The boatman, who had been chattering all the way, fell silent. For a moment, the only sound in the fog was the woman's monotonous voice directing the way.
After another half hour, the sounds of flowing water grew more chaotic. A gentle breeze brushed past the lake, dispersing some of the mist and revealing a momentary turbulence on the surface.
The fisherman suddenly refused to move forward and stood at the stern looking at the sky.
"It's getting late. I have to go back. Otherwise, it will get dark and the boat might capsize."
Xiao Nanhui stood up and looked into the depths of the fog, where he could already hear the noise of lake water hitting the rocks.
"It should be close to the shore. Just a few steps. Please make some allowance. Besides, you've already taken the money, how can you go back on your word?"
The fisherman obviously didn't want to compromise and stood there motionless.
Others can go back, but she can't.
Xiao Nanhui's gaze slowly shifted downwards. The fisherman noticed her thoughts, gripped the oar tighter, and took two steps back.
"It's only a few steps away. How about... you swim over?"
"Swim over?!"
What you fear will come true.
"I'm not good at swimming..."
Before she finished her voice, and she didn't know whether the boatman really didn't hear her or heard her but pretended not to, the next moment the sampan tilted under his feet, and she and Jixiang fell into the water with a splash.
The freezing and rushing lake water instantly submerged her head. Her feet could not reach the bottom, so she could only struggle desperately. Her other hand had to protect the katydid cage she was holding high in her hand. After a while, she choked on several mouthfuls of the turbid lake water.
The water was mixed with mud and sand, which rushed straight into her nasal cavity and caused a burning pain. In the chaos, she grabbed something nearby and refused to let go until it slowly rose and pushed her out of the water.
As the cold air entered her lungs, she gasped for breath and coughed violently twice. She wiped the water off her face before she could see the familiar saddle under her butt.
Jixiang snorted loudly, leaving only half of his horse's head and a pair of nostrils exposed above the water.
The water was flowing rapidly all around her and she was almost washed away, but Jixiang's plump body stood in the water and was able to move forward.
Well, she took back her earlier complaint. There were some benefits to fattening up the horse.
Looking back, the small sampan had disappeared.
Holding on to Jixiang's thick mane, Xiao Nanhui slowly moved forward amidst waves.
In the misty clouds, the outline of something gradually revealed its true face.
Xiao Nanhui looked up and his expression paused.
This is not the other side of Ming Lake, but still in the center of the lake.
She never imagined that the rumored Buxu Valley was not a valley, but an island.
An isolated island located in the center of Minghu Lake, appearing and disappearing with the ebb and flow of the tide.
No wonder the Qu family is so mysterious that even emperors of past dynasties rarely had the chance to visit them.
Finally, they walked out of the rapids and shallows, and the man and the horse climbed ashore. Xiao Nanhui fell off Jixiang's back in a panic, and without caring about anything else, the first thing he did was to check the katydid cage.
There was only a small grayish-white insect in the cage, curled up at the bottom, having drowned long ago.
She slammed her fist on the gravel beach, venting almost all the grievances and confusion that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time.
Almost. Almost, and she would find him.
The elixir he had taken earlier in the Shen family's secret passage was a carefully crafted one by Hao Bai. Besides being able to induce a long sleep and protect against attacks by the Puhuna, it also contained a small amount of moth scale and wing powder. It was a powder that emitted a unique fragrance, imperceptible to humans, but detectable to moths from a distance.
An elder of the Qu family gave her one, and she relied on this small moth, which was not much bigger than a bee, to find her way here.
She had a connection with this little bug. It had saved her life.
The cloth woven from the silk of silkworms is called Dielu, which is famous for its toughness like spider silk and its durable color. Even the butterflies that have stolen nectar will leave behind the fragrance of nectar when they land on it.
A caterpillar is worth a fortune, but a butterfly that has fallen is priceless.
Legend has it that from the moment they are born, the silkworm waits for the day to emerge from its cocoon. However, cocooning requires extreme drought and dry conditions, while breaking out requires abundant rain. This process often takes years, and in reality, only one out of a hundred emerges as a moth. Even after emerging, moths struggle to find companions, unable to reproduce, and die in depression.
The one in her hand before was so lively, flying up and down all the way.
However, the moth did not know that the other moth it wanted to see was no longer there, leaving only a little wing powder emitting a fragrance. It just kept banging its head against the cage in the direction of the fragrance until the moment of death came.
After all, if life is so difficult for a small insect, how can a human being have the confidence to say that he can live a happy life?
Meeting you is like being trapped in a cocoon for a thousand years and then breaking out of it for ten thousand years.
The thread is tied as a reward, the thread is thin but strong, and it cannot be broken unless you let go of the obsession.
Let her keep moving forward, until she breaks through the cage of fate or death comes.
Xiao Nanhui silently dried the dripping hem of his clothes, picked up the dripping katydid cage with one hand, took Jixiang's hand with the other, and walked towards the island along the gravel beach.
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