Chapter 47: Life and Death Depend on Each Other

  Zhang Cuishan is still alive, and Song Yuanqiao's wife is pregnant.

  Wudang finally has some good news after a series of bad news, especially the last one which completely dispelled the gloomy atmosphere on Mount Wudang. Compared to "death", what can bring more comfort than "life"?

  Song Yuanqiao followed Zhang Sanfeng as his master but did not become a Taoist priest. He still married and only dressed up as a Taoist on Mount Wudang. Mrs. Song was not a Jianghu person, just a farmer's daughter who didn't understand martial arts or poetry. She quietly took care of household chores every day and rarely appeared in front of the Wudang disciples. Sometimes she would even deliberately avoid them. As for the reason, perhaps only Mr. and Mrs. Song understood it.

  Now, Mrs. Song is overjoyed, and everyone in Wudang Mountain comes to congratulate Song Yuanqiao. Some families with wives bring thick gifts to visit Mrs. Song. Yao Guang, being a woman, greeted Song Yuanqiao and then went into the inner hall. From afar, she saw Mrs. Song sitting outside the door of the inner room, basking in the sun with her eyes closed, cultivating her spirit. She intentionally made her footsteps heavier, stepping on a fallen branch that had broken off from a tree.

  The branch made a crisp sound, and Mrs. Song was still leaning against the rattan chair with her eyes half-closed. However, her maid Xiaotao was alert and immediately looked around, seeing that the newcomer was a Taoist nun-like girl. She quickly reacted, leaned into Mrs. Song's ear, and whispered a few words. Mrs. Song immediately opened her eyes, smiled, and stood up, beckoning to Yaoguang with a smile: "Please come in, is it Snow Bamboo?"

  Yao Guang slightly stunned, quickened his pace and ran over, helplessly smiled.

  "Sister-in-law, why do you address me in this manner."

  The seven Wudang heroes have always been known as brothers, and they only call each other "brothers" rather than "fellow disciples". Because of the significant age difference between her and several others, and knowing that they were not related by blood, although she was willing to call them "older fellow disciples", she was unwilling to use the more intimate term "older brother". It is unknown what considerations led her seven older fellow disciples to always call her "younger fellow disciple" rather than "little sister" or "eighth sister".

  Song Yuqiao is Master Yao's senior sister, so naturally she should be called "Madam Song" or "Elder Sister Song", rather than being referred to as "Auntie" based on age. It would also be acceptable for Madam Song to call her by name, or follow Song Yuqiao's lead and call her "Younger Master Sister". However, using the term "Miss" to address her is overly polite and distant.

  Mrs. Song smiled somewhat awkwardly and after a while said, "My husband often mentions you, saying that you are like an immortal descended to earth. I, an illiterate country bumpkin, do not dare to be presumptuous towards you..."

  Yao Guang was taken aback again, but she quickly understood and knew that the other person was too self-abased to show excessive familiarity, fearing that if she were rejected, it would be even more embarrassing. So she said: "Big Brother Master has always been taking care of me, Big Sister doesn't have to be so polite, calling me by my name or Little Sister is fine."

  "Alright then, I'll be thick-skinned and call you Xue Zhu. How was the trip down the mountain for your fellow disciples a few days ago?"

  Yao Guang smiled and nodded, "All the way safe. Just about to come back and tell Master that Fifth Brother should still be in this world, I heard that Eldest Sister is pregnant, I couldn't think of what to give at first, so I thought of coming over to congratulate you first, the gift will be given to my younger apprentice later."

  Mrs. Song was taken aback by the term "young master", but soon came to her senses, and hurriedly smiled and said: "Xue Zhu doesn't need to be so polite, when the time comes, San Cai Zhou will come to take a look, it's this child's good fortune, how can we let you spend money."

  Yao Guang shook his head and said seriously, "That won't do, it's not good to owe a meeting gift to my junior master. Don't worry, elder sister, I will definitely find a suitable gift to give."

  Although Yao Guang was young, her generation in Wudang Mountain was not low. When Song Yuanqiao's child was born, she was only about six years older than him, but she was a whole generation higher. In normal circumstances, this kind of youthful high position is not a good thing, and it would also be inconvenient for her to travel the Jianghu in the future. Think about it, with Zhang Sanfeng's generation, how many people in the Jianghu could be on an equal footing with him? Even if Zhang Sanfeng lowered his generation and treated the leaders of various sects as equals, the second-generation disciples of these sects were mostly in their 40s or 50s, and the third-generation disciples were also in their 20s or 30s. Later on, a group of people older than Yao Guang would have to call her "Shifu" (master), which would be unbearable for those young people. In this way, Yao Guang wanted to interact with people of the same generation, but she was different in age; she wanted to interact with people of the same age, but she was different in generation. It wasn't very good. Therefore, it is usually avoided in the Jianghu to have such an embarrassing situation. Even if a certain sect leader wants to take on a disciple, they can record that excellent seedling under their own disciple's name and treat them as a grand-disciple, personally teaching them. This way, both parties would not be at fault. Zhang Sanfeng naturally understood this logic, but Yao Guang's situation was special, so he took her in as his own disciple. As for how Yao Guang should travel the Jianghu more than ten years later, Zhang Sanfeng did not worry about it - an extraordinary person takes an extraordinary path. He saw clearly that with Yao Guang's qualifications as a closed-door disciple, if she were to be one generation lower, twenty years later there would be no young heroic knights in the Jianghu except for her.

