Swimming and walking
After squatting by the rocks for a long time, Meng Yan's legs inevitably became numb. So he changed his posture, rolled up his trousers like the locals, took off his shoes and put them aside, and sat on the rocks with his legs hanging down.
During her meticulous observation, she discovered that this shallow area was not only home to fish, but also to shellfish and snails that were quietly moving about on the sand.
Her impression of these strange things was still based on the book. She could only look at their special appearance from different angles and make connections with the ink illustrations on the pages that were somewhat similar to them. She could barely make out a general idea, but she really couldn't be sure.
If Yue Lang were here, he would definitely know more about these things than I do, and might even know their names. It's a pity that he is unwell and has to spend this rare opportunity in bed.
Are all Taoist priests as frail and delicate as him? If they were to travel far and wide to seek out opportunities, would their bodies be strong enough to sustain them until they had enough to eat?
No wonder their meals were terrible and their conditions were harsh; it was because they couldn't earn enough money.
They're quite pitiful.
Hopefully, if they work for me in the future, they'll at least be able to eat a decent hot meal.
Lost in thought like this, my calves were submerged in seawater, and fish swam around affectionately, causing a slight itch, which took up half of the afternoon.
.
Night falls as darkness creeps in from the horizon, the sea in the darkness accompanied by the sound of the tide, a lively yet lonely chill. Everything around is shrouded in shadow, indistinguishable from the reefs and sand, and no fish or water can be seen.
A small light appeared on the sea, drifting leisurely towards the shore. Before long, scattered lights appeared on the sea surface, candlelight swirling in the air and water, quiet yet warm, as fishing boats returned home wearily after a long voyage.
Even the once-silent dock was now lit by candlelight, with strings of red lanterns dancing in the wind, piercing the unfathomable night and drawing busy tourists ashore to rest.
The scene was ordinary, but for Meng Yan it was breathtaking. She held her breath and stared intently at the sea, at the fishing boats, at them sailing toward the dock, the starlight gathering on the shore and then quietly fading away.
The waves were much smaller than during the day, but the rushing sound of the water still lingered in her ears. She swung her legs, responding to the call of the sea.
Suddenly plunged into darkness, Meng Yan froze, reaching towards his side, but before he could touch his clothes, he was stopped.
"Don't attack me by surprise, Miss Yan."
Yue Lang, now accustomed to the local environment, smiled and touched her eyes with one hand while stopping her from reaching for the mechanism with the other.
Meng Yan blinked, her long eyelashes brushing against Yue Lang's palm. The person behind her tried his best to hold back, but ultimately gave in.
"It itches, I'm not playing anymore."
He released Meng Yan's hand, and the sound of water came from behind him. In the blink of an eye, Yue Lang was already sitting down next to her.
“When I woke up, I saw that half of the sky was red. I looked around the house but couldn’t find you, so I asked my way here.”
Without Meng Yan asking, he hummed about his whereabouts.
“At first I was wondering, what’s so interesting about a sea and a few rocks that would keep you out there for so long?” He kicked the water, splashing it on Meng Yan’s waist, and turned his head away nonchalantly. “Now that I’m sitting next to you, I realize that the scenery is indeed quite nice. You’d never see anything like this where we’re from.”
Meng Yan nodded silently, then flicked up a drop of water, which, by sheer coincidence, landed on Yue Lang's clothes.
A soft chuckle came from beside me, and the sea surface churned, making it clear without looking that someone was causing trouble in the water.
She played along with his antics without making a sound, creating a long, continuous sound of water splashing against the rocky shore.
.
The last fishing boat docked, the lights on the ocean went out, the wind died down into the night, leaving only an empty dock and lanterns that were barely lit.
The houses were all asleep in the long night, the streets were deserted and dark, only Yue Lang and Meng Yan walked hand in hand, and could faintly hear the sound of waves not far away.
The eerie flames flickered before them, illuminating the unfamiliar street corner and warming their silhouettes, casting their shadows on the ground, one belonging to each of them yet pressed tightly together.
"Miss Yan, there is something very important that I forgot to tell you."
Yue Lang's voice was soft and clear, brushing against the tips of the ears like a fish tail gently grazing.
“When I went out to look for you, everyone had already eaten, so now we might go hungry.”
Meng Yan's steps suddenly became heavy, his good mood vanished, and every step he took from then on became reluctant.
Knowing she was in a bad mood, Yue Lang still tentatively asked, "Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Asking this at this hour, does it mean you want the two of you to stay up late and go fishing in the sea?
Meng Yan's eyebrows twitched, and he was about to answer when he heard the old man's voice coming from the darkness, "There's nothing you want to eat, but there's some food you can eat. It's cold, but it should be enough to fill your stomachs."
Upon hearing Yue Lang's words, Meng Yan dragged him towards the old man's house without hesitation.
Having weathered many storms, the door was uneven, making a screeching sound as it opened and closed. Yue Lang got goosebumps all over his arm, and his hand holding Meng Yan trembled.
After accepting the porcelain plate from the old man and listening to his ramblings, Yue Lang thanked him, frowned, closed the door for him, and slipped back to his temporary residence under the glow of the talisman fire.
"Uncle said there are bones in the fish, so we should be careful when eating it. Also, the food here is rather bland, so he told us to make do with what we have or try to make it more flavorful."
