Ya She

Chapter 50 Nirvana Compass

Sanqing slowly and methodically preened the feathers behind her with her sharp beak, glancing occasionally at Minghong, who was leisurely perched on the roof beam, completely ignoring Lu Zigang, who was pacing around in circles in the room, looking worried.

During this year, Lu Zigang initially focused on frantically calculating how the Luoshu Nine Star Chart worked. Later, other thoughts took hold, and he began practicing jade carving techniques based on his memories from his previous life. Now, having given up using the compass to find his boss and with the doctor no longer frequently visiting, Lu Zigang, with more free time, remembered he should take some time to check the antiques in the Silent Shop. He needed to air them out, replace the mothballs to prevent insects, and dust them off. But this thorough cleaning revealed a serious problem.

In the room where the woven dress was kept, only the small-leaf sandalwood standing clothes rack remained; the woven dress that should have been hanging there was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Zigang paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast. When he caught sight of Sanqing out of the corner of his eye, he rushed over as if he had grasped a deadly straw. He touched Sanqing's back and asked in as soft a voice as possible, "Sanqing, have you seen the woven skirt here? Look, it's a skirt made of many bird feathers."

Sanqing shook its head innocently. Of course, it knew about the dress, but it had always disliked humans using bird feathers for decoration, and therefore disliked this woven dress. It rarely came in to stroll around, so it didn't know when the dress had disappeared. Minghong, standing on the roof beam, saw Lu Zigang casting a questioning gaze at it, and quickly shook its head as well. Although it was also unusually arrogant, it had been fighting with Sanqing all day long, and its fur was almost bald. Now that it was under someone else's roof, how could it not bow its head?
Lu Zigang's thick eyebrows furrowed deeply. The doctor never entered the inner room of the Silent House, and the painter who came every day wouldn't arbitrarily touch the antiques in other rooms, so... this woven skirt was stolen? Who on earth has the ability to steal things from the Silent House? It's unheard of!
Rubbing his aching forehead, Lu Zigang felt that the past year had been absolutely terrible. Sure enough, only the boss could manage the Silent Shop. He didn't even dare to check how many antiques were missing from the Silent Shop, or even if he did check, he wouldn't be able to find out, since he didn't have a list of all the antiques in the Silent Shop.

Hongming stood on the roof beam for a short while, then suddenly seemed to sense something, spread its wings and flew out of the room. This time, Sanqing did not chase after it, but watched it fly out of the Silent House, and gently called out twice to indicate that the silly bird was finally gone, and it was very satisfied.

Lu Zigang didn't intend to stop Minghong. The little red bird had flown over on its own, and now it had flown away on its own. Did it sense that its master had returned?
Standing in the small room where the woven dress should have been hanging for a while, Lu Zigang searched every possible place in the Silent Shop, but still couldn't find the woven dress. He could only walk out of the inner room dejectedly, but after going around the screen, he saw someone he never expected.

"Boss! You're back?!" Lu Zigang stood there, utterly shocked.

The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, warming his hands with a Ming Dynasty purple clay teapot. His expression was gentle and indifferent, his movements leisurely and calm, just as he had done every day for so many years, as if he had never left. Seeing Lu Zigang come out from the inner room, he smiled faintly and nodded, saying, "I just came back for that thing. Thank you for your trouble, Zigang."

Lu Zigang's expression changed several times before he finally let out a soft sigh and said, "Boss, I have failed you."

"Have a seat first." The boss didn't seem to mind, gesturing for Lu Zigang to sit down, and then pulled out two purple clay teapots. Fu Su had gone back to find Hu Hai, so he had time to listen to Lu Zigang recount the events of the past year.

Lu Zigang sat down, drank a cup of hot tea to calm himself down, and then explained how he had made good use of the Luoshu Nine Stars Compass.

"Oh? I came back precisely to retrieve that compass. You guys are quite bold, aren't you afraid of not being able to return after traveling back in time?" The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow with interest. "Tell me, which dynasties did you travel to?"

