Dragon Boat Festival Special: Yu Mo, Zongzi, and Fish (Epilogue)
Yan Dan listened to the rushing water outside, then glanced at the hourglass on the low table. There were still two hours left until the Dragon Boat Festival. She felt something was missing, and after thinking about it, her gaze suddenly fell on the basket next to her filled with glutinous rice, chestnuts, and salted meat.
You must eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) during the Dragon Boat Festival.
She rolled up her sleeves and began wrapping zongzi. After wrapping about ten zongzi with salted pork and chestnuts, she still had some ingredients left, so she simply wrapped the chestnuts and salted pork together and shaped the glutinous rice in her hands into fish shapes. Now, recalling Yu Mo's ordeal today, she felt no sympathy left, but rather wanted to laugh.
Yan Dan wrapped all the zongzi in bamboo leaves and put them in the steamer to steam. Then she tiptoed over to check on Yu Mo. She poked him lightly with a finger, but he didn't budge. She increased the pressure, but he still didn't move. Yan Dan found it strange, so she reached under the blanket and pulled his face out.
Yan Dan immediately sensed something was wrong when she reached out her hand. It was already past May, and she wouldn't feel cold even in just a light shirt, yet his entire body was ice-cold, as if he were immersed in ice. She touched Yu Mo's cheek and found it slippery to the touch, which startled her. She quickly bent down and looked closely at him.
Yu Mo's face was deathly pale, his long eyebrows furrowed tightly, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and a few scattered bluish-black scales appearing and disappearing on his cheeks. He felt someone inconsiderately pulling him out of the blanket, and he had no choice but to slowly open his eyes.
Yan Dan looked at the pair of red eyes so close to hers, and her heart stirred. It was as if she had seen them before, and she stared back at them blankly.
After a long, long time, Yu Mo said weakly, "What exactly do you want to do?"
Yan Dan asked softly, "Have I seen you before?"
"Whether you've seen me or not, don't you know yourself?"
"So that's it. But I always feel like I should have known you before..."
Yu Mo sighed softly, "Have you made enough of a scene? I'll let you watch as much as you want tomorrow when I'm better, okay?"
Yan Dan then realized that the two of them were very close, and she could even feel each other's breath. She was holding Yu Mo's neck, staring blankly... A bead of cold sweat immediately slid down her back. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat up straight by the steamer. Yu Mo was weak, and as soon as she let go, he fell headfirst onto the deck with a thud.
Yan Dan immediately broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "Mountain Lord..."
Yu Mo raised his hand to his forehead, his tone harsh: "Enough! If you utter another word of nonsense, you'll be buried alive! I mean what I say, and even if you beg and plead later, it won't do you any good!"
Yan Dan fell silent.
The sand in the hourglass slowly flowed down, and in the blink of an eye, only a little remained.
Yan Dan calculated the time and felt that the steamer basket of zongzi was almost done, so she turned off the heat and opened the lid. The fresh fragrance of bamboo leaves and the aroma of zongzi wafted out. Yan Dan picked out the fish-shaped zongzi and closed the steamer. She used scissors to cut the string binding the bamboo leaves, breathed on them to gently separate the leaves, and took a delicious bite.
Before she could swallow, she saw Yu Mo stir slightly, lift the blanket and sit up, but then remain still.
Yan Dan thought about Yu Mo's warning to her earlier. If she spoke now, would she be buried alive? But if she didn't speak, Yu Mo would definitely complain that she wasn't considerate or attentive enough, and she would still be buried alive in the end. Since she would be disliked from both sides, the latter option was more worthwhile; at least she had said something.
"Mountain Lord, are you feeling any better?"
Yu Mo pushed aside the blanket and said in a low voice, "Much better." He slowly stood up, picked up a single garment, lifted the curtain of the boat, and went out: "I'm going to wash up."
Yan Dan jumped in surprise and quickly grabbed a dry cloth from the side to wipe herself, then chased after him: "Mountain Lord, you're still injured, your wounds can't get wet..."
Yu Mo reached out and touched his back, saying casually, "It's nothing, it's already scabbed over."
