Death is the same as the blood. When fog rises in the mountains, it means I come back to see you...
While all the tribesmen went to congratulate Wu Jing, Wu Wen grabbed Shi Cheng and ran out of Pingba in one breath.
Shi Cheng ran in a daze. What was this all about? Were they eloping, or had he kidnapped the Wu Clan leader?
The two of them leaned on the big rock at the entrance of the plain to catch their breath and rest. They looked back at each other and smiled. It seemed that many things did not need to be explained anymore.
Shi Cheng stroked the words "Monument Spirit" engraved on the stone and said, "I haven't asked you yet, why are you called the Monument Spirit Witch Clan?"
Wu Wen opened her mouth but said nothing, then reached out to pull his hand, wanting to write something for him to see.
"Tell me what you want to hear," Shi Cheng refused to give him his hand. "There's no rush. Take your time."
"No, it's not good to listen..." Wu Wen tried to speak, but the sound was so bad that he wanted to cover his ears.
Shi Cheng hugged him tightly: "It's okay, just tell me quietly, I like to hear it."
Wu Wen finally let down her guard, leaned close to his ear, and explained to him word by word that "Monument Spirit" refers to the former habitat, and written in the witch language, these two words are it.
"So that's not your clan name?"
"The clan's name is just one word: wu. The place where the witches live can be called a wu village or a wu town. In ancient times, when the clan was large, there was also a wu kingdom, or the kingdom of witches."
"Since you moved to Longji Mountain, why did you carve the old place name?"
"The elders of the clan, seeing that this stone was flat, planned to carve a stele to record the events of ten years ago."
"Then why isn't it finished?"
"The past is tragic, the grief is immense, and it's hard to move on."
The elders of the clan were so sad and grief-stricken that it was difficult to describe. Wu Wen must have felt no less pain and depression. Shi Cheng hugged him tighter, hoping to clear away the haze in his heart so that they could look forward together from then on.
After coming down the mountain, Wu Wen resumed his male attire, and they continued to live in Mutao Village, leading an ordinary life.
In his spare time, Shi Cheng pondered the twists and turns before the "elopement" and asked him, "Why would Aunt let us go so easily?"
"It's not Agu who wants to let us go, it's Ajing," Wu Wen snuggled into his arms. "Ajing is the daughter of a witch of my generation. She's been smart and brave since she was young, and Agu likes her very much. Ajing is the successor to the clan leader, and no one has any objection. If she's willing to let us go, even if Agu is reluctant, she won't object too much."
The new clan leader is a genuine witch, not to mention the witch lady, and everyone's worries are put to rest.
"Alas, the children of the same generation of witches have all become clan leaders." Shi Cheng pinched his waist and sighed.
"...Do you think I'm too old, or that I can't have children?" Wu Wen grabbed the front of his lapel.
"There's no need to be born, but if you want to talk about old age, am I not a few years older than you?" Shi Cheng quickly begged for mercy.
The two were kissing and joking under the flower stand behind the house, and didn't notice that an old man wearing a scholar's cap happened to pass by.
The old man, seeing this, quickly raised his sleeves to shield his eyes: "Two men, how can this be so disrespectful in broad daylight!"
Shi Cheng and Wu Wen were stunned by the old man's departing figure. The next day, Wu Wen became interested and changed into women's clothes. Coincidentally, the old man passed by again.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, so sorry, it turns out that your wife is a woman disguised as a man! The world is too chaotic nowadays, women should not show their faces in public, you'd better go home and take care of your husband and children!" The old man spoke frankly and left in a hurry.
Shi Cheng laughed so hard that he fell backwards. He grabbed Wu Wen's chin and kissed her hard.
"Actually, Ajing and I have an agreement." Wu Wen suddenly looked serious.
"What agreement?" Shi Cheng stopped smiling and remained serious with him.
"Before leaving, we sorted out the classics left by the ancestors of the Wu clan. There are many statements in them, which are actually guesses of our ancestors and have no evidence to confirm. Ajing hopes that I can walk out of Longji Mountain, research while traveling, and bring more wisdom back to the Wu clan in the future." Wu Wen said earnestly.