Lu Zigang honestly recounted his time-travel journey over the past year from beginning to end, even including his final visit to Xia Zhelan. In truth, Lu Zigang had been under immense pressure, unsure who to confide in. The boss's timely appearance relieved him completely, and disregarding the consequences, he poured everything out. Seeing Lu Zigang's anxious expression after finishing, the boss didn't reprimand him further, but instead smiled slightly and said:

"If I hadn't come back, would you have gone to the Ming Dynasty again this month?"

Lu Zigang was taken aback. He wanted to shake his head in denial, but under the boss's piercing gaze, he couldn't lie and could only nod with difficulty.
No. Indeed, he couldn't accept the previous outcome. What if he had taken Xia Zhelan away from the capital sooner?

Would that allow him to evade the Embroidered Uniform Guard's pursuit? Or perhaps it would allow him to meet Xia Zhelan sooner and completely persuade him to leave the Imperial Kitchen...? Lu Zi

Gang couldn't stop himself from thinking this way; even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he wanted to keep trying.

"Foolish child, if the Luoshu Nine Star Compass is so useful, why wouldn't I use it?" Seeing the shock on Lu Zigang's face...
Seeing the look of surprise, the shopkeeper couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Ever since I obtained the Luoshu Nine Star Compass, I have been constantly traveling back to the time before Fusu's death."
During that period. But no matter how many times I used the compass to travel back in time, even if I revived Fusu, he would soon be consumed by other things.
And they died. This is something that cannot be changed; it is history that has already happened.

Lu Zigang suddenly remembered that he and the doctor had been in General Qi's camp before, where the doctor had treated many soldiers, most of whom...
His men quickly perished in the ensuing battle, and at the time he didn't think much of it. Could the reason truly be the irreversibility of history?

?
"I always felt that I hadn't done enough, and I always thought I would do better next time." The owner looked down at the tea in his hand.

The tea swayed gently in the cup, and there was an unspeakable bitterness in his words, "But seeing him time and time again, for various reasons, in his own..."

Death before my eyes felt like a nightmare from which I could never wake. In the end, I could only helplessly submit and seal the Nine Stars of the Luo Shu.

Save it, and never use it again.

Lu Zigang turned pale, finally realizing how naive he had been.

Yes, history is just history; what has happened is already a fact, no matter how much effort one puts in.
And it was all beyond repair.

Lu Zigang stared blankly for a while, then wiped his face with his hand and said dejectedly, "Boss, I may have done something stupid."

After saying this, he revealed that he had used Hengwu Xiang on the doctor. He couldn't hide it, nor did he offer much explanation. Lu Zigang concealed...

I felt that my mental state had been somewhat dangerous recently, perhaps due to the many strange and unusual antiques that affected my every move.

He could easily travel through time and space, and control other people's destinies at will, giving him a false sense of omnipotence. He was also...
Ordinary people cannot resist powerful temptations.

Fortunately, the boss returned in time; otherwise, he might have done something that would have made him even more regretful.

As Lu Zigang spoke, he kept an eye on the boss's expression, but he didn't notice anything amiss. The boss didn't even seem to react to anything in particular.
Nothing was moved at all.

"Oh, that's fine too." After Lu Zigang finished speaking, the boss slowly nodded. "That's good, the doctor should..."

He's back to a normal life. Even if you hadn't used the fragrant herb, I would have still given it to him.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zigang finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally settling back into his stomach. He knew it! The boss was asking for two thousand...

Over the years, I don't know how many times I've used that fragrant herb, haven't you noticed that there's only a tiny bit of powder left in the incense jar?
This time, naturally, was no different from so many times before.

The boss smiled as usual and brought the teacup to his lips, but the icy tea made him frown.

Silently swallowing the cold, bitter tea, the shopkeeper smiled helplessly.

Nirvana Compass 2
Fusu reached under the rug at the front door and pulled out the spare key, opening the apartment door. As the door opened, Fusu couldn't help but touch the burn scars hidden by half of his bangs, his fingertips feeling the uneven texture. He wasn't usually one to care about his appearance, but at this moment, he couldn't help but wonder if Huhai would recognize him as a stranger.

