Chapter 113: snowy night lanterns
Chapter 113 Lanterns on a snowy night
Thinking of this, Lu Zhu couldn't help but retort: "If you act in accordance with morality, you will not predict your own luck; if you act contrary to morality, even if you divine fortune, it will be bad. People should divine for themselves, and there is no need to ask for help."
Those who do good deeds will have good fortune without divination. For a person like him who has done all the bad deeds, even if the lanterns explode a hundred times, he will still be struck by lightning while walking on the road.
The irony in these words must have been understood. The man in black looked at Lu Yan with some surprise: "Have you read the book?"
Lu Zhen said nothing.
He looked at Lu Zhuo and said, "Since you have read books, why are you still a thief?"
Lu Huan: “…”
She couldn't bear it anymore: "I'm not a thief!"
She dislikes the fact that this person is a "little thief". His contemptuous attitude and teasing tone all reveal this person's deep-seated arrogance.
He is the kind of person who, even if he needs help in escaping, still shows off his condescending arrogance.
“Stealing from dead people, what is it but a thief?”
Lu Zhen took a deep breath: "I am a doctor, and I took those things to make medicine."
She didn’t understand why she was saying this to this person. Perhaps it was the contemptuous tone of the person in front of her that made her want to refute.
The other party seemed to be a little interested and looked at her: "Doctor?"
He said with a smile, as if he didn't take it seriously, "You use dead bodies to make medicine. What kind of doctor are you? You can't be a murderer, right? A murderer?"
Lu Huan: “…”
She decided to shut up.
There is no point in arguing about these things with a stranger. At least for now, it seems that he doesn't want her life, so when the snow stops early tomorrow morning, she and this person go their separate ways, and they have nothing to do with each other anymore, which can be considered satisfactory.
The wind and snow passed by the door of the ruined temple, and snow particles drifted from the broken windows. The oil lamp burned quietly amidst the howling of the wind.
In this quiet shadow, the man in black suddenly said: "Little thief."
Lu Zong looked at him warily.
He looked at the burning firewood at his feet and asked, "You say you are a doctor, do you know how to sew wounds?"
"Won't."
Lu Zhuo answered readily. If you say too much, you will be wrong. It is better not to say anything.
“Really? But when you dug out the heart and liver just now, there seemed to be gold needles in the box.” He raised his chin and gestured to Lu Zhuo’s medical box.
Lu Zhen subconsciously hugged the Chinese medicine box in his arms, and then realized what he was doing.
He just saw the needle and called her a thief?
This person did it on purpose!
Lu Chen held back his anger and said, "We don't meet many patients on weekdays, so we don't have the opportunity to sew the wounds." After a pause, he said deliberately: "So I found dead bodies to practice my skills on."
It was quiet in the temple.
After a while, the man in black smiled and said, "That's it."
He raised his fingers at Lu Yan and said, "Here is a ready-made one. I'll give it to you as an apology. A living person is always more useful than a dead one."
Before Lu Zhen understood the meaning of his words, the man in black pressed his right shoulder with one hand and "tear-" tore the clothes open, revealing his **** shoulder and back.
In an instant, the thick smell of blood assaulted his nostrils.
Lu Zhen’s pupils shrank.
This man's injuries were extremely deep, spreading from his shoulders to his back. It looked like he had arrow wounds mixed with knife wounds, and his skin and flesh were so hideous. Although Lu Zhen had guessed that the other party was injured at the beginning, he did not expect that the injury was so serious.
It's really because he looks and behaves like an ordinary person, without any weakness at all.
“Sew it up.” He tilted his head and motioned for Lu Zhu to come forward.
The flesh and blood from the arrow wound were blurred into a ball, and Lu Yan was trembling slightly in her heart. Although she had read the medical books in Yun Niang's house at Luomei Peak, she had never really treated anyone, so she subconsciously wanted to get up and avoid it: "No, I Won't…"
Hand held her wrist.
The man in black sat on the spot, grabbed her wrist with one hand and pulled her back, and said in a calm tone: "It doesn't matter, as long as she doesn't die."
Lu Huan: “…”
The man had to bow his head under the eaves. This man was so seriously injured, but he could still walk and jump. He showed no emotion or anger, and even held a knife to scare people. He looked like a ruthless person at first glance. At the moment she seems to have no right to refuse.
Lu Zhen suppressed the complicated emotions in his heart and looked at him: "...Shall I try?"
He let go of his hand and smiled: "That's right, doctors have a parent's heart."
Lu Zong sat down in front of the firewood pile again and opened the medical box in front of him.
