It's slightly cold in winter, and the sky and earth are pure white.
At first glance, it looks completely white, with only one ancient road left with the footprints of many people walking on it.
It just snowed yesterday, and when the soles of your feet step on the ground, there will be a "rustling" sound.
Today is the "Soul Sacrifice Festival" in Otsutsuki. Legend has it that whenever this day comes, the souls of the deceased will return to the world to receive offerings and prayers, and to greet relatives and friends. Most people will choose to go there on this day. Pay homage to deceased ancestors, parents and even friends.
Gu Dan will also follow the trend on this day by offering incense and burning more paper to his biological parents, whom he has never met and has deep affection for.
As for meeting, there is no need. There is really no need.
The ancient road in front of you that has been walked by many people is not an elegant place. On the contrary, if you call it by its most well-known name, you can keep walking along this trail and finally you will reach a place called "Mass Graves". " place to go.
The so-called mass graves are naturally not a good place to go.
The people buried inside were either those who committed crimes and were captured and executed by the government, or they were victims who froze to death or starved to death in the imperial capital in winter. The government officials did not want to waste too much time busy. , then they were all thrown here.
But later, for some reason, some people said that this place has a relatively strong yin energy and is the most suitable place for burying those poor people who have not died at the end of their lives and who cannot be buried in their ancestral land for various reasons.
Anyway, the people buried here are all poor people, and everyone can more or less have company on the road to hell.
Later, this saying spread and became a tradition in the imperial capital for nearly a hundred years.
Of course, if Gu Dan had to say it, the person who had committed the crime was probably unable to bury the deceased in the ancestral grave, so they used this place to put it in a more pleasant way.
But there is no need to take everything seriously. The world is already not a beautiful place. It would be more heart-warming to simply look at it with the latter’s grief and wishes for the deceased.
It was still early in the morning, and the snow in most places on this ancient road was almost turned into mud, leaving behind a faint yellow snow, but barely a human figure could be seen.
"It seems that everyone came quite early."
Carrying a large package of paper money, Gu Dan still had the heart to tell a cold joke that was not funny.
Of course no one answered.
He also walked towards a certain place with great purpose.
The mass grave arrived quickly, and there were still some black embers of burned paper money floating in the air, which were extremely conspicuous in the vast whiteness.
Gu Dan walked to a grave and stretched out his hand to wipe off the snowflakes on the tombstone.
The snowflakes are ice cold, and when they touch the warm palm, they melt slightly and become wet, like water stains or like the tears shed by a crying person.
There are six words written on the tombstone.
The tomb of Ding Ji's family.
Six words, six people buried there.
It had only been a year and the tombstone was still new.
Gu Dan didn't know what to say, so he just swept away the snow for Ding Ji, placed the paper money in front of the tomb, and said softly: "Let me see you."
The flint splashed out sparks, igniting the paper money.
The burning fire spread out the surrounding snow, and the gray smoke curled up, maybe it could really lead directly to the unknown place where people could not see.
Gu Dan didn't speak anymore, just waited quietly and silently for the paper money to slowly burn out.
There was some movement behind him.
"I just said you can't drink last night, you can't drink! You kid dragged me to drink, and you didn't even look at what time it was today?"
"You're still talking about me. You were the only one who drank a lot yesterday! If I hadn't woken up early today, you would have had to sleep until midnight!"
"You two are almost done! Didn't you see that there are not even a few people around now? Hurry up and get down to business!"
A group of three people, each carrying some paper money, was walking towards here. They were still bickering and noisy on the way, which did not fit well with the quiet and somewhat deserted atmosphere here.
Gu Dan didn't look at it, he stared at the rising flames, his eyes reflected the light and fire, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
But those three people were walking towards this place.
"Master Gu?"
Among the three, the fat man, who was wrapped like a rice dumpling, spoke in surprise.
"Um?"
Gu Dan woke up from his daze and turned to look.
"It's really you!"
Fatty's eyes showed surprise, "Are you coming to visit Ding Ji too?"
"Who are you?" Gu Dan asked.
