The snow in Linzhou finally stopped.
After days of gloomy skies, a faint trace of pale daylight finally appeared. Snow covered the wilderness and official roads, and from afar, the entire world was a vast expanse of white.
The epidemic had finally been brought under control.
The number of new patients in the refugee camp each day was gradually decreasing, and the death toll was slowly falling. The despair that had originally permeated the camp had finally faded somewhat.
To the common people, it seemed that they could finally see the end of this disaster.
But to Xiao Yuan, Linzhou was merely the beginning.
The true Northern Frontier was still farther north.
Inside Prince Su’s tent, several documents were spread across the desk.
Zhao Ling’s testimony, the account books from Linzhou’s official granaries, epidemic statistics, and the military reports from the Northern Frontier that had just arrived were all piled together into a thick stack.
Xia Lanshi sat to the side wearing a heavy cloak.
Although the poisoning was no longer life-threatening, his face remained pale, his lips so faint in color that they were almost bloodless, and his entire person appeared even thinner than usual.
Xiao Yuan finished reading the last document and set down his pen.
“We depart in three days.”
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes slightly.
“Northward.”
“Mm.”
The matter in Linzhou had been concluded.
Zhou Jin was dead, Zhao Ling had been brought to justice, Yongfeng Grain Company had been sealed, and the Nanjing poisoning case had finally been settled.
Although the Crown Prince had lost a number of pieces on the board, the person truly hiding behind the scenes remained safely in the Eastern Palace in the capital.
There was no point in remaining in Linzhou.
There were still tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the Northern Frontier waiting for them.
Xia Lanshi was silent for a moment before lightly nodding.
“It was this subject who delayed the journey.”
Xiao Yuan did not even raise his head.
“Good that you know.”
Xia Lanshi: “……”
The words of apology he had prepared immediately caught in his throat.
After a moment, Xiao Yuan added indifferently,
“So from now on, you will travel by carriage.”
Xia Lanshi was silent for even longer.
He knew this was a decision that allowed no discussion.
When they had departed from the capital, he had already been unable to ride because of his illness and could only travel by carriage. Now that he had been poisoned and had taken a trip to the gates of death, let alone riding a horse to hurry along the road, even walking a few extra steps after getting out of bed could make the military physician nervous for half a day.
Even so, he could not help feeling somewhat helpless.
Sometimes, he truly hated this body.
He hated always being weaker than others.
He hated that head of white hair and red eyes that were different from ordinary people.
He hated that no matter how hard he worked to take care of himself, in the end, he would always burden the people around him.
But he would never speak these emotions aloud.
◇◆◇◆◇
Returning Dust Pavilion.
When the white light appeared, Xiao Yuan had only just stepped through the door when Su Muchen called out to him.
“Perfect timing.”
Xiao Yuan’s footsteps paused.
Su Muchen was already carrying a medical case over.
“Change your dressing. Follow-up examination.”
This had practically become a routine.
From that first nearly fatal wound until now, whenever he crossed the door to report that he was safe, Su Muchen would always conveniently check his recovery.
Xiao Yuan sat down skillfully and allowed him to remove the bandages.
However, this time, Su Muchen’s movements gradually stopped.
He stared at the wound for a long time.
Then he lowered his head and flipped through the medical record in his hand.
Afterward, he measured and recorded everything again.
In the end, he even began wondering whether he had remembered something incorrectly.
Xiao Yuan noticed something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Su Muchen did not answer immediately. Instead, he flipped the medical record to the latest entry.
Several words were clearly written on the cover.
—Patient No. 1: Xiao Yuan.
This was the first formal medical record he had created after coming to Returning Dust Pavilion.
From the first treatment to subsequent dressing changes, infection control, and recovery progress, everything had been recorded in detail.
Su Muchen frowned.
“Your recovery is too fast.”
Xiao Yuan did not think there was anything strange about it.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is good, but it doesn’t make sense.”
Su Muchen flipped the record back to the beginning.
“According to my estimate, an injury of this severity should take at least another month to recover to your current condition.”
He looked up at Xiao Yuan.
“But less than half that time has passed.”
The wound had already healed more than halfway.
The recovery speed of the deeper tissues was even absurdly fast.
If he had not personally watched the recovery progress all the way through, he might even have suspected that he had misjudged the severity of the original injury.
Xiao Yuan remained completely calm.
“Those who practice martial arts naturally recover faster. I also haven’t fought anyone during this period. I have been regulating my breathing and circulating my energy every day, so naturally my recovery is somewhat faster than an ordinary person’s.”
Su Muchen became thoughtful.
“Can internal energy really promote recovery?”
“Yes.”
The next second.
