There were already sporadic cicadas chirping energetically on both sides of the road.
They are hidden among the increasingly rich green leaves, chirping endlessly. Once when he was passing by a pear tree, Han Chang raised his head to look at the withered flowers and small green fruits among the leaves. A cicada flew down from the tree and flew close to his face, causing him pain. Cover your ears tightly.
Despite such unpleasant up-close encounters, the noise itself is not annoying. But the coming season it represents begins to spread anxious heat to travelers.
Ling Huan is still missing. Along the way, no trace of her was left behind, as if she had evaporated from the world with the dew of spring.
Xie Zhe's rationality clearly told him that Wu Yonglan was cautious and able to cultivate puppets to the present level without anyone noticing, which was enough to show how outstanding his ability to hide from others was. He can also speak freely about the possible methods Wuyonglan may adopt. Whether they are being picked up by members of the Wuyong family every time they go to a city and hiding in the hidden stronghold barriers; or they are simply relying on the Tengu to avoid all potential witnesses on the ground...
All this can explain why they haven't heard any news about Ling Quan yet. But when he closed his eyes in the dead of night, Xie Zhe would occasionally see the worry in his heart floating in the darkness: Are they really on the right path? What if they failed to find Ling Hu, or failed to find Ling Hu in time? What if Wu Yongshi did something to Ling Hu during the time they missed?
What should he do?
No one can answer this question.
They had already left Cangye City, not only because Xie Zhe was so anxious, but Shui Wujun was also considerate and told them immediately that he was enough to deal with the affairs here and that they should do more important things. The so-called more important thing for them at the moment is naturally to continue to search for the whereabouts of Lies and Listening.
Without even a polite excuse, they said goodbye to her in a hurry.
Before parting, Shui Wujun pointed out the direction for them. In these days, they have been following her instructions and heading in the southeast direction. That is where Shui Wujun knows that Kanna Wujun is going, and it is also Wuyonglan's most likely escape route. They didn't take any chances with his speed, so they had been rushing on the road for days, sleeping in the open air. It's not that there are no other towns along the way, it's just that they have no intention of going around if they deviate too far from the direction.
That afternoon, they were still walking in the wilderness with no village in front of them and no store behind them. No matter how anxious you are, rest is still necessary to maintain the energy you need. As the sun set towards the west, the eyes of the three people focused on the road began to wander. After walking a few miles further, Han Chang moved the tip of his nose and looked at a steep slope diagonally ahead:
"There's the smell of water over there."
Whether it's rivers or lakes, they're all welcome to those running around in the wilderness.
They quickened their pace and climbed over the grassy slope, their eyes lit up. A large lake lay quietly not far below. The water was clear and sparkling in the sunlight. There were three or two wild ducks flapping their wings in the middle of the lake. On the other end of the lake, there was an animal drinking water. When they saw them approaching, it immediately jumped up and ran away. They didn't even have time to see whether it was a deer or a deer. Something else.
No matter what, since there are birds and animals, the lake must be clean and safe. They all took off their bags and planned to rest here for a while. Xie Zhe put down his baggage and turned around, and saw Jiao Mo staring at the water, thoughtfully. Seeing Xie Zhe look at him, she smiled back.
“When you see such good water, you inevitably want to go back to the water and take a dip.”
"Then, you can help yourself?" Han Chang thought for a while, "I don't know when we will encounter a lake of this size again. If you want to swim, just go down. We will go to collect firewood nearby and hunt for some dinner. …”
Han Chang was considerate. After all, strictly speaking, the shark is also a kind of monster to humans. Hanshang himself is also a monster. Although he has been integrated into human life for too long, he can somewhat understand the instincts of monsters. They had known Jiao Mo for a short time, so naturally they couldn't tell what kind of monster she was. Has it completely adapted to human life, or does it still retain its monster instinct? But in any case, it is common and indifferent to retain some harmless little hobbies that are different from humans.
He pulled Xie Zhe and was already preparing to leave. But Jiao Mo smiled brightly, took a few steps forward, and suddenly made a leap and plunged directly into the lake.
"!"
Xie Zhe and Han Zhang were both stunned and froze on the spot. After a while, they came to their senses, trotted over and looked into the water. They knew her identity as a mermaid from the beginning, but maybe it was because they knew Jiao Mo in human form from the beginning. When they saw her suddenly jumping into the water in human form, they were inevitably a little startled and nervous.
