Under Chunhua's guidance, Lin Yi returned to the main hall to take her leave from Relaxing Pill. After saying a few polite pleasantries, she seized the moment to propose, "Aunt Shu, I saw A Jing today and she seemed much more cheerful. Would it be possible for me to visit her often in the future? Or perhaps, when she's free, she could come over to the General's Mansion for a chat?"
Relaxing Pill, pleased to see her daughter in better spirits today, smiled and readily agreed. "Of course. It would make me happy for you two sisters to spend more time together."
Leaving the Court of the Imperial Stud Mansion, Lin Yi instructed the coachman to head to the Ping'an Inn. Throughout the ride, she was restless. Seeing her agitation, Xiao Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Madam, why are we suddenly going to the inn?"
"I've gotten word about a fellow disciple," Lin Yi said, barely containing her excitement. "A fellow disciple who might be able to help with a big problem."
As she spoke, the carriage came to a smooth stop. The Ping'an Inn was indeed not far.
Lin Yi practically jumped out of the carriage, lifting her skirts, and hurried inside, turning left as He Jing had indicated. A few steps later, the sign "Kangjian Room" came into view. She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and then raised her hand to knock.
"Who is it?" came a clear male voice from within.
Lin Yi cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady. "I've been sent by He Jing to look for someone."
"Just a moment." The door opened quickly. The young man before her wore a blue robe, stood tall and handsome, but his eyes held clear suspicion and scrutiny. "Did A Jing really send you?"
"Absolutely true." Lin Yi met his gaze, speaking rapidly. "My name is Lin Yi. Brother Huang, we might be fellow townspeople. Could we speak somewhere private?" She deliberately emphasized the words "fellow townspeople," then clasped her hands together, her tone earnest. "Please! I've heard from A Jing that you have excellent medical skills. I, I'm in urgent need of your help!"
"Fellow townspeople?" Huang Xining's gaze sharpened as he studied Lin Yi. He paused for a moment, as if weighing something, then finally nodded. "There's a nearby tavern. It'll be quieter there. Is that okay?"
"Yes, yes! That's perfect!" Lin Yi agreed repeatedly.
The two walked out of the inn together. Lin Yi asked Huang Xining to wait a moment, then hurried to the carriage and said in a low voice to Xiao Zhu, "I've found him. He really is my fellow disciple. I won't be returning to the General's Mansion for lunch. Go back and inform the General that I've run into an old acquaintance and will return later. Leave the carriage here at the tavern."
Xiao Zhu agreed but insisted, "Madam, at least let the carriage take you to the tavern entrance. Even a few steps is still a distance."
Lin Yi glanced at the tavern sign just a few dozen steps away, feeling helpless but knowing she couldn't argue with Xiao Zhu's stubbornness, so she relented. "Alright, alright." She turned back and smiled apologetically at the waiting Huang Xining, gesturing for him to go ahead. "Brother Huang, please go ahead. I'll follow shortly."
Huang Xining nodded, his gaze sweeping over the ornate carriage and the respectful maid without expression, his thoughts deepening. He turned and headed toward the tavern.
The tavern was indeed very close. By the time Lin Yi arrived, Huang Xining had just reached the entrance. They requested a quiet private room, ordered a few light dishes, and once the waiter closed the door and left, they were alone.
Huang Xining got straight to the point. "You're from Earth too?"
Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh. "What, are there people from elsewhere here?"
This reaction was as good as an admission. Huang Xining's expression visibly relaxed, and he nodded. "I don't know if there are aliens on Earth, but there really is one here."
Lin Yi was momentarily speechless.
What, this small world is so short of people that even aliens are being brought over? No, strictly speaking, this place isn't Earth anyway, so they themselves are also a kind of 'alien'...
Lin Yi swallowed and asked tentatively, "Can you tell me more?"
"In the place I crossed over to, there's a girl who suddenly developed hysteria and often said things nobody could understand," Huang Xining recalled calmly. "Her family doted on her and didn't lock her away; they often took her to social gatherings. Last year, when the Jiangnan Prefect—the grandfather of this body—celebrated his birthday, her parents brought her along. I was helping to receive the guests at the time, not far from her, and happened to witness her episode."
Huang Xining paused. "To outsiders, it sounded like nonsense, but I could tell the pronunciation, word order, and rhythm resembled a structured language. I wasn't sure if it was some extremely obscure dialect, so I quietly said 'hello' to her when no one was looking."
"She had no reaction at all," Huang Xining looked at Lin Yi. "Not pretending not to hear—a complete lack of response. Anyone from Earth, no matter where they come from, wouldn't be completely oblivious to the word 'hello.'"
Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.
This plot sounded familiar... Could it be that Liu Tingting she knew? And judging someone to be an alien just because they didn't understand 'hello'—wasn't that too hasty?
"So you concluded she was an alien just because she didn't understand 'hello'?" Lin Yi couldn't help asking.
