Chapter 900 Cool Valley
"I never expected that among us, Brother Liu is the one who has truly made a fortune in silence. I have been negligent before, please forgive my disrespect!"
After Lu Jinghong finished speaking, as if remembering something, she asked again:
"Brother Liu, I wonder where you usually stay after being assigned to the dining hall? My mother told me this morning that she is very grateful for your care these days. It just so happens that the Queen Mother has also approved her to stay in Jianze to accompany me..."
“My mother said that it would be great if we could live together as neighbors. We’re all acquaintances anyway, and we can help each other out… What do you think?”
Ouyang Rong wasn't very interested and just gave a perfunctory response:
"Yes, it depends on the fairies' arrangements. I just went to the dining hall today, so I'm not very clear about the situation there."
Lu Jinghong nodded:
"I'll ask my mother to try and see if she can get my senior sisters to make an exception. It's a small matter anyway."
Sha Ergou couldn't help but interject;
“Young Master Lu, then we can go to the Bamboo Hall together later.”
Lu Jinghong pretended not to hear and turned her head away.
He didn't explain that they were selected to stay in the Bamboo Hall, and most of the time they stayed there, so they couldn't live with Ouyang Rong, Li Wan, and the others.
Ouyang Rong, Li Wan, and other laborers and special family members should have had a designated place of residence.
Lu Jinghong remained expressionless.
This country bumpkin surnamed Sha is utterly stupid. He can't even figure this out, and he's completely clueless about his surroundings. He doesn't know anything and doesn't bother to find out anything; he just drifts along, blindly following him around. It's both infuriating and laughable, so he's too lazy to say a word.
As for going to the Bamboo Hall together, Lu Jinghong felt that standing next to him would be embarrassing.
Before long, Song Zhian and Yu Xiaoniangzi arrived. They had changed into flowing Wu-style clothes, each with a peach-shaped pendant hanging from their waist.
From this day forward, you can be considered to have entered the ranks of Yue women, though one is in the Autumn Hall and the other in the Peach Hall.
"Brother Liu, Young Master Lu, Brother Sha..."
The two sides greeted each other and stood together on the beach waiting for the raft to pick them up. All five of them had arrived quite early.
It was clear that Chen Jiaxin and her gang of nine young ladies had not yet all arrived.
Aqing wasn't with Ouyang Rong, but neither Song Zhian nor Yu Mili asked where Liu Qing had gone.
Moreover, whether intentionally or unintentionally, during the chat among the five-person group, Song and Yu talked to Ouyang Rong more often. Sha Ergou, who liked to follow Brother Liu, was another example. Even Lu Jinghong had become like this, frequently turning to Ouyang Rong to chat and laugh.
Normally, Ouyang Rong would maintain his persona as a dull young man, standing behind the four of them, listening to them talk without being noticed, while Song Zhian was the backbone.
After Aqing's banquet last night, the focus of the five-person group seems to have shifted slightly. It's as if nothing has changed, yet something has changed as well.
For example, while everyone is chatting, some subtle attention will fall on the taciturn young man standing at the back.
No one objected to this subtle change. Ouyang Rong noticed it but didn't pay attention to it. He remained the same as before, keeping quiet as much as possible.
When in an unfamiliar environment, talking too much can easily reveal your true colors; this is called nipping a problem in the bud.
A short while later, some noise came from behind the crowd on the beach. Ouyang Rong followed the crowd and looked back.
A tall young woman walked by with her arms crossed, dressed in the same snow-white Wu-style clothing as A-Qing, but instead of being delicate and cute, she exuded an aura of dominance and sharpness as she passed through the crowd.
She was followed by a group of young ladies from the Nine Clans, who surrounded her like stars around the moon. Among them was Xiao Lanlan, whose face was swollen, who wore a veiled hat and walked behind her sisters with her head down, like a tamed wildcat.
It is Chen Jiaxin.
As she passed the five people, Chen Jiaxin glanced at Song Zhian and Ouyang Rong behind her, then continued forward without looking to the side.
Like Aqing, a strange senior sister also came to pick her up on a bamboo raft.
Chen Jiaxin was ahead of the others and left first.
As expected, the group will likely not return to these two initial islands; they will find new places to stay.
The new Yue women and the young men of the Bamboo Hall have been divided into different halls and will now be distributed throughout the Sword Marsh.
Even those who were laborers or family members, such as Ouyang Rong and Li Wan, had specific places to live.
Yunmengze is mostly a flat lake, with sect buildings scattered on islands. If the islands are too far apart and there are no piers or iron chains, then rafts and boats are the main means of transportation.
