The Leiyin Mountains shrouded in the night seem like an ancient giant beast lying on the horizon. The towering main peak is its shoulder blade, the steep northern slope is its head, and the gentle southern slope is the curled-up shape of the giant beast. The trunk is the same as the long tail.
It has been three days since they entered the mountain. But two hours ago, Ning Yue and General Yan finally escaped from the pursuers. At this time, they still did not dare to relax for a moment and continued to walk on the rugged terrain. Trekking hard on the mountain road.
In the past, when she was at home, the red-haired girl always liked to describe in her mind the magnificent scenery on land that she had only seen in books. She loved to imagine rain, snow, wind, frost, and the changing seasons, and she also loved to imagine measuring the earth with her own feet. Watching the sunrise and sunset. However, at this time, she was unable to appreciate the mountains and rivers around her. She could only instinctively lift one foot and then the other driven by inertia.
"We have to walk faster. The rain clouds in the sky are gathering more and more, and a lot of water droplets have condensed on the rocks. I am afraid it will rain heavily. Just now I saw that there seems to be a cave high up. I can go there to take shelter first. Avoid."
The young man's voice came from the front. It was not very clear, but it still brought Ning Yue, who was already a little numb, back to her senses. Soon, a dark hole appeared in front of them. Although the hole was not big, there was a hole in it. But there were no traces left by the beasts when they were entrenched, so it should be fairly safe. The little white fox, which had been sleeping in the girl's arms, also jumped down to the ground, stretched out its paws and stretched itself comfortably.
Ning Yue breathed a sigh of relief. But when she turned back to look at her companion, she saw him curled up into a ball and leaning against the entrance of the cave, refusing to enter. He seemed to be in great pain.
"What's wrong with you, little Stutterer? Is the wound on your back starting to bleed again?"
The girl suddenly panicked, and hurriedly walked forward and asked with concern. She knew that if she couldn't stop the bleeding in such a wilderness, it would most likely be fatal. Fortunately, at this time, there was a three-inch hole on Jiang Yan's back. The knife wound was no longer harmful, but the solidified blood scab around it was melted by sweat, revealing a bright red color on the cloth used for bandaging.
"Little Stammer, please take off your clothes and I'll change the herbs for you."
Ning Yue said that she was about to tear off the hem of her magical skirt that could help stop bleeding. But the young man in front of her did not agree. He just turned his back to her and shook his head, looking cold and unwilling to pay attention:
"Don't worry about my injuries..."
"Little Stammer, what are you doing - we are friends, shouldn't we help each other?!"
"But what if I'm not a good person? Maybe Brother Cui is right, I was originally a pirate..." Jiang Yan suddenly clenched his fists tightly, and his nails dug deeply into the flesh of his palms, as if he was suffering. He muttered to himself frantically, "No one can escape the past, no one! The mistakes you have made will one day come to you like a nightmare..."
"Little Stammer, what did you remember from the past? Maybe I can help you?"
"What do you think you can do to help? Ever since I climbed up the mountain, a scene has been repeating in my mind. It was a girl of your age being stripped naked on a boat full of corpses and bloodstains. Humiliated in every possible way. And I myself was one of the beasts that attacked the ship to kill people! What, do you still want to help me now? Aren't you afraid that I, a murderer with human blood on my hands, will suddenly appear in this cave? Will it hurt you if you show your true colors?"
An inexplicable anger in the heart of the black-eyed boy suddenly exploded in front of Ning Yue. The girl's smile immediately froze on her face, and then a burst of anger welled up from her heart. She stepped forward to the boy and raised her hand. Then he slapped him on the cheek:
"Idiot, what are you talking about?"
The palm came so fast and hard that Jiang Yan couldn't avoid it, or maybe he didn't want to dodge from the beginning. However, to his surprise, the man in front of him seemed to be completely irritated, and he stared at the azure man with his eyes wide open. The girl with wide eyes suddenly stopped the strength of her hand just when her five fingers were about to touch her cheek. Her delicate little hand only lightly brushed the young man's cheek without even making a sound:
"Little Stammer is a good person. I know he will never be wrong!"
The young man suddenly froze as if waking up from a nightmare. He opened his mouth slightly to apologize, but failed to say even a single word. The girl couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She pursed her lips and walked back to the cave and refused to talk to him again. For a long time After that, she was the first to break the silence between the two:
"You must be very sad when you lose your memory..."
Jiang Yan turned his head quietly and saw that the anger in the other person's eyes had dissipated, replaced by a trace of imperceptible concern. He turned his head back more and more guiltily:
"Yueer, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those words just now..."
"I know you didn't mean it. When you were so angry that day, you were still merciful to Brother Cui. I already knew that Little Stammer was by no means a bad guy who wanted to harm others at will." Ning Yue said and walked back to the entrance of the cave. , sat down next to Jiang Yan, "Besides, didn't you promise to accompany me to Yujing? You have to mean what you say, otherwise you will grow a tail and turn into a puppy!"
"But what if you misjudge me?"
"Then I have no choice but to make mistakes. Trust - it is such a rare thing in this world. I don't want to lose you as a friend. After all, I am here on this land, and you are the only one of your age who can talk to me. "
Ning Yue pursed her lips half-jokingly, and her tone returned to its previous cheerful tone. As she spoke, she gently uncovered the clothes on the young man's back, and gently replaced him with some clothes that she had collected on the road not long ago. Herbal medicine, "I have been praying along the way. It would be nice if Little Stutter could think of something. You used to protect me at all costs, and now, I also want to do something for you, as a repayment..."
