carved heart

Chapter 36
Shen Changtang tightened his grip on the horse's belly and was about to pull Ah Yin up when the remaining four men in black rushed towards him.His heart tightened, and the sword in his hand slammed straight through the heart of one of the men in black.

He quickly abandoned his horse and turned over.

However, at this moment, Ah Yin, who was in a pool of blood, directly kicked the man in black in the lower abdomen.

The force was so strong that the man in black spit out blood. Before the man in black could react, Ah Yin's fist hit his face again.She was obviously a petite girl, but she punched her nose crookedly.

The remaining two men in black were stunned.

Shen Changtang reacted the fastest, drew out his long sword, and quickly eliminated the remaining two men in black.

He looked at the dumbfounded Ah Yin, but laughed.

"Your brute force is not well controlled. If you control it well, you can kill it with one punch. When you return to Yongping, I will find a master to teach you." He reached out to wipe the blood from her forehead.As soon as her cold fingers touched her forehead, she trembled and took two steps back hastily.

She lowered her eyes.

He sighed: "I promise you, don't be angry with me." After arriving in Yongping and slowly coaxing her back to the Marquis's Mansion, she had just saved him, returned to Yongping, and asked the emperor to record a meritorious service for her.He acted as both a sharp blade and a shield for the emperor, and it was only natural for him to earn fame for his people.

She still doesn't speak.

At this moment, there was another sound not far away, Shen Changtang frowned, took her hand, and said: "They still have people, follow me."

The horse was no longer usable, and the front feet were cut off, so the two had to run with their feet.

After a short distance, Ah Yin suddenly lost his strength and staggered and fell to the ground.This is always the case when you run out of brute force.She said: "You don't need to worry about me." Shen Changtang frowned and said: "This Marquis has not yet left the woman to escape."

Then he squatted down and said in a deep voice, "Come up."

A Yin looked at his bleeding thigh and wanted to refuse, but the voice behind her was getting closer, so she gritted her teeth and climbed onto Shen Changtang's back.

The road seems to have become extremely long.

She lay on Shen Changtang's back, thinking suddenly.

It would be great if he was not Lord Hou, nor a proud son of heaven, but just a peddler.In this way, he will not always think about taking her to Yongping, and there will be no marriage that can only be decided by the Tian family, and there will be no distinction of family status.

But that's all if.

How can there be an if in the world?

She said softly: "Master Hou, if you can't run anymore, just throw me down, wherever you want. I won't blame you, nor will I blame you."

"Don't be noisy."

He really couldn't run much, and his feet were still bleeding.It's just that he has to hold on, he has to wait until his Xuanjiawei arrives.

Suddenly, Shen Changtang found a cave not far away.

He gritted his teeth and ran forward.

However, at this moment, he stepped on the air, and the two of them rolled like snowballs. There was a crackling sound, and there was a sound of clothes being cut. In the end, he hit something. Pain, and passed out directly.

When Ah Yin woke up, his surroundings were pitch black, and he couldn't see his fingers.It took a while before she remembered what happened before she fell into a coma. Just as she moved, a pain came from her forehead, and she gasped.

She tentatively called, "Master Hou?"

No one answered her.

She called again, still no answer.She panicked for no reason, she was alone in this place that she didn't know what it was, and she didn't know if there would be any wild beasts around.

She gasped.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally calmed down.

She gritted her teeth and stood up with the help of the cold mountain wall. It was pitch black everywhere.She no longer remembered from which direction she fell in.She walked forward instinctively, and after walking about ten steps, she stepped on a piece of softness.

She was startled, stepped back a few steps quickly, and called out tentatively, "Master Hou?"

Still no one answered her.

She braved up and went forward again, kicked it lightly, and after feeling the temperature, she knelt down and touched it with her hands. When she felt a sticky piece, she smelled blood.Now, Ah Yin is sure who is in front of him.

She patted his face in the dark and said, "Master Hou, wake up."

Mu Yanghou never responded.

She trembled in her heart, and tremblingly poked her nose towards him.Unexpectedly, at this moment, a strong force pinched her wrist.She let out a soft cry, and the strength relaxed a bit, and the defense disappeared.

