Chapter 198 Between life and death

Jiang Zhu gently stroked his hand: "Okay, what do you want to say?"

　　Ye Annian didn't know either. After thinking for a while, he said softly: "I made something to give to you. But, it seems I can't finish it."

　　"Oh?" Jiang Zhu raised his eyebrows and looked at him with great interest, "Then can you tell me what it is?"

　　Ye Annian held his hand tightly: "It's... the restoration map of Yueliang City."

　　He drew blueprints and actually hired craftsmen to rebuild Yueliang City.

　　Wen Heng wrote to him last time, saying that construction has started there and part of it should be completed by the end of the year.

　　But right now...

　　"It doesn't matter," Jiang Zhu reached out and pinched his face, "You can show it to me before you finish the painting."

　　Ye Anyian nodded.

　　"anything else?"

　　"You... give him/her a name."

　　Jiang Zhu was stunned. His hand slipped from Ye Anyian's face and fell on the quilt.

　　Ye Anyian grabbed his hand and placed it on his abdomen.

　　It was still flat there, and I couldn't actually feel anything.

　　Jiang Zhu's hand started to shake. He coughed lightly and took his hand back.

　　"My nickname is Rongrong, it doesn't matter if it's a girl, a boy or a man."

　　Ye Annian lowered his eyes and looked at his pale and delicate hands: "Okay."

　　"The moon melts in the pear blossom courtyard, and the catkins pond has a gentle breeze. It's a good name."

　　"Where's the daimyo?"

　　"I'll leave it for you." Jiang Zhu smiled.

　　He glanced out the window and whispered, "I'm tired."

　　Ye Annian didn't speak. He couldn't help but hold his hand again. The cold touch made his heart tremble.

　　"Why, you can't bear to leave me?"

　　Ye Anyian bit the corner of his lip, sniffed, and then spoke again, his voice was calm and slightly trembling.

　　"Then... take a good rest, and I will come see you tomorrow with the painting."

　　"good."

　　Ye Anian carefully helped him lie down again, covered him with the quilt, and then gently retreated.

　　He said goodbye to Abbot Chenjie and returned to Baihe Zhai.

　　Now, Ah Li lives with Ziyu, and the whole house is empty.

　　He pushed the door open and everything was as before.

　　The Nandina bamboo in the courtyard is lush and growing well. Among the fresh green leaves, there are faint clusters of eye-catching white.

　　The nandina is blooming.

　　Ye Annian looked at the white masses in the bamboo forest that looked like falling snow. He suddenly stepped forward and picked a few branches of the blooming flowers.

　　He went upstairs with the flowers, found an empty vase from the library shelf in the study, filled it with water, and put the flower branches in it.

　　He dug out the restored picture of Yue Liang City that he had drawn before on the desk, rolled it up carefully, and put it in a small box.

　　This day seemed to pass very long.

　　He tossed and turned almost all night without falling asleep.

　　Early the next morning, Ye Anyian got up early, took flowers and paintings, and went to Fayuan Temple again.

Zi Mo pulled Ah Li and hurriedly followed him.

　　Today, Jiang Zhu did not wake up.

　　Ye Annian put the flowers and paintings on the table in the Zen room where he lived, looked at his peaceful sleeping face, and just sat quietly.

　　Zimo and Ali stayed outside and did not dare to go in and disturb them.

　　At noon, another novice monk came to deliver vegetarian food. Ah Li ate a little, but Zimo was not in the mood.

　　He went in with the tray and saw Ye Anyian holding Jiang Zhu's hand and sitting motionless by the bed, as if he had become a statue.

He murmured for a long time and then said: "Young Master...you, have something to eat."

　　After saying it twice in a row, Ye Anyian came back to his senses.

　　He looked at the porridge and vegetables for a long time, and then he said softly: "Okay. Just put it there, I will eat it."

　　Zimo put the tray on the table aside and stepped back.

　　Ye Annian washed his nose, put Jiang Zhu's hand back into the quilt, then stood up, sat down at the table, and finished a bowl of vegetarian porridge with an expressionless expression.

　　Then, he returned to the bed again.

　　He kept guard for two days, but Jiang Zhu never woke up again.

　　Abbot Chenjie came several times, and each time he said, "We have to wait a little longer."

　　Ye Anian didn't know what to wait for. On the evening of the third day, he mustered up the courage to untie Jiang Zhu's clothes.

　　Then he suddenly saw that the green and black lines on his chest had expanded much more than before, almost densely covering most of his body.

　　Ye Anian was suddenly stunned.

　　He stared at the abyss-like lines for a long time, and then slowly leaned down and lay on Jiang Zhu's body to listen to his heartbeat.

　　However, he pricked up his ears and listened for a long time, but he didn't hear anything.

　　The room was obviously very quiet, and the temple was also very quiet. Ever since Wei Zhihuai brought people to Shaoshan, the number of pilgrims coming to Fayuan Temple suddenly decreased.

　　But he couldn't hear it.

　　He suddenly panicked, pressed his ears tightly against Jiang Zhu's chest, and held his breath.

　　There was a sudden blur in front of my eyes, as if something hot was pouring out.

　　But he ignored it and continued to listen hard.

　　It took him a long time to catch the sound that could not be softer.

　　He breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the edge of the bed.

　　Because he had been holding his breath for so long, his face was turning blue from holding back his breath, and he was breathing heavily.

　　But because he was breathing too much, he coughed violently, causing waves of retching.

　　He leaned on the table and rested for a long time.

　　Then, he stood up, arranged Jiang Zhu's clothes, and covered him with the quilt again.

　　Picking up the withered flowers on the table and the painting, he left the meditation room without looking back.

　　Zimo and Ah Li were standing guard at the door and were startled when they saw him coming out.

