Friendship
Chapter 3: Friendship
The three of them and one horse had limited range, and He Fei was in relatively good health. Yi Huan suggested resting for the night and then continuing the journey the next morning, arriving back down the mountain by dusk. Peng Zuoyan agreed, watching her personally collecting and replacing herbs, her eyelids drooping, concealing a darkening expression.
It was dark and deserted at night. Yi Huan woke up with his eyes squinted, groped his way to He Fei in the moonlight, touched the forehead and patted the person lying on the bed to wake him up.
"Brother A-fly, you have a fever."
The injury was on his own leg. He E knew his current physical condition better than anyone else. He used the force to move up and sat up, and he couldn't help but cry out in pain as the injured area was affected.
Yi Huan half-knelt and helped him sit comfortably, saying, "I'll go get some water to cool you down. Brother Ah-E, be careful on your own."
She stuffed a dagger into his hand, which was blocking his way with his body. They both looked to the side at the sleeping man, and said nothing more in tacit understanding.
After going back and forth several times to apply stream water to his forehead to cool down, and doing so until dark, He E's temperature finally dropped.
The cloth strips on his legs were soaked with blood. Yi Huan cleaned the skin under the wound on his right thigh, pulled out a large piece of his undershirt, tore it into strips, and tied them to a short stick for support. He felt relieved only when he touched the cloth strips and found that they were no longer bleeding.
Yi Huan raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said with relief: "Brother A'e, have a good rest. We will arrive in the city tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you, Ah Huan."
They were all siblings from the same escort agency. Yi Huan patted the back of his hand and said seriously, "We both need to go back safely."
"Ha…Okay."
His dark eyes, as deep as ink, had opened at some point, witnessing her waist and back being accidentally exposed when she pulled her clothes, and he showed some impatience when he saw them approaching and talking in tattered clothes.
Peng Zuoyang closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, his mind was in a mess with emotions. The brutality left by the happy chopping of heads on the battlefield came to his mind faintly, and those scenes were really annoying.
When the smoke took effect, Peng Zuoyuan stood up while chewing the detoxification pill, stepped over the unconscious He E, and squatted beside the equally unconscious Yi Huan.
She was still frowning when she fell asleep, and her sleep was not very peaceful. Peng Zuoyan touched her eyebrows with his fingers and smoothed them over and over again without being gentle, while his other hand moved to her dirty face.
He was so anxious to cool down He E's fever that he didn't even have time to wash his face after finding a water source.
It will be fine once the people are gone.
Peng Zuoyuan thought again of how she killed the enemy the day before. As a woman who went in and out of the escort agency, her reputation was exchanged for silver notes. After the war in the south was completely over, he took Yi Huan in. It was not easy for a single woman to survive outside, so this was considered to be a repayment for the favor she had received in her childhood.
The cold words Yi Huan said when he discovered him emerged in Peng Zuo's mind, and a smile appeared in his eyes. For a long time to come, he would appreciate Yi Huan's smile, soft words and slight anger one by one.
Peng Zuoyang, who had suppressed his expression, glanced at him, looked down arrogantly, and without saying a word, he took the short blade from He Fei's hand with his left hand and struck his neck twice, but no blood was seen on the blade.
Touching the porcelain bottle in his sleeve, Peng Zuoyuan saw the tiny pills melt in his mouth until they were gone before he fell asleep peacefully.
The next day, Peng Zuoyuan woke up with a cry of pain.
He Fei's whole body was hot and he looked like he was in deep sleep. No medicine could save him. It seemed that his injuries had unexpectedly relapsed and he died in his coma.
No one expected his wound to become infected again. Yi Huan blamed herself for sleeping too deeply. Was it because He Fei woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and called for help, but received no response? The injured person lost his life amidst repeated cries for help in the pitch-black night.
"My dear, knife wounds are difficult to heal and accidents are difficult to control. Please accept my condolences."
Yi Huan tilted her head and remembered that there was a third person in the cave. She laid He Fei's body flat on the ground and led the man's horse out.
"Here, your horse. A dozen miles down this road is Tongquan County. You can go to the county office to ask for directions and find your army."
