Chapter 81: The Road To Lanyu
Suyin returned from the medical clinic shortly before sunset, carrying a small bamboo basket of fresh mint on her forearm. A smudge of dried herbal tincture stained the back of her right hand, and her eyes bore the familiar exhaustion of a long day spent treating villagers.
She halted at the porch steps the moment her eyes met mine.
I handed her the summons without a word. She read through the official script once, then laid the parchment flat on the wooden bench between us, leaving the crimson wax seal facing upward.
"How long will you be away?" She asked me.
"I am not sure,” I admitted to her.
She did not press the matter further as her eyes were gazing out toward the quiet courtyard for a long moment. Finally, without looking in my direction, she spoke in a low voice.
"Liang. Before you depart... there are matters I have wished to ask you for a long time."
I turned to face her.
"You have been talking in your sleep," she said softly. "For a full year now. Perhaps even longer. Most of it is meaningless muttering. But some of it is not meaningless."