Although the girl spoke lightly, Jiang Yan suddenly felt his heart beating hard in his chest. He looked at the other party's blue pupils, and it seemed that all the fragments of memories that had disturbed his mind before were absorbed in them. Soothed by its gentleness.
For the boy, this feeling was so familiar, as familiar as the lost precious memory that he was struggling to find. It was not until many years later that he finally understood that this simple warmth from back then was what he felt. What I hope to pursue all my life.
Ning Yue suddenly discovered that the sharpness and violence in the other party's dark pupils were gradually being replaced by something indescribable. He looked at himself, like a rootless wandering soul that suddenly found its home, and his face couldn't help but be fierce. The ground felt hot, and he lowered his head in embarrassment.
"Hey, why do you keep staring at this girl's house...?"
"Because - because Yue'er, you - are very beautiful -"
Jiang Yan didn't know why he said such disgusting words, but he vaguely felt that the girl in front of him was unknowingly occupying a large space in his extremely limited memory that would never be erased.
One of the two of them had a red face and lowered his head, but the other was fascinated by the sight. They sat side by side at the entrance of the cave, as if they had forgotten the time.
After a long time, a flash of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, illuminating the backs of the two children. Immediately, a thunder exploded, awakening Jiang Yan who was in a state of trance, and frightened Ning Yue to the point where her face turned pale, and she screamed "Yeah".
"Don't be afraid, it's just a spring thunder in Wanzhou. Lei Yinshan is also famous all over the world for such thunder." Jiang Yan hurriedly comforted the other party, "I almost forgot, I have to go nearby to find some firewood as soon as possible. Today I'm afraid we'll have to spend the night in this cave."
Ning Yue shook her head and held him down as he was about to get up: "You're injured, so don't go."
"If you don't light a fire quickly, if you encounter wild beasts from the mountains who come to this cave to take shelter from the rain, you will be in big trouble. Just wait for me here with Xueling, and don't run around and get lost. Don't worry. Well, I'll be back soon."
The young man left a few words, but turned around and ran towards the night-shrouded forest outside the cave. Ning Yue still wanted to open her mouth to persuade him to come back, but in an instant, he couldn't even see the figure of the other party, and she was left sitting alone. In the cave.
However, something worrying still happened. Not long after Jiang Yan left, heavy rain poured down from the sky. The fine raindrops quickly formed a curtain of water at the entrance of the cave, and the splashing water also wet Ning. Shoes and socks for menstrual feet.
The little white fox in the girl's arms stuck out its head and looked at the rain pouring down like a torrent in front of her with some panic. It twitched its nose and its two big pointed and wide ears shrank to the back of its neck out of fear.
"Xue Ling, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Brother Jiang Yan will be back soon."
Ning Yue kneaded the soft fur on the back of the cub's neck, and seemed to be speaking to it, but in fact she was comforting herself.
After about another stick of incense had passed, she finally got a little impatient. She stood up and stood at the entrance of the cave and looked around - the rainstorm was so fierce that all she could see was pitch black. , the road could not be seen at all, let alone the shadow of the young man.
The girl, whose shoes and socks were completely soaked, became more and more anxious as she waited, and tears welled up in her eyes. She stood at the entrance of the cave, helplessly calling her companion's name into the darkness. However, the sound of rain completely covered her up. Despite that weak cry, even if Jiang Yan was very close at the moment, he might not be able to hear it.
The girl bit her lower lip hard, then suddenly picked up the little white fox and prepared to rush out into the rain outside the cave. Unexpectedly, the little white fox suddenly started struggling in her arms, raised its ears and screamed "chirp".
"Xueling, what did you hear?"
Ning Yue suddenly raised her head, and finally saw a flickering firelight vaguely appearing in the rain curtain in front of her, making the raindrops in the dark night as yellow as golden threads. The firelight was getting closer and closer, and she was not going out to collect firewood. Who will be Jiang Yan?
The young man was holding a torch in his hand, which was randomly wrapped with a piece of cloth torn from his sleeve. It was also coated with a thick layer of highly flammable rosin. It was precisely because of this that the flames were not completely destroyed by the heavy rain. It was extinguished, but it still couldn't help but become darker and darker.
"Little Stammer, where did you go? Do you know that people are almost worried to death!"
"We can't stay in this cave any longer. Come with me quickly!"
The first thing Jiang Yan heard when he got into the hole was his companion's anger. He didn't explain it much, but instead kept urging him.
Ning Yue immediately heard something was wrong with the other party's tone:
"What happened on the mountain? Didn't you say you were going to spend the night in a cave? It's still raining outside!"
"It's not just the two of us who are trapped on the mountain by this rain, there are also several galloping wolves with nowhere to hide! If we don't run away, we will be blocked in this cave and become their food. It’s meat!”
As soon as Jiang Yan finished speaking, there were several shrill howls of wolves in the forest outside the cave, which made people's hair stand on end. The two children looked at each other with horror on their faces, and immediately rushed out of the cave and plunged into the cave. It's raining heavily outside.