Xiao Yuan saw Su Muchen’s eyes light up, the exact expression of someone who had discovered a new research subject.
An ominous feeling suddenly arose in Xiao Yuan’s heart.
Sure enough, Su Muchen had already picked up his pen and added a line beside the medical record.
—Special recovery case. Continue monitoring and observation.
Xiao Yuan: “……”
Su Muchen did not feel that there was anything wrong at all. Instead, he said seriously,
“Once you’ve completely recovered, I’d like to arrange a full-body health examination.”
“What kind of examination?”
“Blood tests, cardiopulmonary function, bone structure, muscle data, metabolic analysis…”
The more he spoke, the more naturally the words came, and he even began considering whether he should establish a long-term monitoring file.
After all, in his entire life, Xiao Yuan was the only person he knew who possessed internal energy.
Xiao Yuan suddenly felt that perhaps he should not have explained things so thoroughly.
After changing the dressing, Su Muchen opened another medical record.
The cover read:
—Patient No. 2: Xia Lanshi.
Compared with Xiao Yuan’s, this medical record was clearly much thicker.
It contained records of his poisoning, long-term weakness, vision problems, tendency toward anemia, weakened immune function, various physical conditions compiled from the military physician and Xiao Yuan, as well as the results of his previous blood tests.
The more Su Muchen read, the more deeply he frowned.
“I finally understand why he gets sick every few days.”
Xiao sat across from him and flipped through several pages.
He did not contradict him because the facts were indeed as such.
Xia Lanshi’s problems had never been a single illness. They were accumulated deficiencies that had built up from childhood.
Albinism itself could not be cured, but that did not mean it could not be improved.
In Dasheng, people regarded those with albinism as inauspicious.
In modern medicine, it was simply a congenital genetic abnormality.
Although it could not be reversed, proper care could improve quality of life.
Protecting his eyesight, nutritional supplementation, immune regulation, treatment for anemia, sun protection and measures to keep warm, and even managing his daily schedule could greatly improve his condition.
Su Muchen picked up his pen and added a line at the end of the medical record.
—Priority treatment subject.
He then began listing a long string of supplies.
Because in three days, they would leave Linzhou and continue toward the colder and more dangerous Northern Frontier.
Before that, his “Raise the Prince + Raise the Chief Secretary Plan” had to officially begin.
Before raising the Prince properly, he also had to take care of the Chief Secretary.
That way, he could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
◇◆◇◆◇
The days of constant busyness had finally come to an end, and the atmosphere in the refugee camp was also much more relaxed than before.
Occasionally, one could even hear children running and playing, rather than the lifeless silence of the beginning.
However, Prince Su’s camp was busier than ever because the army would formally head north in three days.
The tent was brightly lit, with military reports and defense maps from the Northern Frontier piled across the desk.
Xiao Yuan was discussing the subsequent route with several generals, while Xia Lanshi quietly sat nearby, organizing intelligence sent from various locations.
However, he had written less than half a page when a hand suddenly reached over and snatched away his brush.
Xia Lanshi looked up and met Chi Banyue’s half-smiling face.
“Chief Secretary Xia.”
“?”
“Doctor Su said that you can only handle official affairs for two hours a day.”
Xia Lanshi fell silent.
Su Muchen again.
Ever since that “Xia Lanshi Recovery Plan” had been sent over, he had discovered that his life had undergone earth-shattering changes.
His waking time was regulated.
His sleeping time was regulated.
His medicine schedule was regulated.
Even how much official work he could handle each day was regulated.
The most frightening part was—
Xiao Yuan followed every single instruction, while Chi Banyue strictly enforced them.
“I’ve already recovered quite a bit.”
Chi Banyue did not even change her expression.
“Doctor Su said that is the sentence patients say most often.”
Xia Lanshi: “……”
At this moment, Xiao Yuan spoke without even raising his head.
“Go back and rest.”
Xia Lanshi was helpless.
“Your Highness.”
“You should sleep.”
“……”
Chi Banyue immediately smiled brightly.
“Please, Lord Xia.”
Xia Lanshi looked at the pile of documents on the table, then at the expressionless Xiao Yuan.
In the end, he could only resign himself to getting up.
He knew that this time, he truly had no room for negotiation.
After all, even Xiao Yuan was standing on Su Muchen’s side.
◇◆◇◆◇
On the other side, Returning Dust Pavilion was brightly lit.
Su Muchen was lying over the desk behind the counter, burying his head in writing something. Sheets of paper covered the tabletop, so messy that it was almost impossible to find an empty spot.
On the left lay Xia Lanshi’s medical record.
On the right was the map of the Northern Frontier that Xiao Yuan had brought.