At this moment, rafts were being brought ashore one by one, and each hall had a dedicated Yue female disciple to pick them up.
The young women whose names were called boarded the boat one by one.
"Song Zhi'an".
Soon, it was Song Zhian's turn. Because she was exceptionally selected for Qiutang, she was ranked very high and was to report to Qiutang with two other outstanding young ladies.
After greeting the others, Song Zhian suddenly turned around and spoke to the taciturn man standing at the back:
"Brother Liu, take care. We'll meet again another day. If you have time, Mili and I will come to the dining hall to find you. We'll enjoy your cooking then. I hope you won't find it troublesome."
Ouyang Rong replied woodenly, "No, take care."
Song Zhian chuckled lightly, without any affectation, turned around and left, gracefully leaping onto the raft.
Soon, Yu Mili also left.
As usual, the number of Yue women is limited; young men or young ladies from the Bamboo Hall should step aside.
Before long, the new Yue women had all left, and it was Lu Jinghong, Sha Ergou, Ahong and others' turn. A bamboo raft came ashore to pick them up.
Perhaps realizing something, Sha Ergou turned around anxiously and asked:
“Brother Liu, can’t we stay here forever? You stay in the dining hall, and I’ll stay in the bamboo hall.”
Lu Jinghong ignored him, clasped his hands in a gesture of greeting to Ouyang Rong, and then boarded the ship.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the reluctant Sha Ergou and nodded gently:
"We'll meet again. You can go to the Bamboo Hall to familiarize yourself with the situation. I'm not leaving; I'll stay here. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet later. Or, like Miss Song and Miss Yu, you can come to the dining hall to see me whenever you have time."
"All right……"
Sha Ergou took a deep breath and buried his head as he moved forward.
However, after the raft sailed away, Ouyang Rong, standing on the empty beach, saw that the short-haired youth on the departing raft seemed to be looking back frequently.
Ouyang Rong watched them go quietly.
Although Sha Ergou was simple and honest with a touch of cunning like a country bumpkin, he was very sincere to Brother Liu. He liked to confide in him about his rough thoughts and didn't treat him like an outsider.
To be honest, Ouyang Rong really liked this kind of simple and pure friendship.
Thinking back, it seems I've met quite a few honest and simple people like Sha Ergou along my journey from Longcheng.
For example, the original Ashan and Liulang, and later the Huang Feihong family, and Yuan Huaimin could also be considered...
Ouyang Rong didn't know why, perhaps it was because he had a natural affinity for people, or perhaps it was because his behavior was down-to-earth.
But gradually, he stopped daring to get too close to the newcomers, unwilling to be intimate with them, and even reluctant to bring them along to work together.
Because of Ah Shan's example.
Getting too close to him is not good; it's like a moth drawn to a flame.
Therefore, Ouyang Rong began to control his distance.
This was also the case when they first treated Aqing and Liu's family.
This time, having gone to great lengths to infiltrate Yunmeng Sword Marsh, he must adhere to this principle, keeping a low profile as much as possible. In front of newly acquainted people, he must strive to cultivate the persona of a dull and uninteresting person, ideally treating them as someone invisible or a mere tool...
There were hardly any people left on the beach, and Ouyang Rong's figure stood somewhat alone.
He waited quietly for a moment, and then a lone raft came along, with a woman standing on it; her figure was familiar.
She is Xi Qi, a silver medalist from Taotang.
As the raft reached the shore, she didn't disembark. A gentle lake breeze blew, and she brushed her hair behind her ear.
"Sorry I'm late. I need to take the new junior sisters over first... Let's go, Liu Aliang."
Xi Qi turned to the side, and at her signal, Ouyang Rong nimbly leaped onto the boat.
He asked in a muffled voice, "Fairy, where are we going?"
"Cool Valley".
She paused, and for some reason, added:
"We will not enter the valley; the dining hall is outside the valley."
...
"Is this Qingliang Valley?"
"Um."
"Fairy, are you referring to this island?"
"Uh-huh."
On the bamboo raft, having received Xi Qi's reply, Ouyang Rong looked up carefully and asked again, as if to confirm:
"Fairy, if Cool Valley is up there, what is the name of this island?"
"It's called Qingliang Valley, the name of this island."
Ouyang Rong remained expressionless, turned around, and continued to look up.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a large valley.
In the direction the raft was heading, there was a huge island, on which sat a mountain range that towered into the clouds, lush and verdant, shrouded in mist, with several cranes flying by.
The mountain range is circular, resembling an empty basin, like a giant volcanic crater.
From Ouyang Rong's perspective, he could only see a small part of the mountain valley; in front of him were towering cliffs that seemed to reach into the clouds.
