Invite to travel together

"When are you coming back, junior sister?"

Meng Yan paused, carrying her bundle, and turned slightly to the side. The sunset glow painted the horizon, secretly letting out a few strands to entwine around the ends of her hair.

The soft light tried its best to spread some warmth, but it was still early and the morning air was slightly cool, so it was all in vain. So it could only pave a path for her to see her off.

"It may take some time."

She smiled faintly, her eyes crinkling, and waved goodbye to the senior colleague from the organization group she had just met.

The rising sun stretched her shadow long, making her walk further and further away until she disappeared at the foot of the mountain.

This trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I didn't tell everyone in detail, and I didn't make any plans on my own. It was just a sudden inspiration while I was whittling wood one day. As for where I was going and when I would return, it was completely unexpected.

Just in case, Meng Yan packed clothes and silver, and stuffed dozens of small protective devices into his bag. After some hesitation, he also took a few of Yue Lang's fire talismans, as if he was still missing something.

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Above the mountains, amidst the mist, Meng Yan turned the steering wheel, and the mechanical kite circled in place before heading back the way it came, guided by her.

She descended through several layers of clouds, and the stone pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes came into view. Seeing the blurry pillars, she felt at ease and slowly landed in front of the mountain gate.

Today was a lucky day. There were two disciples on duty at the gate, wearing disciple robes that Yue Lang had never seen before. As soon as they met, they warmly asked what brought them there.

Meng Yan subconsciously raised his hands, paused for a moment, then pointed to his lips and shook his head at them.

The two disciples were now in a dilemma. They had been on duty before, but they had never encountered a situation where they couldn't communicate with each other, whether it was receiving letters or asking for directions.

Judging from the girl's attire, she wore a neat black dress, her long hair was casually tied up, with the excess sideburns tucked behind her ears, and she carried a small bundle. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and her cuffs and trouser legs were wet with dew, indicating that she was a traveler.

"Is the young lady here to establish a pre-meal bond?" The disciple on the left asked after much thought.

Mentioning food, and recalling someone's boastful words in the forest, Meng Yan immediately shook his head without further thought.

"Young lady, are you lost?" The disciple on the right scratched his head and looked in the direction she had come from.

The sect is located in a remote area, and ordinary people would not come here to visit. Most people who pass by are probably lost and confused. They can't have come here specifically for this purpose.

Meng Yan shook his head again.

After a brief eye contact, she pulled a talisman from her sleeve, unfolded it, and handed it to the two men, hoping they would understand that she was searching for someone.

"Senior Brother Yue? Can you take a look? Isn't this Senior Brother Yue's talisman?"

The talisman was passed back and forth between the two several times. Meng Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he silently took out another one and handed it to them.

Each person flipped through the talisman several times, finally exchanging glances. The disciple on the right swallowed hard and asked, "Miss, are you here to see Senior Brother Yue Lang?"

I had no idea this person was so famous within the sect? This saves me a lot of trouble.

Meng Yan nodded without hesitation and pointed inside the door. The two disciples immediately understood and asked her if she needed to lead the way.

With a flick of his wrist, Meng Yan stepped into the mountain gate. After taking two steps, he turned back, tugged at one of the people's sleeves, and pointed to the sky.

"Heavens?" the disciple asked bluntly.

Flying in the sky, it can be considered the sky, right? Thinking this, she nodded and added a gesture like a bird's wing with her hand.

"Fly?" the disciple asked again, pulling his equally dazed junior brother next door over to ponder together.

The junior apprentice pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Are there any birds flying in the sky?"

He was immediately punched by his senior brother, who said, "Our sect is far from being a godforsaken place."

That's not wrong. As a wooden bird, the mechanical kite's ability to fly is the same as whether an ordinary bird can pass through the air. It's just that the wooden bird is a bit larger than an ordinary bird, and taking off rashly could easily cause unnecessary trouble.

However, if the sect itself allows such activities, then there is no need to consider anything else.

While she was pondering, her senior brother came to find Meng Yan with the results of his and his junior brother's discussion. "Our sect is not completely isolated from the outside world. Birds such as carrier pigeons can pass through normally without any obstruction. The sect rules have never mentioned any deliberate interception of external objects. You can rest assured, young lady."

Meng Yan was truly relieved. Yue Lang had previously said that the sect rules did not stipulate this point, and she was always worried that he was just trying to appease her. If she were to make him suffer punishment because of her momentary convenience, she would rather not ask in the first place and simply walk up each stone step honestly.

Since the other disciples have all said so, it must mean they have agreed.

She smiled and thanked the two disciples on duty. In the blink of an eye, she took down the mechanical kite, nimbly leaped into it, activated the mechanism, and soared into the sky towards the clouds.

Hearing a faint noise behind them, the two disciples didn't turn around out of politeness, but the sound grew louder and louder. The "click" sound was mixed with other noises. The junior brother couldn't help but sneak a peek behind him, and then shook his senior brother's arm, shouting loudly, "Senior brother, look!"

"You must not pry into other people's private affairs, much less make a fuss about them." Even though he was shaken so badly that he lost his balance, the senior brother did not intend to look back.

"It's not a matter of personal matters anymore, senior brother!" The junior brother turned his head back around. "So the girl meant to ask if it was possible to fly in the sky!"

"What the hell?"

The senior brother didn't bother to understand the meaning of his words anymore. He followed his arm and looked up at the sky. He saw the clouds drifting away, and a large bird suddenly appeared among them, heading straight into the doorway.

