Chapter Text
Fox Spirit ran off, earlier.
Normally, he'd be back by now. The dog was a loyal one, after all- possibly the most loyal of all those deemed friends that Li Lianhua had ever known. He was a witty little thing, Fox Spirit, perceptive and friendly. Fox Spirit can be left to his own devices and would always be able find his way back home.
When Li Lianhua disappeared, Fox Spirit sat patiently by the shores, waiting and waiting and waiting for days.
Fox spirit wouldn't leave- he'd eat, he'd pace around in the sand, but his sight remained trained on the horizon as though in deep contemplation, the thoughts in his head a mystery to those around him standing in the quiet stillness of salt air. Then the sun would set and Fox Spirit trudged back, ate and slept on a soft, well-worn, jade-green piece of fabric.
Fang Duobing wondered often, those early days, if it had been mourning. If it had been fear. If it had been- hope, perhaps.
It was only when the two of them decided it was time to leave, time to continue their long search elsewhere, that Fox Spirit turned away from the faraway waves and followed them instead.
Di Feisheng raised an eyebrow in silent question. No, he's not back yet.
"It's getting rather late, isn't it?"
The streets are rather crowded, too- the sun slowly setting in rays of gold. The night market here is quite the bustling sight, it was like wading through a pond of little ducklings.
"I haven't seen Fox Spirit all day,"
Lotus Tower Medical Center was bestowed to Fang Duobing, and Fang Duobing handed it to what remained of what had once been Sigu Sect.
There was just no possible way for him to bring it on his search.
None of them were physicians. Lotus Tower Medical Center never did fulfill the purpose it was built for anymore, not since the day that letter was read aloud.
But they had dusted the seats, and cleaned the jars, and polished the wood. They swept the leaves and watered the plants, like it'd never been abandoned.
They fed the horses, too, set them running through fields and plains. Fang Duobing took one, and Qiao Wanmian took one, and Di Feisheng took one, when they'd set off on their long journeys over mountains and rivers for a simple cause tied together with strings of hope.
The fourth was an older horse, and they'd assumed it must have been the first one Li Lianhua had purchased, early in his ten years of obscurity.
They took good care of it. It lived a carefree life.
"The textile stores and pawnshops are open until late at night," An innkeeper had mentioned.
They've visited, the first day here. Nothing, though.
But that shop-owner did mention Li Lianhua shopping for clothing, did he? It couldn't hurt to take another look. It's the same direction as the stalls, anyway, which could be where Fox Spirit's run to.
This village received it's fair share of travelers.
It was nothing compared to the huge capital and regions surrounding it, but not quite the backwater settlement either. There were a number of stores, and merchants would take their breaks on their way to bigger towns, where trade would commence.
It was a place that provided opportunity to put one's feet up and take a breath, if only for a while. Fitting place, at least, if Li Lianhua were to stop by. If anyone needed to take a breather, it was him.
Investigating the physicians was a difficult task.
It was always busy, after all, there was only one apothecary in this village, and they could hardly go barging in. Only to stand guard and wait until sunset. Disrupting the local order... unadvised. This search they were conducting- it was not good to be too loud about it, to draw too much attention. It was not one ordained by the great sects, by people of great authority- it could not be.
The Nanyin bloodline must end with Li Xiangyi.
Jianghu politics. At least the food stalls had more lighthearted owners.
"Fox Spirit! We need to head back soon!" Fang Duobing called out. "Where'd he gone? I hope he hadn't gotten into trouble."
"Of course not," Di Feisheng scoffed. "He's a careful one, unlike you."
"Hey."
"I'm not mistaken, aren't I? Fox Spirit?"
"We're having meat tonight, Fox Spirit! You don't want to miss that do you?"
"Bribery, really?"
"I'd call that a well-deserved reward, actually." He grinned impishly, despite the slight worry growing within him. Maybe he's back at the inn already?
Di Feisheng shrugged.
Fang Duobing scratched his head, and glanced out once again at the stalls that lined the streets. "Should we split up? We could cover more ground, and I could go get some meat skewers for dinner while we're at it, and take a look at the shops again."
"Couldn't hurt. Do you have money on you?"
"...About that-"
"Tch."
Who could so easily forget the extraordinary Sect Leader of Sigu Sect?
Who could so easily forget the Lotus Tower Medical Center's outstanding Physician?
Who could so easily forget?
It seems that he was destined to linger in the minds of those who knew him.
The cold season is slowly approaching, but the memories of warmer days do not fade as naturally as the seasons, as it were.
"Fox Spirit-"
"Excuse me!"
And Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng went completely, utterly still.
Is it a foolish thing to do, to hold out for hope, to stare at the dark hoping to hear familiar footsteps even when the vision is obscured?
The apprentice of who had once been the sect leader remembered asking this question to Qiao Wanmian, back then.
She smiled, wistfully.
Real life makes fools out of all of us, in this world, She hummed. So then, perhaps trying so hard not to be foolish, instead became the most foolish thing one could do.
Breaths caught in their throats, their eyes met, in a brief and sudden moment, and then Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng turned around in rhythmic tandem.
In the distance.
They stared at the figure of a dead man. A "dead" man.
He waved his hand. They stared, half in disbelief.
It's-
Li Lianhua stumbled- Apologies, is this your dog-
Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng broke into a run.
"Li Lianhua!"
(Xiangyi, Lianhua, Xiangyi, Lianhua, Xiangyi, Lianhua-)
Li Lianhua swayed where he stood, his walking pace slowing down, as he slowly brought his free hand to his head-
There was a bark, frantic and quick and a flash of orange, and Fang Duobing nearly shoved a man to a wall.
"Move- Li Lianhua-"
The crowd parted around the three of them, and at that moment he couldn't care less about the whole 'Don't bring too much attention to your cause' thing.
He caught the older man's shoulders right before he hit the ground.
(Just the matter of choosing the ending you like.)
"Unconscious," Fang Duobing muttered. He could deal with the shock and alarm later. "Fever?"
"I don't think so- for now, that is. But one might happen sooner than later."
"That's not good."
Fox spirit circled them, ears drooping. Some kind of packet in his mouth- he saw it in Li Lianhua's hands, earlier.
(It's him.)
(He couldn't believe it.)
(It's him.)
"Physician." Di Feisheng furrowed his eyebrows. "We need a physician."
Find a physician, the crowd around them murmured.
"We can call him for you, sirs." A quick-witted villager responded swiftly. Di Feisheng nodded.
"Yes. We'll go there through the main road." That'd be the faster option than to have the physician come- they'll have to get to the apothecary regardless, might as well reduce the wasted time. "Have the physician ready, he needs help as much quickly as possible. Fang Duobing-?"
"I can carry him. Thank you, sir."
Li Lianhua was considerably lighter than he remembered.
But he was breathing, and that was what mattered.
(Somewhere in the back, the storyteller resumed his tale.)