In truth, Fusu disliked his younger brother at all. He had been deliberately spoiled by their father, the emperor, since childhood, and later, Fusu usurped the throne from him. Although it was all instigated by Zhao Gao, Fusu's death as a result was an undeniable fact. Now that he had even relinquished his obsession with restoring the Qin Dynasty, what was there about his blood-related brother that he couldn't forgive?

After all, more than two thousand years have passed, haven't they? Even the Qin Dynasty of our memories has vanished into thin air, so what can prove that they ever existed?

Only a handful of people remain.

The communal bathroom was completely silent. Fusu could smell a musty odor, as if no one had lived there for a long time. He tried turning on the light switch by the door, but the light didn't turn on. The electricity had probably been cut off because the bill hadn't been paid. Fusu frowned, noticing a thick layer of dust covering the room. The living room window wasn't closed properly, and the floor near the window showed signs of rain damage, which was also the source of the musty smell.

It seemed that Hu Hai hadn't returned for several months. Fu Su walked to the table, where a half-burnt incense stick had been extinguished. But what attracted his attention was the table itself.
There's a square-shaped mark on it, and its thickness is completely different from the surrounding dusty weatherstripping, as if something used to be there.

It was left here, and then someone took it away.

There were no notes or other information in the room. The clothes in the closet were all there, showing no signs of having been tidied up, not even...

The blankets on the bed weren't folded. One of the black umbrellas Hu Hai always carried was missing; the whole room looked like it had been left haphazardly furnished by its owner.

He went out once and then never came back.

Fusu's doubts grew stronger. Huhai didn't use a cell phone, and he didn't know how to contact him. Only in situations like this...

Only then would he realize how advanced modern communication methods are; in ancient times, months without news would have been considered very difficult.

It's a normal thing, so why does not being able to contact him feel so unbearable? I wonder how Hu Hai has been getting through this past year.
Thinking of this, Fusu felt a pang of guilt for leaving without saying goodbye.

Just then, Fusu heard the fluttering of wings. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw the little red bird slip through the crack in the living room window.
"Come in." Fusu immediately went to greet him and asked, "Minghong, where is your master?"

Minghong tilted its head, looking at the stranger who had suddenly appeared in the house, but didn't rush up to peck at him. It hurriedly flapped its wings and circled the house, but when it didn't see its owner, it couldn't help but cry out anxiously.

When Fusu saw Minghong's reaction, his heart sank. What had happened to Huhai that he hadn't even taken Minghong with him?
Nirvana Compass 3
Hu Hai had no idea that thousands of miles away, someone was worried about his safety; he was currently standing in a simple, ancient house.

In the courtyard, I looked up and gazed at the brilliant starry sky.

A fox fur cloak was gently draped over his shoulders. Hu Hai withdrew his gaze and fell on the man standing half a step behind him, his crimson eyes still flashing with disbelief.

She was the one who followed him cautiously, always bowing her head, never speaking recklessly, always keeping him in her heart, and ultimately being killed by him with her own hands due to a misunderstanding.

The memory, though from a long time ago, remains vivid because Hu Hai will never forget Zhao Gao's nonchalant explanation when he learned that he had misunderstood Sun Shuo.

Ha, they say that was the second lesson they gave him, teaching him how to distinguish between loyalty and treachery...

Yes, how could he forget? All his eunuchs afterwards called him by the same name because he was afraid he would forget the mistake he had made...

“Sun Shuo…” Hu Hai called out in a muffled voice, but he knew that the person in front of him was not really alive. Instead, his soul had been attached to the bronze weight and was picked up by Zhao Gao, who then used puppetry to create a humanoid puppet.

"Your subject is here," Sun Shuo replied softly, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the night.

"What exactly does Zhao Gao want?" Hu Hai finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked. When Zhao Gao appeared before him, it was like a nightmare. His deep-seated fear of Zhao Gao made him follow him instinctively without any resistance.

Ah, he also knew how those people in the book portrayed Zhao Gao, thinking him to be incompetent and absurd, daring to point at a deer in the court and say it was a fine horse.

