Chapter 5: A Perilous Encounter in the Poplar Forest - River Fish Leads a Clump of Hair...
Jiang Yu led the way, with Yicuo Mao by the hand. His clothes were the most torn, but Yicuo Mao and the bag on its back were perfectly intact.
He looked down at his tattered clothes, feeling a mix of anger and amusement. He muttered to himself, "I guess I'm still not used to these kinds of clothes."
He casually removed his robe, transforming himself into a set of coarse cloth clothes, instantly changing from a wealthy young master into an ordinary citizen. Interestingly, in these clothes, he didn't appear destitute; instead, he gained a more down-to-earth air.
He was quite satisfied with the clothes, and immediately felt much more relaxed. When he looked up again, he found that Mu'er had left sometime earlier.
Jiang Yu looked around and asked, "Where has that child gone?"
Suddenly remembering the strange gust of wind from earlier, he exclaimed in alarm, "Could he have been blown away by that gust of wind?!"
Liu Taohua and Lianxi then looked at him. Liu Taohua was taken aback. She had been so focused on leaving Mu'er that she hadn't noticed Jiang Yu standing not far away. She asked, "When did you change your clothes?"
Lianxi, however, seemed to have known all along, and said, "He's gone."
These words were spoken in response to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu was startled again upon hearing this, and asked in confusion, "Gone?! Wasn't he the guide? We haven't even reached Yezi yet, how come he's gone???" He couldn't help but question, "I'm not saying this to be mean, but you can't trust this person."
After saying that, he didn't forget to give Liu Taohua a friendly reply, his words were extremely sincere: "My clothes are torn and I'm not dressed properly. It's not good to be like this with girls around."
Lianxi sneered, turned to look at the poplar forest in front of her, her eyes dark, and said, "We'll be there once we pass this forest. He can't go in, so you'll have to walk the rest of the way yourself. Hold onto your donkey tight, or I won't save you if you two get lost."
Jiang Yu caught the exact word he used – “you” instead of “you all” – and immediately became furious. “What do you mean? You’re saving Yicuo Mao but not me, huh?” Jiang Yu thought for a moment and then said, “Yicuo Mao should indeed be saved. My treasure can’t be lost! Since you’ve made this decision, I won’t hold it against you.”
Watching the two of them go back and forth, Liu Taohua thought to herself: These two sworn brothers have such a good relationship.
A gentle breeze blew by, and a poplar leaf fell at Liu Taohua's feet. She picked it up, smelled it, tilted her head, and said, "Shouldn't we continue on our way?"
Lianxi said, "Let's go."
The three had only taken a few steps when Momo let out a "waa waa" cry, flapping its wings as it cried.
Jiang Yu asked, "What's wrong with it?"
Liu Taohua said, "It's nothing."
As she was talking, she tapped Momo's little head with her finger and fed it a small piece of meat to appease it. Then she rummaged through her bag, took out a small white medicine bottle, opened it, and sniffed it. She then handed the bottle to Lianxi and Jiangyu, saying, "You two, take a sniff."
Lianxi took it, smelled it, and asked, "What is this? It smells quite nice."
Liu Taohua said, "There is a kind of hallucinogenic drug in this forest. Its ingredients are somewhat complicated, but my medicine can cure it." She stood with her hands behind her back and her head slightly raised, clearly very confident in her medicine.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu quickly took back the medicine bottle he was about to return, smelled it a few times, and then handed it back to Liu Taohua with a sense of relief, saying, "I didn't expect you to have this skill, Taohua, you're quite something!"
Liu Taohua carefully put away the medicine bottle, raised an eyebrow, and said, "We've only just met, yet you all trust me. Aren't you afraid I'll poison you and deceive you?"
After a moment of silence, Lianxi laughed and said, "If my brother and I were truly deceived by you, Peach Blossom, it only means that we were incompetent or that we did something to hurt you. It has nothing to do with you." Lianxi paused, her lips curving slightly upward, and said, "Besides, I believe you would not lie to me."
