Lying on the bed, Zou the Blind stared motionlessly at the sky with his vacant eyes, like a corpse. Only the occasional rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.
"Uncle Zou," Yan Shouyi said, "we've already notified Old Jin. He's a successor of ancient medicine and can offer you some help, however little."
Zou the Blind nodded, but his expression suggested he had little will to live.
Yan Shouyi couldn't understand why Zou the Blind had suddenly lost all hope in life, even wishing for death.
"Cough, cough... Shouyi, in this life, I owe too many people. I owe your father, I owe Daoist Dog, and also..."
Zou the Blind choked for a long time, ultimately unable to utter the name. He let out a long sigh and said,
"I had intended to depart alone, but now, at the brink of death, I feel that even a passing goose leaves behind a sound. I, Zou the Blind, have lived a lifetime, and in the end, haven't left behind a single fart... I am truly unwilling."
As he spoke, Zou the Blind handed his guqin to Lin Zitong and said,
"Lin girl, Shouyi has too much to learn. It's not convenient for me to pass this guqin to him, so I'll give it to you instead. Here is also a Qin score, written with my life's blood. Take it and comprehend it well; it will be of great help to you in the future."
Lin Zitong took the ancient guqin and the tattered Qin score, her heart feeling heavy.
"Uncle Zou, why don't you want to live anymore?"
The cold wind blew in through the cracks in the door, making a mournful sound. Long Feicheng found it annoying and turned to close the door tightly.
Zou the Blind called out to him, "Leave the door open."
"...Alright." Long Feicheng didn't ask why, as he felt Zou the Blind's time was too precious now to be wasted on explaining such trivial matters.
Gazing at the darkness outside the door, Zou the Blind weakly began to recount his story:
"Over twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and had only eight months to live. I was young then and didn't know the meaning of life. Thinking I was about to die, I fell into despair. I abandoned my studies, broke ties with my family, and left to wander aimlessly, refusing treatment, wanting to die wherever I ended up."
"As time passed, I reached Luoyang. My health deteriorated, and eventually, I became so weak I couldn't even walk. I discarded my backpack and lay down under a bridge. I closed my eyes, intending to quietly await death. People passed by in a hurry, paying no heed to my life or death. After all, to this world, I was insignificant."
"Just then, I suddenly heard a melody of a guqin. The music was melodious and flowing, like a warm breeze from spring, bringing comfort and a feeling of bathing in sunshine. The music swept away my gloom. I used all my strength to open my eyes and saw a girl playing the guqin in the bridge's underpass. Although her music was beautiful, no one paid attention; passersby didn't even bother to stop and glance at her."
"I had never cared so much about a stranger before. The music seemed to give me the strength to live. I got up again and sat beside the girl. She didn't mind my shabby appearance. Thus, she played, and I listened, from sunrise to sunset. We didn't speak a word. When there were no more pedestrians, she continued playing, as if playing only for me."
"For the next month, I dragged my frail body to the bridge's underpass every day to listen to her play. I shouldn't have lived that long, yet I did. Perhaps her music healed me. I watched that girl, but she watched her guqin. I thought she had grown accustomed to my presence, so I bravely stepped forward to greet her, which startled her and caused her to misplay a string—only then did I realize that the girl was blind."
"For a month, the girl was unaware of my existence. She would simply arrive at the underpass on time, play her music, and then go home. I asked her name, but she shook her head and said nothing. I asked if I could continue listening to her play, and she smiled, saying few people liked listening to her music. In this world, few are willing to listen to others' feelings. Time is precious to everyone, not a second can be wasted... And I, who should have cherished time even more, had already given up on everything. If possible, I wished to hear her music even as I died."
"Her appearance was like a miracle. I should have died a month earlier, but by her side, I lived for two more months. I accompanied her, from sunrise to sunset, her music comforting me. Later, as you might expect, I developed a fondness for her. From the moment that feeling arose, I seemed to no longer want to be at the mercy of illness, and time also seemed to gain meaning."
"That morning, I arrived at the underpass as usual, prepared a bouquet of flowers, and a love poem I had written long ago. I recited it to myself repeatedly, so nervous my palms were sweating... But that day, I didn't get to see her. Later, I found out that that very morning, she, despairing of life, had jumped from her balcony. She was now in the hospital, her life hanging in the balance..."
"I had once seen her as hope; she symbolized beauty, her music was so warm, but I never imagined she would break down before me. I made preparations, thinking that if she didn't survive, I wouldn't either. But for some reason, I, who no longer feared death, lost my courage then. I was afraid that after I died, no one in this world would remember her—remember the blind girl who played the guqin in the underpass, remember her spring-like music..."