Yet, it was precisely this seemingly vulgar trick that allowed Zhao Gao to easily discern who in the court truly obeyed him, who were hypocritical, and who resolutely refused to bow down. This straightforward, simple, and bold method of probing made all the later, roundabout, and drawn-out factional struggles pale in comparison!

This also shows just how terrifying this person's scheming and methods are.

Therefore, when Hu Hai was essentially under house arrest in this remote mountain residence, he was even more terrified and dared not speak. Even though Sun Shuo was by his side and he was comfortable thereafter, he was still worried day and night. Finally, he couldn't help but ask the question at this moment.

Of course, when he asked this question, he also felt that Sun Shuo didn't actually know the answer; he just wanted to find someone to chat with.

Unexpectedly, Sun Shuo pondered for a moment and then said, "Master must have some ulterior motive."

When Hu Hai heard Sun Shuo, who should have been his personal attendant, address Zhao Gao as "Master" so naturally, he was furious and laughed, "Oh? What do you know? Tell me."

“It must be related to a shop called ‘Dumb Shop’.” The winter night was cold, and although Sun Shuo was merely a puppet, he still retained human habits. A gust of cold wind swept by, and he pulled his sleeves tighter, hunching his shoulders, and suggested, “Young Master, let’s go inside and talk.” “No need. I’m wearing a cloak, and you’re not afraid of the cold. Why go inside? I want to stand outside for a while,” Hu Hai snorted. With Sun Shuo by his side, he seemed to have reverted to the arrogant young master of the Qin Dynasty, unwilling to make others comfortable. “Continue, what does this have to do with which shop is ‘Dumb Shop’?” Could it be that Zhao Gao had discovered the owner’s identity? Hu Hai was startled, and thinking of his missing elder brother, he became even more anxious.

Seeing that his young master did not want to go back to the house, Sun Shuo did not try to persuade him further. Instead, he took a small step forward, cleverly blocking the direction from which the night wind blew, before lowering his head and slowly saying, "This has to do with the history of the Silent House."

"History? Isn't Ya She just an antique shop built by that owner? What history is there to it?" Hu Hai raised his hand to smooth his silver hair, which was scattered by the night wind, and casually tucked it into the hood of his cloak.

"No, in fact, the collection of antiques began with Gan Shangqing's master. Legend has it that the sect that Taoist priest belonged to was fond of collecting ancient artifacts left behind in the world. After the legendary era of Emperors Yan, Yao, Shun, and Yu, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dissipated, and the artifacts left behind in the world would have a great influence on mortals. Therefore, several treasure troves were established in various parts of the Central Plains to seal these artifacts one by one. Of course, artifacts only account for a small part. Many objects like me, which have been possessed by souls or have developed their own intelligence, also fall into the category of those that need to be sealed." Sun Shuo spoke slowly, his tone and voice as gentle and calm as ever, without the slightest fluctuation even when talking about himself.

"A treasure vault?" Hu Hai's attention was immediately drawn to these two words, and his crimson eyes gleamed uncontrollably. "In that case, it certainly makes sense. Those ancient artifacts are extremely difficult to damage, so there's no reason for them to suddenly disappear into obscurity. I originally thought it was because their masters perished and they were covered in dust, but it turns out it's for this reason!"

“The Guangya says: ‘Ku’ means ‘to house’. There is also a common pronunciation of ‘she’, but it is not pronounced as ‘ku’ but as ‘she’, which is the same as ‘she’.” Sun Shuo paused, as if giving Hu Hai time to think, and after a short while, he slowly said, “Therefore, Ya She is not just a simple shop name, but a treasure trove within it.”