"We are friends of Ding Ji, and we have been drinking together before! It's a pity that this boy is unlucky, and there is a bad thief in the family. The brothers discussed coming over to see him, so that no one would burn paper for him."
"Yes, yes! I didn't expect you, Mr. Gu, to be here too. If Ding Ji knew that, I'm afraid he would jump for joy! You don't know, every time he drinks, his favorite thing to brag about is knowing you. ! He also said that without you, there would be no him! What is this called? The grace of reinvention, right? "
It was clearly a kind voice, but Gu Dan felt it was a little harsh, and his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.
The fat man said quite familiarly: "You two, get out of the way! Mr. Gu is thinking about big things. Do you understand big things? We can't talk to you two, you two!"
After squeezing the two of them aside, the fat man rudely poured the paper money in his hand onto the fire lit by Gu Dan, shouting: "Come on, come on, come on, rub Mr. Gu's fire, I want to take a look." Can the old boy tell the difference clearly underground?"
A large handful of paper money fell into the burning fire, and suddenly the flames spread out, reaching half a person's height. The faces of the people in the background became rosy, dispelling the winter chill.
Then two large handfuls of paper money fell in, and the flames were so fierce that they seemed to have the potential to start a prairie fire, soaring into the sky, bringing some warmth and red to this plain white world.
The three new Ding Ji's friends were all sitting by the fire in complete disbelief. They took out a few pots of tepid wine, scattered half of it on the ground, and poured the other half into their mouths.
"Drink with you again!" they said.
The fat man also handed Gu Dan a jug of wine and said, "This wine is poor wine from farmers. Mr. Gu may not be used to it, so don't dislike it."
"How can you dislike it?"
Taking the wine flask, Gu Dan followed their example and poured half of it in front of the grave bag, swallowing the cold wine in big gulps.
The bad wine entered the throat, and it was cold and bitter with a hint of spiciness. It stung the throat, warmed the stomach, and even caused some heartburn.
After all these years, if you think about it carefully, this was actually the first time he had a drink with Ding Ji, but it was in front of the grave.
The three people talked for a while in front of the tomb, and then left together.
Even in winter, there is still work to be done. When it is not the coldest, it is a good thing to go out and collect some firewood. Of course, you will not stay too long. After burning the paper, you have done your best.
When even the black embers no longer glowed red, Gu Dan threw some snowdrifts on top, patted the tombstone, and said, "It's just too late to avenge you."
He stood up and was about to leave when he saw a familiar figure walking further ahead.
Gu Dan's eyesight was very good, and it was almost impossible for a martial arts master to admit someone by mistake. In an instant, he was sure that he was not mistaken.
He hurried over and rang out with a slightly surprised voice.
"Brother Gu?"
"Xiaoyi?"
That person was Lin Xiaoyi.
She was wearing a thick robe. Compared to her mother's status as a queen in the world, the robe was a bit out of place. It was rough and wide. There were traces of fine stitching on the sleeves and shoulders, which was completely out of place. It looks like the clothes of nobles in the palace, but it looks like thicker winter clothes that people are reluctant to throw away.
Even though she is wearing such a shabby and even poor winter coat, Lin Xiaoyi is still very good-looking, with picturesque eyebrows, delicate appearance, and well-maintained skin that is whiter and more tender than snow, but the heavy and bulky winter coat hides her slimness. His figure looked a little bloated.
At first glance, Lin Xiaoyi looked like a lady who had escaped from somewhere, casually wearing a winter coat.
"Why are you here?"
Gu Dan asked first.
This place is a "famous" mass grave in the imperial capital. It is really not a good place to go. It is a place chosen by people who have no one at home and no money left.
No matter what it is, it is not consistent with Lin Xiaoyi's situation.
"I'm here to pay homage to my parents."
Lin Xiaoyi's eye circles were red, and there was a little moisture in her eyes at this time. It was obvious that she had just cried, and her voice had a different hoarseness than before, like a lonely little pitiful person.
"Doctor Lin and the others?"
