Aspirations

Chapter 4

The three of Xia Xiang and his party avoided the main road in the west of the village, and only took the remote path in the east of the village.The path was originally a shortcut discovered accidentally by the old sheep herding man Xia Laozhong. Although it is a shortcut, it is rugged and difficult to walk.

Fortunately, the children in the mountain villages are skinny since they were young, and the pain of flesh and blood is nothing, and it is also a small matter that the mountain road is difficult. Even after night falls, the unknown insects and various strange calls are heard everywhere. Xia Xiang was afraid.The only thing that made him distressed was that the blue shirt on his body was cut into pieces, almost out of shape.

The blue shirt was a piece of cloth that his mother bought after saving and saving for a year, and then it took more than a month to sew one stitch and one thread before it was ready. It was also the most precious and cherished piece of clothing in his life. It's a pity that it was destroyed after only wearing it for a day.

Xia Xiang was secretly annoyed, he liked the green shirt on his body very much, and after Xia Lai and Xia Qu praised him for wearing it, he really became a first-class person who was more like Pan An than Zijian, which made him feel overjoyed. ban.After all, the juvenile temperament needs to be both talented and beautiful.Once the clothes are torn, Pan An is afraid that the look and feel will be greatly damaged.With such an image, how many little ladies will be disappointed when you arrive in the capital?Don't become Zuo Taichong instead of Pan An.

Pan Yue is beautiful and eloquent, especially good at making inscriptions for mourning funerals.When he was young, he often traveled to Luoyang with a slingshot. When women met him, they would hold hands in a circle and throw fruits at him, so they returned with a reward.Zuo Taichong was very ugly, but he also wanted to follow Pan An to travel to Luoyang, but the woman laughed at him and spat at him, so he had to flee in embarrassment.

If Xia Lai and Xia Qu knew that what Xia Xiang was thinking at the moment was not how to get out of the endless mountains as soon as possible, but what kind of good image to appear in the capital, they would be dumbfounded.At this time, the mood of the two was up and down, not because of the fear of leaving their hometown, but because they had walked for a long time before suddenly realizing that they were lost!

That's right, the small road leading directly to Lingshou County from the east of the village has been walked once before, firstly, it was daytime, so you can tell the direction, and secondly, there is an old sheep-herding man Xia Laozhong leading the way.It is night now, and there is no Mr. Xia to guide the way. If it is not for the moon, it may have been unknown.

It's not enough just to have the moon to tell the direction. Xia Lai and Xia Qu finally admitted a fact they dare not face after walking for an hour by feeling. They have overestimated their memory. The mountains and forests are completely different from the scenery along the path led by Xia Laozhong back then. There is no doubt that it is a trivial matter to go the wrong way, and it is possible to go in the wrong direction.

The trouble is big.

Xia Lai and Xia Qu saw the bright moon set in the west, and it was already in the second half of the night. They knew that if they continued to hide it, there would be a big problem. If you touch me, I will push you, and I want the other party to speak first.

"Don't be afraid if the road is wrong, all roads lead to the same goal, all roads lead to the capital, if the direction is wrong, you will be in the opposite direction." Xia Xiang simply tied the hem of the green shirt around his waist, it will be broken if it is broken, and it is useless to worry, it is better to let it go, He stopped, looked around, and smiled, "I've been waiting for you for a long time, and you should have told me that I was lost an hour ago. It's really rare to be able to hold back until now."

"Ah, Dalang, why didn't you tell me when you already saw that you were lost? Can't you hurt us sincerely?" Xia Qu smiled and scratched his head, "No, you are on the same road as us, we went the wrong way, and you also went astray."

Xia Xiang sat on a stone on the side of the road and wiped his sweat: "An hour ago, when I found out that I was going wrong, you didn't tell me, and I pretended not to know, because I thought maybe I could find a way out of my memory. , and now I know I was wrong..." He smiled to himself, "The difference between day and night is that there is no sun at night."