"The character '哑' (yǎ) is composed of '口' (kǒu, mouth) and '亚' (yà, also a phonetic component). '亚' originally meant the inner palace, and '舍' (shě, storehouse) means 'treasury.' Therefore, the name '哑舍' originally referred to the emperor's inner treasury, implying that only treasures within the palace could speak. If those treasures could speak, one can imagine the extraordinary items stored there. Of course, several other treasuries were later built, but with the dynastic changes of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn periods, and the Zhao state, the name '哑舍' became largely forgotten. It wasn't until the owner's master resumed collecting antiques that the name was reused." Sun Shuo, besides recounting what he knew, also included his own speculation: "Perhaps the owner, during his thousand years of wandering, inherited his master's will and opened '哑舍' as an antique shop to conceal his true purpose."

Hu Hai looked at the bowing man beside him with a puzzled expression: "Sun Shuo, how do you know so much?"

Sun Shuo smiled and said, "Young master, I have always been sane and have lived for over two thousand years. Besides, antiques are quite gossipy, especially those that can talk."

Hu Hai's breath hitched. Realizing he was the culprit behind this, he was immediately speechless. Taking a deep breath of the cold air, she abruptly changed the subject, saying, "The Silent House is just one of the treasure troves, isn't it? And the antiques inside aren't even sealed. Zhao Gao's appetite shouldn't be so small. So what is his purpose? To seize the other treasure troves?"

"I do not know that. But to find those treasure troves, a compass is necessary," Sun Shuo replied simply.

"A compass?" Hu Hai suddenly remembered the Luoshu Nine Stars Compass in the Silent House.

“Yes, that compass is called the Nirvana Compass. Legend has it that it can reverse time and space, allowing a person's soul to flow backward in the world, achieving true Nirvana and rebirth.” Sun Shuo couldn’t help but get excited as he spoke, because he also wanted to be reborn, so much so that he was going crazy. His voice trembled noticeably. “However, because this Nirvana Compass was too powerful, the compass needle and the compass itself were disassembled and stored away. We don’t know where they are now.”

Hu Hai narrowed his eyes, feeling that the Luoshu Nine Stars Compass in the Silent House was also a time-space distortion tool, but he didn't know if it was the compass needle of the Nirvana Compass or a regular compass. Silently memorizing this information, Hu Haijian and Sun Shuo said nothing more, but frowned and asked, "Why did Zhao Gao want to dig up the treasure vault and bring me here?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Shuo chuckled softly: "My master said that since he happened to find me, he owes me a wish."

"A wish?" Hu Hai stared blankly as Sun Shuo, who had been keeping his head down, finally raised his head. The puppet's expression was very strange. Although its appearance was vaguely the same as the original Sun Shuo's face, its skin was indeed bluish-white, making it look like a talking and moving zombie if you looked at it suddenly.

"Because my wish is to return to the young master's side..." Sun Shuo smiled gently and humbly as always, but the corners of his lips curled into a strange arc.

Nirvana Compass 4
Meanwhile, bathed in the same starry sky, were two other people, one tall and one short.

Because he was in a courtyard where spring-like weather lasted all year round, Tang Yuan was only wearing a T-shirt with Iron Man printed on it, and a large table was spread out in front of him.
A large star chart stood nearby, surrounded by a stack of astrology books; he was engrossed in studying astrology. Beside him, the young Taoist priest was still dressed in that...
He wore a dark blue Taoist robe and bowed his head in deep thought.

"Two stars hang straight in the north and south, a flat path leads to the heavenly field in the middle, always two black stars are connected, another black star is named Jinxian..." Tang Yuan was turning the pages

The "Song of Walking the Heavens" is a collection of poems describing the entire celestial sphere. In ancient times, it was passed down orally from generation to generation by the officials of the Imperial Observatory.
It was a secret manual never to be passed on. Of course, in modern times, this wouldn't be considered a closely guarded secret anymore; Tang Yuan was ordered by his master to...
To learn astrology, the first step is to memorize the entire book, "The Ballad of Stepping the Heavens".

This was no difficult task for Tang Yuan, who had a photographic memory; he quickly memorized the Purple Palace Enclosure, the Supreme Palace Enclosure, and the Heavenly Market Enclosure.
He had finished reciting the poems and was about to begin reciting the Twenty-Eight Mansions. However, he needed to recite the "Song of Walking the Heavens" while simultaneously memorizing the corresponding star chart.
It's relatively more troublesome. Moreover, the initial eighty-eight constellations he had to memorize were practically equivalent to starting all over again from scratch with his martial arts skills.