"A scabbed scar...?" Yan Dan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. "It's over, it's over, Bai Ling will kill me..."
"Huh?" Yu Mo didn't hear clearly and frowned unconsciously.
"Mountain Lord, you're not fully recovered yet, why don't I help you first—" Before she could finish her sentence, Yu Mo had already put down his thin clothes and stepped directly into the water, "...to dry yourself off."
Yan Dan was very depressed.
After a moment, Yu Mo emerged from the water, dripping wet. He glanced at her and said indifferently, "Weren't you going to help me dry off?"
Yan Dan had no choice but to take a dry cloth and drape it over his shoulders, slowly wiping him down. She had never served anyone like this in her life, but now that she was actually doing it, she felt no resistance. Had she been living a good life in Yelan Mountain for too long and become so spineless?
Yan Dan was very depressed, listlessly supporting Yu Mo's back. Looking at the scar on his back, she suddenly remembered Bai Ling's nagging and couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope: I wonder if she can still use magic to remove this scar? Even if she can't leave no trace at all, at least it should be so faint that it looks like an old wound.
Just as she was about to put her idea into action, Yu Mo let out a long breath and said calmly, "Alright, you don't need to wipe it anymore, I can do it myself."
"no!"
Yu Mo looked at her, puzzled: "Why not?"
Yan Dan remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's nothing, Mountain Lord, the zongzi are ready." It seems this matter needs further consideration. There's plenty of time in the future; she refuses to believe she can't heal this wound before returning to Yelan Mountain.
Yan Dan took the steaming hot savory rice dumplings out of the steamer, cut the string, peeled off the bamboo leaves, and placed them on a plate. By the time Yu Mo came in, she had just peeled two dumplings. She picked up a pair of chopsticks, leaned over and handed them to Yu Mo, then bent down and took a small bite of the special fish-shaped dumpling.
Yu Mo took the chopsticks but didn't touch them. Instead, he looked at the one in her hand and asked, "Is this also a zongzi?"
Yan Dan proudly showed him the zongzi she held up with a bamboo leaf, saying, "Look, look, what I made, doesn't it look like a fish?" Yu Mo rested his chin on his hand, a smile playing on his lips, "What do you mean by making a zongzi into a fish?"
"...Cough!" Yan Dan choked.
If there was any intention behind it, it's probably because she felt a special connection with fish today, so she couldn't resist shaping it into a fish. Of course, if today weren't the Dragon Boat Festival, but rather the Spring Equinox, a day for outings and feeding rabbits, she would have shaped it into a rabbit.
Yu Mo slowly leaned over, took a bite from the fish-shaped rice dumpling with her hand, and then smiled slightly: "It tastes good."
Yan Dan choked again, quickly noting in her mind: Yu Mo's inexplicably handsome smile must have ulterior motives. At this moment, it was safer for her to lower her head and pretend not to see anything while drinking water. She picked up her cup and took a sip, but before she could swallow, Yu Mo simply reached out and grabbed her wrist, then leaned in and bit off the tail of the fish-shaped rice dumpling.
"...Pfft!" Yan Dan spat out her drink.
But things didn't end there. Although there wasn't a dramatic beginning, the ending was certainly dramatic. They made their way back to Yelan Mountain with great success, but along the way, they were constantly targeted by assassins, both overt and covert, who even resorted to using lime powder in the end.
Yan Dan lived a very comfortable life, and her methods of interrogation became increasingly sophisticated.
"If I had known it would cause so much trouble, I would have just let those two do as they pleased in Nandu." Yu Mo gripped the book on Fuxi's Mathematical Art, his mind agitated.
Yan Danqi asked, "Isn't that Pei Luo the young master of the Prime Minister's mansion? How did he attract so many enemies? Could it be that he owes a debt and refuses to pay it back?"
"He is no longer the son of the Prime Minister. Haven't you heard? At the end of last year, the world belonged to the Pei family."
