Dong Zhi took a sip of the paste against the rim of the bowl.
The marching rations were made from rice cake paste and the taste was so-so. It was not as good as rice porridge or millet porridge. However, Dong Zhi had not eaten hot and serious food for a long time, and the paste also contained shredded rabbit meat and this piece of rice cake.
The wild vegetables growing in the forest actually contain salt, and when I eat them, I feel touched.
It seems to be some kind of fine delicacy.
It started to feel like a hallucination again.
"Sir... Since you are from Yizhou, why did you come here?" Dong Zhi quietly glanced at Song You.
"I am traveling down the mountain. I have traveled all over the world and have no fixed place. As for why I came here..." Song You smiled at him, "I am just like you, here to look for the grace of this sacred bird in Yuezhou."
"Then when will sir leave?"
"Have a rest overnight and leave tomorrow morning." Song You said to him, "The distance from here to getting out of this Qingtong Forest is actually only a few dozen miles away. We can go out tomorrow morning."
"Dozens of miles..."
Dong Zhi couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
The journey of dozens of miles seemed not far away, but it had already trapped me here.
"Since Assam came here via Guangzhou, he also went back via Guangzhou if he wanted to go back. In this case, after Assam goes out, he should go south. After I go out, I will go east to Zhaozhou. I will probably leave Zhaozhou after the spring of next year.
From Zhouzhou to Hanzhou." Song You said to him, "I will take my subordinates out tomorrow morning."
"go out……"
Dong Zhi shook his head again.
He was afraid that the next sentence would be the Taoist coaxing him to sleep. When he was about to fall asleep or wake up, he would find himself still lying in the miasma of the woods, curled up into a ball, unconscious from the cold, without the Taoist around him.
The fire and the rice cakes were a mess, not even the imprisoned deer or the green paulownia tree that provided shelter from the wind.
Fortunately, the Taoist didn't say that, but told him to eat slowly and continued chatting with him.
Ask him if it is easier to go to Yuezhou via Guangzhou than to Yuezhou via Zhaozhou. Ask him how the situation is in Hanzhou, what are the scenic spots, myths and legends, and what are the places worth visiting when traveling around the world? Then ask him how to travel through the world.
Did you encounter any monsters or ghosts when you were halfway through Yuezhou? How many people did you meet, and we had a lot of fun chatting.
Finally, I finished the bowl of glutinous rice.
Dong Zhi felt warm and relieved, but also had an inexplicable premonition and his heart tightened.
Sure enough, he just heard the man opposite say to him:
"My feet are cold again, I'm hungry again, my body has already been weakened, and it's also invaded by the miasma. Now I've drank some warm water and food. Even though I'm awake, I shouldn't be too tired. If I don't take a good rest, I'll be exhausted."
I'm afraid you will have lifelong sequelae after you leave here, so let's take a nap for the time being. We will naturally wake you up tomorrow morning and take you out, so please relax."
When Dong Zhi heard this, his heart skipped a beat.
It's coming, it's finally coming. This scene, including the conversation at this time, is so familiar.
Only then did I remember——
Yes, there is miasma here. Without the help of spiritual talismans, it will make people dizzy, skin ulcers, and sores on the corners of the mouth. I didn't even notice it. I woke up until now, and I have been feeling refreshed, as if the miasma lingering around me is just...
Just ordinary fog.
"What happened..."
I'm afraid that I won't be able to wake up from this sleep, or that I'll go back again when I wake up.
I really don’t want to sleep...
But somehow, it seemed that after eating and drinking enough, my body warmed up, and I naturally felt a little sleepy. It also seemed that as this Taoist said, I was really affected by the hunger, cold and miasma. I didn't feel it just now,
At this time, as soon as the Taoist reminded me, all the fatigue came out. Or maybe the Taoist's tone was calm and his expression was gentle, like a god descending from the earth, sympathizing with the suffering of the world, coupled with the burning fire in front of him, and the dryness wrapped around his body
The thin blanket naturally makes people feel at ease when they feel sleepy.
In short, Dong Zhi only felt a wave of sleepiness coming over him, and his eyelids were twitching. Although he didn't want to sleep, he couldn't stand it anymore. Before he could give the order, his body fell to the side.
I only had time to open my eyes and look ahead.
I saw that the Taoist's expression remained gentle and calm, and the little girl sat obediently next to the Taoist, staring at him curiously. The horse was chewing something next to it, and the swallows were perched on its back, and it was also looking at him.
Dong Zhi narrowed his eyes and fell asleep.
When he fell asleep like this, he lost even the slightest bit of consciousness.
Unlike ordinary sleep, there are still some thoughts left. He knows that he has slept for a period of time. If he is more awake, he can also know whether he has slept for a long time or a short time. But Dong Zhi does not have it at this time, and he does not even know that he has slept for a while.
After a sleep, this time seemed to be lost.
It seems like it wasn't just one night.
Just close your eyes and open them again.
"ah!!"
Dong Zhi was almost awakened.
When I woke up, I found that it was already bright and the surroundings were still filled with miasma. The towering and huge green tung trees were like huge pillars holding up the sky, reaching into the depths of the clouds and mist. They were not like the real world, but like the ancient demon world.
Dong Zhi immediately checked around him and found that he was still wrapped in a thin blanket. There was only a pile of cinders in the fire in front of him. The maroon horse without a rein was standing not far from last night, with the same mouth.
He was chewing something for a while, but the man and the girl were still sitting next to him, seeming to have packed their things and staring at him.
"this……"
Dong Zhi calmed down and stood up quickly, his expression blank.
"Ashiba is awake?"
