Secret Recipe | Chapter 226 | This Side of the Door | Novela.app

White. A vast, boundless expanse of white stretched from the horizon of the sky to the edge of the earth. The youth tilted his head back to look at the sky above, where a cold wind swirled snowflakes into his eyes. It felt as though he hadn't seen this color in a very long time, yet it also felt as though he had been lingering within it for an eternity. As he shifted his body, the accumulated snow crunched beneath his feet. He seemed to have walked a very long way. The snow was heavy, the wind fierce; every breath he drew was icy, his hands and feet were numb with cold, and his face ached with a bone-chilling sting. Once again, he stood before that tall, grand, and imposing manor gate. Yet he hesitated for a long time, unable to lift his arm to strike the door knocker. This was not his home, but it was his destination. How strange. Wasn't he supposed to return here? Why did he hesitate now that he was at the door? Every time he completed a mission, he was meant to return here. Even though there was no one inside that door waiting for him. "Li Qiao..." He turned around with some trepidation, looking out at the vast, white street, but not a single soul was in sight. Who? Who was speaking? And who was Li Qiao? Perhaps they had the wrong person. He thought dizzily as blood dripped from his trouser legs, freezing into pale red patches on the ground by his feet. It was so cold. His bones felt as if they were freezing to his flesh. He would just go inside to take shelter for a while. He huffed into his hands, rubbed them together, and stomped his feet, trying to curl his body into a ball, but the cold claimed him inch by inch. After an unknown amount of time, the door creaked open. A pitch-black slit appeared; snowflakes instantly poured inside, only to be swallowed by the darkness. The wind and snow grew more violent, as if urging him to hurry inside that door to hide, to find warmth. What was he waiting for? He should just go in. With that thought, his toes scraped across the ground, moving a short distance forward. "Li Qiao..." The voice rang out behind him again. This time it was closer, sounding like a woman's voice. This person was truly persistent. They clearly had the wrong person, yet they refused to leave. He looked at the open gate before him, then down at the snow piling higher and thicker around his feet. The step he had intended to take stalled. Just one look. Just one. Thinking this, he finally turned his body slowly and looked back. The street behind him had vanished into the swirling snow. Amidst the blurred white, a figure stood in the snow holding an umbrella—small and thin. He could not see her face clearly, but he could see the umbrella in her hand and the straw sandals on her feet. the umbrella was broken, and the straw sandals were tattered. Who was she? Why was she following him? The person seemed to hear the voice in his heart and spoke. "I have followed you the whole way. I have been looking for you for a long time." Belatedly, he looked down, only then seeing the line of blood-red footprints in the snow. A fear that crawled from the depths of his heart instantly covered his entire body. He stumbled back half a step, then collapsed to his knees, using his frozen hands in an attempt to cover the marks on the ground. Blood seeped from deep within the earth. No matter how much white snow he piled on top, the red soaked through instantly, a sight so piercing it made the heart tremble with terror. He looked around in panic, only to see more footprints appearing from all directions in the snow—some deep, some shallow, overlapping and crisscrossing, all stained with blood. It was as if invisible ghosts were bleeding, wandering all around him. Why? Why was this happening? Why were there so many footprints? He had clearly only passed through here once. He had clearly... "You have been waiting for me here for a long time, haven't you?" The wind and snow grew even more violent. White and red intertwined, surrounding him. He shook his head slowly, his body trembling uncontrollably. He had no one to wait for, and there had never been anyone waiting for him. "You are just lost. I have come to take you home." Home? Where did he have a home? The wind and snow blowing against him felt like countless hands pushing him backward. His hesitating steps retreated half a pace, and half his body vanished into the open doorway. The person holding the umbrella swayed in the wind, the broken umbrella nearly snapping. Yet amidst such a storm, she reached out her hand to him. "Come to my side. Let's go home together, alright?" The white storm made it nearly impossible for him to open his eyes; his vision swayed with it. Only that hand reached toward him, never wavering for a moment. Who could tell him? When would this pain end? If he just entered the door behind him, would it all be over? He would never have to endure this bone-deep cold or this endless agony