Because the Li royal family of Chang 'an dominated the world, and because of the West-Hill Divine Palace, the countries in the Central Plains and the Tang Empire had never been on good terms. Although they were afraid of the Tang Empire's military strength and did not dare to slight it, they did not have a good impression of it. Only the Great River Kingdom was an exception.
The Great River Kingdom, located in the south of the mainland, was separated from the Tang Empire by the Great Lake Forest and the vast territory of the South Jin Kingdom. It was extremely difficult for them to communicate with each other. However, it was not known if it was because distance could easily produce beauty. Since many years ago, the emperor and the people of the Great River Kingdom had always admired the Tang Empire's culture. They ignored the difficult and long traffic road and would send envoys and students every once in a while. The scenery and culture of Chang 'an was extremely popular in the Great River Kingdom. The influence of the Tang Empire could be seen in many details of the imperial court's official system and the daily life of the people.
The group of boys and girls who appeared by the dense forest beside the Blue Lake wore light-colored open skirts with wide and gorgeous belts. It was the most popular style of clothing in the Tang Empire. These boys and girls looked calm and gentle, but their eyes were focused and firm. The black sheathed wooden swords on their waists were long and slightly curved, which was the unique Xiu Sword of the Great River Kingdom.
From these details, Ning Que quickly concluded that they were from the Great River Kingdom. The people of the two countries, who had been on good terms for generations, had a natural sense of closeness and trust towards each other. They did not believe that the other party would have malice towards him, so he did not hesitate to put down the bow and arrow in his hand. As he expected, when the group of boys and girls knew that he was from the Tang Empire, they quickly showed their kindness and reported their sects.
The Black Ink Garden of the Great River Kingdom was the cultivation residence of the Master of Calligrapher, Lord Wang. These boys and girls who appeared in the Wilderness of the North of Yan Kingdom were naturally the disciples of the Master of Calligrapher. Most of them were female, and only three or four were male.
The girl who was previously aimed at by Ning Que with the boxwood bow came forward. She looked at Ning Que with big curious eyes, as if she had seen something interesting. She asked, "Are you really a Tang?"
The girl in a pale pink dress, probably because she was afraid of the cold, wore a furry scarf around her face and neck. With her young face and big bright eyes, she looked particularly cute.
Ning Que replied with a smile, "What's the benefit of pretending to be a Tang?"
The girl covered her mouth and smiled. She said, "Except for the Tang merchants in the city, I haven't seen any Tangs from Chang 'an City, so I'm a little curious."
A woman in her twenties came forward and bowed to Ning Que apologetically. She took out an identity document issued by the Military Ministry of Yan Kingdom and asked Ning Que to take out his own identity document.
After all, this was the Wilderness, not far from the battlefield. He could not let his guard down just because of Ning Que's words. He understood Ning Que's cautiousness very well. He took off his backpack, took out the document issued by Tuyang City and handed it to Ning Que.
After confirming that Ning Que was a Tang, these disciples from the Great River Kingdom's Black Ink Garden suddenly became more relaxed. Those girls looked at him from afar and discussed curiously. The woman sincerely apologized and said, "I didn't know who you were and pointed at you with swords and arrows. It's really rude. Please forgive me."
Girls in the Tang Kingdom were known for being straightforward and shrewd. Both Li Yu and Situ Yilan had this kind of character. Ning Que rarely saw such gentle girls. He glanced at the Black Ink Garden male disciple standing in the distance and thought of the rumor that the Great River Kingdom valued girls more than boys. He could not help but feel a little strange. Since the Great River Kingdom valued girls more than boys, why were these Black Ink Garden female disciples so reasonable and gentle, or even a little too gentle?
He smiled and shook his head. "You're too polite. This hot spring was discovered by you first. I'm the uninvited guest. If someone needs to apologize, it should be me."
The woman in her twenties hesitated for a moment and said, "You're really a person from the Tang Kingdom. You're gentle and generous. I'm Zhuo Zhihua, the third disciple of the Black Ink Garden. If you like this hot spring, why don't …"
If it was an ordinary soldier of the Tang Kingdom, the third disciple of the Black Ink Garden would not be so gentle. But this place was not far from Dongsheng Stockaded Village. The black gown worn by Ning Que was a farewell gift from Mistress Jian of the House of Red Sleeves. Both the material and the embroidery were first-class skills in the world. How could the women of the Great River Kingdom not understand the clothes of the Tang Kingdom? Just by a glance, they guessed that Ning Que must have an extraordinary background. Maybe he was one of those Academy students who were heard to practice in Dongsheng Stockaded Village. So their attitude became more gentle and humble.
