Chapter Twenty-Four
Zhao Shu looked up, subconsciously took a step back, forced a smile from the corner of his mouth, and said softly, "It's alright, General, I'll be fine after a while."
Mo Yinghuo nodded slightly, pondering, "Why is he sweating so much? Could it be because of what just happened?" Suddenly, she was startled. Zhao Shu's sweaty and trembling appearance at this moment was just like Mo Yinghuo in her dream.
Thinking of this, for some reason, she felt that Zhao Shu probably wanted to be alone for a while, so she quietly walked away and strolled around the coffin, observing where the white jade coffin had taken them. Anyway, Zhao Shu had told her that the gravitational field here was particularly weak, unlike the Yin Stone Array in Chen City, so they could have plenty of time to kill here.
As for what gravity is and what a gravitational field is, Zhao Shu estimated that Mo Yinghuo wouldn't understand it for the time being, so he only gave a brief explanation. However, Mo Yinghuo still managed to summarize some ideas: gravity is the reason why the stars and moon in the sky don't fall down, so a gravitational field should be something that produces gravity.
Zhao Shu and Mo Yinghuo emphasized that the gravity inside the Yin Stone Formation is greater than outside, so the scenery inside passes more slowly than outside; while the gravity inside the Yang Stone Formation is weaker than outside, so the scenery passes more quickly.
However, the so-called speed of time is only relative to the external scenery. In other words, the slowing down or speeding up of time is relative. For those within the stone formation, or rather, within its gravitational field, the passage of time they experience remains constant. Zhao Shu even gave a specific example: in Chencheng, half a day truly passed inside the stone formation, while three days truly passed outside. In fact, Mo Yinghuo still doesn't understand this, and sometimes even experiences a strange sense of disorientation regarding her own memories, always feeling that she might have misremembered something, or confused reality with dreams.
Of course, over the past month and a half, she had been confirming this matter with Zhao Shu before she gradually accepted the mysterious thing she had come into contact with.
There are no absolutes!
However, acceptance and belief are still a step apart. Perhaps, only after leaving the Yangshi Formation this time will she be able to have unwavering faith.
Mo Yinghuo glanced around. The two found themselves in a lush bamboo forest. A path led to the front of the forest, beside which stood a stone tablet inscribed with three strange characters. The bamboo forest was eerily quiet, devoid of wind and birdsong. In the center lay a white jade coffin, its lid lifted by Zhao Shu. Without this white jade coffin, this serene bamboo forest would truly be a perfect place for cultivating one's mind and spirit; however, with this strange object added, the bamboo forest felt eerie and unsuitable for tranquility.
Zhao Shu walked over, and Mo Yinghuo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhao Shu's expression had returned to normal.
"Zhao Shu, where is this?" Mo Yinghuo asked as he approached.
Zhao Shu frowned slightly and remained silent.
Seeing his expression, Mo Yinghuo knew that something unexpected must have happened, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Zhao Shu? Is something wrong?"
“General, this is Yunxiu Kingdom,” Zhao Shu said.
"Yunxiu Kingdom?" Mo Yinghuo asked in surprise. She carefully observed her surroundings for a while, thinking to herself that Yunxiu Kingdom was vast, and she really didn't know where in Yunxiu Kingdom this quiet and secluded place was. Mo Yinghuo rubbed her temples and said, "Zhao Shu, I can't tell where in Yunxiu Kingdom this is either. There's no one around. If there were, we could ask. But judging from the environment here, it might be in the southern part of Yunxiu Kingdom."
Zhao Shu nodded slightly.
"Zhao Shu, did you not expect to come here?" Mo Yinghuo recalled his expression just now.
Zhao Shu: "Mm."
"What's the time here?" Since this is Yunxiu Kingdom, Mo Yinghuo couldn't help but worry, knowing that they should be fighting a war in Dongliang Kingdom at this very moment.
Zhao Shu looked at the white jade coffin and said, "The gravitational field here is very weak due to the influence of the white jade coffin, so don't worry, General."
