The Dawn-to-Dusk Plague of the first year of the Xiande era reshaped countless lives, from Sun Yuan, Zhu Yu, Z…
The Dawn-to-Dusk Plague of the first year of the Xiande era reshaped countless lives, from Sun Yuan, Zhu Yu, Zheng E, and Shen Yilun, whose hands influenced the Woven Sunlight Granary of Plenty, to ordinary folk like Zhai Xu.
Yet Zhai Xu carried a sliver of luck others lacked, though he knew well that Sun Yuan's decision to take him as a Silver Needle disciple had been pure chance. Still, resigning to fate, especially for a young man, was never easy. Those with ordinary talents often cling to diligence, and so for nearly a thousand days in Wishing Cove, Zhai Xu rose before dawn and studied late into the night. He hoped to prove he could be as capable as his senior brother, Zheng E. But the past struggles within Silver Needle and even older precedents had long proven that talent was an insurmountable chasm, turning the aspirations of ordinary people into pitiful folly.
When Sun Yuan left Kaifeng, Zhai Xu returned to Apricot Village disheartened. "What can I even do?" "Is there truly no hope of curing the Dawn-to-Dusk poison?" He asked himself, adrift in confusion. But ordinary lives brook no time for aimless wandering. Though Apricot Village had survived its darkest days, it remained plagued by poverty and illness, every corner crying out for renewal.
As the sole direct disciple of Clear Creek, Zhai Xu found himself responsible for everything: cultivating medicinal herbs, resettling villagers, and treating both chronic ailments and minor illnesses. After years of dedicated labor, he stared in awe at the transformed village: the orderly Herb Hall, the Charity Courtyard filled with the scent of congee, and the Stillheart Grove lush with medicinal plants... His thoughts were interrupted by passing children, all survivors of the plague like himself. Their eyes held sorrow and self-pity, but also hope.
"Thank you, Master, for taking in my sister and me!"
"Thank you for healing my mother!"
"When I grow up, I want to be like you, Master!"
These simple words struck Zhai Xu like a cool spring, jolting him awake. Gazing into those earnest eyes, he finally understood his purpose.
Years later, Taiping Academy opened south of the village. Zhai Xu, now serving in the Imperial Medical Academy, promised the people of Apricot Village, and all of Kaifeng, that any child eager to learn could study at the academy for free. With colleagues, he established the charitable pharmacies in Crosswind Bazaar and compiled texts like the Kaibao Herbal Compendium, striving to bring healing to the masses.
By then, Zhai Xu had accepted that he might never surpass his senior brother in learning, nor solve the mystery of the Dawn-to-Dusk poison. But he no longer obsessed over it.
"If there's a task beyond my sole ability, I'll focus on what's before me. Then leave the rest to the future and the efforts of thousands like me."
Zhai Xu murmured this to himself, gazing into the distance. His eyes held peace, lingering regret, but most of all, hope.