Chapter 3: Crossing
Dayue State, Lin County. On the border of Lin County there is a village called Qingxi.
The village is backed by a large mountain forest. The mountain forest is not very high, but it is rolling and covered with lush pines and cypresses. The deeper you go, the deeper it gets. There are many natural treasures, as well as many poisonous snakes and wild beasts.
Qingxi Village relies on the mountain for its livelihood. Many villagers make a living by hunting, but most of them only go to Qingxi Mountain near the foot of the village. There is mountain spring water in this mountain. The villagers built a canal to the village, solving the water problem for some villagers.
Hunters often go into the depths of Qingxi Mountain to hunt, but in recent years prey has become increasingly scarce, and most of the time they can only get pheasants or rabbits. Occasionally, they see a wild boar, which is a very big thing.
Therefore, some people go through Qingxi Mountain to the deeper mountains. Next to Qingxi Mountain is Yunmeng Mountain.
Yunmeng Mountain is named Yunmeng because it is covered with fog all year round, like clouds and dreams. People who are not familiar with it may get lost in the blink of an eye. However, there are also local hunters who are skilled and can come and go freely here, harvesting a lot in the mountains and avoiding competition with other hunters. Xiao Yuanyan is one of them.
He had been guarding Yunmeng Mountain for a day and a night. This time, he was unlucky and did not see any big fish. He only found two pheasants in the traps he set. He had also dug a rabbit nest, but because the rabbits were still small, Xiao Yuanyan let the mother rabbit and the nest of little ones go. He tied the pheasants together with a hemp rope and quickly went down the mountain with Qinggong.
When he reached the foot of Yunmeng Mountain, a voice that seemed real but not real suddenly attracted his attention. It was very light and soft, just like the bewitching voice of the seductive fox in the storybook.
Xiao Yuanyan has been practicing martial arts for many years, so his night vision is very good and his hearing is even better. He cautiously rushed towards the direction where the sound was just made.
From a distance, it looked like a person, a white mass, falling weakly in the pine forest. He walked closer suspiciously. When he saw the person clearly, Xiao Yuanyan was stunned instantly.
The person's long hair was spread out, covering half of her face, but it was obvious that she was a woman.
It was Jiang Yuyan who disappeared from the villa area halfway up the mountain!
Xiao Yuanyan had never seen such a woman. She was wearing a dress that could not cover her body. The hem of the dress was a little tattered, but it shone with a luxurious glow in the moonlight. Her shoulders, as white as snow, were exposed. She wore expensive pearls on her neck and ears. Her chest was bulging and rising and falling. She was naked. Her pair of white and delicate feet had been cut with many small cuts and were dirty.
Xiao Yuanyan only took one look, and his ears and neck were already red, and the blood rushed up, making him steam. His heart was beating fast, and he had never been so distressed in the past twenty years. He hesitated and dared not step forward.
For men in Dayue, a clean reputation is the most important thing. According to the history of Dayue, the number of women has dropped sharply since a plague several hundred years ago. Since then, the people of Dayue have been cursed, with fewer and fewer baby girls born every year. As a result, the ratio of men and women of marriageable age is seriously unbalanced, almost reaching a ratio of ten to one.
In order to reduce the fights caused by competing for women and to increase the birth rate of female babies, the Great Yue Kingdom has encouraged polyandry since the previous dynasty. Now it has formulated strict laws, stipulating that women can marry husbands and servants, and families with multiple husbands can reduce taxes. In addition, women must be married to five husbands at the age of 20, and they can have any husband or servant. If the quota is not met, the government will forcibly assign them.
Women in Dayue Kingdom were strictly protected and had a high family status. Men were highly competitive. Such a marriage pattern inevitably led to society's harsh demands on men. In order to marry a good woman in the future, unmarried men must strictly abide by etiquette and follow male ethics.
Xiao Yuanyan's heart was in turmoil. He didn't know how this woman got here, but seeing how dirty she was, could it be that she was being hunted? But who would hunt a woman in Dayue Country? Could it be that she met some unreasonable bandits who wanted to take her for themselves, which led to her violent resistance?
Although the weather in Lin County is warm all year round, the mountain nights are still cold. Xiao Yuanyan sneezed, his heart tightened, and he cursed himself inwardly. He immediately didn't care about her reputation or her background. He only thought that the woman was weak and saving people was more important, so he took off his outer robe and wrapped Jiang Yuyan tightly.
Xiao Yuanyan carried Jiang Yuyan on his back and took a deep breath, performing Qinggong and heading towards Qingxi Village. The moment their bodies touched, Xiao Yuanyan's breathing became disordered, and even his steps seemed unsteady.
After spending two days with the barefoot doctor, he felt that Jiang Yuyan's breathing was still stable and it seemed that she had no serious internal injuries and was just temporarily unconscious. Only then did he feel relieved.
After Yunmeng Mountain is Qingxi Mountain. There is a shortcut that can quickly pass through Qingxi Mountain and lead directly to the village.
