Chapter 679: Chapter 231: Going up the Mountain_2

Chang Jin stomped his foot, "Quick, go find Marshal Pei, he has many soldiers. If we hurry now, maybe we can still bring Doctor Lu back. Hurry up!"

The Medical Officer who had gone to find him returned in less than half a stick of incense’s time, with a look of utter distress, "Chief Physician, Marshal Pei is missing..."

"Missing?" Chang Jin was shocked.

Behind him, Duan Xiaoyan, who had heard the news and followed, first went to search around the Medical Officer Institute and said in surprise, "I haven’t seen my brother since early this morning, I thought he was in your Medical Officer Institute chatting with someone, how come, isn’t he here?"

One was a young female Medical Officer, and the other was a young Commander. Both had vanished early in the morning, leaving behind only a few words. Lin Danqing furrowed his brow, "Could those two have eloped?"

This kind of plot twist is written all too often in stories, but here there isn’t even a block of stone to stop a pair of mandarin ducks from escaping.

Ji Xun, standing among the crowd, looked up, his expression somewhat astonished.

Chang Jin said irritably, "Eloping in such heavy snow up the mountain? That’s not elopement, that’s seeking death!"

Elopement was far-fetched enough, but seeking death seemed even less likely.

At a time of utter chaos, Pei Yunmeng’s personal guard Qingfeng arrived belatedly from outside, saying, "The lord went up the mountain with Doctor Lu."

"Ah?" Everyone turned towards him in unison.

Qingfeng calmly said, "Doctor Lu wanted to go to Luomei Peak, and the lord happened to see her on his way out, so he accompanied Doctor Lu into the mountain."

Everyone in the institute looked at each other, perplexed.

After a moment, Lin Danqing said, "Has Pei Yunmeng lost his mind?"

Pei Yunmeng was a Commander, and he knew better than anyone how dangerous it was to enter the mountains at this time. Hearing that Lu Tong wanted to go up the mountain, he not only did not stop her, but also went with her himself, without thinking. That was even worse than eloping.

However, Duan Xiaoyan’s expression suddenly relaxed.

"It was my brother who accompanied her, ah," he smiled slightly, "then there’s nothing to worry about."

"Have you lost your mind too?" Lin Danqing was shocked, "Aren’t you worried about them running into trouble on the mountain?"

"That’s my brother, ah," Duan Xiaoyan said confidently, "my brother never does anything uncertain, and he’s with Doctor Lu. Doctor Lu won’t be in trouble."

The youth looked towards the distant snowy peaks, where a faint hint of reddish hue lingered.

He withdrew his gaze and spoke with confidence, "Don’t worry, he will surely take good care of Doctor Lu."

...

While the Medical Officer quarters were in an uproar over the disappearance of Lu Tong and the others, the people at the center of the discussion had no time to pay attention.

The path up Luomei Peak was steep and difficult to traverse. Lu Tong, carrying her medical kit, navigated through it, skillfully avoiding every small path.

She had lived on this mountain for seven years, going up and down countless times. Every stone, every tree, every stream seemed to be a part of her memories, deeply etched, impossible to forget. In those past years, she had tried countless times to escape from this mountain. After Lady Yun died, she had even sworn at Lady Yun’s grave that she would never come back, yet today, she found herself walking the old path with her medical kit on her back.

This time it was not escape, but a return of her own volition.

The sensation was somewhat strange.

Lu Tong walked quickly, and thus did not notice the gaze of the person behind her.

Pei Yunmeng appeared thoughtful.

Luomei Peak was vast, its snowy landscape hiding everything, making one spot look exceedingly similar to another. Yet, Lu Tong seemed to always accurately identify each place, finding the least strenuous path.

As if she had lived here for many years.

After crossing a steep slope ahead, Lu Tong stopped in front of a green pine tree and turned around to hand him a black scarf.

Pei Yunmeng looked up.

"You can’t keep looking at the snowfield all the time, prolonged exposure can cause temporary blindness," she explained. After that, she found a large rock under the tree to sit, took another black cloth from her bosom, and covered her eyes.

"Wear this, and let’s rest here for a while."

Pei Yunmeng thought for a moment, smiled slightly, said nothing, took the black scarf, and sat down beside Lu Tong with his eyes covered.

The black scarfs were cleverly made, not thick, and as thin as a cicada’s wing. The blanket of snow turned gray through them, but they could still see each other faintly, preventing snow blindness despite the blurring effect.

Lu Tong took out a dry biscuit from her bag and offered it to him.

Pei Yunmeng pushed it away, "Not hungry."

"Afraid I only brought enough for myself?" Lu Tong stuffed the biscuit into his hand, and handed him a water skin, "Don’t worry, I brought plenty. Otherwise, if you starve to death here, I’d have to bury you, which would be quite strenuous."

Pei Yunmeng: "..."

It had been a long time since Lu Tong had been so sarcastic with him. However, the long-lost tone felt as if it had returned to an even more distant past when she hadn’t deliberately distanced herself from him, coldly isolating herself from everyone else.

He glanced at Lu Tong’s bag. The bag wasn’t light, bulging significantly. He had been carrying it, thinking it held something else, but now he saw it was packed full of dry food and water.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read