Chapter 130: Four Seasons (Part 3)
Ni Su had already made preparations.
Starting from the wedding night, from the poem "Youthful Travel" that was left on the attachment of the menu, she was going to commit her life to a person with whom she could never be together forever.
Fall in love with him and then watch him go.
She has made preparations. Three meals a day and a medical book are the whole meaning of the rest of her life. She wants less sadness and less wasted time.
She believed that she could do it.
If it wasn't snowing at this moment.
The sound of golden bells rang out, the cold fog was thick, the winter clothes she had just burned were worn neatly on that person again, and there was a white jade bamboo hairpin in his hair.
She was not wearing a coat, her hair was long and she was not even wearing shoes or socks. Most of the lanterns in the yard were blown out, and sparks from the copper basin in front of her were flying in the wind.
"Ah Xi."
His voice was as cold as if it had been soaked in snow, and for a moment, it made her eyes wet.
He took a step closer, but she took a step back.
Xu Hexue suddenly stopped moving.
He couldn't believe that he was actually in the human world at this moment.
"Come here."
Ni Su realized it later and her voice trembled.
Only when Xu Hexue heard her voice did he obediently walk towards her. The fire in the copper basin went out, and there was a smell of ashes in the wind.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps.
Droplets of dust were flying, and tiny shadows of light were swaying in front of Ni Su's eyes. Her vision was becoming increasingly blurred. "Hit me."
Xu Hexue stood still, "Ah Xi, hit me."
Even if this was a dream, at least they could still meet in the dream, at least Ni Su could still see him standing in front of her wearing this clothes.
But the wind was very cold, and the snowflakes hit her clothes and melted on her skin. She felt extremely sober again and took his hand. Although it was still cold, it was not as bone-chilling as she had imagined.
The contact between cold and warmth made both of them tremble.
Ni Su discovered that there were thin strands of light golden light flashing around him from time to time, just like the dark patterns embroidered on his sleeves, but flowing gently like water.
"Aren't you leaving?"
Ni Su raised her face and said, "Aren't you... not coming back?"
"I……"
Xu Hexue actually didn't know what was going on at the moment, but when he saw that she couldn't stop crying, he immediately wiped them away with his fingertips.
There was no way he could wipe it all off, so he rubbed the skin on her cheeks with his fingertips again and again. Her face, which was originally pale from the cold, now turned a thin layer of red after he rubbed it.
"Ah Xi, don't cry."
He said.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the flying snow made the streets outside particularly lively. Countless people rushed out of their homes, bringing their families with them, to look at this April snow.
The clouds were thick like porcelain, and the lamps under the eaves of the entire Yunjing City all emitted strands of light at the same time. Under the gaze of countless people, they spread out in the clouds, like golden cracks left after Kintsugi repairs.
There were many strange phenomena in the sky, and Ni Su vaguely heard the screams of people outside.
Purple mist filled the air, and a figure accompanied by cold light and shadow condensed on the eaves. He was wearing red armor, decorated with gold and stone, with auspicious clouds on his shoulders and a sash on his waist. His sleeves fluttered in the wind, and he wore a beast crown on his head, with beast eyes and a human face, and his beard was white and curly.
If it weren't for those beastly eyes, that face would have been the face of the old monk that Ni Su had met in the cypress forest of Dazhong Temple in Que County.
That is Tubo of Youdu.
His face was clearly that of a human, but his facial features were ferocious like those of an animal, and his eyes were full of anger. But when he spoke, his voice was deep and kind, "Suffering will lead to enlightenment. This does not mean that if you want to achieve enlightenment, you must endure all kinds of hardships. It means that those who endure all kinds of hardships but still do not change their ambitions can achieve enlightenment."
"General Yujie, you had great achievements in your life, and died unjustly, but you had no resentment, so you were able to ascend to heaven. But it was also because of your lack of resentment that you insisted on staying in the underworld and saving 30,000 wronged souls. Even though your soul is destroyed, you have no regrets."
"But the laws of the world are ever-changing. You want to be a human being, and humans want to be for you. Now that the grudges of the 30,000 wronged souls in the Netherworld Pagoda have been resolved, you should have returned to the Ninth Heaven, but you are still here. Do you have any doubts in your heart?"
"Please ask Tubo to solve this puzzle."
Xu Hexue said.
"You already have divinity, and the stars in the sky are your destination. However, mortals call back your soul and light lamps for you. They are trying to keep you here."
"The incense offerings from mortals are the foundation of your existence, and the 30,000 heroic souls of your Jing'an Army are also stranded in the reincarnation land, seeking a chance for you to return to the world of the living. However, your flesh and blood body has been lost. If you do not enter the Ninth Heaven, you cannot reshape your body into a star."
"I would rather not be a star. Even if I turn into the wind, I will stay by my wife's side."
Xu Hexue raised his hand, the wind and snow filled his sleeves, he leaned forward and bowed, "Please Youdu, please God, please make it happen for me."
"Three hundred years of stellar life, three hundred years of free and blissful bliss, are you really willing to give it up ?"
"I don't ask for three hundred years in heaven, I only ask for a life here, even if it's as peaceful as snow."
The figure of Youdu Tubo was looming in the purple mist. He smiled with a kind look, "General Yujie, even though you haven't entered the Ninth Heaven, you have also attained the Tao."
