Chapter 15 Yin-Yang Stream (Part 3) Joyful Village
After taking a sip of the hot fish soup, Song San sighed deeply. His gaze inadvertently swept over the clothes by the fire, and he felt utterly overwhelmed.
The thought of a naked man lying in the carriage, who had stripped himself naked, made her feel that she couldn't go on living like this.
When they dragged Gu Lianzhou earlier, the guy was lucky to survive. He vomited a lot of dirty water during the bumpy ride. When they touched his neck, they felt that his pulse was steady. If he hadn't lost his temperature, he shouldn't have died.
Relieved, Song San looked down at his hands holding the bowl, recalling the chaotic scene that had just unfolded.
In the darkness, hearing and touch are amplified infinitely.
Her clothes, soaked by the river, clung together in layers. Even though she tried to restrain herself, she couldn't help but brush against the man's cold skin as she took them off.
Perhaps in pain, the man let out a few muffled groans, which instantly turned into scorching flames that burned onto the tips of her ears.
All of this made her realize, belatedly, that something was very wrong. When she came to her senses, she got goosebumps all over her body.
Song San couldn't help but shudder, shaking his head to force himself to wake up.
From now on, we need to stay far away from the river, much farther away.
Furthermore, we must speed up our journey tomorrow and try to find a place to rest as soon as possible, so as not to be squeezed together with Gu Lianzhou again.
After tonight's ordeal, she's really scared.
After the bowl of fish soup was finished and the clothes were mostly dry, a man's low cough finally rang out in the carriage.
Song San lifted his eyelids and dragged his heavy steps toward the carriage. Afraid of seeing something he shouldn't, he hesitated for a moment, then tapped three times on the window frame with his finger. "Awake?"
"Cough—" Gu Lianzhou had just regained consciousness. His voice was very hoarse from drinking so much river water. He managed to say, "Senior brother, I will never forget your life-saving grace..."
Song San readily agreed, thinking to himself that it was better to forget some things, lest you be unable to handle the shock.
Then, the man asked in confusion, "Where are my clothes?"
The fingers that had been resting on the window frame suddenly tightened. Song San painfully closed his eyes. After a struggle between his mind and body, he said faintly, "Ah, of course I took off my clothes because they were soaked. Don't worry, I closed my eyes and didn't see anything."
In the end, Song San wished he could bite off his own tongue.
What are men afraid of being seen by other men? Isn't she just making a fool of herself by protesting?
Fortunately, Gu Lianzhou had just woken up from drowning and was not very clear-headed. He did not realize the implication in Song San's words. After coughing a few times, he said, "Senior brother, I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
It certainly caused a lot of trouble.
Thinking of the gold beans thrown into the lake, Song San felt a pang of pain in his heart. "If you have any conscience, remember to make up for the money. By the way, you will also cover all future expenses."
“Alright.” Gu Lianzhou quickly agreed, “If you need anything, please just ask. I would be willing to go through fire and water for you.”
Upon hearing this, Song San, who had prepared a whole speech, choked for a moment, and finally said helplessly, "I'll be on duty tonight, so you can rest easy. There are clean clothes in the car, so change into them yourself. If you get hungry, there's fish soup simmering on the fire."
She paused for a moment, then added, "I tasted the fish you caught for you first, and it tasted pretty good."
As if thinking of something, Gu Lianzhou chuckled through the door, "These fish were originally caught for my senior brother, but now that you mention them, I feel like I'm the one who's craving them."
A look of confusion crossed Song San's face. "You caught it for me?"
“Senior brother always eats cold steamed buns, which looks really pitiful. I thought I would change your diet, but I never expected this mess to happen…” Gu Lianzhou softened his tone, “Senior brother, I know I was wrong. From now on, I will stay by your side and never risk my life alone again.”
His attitude in admitting his mistake was excellent, and there was nothing wrong with his words. However, what did he mean by "never leaving his side"?
Song San's eyelids twitched, and an ominous premonition flashed through his mind.
-
The ominous feeling persisted into the next day.
Song San sneezed, leaned listlessly against the carriage wall, and swayed his head from side to side with the bumpy ride.
I caught a chill last night and was exposed to a cold wind, so I have a headache and fever today.
Looking at Gu Lianzhou again, he had fully recovered after just one night's rest.
We're both just mortals, so how come he's acting like nothing's wrong?
Recalling how quickly he recovered when he escaped the Dream Demon Illusion last time, Song San couldn't help but notice something amiss.
She lay back into the soft bedding, her thoughts wandering, her eyelids feeling heavy, and the clue seemed insignificant.
Gu Lianzhou was young after all. Men his age are all full of energy and have inexhaustible strength.
Looking at him, he has eaten delicacies since childhood and worn fine silks and satins. Has he ever really suffered?
The body nurtured in this way is naturally much more resilient than hers.
Lost in thought, Song San's head grew heavier and heavier. He slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The wheels rolled forward, leaving shallow ruts on the ground. After a day of rushing, they stopped outside a boundary marker at dusk.
Gu Lianzhou jumped off the carriage, took a few steps forward, swept away the withered leaves and snow on the stone tablet, and read the words on it word by word: "Joyful Village".
He turned around with a smile and said loudly, "Senior brother, there's a village ahead. We don't need to sleep in the carriage tonight."
As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of evil wind suddenly swept by, brushing against the person as if expressing its displeasure.
Gu Lianzhou was caught off guard and was forced to swallow a mouthful of snowflakes, his smile instantly freezing on his face.
A moment later, he spat.
"Where did this strange wind come from?"