"Did she survive?" Lin Zitong asked softly.
"The situation then was that survival was almost impossible, but... I met someone, and made a deal with him."
Yan Shouyi asked, "Who?"
"A赊刀人 (She Dao Ren)."
"What?!"
Everyone was greatly surprised, never expecting Zou the Blind to have had dealings with a She Dao Ren.
Zou the Blind continued, "The She Dao Ren could find a way to save her, and also save my life, but there was one condition—the She Dao Ren predicted that in the future, she and I would have a child, and the She Dao Ren wanted my child!"
"You... agreed to him?" Yan Shouyi's throat felt choked.
Zou the Blind nodded helplessly.
At that time, he was just an ordinary person, knowing nothing of these matters. His mindset was the same as Lin Fan's back then; he felt he was merely making a blank promise to the She Dao Ren. Whether he could be with the girl in the future or have a child was not a certainty. What harm could agreeing do?
"The She Dao Ren did indeed fulfill all his promises. She survived, and I also managed to extend my life through certain methods. In the hospital room, I confessed my love to her, and she accepted my love. We got married, had a child, and should have lived happily ever after until—the She Dao Ren returned to collect his debt."
At this point, Zou the Blind clutched his head in pain. "He snatched our child, and I was powerless to stop him. That night, my wife cursed me as an incompetent failure, and I, being unable to change anything, eventually separated from her. However, the guilt in my heart never allowed me to let go. I decided to at least make some amends, so I secretly gave her my corneas. She had once given me light, and now I returned the light to her."
"Later, it was as if I had returned to the days of my terminal illness. I carried her guqin and walked in darkness, searching alone for the whereabouts of that She Dao Ren. On my search, I also met your father, Daoist Dog, Monk Miaoji, and others. But for years, the She Dao Ren, like the descendants of Lu Ban, had vanished from the world. No matter how far I searched, I couldn't find the child who had been taken."
"Now, the life extended by the She Dao Ren has expired. I know my time is short, but the guilt in my heart is like a thorn in my eye. I have yet to see my son even once. I... I fear I will die with regrets..."
Zou the Blind shed turbid tears, and with his dry, hoarse voice, let out a sound of unwilling whimpers.
This was Zou the Blind's story—the story of someone who shouldn't have lived, constantly finding hope and then losing it.
His story with that girl was like the tale of Boya and Zhong Ziqi meeting a kindred spirit by the "High Mountains and Flowing Water," only their ending was even more tragic than Boya and Zhong Ziqi's.
Now, Yan Shouyi and the others finally understood where the heart-wrenching pain in Zou the Blind's guqin music came from.
It was his longing and guilt for his child, his only concern when facing death.
"In this life, I'm afraid I'll never wait for him," Zou the Blind choked out.
Yan Shouyi quickly grasped Zou the Blind's hand and said, "Uncle Zou, to be honest, we have encountered the She Dao Ren."
Zou the Blind froze, then forced a smile, "You don't need to make up lies to deceive me."
"It's true!"
To make Zou the Blind believe, Yan Shouyi directly produced the two cleavers left by the She Dao Ren.
Upon seeing the cleavers, Zou the Blind's eyes widened, his face filled with shock.
Of course, he recognized these cleavers, because the She Dao Ren had left him a similar one back then!
"You, you're telling the truth?! Cough, cough... cough, cough!" Zou the Blind coughed in agitation.
Long Feicheng quickly helped Zou the Blind regain his breath. Lin Zitong comforted him, "That She Dao Ren is now in Rongcheng. He's set his sights on West Lake and had a confrontation with Shouyi today."
Yan Shouyi also said, "You must hold on. We'll go find the She Dao Ren right now and ask for your son's whereabouts!"
"You truly aren't lying to me?" Zou the Blind still found it hard to believe.
"Absolutely not," Yan Shouyi said with certainty.
Just then, Old Jin arrived. Seeing Zou the Blind's complexion, he was also quite startled. After taking his pulse and diagnosing him, it was Zou the Blind himself who anxiously asked,
"How am I? How many days can I live?"
Old Jin looked troubled, wanting to speak with Yan Shouyi alone first, but Zou the Blind angrily said, "Say it here, face to face, no need to hide anything!"
Yan Shouyi also nodded, and Old Jin then said,
"Your physical condition is very poor. Even if I do my best... I can only help you live for another week."
"A week, is that enough?" Zou the Blind asked Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi gritted his teeth, "I'll capture that She Dao Ren and bring him before you tomorrow!"