Jiang Yan, who was hungry, left the only half of the corn cake left at home to Ning Yue, and went into the mountain again carrying his horn bow and arrows. It was midnight, and the twin moons that were supposed to rise into the sky were covered by layers of dark clouds. It was covered up, making the surroundings dark. After a few muffled thunders in early spring, the mountain rain with biting chills fell heavily.
The big raindrops crackled on the leaves, and then broke into pieces, covering up some of the less obvious sounds in the forest. All the animals seemed to have disappeared, and occasionally some migratory birds whose wings had been wetted were hiding in the forest. From the treetops, there were several whining sounds.
The rain has been falling, and the road ahead is gradually wrapped in a thick layer of fog. In the past, when he was free, Jiang Yan loved to leave the village on a clear morning and climb to the top of the nearest mountain to watch the unpredictable fog. It was like a mysterious barrier that temporarily made him forget all his troubles, his loneliness, and even the precious memories of the past that he had lost for more than ten years.
However, at the moment, the thick fog in the mountains has become the biggest obstacle on the way forward. The gray fog reflects the faint moonlight leaking from the gaps in the clouds, stirring in the air, and there seems to be some terrifying ghosts hiding in it. Using the cover of fog, he kept approaching Jiang Yan, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
The young man kept telling himself that all this was just his imagination, and stretched out his hands to wrap the wolf skin tighter around his body, but it did not have any effect. The rain had already soaked through his body, making his limbs stiff and difficult to move. Even Even his entire face was completely pale from the cold, and his teeth kept tapping together, making a rattling sound.
Finally, Jiang Yan found a big tree, panting and leaning against the trunk, letting the lush branches above his head slightly block the rain falling from the sky. The rain under the tree became much lighter, and he tremblingly took out something from his arms. I caught the fire and blew it brightly in my palms, intending to use this to dispel the coldness on my body.
At the moment when the fire was lit up, Jiang Yan keenly caught a glimpse of a living creature in the forest from the corner of his eye, and he hid in a bush about half a man tall.
"It's a wolf?!"
The young man's heart, which had been relatively calm along the way, suddenly became anxious - there were indeed many man-eating beasts such as jackals, tigers and leopards on the mountains near the village. But at the moment, it was pouring with heavy rain, and he was very sure that the deer and yellow sheep would never be here. Sometimes when they go out to look for food, the tigers, leopards, and bears must have all hid in their dens to take shelter from the rain. What could that shadow just a few feet away be?
Jiang Yan quickly extinguished the fire that had just lit up in his hand, and quietly pulled out the short knife from his waist - it was dark everywhere, and the bow and arrow were of no use at all. The only thing he could use for self-defense was the knife in his hand. Effective weapon.
Perhaps because he didn't realize that the boy had discovered his existence, the living thing in the bush did not immediately attack him. Jiang Yan did not dare to be careless at all, and walked slowly around him from the other side with a light step. In the past - if it was indeed a hungry wolf following him, he would have struck preemptively to avoid future trouble. But if it was just some other animal that had lost its way in the forest due to heavy rain, he would have taken the opportunity to kill it. Come, bring some fresh meat to Ning Yue at home.
"Drink-ah!"
When he reached a place five steps away from the bushes, Jiang Yan shouted loudly and launched an attack. He jumped into the air like a swift cheetah and accurately kicked the prey hiding behind the bushes to the ground. Then he raised the short knife in his hand high and was about to stab him.
"ah--!"
A sharp scream strongly stimulated his eardrums, causing Jiang Yan to suddenly react - it turned out that the target he was pressing on the ground was not covered with animal fur, but was obviously as smooth as artificial fabric.
What was even more surprising to him was that hiding in the bushes was Ning Yue who was supposed to stay at home!
Jiang Yan immediately wanted to put away the knife, but the strength in his hand was already too old and it was difficult to press it down. In desperation, he had no choice but to kick with his legs and use the inertia of swinging the knife to throw his body out.
In the flash of lightning, the girl caught in his grip was immediately knocked out of balance and rolled down the hillside. The flexible fabric soon entangled the two of them together and rolled them far away, only to finally end up in a pile of It stopped among the wet broken branches and leaves.
"Yue'er, if you don't sleep well at home, why did you come up the mountain with me in the rain?"
Jiang Yan couldn't help shouting, but his emotions seemed to be mixed with some kind of tenderness.
"Aren't we worried about you doing dangerous things in the middle of the night? You refused to tell me what you do to attract people, and you came to this mountain alone in the dark. If anything happens - oh, How can you let me sleep?"
"Yes, I'm sorry..."
