Go out for a walk
The sun had just emerged from the clouds on the horizon. Yue Lang stared at it in a daze for a while, then yawned before remembering the "take it or leave it" message that Li Li had sent him.
He walked out of the house and circled around. Finally, he turned back and saw the thing that had exhausted his senior brother on the threshold—the mechanical umbrella.
Originally, this large iron frame was placed here by him. One day, on a whim, he touched the mechanism. In the dead silence, he suddenly remembered that after those sharp blades were fired, he seemed to have left without picking them up and instead took his umbrella.
Under the blazing sun, amidst a dense forest, a huge figure squatted on the ground, digging a hole here and a mound of earth there. Many fellow disciples passed by, all assuming he was testing a newly drawn talisman. He remained there for quite some time without being disturbed.
A tall shadow slowly approached, and when it came behind him, it let out a strange scream.
Yue Lang turned around expressionlessly and saw, as expected, the extremely childish Senior Brother Li Li.
"Hey, whose dog dug so many holes in the ground?"
Li Li, looking like he was enjoying the show, stood behind Yue Lang, looking around and then making a few exaggerated "tsk tsk" sounds.
"Either help me, or go cool off somewhere else." Yue Lang ignored him and squatted on the grass to continue his search.
"Oh, don't be angry." Li Li squatted down next to him, her hands didn't move but her mouth didn't stop. "I just did a divination, guess what I got?"
Yue Lang ignored him, grabbed a handful of soil and casually tossed it towards him, causing the person next to him to jump far away.
“The divination says…you’re looking for this.” He flashed back to Yue Lang and showed him what he was holding.
It was a sharp blade on a mechanical umbrella.
Yue Lang stood up abruptly, composed himself, and forced a bright smile: "You're incredibly insightful, Senior Brother Li! Could you please tell me where the other pieces are?"
"That's naturally in—"
Li Li's hand moved from the ground to the sky, then drew a large circle back to Yue Lang, poking his chest and saying firmly, "Here."
Yue Lang: "..." He shouldn't have trusted this person.
Just as he turned around, Li Li grabbed his shoulder and turned him back, then snapped his fingers as if by magic, and another sharp blade appeared in his hand.
Yue Lang's smile returned, and he said softly, "If you're willing to do me this small favor, I'll talk to Miss Meng Yan later and get you a discount on the small mechanism."
"Really?" Li Li immediately shoved the sharp blade in his hand into Yue Lang's hand, and then took out more from his pocket and gave them to him as well. "Then I'm really troubling you, Junior Brother Yue."
Yue Lang took them and roughly counted the number, then held them firmly in his hand and nodded to Senior Brother Li: "No trouble at all, no trouble at all, they're fake."
Two figures darted out of the woods and began circling and chasing each other around the sect.
As the sun set, none of them went home.
"Stop, stop, stop, I can't run anymore." Li Li went from barely standing to bending over, and then simply sitting on the ground. He leaned against the stone wall and asked Yue Lang across from him, "You took these things away, do you know how to fix them?"
Yue Lang gasped for breath, then paused for a moment upon hearing this, and looked back at him: "No."
"I can."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I just forgot about you because I was chasing you so much."
Yue Lang frowned and thought for a moment. It seemed that he had indeed run away first, and he nodded haphazardly to admit his mistake.
"Hey, tell me, did that girl give you her umbrella because she had a problem with you?" Li Li was already lying completely on the ground, and he said whatever came to mind.
"Senior brother, you can't just talk about girls like that," Yue Lang said slowly.
Li Li rolled her eyes, got up from the ground and moved to his side. "I said she had a problem with you, not that she was interested in you. She just dumped such a huge weapon on you without saying a word, and you, on the other hand, just happily dragged it back to your sect."
“Miss Yan is mute, how do you expect her to speak? Besides, she wouldn’t be that kind of person.”
If I remember correctly, I was the one who told you that Meng Yan was mute, kid. How come you're blaming me now?
Li Li muttered in confusion, his energy exhausted and his mind blank. He simply gave up and patted the floor beside him. "Here's what we'll do: you can leave your umbrella with me later, and I'll fix it for you. Next time you meet that girl, or when you get to know her better, we can discuss giving me a 'familiarity price'."
Yue Lang thought to himself that the other person had never met him before, so why was he familiar with him? But he still nodded in agreement, "No problem, no problem, I'll definitely do it next time."
.
Busy with his work, Yue Lang suddenly remembered that he had forgotten about the mechanical umbrella. He scooped it up from the ground and put it in his arms, then put together a chair and bed in the room for it to live in.
How do I return this guy?
Wearing his pajamas, Yue Lang stroked his chin and unconsciously circled around it again and again. After a while, he suddenly realized that he seemed to be performing a ritual.
This random thought sparked a flash of inspiration in him.
Their line of work emphasizes serendipitous encounters. When they first started, their master taught them that if they encountered a puzzle that was difficult to solve at the moment, they should go for a walk, observe the scenery, calm their minds, and seek enlightenment from others. When the time is right, the answer will naturally come to light.
"Enjoying the scenery will calm my mind." Yue Lang pondered. He did feel a bit unsettled, so he decided to take this opportunity to go out for a walk.
