(8)
It was night, and a light and small voice slipped out of the inn with a little firelight. It skillfully passed through the streets and alleys until it went up the mountain along a certain mountain road. The only bright spot in the dark night except the full moon and starry sky was hidden by countless beech trees...
Wait until the morning light first appears, and everything will revive. Bai Feng, who was used to getting up early, got up a little earlier than the rooster crow this time, and walked to an empty grass field outside the inn.
I saw him leaning against a jujube tree, practicing "the skill of breathing in and out" as usual. With the ordinary alleys, the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs; with the refreshing morning dew, and the majestic mountain peaks. Integrate with the wonderful nature, "spit out the dirty air and take in the breath of all things". At this time, he was highly integrated with nature, but he was still outside the world. Therefore, all the subtle movements around him cannot escape his perception.
After a while, the sound of staggering footsteps came from the distance. The young man felt curious, squinted his eyes and took a look, and found that it was actually Ajuan who was covered with dust. Her knees were bruised and her face looked exhausted. As I walked, I almost felt like falling to the ground. Seeing that the situation was not good, the young man looked like he was about to faint. The next moment, he stepped over lightly in two or three steps, helped up her delicate body, and at the same time said with concern: "Miss Ajuan, are you okay? "
"Bai..." Ajuan said weakly: "Bai... Master, please go and wake everyone up quickly. I have something important to tell you..."
"Let me help you rest first." Bai Feng led Ajuan into the inn and asked the waiter to prepare tea and a few meat buns. Then he went to call the door one by one, first Murong Yan, then Zhao Xiaomei. The last call from Zhao Kuo was ignored for a long time, so the young man had no choice but to break in the door and force the hungover Zhao Kuo to separate from his bed. Even though he was still clinging to the pillow, he had to be dragged downstairs.
Several people sat around the table, all looking at the ugly Zhao Kuo with sneers. Ajuan munched on the meat buns and approached the sleepy boy. She slowly placed the half-bitten meat bun between Zhao Kuo's nose. The aroma of the bun attracted him to slowly move his head away from the pillow in his hand. As if premeditated, Ajuan leaned into Zhao Kuo's ear and called softly: "Mr. Zhao! Mr. Zhao!"
Zhao Kuo squinted his eyes and murmured: "What does it smell like? It's so fragrant..." For a moment, he saw Miao Nu standing in front of him, looking at him with doting eyes like she was spying on a baby, which frightened him. He roared, then naturally leaned back and fell to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ajuan's worn knees and asked in surprise: "You...what's wrong with your legs?"
Ajuan handed the meat buns in his hand to Zhao Kuo and said charmingly: "It's not just for you!" Then he helped him back to his seat and continued to listen to what Ajuan was going to say with the others: "What I did last night In order to go out with you, I knelt in front of grandma all night! These rules set by our ancestors are really torture to death..."
Zhao Kuo ate the meat buns with great taste and said, "What are the rules? This is so unreasonable!"
"It is the first time for a young Miao people to travel far away. They should sincerely pray to their elders. Otherwise, they will die in a foreign land and will never be able to return to the Miao village to rest in peace..." Ajuan sat aside and stroked the wound on his knee. He continued: "Grandma was very reluctant at first. She always thought that I was still a child."
The younger sister responded, "Humph! These elders just like to look down on people like this!" After saying this, she made a "grimace" with her tongue sticking out at Zhao Kuo in front of her.
"It's not worth it for Miss Ajuan to suffer for so long!" Murong Yan said worriedly.
"Maybe it was my sincerity that impressed her!" Ajuan hesitated: "And... Mr. Zhao..."
Because Zhao Kuo was chewing in his mouth, he could only make a mumbling sound and asked: "Me? What does this have to do with me?"
"I said to my grandma, 'Instead of letting me face the unfamiliar world alone in the future, why not be with a trustworthy person now?' Maybe she thought Mr. Zhao was a trustworthy person, so she finally agreed to help Let's go out." While speaking, Ajuan lowered his head and looked at his injuries, but he would look sideways at Zhao Kuo from time to time, making the latter feel uneasy.
Zhao Kuo pretended to be very resistant and complained: "It's so weird! Then why did she ask us to leave!"
"Oh! I almost forgot." Ajuan patted his head, then walked out of the inn and looked at the direction of the sun, and said: "Today there is a caravan leaving here at Chenshi for Wandeng Town, and it happens to be grandma Leader, so we can sneak in and sneak away! Now...it's just a few minutes until Chenshi, let's prepare quickly!"
