0p0 Chapter 189: Stationed in the Forest
Chapter 189: Stationed in the Forest
Firewood is a daily necessity and cannot be replaced like other things.
"We have to go out and get more firewood."
There are many people on the mountain during the day. She remembered that when she went out to cut bamboo last year, she went out at five in the morning every day. It was not yet light and people were still sleeping, so she tried to avoid meeting them.
"Yes, I go out before dawn every day!" She picked up a handful of pine needles with tongs, lit them, and then stuffed two whole pieces of firewood into the stove.
She fried the pumpkin flowers with scrambled eggs.
It was unexpectedly delicious after being cooked, the flowers were smooth and the soup was full of the flavor of eggs. She finished a bowl of fried noodles with this dish.
Wake up all night.
Xia Qingyue took a machete and a backpack and went out to look for firewood. From today on, whenever she went out, she would disguise herself as a man and would not bring Heihei with her.
When Heihei saw that his owner had left him at home, he stamped his front paws on the ground and cried anxiously, like a poor little kid who was about to be abandoned by his family.
Xia Qingyue felt very distressed when she heard Heihei cry a few more times. Even so, she remained firm and spent more time to comfort Heihei.
She let Heihei play with the wooden plate at home, and she hurried out to collect firewood in the woods near the stream.
For the next five days, she would go out for an hour to look for pine needles before dawn every day. She didn't collect them specifically, but she collected some mugwort, mint, motherwort, and two yams.
The day before the agreed meeting with Han Zhibai, Xia Qingyue did not go out, but stayed in the tiankeng to crush the dried mugwort and mint, added charcoal to make pagoda mosquito coils and dried them.
It’s a pity that there is no beeswax, so the ointment cannot be made.
She lit a mosquito coil that night and there were no mosquitoes to disturb her. She slept until she woke up naturally, and finally there were no itchy red spots on her body.
Today she was going to the dense forest, so she got up early, packed her things, comforted Heihei, and went out alone.
Halfway through the journey, when it was just getting light, she started to meet people. She was very alert and avoided several of them.
As she was approaching the edge of the dense forest, it was quiet ahead. She walked forward without thinking. After walking for a while, she suddenly heard a slight rustling sound and immediately took out her bow and arrow to respond.
Three men stood up one after another from the bushes in front. They were holding up their trousers after they had finished relieving themselves when they suddenly saw a man pointing a bow at them from the side. They were so scared that they almost lost their souls.
"Don't kill us, we're just passing by."
"Yes, we will leave now and beg the good man to spare our lives."
The three grown men cried and begged for mercy. When they saw that Xia Qingyue did not shoot the arrow, they fled in panic and soon disappeared.
In the dense forest, the cool breeze in the early morning slowly blows the white mist in the forest, which drifts away in wisps.
The sun was rising outside. The trees in the forest were tall, blocking most of the sunlight. In the dim light, the white fog had not completely dissipated, visibility was low, and the sight was blocked. Xia Qingyue was lost!
After turning around a few times, she calmly took out the dagger and held it in her hand, squatting under a tree, with her arms tightly wrapped around her legs and knees.
We have to wait until the fog dissipates. At noon, the sun will be very strong and some light will shine into the forest, then we will be able to see clearly.
Heihei is not around and things are not as convenient as before. She feels uneasy and insecure.
But when she thought that Heihei was safe at home, she felt much better.
As she waited in agony, a familiar whimpering sound was heard. The sudden sound made her heart beat wildly as if it had been electrocuted.
"Xiaobai, is that you?"
"Woof woof woof!" Xiaobai came running out of the fog, and soon ran to her side, raising his front paws to poke her.
"Qingyue!" Han Zhibai followed Xiaobai closely. He saw that she was alone, so he quickly stepped forward and asked nervously, "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I am fine."
Xiaobai put down its front paws, turned its head blankly, and looked around for Heihei, but couldn't find him. It cried anxiously.
"Heihei stayed at home. This is what happened..." She told the Li family what she had learned.
A hint of understanding flashed across Han Zhibai's eyes, and then his gaze turned cold.
No wonder he encountered two groups of people in the woods in the past two days, and they started fighting without any explanation.
He has always been of the principle of "I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If anyone offends me, I will kill them." Now thinking about it, it's a good thing that they were all killed.
"So, I've already made an agreement with my uncle and aunt that you can't go out in the short term. After we say goodbye today, don't come out after you go back. Wait at least two months before making any decisions."
"You guys agreed?"
Han Zhibai's words stunned Xia Qingyue. After thinking about it, she realized what he was asking.
"Yeah, we agreed on that yesterday, what's wrong?"
Han Zhibai's expression was a little intriguing. Under her gaze, he told the truth: "It was a bit foggy today. I got lost when I came out. When Xiaobai was leading me to find the way, I saw Uncle Li and the others."
"What!?"
Xia Qingyue wondered if they were out looking for food, but the last time she went to the Li family, they clearly said that the food they had was enough to last for more than half a month, and they would make plans after they ran out of food.
After thinking it over, she vaguely wondered if something had happened to the Li family.
Considering the current situation, could it be related to money and grain?
Han Zhibai had obviously thought of this as well. He looked at Xia Qingyue, who had a stern expression, and said, "Xiaobai can be found back."
"Then let's go over and take a look!"
Xiaobai led the two of them through the woods. They didn't know how long they had been running before they suddenly saw a dazzling light in the thin white mist ahead. Their vision then became wider and they saw a wide road directly in front of them with trees of varying heights on both sides.
They walked towards the light, where there was a wide plain covered with wild grass and vines. They crossed it and reached another forest. After walking for half an hour, they finally came to a flat area facing the sun.
From a distance, the two saw a camp a hundred meters ahead. A group of men were divided into several teams. Some were shooting arrows at targets, some were practicing boxing, and some were practicing with swords. Everyone's face was sweating and shiny.
Among them, except for Li Weikan and his son Li Weikang from the Chen family, the men from the Li family, Li Benfu and Li Weisheng were all there, as well as Fang's father. Xia Qingyue didn't recognize the others as she looked at them unfamiliarly.
"Why are the Fang family here?" she wondered.
Han Zhibai didn't know the Fang family, so Xia Qingyue gave him a brief introduction.
The two people hiding in the dark watched.
"They are practicing martial arts." Han Zhibai said in a low voice.
Xia Qingyue nodded. "Why are they practicing martial arts together for no reason? I think it has something to do with the mountain stronghold and the hidden money and grain."
"We'll see."
Near noon, the men were still training, and they heard conversations coming from the other side of the path. Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai looked over and saw a group of women and children carrying vegetable baskets and chatting as they walked back to the camp. Chen Yuzhen and the Fang family's mother and daughter were among them. Then they were busy making fire and cooking in an orderly manner.
At three quarters past noon, the people in the garrison began to eat lunch.
When he went out in the morning, Han Zhibai brought a few pears with him to quench his thirst, and each of them ate two for lunch.
Xiaobai also ate a little pear to satisfy his hunger.
In the afternoon, under the scorching sun, the people in the garrison returned to rest in sheds built with cloth and wood.
Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai squatted in the grass for a long time, their feet were sore and numb, and the heat was unbearable.
"Qingyue, go sit down on the slope below and take a rest. I'll go over and listen to what they are saying."