Gu Dan frowned slightly, "Why is it buried here? Where is the ancestral land?"
People are different, even if they suffer the same unstoppable disaster.
In this era, people pay attention to the importance of burial. If you can be buried in the ancestral land, it is naturally best to be buried in the ancestral land so that future generations can have a place to worship.
Besides, although Imperial Physician Lin and Lin Xiaoyi’s mother are gone, Lin Xiaoyi is still there, not to mention there are a group of Imperial Physicians from Imperial Hospital. As long as this kind of thing is brought up, they will more or less help, but they won’t do anything. As for being buried here.
Lin Xiaoyi bit her red lips with her teeth, forced out a pale smile, and said: "When dad was here, his relationship with the clan members was not very good. They all said that the clan spent so much effort, and it was not easy for him to come out. The imperial doctor didn't want to think about his family members. Some people came to the hospital to make trouble a few times, but then they gradually lost contact with him.
Later, when my father died, his family did not agree to be buried in the ancestral land. He said that since he had offended the prince and ignored his family, how could he have the nerve to tarnish his ancestral land again? I didn’t want to see their faces, so I buried them here. "
"this"
Gu Dan was stunned, this kind of family matter was really hard to describe.
It is difficult for an upright official to deal with household affairs. In this era, what is important is for one person to achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven.
In the same way, no matter who is an official, if he does not provide convenience to his own people, he will definitely be stabbed in the spine, and even his reputation in the officialdom will never be good.
After all, you don’t even care about the relationship between blood relatives, so what else do you care about? Who dares to believe you?
The official position of an imperial doctor is not a big one, but he does have a wide network of contacts. It is not too difficult to find a place for others to live in. It is already a position that ordinary people can look up to.
But the people in the clan were obviously resentful of Dr. Lin's refusal to take care of her, and even refused to bury her in her ancestral land. You can imagine the extent of their resentment.
“Actually it’s nothing”
Lin Xiaoyi sniffed, with a slight puff of white air as she spoke, but still smiled, pretending to be relaxed and said: "Anyway, my parents only have a tomb. As for the tomb, it can't be considered a burial. Where can I be buried?" What's the difference? I just remember to come and worship!"
Gu Dan was silent.
At first, the third prince rode his horse to chase the farmer who broke into the royal family to collect firewood. As a result, he fell off the horse and was crushed under him by the horse. He summoned the imperial physician Ling and Imperial Physician Lin.
After the diagnosis and treatment, Imperial Physician Lin bluntly stated that paralysis was unavoidable due to the injury, and the angry third prince ordered him to be chopped down. Even the Imperial Physician Ling who begged for mercy was not spared.
Seven days later, Lin Xiaoyi's biological mother couldn't bear that her husband would not be able to live in peace even if he died, so she secretly ran to the third prince's mansion alone to pray for the body of Imperial Doctor Lin to be contained, but she was beaten to death by a servant.
After the third prince learned the news, he had it chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs.
There are no corpses.
Later, the third prince, who had an extremely vicious temperament and became increasingly violent and perverse, was strangled to death with a white silk ribbon by the maids.
Even if Lin Xiaoyi is honored as the Queen at this time, this hatred will not be resolved.
Everyone is dead, so what does it mean if they are dragged out and whipped? It cannot alleviate the suffering of the living, but only adds a lot of regrets.
Gu Dan still remembered that Lin Xiaoyi, who was still young and unmarried at that time, asked him with pear blossoms.
'Brother Gu, my mother and father are both good people, and they have never made any mistakes in treating patients. Why is this happening? '
Fast forward fifteen years, Lin Xiaoyi stands at the pinnacle of women's power, but the past can no longer be undone.
Like the previous two times, Gu Dan still couldn't think of what to say to comfort Lin Xiaoyi. That kind of heart-wrenching pain was so painful that bystanders felt it was unstoppable. What kind of words could heal it?
I'm afraid it can't be cured, and it may become more and more painful as time goes by, and sadness will come from it.
