Futile Devices Scans

“You will recover. You are certain to recover.” Looking at Yi Yu’s wan complexion, Tao Mo could only repeat these same two sentences over and over.

Yi Yu listened with a smile. In the past, he had moved among scholars and poets, where exquisitely crafted words of praise, poetry, songs, and rhapsodies had abounded—how refined and elegant they had been. Yet now, as time passed, those flattering words had failed to withstand the grinding of the years and vanished without a trace. What remained instead were these plain, unadorned words, weathered by hardship.

“What is wrong?” Tao Mo asked when he saw tears slipping from the corners of Yi Yu’s eyes.

Yi Yu shook his head.

The illness tormenting him had left both his body and spirit utterly weak. Sentimentality he would once have scorned now invaded him without meeting the slightest resistance. Looking at Tao Mo, a thought suddenly arose in his heart: What if—what if the person before him were still as he had been back then, with eyes only for him and room in his heart for no one else? How wonderful would that be? Even if Tao Mo had to offend Huang Guangde for his sake, even if they had to elope…

His heart abruptly clenched. His fingers unconsciously reached toward the head of the bed, but quickly withdrew again.

Seeing his complexion turn green one moment and white the next, Tao Mo asked worriedly, “Are you tired? Why not rest for a while?”

Yi Yu seemed not to hear him. He stared fixedly at him. “Will you come again?”

Tao Mo’s heart felt heavy. “I have been busy lately. It may be some time before I can.”

“Has there still been no progress in Wan Feng’s case?” Peng Xiang interjected from the side.

Yi Yu’s expression changed slightly. However, his complexion was already so poor that it was impossible to tell.

Tao Mo said, “I have not heard any news.” He had asked Adviser Jin as well, but Adviser Jin said he had already instructed the adviser of the neighboring county to send a letter if there were any developments. Since no letter had arrived thus far, that meant there had been no progress. After all, the neighboring county had taken over the case, and it had little to do with him now. It would not be appropriate for him to send someone directly to inquire.

Yi Yu said, “A case without any clear leads truly is difficult to investigate. Do not worry.”

Tao Mo nodded lightly.

“What have you been busy with lately?” Yi Yu could not help asking.

Tao Mo said, “There is a lawsuit at the yamen…”

Hao Guozi suddenly added, “And in the evenings, he has to play Go with Young Master Gu.”

Yi Yu’s lips trembled. He smiled feebly. “Is that so?”

Tao Mo said, “I promised that I would go play Go every day.”

Peng Xiang protested indignantly, “It is only a game of Go. What would it matter to miss one day? My young master is already this ill, and no one knows how many days he has left, yet you do not even come to see him!”

His tone was aggressive, but Hao Guozi’s was even more so. “My young master is not a doctor! Why should he have to come just because your young master is ill? When my young master fell ill and something happened to our old master, did your young master ever come to see him? But now, after coughing a few times, he insists that others rush over to wait on him. Who do you think your young master is, some precious prince or noble lord?!”

“Hao Guozi!” Tao Mo rebuked him in a low voice.

Hao Guozi reluctantly shut his mouth.

Yi Yu silently watched Tao Mo, seemingly trying to find even the faintest trace of annoyance or resentment on his calm face.

But there was none.

Tao Mo neither refuted Hao Guozi nor offered any explanation.

The light in Yi Yu’s eyes gradually dimmed. His cold fingers could not help brushing against Tao Mo’s hand, which rested on the bed.

Tao Mo’s fingers recoiled, and he immediately awakened from his thoughts. When he saw the glittering tears in Yi Yu’s eyes, he froze. “Why are you crying?”

Yi Yu said, “I feel unwell.”

Tao Mo anxiously asked, “Where do you feel unwell? Should we call a doctor?”

“My heart. My heart feels unwell.” Yi Yu’s fingers gently covered Tao Mo’s fingertips, cautious and tentative, for fear that he would pull away.

His fingertips were icy, sending a violent shudder from Tao Mo’s fingers all the way into his heart. Pretending not to notice, Tao Mo stood. “You must be tired. Rest well.”

Yi Yu’s eyes were filled with desolation.

Tao Mo lowered his gaze and walked toward the door.

“Back then, when you said you would redeem me, did you sincerely mean it?” Yi Yu asked from behind him.

Tao Mo stopped.

Hao Guozi immediately prepared a bellyful of words to retort, but then heard Tao Mo say, “I am no longer the Tao Mo I was back then.”

It was clearly only a person who had left, yet it felt as though all the warmth in the room had been drawn away with him.

Yi Yu lay weakly on the bed, staring blankly at the rain outside the window.

The threads of rain drifted like willow catkins.

He suddenly said, “I wonder whether Tao Mo brought an umbrella.”