There were two jars in the medical kit. One earthenware jar was filled with hearts and livers. Lu Zhuo took out the other iron jar and unplugged it.
The man in black's eyes moved and asked: "What is this?"
“Laxue.” Lu Huo replied.
The third Wu day after the winter solstice is the period of December. The snow before the winter solstice is suitable for the growth of vegetables and wheat, and it can also freeze to death locust eggs. Seal wax snow in a bottle, it may be able to detoxify various poisons.
Sunan City rarely experiences heavy snowfall in ten years, and the snow on Luomei Peak is different from the snow in the city. She originally wanted to take the can of snow back to the mountain, but she didn't expect it to be used here.
Lu Yan put the jar on the fire. The jar of crystal-clear wax snow gradually turned into clear and transparent water, and slowly steamed out. It was noisy and boiling, like the solidified clouds in the mountain stream contaminated by the dust of the world and becoming fresh. Come alive.
Lu Zong took out another handkerchief from his pocket and dipped it into the boiled wax snow to moisten it.
The man in black watched Lu Zhuo do all this quietly.
At the end, Lu Zhuo walked towards him with the soaked handkerchief.
He sat upright. Lu Zhuo came around behind him and gently pulled down his torn clothes. When his eyes fell in front of him, his breathing couldn't help but stagnate.
It was only when I got closer that I could see clearly that this man's wounds were horribly hideous.
Lu Yan took a deep breath and wiped away the blood on his head bit by bit with a handkerchief. The wounds blurred by blood revealed the truth, which became more and more terrifying. The knife wounds and arrow wounds were both stabbed diagonally from behind. Judging from the direction, he was He was stabbed from behind, very close.
She couldn't help but glance at the other person.
The man in black lowered his head, his back was enveloped in the warmth of the lights on the snowy night, and his emotions could not be clearly seen.
The posture is as relaxed as usual.
Lu Zhen stopped thinking about it and took out the gold needle from the velvet cloth of the medical box.
Yun Niang doesn’t want golden needles. Yun Niang has many needles. Sometimes those needles are used for a long time and Yun Niang doesn’t feel satisfied, so she will replace a batch. Lu Chen picked up the needles, picked out the ones he could use, and hid them in his box. When Yun Niang saw them, she didn't say much.
She sometimes used those needles to sew medicine packs, but she had never used them to sew a wound. In fact, the skin under her hands was fresh and warm. In the past few years, she had touched it the most. The cold corpses in mass graves and among the dead in the execution ground.
She was not familiar with the living body.
The man in black asked: "What are you doing, taking advantage of me?"
Lu Huan: “…”
She put away her awe and caution towards the living body and inserted a needle.
The man in black groaned.
Lu Yan said calmly: "Sorry, it's my first time sewing wounds, so I'm not very skilled at it."
The man in black said nothing.
Lu Zhuo then lowered his head and sewed up.
The thread is mulberry white leather thread. Yunniang has a lot of mulberry white leather thread. Sometimes it is used on the rabbits and foxes who are testing the medicine in Luomeifeng. Lu Yan secretly hid a small volume, but he didn't expect to use it here now.
Originally, after stitching the wound like this, sealing medicine and blood-dispersing ointment should be applied, but now she has nothing in the box.
However, judging from the fact that this person is still alive and kicking, he should be able to survive even without these medicines.
Lu Zong sewed very carefully.
She was a little nervous at first, her fingers were trembling and her movements were not very skillful. After all, this was her first time sewing wounds on people. But then he gradually relaxed, and the person in front of him was very cooperative and didn't say a word. Even though it was very painful, he didn't feel any pain at all.
On a cold day, in the wilderness, heavy snow fell, surrounding the silent lights in the ruined temple as the only light.
After being sutured like this for who knows how long, Lu Huo tore off the last piece of mulberry-white leather thread, put the gold needle back on the flannel, and wiped away the spilled blood with a wet handkerchief. A centipede-like wound appeared in front of her.
It is still an extremely ugly centipede.
Lu Huan: “…”
The man in black tilted his head slightly, wondering if he could clearly see the stitches on his shoulders. He was silent for a moment and then said, "Your embroidery skills are really bad."
Lu Zhen felt a little guilty for no reason.
In the past, when she was in Changwu County, she was young and could not sit still. She never liked doing needlework and thread the most. Lu Qian was a better embroiderer than her. Later in Luomeifeng, she could barely sew a medicine bag, and she was able to sew a medicine bag. This person's sewing is really not very good. You must know that his figure is very beautiful, and the lines on his shoulders and back are smoother and neater than any dead body she has ever seen. Now it is so crooked and twisted, as if someone has scribbled on the exquisite silk.
