Chapter 9
Early in the morning on the day they were going down the mountain, Shen Ah Heng got up at daybreak and was about to go fetch water with a bucket when he saw Ashina Yu already sitting at the table, with his eyelashes drooping, looking out the window quietly.
Her long hair was loosely gathered behind her head, making her neck look cold, white and slender.
There were already two bowls of porridge and two plates of side dishes on the table in front of him.
The coarse porcelain bowl was steaming, as if it had just been made.
"Hey, why are you up so early?"
Shen Aheng rubbed his eyes and came over. Seeing the dishes on the table, he felt a little funny. He thought that this little foreigner was quite virtuous. As soon as he felt better, he couldn't wait to help her with the work.
I have never seen such a stupid patient.
After breakfast, Shen Aheng divided the medicine, which was still the two scorpion venom pills, with pills to replenish qi and blood. After watching him swallow it obediently, he turned around and rummaged through the boxes to find the old clothes left by his master.
It was a long gown made of light grey coarse cloth, of ordinary material, with frayed cuffs, several patches on the hem, and the right sleeve half broken. It looked like an old item often worn by farmers in the mountains, but the most important thing was that it was low-key, not as eye-catching as the purple robe from the Western Regions.
Otherwise, with his original clothes and his face, he would be stared at as soon as he went out.
It would be bad if any trouble happened again.
"Put this on so you won't attract attention."
Shen Aheng handed the light gray gown to Ashina Yu. Ashina Yu took it obediently without saying a word and walked behind the statue.
When he came out after changing, Shen Aheng looked at him, but couldn't help frowning.
This coarse cloth garment wrapped around him did not look shabby at all. The half-broken cuffs hung down, revealing his cold white wrists, which made the lines of his shoulders and neck look even thinner and straighter.
It was clearly just the attire of an ordinary farmer's son, but he managed to make it look indescribably noble.
His face was already handsome, and now...it was even more eye-catching.
He looked like a young man who had strayed into the mortal world, exuding a coolness that didn't match his coarse clothes.
"No, it's still too eye-catching!"
Shen Ah Heng bit his lower lip and reached out to touch his long hair, trying to mess up his overly soft and flowing black satin and cover up his overly eye-catching face.
Ashina Yu stood obediently, with his long eyelashes drooping like two small fans, quietly covering his eyes. He let her fingers rub and play with his hair without even moving his body.
Only when she accidentally pulled her hair did her Adam's apple roll slightly, but still no sound came out.
Shen Aheng is clumsy, and usually he only takes care of his own hair, let alone combing other people's hair.
The hands that usually prepared medicine exerted a little force and accidentally pulled out a few strands of his hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it..." Shen Ah Heng quickly let go of her hand and apologized, looking up with a guilty look on her face, but saw him gently shaking his head, and the corners of his eyes also curved slightly, his eyes were still gentle, not angry at all, but seemed to be comforting her.
Shen Ah Heng sighed slightly in his heart. His temper was a little too good.
His messy hair covered most of his face, and he looked like an ordinary farm boy. But Shen Ah Heng stared at his face for a long time and felt that something was wrong.
Until her eyes accidentally fell on the tiny rouge-colored mark on his forehead.
She had seen that mark on his face since the day she rescued him. It did not melt in water and was shaped like a small willow leaf, gorgeous but not gaudy. It fell just above his brow bone, making his already cool and delicate eyebrows and eyes even more charming.
Even though the face was covered by the hair, the mark still exuded an unusual temperament.
“This mark on your forehead…” Shen Ah Heng pointed at him and asked tentatively: “Can you cover it first?”
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu slowly raised his eyelids, with a bit of emptiness in his clear eyes, as if he didn't fully understand the meaning of "cover it", or didn't understand why he should cover it. However, he still raised his hand gently following her gaze, and his fingertips brushed across the mark on his forehead. Then he nodded gently, looking cold and a bit confused.
Shen Ah Heng then found some cornmeal, added some warm water to make it thick, picked up a little on his hand with his fingertips, then stood on tiptoe and carefully applied it to the mark on his forehead, fearing to hurt him.
After the mark was covered, only a protruding yellow bulge remained, which was even more conspicuous on his cold, jade-white cheek.
Shen Ah Heng bit his lip and thought for a while, then took out the ointment for treating external injuries from the medicine box. The ointment was dark in color and could be used as a "paint".
Shen Ah Heng dipped a little, gently touched the bulge, and slowly spread it with his fingertips. The original bulge turned into an inconspicuous "black mole", the size of a small stone, hidden in the forehead hair, and could not be found without careful observation.
After Shen Aheng finished all this, he looked at his appearance. His originally soft long hair was messed up and hanging down. He was wearing a patched coarse cloth. The originally cold look in his eyes was mostly covered, leaving only a pair of cold and gentle eyes exposed.
He looks like the little fairy child under the seat of Guanyin, and he looks very well behaved.
Shen Ah Heng couldn't help laughing, and said happily: "That's good now, even if I put you in a crowd, no one will pay much attention to you."
