly magical, holding his gaze captive.
The young man stared intently at the silver ring, then suddenly bent down to pick it up from the ground.
As the silver ring twirled between his fingertips, the inner band of the ring face became visible, and as he rubbed it, a shallow indentation appeared, seemingly the character "one."
Pei Yunmeng’s hand shook, and the ring on his fingertip nearly slipped off.
For a moment, a multitude of fragmented images flashed through his mind.
A snowy night, the dead of winter, the light of a temple lamp in the ruins.
The execution ground, Wax Snow, the flickering flames of a campfire gathered from broken Wood beneath the offering table.
A girl wearing a mask, clutching that tattered medical bag, clumsily stitched up his wound with tense fingers.
The stitching on the wound was rough and simple, just like their first hurried and careless encounter, yet it persisted stubbornly, lingering on his body for many years.
Her slightly contemptuous voice seemed to ring in his ears.
"The Marshal’s favor isn’t worth much, not as substantial as silver."
All of the disjointed pieces suddenly became whole in that moment, gradually assembling into a clear and complete picture.
Xiao Zhufeng came up from behind and, seeing him staring at the ring in his hand, puzzled, asked, "What is this ring..."
Pei Yunmeng abruptly gripped the silver ring, asking the black dog before him, "Where is she?"
Zhizi barked joyfully and with a "leap" sprang away towards a certain direction in the forest.
The young man remounted his horse and turned its head.
Xiao Zhufeng blocked his path, "Where are you going? The Third Prince hasn’t come down from the mountain yet..."
Pei Yunmeng flicked the reins, and the horse galloped away, leaving only the flutter of his robe trailing behind him like fleeting clouds through the woods.
"You keep watch, I have urgent matters."
...
"Good! Huanhu, well done with the bite—"
In the forest clearing, on the ground, dog and person tumbled together; the ferocious barking of the hunting dog effortlessly enveloped the frail screams of the woman and drowned them into the splashing noises of the nearby waterfall.
A trace of regret flashed in Qi Yutai’s eyes.