(1)
The grass and wild flowers soaked by the morning dew all carried a different kind of fragrance, and the five people traveling with them headed towards Yangcheng following the fragrance.
Half a day after setting off, everyone found a place beside a gurgling stream for temporary repair. Bai Feng, who couldn't fall asleep last night, took a moment to rest and lay down in the middle of the weeds. Accompanied by the chirping grasshoppers, the grasshoppers jumping back and forth among the greenery, and the refreshing fragrance in his nose, he fell asleep quietly.
Suddenly, the sound of burning flames sounded in the young man's ears. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was in a sea of fire, and the lush greenery suddenly and mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
The young swordsman's breathing became more rapid, just because he saw a man prostrate on the ground in front of him, with a sword stuck on his back, and he was dying. The man faced Bai Feng, as if he wanted to reach out and grab the boy, and muttered: "Feng'er... Feng'er..." Then he held his open hand forward and died in pain.
The man was immediately eroded by the fire and burned to ashes. The sea of fire also disappeared, replaced by endless darkness. In the darkness, Han Chinese faces similar to young people were surrounding them: they were laughing wantonly and crazily: laughing at the dead man's incompetence; laughing at the young man's timidity!
And among the endless and complicated laughter, the shrill, tragic and sharp cries of women could be heard intermittently...
"Brother Bai! Wake up!" Zhao Kuo shook the young man in front of him. He was breathing irregularly and was sweating, as if he had some sudden illness.
The minions of the nightmare had clung to Bai Feng's consciousness before. After hearing Zhao Kuo's cry, he realized that he was in the dream of the past.
But opening your eyes in reality is far more difficult than opening your eyes in a dream. The more Bai Feng tried to get rid of those malicious laughter, the tighter she felt bound. The "string" in my heart is tightened by two big hands called "past" and "reality". It is extremely tight, as if it is about to break at any time! When it is disconnected, it means that his consciousness is close to collapse.
After a while, Tuoba Chen hurried over with a green leaf in his hand, asking Bai Feng to open his mouth and take it. Seeing this situation, Zhao Kuo immediately took the Xianbei warrior's arm away and roared loudly: "What are you holding in your hand and stuffed into his mouth?"
"Mr. Zhao, this is an herbal medicine that calms the mind and calms the mind. In my hometown, people who encounter Brother Bai's situation can just hold a piece of this small leaf under the tongue and they will wake up after a while. Just believe me!"
Seeing Tuoba Yan's anxious look, Zhao Kuo no longer stopped him, and then he lifted up Bai Feng, whose body was already covered with sweat and dirt, and let him take the herbs in his mouth.
Bai Feng, who was still fighting the nightmare, suddenly felt a cool feeling under his tongue. A moment later, this cool feeling passed through his chest, slightly relaxing the young man's tense nerves. He followed the voice calling him and slowly opened his eyes.
"Brother Bai! You finally woke up!" Zhao Kuo looked happier than anyone else and said happily.
Tuoba Yan also asked with concern: "Brother Bai, are you okay?"
"I...I just had a nightmare." Then, Bai Feng took out the herbal medicine under his tongue and asked, "This is mint, it 'soothes the mind and refreshes the mind'. Brother Zhao gave it to me Did I take it?"
"So this little thing is so useful?" Zhao Kuo looked like he suddenly realized it, and asked Tuoba Yan for a piece to swallow, and repeatedly exclaimed: "It feels good both physically and mentally! It feels good both physically and mentally!"
After hearing this, Bai Feng suddenly said: "Thank you so much, Brother Tuoba." Then he looked at Zhao Kuo and joked: "I knew Brother Zhao wouldn't be so knowledgeable. He might have thought it was a poisonous weed!"
"Brother Bai, you don't have to ridicule me like this. If you hadn't woken me up, I wouldn't have bothered to care about you!" Zhao Kuo looked at Bai Feng and said angrily: "Look at you again, When you go out, don’t tell others that you are a member of my Zhao family!”
Bai Feng rubbed his cheek, his clothes were stained with some sand and mud, and his hair was messy. The young man smiled nervously, as if remembering the nightmare just now, turned around and went to the river to wash up and tidy up.
Looking at the small fishes in the river and the green lake reflected by the surrounding woods; smelling the intoxicating fragrance from nature in the nose, listening to the hilarious conversation between Zhao Kuo and Tuoba Guang behind him. Bai Feng felt an irreplaceable reality lingering in her heart. Such a reality was enough to drive away all the "ghosts and monsters" in her dreams.
"Damn fat man, take out the mint!"
"No! I picked it. If you have the ability, you can pick it yourself."
"This young master wants to eat 'Chicken Stewed with Mint'. If you don't give it to me, I won't eat today!"
Seeing that they were arguing, A-Bian advised him: "Actually, you can make something delicious without mint..."
Everyone rested for a while after the meal. Compared to the other three who were solemn and few words, A-Bian and Tuoba Guang were talking and laughing, looking very happy and happy. They didn't look like they had experienced life and death just last night.
"A-Bian, I like you so much! You will also make 'mint stewed chicken' for me next time." Tuoba Guang said as he held A-Bian's neck with the inside of his elbow and said slightly affectionately.
"Brother Tuoba, don't do this, I can't breathe!"
The remaining three people just drank the soup and looked at them thoughtfully.
A trace of disdain flashed across the corner of Zhao Kuo's mouth and he said, "I didn't expect that they have only known each other for half a day and they are already so familiar with each other."
"Perhaps it's the fate they cultivated in their previous lives?"
"Oh? Brother Bai also believes in this theory of gods and Buddhas?"
"I just know a little bit about it." Bai Feng put down the wooden bowl in his hand and said immediately: "I have been cultivators from hundreds of generations and have been on the same boat, and cultivators from past lives have been here to sleep together. I can meet you, share the hardships with you, and share the food. ', it is a fateful meeting given by God, and it is also a blessing we have cultivated ourselves. This sentence is just to hope that the wanderers who know each other and meet each other can cherish this relationship. "
After hearing this, Zhao Kuo laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "I can't explain the truth to you. Just to save my sister-in-law, do I have to go to Yangcheng?" As he said that, he filled the bowl with the soup he had finished drinking. He drank a full glass of fine wine brought from the inn, and continued: "In my opinion, those officials are just wine sacks and rice sacks that take people's money but don't help others to eliminate disasters!"
"That group of thieves is numerous and has caused serious harm. I think the government knows their general whereabouts. Besides, with just the five of us, it would be too risky to successfully rescue Brother Zhao's sister."
"Then...I can completely rely on you..." Zhao Kuo's speech was unclear, probably due to the strong alcohol.
Tuoba Yan replied: "Master Zhao, it's better not to drink. We still have half a day to go!"
"Okay! I...don't drink anymore..."
Bai Feng and Tuoba Yan looked at each other and smiled, understanding each other. The conflict between Zhao Kuo and the Xianbei foreigners was finally resolved temporarily. The five people packed up and hit the road again. Zhao Kuo, whose steps were sloppy and still trapped by drunkenness, was helped by Tuoba Yan and continued on his way.
The crows are still playing in the forest, and the songs of the birds are lingering. It's a pity that they have no time to take into account these beautiful scenery, because the road ahead will only become more rugged.
