Planning to run away
Yue Lang was wide awake, huddled in the corner lamenting the end of his friendships and his life. Suddenly hit by a medicine bottle, he snapped out of his daze, picked up the weapon, glanced at the slightly desolate figure opposite him, and lay back down.
Miss Yan is a very kind person. Even though her attempt failed, she did not forget to give him a chance to find out the cause of death.
Heartbreak grass, oleander, and antihistamine—who knows which poisonous immortal or the ultimate master of the poisonous herb world is contained in this small white bottle?
He squinted to bid farewell to the memory, took a deep breath, uncorked the bottle, and leaned closer.
Honeysuckle, licorice, Lobelia chinensis... these all seem to be common medicinal herbs.
Why are they just herbs? What about the poison?
Yue Lang sat up straight against the wall, poured out a few pills and put them in his hand. Unsure of what to do, he even put one in his mouth.
It was bitter and astringent, just like my own feelings.
As he savored and read, he suddenly realized something was wrong and abruptly looked up at Meng Yan opposite him.
She had already packed all her belongings, but she remained leaning against the wall just like him, showing no intention of leaving.
Noticing the undeniable gaze from the other side, Meng Yan raised his eyelids to glance back at him, shrugged, and gave him a cryptic smile.
Yue Lang, who had taken in the other person's subtle movements, thought: "...?"
He seemed to choke, spitting out the pill in his mouth. His gaze wandered aimlessly inside and outside the cave. After a while, he lay back down on the stone wall, closed his eyes, and then immediately opened them again, giving a rather obedient smile. "What a lousy forest. I even had a hallucination while sleeping. I think I just had a dream. I should be awake now, right?"
He unconsciously touched his nose, his eyes darting around, but he moved closer to Meng Yan. "Miss Yan, hit me, so I can see if I'm awake."
Meng Yan nodded in agreement, took out a mechanical needle from his waist, and held it up in front of him, revealing the needle's spikes.
The moment Yue Lang caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, all the muscles in his body tensed up. He silently closed his eyes and reluctantly stretched out his arm.
Meng Yan patted his hand, and he opened his hand in pain. She thoughtfully turned it over so that his palm was facing up so that it would be easier for her to stab him.
I closed my eyes too tightly, and the stiffness and numbness in my face kept coming, but the pain in my fingertips was slow to arrive.
He squeezed through a crack, trembling, and saw Meng Yan sitting there expressionless, holding nothing in his hands, resting his chin on his hand as he watched him tremble alone.
"Miss Yan, you should hit me, otherwise I won't feel at ease." Yue Lang's lips drooped as he insisted on offering his arm to Meng Yan.
Meng Yan originally didn't want to hit him again. She had already slapped Yue Lang's hand once, and he flinched in pain. But now it seemed that what he cared about was not the pain, but that he wouldn't stop until she hit him.
What is this doing? Is it a form of apology?
Her initial anger dissipated while she was tidying up the mechanisms. Now, having witnessed a dramatic and stimulating spectacle up close, her displeasure had vanished completely. Only Yue Lang, who was both afraid and thoughtful, remained immersed in his own performance.
She sighed softly, raised her hand again, quietly approached Yue Lang's forehead, flicked it lightly, and immediately withdrew it.
He could feel pain, but it wasn't in the right place. Even so, Yue Lang opened his eyes and exclaimed happily, "Great, it hurts!"
He even went so far as to play the whole act.
Meng Yan's lips curled up slightly. She stood up and stopped looking at him, trying to control her expression as she faced the plants and trees outside the cave.
"In my dream, my mouth seemed to be out of control, and I kept uttering nonsense. If I accidentally let slip some of what I said in my sleep, Miss Yan, please just pretend you didn't hear it, okay?"
His voice came from afar, and he must have gotten up from the ground as well.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes, and you can't go back on your word."
After saying that, he extinguished the talismanic fire in the cave, walked out of the cave with his head held high, and headed towards the stream he remembered.
Meng Yan followed steadily behind him. From her perspective, the person in front looked like a colorful rooster that would crow after taking a few more steps.
"Miss Yan..."
That's an understatement; we've only taken one step.
.
The sound of flowing water grew louder and louder, and the surrounding scenery was greener than before. Ahead was a stream, but it was not the one that Meng Yan had crossed with his mechanical kite yesterday. Judging from Yue Lang's unwavering steps, it must have been the one he had encountered on his way here.
Upon reaching his destination, Yue Lang ran to the stream bank and squatted down. After a long, drawn-out sigh, he splashed water on his face, saying, "I just took a nap, how did I end up like this?"
His hair was messy, his clothes were dirty, and his spirits... well, he seemed alright. He usually slept well, otherwise Meng Yan wouldn't have thought he was dead.
Without a comb or a change of clothes, he had no choice but to endure it, even though he was disgusted. He washed his face with a thousand grievances, tidied up his less-than-ideal appearance, and then stood with his hands on his hips, looking up at the sun. He stood there for a while before calling out to the girl behind him: "Aren't you going to wash your face and wake up? We still need to find some grass later!"
