twin moon

Chapter 17 Act Two

There were still a few hair-raising howls of wolves in the night sky from time to time.Hearing the screams of the warriors on the high place when they were being eaten alive by the galloping wolves, Ning Yue's heart was also beating violently.But now she doesn't care about him at all—

Earlier, the two children stepped on the cliff and fell straight into the abyss as high as more than ten feet.However, misfortune came with blessings, and a deep pool formed by springs under the cliff saved their lives by accident.

For Jiang Yan, who had completely lost his strength, the water surface was like an iron plate hitting him head-on, directly knocking him unconscious.Fortunately, Ning Yue knew the nature of water, and quickly picked up her companion from the water.The pool water was icy cold, the little white fox had to get out from under the skirt of the girl's chest, and was squatting on top of her head shivering.But the girl knew that this time she finally got rid of the bloodthirsty wolf on the cliff and was able to escape.

There are cliffs on three sides of the pool, and only a mountain stream connects with the outside world.The stream is not wide, but the current is extremely fast.Ning Yue desperately hugged her companion who had already lost consciousness with her hands, but she couldn't control the direction of her body at all, so she had to let her drift downstream with her.

The stream of water flows down the mountain all the way to the low-lying places.Thanks to the girl's own efforts to support Jiangyan's body and keep his mouth and nose above the water, so that he would not choke and drown.After the water level rose, all the jagged rocks that were once sharp as knives sank under the submerged deep stream, and the limbs and torsos of the two people who were immersed in the water were lucky to be preserved without any new injuries.

She didn't know how far she had drifted, but Ning Yue gradually felt that the water flow around her became calmer.The rain in the sky has also become significantly smaller, the dark clouds have cleared, and the sky full of stars is more transparent than ever.A pair of bright moons are like two high-hanging lanterns, so that the surrounding scenery can be seen clearly.

"Little stammer, hold on a little longer, there seems to be a low house on the shore!"

Ning Yue called softly in the boy's ear, but her hands and feet didn't stop, and she dragged him to the shore with all her strength.The girl didn't know whether her companion could hear her, but there was only one thought in her mind: I can't let him die like this!
Holding Jiang Yan in the water for a long time before, the girl's physical strength was a little overdrawn.After exhausting her efforts, she finally dragged the boy to a shallow beach on the shore.The little white fox also jumped down obediently, bit Jiangyan's clothes with his mouth open, and helped his master drag him into the low building on the bank.

Presumably, this empty thatched hut was temporarily used by the mountain people who occasionally fished in the river to rest their feet and spend the night.The four walls of the thatched hut are exposed to the wind, and a corner of the roof collapsed in the torrential rain last night, but most of the ground remains dry.There is also a pile of firewood in the center of the room, and hay and birch bark for lighting the fire are also prepared.It seems that people still patronize it from time to time, and it has not been completely abandoned.

"Fire, fire! There must be a fire!"

Ning Yue really couldn't stand the cold, her upper and lower jaw kept knocking together, making a "cluck, cluck, cluck" sound.She reached out and groped around her companion, looking for all the tools that could be used to make a fire.But he found that Jiang Yan's body had become abnormally cold, and he seemed to have stopped breathing.

"Little stammer, don't die, don't die!"

Ning Yue cried out in anxiety.However, from her companion's arms, she only took out a torch that had been soaked in water for a long time and was no longer useful, and a small black stick with unknown function.

"It seems to be—flint?"

Ning Yue tried hard to recall the records of various things on land that she had read in books, and gradually realized that this thing in front of her seemed to be a flint and steel that people who went to sea carried with them.She was afraid that the water on her body would wet the withered grass and birch bark around her, so she immediately took off her jacket and skirt, combed her messy red hair neatly behind her head, and tied it into a bun. All kinds of things in oneself.

"Cha-cha--" The dagger and flint were constantly scraping in the girl's hands, sparks splashed everywhere.

Although this method has never been used to start a fire, it seems that the god of luck has finally favored the girl this time.A few sparks fell into the withered grass under the pyre, and a trace of white smoke faintly rose.Ning Yue quickly lay down on the ground, puffed up her cheeks and blew a few breaths towards the place where the smoke was coming out.After a lot of difficulty, a group of dazzling flames sprang up from the bottom up.

The flames ignited the oily birch bark, and then the dry branches stacked on top of it.In the crackling sound, the life-saving bonfire gradually rose, burning more and more vigorously.Borrowing the light of the fire, the nervous girl also took off Jiang Yan's clothes one by one, and checked the other's injuries.

Soaking in water for a long time made Jiangyan's skin swollen and pale, like a corpse.It wasn't until half a stick of incense passed that his body temperature finally rose with the gradual increase of the flames, and Ning Yue finally showed a long-lost sense of relief on his face.

The fire that burned more and more vigorously gradually revived Jiang Yan.He suddenly realized that the wound on his chest and back had been covered with new herbs, and the cool feeling greatly relieved the burning sensation after the muscle was torn.

The young man turned his head with difficulty, and looked at this strange thatched hut with some surprise.There is no special decoration in the house, only a thick hemp rope pulled on one side of the fire, and the clothes on the other end of the rope, which were originally worn by oneself, hanging to dry.And what is hanging on the other end of the rope is Ning Yue's jacket and skirt and the white underwear she wears next to her body.

The long skirt dragged to the ground, completely blocking Jiang Yan's sight.However, under the light of the fire, the fabric of the clothes became hazy and translucent, reflecting the silhouette of the girl who was close at hand.At this time, Ning Yue was sitting on the other side of the curtain stretching her limbs, combing her curly hair with her hands.The undisguised back is graceful and graceful, so beautiful.

