The road is vague

Chapter 4 Birth, Old Age, Sickness and Death

Since that day, Li Mo really seemed to have come to his senses.

In the assessments of the next few months, he was able to answer questions fluently and express his own opinions every time, which made Doctor Zhang like him more and more. He couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for his talent and considered whether to wait until Xiyue to let him finish his apprenticeship early.

Of course, he didn't know that the reason why Li Mo was able to make such great progress was, on the one hand, due to his accumulated experience, and on the other hand, due to the help of a mysterious dream.

Li Mo named it Misty Dream.

In the past few months, Li Mo has entered the ethereal dream many times, and has thoroughly integrated the various herbal knowledge he has learned in the past two years. After many experiments, he has preliminarily summarized a method to effectively enter the ethereal dream.

The first is to keep reading "The Misty Box" and develop associations based on it, which can greatly increase his chances of entering the Misty Dream.

Secondly, falling asleep during a summer thunderstorm can increase his chances of entering a dreamy state.

Finally, whatever you think about during the day, you will dream about at night.

Li Mo discovered that every time he woke up from a vague dream, the knowledge he gained was not acquired out of thin air, but was integrated into his subconscious mind, connecting the details that he had previously ignored, or looking at the problem from another perspective.

Piaomiao Dreamland seems to be a world rooted in the subconscious. Therefore, if Li Mo wants to get help from Piaomiao Dreamland, he must first master the key clues of many pieces of knowledge. Only then can Piaomiao Dreamland connect these clues of knowledge in the subconscious level and achieve the effect of accumulating strength and then making a breakthrough.

After Li Mo initially summarized the many rules of ethereal dreams, he has kept them as his own secret.

The second half of February is called the sunset month.

Like the evening hour every day, the evening moon is also an unlucky hour, which lasts for fourteen days in total.

During this period, it is taboo to work outside and you should rest indoors as much as possible to avoid bad luck, evil spirits and accidents.

After a few days, it will be the Flower Festival.

During the Flower Festival, all things come back to life. Young girls are full of vigor and vitality, enjoying the spring sunshine and the singing of birds and dancing of swallows.

early morning.

After the second assessment, Doctor Zhang ignored Wang Pan who was crying beside him. He believed that strict teachers produce good students, and he could not be careless when prescribing medicine to treat diseases.

"Today is February 14th. In two days, it will be Sunset. During this holiday, you should visit your parents. After Sunset, return to the Flower Festival. I will conduct the annual final assessment on you to determine whether you are qualified to become apprentices."

"Yes."

After the four of them responded respectfully, they returned to their rooms to pack their luggage.

After Li Mo packed his luggage, he saw that Wang Pan, Zhang Liming and Jiang Ming had already left. He came to Doctor Zhang with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Teacher, I would like to ask you to prescribe two more prescriptions for my mother."

"Hey."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Zhang sighed deeply and looked at the well-behaved and sensible apprentice. Sometimes he even wished this was his own child.

"Didn't I tell you everything the last time I went back with you to visit your mother?"

Doctor Zhang stroked his beard and said in a low voice, "Your mother's illness is caused by overwork and long-term physical weakness. Herbal medicine can no longer cure her. You are now considered a half-doctor. You should know that birth, aging, illness and death are the laws of nature. As the saying goes, the moon waxes and wanes, and people are subject to misfortunes and blessings at any time. You must learn to accept your destiny and cherish the present."

"Students... students..."

Li Mo was speechless.

He naturally knew these principles, but it was human nature to feel sorry for his loved ones. Even a doctor who was used to seeing life and death could not remain indifferent to the life and death of his loved ones.

Seeing this, Doctor Zhang opened the drawer, took out two sets of herbal medicine and handed them to Li Mo.

"I knew you would come. Although these two herbs cannot cure your mother's illness, they can relieve her pain. Take them. Unfortunately, I am just a mortal, a herbalist. If you can meet a monk one day, you must find an opportunity to learn the art of alchemy. Perhaps you can... Sigh."

Doctor Zhang's sigh seemed to be filled with regret and longing.

"Yes."

Li Mo heard the words, kept them in mind, bowed deeply, and left quickly.

It is now the Si hour. If I travel at full speed, I should be able to get home before the Wei hour. Another month has passed, and I don't know how my mother is doing.

Li Mo jogged all the way and finally returned to Shanbei Village after noon.

Walking on the bluestone steps, he looked at the farmlands on both sides of the Xiangtan River. It was almost sunset and no one was working. Then he came to the west end of the village and saw thick smoke rising from the Zhao family's yard.

He knew that Zhao Siman had accumulated enough firewood and was making charcoal, which had to be delivered to the town before sunset and sold at a good price.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhao Siman, choked by the smoke, ran out of the yard. Her little face was dark and two lines of tear marks were particularly conspicuous.

"Xiao Man, are you okay?"

Zhao Siman opened her tearful eyes and forced a smile when she saw it was Li Mo.

"Brother Xiaomo, you're back."

Then she seemed to suddenly think of something and hurriedly said, "You haven't gone home yet, right? Go back and see your mother. She hasn't gotten out of bed for several days!"

Li Mo's face changed.

Just then, a woman's screaming voice was heard from the yard.

"Xiao Man! Where have you been, you damned girl? The charcoal kiln door hasn't been sealed yet. If the charcoal is ruined, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

This is Zhao Siman’s third aunt.

Zhao Siman's frail body trembled slightly, and she said reluctantly, "Brother Xiaomo, I want to go back."