Meng Yan thought to herself that everyone is like her, putting on a show before they can truly wake up. Despite her grumbling, she walked to the riverbank and casually wiped her face.
The stream's source and end are indistinct; all that is known is that it flows from the forest and slowly heads towards the other side.
The water was just like yesterday's, crystal clear and flowing continuously. It felt cool on my face, but I couldn't smell any fishy or algae.
Using the reflection of the ripples in the stream, she quickly tidied her hair and washed away the mud she had accidentally gotten on it. After finishing the routine, Yue Lang was still sunbathing with his eyes closed. The light gently fell on his face, half of which was hidden in shadow, making him look quite presentable.
"Hmm? Is that all?" He put on his usual playful smile again, picked two leaves from a low branch beside him, and handed one of them to Meng Yan. "Have some water. We ran all day yesterday, and we have to keep going today. After we cross this stream, who knows when we'll see water again."
He went back to the stream, squatted down, folded a leaf into a small funnel, scooped out a bit of water, and put it in his mouth.
Meng Yan raised an eyebrow, took off her water bottle, and realized that there wasn't much water left after all the gifts she had received along the way, so she took the opportunity to refill it.
"I don't know if you're curious about something, but there's clearly water in the cave we're in, yet I still insisted on dragging you here so early in the morning."
Hearing this, Yue Lang must have truly come to his senses, and he began his self-questioning and answering today.
"From our perspective, that place has bad feng shui. If you drink the water there, you'll at least get an upset stomach."
"From a practical point of view, the water in there is stagnant, it has been stagnant for years, covered in dust, dirt, and the corpses of small insects and animals. In short, it looks calm, but it is actually quite lively inside. The stream outside is different. Although it flows through many places, at least it is alive. All those little things disappear in a flash. In comparison, it is much more drinkable."
Meng Yan was aware of everything he said later, but she didn't have the habit of interrupting others, and since no one was around, Yue Lang's explanation was one of the few voices she heard. Out of emotion or some other reason, she was quite willing to listen to him.
Noticing the items in her hands, Yue Lang was surprised again: "You've prepared so thoroughly!"
Before this, Meng Yan had never imagined that someone would actually travel far away empty-handed, not to a bustling city or a rural village, but to a remote and impoverished place that was difficult to find even without much effort.
If you were to hide from your enemies here, you'd be invincible.
The two walked along the stream for a while, but didn't see any withered leaves of the herbs. They had no choice but to turn back and look towards the deep forest.
Yue Lang chatted and laughed all the way, searching for herbs on the ground with even more enthusiasm than Meng Yan, who had been ordered to set off. He showed no sign of urgency, as if he had come here specifically to find medicinal herbs.
As noon approached, the two spotted a fallen tree trunk. Sunlight filtered through the lush green leaves, casting golden hues—a rare sight in the forest. Seeing that the other didn't object, they stopped and sat down to rest.
Meng Yan pondered for a moment, then gestured to Yue Lang with paper and pen. The latter understood and quickly rummaged through the papers, taking out the paper, pen, and ink she needed, along with several wads of scrap paper.
The paper is much more wrinkled than yesterday's, but thankfully it's still usable after I've managed to smooth it out.
She picked up her pen, hesitating whether to spoil her companion's fun. After all, the news she was about to share was not optimistic and concerned their survival. Meanwhile, the other person, completely unaware of what was going on, was smiling broadly, looking at her and the pen in her hand with great anticipation.
Since we are as close as brothers and will be companions who will be together day and night for who knows how long, there is no need to hide anything. It is time to face the common crisis.
"We're running out of food. We can only eat one more meal at most. After lunch, shall we find a way out?"
Meng Yan's expression was not good, which contrasted sharply with Yue, who seemed more willing to let his teeth out after reading the text.
"That's great!" He raised his voice to the sky, then coughed after catching Meng Yan's gaze, barely suppressing his excitement and pulling himself back down. "I mean, it's not a big problem. It'll be perfect for you to try my cooking."
Craftsmanship? I'll eat anything I see, as long as there's fire, it has no flavor whatsoever, and it doesn't matter if it's raw or cooked?
Meng Yan was just passing by to gather some herbs; he didn't intend to get himself killed in this deserted place.
“I hope I don’t have the chance to enjoy it,” she said briefly.
Taking a rare moment of leisure, she casually asked, "Why did you come to this forest alone?"
"Oh, by the way, I came out here to seek enlightenment and find answers to my questions, so I chose a secluded place. But I just happened to run into you, so I thought I'd stop by and help you out."
Taoist priests, it's understandable that they seek enlightenment and cultivation in strange places.
"What is 'confusion'?" There was even a question that could stump him and drive him to the woods to isolate himself from the world.
"Yes..." Yue Lang was about to answer when he paused blankly.
What was it again? I only remember that there was a difficult question at the time, but I didn't find the answer and left the question behind.
Thinking the matter was confidential and he couldn't answer, Meng Yan changed the subject, "So how long do you plan to stay here before leaving?"
Yue Lang knew the answer, and he said confidently, "Once a solution is found to break the deadlock in this perplexing situation."
"..."
A silence fell between them as they stared at the sky and the ground, neither trying to bring up a new topic.
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