"How could it be so?" Ning Que said with a smile, "I just walked along the lake casually. Occasionally, I found the lake flow was different and guessed that there might be a mountain stream here. I didn't expect it to be a hot spring in advance. You don't need to care about me."
Listening to this, the woman's expression was still calm, but she was relieved in her heart. With the respect of the Great River Kingdom to the Tang Kingdom, especially after guessing that Ning Que might have an extraordinary background, she would probably leave with her Junior Sisters and Brothers directly and give this hot spring to Ning Que at other times. But now it was very inconvenient …
"If that's the case, I won't disturb your quiet cultivation."
Zhuo Zhihua saw that he didn't intend to introduce himself, so she didn't take the liberty to ask. She said with a smile and bowed respectfully. Then she led the group of boys and girls into the dense forest.
Ning Que looked at the depths of the dense forest and vaguely saw the steam coming from the hot spring. There was also a yellow cloth circle about one and a half man's height. He thought that the girls of the Great River Kingdom were probably soaking in the hot spring behind that group of cloth circle. No wonder they were so nervous before. If they let other men steal all the spring scenery with their eyes, what should they do?
He didn't expect to meet the female disciples of the Great River Kingdom of the Black Ink Garden while walking along the lake. It seemed that today's luck wasn't too bad. He picked up the luggage on the ground, turned around and walked from where he came from. He thought that the scenery of a shallow pool seeping out of a white stone by the lake was not bad, so he planned to meditate and cultivate there.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around curiously. The girl from the Great River Kingdom who had been targeted by his bow and arrow ran over. Because she ran too fast, her tender little face was full of blush, and the furry beast tail on her neck had already spread out, which made her look even more adorable.
Ning Que asked, "What's the matter?"
The girl opened her big black eyes and stared at Ning Que's cheeks full of gentle expression. Thinking of the calm and indifferent archer just now, she subconsciously scratched her head and asked, "Can you tell me why you aimed at me with a bow and arrow when we came out of the forest together with so many Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters?"
"If I say to catch the bandits, first catch the ringleader, will you believe me?" Ning Que replied with a smile.
The girl giggled and shook her head. "Of course not. There are so many disciples in the Black Ink Garden, but I have always been the weakest one. And at that time, I didn't have any weapons in my hand. Senior Brothers had bows and arrows in their hands, and Senior Sisters wore Xiu Swords on their waists. You are so strong, so of course you won't regard me as the most threatening one."
Ning Que didn't expect that she could think of so many things from that aiming. After a slight shock, he honestly replied, "The reason why I aimed at you was indeed because you were the weakest one in the crowd."
Then he added an explanation. "If you can't target the most important person among the enemies, then you should target the one who is the most vulnerable to attack. Then it will be easier to negotiate later."
The girl looked at him curiously and asked, "If … there was really a misunderstanding at that time, would you really shoot me?"
There was no resentment, no anger, just pure curiosity.
Ning Que nodded.
The girl's dark eyes revealed a surprised emotion. She said, "But will the Tangs also bully the weak?"
"We Tangs are also ordinary people. There are good people and bad people."
The girl was puzzled and asked, "But you are not a bad person."
Looking at the cute girl who was like a cub, Ning Que couldn't help but reach out and rub her head. He said with a smile, "There is no such thing as good people and bad people on the battlefield, only the dead and the living."
After a pause, he looked at her slightly red and tender face. He didn't know if he was affected by those memories, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He said seriously, "On the battlefield, either you kill the enemy or the enemy kills you. Little girl, if you don't want to die here, you must remember this."
The girl nodded hard.
"You chased me just to ask these things?" Ning Que asked.
"Yes." The girl smiled like a blooming lotus and blushed slightly. "I also want to tell you that my name is Cat Girl."
After saying this, she turned around and ran in the direction of the hot spring mountain stream without looking back.
