This morning's beef rice noodles were just as delicious as usual. The rice noodles were filled with not only beef but also tendon. The tendon was perfectly stewed, perfectly tender, and perfectly balanced with the refreshing vegetables and rice noodles. It was a refreshing start to another day.
Lu Qingjiu didn't get a good rest yesterday, so he felt a little tired today. He had breakfast, simply fed the pigs and chickens, and then sat in the yard to rest.
After planting the land, Bai Yuehu brought back some fresh vegetables. Yin Xun washed a cucumber and started to chew it beside Lu Qingjiu. The cucumbers planted by Bai Yuehu were extremely delicious, sweet and crisp, almost like fruit. They were very delicious whether eaten raw, served cold, or cooked into soup.
Lu Qingjiu took a short nap in the sun, and when he felt a little better, he got up and went to make lunch.
Yin Xun was still a little worried about Lu Qingjiu, so he quickly followed him in to help. While washing the vegetables, he asked Lu Qingjiu when they would go out to play, and take advantage of the good weather to go out for an outing and fly a kite.
"Anything is fine." Lu Qingjiu lowered his head and stirred the eggs in the bowl. "Didn't it rain yesterday? The mountain is still wet. Let's wait until it dries up."
Yin Xun said: "Then let's go the day after tomorrow. The weather will be nice the day after tomorrow."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Okay."
Yin Xun heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Qingjiu agreed. He was just worried that Lu Qingjiu was in a bad mood, so he wanted to find some fun to make Lu Qingjiu feel better.
Because Lu Qingjiu wasn't feeling well, he cooked a simpler meal than usual. He steamed a large bowl of steamed pork with rice flour, made vegetable soup, stir-fried twice-cooked pork, and made glutinous rice with red dates. The dates were candied and very sweet, and when steamed with the glutinous rice, the sweetness permeated the rice, making it incredibly sweet.
Lu Qingjiu really liked this kind of sweet dishes and ate a little more than in the morning.
At the dinner table, Yin Xun talked about going out for an outing the day after tomorrow, and Bai Yuehu listened beside him without commenting.
"Can I go out?" Lu Qingjiu suddenly asked. Yesterday, Bai Yuehu said the dragon would most likely come looking for him after escaping. Would he run into any danger if he went out for an outing?
"Okay." Bai Yuehu also noticed that Lu Qingjiu was in a bad mood, and he nodded, "I can't stay at home all the time."
That's true. Lu Qingjiu took another bite of the sweet candied dates and felt a little better.
In the afternoon, Lu Qingjiu cheered up and used the oven to make some desserts. The desserts were simple cookies, but after using Niuniu's milk, the cookies tasted particularly fragrant. Lu Qingjiu also thought about planting some wheat at home during the spring, so that he would have a supply of flour for the next year. There were originally few places to grow wheat here, but it would be a pity not to use Bai Yuehu's special farming skills...
The fruit tree seedlings planted in the yard last month are also growing rapidly. Looking at their growth, Lu Qingjiu is wondering whether they will bear fruit this autumn. He just doesn't know how the fruit will taste, but with Bai Yuehu around, it must be good.
When Lu Qingjiu was little, her grandmother would take them to the mountains every spring to play, pick wild fruits, and fly kites. Back then, living conditions were poor, so everyone made their own kites. She would usually make a butterfly for Lu Qingjiu and a bee for Yin Xun. Then, she would watch the two little kids run around the mountain until the string in her hand stretched straight and the beautiful kites soared into the sky.
There was no kite at home, and Lu Qingjiu had planned to go to town to buy one in the afternoon, but Yin Xun volunteered, saying that he could make kites and guaranteed that the ones he made would look great.
Lu Qingjiu was skeptical about his confidence, but seeing Yin Xun patting his chest and promising, he decided to give his silly son a chance.
The paper for the kite is just ordinary paper, and the skeleton is the bamboo that Yin Xun brought back. After the bamboo is split into strips, it can be used as the skeleton of the kite. Lu Qingjiu was sitting next to him and was a little surprised to see that Yin Xun made this kite in a very realistic way.
