Trapped in the mountains
All was quiet except for the gentle breeze rustling through the forest.
In the stillness, Sui Zhixu vaguely stepped into the valley. A thin layer of mist surrounded him, which shimmered with a silvery luster under the moonlight.
The entire world was shrouded in a hazy mist, and as Xu's hand passed through the fog, he felt nothing.
Was it a dream?
"Jiang Li?"
When Sui Zhixu tried to call out the name, all the illusions before her eyes shattered, like shards of broken porcelain flashing across her vision, instantly turning into dust and dissipating into the world.
Su Zhixu suppressed his doubts and waited in place. Slowly, the surrounding environment underwent drastic changes.
In an instant, they went from the valley to the house.
Sui Zhixu got out of bed. The simple linen curtains and countless bottles and jars on the walls filled the air with a strange medicinal fragrance and a faint smell of blood.
"The Gu worms in your body have flared up again? Don't you know that?"
Jiang Li pushed open the door and walked to her side, her beautiful face filled with coldness.
"Lie down quickly, look how pale you are! Hurry up and lie down to rest." Jiang Li helped her lie down, and the headboard hissed.
As Xu looked up, she saw a small green snake. In her dream, she reached out and touched its head.
It hissed, and she could actually understand what it was saying.
She said she almost died, and it was it that saved her.
Thank you.
Jiang Li rolled her eyes. "Why should I thank it? I told it to protect you, but I don't know where it went. It took me seven days and seven nights to rescue you, my little darling. Can you just calm down and rest for a bit?"
"You're awake?" On the tray in Jiang Yun's hands was a bowl of dark medicine.
Jiang Li picked up the medicine and said, "Drink your medicine."
In the dream, Sui Zhixu silently drank it and said in an intimate tone, "I knew you would come to save me."
"If I hadn't come out of seclusion in time, you would have suffocated to death in your coffin."
Sui Zhixu roughly knew what time it was. It was a dream that had happened two times before. This time, she was Lu Kou who had "died of illness" and was taken back by Jiang Li.
It was a memory; no wonder she couldn't control her body and could only see through her eyes.
After finishing her drink, Lu Kou returned the bowl to the tray and said softly, "A-Niang, I'm a little tired."
"Go to sleep, go to sleep. You'll feel better after a good night's sleep. That damned Sima Xian married you off while I was in seclusion without saying a word. My child has suffered so much."
Lu Kou rubbed Jiang Li's hand, "A-Niang, he is innocent. It's just that we are not meant to be."
The atmosphere was awkward, so Jiang Yun quickly spoke up, speaking softly, "Auntie, A-Ling just woke up and is still very tired. Let her rest. We'll talk about everything after she's better."
Jiang Li tucked the blanket around her and flicked the little green snake's head with her finger, "You get out too."
"Hiss." Refusal.
Jiang Li reached out and grabbed it, leaving it in her hand. The little green snake was like a rope that she could manipulate at will, soft and pliable, and seemed to have a very good temper.
"I'll head out now. You get some rest." Jiang Yun picked up the tray and was about to turn and leave when Lu Kou called out to him.
"Wait, how's Ah Niang?"
Jiang Yun sighed, looked into her eyes and shook his head, "Her symbiotic Gu was almost destroyed, Xiao Qing was on the verge of death, and Xiao Xiao Qing was still alive only because she was lucky."
Lu Kou lay on the bed, her throat choked with sobs, "It's my fault that she was hurt."
"It's good that you're alive. If anything happened to you, your aunt would turn Chang'an upside down." Jiang Yun tapped her forehead and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Rest well and don't think too much. When you're better, go see your flowers. The hibiscus, osmanthus, and chrysanthemums are all blooming beautifully in autumn. I didn't take up your space, so don't be unreasonable."
Lu Kou smiled faintly, "Where is it unreasonable?"
Jiang Yun told her to rest well and then quietly left.