　　"Brother Ye," Ah Li was startled by his pale face, "Are you okay?"

　　Ye Annian shook his head, put the vase with nandina flowers in her hand, then took out the restored picture of Yueliang City in the box, and after taking a look...

　　It was torn apart bit by bit.

　　"Young Master...!"

　　Zi Mo exclaimed: "You, what are you doing?!"

　　He watched Ye Anyian stay up all night with his own eyes and finally painted this picture.

　　Ye Annian ignored him, finished tearing up the painting, and suddenly said: "Zi Mo, do you know how much money it costs to hire the best killer in Rakshasa Hall?"

　　"Wha...what?"

Zimo was confused by his sudden words.

　　"I want to hire the most powerful killer in Rakshasa Hall," Ye Anyian said in a calm voice, "Kill Wei Zhihuai."

　　"I...but, this..."

　　Zi Mo became at a loss.

　　"A Rakshasa Hall heaven-level killer costs tens of thousands of taels of gold."

　　Ziyu's voice suddenly sounded.

　　When Ye Anyian heard the news, he saw her wearing a dark-colored dress with narrow sleeves and her expression was as calm as ever.

　　"Young Master, I'm afraid the combined income from all our shops is not enough."

　　"I still have some here," Ye Annian said, "It will be enough if you just scrape them together."

　　There is no need to rebuild Zuoyueliang City, so he can take all the money he raised.

　　"No one has hired a heaven-level killer." Ziyu looked at him.

　　After a while, she sighed: "If Shaojun insists on killing Wei Zhihuai, I can go."

　　Although her kung fu is not up to the heaven level of Rakshasa Hall, she is still at the king level.

　　"That's all." Ye Anyian rejected her.

　　He said nothing more and left.

　　Ziyu gave Zimo a look, and Zimo raised his sleeves, wiped away his tears, and hurriedly caught up.

　　"Young Master, where are you going?"

　　Ye Annian walked down the mountain without looking back.

　　"Go find Xie Xiaogong."

　　"But, Senior Xie has been missing for so long..."

　　Zi Mo chased after him, his voice getting smaller and smaller.

　　Ye Anyian just pretended not to hear.

　　When he reached the foot of Baiyun Mountain, he suddenly looked back at Zimo.

　　"Xie Xiaogong, where does he live?"

　　"ah?"

　　Zimo was confused again.

　　Ye Anyian's words today made him particularly confused.

　　Ye Annian didn't argue with him: "Jiang Zhu told me before that he came out at the age of fifteen and founded Baihe Zhai on this Baiyun Mountain."

　　"But before that, where did he live with Xie Xiaogong and his junior brother?"

　　"oh..."

　　Zi Mo suddenly realized: "Senior Xie has always lived in the Spiritual Medicine Valley."

　　"where?"

　　"In the valley on the outskirts of Qingzhou." Zi Mo said.

　　"Then let's rush there now. How long will it take?"

　　"It takes seven or eight days to ride in a carriage."

　　"Where's the horse riding?"

　　"If it's quick, it will take three to five days."

　　"Then go and prepare a fast horse for me and leave now."

　　Zi Mo was so frightened that he grabbed his sleeve: "Shaojun, you can't ride a horse now!"

　　"Besides, Senior Xie may not necessarily be returning to the Spiritual Medicine Valley."

　　Ye Annian looked at him silently and said nothing.

Zimo was immediately frightened: "Well, then I'll go. I'll go, okay?"

　　"I'll use Qinggong to fly there. I'll be there in two days."

　　After saying that, he remembered something again and scratched his hair anxiously.

　　"If you have anything to say, just say it." Ye Anyian said.

"Sister Ziyu sent people to look for the Spiritual Medicine Valley. No one is here..."

　　Zimo looked at Ye Anyian timidly.

　　Ye Anyang breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly sat down weakly on the stone steps at the foot of the mountain.

　　Zi Mo didn't dare to speak and even breathed softly standing next to him.

　　The two of them sat at the foot of the mountain for a long time. As evening approached, the sky suddenly turned gloomy.

　　Large groups of black clouds gathered together, looking like a storm was about to come.

　　"Shaojun, let's go back first, it's going to rain." Zimo leaned over to persuade him.

　　Ye Annian was lost in thought looking at the winding paths in the mountains.

　　Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, Zimo became very anxious and grabbed Ye Anyian's sleeve: "Young Master, go back first."

　　"The sky is so cloudy, and it will start raining soon. It's going to rain."

　　Ye Anyian finally stood up and said: "He is going to die, so what does it matter if I get a little rain..."

　　Zimo:...

　　"Then...you must also take care of the Zhai Master's child."

　　Ye Anyian's eyelashes trembled and he suddenly chuckled: "Let's go."

　　The two of them walked back along the stone steps, but the rain started to fall at this moment.

　　The rain was not heavy, the raindrops were as thin as cow hairs, but very dense.

　　It fell on my body and my clothes quickly got wet.

　　Zimo quickly took off his coat and held it up to protect Ye Anyian from the rain.

　　The stone steps in the mountains have been soaked by the rain, and the air is filled with a fresh earthy smell.

　　Ye Annian breathed hard, and his cheeks slowly became moist. He couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears.

　　"You two..."

　　"You two stay!"

　　Behind him, a clear voice suddenly sounded.

　　Ye Anian stopped and turned around, seeing a young woodcutter chasing them with a bundle of firewood behind him.

　　"Is something wrong?"

　　The woodcutter seemed to be in a hurry and was panting heavily. He caught up with Ye Anyian and Zi Mo in a few steps, held up his knees and took a few big breaths, and then hurriedly took it out from his chest.

　　After a while, he finally took out a small box from his arms and stuffed it into Ye Anyian's hand.

　　"This is...an old man with white hair asked me to give it to you."