spring flowers

Chapter 8
The stone forest is backed by the towering and green Zhishan Mountain, and the other three sides are verdant bamboo forests. There is a ring of scorched earth several feet wide between the two, which is clearly separated.

Meilin squatted down, observed the ground carefully, and after a while, picked up a handful of charcoal-like sand and handed it to Murong Jinghe.

"You see, it was burned...but why is there no grass growing?" She wondered, after many years, there should be lush vegetation on the ashes left by the fire.Thinking of this, she suddenly threw the sand on the ground as if she had caught something terrible, and wiped her hands on her clothes.Looking sideways, I saw Murong Jing and the undisguised mockery in his eyes.

Cursing her lips, she unceremoniously threw him on the ground covered with bamboo shoot shells. When she turned around, she heard a suppressed groan, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and then she tore off the clothes A cloth belt, clenching the heel of the arm that had grasped the sand with his teeth, walked quickly towards the creek not far away.

The creek flows from Zhifeng, without passing through the fire site, the water is clear, the plants on both sides are lush, and the footprints of small animals can be seen from time to time.

Rinse one hand in the water, rub it with a blade of grass, and then lift it up, and found that the entire palm is as black as ink, like those scorched stones.Meilin sighed, pulled out the dagger, and cut a cross-shaped wound on the palm of his hand. Then, he held his arm through the sleeve and pushed from top to bottom. He saw black blood drop by drop into the stream. The little fish turned its white belly and floated up.

"It's really heartless." She muttered, but there was no complaint in her expression.She knew too well how ruthless that man could be. Once he had a chance to stand up, she would definitely die without a place to bury her.What's more, she was forced to save him because she was forced to do nothing, so she naturally didn't think he should pay back.

As the blood flowing out of the wound gradually changed from a tick to a continuous stream, the numb palm also slowly regained consciousness, first it was like an ant bite, and then it turned into pain.The blood finally regained its bright red color.

After waiting for a while, Mei Lin untied the cloth band on his arm, and didn't panic when he saw the blood gushing out from his palm, he rummaged through the herbs at his waist to find the hemostatic medicine, chewed it up and spit it on it, wrapped it with a cloth band After a few floors, I got up.

A burst of dizziness hit her, she swayed, had to squat down again, leaned down and took a few sips of the clear stream water, and then she felt a little better.

In fact, she is not afraid of being poisoned, because when she entered the dark factory, she had already been inoculated with chronic poisons that would occur periodically, and she was more or less resistant to other poisons.It's just that the blood is really limited, and it's a bit unbearable to lose blood a few times.

She washed the dagger in the water, then cut off the bamboo tube, filled it with water and returned to the edge of the bamboo forest.Murong Jinghe was lying on the ground with his face tilted, and his side was pressed against the thick dead leaves. He obviously fell to the ground from the front at first, and then he didn't move again.There was no anger or resentment in the open eyes, but an elusive depth.Seeing her come back, he raised his lips and smiled, and said in a very gentle tone: "If you are smart, you'd better kill me now. Otherwise, the shame today will be rewarded a hundred times in the future."

Although she already knew it in her heart, when she heard him say it in such a tone, Mei Lin still couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart.

"You don't have to worry about what I want to do, my lord." She remained motionless, squatted down and turned him over, then lifted him up slightly, and began to feed the water she brought back.

Murong Jinghe slowly sipped the water, raised his eyelashes, trying to see something from the calmness of Mei Lin.

With a fair face and water-soaked hair lying quietly against his cheeks, it makes one want to reach out and put it behind the ear.With thin eyebrows and quiet eyes, this is a woman who is used to lowering her eyebrows and looking down without her own opinions, but unexpectedly she has such a deep mind, and her actions are unexpectedly decisive and capable.

Murong Jinghe took a closer look at Meilin's appearance for the first time, and when she lowered her eyes, she finally understood why she was looking away.The memories between the two of them are limited to the little red mole on the tip of her eyebrow and the past few days of getting along with each other. He obviously slept in the same bed before, but he couldn't remember it at all.Even if he really didn't take this person seriously, it wouldn't be the case. From this, it can be seen that she deliberately weakened her sense of existence.

Feeling his thoughtful, probing eyes, eyebrows raised, and he stared at him without hesitation, so the indifference that existed there directly hit his heart, making his pupils shrink involuntarily .

The corners of Meilin's lips tightened, and then he smiled, but the smile didn't dispel the coldness in his pupils.Even so, Murong Jinghe still had to admit that she was actually pretty.Although this kind of beauty cannot be compared with Makino Luomei.