In an instant, Sui Zhixu sensed Lu Kou's struggle and pain.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't even find the bodies of Thirteen Sister and A Ning, and Wen Ke is also missing."
The dream transitioned too quickly, and before Xu could even think about who the people Lu Kou was talking about were.
She knew Wen Ke, who was an assassin from Tianque Tower. She had also heard Jiang Yun mention Thirteen Sister. But who was A Ning?
Both she and Thirteen Sister are dead?
Mentioning this matter, Sui Zhixu didn't know if it was her own heart or Lu Kou's heart that ached terribly, and a bitter feeling almost overwhelmed her.
The next second, two blank steles came into view.
Lu Kou spilled the wine on the ground. "It's almost New Year's, so I came to see you all. My uncle's plan failed, and his troop deployment was discovered, but he escaped unscathed. Now he's staying home to mourn under the guise of my passing."
She tilted her head back and drank the rest of the wine. The scalding heat made her sigh, "I feel like he's different now."
Lu Kou smiled, a bitter smile, as she ran her fingers over their tombstones.
“Finding your bodies was really difficult.” Lu Kou pointed to the tombstone on the left. “You, Thirteenth Sister, he asked you to protect Aunt Ye, how did you end up getting yourself killed? There were so many people around her, but you were the only one who was so straightforward, always rushing to the front. Now look what happened. I dug your bodies out of the ravine. If it weren’t for the ugly sachet I gave you on your waist, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”
"And you, Cao Aning. You're usually the one with the most clever ideas. Your uncle sent you to rescue the exiled prisoners, and you were pushed out as a scapegoat. Silly woman, you've been smart all your life, how could you die such a stupid death?"
Lu Kou laughed loudly, drank the wine, and the surrounding mountains appeared as double images. Tears streamed down her face and fell onto the soil in front of the grave.
"My teacher once taught me a poem before my wedding: 'Spring banquet, a cup of green wine, a song sung once. I bow again and make three wishes.' It's a pity that I couldn't be with Xiao Furong for a long time, I failed her wishes, and I also failed to fulfill your blessings."
"I have three wishes now. First, I wish to avenge you. Second, I wish to find Wen Ke. Third... I wish that the truth I find has nothing to do with my uncle."
Lu Kou leaned against the blank stele and kept drinking. She drank almost all of the several bottles of liquor she had brought.
She looked around at the mountain path in a daze, "After I have avenged my great enemy, I will come back to carve your epitaphs."
Lu Kou closed her eyes, and Sui Zhixu's gaze also darkened.
When she opened her eyes again, Lu Kou's desolate laughter seemed to still echo in her ears, and before her eyes was a withered tree covered with strange red fruits.
This time, the thick green snake wasn't coiled around the tree, but was facing directly into her eyes.
She lowered her head and nuzzled Sui Zhixu's cheek, then with a flick of her tail, tossed the anxious little green snake back onto the tree.
The little green snake was stunned by the impact. It shakily got up, its eyes fixed on Sui Zhixu's direction, its head bobbing back and forth.
Sui Zhixu remembered that in her dream, Jiang Yun called it Little Green.
Is that big snake Xiaoqing?
It's Jiang Li now, right?
Sui Zhixu stroked the giant snake's head, "Jiang Li?"
"Hiss!"
The big green snake looked very happy, its tail wagging and nudging her with its head.
"Are you alright? Jiang Yun said she can't sense your companion Gu."
"Hiss."
After trying to understand for a while, Xu realized he couldn't.
I could only vaguely sense that she seemed to dislike Jiang Yun.
"Are you saying Jiang Yun is useless?"
"Hiss!"
She became happy again, and then Xu seemed to see Jiang Li's face in her mind's eye, praising her for being so smart.
"If you're free, respond to Jiang Yun." Sui Zhixu avoided her gaze; her feelings for Jiang Li were too complicated.
A mix of emotions overwhelmed her, and she couldn't distinguish between them.
"Don't touch me yet."