The mountain peaks were shrouded in mist, with several snow-white waterfalls hanging down, which must have been clouds cut off by the towering mountains and gathered into water flowing down.
Especially in the distant valley, Ouyang Rong could vaguely see a slender white waterfall, as thin as a dragon's body, appearing and disappearing in the clouds and mist, looking exceptionally ethereal.
This was even more spectacular and perilous than the waterfalls and peaks he had seen in Mount Lu.
Mount Lu is already a place of great beauty and unparalleled charm.
Ouyang Rong never expected that in this secluded place of Yunmeng, there would be such a cool valley, which could stand shoulder to shoulder with the world-famous Mount Lu and gather so many spectacular waterfalls.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but turn around and look at the way he came.
They traveled by raft all morning to get here.
At first, the raft was surrounded by bright sunshine and clear skies over the lake, but as it got closer to the island, the weather became hazy and the visibility became dim.
The weather in the 900-mile-long Yunmeng Marsh is truly unpredictable, with even different places within the marsh experiencing vastly different weather conditions.
According to his estimate, this is at least the core hinterland of Yunmeng Sword Marsh.
Before Xi Qi turned around, Ouyang Rong looked around and saw that there were many small islands around this island called Qingliang Valley, connected to the boardwalk by iron chains.
There seemed to be quite a few people walking around on the island; it was rather lively.
Ouyang Rong even saw some young Yue women appearing on the surrounding islands, though he didn't know which branch they belonged to.
However, there were hardly any people on the shore of the large island called Qingliang Valley, only some ancient buildings, all empty. This contrast made it seem as if there was some kind of taboo about this place.
"We're almost there."
Xi Qi stood in front of the raft, looking out at the island with her hands behind her back.
Ouyang Rong noticed that her expression was somewhat solemn, lacking the relaxed and cheerful smile she had shown earlier.
There seems to be a sense of awe towards this cool valley.
"This island is very large, one of the largest islands in our sect. Don't go into the valley. Once you get ashore, you'll see the dining hall. Go in and do your work. Don't leave the dining hall on your own. After you've prepared the food, just wait. Someone will come to collect it. You don't need to worry about it."
"As for the ingredients, you can take as much as you want here without worrying about being punished. You are the cook, and no one will blame you..."
She nodded and said:
"In addition, Qingliang Valley is quite close to Qiutang. Speaking of which, you were personally selected by the Sixth Lady. If she wants to drink the chicken soup you make, she will send someone to inform the dining hall. You just need to wait. As for your daily responsibilities... well, someone will tell you about them later."
Xi Qi gave a few simple instructions, and the raft reached the shore.
She put Ouyang Rong down.
They left quickly, as if they didn't want to stay there any longer.
The dining hall is built on an open space on the shore, backed by a cliff. It is a building with flying eaves, covered with moss, and has a very simple and rustic feel.
You can smell the smoke from cooking fires from afar.
It seemed that someone in the dining hall had noticed Ouyang Rong's arrival. A young woman came out, wearing an apron, with an ordinary appearance and a calm expression.
"Come in."
The apron-wearing girl didn't ask Ouyang Rong anything, and simply greeted him.
Ouyang Rong followed him inside without making a sound.
Inside the dining hall, seven or eight older women were preparing ingredients. The young woman who brought Ouyang Rong in handed him some cooking utensils and an apron with practiced ease, set him up by a stove, and then went to attend to her own business.
The other older women would occasionally glance at him out of curiosity, but otherwise they didn't say anything.
The entire dining hall, apart from him, seemed to be filled with middle-aged and young women, and a few elderly men picking vegetables and chopping firewood... It looked exactly like a place for retirement.
Moreover, Ouyang Rong looked around and found that the dining hall was relatively quiet.
At first, he thought it was because it wasn't mealtime yet, so he waited patiently.
As a result, Ouyang Rong waited all day, until the evening when it was bustling, but the dining hall was still the same. The atmosphere was relaxed, and the cooking was done at a leisurely pace, without any sense of urgency, and no one came to urge them.
As a result, Ouyang Rong did nothing. The cooks were done by the old lady, and they only asked Ouyang Rong to help out by handing her a ladle and tending the fire.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the pot; it wasn't anything fancy, just a big pot of rice and stew.
After it was prepared, as expected, a Yue woman came to collect the meal in the evening.
Judging from the direction they left, it seems they dispersed to the surrounding islands.
No one from Qingliang Valley came.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look at the quiet yet majestic waterfall valley, somewhat puzzled... And so, a day passed.
(End of this chapter)
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