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the corners of his lips seemed to bend slightly, but he quickly smoothed them out. He stood there with his hands hanging down, like a well-groomed orchid, quiet and obedient.
After changing his clothes, Shen Ah Heng went to sort out the dried herbs into different categories. He put the ordinary Qingling grass and Duanhun grass directly into the bottom of the backpack and put dry thatch on top to prevent moisture.
However, for precious medicinal materials such as wild ginseng, I specially found a small, smooth old bamboo tube, put a layer of dried thatch on the bottom of the tube to absorb moisture, straightened the ginseng roots wrapped in soft paper, and carefully placed them into the bamboo tube. I stuffed some fluffy dry mugwort in the gaps, and finally sealed the tube mouth with a wooden cork. I also wrapped a few rounds of hemp rope around the outside before putting the bamboo tube into the top layer of the backpack to avoid bumping when walking.
After everything was packed, Shen Ah Heng checked carefully again to make sure there were no omissions, then reached out to pick up the backpack, but before he touched it, he was gently pressed down by a pale wrist.
Ashina Yu bent down and picked up the strap of the backpack first. His movements were not smooth, but they revealed his stubbornness.
"You're not well yet, can you carry me? Let me do it."
Shen Aheng reached out to grab it, but Ashina Yu took a half step back holding the backpack, holding the straps tightly with both hands and refusing to let go.
After spending these days together, Shen Ah Heng has figured out his personality. He looks gentle, but he is extremely stubborn when it comes to serious matters.
Looking at him like this, Shen Aheng sighed helplessly, and had to compromise, but said worriedly: "Then if you feel tired or uncomfortable, you must return it to me immediately, and you are not allowed to force it. It is much more troublesome to treat you than to carry this pile of things."
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu's Adam's apple moved, and his lips pursed, as if he was trying to organize his words. After a long while, he managed to utter a few words in a clumsy Central Plains dialect with a strong Western accent: "I... am a man, and you... little girl... can't do that."
When he finished speaking, he frowned slightly and shook his head quite seriously. He looked as if he was talking about something very serious. His cold and beautiful eyebrows added a bit of youthful rigor and stubbornness, and his expression was neat and firm.
Looking at his serious look, Shen Ah Heng couldn't help but curl his lips. He was only a little older than herself, but he was full of little girly words pretending to be mature.
Is this how the Central Plains language is taught in the Western Regions?
Afraid that someone might recognize his accent on the road, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Please stop talking and try to act dumb on the road to avoid trouble."
Ashina Yu was stunned for a moment, probably not understanding what she was laughing at suddenly, but she still nodded obediently and walked towards the gate of the yard with the basket in her hand. Although her steps were slow, her feet were steady.
-
When the master was around, Shen Aheng always followed him around, going wherever there were patients. He was used to the world and had seen the fireworks of the world.
But ever since her master left, she no longer wanted to go out, and she just lived her life day after day, guarding the mountain temple and the meager property of the Qingxiu Sect.
It has been half a year since I last went down the mountain.
Now, walking down the mountain with Ashina Yu, watching the mountain fog gradually being left behind, and the outline of the town at the foot of the mountain becoming clearer, I felt as if I were in another world.
Their town is also called Qingxiu Town. It is a strategic location for several surrounding villages. Although it is in a remote location, it is still a lively place.
The layout of the town is very simple, with a bluestone road running through it from east to west, and shops lining both sides of the road, including cloth shops, blacksmith shops, rice shops, teahouses, etc.
As soon as they arrived at the town entrance, they were overwhelmed by the noise. Street vendors kept shouting and hawking their wares. A group of children gathered in front of the sugar painting stall. The sound of hammering came from the blacksmith shop. The brave peddler shook the rattle and moved through the crowd. Even the air was filled with the aroma of steamed buns, baked buns, wontons, stinky tofu, roasted lamb, and various iced drinks. It was fresh and lively.
Shen Ahheng couldn't help drooling just by smelling it, and her eyes were instantly hooked by the stinky tofu stall on the street. The pieces of stinky tofu were sizzling in the oil pan, and the vendor picked them up, drained the oil, piled them in a coarse porcelain bowl, poured them with dark brown marinade, sprinkled with a handful of fresh green onions and minced garlic, and finally scooped a spoonful of bright red chili oil. The aroma went straight into her nose.
These past few days, every meal was bland and watery. Shen Ah Heng was so greedy that he kept swallowing his saliva. He pulled Ashina Yu's sleeve and ran to the largest medicine shop in town. His tone was a little faster: "Hurry up, let's go sell medicine first, and then go eat something delicious after exchanging it for silver. By the way, we are out of rice, flour, oil and other things at home. Don't forget to remind me to buy some later."
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu's pale lips moved, and she subconsciously wanted to respond, but suddenly remembered the instructions for her to pretend to be mute, so she only said "hmm" softly. Her voice was low and carried a bit of deliberate restraint, but her footsteps followed her closely, afraid that she would fall behind.
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