The pain.

"Master, 'The Song of Stepping to Heaven' is so hard to memorize!" Tang Yuan finally couldn't help but grumble and complain. He tilted his head back, trying to...

Searching for the stars of Spica in the sky, I suddenly remembered that Spica is the first of the seven eastern constellations, mostly located in Virgo and Centaurus.
Stars only appear in the southern sky after sunset in late spring and early summer. Now it's the dead of winter, so how could there be stars in the sky?

Traces of the constellations? Or should he start memorizing from Orion, the brightest and most obvious constellation in the entire winter sky?
The Book of Changes states: "The heavens display signs, revealing good and bad fortune." Observing celestial phenomena can help predict the course of all things in the world, making it a very practical skill.

The young Taoist priest raised his head and dutifully began to brainwash his disciple.

"It's completely impractical... I'd rather believe online horoscopes; they're so simple and straightforward." Tang Yuan puffed out his cheeks.
With her cheeks puffed out, she said angrily, "I don't want to look at anything like Tai Sui, Shen Sha, Qi Yao, Ba Gua, San Yuan, or Jiu Xing!"

"Hmm? You know quite a lot about glutinous rice balls!" The young Taoist raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise appearing on his handsome face.
.

"That's right! I'm naturally gifted, how could studying astrology be difficult for me?" Tang Yuan proudly puffed out his chest.

"Good girl, little Tangyuan is really amazing, keep up the good work!" the young Taoist priest praised sincerely.

After flipping through "The Song of Stepping to Heaven" in the book with renewed vigor, Tang Yuan's expression froze, realizing he had been tricked again.
He looked up, about to argue, when he saw his master holding a palm-sized tortoise shell, making a hand gesture with his right hand, pointing...

A yellow Taoist talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, then was placed on the stone table by the tortoise shell. The crackling sound of the burning tortoise shell filled the air.

The news kept coming in.

Tang Yuan couldn't help but hold his breath. Was this the legendary tortoise shell divination?!
The talisman looked like a small strip, but it burned for a long time, accompanied by the crackling sound of the tortoise shell. After it completely quieted down, Tang Yuan noticed several clear cracks on the tortoise shell, but it did not break.

The young Taoist priest carefully felt the cracks with the fingertips of his right hand, while simultaneously calculating with his left hand. Finally, his thumb stopped at the lowest joint of his middle finger.

Tang Yuan was stunned. He had naturally learned the Six Ren divination method, and the lower joint of the middle finger was called "Void," the most ominous hexagram, indicating great misfortune in all matters. Regardless of what his master was calculating, it was a very unlucky omen!
"Master..." Tang Yuan said worriedly, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart, making it hard to breathe. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't care much about divination, but although he said he looked down on his master's abilities, he knew that this seemingly unreliable, food-loving master was actually practically an immortal being. And recently, his master had even rarely touched his favorite foods; now that he thought about it, something was definitely wrong. Tang Yuan suddenly asked with a grim expression, "Master, is that senior brother who broke the formation coming to find us?"

The young Taoist priest looked up at the starry sky and sighed wistfully, "They have already come knocking on our door."

As he spoke, the barrier in mid-air suddenly emitted a loud cracking sound without warning, and cracks appeared in Tang Yuan's horrified eyes. Tang Yuan was dumbfounded, because he discovered that the cracks on the barrier were exactly the same as the cracks on the tortoise shell that his master had just burned.

"Crack!" The tortoise shell on the stone table finally cracked completely, truly falling into pieces.

"Little Tangyuan, your eldest brother has come to settle accounts with me! Cause and effect, retribution, it seems, never ends. This matter has nothing to do with you, I'll take you to your second brother's place." The young Taoist seemed completely unconcerned about the frequent ominous signs, and even reached out to touch Tangyuan's head and laughed.

