The sun is at its peak at noon.
The scorching sun passes through the gaps in the trees and shines on every corner of the backyard, reflecting light and shadow on the ground.
When the temperature rose to 26 degrees, they put on light clothes and took the ingredients to prepare for lunch in the kitchen.
On the road, I happened to meet Mingming's great disciple.
His eldest disciple is named Yunqi. He should be fourteen or fifteen years old in appearance and body shape, but his temperament and conversation are extremely stable.
Yunqi, like Xunsong, called them "good people" and raised his hand to signal: "Master invites you to have dinner in the main hall."
Knowing that the two apprentices had prepared their portions of food, they turned on their toes and followed Yun Qi to the main hall.
There is a round table in the main hall. On the round table are six dishes and one soup, including meat and vegetables, and the aroma wafting out is very tempting.
Ming Ming on the main seat invited them to sit down.
There was a faint aroma of wine on his body. It was obvious that he had just drank wine, and his face was a little red: "My disciple killed a chicken to entertain you. You have to eat it all."
Yan Shuo: "You are spending too much money."
"It's a small thing." Mingming picked up the wine glass and couldn't hide the joy on his face: "It's great to have friends from far away."
"..." Yun Qi glanced at him, wouldn't it be great to have wine coming from afar?
He saved some face for Mingzhang and did not expose him in front of them. He picked up the chopsticks and gave them to them one by one.
They were no longer polite.
"Master Ming." Xie Changxiao saw that the master and his disciples did not have the habit of saying nothing before eating, and asked, "Have you always lived in the Taoist temple?"
"Um."
"Has anyone come up to the mountain to stay here before?"
"It's very hot at that time." Mingzhang picked up a piece of spicy rabbit and chewed it slowly: "There are fewer people going up the mountain this year."
Their master and disciple rarely go down the mountain, and they haven't seen outsiders for a long time. Yun Qi asked curiously: "What's going on outside?"
Xie Changxiao talked about the plague virus.
He took two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth: "Everyone we met in Yuancheng was wearing a mask, so I guess it was passed on."
Xunsong: "What is the plague?"
"An infectious disease." Yunqi explained to the ignorant Xunsong in an easy-to-understand way.
"Will someone die?"
"If it's serious, it might."
They never shy away from the issue of life and death. In order to help them adapt to the troubled times, Mingming even showed them corpses.
Therefore, Xunsong is not afraid.
He twirled the rice grains on his cheeks, stuffed them into his mouth, and sat there obediently with the bowl in his arms. Sometimes he would raise his ears and listen carefully for a while, and if he had any doubts, he would ask them on the spot.
After lunch, he stepped on the stool and cleared the dishes with Yunqi. His sensible appearance made people inevitably feel soft.
Wen Yaxian: "I'll do it."
She grabbed the bowls and chopsticks, while Chi Yue and Wen Qizhou took away the remaining empty plates on the table and went into the kitchen to wash them one after another.
After cleaning up, Xie Changxiao proposed hunting.
The three of them brought home-made bows and arrows for hunting and left through the small door in the backyard. Chi Yue found a bag of seeds and took Wen Yaxian's arm to the vegetable field.
They scattered the seeds, returned to the courtyard, brewed a pot of tea, and sat on the lounge chairs to read books, which was very comfortable.
The breeze made the trees rustle.
Occasionally, fallen leaves come with them, fall in the quiet courtyard, and are swept away again at night, and the cycle repeats.
As day and night change, they live a peaceful and leisurely life in the Taoist temple filled with sandalwood, letting time pass by unconsciously and gradually entering late autumn.
"Master!" Xunsong clutched a broom that was as tall as him and ran to the backyard like a gust of wind: "There are two injured good people who want to come in. Xunsong, do you want to invite them in?"
After the master and apprentice learned about the plague virus at the foot of the mountain, Yunqi locked the door of the Taoist temple. This was the first time in more than a month that someone knocked on the door of the Taoist temple.
Xunsong knew the seriousness of the situation and did not dare to let them in without permission. He immediately ran to the backyard to inform Mingming.
"Qizhou, go out and take a look." Mingzhang was playing chess with Yan Shuo with his chess pieces, and he called Wen Qizhou without raising his head.
Chi Yue walked with him to the gate.
They put on medical masks and protective goggles, pushed open the door latch, took off the chain, and half-opened the wooden door to take a look outside.
A young man was holding an unconscious woman, sitting on the steps with his back to the gate. His hand on the woman's back was scratched with a knife, and blood dripped from his fingertips along the back of his hand, leaving an indescribable flow. The bloody smell of neglect.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the young man turned around.
Just as he was about to recount their situation and ask for a short stay, a pair of familiar eyes suddenly broke into his sight.
He shouted: "Sister..."
Chi Yue was stunned for two seconds.
She looked at Chi Yunyan, who was also wearing a mask, and she really didn't expect to meet him at Yuanyun Taoist Temple.
Before she could speak, Chi Yunyan stood up suddenly, walked up the two steps and hugged her tightly.
"Sister..." His emotions fluctuated greatly. He called Chi Yue over and over again. He was happy for a while but couldn't help crying.
Chi Yue's mood is extremely complicated.
From the day Chi Hongmin remarried, she regarded Chi Yunyan and his brother as "intruders" and rarely gave them a good look.
But Chi Yunyan likes her very much.
When Chi Yunyan was young, he always liked to follow her behind and play with her. Even if she ignored him with a cold face, he would still give her her favorite food and toys.
When he grew up, he understood the pain caused to her by reorganizing the family, and stopped disturbing her frequently. He only called her sister with a cautious tone and a smile every time they met.
She knew he meant it.
She also felt soft towards Chi Yunyan many times.
But Chi Hongmin's negligence and Feng Lan's existence have always been a thorn in her heart. She doesn't want to get along with them, so she can only stay indifferent to them and maintain a state of non-infringement.
Later, I accidentally learned that Chi Yunyan was the child born of Chi Hongmin's affair, and she hated him so much that she wanted to kill him.
But when she saw those apricot eyes that were the same as his, and when she heard him calling her sister, she couldn't bear to deprive him of his life.
After all, he was right.
Chi Yue sighed: "Stop crying."
She pushed Chi Yunyan away uncomfortably and cast her eyes on the figure lying on the steps: "Is that Chi Anying?"
"Yeah." Chi Yunyan responded with sobs.
He turned around and picked up Chi Anying, muttering about the robbery gang he encountered on the road: "She was beaten with a stick by someone."
They originally planned to go to the next city, but they suffered a loss at the hands of the robbers and were worried that they would pursue them, so he drove into the mountains halfway, thinking of hiding for a while.
Chi Yue took them to the backyard.
There was still room in the west wing, so she asked Chi Yunyan to put the person on the bed, and then called Yunqi, who was skilled in medicine, to show them.
While Yunqi was treating their wounds, Chi Yunyan, who was calming down, looked at Chi Yue hesitantly.
Finally he said: "Dad passed away."
Chi Yue paused slightly: "What's going on?" She pretended to be surprised, but there was no trace of sadness in her eyes.
