Evetrona's old stories

"Didn't she send letters back every month? What are you worried about?"

"The letter doesn't say everything."

"I'll go to see her after that holiday? I've never traveled before."

"No, I have to go to Maoqi or Ruge. If you go to see her, I will worry about you." Nanfen pinched her nose, and after talking, she finally felt better, "Okay, don't worry about it, go to bed early."

On the other hand, as soon as Lin Xin returned home, he went to the training ground and chose a two-handed sword to reproduce Eve's blow just now. The more he tried, the more frightened he became. He turned his body at half speed and turned the hilt at the same time, letting the sword slide out of his palm toward the pommel. Then, when the tip of the sword was about to come out, he held it with both hands in a way that would not hurt his fingers, and then swung it out forcefully.He repeated several times at half speed, and practiced several times at normal speed, but not every time he could successfully grasp the timing, either the sword came out of his hand, or he held it firmly on the blade.Eve felt a sense of frustration after this sparring, and Lin Xin didn't feel the same way. He now feels that he is useless except for being stronger.Thinking like this, he stayed at the training ground for the whole night, and didn't go back to sleep until it was almost dawn.

Bin Mo went directly to the inner city, reported to his father An Fa some details of the two men's sparring, and casually threw a copper coin to Mao Qi, saying that he won the bet.

Domenke didn't complete the consul's orders on time, so he explained the reason to him. He mentioned that two young men were exchanging swordsmanship under the city wall. The consul seemed very interested in this matter, so he asked a few more questions. When the question was almost finished, he let Domenke leave with a smile.Afterwards, the consul asked Mao Qi, a swordsman expert, about the details of the fight between the two. After Mao Qi smoothed out the whole process of the fight for him, he finally satisfied his curiosity.The consul is convinced that swordsmanship can reflect a person's character. An excellent swordsman should at least have a good thinking mind, keen intuition, extraordinary courage, constant calmness, and consistent determination. It is very rare for someone under the age of 20 to be able to achieve the above points. Based on this, he really wants to meet these two people in person.

Clouds and Smoke (Part [-])

"I heard from Lin Xin what happened that day. I taught that kid Bin Mo a lesson. If you go now, you might still see the bruises on his face." Mao Qi was chopping firewood in the yard, Said to Eve.

"Isn't he still an official? Is it appropriate for you to hit him in the face?" Eve did feel that the guy was a bit arrogant, but isn't Mao Qi too much?

"It's normal for the elders to teach the younger ones." Mao Qi said, "It's not shameful. It's only embarrassing in the future when something happens because of impetuous personality."

The Shengming Festival has passed, and the weather is getting colder, but the sun is still strong. At two or three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun can make people doze off.

"We're going to climb the Musk Rabbit Mountain in County Yard before the weather cools down," Mochi said. "Do you want to go the day after tomorrow or rest for a few days?"

"Why can't it be tomorrow?" Eve stood up from the recliner, and she picked up a chubby three-colored cat from her lap and put it on the chair.She was wearing a plain gray-green dress today, covered in cat fur.Dakren's family has five cats, and they like to run around outside during the day, always disappearing, but as long as Eve catches one, it will never leave today.

"It's not just the two of us who went, but also some friends. They have to prepare and gather here the morning after tomorrow."

"Who will come? Comino and Ross?" Eve asked.

"Comino can't come because of something, Ross will come."

When Eve heard him say whether Comino would come, she was still a little disappointed. After all, the old businessman was a very interesting person and usually took good care of her.

"There is also Lin Xin, the kid who competed with you that day, and Domenke Alefari and Ologin Sienna, you may not have seen these two, they are from the Logos Academy, but you don't have to be cautious, just call them uncles." Mao Qi said.

"Why are they all strangers, I don't want to go." Eve was suddenly discouraged.

"Oh, and your two little friends, Ye Fei and Shirley, will also go."

"Haven't they returned yet?" Eve was a little surprised.