"Since the soil is poisonous, it's probably the same on those rocks. Are you sure we really want to go in?" She confirmed again.

"Are you scared?" Murong Jing raised his eyebrows, and was about to provoke again, but suddenly his expression changed drastically, his originally pale and green face suddenly flushed red.

Meilin found that it was difficult for the two of them to get along peacefully when there was no need for cooperation. When she was thinking whether to retort or ignore it, a series of extremely loud stomach cries suddenly came from her ears. She said in surprise, "Are you hungry?" Already?" She almost didn't stop talking all the way, she was still struggling, how could he be hungry so fast?

Murong Jinghe clenched his fists, and his immobile body twisted imperceptibly, almost convulsively. He looked away and almost squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "I want to relieve myself." His delicate stomach couldn't bear some strange things, and he started to overwhelm him.

These few days, in order to avoid embarrassment, he tried to eat and drink as little as possible. He had never had a major solution, and Meilin helped him with a small solution.At this time, he wanted to relieve himself, but he didn't know what to do.

Not only him, but even Mei Lin was at a loss.

"Hurry up!" Seeing that she was still in a daze, Murong Jinghe urged them angrily.

"Oh." Meilin panicked, stretched out her hand and began to take off his pants.However, the more anxious and chaotic he became, the belt was accidentally torn into a dead knot.

"Cut it off..." Murong Jinghe said anxiously, no longer in the mood to curse.

"You can bear it any longer, and you will be fine soon..." Meilin had already loosened the knot, and she was not willing to break the belt. Who thought it was just this delay, so she heard a "poof", and a strong stench came over her. Ripples in the air.

She was stunned, while Murong Jinghe looked away in embarrassment.

A clearing was raked out in the bamboo grove by the stream, a bonfire was burning in the middle, and two bamboo poles were stretched across the side to dry the washed clothes.

Murong Jinghe was lying on a big rock leaning into the water, except for the head, all other parts of the body were not in the cold stream water.Meilin was half-immersed in the water, washing off the filth from his body beside him.Neither of the two spoke, one was embarrassed and the other felt slightly guilty.

Meilin knew that if he hadn't stuffed him with medicinal herbs and refused to cut his belt, perhaps such an embarrassing thing would not have happened.For a big man, especially a high-ranking prince, this is not only a loss of face, but a very serious injury to self-esteem.

It's just that this kind of thing will happen to him who is paralyzed all over the body sooner or later. In the future, she will have to poop and urinate.She thought, and the rare conscience in her heart suddenly disappeared without a trace.

I brushed my back, thighs and limbs with a large piece of soft grass, and then washed the man with my hands without hesitation. I felt the body under my hands tremble uncontrollably, and then returned to calm, but the stiffness conveyed by it has not been there for a long time. Disperse.Mei Lin couldn't help speeding up, and turned him over after washing his back.

The light from the fire not far away reached the creek and turned into a dark yellowish color, but it was enough for people to see Murong Jing with his eyes closed and his lower lip clenched with dark blood stains.From this we can see how he is suppressing the shame in his heart.

Meilin sighed secretly in her heart, knowing that if she wanted to save her life, she would only have to keep him paralyzed forever.

The man who hadn't opened his eyes all this time naturally didn't know what she was thinking, even if he knew, maybe he wouldn't take it to heart.

He had been on the run for the past few days, and it was rare for him to have the opportunity to wash himself. Meilin simply washed Murong Jinghe's hair, dragged him to the clean and soft withered grass on the shore, and then went to get the clothes to be baked.

The wind of autumn night blows to the body through the dripping wet coat, which is bone-chillingly cold.She didn't have the internal strength to keep out the cold, and her upper and lower teeth were fighting involuntarily, so she rushed to the fire at almost running speed, dragged off her half-dry clothes and returned to the stream.He casually wiped the cold water stains on his body with his hands, and then put on his clothes.

Struggle to bring the man back to the fire, let him lie on the thick and soft bamboo leaves, and use the heat of the fire to warm his already ice-like body, hoping that he will not fall ill due to the cold. For them, it's like adding insult to injury.Mei Lin himself returned to the water's edge again, took off his middle coat which was drenched close to his body, washed it, and dried it to the empty space for his clothes, then trembling and gritting his teeth, he entered the stream to carefully wash off the dirt on his body .

When Murong Jinghe opened her eyes, she had finished washing, and was sitting by the fire in a taupe-colored embroidered apron revealing a large snowy back, and a pair of thin obscene trousers.