"What kind of kite did you make?" Lu Qingjiu asked him.
"Squid." Yin Xun replied.
Lu Qingjiu: "Swimming fish?" He thought about it and felt that a fish-shaped kite didn't seem strange, so he felt relieved. After preparing the paint for Yin Xun, he went to the yard to do other things. While the weather was good, he wanted to clean the pigsty and replace all the straw inside.
When Lu Qingjiu finished his work and turned back, he saw the "swimming fish" that Yin Xun mentioned.
Lu Qingjiu was shocked: "...What the hell is this?"
Yin Xun: "Squid?"
Lu Qingjiu: "Why does this fish still have whiskers?"
Yin Xun: "Don't all squids have tentacles?"
Lu Qingjiu paused for a moment: "Wait, what two words are you talking about when you say swimming fish?"
Yin Xun: "...the squid from the squid stewed with chicken."
Lu Qingjiu was instantly impressed. Yin Xun had made the kite incredibly large, all black except for the eyes, which were painted bright yellow. The whiskers underneath were long and thin, and Lu Qingjiu could imagine the kite frightening a child to tears as it flew through the sky.
But it's already done, so just make do with it. Lu Qingjiu decided not to say anything.
Yin Xun made two kites in one go. The shapes and colors were hard to describe, but in order not to discourage the child's enthusiasm, Lu Qingjiu, as a father, decided to endure it.
Yin Xun, however, was already looking forward to the outing the day after tomorrow.
Although he didn't have much ability, Yin Xun's weather forecast was still very effective. The next two days were sunny. On the morning of the third day, Lu Qingjiu prepared food early, and the family went for an outing.
Little Flower, Little Black and Little Fox also followed. The three of them and three of the animals went up the mountain in a mighty procession.
There is a relatively spacious platform near the top of the mountain in Shuifu Village. The wind is particularly strong in spring, which is very suitable for flying kites.
Yin Xun, clutching his giant black squid in one hand and an unidentifiable animal in the other, ran after Lu Qingjiu, who had to turn back to warn him not to fall. Bai Yuehu still looked languid, his hair back to its short shape, though this time Lu Qingjiu had done the trimming. He didn't cut it too short, presumably to keep it from affecting his eating habits. Still, it was much better than the dog-chewed haircut Bai Yuehu had gotten himself—though no hairstyle would diminish his beauty.
The mountain wind carries the fragrance of flowers, and wildflowers of all colors can be seen among the trees and grasses. Bees and butterflies swarm around them, and compared to the dead silence of winter, everywhere is full of life.
The three of them took their kites and bamboo baskets filled with food and walked along the mountain path to the top of the mountain. Feeling the strong wind on the top of the mountain, Yin Xun couldn't wait to take out his kite and ran through the mountains. Before Lu Qingjiu came, he was a little skeptical about whether Yin Xun's kite could fly. Who knew that as soon as Yin Xun ran around the platform, the squid kite took off and flew all the way to the sky.
Yin Xun laughed like a little kid: "Look, look, my kite is flying!!"
Xiaohua and Xiaohei ran beside him. Seeing that they also wanted to play, Yin Xun wrapped the kite string around Xiaohua's little pig's hoof. However, the wind on the top of the mountain was too strong and Xiaohua was too small, so she was almost blown away into the air. Lu Qingjiu was quick to catch her little tail and prevented the tragedy from happening.
"You watch over Xiaohua while she plays with the kite. It's so unsafe for him, a little pig." Lu Qingjiu was like an adult disciplining a child, "Don't let anything happen."
Yin Xun agreed obediently.
After taking care of Yin Xun, Lu Qingjiu opened the bamboo basket he had brought with him and spread the cloth inside on the green grass. He then filled the cloth with a variety of food. There was stewed meat and fried chicken packed in plastic containers, as well as strawberry cookies and apple cake baked that morning. Lu Qingjiu also remembered to bring a few bottles of soda wrapped in ice towels.
Bai Yuehu sat on the ground next to Lu Qingjiu and looked up at the kite in the sky.
