As soon as the two of them held hands, they felt a loud noise as the sky and the earth collapsed, and the entire cliff collapsed! They didn't even have time to speak before they were plummeted down, with a flood of earth-yellow mud and rocks roaring above their heads.
…
I don't know how long it took, but when Cai Zhaoyouyou woke up, her first feeling was that her muscles and bones were aching, and she felt tired even raising her arms.
I finally opened my eyes, and what I saw was the beam roof of a simple village house. On the left was a flat yellow earthen wall. On the right was a small bamboo table. On the table was piled the bouquet of purple flowers that Cai Zhao had picked up. Beside the flowers was a little statue of Zun. The stove is lit with coiled incense to repel mosquitoes. The fragrance is like the fragrance of grass, with some bitterness of herbs, which is very pleasant.
Opposite the table there was also a fallen bamboo. Mu Qingyan seemed to be more seriously injured than her. He was lying on the thin quilt with a pale face.
Seeing the girl wake up, his dark eyes burst into joy like fireworks in the night sky.
Cai Zhao also smiled at him and was about to speak when suddenly an uncle with a beard came into the room carrying two bowls of soup, followed by his chubby wife who loved to chat.
Cai Zhao opened his eyes wide - hadn't he met the blacksmith uncle and his fat wife in the village before?
She said in surprise: "Uncle Qiao, Aunt Qiao! Did you save us?"
The blacksmith put the two medicine bowls on the table and scratched his head in embarrassment, but didn't know where to start.
The fat aunt sat next to Cai Zhao, "How many times have I told you to call me big brother or big sister! We just look stable and mature, but in fact we are young."
Cai Zhao smiled.
Fat Aunt Oh no, Fat Aunt put a handful of melon seeds in her hand next to Cai Zhao's pillow: "What did you ask just now? Oh, you are wrong, both of you are wrong. First, we did not save you, It was my husband-in-law who saved him. Secondly, my man’s surname is not Qiao either. I lied to you before.”
Cai Zhao was confused, "Oh."
Mu Qingyan heard something fishy, "Isn't your surname Qiao? May I ask this eldest brother his surname?"
The fat lady smiled and blinked: "My man naturally has the same surname as my husband."
Mu Qingyan continued to ask patiently: "May I ask your surname?"
The blacksmith couldn't stand it any longer and said bluntly: "Shi! My surname is Shi, my father's surname is also Shi, and our whole family is surnamed Shi!"
Cai Zhao's eyes lit up, and before she could ask any questions, a burly old man opened the door and walked in.
He looked at Cai Zhao with a smile and his eyes were quite kind: "I never dreamed that I would be able to see Xiao Zhao'er in my lifetime. You look more like Xiao Feng, but your eyes are like those of sister Ping Shu."
Cai Zhao was surprised and happy, almost stuttering: "You, you, you are..."
The old man stroked his beard and smiled: "Old man Shi Tieqiao."
Chapter 107
The river stretches for several places, and there are many bright and dark valleys on both sides of the long river bank. Because of the abundant rain and dense vegetation, even if you ride a golden-winged roc and look down from the top, you can only see a large or small patch of green. It is impossible to tell which are mountains and which are valleys, let alone see through the layers of vegetation covering whether there are any human settlements below.
"What a wonderful place to retreat to." Cai Zhao looked around and murmured to himself.
The fat eldest sister, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family, chuckled: "I heard from dad that your aunt found this place. That year my uncle was seriously injured 'again', and when your aunt was looking for medicine for him, she followed Han The bell flower found this place."
"What!" Cai Zhao was surprised, "My aunt found it, but she told me that she didn't know where Master Shi was hiding out!"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family shrugged: "I don't know about that. Anyway, the old man always likes to talk, saying that our family has the stable years it has today because of your aunt finding this place."
Cai Zhao couldn't figure it out, so he changed the subject and said, "Lotus bell flower? Is it the purple flower string?"
"Yes. If it weren't for this bell flower, my uncle's new and old wounds would not heal so quickly." The eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family had a round face that was full of joy and had a bumper harvest, and her smile was particularly warm.
Three or four days ago, Cai Zhao and Mu Qingyan were carried here. Due to the fierce fighting and rain, the cold entered their bodies and they both fell ill. Mu Qingyan was even more seriously injured and had a high fever that night. When Cai Zhaoneng was walking in the valley, he was still lying in a daze.
Cai Zhao looked far into the distance. Everywhere he looked, there were children playing, men plowing the fields, women weaving, and smoke rising from cooking stoves. For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to Luoying Valley, and she couldn't help laughing, "The whole family is lively and lively, which is good."
"Hey, what's the solution? All it takes for a family to go into seclusion is to pack up their baggage. Our family has always lived together in several rooms. Uncles, aunts, aunts, and his second uncle and fourth uncle add up to more than a hundred people. There's nothing like this. There is no place where I can go into seclusion even if I want to." The eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family sighed.