"Of course not," Huang Xining shook his head. "I found other opportunities to test her later. She spoke the local language fluently and could communicate. So I mentioned Hubble's Law to her."
Lin Yi was taken aback.
"She stared at me for a moment," Huang Xining continued. "Then I recited the first half of Poincaré's recurrence theorem and asked if she knew the second half. She finished it."
Lin Yi gasped.
Sure enough, this was a straight-to-PhD powerhouse. His method of testing was like solving a living puzzle.
"And then?" Lin Yi pressed.
"Then we talked openly. I asked where she came from, and she said," Huang Xining paused slightly, as if recalling the long string, "from the Laniakea Supercluster-Orion Arm-Senus Cluster-Light System-Sagittarius Arm-M78 Nebula-Messier."
Lin Yi was dumbfounded. "You memorized such a long string?"
Huang Xining looked at her strangely. "Is it that long? Compared to professional literature, it's just a few dozen words."
Lin Yi felt a silent reverence. Back in school, she had been considered a top student, but the best she could come up with for a crossing code was something like 'hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron.' She would never have thought of Hubble's Law or Poincaré's recurrence. This might be the gap between a scholarly deity and an ordinary high-achiever...
"Did she say why she came here?" Lin Yi asked, unable to resist. After all, this was a genuine alien, and modern society's imagination about alien civilizations often involved colonization or invasion—she had been influenced by that too, so her nerves were tense.
"She said that during a interstellar jump, she accidentally entered a wormhole, was thrown into a black hole, her body was torn apart, and her consciousness accidentally attached to this girl. Now she's just recuperating here, waiting for her consciousness to recover before returning home." Huang Xining seemed intrigued. "According to her, for their race, physical destruction isn't death; the dissipation of consciousness is the true end."
"But how will she get back?" Lin Yi found it hard to believe. "From the sound of it, her home is unimaginably far."
"I didn't ask the details," Huang Xining shook his head. "The banquet ended, and it wasn't convenient to detain her. Afterward, I was in a hurry to get to A Jing here, so I didn't follow up."
"I see." Having finished the alien topic, Lin Yi focused on the most urgent matter at hand. She looked at Huang Xining seriously. "Actually, I came to ask for your help. My husband is a general. He injured his legs in battle and can't stand now. The Imperial Hospital also says he has internal injuries and may not live long. I want you to see if there's any hope for him."
Huang Xining didn't agree immediately but said with a slightly serious expression, "Letting me take a look is no problem. But you need to understand that modern medicine saves many people because of precise instruments, systematic checks, and corresponding medications and surgeries. Here, I can only make a rough judgment based on experience and observation—it may not be accurate, and I may not have a way to treat him. You need to be mentally prepared."
"I understand," Lin Yi said softly. "I just want to know if there's any possibility. Even if he can't be cured, I want to understand exactly what's wrong with him." She raised her eyes, her tone earnest. "He's truly a good person. In public, he defends the borders and protects countless people. In private, when I first came here, he gave me a sense of security. I don't want him to just..."
Lin Yi didn't finish, but the concern in her eyes was clear.
Huang Xining looked at her, his expression softening. "From what you've said, I must help. But it sounds like your husband is quite remarkable?"
"Of course!" Lin Yi couldn't help lifting her chin. "He's the God of War in Great Qian. He beat the Northern Frontier so badly they never dared to invade again."
"The Northern Frontier? Your husband is Gu Fang?" Huang Xining quickly caught on.
"Yes, it's him," Lin Yi admitted directly.
Huang Xining's expression held more respect. Those who defend their homeland always inspire reverence. "Since it's General Gu, we should take a look sooner rather than later." He made up his mind. "After we finish eating, I'll go with you to see him."
Lin Yi felt a weight lift and quickly called for Xiao Zhu, who was waiting outside the door, telling her to return to the mansion and inform the General to wait a moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yi explained to Huang Xining about the "wandering sage's disciple" story she had told Gu Fang, asking if he would be willing to pose as her fellow disciple. Huang Xining laughed as soon as he heard it. "Perfect. I was just wondering how to explain my medical skills. Your excuse came right in time."
They were both straightforward. Having settled the matter, they didn't linger and headed straight to the General's Mansion.
Just as Lin Yi stepped out of the tavern, a practical question occurred to her: How should Huang Xining get to the mansion?
In this era of strict gender segregation, sharing her carriage with him would be inappropriate. But Huang Xining had essentially run away from home with limited funds, so having him hire his own carriage was both unreasonable and would make her seem stingy. As she wrestled with the dilemma, Xiao Zhu stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, Madam. I've already sent someone to bring another carriage from the mansion. It's waiting on the corner for Master Huang's use."
Lin Yi froze for a moment, then slapped her forehead. She had been so anxious that she hadn't thought of such a simple solution; her mind had been solely on the medical treatment. Xiao Zhu was like a gold-star assistant straight out of a workplace novel—reliable and reassuring.
Author's Note:
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