Lu Qingjiu stood nearby and said with a smile, "When we were little, we all liked to tie grass to the kite string and silently make a wish in our hearts while tying the grass. It is said that this can send a message to the gods in the sky and let the gods fulfill our wishes."
Bai Yuehu asked, "Did the gods grant your wish?"
Lu Qingjiu said disappointedly: "Of course not."
When Bai Yuehu heard this, he lowered his head, casually plucked a piece of green grass from the grass beside him, and handed it to Lu Qingjiu: "Try again?"
Lu Qingjiu smiled: "Okay." He took the grass to Yin Xun's side and tied the grass to the kite string. Then Yin Xun began to let out the string, making the kite fly higher, and the grass that Lu Qingjiu had was also flown into the air.
As for what wish Lu Qingjiu made, it didn’t really matter. After all, there were no gods in the sky. If there were no gods, who would fulfill his wish?
Yin Xun was like a little kid, having a lot of fun playing with the pig and the fox. He even wanted to try to tie the fox to another kite and fly it. As a parent, Lu Qingjiu could only ruthlessly stop these naughty kids from doing this, saying that foxes cannot fly, and if they fall, the whole village will probably come to their house for dinner.
Yin Xun: "Why does the whole village want to come to our house for dinner?"
Lu Qingjiu: "To celebrate your funeral."
Yin Xun: “…”
Finally, Yin Xun decided not to bother the villagers, so he tied the kite to a small tree, sat down and started eating.
Lu Qingjiu made the fried chicken himself, coating it in a thin layer of batter and then deep-frying it in warm oil. The skin was crispy on the outside, and the inside was tender and juicy. The light yellow juices of the chicken flowed out with every bite. Because it was a small chicken, even the bones were brittle, and with a little force, it crumbled in the mouth.
Lu Qingjiu drank ice-cold carbonated drinks and ate steaming fried chicken. He felt that life was actually very good and there were not so many obstacles that could not be overcome.
When he was halfway through eating, Lu Qingjiu suddenly felt the urge to urinate. He put down the food in his hand, wiped his hands with a tissue, and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."
"Hmm." Yin Xun stuffed a chicken leg in his mouth, "Come back early, otherwise we will eat all the chicken." As he said that, he glanced at Bai Yuehu.
Bai Yuehu glared back coldly. Yin Xun immediately backed off and pulled the chicken leg out of his mouth, taking a bite. "...It's okay, I'll leave one leg for you."
Lu Qingjiu said, "You are the only one who is dramatic."
Yin Xun whined in pretending to be aggrieved.
Lu Qingjiu walked to the woods nearby, found a secluded corner and planned to solve the problem. However, when he was about to take off his pants, he noticed that there seemed to be something strange at his feet. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was a group of black ants crawling in the grass.
If they were just crawling, it would be fine. However, Lu Qingjiu felt that the crawling paths of these ants were very strange. After careful identification, he was stunned to find that these black ants had incredibly formed two Chinese characters: Ajiu.
Ah Jiu, this is what Lu Qingjiu's grandmother called Lu Qingjiu. Except for the old man who has passed away, few people call him that.
Lu Qingjiu got goose bumps on his back. Before he could react, he saw the black ants transformed into two more Chinese characters: Come here.
Ah Jiu, come here—the old woman's gentle call seemed to ring in his ears. Lu Qingjiu seemed to be possessed, his mind became blank, and there was only one thought left, he wanted to go over and see, his grandma was calling him.
The black ants formed a signpost, leading the dazed Lu Qingjiu towards the center of the forest. Ahjiu, come here, Ahjiu, come here… Lu Qingjiu’s mind kept echoing with his grandmother’s call, until a strange man appeared in front of him, and Lu Qingjiu came out of this trance.
"You... who are you?" Lu Qingjiu had already vaguely guessed the man's identity.
The man stood in the depths of the dense forest against the light. He was wearing a black robe that was somewhat similar to Bai Yuehu's, with his hair draped over his shoulders. He had his eyes closed, and although his face was a little blurry, one could still taste his handsomeness.