Not long after sunrise, this corner of Qianfeng Town became lively. Several people put their luggage on the horseback bags and headed towards the caravan's designated rounding place. As Zhao Kuo drove his horse and observed this magical town built under the peak forest, he felt a trace of reluctance in his heart. He looked at Ajuan, who was riding a horse with his sister, and couldn't help but said to himself: "If I were born and raised here, I might live a stable life with such a beautiful girl..."
The five people mingled with the caravan, waiting for the Miao people who came to lead the way. The businessmen around looked very anxious, as if they were afraid of missing something. Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng went to inquire about it and learned that the annual "Wandeng Festival" in Wandeng Town was about to begin, and all the businessmen were looking forward to making a lot of money during the festival. Among the people traveling with him, only Zhao Kuo had been to the "Ten Thousand Lantern Festival" with his father when he was young. In order to relieve the depression of waiting, he recalled to the other four people: "The 'Ten Thousand Lantern Festival' at that time not only had the lights on all night It is bright and there are hundreds of styles of lanterns. The road is crowded with people and very lively. It can be compared with the Yuyi's 'Horse Racing Festival'. I wonder how it is now..."
"Brother Zhao, stop talking, be careful of biting your tongue!" Bai Feng pointed at the caravan that started to move in front and said, "The caravan has started to leave, please pay attention to safety."
Zhao Kuo complained and said, "Can't we talk when we are on the road? Speaking of which, my life as a child was so wonderful..."
"No! When I was a child, I was either beaten or scolded, which is not good at all!" Ajuan retorted.
"Then you won't be beaten now?" Zhao Kuo sneered.
The younger sister raised her head and looked at Ajuan and said, "Sister Ajuan, if that person dares to bully you, you must tell me and I will help you avenge him..."
Several people laughed and scolded all the way, but the caravan also moved surprisingly smoothly. Although the progress is slow, it provides an opportunity for everyone to appreciate the wonderful scenery around them. As the ruggedness gradually decreased, the peak forest gradually receded. Just as they were about to reach the exit, the motorcade suddenly stopped. An old figure came from the front of the caravan. She told Ajuan and others to stay where they were for a while and let the caravan move forward.
"Ajuan, you and Mr. Zhao get off your horses first and wait for your mother to come over." Ajuan's grandmother said.
"Mother?" Ajuan didn't understand, thinking that grandma was still trying to force her to stay, so she asked, "Grandma, why are you waiting for mother?" As soon as she finished speaking, the leader of the Miao ethnic group who was galloping towards her on horseback arrived.
"Daughter, you are here." The old woman said to Ajuan's mother.
"At grandma's request, I will not stop Ajuan from leaving here." Ajuan's mother said to the two people who dismounted: "We Miao people don't like to interact with outsiders, just because we are afraid of causing unnecessary fights. This trip, only In order to broaden your horizons, don’t stir up trouble, okay?”
Ajuan asked suspiciously: "Didn't mother come to stop us?"
"Haha, if you come to me directly, you won't agree." The Miao leader continued: "Just leaving without saying goodbye, didn't you think that your mother would be sad? If grandma hadn't sent someone to follow you, I said, I really can’t figure this little girl out..."
The mother and daughter chatted for a long time. Ajuan, who thought her mother would only punish her, never thought that she would be so sentimental on the day of separation. When it came to the emotional part, the two women burst into tears. Zhao Kuo stood there speechlessly. He knew that his previous disrespectful behavior had been forgiven, and he was about to be entrusted with the important task of protecting the daughter of the Miao leader.
"Mr. Zhao, I know you didn't mean to offend, and we are not the ones who force others to make things difficult. It's just that my daughter has decided to follow you. As a man, you will definitely not make things difficult for her in every possible way, right?" Ajuan's mother asked. .
"The Zhao family has always made friends with heroes from all over the world. It is lucky to meet the daughter of the leader of the Miao people." Zhao Kuo said this just to declare once again that he has no feelings for Ajuan.
Ajuan argued: "I'm not following him! I'm following Mr. Bai, Miss Murong, and Miss Zhao!"
After everyone heard this, they all laughed. Half a moment later, the five people followed the tracks left by the convoy towards the exit, leaving only two figures, one young and one old, behind them.