Peng Zuoyao took the reins and, mindful of her distress, said with concern, "He's gone. It's dangerous for a woman like you to be out there. Why don't you come out of the mountains with me? It'll be safer for us to look after each other."
"Brother A-fly can't stay here alone."
Yi Huan wanted to take He Fei home and give the escort agency and the He family an outcome. They had come out together, and they had to go back together, dead or alive.
"We also do this on the battlefield. In order to give our comrades a quick death, we have to end their lives with our own hands..."
Yi Huan stared at the man in front of her who was a whole head and neck taller than her, and interrupted him when his voice gradually became lower: "We are different." The young seventeen-year-old woman had a quiet sadness in her dark brown round eyes, and her attitude towards him was still unfamiliar and indifferent.
"We are more than siblings. Family members will never abandon each other."
Peng Zuoyan opened his lips, but didn't say anything to comfort him. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "I can give you the horse. We agreed on that before."
"No."
Now that the person who needs it is gone, the horse is no longer needed.
Seeing her turn around and leave, Peng Zuoyao took a half step forward and asked, "What about you?"
Yi Huan was annoyed by his nonstop talking, and while worrying about He Fei still being in the cave, he casually said "Goodbye" and turned back.
"Brother He Fei? He Fei!"
However, when he was leading the people to find the way, when they came back, there was no sign of anyone in the cave except for the still flowing blood. Yi Huan searched along the bloodstains and only found a torn limb on the edge of the bare cliff, and a knife and handle broken into two parts. There were also bursts of lion roars coming from the gently sloping cliff.
"He Fei!"
Yi Huan cried out in anger and fell to his knees, regretting repeatedly: "Brother A'e, I shouldn't have cared about that person. I shouldn't have left you here alone, causing you to be eaten by these beasts. I am so sorry..."
Tears mixed with guilt fell down, and the roar of the living people who lost their loved ones was more shrill and angry than the roar of a hungry lion.
People in this world believe that fallen leaves return to their roots. Yi Huan couldn't find He E's complete body, so he picked up his broken arms and legs and built a wooden platform with a bunch of fire and a few dry branches. The ashes left behind were the thoughts of the living.
Peng Zuoyang was far away and saw her back swaying and her hair no longer neatly tied up. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was an illusion of the wind and fire or she was kneeling unsteadily.
There are many rocks on the cliff, and kneeling for a long time will hurt her knees. She should protect herself.
This hilltop was sheltered from the wind and eerily quiet. The man immediately looked at the person on the cliff edge, but he still felt the shadow behind him appear at the first moment.
The unremarkable man, his black clothes stained with a few drops of blood, knelt on one leg and asked for instructions: "Master, the fourth commander has come to report."
It took some time to attract the lone lion, and it was also troublesome to get rid of the hungry lion. Fortunately, I was not injured, so I came back to report to my master.
Peng Zuoyan narrowed his eyes and looked away, then ordered, "Go check the Xing Family Escort Agency. There's a female escort there."
"yes."
It was two months later when the escort agency returned to Yizhou.
Peng Zuoyuan was just taking a walk in casual clothes, but Qu Zhijiao took advantage of him.
The county magistrate was wearing a dark green official uniform and had more followers than General Dingyuan, a fifth-rank general. He hunched his fat belly and smiled and said some flattering words.
Without showing any impatience, Peng Zuoyuan smiled lightly and said, "Of course not. County Magistrate Qu cares about the people's livelihood. It is a great honor for me that he still wants to come and see me in his spare time."
Qu Zhijiao's smile deepened, and he trailed behind, asking, "I wonder where the General is planning to go? I've had the honor of serving in Guanghan County for over a decade. May I serve as your advisor on your journey?"
"If Magistrate Qu is so kind, I will just take a walk."
"Haha, the people of this county can live in such peace and security thanks to you, General, who has been stationed at the border for three years to protect us. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to stay in Yizhou temporarily. I will host a banquet at Boran Tower so that you can relax and relieve your fatigue."
Peng Zuoyang understood his suggestive hint. He had always disliked his fawning behavior, and this flattery at the banquet was even worse.
There was a street market ahead. The mayor had spotted this group of nobles early on and waved his hand to order his men to clear a path for them.
