Volume 2 Chapter 30: Farewell
The middle-aged man just showed his joy, but he saw Duanmu'er still shaking his head and said, "It's just that for many years, under the order of my master, I have guarded the mountain temple and never left the mountain. I can't make an exception for your father at this time. Please forgive me."
Lin Jianlan saw that Duanmu'er usually laughed and scolded, and joked more often than he was serious. He only looked solemn when he mentioned his master's order. Seeing the middle-aged man standing beside him with an embarrassed look on his face, he said, "Mr. Di, it's not that the Taoist priest deliberately refused. It's because of this that Doctor Cheng tried twice to stop the Taoist priest from coming to Chang'an. I'm afraid the Taoist priest really has his own difficulties. I hope you don't mind."
Mr. Di smiled generously and said, "Originally, my invitation was a bit rash. In this case, I will come to see you in person when my father's health gets better."
About an hour later, Wan Xiu woke up slowly, and Lin Jianlan covered Wan Xiu's face with the mask again. Duanmu'er couldn't do it himself, but seeing his old job again, he felt itchy and kept giving instructions. After a while, Wan Xiu had turned into an extremely old lady.
Lin Jianlan put on the servant's hat, and seeing that Nian Xiaoxia looked gloomy, he said, "You stay here and learn martial arts from the Taoist priest. I will come back to see you when I have finished my business."
Nian Xiaoxia still felt sad, turned his head to the side, and did not answer. Lin Jianlan sighed, said goodbye to Duan Muer and Mo Dan one by one, and then went down the mountain with everyone. Although Nian Xiaoxia felt uncomfortable, he was reluctant to let him go, so he secretly followed him all the way to the middle of the mountain. He felt sore in his legs, and saw that everyone was going away, and the mountain road turned a few times and disappeared. He couldn't help crying a few times at the empty winding mountain path, and climbed back up the mountain alone. Fortunately, Mo Dan was cheerful, and the master and apprentice always played together, which made him laugh.
On the way, Wan Xiu said nothing, just staring at her wrist wrapped in gauze in a daze. Lin Jianlan didn't know how to comfort her. When he got to the foot of the forest, he scanned everywhere again to confirm that no one else was following her. Then he said to Mr. Di, "Thank you for your help this time, Mr. Di. I really don't know how to repay you."
The middle-aged man smiled and said, "If you want to thank someone, you should thank Young Master Tang. Even those who have accomplished great things have to be more informal sometimes. Young Master Lin, please don't blame him."
Lin Jianlan was stunned. He had only asked Tang Zimu to find a way to disguise himself and go up the mountain that night. He did not expect that he could ask Di Xiang's family to help. Seeing Wan Xiu had quietly taken off the clothes and holding them in his hands, he felt that they were extremely gorgeous. At this time, he heard this person speaking for Tang Zimu with ambiguous meanings. He was quite confused and wondered who Tang Zimu was.
Seeing the doubtful look on his face, the Di Xianggong said, "He has no ill will towards Master Lin. He once said that you would doubt his identity, and he only asked me to tell you that he would tell you frankly in the future." The Di Gui had already led the carriage. The Di Xianggong said, "I have done everything that Master Tang asked me to do. This carriage will be left for Master Lin to use."
Lin Jianlan nodded and bowed. Seeing that this large group of people had retreated completely in a moment, leaving only a path they had cleared when they went up the mountain, he helped Wan Xiu into the car and slowly walked out of the dense forest. Thinking that he would have to hand Wan Xiu back to Madam Wan in a few days, and not knowing when he would see her again, he couldn't help feeling a little lost.
The two walked in silence all the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the small village again. Lin Jianlan had an idea, and stopped the carriage at the door of the inn. He knocked on the door, and someone immediately came and opened the door. It was the young daughter-in-law from that day. Not many years had passed, but she looked much older and haggard. Although Lin Jianlan recognized her, she no longer recognized the young man who had interceded for her and her husband that day. She only helped to help Wan Xiu in.
Wan Xiu didn't know why Lin Jianlan brought her here. She just looked around after entering the house. The house was simply furnished and very clean. It was a nice place to stay in the countryside.
The woman took a quick look and asked, "Would you two like to book a room?"
Lin Jianlan was embarrassed and waved his hands hurriedly, "We need two rooms. This is my sister. She has been weak since she was a child. You need to cover the windows and serve her carefully ."