  Mrs. Song looked at the little girl in front of her who could be her own daughter by age and couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

  Years ago, she had been pregnant once, but unfortunately didn't manage to keep it and suffered a miscarriage. She was bedridden for several years before becoming pregnant again. If the child were still around now, he would probably be about the same age as the girl in front of her.

  Although she was just a little girl, she had a big personality and always acted like an elder with the attitude of "can't lose face as a senior", no wonder her husband would mention his junior sister-in-law in that tone.

  Yao Guang hesitantly murmured "uh-huh", "Sister-in-law?"

  Mrs. Song came back to her senses and smiled apologetically, "No matter what Xue Zhu sends, sister must take good care of it."

  Yao Guang chuckled a few times, "Hmmm, then I'll have to find something even better. Sister-in-law's complexion is still quite good, getting some more sun would be beneficial too. In that case, don't bother seeing me off, sister-in-law can just rest well."

  Mrs. Song made a few polite remarks, wanting to send Yao Guang to the gate of the courtyard, but she was stopped by her, and before she knew it, Yao Guang had disappeared in a flash. The smile on Mrs. Song's face faded away, and she sighed as she stroked her belly.

  Xiao Tao felt somewhat worried, "Madam?"

  Mrs. Song shook her head gently and said nothing.

  Perhaps in her eyes, although she also lives on Wudang Mountain, there is still an unbridgeable gap between herself and these martial artists. Even standing together, she can't blend in with those fellow disciples like they do, always appearing out of place. Just like that child earlier, she's a girl too, but different from herself, her temperament more suited to Wudang's Purple Heaven Palace, unlike herself who could only stay indoors.

  The child in her belly will also be one of those martial artists in the future, right?

  Mrs. Song was unwilling to speak, and Xiaotao found it hard to understand her concerns, so this anxiety could only be swallowed by Mrs. Song alone.

  Yao Guang came out of the backyard and inevitably met some other people who had come to congratulate her. These people were mostly disciples of Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou, Yu Dailin, Zhang Songxi and others. When they saw Yao Guang, they all stopped to call out to her "Shifu", Yao Guang returned their greetings one by one, and happened to see Yu Dailin, so she smiled and ran over to him, pulling on his sleeve.

  "Third Master is also here to see Eldest Master?"

  Yu Daishan carefully pulled Yao Guang's hand down from his sleeve and grasped it, smiling in response: "Yes, has little Shifu gone to see Eldest Sister-in-law?"

  Yao Guang nodded and said, "Third Brother doesn't have anything urgent to attend to right now, does he? It's just the right time for him to accompany me down the mountain."

  "What does Little Sister want to buy?" Yu Daoyan suddenly paused, and continued with a hint of apology, "It's mine, not hers. I forgot to bring back a gift for Little Sister, and was in a hurry to come back and tell Master the good news."

  Yao Guang smiled and said: "I'm not doing this for that! It's for Eldest Sister-in-law! Pregnant women are different from ordinary people, and they need to be more careful with their diet and daily life. There aren't many women on the mountain, and there isn't a doctor who specializes in gynecology. I think Eldest Sister-in-law's body isn't very good, but my medical skills are not refined, so I don't dare prescribe medicine for her. I think Master Brother himself wouldn't go out of his way to find a doctor, but if we bring someone back, Master Brother also can't drive them away, right? It's also a good opportunity to find a doctor to check on Third Master's recovery."

  Yu Dairen thought for a moment and felt that it was indeed the case, so he said: "It's really necessary to invite a doctor who is worth a thousand pieces of gold. However, I've almost recovered now, so there's no need to go see one again."

  Yao Guang thought for a moment and said suspiciously: "Third Master won't be doing it just to save money, will he?"

  Wudang has always been poor and simple, everyone takes simplicity as the key. Like Zhang Sanfeng, a master of the generation, he usually wears a washed-out white Taoist robe every day. If it weren't for his extremely high martial arts skills, I'm afraid many people would call him "slovenly old Taoist" to his face.

  Yu Daishan was taken aback, shaking his head in denial with a smile.