"Puchi..." Xia Qu burst out laughing, fearing that his fears and fears would be wiped away by Xia Xiang's words, he laughed loudly, "Da Lang is worthy of being a scholar, he speaks well, the book is not for nothing, and the reason why he doesn't even see the sun at night I understand."

"You can still laugh?" Xia Lai sat down on the ground, pulled a piece of grass into his mouth, took a few bites, and then spit it out, "In the middle of the night, in the barren mountains and mountains, what if I encounter a tiger? What to do? If there are no tigers, what if we encounter mountain bandits? If there are no mountain bandits, what if there are wolves? Even if there are no tigers, mountain bandits and wolves, we can’t go out, what if we are thirsty and hungry?”

Xia Xiang lay on the stone with his hands on his head, looked up at the stars in the night sky, and smiled relaxedly: "Zi said: Don't haste, don't see small gains. Haste makes waste, and small gains can lead to great things...Let's go." After a long time, I'm tired, so let's rest for one night first, and it's not too late to hurry tomorrow morning."

"I can't sleep, so go and look around. If I haven't come back after an hour, you can go on your own way at dawn, don't worry about me." Xia Lai was anxious to walk out of the depths of the mountain, and he was anxious. He didn't have Xia Xiang's calm general attitude Feng doesn't have the temperament of Xia Qu to go with the situation.

"Don't go too far." Xia Xiang responded lazily. He and Xia Lai grew up together. Knowing Xia Lai's irritable temperament, he was too lazy to persuade him. Will come back, "remember the way back, the mountains are quiet, and there is something to shout."

Xia Lai nodded, lowered his head in a muffled voice, and disappeared into the vast night in a blink of an eye.

Xia Qu also lay down beside Xia Xiang, and put the package under his head: "Let him go, I dare say he will come back obediently in half an hour, I don't know how many times Eleven Lang bumped into Nan The wall is broken, and I regret it every time I hit it, and I regret it, and I will hit it next time."

The mountain wind was blowing, and the whole body was refreshed. Xia Xiang and Xia Qu didn't speak a word at first, and then fell asleep at some point.

I don't know how long they slept, but a scream woke them up.

"what!"

The scream came from right in front, about a hundred feet away, it was Xia Lai's voice.Xia Xiang and Xia Qu woke up at the same time, and the two jumped off the stone without stopping, and ran wildly in the direction of the sound.

The distance of more than [-] feet will be there in an instant.Xia Xiang ran in front and almost couldn't hold back. If there wasn't a big tree, he would have planted his head down the cliff—yes, Xia Xiang was in front of a cliff. , like the bloody mouth of a giant beast, it is terrifying - fortunately, he hugged the tree in time and did not fall.

The cliff is very hidden, hidden in the knee-high weeds, if you don't pay attention, you will step on the air.Xia Xiang was still in shock, so he stretched out his hand to stop Xia Qu who was following him.

Xia Qu was also very frightened. He took a step slower than Xia Xiang and stopped in time.Just looking down, his legs became weak, and he couldn't stand anymore, and collapsed to the ground.

It wasn't that he was so frightened, but thinking that Xia Lai fell off the cliff, he would definitely die, and the grief came from it, and his tears fell like rain.

"Eleven Lang!" Xia Go burst into tears.

"Don't cry." Xia Xiang was also in a turmoil at first. After taking a few deep breaths, he calmed down a little, thought for a while, and shouted at the cliff, "Eleven Lang, Eleven Lang!"

No one answered, only empty echoes.

At this moment, the east is turning white, and the sky will be bright in half an hour. Xia Xiang looked left and right, there was no way to the bottom of the cliff, so he tore off his worn-out blue shirt and twisted it into a rope. , and took out other clothes from the carry-on bag and tied them together.

When Xia Qu saw this, he did the same, and the two of them's clothes turned into a thick rope about ten feet long in a short time.Xia Xiang tied one end of the rope to the tree, pulled it hard, and threw the other end of the rope under the cliff.

