Novel translation serialization

According to the October 2017 version, Hualing Publishing House, Beijing

Written by Hu Zhe

Translated in October, 2024

by William Xiong

ROMANCE OF MT WUDANG

Chapter 9  Suffering from illness and longing for each other（II）

On February 15, 2003, just five days after her mother passed away, when Mr Xia folded 998 paper cranes for Lu Yuexia, he himself fell ill. He began to have fever, cough and headache, the same symptoms as Lu Yuexia had just suffered from SARS! Anxiety tightly gripped Lu Yuexia's heart like a curse. Lu Yuexia thought sadly, "In the past 23 years, I have never done anything evil, why does God punish me like this? Now I only have three relatives: my brother, my sister-in-law, and Mr Xia

Watching her beloved one suffering, Lu Yuexia couldn't give any help. Lu Yuexia's heart seemed to be cut by a knife. Lu Yuexia shouted loudly at the nurse who was taking care of her, and she tore her own hair frantically. On that afternoon, just after Valentine's Day, Lu Yuexia crazily felt the magic of the demon SARS. But everything was in vain. When Lu Yuexia lay exhausted on the hospital bed, she was willing to bear all the pain and punishment alone. Lu Yuexia suddenly felt no fear at all. If she had to die, she herself would replace Mr Xia. Lu Yuexia silently pleaded with that terrible devil in her heart.

Two days and two nights, Lu Yuexia didn't sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, it was Mr Xia's painful face coughing hard, and Lu Yuexia dared not close her eyes.

The assistant of the hospital director where Mr Xia is located picked him up and transferred him to another hospital for further consultation. Lu Yuexia was waiting in agony for the result of Mr. Xia's follow-up consultation.

At 9 am on the third day, Mr Xia's assistant called and the final result came out. Lu Yuexia perked up her ears, her heart pounding, so nervous that she almost couldn't listen anymore. Mr Xia's high fever has subsided, and he is fine, just a common cold. He will recover in a few days.

The heart held in her throat finally let go. Thank goodness, Lu Yuexia breathed a long sigh of relief. Mr Xia was fine now.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yuexia still didn't believe it a bit, so she sent a message to Mr Xia: "Is everything the assistant said true?" Soon, Mr Xia's message came back: "Xia, don't blame me. At the moment before diagnosis, I felt the preciousness of life for the first time in my life. In the face of the devil SARS, I found that whether it was family, friendship, or even the love we had called for countless times in the past, it seemed so insignificant. I hated my cowardice, but..." Seeing this, Lu Yuexia was stunned, not even knowing that the nurse came in to give her an injection. Lu Yuexia was like a puppet with no perception at all. Mr Xia once said that they would get married when he folded a thousand paper cranes. 998 paper cranes, now only two were missing, and Lu Yuexia could no longer wait for her wedding with Mr Xia. Some women are destined to have no wedding in their lives. Lu Yuexia buried her head deeply in the pillow, which was wet and dry, dry and wet again.

Lu Yuexia's condition began to recur, and she once again experienced a high fever of 39 degrees. Her white blood cell count was also continuously decreasing, and the chest X-ray examination report clearly showed severe patchy shadows in her lungs. Several times, Lu Yuexia had difficulty breathing and felt severe pain in her chest as soon as she inhaled. She felt a severe lack of oxygen, and the doctor put an oxygen mask on Lu Yuexia. Lu Yuexia was very clear that she was giving up, and she only hoped to find liberation as soon as possible. The doctor added steroid hormones to Lu Yuexia, and her body quickly lost weight. However, her face and mouth swelled up, especially her mouth, which was twice as tall as before. Lu Yuexia threw everything that reflected her own shadow, fearing to see her ugly appearance.

Lu Yuexia looked up at the ceiling, her gaze dull, and her eyes were filled with Mr Xia's shadow.

Lu Yuexia's condition has once again been brought under control. Her high fever is slowly subsiding, her appetite and spirit are gradually improving, and she no longer feels the excruciating pain when inhaling. Her state is changing towards a better direction. What made Lu Yuexia the happiest was that the doctor stopped using hormones on her, and the swelling on her face slowly returned to normal. Lu Yuexia learned to greet the ward rounds nurses every day and smile at them. Only when you smile first will life smile at you.

After more than a month of treatment, Lu Yuexia recovered smoothly. After a week of quarantine, the doctor told Lu Yuexia that she could be discharged from the hospital. Tears sprinkled down like raindrops. From learning that she had contracted SARS a month ago to today when doctors announced that she could be discharged, Lu Yuexia waited longer than a century. Mr Xia's paper crane soared through the thick shadows of SARS in the life of Lu Yuexia. Watching the blue sky, noisy crowds, and glaring sunlight, the days of hospitalization became so unreal. Lu Yuexia blocked the sunlight with her hands, and the nurse helped her down the stairs. Lu Yuexia lifted a corner of her mask and took deep breaths of fresh air.

The long nightmare has finally passed, it's so good to be alive!

