The snowstorm was fierce that night.

Fierce winds swept up the heavy snow, and in the vast expanse of heaven and earth, the dilapidated temple was almost invisible, leaving only a faint shadow.

Lu Tong hurried to the plague ward. Before she even reached the entrance, she heard Cuicui’s heart-wrenching cries.

“Father, Father—”

The patients who had been laughing in the plague ward during the day were now all silent, their faces despairing in the dim yellow lamplight.

Lu Tong lifted the curtain and entered, immediately hit by an overwhelming stench of blood.

Ding Yong lay on the bed, his face an eerie greenish color. His arms, hanging over the bedside, were covered in large, shocking purple cloud marks, and he was vomiting blood.

Medical officials on either side were holding down his hands, the gushing blood staining the bedding red beneath him.

Cuicui knelt by the bed, crying until her voice was hoarse. Seeing Lu Tong enter, she suddenly threw herself at her feet.

“Medical Officer Lu,” she sobbed, “What’s wrong with my father? He was getting better, his red marks had almost disappeared, why did this suddenly happen?”

Lu Tong looked at Ding Yong on the bed, but before she could speak, Cuicui suddenly crawled forward two steps on her knees and lowered her head, making a loud “bang” as she kowtowed to her.

“Cuicui—” Lin Danqing came over to pull her up.

But Cuicui refused, stubbornly clutching Lu Tong’s skirt hem like it was her last lifeline.

“Medical Officer Lu, please save him. I-I can sell myself to you, I can do anything, please save my father, I can do anything—”

She wailed, her forehead hitting the cold, wet floor of the plague ward so hard that blood suddenly appeared.

Lu Tong shuddered and couldn’t help taking a step back.

For a moment, she seemed to return to many years ago.

It was also in heavy snow, in the bitter cold of winter, when she met Yun Niang in her desperation, kneeling and kowtowing to her, willing to exchange her life for a chance of survival for her family.

Life was unpredictable, with its ups and downs. At this moment, fate exerted its terrifying and mysterious power – her young, weak, and reckless self from Changwu County suddenly overlapped with the helpless, pitiful little girl before her in the Southern Su plague, while she had become Yun Niang, becoming that “Bodhisattva” whom others relied upon.

Yun Niang’s face hazily appeared before her eyes.

The woman smiled at her, gently stroking her face.

“Give up, Little Seventeen, you can’t save anyone.”

Cuicui’s voice grew more heartbreaking, while the delirious Ding Yong on the bed seemed to be awakened by the crying. He struggled to prop himself up, cast a loving glance at Cuicui, then gasped out loudly: “Take her away—”

“Father—” Cuicui cried as she rushed forward.

“Don’t let her see,” he struggled to turn his face away, not wanting his daughter to see the blood continuously gushing from his mouth: “Don’t let her see… don’t let her see…”

The man’s eyes bulged from pain, veins protruding on his forehead. Though he tried his best to suppress his groans, the increasing blood gushing from his mouth made this restraint all the more tragic and horrifying.

Cuicui was led out by the medical officials. Seeing his daughter leave, Ding Yong let out a sigh of relief, his hands loosening their grip on the bedding.

“Ding Yong, Ding Yong!” Chang Jin tried to apply acupuncture, but it was already too late.

Lu Tong knelt by Ding Yong’s bed, helping to clean the blood continuously flowing from his mouth and nose. The blood was like a crimson spring, gushing endlessly, impossible to stop.

A hand suddenly grabbed Lu Tong’s wrist.

Lu Tong looked up to see Ding Yong looking at her pleadingly.

“Medical Officer Lu,” he spoke brokenly: “Cuicui is my only daughter… they say you have the best medical skills, that you’re the best medical official from Sheng City. Cuicui likes you the most. Please cure her… let her live, let her survive…”

In her daze, Lu Tong’s eyes gradually grew warm as she gripped Ding Yong’s hand in return: “She will live.”

“Good…”

Having received this answer, Ding Yong smiled with relief. Perhaps the pain had clouded his mind, as he gradually lost clarity, holding Lu Tong’s hand and saying: “Little girl, father has to go… don’t, don’t always think about father. Father once told you, people should look forward, not always think about unhappy things. In the future, you must study well, and live well. After you marry, Father will watch from heaven, you must live to be a hundred years old… in the next life, Father will weave grasshoppers for you again…”

Lu Tong stared at him blankly.

