Ulcers/6【Repair】
The cool breeze blew his sleeves, and a fresh fragrance rushed into her nostrils.
She brushed his hand aside as usual and took a few steps forward.
It really is a pile of bones.
As the old saying goes, a tiger's death is like mud, and a human's death is like a tiger's. Ye Xuanling froze, her scalp tingling and goose bumps covering her arms. Ji Yan gently lifted the skeleton with a branch; it looked like it had been dead for more than a few months.
The fishy and rancid smell was not strong. The man's clothes were tattered, covered with mold, and had decomposed and rotted a little.
The person following Liu Wen spoke cautiously: "Boss, this...are we still going up the mountain?"
"Go ahead, this guy's dead, that only means he wasn't good enough." He turned around and called out to everyone, "We're many, what's there to be afraid of?"
They were currently halfway up Dongdao Mountain, several hundred feet high. Everyone knew that the higher the mountain, the colder the temperature.
But no one could guess whether this man was murdered, committed suicide, or was simply in danger. Everyone did not respond directly to Liu Wen's words, but just waited for the answer from the person next to them.
After a moment's silence, she spoke.
"Let's go." Ye Xuanling took a deep breath. "Snake grass is very important. We must get it today."
Hearing this, more and more people responded. They had to climb the mountain, find the snake grass, and not lose their lives. Ye Xuanling and the others had to move faster. Anping County couldn't wait, and the ulcer wouldn't wait for them.
The group continued forward and sat down not far from here to rest. It was already noon, and the sky had darkened unusually, but there were no dark clouds. It shouldn't rain, Ye Xuanling comforted herself in her heart.
If it rains like it did yesterday, the road up the mountain will probably be covered with thorns.
"How many snake grasses there are on the mountain? How many people will die!" A middle-aged man in a brown-gray linen robe pushed his chest and stamped his feet. "I think we should go down the mountain."
Liu Wen stopped him from saying, "Hey! What are you doing?! Are you trying to disrupt our herb hunting?"
"Boss!" the man cried, "I'm afraid I didn't have the courage to say it just now. What if we all end up like that?"
"Who told you that?" Liu Wen asked.
"That's what the lady selling sesame cakes at the foot of the mountain said!" The man was about to pick up the bamboo basket and sling it over his shoulder. "No, boss, I don't want any share. I'll go meet you at the foot of the mountain."
"Hey, are you really leaving?" Liu Wen stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth. "Okay, whoever wants to leave can leave. You don't have any courage, you grown man." He waved at the crowd, as if to drive them away.
Everyone looked at each other, no one dared to speak, and no one stood up. The autumn weather was truly strange, its gloomy mood seeming to affect everyone's mood. Dongdao Mountain was full of pine trees, and the dead pine needles matted the ground, making it soft and comfortable. He spat to the side: "Oh, as cowardly as a mouse."
The trees were evergreen, leaving only two colors in the mountains. Ye Xuanling, dressed in green, blended seamlessly into the landscape. A slender, slightly calloused hand reached out from the right, holding a kettle. "Want some?"
He tilted his head to look at her. Ye Xuanling sighed, feeling somewhat speechless: "You've already drunk it. I don't want to eat your saliva."
He laughed: "I haven't tried it, do you want to drink it?"
"It's not poisoned, is it?" Ye Xuanling was very cautious in this regard and took it carefully. "Thank you very much. It's a good thing you brought so much. Otherwise, I would have died of thirst here first."
Before he could answer, Ye Xuanling lifted the kettle and drank directly. After drinking deeply, she wiped her mouth carelessly.
"I haven't even answered yet, and you dare to drink it?" Ji Yan looked at her without any evasion in his gaze. "Are you really not afraid that I'll poison you? Or are we so close that you trust me?"
"Of course, I said we are friends." Ye Xuanling rolled her eyes in her heart. She didn't believe it at all. If she died, he would have no chance of living either.
She killed him before she died.
Ji Yan said meaningfully, "Okay, we're friends."
After a short break, everyone prepared to continue on their journey. Liu Wen had said that snake grass grows near water, but why is it on this mountain? She asked Liu Wen, and he said she didn't understand, because there was a lake on Dongdao Mountain.
After several hours of walking, they still hadn't reached the top of the mountain. As dusk approached, the sky grew darker. Several people held kerosene lamps to light the way for the others. Ye Xuanling didn't know why she suddenly felt cold. She shivered, her hands and feet numb, and her steps slowed down, but she still tried to keep up with the pace of those ahead.
She folded her arms and wrapped her clothes tightly around her to keep warm.
"Don't you feel a little cold?" Ye Xuanling asked.
"Aren't you cold?" Liu Wen handed her the kerosene lamp. "Miss Ye, you're too weak, aren't you? Here, take it. It's a little warm."
Why aren't they cold? Ye Xuanling glanced at her clothes. She was wearing quite a lot, so why was she still cold? We were almost at the top of the mountain, so she had to bear it.
"Puff." A piece of clothing that still retained the mixed smell of bitter tea and green bamboo leaves was thrown on her, like fine raindrops hitting a bamboo forest, gathering into dewdrops that slowly fell along the leaves, and a faint fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.
"I'm hot, please get it for me." Ji Yan clapped his hands and walked to her side.
Ye Xuanling smiled and said, "I won't say thank you for this... This is my senior brother's clothes."