Lin Xiaoyi, on the other hand, took the initiative to comfort Gu Dan and said, "Brother Gu, there is no need to be sad. In fact, it has been so long that I have almost forgotten it! Occasionally, I think about it, and I try hard to think about it, but one day , I suddenly realized that I couldn’t remember the faces of my father and mother clearly!”
She was clearly smiling, and the expression on her face was as cold as the falling snow from the sky.
"Brother Gu, do you still remember what your father looks like? All I remember now is that his temper is actually not very good, and he rarely gets together with everyone at the Tai Hospital. In addition to studying medical skills, he also studies medical skills. He has always wanted to write a medical book in his life. .In the end, he was killed because he didn’t show his injuries.”
Lin Xiaoyi said with a slight complaint, "I burned all the medical books collected by my father to him. He likes medical books so much, and he has so much time down there, so he finally has time to read more. Maybe it's not too late for him to like them? Why do I need to feel sorry for him?
On the other hand, my mother endured a lot of hardships following him. She never had much chance to enjoy happiness, and my father didn’t even take care of the family. It’s normal for people in the clan not to like him. I didn’t like him very much when I was a child.”
A line of clear tears fell down.
Gu Dan sighed and reached out his hand to wipe away her tears.
He reached into his arms again, took out a warm book, handed it to Lin Xiaoyi, and said, "I actually wanted to give this book to you yesterday, but Xiaoying was still there, so I kept it until today."
The misfortune of the previous generation does not need to be borne by the next generation. Lin Xiaoyi obviously thought so. When he came to pay homage to his parents, he did not bring his children with him.
Fifteen years later, today, old books are old friends.
"Book?"
Lin Xiaoyi was a little surprised and reached out to take it.
On the cover of the book, there are four big, ugly characters written on it.
The Essentials of Jin Chuang.
Familiar yet unfamiliar handwriting suddenly burst into view, and Lin Xiaoyi froze.
The torrent of memories is coming!
"Daddy, daddy! I saw someone flying a kite today, shall we go too?"
In some dilapidated houses, a little girl no taller than a human's thigh is pestering a man making medicine, and her young hands are trying hard to pull his beard.
"Xiaoyi, don't make trouble, don't make trouble! Daddy is making medicine. He doesn't have time to go. Let your mother go with you, okay?" The man said softly with a high face, trying to avoid the little guy's claws.
"I don't! Everyone else has their daddy with them! I want it too!" She got angry, so she pulled his beard harder and rubbed her whole body against his body.
"But daddy still has to go treat people. It was agreed upon."
There was an expression of embarrassment and some pain on the man's face, and he spoke with a grin on his face. He did not forget to reach out to protect the pot of medicine, so as not to give the little guy a chance to cause trouble.
"I don't want to listen. You said the same thing last time! I don't care, I want daddy to take me to fly a kite!"
Seeing that pulling on the beard had no effect, Lin Xiaoyi burst into tears, stretched out her legs and left small shoe prints on the man's body, and waved her fists wildly.
"Xiaoyi."
The man looked helpless and didn't hide. He just pounded the medicine jar silently.
Hearing Lin Xiaoyi's cry, a woman walked over quickly, still holding the winter coat she was sewing in her hand, and said quickly: "Oh, my little ancestor, who made you angry again?"
After inserting the needle and thread into her winter coat, the woman lovingly held Lin Xiaoyi in her arms and freed up one hand to wipe the tears from her face.
"Daddy knows how to cure diseases all day long, but he doesn't want to play with me! Isn't Uncle Xu also an imperial doctor? Uncle Xu takes everyone out to play, why doesn't daddy take me to play!" Young Lin Xiao Yi cried.
The woman hugged her and comforted her: "Didn't mother tell you? Back then, your father was sick and almost died. A kind-hearted doctor passed by and treated her without any money. Now that your father has the ability, Of course we have to help others! Xiaoyi said, right?"
"wrong!"
Lin Xiaoyi pursed her lips in grievance, "How many people have dad helped? The rice vat at home is almost empty!"