again. He could finally rest. But why, the moment he heard her say the word "home," did his feet step resolutely into the wind and snow? "Li Qiao..." As long as she called his name, he would go to her side. But every step toward her was so difficult, so long. The piercing wind, the numb feet, the exhausted body, and the boundless white in his vision—he walked alone into the blizzard, toward a direction he had never seen clearly, toward a place he had never reached... He fell into the pure but cruel snow. His frozen feet could no longer move his body, so he crawled forward on his belly. His frozen eyelashes blocked his sight, so he moved forward in the darkness with his eyes closed. He did not know when this blizzard would stop, when this cold pain would end, or when his salvation would arrive. Until she lifted her hand and gently grasped his fingertips. A perfect warmth rushed into his body through the point of her touch, like a surging river dispelling the chill of winter. It flowed from his fingers and arms into his chest and the depths of his mind, then raced to every corner of his body, awakening everything within him like springtime. Li Qiao opened his eyes. Sunlight danced before him. The boundless white finally receded, and vibrant colors flooded into his eyes in an instant. The sky outside the window was a blue so deep it was almost purple. Withered yellow leaves fell silently from dark brown branches. The dark red charcoal in the brazier burned brightly, and the freshly warmed persimmons by the hearth were a soft, golden-orange mass. Everything was bathed in a warm, golden glow. The sunlight was no longer blinding but had become unprecedentedly soft, exactly as it was in the depths of his memory. Those strange, pungent smells had also vanished, leaving only a familiar scent of mint that drifted toward him, landing as lightly as a feather on his face. "Where is this..." Light and shadow shifted before him, and he saw a pair of bright, dark eyes. "Though this isn't Guoran Residence, I am the owner of Guoran Residence. You may call me Shopkeeper Qin." The owner of the eyes smiled as she spoke. The warm light embraced her silhouette, changing shape with her vivid expressions and dancing mischievously through every strand of her hair, just as she had looked when he first met her. Everything felt as distant as half a lifetime ago. He felt as if he had had a very long dream, a dream where he was trapped in that wretched past, struggling bitterly but unable to escape, until she took his hand and led him out of that blizzard. A tide of memories surged, instantly swallowing him. He was like a drowning man drifting helplessly in a whirlpool of recollection until he finally plummeted back into reality. His whole body shuddered, and he struggled to sit up, only then realizing his hand had been held in someone else's this entire time. "Don't be afraid. I've got you." From sunrise to sunset and back to sunrise again, she had never let go of his hand. "Welcome back, Li Qiao." Outside the window, the last leaf fell from the old persimmon tree. Overnight, autumn had reached its end. *** Li Qiao had fallen into a deep sleep shortly after the drug trial, slumbering for three full days before finally waking. On the afternoon of the day he woke, Qiu Ling’s boat arrived at Chuanliu Courtyard. Lu Zican leaped off the boat and ran toward Qin Jiuye, asking with a tremble if it was all true. Qin Jiuye only stated rigorously that she and Teng Hu had each confirmed it three times, and the results were all positive. Lu Zican was overjoyed, but the next moment, he looked back at Qiu Ling on the boat and was instantly plunged into great sorrow. From beginning to end, Qiu Ling and Xu Qiuchi did not disembark to enter Chuanliu Courtyard. It seemed they were following their previous agreement, or perhaps they were intentionally drawing a line between themselves and this place of the martial world. Qin Jiuye did not pry; she only told the two of them about the progress made during these days and finally brought up the "lost and found" Du Laogou through Old Tang’s case. She had asked Du Laogou what he wanted. Having lost the joy of teaching, he did not wish to remain at Chuanliu Courtyard. Considering that the entanglement between the secret formula and Chuanliu Courtyard would not end anytime soon, she also felt it was safer to entrust him to the care of Qiu Ling and the others. She had thought this move would surely meet resistance given the past connection between Lord Yan and Du Laogou, yet everything went smoothly—until she led Du Laogou to the boat. Perhaps he had suffered on boats during his wanderings, or perhaps he had bad memories of being brought to Chuanliu Courtyard by Lord Yan, but Du Laogou refused to board no matter what. He sat on the ground shouting and screaming until the man in the apron, Master Tan, personally came down from the boat to meet him. At the first look between them, Du Laogou fell silent. Then, hesitatingly, he