Ulcers/5【Repair】
Just now the sun was shining brightly, not too brightly, but at least there was some light. Less than half an hour later, the sky darkened, dark clouds gathered, and a rainstorm was about to come.
At the hour of You, the two of them stopped to rest in an inn. There were not many people in the inn, but it was surprisingly noisy.
Since leaving the county town, the two of them had tacitly agreed not to exchange a single word. It was hard to say whether they had tacit agreement or not. Ji Yan's nonchalant demeanor was a bit scary to Ye Xuanling anyway.
The inn was located dozens of miles east of Anping County. The county was a bit chaotic, so the two did not rent a carriage in Anping. Ye Xuanling hoped that she could meet a driver who was going the same way and could take them there.
Dianhai Lake is neither far nor near. The drive might take several hours, but this is at least faster. It might take more time to find snake grass in Dianhai Lake.
The two of them hadn't eaten for most of the day. Before leaving, Ye Xuanling took some dry food and a change of clothes. They found a random place to sit down and asked him, "Would you like something to eat?"
"Need not."
"That's fine." Ye Xuanling nodded. Wen Xiaoer ordered a pot of tea, took out a steamed bun from his bag and started eating. "I used to have severe abdominal pain after eating a little, but it might be because I was too hungry. So if you don't eat like this, you might also have abdominal pain."
"Do you have a stomachache?" Ji Yan stretched out his hand towards her, "I want to eat."
Ye Xuanling laughed at him. She didn't expect him to be so afraid of pain. She took out another steamed bun from her bag and handed it to him: "Here."
"Thank you." Ji Yan took it.
After eating two mouthfuls, Ye Xuanling patted her clothes, stood up and walked to the counter.
The inn door was still open, and bean-sized raindrops hit the ground, forming a small puddle. Each raindrop caused ripples. Ye Xuanling walked away, not wanting the rain to splash on her.
Standing behind the counter was a man wearing a thin, dark gray cotton and linen round-necked robe. He must be the shopkeeper. Ye Xuanling approached, smiling. "Shopkeeper, do you have any vehicles going to Dianhai recently? Can you take two people with you? I'll pay for it."
"Dianhai?" Hearing Ye Xuanling's words, a burly man with bare chest and a headscarf turned to look at her. "Girl, are you going to Dianhai?"
Ye Xuanling nodded in response.
"We're going to Dianhai. Why don't you give us some money and we can go together tomorrow?"
The man in front of him didn't look like a good person, but at least he could have a better idea by asking the owner about his vehicle.
"Hey, girl, don't be afraid. We are just traveling merchants. Look, our carriage is still parked outside."
The shopkeeper shook his head and said that there had been no vehicles going to Dianhai recently. Ye Xuanling turned her head to look at the "traveling merchants" with a wary look. After a moment of silence, she asked, "I wonder what business you guys are in?"
"As for business, we do a little bit of everything, including all kinds of food and medicine." The traveling merchant chuckled, putting steamed buns into his mouth while laughing.
"Food medicine?" she asked him politely, "Big brother, have you heard of snake grass?"
Next to the man who claimed to be a traveling merchant sat a man who looked very different from him. He had a gentle voice and said, "Miss, are you looking for snake grass?"
Ye Xuanling looked at him and smiled: "Yeah."
The two men smiled at each other, and then the elder brother, who claimed to be a traveling merchant, waved Ye Xuanling over. As she approached, the elder brother leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Snake grass is precious. It's difficult to pick in the mountains near the water in the east of Dianhai. Therefore, the price is very high. Why don't you come with us and pick more?"
Since the price is so high, why invite her?
"Big brother." Ji Yan approached, holding her shoulders and widening the distance between them. "I think what you said is very good. Then let's set off together tomorrow."
Ye Xuanling looked at him, frowning and puzzled. Why did he agree so easily?
Ji Yan winked at her with a smile on his face, then turned to the elder brother and said, "How is it?"
The eldest brother readily agreed, took a sip of the drink, and said happily: "Okay, little brother, you are a straightforward person."
After a detailed discussion, the two finally understood the group's purpose. They had traveled west from the capital to this point. Dianhai was no small place, its jewelry and medicinal herbs world-renowned, and many merchants flocked there to purchase them. Bringing these back to Shengjing would yield untold profits.
Ye Xuanling had never been to Dianhai, but she had only heard people in the county talk about it. But she was truly puzzled: why did Ji Yan agree? It was obvious that he also wanted to make money, so why would he bring people along to rob the herbs?
So stupid.
-
After a detailed discussion, Ji Yan paid the money and decided to leave for Dianhai early the next morning. The group of merchants returned to the guest room to rest, leaving Ye Xuanling and the other two alone in the main room. She had a blank expression on her face, a single possibility flashing through her mind. She sat on a stool and asked calmly, "Do you know each other?"
Ji Yan: “I don’t know him.”
"So you trust them so much? Aren't you afraid of a scam? Or are you colluding with them to trick me into coming here and kill me?" Ye Xuanling crossed her arms and asked interrogatively, "Ji Yan, who are you?"