Jiang Yu agreed: "That's right! We have a common goal. It's only natural for girls to be wary of others when they're out and about. But we just got through that strange wind together, neither getting lost nor turning back, which proves we're of one mind. So how could you lie to us?"
Lianxi said, "We will never lie to you either."
He spoke in a soft voice, but it sounded very sincere.
For some reason, Liu Taohua felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with someone she had only known for two days.
This feeling of warmth and familiarity is like that of a long-lost family member, connected by threads of affection, bringing warmth and joy.
Unlike the people I've met in the past, who are like fallen leaves, landing silently, today is like flowing water, endless and continuous.
Today is better than the past, and this feels good.
Liu Taohua sighed with emotion, took out two dried apricots from her bag and gave them to them, saying, "These dried apricots are the kind that make people feel happy when they are eaten. They are very precious. Behind us is the vast desert, and in front of us is the treacherous Hu forest. Today I give you these apricots, and we are friends."
Lianxi and Jiangyu exchanged a glance. Jiangyu understood and took out a gourd and a sheepskin water bag from his bundle, handing the sheepskin water bag to Lianxi.
Lianxi said, "This is my favorite iced grape juice."
Jiang Yu said, "This is my favorite tea and wine."
The two said in unison, "Today, the three of us have made our acquaintance in front of the poplar forest with our most cherished gift. From now on, we will be friends who share both good and bad fortune."
Liu Taohua bowed to them, and Lian and Jiang returned the bow in kind.
Liu Taohua laughed and said, "As a friend, it's not that I don't want to give you a few more dried apricots, but eating too many can cause internal heat, so it's not advisable to eat too many."
Jiang Yu shrugged, glanced at Lianxi beside him, and said with a hint of profound meaning, "Yes, yes, although my wine is fragrant and sweet, it is not advisable to drink too much. However, you can drink more of my brother Lian's iced grape juice. The desert is hot during the day, so it is suitable to drink more."
Lianxi handed the sheepskin water bag to Liu Taohua and said, "This is for you."
Liu Taohua took the water bag, thinking to herself, "Could he have given me his own?"
Lianxi seemed to see through her thoughts, chuckled, and said, "Don't overthink it. This was specially prepared for you. I have more."
Liu Taohua hadn't expected it to be prepared specifically for her; hadn't it been prepared long ago?
Since they were already friends, there was no need to pry into the reasons behind it, so Liu Taohua gladly accepted and said, "Thanks!"
A tuft of fur whimpered twice, seemingly getting impatient. Jiang Yu stroked a tuft of fur's ear and said, "Let's go in! Let's see what secrets this forest holds."
After saying that, the three of them stepped into the poplar forest.
You wouldn't know unless you came in, but once inside, you're greeted by a spectacular sight: it's summer, and what appears lush and green from the outside has transformed into a fiery red expanse. The leaves are blood-red, shimmering with a golden sheen. The trees have thick trunks and reach for the sky, their branches blocking out the sun.
As I walked, a breeze would occasionally pass by, alternating between cold and hot, making me feel uncomfortable, and there seemed to be undercurrents stirring beneath my feet.
As Lianxi passed by a tree, she pointed at it seemingly unintentionally and said, "These poplars are growing very well."
As soon as the words were spoken, a rustling sound came from the ground. Bubbles appeared on the ground, and as they approached, a loud bang came from within ten meters of them. A fire dragon shot out from the ground, scattering sand and fallen leaves, and waves of heat carrying flames surged outwards.
A howl was drowned out by a loud noise.
Fortunately, the three had noticed the fire dragon earlier and retreated several steps before it appeared, hiding behind a tree. The tree was tall and wide, completely concealing the three of them and the donkey, with room to spare.
They discovered that although the fire dragon was terrifying in appearance, its range was limited, and the flames it spewed had no effect on the trees. Their current position meant they would be completely unaffected by the fire dragon. The sandstorm had blinded them earlier, but now, upon closer inspection, they could no longer see a fire dragon; it was clearly a large, black serpent engulfed in flames.