"They went to a relative's house a few days ago, and they just came back now. They live in the city and didn't go back with adults. They are still waiting to take you to Luo Town to play."

It was only then that Eve remembered that they had indeed invited her to play in Rozimi Town, and it was rare for Nanfen to agree to this matter.

Yard County is not too far from here. If you take the capital Feimeng as a reference point, Boyun Manor is in the east and Yard County is in the west.

Musk Rabbit Mountain is a mountain in the western mountains of Yard County. It is the largest mountain in the area, but not the highest. Its north slope is steep and its south slope is relatively gentle.The scenery here is pleasant, the land is sparsely populated, whether it is mountain climbing, fishing or hunting, it is a good place to go.

This time the host was a middle-aged man named Belikin Dib. He was a local manor owner and a friend of Mochi. Belikin had poor legs and feet and did not intend to go up the mountain with the guests. Therefore, it was actually his son, a young man named Di Gen, who finally led the way.

Dicken Dib has short-to-medium hair that is somewhat messy, and there is a circle of light blue beard marks on his face. This man has thick eyebrows and a tall and strong figure. When he smiles, dimples appear on both sides of his cheeks, giving people a rough and enthusiastic feeling. He is 27 years old this year, but his appearance is too mature. If someone says that he and his father Belikin are brothers, others will believe it.

There are nine people who went to the Musk Rabbit Mountain together this time: Maoqi, Luo Zi, Domenke, Erlogin, Lin Xin, Ye Fei, Shirley, Eve, plus Di Geng.The crowd arrived at Belikin's manor that afternoon, had dinner at the manor in the evening, and rested a bit, before setting off on foot westward to the mountains the next morning.They were going to follow the nearby forest path into the mountain and go downstream along the valley's river course.This section of the road is easy to walk, and you can even meet pedestrians on the road. Di Geng is a very talkative person. He always circles around the three girls in the team along the way, telling them about the scenery here, and showing them the wild animals found on the road. He also brought two hunting dogs up the mountain this time.The two dogs are of the same breed. The bigger one has brown fur, while the smaller one has cloud-like gray and white patterns. These two dogs have long ears and faces, broad shoulders and narrow waist, and shiny fur. They look very lively. Lin Xin wanted to touch the big dog's head, but when he stretched out his hand, he saw the dog showing sharp fangs, so he had to give up angrily.The smaller one seemed to like Ye Fei quite a bit, and it always circled around her, and finally tripped her, and seeing that the situation was not good, the dog ran away quickly, causing everyone to laugh.The girls were all wearing long clothes and trousers and soft-soled hiking boots today. They stopped and stopped along the way, and they didn't feel too tired after walking with the team for half a day.The scenery of the mountains and forests in autumn is so beautiful, the yellowed or reddish leaves are still hanging among the branches, drawn by the warm sun to outline the golden borders, blooming flowers like flames.Birdsong can be heard everywhere in the forest, and squirrels and pheasants can be seen from time to time. When the autumn wind blows through the mountains and forests, you can hear a burst of pattering sound around you, which is the sound of fruits and seeds on the trees falling to the ground.The weather in Yard County reminded Eve of the late spring in the north of Mokoto, which was as cold and clear as a mountain stream. She thought that when she first arrived, she was deeply disturbed by this strange world, but during the journey away from the crowd, she was gradually understanding the world and accepting a new self.Nature always has the power to soothe people. People go to nature not to experience anything, but to complete a kind of return—there is no country, no society, no people, no morality and rationality, and no distinction between good and evil. People seem to feel the most primitive meaning that exists between heaven and earth here, but they cannot describe what it is. It is a kind of tranquility and eternity that precedes language, thinking, and even human birth.

Following the winding and gradual mountain road, the team reached the mountainside of a mountain in the south of the mountain range in the evening.

"Look, why are there houses on this mountain?" Ye Fei raised her head and saw a row of two-story red houses halfway up the mountain.

