Chapter 5: A Storm Rises from a Calm Sea

  After the eleventh one left, the bamboo house became extremely quiet.

  His temperament is solemn and quiet, and since he has an unhealed wound on his body, most of the time when others are not speaking, he remains silent with his eyes closed to cultivate his spirit. To guess what's on his mind is like exploring the deep sea, harder than ascending to heaven.

  Living with him is like being alone. You dust doesn't seem to mind much, waiting by himself in the pharmacy flipping through those books.

  The book was written in a uniform, small regular script, with many handwritten notes on the medicinal properties of various substances. The characters were complex, and she often had to pause for a moment to ponder their meaning. However, since she had nothing else to do, she found that many things were not unfamiliar to her after all. As she sat quietly and carefully sorted out the contents, she felt an endless fascination with them, and for a time, she became so absorbed in her reading that she forgot to eat or sleep.

  In front of the house, in addition to a patch of vegetables, all sorts of herbs were planted neatly and densely, many of which were quite valuable, and must have taken some thought when planting.

  The sunlight is soft, and you bend down to pull out a few weeds, holding them at the tip of your fingers, lost in thought as you gaze at the distant mountains. In such a peaceful place, if it weren't for the potential dangers and the things that weigh on her mind, she might have liked to simply cultivate herbs and read books here.

  Two days have passed and Eleven has yet to return, but all is quiet everywhere.

  You had a book in your hand and often got lost in it. This evening, you were still holding the book, sitting quietly under the lamp to study. Ling walked over and flipped through a book that you had thrown aside, saying: "What are you reading?"

  "You lifted your head from the book: 'Most of them are medical books, and the one you took is about how to use poison.'"

  Her gaze fell on the open book and she read it briefly: "It seems that there are also many ways to detoxify."

  "Indeed, in the world of things, everything is interdependent and mutually restrictive. All poisons have their antidotes, but some poisons are so insidious that they almost cannot be cured. Take this 'Red Dust Calamity' which is listed as one of the nine most toxic poisons under heaven - to cure it, one must first plant poison, using poison to attack poison, and poison giving rise to more poison... who would have thought of such a thing? Those who know medicine and understand pharmacology should originally be saving lives and benefiting society, but instead they use their medical skills for evil purposes. Heaven will surely condemn them."

  Along her fingers, she saw the book written "Reincarnation of Red Dust, originated from Western Regions, linked with strange poison. It cuts off one's spirit and pulse, reverses blood flow throughout the body, at the three-inch spot of the wrist, there is a hidden red thread like a ring, the ring wraps around nine fingers, no solution..."

  "You also have this 'Bì Luó Smoke'..." Ling flipped his palm, closing the book: "After reading for two whole days, aren't you tired?"

  She raised her eyes and smiled: "If one cannot save the world, he should at least be a doctor to rescue people. Reading more medical books will not do any harm. The bitterness of reading is bitter with joy."

  Ling's face was calm and serene as she picked up the thing she had scribbled on, Qingchen hastily went to snatch it away: "The handwriting is too poor, don't look!"

  Ling had already flipped through two pages, which were snatched back by her. She didn't insist, but said in a light tone, "Not bad, just slightly lacking in brushwork." As she spoke, she sat down at the edge of the table, picked up the pen and began to write on the blank space:

  Endless mountains and rivers, thousands of peaks, my heart is vast and boundless. I've traveled across the Central Plains to the southern borders, watching my great wings spread with majestic wind. The demonic path is treacherous and difficult to pass, tomorrow's green hills are still several layers away, people's lives and fates are different, but I strive to stand tall in the midst of heaven and earth. Like a thunderbolt, shaking the mountains and rivers, my sword is like a white rainbow, unsheathing to pursue the arch-criminal...

  With one breath, the words are like the person, a cold and lofty demeanor comes forth, the elegant and refined script is clear and powerful, with a sharp and piercing tip, proudly hiding and revealing a subtle and restrained atmosphere, having a kind of aura that makes people's hearts flutter.

  You secretly admired him, amazed that he could recall the lyrics he had heard only once without a single mistake, and these words were truly beautiful. She carefully examined them, took up her brush to copy them, and although her strokes still felt awkward, the spirit of the characters was subtly infused with his essence.

  After a while, he wrote a few more, and looked at her with a faint gaze under the lamp. Her profile was reflected in the light, gentle and elegant: "I haven't heard you play the piano for several days." He said suddenly.