小说翻译连载

根据【北京】华龄出版社2017年10月版本

胡  哲  著

熊良銋  译

武当山之恋（英汉对照）▪第九章（下）

第九章 病魔缠身两相思

2003 年 2 月 15 日 ，就 在 母 亲 去 世 的 第 五 天 ，当 夏 先 生 给 陆 月 霞 的 纸 鹤 折 到 998 只 的 时 候 ，夏 先 生 病 了 。 他 开 始 发 热 、咳 嗽 、头疼 ，和陆月霞刚患上“ 非典 ”的症状一模一样 ！ 不安像魔咒一 样 紧 紧 地 攥 住 了 陆 月 霞 的 心 。 陆 月 霞 伤 心 地 想 着 ：“ 23 年 来 ，我从来没有做过什么恶事 ，为什么上天要这样惩罚我 ？ 我现在只有哥嫂和夏先生三个亲人了 。”

看着心爱的人受折磨 ，陆月霞却一点也帮不上忙 。 陆月霞心如刀割 。 陆月霞对着照看陆月霞的护士大喊大叫 ，陆月霞发  疯 般 地 撕 扯 自 己 的 头 发 。 就 在 这 一 个 下 午 ，在 情 人 节 刚 刚 过 去  的那一天 ，陆月霞疯狂地感受到了“ 非典 ”这个魔鬼的魔力 。 但一切都无济于事 ，当陆月霞筋疲力尽地躺在病床上时 ，陆月  霞情愿所有的伤痛 ，所有的惩罚都报应在陆月霞一个人身上 。 陆 月 霞 忽 然 一 点 也 不 恐 惧 了 ，如 果 要 死 ，就 让 自 己 代 替 夏 先 生  吧 ，陆月霞在心里默默地向着那个可怕的魔鬼求诉 。

两天两夜 ，陆月霞没有合眼 。 一闭上眼睛 ，就是夏先生痛 苦的拼命咳嗽的脸庞 ，陆月霞不敢闭眼。

夏先生所在的医院里的院长助理把夏先生接走了 ，他转去 了另一个医院复诊 。 陆月霞在煎熬中等待着夏先生复诊的 结果 。

第三天上午九点 ，夏先生的助理来了电话 ，最后的结果出来了 。陆月霞竖起耳朵 ，心怦怦直跳 ，紧张得差点不能听下去了 。夏先生的高烧退了 ，他没事 ，只是普通的感冒而已 ，几天后就会转好的 。

提在嗓子眼里的心终于放下 ，谢天谢地 ，陆月霞长长松了 一 口 气 ，夏 先 生 没 事 了 。

挂了电话 ，陆月霞还是有点不相信 ，于是陆月霞给夏先生 发了条信息 ：“ 助理说的都是真的吗？”很快 ，夏先生的信息就 回来了 ：“ 霞 ，别怪我 ，在确诊前的那一刻，我平生第一次感觉 到了生命的宝贵 ，在‘ 非典 ’这个魔鬼面前，我发现无论是亲情 还是友情 ，甚至我们过去无数次呼唤过的爱情 ，都显得那么的 微 不 足 道 。 我 痛 恨 自 己 的 懦 弱 ，但 …… ”看 到 这 里 ，陆 月 霞 呆了，连护士进来打针陆月霞也不知道 。 陆月霞像一个木偶没有半点知觉 。 夏先生曾经说过 ，等折到一千只纸鹤的时候她们就结婚 。 998 只 纸 鹤 ，现 在 只 差 两 只 ，而 陆 月 霞 再 也 等 不 到 和 夏 先 生的婚礼了 。 有些女人 ，生命中注定是没有婚礼的 。 陆月霞把 头深深埋在枕头里，枕头湿了又干 ，干了又湿 。

陆 月 霞 的 病 情 开 始 了 反 复 ，陆 月 霞 再 一 次 出 现 39 度 的 高  烧 ，白 细 胞 数 目 也 在 不 断 下 降 ，胸 部 的 X 线 检 查 报 告 清 楚 表 明 ， 肺部有严重的片状阴影 。 好几次 ，陆月霞呼吸困难，一吸气胸  口就剧烈疼痛 ，她感到严重的缺氧 ，医生给陆月霞戴上了氧气  罩 。 陆 月 霞 很 清 楚 是 自 己 在 放 弃 ，陆 月 霞 只 求 快 点 得 到 解 脱 。 医生给陆月霞加了类固醇激素 ，陆月霞的身体迅速消瘦下去 ，脸和嘴巴却肿了起来 ，特别是嘴巴 ，肿得有从前两倍高 。 陆月  霞 把 所 有 折 射 出 自 己 影 子 的 东 西 都 摔 了 ，陆 月 霞 害 怕 看 到 自 己  的丑样子 。

陆月霞仰着头看天花板 ，目光呆滞 ，陆月霞的眼中荡漾的 全是夏先生的影子 。

陆月霞的病情再一次得到了控制 ，高烧开始慢慢消退 ，胃 口和精神逐渐变好 ，吸气的时候不再感到钻心的痛楚 ，状态正 向良好的方向转变 。 最让陆月霞高兴的是 ，医生停止了对陆月霞用激素 ，脸上的浮肿慢慢恢复了正常 。 陆月霞学会每天和查房 的护 士 问 好 ，向 护 士 微 笑 。 只 有 自 己 首 先 展 开 笑 颜 ，生 命 才会对你微笑 。

陆月霞经过一个多月的治疗 ，顺利康复 。 一个星期的隔离 期之后 ，医生告诉陆月霞可以出院了 。 泪像雨点一般洒下 ，从 一个月前得知患了“ 非典 ”，到今天医生宣布可以出院 ，陆月霞等了比一个世纪还长 。 夏先生的千纸鹤穿过非典的重重阴翳 在陆月霞的生命中奋力翱翔 。 看着蓝的天和喧闹的人群以及 刺 目 的 阳 光 ，住 院 的 日 子 变 得 那 么 不 真 实 。 陆 月 霞 用 手 挡 着 阳 光 ，护士扶着陆月霞走下台阶 。 陆月霞掀开口罩的一角 ，嘴巴大 口大 口 呼 吸 新 鲜 的 空 气 。

漫长的恶梦终于过去了 ，活着真好 ！

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