Chapter 142 Northern Desert 2 "Cui Ying, talk to me..."
The wind was too strong, and the horse could not walk. Cui Ying could only lead the horse through the Gobi Desert. They walked for two days and two nights against the wind and sand until they arrived at the bottom of the cliff where the hairpin was found.
The bottom of the cliff was bare and full of rubble, without even a tree stump to tie a horse to. Cui Ying finally found a protruding rock, tied the horse to it, patted the horse's neck and said, "Don't run away."
Then he turned and walked towards the rugged, pebbly ground.
Was this the fifth or sixth time he had come to this place? Cui Ying himself couldn't remember.
For the past six months, she has come with hope every time and left in despair every time.
After visiting many times, she learned to find joy in hardship—in fact, not finding it was the best news, otherwise, half a year had passed, and if she had actually found it, it would have been nothing more than a pile of bones left to be gnawed by wolves.
It's good that we can't find it; at least it proves we didn't die here.
A fierce wind howled past, and Cui Ying, as was her habit, comforted herself and turned back to where she had tied her horse.
The reins tied to the rock were still there, but the other end was empty—the horse was gone.
In this godforsaken place, losing a horse is like losing half your chance of survival.
Cui Ying forced herself to calm down and followed the hoofprints on the sand to find her way back.
The hoofprints led straight to a high slope with a patch of withered, yellow grass; they must have been drawn there by the grass.
The further Cui Ying walked onto the grass, the more her heart sank.
The seemingly flat grassland was damp and dark, with quicksand at the edges constantly sinking into the center. Her horse's two hind hooves were already stuck in it, struggling and neighing in vain. With each movement, it sank faster.
Upon seeing Cui Ying, the horse neighed even louder, sounding so aggrieved it was almost about to speak.
Cui Ying tentatively walked over, and the first thing she did was slap the horse hard across the face, furious: "I told you not to run around like that!"
Cui Ying was both anxious and angry. She carefully stepped on the slightly hard edges of the gravel and reached out to pull the reins.
But the horse, overcome with fear, kept shaking its head, causing her to stumble and making it impossible to pull it out.
Cui Ying simply prostrated himself on the ground, lying on the relatively solid ground, and reached out to dig at the wet sand around the horse's hind hooves, giving it something to lean on.
After digging for half a day, wearing out all ten of his fingers, Cui Ying got up, panting. He untied the thick hemp rope binding his baggage, quickly tied a slipknot, and, seizing the opportunity, swung it out to loop around the horse's neck and the base of its forelegs. Grabbing the rope with both hands, he pulled backward with all his might.
The horse also pedaled upwards with all its might, once, twice, three times...
Finally, after Cui Ying let out a desperate roar, the horse broke free and rolled onto the sand.
Cui Ying also exhausted her last bit of strength, collapsed to the ground panting heavily, and had no strength left to move even a finger.
After lying there for an unknown amount of time, Cui Ying finally caught her breath and opened her eyes.
The sky was ablaze with crimson clouds, layer upon layer, dyeing the entire world a vibrant crimson-gold color. The clouds stretched for miles, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.
Even though he had seen this scenery for half a year, Cui Ying was still so shocked that he couldn't speak when he opened his eyes for the first time.
She raised her arm to shield her stinging eyes, tears streaming down her face as she screamed, "Xiao Qiyu, you bastard! Where are you?!"
Why.
Why wasn't he by her side during such a beautiful moment?
In the past six months, Cui Ying has saved people and killed people; she has seen magnificent scenery she never dared to imagine before, and she has also experienced the despair of near death in the desert. There were a few moments when she questioned herself:
Cui Ying, the world is so vast, and you have such great skills. There are still many places you haven't been to and many beautiful sights waiting for you to see. Are you really going to be trapped by love and romance for the rest of your life?
Cui Ying was unwilling.
But I can't get past it.