  You then put down your pen and turned to ask: "Is there a tune you'd like to hear?"

  "As you wish." Ling said.

  You smiled slightly, sat down in front of the piano with your sleeves rolled up, and your eyes merged with the quiet and gentle breeze and shallow moonlight outside the window. You casually plucked a few scattered notes, your slender fingers lightly touching, the sound of the strings was deep and lingering, slowly rising and falling, the melody was light and leisurely, floating in the night air and clear wind.

  The moon is clear and high, the sky and earth seem to have become infinitely vast, and the moonlight is vast and endless.

  He stood at the window, his eyes piercing through the layers of night, unsure where to focus. The gentle breeze caressed him, causing his clothes to flutter. Suddenly, Qingchen felt that this figure was so lonely, with an unspoken chill settling in, and even his tall and handsome appearance couldn't conceal a sudden sense of desolation that was beyond description.

  She gazed intently at his profile, feeling as if he would melt into the serene moonlight, the strings slightly raised, the sound of the zither clear and lingering. Suddenly, a hint of vigilance flashed across Ling's eyes, which had been calm like the deep sea, and he lifted his hand to press down on the strings, causing the gentle music to abruptly stop.

  You raised your head in surprise, and seeing Ling's expression turn solemn, you knew that something had happened. Otherwise, with his calm temperament, he would not have made such a sudden move.

  She didn't ask, the slight panic that flashed through her mind disappeared when she looked at his cold face. She quietly stood up, and Ling said to her, "Is there anything you must bring?"

  She gathered up several notebooks from the table into her bosom, and also tucked in the few pages she had just written. She quickly fetched a bottle of medicine for him: "This is wound medicine."

  Ling glanced at her and put away the medicine, "Follow me."

  The two walked out of the bamboo house, and on the opposite mountain cliff, there were sparks of firelight, which ignited a large number of torches. Ling Chen's voice was cold and hummed, with a hint of disdain, and his originally clear eyes revealed a chill, icy coldness, with a hidden murderous intent.

  The enemy is making such a big fuss, quite beyond your expectations.

  A sudden whooshing sound rang out beside her ear, "Be careful." Along with Ling's low shout, she was suddenly pulled over and shielded under his body.

  With the whistling sound came dozens of fire arrows shot by the enemy, which fell on the roofs of the houses in the courtyard like a goddess scattering flowers. The dry bamboo branches caught fire as soon as they saw the flames, and large pieces of fire burst out instantly in front of and behind the courtyard.

  Across the high cliff, a river still separates from here, and the dust is hidden behind the house. The horseshoe sound comes faintly from all around, and there are many people coming. At this time, if you are trapped in the courtyard, it will be a dead end, but going out will fall into the opponent's trap.

  The enemy is too strong and cannot be confronted head-on. He asked Qingchen in a low voice: "Is there another way out here?"

  You racked your brains to search for it, but memories were in disarray, and with the flickering flames, everything became a blur.

  He didn't urge her, but instead lowered his head to scoop up water from the well, tore off a piece of his outer garment and soaked it in water, then covered her mouth and nose with it to prevent her from being choked by the thick smoke filling the air. As he did this, he asked: "Whose house is this?"

  "I don't know."

  "Is there a cliff behind the house?"

  "It seems so."

  "Is there a secret passage or something?"

  "Yes." She almost blurted it out without thinking, as if by instinct.

  "Where is it?" Ling asked urgently.

  "Where is it?" she unexpectedly asked back.

  Ling reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, speaking in a calm and steady voice: "Don't rush, think slowly."

  Your memories are a tangled mess, chaotic and disorderly, with flames raging all around, smoke swirling in the wind growing thicker, the sound of crackling bamboo exploding incessantly, tongues of fire surging, enemy arrows shooting over without pause.

  He pulled her into the dark corner of the house with a cold arrow. She saw the scorching flames reflected on his face for an instant, and something also flashed through her mind: "The pharmacy!" she exclaimed: "There is a secret passage in the pharmacy."

  "Where is it going?"

  "I don't know."

  Ling heard the words, and his cold, straight mouth corners actually curved up slightly, as if smiling. Qing Chen thought she was seeing things, but he took the wet long gown in his hand and threw it over her: "Let's go!"

