Chapter 69: Old people and old stories

This morning's beef and rice noodles were as good as usual, with not only beef but also beef tendons. The beef tendons were stewed to perfection and the texture was soft, and with the refreshing vegetables and rice noodles, it was a refreshing day.

Lu Qingjiu had not rested too much yesterday and was a bit drained today. He ate breakfast, briefly fed the pigs and chickens and then sat in the courtyard to rest.

After Bai Yuehu had finished planting, he brought back some fresh vegetables. Yin Xun washed a cucumber and chewed it up next to Lu Qingjiu, the taste of Bai Yuehu's cucumber was excellent, sweet and crisp, almost like a fruit, delicious raw or in soup.

Lu Qingjiu took a short break in the sun, feeling better, before getting up to make lunch.

Yin Xun was still a bit worried about Lu Qingjiu, and rushed in to help him with the dishes, asking him when they were going to go out and take advantage of the nice weather to go out and fly a kite.

"Anything." Lu Qingjiu bowed his head and stirred the eggs in the bowl, "It rained yesterday, the mountain is still wet, let's wait until it dries."

Yin Xun said, "Let's go the day after tomorrow, the weather will be nice."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Good."

Yin Xun was slightly relieved to see Lu Qingjiu agree, he was worried that Lu Qingjiu was in a bad mood and wanted to have some fun to make Lu Qingjiu feel better.

Because Lu Qingjiu was not in the best of spirits, his cooking was a little simpler than usual. He steamed a large bowl of steamed pork, cooked vegetable soup, stir-fried pork, and made glutinous rice with red dates. The dates were candied and tasted very sweet, so after steaming them with the glutinous rice, the sweetness spread into the glutinous rice, making it sweet in the mouth.

Lu Qingjiu enjoyed this sweet dish quite a lot and ate a little more than he did in the morning.

At the dinner table, Yin Xun talks about going out for a walk the day after tomorrow, while Bai Yuehu listens indifferently.

"Can I go out?" Lu Qingjiu asked suddenly. Yesterday Bai Yuehu had said that the dragon would most likely come looking for him after it had escaped, so if he went out on a trek like this, would he encounter any danger.

"Yes." Bai Yuehu also noticed Lu Qingjiu's low mood and he nodded, "We can't stay at home all the time."

That's true, Lu Qingjiu took another bite of the sweet, candied dates and felt a little better about himself.

In the afternoon, Lu Qingjiu got up the spirit and made some desserts in the oven. The dessert was a simple biscuit, but with the use of Cow's milk the biscuits tasted so good that Lu Qingjiu thought it would be a good idea to plant some wheat in the spring so that the family would have a supply of flour for the coming year. There is very little room for wheat in their area, but it's a shame that Bai Yuehu's special farming skills are not being used.

The fruit saplings planted in the yard last month are also on the rise, and looking at their growth, Lu Qingjiu wonders if they will bear fruit this autumn, only I don't know how the fruit will taste, but I'm sure it won't be any worse with Bai Yuehu around.

When they were little, Lu Qingjiu's grandma would take them to the mountains to play, pick some wild fruits and fly kites when spring came. In those days, the kites were usually made by themselves, so grandma would make a butterfly for Lu Qingjiu and a bee for Yin Xun, and then when they arrived on the mountain, they would watch the two little dolls running around until the kite string was taut and the beautiful kite flew into the sky.

Lu Qingjiu was going to buy a kite from the town this afternoon, but Yin Xun volunteered to make one for us, saying that she knew how to make a kite and that it would look great.

Lu Qingjiu remained sceptical about his confidence, but seeing the way Yin Xun patted his chest with promise, he decided to give his foolish son a chance.

The paper used for the kite was ordinary paper and the skeleton was made of bamboo brought back by Yin Xun, which was split into strips to make the skeleton of the kite.

"What kind of kite did you make?" Lu Qingjiu asked him.

"Squid." Yin Xun replied.

Lu Qingjiu: "Swimming Fish" He thought about it and decided that a kite in the shape of a fish didn't seem too strange, so he relaxed, prepared the paints for Yin Xun and went to the yard to make it.

It was his business. While the weather is good, he wants to clean the pigsty and change all the straw inside.

When Lu Qingjiu had finished his work and turned back, he saw the 'swimming fish' that Yin Xun had described.

Lu Qingjiu was shocked: "What is this?"

Yin Xun: "Squid ah"

Lu Qingjiu: "Why does this swimming fish have whiskers?"

Yin Xun: "Don't all squid have whiskers?"

Lu Qingjiu paused for a moment: "Wait, which two words are you referring to when you say swimming fish"

Yin Xun: "Squid in chicken stew, ah."