"We'll be staying here tonight." Dicken Dibb said, "This house was refurbished last year. A few rooms were added to the west, new tiles were added, and red paint was painted."

"I thought I could sleep in a tent tonight." Ye Fei was a little disappointed.

"That's not easy. There are so many open spaces here. I'll build you one outside. You'll sleep outside tonight. I'll let Pine Cone and Wu Yun accompany you." Di Geng laughed loudly after finishing speaking.

When the two dogs heard their master calling their names, they couldn't help barking a few times happily.

Ye Fei picked up a fluffy pine cone from the ground, and threw it towards Di Geng angrily, but unexpectedly, the other party caught the flying pine cone with quick eyes and hands.Seeing that he raised his hand as if he wanted to throw the pine cone back, Ye Fei quickly hid behind Shirley.

"This is a supply point, and we won't really start climbing the mountain until tomorrow." Mochi stood by the wooden railing in front of the house, pointed to the south-west direction and said, "That's the Musk Rabbit Mountain."

Everyone looked in the direction Mao Qi pointed, and they couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

There is a mountain in front of them, and behind this mountain, there is an even bigger mountain, so huge that people lose the sense of distance, as if the mountain is right in front of them.Under the setting sun, the mountain has a bright orange broad body, like a golden mountain. Below the mountainside of the Shetu Mountain is moss-like yellow-green vegetation, while above the mountainside there are sparse white clouds. In the farther distance of the mountain, there are steep peaks hidden in the shadow of the Shetu Mountain. Those peaks almost melt into the deep blue sky, like ancient weapons standing in the sky.

"Are we really going to climb such a high mountain?" Domenke put one hand on his hips and touched the back of his head with the other. He had walked all day today and felt exhausted all over his body.

"If you want to go, we came out to play." Mao Qi said, "Let's not talk about this, it's getting late, let's have dinner first."

They temporarily settled down in the red house.At this time, the main hall was filled with rich food, including game and wild vegetables, as well as seasonal vegetables and fruits. These fresh foods, together with the tools and supplies for climbing, were all driven from the manor a few days in advance, and it was because of this that they were able to complete today's trip lightly.

Eve was very satisfied with the stewed meat soup in the dinner. She ate three bowls at once, and she tasted all the other foods. It was the first time for Domenke, Ologin and Digen Seeing Eve's appetite, she was dumbfounded.

Tonight's dinner is in charge of the two cooks of the manor, and the stewed meat soup is made by a forest watcher who lives here. The soup is mixed with several kinds of fresh meat, and it also incorporates the unique flavor of air-dried sausage and smoked meat. It is paired with overcooked small potatoes and tomatoes, a few spices and a rich soup base made of salted fat. The different aromas are mixed together, complex and mellow. .

"Eve, if there is a famine one day, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive." Di Geng frowned, pretending to be serious, "You eat so much, and you don't necessarily gain weight. You might be the first to starve to death."

"You'll find out in a few days. It's not for nothing that she eats so much." Ross said with a smile, "Even though you're a man, in terms of physical strength, you might not be able to catch up with her."

Lin Xin listened and nodded silently. He fully agreed with this point.

"It would be good if we could add some dried chilies." Eve ignored everyone's conversation, touched her swollen belly, and sighed while looking at the soup pot.

The sky was getting darker, and the dinner time finally turned into chatting time. Domenke and Olekin sat by the door drinking wine, talking in a low voice with piercing eyes. Maoqi, Ross, and Lin Xin gathered together and chatted, reaching out their hands from time to time and making heroic laughter. On the porch outside the door, three girls sat on the steps and teased two hunting dogs.

In the early morning of the next day, the sun emerged from the mountains in the distance. Maoqi stood on the top of the mountain and looked into the distance. He saw a large white cloud pouring down like a sea wave, rushing towards this side. Come.He went down the mountain, and then told everyone that the weather was not very good, and decided to stop for a day or two before going up the mountain.So this day was spent in the house on the mountainside.