It’s really too terrible to look at.
"Thank you very much." The man in black didn't care about her embroidery skills and thanked her lightly.
Lu Zhen was a little surprised. She didn't expect that he would be so easy to talk to. In fact, except for threatening her at the execution ground to lead the way, this man had always behaved quite politely and even had a good temper. While Lu Xuesheng was sewing the wound, he intentionally or unintentionally pulled on his wound. He didn't say anything, as if he didn't notice her deliberate revenge, or maybe he did, but endured it.
People who often walk among the dead always have a special sense of danger, but Lu Zhen didn't feel any danger in him.
It is true that he did not want her life.
While she was thinking, she suddenly heard the man in black ask her: "It seems that he is really a doctor, but since he is a doctor, why is he still wearing a mask?"
Lu Tong was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously reached out and touched the top of his face.
The topcoat is nothing more than a long piece of white silk that covers the face from the front and back, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. The white silk hanging down is draped over the shoulders.
After all, she was here to steal things from the dead. In fact, it was right for the person to call her "little thief". She didn't want to walk arrogantly among the dead, so she wore the mask just for luck. Even if these dead people in the execution ground turned into ghosts and didn't see her face, they probably wouldn't be able to accurately find her.
This is how she deceived herself to comfort herself.
Lu Yan said: "I'm ugly and I don't want to scare people."
He nodded, as if he agreed: "If you are ugly, you shouldn't scare people."
Lu Huan: “…”
Even though he has fallen into such a predicament, he can still speak so unpleasantly. Lu Zhuo looked at his face. For some reason, his mind became hot. He suddenly jumped up and raised his hand to grab the black scarf on his face -
“So, you are very good-looking?”
The firelight in the oil lamp was swayed violently by the wind of her clothes, and the figure was also swayed.
Lu Zhen only felt a pain in his wrist.
His movements were surprisingly fast. Before Lu Zhen could touch his face towel, he had already grabbed her wrist and pulled her back hard.
Lu Zhen was startled, and her back was about to hit the altar table. The next moment, someone stretched out his arm to cushion her behind. She bumped into the opponent's arms, and the opponent grabbed her wrist and pulled her back slightly, avoiding the pain she would suffer next.
Lu Zhen was so frightened that he grabbed the lapel of his clothes and subconsciously looked up at him.
The light was on the altar table above his head. He was half-kneeling on the ground, leaning forward slightly. At first glance, he looked kind-hearted and concerned. The black scarf still covered his face tightly, and perhaps he was very close, so he could clearly see his beautiful outline, as well as his jewel-like eyes and long eyelashes that were particularly clear under the light.
Suddenly, Lu Yan had a strange illusion.
He is indeed young, perhaps a young man with good skin.
The man in black frowned and looked at her intently. Lu Yan swallowed, and saw the man in front of him suddenly bent his eyes, and said in a neither salty nor cool tone: "You are so quick to turn your back."
After saying this, he reached out to the coat on her face with one hand.
Lu Zhen couldn't help but close his eyes.
If she could, she really didn't want her face to be exposed in front of others, like the person she was on Luomei Peak and the person she was in Changwu County, separated only by this thin layer of clothing. But now that she was taking off her clothes in front of others, it was as if she was forced to accept another self.
A self that even she doesn’t want to admit.
Lu Zhen felt that his hand had reached the corner of her coat. With just a little bit of force, her face would be exposed to the light.
The sound of wind came faintly from outside the door. Lu Zhen waited for a long time, but there was no other movement.
His eyelashes trembled, and Lu Zhuo opened his eyes slightly.
Those bright eyes were in front of her, her own reflection clearly reflected in the pupils, and it seemed as if she was holding back a smile. He pinched the corner of Lu Zong's coat and sighed.
"Little thief, no one taught you when you came out. When you do bad things, you should tie your face tightly." He gently pulled Lu Zhuo's coat, as if he was disgusted, "This will fall off as soon as you pull it."
Lu Zhuo was stunned.
The man in black has let go of his hand and sat down on the cushion again.
The burning fire calmed down again, and the long shadow cast on the ground no longer wavered.
Lu Zhen got up silently from the ground, walked to the firewood pile and sat down, deciding not to do anything ridiculous in a hot head.
The man in black glanced at Lu Yan and called her, "Hey."
Lu Zhen didn't speak.
He seemed to be teasing her: "I am a young master from a wealthy family. If you help me, I will repay you in the future."
