The old man gripped the stick with both hands, the other end planted on the ground, and whispered to the girl beside him, "This isn't simple. Did you hear what Young Master Wu just said? 'To have company on the road to the underworld.' He's just being delusional. Think about it... think about it carefully..."
Before the girl could answer, another person beside her said with a pained expression, "Isn't that right? Look how tightly Shopkeeper Jin is holding him. Young Master of the Wu Household is such a fair-skinned young man, sigh... what a waste..."
"Who can argue with that... What a fine young man he was, how did he end up in Shopkeeper Jin's hands?"
Wu Shaoyang was Jin Shanyao and couldn't breathe. He thought that drowning and strangulation were the same, so he rolled his eyes and waited to King of Hell.
Seeing his face gradually turn purplish-red, Jin Shanyao was so frightened that she hurriedly moved her hands down.
Gasps rose again from the surrounding crowd, eyes widening like saucers, whispering amongst themselves, "They've got it! They've got it! What did I tell you... This Shopkeeper Jin is definitely after Young Master of the Wu Household's good looks."
"Poor thing... they were forced to jump into the river..."
Jin Shanyao, with her exceptionally sharp hearing, caught all their rumors and slander. She angrily shouted, "Shut up... Say one more word and I'll hit you!"
Everyone around fell silent instantly, eyes darting around nervously, making communication effortless...
Did you see that?
"I saw it."
"I'm getting anxious, I'm getting anxious..."
Jin Shanyao a deep breath. It had been a long time since she had tried to persuade anyone, but it seemed she would have to break her vow today. "Young master, whether you die sooner or later is still death. Listen to me... let's postpone our deaths for a couple of days, okay?"
The boy dared not move, his neck stiff as he lowered his head. When he saw where Jin Shanyao's hands were, his desire to die intensified.
Jin Shanyao her brains to come up with a way to persuade her, trying to appeal to her emotions and reason.
"Young master, I'm already struggling to raise two children on my own. The new prefect is so stubborn. If he finds out you died in front of me, he might pin some kind of crime on me."
"Be good, listen to me... Let's die another day, okay?"
The boy silently closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he said, "Girl, could you please move your hand away?"
"No... If I hold you, it's a karmic entanglement; if I let go, it's karma... I can't gamble."
The eyes of those around them darted to look at the two of them. A tragic fate, karma... what earth-shattering secret was this?
The boy tried to pry open the Jin Shanyao's grip with both hands, but the moment he touched it, the other person held him even tighter, causing him so much pain that his vision blurred and he had the illusion that his bones were being crushed.
He endured the pain and reassured her, "Don't worry, young lady... I won't die today."
Jin Shanyao looked at him suspiciously, "Really not dead??"
"I'm not dead... Please let go of me, or my lower body will be amputated."
Seeing the pain on his face, Jin Shanyao cautiously loosened her grip little by little, only relaxing when she saw that he didn't seem inclined to jump into the river.
She turned to the gossipy crowd and threatened, "Keep looking! If you keep looking, I'll throw you all into the river so you'll know what hot pot tripe is all about!"
The crowd jumped in fright, abandoning their eagerness to watch the spectacle, and began to advise the young man, " Young Master Wu, it's better to live a wretched life than to die... If you're not afraid of death, what else is there to be afraid of?"
"Young man, try to think more positively. If it really doesn't work out, just go along with it."
"It doesn't matter who you live with, at least Shopkeeper Jin has money..."
Everyone chattered and patted Wu Shaoyang on the shoulder as they left, leaving only Jin Shanyao and him in the end.
Jin Shanyao saw him shivering from the cold and said, "Let's go back to the Anzhi Hall and change your clothes."
"Doesn't Shopkeeper Jin want to ask me why I jumped into the river?"
"You don't want to live anymore... What's there to ask?" Jin Shanyao naturally took his hand and led him back.
Wu Shaoyang's eyes were clear and bright. As he broke free of his restraints, he said, "We really are kindred spirits. I just don't want to live anymore. I can't explain what's wrong with me. All day long, my mind is filled with thoughts of dying."
