There was no good news in the south, only bad news. Every once in a while, a list would be sent back to the tribe from the battlefield. Each name on the list represented a dead Desolate Man soldier.
The Desolate Man was simple and firm, very similar to the Tangs. No matter what difficulties they faced, they could be silent, but they would not be depressed. Even if the situation was harsh, the women would occasionally sing songs while washing clothes or hunting.
As time passed, the war in the south became more and more brutal. The frequency of the list being sent back was getting slower and slower, but the length was getting longer and longer. The old, weak, women and children who stayed in the tribe were no longer in the mood to sing. The entire field became quieter and the atmosphere more and more depressing. Every night, faint cries could be heard. No matter how strong a Desolate woman was, she could not hold back her sadness when she saw her son's name on the list.
One day, the Desolate woman who was responsible for taking care of Ning Que and Sangsang finally saw her son's name on the list. She began to cry, and the women nearby gathered around to comfort her.
Ning Que put down the heavy curtain of the tent and walked back to the bed to continue feeding Sangsang medicine. Sangsang stopped after two sips. She looked up at him and said, "What's the point of hiding here? I'm going to die eventually. "
"Don't feel guilty. The Desolate Man is like us. We are not tolerated in the world. Even if they did not take us in, the West-Hill Divine Palace and the countries in the Central Plains would not allow them to continue living." Ning Que said.
Sangsang shook her head gently and said, "But if we did not come, they would not die so quickly."
After saying this, she opened her palm and looked at the black chess piece in her palm in a daze. This chess piece was the only one she had played in the last game of chess in the Lanke Temple.
More and more people died in the tribe, and she became more and more ill. The tent became colder and colder, and everything was covered with a thin layer of frost. Only the black chess piece in her hand was still warm.
Ning Que held her in his arms and said, "Don't worry. Even if the Desolate Man cannot hold on, we can still go to the north. We can go to the scenery of the Hot Sea. Eldest Brother said that although the sea is frozen, if we can break the ice, we can still find a few peony fish. The old yellow ox loves it, so it should taste good."
Sangsang said, "You know I am not worried about this."
Ning Que was silent.
Sangsang said in a low voice, "From the Lanke Temple to the Xuankong Temple, from the Wilderness to Chaoyang City, then to the Wilderness, and finally here. I'm really tired …"
Ning Que wanted to say something but was stopped by her.
"You said something to me in Chaoyang City," said Sangsang. You said that the future is actually very similar to death. If it's already destined, then there's no point in worrying about it. If it can be changed, then there's even less need for us to worry. We just need to work hard to change it. "
Ning Que said, "This is what the Headmaster said."
Sangsang said, "The world is big, but there is really no place where I can live. We all know that the ending can't be changed, so why are we still worried? Death means that there is no future. When we can't change it, shouldn't we learn to accept it? "
Ning Que said with a smile, "That's very well said."
Sangsang lowered her head shyly.
Ning Que said, "I didn't expect Sangsang to have the demeanor of a noble family now."
Sangsang said, "I'm just a little handmaiden."
Ning Que said, "Let's not mention that Grand Secretary Zeng Jing is the biological father of this body. You are the eldest daughter of the Yama Family. Who in the world can be more noble than you?"
Sangsang didn't continue Ning Que's joke because she knew that he said it to change the topic. She said, "I don't want to continue hiding."
Ning Que was silent for a long time and asked, "Why? Do you feel uneasy? Or do you feel like a rat crossing the street by hiding like this? I told you when you were young that as long as you can live, you should do whatever you want, no matter if you are a rat that everyone wants to kill or a poisonous snake that everyone fears. "
Sangsang said, "I know that I can't live for a long time. In that case, why would I want to be a rat or a poisonous snake? If this is an uneasy conscience, then it is. "
"Maybe we are destined to live such a hard life."
"What's destined?"
"Lucky Chance?"
"The Headmaster said that I am his Lucky Chance. Then what is my Lucky Chance?"
"Your Lucky Chance is of course me."
"Don't joke. I don't know why, but I always feel that I should go to the south at this time. "
"You will die if you go to the south."
"You will die if you don't go."
"That makes sense."
Ning Que was actually very clear that if Sangsang appeared on the battlefield in the Southern Wilderness at this time, the most likely thing that would happen to her was not necessarily death, but probably something more terrible than death.
He said, "It is said that you live lively and die alone. If you really want to die, you should indeed have a grand and lively ceremony. And if you go to the road of death, you may find a chance to live."
Seeing that he agreed to her suggestion, Sangsang laughed happily.
Although she did not know the specific situation on the battlefield in the south, she could clearly feel from the atmosphere in the Desolate Man's tribe that the situation they were facing was getting more and more serious. Even the women in the tribe had begun to prepare leather armor and weapons, ready to join the battle at any time.
