Chapter 4: The Starry Sky of Ten Thousand Miles, the Heart of Ten Thousand Miles

  Midnight, no one around, the clear wind doesn't ask about human affairs, changing faces and flowing years are cast aside, freely wandering in the pale green color of the bamboo. The starlight sprinkles and splashes across the mountains and fields, the fragrance of flowers and trees fills the air for miles, seeping into houses, intoxicating people's hearts.

  You quietly pushed open the door and came to the courtyard, where a refreshing breath greeted you. The faint sound of wind swaying the green bamboo seemed to make the surroundings even more quiet, making one hold their breath.

  Still can't sleep, although I've had almost no rest for days, and at night I'm still awake. Qingchen sat on the horizontal bamboo stool with her knees tucked under her chin, looking up to count the stars in the sky, the twinkling starlight drawing a wide celestial river across the vast night sky, distant and profound, boundless and endless.

  The cool night is like water, the white clothes on my body are like clouds in the wind, gently blown by the night breeze, with a carefree and elegant demeanor. They say that each star in the sky represents a soul, with so many stars, who can know which one is their own, where it comes from, and where it goes?

  Now this wisp of soul, who is it after all? In such a strange world, she is the only one left alone, facing such an earth-shattering change, as if the sky and earth suddenly fell into darkness, without a single ray of light, without a whisper, eerily silent.

  This place doesn't belong to her, and she doesn't belong here either. Everything has gone wrong, and there's no turning back.

  Overwhelming sorrow surged up from the bottom of her heart, almost drowning her, followed by a desperate loneliness.

  She misses her father, mother, all the people she used to be familiar with, even Li Tang.

  Li Tang, whom she had loved for five years, her perfect one, collapsed with her world, collapsing cleanly and thoroughly.

  Tears fell unexpectedly, streaming down her face. Once she started crying, she couldn't stop. She buried her face in her arms and sobbed. The string that had been tightly wound up for two days finally snapped, the silk threads cutting like a knife, wrenching her heart with a sharp pain.

  The chirping night insects seemed to have been frightened, quietly withdrawing their voices, and the black night was silent.

  She didn't know how long she had been lying there, but she finally lifted her head and suddenly found a tall shadow falling in front of her, blocking the gentle starlight. The darkness seemed to fall into the eyes of the person who came, making those eyes have a deep and sinking depth, as well as a calm and cold tranquility.

  You turned your head away, unwilling to let him see your swollen eyes. The man slowly sat down beside her, saying nothing.

  After a while, Qing Dusty asked him: "Why don't you rest well?"

  He gazed into the vast night sky and said softly, "I slept enough during the day."

  You no longer make a sound, and I don't know how long you've been standing here. It wasn't until I cried that I realized people are often not as strong as they seem to themselves.

  So-called strength is just a comforting word when there's no other choice, tied to pain, inseparable. If she had the option, she'd rather not need to be strong at all.

  Her mind was in a mess, the only clear feeling was loneliness. She quietly raised her head and asked the person beside her: "Will you sit with me for a while?"

  "Alright." The man replied in a flat tone, as if he hadn't given it any thought at all.

  "Then can't you just sit here with me without asking why?" Qing Chen asked, but she immediately regretted it, and it was too late.

  She heard him say in an even tone, "Okay."

  He still gave this answer without considering it either.

  This single word seemed to have pulled out Qing Chen's desperately suppressed emotions, tears welling up in her eyes, rolling down her face like shattered pearls onto her clothes. Yet she stubbornly lifted her head, opening her eyes wide to gaze at the already blurry starlight.

  The man finally turned his head and looked at her, saying: "No matter what, crying is useless."

  You didn't want to refute, but subconsciously shouted: "Fourth brother..." The scattered helplessness in his voice made him feel strange. She wanted to find a familiar person and shout an existing name, so she might be able to grasp something and not fall into the abyss of darkness.

  His eyes seemed to have fallen from the stars in the sky, but he was even more dazzling than those distant stars. He nodded at her and stretched out his hand.

  Qing Chen looked at him slightly hesitated, then stretched out his hand.

  He grasped her hand and turned it over, palm up, using his fingers to write a "Ling" character in the center of her palm: "My name."

  "Ling." Qing dust silently recited, slowly clenching his hand into a fist. He withdrew his hand, taking away the warmth that had originally wrapped around her palm.

  "Crying is useless, but if you want to cry, you can still cry." He looked at her tear-filled eyes and said softly.

  Upon hearing this, Qing Chen couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears, clinging to his clothes like a child. In her daze, she leaned into a sturdy embrace, and in that slightly unfamiliar warmth, she cried herself to exhaustion and fell fast asleep.

  The bamboo is clear and pale, with sunlight sprinkled on the ground in a mottled pattern of light and shade.

  In front of the door, a bamboo curtain hangs half down. A few green birds are bathing in the morning sun, jumping up and down, pecking at the fallen seeds on the ground. When the wind blows through the curtain, they spread their wings and jump a few steps further away.

