She turned her head, and a person erged from under the trees in the courtyard.
The night had deepened, the lantern illuminating only a small patch of ground beneath. Pei Yunng walked towards her from the shadows, his striking features softened by the dim yellow light. Coming to a halt in front of her, he furrowed his brows and studied her for a mont before taking off his cloak and draping it over her shoulders.
Lu Tong asked, "Why are you here?"
"I ca looking for you," he sighed, "but there were people in your room. I didn’t want to disturb your heart-to-heart, so I waited here."
Heart-to-heart?
Lu Tong, surprised, said, "Doctor Ji ca to give acupuncture."
"Oh," he raised an eyebrow, "but when he left, he looked distraught."
Lu Tong: "..."
She didn’t know where his words "distraught" ca from; Ji Xun had seed perfectly normal to her.
Pei Yunng glanced at her and bent down to fasten the cloak more tightly around her, then asked, "So, where were you planning to go?"
"It was too stuffy in the room; I thought of taking a walk outside."
The sky had grown darker, and even without falling snow, the winter nights in Su Nan were exceptionally cold.
She also felt that her suggestion was a bit excessive. In the next mont, a hand suddenly reached out and held hers firmly.
The hand was well-defined, slender, and warm. He led her by the hand, and Lu Tong turned to look at him. As if unaware, he rely said, "It is a bit stuffy, let’s go."
Lu Tong was montarily taken aback, but he had already started walking ahead, holding her hand.
There were Imperial Guards on duty at the gate of the courtyard. Seeing the two of them co out, they bowed their heads in respect but cast curious glances at their clasped hands.
Lu Tong felt a bit embarrassed and tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on firmly.
After a mont of silence, she gave up trying to pull away, and the corners of her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
The lantern light cast a warm glow on the ground, and the snow sparkled under its gleam. With a "crunch crunch" sound, their shoes pressed against the ground. A cold wind blew her way, but wrapped in his ample cloak, she felt very warm.
Lu Tong lowered her gaze.
In the days since descending from Luoi Peak, Pei Yunng had been constantly by her side.
Seemingly alard by her condition, he had stayed close to her without leaving. After she woke up, Lin Danqing secretly whispered to her.
"This Commander of the Palace Front Office, I used to think he was untouchable and feared no one, but he was quite flustered when panicked. I reckon, if sothing had happened to you, he wouldn’t end up as those exaggerated tales suggest, having the dical Officer accompany you in death..."
"...He would probably wish to accompany himself."
Lu Tong couldn’t help but look at him.
The young man walked through the snowy ground, his features noble and handso, no longer stern but tender, like the tear she had seen when she woke up.
That warm, raindrop-like tear.
Feeling her gaze, Pei Yunng lowered his eyes and looked back at her. Lu Tong turned her head away, diverting her eyes.
He paused for a mont, a smile playing about his lips, though his tone was casual, "Watch your step."
She lowered her head and deliberately stepped on a small stone, tilting slightly, only to be steadied by his firm grip.
Pei Yunng "tsked" and looked at her with amusent, "Did you do that on purpose?"
"No."
He was silent, not dwelling on her intentional mischief, but held her hand tighter.
Lu Tong did not speak.
As they reached the end of their path, they ca close to the dilapidated temple near the execution grounds. Now that the Plague Hospital had moved, there was only a flicker of solitary light at the entrance. Looking in that direction, it was towards Luoi Peak, where the moon shone over the snowfield, casting a shimring glow on the snow.
Lu Tong’s footsteps ca to a halt.
The thatched hut in her dream seed the sa as before, but now it didn’t feel as heavy. It seed she had let go of much.
"Lu Tong," Pei Yunng’s voice ca from beside her. He said, "There’s sothing I’m very curious about."
"What is it?"
After a pause, he asked, "I saw Mo Ruyun’s grave on the mountain; when did she die?"
In the overgrown gravesite on Luoi Peak, seventeen tombs stood as a harsh reminder. She had carved the words "honored teacher" on the gravestone, yet she was clearly a tool used by Mo Ruyun for testing dicines.
Complex, confusing, and hard to decipher.
Lu Tong felt a stir in her heart and raised her eyes to look at the man beside her.
He cast his gaze downwards, the vague night of Su Nan reflecting in his eyes. His tone was gentle, but his question was sharp.
"Two years ago," Lu Tong answered.
"So, you ca down from the mountain after she passed away?"
"Yes."
He nodded slightly, "I see." He didn’t ask any further.
It was as if he deliberately avoided the question.
The wind blew gently; Lu Tong gazed into the distance, where amid the night, only the towering outlines of Luoi Peak could be seen, casting an indissoluble shroud over Su Nan.
Old matters that she had forcibly forgotten were not troubling her tonight. Perhaps it was his tender gaze, or perhaps the warmth of the cloak enveloping her shoulders, but she felt no cold from the wind and snow, and so she felt at ease and calm.
"You once asked whether I feared killing Ke Chengxing," Lu Tong suddenly said.
Pei Yunng was taken aback.
It was from an even earlier ti when he already knew the secret of her revenge—a casual probe that she had deftly avoided.
"No."
The long-delayed response made him furrow his brow abruptly, and Pei Yunng looked at her, "Lu Tong..."
She raised her eyes toward the far depths of Luoi Peak.
"Actually, the first person I killed wasn’t Ke Chengxing."
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