The name Xiao Qiyu was a thorn that had long since grown into her flesh and blood, clinging to her bones and tendons, existing with every breath. Touching it would cause her excruciating pain, but to pull it out would be tantamount to skinning her alive and tearing out her bones, making her wish she were dead.
After crying for an unknown amount of time, as if she had shed her last tear, Cui Ying gasped for breath, fiercely wiping away the tears and sand from her face. Then, she stood up unsteadily and patted her equally shaken horse.
"Let's go." She took the reins, her voice still hoarse, but now calm again.
Just then, a dark figure appeared under the blazing sunset, staggering and hurried, heading straight for Cui Ying.
Cui Ying caught a glimpse of the person out of the corner of her eye, and her heart instantly tightened. After all, in this barren land, the most terrifying thing is often not wolves and tigers, but the fellow humans you encounter when you are alone. You never know whether the person standing in front of you is a human or a ghost until you are about to be harmed.
She even suspected that the four scoundrels in the inn were unwilling to give up and had come looking for revenge. Without hesitation, she stepped into the stirrup, nimbly mounted the horse, and although the horse was tired, its survival instinct was still there, and it still had the strength to escape.
Cui Ying turned his horse around, spurred it on, and was about to gallop away, leaving the dark figure far behind.
When the dark figure saw her movements, it seemed to panic, its pace quickened, it fell and got up again, and rushed towards her desperately.
"With skills like that, you think you can kill me?" Cui Ying rolled her eyes inwardly, flicked the reins, and shouted, "Giddy up!"
With a neigh, the horse took off and charged into the vast sandstorm.
"Cui Ying!"
A shout pierced through the Gobi Desert sandstorm and reached Cui Ying's ears from afar.
Her blood seemed to freeze for a moment, then surged to her head and rushed to her limbs with even greater frenzy, making her tremble all over, even the hairs on her body shook.
Before he could think, Cui Ying yanked the reins tight, forcibly stopping the galloping horse, its front hooves raised high, neighing incessantly.
She turned around, staring intently against the backdrop of the crimson sunset at the approaching, staggering black figure running towards her. Her mind went blank, and she lost the ability to think.
"Cui Ying!" The boy's voice rang out again, amidst the fiery red sunset and swirling sandstorm, repeating continuously, "Cui Ying! Cui Ying! Cui Ying!"
Sand stung Cui Ying's eyes, turning them red and large tears welling up. But she didn't bother to blink, dismounted, and rushed straight towards the dark figure.
In the wind and sand of the Gobi Desert, the distance between the two figures grew shorter and shorter, until they were almost touching.
Their eyes met, and the face she had longed for day and night was right in front of her. Cui Ying was afraid that she was dreaming, so she dared not blink or make a sound. Only tears slid down her cheeks one after another.
Xiao Qiyu, however, could not bear the long silence.
He swallowed the metallic taste of blood welling up in his mouth, pulled the person in front of him into his arms, and called her name over and over again: "Cui Ying... Cui Ying... Cui Ying..."
He choked up, "Cui Ying, talk to me, let me hear your voice again, tell me... I'm not dreaming."
Cui Ying's face was wet, it was hard to tell if it was tears or sweat. She raised her hand and punched his chest: "How do I know if you're dreaming! I don't even know if I'm dreaming! I don't even know if you're a human or a ghost!"
The wind and sand swept past the two of them. Xiao Qiyu held Cui Ying tightly, his heart pounding.
He whispered, "What if I really am a ghost? You're terrified of ghosts."
Cui Ying suddenly hugged back, her hands clinging tightly to Xiao Qiyu's arms like vines entwining a tree, determined to fight to the death.
"Then you'll never be reincarnated!" she gritted her teeth. "I want you by my side forever! Until the day I die!"
Whether it's a human or a ghost, a dream or reality, it doesn't matter anymore. Cui Ying is certain that no matter what's in front of her, she will never let go again. Even if it's just a wisp of a soul, she will do everything in her power to keep it in the mortal world and keep it by her side forever.
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Author's Note: Okay, okay, the rest is all sweet.
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