Time flies, time flies.
one year later. . . . . .
With Hua Yao's help, Jia Juesheng's old injury on his left knee has not fully recovered, but it has undergone significant changes. At least it is much better than before.
Although the old injury has improved, he still habitually bends down and reaches out to protect his knee every time he lifts his left foot to walk.
After a year of observation and communication, coupled with the changes in his knees, he had a preliminary understanding of Ziyang and others, and he had already put aside his caution.
Now, when he gets up every day, besides sitting on the stone bench under the peach tree, drinking tea and studying formations, he also goes to Ziyang's room to chat with him.
Blood-enhancing herbs can be found everywhere outside the fence gate, and can even be seen in narrow and remote stone crevices. These herbs were naturally planted by Feng Lan.
To ensure the growth of herbs, he watered them almost every day to prevent them from dying midway.
At this moment, Zi Yang was lying on the bed, stroking the peach core with his cracked palm. Every time he exerted force, the wound on his fingertip would split, and blood would fall on the surface of the peach core.
Over time, the lines on the surface of the peach pit were smoothed away, and the originally dark red surface became extremely bright red, smooth and translucent, and seemed to be full of life.
Crunch!
At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and after a burst of rapid and gentle footsteps, there was no more sound.
Not long after, a drop of cold water fell on Zi Yang's face. The biting cold feeling made him shiver and he quickly sat up.
He wiped the water off his face and asked, "Is it snowing outside?"
Hua Yao nodded and said with a smile: "Yes! The snow outside has just stopped, and the snow on the ground has almost covered the uppers of the shoes."
Zi Yang said oh and said nothing more.
Hua Yao's pupils turned slightly and said, "How about I grab a handful of snow for you and let you feel it?"
Before Zi Yang could answer, she ran out first.
After a while, she walked over slowly, holding a snowball in her hand. She held the snowball against his face to let him feel the chill first, so that her plan could succeed.
"How is it? Is it Snowball?" Hua Yao pretended to be calm.
Ziyang nodded.
"Here, touch it."
Zi Yang retracted his hands, hesitated, and refused: "I already know what you are holding is a snowball, so there is no need to reach out and touch it."
After Hua Yao heard this, she immediately grabbed his wrist and touched Xueqiu. He clenched his fingers tightly and never dared to touch it.
Over the past year, he had been teased by Hua Yao so many times. He was already familiar with her little tricks. How could he fall for it so easily?
When Hua Yao forced him to touch the snow ball, he hurriedly retracted his arm, full of doubts in his heart.
"What are you afraid of? Isn't it just a snowball? Is it so scary?" Hua Yao mocked.
Zi Yang muttered: "Who knows if you can find some snakes, scorpions, centipedes and the like for me to touch."
"coward!"
"I'm not a coward!"
"You are a coward!"
"Okay! Just touch it!"
"Come on, I promise I won't trick you."
The moment Zi Yang carefully touched the snowball, the snowball suddenly fell to the ground.
Hua Yao accused: "Oh! It's all your fault! My hands are frozen after holding the snowball for so long. Just wait, I will go outside to get you another one."
When Hua Yao returned to the house, she was holding a pot of emerald green cactus in both hands, with a malicious smile on her face.
However, this time Zi Yang didn't hesitate at all and grabbed it with his open palm.
"Hiss! You..." Zi Yang's face was ashen, and the slight sting in his palm made him quickly withdraw his palm.
"Hehe!" Hua Yao said with a smile: "I just said to go outside and get one for you. I didn't tell you what I was going to get. You can't blame me for being stabbed."
After teasing Zi Yang, Hua Yao took the cactus and walked out, just in time to see Jia Juesheng sitting on the stone bench, concentrating on reading the formation book.
She stood behind Jia Juesheng and asked, "Lame, that insect didn't continue to torture you, did it?"
After hearing this, Jia Juesheng put down the formation book in his hand and hurriedly stood up. He first bent down and bowed his hands in thanks, and then said: "It is much more peaceful than before."
Hua Yao nodded slowly and walked thoughtfully towards the bamboo house holding the cactus ball.
Jia Juesheng pressed his left knee with his left hand and couldn't help but ask: "How long will it sleep?"
Hua Yao turned her back to him and said, "As long as you don't deliberately disturb it, I think it will sleep for ten to eight years."
"Then will it starve to death?"
"Are you going to starve to death?"
"Won't."
"You won't starve to death, so why will it starve to death?"
Jia Juesheng nodded and said very seriously: "About the bugs, you must not tell anyone else, including Ziyang and Feng Lan."
"That bug is more important than your life. I won't talk nonsense about this kind of thing." Hua Yao vowed.
When Jia Juesheng heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief, and his worries were half relieved. After getting along with her for this year, he still trusts Hua Yao very much, otherwise he would not tell her about the bug.