"I understand. Reading thousands of books is like traveling thousands of miles." After finishing his serious speech, Shi Cheng suddenly said something sour. "I was too sentimental. I thought you came down the mountain just to elope with me."
"Why do we have to elope? Can't Jing let us go but not get married?"
"Don't you think Ajing knows that you and I are both men? Isn't she worried about wasting the blood of the witch clan?"
Wu Wen did not argue with him. She still remembered that at that time, an elder had said something even more extreme. Seeing that Shi Cheng was handsome and kind-hearted, she actually advocated that he spend the night at the home of every woman who liked him until they became pregnant.
He disagreed and had a quarrel with his elders, and was accused of a serious crime.
Seeing Wu Wen's cold face and silence, Shi Cheng knew he was wrong. The matter of the Wu clan's bloodline continuation was not something he could joke about.
"Awen, I am yours, yours alone." He knew that acting coquettishly was the most effective way.
"Then in the next life, can we still be together? If I can become a woman, we can have another child." Wu Wen buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled.
"No, no, look at the bride at the east end of the village. She screamed so loudly when she gave birth that the whole village could hear her. I don't want you to be in that much pain. If you must have a child, then... let me give birth to it." Shi Cheng stroked his hair to comfort him.
Wu Wen was amused by him, but also felt extremely satisfied.
They stayed in Mutao Village for several years, and Wu Wen discovered that the soil on the southern foot of Longji Mountain was very suitable for firing porcelain.
However, the fired color is not the common white porcelain or celadon, but a light persimmon color.
Those who like it think it is particularly unique, while those who don’t like it think it is a bit tacky.
But in any case, it is rare, and the rarer it is, the higher the price it can fetch.
Shi Cheng led the villagers to build a porcelain kiln, and Wu Wen was responsible for its management. Just like the jade mine back then, it brought them a lot of income.
When they had saved enough money, they set out together to travel around the world.
The longer they spent together, the more Shi Cheng admired Wu Wen's profound knowledge and indomitable character. Although he had his own unfulfilled ambitions, he was willing to be his follower.
When passing Dasan Pass, Shi Cheng made an exception and drank a lot of wine. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he climbed up the city wall and practiced sword dancing.
Although his movements were a bit rusty after not practicing for many years, the sight of his robe fluttering in the strong wind made him look like the young general wandering around the border again.
Wu Wen asked him, "Since you have regrets in your heart, why don't you join the army?"
Shi Cheng asked back, "Are you willing to accompany me to the army?"
Wu Wen shook her head: "I have unfinished business and will not stop here."
Shi Cheng said, "I don't want much. I have no regrets in this life as long as I can be with you."
Time flies, and as the old man said, the world is not peaceful.
First, the northern court was destroyed by a tribe further north. The new leader didn't care about the alliance between the north and the south, and marched his army south. In their eyes, the pampered southern court was no different from a piece of fat meat.
Wu Wen and Shi Cheng did not rely on any power and always stayed outside the main line of the evolving situation.
Rather than becoming generals or ministers, they preferred to use their medical skills, mechanical skills, and philosophy to help civilians. Although they received a lot of praise and acclaim, and even had followers, they did not establish any sect based on this.
Shi Cheng had been injured while serving in the army, and by the time he was fifty, he could barely walk.
Wu Wen came up with the idea of taking him back to Longji Mountain. The tribe had a full range of medicine, which could at least alleviate his pain.
Wu Jing managed the tribe in an orderly manner. Knowing that they were coming back, she went down the mountain to greet them personally.
Longji Mountain was still extremely steep. Wu Wen was worried that Shi Cheng would have trouble walking, but Wu Jing said it was okay. She had ordered people to build many large structures in the mountains to assist in walking.
While riding the cable car and gliding in the air, Shi Cheng was in a good mood and felt that this thing was novel and interesting.
But when he turned around and caught a glimpse of the fine lines at the corners of Wu Jing's eyes, he truly felt that he was old.