The left and right street officials all took to the battlefield. Feng Yi walked among the crowd, but before he could even look twice, someone forced his upper body to kneel down with a square stick. Above his head was a command: "General Dingyuan and the county magistrate are here in person. The people kneel to welcome them!"
Peng Zuoyan was at the head of the standing crowd, and he only needed to glance around to see that he was effortlessly looking down at people in high positions.
"Meet General Dingyuan."
The moment I saw her was such a coincidence.
Without seeing Yi Huan's face, Peng Zuoyan turned sideways and looked at her clothes based on the familiarity she had on him.
Maybe they should have nothing to do with each other anymore, but he was just doing it for the sake of convenience. It was a fact that she gave him her food, and he could repay her in return.
Yi Huan was of decent appearance, wearing only a dark brown cloth and a silver hairpin in her hair, which was extremely ordinary. Apart from her face, one could tell that she was still a young girl of seventeen. But it didn't matter, as long as she followed him, he would give her good things.
After dressing up carefully, she doesn't have to worry about fighting all day, and can spend her time trying to please him and dress herself up. Peng Zuoyuan imagined an image of Yi Huan in his mind, walking neatly in the backyard, wearing gold and jade. It seemed good.
Thinking in his heart, Peng Zuoyan bent down, supported her with his arms and pulled her up.
Suddenly feeling a touch on his arm, Yi Huan looked up in surprise. It was a familiar face. "It's you?"
Peng Zuoyan's movements were covert. He could feel her soft and warm arms through her clothes, and rubbed them with his four fingers. His lowered eyes became darker, and he looked down at her with an oppressive attitude that was determined to win.
"My wife is here too?"
Glancing behind him, Yi Huan took a step back and said without any ecstasy, "So you are General Dingyuan."
Glancing at the eager crowd from the side, Peng Zuoyao dismissed them, saying, "County Magistrate Qu, I've seen enough of you. I still have some official business to attend to at the county office. Will I send someone to escort you back?"
Hearing his words of driving people away, Qu Zhijiao looked at the woman dressed as Magu with a clingy look, thinking that this woman was lucky to be favored by Peng Zuoyang, which had blocked his plan to offer someone to curry favor with him that night.
Bending over and shaking his head, Qu Zhijiao narrowed his eyes and said, "General, you are right. I will be back soon. Enjoy yourselves."
Peng Zuoyuan understood the implication in his words and glanced at Yi Huan's respectful look as if he were treating his superiors. When he faced the fawning Qu Zhijiao, the gentle greeting on the corner of his mouth faded.
Seeing that she was uncomfortable being surrounded and talked to, Peng Zuogong raised his hand and ordered the general to disperse the crowd, inviting her, "It's fate to meet again. The general's residence is on the front street. The governor has probably arranged it properly. Why don't you do me the honor of going over for a cup of tea?"
Yi Huan hesitated, and the latter blocked his words of refusal: "It is thanks to my wife that I can return to the team. Please accept my gratitude."
It would be really ungrateful to refuse again. Thinking that he would only stay for a while to talk and then leave, Yi Huan agreed with a smile.
The new house had been renovated, and both inside and out, the General's Mansion was the most luxurious house Yi Huan had ever seen.
"I've mostly been stationed in Gongzhou. What a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into my wife again when I return to Yizhou."
Yi Huan smiled, "The general and I are destined to be together."
Stepping into the grand and solemn gate of the house, what caught his eye was an eight-character screen wall in the style of auspicious clouds and flying cranes. Yi Huan listened to Peng Zuoyuan's introduction to the landscape in the courtyard and followed his direction to walk under the winding corridor.
Peng Zuoyang stood half an arm's length away from her, and when he tilted his head to look at her, he could just see her round, flawless earlobes. The women of Dayu Kingdom had never advocated for earrings. Soft, wispy hair framed her earlobes, and her pink, rosy lips rested against her smooth chin.
There is no lipstick on her lips, and they are not as big as cherries, but they have the red color of cherry.
Blinking and looking away, Peng Zuoyan asked, "The last time I met you, you were escorting an convoy. May I ask, do you make a living in the escort agency?"
"That's exactly what the General said. My main job is to be a bodyguard for the Xing Family Escort Agency. If the agency's business is slow, I'll also go out and take on odd jobs."