Just as he sat down again and was about to pick up the formation book on the stone table, there was a sound of a broken pot being heard behind him.
Jia Juesheng looked back and saw Hua Yao slumped on the ground. He quickly got up. After taking a few steps, the girl looked panicked and turned pale. She hurried back to the bamboo house.
Jia Juesheng stood there, looking at the closed bamboo door quietly, with a slightly confused look on his face. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he didn't know whether he should knock on the door or greet him.
After all, if someone treats you well, falling down for no reason is not a good sign.
After hesitating for a long time, he thought that Hua Yao was lively and cheerful. Maybe she accidentally fell down. When he thought of this, he didn't take it seriously.
Jia Juesheng glanced at the cactus on the ground, with a look of astonishment on his face, and stayed there for a long time.
At this time, the cactus had undergone tremendous changes. The original emerald green surface had long since disappeared, replaced by a bright red fire. The needles were like burning flames, and its roots were as wide and slender as an adult's arm.
What shocked him the most was the constant flow of vitality in the cactus. If the cactus before was a stream, then the cactus now is a vast ocean.
"Such a strong vitality, isn't this cactus going to become a spirit?" Jia Juesheng blurted out.
In order to prevent the roots of the cactus from taking root in the ground, he dragged the roots of the cactus out of the fence gate, threw it with his backhand, and threw it off the cliff.
Another three years passed. . . . . .
Feng Lan stood on the trestle, with the cool sea breeze blowing across his face. After an unknown amount of time, his expressionless face finally showed a smile, mixed with a lot of reluctance.
He looked at the surging waves on the sea and asked as if unintentionally: "After I leave, will you leave here soon?"
"Me? It's not me, it's us." Jia Juesheng stood beside him, also not looking at Feng Lan. He said firmly: "I will leave with Zi Yang."
Feng Lan's face darkened, and she sneered: "You are a person who can't afford to do anything without benefit. How can you be tempted without benefit? This is a little different from your usual self."
"Benefits?" Jia Juesheng shook his head and smiled, "Originally I decided to leave on my own, but time will change a person."
Feng Lan's sharp eyes suddenly turned to him, and a scorching momentum surged towards Jia Juesheng, and then slowly dissipated, and the air became cool again.
After a moment, he said with a serious face: "To be honest, I really don't want you to follow Ziyang, even if you have the opportunity to become the top formation master in the future."
"Who can know whether things will be good or bad in the future?" Jia Juesheng changed the subject and said, "I'm very curious. He doesn't have the ambition to dominate, and you don't have the same ambition. What are you practicing for?"
"For freedom, not to be restrained, not to be bullied." Feng Lan replied immediately without thinking.
"It's ridiculous, do you think this is possible?" Jia Juesheng asked
Feng Lan smiled slightly and said: "For cultivation, it is enough to have the ability to protect yourself. There is no need to covet fame and great career. This is the unanimous idea of the three of us."
Jia Juesheng knew that the other two were Zi Yang and Luo Yuan, whom he had never met before. He had also heard some things about Luo Yuan from Zi Yang.
He really wanted to see what the eldest brother who even Ziyang praised so much looked like and what kind of person he was.
You must know that Ziyang doesn't always praise others. Even Feng Lan, who has worked hard these past few years, rarely hears a word of praise from him, but Luo Yuan, who has been working hard for more than four years, has this honor.
"I can see you don't want to leave him."
"So what?"
"You have survived four years together, and there is only one short year left. Can you just not wait?"
"I am different from you. You are Ziyang's friend. You can walk side by side. But I am Ziyang's brother. What I want to do is to help him when he is in danger." Feng Lan said. Finished, jump forward and step onto the raft.
From beginning to end, he never looked back at the mountain.
Feng Lan stood on the raft with bamboo pulp in hand and turned her back to him, saying in a deep voice: "Half a month ago, I wanted to kill you more than once, but I couldn't do it after all. I don't know if this will happen." I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
Jia Juesheng grinned and said, "You are gambling."
"In life, no one knows what will happen in the next second. How can you know if you don't take a gamble?" Feng Lan put on a bamboo hat, her words full of melancholy.
Jia Juesheng looked at the raft that had already sailed away and shed tears involuntarily.
On the cliff, Hua Yao supported Zi Yang, whose body was covered with scars, and said slowly: "He's gone."
Ziyang broke free, opened his arms, turned around and hugged the two wooden stakes outside the fence gate, and burst into tears.
When Hua Yao saw this, she did not try to persuade him. Instead, she held her forehead with her hands, looking sluggish and white as snow, and returned to her room with very messy steps.
Feng Lan didn't leave much behind. He only erected a wooden stake outside the fence gate and engraved his name on it.
