The empty valley was quiet and secluded from the world.
Along the river in the valley, Ding Ning did not know how far he had drifted. The rugged mountains on both sides of the river gradually flattened and were replaced by a continuous stretch of peach trees. In the winter, the branches and leaves had all fallen, and the snowflakes pressed down on the branches, like thousands of pear blossoms in the valley.
Xu Buling lay on the surface of the water with his eyes closed. He suppressed the surging blood and qi in his chest until his body had stabilized. Then he stopped by the stream, stood up from the water, and looked around.
Surrounded by mountains, there was no winter wind, only the silent snow. As far as the eye could see, it was dark and silent. There was not a single light, and there was no way out. Looking at the marks on the river, it was likely that no one had come to this deep forest for hundreds of years.
Xu Buling looked around, but there was no reference, and he could not distinguish north, south, east, and west. Now that he had calmed down a little, he felt a burning pain in his arm. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at it. The bruise had recovered, but it was still a little swollen. It would probably not go away in a few days. His body was overloaded, and he could clearly feel his body was weak and a little dizzy under the pressure of hunger and cold.
Last time on Bodhi Island, Xu Buling was not afraid of starving to death in this world of ice and snow. He took out the emergency rations wrapped in oilcloth from the back of his belt and ate a few mouthfuls with the help of the cold river, but it was a little hard to swallow.
"Phew —"
Xu Buling sat by the river, slightly replenished his strength, and gently exhaled. His robe was soaked. If he slept in this world of ice and snow, he would definitely be frozen into a frozen corpse tomorrow morning. He immediately stood up, took off his robe, and pulled some withered grass from under the snow. He tied them together with a piece of cloth and put it on his back and chest, barely resisting the cold.
After doing this, Xu Buling held a long knife, cut away the dead branches and rotten wood in the way, and walked to the edge of the valley to see if he could find an exit or a slightly warmer place to make do for the night.
There seemed to be no living things in the valley, and the ground was thick with fallen leaves and snow. To prevent stepping on potholes and things in the trap, Xu Buling walked and stabbed with his knife. After about a quarter of an hour, the sound of the river behind him disappeared, and he came to a relatively sparse forest.
"Woof — Woof —"
Just as Xu Buring was seriously trying to find his way, the sound of his saber chopping down the trees suddenly came from afar. It was very obvious in the silent snowy night, and there were even some echoes.
At first, Xu Buring thought that it was the hunting dogs of the Wolf Guards. He immediately crouched down and listened to the surroundings. However, there were no sounds of large groups of people moving around. Instead, he heard the sound of wooden doors opening and closing.
There were people in this damn place?
Xu Buling was slightly puzzled. However, in this world, it was very common for a few families to live in the deep mountains. Most of them had fled to the mountains to seek refuge during the war before sixty years ago and were isolated from the world. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as The Peach Blossom Spring, it was very normal for them to not go out for many years. It was probably the meaning of 'the chickens and dogs could hear each other'.
After hearing the barking, Xu Buring walked in the direction of the sound, paying attention to any movements along the way to avoid being ambushed.
After walking for a short distance, the dense forest widened, and the ground was relatively flat, but it was still full of peach trees. The trees were very small, and some were just saplings. Xu Buling looked carefully. The trees were arranged neatly, and the space between them was equal. It was obvious that they were artificially planted. As he walked further in, he saw a few small vegetable fields.
"Is anyone there?!"
Xu Buling was afraid of scaring the local natives, so he shouted, but there was no response in the night. Instead, the dog fiercely pounced from the dark and bit Xu Buling's arm.
Courting death!
Xu Buling casually raised his hand and hit the dog's head with the back of his knife. The shiny black dog did not even make a sound before it fell to the ground.
The winter night was freezing, and Xu Buling shivered in the cold. He lowered his head and looked at the black dog. It was quite clean, so he hugged the warm dog in his arms to keep it warm. He continued to walk forward. After walking for about fifty steps, he arrived in front of a fence.
