Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 391 The Night That Stopped

It's called a signboard, but it's really just a wooden board with varnish on it. The four characters on it are written carefully, and the strokes are still a bit childish.

"You changed your name?"

Fatty Li quickly replied, "I heard from Senior Bell that she disliked the previous shop name because it was too long."

Chen Anran withdrew his gaze but did not go inside. Instead, he continued forward and arrived at "Feng's Hundred Herbs Pavilion".

The door to Baicao Pavilion was ajar, and warm light emanated from inside, mixed with a very faint scent of herbs.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Please come in." It was Feng Changyuan's voice, hoarse from days of hard work.

Chen Anran pushed open the door and entered.

The Hundred Herbs Pavilion was more complete than I remembered. On the multi-treasure shelf against the wall, rows of ceramic medicine jars were neatly arranged, each with a thin label, the ink on them varying in freshness and age, the result of the Feng family's efforts over the past few days. Several handwritten pharmacopoeias were spread out on the long table, their edges densely covered with annotations, all records of adjustments to the properties of medicines and prescriptions in this world.

Feng Changyuan rose from behind his desk, and upon seeing Chen Anran, he was slightly taken aback. He then cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Fellow Daoist Chen has emerged from seclusion. Congratulations."

Chen Anran smiled, her gaze passing over him and landing on the half-open door to the inner room. "How is Mo Han?"

Feng Changyuan paused, then stepped aside to lead the way: "The same as always. Feng Zhi just changed her dressing and is guarding her right now."

Chen Anran followed him inside.

The inner room was small and simply furnished. There was a bed, a table, and a lamp. On the bed lay the woman named Mo Han, her eyes closed, her face calm, her breathing long and even, yet she showed no signs of waking up. Feng Zhi sat on a small stool beside the bed, holding a book in her hand, but had not turned a page for a long time.

Upon seeing Chen Anran enter, Feng Zhi quickly stood up, curtsied, and greeted him: "Immortal Master Chen."

Chen Anran approached the couch.

Mo Han's complexion was much better than before she transmigrated. Although the spiritual energy in this world was violent, it was also full of vitality, and its nourishment for the physical body was far superior to that of the Dharma-ending Age. Her cheeks had regained a faint rosy hue, and her eyelashes trembled slightly occasionally, as if she were merely asleep and might wake up at any moment.

But that's just the surface.

Chen Anran could sense that the door deep within her sea of ​​consciousness remained tightly shut. It wasn't damaged, nor was it broken; she had locked it herself.

"The spiritual energy in this realm is too intense. We dare not probe it with our divine sense rashly, for fear of startling her," Feng Zhi said in a low voice. "We can only use gentle nourishing medicinal soups to strengthen her foundation each day. As for the rest... we can only wait for her to wake up on her own."

After a long silence, Chen Anran said, "If there are any hard-to-find medicinal herbs, please let me know."

Feng Zhi was slightly taken aback, then solemnly replied, "Yes."

Chen Anran turned and left the inner room.

Feng Changyuan saw him to the door, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Chen Anran seemed to have only come to check on Mo Han's situation. He walked out the door, bowed to Feng Changyuan, said "thank you for your hard work," and left.

Not long after Chen Anran left, Feng Lie came to Feng Changyuan's side, and the two brothers looked in the direction Chen Anran had left.

"You're leaving already?"

Feng Changyuan did not respond, but simply closed the door of Baicao Pavilion gently, shutting out the gradually deepening night wind outside.

"Chen Anran..." Feng Lie paused, his brows furrowing, "Just now, he stood in front of Miss Mo's bed, just looking at her without saying a word. But I always felt that he wasn't looking at Miss Mo."

Feng Changyuan closed the pharmacopoeia that was spread out on the table, his fingertips lingering on the cover for a moment.

"What is he looking at?"

Feng Lie shook his head, lowering his voice even further: "I don't know either. It's just... it's that kind of look. When my father passed away, my mother sat in the mourning hall, and she had that same look in her eyes. She was clearly looking at you, but it was as if she didn't see anything at all."