There were bursts of thunder in the sky, and purple lightning and golden light intertwined.
Ni Su saw Tu Bo's beastly eyes gradually transform into human eyes. His kind gaze fell on her, "Ni Su, the fate between you two was forged by me. First there was the incident with your brother, and then I used you as an opportunity to bring General Yujie back to life. Do you still remember what you promised me?"
"I dare not forget."
Ni Su took Xu Hexue's hand. She looked up, and the cold snowflakes brushed her cheeks. "I am willing to serve Master Tubo for the rest of my life!"
The light golden cracks in the dark clouds are the road that thousands of lights are using to attract General Yujie to return to his hometown.
Suddenly the thunder stopped, the purple mist dissipated, and snow fell all over the sky, making a rustling sound.
A bright candle was lit in the room, illuminating the crooked Chinese happiness character on the plain gauze screen. Ni Su's frozen feet rested on his knees as she watched him lower his head and roll up her trouser legs.
It was not until he put her feet into the hot water that she shuddered, the heat flowing densely along her skin and up her bones, that she came back to her senses, "Xu Ziling."
"Um."
He responded softly.
"Xu Ziling."
She only knew how to pronounce this name.
Xu Hexue raised her head, her eyelids were red. At this moment, in the candlelight in the room, he looked at her seriously, "Ah Xi, you have lost a lot of weight."
After soaking in hot water, her feet became warm. Ni Su was wrapped in the quilt by him, but she insisted on lifting the corner of the quilt, "You come."
"You'll be cold."
As Xu Hexue spoke, he saw tears in her eyes. He didn't care about anything else and just obeyed her, listened to her, took off his outer robe, removed the jade hairpin, and lay down in her bed.
"It's better to be cooler,"
Ni Su lay in his arms, "This will make me much more sober."
"No matter how people in this world view you, the heavens always know your innocence. You could have gone to heaven and become a star. If you stay with me, you can only become a cold ghost. Do you really not regret it?"
"No regrets,"
Xu Hexue actually wanted to hug her too. When he heard her sobbing, he couldn't help but tighten his arms around her, "Ah Xi, I'd rather depend on you."
"Although I have no flesh and blood, I also have this extravagant wish. If I can be by your side and accompany you for a long time, no matter what I am, I will be satisfied."
"Don't put yourself so low,"
Ni Su raised her head in his arms, "Little Jinshi General, I don't mind you being cold, nor am I afraid that you are a ghost. Do you remember what I told you? I can take care of you for a long time."
"So what can I do?"
Xu Hexue said softly.
"You have to help me write medical records, cook for me, bathe and feed Shuang Ge and Xiao Zao, and accompany me on outings and fly kites... In short, there are many things you have to do."
"Okay, I'll do it."
He said.
The snow rustled in the night, and Ni Su refused to close her eyes any longer. She was drowsy in this cold embrace. In her dream, she was in a world of ice and snow, but soon the ice and snow melted, and spring came and flowers bloomed.
"Xu Ziling."
She murmured in her sleep.
"Um."
Someone answered her outside her dream.
“I really missed you.”
Her voice was very soft, very gentle.
Xu Hexue held her in his arms, her skin was floating in the air, and he lowered his head and kissed her hair lightly.
The east is already bright and the remaining candle has burned out.
Qingqiong pushed the door open and saw a few clusters of ice and snow piled on the corridor railings. He was stunned for a moment, and then he saw that the courtyard was wet everywhere.
He heard some noise in the kitchen and immediately walked over. "Miss Ni, your wounds haven't healed yet, don't touch the stove. If you're hungry, I'll go to the street and buy some..."
His voice stopped abruptly.
The person in the kitchen was wearing a snow-white robe with his sleeves rolled up, revealing his pale wrist bones. The fire in the stove was burning brightly, the porridge in the pot was bubbling, and hot smoke was rising. He turned around with a cold look on his face.
"...General Xu?!"
Qingqiong's eyes suddenly turned red.
Ni Su was awakened by the warmth all over her body. She sat up immediately. There was no one around her. She immediately opened the curtain and pushed the door open without caring about her shoes and socks.
The damp and cold wind blew towards me, and the bright sunlight filled the courtyard.
Under the eaves opposite, a young man in a scarlet collar and a snow-white robe sat there, peeling golden loquats. Qing Qiong squatted in front of him, "General Xu, General Xu, I always feel like I'm dreaming... Are you real?"
"I slept so soundly last night. How did you get back?"
Qingqiong kept muttering to himself and never stopped.
"You recruited me back."
"us?"
"Yeah, you guys."
Xu Hexue heard the sound of the door opening. He looked up and saw the woman opposite him with long black hair and a plain dress, looking weak and graceful.
Her face was thin, her eyelids were red and swollen, and her frightened eyes gradually calmed down the moment she saw him.
"Because of everything you have done for me, I am able to return."
Under the bright sky, there was a hint of smile in his clear eyes.
Ni Su looked at him, he was still a ghost,
When exposed to sunlight, it looks like piles of ice and snow.
But he was different too.
Now, thousands of lights shine for him, and all those in this world who know his innocence are his soul- callers.
The melted snow dripped down, hitting the eaves tiles and making a crisp sound.
Xu Hexue waved at her, "Ni Axi, come here and eat loquats."