Unconsciously, Lu Qingjiu had walked deep into the forest, surrounded by unfamiliar scenery. The breeze that had been blowing on his cheeks had frozen, and there was no bird song in the woods, only silence.
The man walked towards Lu Qingjiu.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu instinctively turned around and wanted to run, but because he was too flustered, he tripped over a stone on the ground. He staggered forward a few steps and eventually lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Ah!" Lu Qingjiu's palm just happened to press on a sharp stone, and the stinging pain of his skin being scratched made him scream involuntarily.
The man's eyes were closed, but he had obviously noticed everything that was happening in front of him. He frowned slightly and walked towards the fallen Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu watched the man stop in front of him, forming a silhouette against the light.
“Why did you bring me here…” Lu Qingjiu should have been terrified, but looking at the man’s face so close to him, he unexpectedly calmed down and even asked the question he wanted to ask politely, “What’s the matter?”
The man didn't say anything, but half-knelt down. Although he closed his eyes, Lu Qingjiu had the illusion that he was staring at her.
"Did you kill my parents?" Lu Qingjiu said, "Do you want to kill me too?"
The man pursed his lips slightly, revealing a tense arc. Lu Qingjiu felt that he wanted to say something, but he just shook his head slightly and said nothing.
"You don't want to kill me?" Lu Qingjiu relaxed. He felt that the handsome man in front of him didn't seem to have any hostility towards him, at least not yet. "Then what do you want to tell me?"
The man extended his hand to Lu Qingjiu, motioning him to put his hand on it.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu hesitated a little, wondering whether to do this. But just as he was thinking, the voice of Bai Yuehu came from the woods behind him: "Lu Qingjiu, Lu Qingjiu, where are you?" His voice was very anxious, and it was obvious that he was about to come over.
The man frowned even tighter. He didn't give Lu Qingjiu any more time to hesitate. He directly grabbed his hand and wrote a word on his palm with his fingers.
Just by reading it stroke by stroke, Lu Qingjiu understood what the word meant.
It was the word "go". The strange man in front of him was telling him to leave.
"What do you mean?" Lu Qingjiu was a little confused. "You want me to leave? Leave? Why should I leave?"
As the White Moon Fox's cries drew closer, a hint of anxiety appeared on the man's face. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only muffled, incomprehensible syllables could come out. Lu Qingjiu, who was sitting right in front of him, could clearly see that there was only half a broken tongue in the man's mouth.
The person in front of him was undoubtedly the black dragon trapped in the deep pit. He escaped from the cage and found him, was it just to write a word on the palm of his hand?
The cry of the White Moon Fox was right behind Lu Qingjiu. He only needed to push aside a few small trees and he would appear in front of Lu Qingjiu.
The man also knew that he had no time left. He raised his hand and gently stroked Lu Qingjiu's head with a gentle smile that contained a hint of sadness on his face. Then he turned around and disappeared in front of Lu Qingjiu in an instant.
Lu Qingjiu wanted to hear what the man had to say, but the man obviously didn't want to meet Bai Yuehu, and his attitude when he left was extremely resolute.
"Lu Qingjiu!" Bai Yuehu's anxious voice sounded behind Lu Qingjiu. He saw Lu Qingjiu sitting on the ground and hurriedly stepped forward to hold Lu Qingjiu's shoulder. "Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?"
"No." Lu Qingjiu glanced at Bai Yuehu. For some unknown reason, he did not tell Bai Yuehu what the man had written on his hand. Instead, he shook his head and said, "He seems unable to speak."
Bai Yuehu said: "You are injured."
Lu Qingjiu's palm was cut by the stone next to him when he fell just now, and blood was now all over his palm. All his attention was on the man just now, and he didn't realize it at all. When Bai Yuehu said that, he felt the burning pain in his palm.
"I accidentally fell." Lu Qingjiu was a little embarrassed. "It's a minor injury. I'll just apply some alcohol when I get home."
Bai Yuehu remained silent. His nose twitched slightly, as if he was sniffing something. Then he stared at Lu Qingjiu with a serious look: "You smell like him. He touched you."
Lu Qingjiu was silent for a moment, and explained awkwardly: "No, he just held my hand." He also touched my head.