The woman knew she had said the wrong thing, and quickly interrupted, "Sir, you came at a good time. Two people just checked out at noon today. Otherwise, there would be nothing we can do."
Lin Jianlan asked curiously, "Your business is pretty good, are you a merchant?"
The woman laughed and said, "I don't think so. It's an old man and a lady in her 40s or 50s. They've been living here for a long time. They go out early and come back late every day. This morning, they went out and came back at noon. I don't know why they left in such a hurry."
Lin Jianlan and Wan Xiu looked at each other and knew in their hearts that the two people must be Doctor Cheng and Madam Wan, but it was strange that they did not wait any longer.
Lin Jianlan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Why do you manage everything by yourself? I used to live here, and I remember there was a waiter."
It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned this. But when she did, the woman's eyes turned red. She started to curse for a while, "You have no conscience at all," and then said, "Sir, do you know that golden clam that's making such a fuss?"
Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "At that time, notices were posted at various city gates. How could they not know about it? It is said that the suspects are a man and a woman!"
The woman said, "To tell you the truth , they were living in my shop at the time. I went into the city to read the notice, and came back to discuss with that heartless guy. I could get a lot of reward money for nothing, so I asked him to take down the notice. In the end, he took the money and saw the outside world, but he became cunning. He thought I looked rustic and was not at home all day. I had a quarrel with him, and the bastard never came back!" After that, he cursed again with a lot of country dialect. Lin Jianlan couldn't understand it very well. He only vaguely heard words like "second rogue", "making money", "staring blankly", etc., and he cursed with a crying tone. Lin Jianlan couldn't help laughing in his heart and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, you go out first."
The woman knew she had lost her composure, and she walked out quickly with a red face. Wan Xiu, however, had already been holding back her anger, and when she saw the door was closed, she burst out laughing. The blush on her cheeks slowly faded away, and she asked, "Why did Master Lin bring me here?"
Lin Jianlan sat beside the square table, gently touching the corner of the table and said, "I walked here unknowingly. Ah Xiu, do you know who that man and woman are?"
Wan Xiu saw that he looked nostalgic, so she shook her head and listened to Lin Jianlan saying, "They are Sister Man and Bai Zongping. I also stayed in this inn that night." Then she told him what happened that night, "Later, Sister Man and I were caught by the Imperial Guards in Jinzhou. It was the innkeeper here who reported the secret, but the retribution came quickly. The woman instigated her husband, and she never expected that her husband would abandon her after getting the money. I was full of resentment at the time, thinking about how to punish these ungrateful people when I saw them again, but when I saw her today, she seemed to be ten years older than she was then. Things in the world are really hard to explain."
Wan Xiu agreed vaguely a few times, but she was just thinking in her heart: "Mr. Lin is visiting his old place again, so he must miss Sister Man very much. Sister Man is such a lovely girl, even if I saw her, I would only have admiration for her, let alone Mr. Lin."
Seeing that she looked a little disappointed, Lin Jianlan said, "Ah Xiu, do you still blame me for asking Taoist Duanmu to treat your illness?"
Wan Xiu hurriedly shook her head and said, "I... why should I blame you? You are all doing this for my own good. It just hurts a little... a lot." At this point, her head had already drooped. Lin Jianlan said, "When Ah Xiu examined me herself that day, she never said it hurt. Ah Xiu, I don't have the heart to see you treating me like this, but if I don't do this, you will only get weaker day by day."
Seeing that Wan Xiu was still silent, he stood up and walked to her side and said softly: "The world hates people who speak ominously, but if you are gone one day, where can I find you... this sister?" After saying this, his face turned red first, and he said: "There is a cure, and you can go back to see your mother in a few days. If you want to go out to relax again, you can't be so casual, so I drove here... Sister Man is also an old friend of ours. I originally wanted to linger outside for a while, and I think, I think you are willing to do so."
Wan Xiu really didn't expect that Lin Jianlan came here just to let her relax for a while. She was surprised and happy. She suddenly looked up and was about to speak, but lowered her head and said, "Of course I am willing."
She was depressed, firstly because she didn't take the medical treatment seriously, and secondly because she had to go back to her mother after the treatment, and she didn't know when she would meet Lin Jianlan again, let alone traveling around with him. Now that Lin Jianlan had revealed her thoughts, she secretly blamed herself and said, "Mr. Lin has been thinking about me all along the way, why am I so petty all of a sudden?"
