Chapter 296: Ruanxi Sha
“Are you… alright?”
Xiaoyu was startled by Luo Cong’an’s appearance. She thought, Cry if you must, but why without a sound? It’s truly unsettling…
Luo Cong’an shook her head, her voice as hoarse as ever.
“I’m fine.”
She walked forward, extending her hand as if to place it on the wheelchair, but stopped midway and drew it back.
“Continue,” she said.
Xiaoyu, though finding it strange, rarely encountered someone interested in Mister’s life, so she didn’t pry. After all, she had been feeling stifled these past few days, with many things she couldn’t express.
She hesitated, uncertainty clouding her face, “Actually, I feel Mister liked to sit by the doorway, not because he enjoyed the breeze, but more like he was… waiting for someone?”
“I asked Mister several times, but he would always smile, shake his head, and refuse to tell me. So, after asking a few times, I stopped.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Cong’an’s body trembled slightly.
She began to move her feet again, like a slowly wriggling worm, inching towards the hall.
Just as she was about to cross the threshold, Luo Cong’an stopped.
Xiaoyu curiously watched her back. What was this white-haired, red-eyed girl, who looked so familiar, intending to do?
After a moment, she walked forward and asked, “Do you want to go inside and take a look? Actually, there’s nothing left inside. It’s all empty. Most of it I burned.”
“Because the people who performed the rituals said that things the deceased used in life cannot remain in the mortal world for too long…”
Luo Cong’an didn’t speak. She turned numbly and walked towards another room next to it.
Still slowly, she inched forward.
Xiaoyu’s curiosity intensified. She followed Luo Cong’an.
This room was smaller than the others. The old wooden door was locked with an iron chain, covered in thick dust, suggesting it hadn’t been opened in a long time.
Xiaoyu introduced it proactively, “This is the storage room. It’s filled with the little wooden figures Mister used to carve.”
She paused, then with a sudden realization, continued, “I almost forgot, Mister actually had a hobby in life: carving these strange little wooden figures.”
“Back then, besides eating and sleeping, Mister would spend his days staring into space with a carving knife. Although the figures he carved were odd-looking, anyone who saw them had to praise their meticulousness. Even City Lord Ma couldn’t help but ask Mister to carve for him.”
“But in the last two years, Mister suddenly stopped carving. When I asked him why, he would always change the subject.”
Xiaoyu sighed, “I always felt Mister held many stories in his heart. Unfortunately, I was too foolish, and Mister didn’t want to tell me.”
She looked at Luo Cong’an and smiled, “And if you ask me, those little wooden figures looked really strange. You’d never guess their appearance…”
Luo Cong’an suddenly spoke, interrupting her.
“Big head, no neck, short limbs.”
Xiaoyu froze, her expression filled with surprise.
“You actually know…”
Luo Cong’an reached into her chest and took out the wooden carving the Mister had given her when they parted.
Due to age, the wood carving was slightly deformed, with a small crack at the bottom, emitting a faint pine scent.
Seeing it, Xiaoyu’s surprise grew even more. She examined the wooden figure closely, then glanced at Luo Cong’an’s face.
She finally understood the inexplicable sense of familiarity emanating from the girl.
The appearance of the wooden figure was very similar to the girl.
If one were shown individually, they wouldn’t necessarily make a connection, but if placed together, the sense of familiarity would be very strong.
Thus, Xiaoyu’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed in shock, “Could you be Mister’s long-lost daughter!”
Luo Cong’an looked at her expressionlessly.
Xiaoyu was taken aback and tentatively asked in a small voice, “Could it be… no?”
At the same time, she was inwardly pondering.
Not the daughter of Mister’s old friend, nor his long-lost biological daughter, then could you possibly be Mister’s unmarried wife?
Luo Cong’an ignored her and walked straight ahead, gently pushing the wooden door of the storage room.
The iron chain rattled loosely.
Xiaoyu reminded her, “If you want to go in, I can go to the hall and get the key.”
As she spoke, she turned to head to the hall, but Luo Cong’an stopped her.
“No need.”
Then, Luo Cong’an extended her hand, and the entire iron chain, thicker than her arm, snapped in the middle.
Xiaoyu’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a perfect circle, like a dove’s egg.
The iron chain fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Luo Cong’an pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The first thing that greeted her was fine dust dancing everywhere in the air, clearly visible in the sunlight.
And a foul smell of decaying and moldy wood.
One after another, strangely shaped wooden carvings came into view.
Locked in this small storage room for years, they now finally saw the light of day.
Because they had been neglected for a long time, the wooden carvings were covered in thick dust, and their forms were cracked, just like the one Luo Cong’an cherished in her arms.
Leaning against the door, the girl stared blankly into the room, her expression like that of a dazed idiot.
Xiaoyu walked over, covering her nose, and also looked into the room.
The next moment, seeing the neatly arranged wooden carvings filling the room, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “There are so many! Only a few spots left…”
“I’ve never understood why Mister suddenly stopped carving. He was only a few short of filling it up.”
Xiaoyu didn’t know the answer to this question, and Luo Cong’an certainly couldn’t.
She suddenly asked, “Did Mister… leave any final instructions before he passed?”
Xiaoyu tilted her head and thought, “Mister was very peaceful when he passed. I didn’t hear him leave any instructions…”
At this point, Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up. She ran back to the hall and returned carrying a stack of old, yellowed rice paper.
She carefully placed the rice paper down and then looked expectantly at Luo Cong’an, “You’re from the Capital, you must know many characters. These were all found in Mister’s room. I can’t understand many of them, can you read them to me?”
Xiaoyu knew a few characters, but not many.
A few days ago, a young master from the Capital named Li Yizhou had come. Xiaoyu wanted to have him help her read them.
But Li Yizhou had only quickly offered a few sticks of incense and then left in a hurry, too lazy to even spare Xiaoyu a second glance.
So, Xiaoyu placed her hopes on the girl before her.
After all, this person was different from the other mourners; she seemed more interested in Mister’s personal affairs.
Luo Cong’an’s gaze slowly moved away from the wooden carvings.
Finally, it settled on the stack of yellowed rice paper, some corners of which were even tattered.
She picked up the top sheet and softly chanted, “Who hears the west wind blow, alone and cold? With rustling yellow leaves, the sparse window is shut. Lost in thought, I stand in the setting sun…”
Her voice suddenly stopped at this point.
“What’s wrong?”
Xiaoyu, who was listening intently beside her, was puzzled when Luo Cong’an paused.
The fingers holding the rice paper trembled ever so slightly.
Because she remembered that early morning, the first poem Mister had read to her was also this Ruanxi Sha.
She still remembered how willfully she had interrupted Mister then.
Luo Cong’an’s voice trembled as she forced herself to continue.
“Gambling on books, enough for tea to spill its fragrance. At the time, I only thought it was ordinary…”
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(End of Chapter)