Bai Yuehu pursed his lips, his serious expression somewhat similar to that of a man. Then, he did something that Lu Qingjiu had not expected—he lowered his head and licked the blood from the palm of Lu Qingjiu's hand bit by bit.
"Ah!" A warm and soft tongue slowly licked the palm of his hand, cleaning the dirt around the wound bit by bit. This action did not bring pain, but more of a numbness. Lu Qingjiu's face suddenly turned red, and he said in a trembling voice, "Don't, it's very dirty!"
Bai Yuehu was a little unhappy: "You won't get sick if you eat it."
Lu Qingjiu said: "But..."
Bai Yuehu said, "It must be cleaned up."
The phrase "clean it up" should have referred to the wound, but Lu Qingjiu inexplicably felt that there was another meaning hidden in it. Bai Yuehu's actions were so serious that he didn't know how to refuse for a moment. By the time he finally reacted, Bai Yuehu's actions had stopped. He was pulled up from the ground by Bai Yuehu and stood there obediently, allowing Bai Yuehu to clean up the mess on his body.
After Bai Yuehu brushed off the dust on Lu Qingjiu's clothes, he was about to finish the cleaning work, but he felt something again and frowned. Lu Qingjiu felt a hand pressing on his ear, forcing him to turn his head. Then, a heavy kiss fell on his hair.
Lu Qingjiu was stunned by Bai Yuehu's actions: "You..."
Bai Yuehu's voice was a little muffled, as if she was angry: "He touched your hair."
Lu Qingjiu, who had been so confident, suddenly felt guilty because of this. He opened and closed his mouth, and after a long while, he whispered, "He just touched it."
"You can't even touch it." Bai Yuehu said coldly, "It's best not to even look at it."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” Alas.
Bai Yuehu took Lu Qingjiu's hand and led him out of the woods. Lu Qingjiu then realized that he was not too far away from their picnic place, but only a short distance away.
"Lu Qingjiu, are you okay?!" Yin Xun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bai Yuehu bring Lu Qingjiu back. Countless horrible guesses had just passed through his mind. The most frightening thing was that Bai Yuehu would bring out a broken corpse, or... there would not even be a corpse.
"I'm fine." Lu Qingjiu said, "He doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards me."
"No ill intentions?" Yin Xun muttered, "Why would he take you away if he had no ill intentions? I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat." Fortunately, Bai Yuehu brought the person back safely.
Lu Qingjiu said helplessly: "If he had any ill intentions towards me, I would be dead now." Although the dragon was tortured, it was still a dragon. No matter how strong humans are, they are just ants in front of such mythical creatures.
Yin Xun curled his lips, obviously disagreeing with Lu Qingjiu's words. In his opinion, those who secretly took Lu Qingjiu away were not good people.
Unknowingly, it was already dark, and Lu Qingjiu had no idea that he had been away for so long.
Today's outing ended here. They packed up their things and prepared to go down the mountain. But when leaving the mountain, Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but look towards the forest. He had a feeling that the man was still there, but he didn't show up.
After the wound on the palm of his hand was cleaned by the saliva of the White Moon Fox, he no longer felt much pain, but the handwriting left by the man's slender index finger on it was like a burning brand that Lu Qingjiu could not forget.
"Leave"? What does "leave" mean? Does it mean that he wants to leave with him? Or is there something else? Did he escape from there just to tell himself this word?
Lu Qingjiu really couldn’t figure it out, and couldn’t help but sigh.
Yin Xun said, "Why are you sighing?"
Lu Qingjiu answered irrelevantly: "Let's eat squid tomorrow."
Yin Xun: "Why?"
Lu Qingjiu: "Because I always feel that your kite also smells like squid."
Yin Xun: “…” What’s wrong with the smell of squid? Isn’t it quite high?
The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu's face was solemn: I...
Bai Yuehu: What's wrong? Don't worry about me, I will definitely protect you.
Lu Qingjiu: No... there is something...
White Moon Fox:?
Lu Qingjiu: I seem to have forgotten to pee just now.
White Moon Fox: …………
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com