After the sharp dagger was roasted on the fire, it resolutely cut off the rotted flesh and blood on the wound until the blood gushed out and slid down the snow-white arm. The wet black hair hung down on the body, and a few locks fell on the chest, dripping. hit the water.She neatly applied the chewed herbal medicine and bandaged it, except that Xiumei frowned imperceptibly when gouging out the carrion, the whole process seemed too quiet.It's just that this kind of tranquility, against the background of her almost enchanting clothes, reveals a kind of moving charm.

Of course, Mei Lin didn't know what is charming or not, she took care of the wounds on her arms and legs, went to the stream to wash off the blood on her body, then put on the dried clothes, changed her bellyband and obscene trousers, washed them and hung them to dry , and then re-wrapped the wound on the palm with dry cloth tape.

After everything was packed and she was about to fall asleep on the spot, she suddenly noticed that the man on the other side of the fire was trembling imperceptibly. complain.Without thinking too much, she got up and walked over to move the man to a dry place, let him sit with his back to the fire against her, so that he could dry his wet hair and clothes that were wet on his back.During the whole process, Murong Jinghe only glanced at her when she was moved at the very beginning, and did not respond after that.

Suddenly, Meilin knew that everything was going to be different.

The two did not immediately enter the stone forest the next day.In a place where even the soil is highly poisonous, two people, one injured and the other difficult to move, if they are not well prepared, it is really tantamount to courting death.

The sea holly hovered indomitably above the bamboo forest, reminding them that its owner might arrive at any moment.Meilin cut a few bamboos and picked off the branches and leaves above them. Except for the four pieces used as wheels in the thickest part, the rest became water containers.Using an arm-and-a-half-long bamboo section, cut branches and leaves, and long vines, Mei Lin once again made a simple cart.It is more than half smaller than what Yueqin did last time.

A cart full of hay was cut, enough wild fruits for two people to eat for a few days, and all kinds of raw food, herbs, and more than ten tubes of water, all of which were placed on the cart.

Meilin tied the long vines that pulled the cart around her waist, then half-loaded Murong Jinghe, and finally stepped out of the bamboo forest two days later.

When she stepped into the empty black transition area, she couldn't help but looked up at the evil bird that was still staring at them, licked her lips, and suddenly felt an urge to roast it.

There was no rain, and the autumn sky was high and blue.Murong Xuanlie did not come.This is the luckiest thing so far.

When I got closer, I found that the boulders were four or five feet high above the ground, square and square, with different thicknesses, as if they were chiseled by hand.But no one will really think about man-made. First, because the number of boulders here is definitely no less than tens of thousands, and there are no traces of excavation in the surrounding mountains, the possibility of using local materials can be ruled out; Large canals and roads with sufficient pressure to transport the stone make it impossible to imagine how such a huge amount of work could be done.Therefore, apart from admiring the uncanny craftsmanship of nature, it is really difficult to make other conjectures.

Some of the stones are embedded with each other and are airtight, while others are spacious enough for two carriages to pass by side by side. The ground is extremely flat, just like the outside, it is full of black sand, blending with the scorched boulders, forming a Entering the stone forest, it feels like the whole sky has darkened.

Meilin carried Murong Jinghe on his back, and dragged the small cart, and entered the burning place that was astonishingly discolored from between the two huge stones that looked like portals.Because the road surface is flat and there are no vegetation, she saves a lot of energy, but she no longer dares to rest with her hands on the objects around her.

Such a large stone formation, even if there is no danger, it is difficult not to get lost after entering, so Mei Lin was about to leave a mark while walking, but was stopped by Murong Jinghe.He didn't say the reason, but she figured it out after thinking about it.If Murong Xuanlie and the others are determined to chase after them, the marks they leave behind are really excellent guiding lights.

Murong Jing and Mei Lin didn't talk much to each other except when necessary, she could do whatever she told her to do, as long as it didn't touch his bottom line.Meilin felt a little unaccustomed to the quietness, she felt that she missed that Murong Jing who was always aloof and would complain and sarcasm from time to time and reconciled.

The sound of rolling bamboo tubes is sometimes tight and sometimes slow, accompanied by the sound of heavy and dragging footsteps, which looks extremely eerie in the dark stone forest.If this was not sent by himself, Mei Lin would definitely think that he encountered something unclean.

Murong Jinghe didn't show the way, so she could only walk in the direction of Zhifeng according to her own judgment.The black stone exuded a deep chill, and the wind passed through the stone gap, making a sound like someone crying. Apart from being a bit cold, the air in the stone forest was not annoying.However, after walking for more than half an hour, the scene in front of him has not changed at all, as if it has not moved.