He wanted to take her to his second father's house, but there were too many people in the village to see such a beautiful woman, so he was afraid that it would cause trouble. So he carried her back to a small bamboo house he built on the hillside of Qingxi Mountain, facing the upper reaches of the stream.
This place was originally for him to rest while hunting and practice martial arts. In front of the bamboo house is a gurgling stream and backed by a large bamboo forest, it is an elegant place.
The room was dim, Xiao Yuanyan turned on the light, and gently placed Jiang Yuyan on his bed. He tucked the quilt tightly and went to boil water.
He carefully wiped off the dirt on her hands, face, shoulders and feet, and applied the golden wound medicine to her soles and palms, bandaging them up carefully. Xiao Yuanyan remembered something and ran to a place a mile away, dug up two wild gingers, and boiled a thick ginger water for her on the stove.
After doing all this, Xiao Yuanyan took a bamboo chair and sat beside the bed, watching Jiang Yuyan without blinking. He had always avoided touching her before, but he still couldn't avoid touching her smooth and delicate skin, which made Xiao Yuanyan's heart tremble and his face was hot.
Only then did he muster up the courage to see her face clearly. She had an oval face, skin as white as snow, a beautiful shape, long and thick eyelashes, a small and high nose bridge, and red lips that were a little dry but still beautiful.
Although there were few women in Qingxi Village, he had seen the daughter of the prefect in the city. The rumored most beautiful woman in the city, Yu Zhizhi, was not half as pretty as this woman. Wasn't this really an immortal?
Xiao Yuanyan was daydreaming when the person on the bed's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if he was about to wake up.
Inexplicably nervous, Xiao Yuanyan's hands on his knees tightened slightly. In the blink of an eye, the two of them looked at each other.
Xiao Yuanyan was about to speak, but seeing the woman's look of doubt and uncertainty, he refrained from speaking, fearing to startle her. However, her misty eyes kept flickering before his eyes.
Jiang Yuyan felt tired and painful all over. She only remembered that she seemed to have fallen down a steep slope, and her palms and soles felt like they were burning. When she touched the back of her head, she found a swelling.
The reason why she was so surprised at this moment was that everything in front of her was so wrong!
It was a very simple bamboo house, much like those farmhouses in the mountains. But there was no modern decoration or supplies in the house, not even electric lights. There was only an extremely old oil lamp on the table, which was the only light in the house.
There was a man sitting in front of her, with his hair tied up and wearing strange clothes, like the shorts worn by warriors in TV dramas. He had a tough and handsome face, a high nose bridge, and his phoenix eyes were slightly drooping. He didn't dare to look directly at her as if he was afraid. Even when he was sitting, she could feel that he was very tall, and the dark clothes made him look very imposing.
"Who are you?"
"Where is the girl from?"
The two spoke almost at the same time. The woman's voice was soft and pleasant. Xiao Yuanyan's heartbeat quickened, and he said, holding back his heat:
"My last name is Xiao, Xiao Yuanyan. Who is this girl? Why did you appear in Yunmeng Mountain?"
His voice was deep and pleasant to the ear, but his way of speaking was strange.
Jiang Yuyan opened her eyes slightly, in a trance.
"Yunmeng Mountain?"
Seeing the woman's confused look, Xiao Yuanyan added: "I carried you back from Yunmeng Mountain. This is Qingxi Mountain in Lin County."
Jiang Yuyan was horrified. She had never heard of Lin County or Qingxi Mountain!
She hurriedly got out of bed and stumbled out. The sky was getting light, and everything in front of her was pristine, which made her doubt.
Xiao Yuanyan hurriedly followed her out for fear that she would fall. Seeing the woman's beautiful feet wrapped in gauze stepping carelessly on the ground, he suddenly felt distressed.
Jiang Yuyan's eyes were slightly red, and she turned around and stared at Xiao Yuanyan.
"Do you know the hillside villa? Gu's family?"
Xiao Yuanyan shook his head, having never heard of this name.
Jiang Yuyan's voice trembled, "What year is this year?"
Xiao Yuanyan thought she was asking about the reign title, "This year is the twenty-fifth year of Dayue Shengyuan."
"Otsuki?"
"Yes, young lady, isn't she a citizen of Dayue Kingdom?" Xiao Yuanyan was puzzled.
Jiang Yuyan felt a headache again, and she almost lost her balance in her turmoil. However, the man standing to the side quickly grabbed her arm and helped her back to the only bamboo bed in the room.
Xiao Yuanyan carefully handed her the warm ginger soup. "Miss, you were wearing thin clothes last night and have been in the mountains for so long. Drink this bowl of ginger soup to get rid of the cold."
"Thanks"
Jiang Yuyan replied woodenly. Her heart was in turmoil, unable to calm down. She didn't know what coincidence had brought her here. Perhaps it was the time travel mentioned in the book. She traveled to a country that had never appeared in the history of China!
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