Chapter 11 Hello, My Fellow Friend Ming Shu The topic begins with the urge to confide...
Once the conversation started, his urge to confide in others arose, and he began to ramble on: "Hey, you'll definitely be punished after you get out. How did you even manage to break into this barrier? I sealed it very well, and no one has ever broken in for hundreds of years."
Shi Wenzhe said apologetically, "I don't know either, I was just looking for Qin Wenxue."
Ming Shu shuddered and stammered, "You'd better not call him by his full name."
Shi Wen asked, "Why?"
Ming Shu: "For no reason, just think of it as... doing good deeds for yourself."
Shi Wenzhe was puzzled: "But he is Qin Wenxue."
"..." Ming Shu gave up braiding her hair and started playing with a silver bracelet on her wrist. Three small bells hung from the bracelet. Shi Wenzhe clearly saw something inside, but for some reason, the bells didn't ring when Ming Shu shook them. He also glanced at Shi Wenzhe and chuckled softly, "You're really stubborn. Fine, let her call out if she wants. He won't mind anyway."
"How come you got along so well with him in such a short time? Aren't you afraid of him?"
Shi Wenzhe recalled the candlelight of last night, noting Qin Wenxue's deep-set eyes and rather cold demeanor, but she didn't see any fierceness in them. She shook her head: "I'm not afraid." She paused, then hesitated, adding, "Besides..."
Ming Shu: "Moreover, what?"
Shi Wenzhe said, "Besides, she is a beauty."
Ming Shu: "..." He didn't understand what beauty had to do with being afraid, but Shi Wenzhe was really bold. Thinking of Qin Wenxue's eyes that were filled with snow, he still shivered. Ming Shu grinned awkwardly and reminded him, "Don't say that in front of him."
Shi Wenzhe suddenly turned around and looked directly at him, his eyes fixed on him: "It doesn't seem right for you to say such things about him. Beautiful people are all like that. They may have a cold temper, but they are always kind. Is he really that bad in your eyes? Why do you keep saying bad things about him?"
Ming Shu: "...I'm innocent." How could he dare? Although Shi Wenzhe's face was as calm as a lake, Ming Shu dared not refute him anymore, because he could smell the turbulent waves beneath the calm surface of the lake.
"Women are not to be trifled with."
"Forget it," he muttered. "I won't argue with you. We can't get out of here for now, and we don't know when the Venerable One and Yun Jin will find out. I need to find a solution." He moved away from the withered tree and headed towards the great formation.
When Ming Shu is not speaking, he is quite intimidating, especially when the wind lifts his clothes and he has his back to people. He looks like a peerless and otherworldly master. In short, he is very reliable.
Shi Wen tilted his head and felt that this person's movements and expressions were familiar, just like... Qin Wenxue.
Shi Wen's legs were almost numb from squatting under the withered tree. She watched Ming Shu rummaging through the yard, sighing repeatedly. She'd never sighed more in her life! So worrying! How could she possibly find him reliable? He was clearly utterly unreliable!
The branch in her hand broke again. She glanced at the deep pit she had dug in front of her and said, "You're not really a puppy that has become a spirit, are you? Is there something different smell in those dead wood and weeds? Why are you sniffing them?"
Ming Shu paused slightly, stopping his hand from brushing away the withered grass. He turned around to face Shi Wenzhe as if in a frame-dropping motion, his face expressionless.
Ming Shu's perfect expression shattered, revealing a hint of unease. It was unclear whether she was embarrassed by the truth being exposed or furious at being misjudged.
He said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense! I'm telling you, I'm your only lifeline right now. You don't even try to please me, and you're still mocking me like this? Are you looking for death?"
Shi Wenzhe chuckled and said gently, "I know you're amazing, but what have you been looking for all this time? Why do you insist that I stay put? I can look for it with you."
Ming Shu thought to himself, "You've finally asked! I've already prepared my answer to make you worship me." He picked up a stone and placed it in his palm, looking inscrutable, and said, "Do you know what this is?"
Shi Wen turned back and said, "Stone."
"You're wrong!" Ming Shu shook his finger, startling Shi Wenzhe.
Shi Wenzhe wanted to laugh again. He didn't understand why the other party was getting so worked up when they were refuting him, like a child who had to be praised for everything.
Ming Shu launched into a long explanation: "This isn't just any ordinary stone. Do you know what a mustard seed space is? It looks tiny and insignificant, but it can contain everything." He pointed to the flowers, trees, pebbles, withered branches, mud, and leaves in the courtyard one by one, and continued, "Everything here contains a small world. They're like they're asleep right now, so the small worlds won't open their doors wide for you to enter. But if you accidentally touch it, even just stirring up a speck of dust, the chain reaction could cause the world gates to open and suck you in. Then, no matter how much you cry and scream, no one will know. You'll die of old age in the small world, never to be reincarnated."
Shi Wenzhe felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't help but feel a sense of lingering fear. She had wandered around the courtyard countless times when she first entered, but thankfully she hadn't triggered any of these mustard seed spaces.
"Where is this place?" Her eyes gradually turned cold.
This wasn't the reaction he wanted to see. Ming Shu's fox-like eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.
