Chapter 696: Chapter 235 Fragrance_3
Why didn’t I realize it sooner?
Why am I only starting to regret now?
It’s too late, he’s always too late.
Pei Yunmeng lowered his voice, "If you like it, once you get better, I’ll give you a sachet, okay?"
Lu Tong did not answer.
She was very thin, like a snowflake, heavy yet fluttering, resting on his back, her breath weak, now showing a docility she never had before.
Yet, he would rather she still be as she was when they first met, fierce and smart, cunningly playing everyone around her. At least then, she was alive, like a fire, not like now, when that fire was slowly burning out, leaving just embers that were about to be extinguished.
Lu Tong tilted her head, her lips gently pressed against his ear, tender, warm, and light, mumbling a couple of words.
Pei Yunmeng looked back, her voice very light, drowned out by the wind and snow in an instant, not clear to him.
"What did you say?"
Lu Tong turned her head away.
The snow at Luomei Peak began to fall again, heavier than before, the small flakes now large like snowflowers, sprinkling down generously, covering them. She lay on Pei Yunmeng’s back, a cloak over her, and soon, snow lightly blanketed their heads, making them seem from afar like a couple crowned in white.
"Is it snowing?"
She stretched out a hand lightly toward the sky, reaching for a snowflake. The snowflake landed in her palm, perfect in shape, slowly melting, fading into nothing.
Lu Tong murmured.
"The snow and the moon are most fitting together; the plum blossoms in the snow are breathtaking... Last year in Jiangnan when I saw the snow; by the month’s end, the plum blossoms were in bloom..."
"This year, the early plums blossom; still, in the very same month... The cold splendor shines brightly over the snow; it’s missing... just a little snow..."
Pei Yunmeng was startled, and gently asked, "What verse is that?"
She did not speak, resting her head on the young man’s shoulder, closing her eyes in silence.
...
The snow from Luomei Peak drifted down the mountain, and when it reached Su Nan City, it carried less of its biting chill.
In the execution ground, two more bodies of victims were added overnight.
The bodies of those struck down by the plague were buried deep in the earth, with deeper snow covering them. In the vast expanse, it became increasingly difficult to discern one grave from another.
Chang Jin looked very distressed.
Every day brought new deaths from the epidemic; the Medical Officers snatched lives back from Yama’s grasp. That the Sickness in Su Nan did not spread further was a stroke of luck amid misfortune, yet for those afflicted, it seemed they sunk deeper into despair.
Cuicui’s skin was more heavily marked with purplish spots, having lost consciousness twice the previous night. The toxins from the disease had yet to be cleared, her body was already weak, and she wouldn’t be able to hold on if this continued.
Ding Yong’s sole dying wish was for his daughter to live. The Medical Officers who treated the nobility in Shengjing, accustomed to minor aches and pains, found their hearts, once dulled, quickening anew amidst the life and death stakes in Su Nan, feeling once more the crushing sorrow of parting.
After the Government Official in charge of burying the bodies left, Chang Jin returned to the Plague Hospital with a heavy heart. Upon entering, he saw Lin Danqing and Ji Xun sorting herbs at a table.
Seeing Chang Jin come in, Lin Danqing stood up, and Ji Xun’s expression also seemed off.
"What’s wrong?" Chang Jin asked.
"Chief Physician," Ji Xun glanced at the patients in the Plague Hospital and then stepped outside with Chang Jin to speak, "The people transporting redvine claimed their journey was delayed by heavy snow. The redvine coming from Pingzhou might take another three to five days to arrive."
At this, Chang Jin’s face changed, "Three to five days? No, they can’t wait that long!"
Even waiting another two days was pushing the limits; in three to five more days, the number of corpses at the execution ground would only increase.
Lin Danqing walked over, his face filled with concern.
The redvine was the only known cure for this infection, but it wouldn’t arrive in time from the nearest place, Pingzhou. They hadn’t yet found an alternative remedy, making the situation extremely difficult.
"Is there any way to get Marshal Pei’s men to assist in the transport? The Imperial Guards might travel faster."
It’s better left unsaid. Once mentioned, Chang Jin’s eyes burned with even more anxiety.
Pei Yunmeng and Lu Tong went up to Luomei Peak together yesterday.
Neither of them are impulsive people on normal days; they are steady in their actions. Who knows what madness possessed them to enter the mountain in such heavy snow. Unfortunately, Pei Yunmeng’s subordinates didn’t take this seriously and rejected Chang Jin’s immediate proposal to lead a search party into the mountain.
One day and one night passed without their return, and no one knew what had happened.
Ji Xun said, "Chief Physician, why not talk to the people from County Commander Li and make a trip into the mountain?"
The medical officers couldn’t order the Imperial Guards around, but the county commander of Su Nan City might be more amenable.
Just as Chang Jin was about to speak, Lin Danqing, standing by his side, suddenly caught sight of something, pointed into the distance, and shouted, "Chief Physician, isn’t that Younger Sister Lu? They’ve come back!"
Everyone looked in her direction.
In the falling snow, a young person could be seen gradually approaching. He was dragging a medicine basket in one hand and carrying a person on his back. As they got closer, it became clear that the person on his back, with eyes tightly closed, resting on Pei Yunmeng’s shoulder, and a face as pale as paper, was indeed Lu Tong.
Lin Danqing gasped in shock, "Younger Sister Lu?"
Lu Tong was silent, unresponsive.
Pei Yunmeng put down the medicine basket, turned around, and held her in his arms, his eyes cold and focused, "Let’s take her back to the residence first."
"Right, right," Chang Jin said, "The snow here is too heavy, let’s take Doctor Lu back first."
Hurrying back to the medical officers’ residence, Pei Yunmeng laid Lu Tong down on the bed, and Lin Danqing quickly sat by the bedside and rolled up Lu Tong’s sleeve.
"I’ve checked, there’s no peach blossom rash," Pei Yunmeng said.
"Then what is this..."
"She vomited blood on the mountain, I don’t know what happened to her, whether it’s an old ailment, but she looked in great pain."
"Vomiting blood?" Chang Jin’s complexion changed, he pushed the others aside and stepped forward to take Lu Tong’s pulse himself.
The people in the room tensely watched him.
After a moment, Chang Jin withdrew his hand and looked at the person on the bed with furrowed brows, "Strange."
"What is it?"
"Her pulse is weak and feeble, she’s extremely depleted of energy, but apart from that, there’s nothing abnormal. Why would she vomit blood all of a sudden?"
Lin Danqing thought for a moment, "Could it be because she has been too exhausted from treating the epidemic these days? Younger Sister Lu has had a nosebleed before."
Ji Xun shook his head, "Exhaustion wouldn’t cause pain." He looked at Pei Yunmeng, "Lord Pei, you said she was in great pain?"
Pei Yunmeng nodded silently.
He still remembered how Lu Tong had curled up in his arms, shivering. He knew that Lu Tong was always very tolerant. If it weren’t for extreme pain, she wouldn’t even let out a moan.
"First, let’s prepare a bowl of Spirit-Nurturing Qi-Boosting Medicine for her to take," Chang Jin said, "Yesterday’s heavy snow and cold on the mountain, she has no vitality now."
Ji Xun nodded and was about to turn to leave when Pei Yunmeng suddenly said, "Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
He said, "Ordinary medicines are useless for her."
Ji Xun frowned, "Why?"
"She has been a Medicine Man."
At these words, the room fell suddenly silent.
Lin Danqing looked at him in disbelief, "What did you say?"
Pei Yunmeng lowered his eyes, his tone turning rough.
"Lu Tong, she might have been a Medicine Man for many years."