The girl's reproach made the young man suddenly feel that he had acted too recklessly in this matter. But Ning Yue exclaimed, raised her voice and complained:
"Why are you so anxious to apologize now? Get off him first. You are going to crush me to death!"
Only then did Jiang Yan realize that he was pressing the opponent's chest impartially, and the girl's orchid-scented breath from her mouth and nose was hitting his face heavily, making the young man's ears suddenly feel hot, and he was thinking hurriedly. He wanted to get up. But at this time, the two of them were tightly entangled by the cloak, unable to move at all.
"Oh, little Stutterer, you pervert, where are you going to touch!"
Ning Yue was really anxious this time. She felt that the other party's hand was burrowing in and out of the cloak like a little mouse. Jiang Yan was also sweating and explained hurriedly:
"Yue'er, don't move around, be careful of getting hurt! I, I have to find the knife first before I can cut through the cloak and escape."
With great difficulty, he found the short knife he had dropped in the gap between their bodies. He cut the cloth open with a "tsk" sound and jumped far away. But even so, the feeling of each other still remained in each other's bodies. His body temperature did not decrease at all. Even if he was caught in the rain, he could not extinguish the burning fire on his face.
"Yue'er, I'm sorry. I, I also know that men and women are not close to each other. I didn't mean to bully you..."
Jiang Yan couldn't help but feel lucky that the surrounding night acted as an excellent cover for him, preventing the girl from seeing his embarrassment. However, what he didn't know was that Ning Yue opposite him felt the same way.
Seeing her companion apologizing profusely, the red-haired girl who no longer wanted to argue about right and wrong quickly found a place to go down the steps and whispered like a mosquito:
"Stop stammering, little one. If I hadn't followed you up the mountain secretly, I wouldn't have... But the knife in your hand is quite sharp, and we got out of trouble in no time. You know, Gu Yi is not that easy to be Cut..."
After some unexpected twists and turns, the rain gradually became smaller and smaller without realizing it, and then stopped. The moonlight passed through the thin clouds and the treetops of the same layer, and once again sprinkled the forest.
Realizing that the shy girl opposite him suddenly pointed at the short knife in his hand, Jiang Yan realized that she wanted to change the subject, so he cooperated by holding the blade upside down and handed it to Ning Yue's eyes. The blade was inlaid with countless gems. The exquisite patterns shine colorfully in the night.
"This knife is really beautiful."
The girl took the knife and gently brushed the silver spine with her fingertips. Her frowning eyebrows finally relaxed. The awkward atmosphere disappeared in an instant, and Yan scratched the back of his head with a sigh of relief. Grinning:
"This knife is called Baipi, and it was given to me by Uncle You. If you like it, you can use it for self-defense."
"How can that be done? Besides, I don't know how to use a knife. You should put it away quickly. I wish you could protect me from now on!" Ning Yue smiled and put the knife back into Jiang Yan's hand. , "But now you should tell me what you plan to do when you go up the mountain in the middle of the night, right?"
"It's a long story to talk about. Besides, it's already late at night. If I fail to climb to the top of the mountain tonight, the people in the village will definitely blame me for breaking my promise tomorrow and continue to embarrass us. Yue'er, you go back first. I'll explain it to you when I get back."
When he mentioned the matter of attracting people, Jiang Yan immediately shook his head. But Ning Yue became more and more reluctant: "No. If you don't tell me now, I won't leave."
"Yue'er, I'm not kidding you!"
"I'm not kidding you. By the way, didn't you say that there are many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts hidden in this mountain? It's the middle of the night, don't worry, just let me go back alone?"
"I -" After just a few words, Jiang Yan was rendered speechless by the girl. He was a little anxious for a moment, and reached out to grab Ning Yue's arm before turning around and going down the mountain:
"You're right, we can't let you take risks alone. So I will send you back to the village first, and then turn back up the mountain. We can walk faster after the rain stops, and we should be able to climb to the top of the mountain in time before dawn."
"Oh, what are you going to do on the top of the mountain? Why don't you have someone to help you? Those people in the village are clearly making things difficult for you, but you insist on following their rules and refuse to tell them why. , do you think of me as a friend?"
After Ning Yue finished what she said, she was afraid that the young man might not hear it, so she stared into his eyes.
After a long silence, the young man let out a long sigh and finally cleared his throat as if he had been persuaded:
"Actually, it's not impossible to tell you. But you have to promise me that you will go back immediately after listening to me, and you are not allowed to follow me secretly anymore."
Seeing that her hard work finally yielded results, Ning Yue's limbs, which had been tense because of worry, finally relaxed a little. She nodded her head vigorously and pretended to agree, until her red hair, which was dampened by the rain, looked like a streak. Like thick brocade, it swayed left and right in front of the young man's eyes.