"I'm not going! Master! Didn't you say you'd look for me for the rest of your life? Let's go together!" Tang Yuan stood up and tugged at the Taoist's robe sleeve, his round face resolute. Although he and his master often bickered fiercely, he actually relied on him very much; his master was his only support in this world.

"He wouldn't kill me, he probably just wants me to experience what it's like to be trapped for two thousand years. Don't worry, even if he uses eighty-one antiques as the array's core and resets the God-Sealing Array, your master isn't someone who can be easily captured." The young Taoist smiled gently, then ignored Tang Yuan's brow.

Tang Yuan felt a powerful suction force coming towards him from behind, much like the feeling of drowning and falling into a whirlpool. In the instant he lost consciousness, he saw that the transparent barrier behind his master had turned into a spider web, cracked in pieces.

"It's winter! At least let me have my down jacket, Master!"

When Tang Yuan's broken cries came, the Taoist realized that his little disciple had been perfectly teleported away, and couldn't help but scratch his cheek with his finger in embarrassment.

The little glutinous rice ball shouldn't freeze to death, right...? Probably...

Nirvana Compass 5
As soon as he stepped out of the hospital building, he felt a biting wind. The doctor tightened his heavy wool coat, regretting that he hadn't checked the weather forecast before leaving home that morning; it had already started snowing.

After saying goodbye to a few colleagues, the doctor instinctively turned towards the commercial street next to the hospital.

"Yeah, that's true. I'd have to cook for myself at home anyway, so I might as well go to the shopping street and have a bowl of hot noodles to warm myself up." The doctor made excuses for his body's instincts. As he crossed the street, he saw a man with bangs covering his face waiting at the intersection with a black umbrella.

It was just a fleeting, unintentional glance when a gust of cold wind blew snowflakes aside, revealing the burn marks around his eyes.

The doctor felt a pang of regret. The other man was quite handsome, and he wondered what misfortune had befallen him to have such a disfigured face. However, this thought was fleeting, and the doctor quickly looked away, completely unaware of how long the other man's gaze lingered on him.

It was already dark, and the colorful neon lights on the commercial street were already lit up. The doctor stepped on the thin layer of snow, looked around, and felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

It was as if someone important had been forgotten.

But no matter how hard he tried to recall, he still couldn't come up with any clues.

Rubbing his face, which was red from the cold, the doctor thought that it was probably just a hallucination caused by too many surgeries scheduled recently and too much stress.

He pulled out his phone to search for affordable deals nearby, and following the map, he turned into a quiet alley, almost tripping over it. When he steadied himself against the wall and looked back, he saw a little boy lying unconscious!
The little boy looked to be only ten years old, wearing only a T-shirt with Iron Man printed on it, and his face was already blue from the cold.

The doctor quickly knelt down. The little boy was holding a rustic wicker medicine basket, inside which was a small white snake curled up in hibernation. It appeared to be non-venomous, probably a pet snake.

Without a second thought, the doctor quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around the little boy. Rather than calling 110, it was faster for him to carry the child straight back to the hospital.

Carrying the little boy through the alley, the doctor decided to go through the hospital's back entrance.

His actions drew stares from passersby as he walked down the shopping street. The doctor didn't seem to care; he continued walking while checking the boy's heart with his hand. It appeared the boy was just frostbitten and had no external injuries. Carrying a child weighing several tens of kilograms and walking quickly, even without a coat, the doctor was drenched in sweat, his breath frosting his glasses.

It was peak nightlife time, and the commercial street was packed with people. The doctor dodged and weaved until it seemed someone was blocking his way.

"Please make way," the doctor said kindly.

The person paused for a moment, then slowly turned to the side.

Without giving it much thought, the doctor thanked him and strode forward, completely unaware that the person behind him was following him with a complicated look in their eyes.

The boss stared blankly in the direction the doctor had left, even though his figure had long since disappeared behind the others.

The snowflakes falling from above had stopped sometime earlier. When the boss looked up, he realized that a black umbrella had shielded him from the wind and snow.

"Did you get what you wanted?" Fusu asked gently, his head bowed.

"Got it." The boss smiled back. "Let's go."

(End of this chapter)