They set up a shed in the yard and started barbecue here.Maoqi used a dagger to poke a skinned animal leg out of neatly arranged holes, stuffed a single head of garlic into it, and then brushed it with marinade and prepared to hang it in a clay oven for roasting. Eve was also helping to skewer the whole green pepper and tomato. Ross and Lin Xin were in charge of dividing a whole goat.At noon, the cloud drifted over, the sky became overcast, and there was a shower. The shower didn't last long. About 10 minutes later, the rain stopped, but the wind was still strong. Everyone moved to the house to eat. Di Geng half-jokingly put a whole roasted leg of lamb on Eve's dinner plate. The leg of lamb was so fat that she couldn't even see the plate underneath.Eve pretended to hold the calf bone of the leg of lamb, picked up the leg of lamb, and took a bite of it. It was crispy and delicious, and the heat was just right.She swept her eyes aside, seeing that everyone was looking at her, so she imagined what she looked like now, she heard someone laughing, so she couldn't help it, the leg of lamb hit the plate with a bang, and she bent over and hid under the table laughing non-stop, she thought this scene was really stupid.

Lin Xin was dumbfounded. He originally thought that Eve was a calm and indifferent person, but only now did he realize that she could also joke.

Eve's life in Kriging is like water flowing quietly, without any ups and downs and turns, and there is even nothing to say.She is like a dog that has been biting its own tail and turning around. Although outsiders seem to have made little progress, she is spinning vigorously and happily.

After another day, they finally decided to climb the mountain. Although the weather was still cloudy, it was acceptable.Carrying tents, cooking utensils and field tools, they walked along the ridge between the front and rear mountains towards the direction of Musk Rabbit Mountain, and reached the foot of the mountain in the morning. Maoqi and Ross each held a sharp machete to cut off the branches and shrubs along the road, so as to open up a temporary path.They went up the mountain along a stream, stopped at an open area in the mountain, cleared away the weeds and debris around them, built a bonfire here, and set up a tent. The nine people set up five tents in total and formed a semicircle around the campfire. Eve dug a drainage ditch around the campsite with a shovel, and then took a small logging ax to dig out a small pile of wood flowers that ignited the fire, and then helped pull up the sky. She seemed to always have something to do. Apart from Ross, only she has the most experience in wilderness survival.

After everything is ready, the supplies carried from the red house are piled up here. Camping is different from survival in the wild. Some people say that camping is just a play house for adults, but there is still some truth to it.

Everyone ate dry food at noon, and it was not ready until the afternoon. After most of the work was done, Ross went to the creek down the mountain to fetch a pot of water, hung it above the campfire and boiled it, and then put a few dried nettle leaves in it. After the tea was cooked, everyone gathered together and had afternoon tea with dried fruits and snacks.The Kriging people have a loose definition of tea. To put it a bit exaggeratedly, as long as water can be boiled to taste, it can be regarded as tea. Needless to say, ordinary tea leaves and flowers and leaves, nettles, pine needles, and chamomile can be used to make tea, as can dried mushrooms, pepper, and cinnamon.

Night in the wild is not safe, large wild beasts are very common in the mountains and forests, but fortunately these wild beasts will not easily provoke humans, especially in a season like now, and, as long as Maoqi, a survival expert, is here, other people can sleep peacefully.Eve still remembers one time when she was camping in the wild, Maoqi chased away three bears in one night, without even alarming others.

Tonight, Eve slept in a tent with Ye Fei and Shirley, and the temperature dropped sharply at night. The three of them were wrapped in thick animal fur quilts, but they didn't feel too cold.

Eve didn't really want to sleep in the same tent with them, after all, she had her own secrets.Others are defenseless against her because they don’t know her thoughts, and everyone regards her as a docile little sheep, but she feels that she is a wolf and cannot live in the sheepfold with peace of mind—but then again, the reason why she can sleep with them relatively calmly now is because no one knows her secrets, and there is no moral police watching her. The result is that she can only feel at ease by lying here, which is the most normal choice for others.