Lu Qingjiu was instantly convinced. The Yin Xun kite was so big, all black in colour, with only two eyes painted in bright yellow and long, thin whiskers underneath, that Lu Qingjiu could imagine the kite floating in the sky and scaring children.

But it's done, so let's make do with it, Lu Qingjiu decided not to say anything.

Yin Xun made two kites in one go, the shapes and colours of which were very difficult to describe, but Lu Qingjiu, the father, decided to put up with it in order not to discourage the children.

Yin Xun, however, is already looking forward to the greenery the day after tomorrow.

Despite having little power, the Yin Xun weather forecast worked well and the next two days were sunny. On the morning of the third day, Lu Qingjiu prepared the food early and the family went on a trek.

Xiao Hua Xiao Hei was followed by the little fox, and the three animals went up the mountain in great numbers.

Shuifu Village has a spacious platform near the top of the hill, which is particularly windy in spring and ideal for kite flying.

Yin Xun, with his black squid in one hand and an unidentifiable animal in the other, ran after Lu Qingjiu, who had to look back to make sure he didn't fall. Bai Yuehu still looks lazy, but his hair is short again, only this time Lu Qingjiu cut it by hand, he didn't cut it too short for Bai Yuehu, probably so that it wouldn't interfere with his meals. He didn't cut Bai Yuehu's hair too short, but it was better than Bai Yuehu's dog-eared haircut, although Bai Yuehu's looks didn't affect his beauty at all.

The wind on the mountain carries the scent of flowers, and wildflowers of all colours can be seen in the woods and grasses. There are bees and butterflies around them, and everywhere is full of life compared to the dead of winter.

The three of them took their kites and bamboo baskets filled with food and walked up the mountain to the top. Feeling the strong wind at the top of the mountain, Yin Xun couldn't wait to take out his kite and run around the mountain. Before Lu Qingjiu arrived, he was a bit sceptical about whether Yin Xun's kite could fly, but no sooner had Yin Xun made a run on the platform than the squid kite took to the air and went all the way to the sky.

Yin Xun laughed like a child: "Look, look, my kite is flying!"

Xiao Hua and Xiao Hei ran after him, and when Yin Xun saw that they wanted to play too, he wrapped the kite string around Xiao Hua's little pig's feet, but the wind at the top was too strong and Xiao Hua was too small.

"You're guarding Xiao Hua and playing with the kite, he's not safe for a little pig." Lu Qingjiu was like an adult lecturing a child, "Don't have an accident."

Yin Xun dutifully said yes.

After finishing Yin Xun, Lu Qingjiu opened the bamboo basket he had brought with him, spread the cloth inside on the green grass and arranged all sorts of food on top of it. There were stews and fried chicken in crisper boxes, strawberry biscuits and apple cake baked in the morning, and Lu Qingjiu remembered to bring a few bottles of soft drinks wrapped in ice towels.

Bai Yuehu sits on the ground next to Lu Qingjiu and looks up at the kites in the sky.

Lu Qingjiu stood next to him and said with a smile, "When we were children we all liked to tie grass on top of the kite string and make a silent wish in our hearts when we tied the grass, it was said that this would send a letter to the gods in the sky and make them grant our wishes."

Bai Yuehu said, "The gods have granted your wish."

Lu Qingjiu was disappointed: "Of course not."

When Bai Yuehu heard this, he hung his head, plucked a green blade of grass from the grass at his side and handed it to Lu Qingjiu: "Try again."

Lu Qingjiu smiled, "Sure." He took the grass to Yin Xun and tied it to the kite string, then Yin Xun started to let the string go, making the kite fly higher and taking Lu Qingjiu's grass into the air.

As for what Lu Qingjiu wished for, it didn't matter much. After all, there were no gods in the sky, and since there were no gods, who would grant his wishes?

Yin Xun, like a child, is having fun with the little pig and the fox, and even tries to fly the fox by tying it to another kite.

Yin Xun: "Why is the whole village coming to our house for dinner?"

Lu Qingjiu: "To celebrate your funeral."

Yin Xun :""

In the end, Yin Xun said that it was better not to bother the village people, so he dutifully tied the kite to a small tree, sat down and started eating.

The chicken is made by Lu Qingjiu himself, wrapped in a thin coating and then slowly fried in warm oil, the skin is crispy on the outside while the inside is soft and juicy. Because it is a small chicken, even the bones are crispy, and with a little effort, it shatters in the mouth.

Lu Qingjiu is drinking a cold carbonated drink and eating a hot fried chicken, thinking that life is still good and there are not so many hurdles to overcome.

Halfway through his meal, Lu Qingjiu suddenly felt the urge to pee. He put down the food in his hand, wiped his hand with a tissue and said, "I'm going to go to the toilet."