According to Ning Que's original plan, he would use the Desolate Man's tribe to block the Central Plains Coalition Army for a period of time and see if Sangsang's illness could get better. Then he would take Sangsang to the Cold Region of the Far North. Even if he had to be a savage by the Hot Sea, he could not let them be caught by the powerhouses of the Buddhism and Taoism Sects. However, Sangsang's illness did not get better. Instead, it became more and more serious. Especially when Sangsang did not want to continue fleeing, then everything would be for naught.
After making the decision, Sangsang's spirit became slightly better, not knowing if it was because her spirit finally had a place to rest. She was not as lethargic and sleepy as before. The cold aura in her body was getting stronger and stronger, but she had some appetite. She only put down the bowl of meat porridge after eating more than half of it.
Ning Que boiled a large pot of hot water and bathed her. Sangsang sat in the big pot, her body overflowing with cold aura. The firewood under the pot continued to burn, and Ning Que added a fire talisman to ensure that the flame would not go out.
"If someone were to see this, they would definitely think that I am going to stew you and eat you."
Ning Que rubbed her hair and said with a smile.
Sangsang smiled a little naively and said, "Smelly, not delicious."
Ning Que said, "My Sangsang is the sweetest and most delicious."
Sangsang said, "But I haven't seen you really eat me."
Ning Que said with a smile, "Who asked you to always be so disappointing and always be sick?"
Sangsang raised her head and looked at him with wide eyes. She said seriously, "If you don't eat now, you really won't be able to."
Ning Que pressed her head down and said, "It's not like you don't know that I don't like to eat meat."
Sangsang felt wronged and said, "When we were young in the City of Wei, you ate all the meat. In Chang 'an, you liked to stay by Sister Dewdrop's side. How can I tell that you don't like it?"
Ning Que was speechless and could only keep quiet. He picked up the towel and wrapped her up, carried her to the bed, and then carefully wiped the water that had condensed into ice beads on her body. Then, he took out the Chenjinji Cosmetics Store's powder and applied it evenly on her face.
Sangsang looked at her pale face in the mirror and sighed, "I used to think that I was born dark, but then I became whiter and whiter after I got sick. Now I'm even darker. It's so troublesome."
After applying the powder for her, Ning Que began to draw her eyebrows. He said casually, "My Sangsang can be black and white when she wants to be. She's really a little beauty who can look good with light or heavy makeup."
Sangsang said, "Ning Que, you are getting more and more shameless now. You can tell such a big lie without changing your expression."
Ning Que looked at the clean little face in front of him. He looked at her eyebrows that were as black as ink and her short hair that was like grass leaves. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, and then kissed her cool lips. He said, "You have always been beautiful."
Sangsang was a little shy, but she looked at him bravely and kissed him back.
Ning Que smiled and helped her put on her underwear. He stuck the Fire Talisman on her and put on a few thick cotton coats. He whistled to the outside of the tent and looked at her quietly. He asked, "Are we leaving now?"
Sangsang nodded and said, "Yes."
Ning Que said, "Then let's go."
…
…
They did not need any reason to leave. They just did not want to stay. Ning Que and Sangsang refused the Desolate Man's strong persuasion and even obstruction. They drove the black horse carriage to the south.
They came here with so much difficulty and left so suddenly. It was just like when they waited for Eldest Brother in Chaoyang City for a whole winter and then parted when they saw each other.
This behavior seemed a little ridiculous and almost like a child's play. But in fact, it was a helpless choice under an absolute predicament. It was fake elegance. Underneath it was cold despair. No matter how big the world was, there was no place for them to stay. There was no direction and no end to escape, so it was meaningless.
Sangsang, who was seriously ill and on the verge of death, did not want to escape anymore. So Ning Que did not escape either. So they went to the battlefield in the south with cold air. It was at the moment when they decided not to escape that they regained the meaning of freedom in the remaining time they had left in the human world.
They were forced to flee for their lives over the past few days, and they were also forced to leave. In the war between light and darkness, everything they did was forced. Only at this moment, peacefully dying was the choice they made on their own initiative, because only death, which represented eternity, was higher than light and darkness.
Sangsang had already seen her ending and knew that she could not escape, so she was very calm. Ning Que understood these things and saw through the truth. Or rather, he no longer held any hope for Sangsang's illness. So he was no longer afraid or sad, and also began to calm down.
The Big Black Horse could not calm down. Its hooves stepped on the grass and its nose smelled the fragrance of wildflowers. Its butt was padded with a few thick pieces of animal skin, but it could not stop the cold air in the carriage. It had long lost feeling between its legs from the cold, and it was very frightened and uneasy.
The black horse carriage left the Desolate Man's tribe. The thick dark clouds in the sky gradually moved, shrouding the Wilderness in late spring, and darkening the grass on the field.
More than ten black crows flew south with the carriage. They did not know if it was because the cold air in Sangsang's body was getting more and more serious, so the temperature of the air had dropped a lot, and they became much quieter.
…
…
(I took advantage of yesterday's vacation to have a good sleep and adjusted my biological clock. I hope I can last longer this time. It's best if I can keep going. It's just that it's too easy to get sleepy when writing during the day. There will be updates at night, and please don't forget that there will be updates tomorrow. Have a good weekend.) (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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