Chapter 96 Springtime Heart in Turmoil (Part 4) Digging, digging, digging
His eyesight was truly exceptional; even in the thick darkness, without any lights or fire, he could see the smallest details so clearly.
However, this strength seems somewhat out of place at this moment.
Song Qiling's breath hitched, and she silently shed a tear in her heart.
She turned her head away from the touch, rubbed her ears haphazardly a few times, then strode forward, saying in a muffled voice, "There are many insects in the mountains, it's probably just some spider silk or some small flying insect on it, it's nothing serious..."
She deliberately made her footsteps heavier, the rustling sound of her footsteps on the mountain path covered with fallen leaves, trying to cover up her guilty conscience.
Gu Lianzhou followed half a step behind her. The mountain path was rugged, and a night breeze carrying a chill swept by. He couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough twice. His steps were unsteady, and his body swayed slightly.
The footsteps ahead slowed down almost imperceptibly.
“But you…” Song Qiling turned half her face to the side, revealing her taut jawline, and said in a stiff tone, “The mountain dew is heavy at night, and your injuries have not yet healed. Remember to close the windows and don’t catch a cold again.”
Gu Lianzhou looked at her neck, which refused to turn completely, and a smile flashed in his eyes. Just as he was about to respond, his foot suddenly stepped on a loose pebble. He lost his balance and subconsciously reached out to support her arm.
Song Qiling froze for a moment.
Even through the thin layer of spring clothing, the temperature of his palms was almost scorching.
The hand made only a light touch before separating.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother." Gu Lianzhou straightened up, his voice slightly hoarse from illness, accompanied by a faint smile, sounding exceptionally gentle to the ear. "I've got it."
The two walked side by side, and the distance between them closed without them realizing it. The junior brother's wide sleeves swayed gently with each step, occasionally brushing against her arm. The fabric rustled almost inaudibly as it rubbed against her. With each slight contact, Song Qiling unconsciously tensed her back and her breathing became lighter.
She could even faintly smell the medicinal fragrance on him, mixed with the crisp mountain air, lingering in her nostrils.
How strange.
That's really strange.
Normally she has endless things to say, but now it's as if her tongue is bound by something, and she can't utter a single word.
My heart felt as if it were filled with something warm and astringent, weighing heavily on it. With each breath, it ached slightly, as if something was about to overflow.
This is what it means to have a guilty conscience.
That must be true.
Having figured this out, Song Qiling suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and her steps became lighter.
A steep slope lay before us, the road surface covered with gravel.
Gu Lianzhou's breathing became noticeably heavier, and his steps grew increasingly hesitant. Song Qiling did not stop walking, but silently extended a hand towards him.
The person beside him paused slightly.
The moonlight made her fingertips appear gleaming white, almost dazzling.
Gu Lianzhou hesitated for a moment before gently placing his wrist on top of his senior's wrist, his fingertips inevitably touching the skin inside his senior's wrist.
The two fell silent for a moment, the silence spreading along the mountain path, with only the distinct presence of their clasped wrists emanating from them.
His body temperature was much higher than mine; the dry skin of his palms pressed against mine, and his pulse beat strongly and regularly.
Song Qiling looked straight ahead, feeling the weight and warmth from her palm, and a barely perceptible heat crept up her ears.
She glanced at the indistinct outline of the courtyard in the distance and said in a muffled voice, "We're almost there."
The mountain path was indeed difficult to walk at night, especially with my junior brother, who was ill and had difficulty walking...
Only after they returned to their rooms and closed their doors did Song Qiling press her back tightly against the cold door panel and let out a long sigh of relief.
She took off her outer garment, walked to the table, picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and stared intently at the talisman for a long while.
"..."
My mood is like boiling soup; I just can't calm down.
After thinking for a moment, she simply closed her eyes and began to recite the Heart-Cleansing Mantra.
When I opened my eyes again, the tip of the brush moved across the paper, and the cinnabar meandered down the yellow paper, gathering into intricate patterns.
Once the talisman was complete, she gently put down her brush and waited for the ink on the talisman paper to dry naturally.
The candlelight in the room flickered, casting an uncertain glow on her profile.
She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips lightly touching her still faintly burning earlobe, then lowered her eyelashes and fell into a silent stillness.
-
After blowing out the oil lamp, Song Qiling lay on the bed, quietly listening to the sounds around her.
The chirping of insects in the mountains came from near and far, and the wind rustled through the grass, creating a soft, rustling sound. Everything was enveloped in a long-lost tranquility.
Suddenly, a few suppressed coughs came from the other side of the bamboo wall from Gu Lianzhou. Song Qiling subconsciously turned her head to look at the side of the bed.
As Liu Dai said tonight, when the lungs and internal organs are healing, one will feel an intense itching inside. Coughing is a perfectly normal reaction. The more severe the cough, the faster the injury will heal. However, during this period, one should eat more chicken, duck, fish, and meat to replenish nutrients.
It must have been the medicinal spring that worked.
She felt a little relieved and closed her eyes again.
The wind rustled past the windowpane, and Song Qiling felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier until she unknowingly fell asleep.
As I drifted off to sleep, the sounds around me grew louder and louder.
"Splash—"
The torrential rain relentlessly washed over the leaves, making the large, fan-shaped leaves glossy and shiny. Rainwater slid down her forehead, gathered at her chin, and finally dripped onto the muddy ground.
Song Qiling looked down at her hands, which were covered in sticky mud, and frowned. On the ground where she was kneeling, a voice in her heart seemed to be tempting her to do something.
"Dig."
"Dig it open."
You will see what you want to see.
"Dig..."
As if possessed, she swallowed her dry throat, curled her fingers into claws, and plunged them into the soft, damp earth, digging desperately outwards.
