Chapter 31 Chapter 29 Still water is shallow, clear and turbid

Young Master Cong stretched out his hand to touch the horse's front leg joints, then stroked the horse's neck, and saw that there was nothing unusual.The horse didn't respond at all, it was just drooling, and its eyes were half closed, as if it had no strength left. Young Master Cong said anxiously to Yan Wei: "What's wrong with it? Come and take a look." Yan Wei also looked anxious, and said: "I only know how to heal people, not horses! Could it be that it can't bear the three of us, and the journey is too strenuous, so it's exhausted?" Young Master Cong shook his head and said: "No way! This horse is a fine horse, the three of us are very light, and we should carry us for several hours, so we shouldn't be so tired..."

Yan Wei dipped a little bit of saliva in the horse's mouth, brought it to the tip of her nose, sniffed it carefully for a moment, and murmured, "They may have let it drink the well water." Young Master Cong was stunned: "Isn't the water poisonous? How can it survive for such a long time?" Yan Wei said: "Perhaps those people just dipped the poisonous pottery mirror into the well. After all, the poison is limited and diluted in so many wells. After these days, the poison is even weaker. Maybe it didn't drink much, so Only then did it happen.” Young Master Cong said, "Is there a way to detoxify it?"

Yan Wei shook her head: "It is precisely because I don't know the way to detoxify that I repeatedly reminded that the water must be discarded far away and buried deep, and that humans and animals should not get close. Even if it can be detoxified, where can I find the medicine at this time?" Gongzi Cong seemed a little confused, like talking to himself, or discussing with Yan Wei: "Then what should we do?" Yan Wei raised her head and looked directly at Gongzi Cong, her eyes shining brightly in the dark night: "Tie a raft, we will drag him out of the mountain!"

Fortunately, there are two sharp bronze swords, cut off a section of thick bamboo, and tied it with a rope to make a small raft that can only accommodate one person lying down. pull. Although the weight of the raft and Li Qichen was not light, it would not be very strenuous for the two of them to share it.Although I have already walked more than half of the distance, I have changed to walking with a load at this moment. I don't know if I can go out of the mountain at dawn. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Gongzi Cong took the rope off his shoulders and grabbed it with his hands.

Yan Wei hurriedly asked: "What's wrong? Is it discomfort in your shoulder?" Gongzi Cong nodded, showing that embarrassing expression again. Yan Wei pulled off his collar, only to see a red mark on his shoulder, and the rash that had faded appeared again. The two kinds of red mixed together, under the light of the torch, looked hideous and terrifying. Yan Wei took Gongzi Cong's rope and said, "You can just walk, I will come alone." Young Master Cong snatched the rope, tied it around his waist, and said, "Let's go, don't waste time." Yan Wei took Prince Cong's shoulders, picked up the Huayu ointment with her fingertips, and gently applied it to him... After wiping the right shoulder, she switched to the left shoulder, and then carefully adjusted the front of his clothes.

Gongzi Cong took the bottle of Huayu ointment with his left hand, and tentatively reached out to Yan Wei's neck with his right hand, as if he wanted to caress Yan Wei's cheek, or brush her hair for Yan Wei. Don't rely on it, stopped for a while, then slid down, and gently pushed away Yan Wei's collar... Yan Wei shrank her body slightly, said "no", and then stopped moving. Even in the shadow of the flames, one can still clearly see a red mark on Yan Wei's snow-white shoulder. Although it is not wide, it is deep. Yan Wei flinched again.Gongzi Cong was afraid that Yan Wei would be hurt if he touched it again, so he used his fingers to apply lightly, the movements were light and slow...

Maybe it was because the raft stopped, maybe it was because of the cold, Li Qichen woke up, lying on his back, unable to make a sound.But the voices of those two people reached his ears... Li Qichen tried his best to sit up, but only made some rustling noises, and his body didn't move at all.Although the sound was very soft, it could be heard very clearly in the still night. Yan Wei hurriedly covered her skirt, tied the rope around her waist, and walked forward again. There was nothing to say along the way... Finally, when the sky was breaking and the miasma had not condensed, he walked out of the mountains.