People's thoughts are hidden in a closed black box, and outsiders can only see the part exposed outside the box, and use this part to judge whether a person's behavior is normal or not.Everyone hides madness and blasphemy unknown to outsiders to some extent, and they may not even be aware of it, but most of the time these terrible thoughts do not cause harm, and the shell of rationality wraps and suppresses them to create a safe boundary, so that people can finally live in peace with each other, and everyone sacrifices part of their freedom of action in exchange for the right to survive in human society.

Therefore, weird behavior is usually regarded as a kind of aggressive and aggressive behavior. It can be seen that, under the premise of not causing moral condemnation and bad consequences, it is always better to respond to other people's expectations than to stick to one's own principles. Much happier. From a psychological point of view, what Eve lost in the end was just the little sense of honor and self-esteem that belonged to her former male identity. But if it is based on the concept of equality, this kind of thinking is just an illusion. ...

——The above are the wild thoughts in Eve's mind when she was lying in the tent, sandwiched between Ye Fei and Shirley, or to comfort herself. In short, after Shirley noticed that she was moving around, she broke down. The silence of the night.

"Can't sleep?" Shirley turned her head, the night in the mountain forest was not quiet, there were insects chirping everywhere, and night owls could be heard cooing from time to time.

"A little bit." Eve replied softly. She was afraid of waking up Ye Fei on the other side, but she didn't expect the other side to turn her face away.

The three of them opened their eyes in the darkness, and the tent returned to silence for a moment, as if the conversation just now was just an illusion, and the gurgling stream of the mountain could be vaguely heard.

"Have you ever seen that kind of green tombstone? When I was a child, I saw it from a distance on the mountain at night, and it was still shining, but I couldn't find it after looking for it..." Ye Fei whispered.

The night was eerily quiet.

After a while, Shirley answered, "The lonely grave on the mountain must be cleared, maybe it was transferred to the cemetery..."

"It may not be a normal grave at all," Ye Fei said.

"What would that be?"

"I heard that tombstones will suddenly appear from the ground on some mountain roads at night, even on the roads that are often walked."

"Ah? How is it possible..."

"It's true. I heard from my uncle that if you encounter a ring-headed stele, you must look straight ahead and walk all the way. You must not turn your back. Otherwise, a piece of rope will come out of nowhere to wrap around your neck and strangle you to death in the air."

Xue Lier shrunk her neck obviously when she heard her say this, and then Ye Fei continued: "If you encounter a pointed stele, you must keep staring at it and walk over it, and you must not blink. If it leaves your sight, It will come out from under your feet and put you on a skewer..."

Eve found that the two girls were talking, and their bodies were moving closer to her. After a while, the faces of the three of them were almost touching each other.

"...And then, if you encounter a black stele, you will definitely die. You will see that stele float towards you, make a very strange snoring sound, and then suck you into the stele, becoming a part of the stele."

After the girl's story was finished, the tent fell into silence again.

"Eve, aren't you afraid?" Just when Eve was feeling drowsy, Ye Fei rubbed her elbow across the blanket.

"Ah."

"What does 'um' mean, to be afraid or not?"

"It's so-so." Eve said, "Although I am young, I am about the same age as you. The bluffing teenagers you said are about the same."

"Eve, how old are you now?" Shirley was very curious about this.

"Let me do the math... add five to 35, and I'm exactly forty this year."

Ye Fei burst out laughing: "Forty? How did you figure it out? Just now you said you were about the same age as us, you're just bragging."

"Isn't it?" Eve asked.

"No, I think you are fourteen at most." Ye Fei replied.

"Eve, where did you live before you came to Klikin?" Shirley asked again.

"I don't know, most of my memories are very vague, and I have forgotten it." Eve lied very calmly.

"Really?" Ye Fei was very surprised by this, "What's going on? Have you been injured? Or..."