Only then did Peng Xiang, who had been standing beside him all along, speak. “He has a carriage.”

Yi Yu sighed softly.

“Young Master, do you…” Peng Xiang hesitated. “Regret it?”

Yi Yu said nothing.

Peng Xiang said, “Actually, I also think Tao Mo is quite good.”

Yi Yu remained silent.

Peng Xiang stood there for a while, found the silence dull, and turned to leave. Then he heard Yi Yu’s faint voice behind him. “Only when one is starving does one understand the value of rice porridge.”

Tao Mo had found time during the day to visit Yi Yu, so he had to hurry back afterward.

Adviser Jin was searching all over the streets for him. When he saw Tao Mo return, he hurriedly said, “Master, there is news.”

Tao Mo did not immediately understand. “What news?”

Hao Guozi reacted more quickly. “Is it Wan Feng’s case?”

Adviser Jin nodded. “Precisely that case. The suspect has already been arrested.”

Tao Mo’s eyes widened. “Who… Who was it?”

Adviser Jin said, “A woodcutter from nearby. He saw Wan Feng traveling alone with a large bundle and was tempted by greed, so he murdered him and stole his belongings.”

Hao Guozi frowned. “A woodcutter?”

Tao Mo also found it strange. “Why would a woodcutter use a bow and arrow?”

Adviser Jin said, “That, I do not know. The trial has not yet begun. If Master is interested, you may attend the hearing in the neighboring county.”

At the mention of going to the neighboring county, Hao Guozi’s eyes lit up. He had been worrying about how to escape the endlessly haunting Yi Yu and Peng Xiang, so he immediately looked at Tao Mo with eager expectation.

Tao Mo had some reservations. “Would that not be somewhat inappropriate?”

Adviser Jin felt greatly comforted. At last, he had seen Tao Mo, whose mind usually followed only a single straight path, begin to concern himself with the proprieties of official relations. He said, “If Master visits incognito, how would the neighboring county magistrate recognize you?”

Seeing Tao Mo begin to waver, Hao Guozi hurriedly said, “Young Master knew Wan Feng, so perhaps you might even be able to help. There is no harm in going to take a look.”

Hearing him say this, Tao Mo could only agree.

Hao Guozi cheered and turned to inform Old Tao.

When Old Tao learned of it, however, he was not as worried as Hao Guozi had imagined. In his view, this case was riddled with oddities. Setting aside why an ordinary woodcutter would suddenly commit murder and robbery, there was already something suspicious about his carrying a bow and arrow and shooting with such accuracy. As Old Tao saw it, this was most likely a wrongful case manufactured by the neighboring county magistrate to close the matter. The fact that the magistrate had found a scapegoat so quickly might even mean he had some connection to the true culprit.

In that case, it would be highly inappropriate for Tao Mo to appear in the neighboring county’s courtroom. The other side would certainly be paying attention to the case and might well appear there. Huang Guangde knew Tao Mo, and so did his subordinates… Yet even if they did not, so long as Huang Guangde had truly coordinated matters with the neighboring county magistrate, he would inevitably learn Tao Mo’s whereabouts. It seemed that if the other party truly was Huang Guangde, there would be no hiding from him. They could only send a general when soldiers came and block the flood with earth when the waters rose.

Old Tao suddenly remembered something and asked Hao Guozi, who was preparing to pack their luggage, “Is Gu She going?”

“Going?” Gu Xiaojia frowned. “Going where?”

Tao Mo looked somewhat uncomfortable. Gu She had nothing whatsoever to do with the case, so there was indeed no proper justification for inviting him along. But since Old Tao had, for once, agreed with him, Tao Mo could only brace himself and say, “To listen to how the neighboring county magistrate conducts the trial.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “What does the way he conducts a trial have to do with my young master? My young master only needs to know how you conduct trials.” Only after saying this did he realize his words sounded somewhat ambiguous, so he unnecessarily added, “After all, my young master is living within your jurisdiction!”

Hao Guozi said, “Perhaps the woodcutter hired an extremely capable litigation master. You could observe him as well.”

Gu Xiaojia sneered. “What litigation master in the world today could compare with my young master?”

Hao Guozi said, “Careful you do not sprain your tongue boasting so wildly. Do not forget that your young master is still a disciple of Master One-Hammer.”

Gu Xiaojia was about to retort when he heard Gu She slowly ask, “When do we depart?”

Tao Mo was overjoyed. “Tomorrow!”

In truth, the court hearing was not until the day after tomorrow. He merely wanted to spend an extra day with Gu She and perhaps even take in some of the neighboring county’s scenery.

Gu She said, “Ride in my carriage.”

Tao Mo agreed without hesitation.

Now it was Hao Guozi’s turn to worry.

Although Gu She’s carriage was large, fitting five people inside would probably still be somewhat cramped.

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