The noon sun was shining warmly, and Gongzi Cong was lying on his back on the bluestone in the shape of "big", without any scruples about etiquette, looking comfortable and comfortable.Yan Wei hugged her knees, half leaning and half sitting, as if she was too sleepy to keep her eyes open.Li Qichen also woke up, he just drank the medicine made by Yan Wei, and he seemed more energetic than the two of them.At this time, he was stirring the fire, on which the medicine for Gongzi Cong was boiling. Looking back at the mountains shrouded in smog in Qigu, recalling the thrilling night, it seems like a lifetime away.

Not far away there is a pool of water, only three or four zhang square, in the water there is a cluster of jagged rocks, and the waterside is also full of loose rocks, one piece in the east, one piece in the west, scattered on a piece of plain sand.It hadn't rained for a long time, and the rocks and sand were extremely dry and warm, just right for sleeping in the open. Gongzi Cong was still lying on his back, and he seemed to be talking to himself but not talking to himself: "This small lake is also weird, with so many rocks around, it seems to have built a nest for us to live in." After a pause, he seemed to laugh at himself. He continued, "Don't laugh at me, I'm just ignorant, and I've only seen one lake in my life." Since he came out of the mountain, he seems to be a different person, speaking and acting casually, even a little vulgar.It looks half relaxed, half deliberate, as if to make a decisive break with the past.

Yan Wei laughed and said, "It's also the first time I've seen such a lake, it's not that you are ignorant." Li Qichen said: "This is not a lake. This large area is the riverbed of a big river in ancient times. Later, when the river dried up or changed its course, it was exposed here. This lake was originally a deep pit at the bottom of the river. There may be springs below it, or even It is connected to the lake. These stones were originally boulders at the bottom of the river. They have been washed by the river for a long time, so that they are so smooth and flat. For thousands of years, the small stones either turned into powder or sank to the bottom of the sand. Only these boulders survive because of their size..."