  The thatched hut was soon engulfed in a sea of flames, fortunately it had not yet collapsed. The two rushed in and felt the scorching heat wave and thick smoke rolling in, with objects falling down from time to time, sparks dancing everywhere, and embers jumping wildly.

  Fortunately, the house was not big, and in two steps, he rushed into the medicine room. Qingchen pointed to the bookcase that had been licked by the flames for half: "It's behind there!"

  The fire was raging and the smoke was thick, almost nothing could be seen. Ling pulled her back and kicked towards the bookcase.

  With a loud crash, the bookcase collapsed like dead wood and fell to the ground, revealing a hole about the size of a person. Suddenly, a whirlwind burst out of the hole, pushing the fierce flames towards the two people.

  Ling protected Qingchen and dodged to the side, taking advantage of the momentum to pull over his half-dry outer cloak and vigorously shake it twice. The flames temporarily rolled past in both directions. "Hurry up!", he first sent Qingchen into the secret passage, and then followed himself.

  The path was relatively wide, avoiding the scorching heat wave, and the humid air inside felt cool instead, with a gentle breeze blowing from the front, apparently there was an exit at the other end.

  He walked forward with uncertain steps, his hand still holding hers, she felt her palm was icy cold, while his hand remained warm and steady as ever.

  All around is pitch black like a curtain, the ground beneath is uneven and occasionally steps into accumulated water, it can be inferred that this is what is called "secret path" or naturally formed rather than artificially excavated.

  After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the noisy fire sounds behind him grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared. Ling suddenly stopped: "The exit is ahead, I'll go take a look first."

  "You take him along."

  In the darkness, she felt Ling's gaze sweep across her face like a physical presence, and a voice that brooked no argument echoed in her ear: "Wait."

  She didn't keep up with one step, and Ling had already opened the grass and came out of the cave entrance. He then turned around and said: "They will soon discover this place, let's get out first and think of a way."

  Out of the cave, it turned out that they were not far from the bamboo house. This exit and the entrance of the bamboo house are actually two ends of a mountain path, one end has a bamboo house built by humans, and the other end is hidden by naturally growing trees and grass, which is where they are now.

  Looking back, all that could be seen was a sea of flames. The fire raged fiercely before gradually dying down and then quickly being extinguished, as if it had been deliberately put out. The fact that such a large fire was extinguished in an instant showed that these people were well-trained and well-organized regular troops, their strength sending chills down one's spine.

  In the darkness, the scattered torches on the mountain ridge quickly gathered in one place, and then split into several branches. One branch chased upstream, while the remaining three branches chased downstream. Of the three branches heading downstream, one quickly came towards them, while the other two fanned out and advanced slowly, conducting a carpet-style search.

  The sound of horseshoes came from afar, the mountain shadow was dark, Ling's expression was cold and sharp as a knife edge, lightly scanning the enemy's situation. The enemy probably thought they were on this side, so they concentrated their troops on this bank, leaving the other bank empty. He lowered his head to Jingchen and said, "In a moment, when we enter the water, hold onto me tightly."

  He knew he wanted to wade across the river, and nodded in agreement. Ling stretched out his hand and wrapped it around her slender waist that was not even a handful, taking her towards the deep water. The buoyancy of the water slowly lifted them up, his arm encircled Qīng Chén's waist with strength, and the two were not swept away by the current.

  This section of the river is quite deep, unlike the creek in front of the bamboo house which only reaches the ankle. Even if the enemy finds them on the opposite bank, they can't cross such deep water with their horses, and can only abandon their horses to chase after them, thus putting themselves at a disadvantage. When he heard the sound of horseshoes approaching the shore, Ling in Qing whispered in Dust's ear: "Breathe in, hold your breath."

  You followed his words and actions, feeling yourself being dragged into the water with great force, diving down.

  At first it was fine, but soon she felt a suffocating sensation in her chest, extremely uncomfortable, and involuntarily struggled, almost fainting. Ling seemed to sense her distress, with pursuers on the shore, unable to bring her up to breathe, he tightened his arm, leaned forward and transmitted a mouthful of true energy to her.

  A warm current suddenly surged up in her chest, bringing an unusual warmth that collided with her heart, and the feeling of floating on water made her feel like she was falling from the sky. At this time, the pursuers' horseshoes continued to rush downstream along the shore, and Ling also took her to dive to the opposite bank, but they didn't have time to rest, and the two of them took a secluded path into the mountains.