“Father’s good daughter…”

He mumbled: “You must… live well…”

That thin hand covered in purple cloud marks suddenly dropped. She tried to grab it but caught nothing but air.

“Father—”

A heart-wrenching cry came from behind.

That moment seemed to stretch endlessly.

The little girl who had broken free from the medical officials’ grasp rushed to the bedside, crying out again and again: “Father, father, wake up and look at me, father, father, look at me…”

“Don’t go, don’t leave me alone…”

The grieving cries echoed throughout the plague ward, quickly drowned out by the wind and snow outside.

Lu Tong tried to help her up, but Cuicui suddenly turned her head and glared at her fiercely.

“Didn’t you say that doctors are meant to save people?”

“Didn’t you say we wouldn’t die?”

Cuicui clutched her dress, questioning her resentfully, “Didn’t you say that when the lamp wick sparked, it was a sign of great fortune, that my father and I would be fine?”

“Why did my father die?” she cried out, “Why did he die?”

The girl suddenly pushed her, causing Lu Tong to stumble backward, only to be caught by someone behind her.

Lu Tong turned around to see Pei Yunying releasing his steadying grip on her, looking down at her with furrowed brows. He must have just arrived, as his waist sword wasn’t at his side.

Cuicui released her grip on Lu Tong’s dress hem, collapsing to the ground in tears.

Lu Tong’s heart ached, and she could no longer stay there. She abruptly turned away and strode out of the plague ward.

“Sister Lu—” Lin Danqing called after her.

Pei Yunying turned to follow her.

Lu Tong walked quickly.

Outside, the wind howled and snow fell heavily. It was pitch black beyond the dilapidated temple in Southern Su. As she walked, she gradually began to run, as if afraid to look back at that small, grief-filled ruined temple behind her, dreading to turn back for another glance.

There were many hardships in the human world; she had realized this very early on.

She had always been a monster without compassion, coming only for revenge. Running a clinic, and being a doctor, were all just means of revenge. She didn’t care about benefiting the world or saving lives – apart from revenge, she didn’t care about anything else in this world.

But at this moment, just now, how she wished she could save him.

How she wished she could save them all.

Just like how Yun Niang had saved her parents back then.

The little girl’s happy voice still echoed in her ears.

“A grasshopper! For you, Medical Officer Lu. My father and I have been feeling much better these days. Father said that before long, we’ll be able to leave the plague ward. When spring comes next year, he’ll be able to catch crabs with me by the stream.”

The voice gradually faded, transforming into the man’s final lingering words.

“Little girl, father has to go… don’t, don’t always think about father. Father once told you, people should look forward, not always think about unhappy things. In the future, you must study well, and live well. When you marry, Father will watch from heaven, you must live to be a hundred years old… in the next life, Father will weave grasshoppers for you again…”

“Father’s good daughter…”

“You must… live well…”

The chaotic sounds pursued her, echoing constantly in her mind as she ran aimlessly forward, not knowing where she was heading, until someone grabbed her from behind, forcing her to stop.

“Lu Tong.” That person called her name.

Lu Tong was in a daze.

“Lu Tong.” He called again, his voice heavier than before, as if trying to wake her completely from her stupor.

Lu Tong raised her head in confusion.

Pei Yunying stood before her, staring intently at her, his voice deep: “Where are you going?”

Like being doused with a bucket of cold water, Lu Tong suddenly came to her senses.

This was Southern Su, not Changwu County.

Ding Yong was dead; she hadn’t been able to save him.

Suddenly losing all strength in her body, Lu Tong swayed, only to be caught by Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunying looked at her.

Her face was deathly pale, her lips completely bloodless, and her eyes empty. She looked more dangerous than Cuicui had moments ago, appearing so fragile that she might dissolve at any moment.

The young man lowered his eyes for a moment, then suddenly bent down and embraced her.

In the flying snow of Southern Su, with the north wind howling in the night, amidst the dark snow and proud wind, the embrace was full of warmth.

Lu Tong curled up in his arms as his hand gently patted her back, again and again, as if comforting her, yet it made Lu Tong’s eyes instantly fill with tears.

Ding Yong’s dark face suddenly transformed, becoming her father’s face, then hazily changing into her mother’s voice, her siblings’ instructions…

She had always wondered what her family would say to her if they could see her one last time, what final advice they would give. She had imagined countless possibilities – perhaps telling her to seek revenge, telling her to endure and preserve herself. Now, in tonight’s farewell to the dead, she caught a glimpse of the truth.