This courtyard originally belonged to Zhao Siman's family. After her father died, there were no male members in the family, so it was occupied by her third uncle and aunt. The mother and daughter became dependents living here, and became cheap labor for her third uncle's family, leading a precarious life.

"Man girl is here, Man girl is here!"

Three snotty-nosed children ran out of the yard, jumping and shouting behind Zhao Siman.

A moment later, the sound of a woman scolding, the sound of whipping with a vitex, and Zhao Siman crying could be heard from the yard.

Li Mo was sad, but helpless. He could only clench his fists and run towards home.

"Cough cough."

Before entering the house, Li Mo heard a familiar cough. Zhou Mei's condition was obviously more serious than a month ago.

Li Mo hurried into the house and saw his mother lying sick in bed with sunken cheeks and no trace of blood. He immediately ran to the bedside.

"mother!"

When Zhou Mei saw that it was Li Mo, she wanted to sit up, but she didn't have the strength.

Li Mo hurried forward to support her and let her lean on the pillow.

"Mom is fine, just tired. I'll be fine after a rest. I was fine the past two days. Hey, why are you crying again?"

"Mom, I'm going to cook."

Li Mo concealed his sadness and acted like a man. Seeing this, Zhou Mei smiled with relief and nodded to him.

night.

After feeding his mother the rice porridge, Li Mo hurried out to look at the medicine pot. Until late at night, he fed the boiled herbal medicine to his mother. Zhou Mei's condition seemed to have improved under Li Mo's careful care. Her face was slightly rosy and she showed a smile.

She reached out and touched Li Mo's hair.

"After the sunset moon, it will be the Flower Festival. My Mo'er will be Li Mo now. It's time for him to tie his hair and get married."

"mother."

Li Mo lay quietly in Zhou Mei's arms.

After Zhou Mei coughed twice, she regained some strength, sat up from the bed, and signaled Li Mo to dim the oil lamp to save oil.

Li Mo knew that his mother was used to being frugal, so he could only go forward and do as she asked.

When he returned to the bedside, he saw his mother take out a small cloth bag and open it layer by layer, revealing the silver and copper coins inside.

"You like Xiao Man from the east end of the village, right?"

Seeing Li Mo stunned and silent, Zhou Mei smiled and said, "I asked the matchmaker to come to her house a few days ago. Her third aunt wanted thirty taels of silver before she would let Xiao Man go. I have a total of twelve taels of silver and a little more than two taels of copper coins here, which is almost half of what I owe. They are all my mother's savings over the years. When my mother is gone and you have no burden, you can use this money to save more and marry Xiao Man home as soon as possible and give birth to a fat boy for the Li family."

"Mom, stop talking, you'll be fine!"

"Son, mother knows her situation."

There was a hint of tenderness in Zhou Mei's eyes. She was not afraid, nor was she hesitant. She looked at Li Mo and just stroked his hair over and over again.

"Be a man in the future. Mother is proud of you."

the next day.

It seemed that Doctor Zhang's herbal medicine had taken effect, and Zhou Mei was able to walk again.

But Li Mo, who knew his mother's condition well, felt even more distressed when he saw this. This often means that the patient is beginning to have a last glimmer of life and is in his final moments.

Li Mo kept trying to persuade his mother to have a good rest, but Zhou Mei took Li Mo's hand and came to Beishan on the other side of Tan River. She sat happily on the grass, looking at the sparkling Tan River in the distance, showing a relaxed and happy expression, and stretched in the sun.

"It's great to be able to come out before Xiyue for once and be back here again."

Li Mo took out clothes and put them on Zhou Mei.

"Mom, don't catch a cold."

Zhou Mei smiled sweetly and said, "You know, it was here that your father took advantage of the Flower Festival to express his admiration for me. I agreed, and then we had you. More than a decade has passed, and you're already this big now."

The sunlight shone on Zhou Mei's face. At this moment, she looked like a child, gesturing at Li Mo's height.

After a long time.

Zhou Mei leaned on Li Mo's shoulder, gently held Li Mo's hand, and whispered in Li Mo's ear: "Mo'er, mother misses your father. Promise me that when I die, I will bury me here."

Li Mo burst into tears.

Seeing this, Zhou Mei made a playful expression and laughed, "Just like your father when he was little, always crying."

three days later.

When Zhou Mei passed away, Li Mo burst into tears and burst into tears again.

But he knew that his mother was happy and joyful in her heart.

Although it is sunset, Zhou Mei is kind to people in Shanbei Village. Families come to pay their respects and express their grief for Zhou Mei. Li Mo feels the sincere feelings of the villagers for his mother, and the sadness in his heart also changes accordingly.

Just as his mother is proud of him, he is also proud of having such a mother.

After the first seven days.

According to his mother's last wish, Li Mo buried her coffin on Beishan Mountain.

Beishan is a sacred mountain among several nearby villages. There used to be a mountain temple here, and there was also a mountain goddess in the temple. However, after Hua'an Town was incorporated into the Daqian Kingdom, the mountain temple gradually became abandoned.

At this moment, the hillside is full of flowers and butterflies are flying among the flowers.

Li Mo stood quietly on the hillside. He seemed to see the scene of his father and mother dating here during the Flower Festival more than ten years ago. The sadness in his eyes gradually turned into tears of smile.

"I wish you happiness in the other world."

Li Mo put down the wild flowers in his hand. He felt as if he had grown up.

(End of this chapter)