"Hey, Ye Fei, why are you asking so many questions?" Shirley interrupted her.

"Sorry, I'm really curious..."

"It's okay, I'm trying to figure out these things." If I can meet Harvey again, Eve really wants to ask him some things, and I hope he's okay now.

It was quiet again in the tent, and snoring came from the tent next door.Conversations before falling asleep usually go like this, on and off until someone falls asleep.

"Did you...do you think it's convenient?" Ye Fei asked suddenly.

"No." Shirley replied immediately.

"What about you, Eve?"

"I don't want to, but if you're scared, I can go with you." Eve replied.

"I'm a little scared." Ye Fei smiled and admitted honestly.

"Didn't you have a good talk just now?" Shirley laughed at her.

"It's different, I'm not afraid of that, I'm afraid of wild animals..." Ye Fei argued, as for what she was afraid of, maybe only she herself knew.

Eve got up and moved out of the quilt. The night air was chilly, even though she was wearing a coat, it was still a bit cold.

"Put on some more clothes, don't catch a cold." Eve opened the tent while talking to Ye Fei.

As soon as Eve raised her head, she saw a face in front of her. She was so frightened that she almost pulled out her dagger and stabbed him.

"Maoqi?" Eve took off his hat and threw it on his face angrily, "What are you doing here? You scared me."

"I was a little curious when I heard you talking." Mao Qi's bearded face showed a smile under the moonlight, "I wanted to scare Ye Fei, but I didn't expect you to come out first."

"Hey, I heard you!" Ye Fei lay on Eve's back, also showing her head, staring at the distant relative in front of her.

"Okay, I'm not joking with you, go to bed early after you go." Maoqi put the woolen hat back on Eve, patted her on the head, and walked away.

Ye Fei didn't need to find any fixed place to relieve herself in the mountains and forests. Ye Fei stopped after walking a dozen steps outside. Looking at the dark woods below the mountain, she couldn't help feeling scared, so she turned around and untied her belt in the direction of Eve.

"Look behind me for me." Ye Fei squatted down and whispered to Eve.

Eve was still looking up at the moon, but after she said this, she had no choice but to turn her gaze back. She leaned against a tree with her arms around her shoulders, and looked past the girl in front of her to the forest below the mountain.

The lavender moonlight shone on the forest and mountains, reflecting a deserted color, as if a layer of frost had formed.

Clouds and Smoke (Part [-])

Not everyone wants to climb Musk Rabbit Mountain.After all, although the mountain is not very steep, it is still dangerous to climb such a mountain with a height of more than 2000 meters. The team members need to have the ability to save themselves and rescue, and mountaineering itself requires physical strength and endurance.

In the early morning, the climbers checked their equipment and set off towards the mountain.The people who went up the mountain this time are: Maoqi, Eve, Lin Xin, and Olukin.

There is a relic of the second era on the top of the Musk Rabbit Mountain, and Maoqi told Eve before coming here.The ruins have basically been investigated and cleaned up, and now there is only a huge empty shell left. The purpose of Eve's coming this time is precisely for it. She wants to see the former glory of this world with her own eyes.

There is always an immersive tranquility in high mountains, and mountaineering activities can always make people more focused and patient. The journey from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain is not as hurried and erratic as usual. When you step on this slope When you are on the ground and rocks, you can feel a kind of solidity and reliability transmitted from your feet to your heart, feel the wind and rain and years deposited here, and feel the silence and freedom of people in the boundless world.

"Eve, I haven't told you yet. Irekin is a very good mage. He was on the stage when the fireworks were set off at the ceremony." Mochi held a long-handled pick in his hand, and turned to Eve, "Aren't you very interested in magic? If you have any questions, you can ask him, he knows everything."

"I can't know everything." Walking in the mountains, Irekin spoke to Maoqi, but his eyes met Eve's. "If I knew everything, I wouldn't want to come to this mountain."