"Not dead." The voice was slightly weak.

Ah Yin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Master Hou, I'll help you up."

"No need." He said, "I'll be fine after a short rest." As if afraid of her worrying, he said, "I'm different from ordinary people. If I get injured, I only need to rest for a few days to heal. No matter how serious the injury is, it will be fine." Can heal."

A Yin was slightly taken aback, and said: "I am also different from ordinary people. I can use brute force at critical moments, but once I use brute force, I have to rest for a day or two to recover."

Shen Changtang laughed lightly.

"We are so similar, you should go to Yongping with me."

As soon as the word Yongping was mentioned, Ah Yin stopped talking again.

Shen Changtang didn't force her, just said: "It won't take a day for Xuanjiawei to find me, don't be afraid."

Unexpectedly, Ah Yin asked: "Who wants to kill Lord Hou?"

Shen Changtang didn't expect Ah Yin to ask such a question suddenly, so he couldn't help but fell silent, and after a while he said: "This time it was an accident, I guess there was a mistake in the villa." After lying down for a while, he felt better, touched her hand, Said: "After a while, let's go with the wind. When we fell down earlier, it should have fallen near the entrance of the cave, so it was easy to be found."

Ah Yin let him hold his hand, and gave a soft "hmm".

The cave became quiet, only the sound of ghosts crying and howling wolves, and the soft and boneless slender hand trembling slightly in the palm.

He suddenly said: "During the fighting nuclear conference, what was the name of the last nuclear sculpture you carved?"

"Not yet." Hearing about the nuclear carving, Ah Yin became more energetic, and said again: "After the fighting nuclear conference, the nuclear carving was given to one of the nuclear carving masters. At that time, I was in a hurry and didn't have time to choose a name. .”

She remembered that the nuclear engraver told her at that time that his surname was Yuan, and his single name was a character of Hong.He seemed to want to say something later, but the people at Shen Changtang's side were in a hurry, and they went to the villa together with other nuclear carving technicians without saying a word or two.

At this time, Shen Changtang said again: "There is a nuclear carver beside the Holy One, surnamed Yuan, he is very good at carving landscapes. The Holy Majesty admires him very much. There is also an attic in the palace, called the Canghe Building, which contains the treasures of the emperors of the three dynasties. The nuclei carvings are all top grade."

Ah Yin took a tight breath.

There seemed to be a smile in his voice, and he said, "In the future, I will report to the Holy Majesty and take you to have a look."

After speaking, he had already stood up, and said again: "Let's go, let's walk inside."

There is no light in the cave, everything can only be in darkness.

Shen Changtang's eyes quickly adapted to the darkness, they were a little bumpy at first, but now they can move freely.He took her hand and slowly caressed in the cave.I don't know how long he walked before he stopped.

Ah Yin asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

Shen Changtang said: "This cave is a bit weird, the wind noise suddenly disappeared."

"Going the wrong way?"

"It's a bit strange, let's not go, rest here for a while. After a while, we will turn back the same way."

Ah Yin said "OK", trying to break free from Shen Changtang's hand.Shen Changtang didn't let go, but tightened his grip a little more, and only said: "Don't let go, it will be bad if you accidentally get separated."

Ah Yin said calmly: "If I don't go away, and you don't go away, how could you get separated?"

Shen Changtang also said calmly: "This Marquis doesn't want to let go."

The time passed in the darkness was extraordinarily long, and the two returned by the same route, and walked for a long time, but they still didn't reach it.The surroundings are quiet, and the sound of the wind does not know where it is going. If there is not the sound of their own breathing, the whole world will be dead silent.

Two days later, Xuanjiawei still hadn't arrived.

The two of them didn't drink a drop of water.

Ayin was leaning on a boulder, and her eyes were dizzy from hunger. She never thought that one day she would die in a cave from which she could not get out.She hasn't found a good marriage for Ah Xuan yet, and there are still many nuclei carvings she wants to carve out. She is about to die, and she realizes that there are too many things she wants to do.

And she didn't want to die at all.