The last words a dying father struggled to say to his daughter were simply: live well.

If her parents and siblings could see her one last time, that’s probably what they would say too.

Live well.

Look forward.

She closed her eyes, and tears fell unexpectedly.

…

The snow in Southern Su didn’t stop all night, and the sky gradually began to show the white of dawn.

In the early morning, Ding Yong’s body was taken to the execution ground.

Ding Yong was dead, dying days after using the new medicine. The peach blossom marks on his body had mostly faded, only to suddenly deepen on this unexpected night.

Bodies infected with the plague couldn’t be kept in the plague ward long. Despite the medical officials’ attempts to stop her, Cuicui insisted on following to the execution ground, watching with her own eyes as Ding Yong was buried, placing a small grass grasshopper on his grave.

The execution ground’s black soil mixed with white snow graves large and small mingled together. Some, with family members, still warranted a headstone, but most were simply buried wherever possible, becoming one with this damp earth.

Lu Tong stood in the icy snow, gazing at the distant, misty peaks, suddenly feeling somewhat dazed.

It was as if she had returned to many years ago, when she came down from Luomei Peak, searching for fresh corpses for Yun Niang in the execution ground.

From initial discomfort to gradual numbness, she thought she had grown accustomed to this land, never expecting that standing here again would still move her to tears at the world’s sorrowful partings.

The world was cruel.

She stood at the execution ground for a long time.

Until Cuicui was taken back to the plague ward by the medical officials, until all other medical officials had returned, as frost and snow fell abundantly from the heavens, she stood alone, as if she would stand there until the end of time.

An umbrella was raised over her head.

The falling snow was blocked by the umbrella’s edge. She turned to see Pei Yunying standing before her.

He didn’t speak, just quietly looked at her, as if understanding her bewilderment at this moment, tilting the umbrella more over her head.

The umbrella wasn’t large enough for two people. The snow that escaped from her fell onto him instead, covering his shoulders completely.

“Why haven’t you left?” Lu Tong heard her voice.

He had witnessed her breakdown after Ding Yong’s sudden death last night, and when she couldn’t sleep all night, he had stayed with her.

Pei Yunying glanced at her: “Are you alright?”

“What could be wrong with me?”

“Don’t be stubborn, Lu Tong.” His expression grew solemn as if seeing right through her, “You’re heartbroken.”

He was still as perceptive as ever.

Lu Tong turned and walked forward: “Commander, you shouldn’t linger here. This place is full of plague victims’ bodies, and even though most have been burned and buried, staying too long could still be harmful to your health. You should leave soon.”

The person behind her grabbed her wrist.

Lu Tong stopped.

Pei Yunying looked at her with slightly furrowed brows. After a while, without saying anything, he placed the umbrella in her hand, saying: “Take it.”

Lu Tong nodded to him, accepted the umbrella, and gradually walked away.

Only when the woman’s figure could no longer be seen in the wind and snow did Pei Yunying speak: “Qing Feng.”

Qing Feng, who had been standing at a distance, came forward.

“Keep an eye on Lu Tong, something’s wrong with her.”

Qing Feng was somewhat confused.

Lu Tong had always been calm and detached. Even when Ding Yong’s daughter was crying inconsolably as they buried his body at the execution ground, she hadn’t shown any sign of comfort. He really couldn’t see what was wrong.

In the snow, Pei Yunying remained silent.

Something was wrong with Lu Tong.

Last night, her expression had been dazed, empty, like a cloud about to drift away to who knows where. If he hadn’t caught her in time, who knows what might have happened?

The last time he had seen her like this was after Qi Yutai’s death during the Nuo Ceremony.

It was truly worrying.

…

Ding Yong’s death plunged the plague ward, which had just shown signs of hope, into sudden silence.

“Despair” was “disappointment” after “hope.”

It was even more terrifying.

However, death showed no mercy because of grief. On the third day after Ding Yong’s passing, Cuicui began to show symptoms.

Perhaps because a child’s body wasn’t as strong as an adult’s, or perhaps because Ding Yong’s death had dealt too heavy a blow to Cuicui, but in any case, Cuicui’s illness erupted more violently than her father’s.