  A faint blue light was visible on the horizon, and after dawn broke, it would be even harder for them to conceal their tracks.

  Ling searched for a not-too-large but somewhat secluded mountain cave, wanting to hide in it. He leaned against the rock wall and took a deep breath, then said: "Wait here and don't come out, I'll shake off the enemy and come back to pick you up."

  She clutched the rock, panting hastily, her heart racing so fast it was about to burst out. But seeing him in such a flustered state, he was surprisingly not disheveled at all, with an air of composure and calmness. Suddenly hearing that he wanted to take risks alone, she grabbed him: "No way, how can you evade so many pursuers?"

  Ling said to her: "I have my own way. Their target is me, as long as you don't leave this place, there will be no danger."

  Although you may not know his identity, the other side has spent so much manpower and time searching for the two brothers, it must be a very important matter. Hurriedly saying: "Their target is you, you can't go out even more. Why don't I divert the pursuers, you can escape to find Eleven, then I still have a chance to save him, even if there's no saving him, I'm alone with nothing to lose, this way it's more worthwhile..."

  "Nonsense!" She wanted to say more, but was cut off by Ling's stern expression, and when she looked up, she saw his eyes gleaming with a fierce intensity that made her heart skip a beat.

  You've never seen him with such a gaze before, and you slightly tremble as you grab his hand and then let go.

  Ling seemed to have scared her, his expression slightly relaxed, and he regained that traceless indifference. He squatted down beside her, looking straight into her eyes: "Remember not to go out, I will definitely come back."

  Her eyes met his, dark and deep, all emotions sinking in were drowned. She nodded slowly under his silent and firm gaze.

  The corners of his mouth slightly rose, revealing a smile for the first time since they met.

  On the deep lake, the clouds blow away the mist, revealing the white snow-capped ice peak, with a faint smile in the midst of coldness, and a rare gentleness rippling beneath.

  That smile vanished in an instant, Ling raised his head and stood up, his body suddenly stopping for a moment, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his left hand pressed against his chest, Qingchen hurriedly supported him: "What's wrong?"

  He slightly pushed himself up from her hand and stood up: "Never mind, you be careful yourself." Then he turned around and left.

  He took a few steps out and suddenly stopped again, slightly turning his head back to her: "My name is Ye Tianling."

  "Night sky is bright." Qing dust stared blankly at his tall figure disappearing outside the lush grass and trees, muttering to himself in a low voice.

  His departure left her alone, and her heart suddenly felt empty to the extreme. She stood alone, praying for his safety.

  Outside, the forest is dense and dark, a vast expanse of blackness. The distant sound of horses' hooves and human voices can be heard faintly, then suddenly the cry of "Kill!" rings out, as if a fierce battle has erupted, yet perhaps it's just an illusion.

  Your slender hand touches the icy rock, standing quietly in place waiting for his return. Behind you is a deep black cave, silent and still, hiding all the panic and worry.

  The distant horizon slowly pulls open the pale blue sky, the moon falls and the sun rises, the sky gradually brightens, and the gentle chirping of birds begins to come, filling the air with the breath of morning.

  As the sunlight grew brighter layer by layer, her heart was slowly extracting worries, as if a seed that had seen sunlight could no longer suppress its growth posture, gradually awakening and spreading.

  She stood still for a long time, then finally took a few uneasy steps to the left and right. Suddenly, something fell out of her arms. She looked down and saw that it was the medical book she had casually brought with her before leaving. The pages were soaked in water, and the words on them were blurry and indistinguishable. All the medical books in the house had been burned to ashes, and now even these few remaining ones couldn't be saved. She frowned regretfully, quickly walked out of the cave, found a flat stone, and put the book on it to dry. Fortunately, one of the books in the middle was only slightly damp, and the few letters inside were also spared.

  She sat down and spread out her book there, almost forgetting that Ling had warned her not to come out at night.

  Time is slowly passing by, and hope seems to be falling into obscurity.

  She clutched the letter to her chest, stood up and gazed out at the mountains, when suddenly a faint breeze rustled past her ear, followed by a sharp pain in the back of her neck. The last thing she saw was a brilliant blue sky, with sunlight dancing and shimmering on the lush green leaves, as if the gentle smile of an elf had flashed across, before she lost all consciousness.

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