Zanxing was hesitating on how to persuade the heartbroken boy to leave quickly when Gu Baiying suddenly grabbed her arm and rushed towards the door. “Let’s go!”
Mimi immediately darted into the yard. Just as Zanxing reached the yard, she suddenly thought of something and turned back to Gu Baiying, “Wait a minute!” She then dashed back inside.
“Yang Zanxing!” Gu Baiying’s pupils contracted as he tried to grab her hand but missed. He could only watch as Zanxing’s figure disappeared into the thatched hut.
He hurriedly chased after her, and just as he reached the door, a wooden beam suddenly came crashing down. Gu Baiying raised his arm to block it, and the beam hit his arm. A loud crash came from inside the house, and the roof of the thatched hut collapsed.
Mimi anxiously called out long and loud at the door. Gu Baiying’s heart sank as he swung his Xiu Gu spear, clearing a path. He was about to rush inside when Zanxing’s shadow appeared at the door. Her hair was disheveled, and her head was covered in grass fragments. She was a mess, but when she saw Gu Baiying, she smiled.
“You still have the heart to smile!” Gu Baiying was furious. He yanked her out of the house and headed towards the rocky hill. “I’ve never seen anyone as troublesome as you!”
The gray, barren rocky hill always blocked their path with an invisible barrier. Now, amidst the earth’s trembling, a layer of water-like light waves spread out. The ripples gradually expanded, revealing a vortex-like entrance at the center. Zanxing said, “The barrier is open.”
She followed Gu Baiying forward, and as they approached the vortex, she felt a force pulling her inside. Mimi had already slipped into the Qiankun Bag. In a flash, Zanxing grabbed Bai Qie Ji’s claw, trying to take the chicken out of there as well.
However, the featherless chicken pecked at the back of her hand, causing her pain. Zanxing reflexively let go, and she saw the arrogant and spirited wild chicken spread its wings, wobbling towards the collapsing thatched hut.
Under the azure sky, like a clumsy kite, it flew towards the warm-colored refuge and gradually disappeared.
*
When Zanxing opened her eyes again, she found herself inside a mountain cave with Gu Baiying right beside her.
The secret realm within the painting had disappeared. That barren rocky hill, the solitary yet warm thatched hut, the dense and beautiful Biyi Blossom tree, and the featherless mountain chicken had all vanished forever with the dissolution of the restriction, never to appear before the world again.
It was dark outside, and it seemed to be raining. Zanxing got up from the ground and asked, “Is this the tiger’s den?”
If it was, she hoped they wouldn’t get burned to death by the Jinhua Tiger’s breath.
“No,” Gu Baiying looked outside. “We should still be on Wudong Mountain.”
Zanxing breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, this secret realm’s barrier didn’t place the entrance in a dangerous location.”
Gu Baiying turned back, his handsome face livid with anger, ready to settle accounts. He glared at Zanxing and scolded, “Yang Zanxing, are you crazy? Why did you suddenly rush back? If you want to die, no one will stop you, but don’t disgrace the Taiyan Sect’s reputation!”
Zanxing let him scold her for a while, then she hesitantly took out two clay dolls from her bosom and slowly extended her hand to give them to him, saying softly, “Here, this is for you.”
Gu Baiying was stunned.
The two roughly made clay dolls lay in the woman’s dirty, grimy palm, which was scratched and had dried blood mixed with dust, giving it a cold, dark color.
He suddenly fell silent.
Zanxing coughed lightly twice. “I originally wanted to take those poems with me, but they were too close to the window and got buried in the dirt. In the end, I only found this…” She tried to make her tone as gentle as possible. “This was made by Fairy Qinghua. You can keep it as a memento.”
He didn’t say anything, nor did he look at Zanxing. He just stood quietly in the cave.
The sound of the wind and rain was particularly noticeable in the pitch-black night. The cold gradually seeped in from outside, and the cave was filled with the unique chill of a mountain night.
After a long while, Zanxing finally heard his voice, “You’re injured.”
She stuffed the two clay dolls into Gu Baiying’s hand, put her own hands behind her back, and smiled. “It’s just a small wound. It’ll be healed in the time it takes to burn an incense stick.”
The young man took two steps forward, his voice coming from the dim light, “Come here, I’ll bandage it for you.”
“Really, it’s not necessary…”
“Come here.”
Zanxing obediently walked over.
There was no time to enjoy the joy of reunion before facing the separation from someone dear. This young man was only nineteen years old, and Zanxing couldn’t imagine his feelings at the moment, but it certainly wasn’t an easy thing to bear.
A lighting talisman was affixed to the cave wall. He sat down near the mountain wall, took out a medicine bottle from his Qiankun Bag, and grabbed Zanxing’s hand. He first used a cleaning spell to cleanse the wound and then applied a thin layer of medicinal powder. The bottle itself was ornate and clearly the work of Shaoyang Zhenren. However, the powder was quite effective. As soon as it was applied, a cool, soothing sensation spread through the wound.
The young man, usually so arrogant, now moved gently and meticulously as he bandaged her wound, his expression calm as if nothing had happened. His features were handsome and bright, his profile as delicate as a painting.
But now, this painting carried a hint of melancholy, like the night’s rain in the mountains—cold and lonely.
Zanxing racked her brain to change the subject, hoping to prevent him from sinking further into this solitude. She said, “I already used a sound transmission talisman to contact Senior Brother Tian and the others, but there’s been no response so far. Should we go out to look for them later?”
“No need.” Gu Baiying wrapped the white cloth around her hand in circles. “Mount Wudong is full of spirit beasts. It’s dangerous at night. We should stay here and go out tomorrow at dawn.”
“But if we stay here and the Jinhua Tiger comes again…”
“I’ve already set up a restriction at the cave entrance.”
Another silence ensued.
His fingers were long and clean, quite attractive, with thin calluses from years of spear practice. When they occasionally brushed against her skin, they caused a slight itch. Gu Baiying tied a neat knot with the cloth and released her hand. Zanxing clenched her fist and then opened her palm, looking at him. “Thank you, Senior Uncle. I’m all set.”
He lowered his eyes, got up, and moved to the other side to sit down. “Rest.”
It was clear he wasn’t willing to talk further.
The rain was pouring heavily.
The wind grew stronger, howling as it tried to find its way inside. Some fine raindrops were carried in by the wind, landing on Zanxing and bringing a chill.
Seeing some dried twigs and leaves in the cave, she got up, gathered them together, and lit them with fire.
Now there was fire on the rainy night.
The branches crackled in the fire, the rain outside rustled, and the wind made the flames sway erratically. A cluster of warmth gradually embraced them.