"I remember that escort mission..."
Yi Huan forced a smile and said simply, "I finally found He Fei, and we followed the returning escort team back."
Peng Zuoyuan led her down the stairs and asked in a friendly manner, "Madam, are you curious why I keep inviting you?"
Facing her questioning look, Peng Zuoyuan explained: "When I was twelve years old, my army was disbanded and I came to Jiannan Road. I met a young girl sitting in a sedan chair. She gave me a piece of dry biscuit to fill my stomach."
At that time, Yi Huan was resurrected as the five-year-old child bride of the twenty-five-year-old Zhang Lu. A group of children who came to watch the fun surrounded the sedan chair and sang sarcastic songs.
The Zhang family has a little kid hidden, who is twenty-five and looks like his wife. After waiting for a long time, the wife comes and they compete to sell the carriage and the bed!
The fool Lu has a wife!
The Zhang family originally wanted to quietly carry the bridal sedan chair in, but unexpectedly they were blocked by layer upon layer of people, and they couldn't even find someone to mediate.
The Zhang family relied on Master Zhang's low official position to bully others and had a bad reputation. If they were caught and humiliated, they would probably not be able to escape for a while.
Yi Huan sat on the hard sedan chair, his two short legs half the length of an adult's leg off the ground. He carefully took out a round dry biscuit that he had hidden in his lapel with his hands.
Alas, five-year-old Yi Huan died of hunger and fear because the old women who sold her fed her only one cake a day.
Her stomach was empty and painful. Yi Huan took another bite of the hard cake, rubbed her aching stomach, and couldn't help sighing in her heart. She should get familiar with the place first and not think about running away. With her little carrot appearance, if she relied on her childish behavior to make a living in the Yu Dynasty, I'm afraid she would have trouble growing up.
The Zhang family still didn't know what was going on, but after all, she was the daughter-in-law they had asked for for their only son, so they should give her a meal.
Yi Huan touched her hair, which was too short to even hold a hair ornament. Two red hair ties tied it into a small bow, and her clothes were a bright red that didn't fit her. If the ugly woman saw her in this state, she would probably cry out in pain.
well.
After all, he was alive. Although times had changed, Yi Huan did not want to experience the feeling of being run over by a car tire again in his lifetime. He had been given this life. How he lived was a matter of life, not of the world.
Looking out curiously, Yi Huan first saw a little beggar walking with a wooden stick.
It was impossible to tell what he looked like from his gray face. His lips were gray and cracked, and there were black bloodstains on the left leg of his trousers.
Yi Huan noticed that his eyes were fixed on the cake in his hand, and subconsciously protected the cake he had taken two bites of with both hands.
As their eyes met, Yi Huan hesitantly broke off a small piece for him, and as he moved forward, he carefully moved his butt back a little.
The little beggar was in a hurry to finish his meal, and his eyes, which were shining from choking, stared at her.
Yi Huan shook his head firmly, his voice as soft as a child's, "No more. I'm hungry too. You can go beg on East Street."
You can also rob and steal.
Yi Huan didn't say this, but it was her advice as a twenty-something. The country was unstable, and famine was common. Only when the country was well-off would people obey the law. While looting was illegal, it was better than starving to death.
With his expectant eyes, Yi Huan suddenly remembered this incident. The gray and shabby young man next to the sedan chair was actually Peng Zuoyan?
"So it's you? You still remember me. I'm so grateful."
As Yi Huan spoke the compliments, the worries in his heart gradually subsided.
No wonder General Peng's eyes sometimes looked a little strange. It turned out that he was comparing whether she looked like she did when she was a child. It turned out that he was focusing on this aspect.
"May I ask your name, madam? After twelve years, I finally know the name of your lifesaver."
Yi Huan was amused by his deliberately exaggerated tone and replied, "My name is Yi Huan, Exchange Yi, Circle Huan."
"My name, my lady, I'm sure you still remember it."
"I will always bear in mind the General's name and will not dare to overstep the boundaries."
Yi Huan came here with the memories of this body, living in a society that was extremely feudal according to her education. She said what she wanted to say to whoever she met, and she had honed her ability to be an ordinary person to perfection.