"woke up……"
"How good does it feel?"
"good……"
"In that case, let's go."
"oh……"
Dong Zhi was almost completely ownerless and just followed what he said.
So he got up, and before he could put away the thin blanket, the little girl took the thin blanket, folded it and stuffed it into the quilt bag. When the Taoist put the quilt bag on the horse's back, they set off.
Dong Zhi followed him, and the little girl handed him a handful of rice cakes and a piece of rabbit meat. Her hands were very small, and the rice cakes were only a small handful, which was this morning's breakfast.
Dong Zhi stumbled while walking.
The little girl sometimes climbed on the back of the horse, sometimes got down and followed, sometimes broke a wooden stick to hit grass everywhere, sometimes took out a dagger and poked it here and made a cut there. She looked very naughty and lively, while the swallows flew in front of her.
They led the way, worked conscientiously, chirped, soared into the sky from time to time, and flew back after a while.
The bay-red horse followed obediently.
Taoists walk with a stick and don't talk much.
The cry of a bear on the road frightened Dong Zhi, but the little girl just waved her flag and summoned more than a dozen big wolves. The bear was driven away before they even saw it.
The Taoist smiled with the little girl and said:
"Unconsciously, Sanhua Empress is also a big monster who can fight with bears and tigers."
A sentence called Sanhua Empress.
A big monster.
Dong Zhi was deeply impressed.
But they never showed any malice, and Dong Zhi really had no other choice, so he followed them all the time.
At almost noon that morning, they had already walked out of Qingtong Forest. However, after walking for a long time, it was only in the middle of the afternoon that the group of people walked out of the miasma.
There is still snow all over the ground, and the whole world has turned white. There are a few trees growing on the side, with lush branches, but the trees are not leaves, but crystal white ice crystals, like ice and snow, and the front
The world was already clear and clear, but when I turned around and looked back, I saw heavy fog.
Dong Zhi looked dull, feeling as if he had just stepped out of an ancient world and returned to reality.
At this time, the Taoist stopped.
I saw the Taoist pointing to the south and turned to look at him:
"There is no miasma here anymore. If you want to go from Gwangju, you have to go south. You have the ability to survive in the wild. If we don't go along the way, we won't send you more."
"me……"
Dong Zhi stretched out his hand and pointed forward, as if in disbelief: "Can we go back?"
"yes."
The Taoist smiled and nodded to him: "But there is still a long way to go. I just wish you a safe journey and be careful."
"this……"
"please."
Dong Zhi stumbled and took a few steps.
I remembered that I was trapped in the Qingtong Forest a few days ago. There was a lot of miasma and clouds covering my eyes. No matter where I went, it seemed to be the same. Now I walked out in just half a day. I remembered that the fog in the Qingtong Forest two days ago seemed like ancient times.
The scene of the world, and looking at the clear and clean world in the snow in front of me, it is inevitable to feel like a dream.
He raised his hand and touched his face. He wanted to wake up, but suddenly he found that the sores on his face and the blisters at the corners of his mouth were gone. His face felt clean to the touch, and he quickly used his tongue to
I wiped my mouth again and there was no tingling sensation.
It's more like a dream.
Dong Zhi couldn't help but turn around.
I walked out of a series of fragmented footprints in the snow. At the end of the footprints was a huge tree. The tree was covered with rime that was as snowy as ice and as clear as crystal. It was extremely beautiful. The whole world was covered in silver. That Taoist
He held a cane in one hand and held the little girl in the other, looking at him calmly. The maroon horse next to him was the most conspicuous color in the snow. The swallow had fallen on the tree and was looking down at him.
"..."
Dong Zhi couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Yesterday I heard this man say that he was afraid that he would not know whether it was an illusion or a dream until he returned to Hanzhou. He didn't think so at the time, but now it seems that he still thought it was a dream, and I'm afraid he still thought it was a dream all the way south.
Dream, I am afraid that I have to wait until I go to Gwangju, walk into the city, see people, or even return to Hanzhou to see familiar people, then I can be sure that this is not a dream.
If it was not a dream, it must have been an encounter with a god.
It's like the stories I've been telling for half my life.
Dong Zhi stumbled and walked further and further.
The Taoist still stood there, watching him, until he turned into a small black spot and the footprints on the ground spread far away and could no longer be seen, then he looked away.
It was at this moment that he suddenly felt something, so he turned his head and looked behind him——
The miasma relies on the mountains and forests, and also covers the mountains and forests, but in the miasma, there is a figure of a deer.
The deer didn't move away and raised its head to look at him.
Song You was a little confused and bowed with him:
"What's wrong with you?"
The deer was no bigger than a sheep. It raised its head and looked at him. After a moment, it began to speak human words, and its voice was quiet and ethereal:
"I heard that there is an immortal master in Yanzhou to the west. He came all the way from Hezhou to slay demons. He killed many demons who broke the rules in Yanzhou. Could it be that he is the Taoist Priest?"
"How do I know this?"
"There are many demons in the north. Although I practice in the mountains and forests in the north of Yuezhou, I often hear interesting news from outside."
"What do you want to say again, Shiba?"
"Where did the Taoist priest come from?"
"Don't you know this? You came from Hezhou and Yanzhou."
"Where are we going?"
"Wandering around the world."
"Have you traveled all over Yuezhou?"
"We're mostly gone."
"..."
Xiaolu turned his head around, looking left and right, as if he had some concerns, and then said to him: "There are many monsters in Yuezhou, and there are also many interesting things. The Taoist priest should walk more carefully."
After saying that, without waiting for Song You to ask any more questions, he turned around and ran into the mist behind him, disappearing without a trace.