In the middle was an astonishingly long list of supplies, densely covered in writing.
When Xiao entered, he casually glanced over and saw that the list already filled three entire pages.
He fell silent for a moment.
“Are you planning to empty the pharmacy?”
Su Muchen did not even raise his head, his pen continuing to fly rapidly across the paper.
“The Northern Frontier is colder than Linzhou.”
“Mm.”
“And supplies are even scarcer.”
“Mm.”
“Xia Lanshi is still a patient.”
“Mm.”
Xiao slowly walked over to the table and lowered his head to look at the list.
The more he read, the more peculiar his expression became.
Besides medicine and supplies for keeping warm, it even contained a detailed set of living regulations so strict they were almost harsh.
—Spend half an hour in the sun every morning after waking, but take proper sun-protection measures.
—Forbidden to handle official affairs on an empty stomach.
—Forbidden to stay up late.
—Report physical condition once every three days.
—Nutritional supplements twice daily.
—Failure to comply will result in additional regulations.
When Xiao reached the final item, he finally could not hold back his laughter.
“What is that last one?”
Only then did Su Muchen raise his head, his expression as calm as though he were stating a medical fact.
“A threat.”
His answer was perfectly righteous.
For a moment, Xiao did not even know where to begin criticizing him.
He suddenly felt somewhat sympathetic toward Xia Lanshi, who was far away in Dasheng.
Most people who encountered Su Muchen simply picked up their lives again.
Xia Lanshi, on the other hand, had not only picked up his life—he had also acquired an exceptionally serious attending physician.
Just then, the familiar white light suddenly appeared deep in the corridor.
The door opened.
Xiao Yuan stepped out from the light.
He had only just steadied himself when he saw the thick pile of papers on the table.
For some reason, an ominous sense of déjà vu arose in his heart.
Sure enough, the next moment, Su Muchen had already put down his pen and picked up the entire stack of papers.
“Perfect timing.”
Xiao Yuan’s eyelid twitched slightly.
Whenever Su Muchen said that, it meant something was coming.
Sure enough, Su Muchen unceremoniously stuffed the entire stack of documents into his hands.
“This is Xia Lanshi’s recovery plan for the next half month.”
Xiao Yuan lowered his head and glanced at it.
The thickness was almost comparable to a stack of military reports.
And Su Muchen clearly was not finished.
“These medicines must be taken on schedule. These supplements twice a day. These warm clothing and supplies must be used during the journey. This is the list of precautions. This is the emergency response procedure. And this is what to do if his fever or coughing gets worse.”
Xiao Yuan listened quietly.
After a long silence, he finally slowly asked,
“Are you planning to raise the Chief Secretary or raise a child?”
Su Muchen seriously considered it.
“Is there a difference?”
Xiao Yuan: “……”
Xiao, standing nearby, almost sprayed out the coffee he had just taken into his mouth.
Yet Su Muchen did not feel that there was anything wrong with himself at all.
In his eyes, Xia Lanshi was currently a seriously ill patient who had nearly worked himself to death.
When a patient refused to cooperate, naturally the doctor had to find a way to manage him.
And if he still refused to cooperate, then add more rules.
Wasn’t that perfectly reasonable?
Before leaving, Xiao Yuan suddenly took a folded sheet of thin paper from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
Su Muchen froze.
“What is this?”
“The third section of the translation.”
Upon hearing this, Su Muchen immediately put down everything in his hands and reached out to unfold the paper.
This time, the contents were even shorter than the previous two sections.
Only a few short lines remained on the page.
—The door chooses its master.
—The master chooses the path.
—The path connects the two worlds.
—The fate of two people is bound together.
Su Muchen’s gaze stopped on the final sentence, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened.
“The fate of two people is bound together?”
Xiao Yuan nodded.
“There seems to have been more content originally, but it has been damaged. We can only make out this much.”
After those words fell, the shop suddenly became silent.
Outside the window, the night was deep and heavy, with only the faint sound of the wind in the distance.
Xiao stood to the side, his gaze resting on those few lines.
For once, he did not make a joke.
After a long time, Su Muchen finally said quietly,
“So… the door didn’t choose us at random.”
No one answered.
Because the answer was already obvious.
Whether it was the bloodline of the Su family, the imperial blood within Xiao Yuan, or the “karma” and “fate-bound” references repeatedly mentioned in the ancient text, everything indicated that none of this was accidental.
It was simply that they still did not know what the door wanted them to do.
And within those fragmented passages whose contents had been erased by time or deliberately concealed, what kind of truth was hidden?
The cold wind outside gradually rose.
The wind and snow of the Northern Frontier were approaching.
And another, even greater storm was quietly brewing between the two worlds.