As soon as Xu pushed the giant snake's head away, she lowered her head in grievance, and her tail stopped wagging.
But we can't keep her trapped in the mountains forever.
"Was it you who dragged me into this?"
"Hiss?"
Why are you running?
Xu squinted, sensing something amiss. Just then, the little green snake crept up to her feet and used its tail to guide her.
"Little Green?"
"Hiss!"
Seeing its response, he turned his back, and there was only darkness behind him.
She glanced at the giant snake, then turned and stepped into the darkness.
When she opened her eyes, Fan Lingzhang was carrying two rabbits, one of which had a tuft of black fur on its head.
She closed her eyes. How annoying, it felt like she hadn't slept all night.
I didn't get a fever after taking the medicine, but I was tormented by nightmares.
Lu Kou's emotions in the dream were so repressed that Sui Zhixu couldn't recover for a long time after waking up.
She beckoned Fan Lingzhang over, and Fan Lingzhang, not understanding why, obediently went over.
Sui Zhixu wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his face.
Want a kiss?
Fan Lingzhang's eyes widened, a look of anticipation shining in them.
Sui Zhixu coldly refused him, "No, I haven't rinsed my mouth."
"All right"
He drooped his ears, turned around to deal with the rabbit, and didn't even show her the tuft of black fur on the rabbit. He looked very sad.
As Xu's eyes crinkled with laughter, it was clear they would be staying in the mountains for several more days.
We need to wait until her injuries are a bit better. In her current state, does she expect Xiao Furong to carry her entirely?
But they didn't know the route either.
Sui Zhixu sighed. Perhaps they should follow the river to find a way.
"We caught two rabbits today."
Fan Lingzhang pulled out the arrow, examined it, and, finding it still usable, tossed it aside.
"Um."
He's so quiet, is he really angry?
"Little Hibiscus?"
"Um."
Are you angry?
"No."
Sui Zhixu laughed, responding to his question. Her eyes sparkled, and she reached out to pinch his cheek. "You did it on purpose."
"You just want me to coax you."
"Hehe, you caught me." Fan Lingzhang turned his head and kissed her hand, but his hands were still busy processing the rabbit.
"I cleaned your sword this morning, but it's best not to use it. I'll have Dan Hong take care of it when we get back."
Sui Zhixu nodded, then added, "Last night, I poured the remaining powder at the cave entrance to prevent poisonous creatures from getting in, but it looks like it won't last more than a few days. The mountains are damp, so the powder will get soggy."
"After we finish eating, let's walk along the river and see if we can find our way."
She lowered her eyes in thought, recalling the rivers marked on the map. The mountains and rivers were originally one, and then countless branches created various ridges.
Zhuling is in the south, Qianling is in the east, Fanhuling is in the southeast, and the rest is the Phnom Penh mountain range that stretches from west to north.
They used the river to determine their direction and should be able to get out.
I don't know where Liu Lü and A Lu are. The other side's main target is Xiao Furong. The two of them are quite skilled in martial arts, so escaping should be easy for them.
They are very likely to come looking for him. Su Zhixu glanced at his leg. If they come, things will be much easier.
Fan Lingzhang handed over a rabbit. Having spent many years wandering in the wild, he knew how to prepare delicious food in the wild.
"You'll need to change your dressing soon. There's enough medicine in the bottle for two more days. If we don't go out, I've checked, and there are some hemostatic drugs around, but they're definitely not as effective as Danhong."
The aroma of roasted rabbit wafted to Sui Zhixu's nose, and she nodded as she ate.
He said firmly, "We will get out."
Fan Lingzhang smiled and said, "Okay."
Pick up another prepared rabbit and start roasting it.
After the meal, Sui Zhixu called Haidongqing, fed it some of the leftover rabbit meat, and sent it to find Liu Lü and the others, and to observe the river in the mountains.
The gyrfalcon spread its wings and flew high, gradually shrinking in the sky. Sui Zhixu looked up and watched its departing figure.
"I hope everything goes well."
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