No matter how much Peng Zuoyang had received her kindness, he was also a general with military power and a native ruler who had the absolute right to decide to kill ordinary people. She could not forget the gap between their identities.
Peng Zuoyao was even more satisfied to see that she knew when to advance and retreat, and said, "I have been helped by you in both our meetings. Madam Yi, please make one request, and I will definitely satisfy it."
After looking at her for a few seconds, Peng Zuoyan became more certain. Later, he would act as if he was accepting it after being embarrassed. He should not be too excessive, nor should he indulge her too much.
"Otherwise, I'd be grateful if you could give me a short knife so I can go out."
There was a momentary delay in the perfect arc of Peng Zuoyan's bend. Shouldn't she be climbing up the slope to beg him to take her in so that she could escape the life of working for others to survive? Or did he say something that led her to misunderstand?
"Ma'am, are you sure you only want the knife?"
Yi Huan just felt that he was polite and grateful. He still remembered the kindness he had shown her in their childhood and treated her equally and politely. No official with a certain status would have such a generous character.
"If the general is not in a position to give me something, it's fine. It's just a piece of cake, but I'm a little worried that you attach so much importance to it."
Peng Zuoyang denied it and took out a paper note from his sleeve. "You can use this to go to the counter and collect the money with the note as a token of my gratitude."
When he offered his arm, Yi Huan had already turned aside and declined, smiling: "General, it's difficult to live a simple life from luxury. I can't rely on your support for the rest of my life, right? Wouldn't that be like repaying a favor?"
Peng Zuoyan swallowed the words he'd blurted out to support her for the rest of her life as she smiled distantly. Unarmed, he walked over to Chang Yi's side, took the dagger from his waist, and handed it to him, saying, "Never mind. This dagger is yours. I wish you...safe travels."
Yi Huan accepted it calmly, clasped his fists and said in thanks, "Thank you for the gift, General."
Stopping in front of the north room, Yi Huan said goodbye: "General, you have a lot of official duties, so I won't keep you away. We'll meet again sometime. Thank you for inviting me."
Peng Zuoyan met her determined look of farewell, clenched his half-extended hand into a fist, and without trying to keep her, he agreed with a faint smile.
Yi Huan didn't play with the black dagger for too long. He casually put it on his waist and walked out on a nearby street. As expected, he saw a figure waiting at the end of the street.
"Ayu!"
Walking beside Chao Lanyu very naturally, Yi Huan said with an intimacy that he himself was not aware of: "I knew you would come to find me."
Chao Lanyu's worried eyes swept over her body, and he asked anxiously, "Did General Dingyuan give you any trouble?"
"No. I actually met General Peng when I entered the Zhang family's house and even gave him a piece of dry biscuit. Here, this is the dagger he gave me as a thank you. It's much sharper than mine."
"A sharp weapon for self-defense, suitable for you."
Under her smiling gaze, the young man's face turned slightly red, and he was reluctant to look away from her as he handed over the bamboo tube.
"Drink some water. I have nothing to do today, so I'll go with you to Qingshi Mountain to collect herbs."
When Yi Huan took the tube and his fingers touched it, his chest suddenly began to pound. He lowered his head to drink water to hide it, and raised his hand to touch his cheek, which was indeed very hot.
"Ayu, you drink too."
She leaned too close, and the light scent enveloped him like a web. Chao Lanyu couldn't let go of her hands and stammered, "I, I drink it myself."
Yi Huan tiptoed closer, stared into his eyes, and said softly, "I'll feed you. Open your mouth."
Chao Lanyu's ears turned even redder. He took a sip while avoiding her gaze. He was so nervous that he didn't even think about the fact that their lips had touched the same place. He calmed his pounding heart by adjusting his clothes, and looked down at her carefully and intimately.
The young man, two years her senior, already had the outline of a man, with fair-skinned skin, a tall and handsome figure, and bright eyes that were clear and sincere. His face had no outstanding surprise, like a giant tree swaying in the wind and sand but not falling, quiet and vast.
They are not from wealthy families, but just two ordinary people who grew up together. Yi Huan was sent to the Chao family when he was seven years old. If he still can't see through someone and decide on him after ten years, it only means that the two of them are not suitable.
But it is obvious that they are childhood sweethearts, and they have always been lovers who have liked each other.
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