Chapter 161: Chapter 82 Old Sickness_4
The pain was not severe at first, but it gradually became unbearable. She curled up into a ball, writhing on the ground in agony, not knowing what had happened to her.
Just when Lu Tong thought she was about to die, Lady Yun appeared.
Lady Yun, carrying a lantern, came down from the mountain to look for her.
She stood on the steps, looking down at the wretchedly pained Lu Tong, her face illuminated by the lantern’s light, as was the smile at the corner of her mouth.
Lady Yun’s tone was gentler than usual, and her expression was as if she had never noticed the fact that she had run away.
She asked with a gentle smile, "Little Shiqi, what are you doing here?"
Lu Tong moaned.
The woman looked at her thoughtfully and suddenly asked in surprise, "Could it be, you wanted to escape?"
At that time, she was in too much pain to speak, her lips almost bitten through.
Lady Yun’s voice came unhurriedly, like an inescapable curse.
"When you sold yourself to me those years ago, you exchanged it for the lives of your family of four. How can you think of leaving before the debt is cleared?"
"Where do you think you can escape to?"
It was springtime, and the snow on the mountains had melted. The thawed soil was even colder than in winter, as if it could seep into one’s heart.
Lu Tong knew she couldn’t escape, so she struggled to speak, "I’m sorry, Lady Yun, I... I missed my family."
Lady Yun sighed.
She said, "When we made our agreement, I was very clear. Unless I die, you cannot leave the mountain." She glanced at the painful expression on Lu Tong’s face, her lips curving slightly, "Understand?"
If Lu Tong had not understood before, she should have understood at that moment.
She could not leave Luomei Peak, and Lady Yun would never allow her to leave. Lady Yun was the best healer in the world and the most skilled poison master. Long before Lu Tong knew it, Lady Yun had poisoned her, trapping her forever on Luomei Peak.
Tears streamed down Lu Tong’s face.
The little girl crawled forward a few steps, her side littered with jerky and dry food scattered from a fall. She crawled to the woman’s feet, clutching the hem of her skirt, pleading with a choked voice as she had when they first met.
"Lady Yun... I was wrong... I won’t try to escape again..."
"Save me..."
She could not die.
She could not die here.
She needed to survive. Only by living could she see her parents and siblings again. Only by living would she have a chance to plan for the future.
The spring snow was half melted in the mountains, the fragrant plum blossoms were red and delicate, and Lady Yun’s skirt was also imbued with a faint plum scent. She looked on with interest for a long time—as she had countless times before.
She squatted down, setting the carved lantern aside, pulling out a silk handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat from Lu Tong’s forehead, smiling faintly.
"I forgive you, Little Shiqi."
"Let this be a lesson to you, don’t think about running away again," she instructed her earnestly, with the patience of an elder teacher.
"One must be trustworthy. You, be faithful," she taught.
...
The moon shone softly, and the cold buds outside the window had yet to bloom; only the rugged plum branches reflected on the paper window, leaving behind a graceful silhouette.
Amidst the chaos, Lu Tong lay on her back on the ground, soaked with sweat from head to toe, reciting silently just as she had done years ago on Luomei Peak.
"Unperturbed by favor or disgrace, the liver wood remains calm... In movement and stillness maintain reverence, the heart fire finds its balance... Eat and drink in moderation, the spleen earth does not leak... Regulate breath and be sparse in words, the lung metal is preserved... Maintain a happy spirit and few desires, the kidney water is sufficient..."
She would get through this, all the pain would pass.
It had always been like this over the years, nothing different.
In the small courtyard, the faint sobbing of a woman could be heard, that was Xia Rongrong crying in the house with Xiang Cao.
Thus, the tiny, weak moans from inside the cottage were also covered up.