He first unfolded the folded piece of paper, which bore a line of text.
[“The clear night is dustless, the moonlight like silver.”]
Xu Ge murmured softly, reading the line aloud.
After repeating it several times, the man’s arrogant lips curved upward almost imperceptibly. “Not bad literary talent,” he remarked.
He knew this letter had been sent by the person from the modern era within the jade pendant.
Folding the paper back along its creases and placing it into the envelope, Xu Ge then picked up the stiff card.
With just one glance, Xu Ge’s breath caught, and his heart skipped a beat.
It was a photograph.
In the photo was a young woman with a charming, radiant smile.
Her face was fair and delicate, with black curly hair cascading down her back, save for a few stray strands resting gently on her chest.
Her pink lips resembled blooming cherry blossoms, tender and fragrant.
Her eyes curved into crescents, yet they held a pool of spring water, clear and shimmering.
A soft layer of moonlight spilled over her hair, shoulders, and the fluttering hem of her skirt.
Like a moon spirit descended to the mortal world, her beauty was heart-stirring.
Xu Ge tilted his head back, his defined chin raised high, his Adam’s apple protruding and bobbing.
His closed eyelids trembled slightly, and his pursed lips betrayed his current agitation.
Xu Ge himself didn’t know what had come over him. Upon seeing the woman’s appearance, his heart, which had never stirred with excitement before, began to pound violently.
He could even clearly hear the thumping of his heart within his chest.
Xu Ge took a moment to steady himself, finally suppressing the relentless, frantic beating of his heart.
Opening his eyes, he glanced once more at the joyfully smiling young woman with a faint, revealing gaze, and sneered,
“Bewitching beauty that brings calamity.”
With that, he stuffed the photograph into the envelope and placed both the jade pendant and the envelope beside his bed.
Time passed slowly. Night fell and gradually gave way to dawn, the ink-black darkness replaced by the pale light of daybreak.
Everyone slept well that night, except for Xu Ge.
Only he knew that the moment he closed his eyes, the young woman he had hidden away in the envelope had secretly crept back into his mind.
Early in the morning, on a weekend, Tang Zhiwu did not wake up naturally but was abruptly startled from her sleep.
She bolted upright in bed, leaping up like a carp, her expression panicked as she cried out to the heavens,
“Oh no!!! I forgot to bring Tie Jun inside yesterday!!!”
Checking the time, it was just past five in the morning.
In a frantic hurry, she slipped on her slippers and rushed downstairs. Tang Zhiwu’s thoughts were as messy as her hair at that moment as she pushed open the door leading to the garden.
Shu City still had a bit of spring chill. Tie Jun had just gotten his fur trimmed short at the pet shop a few days ago, and she worried whether he had been cold last night.
Although she knew alpacas were cold-resistant, for her own silly pet, Tang Zhiwu couldn’t help but feel an extra layer of concern.
Tang Zhiwu scanned the garden, searching for Tie Jun.
Finally, beneath a row of tall rose trellises, she spotted a large, white lump.
Stumbling over, she hugged Tie Jun’s head and turned his body over, checking for any injuries.
After examining him thoroughly, just as Tang Zhiwu was about to sigh in relief, she noticed some dried bloodstains on Tie Jun’s leg.
Struggling to part the fur, she indeed found a long bloody gash on the pinkish-white skin, already beginning to scab over.
Looking at the scattered roses trampled into the mud on the ground around her, she understood everything.
It must have been Tie Jun, that playful creature, getting pricked by a rose thorn.
Tang Zhiwu didn’t know whether she was angry at herself or at Tie Jun’s mischief. Unable to hold back, she slapped its dumb-looking alpaca head and scolded angrily, “Just wait, I’ll heat up the oil and slaughter you to make alpaca soup!”
“Pfft—”
Tie Jun clearly wasn’t having it, spitting toward the air in front of it, obviously not taking Tang Zhiwu’s words seriously.
Nearly amused to the point of laughter by this creature, Tang Zhiwu sighed and stood up anyway. Grabbing the collar, she led the limping Tie Jun into the house.
First, she wiped the mud off its hooves. Although the wound was already scabbing over and almost healed, she decided to treat it for the little rascal anyway.
Using medical alcohol to clean the bloodstains around the wound, Tang Zhiwu held down the resisting Tie Jun.
She applied alcohol to the scabbed area as well, then wrapped it with gauze, tying it neatly into a bow.
Looking at Tie Jun lying on the ground, Tang Zhiwu, who knew nothing about medicine, pondered for a moment before taking out her phone to snap a photo of the poor alpaca and posting a plea for help on her social media.
[My alpaca caught a chill. Any remedies to warm it up?] [Image]
Almost instantly, the night owls in her social circle replied.
Tang Zhiwu eagerly opened the notifications, but none of the responses were helpful.
Hopeless Case: Did you abuse Tie Jun? How dare you!
Just Want Grilled Fish: Try making it some fish soup?
Yiyi Isn’t Yiyi: No idea.
I Eat Peaches Without Spitting Pits: You can do this, then that, and then this again.
…….
Tang Zhiwu couldn’t be bothered with these people. She reached out and stroked Tie Jun’s fur.
Alpacas have slow immune responses, and since it was the weekend, the vets at nearby pet hospitals were likely off duty.
Tang Zhiwu didn’t want to bother her domineering CEO mother, who was on a business trip abroad.
With a sigh, she was about to take the injured Tie Jun to the hospital for a checkup when her phone lit up again.
She opened WeChat and found that the message was from the top contact, Number Guy.
Opening the chat window.
123456: [Honeysuckle, skullcap root, forsythia. Boil for half an hour, let it cool, and administer.]
Tang Zhiwu’s fingers hovered mid-air as she copied and pasted the text into a search engine to check if animals could take these herbs.
The results all said yes.
It was 5 a.m., and only the traditional Chinese medicine shops in the area were open.
Tang Zhiwu threw on a random piece of clothing, grabbed her phone, and dashed outside.
The villa area was quiet in the early morning, with few cars or people around. Not paying attention to the road, she typed frantically on her phone.
Tie Jun Sister: [Can animals take it?]
Although the traditional Chinese herbs seemed fairly trustworthy, Tang Zhiwu couldn’t help but ask one more question.
The other person’s status changed to “Typing…”
Before long, she received a reply.
123456: [Yes. When I was young, my mother’s kitten caught a chill, and she used the same method.]
Tang Zhiwu’s two fair, slender legs were still exposed to the early spring chill. The wind at this hour was no joke, and it blew right through her, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Turning off her phone screen, Tang Zhiwu quickened her pace, focusing on heading to the traditional Chinese medicine shop.
Not far from the wealthy district in the southern part of the city, there was a traditional Chinese medicine shop called “Miaoshou Huichun” (Miraculous Healing) on a street.
Amidst a row of shops where all the doors were uniformly closed, this traditional Chinese medicine shop, with its wide-open door and bright lights, stood out prominently.