  "Wudang's hundred-year foundation, although not wealthy, hasn't been stingy to this extent, it's just..."

  Yao Guang had already fallen into her own thoughts, comparing Wudang Sect with Chunyang Palace, and clearly felt that Wudang Sect was really too poor. In the past, Chunyang Palace was revered as a national religion, with countless treasures and strange precious objects, she used to take it for granted, but now with Wudang Sect as a comparison, she suddenly realized this was a difference between heaven and earth.

  "......Well, indeed......"

  Unfortunately, Yao Guang had never been taught how to make money, and if anything, she was more experienced in spending it. So Yao Guang just sighed a few times, thinking that one day when she saw an official who was wealthy but not benevolent, she would take some of his wealth for herself, and then put this problem aside.

  "Alright, Third Master will accompany me to see the doctor just to put my mind at ease, okay?"

  Yu Daoyan couldn't refuse his younger sister, so he reluctantly took her down the mountain again to see a doctor and invited another famous doctor back to the mountain. Song Yuqiao and his wife had no choice but to accept this kindness.

  Mount Wudang is gradually restoring its former tranquility and peace.

  The following year in April, Lady Song gave birth to a son after a day and night of painful labor, but suffered from severe bleeding that could not be stopped and passed away.

  Song Yuanqiao named his son "Qingshu" and buried his wife.

  On the day of the funeral, Song Yuanqiao saw his little sister cry for the first time. The little girl stood in front of the grave and cried uncontrollably, Yin Liting was also infected and cried non-stop. The others were older and had experienced more separations and farewells, although they were sad at heart, but did not express it so clearly.

  Song Yuanqiao plucked up his spirits and went over to comfort his younger sister, saying: "Life and death are predetermined, mourn in moderation and adapt to change, excessive grief harms the body."

  Yao Guang wiped her face with her sleeve and forced herself to look up, her eyes already red from crying.

  She choked back for a moment before answering in a low voice: "I know... but this is beyond human power... irreparable loss... always makes people feel sorrowful."

  Wanting to make amends, but unable to do so.

  Wanted to save, died in front of eyes.

  She had experienced such pain before.

  In the past, when war and chaos raged, she had also rescued villagers from the hands of bandits with her fellow disciples. However, in the end, she could only watch as they succumbed to illness and died. At that time, although they had sought help from the Wanhua Valley sect's disciples, who had diagnosed and treated them with great effort for several days, their expressions were gloomy as they said: "Even if there are divine doctors in the world, there are also incurable diseases. These people have been fleeing for years, their bodies and minds exhausted, their vital energy depleted, their internal organs damaged... I've done my best, but it's all I can do."

  Finally, that one disciple of Apricot Forest smiled wryly and said...

  Your Pure Yang Palace wields a three-foot green sword, able to kill the living and punish evil while promoting good. Our Ten Thousand Flower Valley relies on Tai Su's nine needles, able to save lives and bring people back from the brink of death with skilled hands... However, there will always be times when one's power is insufficient...

  At that time, everyone was silent.

  The power of one person is too limited in a chaotic world, they have deeply understood that compared to those who throw themselves into the battlefield and slaughter enemy troops, perhaps the Wanhua Valley disciple in front of them will feel more deeply that human strength is finite.

  The mind is willing, but the body is weak.

  Having the heart but lacking the power, how painful is this?

  Mrs. Song risked her life to protect her child, she died, but her child was born safely, and in the end, she left with a smile.

  The birth of a life, but at the cost of another life's end, just like a mother's blood and life all flowed through the umbilical cord to that infant, without complaint or regret, only hope and blessings.

  The baby came into the world with his mother's most sincere blessings, but unknowingly lost his mother in ignorance.

  He is the continuation of his mother's life.

  Between life and death, there is such a close connection.

  In a daze, Yao Guang seemed to have an epiphany.

  The author has something to say: I have personally experienced that it is very painful when we cannot save a patient. When I tell the patient's family "we've done our best", the feeling of powerlessness and pain is something that those who haven't experienced it can't understand. Watching a life slip away before my eyes, unable to be saved, is a feeling of helplessness that can only be described as modern medicine being powerless. I'm so sad I want to cry, but then I have to wipe away my tears and calm down to continue handling the aftermath, filling out rescue records, doing paperwork, and taking care of other patients. I cannot abandon my duties towards other patients just because one patient has passed away. Many people say doctors are heartless, but I really wish they would use their brains - if I were to sit in the office or hospital room crying for half a day after failing to rescue a patient, neglecting the needs of other patients, would that be appropriate? If they were the family members of those other patients, how would they feel? Who would take responsibility if someone else's condition was delayed? Family members can cry as much as they want, but doctors cannot, because we carry the trust and responsibilities of many people on our shoulders.