Ning Que looked at the girl's back and couldn't help laughing. He thought that the names of people from the Great River Kingdom were always very interesting, but he really didn't expect that there would be someone called Cat Girl. This name was really not good, but it was really a good match with the girl's curious eyes and fluffy cuteness.
Not long after walking back along the lakeside, he saw a pool seeping out of the white stones on the low shore. The rock layer at the bottom of the clear pool was as clear as a book page. The scenery was good. After making sure that it was far enough and he wouldn't be misunderstood by those girls from the Great River Kingdom behind the yellow cloth, he untied his luggage and sat down.
There was still a faint smell of sulfur in the air by the lake. Thinking that the mountain stream was actually a hot spring, and there was no way to drink it, he finally understood why neither the tribes in the Wilderness nor the allied forces of the Yan Kingdom chose to camp near this place.
"The girls from the Great River Kingdom really love to soak in hot springs as described in the novels."
Looking back at the corner of the yellow cloth that was faintly visible in the distance, his right hand fell on the round stone and subconsciously grasped it. This action didn't have any obscene meaning, but he was just recalling the feeling when he rubbed Cat Girl's head. After a while, he realized that it was because he hadn't rubbed Sangsang's head for a long time.
The scenery around the rock pool was quite beautiful, quiet and pleasant. More importantly, the Qi of Heaven and Earth was abundant. Since there was no way to jump into the mountain stream and bathe with the girls from the Great River Kingdom, Ning Que naturally didn't want to give up such a good place for cultivation.
The next day, he rode the big black horse to the lakeside again.
Sitting in the lake wind, he closed his eyes and meditated quietly. When he opened his eyes, he raised his fingers and gently drew obscure lines in the wind. Only he himself knew that these lines combined to form Fu characters.
His eyes moved along with his fingertips in the empty air. When he encountered a difficult juncture, he frowned and thought for a long time. He waved his hand to erase all the Fu characters in his mind, and then continued to draw invisible Fu characters with his fingers.
Unconsciously, the sun moved to the middle of the sky, and the slightly cold wind was a little warmer. He untied the collar of his coat, stood up and stretched, loosening his stiff body and slightly sore arms.
It was a lazy stretch, and a comfortable stretch. His eyes naturally drifted to the front right, and fell on the yellow cloth that was faintly visible in the distant forest stream. Perhaps it was the nature of his body, or perhaps it was the nature of his mind. Anyway, when he looked over there, he even heard the splashing of the stream and the silver bell-like laughter.
"The girls from the Great River Kingdom really love to soak in hot springs."
He sighed again, thinking that soaking in the hot springs yesterday, today, and every day, even the smoothest and whitest skin would be soaked into a wet white paper. Wouldn't those girls worry about it?
Outside the forest stream, several male disciples of the Black Ink Garden vigilantly stood guard, which further proved the rumor that the Great River Kingdom valued women more than men. Ning Que couldn't help but think that the former monarch of the Great River Kingdom was a queen. It was said that a woman once disguised as a man and flew to Chang 'an City to study, and had some ambiguous stories with the former emperor of the Tang Empire. If the queen had not only had one son, if not for the Master of Calligrapher, the status of men in the Great River Kingdom would be even more miserable.
The hot spring soup was like sheep's milk, and the girls playing like fawns. Such imagination could not fill his stomach after all. Ning Que walked away from the stone pool and found a dry place to start cooking. He was going to stew a pot of milky white mutton soup today.
"Can you still cook?"
Cat Girl appeared by the lake and curiously looked at Ning Que who was lighting the fire with her big eyes. She said, "I heard that men in the Tang Empire don't cook and only eat ready-made food?"
Ning Que had long known that she had come. Without raising his head, he said, "When I was in Chang 'an, I naturally didn't know how to cook. But in this wilderness, there is no other way but to cook by myself."
Cat Girl clapped her hands and turned her dark eyes. She squatted beside him and bravely said, "Let me help."
Ning Que saw her face full of hope. Although he didn't trust the cooking skills of this girl from the Great River Kingdom, he still smiled and gave way to her. To his surprise, Cat Girl's cooking skills were extremely skillful at such a young age. It only took her a while to finish all the procedures. Then she washed her hands and waited for the final opening of the pot.