She asked: "Master Hou, will Xuanjiawei really come?"

Shen Changtang was still calm, he said: "Xuanjiawei must be in the cave at this time, we might walk into a side road when we walk in. One more day, there will be bloodstains in the cave, they can find them by following the bloodstains."

He still spoke calmly and full of energy, not at all like someone who hasn't eaten for two days.

But after another half day, the surroundings were still quiet.

A Yin's breathing became lighter and lighter, Shen Changtang took her hand and called out: "A Yin."

She held his hand instead, as if with all her strength.

"Master Hou."

"Ok?"

"It's dark here, there's nothing there, just me and you. If the Xuanjiawei hadn't come, we both would have died here in two days. After death, no matter how high your status is, how good your appearance is , will only turn into a pile of bones in the end." Her tone was full of despair.

Shen Changtang was startled.

Her voice was as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

"The thing I regret the most in my life is that I met you at the foot of Cangshan Mountain that day. You are domineering and selfish, with a strong desire to conquer. Yes, you are a high-ranking Marquis, but I am just a humble commoner. In your eyes, I am just you The plaything you want to conquer is not even a person. Because I was unlucky, because I didn't burn high incense, so I became your antidote. Regardless of my wishes, feel free to lighten me and tease me. You must be thinking, you are Hou Lord, you are the proud son of heaven. Being able to take care of me and care about me is the blessing of my eight hundred lifetimes. If I don't kneel down to thank you, you still think I don't know what to do. No! Shen Changtang, I want Let me tell you, the way you care about me and the way you care about me make me anxious day and night. All my fears, all fears, and all the bewilderment in the past 20 years are all brought about by you! If you can choose to be the master, I will definitely disdain you!"

Tears fell silently.

All the grievances and anxiety of the past six months have been vented at this moment.

She was going to die, and he was going to die, so she didn't have to be afraid anymore.

People are dead, have no identity, no family status, they are equal.

She shook his hand away violently, like something filthy.Shen Changtang's heart felt like an ice cellar, and in the darkness, his breathing was extremely heavy.Ah Yin was not afraid anymore, she even said in a brisk voice, "I won't die with you even if I die."

She got up from the ground, just stood up, before she stood still, a cold hand grabbed her, with a strong force, she was pulled into Shen Changtang's arms.He pinched her chin and said viciously: "How dare you despise me!"

She brazenly said: "Yes, I just despise you."

"It's just an excuse that you don't want to be a concubine. If I make you a regular wife, you will have a new excuse! In the final analysis, you have never believed me."

She said, "Shen Changtang, what do you have that I can trust? You said Xuanjiawei would come, what about now?"

Her reply left him speechless.

She said again: "I don't seek glory and wealth, let alone high officials and high salary. I just want a quiet place to carve cores. Why do you have to force me? Now, Shen Changtang, you are about to force me to death, you Are you satisfied? Are you happy?"

In the dead silence, footsteps suddenly came from a distance, and there was a faint fire.

"...Is someone in there?"

Not long after, two figures appeared, wearing coarse clothes, completely dressed like farmers.

The flames approached, revealing a gloomy handsome face, and a little face that was bloodless from fright.

Shen Changtang let go of Ah Yin, and went forward to talk with the two farmers.

The two farmers were very enthusiastic. Knowing that Shen Changtang and A Yin were trapped inside, they immediately said to take them out.Shen Changtang promised a reward, and one of the farmers quickly agreed to report to Gongcheng.Another farmer smiled and said: "Why don't you two stay at my house for a night, the food is crude, I hope you don't mind."

Shen Changtang nodded.

The farmer called Ah Feng and said, "You two go this way."

A Yinrao had another idea, but at this moment his mind went blank.

He didn't die, but Mu Yanghou scolded him bloody...

Shen Changtang looked back at her, and said gloomyly: "Come here."

Ah Yin woke up like a dream, walked over with lowered eyebrows.Shen Changtang also stopped looking at her, and took a step ahead.She followed behind Shen Changtang step by step, and Ah Feng held up the torch, talking while walking, very good at talking.