Meilin felt that something was inappropriate, so she found a place with a leeward wind, and planned to take a rest first, and think about the situation in front of her.When she was going to support Murong Jing and prevent him from falling, and at the same time spread the withered grass on the car to the ground to isolate the poisonous black soil, she realized how wrong she was not to weave a bamboo mat in order to save time .

In the end, she could only let Murong Jinghe sit on the ground, and she knelt by his side while supporting his upper body, which was unable to sit upright, while spreading dry grass on the ground to create a place big enough for the two of them to lie down together.

After moving him to the dry grass to lie down, she also fell down from exhaustion, thinking of ways to save more effort in her mind.

The hay can be tied into bundles, which not only saves effort to spread, but also facilitates storage.Her eyes glanced at the sky unconsciously, and then she sat up abruptly.

"How is it possible..." She murmured in a low voice, her face was a little weird, and the coldness in her heart was whizzing.

At some point, the originally clear blue high sky was covered with a layer of gray, like fog but not fog, like clouds but not clouds, just above the boulder, like hazy chaos.No wonder the light seemed so dim to her.

That's not heaven.Meilin knew it, but couldn't tell what it was, so she looked at Murong Jinghe who was lying on the ground and quietly watching above.

"Hello..." Seeing that he seemed to have no intention of talking to her, she could only open her mouth, but paused for a while before continuing, "Prince Murong, this place seems inappropriate."

Murong Jinghe slowly rolled his eyes, and finally landed on her.

"Yes." He replied feebly, without further words.

Meilin waited for a long time, knowing that he could no longer get anything useful out of his mouth, he couldn't help but sighed, sat down again, and then began to tie the hay spread on the ground into bundles as thick as an arm as he had thought before.

She started from the end of Murong Jing and his feet, so when she lifted his legs, she couldn't help noticing the toes of his shoes, because she had been dragged halfway along, and a hole had been worn out on it, exposing her big toe, Seeing that the socks on it were about to wear out, if this continued, his toes would be in contact with the ground without barriers.

Mei Lin had to be thankful that she found out early, otherwise she would never know when she would drag a dead person away.She thought about it, then cut a piece of cloth from her skirt with a dagger, folded several layers, stuffed it into the toe of his shoe, and tied his trousers and sleeves tightly with a cloth belt.She didn't dare to take his clothes casually, for fear that there would be too many leaks and he would not be able to move. If the skin on his body was not careful, it might come into contact with the poisonous rocks and sand around him.He is different from her, she is not sure that he will not die after being poisoned.

After checking that there was no exposed skin on his body except his hands, face and neck, she began to pluck hay with confidence.

After resting almost, the two continued on their way.

It seems that there is no time loss in the stone forest, and it has always been in a gray state. It is difficult to see everything around it clearly, but it is not completely invisible.

Meilin felt that he had walked for a long time, but the surroundings were still the same boulders, black soil and chaotic sky, as if there was no end.It seemed that something was pressing on my heart, so heavy that I could hardly breathe.Fortunately, she could still feel Murong Jing's and Wen Nuan's breathing steadily and slowly on her neck, which made her feel at ease.At least she's not alone.

boom!Gululu——

I kicked something on my foot and rolled away far away, not like a stone.Meilin paused for a moment, and continued to move forward, but unexpectedly stepped on something, and the crisp cracking sound resounded in the quiet stone forest, like dry branches.

Mei Lin had to stop.She knew all too well what it was.

After retreating a certain distance, she paved the grass, settled Murong Jing and her, and then returned to the place she had just passed.

Crouching down, one can see a pile of white bones lying there in the dim light, with broken ribs, tattered clothes hanging on it, fluttering in the wind, headless.He didn't need to think about it to know that it was the result of Mei Lin's feet just now.

Mei Lin took a closer look at the clothes, and found that it was so rotten that she couldn't see the style, so she had to give up.She got up and made two bows to the bone, and then she wanted to move forward, intending to help it find its head.

"Come back." Unexpectedly, Murong Jinghe would stop her from behind.

Mei Lin was stunned for a moment, feeling an inexplicable joy in her heart, her feet turned around automatically.

"What's the matter?" She asked from a distance, her tone as cold as ever.

"If you walk past the stone pillar in front, you may not be able to find it." Murong Jinghe expressed his guess without being a fool.When he said this, he had no emotion at all, as if he was stating a fact, making people guess that if he hadn't been unable to move, he might not have stopped Mei Lin.