called out, "Tan-lang." Qin Jiuye was terribly embarrassed on her side, but before she could offer an explanation, she suddenly realized something. That day when they were drinking at the Hall of Listening Winds, Du Laogou had called Jinbao by the name "Tan-lang" in his drunkenness. At the time, she had thought it was because Jinbao had accidentally blackened his face and looked like a "Charcoal Lad," so he was called that. Only today did she understand that Du Laogou had mistaken the Jinbao of that time for an old friend with dark skin and a face like charcoal. He wasn't calling for a "Charcoal Lad"; he was calling for "Master Tan." Meng Ke had come from the Academy, and so had Tan Duce. Qin Jiuye had never imagined before that these two would have a connection. Du Laogou did not recognize Lord Yan, whom he had once paid a tragic price to save, but he remembered the friend with whom he had shared a gentlemanly bond. Even though they were both unrecognizable now, they had recognized each other instantly. Tan Duce did not voice his joy at the reunion of old friends or show it on his face, but he immediately sent new wine to the courtyard. Qin Jiuye felt the other man might have known all along that Du Laogou was hidden in Chuanliu Courtyard, and she even suspected this was another layer of the secret alliance between the two parties. However, she felt the truth was perhaps not important. Tan Duce’s wine was invited directly onto the stone table in the medicine shed. After three rounds of drinks, emotions ran high. Many people still thought of the young master in the bamboo tower, feeling that hope was right before their eyes. Looking at the expressions on everyone's faces, Qin Jiuye felt a mix of emotions. *Don't be happy too soon.* Although the affliction of the secret formula had been solved, Wild Fuxi Seeds were worth a thousand gold and hard to find. Even in places like Qingyang Market or Treasure Mirage Pavilion, they weren't seen every year. A formula written on paper could not save a life; only the primer that entered the medicine cauldron counted as a cure. But saying these words now would be too cruel. It would be like discovering, after a bitter and exhausting battle, that there was another mountain beyond the mountain and ten thousand more difficulties after the ten thousand already passed. This feeling was not pleasant. It was enough for her and Teng Hu to bear it; the others only needed to enjoy this hard-won victory. Teng Hu was still washing his hands repeatedly in the medicine shed, as if he wanted to scrub off a layer of skin. He did not trust Qin Jiuye’s diagnosis. To confirm it for himself, he had been forced to touch the person he hated nineteen times; he felt he needed to wash himself inside and out at least eighty-one times before he would be finished. Without the poison of the Wild Fuxi Seeds to restrain it, the malice of the secret formula could not be suppressed. Without the assistance of the Zhi Pill formula, the person testing the drug might not have survived the exhaustion of the internal conflict. Everything was just right, much like her and Teng Hu as temporary partners—hardly a match made in heaven, yet they had stumbled their way to this point. While organizing the medical notes, the two of them shared a brief glance, but they quickly looked away in unison, one with disdain and the other with revulsion, neither wanting to look at the other for a second longer. There were still many matters to settle in the medicine shed. Jiang Xin'er chose to stay and help, never again mentioning going to find Xu Qiuchi. Xu Qiuchi also remained on the boat with Qiu Ling and did not appear. Both sides tacitly observed a boundary; if anyone asked, they said it was the rule of Chuanliu Courtyard. The Qiu family did not enter or leave Chuanliu Courtyard, and since Qin Jiuye and the others were busy in the medicine shed, the task of running errands fell to the recovered Li Qiao. The Qingfeng Powder had been completely purged, and the traces of the secret formula had faded from his body. He was like a withered tree meeting spring or a dried pond finding a spring; his face radiated an unprecedented brilliance. As he moved back and forth between Chuanliu Courtyard and the ferry, men and women, young and old, could not help but steal a few glances at him. *A calamity.