There were three small houses inside the fence, and the decorations were simple and elegant. There was a recliner under the melon rack in the yard, and a few rows of flower pots were placed neatly beside the fence. There was also a relatively large tree beside the house, and a stone mill and other objects were placed under it.
"Fellow countryman? Is anyone there? "
Xu Buling had just heard the sound of the door opening and knew that there must be someone nearby. He waited for a while, but there was no response. The cold was too unbearable, so he stepped into the yard and listened carefully in front of the main house. There was no movement, so he went to the window of the side house and listened.
There was a faint breathing sound in the side house. From the angle, it should be underground.
Most of the farmhouses in this world had cellars built to store food and vegetables, and to hide from bandits during the chaos of war. From the looks of it, he was regarded as a bandit.
Seeing this, Xu Buling did not force his way in. He just politely said, "Fellow countryman, I'll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning. I'll pay you. Sorry for the inconvenience."
There was still no response from the house.
Seeing this, Xu Buling did not say anything more. He hugged the warm black dog and went to the opposite side house.
Opposite was the kitchen. There was no door, and there was a small dog kennel made of wood beside it. It was relatively simple, and there was some hay inside.
Xu Buring put the little black dog down and entered the kitchen. He came to the stove and found the match on the stove. He threw the hay and firewood piled up at the side into the hole in the stove and lit it up. The kitchen immediately became brighter.
The kitchen was not big, but it was very tidy. Water jars and buckets were placed at the door, and there was a wooden counter inside with pots of fuel, rice, oil, and salt on top. A small chopping board was placed vertically against the window, and there were a few dried fish hanging on the window. There were not many things in the cupboard on the wall. There was only a wooden plate, a wooden bowl, and a pair of chopsticks stacked together. There were a few small wine jars next to them. Everything was neat and tidy, and there was not even a speck of dust on them.
Xu Buling walked to the front and looked at it. It was obvious that she lived alone. From the size of the bowl, it seemed that she did not eat much. He guessed that she was a very frugal old lady who was obsessed with cleanliness. He picked up the wine jar next to him and opened the cork to smell it. It should be the wine that she brewed herself, but it did not smell very good.
Because he had lost too much of his body heat, Xu Buling drank the wine in one gulp with the thought of paying the money tomorrow.
As the bitter wine entered his throat, his body warmed up a little, and the hunger in his stomach surged.
Xu Buling looked around. He was about to freeze to death from hunger and cold, so he did not stand on ceremony. He scooped a few spoonfuls of rice from the millet jar, rinsed the rice, and put it on the small stove to cook. Then, he prepared some dishes.
There were no vegetables in the winter. The most nutritious food was dog stew, especially the black dog.
Xu Buling looked at the black puppy that had fainted at the door and licked his lips. In the end, he was too embarrassed to eat the door god. Instead, he took a few salted fish from the window and pickled cabbage from the jar next to the stove. He started to cook the fish with pickled cabbage in the big pot.
Xu Buling's cooking was not good, and he had been despised by Aunt Lu, but he was sure that he would not die if he ate it.
About an hour later, a pot of steaming fish soup was ready. It was probably edible, but the color was a little like the Stargazing Sect.
Xu Buling blinked and thought to himself, "A man does not care about trifles." He took a bowl and chopsticks, filled the fish soup with white rice, and sat on a small wooden stool behind the earthen stove to eat.
When people were hungry, everything tasted good, not to mention in this freezing weather. The taste was really good after it entered the mouth.
Although Xu Buling was not fat, his physique was inhumanly strong. To support such a large consumption, his appetite must be amazing. A big pot of rice and a full pot of fish soup were eaten, and not a single drop was left.
The hot soup and the bonfire caused a layer of sweat to form on his body, and the soreness in his body immediately subsided.
Xu Buling put his robe next to the earthen stove to dry, and put his sword and saber by his hand. Then, he pillowed on the pile of firewood, closed his eyes, and gradually fell asleep …