Listening to the sound of the boiling soup in the pot and smelling the fragrance of the meat that had begun to overflow, Ning Que looked at her in surprise. He increasingly didn't understand what kind of existence the women in the Great River Kingdom were. In a society that valued women more than men, how could they have such gentle temperament and skillful cooking skills?
Ning Que opened the lid and handed a bowl of soup to Cat Girl. Cat Girl smiled. The two sat by the lake in the cold wind and began to drink the slightly hot soup. Both their bodies and souls became warm.
"Is the Great River Kingdom very warm?"
"Yes." Cat Girl nodded. Looking at the thin ice on the lake, she shivered and said, "I didn't expect the Yan Kingdom to be so cold. The cotton-padded clothes I bought on the way in West-Hill seem to be completely unable to withstand the wind."
"In a few days, when the real winter comes, or when you enter the real depths of the Wilderness, you will know what a knife-like wind is. Speaking of which, you are so young. Why did you follow Senior Sisters to the front?"
"I am 14 this year." Cat Girl opened her big eyes and looked at him in confusion. She asked, "Still young?"
"Is 14 not young?"
Cat Girl frowned slightly and pouted. She said, "You can get married at 14. How can you be young?"
It seemed that the law of the Tang Empire stated that one could only get married at the age of 16. Ning Que held the soup bowl and looked at the slowly rising hot mist on the lake. He thought that Sangsang was also 14 this year. Could she get married in the Great River Kingdom?
After drinking the mutton soup, Cat Girl quickly took off the furry collar around her neck, rolled up her sleeves, and washed the bowls, chopsticks, pots and pans, regardless of Ning Que's objection.
Looking at the busy little figure by the lake, Ning Que naturally thought of Sangsang again. In the more than a month after leaving Chang 'an City, he rarely thought of the little handmaiden at home. However, after meeting Cat Girl, he thought of Sangsang more and more often, not knowing whether it was because of their similar age and figure or other reasons.
"A small gift to express my gratitude."
When Cat Girl said goodbye, Ning Que took out a box of snacks from his bag and handed it to her.
Cat Girl wanted to refuse, but when she saw the exquisite emblem on the wooden box, her big eyes suddenly lit up and she shouted in surprise, "Is this the osmanthus cake from Chang 'an City … Furong Store?"
"It seems so."
The pastries in Ning Que's bag were all prepared by Mistress Jian, and the snacks prepared by Xiaocao were undoubtedly Sangsang's favorite. He vaguely remembered that it seemed to be the osmanthus cake from some store.
"Furong Store sells other pastries in the capital city, but we don't have osmanthus cake, because this osmanthus cake is made from the osmanthus outside the Daming Palace."
Cat Girl was pleasantly surprised and held the box of pastries like holding a treasure. She took out a piece and carefully put it into her mouth to chew, with a very happy and intoxicated smile on her face.
Looking at the smile on the little girl's face, Ning Que was very happy. He remembered that when he brought back pastries for Sangsang from the House of Red Sleeves last year, she seemed to smile like this. But why did he think of her again?
…
…
My love is on the mountainside. It's too high to find her. My love gave me osmanthus cake. What should I give her? Knockout drug? Ning Que always felt that he seemed to have read such a poem somewhere, but he couldn't remember the specific year, month and day of this memory. He was only a little uneasy because of the osmanthus cake in the poem. He secretly hoped that the female disciple of the Black Ink Garden would not misunderstand his meaning. Although there were no pear blossoms on his head, he did not want to bully the tender flowers and grass.
It turned out that he thought too much, or the disciples of the Black Ink Garden had already planned to deal with this kind of thing. The next day after he gave the osmanthus cake, the female disciple named Zhuo Zhihua came with a big pot of stewed fish as a return gift.
The stewed fish was really sweet and smooth, and the attitude of the girls of the Great River Kingdom was really gentle. There was nothing wrong with it, which really made people feel flattered. Ning Que could not eat for free, so he took out a box of pastries from his bag as a return gift.
The days gradually passed in the exchange of various stewed pots of the Great River Kingdom and various pastries from Chang 'an City. The coldness of the Wilderness of the North of Yan Kingdom was getting deeper and deeper. Winter was officially coming. The thin ice on the lakeside gradually melted and condensed, becoming a whole piece like a mirror. Only the ice near the shore of the hot spring lake was still a piece of blue.