Mo Yinghuo nodded, increasingly astonished at what this gravitational field was, and why Zhao Shu and the others could sense it. Why did it appear as two different places in the same Yunxiu Kingdom? Could it be that the legendary story of the Rotten Chessman was true, and that she had mistakenly entered another place with an incredibly strong gravitational field, the opposite of this place?
"General, let's take a look ahead," Zhao Shu said, pointing to Xiao Xi.
The two walked along the path, one after the other. Mo Yinghuo noticed that since coming out of the coffin, Zhao Shu had returned to normal, still keeping a certain distance from her, but this distance was noticeably greater than before. Moreover, he seemed to always avoid looking directly at her; several times when she spoke and looked at him, he would turn his eyes away.
Green trees stand tall, green steps lead to the ground. Weeds grow rampant, no birds sing or insects chirp, the wind rustles the leaves, only the stream murmurs, and footsteps are light.
Suddenly, the two stopped at the end of the path, staring intently at the scene before them.
A colossal stone statue stands, its hand poised as if holding a flower. Two cranes, one black and one white, slowly descend from the forest and land on the stone platform before the statue. Amidst the verdant bamboo and the soaring sky, the two cranes dance side by side, their necks intertwined, their wings entwined, tenderly entwined.
In this world, there is only you and me!
"Clouds and cranes dance in pairs, clear tea and turbid wine." Mo Yinghuo rubbed his temples and suddenly sighed with a smile, "Alas, having grown accustomed to the harsh yellow sand, seeing this tranquil bamboo forest is quite a change."
Zhao Shu remained silent, staring intently at the black and white wild cranes, as if deep in thought.
After a moment, he finally spoke, "General, let's continue."
The two wandered around the bamboo forest for a long time, but indeed didn't see a single person. However, Mo Yinghuo made a clear note of the place, and when they returned to the military camp, he would have someone check which suburban area of Yunxiu Kingdom this bamboo forest was located in.
As dusk fell, Mo Yinghuo realized something crucial—she was hungry. Aside from the two cranes, she hadn't seen any other animals in this bamboo forest, nor had she heard a single bird call. For some reason, Mo Yinghuo felt that if she ate the cranes, she would surely be punished by heaven.
There was a stream, and the occasional murmur of flowing water could be heard. They could find it if they wanted to, but at this crucial moment, even if time moved slowly here, they were here to get down to business. They couldn't just go into the stream to fish, and then grill the fish—they couldn't just eat them raw. To grill, they needed to start a fire, and gather bamboo… Mo Yinghuo thought about it carefully; it was too time-consuming. She wasn't a panda and couldn't eat bamboo. The important thing was, there was someone right in front of her who could solve this problem. Right, she'd also like to see how he channeled his Qi. Little did she know, what he did to her inside the coffin?
Thinking of this, Mo Yinghuo coughed forcefully and stopped.
Zhao Shu stopped, turned around and looked at him, asking, "General, what's wrong?"
"Um, Zhao Shu, have you forgotten something?" Mo Yinghuo rubbed his forehead and said with a smile.
Zhao Shu frowned, deep in thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mo Yinghuo looking up, gently patting the silver armor on her stomach with one hand.
He understood immediately.
A moment later, Zhao Shu slowly walked over and stood beside Mo Yinghuo. Unlike usual, he stood very close, only a fist's distance away. He was a full head taller than Mo Yinghuo, so he lowered his head slightly.
Mo Yinghuo's breath hitched. This position! Could it be that the Qi transfer really is mouth to mouth?! Maybe she should just go gnaw on some bamboo instead! Just as she was about to take a step back, Zhao Shu suddenly shouted, "Don't move!" which startled her.
A moment later, a refreshing sensation came from between his brows, which then turned into a warm feeling that melted into his entire body. This familiar feeling washed over him; he was not dreaming inside the original coffin.
After a moment, Zhao Shu raised his head. The shadows of bamboo and the twilight fell on his face. He slowly turned around and continued walking forward.
It turns out that to transfer Qi, all you need to do is align your brows!
So, it turns out that transferring Qi doesn't require mouth-to-mouth contact!
It turns out she was overthinking it!
After a while, Mo Yinghuo came to his senses and followed closely behind.
