No illness, but a cake
The night sky was exceptionally quiet amidst the twinkling stars, with the occasional bird breaking through the clouds, leaving only a brief sound of flapping wings.
Being so far from the ground felt like being far from the human world; everything was boundless, and direction was hidden in the darkness.
The feeling was somewhat pleasant, but also a bit lonely. Meng Yan couldn't say whether she liked it or not. She just glanced down a few times and adjusted her angle to prepare for landing.
“We can just leave him here and that will be fine, right? It’s such a long way, I don’t believe he can climb mountains and cross valleys to find his way back.”
Yue Lang threw the still unconscious hairless old man off the mechanical kite. Worried that he would catch a cold, he specially found a shallow pit for him to put in, and then dragged over some branches and grass from the side to cover him with a blanket.
After finishing all that, she brushed the dust off her hands and turned to Meng Yan to ask for her opinion.
"Get on the bird." Meng Yan admired his masterpiece and pointed to the mechanical kite.
From her perspective, the whole thing was done perfectly. Everyone except the hairless man who remained silent agreed with and praised the plan. Of course, she was also a little unfamiliar with Yue Lang's skill, but more than that, she was curious.
"The sky is my blanket, the earth is my bed; once you've slept in it enough, it just becomes second nature."
Yue Lang sat down beside her, and before she could ask, he smiled and answered, resting his chin on his hand and looking at her as she focused on driving.
He seemed to be able to understand his own thoughts, which was strange, but it made communication much easier. Meng Yan was indeed pleased with this little discovery.
"What did you remember that made you so happy?"
A slightly raised tone brushed past my right ear, making it itchy; it must be an allergic reaction.
Meng Yan carefully examined the corners of his mouth; there was no change. He couldn't guess how Meng Yan had noticed.
"Of course I was guessing, but it seems I was right. Miss Yan is indeed secretly happy, she just won't include me."
He deliberately changed his tone for the last few words, drawing out each one as he read them to her.
Since Yue Lang had said so, Meng Yan simply stopped trying to suppress his smile and laughed in front of him, making him so uneasy that he circled around him like a little dog.
.
The scenery along the way is ever-changing, and familiar scenes unfold beneath your feet. It seems that in the blink of an eye, the mechanical kite will land in Peace Valley, where you can hear everyone's laughter and the ramblings of Li the Blind Man.
"Why did it suddenly speed up? Where are we?"
The beautiful illusion shattered, and Meng Yan finally remembered that there was someone sitting next to her, but she didn't even know where he was going.
With an abrupt deceleration, the mechanical kite hovered in mid-air. Meng Yan had anticipated this and grabbed Yue Lang's sleeve tightly, pulling him back to his seat with a little force.
Yue Lang, who had almost experienced the sensation of flying, was panting heavily. He held onto the railing with one hand and grabbed Meng Yan's sleeve with the other. After the feeling of floating dissipated, he shakily let go, opened his eyes with difficulty, and looked at the person nearby with tears in his eyes.
"The location of your sect." Knowing he was in the wrong, Meng Yan asked guiltily, waiting for his answer.
Yue Lang paused for a moment, then waved his hand at her, "Don't worry, Miss Yan, you're still not fully awake, and you can't see very clearly right now."
After all three souls and seven spirits returned to their places, Meng Yan pretended that the sudden stop had not happened and asked again without changing his expression.
Upon receiving the reply, she raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, realizing that he was someone she considered somewhat acquainted with.
Good heavens! Who would have thought that this lively, silly boy and that group of serious, unsmiling Taoist priests were from the same school, and that the two families would have an extraordinary and in-depth cooperation in ice furnaces and future creations?
This sect is full of hidden talents.
As the figure in front of him grew smaller and smaller, Meng Yan finally withdrew his gaze after the figure stepped into the mountain gate, placed his hand on the control mechanism, and prepared to truly return home.
"Miss Yan!"
Just before takeoff, she vaguely heard someone call her name.
"After thinking about it, I still feel I have to apologize to you!"
She turned around following the sound and saw Yue Lang waving and shouting at the mountain gate.
"I had planned before that I wouldn't talk too much in front of you anymore!"
"But I've found that I can't really control myself!"
"I'm sorry, but I just can't help it when you smile!"
Perhaps due to the fatigue from the long flight, Meng Yan felt her face burning, and her breathing and heartbeat quickened. She desperately wanted to go home to find Senior Sister Zhang to treat her illness, so she hurriedly pushed the takeoff mechanism, leaving Yue Lang and the rest of the conversation on the ground.
The cold wind, no longer blocked by those around her, howled and rushed towards her. The coolness dispelled the inexplicable heat, and although she was still a little groggy, the mountain peaks that appeared in the corner of her vision calmed her down.
I can finally get a good night's sleep.
.
On a dark and windy night, the junior sister, whose residence was near the bathhouse, woke up from her dream, the sound of splashing water in her ears, indistinguishable from near or far.
She rolled over and struggled to wake up, lifting her eyelids to look out the window. All she could see were dappled shadows of trees, and the sound of water still echoed in her ears.
The foot that had been sticking out of the blanket was suddenly pulled back by its owner, who then tossed and turned on the bed, leaving behind a tightly wrapped ball of blankets.
.
A strong sense of unease woke Meng Yan. Without thinking, she sat up, held her throbbing head for a while, and barely managed to look around.
It turns out she was sleeping on the edge of the bed.
Last night she hurriedly took a shower, her hair dripping wet, and she was so sleepy that she felt uncomfortable. In her hazy state, she grabbed a handful of things and touched the talisman that Yue Lang had given her in the mountain village. Given the circumstances at the time, the talisman's function should have been either to make her cry and scream or to spontaneously combust.