Swimming under the clear lake water does not look like a human being. The aqua blue satin that Jiao Mo originally wore fell down to her waist, covering her legs. Now, there seems to be a long, beautiful fish tail, and every scale reflects a dream-like luster in the water waves. But they soon came to their senses and discovered that it was just an illusion. What covered her legs was just the light blue gauze. The redundant parts were wrapped around the back of her feet and dispersed gracefully with her movements, much like a fish's tail fin. Although this is very different from her appearance as a human, the shark is originally the incarnation of beauty and goodness in the legend. Anyone who sees it will not feel resisted by her inhuman appearance, but will actually manifest her true form. The immortal in heaven felt ashamed in front of her.
Jiao Mo's posture is as free and light as a flying fairy. She stretched her arms, turned over flexibly, and waved to her two companions across the water. Small fish and shrimps passed through the disturbed water around her one after another. Some of them were dizzy and bumped into her. She also cast a friendly look. Then, she swung her long legs and nimbly jumped towards the center of the lake, and soon swam out of sight of the people on the shore.
Although Han Zhang and Xie Zhe subconsciously responded to her greeting just now, they were still immersed in indescribable amazement. When a shark is in the water, it is like a fish in its own right, just like a hibiscus in clear water, which is particularly attractive against the light of the water. Being able to see with your own eyes this beauty that is in harmony with nature is like watching a surging tide or the rising sun among the vast sea of clouds, giving people a different kind of touch and even emotion.
They were lost in thought for a while, waiting for Jiao Mo to return, but no one was seen for a long time. The two stretched their necks, unable to see anything. They shouted twice, but received no response. They looked at each other, began to feel uneasy, and took a few steps closer to the lake. Logically speaking, the sharks should be able to submerge under water for a long time, but didn't Jiao Mo turn into a human? Furthermore, since she came from the deep sea, will the water on land have any bad effects on her?
Han Chang shouted towards the lake again, turned sideways and muttered to Xie Zhe:
"Lao Xie, how about I go down and take a look? If something goes wrong with her, we'll just sit here and watch, but that's..."
Before he could finish his words, a wave of water suddenly approached quickly, and with a crash, a graceful figure broke out of the water in front of the two of them. I don't know if he had not restrained his strength, but the bright foam set off a wave of water, which was golden in the west slanting sunlight and splashed happily on Xie Zhe and Han Shang.
"Ah, I'm so sorry..."
The two of them quickly said it didn't matter, and each brushed the water off their heads. I don’t know if Jiao Mo did it on purpose. She was still half-immersed in the water. Han Zhang looked at Xie Zhe and saw that he was deliberately avoiding looking directly at Jiao Mo's body, and at the same time trying to shake his head to shake off the water droplets. He looked quite reserved and couldn't help but swoon and laugh. Speak up.
This smile was like a signal, and Jiao Mo also laughed immediately. His laughter was like a string of bubbles rolling up and down in the sea, very lively. Laughter is always very contagious. Sometimes, even if it is a trivial thing, as long as one person laughs, others will join in unknowingly even if they do not find it interesting. Xie Zhe was still tense at first, looking at his two companions inexplicably. Soon, under the influence of this atmosphere, he shook his head and couldn't help laughing.
After a while, they patted their faces to calm themselves down again. It can be seen that Jiao Mo really felt relaxed from the bottom of her heart, and the lake made her very happy. She still did not climb ashore, but sat in the shallow water, stretching her arms to support the grass in the shallows, and tapping her feet gently in the water. She looks so young now, and the previous sense of vicissitudes has been swept away by the ripples. To put it exaggeratedly, she looked like a slightly dehydrated fruit. Although it was not shriveled, it was not as fresh as freshly picked from the branches. Let the water soak in this way, and you will feel like you are reborn.
"How does it feel to swim in the lake?" Han Chang and Xie Zhe sat down on the grass together and asked curiously, "I remember that you should have come from the sea. The sea water has accumulated the salt in the soil dug by all the streams and rivers. , I’m afraid it’s much saltier than here.”
"It's quite good. Although it's not very similar to my hometown and is a bit raw, such a pure water area is enough to make people happy." Jiao Mo gently stirred up the water waves with her fingers. Compared with her usual appearance, she looked simply Ten years younger and glowing with a youthful brilliance, "I have been walking on land for many years, and I don't often encounter places like this. Although there are many big rivers, lakes and swamps on land, water is life. In places with a lot of water, there are often people living together. Opportunities for swimming like this have not been available for a long time.”
Han Chang nodded. He looked at Jiao Mo. Previously, he always felt that she was like a noble lady, elegant and dignified, but now she was like a breeze or a wave of water, full of natural vitality. As a monster, he can understand Jiao Mo's mood very well. Even if he has always walked on the land where he grew up, when he can return to his original form and run freely, it will be as if he has thrown off a layer of shackles, and everything from his soul to his body will become particularly vivid.