Several days passed, and apart from the pair of cranes and the white jade coffin that had brought them there, the two found nothing else special about the bamboo forest. Indeed, no one else appeared, but Yunxiu Kingdom was a vast country, and it was not surprising that this bamboo forest might be hidden deep in the mountains, rarely visited by people.
Zhao Shu: "General, let's go back."
Mo Yinghuo hummed in agreement, then asked, "Are we still going back in the coffin?"
Zhao Shu nodded.
The two walked back side by side and soon arrived at the coffin.
Looking at the flawless, crystal-clear coffin, Mo Yinghuo and Zhao Shu frowned in unison.
Mo Yinghuo secretly glanced at Zhao Shu and found that although this guy was dressed in a simple black outfit, his tall and slender figure was not rough, and his handsome and prominent features made him look elegant, dignified and graceful in a rough cloth.
Her brows furrowed slightly, but in an instant, they smoothed out without her noticing as she looked up.
Zhao Shu glanced at Mo Yinghuo and said softly, "General, go in."
Mo Yinghuo's lips twitched slightly. Actually, after stealing a glance at Zhao Shu, she had been keeping her gaze fixed on Xiao Xi in the distance, thinking to herself, "This time I'm not lying down." Little did she know that the person next to her was completely unaware of her plans.
She raised an eyebrow, rubbed her temples vigorously, crossed her arms, and tilted her head slightly upward. The intense sunlight shone on her delicate face, and Mo Yinghuo seemed to enjoy the fierce radiance. She smiled and looked at Zhao Shu, saying with a cheerful smile, "Why don't you come in first, Young Master Zhao?" After speaking, she didn't forget to make a gesture of invitation.
Zhao Shu shook his head expressionlessly.
Mo Yinghuo pursed her lips and said, "I can't always be the one on the bottom." After she said that, she felt that something was wrong, but she didn't think about it too much.
Zhao Shu stood still and didn't speak, just quietly looking at the coffin, as if he was waiting for Mo Yinghuo to walk in on his own.
Mo Yinghuo was still not giving up and said again, "My arm strength is good." After saying that, she glanced at Zhao Shu with a little guilt. She was still self-aware. As a general, she had been fighting for many years and had long been a martial arts practitioner, so her strength was naturally great.
However, compared to Zhao Shu, who could hold out for three days and three nights without changing expression, and who even said a month wouldn't be a problem, it's estimated that there's really no one in the entire Yunxiu Kingdom who can match her. But, regardless, she'll take the position first, and Zhao Shu will naturally switch with her when she gets tired.
"No," Zhao Shu said indifferently.
"Why?" Mo Yinghuo asked, her voice breaking. In truth, she knew that when Zhao Shu said no, he really meant no. She asked, partly out of a refusal to give up, and partly to find out what reason Zhao Shu would give to make her submit.
“My arm strength is better than yours, and…” Zhao Shu stopped abruptly before finishing his sentence. He looked Mo Yinghuo up and down carefully, and after a moment, slowly said, “You are much shorter than me.”
Mo Yinghuo's eyes twitched with difficulty, her cinnabar mole lost its luster, she slowly turned around, leaving Zhao Shu with a desolate back view, took a heroic step to her death, her movements as strange as an imperial concubine being buried alive in the harem of ancient times, and silently lay down in the white jade coffin.
She was originally the tall and invincible commander of the Yunzhao army, having fought for five years, but unfortunately, she was far too short for him. Mo Yinghuo silently lamented in her heart, "It's not that I'm short, it's that you're tall!"
Perhaps having learned from their previous experience, this time, the two remained at peace, maintaining an exceptionally perfect distance. Except when exchanging Qi, their brows were close together, they kept as far apart as possible. In the small, dark white jade coffin, two hearts, reluctantly separated, were contained.
Three days after the coffin was placed in the coffin, Mo Yinghuo had hoped to take this opportunity to chat with Zhao Shu and learn more about the situation. However, several times, before she could even get a word out, Zhao Shu would calmly say, "General, don't speak. Rest. I'll call you when we arrive."
What else can we do...?
Even more strangely, she slept soundly in the coffin, completely undisturbed by nightmares.
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