Yan Wei wondered: "Hey, you know so much, how do you know this?" Li Qichen said with a smile: "When I was young, I followed my father to the area of ​​Salt Lake to measure the land and draw maps. I have been fascinated by it. I only know a thing or two about the geography of mountains and rivers." Young Master Cong said: "The weather here is dry and warm, which is suitable for healing, so why not stay for a few more days." Yan Wei said: "It's natural. You have to wait until your cure has completed its merits and virtues on the 39th and 27th day, and then you can wait until Brother Li's leg injury is able to walk before you can leave!" On the twenty-seventh day, it was sunny. Just after dawn, Li Qichen was awakened by a noise.Following the sound, I saw shadows by the water, and many people gathered, as if they had never seen water before, cheering and shouting, some bowed their heads to drink water, some stepped into the water, raised their Water is poured on the body to bathe, but it doesn't care about the dirt. Yan Wei also woke up, frowned and said: "Who are these people? They have made the water dirty, how can we use it?!" As she spoke, she wanted to go over to argue. Because the small lake is very shallow and the weather is dry, the three of them used water very carefully before. They didn't have suitable containers, so they dug many puddles around the small lake, diverted the water out, and used them for different purposes. Will not pollute the entire water source.Now this group of people recklessly stepped in to stir up trouble, no wonder Yan Wei was angry. Li Qichen saw that there were many people on the other side, so he stretched out his hand to stop Yan Wei, and waited quietly. Among the group of people, there is a woman who is very eye-catching. She is slender in a jingchai cloth dress. She is not unusual at all, but when everyone flocks to the water like crazy, she just stands quietly by the side. .After the crowd had had enough trouble, she walked over, took a ladle of water, and waited for a while, presumably waiting for the water to clear up, then walked to the side of the ox cart and gave it to an old man in the cart to drink.After the old man finished drinking, she brought the ladle to her lips and sipped slowly.Every move is quiet and elegant, as if not traveling in the mountains, but in a temple and palace. Gradually, when those people had had enough to drink and make enough noise, they calmed down and sat down to rest at will. After being quiet for a while, I heard the noise over there again. The three of them listened carefully for a few words, and then they knew the clue: there was an old man among the group of people, who seemed to be in charge, and wanted to kill the cow to share food with everyone, but the woman just shook her head and refused. Looking closely at this group of people, they are all in shabby clothes and dusty faces, as if they came here after fleeing disaster.I heard from those servants before that this year's drought is severe, and it is not uncommon for refugees to leave their homes.Judging by the words and deeds of these people, it seems that they are of the same family or hometown, fleeing famine together.It must have been very dry along the way, so I was so crazy when I saw water.And among this group of people, the only livestock is the ox pulling the cart, and the only person riding in the cart is the old man on the ox cart.I saw the woman standing in front of the bullock cart, arguing with the old man in charge, her voice was soft and soft, and it didn't sound real, but the tone and gesture of refusal were clear at a glance. Just as I was talking, suddenly a strong man stood up, pointed at the woman's nose and said loudly: "Everyone took care of your grandparents along the way, even the bark and grass roots were eaten by your grandfather first, and now there is water here. There is firewood, everyone wants to eat some meat to make a tooth sacrifice, why not?!" The woman's voice was still very soft, and she couldn't really hear it. Another middle-aged man also stood up and said, "Your grandfather didn't have a car, and we all took turns to carry it. You're too stingy, don't you know your relatives?" The woman's voice also became louder: "Keep this car, the old and the weak, women and children can rest their legs and feet when they are tired from walking, and if someone gets sick or injured, they won't be left behind. There are forests on the mountain over there, and you can always catch some prey. Right? Why do you need to kill a cow?" The strong man sneered and said: "Joke! How many days have you guys not eaten properly? How can you have the strength to hunt?! You don't have back pain when you stand and talk, you have the ability to hunt by yourself!" At this time, several people stood up again, making a lot of noise, just wanting to kill the cow, and some even drew their knives. Gongzi Cong struck with both palms, walked over slowly, and said, "What's the matter, everyone? Why bother to argue over such a trivial matter, it's not magnanimous to treat a woman like this." Li Qichen was shocked. Although Gongzi Cong was good at probing people's psychology and controlling the situation, he lived in the valley all year round and was ignorant of world affairs. He didn't understand what it would be like for hungry people to go crazy in a disaster year—eating children instead, burning, killing, and looting. It is common to sell wives and daughters for a bowl of rice.An inappropriate response angered these people, and it was difficult for the three of them to deal with it. Li Qichen patted Yan Wei on the shoulder, motioning for her to help him up.Just like that, supported by Yan Wei on the one hand and leaning on the sword on the other, the two of them staggered and followed. I saw Gongzi Cong walking lightly, with wide sleeves fluttering, smiling, looking like a good son in troubled times, he said as he walked, "Everyone, don't be impatient, what can't you talk about calmly?" The strong man immediately interjected: "Talk about a fart! A full man doesn't know how hungry a man is hungry. If you give everyone three buckets of food immediately, we won't fart. I heard you talk about the darkness." As soon as he said this, everyone looked at the approaching Gongzi Cong, as if they were looking at a sumptuous banquet.Li Qichen groaned secretly in his heart, the three of them ate very briefly these few days, and the food they brought out was not much, and with the mushrooms and wild fruits picked in the forest, it was only enough to satisfy their hunger.There is not much food left at the moment, and I originally planned to set off on the road today. Young Master Cong laughed and said, "I don't have any food here, but I have gold, silver, pearls and jade, why worry about not being able to buy food?" The middle-aged man laughed loudly: "Buy food? Go buy it and try! From here to Huaidu, there are thousands of miles of bare land. In some places, even the bark and grass roots are gone, and the locust worms have been eaten up. You can even count as a city. Bi, you can’t buy food either!” Young Master Cong was stunned, he didn't seem to realize that the drought was so severe, and he didn't know how to speak up. Li Qichen was also surprised. Although he saw that there had been no rain for many days, the terrain around the valley was sunken, the atmosphere was humid, and there was a large water source of lake, so he didn't feel the drought at all. He didn't expect it to be so dry outside. The strong man drew out his knife and said, "Don't talk nonsense with this ignorant young master, lift his brain, there is a bag of maggots inside." He stabbed at him with the knife, but he didn't run towards Young Master Cong. , not running towards the cow, but pointing at the woman's face.