The two stood there, stunned, until that point completely disappeared into the clouds.

"What should we do now? Should we go back and report?"

"No need, there's nothing we can do to stop it if something goes wrong. Trust your senior brothers."

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The shadow flashed by, blocking the light, and then quickly disappeared.

While the disciples were still looking up blankly, searching for the dark clouds, the sun was already shining brightly on the horizon, showing no sign of darkness.

To minimize hassle, Meng Yan not only increased the speed to the maximum, but also thoughtfully chose the landing point behind Yue Lang's house, where the land was sparsely populated and people could easily leave once they were on the bird.

Yue Lang was in the room, holding a brush and applying cinnabar. His hand guided the wolf-hair brush with smooth strokes, and the vermilion lines were engraved on the yellow paper. The reddish-gold ink dried as soon as it touched the paper. He piled it together with the talisman paper he had drawn, when he suddenly felt something strange around him. He swept the whole room but could not find the source.

"How strange! Even if it is haunted, it should not be in my Taoist community."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure appeared at the door, the tip of which stopped precisely at the tip of the pen he was about to drop.

It was a bright and sunny day. He opened the door early in the morning to bask in the sunshine, never expecting to actually encounter this uninvited guest.

"Who is it? What brings you here?"

Yue Lang didn't even look up, continuing to draw talismans on the paper in his hand. Stray hairs slid down onto the paper as he moved, casting a narrow shadow.

The person at the door remained silent, only knocking on the sun-warmed door panel, patiently waiting for him to finish his dot painting.

"If it's inconvenient, come in and talk."

He still didn't look up. The shadow took a few steps forward, enveloping his hand in it, and then, as if it had discovered something, it moved aside, letting the light from outside the door in.

"If it's still inconvenient, we'll talk behind closed doors."

Seeing that the visitor remained silent for a long time, Yue Lang was curious but not in a hurry. He kept his eyes on the nimble pen in his hand, and with each stroke, another talisman was piled up into a small mountain.

"What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

He finally couldn't hold back any longer. He put down his pen, looked up with a smile, and stopped abruptly at first glance, his smile deepening.

"I wondered which bird had come to visit, but it turns out to be our Miss Yan. Please."

He swept away the neatly stacked talismans with a wave of his sleeve, placed them on a chair, pulled out another chair, wiped it with his sleeve, and then turned to Meng Yan to indicate.

Meng Yan hopped over and sat down in a few steps. As Yue Lang took his seat, he casually poured tea for the two of them and pushed a cup in front of him.

Taking the lukewarm teacup, Yue Lang suppressed a laugh and gulped it down, trying his best not to spill the tea because of his laughter. After much effort, he finally swallowed it, and like Meng Yan, he rested his chin on his hand and asked her, "Miss Yan, what brings you here so suddenly?"

With a quick glance, he understood Meng Yan's words. Before she could ask, he simply continued, "If it were just some ordinary little matter, you could have easily sent a bird to come by. The journey is so long, and you're carrying a bundle, so it's definitely not a coincidence that you're passing by."

He pointed to the cloth bag on Meng Yan's shoulder, "Going on a long trip?"

Meng Yan nodded without any attempt to hide his agreement.

"So, you didn't actually just drop by to see me?"

Meng Yan stared at him and shook his head.

In an instant, Yue Lang's eyes almost caught Meng Yan's attention, and he visibly became much happier. "You came here specifically?"

"I didn't come to see you, I came to ask you to travel with me." She shook the bag on her shoulder and asked, "Are you free? I'll provide a carriage and horses, please pass on my message."

So he's using himself as a translation tool, Yue Lang thought to himself, but he couldn't help but nod.

"Well, shall we tidy up? I'll sunbathe outside for a while."

Meng Yan left a series of hand gestures, then leaned against the door with his bundle on his back, looking as if he were indeed sunbathing.

"Why bother sunbathing in this sweltering heat?" Yue Lang's voice drifted from behind. "There's nothing shameful about it. You're not even sweating properly before you go out to sunbathe. Do you expect it to dry you out? Just come in and rest."

Meng Yan remained motionless, pretending not to hear, and insisted on waiting for him while hanging on the door panel.

"If you get hot or thirsty, remember to come in. I'll go tidy up first. Come to my room anytime if you need anything."

The small figure at the door nodded with its back to him. Yue Lang stopped trying to persuade him and started stuffing things into the bag.

As he continued packing, his movements gradually slowed down. Standing by the bedside, he asked Meng Yan, who was outside the door, "Miss Yan, what do we need to bring?"

"Clothing, self-defense equipment." Meng Yan didn't go inside; his shadow relayed the message.

"So, where are we going for our trip?" One question seemed insufficient, so he added two more: "How long will we be gone? Should we bring light or heavy clothing?"

The shadow remained motionless for a long time. Yue Lang peeked his head out from the door frame and saw that Meng Yan was still lost in thought.

He didn't disturb her, but quietly stood opposite her, leaning against another door and pretending to sunbathe.

"I don't know." Meng Yan turned to look at him. "In summary, I know nothing about the above questions."

"Okay." Yue Lang responded, turned around and jumped back into the house. "Then I'll continue packing. Miss Yan, please wait a little longer, we'll be setting off soon!"

Watching his cheerful back, Meng Yan was a little confused. Everything was unknown, and there might even be unpredictable dangers. How could he act like he had found a treasure, not only not refusing but also rushing to come to him?

I don't understand, but it's pretty good.