During that time, she had just arrived in Yelan Mountain, but the situation outside had changed drastically. Yan Dan suddenly realized: "So, the Great Zhou is currently in the midst of a struggle for the crown prince's throne. That Young Master Pei and his brothers have started fighting each other for the throne, and as they fight, they've even resorted to assassination and poisoning." She finally concluded: "Emperors and generals must lead very fulfilling lives, with rebellions, suppression of rebellions, coups, and vendettas happening all the time."
Yu Mo glanced at her, then looked down at his book, realizing that bringing up such a thing with her was unwise.
The assassins came and went, then suddenly stopped. Yan Dan waited from morning till night, growing increasingly restless; habit is truly a dangerous thing.
Yu Mo heard her rustling and fiddling around, not knowing what she was doing. Although she was looking at a book, the regular script made it impossible for him to understand what she was saying. He had no choice but to put the book down and say, "Yan Dan!"
Yan Dan immediately put down the pile of things she was holding and said innocently and obediently, "I don't think those people will come again. The assassins left some things here with me before, and I plan to throw them all away."
Yu Mo glanced at her suspiciously, then didn't pursue the matter further. After a while, Yan Dan came out of the cabin carrying a pile of things, followed by the sound of things falling into the water. He was somewhat suspicious; if she had been this obedient from the beginning, it would have been fine, but this sudden turn of events was rather strange.
To everyone's surprise, Yan Dan returned to the cabin and sat obediently on the cushion next to him, remaining silent and still.
Yu Mo was preoccupied and couldn't concentrate on the complex Fuxi numerology, so he quickly washed up, turned off the light, and went to sleep. He glanced back and saw Yan Dan staring intently at his hand as he pulled open his outer robe. He frowned slightly and slowly removed his robe, only to see Yan Dan's gaze grow even more intense.
Yu Mo thought that he must have made a mistake, so he lay down and turned to the other side.
After a moment, Yan Dan slowly moved closer and spoke softly in his ear, "Mountain Lord, you'll be more comfortable sleeping if you take off your inner robe."
Yu Mo stiffened: "That's fine, go to sleep."
Yan Dan sighed softly: "Yes, Mountain Lord."
Yu Mo glanced at her, noticing the obvious disappointment on her face. He raised a hand to his forehead, thinking that he must have made a mistake this time. Just then, he felt a pair of soft hands reach out, one massaging his shoulders, the other stroking down his back. Yu Mo sat up abruptly, the words "What do you want?" almost blurting out, but he forced himself to hold them back, realizing it would be too embarrassing to say them aloud.
Seeing him sit up, Yan Dan immediately asked humbly, "Was it because I squeezed it too hard?"
Yu Mo looked at her for a while and said calmly, "I think you're tired too, you should go to sleep early."
Yan Dan lowered her head and whispered, "I'm going to sleep now."
After being tossed around like that, Yu Mo was wide awake and could only close his eyes to rest. He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard two soft sounds behind him, and the faint lotus fragrance emanating from Yan Dan became even clearer. At this moment, if he were to make a sound, it would only make both of them feel awkward, so he remained still.
He only felt Yan Dan slowly lift the blanket off him, fiddling with something on his body. Yu Mo heard her suddenly let out a long sigh and thought she had finished her fussing, but her next move was to pull her outermost thin shirt out from under him. If he were really asleep, he wouldn't have noticed.
"Luckily, I'm good at taking off clothes, otherwise it wouldn't have worked..." Yan Dan murmured.
Yu Mo was at a loss for words. In the brief moment of hesitation, Yan Dan's hand was already on the sash of his inner garment. He had no choice but to change his sleeping position, deliberately slowing down his movements, thinking that Yan Dan would surely back off. Unexpectedly, Yan Dan was nervously dealing with the intricate knots on his sash, and seeing that Yu Mo was fast asleep, she confidently continued to untie his sash. As Yu Mo turned to his side, he pinned her hands beneath him.
Yu Mo opened his eyes, unable to bear it any longer. He saw her looking at him with a guilty expression. He then looked down at his clothes and saw that even the front of his undershirt had been torn open. "What exactly do you want?"
Yan Dan stammered, "I see you...you're not comfortable sleeping in all that!"
Yu Mo said expressionlessly, "Give me another reason."