He swallowed nervously and said, "This..." He pointed to the ancestral hall and said tremblingly, "This is my hometown, so I know it so clearly."
"Your hometown?" Shi Wenzhe asked. "This place looks like it's been deserted for many years." She tilted her head and pondered. "You look very young."
Ming Shu hesitated for a moment: "I am indeed still young. Anyway, this is my hometown. It's just that I haven't been back for many years, so I don't remember these flowers, plants and trees. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
This remark was quite effective, causing Shi Wenzhe to immediately lower her guard. She softened her tone and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was just a little nervous."
"It's okay, you won't do anything to me anyway."
This only made Shi Wenzhe more curious, and she pressed on, "You can't even freely come and go from your hometown?"
"Sigh, if the barrier hadn't been triggered, I could come and go as I pleased." He glanced at the golden barrier shining brightly in the darkness and said, "But now that the barrier has been triggered, all the exits here are blocked, so I have to find another way."
He was truly exhausted. This place was remote and desolate, and no one would be curious enough to venture in. Most people would be afraid of encountering misfortune and would simply run away. He had no idea how Shi Wenzhe managed to break in. He really was quite capable.
"Is there anything important in this ancestral hall? Why are there restrictions placed here?"
"Ah—it's a complicated story." He scratched his head, his brows still furrowed. Ming Shu looked up; this ancestral hall was an old friend of his. Before it was built into human form, this was truly his home, a place where he sheltered from the wind and rain.
They went through so much hardship together, yet they ultimately met with two different fates.
As he gradually attained enlightenment and took shape, the ancestral hall also fell into disrepair and collapsed day by day. Now, looking at this old friend, he was filled with mixed emotions.
Speaking of which, Ming Shu really misses those days when he talked to himself at the entrance of the ancestral hall. Back then, he lived a very long time in the desolate land within a hundred miles. The little furball would either go out to forage for food or go home to sleep every day, and this went on for hundreds of years.
Ming Shu smiled faintly, not very obviously, but his emotion was enough to affect Shi Wenzhe.
Shi Wenzhe felt as if she had witnessed a thousand years of change in an instant, which made her heart tremble for a moment and she couldn't help but become solemn.
“There’s a mass grave beneath this ancestral hall. The restriction was actually meant to protect us, but we just happened to be trapped here,” Ming Shu explained. “As long as you don’t touch it, it’s safe. So you shouldn’t move around.”
Shi Wenzhe said, "You said Qin Wenxue and Yun Jin would come to find you."
Ming Shu replied nonchalantly, "Mm."
"When are you coming? Are you and Qin Wenxue getting along well? Who is Yun Jin?"
Ming Shu gave her a look, but Shi Wenzhe couldn't see it clearly or understand it. He only heard him say, "How come you've changed so much?" His tone was somewhat inquisitive.
Shi Wenzhe's heart tightened, and he asked, "Did you know me before?"
But Ming Shu fell silent again, as if his earlier inquiry had been merely a figment of Shi Wenzhe's imagination. He sighed, "There's nothing we can do. We haven't found the way, and we've been out in the cold all night. Come to me. I can protect you. I hope we can both get through this safely before they find us, and that nothing else goes wrong."
"Wait a minute." Shi Wenzhe quickly tried to stop him, but Ming Shu spoke very fast.
She could only smile helplessly, her tone resigned: "Do you know the word 'flag'? You can't just set a flag randomly. But whatever, it probably can't get any worse than it is now."
Shi Wenzhe squatted down and leaned against Ming Shu. They were like two little animals warming each other, clinging to each other tightly. The only sounds in the courtyard were their squeaks and sighs.
"Ugh, I'm so sleepy," Shi Wenzhe said.
"Ugh, I'm so tired," Ming Shu said.
Shi Wenzhe said, "It's one thing to imitate my sigh just now, but don't imitate my way of speaking."
Ming Shu pouted: "I'm bored, can't I even play around?"
"But don't play with me," Shi Wenzhe said, pushing the arm of the person next to him.
"You're so funny. Speaking of which, I smelled a really nice aroma outside Qiyun Palace yesterday. It smelled amazing. Were you cooking something?"
"Such a keen nose?" Shi Wenzhe nodded. "It's a sugar-coated fried dough." Seeing Ming Shu smack his lips, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating, she asked directly, "Do you want some?"
"I'd love to! But Yun Jin has already made some for me. Do you make any other delicious food?"
Shi Wenzhe said, "There will be many."
Ming Shu was extremely satisfied, his hands gesturing involuntarily, his fox-like eyes gleaming: "Of course, of course. When you get out, make some for me to try too, okay? Don't just make some for Zun... Qin Wenxue, he likes to eat alone, but I won't. I'll let them all have a taste too..."
Shi Wenzhe would sit quietly and listen to him speak, just like when he sat lazily in the yard in the afternoon sun. If they weren't in a dangerous place, the scene would actually be extremely warm and cozy. Ming Shu was like a happy and innocent puppy, always chasing butterflies at her feet, and occasionally when he got tired, he would lie down and sleep next to her, just like now.
He spoke for as long as he could, and Shi Wenzhe listened for just as long, until the crescent moon hung high in the sky and the shadow of the withered tree shifted several times.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Transformation
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