I mentioned this to my family before, and they just said I was just bored. So I forced myself to find work, but no matter what I did, it felt tasteless and meaningless. I still wanted to die, and I always felt that living was meaningless.
He got more and more excited as he spoke, "There's always a voice in my ear that says when I see clear water: 'Look how clean this water is, jump in!'"
Upon spotting a rope, the voice approached again and said, "Tie it to the roof beam, and you'll be free from hanging."
Wu Shaoyang gave up struggling completely, letting Jin Shanyao hold his wrist. "I went to the Anzhi Hall today to ask you to help me see if there's a ghost around me. I didn't expect you to be trying to die too."
I thought we could die together, have each other on the road to the underworld, that would be nice... Sigh... I didn't expect you didn't want to die, you're just mentally ill."
"You're the one who's mentally ill."
Wu Shaoyang felt a sharp pain in his wrist and hissed, "I'm not sick. I've seen many doctors, and they all say I'm not sick..."
He discovered that Jin Shanyao's hand was like a pair of pliers; once she grabbed him, there was no way to break free. He was exhausted and covered in sweat, so he raised his hand to wipe his forehead.
He then stretched out his arm in surprise, " Shopkeeper Jin, look... it's so warm today, how quickly the clothes are drying!"
Jin Shanyao gave a perfunctory reply. After the rain stopped, more and more pedestrians appeared on the street.
Feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of those around him, Wu Shaoyang whispered, " Shopkeeper Jin, holding hands like this might not be good for your reputation."
"What reputation do I have... What reputation do I, a pervert, need?" Jin Shanyao thought to herself. If she weren't afraid of getting involved in a murder case, she wouldn't have bothered to hold his hand.
The two returned to the Anzhi Hall. Jin Shanyao for Wu Shaoyang to sit at the table, then turned and called Meng Anzhi over to take his pulse.
Wu Shaoyang stared at the fingerprints on his wrist, pursed his lips, placed his hand on the pulse pillow, and stubbornly said, "I don't think I'm sick."
Jin Shanyao her head and wrote the prescription, saying, "Whether you're sick or not isn't for you to decide, it's for me."
Meng Anzhi took his pulse and said calmly, "Phlegm stagnation, liver qi stagnation, deficiency of both heart and spleen, deficiency of liver and kidney yin..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wu Shaoyang abruptly interrupted him. He was both embarrassed and angry, and stubbornly retorted, "Who has kidney deficiency? You're the one with kidney deficiency. I don't have kidney deficiency at all. Don't talk nonsense."
Jin Shanyao her eyes to look at Meng Anzhi, raising an eyebrow and saying, "See? People with guilty consciences talk too much."
"What do you mean by saying too much? I'm just stating the facts. I don't have kidney deficiency," Wu Shaoyang said, getting up to leave.
"Hey!" Jin Shanyao called out to him.
Wu Shaoyang turned around, looking wary, and said, "What now? My clothes are all dry, can't I go home?"
Jin Shanyao handed him the written prescription, her tone becoming more serious, "You have depression. Get the medicine according to this prescription, take it twice a day after meals, and I guarantee you won't want to die again after a month."
Wu Shaoyang held the prescription in his hand, head bowed, seemingly lost in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke, "So the voice in my ear isn't a ghost, right?"
"Yes, the area around you is clean; there are no ghosts."
After a long silence, Wu Shaoyang smiled bitterly and said, "So I really am sick... not acting crazy, right?"
"Of course not. Just relax, get plenty of sunshine and water every day... and you'll be a cheerful and lively young man in no time."
Wu Shaoyang's eyes were filled with expectation as he smiled and said, "Okay... I believe you."
"If you believe, you'll pay... A consultation costs five coins, and you can get the medicine at the Anzhi Hall or elsewhere."
Wu Shaoyang chuckled softly with a sigh of relief, stood up, walked to the counter, handed the prescription to Zhou Xiaosi, and said loudly, "I'll get the medicine."
Zhou Xiaosi smiled at him and casually asked, "For how many days?"
"A month... I want to get better as soon as possible," Wu Shaoyang turned to look outside, "I want to bask in the May sun, the sunlight then is just right, not hot but warm."