Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

"Master!"

"father!"

"Ziqing, don't come over here. Take your senior sister away quickly."

An old man with gray hair and beard, over fifty years old, was chained and pinned to the ground by several black-clothed and masked killers, who raised their knives and chopped down his legs.

"what--"

Blood gushed out immediately, staining the bluestone road red.

The old man frowned and grimaced in pain, veins bulged at his temples, and a numb feeling like an electric shock spread from his legs throughout his body, causing him to lose consciousness.

He collapsed on the ground, still struggling in his death throes, holding the killer's legs and feet with both hands, and shouting at the two men.

"Come on!"

The sky was dark and the lights were flickering.

The masked killer was chasing them relentlessly, his figure appearing and disappearing from time to time. Lu Ziqing held his senior sister's hand and shuttled through the streets and alleys.

The alleys were winding and twisting, as if he was in a huge maze with no end, and no matter how hard he tried to run, he couldn't escape.

There was a void in all directions, and smoke gradually rose.

Lu Ziqing's vision began to blur, and bursts of ghostly "laughing" sounds rang in his ears.

He frantically protected his senior sister behind him and slashed wildly with his knife at the strange noises coming from all directions.

But no matter how hard I chopped, the sound still lingered.

When Lu Ziqing turned around.

Sudden.

A sharp iron claw suddenly appeared from the dark night void.

"欻——"

The sharp claws pierced through the senior sister's back and chest, and blood kept oozing out and flowing down her heart.

Lu Ziqing immediately opened his mouth and stared, shouting, "Senior Sister!!"

At this time.

The shrouded dark night slowly gathered, and a huge human-shaped figure in a black robe emerged in the air. Under the robe was half a ghostly mask, and on the iron wristband was a pattern that looked like a dragon and a python.

He looked at the sticky red on the iron claws and said in a rough voice, "What a beautiful color."

Lu Ziqing's eyes were bloodthirsty. He raised his knife and slashed at the black-robed man, shouting uncontrollably.

"Don't kill her, come on, kill me, kill me, I'm the superfluous one."

Senior Sister’s face was ashen, with blood flowing from the corners of her eyes and mouth, like a torn canvas.

She looked up at Lu Ziqing weakly, "Ziqing... why didn't you come and save me?"

The voice was cold and penetrating.

"After eighteen years of raising us, how could you just watch us die?"

"No, no." Lu Ziqing knelt on the ground and shook his head desperately, "I didn't... I was..."

"Ziqing, avenge my father and me..."

Before she could finish her words, the senior sister was suddenly pulled into a black hole and disappeared, and the alley was empty.

Lu Ziqing's heart felt like it had fallen into a bottomless abyss. He woke up with a panicked scream, his heart beating like a drum.

"what happened?"

The man hunched over the bed looked nervous, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the wrinkled piece of rice paper in Lu Ziqing's hand.

"Did you dream about Master Xi and your senior sister again?"

Lu Ziqing was so caught up in the nightmare that he didn't recognize who was in front of him for a moment. His forehead and cheeks were covered in sweat. He calmed down for a while before coming to his senses and responding softly.

"Lao Su!"

He propped himself up on the bed and sat up, his feet on the wooden tower, his face full of fatigue.

"What time is it now?"

The inn room was simple, with only a small oil lamp lit, barely illuminating a corner of the room.

The landscape painting hanging on the wall has faded and looks even more worn in the dim light. The occasional barking of dogs can be heard outside the window, making the night seem unusually lonely.

Su Chengfeng poured a cup of tea and handed it to Lu Ziqing. "The fourth watch gong just struck, it's still early, you should sleep a little longer."

After taking a sip of tea, I felt much clearer.

Lu Ziqing walked barefoot to the table and sat down, looking at the wrinkled drawing in his hand with a worried look on his face.

"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see the tragic death of my master and senior sister. I can't save them."

He smoothed the drawing, which showed a delicate magnolia jade pattern. He looked at the drawing and said calmly:

"Senior Sister blamed me for not saving her. Yes, why didn't I save her? It was my inability to protect them, and I was the one who deserved to die."