Among the silhouettes, there is a little fluffy creature screaming "Jiujiu", crawling around beside its owner, sometimes running around with the girl's shoes and socks hanging by the fire, and sometimes jumping into her arms to beg for love. Beloved, on several occasions, he almost pushes back the thin curtain in front of Jiang Yan, causing the house to burst into joy.

The boy stared at the figure of the girl playing with the white fox on the curtain, and couldn't help being a little fascinated.

Suddenly, Ning Yue seemed to have noticed the subtle changes in her companion's breathing, and realized that the other party had woken up. She immediately stopped playing with the little beast, and tentatively asked softly:

"Little stammer, are you awake?"

The girl's words immediately made Jiang Yan aware of his rudeness, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer, as if he had done something wrong.In a panic, he wanted to prop up his body with his elbows, but he pulled the wound on his body, took a breath of cold air with a "hiss", and immediately exposed the fact that he had already woken up.

At this time, Ning Yue by the fire also vaguely saw the stunned figure of the young man behind the curtain, and immediately blushed and turned her back, hid in the shadow of the corner of the room, and blamed her companions with shame and embarrassment by:

"You, you didn't say anything when you woke up... Hurry up and close your eyes, I'm going to get dressed..."

Only then did Jiang Yan come to his senses, he turned his head and hurriedly apologized, but his body was burning like fire.He clearly heard Ning Yue tear off her dirty clothes and skirt from the hemp rope, and put them on her body in a hurry:
"Hey, little stutterer, did you peek at someone's house just now?"

"No, no..."

The young man lied against his will, but he felt that his embarrassment must have been seen through by the other party, so he didn't dare to say anything more.Ning Yue also realized that she asked a rather stupid question, and walked forward quickly as if trying to change the subject, handed Baipi back to the other party, her fair face flushed red:

"It's fine if you don't have one. Here, return your knife to you..."

Jiang Yan seemed to want to say something more, but accidentally caught a glimpse of the pair of still naked feet under the girl's skirt, and quickly averted his eyes, not daring to look into her eyes.

There was a long and awkward silence in the hut.After a long time, the boy felt that he should say something, and finally said:

"Yue'er, thank you for saving me earlier."

"We are companions, thank you for what you say... How do you feel now, little stutterer? For a while, people really thought you were dead, and your eyes were swollen from crying! Fortunately, your body temperature finally recovered, breathing It has also become even again..." Ning Yue also stammered in response.

"Well, it shouldn't be a problem. How long have I been asleep?"

"It's only a few hours, it's not yet dawn."

"However, it feels like a long, long time has passed, like a lifetime..." Jiang Yan raised his head, staring at the starry sky leaking in from the broken roof of the hut in a daze.

Ning Yue also crossed her arms and sat down beside him: "Little stutter, you said that if one day, everyone in this world can live forever, and you don't have to worry about people you care about leaving you one day, it should be What a happy thing."

"It may not be happy. If people will not die, they should often think of their relatives and friends who passed away in the past, thinking that they can't eat or sleep..." The black-eyed boy shook his head in response.

Ning Yue thought in her heart that if that was the case, she would rather become like Jiang Yan, remembering nothing, so she wouldn't feel sad.But before she opened her mouth, she saw a faint sadness in the other's black pupils, like a helpless cub wandering alone in the forest:

"...Actually, after I woke up just now, I was suddenly afraid of what I would do if I forgot you too. After all, everyone is afraid of being alone..."

The boy just continued talking to himself.Ning Yue, however, couldn't help but be thankful that she didn't express those naive thoughts in her heart just now - after all, forgetting the past is equivalent to cutting off all ties with the world, like a lonely whale that has lost its direction and can no longer find the direction to migrate , can only wander in the boundless sea of ​​people.

She stretched out her hand and gently took the boy's hand: "Don't worry, little stammer. Even if you forget me one day, I won't abandon you."

"You can count on what you say?"

Jiang Yan didn't know why he asked such a question, but he suddenly felt warm in his heart.Perhaps it was because of his blank past like a blank sheet of paper, or perhaps because of a vague memory from the past that was buried deep in his heart, and he was not even aware of it. He turned his head and looked into the girl's eyes, There seemed to be something twinkling in the eyes.

"Of course it counts. If you don't believe me, we will pull the hook!"

Ning Yue held out her little finger towards him.The boy glanced at her, and immediately stretched out his hand, hooking her tightly together.In this way, the two children who met by chance, in this dilapidated hut, made perhaps the most solemn promise to each other in this life.

At the same time, a soft "goo--" sound suddenly sounded in the silent hut, causing Jiang Yan, who was still a little embarrassed, to hang his head even lower:

"I—I'm a little hungry. Now that the moon is out, I'll go around and see if I can get some food to satisfy my hunger."

The girl in front of her didn't seem to care too much about her companion's embarrassment. Instead, after hearing the word "food", her face was filled with excitement:

"I was just worried that if you couldn't wake up, I wouldn't starve to death in this deep mountain forest."

"With me here, I won't starve to death." Jiang Yan responded, and turned to look at the bonfire on the ground——the orange-red fire, so that the red-haired girl failed to notice his red-as-cooked face. With a face like a ripe blue crab, he shook his head worriedly and said:
"But your wounds—you'd better not go."

"Don't worry, I'm not looking for someone to fight, I'll be back soon."

After sleeping for a long time before, Jiang Yan's physical strength recovered a lot.As he spoke, he got up from the ground and rushed out the door.

(End of this chapter)