This unknown river valley was hidden somewhere on both sides of the river. Mu and Cai knew that the Shi family wanted to avoid it, so they simply did not ask about its location. Most of the Shi clan people live here. Only a few people, such as the eldest son and daughter-in-law of Shi clan, have a shop outside. They can not only buy salt, cloth and other items, but also set up a sentry post, so as not to be completely aware of possible dangers. I don’t know.
"Why is this place called Qiying Village? There are no cherry trees at all." Cai Zhao suddenly thought about it as he passed by a newly built circular brick kiln.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family: "Ah? This is not called Qiying Village." She took a few steps forward and opened the vines covering a half-person-high stone tablet. "Did you hear wrongly?"
The vines were pulled apart, revealing three words on the stone tablet - Qiyin Village.
Cai Zhao:......
After walking half a circle around the valley, loosening up the muscles and bones, seeing that the sky was getting dark, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family pulled Cai Zhao back, muttering: "If you want to drink medicine before dinner, you should go. Then when the younger generation looks at others, It's so gloomy that my man doesn't dare to come forward. Hey, he was obviously very friendly when I saw him last time, but why does he become so fierce when he gets hurt? Oh, it scares me to death..."
Cai Zhao listened silently, and when he returned to the thatched cottage, he found the Painted Skin Demon lying on the thatched couch with a gloomy expression. Beside him was Brother Shi, who was holding a medicine bowl and was helpless. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Shi family took her husband away. Cai Zhao took the medicine bowl and sat down beside the man's bed angrily. After helping him sit up, he fed him the medicine spoon by spoon, "Why are you looking at Brother Shi's face?" , I saved your life and mine, okay!"
Mu Qingyan sipped the soup silently without complaining, "...If you are injured or sick, I will never leave you."
Cai Zhao was speechless, "I kept taking care of you that night when you had a high fever. I didn't even take my eyes away. You got better day by day, and you didn't want me to go out for some fresh air..."
Under the silent gaze of Mu Qingyan's dark eyes, her voice became smaller and smaller.
"Where is this place and what is my identity? Aren't you worried that they will harm me while you are away?" Mu Qingyan said.
Cai Zhao was helpless: "Okay, I'll go out less often in the future. If someone wants to harm you, they've already done it a long time ago, why would they wait until now? Okay, don't glare at me, I know, I know... I mainly go out to explore."
Mu Qingyan said with a stern face: "I sent people to scan both sides of the river. Before, you and I visited the villages and found nothing. If this place is so hidden, it must be famous - if you go out and walk around twice, you can find something. What do you see?"
Unable to convince others, Cai Zhao had to use his trump card, "If you criticize me again, I will fall out."
This time it was Mu Qingyan's turn to be helpless and drank the medicine in one gulp.
Looking at his bright outline with lowered eyebrows while taking the medicine, Cai Zhao couldn't help but sigh: "You are so stubborn. That night, your whole body was burning hot and you didn't say a word. I heard from my mother that when I was a child, I always cried when I had a high fever. They are making trouble again and talking nonsense.”
"I got used to it before I was five years old." Mu Qingyan said lightly, "Whether you cry or make trouble, someone has to care. If no one cares, what's the use of crying."
Cai Zhao was startled and felt sad for a moment.
Half an hour after taking the medicine, Brother Shi brought delicious food.
A bowl of steamed pork, a plate of fried bacon with garlic sprouts, a pot of boiled green vegetables with no name, a eight-treasure duck stewed until crispy, and a ginger shredded tofu soup stewed with unknown fish - the flavor is great , the cooking is also excellent, Cai Zhao is smiling as he eats it.
"Those cooks from the Qingque Sect should be ashamed!" The oily little girl was quite indignant. "They have been living in seclusion in the wilderness for more than ten years and yet they can still produce such dishes. They stay in the kitchen of the best sect in the world. Here, with the best monthly salary in the world, I cook some half-salty roadside dishes every day, how dare I call myself a chef?!"
"Wipe your mouth first." Mu Qingyan put down the bowl and chopsticks, gave the girl a look, and frowned when he lowered his head to look at the dishes, "Our dishes in the past few days were mostly light, but for some reason today they are heavy. The fish is full of meat.”
"Because you are leaving tomorrow." A solemn old man's voice came from behind the door curtain.
Cai Zhao quickly stood up.
Shi Tieqiao stood by the door and said with a smile: "Your injuries are almost healed, it's time to go."
Cai Zhao was confused: "Is everything okay? I am okay, but he..." When he turned around, he saw Mu Qingyan actually lifted the quilt and sat upright.
"You!" She immediately understood that the painted skin demon was pretending again.
"To be honest, Hero Shi, we came here this time to ask about something important." Mu Qingyan cupped his hands and said.
"I know." Shi Tieqiao nodded, "I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but one of my brothers has been very ill these days, and I dare not leave even an inch. Whatever you want to ask, you can ask it tonight."
Mu Qingyan immediately looked at Cai Zhao with a look like, "Look how people accompany seriously ill people."