According to A Fengyi, the two of them found out that they had accidentally walked into the tomb of a former official from a cave in another mountain.

"...You are actually not the first to fall in. Someone fell in half a year ago and stayed in it for three or four days. Fortunately, they were found and rescued. But there is nothing in the tomb. The good things have long been It was touched away. I heard that this former official was not a local, but a native of Southern Xinjiang. You are still young, so you must not know. I also heard from my grandfather that there was a Southern Xinjiang country 100 years ago, and it was not later. I know why it perished. But these things have nothing to do with us, as long as the harvest is good and the tax is light, it doesn’t matter whoever is the emperor.”

Ah Feng's wife knew that the two of them hadn't eaten for two days, so she cooked a pot of millet porridge first.After they finished drinking and warmed their stomachs, they cooked a whole table of dishes and brought them up one after another.Farm dishes are boiled directly, sweet and crisp.There is also boiled chicken, cut into seven or eight pieces, and placed in a large bowl.

Ah Yin picked up vegetables and ate silently, not even daring to look at Shen Changtang.

After eating, the woman didn't think much, she just thought that they were a young couple, so she prepared a room for them.

Shen Changtang didn't say anything else, he walked into the house, leaving Ah Yin alone outside.The woman thought that there was a conflict between the two, so she said softly: "Family harmony and everything is going well, your husband and wife are in trouble together, what can't be solved?"

Ah Feng called the woman over, muttering: "Don't meddle in your own business."

As soon as the two left, Ah Yin was still standing outside.

There is no door in the farmhouse, only a dark blue curtain.Ah Yin really encountered a problem. If her grandfather was still alive, she would definitely want to ask him for advice. She thought she was going to die, but in the end, she couldn't die, and what should she do if she offended someone?
She didn't lift the curtain until she could clearly see the faded patterns on the curtain and walked in.

The room was simple, with no tables and chairs, only a kang with a bamboo mat.However, no matter how simple it was, it became luxurious because of Mu Yanghou on the bamboo mat.Shen Changtang sat on the bamboo mat and looked at her coldly.

The matter has come to this point, and the words spoken are like water poured out, and they can't be taken back.

Thinking of this, A Yin decided to go all out.

She said: "Hou..."

He sneered and said: "Isn't it very neat to call Benhou's name this morning?" She was swallowed, and he said again: "From now on, you are not allowed to speak without Benhou's permission."

Having not had a good rest for two consecutive nights, Shen Changtang was also tired at this time, so he collapsed on the bamboo mat and closed his eyes.

But even so, his whole face was tense.

Ah Yin stood in the corner, a little at a loss.After a while, she was also tired from standing, she squinted her eyes and dozed off, and kept nodding her head.It's summer, and there are many mosquitoes and flies. Every now and then, a mosquito will come and buzz around my ears.

She also dozed off unsteadily, waved her palm in a daze, but waved away the drowsiness.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Shen Changtang sat up on the bamboo mat at some point, and looked at her with the cold eyes just now, scaring away even the remaining drowsiness.She immediately bowed her head, not looking at him.

There was a rustling sound of cloth on the kang, and after a while, a pair of black leather rolled silver-trimmed boots appeared in front of her eyes, and there was the sound of moderate breathing above her head.

The two stood silently for a while.

The boots with black leather and silver trim suddenly moved to the left, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from her sight like a gust of wind.

As soon as he left, she breathed a sigh of relief, tapped her hands, thumped her shoulders, and loosened her muscles and bones.

After waiting for a long time, Shen Changtang did not come back, A Yin was tired again, so he squatted down to take a nap.She was probably really sleepy, and this time the mosquitoes were screaming in her ears, but she didn't wake up.When she really woke up, it was already the next morning.

She sat up and looked around.

The blue and white walls and the round windows covered with paper were shining brightly from the sun.

The memories of last night poured in, and she suddenly came back to her senses. When she looked down, she was actually lying on the kang.As if thinking of something, she hurriedly got off the kang, and before she could put on her shoes, a pair of black leather boots appeared outside the dark blue curtain, followed by Chen Dou's voice.

"Miss Yin, are you awake?"

(End of this chapter)