Thinking of this, Wan Xiu raised her head again. Lin Jianlan saw that her expression suddenly calmed down, and her eyes were gentle yet firm. She smiled and said, "Master Lin, am I a little willful?"
Lin Jianlan was startled and shook her head. She looked ahead and said slowly, "Since I have a treatment method, I will treat it well. But I know that even if I do this, it will only delay time."
Lin Jianlan said hurriedly: "I will continue to help you find doctors and medicine. Just like what the old Taoist said, how old are you? How many famous doctors have you seen?"
Wan Xiu's eyebrows relaxed slightly, and she smiled, "It's about this matter. Although I always trouble you, my 'brother', I really don't have anyone else I can trust. I want to ask Master Lin to find a doctor for me while I'm out in the world. But I don't have the ability to repay you, so I can only trouble you in vain."
Lin Jianlan was very happy to see that her heart knot had been untied. He thought for a moment and said, "Who says I can't repay you? Today I have an extremely important favor to ask you." He told her that his grandmother might have been kidnapped by Doctor Cheng, and said, "I guess Doctor Cheng might still contact your parents. If you have the chance, ask your mother and she will be my benefactor for the second time!"
Wan Xiu blushed and said very solemnly: "How dare I call you my benefactor, but I hope you can do your best to redeem my parents' mistakes."
Seeing that she was sincere, Lin Jianlan didn't want to joke anymore. He talked for a while, ate some food, and then left the house. The woman saw that they just had a meal and didn't want to stay overnight, and she showed disappointment on her face.
Lin Jianlan originally wanted to ask the shopkeeper why he was ungrateful, but now he felt sympathy for the prematurely aged woman. He threw away the silver he had left for the night before driving the carriage slowly away.
Within a few days, the two of them were standing at the gate of Madam Wan's house again. When the carriage arrived, the minions rushed in. A moment later, Madam Wan came out with a look of both joy and anxiety. She led the two of them to Wan Xiu's boudoir and put Wan Xiu on the bed to rest. Then she turned back and scolded Lin Jianlan, "Where have you been these days? Fortunately, my daughter is fine, otherwise..."
Wan Xiu quickly stood up and said, "Mother, don't you know what you are doing? If you hadn't arranged those evil tricks, why would we have to run around like this? If something happens to me, it has nothing to do with Master Lin, it's all your fault!"
Madam Wan suddenly looked a little embarrassed. Lin Jianlan said, "Miss Wan, please don't blame Madam Wan. I was just naughty for a while. I took her around for a walk. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. I just went to visit Taoist Duanmu a few days ago."
Mrs. Wan was somewhat suspicious of his words . When they saw the scene, they were sure that it was not Lin Jianlan. They were suspected again, so they hurried back to the village shop. Mrs. Wan did not even have time to drool before she saw Dr. Cheng's face change drastically. He hurried to his room and said, "The plan has changed. It is useless to stay here." Then he returned to Chang'an in a daze. Dr. Cheng disappeared without explaining anything when he arrived in Chang'an. Mrs. Wan was left alone, not knowing why, and worried about her daughter. After hearing what Lin Jianlan said, she thought to herself, "We have been guarding Baiyun Mountain for so many days and we haven't seen you come over. Who are you trying to fool?" Seeing that Wan Xiu's wrists were wrapped in gauze, she was even more angry that Lin Jianlan did not take good care of Wan Xiu on the road. She said angrily, "You knew that Ah Xiu was weak, but you didn't go to treat her quickly. Now she is burned again!"
Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "This burn is exactly the treatment method proposed by Taoist Duanmu. Madam Wan, you love your daughter so much that you don't want Miss Wan to get hurt, let alone such a severe burn. Therefore, you didn't notice that Miss Wan actually felt better every time she was exposed to the sun."
Madam Wan turned her head doubtfully, and saw Wan Xiu nodded, her spirit and body really not as decadent as before. Then she heard Lin Jianlan say: "But this is not a long-term solution. I will continue to find out if there is a cure. Please rest assured, Madam Wan." He took out a paper list and a small jar from the package and said: "This is the medicine and prescription for treating burns given by Taoist Duanmu. Although it looks a bit ugly, it is slightly better than what Miss Wan usually uses. If it is used up, just follow this prescription."
After saying that, he stood up and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. If Miss Wan needs me for anything, please feel free to ask me. I will do my best."