"Don't believe it, don't be afraid. It's not like that. You've seen the wandering ghosts in the mass graves." He patiently answered each of her questions, a gentle and affectionate smile on his face. "I'm Ji Yan."
He sat down opposite her, supporting his face with one hand, looking straight at her without avoiding her gaze at all.
She wanted to explore, to get to the bottom of this. She stood up, leaning over the table, and leaned in to look him in the eye. His eyes were strange, not as bright as when she first met him. They were even dull, their pupils gray, a stark contrast to her dark pupils.
She was so stupid at that time. Saving him was a wrong choice.
Why did she save him when he was about to kill her? After thinking about it, she realized that he had helped her, so was she going too far? Ye Xuanling felt like she was about to become a saint.
So kind.
Ye Xuanling came to her senses, stood up straight, and sighed softly, "I don't want to be with you. From now on, you walk on your dark, damp, and corrupt single-plank bridge, and I walk on my sunny road."
He laughed again, not as softly as before, but a direct chuckle. Bright, open, and transparent, he sounded like a young man.
"What are you laughing at again?" Ye Xuanling didn't give him a good look and asked him seriously.
"I know you think I'm your enemy now, but I'm not. If you save me, I will definitely protect you." Ji Yan reached out to touch her head, "Trust me."
Ye Xuanling threw his hand away: "Why should I trust you?"
"Okay." Ji Yan lowered his head and muttered, "Don't believe me."
Ye Xuanling's expression was clearly better than before, a hint of apology and nervousness mingling with it. "I'm sorry, this wasn't my intention, but gambling with my life is absolutely impossible."
"I will protect you."
The two of them were not that familiar with each other, and Ji Yan had no reason to help protect someone who had nothing to do with him.
It rained heavily that night.
Thunder roared, resounding across the sky. Flashes of lightning illuminated the night, their strong light filtering through the window paper into the main room. Ye Xuanling turned her back, tilting her head slightly to glance in his direction. "You have no reason."
The wind and rain were blowing in through the window that was not closed tightly.
"We'll leave tomorrow. We don't have to go with that group of traveling merchants, but we must go together." Ji Yan was relieved. He knew her concerns, but she shouldn't know them yet.
Even if there are only two months left, just two months, we have to keep going.
On October 21, the 11th year of the Qingyuan period, there was a bead dance.
A few dozen miles outside the county, I found a pair of merchants and followed them the next day. I learned today that snake grass is extremely valuable, so I will be careful and cautious in making the medicine to minimize its consumption.
This is Ye Xuanling's habit. When she goes out alone, she always writes down what happened and her thoughts and feelings in a small booklet.
The crackling sound of raindrops hitting the roof was so loud that it kept people awake. Ye Xuanling covered herself with the quilt and curled up with her head in her hands. She tossed and turned in bed, wondering if this was all going too smoothly.
All worries were cast aside. The journey to Dianhai was smooth, and the merchants did not do anything inappropriate. Ye Xuanling couldn't help but wonder if she was too cautious.
Last night she didn't know why she agreed to let Ji Yan travel with the traveling merchants, but he looked particularly lonely at that time, as if she had seen such an expression on someone else's face a long time ago.
Have you seen it? You should have seen it, right?
She can't remember.
The vehicle stopped at the foot of Dianhai East Road Mountain. The mountain was steep, so the vehicle had to stop here.
According to local people, this mountain was originally under the jurisdiction of the government residence, but there were too many people applying to go up the mountain to collect herbs, and it was too slow to approve the applications one by one, so later it was changed to require people to sign a life and death agreement before they could go up the mountain.
It is not difficult to imagine that she signed the life and death agreement only because the mountain is full of dangers and there will be obstacles blocking her way.
"Let's go, everyone," the leading peddler called out. This man had introduced himself to Ye Xuanling and the others yesterday, and it was quite a coincidence. He also had the surname Liu, Liu Wen. It would be nice for Liu Wen to be the leader. The journey up the mountain was unusual, and as long as he wasn't a bad person, it would be helpful for everyone to have someone to look after him.
Ye Xuanling and Ji Yan put their bags in the carriage and bought two bamboo baskets.
The road was fine at the beginning, and not as haunted as the locals said. However, the higher we went, the thicker the smog became, and the denser the trees and haystacks became.
The predecessors have paved a path for the future generations, so this part is relatively easy.
Ye Xuanling held a branch she'd picked up at the foot of the mountain, which she used to swat away spiderwebs and insects. She often went up the mountain to collect herbs, and she found it particularly irritating to have spiderwebs on her clothes, skin, or hair.
It rained all night last night, and the muddy ground on the mountain was slippery. I had to hold on to the ground with every step for fear of falling.
"Ah?!" The person in front suddenly screamed.
Everyone was chattering about what had happened, but no one answered.
Ji Yan walked to the front, and suddenly a pile of white bones appeared on the yellow earth! Seeing the bones, everyone was speechless. Ji Yan returned to Ye Xuanling and raised his hand to cover her eyes: "Don't look." Many people have died on this mountain.
"It's bones."
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