"I am a person abandoned by heaven and earth. If my master had not taken me in eighteen years ago, I would have been eaten by wild dogs until not even a bone was left. How could I be who I am today? Now their life or death is unknown, but I am still alive and well."

Su Chengfeng stepped forward and put his hand on his shoulder, pressing it gently.

"I originally thought I could live a peaceful life, take care of my master until his death, watch my senior sister get married, and then pass on my master's medical skills. That would be enough for me in this life, but unfortunately, things don't always go as planned."

Lu Ziqing lowered his head and quickly raised it again.

A light breeze carrying the chill of early spring blew into the room. He subconsciously narrowed his eyes slightly, his face tilted half an inch to the side, and two strands of hair covered a corner of his narrow peach-shaped eyes.

Su Chengfeng took some clothes and put them on him, closed the window, and spoke comfortingly.

"Seeking stability and prosperity is what people desire and think it's normal, but looking at the world, how many people can achieve their wishes?"

"The rich and powerful, even the emperors, may have achieved wealth and honor, but how many of them can live a peaceful and stable life? Not to mention ordinary people like us."

He sat down and adjusted the wick, and the room became a little brighter than before.

"Don't overthink it, and don't blame yourself every time something happens. What happened with your master and sister wasn't your fault, nor is it because you're incompetent. It's just that the opponent we met this time was unusual, but..."

Su Chengfeng pressed his finger on a corner of the drawing to analyze it.

"This drawing is based solely on your impressions. We've gone through a lot of twists and turns, spending five years to uncover the origin of this jade pendant. Can you guarantee its resemblance? The imperial palace is fraught with danger, unlike the leisurely world of Jianghu. We must be extremely cautious."

"I wouldn't dare say 100%, but it's closer to 70%. There's another one on the other person's arm..." Lu Ziqing closed his eyes and thought for a while.

"It looks like... a totem shaped like a series of stars."

Su Chengfeng lowered his eyes and thought, "The person who fought with me didn't find anything else except this jade artifact."

He hissed again and asked curiously.

"What's your master's background? He's even being hunted down by martial arts masters. Over the past decade or so, he's moved through more than a dozen prefectures and counties, almost spanning half of the Great Ning Dynasty. Why is that?"

Speaking of this, Lu Ziqing was also confused. He would often ask this question when he was young, and his master would always answer yes.

"The world is not peaceful."

When he grew up, he never asked any questions. He just followed his family around the world and made a living by practicing medicine and making medicine.

"Master never told us this." Lu Ziqing said slowly, stroking his fingers.

"When I was young, I would get upset and throw tantrums, but I eventually let it go. This world may seem peaceful, but in reality, it's rotting with undercurrents. In this chaotic world of power struggles, a commoner is like a mayfly. A simple life of peace and stability is the greatest happiness. As for those metaphorical secrets, why bother to delve into them and only add to my troubles? Even if it means facing mountains of swords and seas of fire, I will go and try."

Su Chengfeng listened silently and nodded. "We've traveled for over half a month to get to Yongzhou City. We're exhausted, so we'll rest for a day. The government office will announce the results today, so we'll go check out the news at daybreak."

Lu Ziqing has been confused for many years. The three of them, the master and his disciples, plus the two Su brothers, have lived in a remote area all year round.

The master is a little old man over fifty years old. He is low-key and honest in his dealings with others, does good deeds every day, and is deeply respected by the people in the surrounding area, not to mention offending anyone.

If it weren't for that jade pendant, he would never have dared to imagine that it had anything to do with the palace. Who was responsible for this?

Before noon, the sky was gloomy and misty. A light rain was falling, accompanied by spring thunder, on the streets and alleys of Yongzhou City.

Although it is spring, the breeze still makes one feel cold.

The crowd was thinly dressed in the rain, but they showed no sign of dispersing. They were noisily gathered at the gate of the government office, discussing the posted notices.

There were a few lines of large characters written on the notice in shock.