Wu Jing told Wu Wen that the area where the Wu tribe lived had expanded a lot, and the population had increased several times compared to the past.
Also, although A-gu passed away, she left behind drawings of excavating the mountain and building a cemetery. She said that although the Wu tribe had left the old place of Beiling, Longji Mountain was still their most cherished home.
The former patriarch Wu Wen took on the heavy responsibility at a critical moment of survival. A hundred years later, he should be buried in the main tomb and worshipped by generations.
Wu Wen didn't care about things before and after death, and she cares even less now.
However, Shi Cheng's health was getting worse day by day. He prepared various medicines, including his own blood, but they had no effect.
Wu Wen was like a madman, searching for the most primitive spiritual spells from the era of witch gods, and then praying for the mercy of the gods on the altar without sleep.
But Shi Cheng just comforted him, saying that life and death are determined by fate, and the world is unpredictable. How can mortals win when fighting against heaven?
"Awen, I've had a good life... In troubled times, it's hard for ordinary people to protect themselves, but I have a lover, a tribe, and have done many, many meaningful things... The only thing I can't let go of is you. You like to keep things to yourself, and you'll be so sad when I'm gone! I'll allow you to cry for a while, and then you can let it go, okay?"
Wu Wen was so sad that she was almost speechless, and her tears kept flowing.
Shi Cheng left on a day when the winter snow had just begun to fall. He was in good spirits that day and insisted on going out to see the snow. However, he could not walk any further when he reached the plum tree behind the house.
Wu Wen hugged him, and the two of them sat down leaning against each other. Shi Cheng broke off a bunch of plum branches and handed them over.
"Oh, I miss that time when you wrote for me in the snow." Shi Cheng said with a smile.
"What did I write?" Wu Wen was a doctor who had witnessed the end of countless lives. He knew that this was a last hurrah.
"Write it again and show it to me?" Shi Cheng didn't believe that he would forget.
Wu Wen took the plum branch and wrote slowly, as if Shi Cheng would wait to read as long as he didn't finish.
The rising sun melted the ice and snow, and a thick fog rose in the mountains, like a dream or illusion.
Shi Cheng could no longer see or hear anything. He and Wu Wen interlocked their fingers and murmured, "When the fog rises in the mountains, it means I'm coming back to see you. You must remember to take me home..."
When Wu Jing found them under the plum tree, the former patriarch had actually taken poison beforehand, and the two had already died in each other's arms.
The tribesmen carried the coffins and placed them together in the main tomb, where they were buried together and held memorial services for them according to the rites of the tribe leader.
The sky gradually brightened, and light seeped in from the cracks in the rocks. Although the tomb passage was dark, it was no longer pitch dark.
When Wen Zichuan woke up, his face was covered with tears. He said that it was not good for an actor to have too strong empathy. It was clearly just a bizarre dream, but it really broke his heart all night.
He sat up wearing Cheng Sizhou's coat, turned on the flashlight, and found that he was "facing the wall" not far away.
"Brother Zhou, what did you find out?" Wen Zichuan asked.
"Murals." Cheng Sizhou turned around and pointed at the walls on both sides. "There are murals all over them."
Not only are they murals, but they are also painted murals from more than a thousand years ago. However, the main scenes are painted at high places, mixed with various colors, and it is impossible to see them clearly in such dim conditions.
"What did you draw?" Wen Zichuan had to rely on Cheng Sizhou's eyes.
"White robe, red patterns, altar, should he be the patriarch of the witch tribe? The one next to him, is he a general?" Cheng Sizhou narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
They are Wu Wen and Shi Cheng.
The mural overlapped with the dream, and Wen Zichuan remembered everything.
Shi Cheng in the dream looked exactly like Cheng Sizhou. He followed Wu Wen and experienced Shi Cheng's death once.
"Brother Zhou." He ran over and hugged Cheng Sizhou tightly from behind. He was afraid that he was still in a dream, and also afraid that Cheng Sizhou would leave him like Shi Cheng left Wu Wen.
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