On the little girl’s delicate arms, large patches of peach blossom marks appeared starkly, already showing hints of purple.

Purple cloud marks.

Cuicui’s condition had worsened.

In the plague ward, medical officials drew the curtains and forced medicine down Cuicui’s throat.

The girl’s face showed pain, her body soaked in sweat, constantly crying that her bones hurt.

Lin Danqing held down the thrashing girl while feeding her the strengthening medicine, while Ji Xun and Lu Tong were applying acupuncture.

One gold needle after another was inserted into Cuicui’s body, but the girl’s breathing continued to weaken.

“It’s not working, her body is getting colder, and her pulse is getting weaker,” Lin Danqing was covered in sweat, “Lu Tong, Ji Xun, add more needles.”

More gold needles were inserted into Cuicui’s body.

She began to tremble violently, calling out for her parents.

Lu Tong half-embraced her, whispering in her ear: “Hold on.”

“You must live,” she said, “That’s what your parents would want most.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lu Tong herself was startled.

She quickly came back to her senses and continued speaking into Cuicui’s ear.

“Your survival is your parents’ hope.”

As if understanding, Cuicui’s trembling gradually subsided.

“She’s improving,” Lin Danqing said excitedly, “Don’t stop, continue—”

Behind the plague ward’s curtains, the lamps burned all night. By the time dawn began to break, Cuicui’s pulse had finally stabilized.

Lin Danqing wiped the sweat from her forehead and took off her soaked outer garment, “That scared me to death.”

She yawned and sat down on the plague ward floor, resting her chin in her hand, saying: “Let me rest for a moment.” However, within moments, when they looked again, she was sound asleep.

She was truly exhausted.

The patients didn’t make any noise to disturb her. Lu Tong covered her with a blanket before walking outside the plague ward.

It was already morning, and remarkably, there was a hint of sunlight today. That faint daylight seemed to refuse to be completely hidden by the thick clouds, breaking through with a streak of golden red, as if one could glimpse the shadow of sunrise.

Ji Xun walked up from behind.

After being busy for an entire day, there were signs of fatigue between his brows. He rubbed his forehead and said: “Cuicui’s condition isn’t good. Purple cloud marks have appeared over most of her body.”

Even though they had saved her for now, she didn’t have much time left.

“I know,” Lu Tong said: “But the new prescription has been proven unusable.”

“I have an idea,” Ji Xun looked at her, “If we use the new prescription for her, we might be able to buy several more days. Without it, she could die any day now.”

Lu Tong looked at him: “The new prescription is inappropriate. Ding Yong died from its toxicity, Medical Officer Ji, you know this better than I do.”

Ji Xun shook his head, “It’s not that the new prescription is toxic, it’s that the Houbien in it is toxic. If we could find an antidote for Houbien, there might be hope.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Use the new prescription. Houbien’s toxicity is heat-based; I want to try using Red Wood Vine,” he said.

Lu Tong was surprised: “There’s no Red Wood Vine in Southern Su, perhaps not even in Pingzhou.”

“The Medical Director has already sent word to Pingzhou. Perhaps we can buy a few days. Medical Officer Lu, we don’t have much time to wait.”

Ji Xun had always been cautious. Back at the Medical Officials’ Academy, when she had used a portion of Hong Fang Xu in Jin Xianrong’s herbs, he had verbally reprimanded her. Now this method was already quite bold, and she seemed to have become the cautious one. Their positions had reversed, which was somewhat absurd.

“It’s quite risky.”

“For patients, we must fight for every chance of survival.”

He was right.

“Unfortunately, Pingzhou is quite far from Southern Su,” Ji Xun sighed, “I don’t know if Cuicui can hold on until then.”

This worried sigh continued to echo in Lu Tong’s ears even after she returned to her quarters.

Just to counteract Houbien’s poison…

Lu Tong sat down at the table, and as soon as she did, a withered grass grasshopper caught her eye.

Lu Tong was stunned for a moment.

She seemed to see Ding Yong’s honest smile again, and Cuicui’s joy when giving her the grass grasshopper.

She stared at it for a long while before lowering her head to take out paper and brush.

The new prescription Ding Yong had used was rewritten on the paper. Lu Tong’s gaze fell on the three characters for “Red Wood Vine” among the many herbs.