Although they did not talk too much and did not even meet too many times, Ning Que and the girls of the Black Ink Garden of the Great River Kingdom had become familiar with each other. The girls did not ask his origin, the name of his master, and he did not ask why they did not stay in the coalition army camp but chose to come to this wilderness.
Winter was coming, and the coldness was getting stronger. The hot spring behind the yellow cloth fell along the steep cliff, forming a stream and pool. White steam filled the air, but it was still as warm as spring.
Because the temperature inside the cloth was too high, Cat Girl only wore a small close-fitting underwear. She sat on the wet stone by the stream, kicking her two small feet and holding a few pastries in her hands, happily eating. The light underwear was stuck to the girl's still developing body by the humidity in the air, showing a few slightly bulging curves.
She looked at the pool below the warm stream and shouted, "The last two pieces of osmanthus cake, you really don't want to eat?"
Zhuo Zhihua walked to the stream, looked at the direction of the pool, and said with a smile, "Hill Master, have a try."
The milky white mist filled the top of the pool, and only a vague figure could be seen. Suddenly a cold wind blew from the depths of the forest, passing through the cloth and blowing the hot mist on the surface of the pool, making it shake uneasily, and the sight became a little clearer.
There was a rock sticking out of the water in the pool.
A girl sat quietly on the rock, with her back to the stream bank. Her lower body was wrapped in a thin white wet cloth, and her upper body was bare. Her black hair fell like a waterfall on her naked back, and water drops slowly fell from the ends of her hair.
"You guys eat."
Zhuo Zhihua looked at the girl in the pool and said worriedly, "Hill Master, the allied forces are not willing to pay attention to us at all. Whether it is the logistics or the camp, there are many difficulties. Are we going to stay here forever?"
Cat Girl threw the wet hair on her shoulder to the back, walked to the edge of the pool and said angrily, "In my opinion, we might as well go to Dongsheng Stockaded Village. The General of the Tang Empire will definitely welcome us."
Zhuo Zhihua rubbed her head and said helplessly, "Although the Great River Empire and the Tang Empire have been on good terms for generations, the disciples of Black Ink Garden came here under the edict of the Divine Hall. Your Majesty doesn't dare to offend the Divine Hall. And don't forget that Master is a visiting professor of the Divine Hall. If we leave the coalition army and go to the Tang camp, we will bring trouble to Master."
Cat Girl rolled her dark eyes and said, "Senior Sister, why don't we just tell them your identity? When I saw the Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia, entering the military camp with the Revelation Institute a few days ago, those fellows from the Yan Kingdom and the Yuelun Kingdom were so obedient and respectful. If they knew that you were here, they wouldn't dare to treat us so badly. "
After a moment of silence, the black-haired girl on the rock in the pond said softly, "There is no need to fight over such trivial matters."
…
…
One day, Ning Que came to the lakeside a little earlier than usual. He put down his luggage by the stone pond and thought that the girls of Black Ink Garden should still be resting, so he casually glanced at that place.
Then he saw a picturesque scenery.
He saw a picturesque painting as beautiful as a scenery.
In the dim morning light, a girl stood at the end of the slanting branches extending to the winter lake.
The girl was dressed in a light white dress. Her black hair casually tied behind her back like a waterfall. Her bare feet stepped on the thin branches. As the cold wind blew over the lake, the branches swayed up and down gently. Her body also swayed slightly with it. She looked extremely comfortable, as if what came to her face was not the winter wind of the Wilderness, but a warm spring breeze.
Ning Que looked at her quietly and did not make a sound. He subconsciously did not want to destroy this picture.
The girl in white standing at the end of the slanting branches seemed to sense his gaze. She gently waved her white sleeves and disappeared behind the yellow cloth in an instant.
Only the thin branches were still swaying gently in the lake wind.
Ning Que looked at the slightly trembling branches and slowly raised his eyebrows.
He did not see her face clearly. He only remembered the blue ribbon tied around the waist of her white dress when she left like a ghost.
A touch of white dress, like the clouds on the lake.
A touch of blue, like the water in the lake.
…
…
(I think it will be interesting to look back at this chapter a year later. I will try my best to satisfy myself. Good night everyone.) (To be continued.) If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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