Bamboo Chest Chapter Forty-Nine: Where the Heart Leads

Song Lian was stunned; he had never imagined that Lu Yun would ask him such a question. But seeing Lu Yun's bewildered expression, it seemed he truly had forgotten him.

“Master, I am Song Lian, your disciple!” Song Lian hurriedly said, “Don’t you remember?”

Lu Yun raised his hand and gently pressed it against his forehead.

“My memory is fading…”

Song Lian rushed to Lu Yun’s side and shouted, “Master, this is an illusion. Don’t forget, this is an illusion!”

“This is an illusion. Everything is false…”

Lu Yun murmured, “All false.”

The memories in his mind, those past moments he had desperately tried to recall, slowly dissolved like bubbles, bursting one after another, shattering.

“Ah Yun!”

That soft call made Lu Yun freeze instantly.

Those elusive, intangible fragments deepened, gnawing at Lu Yun’s mind.

“Sister! Sister!”

Lu Yun could hardly believe it. Song Lian even saw that his most revered master was trembling all over.

In Song Lian’s memory, Lu Yun had always been so indifferent that he seemed to ignore everything, like a block of ice unmelting for a thousand years, cold and distant toward everyone.

Yet, with just a single soft call, this ice seemed to meet the sun, slowly melting.

Beneath the ice lay a stone—a stubborn, solitary stone.

After hesitating for a long time, Lu Yun finally turned around. The face that had appeared countless times in his dreams, now blurred but unmistakably present, stood before him.

It was a young girl in simple cloth garments, smiling at Lu Yun.

…

“Where did you come from?”

The girl had just opened the door when she saw a boy curled up outside.

He appeared about fourteen or fifteen years old—not very old, but in this wild world, such an appearance was not uncommon.

The girl was cautious; she carefully approached and poked the boy’s face with a wooden stick.

“What’s wrong with you?”

The boy instinctively frowned, struggling to open his eyes and meet the girl’s gaze.

“Help me…”

That was the first thing Lu Yun said to Lu Cui.

His voice was hoarse, but to the girl’s ears, it was remarkably clear.

“Please help me…”

Lu Yun did not want to die. He had arrived in this world without reason, inexplicably thrown here.

The blood in his veins had turned into that of a demon’s, and a subconscious killing intent tormented his mind ceaselessly.

At that moment, Lu Yun was in great pain and exhaustion. He only managed to say those two sentences before falling unconscious again.

Am I going to die? How pathetic…

It seemed that traversing worlds was truly a matter of skill; unfortunately, his luck was poor.

Lu Yun thought this as he realized he could never return to the world where he had lived for twenty years.

Faces of his family and friends floated before his eyes.

…

Lu Yun was unwilling, sorrowful, yet helpless.

Until he awoke once more.

The sunlight was dazzling, and the girl’s busy figure flickered in the light.

“You’re awake.”

The girl wiped sweat from her brow and placed her hands on her hips.

“First things first—I’m not raising you for free. You’ll have to work for me!”

Lu Yun was stunned for a long time. Looking at the girl in simple cloth under the sun, he finally nodded.

“Alright, thank you.”

The girl let out a breath.

Thankfully, she hadn’t saved someone unreasonable.

She then asked the boy lying on the wooden bench, “What’s your name?”

Lu Yun shook his head unconsciously.

“I forgot.”

The girl frowned, running her hands through her hair, pondering for a long while before saying, “Then you’ll be called Lu Yun!”

“Lu Yun…”

Lu Yun murmured, smiling at the girl.

“Alright, thank you.”

The girl pursed her lips.

Could it be that she had saved a fool?

“What’s your name?” Lu Yun asked curiously.

The girl snorted coldly. “That’s a bit of a bold question!”

Lu Yun fell silent.

The girl remained cautious.

Could he not be a fool?

Might he deceive her instead?

…

Thus, Lu Yun and the girl lived together for several months. One day, after fetching water in the courtyard, Lu Yun was about to sweep the floor with a broom.

Suddenly, the girl returned, her expression downcast. The wine she usually carried on her shoulders was gone, leaving only a few broken porcelain shards in the bamboo box.

Usually, she came back late, with plenty of wine left.

But this time, she brought only bruises and dust-stained, patched cloth clothes.

Lu Yun put down the broom and went to her side, helping set down the bamboo box.

Both were silent. The girl brushed dust from her clothes; Lu Yun went inside to fetch medicine.

He had wondered why she always brought herbs home; now, Lu Yun finally understood.

As he applied medicine to her, he suddenly felt moisture on his arm.

The girl was shedding tears, sobbing, “I didn’t provoke them; why did they beat me? Why did they pour out my wine…”

This was quite normal in the wild world, and the girl was nearly used to it. This breakdown happened only because Lu Yun was by her side.

She could no longer hold back her tears, thinking this might be her last cry, after which she would slowly get used to being bullied.

But after Lu Yun finished applying the medicine, the boy picked a sharp shard from the bamboo box.

…

“Don’t, don’t!” the girl cried.

Lu Yun turned back, smiling.

“It’s alright.”

…

The boy returned, also heavily wounded—even more so than the girl.

“I told you not to go, but you had to, and now you’re suffering!” the girl scolded, though she didn’t stop applying the medicine.

Lu Yun grinned painfully.

“They won’t bully us anymore!”

The girl was silent.

…

Under the moonlight, they both gazed at the full moon.

“Do you think the people in the city lord’s mansion see the same night sky as we do?” the girl asked casually.

Lu Yun shook his head, “They must see more stars than we do.”

“I really want to visit the moon in the sky. Three moons—if only they would all let us live there!”

Trying to break the somber mood, the girl joked, “Three moons, Lu Yun, doesn’t that excite you?”

“Two of the three moons are already inhabited, so you’d probably have to live on the smallest one,” Lu Yun replied.

Somewhat dull, but the girl didn’t mind.

Suddenly, she said, “My name is Lu Cui.”

Lu Yun nodded.

Lu Cui leaned against Lu Yun’s wooden chair, hugging her knees, softly saying, “Actually, many people in Zhicui City know my name. You wouldn’t be completely in the dark if you asked around.”

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t ask.”

Lu Yun smiled at Lu Cui. “Because you saved me, you are my benefactor.”

“How about being my younger brother?” Lu Cui suddenly said.

Under the moonlight, her expression was serious. “Though the wild world isn’t as particular as Haoran World, since we share the same surname, it would be fitting for us to be siblings.”

Lu Yun tried to stand but was quickly pressed down by Lu Cui.

“What are you doing? Don’t move around; your injuries will worsen!” Lu Cui said with concern in her eyes.

Lu Yun smiled weakly. “I thought we were going to kneel under the moon and swear an oath together.”

“There’s no need for all those rules. Heaven won’t pity us. You just need to tell me if you agree.”

The girl crossed her arms. “Lu Yun, do you agree to be my younger brother?”

Under the moonlight, Lu Yun nodded.

“Sister.”

…

After many years apart, she still wore that faded cloth garment.

Lu Yun wept, murmuring, “Sister, I miss you so much.”

What he thought, what his heart longed for.