To be fair, this medical prescription was indeed very bold. Houbien’s poison was difficult to counter, and too much antidote would immediately neutralize its potency. This meant balancing the medicinal properties against each other was even more difficult. Using other poisonous herbs would only increase its toxicity.

Ding Yong ultimately couldn’t neutralize this poison.

They had already gone through all the medicines brought from Sheng City and the herbs Pei Yunying had sent from nearby Qi Water, using everything they could, but the effectiveness was still poor.

Southern Su had no other herbs left.

Red Wood Vine…

Even bringing it from the nearest Pingzhou would take five or six days.

Lu Tong’s brows furrowed tightly as she looked up toward the window.

In the vast snow outside, Luomei Peak’s faint crimson could barely be seen.

Luomei Peak did have many medicinal herbs; she used to gather them there often, but unfortunately, they were all highly poisonous and couldn’t counteract Houbien’s poison at all.

However, Red Wood Vine…

Lu Tong’s mind stirred.

Wait, she seemed to have overlooked one place.

…

The next day, the medical officials’ quarters were quiet. Early in the morning, before dawn, Lu Tong rose early.

In the room next door, Lin Danqing hadn’t woken up yet. Lu Tong shouldered her medical box and walked out the door.

The sky was still dark at this hour, and the medical officials who had been on duty at the plague ward hadn’t returned for the shift change yet. The courtyard was cold and desolate. Lu Tong carried a lamp, and just as she reached the courtyard, she heard a “creak—” as another door in the courtyard opened.

Lu Tong turned back in surprise.

At this time, the medical officials should still be resting, and even if they were early risers, they wouldn’t be up this early.

She wanted to see who it was, but the person who walked out was quite unexpected.

“Pei Yunying?”

The snow wasn’t heavy in the early morning, and among the scattered crystalline flakes, he was properly dressed and composed, as if he had been waiting for her there deliberately.

“Why are you sleeping here?”

The guards’ quarters weren’t here; Pei Yunying had come out of the medical officials’ quarters.

“Last night I suddenly felt unwell, and fearing I might fall ill, I specifically asked Medical Director Chang for a room.”

Lu Tong’s heart sank.

His answer was so natural, yet the reason was so absurd; he had made up an excuse. But why would he sleep here? He couldn’t possibly have guessed what she was planning to do and waited here for her in advance.

Did he have mind-reading abilities?

“And you?” The young man glanced at her, saying with a half-smile: “Up so early, where are you going?”

“To the plague ward,” Lu Tong answered quickly, “To relieve the duty medical officials.”

“Oh,” Pei Yunying nodded, looking her over, “Going to the plague ward with a medical box, cloak, bamboo basket, shovel…”

He gave a mocking laugh: “Why don’t you just hire a carriage?”

Lu Tong: “…”

“Doctor Lu, you wouldn’t be planning to go up the mountain, would you?” Pei Yunying’s gaze fell on the shovel she was carrying on her back.

Lu Tong remained silent.

Yesterday she had asked Chang Jin if she could take people up to Luomei Peak.

Before Chang Jin could speak, Li Wenhu, who was nearby, strongly objected.

“Luomei Peak is huge,” Li Wenhu said: “And the mountain path is steep. Forget about snow, even when it’s not snowing, hardly anyone wants to go up that desolate mountain. Only those who have dead family members to dump bodies in the mass grave go there. There’s a huge mass grave up there, they say the plum blossoms bloom so brilliantly because of all the dead people. It’s terrifying.”

“Now with the mountain sealed by heavy snow, it’s even more impossible to go. Once you enter that mountain, you can’t get out. Medical Officer Lu, are you thinking of taking medical officials up the mountain? I advise you to give up that idea! We already have so few medical officials, that if they perish on the mountain, we won’t even be able to retrieve them. That would be suicide.”

The voice beside her broke through her thoughts.

“The mountain is covered in snow, the path is treacherous, it’s a hundred times more dangerous than usual. Do you have a death wish?”

Lu Tong looked at him.

He stood before her, smiling at the corners of his mouth, but his tone was very serious. He was genuinely warning her.

Lu Tong said: “I have reasons why I must go.”

He slightly furrowed his brows.

The snow fell silently, dancing between the two of them.

He stared at Lu Tong for a long time. After a while, Pei Yunying nodded: “Then let’s go.”

Lu Tong was startled: “What?”

The young man took the heavy shovel from Lu Tong’s hand and said calmly: “I’ll go with you.”