"That's it, that's it! Push harder, push harder!"
"Hahaha... What an obedient child! Dig any deeper, and that thing will be revealed..."
The sound grew increasingly shrill, like needles piercing her eardrums. Song Qiling frowned deeply, but her hands moved faster and faster uncontrollably...
My fingernail seemed to be broken, and blood mixed with mud was flowing everywhere, but my fingertip suddenly touched something hard.
The rainwater flowed down, washing away the surface mud and revealing the pale skin underneath.
The man's eyes were closed beneath his thick, dark eyebrows. His high, straight nose was mottled from the mud, and his lips were bluish-black, slightly parted, filled with black mud.
This is the face of a dead person.
Song Qiling's legs immediately gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, trembling as she stared at the face that was gradually emerging from the soil.
This is... Song Xian.
"don't want!"
When Song Qiling woke up, it was still dark inside the bamboo house, with only faint sunlight seeping in through the cracks, outlining the blurry shapes of the tables and chairs.
She felt her mouth was dry and her legs were so weak that she could barely stand.
She struggled to sit up in bed, groped her way to the table in the dark, poured herself a glass of cold tea, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, moved a bamboo stool over and sat down, when suddenly her eyes were filled with light.
She turned her head to look, but before she knew it, the window of the house had been opened, revealing the graceful sycamore tree outside.
The sycamore branches and leaves stretched out like ghosts in the night, their broad leaves occasionally swaying in the wind, casting swaying shadows, like countless prying hands, the branches and leaves almost pressing into the house.
She clearly remembered closing the window tightly before going to bed, and there wasn't such a tree outside the window...
Song Qiling put down her water glass, which clattered against the table with a crisp "thud." A drop of liquid sloshed out and landed on the back of her hand. She stiffly turned around, looked down, and realized that she was holding a slender jade wine cup in her hand.
The wine glass kept overflowing with wine, more and more, until it overflowed and spilled onto the table, making a mess everywhere.
The faint, almost imperceptible woman's soft moan seemed like a snake's tongue, hissing in her ear as if it were about to burrow into her eardrums.
"Weren't you thirsty? Drink up, why aren't you drinking anymore..."
Who is it?
Who is speaking?
In a dizzying moment, the scenery before my eyes receded like the tide.
Song Qiling sat up abruptly, her heart pounding in her chest as if it would burst out of her chest.
She took a deep breath, raised her hand and pinched her brow hard, trying to dispel the persistent dizziness.
My head was throbbing as if it were about to split open, and my skin was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. My pajamas were damp and clung to my back, bringing a cool, sticky feeling.
"Knock knock knock—" A crisp knocking sound suddenly rang in my ears.
Song Qiling pulled her clothes tighter, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the door. She opened the door and saw Xiu Ming standing outside.
The shy young man looked at Song Qiling, who looked depressed, and gave a simple smile: "Young Master Song, I've been worried because you haven't gotten up for a while. Oh, by the way..."
He looked back and continued, "Today is Grain Rain. According to the customs of Qingyun Creek, we should eat peach blossom porridge for breakfast today. Hurry up and get ready, and come to the courtyard to have a meal with everyone later."
After saying that, he nodded to himself and turned to walk towards the next room.
Another series of rapid knocks sounded at the door. Hearing Xiu Ming's lively and powerful voice, and his junior brother's soft response, Song Qiling rubbed his throbbing temples and felt less uncomfortable.
After washing up, the group gathered around the bamboo table in the courtyard.
The "peach blossom porridge" that Xiu Ming mentioned was made by simmering glutinous rice with newly opened peach petals. The porridge was light pink in color and had a fragrant aroma. On the table, there was also a dish of scrambled eggs with toon leaves and a plate of stir-fried mushrooms, which looked fresh and appetizing.
Liu Dai picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Song Qiling: "Brother Song, your eyes are so dark and swollen. Did you not rest well last night? This is freshly picked pre-rain tea. It is refreshing and calming, and can soothe the mind. Please try it."
Song Qiling took the tea and sipped it. She found the tea to be fragrant and sweet, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Good tea, refreshing and thirst-quenching. Was it brewed with mountain spring water?"
Liu Dai chuckled and said, "Brother Song, you must be confused from sleep. On this mountain, the only drinkable water is probably the mountain spring."
Yu Qi chimed in with a hum, "Yeah, if you want to drink other water, you have to go down the mountain and dig a well."
Recalling the nightmare from last night, Song Qiling couldn't help but smile wryly: "This bamboo house is comfortable, and the bed is spacious. Perhaps it's because I'm suddenly having a bed to sleep in that I'm not used to it, so I had a lot of weird dreams."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou looked up, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing. He lowered his head, stirred the porridge in front of him, and coughed softly a few times.
Liu Dai smiled and said, "If you're still sleepy, go and rest for a while after you finish eating."
Song Qiling shook her head and politely declined his offer.
After the meal, Liu Dai examined Gu Lianzhou again, her fingers resting on his wrist, her expression becoming increasingly subtle.
Gu Lianzhou asked, "How is it?"
Liu Dai pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Gu is recovering very quickly. I think he will be fully recovered in less than half a month."
He was being extremely conservative in his statement. Judging from the pulse he had just examined, Gu Lianzhou's recovery was progressing at an alarming rate, which didn't seem to be entirely due to the medicinal spring.
Thinking this, he raised his hand and tapped lightly on the table: "Although the recovery is fast, we must not be careless. We should not do any heavy or strenuous work that involves our muscles."
Gu Lianzhou nodded in agreement.
"besides."
He fell silent for a moment after speaking.
Gu Lianzhou glanced up and saw the other person smiling innocently. "Brother Gu, why is your restlessness getting worse?"
This is not the pulse of someone who is seriously injured at all.
Gu Lianzhou: "..."
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