A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 323: Becoming Brothers and Sisters

After the fire in Wanhong Building was put out, Si Yao and Fu Qingli found out that the room where the fire started had been completely burned to ashes, and the bodies of the people inside were all gone. They were heartbroken again. Even though they were sad, the matter had come to this point, and Uncle Liu's body could not be found. Si Yao, who had always been rational, did not want to cause any more trouble, so when the Fucheng County Lieutenant arrived at Wanhong Building, she took Fu Qingli and turned away.

There was a murder in the city during the New Year's Day, and there was also arson. Although the fire was caused by personal grudges and no innocent people were harmed, nearly half of Wanhong Building was burned down, causing considerable losses. This inevitably attracted the attention of the government, so at dawn the officers and soldiers in the city went around looking for the identity of the arsonist based on the descriptions of eyewitnesses.

Before leaving Fucheng, Si Yao and Fu Qingli came to Liu Wan's grave in the suburbs again. Liu Shenghe's body was missing, so they had to bury Liu Shenghe's piano and clothes next to Liu Wan's grave.

"Liu Wan, your father has avenged you. He has suffered a lot while searching for you for two years... Now you and your daughter can finally be reunited." Fu Qingli still squatted in front of the lonely grave with tears in her eyes and choked up. Her pair of muddy hands scooped up a handful of snow and covered the renovated soil. Her crystal tears dripped into the snow like pearls.

Si Yao stood quietly by the side, feeling sad. She kept her emotions suppressed and didn't vent them like Fu Qingli did.

After leaving Fucheng in a hurry, the two met an old man driving a ox cart on the road. They gave the old man some fare and asked him to take them to the next town. The old man was very happy to see the good-looking young couple and that they could earn some silver.

But the ox cart was not as fast as the horse carriage, and the road was slippery due to the snow. By the time they arrived at the town fifty miles away from Fucheng, it was almost dusk. After thanking Mr. Tian, ​​Si Yao and Fu Qingli stayed at the inn in the town.

As night fell, it started to snow and wind outside. The inn was deserted as it was still the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival had not yet arrived. Only Fu Qingli and Si Yao were having dinner on the first floor. The shopkeeper sitting at the counter dozed off out of boredom.

"You've caught a cold all day, so why not drink some hot wine to warm yourself up?" Fu Qingli poured a cup of freshly heated rice wine and handed it to Si Yao, saying gently.

He looked haggard at this moment, but he still showed a gentle smile towards Si Yao.

Si Yao never drinks alcohol, but at this moment she picked up the hot wine in front of her and drank it without hesitation. Fortunately, it was sweet and mellow glutinous rice wine, which she could accept the first time she drank it.

"Rice wine has a strong aftereffect, so don't drink too much." Seeing Si Yao gulp down the hot rice wine in the cup, Fu Qingli hurriedly reminded.

"Uncle Liu was my patient, but he was the first patient who died before I could cure him." Si Yao ignored Fu Qingli's reminder, and poured herself another cup of hot wine and drank it, and continued to chuckle: "If I had listened to your suggestion and let Uncle Liu stay in Taozhu Village, maybe he would not have died. I was too blindly confident."

"Life is unpredictable, and things in the world are unpredictable. You are a doctor, not a god. How can you predict what will happen in the future? Don't blame yourself for this. Besides, Uncle Liu was avenging his daughter Liu Wan. Although it is not worth it to die with that beast, think about it, he finally found his daughter, and the father and daughter are now reunited." Seeing Si Yao drink three cups of hot rice wine in a row, Fu Qingli hurriedly snatched the wine cup from her hand, frowned and sighed, and then comforted her.

"That being said, this kind of reunion... is too cruel." Si Yao said in a daze, and her cold eyes couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.

"Siyao..."

Fu Qingli's eyes turned red with sadness again. Just as he was about to speak, he saw that Si Yao's tearful eyes had become a little drunken. She shook her head and fell directly on the table, unconscious.

"You can't drink but you're still trying to be strong." Fu Qingli got drunk after three cups of rice wine. He looked at Si Yao, shook his head helplessly and sighed.

The next morning, the morning light shone into the room. Si Yao frowned and then opened her eyes. Looking at the brightness outside the window, she quickly sat up. Fortunately, she didn't drink much rice wine last night, so she didn't feel uncomfortable after getting up.

"Fu Qingli?" When Si Yao got out of bed and was about to open the window, she was surprised to see Fu Qingli curled up by the door, motionless. She thought something had happened to him, so she rushed forward and helped him up.

"Si Yao? Are you awake?" He was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly helped up by Si Yao. He smiled at her sleepily.

"Why are you sleeping here?" Seeing that he was just asleep, Si Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked worriedly.

"You were drunk last night, and I was worried about leaving you alone in this room, so..." Fu Qingli stood up and shuddered, but before he finished speaking, Si Yao immediately turned cold and touched his cold hand, asking:

"Even if you want to guard, at least make the bed and quilt. How can you sleep on the ground in such a heavy snow?"

"It's just one night, I don't want to dirty the quilt of the inn. It's okay, you see I'm still wearing a coat, and it's not that cold with the doors and windows closed in the room." Fu Qingli was very happy to know that Si Yao cared about him. Although it was really uncomfortable after a night of cold, in order not to make her worry he had to smile with a relaxed look.

Seeing Fu Qingli say this, Si Yao didn't say anything more. He turned around and left the room to ask the innkeeper for a bowl of ginger soup.

The town was only half a day’s journey from Taozhu Village. After breakfast, the two decided to walk back directly, thus saving the money of hiring a car.

"Si Yao... after we go back, let's... become sworn brothers and sisters, okay?" As the two of them were walking on the snowy road, Fu Qingli suddenly looked serious and asked Si Yao nervously.

Perhaps what he said last night about the impermanence of the world also alerted him, and this time when he returned to Si Yao, he would leave Taozhu Village and go to Qile City. Fu Qingli knew that he had nothing and was not worthy of her, so he did not dare to covet the possibility of marrying her, but he was really unwilling to become a passing guest in her life. It would be better for them to become siblings so that he could see her legitimately in the future.

"If I remember correctly, I'm older than you." Fu Qingli suddenly proposed to become sworn brothers. Si Yao was a little surprised, but she didn't reject it. After all, they had been together for several months, and she felt that they had a tacit understanding. Even if they didn't become sworn brothers, they could still be good friends. But, brother and sister? How could she start?

"Well... I have a mature personality. Besides, if we stand together, everyone will think I am the elder brother, so don't worry about my age." Fu Qingli felt a little guilty when he saw Si Yao asking him seriously. But younger brother? He didn't want to be her younger brother.

"It's up to you." Si Yao said helplessly with a faint smile.

Fu Qingli was very grateful to Si Yao for allowing him to be her sworn brother, but when the words of thanks came to his lips, he was afraid that she would be unhappy, so he didn't say anything more, but his smile was always on his face.