  "How can this be?" The voice in the house rose slightly, Eleven stood up and walked to the front of the curtain in big strides, startling the birds into flying away in a flurry of chirping.

  Ling still sat at the desk, using that ancient and unchanging cold tone to say: "Moreover, we've been here for a few days, it's inevitable that we'll get her involved, taking her back with us will also be a way of taking care of her."

  Eleven said hastily: "That's natural, but you want me to go back by myself first, how can I be at ease?"

  Ling pressed down and coughed slightly: "My injury will take a day or two to recover, if we delay any further, there may be changes in the front. You should understand the importance of this matter. You go back first, one is to stabilize the situation, two is to lead the troops to come and pick us up, otherwise, if the other side has intentions, it will be difficult for you and me to ensure your safety."

  "What I'm afraid of is that the other party really has a mind and has already found this place."

  Presumably due to his injuries, Ling Yi remained silent for a moment, closing his eyes to rest. After a while, he said, "Even if you were here, it would be of no use, and would only result in more lives lost. On the other hand, if you leave now and manage to return in time, that would be the way to escape danger."

  He frowned, but also knew that Ling was right. He stared at the ground, silent for a moment as he gazed through the bamboo curtain at the thin strips of light falling from above. Then he raised his head and made a decisive decision: "I will definitely return to this place within two days."

  "Alright." Ling said slowly: "Be careful yourself."

  Eleven nodded and said, "But I don't know if she's willing to follow us?"

  Her deep and mysterious eyes gazed into the inner chamber: "She is not unreasonable, she will understand if you speak clearly."

  "Go see if she's awake." Eleven turned around and entered the inner room, but saw Qingchen sitting on the couch with her knees hugged, looking at them as they came in one after another without any surprise.

  "Hey, when did you wake up?"

  Your eyes were clear and calm at the bottom of your eyelids, and you smiled: "When you two said you wanted to take me somewhere."

  Ling sat down beside the long table, looked at her and said: "Since you've heard that, are you willing to follow us?"

  You slightly tilted your head, lowered your eyes in thought, and unintentionally saw the black onyx on Ling's hand, and your heart moved slightly.

  Eleven saw her and didn't speak for half a day, then asked: "Is it because you're used to living here that you can't bear to leave?"

  You didn't expect him to ask this, and you were stunned for a moment. You looked up and sized up the bamboo house, with its greenish-blue color, light yellow and pale green hues. The clear and crisp bird songs echoed in your ears, pleasant and delightful.

  She stayed here for just a few days, like them.

  "Or is it that you don't believe in us?"

  "You slightly raised your delicate eyebrows, glanced at the eleventh one, and then stole a glance at Ling. Finally, you slowly said: 'I don't know what's going on after all, nor do I know where you want to take me or why I should follow you.'"

  Eleven seemed to want to say something, but in the end turned to Ling and said: "Fourth brother, you see..."

  You hastily turned your head to look over, saw Ling with one hand lightly pressing on his left chest, his face pale, presumably because he had moved the wound, and hurriedly asked: "Does the wound hurt?"

  Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her gaze lingering on his concerned eyes, shaking her head and saying, "It's nothing."

  "You can rest assured, and also said: 'Time to take medicine.'"

  Ling didn't answer her words, but instead said: "We won't harm you."

  You gaze quietly into his eyes, that calm and serene blackness like still water or ink, a deep lake without emotion or attachment, yet somehow making one feel that the bottom of the lake is hiding countless colors, inviting exploration.

  "Oh." She got up and sat on the edge of the bed, saying: "I know, I can go with you, but..." She turned her head to Eleven and stretched out one finger: "Add a condition!"

  "Huh?" At that moment, she didn't react.

  "Add one more requirement." Qīng Chén repeated, she didn't dare to provoke Ling, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, taking eleven as a starting point.

  "You..." He got stuck on his eleventh word, then laughed and said: "Deal!"

  "You have three conditions, a man's word is his bond..."

  "It's too late for regrets!" Eleven stretched out her hand and flicked her finger: "I'll just consider it stolen."

  You smiled slyly and mischievously, looking like a little fox who had just played a trick, which made Eleven shake his head frequently. But she suddenly became serious and said to Eleven: "Now that things have come to this, no matter what danger there is, I can only go forward with you all. Just now didn't we say we were going to leave? Since Fourth Brother wants you to go back, he must have a reason, so let's hurry up and get on the road."

  He also restrained his smile, looked at her deeply, and nodded: "I'll be back soon, no more than two days."

  "It's alright." Qing Chen said: "Fourth brother's injury, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it, there won't be any mistakes."

  Ling listened to their conversation and looked at Qingchen with a discerning gaze, as if she had never seen her before.

  This woman, calm and composed when quiet, serene and melancholic when sorrowful, playful and cunning when laughing, with every move and gesture uniquely elegant. Under the surface of her gentle and peaceful demeanor lies a mysterious and enchanting aura that sets her apart from many other girls he has met.