He wiped his lips with his sleeve, turned around, stepped onto the carriage, took the reins, and drove the carriage onto the country road.
As the carriage passed by, the earth trembled, and snowflakes fell softly from the stone tablet, revealing two lines of small characters underneath: "Demons and monsters rejoice in people's passing, but joy and sorrow do not linger."
-
The full moon hung high, illuminating the earth in a snowy white light. Withered branches lay askew in the middle of the road, like wandering souls that had escaped from the underworld.
Song San yawned deeply and said in confusion, "What kind of village sets its boundary marker so far away? It's already dark and I still can't see any sign of the village. I'm afraid I've taken the wrong road."
"Don't worry, senior brother, it's just ahead." Gu Lianzhou wasn't sure either, but he could only comfort Song San. "I've been looking around, and there are some footprints on the road. It seems that we're not the only ones who have been here."
That's exactly why Song Sancai felt something was wrong. "Where there are people, there must be livestock. How come we can't hear a single sound?"
Just as Gu Lianzhou was about to speak, a few barks suddenly came from ahead. Though they were faint and indistinct, they were enough to lift one's spirits.
"Senior brother, it's livestock!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Upon hearing this, Song San's brow twitched. "You're the beast."
Gu Lianzhou was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Senior brother is really funny."
Song San had no energy to joke with him. He pulled the quilt tighter around himself and said weakly, "I must have a fever, Gu Lianzhou."
The hand gripping the reins tightened suddenly. Young Master Gu turned to look at the car door, anxiously asking, "How are you? Is it serious? Can you still hold on? How did this happen? Is it because you soaked in cold water last night? When did you start feeling unwell, Senior Brother? Are there any medicines in the car?"
The man rattled off a bunch of things, still feeling uneasy. Just as he was thinking of stopping by the roadside, he heard Song San say from inside the car, "I've only prepared some pills and ointments for treating sprains and bruises. If we want to cure a cold, apart from rest, we can only rely on the doctor in the village ahead."
His senior brother meant that he should rush to the village in one go.
Gu Lianzhou quickly agreed, took the reins, and sped up the car.
Fortunately, it wasn't too dark when they arrived at the village, and a few houses still had lights on. To the two of them, it was like seeing a lifeline.
Despite Song San's repeated refusals, Gu Lianzhou grabbed his shoulder, helped him down from the carriage, and led him to a family's courtyard.
She struggled in vain and said, "I already said I can do it myself, so let go of my hand."
Gu Lianzhou, with his neck stiff and like a stubborn donkey that couldn't understand human speech, insisted, "What if you fall again if I let go?"
He fell? Song San's lips twitched slightly, and he took a deep breath.
If she falls, she will crawl into the house today, even if it means crawling on her own.
My senior brother keeps showing off, so he must be a very competitive person.
Gu Lianzhou saw through it but didn't say anything, so he simply raised his voice and called out loudly, "Is anyone home?"
Song San's eyes widened suddenly, and he turned to look at the idiot's profile. "Keep your voice down, or you'll scare him again."
They're all villagers, they've never seen anything like him before, they'll be lucky if they don't mistake him for a bad guy.
Gu Lianzhou didn't care about any of that right now. He called out a few times but no one answered, so he tried to knock on the door. Song San told him to drag himself on the ground, looking dazed and as if he was questioning the meaning of life.
As they approached, they heard rustling sounds from inside the door. Song San looked up and saw the wooden door open from the inside. An old man poked his head out from behind and held up a candle to the two of them. "Who is it?"
Gu Lianzhou quickly replied, "Uncle, we're from out of town and just passing through. We'd like to find a place to rest. Would that be convenient for you?"
After saying that, he reached into his money pouch at his waist, took out a piece of silver the size of a longan, and stuffed it into the old man's arms, saying, "This is a small token of our appreciation, as payment for our stay here."
The old man looked down at the silver in his hand, his cloudy eyes slowly moving, then looked up at Gu and Song, "How many days will you stay?"
Gu Lianzhou glanced at Song San, who looked dejected, hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and held up three fingers, "Three..."
Before he could finish speaking, someone pressed down on his finger.
"One night will be enough." Song San released his hand, forcing a smile.
Upon hearing this, the old man nodded, "I need to ask my wife first."
Having said that, he left the two behind and turned to walk into the house.
Without the candlelight, only endless darkness remained in the narrow crack of the door. Song San slowly frowned, feeling increasingly heavy all over, as if two bags of rice were pressing on his shoulders. He felt a tightness in his chest, unable to breathe.
Noticing that her expression was off, Gu Lianzhou became anxious and peered into the doorway, only to find a white mist suddenly filling the air, causing him to freeze in place.
Lately, evil spirits have been constantly lingering around him. They would hide their tracks during the day, but become unrestrained at night, which annoyed him greatly.
But both of those wisps of energy were gray.
Where did this white thing in front of us come from?
In a daze, a wrinkled face suddenly appeared before my eyes.
A chill suddenly rose up and climbed up my spine.
Gu Lianzhou subconsciously took a step back, and when he came to his senses, he realized that he was covered in a cold sweat.
The old man walked silently to the door, his face half-lit and half-shadowed by the flickering candlelight, which looked quite frightening at first glance.
"You may come in now."
The old man slowly opened the door, revealing the scene behind him—in the narrow, dark room, there were a few pieces of furniture, and on the altar in the center of the room, behind the rotten fruits, stood a memorial tablet.
The incense sticks burned, releasing bluish smoke that drifted towards their noses.
Song San narrowed his eyes.
Apart from the people outside the door and the old man inside, there was no one else in the house.
Where did this old woman come from?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
