It was only the day before yesterday that we received the letter, thinking she wouldn’t make it back for the festival. To our surprise, she arrived so soon.
Gu Youyou performed a curtsey and said, "Aunt, how have things been at home recently?"
The aunt, presumably anxious to see her daughter after such a long absence, had noticeably more wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
Madam Lin watched Gu Youyou with tears of joy and said, "Everything is good, good. The festival might be celebrated properly now. With you back, and Daya returning too, the house hasn’t been this lively in a long while."
Gu Youyou, arm in arm with Madam Lin, spoke affectionately, "I’m just afraid Aunt might find us too noisy."
Madam Lin hurriedly said, "Not noisy at all, alas! When all of you were at home, I always thought you were restless, always causing me trouble. Now that you’ve all been gone for half a year, at first, I thought it was peaceful, but as time passed, I’ve come to miss the noise, the liveliness!"
To hear Madam Lin speak so sincerely and earnestly about this, Gu Youyou was deeply moved.
Xiang Chun and Searcy disembarked from the carriage behind them, and Gu Youyou introduced them to Madam Lin, saying, "This young lady is called Searcy, she’s also a doctor. Her medical skills are quite noteworthy, and she has returned with me."
Madam Lin scrutinized Searcy from head to toe and said, "Since she is Youyou’s friend, then she is our guest at the Lin Residence. Xiang Chun, please take Miss... Searcy inside."
Madam Lin frowned; this name was indeed rather strange.
"Oh, how is the Heavenly Master’s illness? Now that you’re back, it must have improved, right?"
Gu Youyou paused for a moment, then said, "The Heavenly Master is getting on in years, and his illness is not easy to cure. But for now, his condition is under control. However, unpredictable relapses might occur, and I may have to go back."
She dared not speak in definitive terms; Gu Youyou felt that she might need to make a hasty retreat to Qi Mountain at any time for protection.
Madam Lin gave a single "Oh," and didn’t ask further, but rather urged Gu Youyou to quickly go see the elderly lady of the house.
The elderly lady was advanced in years and had enjoyed many years of liveliness. Suddenly, without the two troublemakers around these past few months, she too struggled to adjust.
After several days of exhausting travel, Gu Youyou felt wearied. Once she had calmed the elderly lady, and tidied up, night had fallen.
She needed a good night’s sleep; tomorrow was the Dragon Boat Festival.
Jin Zijin resumed his wall-climbing activities. In truth, thanks to the increasingly effective drugs that Gu Youyou had developed, they could control the toxins. But to still need medicine when he could hold her in his arms? That, he couldn’t tolerate.
As for Gu Youyou, she didn’t mind; she’d arrive after dark and leave before dawn. As long as he wasn’t tired, she was fine with anything.
But it was tough on Xiang Chun, who had to take sleeping pills again.
Clustered together under the covers, embracing and chatting had become a routine for them. That night, they casually broached the topic of the other drug people.
"With all the drug people gone, Huo Li must be livid. Isn’t Yu Jizi aware of the situation, and does he simply not care?"
Jin Zijin said, "That’s precisely the mystery we’re pondering. Perhaps Yu Jizi is preoccupied with matters more important than these drug people, or maybe he doesn’t regard our actions over the past six months as significant..."
Hearing him say that, she couldn’t help but become tense.
To say that Yu Jizi has something more important than the drug people, Gu Youyou thought the latter explanation more plausible. How could that old man not value the drug people? He must be excessively arrogant, not taking their deeds seriously at all.
"Isn’t the safest place said to be Qi Mountain? Why not send them all to Qi Mountain?"
"Tianzong cannot openly antagonize him," Jin Zijin mused.
Ah! Truly complicated.