"Well." Yin Xun had a chicken leg in his mouth, "Come back early, or we'll have eaten all the chicken." He even gave Bai Yuehu a look.

Bai Yuehu glared back coldly, and Yin Xun relented, pulling the chicken leg out of his mouth and taking a bite: "It's okay, I'll save a leg for you."

Lu Qingjiu said, "You're the only one with more drama."

Yin Xun grunts in feigned aggression.

Lu Qingjiu walked to the woods and found a hidden corner to solve his problem, but as he was about to take off his trousers, he noticed something strange near his feet, and on closer inspection, he realised that it was a pile of black ants crawling in the grass.

If they were just crawling, Lu Qingjiu felt that the ants were crawling in a very strange way, and after careful identification, he was stunned to recognise that the black ants were incredibly formed into two Chinese characters: 阿酒.

A wine, the name Lu Qingjiu's grandmother called Lu Qingjiu, is rarely called that except by the old man who has passed away.

Goose bumps rose on Lu Qingjiu's back and before he could react, he saw the black ants change into two more Chinese characters: Come here.

Lu Qingjiu was possessed, his mind went blank, and there was only one thought left in it, he had to go over and see that his grandma was calling him.

The black ants formed a signpost and led the dazed Lu Qingjiu towards the centre of the woods, A wine, come here, A wine, come here Lu Qingjiu's mind kept echoing the call belonging to his grandmother until a strange man appeared in front of him and Lu Qingjiu was able to break out of this trance.

"Who are you?" Lu Qingjiu's mind had already vaguely guessed the man's identity.

The man stood against the light in the depths of the dense forest, dressed in a black, somewhat similar robe to Bai Yuehu's clothing, his hair cascading over his shoulders, his eyes closed, his face a little blurred but still tasting handsome.

Before we know it, Lu Qingjiu has reached the depths of the forest, surrounded by unfamiliar scenery. The breeze that had been blowing against his cheeks was frozen, and there was no bird song, only silence.

The man walks towards Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu reflexively turned around and tried to run, but he tripped over a stone on the ground because he was in such a panic that he stumbled a few steps forward and eventually lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Ah" Lu Qingjiu's palm pressed just above a sharp stone, and the stinging pain of his skin being cut made him cry out involuntarily.

The man's eyes were closed, but he had obviously noticed what was happening in front of him, and he frowned slightly as he walked towards the fallen Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu watches as the man stops in front of him, forming a silhouette against the light.

"What did you bring me here for?" Lu Qingjiu should have felt fear, but looking at the man's face close at hand, he was unexpectedly calm and even managed to politely ask the question he wanted to ask, "Is there something wrong"

The man didn't say anything, but he half-crouched down, and although his eyes were closed, Lu Qingjiu had the illusion of being gazed at by him.

"Did you kill my parents," Lu Qingjiu said, "and do you still want to kill me?"

The man's lips pursed up slightly in a tight curve and Lu Qingjiu felt him trying to say something, but instead he just shook his head slightly and said nothing.

"You don't want to kill me" Lu Qingjiu relaxed, sensing that the handsome man in front of him didn't seem to have any animosity towards him, at least not yet, "So what do you want to tell me"

The man held out his hand to Lu Qingjiu, gesturing for him to put it up.

Lu Qingjiu hesitated a little, pondering whether to do so. But as he was thinking, Bai Yuehu's voice came from the forest behind him: "Lu Qingjiu, Lu Qingjiu, where are you?

The man's frown tightened, and without giving Lu Qingjiu any more time to hesitate, he grabbed his hand straight away and then wrote a word on his hand with his fingers.

One stroke at a time, just once, Lu Qingjiu understood what the character was.

It was the word "go", the strange man in front of him, telling him to leave.

"What do you mean?" Lu Qingjiu was a bit confused, "Why should I go if you want me to go?"

The man's face appeared slightly anxious as Bai Yuehu shouted closer and closer, and he opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a muffled, unintelligible syllable. Lu Qingjiu, who was sitting in front of him, could see clearly that there was only half a tattered tongue in the man's mouth.

The man in front of him was undoubtedly the black dragon trapped in the deep pit, and had he escaped from his prison and found himself, just to write a word on his hand

Bai Yuehu's call was right behind Lu Qingjiu, who only had to push aside a few small trees to appear in front of Lu Qingjiu's eyes.

The man also knew he had no time to lose. He raised his hand and gently stroked Lu Qingjiu's head, a gentle smile tinged with sadness on his face, before he turned and disappeared in a flash in front of Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu wanted to hear what the man had to say, but it was clear that he did not want to meet Bai Yuehu, and his gesture as he left was unmistakable.

