The bright moon, which was not yet full, gradually rose to the sky. A transparent gray cloud lightly covered the moonlight, and a light smoke seemed to shroud the fields, as if falling into a dream. After the evening clouds passed, the smoke and fog in the fields disappeared, and the clear light like water washed over the soft spring night.
Yao Yue had searched the house for an hour and hadn't seen anything strange. It was just an ordinary farmhouse with a strong atmosphere of life. The kitchen was fully equipped with firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. Even the closet was full of clothes, both for men and women.
She decided to give up for now and wait until the sun rises tomorrow to look for him in the village. After lighting the candle, she found that Jiang Mi was still outside. Her heart skipped a beat and she was about to go out to look for him when she saw him push the door and walk in.
The two of them looked at each other, and his eyes were filled with a blurry sense of loss, desolate and empty.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Jiang Mi's handsome face seemed to be covered with a layer of light smoke, and the corners of his mouth drooped slightly: "It's okay."
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk, she didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject: "Let's take turns to keep watch tonight. I'm afraid there will be something dirty at night."
She didn't know whether it was because Ku Ming had sealed her meridians or the psychological suggestion of this illusion, but she began to feel tired and sleepy like a mortal without any foundation. You know, when she was practicing in the mountains before, she felt that sleeping once a month was too much.
"You go to sleep, I'm fine alone." He said calmly, without even looking at her, he walked straight to the closet, took out a stack of bedding and sheets and spread them at the door.
After the candle burned out, the fields were silent, the light was dim, the wind rustled the window screens, and the distant sounds of cattle, sheep and poultry came faintly, which sounded very peaceful and harmonious. Yao Yue lay on the bed, tossing and turning, staring at the vague outline of the man at the door with the few rays of moonlight coming through the window. He sat there, leaning against the door motionlessly, his head slightly lowered, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Jiang Mi, come here." She beckoned at him in the dark. The man paused and walked slowly to her bedside.
"This bed is big, you can sleep next to me. If something comes, it will be dangerous to be at the door."
Hearing this, he pinched the corner of his clothes and asked softly: "...Fairy, do you mind?"
"If I minded, why would I ask you to come over?" As she said that, she moved further inside.
The man lay down beside her in silence, fully clothed, with his back to her, sleeping on the edge of the bed, his body stretched straight, as if he was sleeping on the edge of a cliff and would fall off if he turned over.
She felt more and more that he was worried, and after hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Jiang Mi, what's wrong with you?"
"fine."
It was still the same answer, clearly something was wrong.
"Then turn around and look at me."
The man's back stiffened, and he slowly turned around. The thin white moonlight sprinkled on his face, and the deep shadow made his eyes sink into darkness. Through his hair, he could see the faint light in his pupils. It was not the shy and passionate look he usually had when he saw her, but a kind of unspeakable loss.
She vaguely felt that this matter was related to her.
"This illusion is already full of dangers. We cannot allow any more rifts to arise between us."
He looked dazed and lonely, staring at the girl in front of him, not knowing what he was thinking. Finally, he spoke, his voice as low and hoarse as if it had been rubbed on sandpaper:
"Does Yaoyue hate me..."
She was confused: "Where did this come from?"
There was another long silence before he slowly said, "You wipe your lips because you think I'm dirty..."
The corners of her mouth curled up, as if she had heard something ridiculous: "Is that what you want?"
Jiang Mi was stunned by her smile, and the anxiety in his heart disappeared. The next second, the girl threw his soul high up again, and she whispered-
"Mingming, I was the one who took the initiative to kiss you."
Jiang Mi's expression froze, and the girl's breath brushed over his muscles, which were already as tight as stone. The breath was obviously very light, but the most sensitive nerves in his body seemed to be focused on that one area, and he could even feel the soft aftertaste of every air flow very clearly. His originally gray face flushed, and then turned a little confused: "Are you hallucinating?"
——The illusion changed in the blink of an eye. It was too real. He couldn't even be sure whether the Yao Yue in front of him was real or just another dream.
After she finished speaking, she stared at him, her light red lips slightly raised, revealing a sly and gentle smile. He felt as if his heart had been hit hard, and in a trance, even any sadness and sorrow disappeared, only an indescribable heat bursting out from the depths of his heart.
"you guess."
***
The gray morning light of spring shone into the room from the window, and the walls and the ground were shrouded in hazy light.
When Yao Yue woke up, Jiang Mi was still asleep. His face was so close that when he closed his eyes, she could see his thick eyelashes more clearly, and faintly visible light blue circles under his eyes. It was estimated that he was entangled until the second half of the night before falling asleep. She curved her lips and silently said "fool".
She actually had a very good sleep. This illusion had not caused any danger so far and was eerily peaceful.
In the early morning, villagers were already carrying hoes and working in neatly arranged fields. Every swing of the hoe raised dust and sweat dripped down the fields, leaving a few wet marks.
She saw the two children again and suddenly remembered what they had asked yesterday, and realized that the cow belonged to her.
The yellow cow was curled up in the field in front of her, motionless as if she was sleeping soundly. She couldn't help but walk closer to observe it carefully, and found that the cow looked a little strange. She looked at it carefully again and finally found the problem -
Its conical horn tapers from the base upwards, the surface is jet black, the lower part is gray-brown, and there are obvious serrations on the bottom.
This is not a yellow cattle horn, but a rhino horn!
——When burning raw rhinoceros horn, there is a strange fragrance, which enables people to distinguish between ghosts and evil spirits.
Burning the rhinoceros is the way to break this illusion!
She tiptoed to the cow, put her hands on its slightly long left horn, and broke the horn off without even using any strength.
Suddenly, her eyes were blurred, with all kinds of incomprehensible images mixed together, incomplete like pieces of debris, hazy and distant. Her five senses seemed to be completely released from the narrow black box after being over-squeezed, and gradually expanded into reality.
——It’s out.
Next to the bases of the four Buddha statues, one after another, big red candles as thick as a child's arm were lit, exactly 108 in total. The candles burned brightly, reflecting the golden light on the Buddha statues, and the restless black mist floated around them, but could not get close to them at all.
The two of them still stood hand in hand in front of the eternal lamp, and the candlelight on the eternal lamp was still bright, as if it had never been blown out.
As long as the heart is not extinguished, the lamp will always be on.
Turning around, she saw Jiang Mi standing beside her with his eyes closed. She secretly said, "Oh no! Everything happened so fast just now, and she didn't have time to call him." The village should be a very comfortable environment for him. She didn't know if this idiot could come out by himself.
Although he was still in the illusion, he held her hand tightly, as if he was afraid that she would run away. She was thinking about how to wake him up when she saw the man slowly open his eyes. He looked blankly at the bright Buddhist temple in front of him, and only smiled when his eyes gradually became clear, with a sense of relief.
"Invite the moon."
The candle flame flickered slightly, making a slight crackling sound.
"Awake?" She smiled brightly, shook their clasped hands, and said teasingly, "Your grip is so strong that I can't get away."
Jiang Mi's face flushed red, and he hastily let go. The slippery touch still lingered on his fingertips, and he put his hands behind his back, rubbing his thumb and index finger together like a thief, savoring the aftertaste.
"Let's go, the bald donkey is waiting for us."