"Why?" Meilin couldn't help but walked back a few steps.In fact, she believed his words [-]% to [-]% in her heart.Even she herself didn't know where this trust came from.

"Or, you can confirm it." Murong Jinghe said without explaining why.

A big smile broke out on Mei Lin's face, she walked over directly, and lay down beside him, "We'll talk when we wake up." She yawned, leaned against his back, and closed her eyes.Although the sky cannot be seen, judging from the degree of physical fatigue, it should have been a day.Since we stopped here, we might as well raise our spirits before leaving.

Because she was afraid that the poison in the sand would infiltrate into the heat of the fireworks after the fire was made, so although she had a fire pocket on her, she didn't bring firewood in.In such a place, we can only survive each other's body temperature, there is no other way.

Fortunately they are two people.This thought came to Meilin's mind again, and the smile that had just faded from the corners of his lips grew stronger again.

"There is a dead person there." She said, "It must have been dead for a long time, the flesh is gone, only a bone remains."

Murong Jinghe didn't respond.Mei Lin didn't care, she was too tired and soon fell asleep.

Meilin dreamed of meeting her master the day she left the dark factory.In fact, it is not quite the same.

She was kneeling in the bedroom with a large carved window, with incense burning in front of her eyes. A man in a white robe and long black hair stood in the depths of the room, looking at her with deep eyes.But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see the man's appearance clearly, she only vaguely felt that it should be a man, and she felt that she should know who he was.

Someone outside the window called her, telling her it was time to get on the road.She just walked out.

When he was approaching the door, a violent cough suddenly came from behind, close to his ear.She thought that the man was really sick and needed to be cured, so she picked out some herbs from her waist and wanted to give it to him, but what she saw was a white bone without a head.

Startled, she stumbled on the threshold and fell forward with a "plop".

With a kick, Mei Lin woke up from the dream, her back covered in cold sweat.

The coughing in the ear continued, and it seemed a little hoarse, but it was Murong Jinghe.

Mei Lin found that she had turned over at some point, and her hands and feet were almost wrapped around his body.Maybe it was too cold.She thought, but she didn't let go. Instead, because she recalled the scene in the dream, she felt an inexplicable fear, and unconsciously tightened her arms again.

As the cough became more severe, Murong Jinghe's body trembled to the point of convulsions.

Meilin felt that he was a little pitiful, so she pressed one hand on his chest and the other on his back, and started to rub gently.Shensi still lingered in the dream, a little confused, a little ignorant, completely unaware of Murong Jing and her body stiffened by her sudden concern.

That dream seemed to be a mixed, chopped, and blended reality, without any further value.But Meilin couldn't ignore the panic from the bottom of her heart caused by the dream.

She never knew who the owner was.It's not just her, other dead soldiers in the dark factory, including people from other departments, I'm afraid few people know about it.It was the first time she met her master that day, even though the master let her into the inner room, she obeyed the rules and did not dare to look up.But she has a nose, and she is not deaf.

So she smelled the elegant incense on the master's body, and heard that cough, that unexpected cough that made it too late to conceal her voice.When she heard it, she almost thought that she would never be able to get out of that door again.

She used to smell that smell on Murong Xuanlie, but now she heard a similar coughing sound on Murong Jinghe's body, God really loves to joke with her.

"Have you touched enough?" Murong Jing interrupted her thoughts with a voice that became a little hoarse due to coughing, and sounded in the silent stone forest.

Meilin froze, only to realize that her gestures became extremely slow because of distraction, more like ambiguous touching than rubbing.

"Let go!" I don't know if it was because of the situation, but Murong Jinghe felt that such a posture made him feel a little uncomfortable, and his voice turned sharp.

Mei Lin came back to her senses, withdrew her hands in embarrassment and sat up.Looking up at the sky, she wanted to determine the time, but found that it was futile.

"Are you still asleep?" she asked.Waking up from a dream, not only did not have the slightest effect of relieving fatigue, but felt even more tired, plus the cold was overwhelming, and it was really impossible to lie down.

"No." Murong Jinghe's voice returned to calm, but her body shrank involuntarily. Because of her departure, she felt that the cold air permeated the body that was not warm at all. I had to work hard to keep the upper and lower teeth from fighting, " Help me up." I don't know when it started, but he didn't say the word "My King" again.

Meilin didn't notice this subtle change.She leaned over to support him as she said, let him lean on her body, then pulled the small trolley, took off the bamboo tube hanging on it to hold water, fed him two sips before she drank, and shared a roast After eating the cooked yam, I felt a little warmth in my body, so I got up and started on the road.

(End of this chapter)