"He saw Lu Qingjiu sitting on the ground and hurriedly took a few steps forward to hold Lu Qingjiu's shoulders, "Are you alright? "

"No." Lu Qingjiu looked at Bai Yuehu for a moment and, by a ghost, instead of telling Bai Yuehu the words the man had written on his hand, he shook his head, "He doesn't seem to be able to talk."

Bai Yuehu said, "You're hurt."

Lu Qingjiu's palm had been cut by a stone when he fell, and now the blood was flowing all over his palm.

"I fell down by accident." Lu Qingjiu was a little embarrassed, "It's a small injury, just go back and rub some alcohol on it."

Bai Yuehu was noncommittal, his nose flaring slightly as if he was sniffing at something, then his eyes gazed solemnly at Lu Qingjiu: "You smell of him, he touched you."

Lu Qingjiu was dumbfounded for a moment and explained awkwardly, "No, I just held my hand for a bit." And touched my head.

Bai Yuehu pursed his lips, his serious expression was a bit similar to the man's, then he made a move that Lu Qingjiu didn't expect and lowered his head, licking the blood from Lu Qingjiu's hand a little.

"Ah," the warm and soft tongue licked slowly on the palm of his hand, cleaning the mud near the wound, such movements did not bring pain, but more tingling, Lu Qingjiu's face turned red at once, trembling, "Don't, it's dirty. "

Bai Yuehu was a little upset: "You won't get sick if you eat it."

Lu Qingjiu said, "But..."

Bai Yuehu said, "It has to be cleaned up."

The words "clean up" should have referred to the wounds, but Lu Qingjiu somehow felt that there was something else hidden in them, and Bai Yuehu's movements were so serious that he didn't know how to refuse for a moment, and by the time he had completely reacted, Bai Yuehu's movements had already stopped. He was pulled up from the ground and stood still while Bai Yuehu fixed the marks of his wretched body.

Bai Yuehu patted the dust off Lu Qingjiu's clothes and was about to finish cleaning up when he felt something else, and with a frown Lu Qingjiu felt a hand pressed against his ear and was forced to tilt his head, followed by a heavy kiss on his hair.

Lu Qingjiu was stunned by Bai Yuehu's movements: "You"

Bai Yuehu's voice was a little muffled, like he was angry: "He touched your hair."

Lu Qingjiu, who had been righteous and strong, actually felt weak because of these words, and his mouth opened and closed for a long time before he whispered, "He just touched it."

"Not even if you touch it." Bai Yuehu said coldly, "It's best not to even look."

Lu Qingjiu: ""Alas.

Bai Yuehu took Lu Qingjiu by the hand and led him out of the woods. Lu Qingjiu realised that he had not strayed too far from the place where they had been picnicking, but only a short distance.

"Yin Xun was so relieved to see Bai Yuehu bring Lu Qingjiu back. There was nothing left.

"I'm fine." Lu Qingjiu said, "He doesn't seem to have any ill will towards me."

"No offense," Yin Xun muttered, "no offense what did he take you away for, scared me out of my wits." Fortunately, Bai Yuehu brought the man back in one piece.

Lu Qingjiu said helplessly, "If he had meant me any harm, I would have been gone by now." Although that dragon had been tortured, it was still a dragon, and even the strongest human was no more than a mole's existence before such a mythical creature.

Yin Xun grimaced, clearly not agreeing with Lu Qingjiu, who, in his opinion, was not a good person to sneak him away.

Before we knew it, it was dark and

Lu Qingjiu was completely unaware that he had been away for so long.

This was the end of the day's trekking, and they packed up their things and prepared to go down the mountain. But as they left the mountain, Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but glance towards the forest, he had a feeling that the man was still here, but he didn't show himself.

Once the bruise on his hand had been cleaned by Bai Yuehu's saliva, he could not feel much pain, but the writing left on it by the man's long index finger was like a burning brand that Lu Qingjiu could not forget.

What did "go" mean, did he want to leave with him or did it mean something else, did he run away from there just to tell himself that word?

Lu Qingjiu couldn't really understand it and sighed under his breath.

Yin Xun said, "What are you sighing for?"

Lu Qingjiu replied, "Let's eat squid tomorrow."

Yin Xun: "Why?"

Lu Qingjiu: "Because it always smells like your kite smells like squid too."

Yin Xun: ""What's wrong with the squid taste, it's quite high

The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu looks grave: I

Bai Yuehu: Why? Don't you worry about me, I will protect you.

Lu Qingjiu: No matter

Bai Yuehu.

Lu Qingjiu: I seem to have forgotten to pee just now.

Bai Yuehu.