I served as Li Bai's page.

Li Bai carried Wu Zhinan on his back, and I supported him from behind as we ran quickly toward Uncle Lin's boat.

Uncle Lin saw us running towards him from afar, came up to us, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Uncle Lin, Young Master Wu has vomited blood," I said, crying.

Li Bai carried Wu Zhinan onto the boat, and Uncle Lin untied the rope, jumped onto the boat, and rowed vigorously towards Yueyang City.

"Young Master, please put Young Master Wu down and see how he is doing," I said.

With my help, Li Bai slowly lowered Wu Zhinan down. By this time, Wu Zhinan was extremely weak. I helped him sit on the deck, and as the boat moved, Wu Zhinan spat out another mouthful of blood into Dongting Lake.

"Yuehua, go help Uncle Lin row the boat, so it will go faster." Li Bai said as he squatted down to support Wu Zhinan.

"Shall we land on our little island again? It's closer to Yueyang City," Uncle Lin said.

"Alright, you're more familiar with it, you decide," Li Bai said to Uncle Lin.

Uncle Lin and I each rowed a pair of oars and quickly returned to the shore where we started. Before the boat had even come to a complete stop, Li Bai wanted to carry Wu Zhinan on his back.

Wu Zhinan shook his head and said, "No need to carry me. Just help me to the shore and sit for a while."

Li Bai and I helped Wu Zhinan off the boat and sat down on a large rock on the shore.

"Rest for a while, I'll carry you on my back, and we'll go find a doctor," Li Bai said to Wu Zhinan.

Wu Zhinan took the jade rabbit pendant from his person and put it in Li Bai's hand. Just as he was about to say something to Li Bai, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, followed by another. Wu Zhinan's face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed onto the stone like a deflated balloon.

I was so scared that I started to cry. Li Bai held Wu Zhinan's hand tightly, trying to help him up.

Uncle Lin walked over, touched Wu Zhinan's neck, and said, "He has passed away. Please accept our condolences."

I burst into tears. Upon hearing this, Li Bai sat down on the ground, unable to utter a single word.

At this moment, Uncle Lin's wife and the surrounding neighbors ran over. Seeing the blood all over the ground and Wu Zhinan lying flat on the stone, they understood what had happened.

Li Bai sat on the ground for a while, then suddenly stood up, hugged Wu Zhinan, and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see a doctor. You'll get better."

Uncle Lin stepped forward and grasped Li Bai's hand, saying, "Young Master Li, please accept my condolences. Young Master Wu has passed away. Lay him down and prepare for his funeral."

Li Bai released Wu Zhinan and, facing Dongting Lake, cried out in sorrow: "I have no face to return to Longxi Academy in this lifetime."

I stopped crying, walked to Li Bai's side, and helped him sit down on a nearby rock.

"Young Master, what should we do next?" I asked.

"Even if Brother Zhinan is a corpse, I will take him with me on my journey. I will find a way to send him back to his hometown of Qinglian," Li Bai said.

Uncle Lin walked over and said, "It's June now, the weather is hot, and a person's body will decompose quickly. Let's give Young Master Wu a proper burial."

Li Bai said, "I want him to return to his hometown, to return to his roots."

"Young Master Wu is not suitable for long-distance travel right now. You can bury him here by Dongting Lake first, and then move him back to his hometown when conditions permit in the future," Uncle Lin advised.

After listening to Uncle Lin's words, and considering that everyone was being exposed to the scorching sun, I knew that doing as Uncle Lin suggested was the most appropriate course of action. So I said to Li Bai, "Young Master, let's do as Uncle Lin says and bury Young Master Wu by Dongting Lake."

Li Bai, his face filled with sorrow, said, "Then I'll trouble Uncle Lin to help me with the burial of Brother Zhinan."

When Uncle Lin and the neighbors saw that Li Bai had agreed, they quickly set up a mourning hall, bought a coffin and burial clothes, and moved Wu Zhinan from the stone into the coffin.

Uncle Lin arranged Wu Zhinan's funeral according to local customs, finding a burial site at the southernmost tip of the island and burying Wu Zhinan there.

After the funeral, I took out some money to thank Uncle Lin and the neighbors, but they refused to accept it, saying, "You're away from home, and you need money for many more things than you do at home. Consider this a favor we did for you."

Li Bai and I thanked him profusely. Before leaving, we stayed at Wu Zhinan's grave for a long time before returning to the inn.

As soon as I entered the room where Wu Zhinan had been, Li Bai was overcome with grief and buried his face in his hands, weeping bitterly. I stood before him, at a loss for words to offer comfort.

After a while, Li Bai looked up at me and said, "Yuehua, if you're not feeling well, you should have told me sooner so I could get treatment. I can't afford to lose you again."

"Don't worry, young master, I'm perfectly healthy. I won't abandon you." After saying that, we both hugged each other and cried.

Wu Zhinan's death was a great blow to Li Bai. He locked himself in his room, regretting that he shouldn't have brought Wu Zhinan out. The thought of Yueyuan's devoted waiting made it even harder for him to forgive himself.

That evening, after dinner, I went to Li Bai and said, "Young Master, locking yourself in your room isn't a good solution. Young Master Wu died because he had an incurable illness, not because of you. You don't need to blame yourself like this. Try to think more positively; we still have a long road ahead of us."

"If I hadn't asked him to come with me to seek an official position, he wouldn't have left his hometown and the moonlit night. All the blame lies with me," Li Bai said.

"Now that things have come to this, you should work even harder to gain entry into the court and return home in glory one day, instead of being passive and getting stuck in this situation." I looked at Li Bai and said everything I wanted to say in one breath.

Li Bai lowered his head, speechless.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Bai approached me and said, "Yuehua, let's go for a walk."

"Okay." I grabbed two sun hats and came out of the room, following Li Bai toward the streets of Yueyang City.

When we arrived at the foot of Yueyang City Tower, we happened to meet a group of tourists coming down from the tower. They were arguing about which Li Bai wrote "The water and sky are one color, the wind and moon are boundless".

One of them said, "I heard of Li Bai when I was in Chengdu. He was a famous talented scholar from Western Shu. His 'Ode to the Great Peng' impressed even Zhang Ting, the Prefect of Yizhou. This calligraphy must have been written by him."

"When I was in Yuzhou, I also heard about Li Bai's poem 'To Li Yong': 'Even Confucius feared the young, a man should not underestimate the young.' When Lord Li Yong read it, he laughed heartily and exclaimed: 'The young are indeed formidable,'" another person said.

They walked past us, arguing as they went about whether it was the same person.

I smiled at Li Bai and said, "Young Master, I never expected Li Yong to say something like that."

"No matter what he said, he looked down on us back then. Come on, let's go upstairs again and take a look at Dongting Lake." After Li Bai finished speaking, he took my hand and walked towards the Yueyang city tower.

Li Bai and I stood atop the Yueyang city tower, gazing at the vast expanse of Dongting Lake and the lush, verdant Junshan Mountain. Li Bai stood there motionless, letting the scorching summer sun beat down on him; perhaps, he was thinking of Wu Zhinan.