Ji Yan: “Oh.”
Ji Yan's "oh" was very annoying, but Ye Xuanling wasn't one to dwell on it, so she brushed it off and ignored it. As long as she felt warm, it was fine. But then she thought about it again and felt like an ungrateful person.
After wrapping their clothes tightly, everyone reached the top of the mountain.
A thin layer of snow accumulated on the top of the mountain, giving the loess and trees a light silver-white hue. The warm yellow light shone on the ground and on everyone's faces.
"We've finally reached the top of the mountain!" someone shouted excitedly.
Just as they said, there was a lake on the top of the mountain. It was late at night, so the lake's color and depth were unclear. Ye Xuanling, panting, picked up an inch-sized stone from the ground and threw it in.
I only heard a "dong" sound, and judging from the sound, it should not have fallen into the lake yet.
In the light, Ye Xuanling could clearly see the mist from her breath. The temperature here was probably even lower than on a snowy winter night. Perhaps she had sweated from running just now, and she felt a little hot. She took off Ji Yan's clothes and held them in her hands.
The sky was completely dark, and white water threads fell from the sky. It began to rain again. The rain immediately melted the snow on the leaves on the ground. Liu Wen began to arrange for everyone to search for snake grass.
The stems of snake grass are different from other herbs. They are brown-black, with toothed leaves with distinct lines and usually no branches. A single stem supports three leaves. She had never seen snake grass before. In the county, she used to buy dried and chopped snake grass ready-made.
It is not often found in the county, so snake grass is always out of stock.
No one brought an umbrella, so we decided to disperse and quickly gather the herbs and get down the mountain. We couldn't stay on the mountain for long. The low temperature would kill people.
According to Liu Wen's opinion, Ye Xuanling could only go to the right with Ji Yan.
"Here, put it on." Ye Xuanling threw the clothes to him, imitating what he had done just now.
"Aren't you cold anymore?" Ji Yan asked.
"Wow, there are so many." Ye Xuanling turned on the light and didn't answer him. "Hurry up, hurry up, there are so many here." Ye Xuanling pushed him forward.
A piece of snake grass stood quietly here. It was unknown how many people could be saved by this large patch of grass. Ye Xuanling called out to him to hurry up, otherwise they would all be soaked.
Ye Xuanling excitedly ran ahead. Since she had no tools, she had to pull the stems with her bare hands, uprooting them. Ji Yan was not far behind, and he seemed to be in a hurry, almost catching up with Ye Xuanling.
The two men's movements were very similar. Basically, they both pulled out a few and held them in their hands, then picked one and tied it together, and finally threw it into the bamboo bag on their backs.
"I still have to work." Ye Xuanling smiled brightly. "I almost froze to death just now, but I'm much better now."
"No." Ji Yan stopped her and grabbed her wrist. "Go down the mountain first. You might die if you wait any longer."
Why did this man curse her? Ye Xuanling wanted to break free from him: "Oh, we finally got here, let's finish picking first and then go back."
Ji Yan increased his strength and placed his other hand on her forehead. His tone was no longer as sharp as before, and he said gently, "It's very serious."
Ye Xuanling instinctively took a step back. "What are you doing? I get it. Let's finish picking quickly and get down the mountain, shall we?"
Ji Yan sighed, as if he couldn't persuade her. He knew how much Ye Xuanling needed the herb, and he also knew how dangerous and difficult it was to climb Dongdao Mountain. "Alright, stop talking, let's hurry."
"Oh." Ye Xuanling hadn't expected him to be even more panicked than she was. Could he be desperate to pee? There was no need to be shy in front of her. She was a doctor, so what had she not seen?
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, but Ji Yan still couldn't stop what he was doing. Ye Xuanling stared in amazement as she watched his basket getting fuller and fuller, his speed getting faster and faster, and he even skillfully pushed the snake grass down to make some space.
Ye Xuanling's movements were getting slower and slower. She felt that it was because she was using up too much energy. She squatted for a while and said, "Ji Yan, you're so fast."
"Actually, there's no need to worry. If the clothes are wet, they're wet. It doesn't matter much." Ye Xuanling yawned and felt sleepy. She stood up and continued what she was doing.
-
There was also a large area of snake grass on Liu Wen's side. He told them to be very careful, otherwise if they slipped, they would suffer a great loss.
He took a few brothers with him to plunder the whole area, then happily held the straps and gathered his brothers to prepare to go down the mountain.
"Boss, Miss Ye and the others are over there! Should I go get them?" A young man, also wearing a headscarf, sorted the snake grass in his backpack. "Boss?"
Liu Wen seemed to be thinking about something and scratched his cheek: "Forget it, I'll go call them. I wonder if they have finished picking."
-
There was no bright moon or stars in the dark night sky. The rain was falling heavily. Ye Xuanling was soaked, but she still felt hot.
"Give me the backpack." Ji Yan took off the bamboo bag on his back and reached out to Ye Xuanling, "I'm quick."
"Oh, okay." Ye Xuanling dazedly took off the bamboo bag. Ji Yan's face in front of her became increasingly blurry. She rubbed her eyes, as if she were hallucinating. "Ji Yan, why is it so hot? Did you poison me?"
"You are just like the farmer and the snake." Her body suddenly stiffened and she fell backwards.
"Ye Xuanling?!!"
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