Cai Zhao angrily replied with a look that said, "You're pretending to be sick, but you still have the nerve to say this."
Seeing the young people's eyes intertwined, Shi Tieqiao laughed loudly: "Okay, come with me."
Shi Tieqiao's residence is a quiet and comfortable bamboo house, with no one around and silence all around.
A furnace of delicate incense was lit, a pot of fragrant mountain herbal tea was brewed, and the three of them sat around the table.
"Since my wife passed away, I have been the only one living here." Shi Tieqiao sighed. "When I was young, I was very brave and fierce, and I didn't know how to care about my family. My wife has been worried and afraid of me for many years, and she has suffered from all kinds of illnesses. Alas, it's I couldn't help her. Finally, after living in seclusion here, she lived a peaceful life for more than ten years. When she left, she felt at ease."
He turned his eyes to Mu and Cai, "Actually, Zhao Zhao's aunt knows what I know. I don't know what you want to ask?"
Mu Qingyan was full of doubts and wanted to ask, but as soon as his lips moved, Cai Zhao eagerly jumped in and said, "Who is my aunt's sweetheart? It can't really be Lu Chengnan, right?"
Shi Tieqiao laughed: "Is this what you want to ask?"
Mu Qingyan covered his face with one hand and turned his head.
"How could it be Lu Chengnan?" Shi Tieqiao said with a smile, "But who it is, I don't know."
Cai Zhao's eyes widened: "?!"
"Actually, Sister Pingshu had the idea of breaking off the engagement with the Zhou family very early, but the people close to her were all careless and reckless men. The only girl - Zhao Zhao's mother, who is so careless, is worse than a reckless man! "Shi Tieqiao couldn't help laughing when he thought of Ning Xiaofeng, "Among the brothers, only brother Haosheng and I got married early, so we can see some clues."
"Actually, my father and master also know about it." Cai Zhao whispered.
Shi Tieqiao nodded, "Xiaochun has always been attentive, so it's not surprising that he noticed it. Brother Yunke is the closest to your aunt, so he probably saw something."
"I think Uncle Zhou is quite good." Thinking of the gentle and elegant Zhou Zhizhen, Cai Zhao felt a little sad.
"It's very good, but your aunt can't get along with him."
Shi Tieqiao picked up the boiling kettle and poured it into the teapot, "If I want to offend Brother Zhou, his character, talent and family background are unparalleled. He and your aunt were childhood sweethearts, but he never knew what kind of life Sister Pingshu wanted to live. He himself is always gentle, courteous and thrifty, and when he encounters injustice, he tolerates it and passes it by, and he hopes that the people around him can also take a step back to open up the world."
Cai Zhao sighed: "But my aunt has no temperament that can swallow her anger."
"Yes." Shi Tieqiao was slightly lost in thought, "She is the breeze and the fierce fire - the breeze blows on the mountains, and the fierce fire burns the demons."
"This is well said, appropriate and elegant." Mu Qingyan praised it.
Shi Tieqiao smiled and said: "I don't have such literary talent. This is what Zhao Zhao's master said."
Cai Zhaodai said: "But my master doesn't have such literary talent!" The literary talent of Master Qi is like the moral character of the Master of Song Dynasty, which is almost non-existent.
"I don't know how much ink Brother Yunke has!" Shi Tieqiao laughed. "We all guess that he heard this from somewhere and came to show off to us."
"So, Master Shi, you don't know who Lady Cai's sweetheart is?" Mu Qingyan brought back the topic.
"I don't know." Shi Tieqiao continued to shake his head, "But it's definitely not Lu Chengnan - when he escaped with serious injuries, Sister Pingshu saw him for the first time."
"Why is this so?" Cai Zhao was disappointed.
Shi Tieqiao looked at the loss on the little girl's face and said kindly, "Has your aunt told you about my retreat?"
"No." Cai Zhao pursed his lips, "My aunt also lied to me, saying that she didn't know where the Shi family was hiding."
Shi Tieqiao stroked his beard: "Your aunt is such a person. She looks bold and strong, but in fact she is thoughtful. She can always hide the things she wants to hide."
Cai Zhao sighed slightly, remembering that his mother, Ning Xiaofeng, had once commented on her husband, Cai Pingchun, "Both of his parents died when he was young, and he had to live under someone else's roof. How could he not have any intentions?" In fact, this sentence may also apply to his aunt Cai Pingshu.
She raised her head and said: "Master Shi, I have something else to ask - do you know that the whole family of Master Chang was massacred?"
"I know." Shi Tieqiao opened the lid of the teapot and looked at it, "It's only ten days away from here in Wu'an Mountain, how could you not know?"
"Ah!" Cai Zhao was shocked, "Then why are you..." Indifferent.
"Zhaozhao wants to ask me why I just sit back and do nothing. When I left, your aunt repeatedly told me, 'If you want to leave, just leave cleanly. The most taboo thing about exiting the world is to be sloppy. From now on, no matter whether there are killings or bloodshed, it will not matter. It has nothing to do with you anymore'."