Admittedly, Meng Yan needed to dry her hair as soon as possible, but even though she was extremely sleepy, she knew she couldn't just set her hair on fire. So she casually put it somewhere, moved a chair to prop up her hair, and fell asleep half-fallen off the bed.
My hair was indeed completely dry, the water stains on the chair had disappeared, and the short, thin shadows cast by the window meant that now was the perfect time to eat.
After running around for the past few days, and a good night's sleep, her bones felt like they had been crushed. She gasped for breath and found a set of pants and skirts that Chu Ming had altered. She dawdled, changed into them, tied her hair up, glanced at herself in the mirror, and, finding them acceptable, stormed out the door without looking back.
On his way to the kitchen for a free meal, Meng Yan passed by Senior Sister Zhang's house and entrusted her with some wilted herbs and crumpled pieces of paper, asking her to pass them on to Senior Brother Green from that day.
The figure outside the door had clearly disappeared, but then reappeared by the door. Senior Sister Zhang noticed her small movement, continued copying, and casually asked, "Junior Sister, is there something else?"
The head that had been poking out stretched out to become half a body, and appeared beside the table the instant it finished writing the line of text in its hand.
"Senior sister, I went out into the forest this time. Could you check if I have any allergies or other illnesses? If it's convenient, could you also prescribe some medicine, preferably the kind that isn't bitter?"
Senior Sister Zhang finished reading the page, glanced at Meng Yan's face, took her pulse, asked a few questions, and then nodded to her, "It's alright, you're fine. Go and eat in peace."
"Are you really okay? Sometimes my ears and face get itchy and a little hot."
Senior Sister Zhang stared at her for a long time without moving, then wrote out a prescription for her and instructed her to follow it diligently and not to neglect it.
Meng Yan felt uneasy under her gaze. After hearing the instructions, she slipped out the door, leaning against the wall. Standing at the door, feeling the last rays of the warm sun, she opened the prescription with a pained and helpless expression. On it were four solemn characters: "Drink more hot water."
"..."
With his days suddenly increasing, Meng Yan strode confidently toward the kitchen.
In the past, only a few senior students were on duty in the kitchen. Sometimes they were teaching their junior students how to cook, and sometimes they were experimenting with new ways to cook. The kitchen was not as well-ventilated as other places. Even with an ice furnace to cool it down, it was still stuffy and hot. Therefore, it was always a mix of heat and quietness inside.
But today was clearly different; Meng Yan could hear the conversation inside the wall as he passed by the small window.
Do you have any plans for the near future?
Filled with doubt, Meng Yan knocked on the stove door. The door opened almost immediately, and her senior brothers and sisters, all beaming with smiles, turned to her with concern.
A sense of foreboding washed over her. After her smile faded, she turned to run away, but was stopped and brought back by her senior sister, who had been hiding behind the door.
"Junior Sister Yan, you must be hungry to have come to visit?"
As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.
"Junior Sister Yan, please tell us if there's anything you'd like to eat."
Amidst the chorus of "Yes!", Meng Yan knew he couldn't escape; this was how they tricked people into testing the poison last year.
Having learned to face and let go, Meng Yan suppressed her past memories and started eating without any hope: "I want to eat stir-fried pork with chili peppers."
Senior: "Stir-fried pork with chili peppers is indeed a delicious dish, but I have a more unique stir-fry dish on hand."
Meng Yan: "I want to eat stir-fried cabbage with vinegar."
Senior Sister: "You've just come back from a long trip, you can't just eat this. I have some other sour dishes here, would you like to try them?"
Meng Yan: "...No need. Do you have any pancakes? I'll just grab one to fill my stomach. You guys keep going and don't need to worry about me."
The senior students' eyes lit up immediately, and they grabbed her hands: "Yes, it's a pancake, we were just talking about pancakes."
The steaming pot lid was lifted by several hands. Due to the different directions and forces, the process of lifting the lid was extremely difficult, but the pancakes inside were still seen before the pot lid was completely deformed.
Mooncakes, well, they can be considered cakes!
"Try this one first, Junior Sister Yan. This one has a stir-fried cucumber filling."
"Mine is pickled cabbage flavor, which is the same as stir-fried cabbage with vinegar."
"What kind of strange stuff are you all making? Mine is made from grains, and historically it's much more normal!"
"With that normal spoon of yours, who's ever heard of mooncakes made with fried soybean filling? One bite and your teeth will fly ten miles away!"
...
How wonderful it would be if the disturbances and noise had nothing to do with me.
In the end, Meng Yan lived up to everyone's expectations and left with a basket of mooncakes. Her senior brothers and sisters didn't seem to have much hope for her evaluation. Under the scorching gazes, she fled in panic with the basket of food, which was already half full.
She intended to flee back into the house, but her stomach was growling with hunger, so she had no choice but to stop and pick out the most ordinary piece.
Refined egg yolk filling. My senior colleague promised that the egg yolk filling would be a common and widely accepted flavor, with minimal alterations, allowing you to experience the essence of everyday life through its texture.
To be honest, Meng Yan didn't believe it, but since the taste sounded somewhat familiar, she decided to give it a try.
That's how scrambled eggs met her.
Unable to describe the taste and feeling, she pinched another piece of potato filling and slammed the food basket shut with a mouthful of ginger bits.
The food was so delicious, like the hidden love between his senior brothers and sisters, that Meng Yan unknowingly slipped and slid to the half-closed door of Li the Trapped.
He gently put down the food basket, and after walking away, his hand, which had been playing with a pebble, suddenly trembled, and the small thing disappeared without a trace, accompanied by a clear clattering sound coming from the doorway.
Feeling guilty for his carelessness, Meng Yan was saddened and remorseful for not being able to continue enjoying the basket of mooncakes. He sadly lay back down on the bed, trying to soothe his turbulent emotions through dreams.
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