* Qin Jiuye took it all in from the corner of her eye, her heart filled with a complex mix of relief and guilt. She felt as if she had inadvertently enlightened some spirit or helped some demon cultivate a human form, and now she could only watch as he brought "calamity" to the neighborhood and the world of men. Perhaps Uncle Ji’s skills would still need to be put to use. Just as she was considering how to bring this up, Tang Yue approached her carrying a basket containing medicinal soup. "The Young Master will not see anyone else, nor is he willing to leave the bamboo tower. I have no choice but to seek your help, Miss." Qin Jiuye was silent for a moment, not reaching out to take it immediately. "You say he won't see anyone else. Why are you so sure he will see me?" Tang Yue bowed slightly, merely lifting the basket in his hand a bit higher. "Tang Yue is dull-witted. I have been by the Young Master's side for many years but failed to learn much skill. I can only say I understand him a bit better than others. Right now, inside and outside this courtyard, you are the only choice." The mess in the medicine shed wasn't finished yet. Qin Jiuye pursed her lips but finally took the items from his hand. After a few brief instructions, she hurried toward the small tower deep in the bamboo forest. The master of the bamboo tower had dismissed everyone. Now, even if she threw ten more wooden buckets, no one would leap out to scream at her or try to kill her. The feeling was somewhat strange, but not enough to make her stop and savor it. Qin Jiuye tightened her somewhat thin clothes and stepped into the bamboo tower. The room was a bit cold. The charcoal brazier in the corner had gone out, and several windows were propped open. The troublesome patient was leaning against a bamboo chair by the window. Only when she had come very close did he turn his head slightly. "Miss Qin is willing to come see me. It seems there is good news." The courtyard was already in an uproar; how could this Young Master of the bamboo tower, who always heard everything, not know? Qin Jiuye pursed her lips and habitually observed his complexion. Perhaps because he had completely laid down the burden of Chuanliu Courtyard and was no longer exhausting his heart and soul with labor, he looked much better than he had a few days ago, and his voice seemed to have more strength. That day, he had walked from the medicine shed to Du Laogou’s courtyard, and he had vomited a lot of black blood when he left. Teng Hu had even thought the man wouldn't survive the night. The constitution of a martial artist was indeed different from that of ordinary people; he was truly resilient. On the way here, she had decided to tell him about the problem with the Wild Fuxi Seeds, the plan to infiltrate the First Villa Under Heaven, and everything that followed, to see if this former Shadow Envoy of the villa could provide more help. But the moment she saw him, those words were instinctively hidden away. Forget it. After suffering for so long, there was finally some good news; those discouraging words could wait for later. Qin Jiuye sat down and handed over the medicine bowl covered with a thick cotton cloth from the basket. "This is a new medicine prepared for you. Also, I came to tell you that Li Qiao has woken up. If Teng Hu and I haven't misdiagnosed him, he should be the first patient to fully recover." The freshly brewed medicine was a bit hot, sending up clouds of steam as soon as it left the basket. The man's expression became somewhat blurred behind that white mist. Qin Jiuye could only discern some unusual emotions from that momentary pause. For him, that wish had indeed been planted for too long. When the moment of realization finally came, everything was calmer than imagined. "I see. That is indeed good news." The man finally took the bowl of medicine and set it aside. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Qin, for the medicine. It's just that I ate a bit too much this morning, and my stomach really can't hold any more." Qin Jiuye didn't speak, just stood with her hands on her hips, watching him. She found she could no longer understand the man before her. After struggling so hard with his sickly body for so long, he seemed to have reverted to that youth who had first arrived at the Academy in just a few days. He was even being temperamental about something as small as taking medicine. "I am not a patient person, and I never take on willful patients. Your situation is indeed tricky, but it's not entirely without hope. As long as the green hills remain, one need not worry about firewood. Once we find new Wild Fuxi Seeds, I can start preparing a new antidote for you. When that time comes..." Lord Yan closed his eyes and softly interrupted her nagging. "This courtyard belongs to you now. Even if you aren't so attentive to me, they wouldn't dare do anything to you." Qin Jiuye paused, finally discerning something else from his expression. "That's hard to say. Those two named Tang seem quite stubborn to me." "Rest assured. When everything is settled, dust will return to dust, and earth to earth. You need not be trapped in this courtyard for the rest of your life as I have been." She looked at the faint, phantom-like smile on his face and couldn't help but remind him. "Qiu Ling’s boat has arrived. When the time comes, even if you are unwilling, I'm afraid you'll have to walk out of this door." "That's true. Before long, this entire bamboo forest might be swallowed by the flood. It seems that after twenty years, what is meant to come will always come." The man lifted his grey, hollow eyes and stared