Jiang Yu looked at the "fire dragon" and suddenly realized, "The hallucinogenic things in this forest, could it be just to see this big worm?"
The people who enter are first drugged and mistake the long snake for a "fire dragon." Although the long snake is scary, the "fire dragon" is more intimidating.
Its purpose was to scare away those who wanted to continue, not to kill them.
Jiang Yu rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush out and fight the long snake, but Liu Taohua stopped him, asking, "What are you going to do?"
Jiang Yu shrugged and said, "Of course we're going to deal with that worm. It scared a tuft of hair just now."
That's right, that howl just now came from a tuft of hair.
Liu Taohua asked, "So how do you plan to solve it?"
Lianxi seemed to know what he was going to do. She casually grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and laughed, "You don't need to worry about him. He has his own way of doing things."
Jiang Yu said, "That insect must have been hiding underground for many years, only moving when it hears a sound. It's lucky to have met me today, so I'll reluctantly help it sleep underground forever." After saying that, he didn't forget to turn back and comfort Yicuo Mao, saying, "Yicuo Mao, we have to be brave donkeys. This doesn't count, but we'll see how you do next time!"
“”
Jiang Yu stood up, his eyes sharp and his aura imposing. A strange smile appeared on his lips, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from sight.
His movements were incredibly fast; he not only precisely dodged the still-spraying flames, but also arrived in front of the "fire dragon" in just a few breaths. If one didn't look closely, one could only see a fleeting afterimage; an uninformed person would surely think that some kind of ghost or demon had appeared.
Lianxi and Jiangyu watched from afar, only to see Jiangyu with its head held high and hands on its hips, seemingly conversing with the "fire dragon," but they were too far away to hear clearly.
Just as Liu Taohua was intently watching how Jiang Yu was going to subdue the "fire dragon," Lianxi suddenly said something.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You'd better cover your ears now, or you'll have a hard time facing him when he comes back."
Liu Taohua exclaimed in confusion, "Ah!" and then heard a voice that she would never be able to let go of for the rest of her life.
It's the river fish singing.
To put it nicely, it's singing; in reality, it's more like howling and wailing.
Others can't sing, they're just out of tune. He's not only out of tune, but his voice is also incredibly strange, with the harshness of twigs rustling and the abruptness of heavy stones striking each other. Individually, each could create a good tune, but combined, it's terribly unpleasant to listen to.
He sang with his arms outstretched, and although his expression was not visible, it was easy to sense his passion at that moment.
Liu Taohua trembled as she listened. Although she only heard a little bit before Lianxi covered her ears, that little bit was enough to make her scalp tingle and her soul leave her body.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Shafulu, and at that moment she felt that compared to Jiang Yu's singing, Shafulu's crying was simply heavenly music.
Lianxi looked at Liu Taohua, who seemed a little dizzy, with concern and asked, "Are you alright?"
Liu Taohua then realized that Lianxi had covered her ears so she couldn't hear a sound, not even his voice right in front of her. But seeing that he was lip-syncing and asking about her condition, Liu Taohua shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
Looking over at Jiang Yu's side, the "fire dragon" was also intimidated by his singing voice; the flames on its body were extinguished, and even the flames spewed around it were put out. Without the support of fire, it had transformed from a powerful "fire dragon" into a long, charred worm.
It was writhing in agony, its head and tail repeatedly ramming against a nearby tree. It seemed as if it desperately wanted to end its own life.
The river fish seemed to say something to it again, and the snake felt as if it had been granted a pardon. It quickly burrowed into the ground, afraid that it would be too late to escape.
The ground instantly returned to calm. Jiang Yu turned around, snapped his fingers at them, and looked smug, as if to say: Look! How awesome am I!
But before they could enjoy the peace for even a moment, a dense hissing sound came from the branches overhead, and when they looked up, they saw pairs of crimson-gold eyes staring at them.
It's a snake!
A note from the author:
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