"...Okay, I want to see if the wound on your back has healed." Then she would secretly make the mark look like an old wound so that Bailing wouldn't blame her.
Yu Mo sighed softly, "You don't need to keep it in your heart all the time. It was you that day. Even if it had been Zi Lin or Bai Ling, I would have done the same."
Yan Dan had no words to express her suffering, so she could only respond softly and reluctantly crawl to the other side to sleep.
She originally thought that there were still two or three days' journey to Yelan Mountain, so there was no rush. But she never managed to get there even after she had stepped into Yelan Mountain.
After returning to Yelan Mountain, Yan Dan enjoyed several peaceful days. Yu Mo even had Bai Ling deliver fresh seasonal fruit to her twice, and Bai Ling greeted her warmly as usual. Yan Dan couldn't help but chuckle to herself that she had worried too much; even being prepared didn't warrant this much.
By the tenth day, she had completely put the matter out of her mind, and at noon she drew hot spring water into the bathtub and took a peaceful bath.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep from the heat, the door was kicked open with a bang. Bailing stood in the doorway, her expression ferocious: "Yan Dan, how many times have I told you this, but you haven't listened to a word! What happened to that scar on the Mountain Lord's body?!"
Before Yan Dan could even try to explain, she spotted a small head peeking out from behind Bai Ling—it was Dan Shu. Dan Shu saw her and smiled innocently and adorably: "Sister Yan Dan, are you taking a bath?" Yan Dan gripped the edge of the tub, unable to think of a way to get Bai Ling and Dan Shu out immediately.
"Oh? Who's taking a bath in the middle of the day? They're really hard to please..." A deep, frivolous voice drifted over, and Yuan Dan appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowed, stroking his chin with amusement. "Hmm, Yan Dan, not bad..."
Yan Dan shrank into the water, unable to even utter a coherent sentence: "You...you all..."
"What are you all doing crammed in here?" Zi Lin leaned in and immediately showed a disgusted expression. "Yan Dan, you're taking a shower in the middle of the day without closing your door. What are you trying to do?"
"You, you all... I..." Yan Dan was speechless.
"Bailing, you were so murderous just now—" Yu Mo strolled over from outside, saw the situation before him, and awkwardly turned his head away. "What's going on?"
"Yan Dan is probably trying to seduce someone; she didn't even close the door while taking a bath," Zi Lin said disdainfully.
"No, that's not how it is. Sister Yan Dan closed the door," Dan Shu said, defending Yan Dan.
Yuan Dan patted his head and said kindly, "Dan Shu, listen to your father. You are still young and cannot peek at girls taking a bath. You can only do so later."
Bai Ling pointed at Yuan Dan's nose and demanded, "You're no better than me, don't try to corrupt Dan Shu!"
"What business is it of yours how I discipline my own children, you long-tongued bird?"
"Bailing, what exactly do you want with Yan Dan? Even if it's something serious, you don't have to just break down the door." Zi Lin said seriously. "Yuan Dan, you should also give way a little and not say such unpleasant things."
"You..." Yan Dan was furious. These guys were arguing and chatting as if she didn't exist. She said in a trembling voice, "Get out, all of you! Get out!" She had been seen naked like this. The demons of Yelan Mountain were too barbaric and shameless.
In the end, Yu Mo cleaned up the mess, sending everyone away and closing the door behind him. Yan Dan was heartbroken and stayed in the bathtub for a long time, unable to get up.
For a long time afterward, Yan Dan had a deep-seated resentment towards bathing.
Winter passed and spring came in the blink of an eye, summer flowers faded and autumn moon shone. Yan Dan had already spent ten years in Yelan Mountain. She never knew she would stay in one place for so long.
As dawn broke, Yu Mo stood at the bow of the ship, extending his hand to Yan Dan with a smile: "I want to go for a walk, do you want to come with me?"
Yan Dan took his hand and gently jumped onto the boat.
Where do you want to go this time?
"Hmm... the northern desert. There are sandstorms, sunsets, and the vast desert there..."
Day after day, the days are the same; year after year, the years are like the sun.
She really liked that freedom of being in the vast sky and far-reaching land.
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