"Hey, that can't be calculated like that. We can stay in the hospital and never starve. Those people have no food, but they will starve to death." The woman wiped away the tears on her face and expressed relief.
Speaking of this, Lin Xiaoyi said even more aggrievedly: "Other people who go to Taiyuan Hospital have big houses to live in! They can eat meat every day! Why is our family getting poorer and poorer? We have even mended this winter coat several times! Before The uncle came over a while ago, and he called daddy stupid! Xiaoyi said hello to him, but she was even scolded!"
"If we don't play with them, we won't play with them." The woman also lowered her head, smiled awkwardly, and could only hold Xiaoyi aside.
The man sat there in silence and paused. The sound of pounding medicine continued steadily, and occasionally there was Lin Xiaoyi's cry.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiaoyi grew bigger and reached a person's waist.
"Are you going to learn or not?"
The man had a cold look on his face, no longer loving, and he was staring at her and roaring.
"I don't want to learn!"
Lin Xiaoyi raised her neck and stared into those eyes angrily, gritting her silver teeth and not taking a step back.
"Why don't you study? If you don't study medicine, what else do you want to study? Female celebrities?!"
The man's expression was cold, with almost irrepressible anger.
"What's the benefit of studying medicine? Just like you, your poor family is gone and you live in a hospital all day long! There are so many imperial doctors, who is like you? I don't want to study medicine!
When I grow up, I will find a rich family to marry and never come back! "
Lin Xiaoyi was particularly angry and shouted back without fear.
"Oh, that's for the future. Now, come here and read the medical books!" The man sneered, carrying her and placing her in front of the desk.
"Let me go! I don't want to learn!"
Lin Xiaoyi struggled hard, but she still couldn't defeat him and could only be pressed in front of the desk.
A medical book was thrown in front of him.
"Before dinner, I will randomly check the first ten pages. If I can't remember, I will be hungry!"
The man said without mercy.
“If you’re hungry, be hungry!”
She raised her head and shouted angrily.
The man ignored her and locked the door directly, not giving her a chance to slip out.
Staring at the medical book in front of her, Lin Xiaoyi became more and more angry and tore it up.
Then she stayed in bed for several days.
In a daze, Lin Xiaoyi had grown to the height of a man's shoulders. Although she was still a little immature, she was still tall and graceful.
It's just that the relationship with my father is very bad, to the point where I don't even want to pay attention to him when I meet him.
She was wandering around the Imperial Hospital. She was very familiar with this place, maybe even more familiar with it than the imperial doctor who had been working here for decades.
Suddenly, Lin Xiaoyi saw a familiar figure under the thousand-year-old pine tree, sitting there cross-legged, staring at the pine tree in a daze.
She then walked over and greeted with a smile: "Brother Gu, are you practicing your inner breath again?"
The figure sitting cross-legged nodded, looking quite helpless.
"I asked my dad, inner breath cannot be forced."
Then Gu Dan gave him a few big coins.
Money is a good thing and can be exchanged for candied haws.
It's just that her father doesn't give her any money, and only her mother occasionally secretly gives her some. They say girls should be rich, but she can't even eat candied haws on a stick.
"How embarrassing."
She smiled with two dimples on her face and reached out her hand to take it decisively.
Memories are connected.
Plain white and slender fingers tremblingly opened the pages of the book, and more tiny characters hit the eye.
Lin Xiaoyi foolishly flipped through the medical book, her eyes a little more crystal clear, she didn't close her eyes, she just kept flipping through it.
After turning to a certain page, brand new and different handwriting appeared on the book.
The handwriting after that is different from the previous one.
Gu Dan said softly: "This book was not finished when Royal Physician Lin gave it to me. Later I completed it and now give it to you."
Lin Xiaoyi said nothing.
Only tears poured down like broken beads.
This book is half the work of a man who spent half his life.
But in the end, it can only be completed by others.
Lin Xiaoyi held the medical book in her arms like a treasure in the world. Although she couldn't stop crying, she still managed to smile. She said: "This medical book is excellent!"
(End of chapter)