"Let's just make do with this," the two exchanged a glance and came to their conclusion.
On a slightly chipped, worm-eaten wooden table, a talisman was burning brightly by itself, with a bewildered figure sitting on either side.
"Does this thing inside the shell also have thorns?"
"Is this broth, which is so red it reflects lightly, meant to be bland?"
After each asking their questions about their debut, the two paused for a moment, then asked simultaneously, "How do you eat this?"
The uneven, hard shell lay askew on the table, and the contents inside, which looked like meat, gleamed with oil. By the light of the fire, four hands tapped and mashed it, and they guessed that the only edible part was the white pouch in the middle.
Yue Lang sighed deeply and looked at Meng Yan, "Miss Yan, did you bring the pills with you this time?"
Meng Yan understood, took out a familiar white porcelain bottle, placed it on the table, and looked back encouragingly.
"Everyone must die eventually, but I hope my death will at least not be related to food."
The same applies to Meng Yan.
Through the cold fire, Yue Lang quickly glanced at Meng Yan, then picked up his chopsticks, closed his eyes, and grabbed a piece.
After groping around for a long time and banging on the table, he still couldn't find what he wanted to touch.
While he was relentlessly banging on the chopsticks, someone grabbed them and pulled him onto something soft before he could struggle.
Yue Lang's tapping hand stopped on that piece of soft flesh. He bid Meng Yan farewell in a hoarse voice, picked up the food from the shell, and brought it to his mouth. He made two mistakes before finally putting it all into his mouth.
The burning sensation of minced garlic and red pepper stung his tongue, and he once again gained a profound and unique understanding of blandness. His usually talkative and never-ending mouth felt frozen, and every bite was extremely difficult to chew.
Meng Yan saw his expression change countless times. Finally, at one point, he relaxed his brows with a sigh of relief, rolled his eyelids several times, and finally opened his eyes.
"Spicy." His voice was so hoarse that he could only utter one word at the beginning of his sentence.
Meng Yan quickly handed him the flatbread and water in her hand.
He took the kettle with both hands, gulped down a few mouthfuls to relieve the spiciness, and Yue Lang's mind and vision returned to clarity. His gaze towards the flatbread became somewhat vacant.
"This..." He didn't take the pancake, but just pointed at it through the kettle, "You always have it?"
Meng Yan blinked and took out three more from his pouch, stuffing them all into his hand.
"ah……"
Yue Lang was moved to tears, his teeth pressed tightly against his lips to keep himself from making a sound. He took a moment to push the cake, a symbol of happiness, back into his hand and shook his head.
"So how does it taste?" Meng Yan put the pancake away and asked curiously, resting his elbow on the table.
Although he didn't look directly at her, he caught a glimpse of her movements out of the corner of his eye. Yue Lang closed his eyes and thought about it carefully, then turned his head back and said sincerely, "It seems pretty good."
When asked by the person opposite him, "Then why do you have that expression?" he immediately added, "It was just too spicy. One chili pepper and one garlic clove were practically fireworks in my mouth."
Normally, even our sect doesn't eat this level of spiciness!
"Putting aside the spiciness, this strangely shaped meat is not bad to eat. It tastes like tofu and is easy to chew. It has a strong fishy flavor, but it's too spicy. If you're not careful, you swallow it and it keeps burning in your throat."
"By the way, it has no thorns. I endured the spiciness and chewed each small piece slowly. Either it has no thorns, or you can prepare to collect my corpse later." He suppressed the twitching corner of his mouth and said seriously.
Meng Yan: "..."
She bent down, took the chopsticks from in front of Yue Lang, picked up a piece of soft meat, gently lifted it into her mouth, chewed it carefully, and swallowed it. Throughout the process, she remained expressionless, only revealing a look of realization at the end.
"Fresh and salty, with a spicy kick that counteracts any fishy taste, it's really quite good."
"That's all?" Yue Lang held the water bottle, hesitating as if to hand it over, then raised his hand and took a few sips himself.
"That's all." Meng Yan took out the pancake again and stuffed it into his hands, then moved the shells and meats on the table to his side. "You can't eat spicy food, so just eat the pancake. If you think it's too bland, then have some chili."
How considerate you are!
A harmonious atmosphere spread through the room like a flame, until it stopped at the bedside.
The stone bed doesn't seem big during the day, and it looks even smaller at night, especially when Yue Lang and she stand together by the bed; it seems there's not even room for their shadows.
It seems the homeowner is alone and must have been away for some reason, which is why these unexpected visitors had a place to stay.
For Yu Yuelang's size, falling asleep peacefully wouldn't be difficult, and for Yu Mengyan it would be even easier. It's just that, unfortunately, they're facing the two of them now, which makes things very difficult no matter how you look at it.
"I slept this afternoon, and then I got a spiciness from the spice, so I'm too wide awake to sleep. You go to sleep, I'm going to go see the sea."
The man turned and went out the door, in the dead of night, to the pitch-black beach to see the sea, which was nothing but waves.
Before I could look away, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared outside the previously dark door, and I knew without a doubt who had lit the talisman.
Watching the dot drift towards the dock, Meng Yan yawned, squeezed out tears, and glanced at the door again.
With a creak, the night was shut out. She groggily plopped onto the bed, rolled over haphazardly, and when she opened her eyes again, it was already dawn.
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