He didn't bring any extra belongings, dressed lightly and casually. Yue Lang hummed a little tune as he walked to the foot of the mountain gate. Just as he was about to step out, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and ran back.
He casually grabbed a pen from the table, rummaged through a few pages of paper, and then squeezed a box of water-soluble cinnabar. After checking everything and finding nothing missing, he once again strode out the door with his head held high.
.
Outside the window, the greenery was lush and green, and birdsong could be heard from time to time. Some bold sparrows would hop onto the windowsill, their tails held high, steal a sip of the water Meng Yan had placed on the windowsill, and then flutter their wings and fly away happily.
Before she knew it, Meng Yan realized that she hadn't gone out for a walk in a while. Although her feet weren't necessarily walking on the ground, she still needed to go outside the valley for a few steps. Moreover, with the help of the mechanical kite, even a long trip wouldn't take too long.
She swung the small wooden kite in her hand, ready to head up the mountain. The starting point there was high, the scenery was beautiful, and she could enjoy the view as soon as she took off, saving the time of ascending and adjusting the altitude of a mechanical kite.
After stepping down two stone steps, a muffled call drifted from the bushes not far away. Meng Yan paused, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound and listen carefully.
"Junior Sister Yan, are you going out?"
The bushes were moving, but he could only hear the sound and not see anyone. Meng Yan raised his hand, opened it twice and then closed it again, wanting to answer but not knowing where to begin.
She can gesture, but the person calling her might not be able to see her.
The rustling sound of branches and leaves approached from afar, eventually reaching the stone steps. A head emerged from among the dense green leaves—it was the senior apprentice picking herbs.
"I'm sorry, Junior Sister Yan, I forgot you couldn't reply earlier. Now I can see you." The green-clad senior brother explained to her, blushing, and then asked, "So, are you going out?"
Meng Yan nodded and shook the little wooden bird in her hand at him: "Turn on the kite and go out for a walk."
"Could you bring me back a medicinal herb for future prescriptions? I don't need it right now. I couldn't find it on our mountain. I guess it probably only grows in the wild forests outside the valley."
"The more deserted the better." A hand covered in mud reached out from the grass, clutching a crumpled piece of yellow paper with a distorted but roughly recognizable grass drawn on it.
Below is a line of smaller print, which says that this grass is afraid of light and mostly grows in dark, damp soil, often under trees, and occasionally on riverbanks.
This grass itself is not poisonous, but there may be other slightly poisonous plants in the surrounding area, and you should also be wary of highly venomous and ferocious insects.
It's just digging up some grass on the way, how much trouble could it be?
Meng Yan thought for a moment, then made a "good" gesture, took the weathered piece of paper from his senior brother's hand, and was about to leave when his senior brother handed him a small bottle from the grass.
"And this too, Junior Sister Yan, take it with you just in case. It can neutralize most cordyceps poisons, and it also has a suppressive effect on poisons that cannot be neutralized. If something really happens..." The hand slapped the face twice, "Pah, pah, pah. But if something really happens, Junior Sister Yan, don't worry about that herb, just come back to us as soon as possible."
After thanking him, Meng Yan, full of energy, accepted the order and set off. Leaning against the mechanical kite on the mountaintop, he breathed in the free wind, easily flipped over and jumped into the driver's seat, flicked the talisman, and the large bird soared into the sky.
Looking down from high above, the once lush green leaves have turned yellow, and the autumn wind whips them up and down without warning. Her already disheveled hair brushes against her face, while below, the sea of trees surges and the rolling waves of leaves carry her away.
She sometimes speeds up and sometimes slows down, experiencing and appreciating nature from her own perspective.
Fish leap out of the stream, take a moment to breathe, and then fall back into the water; in the fields, groups of cats and dogs chase and play on the ridges; on the streets, pedestrians stop and chat about interesting things in twos and threes.
She flashed across the sky, without disturbing anyone or anything.
Sometimes there would be a lonely old man standing on the ground. To avoid startling him, she would put the mechanical kite away elsewhere and run to the old man.
Often, it was only when the time came that Meng Yan suddenly realized she couldn't communicate, but she would still try her best to find out where the old man was. If they were willing, she would take out her mechanical kite and give them a ride.
After continuous improvements by the master craftsmen, this large wooden bird is much more stable than before, and the various uncomfortable sensations are only present in a few of the senior brothers.
Some elderly people couldn't accept riding birds into the sky, so Meng Yan would take out the dry food and water he had brought, share some with them, wave his hand, and then ride the big bird away into the clouds.
The flight was boring. Meng Yan couldn't speak, and the old man either closed his eyes or looked around. Fortunately, both of them were used to the quiet, and the journey was just a fleeting moment for them.
After dropping the elderly person off at their destination, she returned to her solitary journey, leisurely searching for the next traveler in need of help.
The afternoon sun was scorching. Meng Yan circled above a densely covered forest. Surrounded by mountains, it seemed perfect for the growth of medicinal herbs. Finding a rocky spot not hidden by the greenery, she swooped down with her mechanical kite.
After landing, looking at the gloomy greenery that blocked out the sun, Meng Yan felt a pang of regret.
She shouldn't have come wearing a white dress.
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