"I'll go." Seeing Xia Xiang intending to go down the rope, Xia Qu grabbed the rope and jumped off the cliff.

Since he was a child, he has always been the first to contribute. He has long been used to taking care of Xia Xiang. Since the founding of Da Xia, he has always valued literature over martial arts, and the social atmosphere is that scholars are the most honorable. Of course, Xia Qu’s most real thought is that he respects Xia Xiang, when Xia Xiang is his brother.

Xia Xiang was a step late. He and Xia Lai Xia went as close as brothers, and they were not polite. They looked down and told Xia Go: "Be careful, don't be stubborn, the sky is about to dawn, don't be in a hurry."

"Understood." Xia Quweng replied in a low voice. He is a child of the mountain village. He has developed a vigorous ability in climbing mountains and ridges since he was a child. After a few jumps, his figure disappeared among the dense trees on the cliff.

The sky will be bright, and between light and dark, Xia Xiang's breathing is rapid and heavy.Under the cliff, there were many trees and rocks, and he secretly complained that there was no way to go to the sky, no way to go to the ground, and he really shouldn't let Xia go.

"How?" Xia Xiang asked with concern.

"I didn't find anything... Dalang, the rope is almost running out."

"Why don't you come up and talk."

"There is a rock here to rest on. I'll take a look first."

"Be careful of the beasts, be careful of your feet." Xia Xiang was quite worried. At this moment, he couldn't see Xia Qu at all, so he could only talk out of thin air, and he didn't know where Xia Qu was or whether he was in danger.

"Where are the beasts halfway up the mountain, haha, hey, there's a flat land under the stone, I'll jump down and have a look." Xia Qu's voice came from the bottom of the cliff, a bit vague, like hair scattered by the wind , "Dalang, I didn't come up after an hour, you just leave."

Xia Xiang hurriedly replied: "What nonsense? How can I leave you alone? I want you to go to Beijing with me to take the exam, high school jinshi, and return home..."

But there was no response.

Xia Xiang waited for an hour, and shouted a few more times, but there was no echo. He couldn't hold back and climbed down on the rope.The stone walls are protruding like knives and branches are as hard as swords. Needless to say, the rocks are jagged, and there is no place to stay.Fortunately, he also liked to climb up and down when he was young, otherwise it would be impossible to get down with a rope made of clothes.

The rope has come to an end, Xia Xiang is hanging in the air, the rising sun is shining brightly, and you can see it clearly from all directions. There is indeed a platform below, about [-] square meters, and the ground is empty. Where is the shadow of Xia Qu? ?
Xia Xiang was so anxious that he didn't know what had happened. Looking around, he didn't even see a single bird except for the rocks and overgrown trees.

"Eleventh Lang! Thirteenth Lang! Where are you?"

Xia Xiang shouted loudly, he was swinging in the air, and was scratched by the branches and rocks, and his arms were bleeding. He didn't care, all he thought about was the safety of Xia Lai and Xia Qu.

Having been together day and night for more than ten years, Xia Xiang and Xia Lai Xia Qu have a deep friendship, and his heart is pierced, wishing he could replace Xia Lai and Xia Qu.Hanging in the air for half an hour, he didn't climb up until he was exhausted and his voice became hoarse and he couldn't hold on any longer.

The sun is shining brightly, and there are endless mountains and rivers in front of him, but things have changed. There were three people when they came, but now he is alone.

Xia Xiang endured the grief in his heart, bowed three times to the bottom of the cliff, packed up his things, untied the rope and restored it into clothes, which were worn out but still wearable.

Although he couldn't bear it, he couldn't save people with his own power in the barren mountains and mountains. Besides, he didn't know where Xia Lai Xia went, and he was already hungry. , will starve to death.Wiping away his tears, Xia Xiang looked for the direction, picked up the package, and strode forward.

(End of this chapter)