fixedly at the courtyard with its wide-open gate, his hand constantly stroking that jade hairpin. "I just occasionally wonder... if I hadn't stubbornly requested to enter the First Villa Under Heaven back then, but had stayed at the Academy, stayed by my teacher's side, stayed in that simple, small space among the books and records... would everything have been different?" Hearing this, Qin Jiuye lowered her head, her gaze resting on the bowl of medicinal soup that was gradually growing cold. "But if there were no Lord Yan, there would be no Chuanliu Courtyard in this world. And without Chuanliu Courtyard, the people in this courtyard would be living very different lives." Lord Yan’s smile faded a bit more. He could no longer feel heat or cold, yet he could feel the warmth in her words. "If one were not already in hell, how many people in this world would be willing to exhaust their strength and endure torment for so-called noble ideals? A loach buried in the mud knows not that the lake is running dry. Little do we know that if this world itself becomes a cage, where can we, who are inside it, escape to?" The sounds of autumn, carrying the chill of slaughter, drew closer step by step. Nearly everyone sensed the coming of a fierce battle, but no one spoke of it. It was like a tacit rule, as if the moment it was spoken aloud, the terrible thing would come true. Qin Jiuye looked up and said word by word. "If there is no way to avoid it and nowhere to run, then one can only fight with one's back to the water." As if the last stone he had carried for so long had finally fallen, Lord Yan let out a long sigh, then looked at her fixedly. His eyes were cloudy and dull, yet his gaze was as clear as the first meltwater of early spring. "Don't let these trivial troubles crush you. Think of things with hope. When everything is over, you will have a place in this martial world. At that time, let alone a small medicine hall, perhaps establishing the greatest medical manor in the land is not impossible." He stopped there, sensing her silence. "What? Are you unwilling?" Qin Jiuye thought about it seriously, then finally shook her head. "I don't want Chuanliu Courtyard to become the First Villa Under Heaven, and I don't want to become the next Di Mo." Lord Yan did not seem surprised by her answer. He only shook his head and sighed with feigned regret. "What a beautiful dream. Do you think the First Villa Under Heaven is a pancake shop, and Di Mo is a street vendor flipping pancakes? Don't worry yourself over things that cannot be done." Qin Jiuye was speechless for a moment, then finally smiled. "You're right. But I still feel that once the task is done, everyone going back to their own homes is the best destination." "Everyone going back to their own homes..." Lord Yan murmured those words, his voice growing lower. "...If that were possible, it would of course be best. Unfortunately, the people of Chuanliu Courtyard have no homes to return to..." It was true. Ju Chao was already a desolate wasteland. Even if they could settle this matter, the homeland that had turned into scorched earth and black water could never be restored. But wasn't Qin Sanyou, who had been a deserter back then, the same? If Qin Sanyou could start life anew, why couldn't these people? Qin Jiuye was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said. "As long as people are alive, there is hope. When the time comes, if they are willing, I can take them to Jiugao to see. I'm telling you, Jiugao is truly a good place. The business might not be big, but one can always fill their belly. The winter is a bit hard to endure, but it's not like Quzhou where people can freeze to death. Once spring comes, everything gets better. The flowers bloom, the grass turns green, and you can catch fish in any little river..." As she spoke, she suddenly felt something was wrong. She slowly turned her head to look, only to see that the Young Master by the window had closed his eyes. He was no longer breathing. He just sat there quietly with his head bowed. His withered hair hid his face, which had suffered so much from illness. Only his hands still held that hairpin, never letting go. He remained forever on this side of the door. The gloomy scenery outside the window brightened at some unknown moment. Qin Jiuye looked up and saw tiny specks of white falling from the endless heights of the sky, scattering like shattered jade across the ground, illuminating the entire world. It was snowing. *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 炭郎 | Charcoal Lad | A phonetic misunderstanding of "Tan-lang" (Master Tan). 谈郎 | Master Tan | How Du Laogou addressed his old friend Tan Duce. 谈独策 | Tan Duce | A character associated with the Academy and Qiu Ling's group. 九皋 | Jiugao | Qin Jiuye's hometown/previous place of residence. 曲州 | Quzhou | A geographical location mentioned as being very cold. 狄墨 | Di Mo | Likely the head or a significant figure of the First Villa Under Heaven.