Feng Changyuan's hand stopped.

He didn't turn around, nor did he reply.

The light filtering through the window paper cut a sharp line between light and shadow on his profile.

As if a floodgate had been opened, Feng Lie finally poured out the words he had held back for two months: "Brother, do you think Chen Anran... can she get through this? What about Xiao Lu...?"

Feng Changyuan said, "It's not just the little deer."

Feng Lie suddenly looked up.

Feng Changyuan said, "Three people. He lost three people."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Very light footsteps came from outside the window; it was the Feng family members changing shifts at night. A few people whispered among themselves, then silence quickly returned.

Feng Lie opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he finally said, "...Can he hold on?"

Feng Changyuan said, "He has to hold on. There are hundreds of people in the Yunyin Sect, the villagers down the mountain, and Miss Mo, Lingdang, Qi Lan... everyone is watching him. If he falls, this hard-won gathering will fall apart in an instant."

"But he's human too," Feng Lie said, his tone unusually stubborn. "He's not some indestructible immortal, nor some heartless and desireless saint. He's just a young man in his twenties, a few years younger than me. He's just... just too good at hiding it."

Feng Changyuan did not refute, but only sighed softly and said, "You're right. He's not a saint, just someone who... tries his best not to stop."

Feng Lie was silent for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Brother, do you think our Feng family had ancestors three thousand years ago?"

Feng Changyuan turned his head away.

"I mean..." Feng Lie carefully chose his words, "In this era, there should also be ancestors of our Feng family, right? Perhaps even some great figures emerged from among them?"

Feng Changyuan did not answer immediately. He walked to the window with his hands behind his back and looked at the deep night outside.

"The Feng family's lineage records only go back a thousand years. Our ancestors fell into slumber five hundred years ago when spiritual energy declined. Therefore, we know very little about what happened three thousand years ago."

Upon hearing this, Feng Lie shrugged and said, "Alright, I was saying I'd like to have the chance to witness the prowess of our Feng family ancestors."

………………

When Chen Anran left Baicaoge, night had completely enveloped the resort.

He did not return to the mountain, nor did he go to any of the brightly lit houses. He simply walked slowly along the main street, his footsteps echoing softly on the empty stone pavement.

As I passed by Yunyin Lingshe, a sliver of warm light shone through the crack in the door.

He paused for a moment.

Through the half-open door, you could see Bell squatting by the wicker basket, teasing the little beast named Gray Ball with a thin blade of grass. Gray Ball's fur was now glossy, and its short tail was fluffy like a ball. At that moment, it was flapping its short paws, trying to grab the swaying blade of grass, its round eyes full of focus.

The bell didn't notice the person outside the door.

A faint smile played on her lips, and she appeared much calmer under the light than she had two months ago.

Chen Anran did not disturb them and continued forward.

He walked past the Xian Shan Fang restaurant, where the stoves had been extinguished, and only the woman on duty was still wiping the cutting boards and humming an off-key folk song.

He walked past the Jiang family workshop, where the lights were still on. Zhang Laoshi's apprentice was still polishing parts, and the rustling sound of sandpaper rubbing metal leaked out from the crack in the door, monotonous and peaceful.

He walked to the edge of the resort and sat down on a piece of abandoned stone.

Looking out from here, one sees the deep darkness of night, the vast and boundless primeval forests, and the unfamiliar wind and moon of three thousand years ago.

He took out the letter from Lu Kong from his pocket, unfolded it, and read it again by the dim light behind him.

"...The granddaughter of General Wei Shanyue, commander of the Western Army of the Great Qian Dynasty, will soon be going to Qingyang Valley to study under a master."

Chen Anran's expression became complicated.

Seeing this, Fatty Li finally couldn't help but ask, "Master?"

Chen Anran regained his composure and said, "Tomorrow, ask the locals if anyone knows anything about the Daqian Western Army. If they do, bring them up the mountain."

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