The young master of a wealthy family?
As if she finally had a handle in her hands, Lu Zhen immediately sneered: "Young master who threatens others and hides in a pile of dead people? What kind of master are you, an assassin master?"
Man in black:"…"
He sighed: "You really hold a grudge."
Lu Zhen snorted in his heart and said nothing.
She became bolder and bolder, and spoke more and more unscrupulously. Lu Qian once said that Lu Yan is the best at judging people's looks. She becomes more arrogant when faced with people who are tolerant to her. She becomes more and more arrogant when faced with people who are harsh towards her.
Since arriving at Luomei Peak with Yun Niang, the person she has seen the most is Yun Niang, and the people she has dealt with the most are corpses. Dullness, indifference, and numbness turned her into another person.
But something is different today.
Perhaps it was because the snow that was rare in ten years in Sunan City tonight was very similar to the snow in front of the Lu family in Changwu County, so she turned back into the Lu San girl from the Lu family who refused to suffer losses, or maybe it was because of the bright-eyed girl in front of her. Although the man in black threatened her verbally, he never really harmed her from beginning to end. Instead, he seemed to be indulging in a way that he was too lazy to care about.
They took shelter from the wind and snow in the ancient temple on a cold night, like two animals meeting each other by chance, alert and keeping each other warm, each with its own tolerance, each with its own typhoid fever.
There is also a tacit understanding not to pry into each other's secrets.
Lu Zhen reminded: "You are a young master, you shouldn't owe me medical fees, right?"
The man in black was startled: "Diagnostic fee?"
“Yes.” Lu Zhu nodded, “Needles and threads to sew wounds are very expensive.”
He was stunned for a moment, smiled scornfully, and asked, "How much do you want?"
“Two taels of silver.” Lu Shishi opened his mouth.
"So expensive?" he said, picking it up in his arms.
Lu Zong had enough time to wait.
The man in black took it into his arms for a long time, until his movements gradually became stiff. Even though he was covered with a scarf, Lu Zhuo seemed to see a trace of embarrassment on his face.
He did not take out any silver coins.
Lu Zong looked at him quietly: "Aren't you the young master?"
He claimed to be a young master, but there was no child all over and down.
She is indeed lying.
He hummed softly, lowered his head, looked at his fingers, and took off a silver ring from his hand.
The man in black touched the silver ring, as if he was reluctant to part with it. The next moment, he threw the silver ring into Lu Zong's arms: "This is for you."
Lu Zhen lowered his head and looked.
It was a very old silver ring. The pattern engraved on it was blurred due to too much rubbing, and it was not very bright because it was spattered with blood, and seemed to be a little rusty.
Lu Zong picked up the silver ring and looked at it with disgust, and said, "It's not worth anything."
This silver ring looks very old and the material is very ordinary. It may not even be sold for a tael of silver.
He didn't care about Lu Zhuo's disdain and smiled: "This is a token. If you go to Shengjing in the future and bring this to me, I will know that it is you."
Lu Zhen was stunned: "Are you from Shengjing?"
Shengjing is thousands of miles away from southern Jiangsu, but he is actually from Shengjing?
"Didn't I tell you that I am a young master from a wealthy family." He said disapprovingly, "Take this and come to me at Yuxian Tower on Qinghe Street in the south of Shengjing City. I'll treat you to Yuxian Tower's candied haws."
Lu Yan held the silver ring in her palm. The silver ring carried his body temperature. It was warm. She put the silver ring into the medical box and whispered: "Let's wait until you can return to Shengjing alive." .”
She didn’t know who this man was or why he was here. However, being covered in wounds and hiding among the dead in the execution ground itself showed the danger of his situation.
Just because he was able to spend one night in a ruined temple on a snowy night in southern Jiangsu did not mean he could survive the second night. For some people, living in this world is already a hardship in itself.
The man in black said nothing and looked out the window.
The wasteland flies, the north wind is overwhelmed by the forest tip, the shattered Qiongli, and the beast birds are running out of the hoof.
There are only ruined temples and scattered lamps.
After a long time, he withdrew his gaze and raised his hand to flick the wick in the oil lamp.
Silver lamps are shining brightly, blooming and forming stamens in the empty and ruined temple, burning and producing light, like a small burning flower ball.
He said: "Didn't I say that when the lanterns are smiling and everything is happy, you and I will have good luck in the future?"
Lu Tong was startled.
He turned his head, looked at Lu Zhu and smiled slightly.
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you here tonight.”
(End of this chapter)