Soft and cute female mage

Chapter 40 Black Handprints

Yuanchuan Town belongs to Minchuan, but it is more than 70 miles away from Minchuan City.There are two rivers, a Muma River and a Jianhe River, and there is a mountain in the middle, so the traffic is extremely inconvenient.

Fortunately, there is a Linchuan Village beside the Jianhe River. Although the village is not big, it is the only way to Minchuan City, and it is good to have a place to rest on the way.

Prime Minister He of the Qin Dynasty taught Qin Yi to Daguan Zhu's two sons on weekdays, but he was free, so he found an excuse to ask for a few days off and took Fang Ling there.

Fortunately, the flood season has just passed, and the cable suspension bridge on the Muma River can still pass people.

After crossing the Muma River, there is a winding mountain road. Due to the rainy season, there are many landslides on the mountain road, so it is not very easy to walk.It was only in the afternoon that we had walked more than half the distance.

The two of them were really tired and hungry, so they found a clean big stone to sit on and ate some mooncakes made the day before.

Qin Xianghe was very picky. Even in the wild, he only ate the glutinous rice osmanthus cake and chrysanthemum cake made by Fang Ling.Fang Ling had no choice but to eat the remaining two nut mooncakes.

The two simply ate something and then hurried on their way again. At this speed, it would probably be almost Xu time before they reached Minchuan City.

However, just turning around a mountain ridge, they saw a large area of ​​muddy loess wrapped in water and rocks, knocking a tree to the side, blocking their way.

It is rainy in the mountains, and it may be that the slope has slipped again when it rained a few days ago.But seeing that it was getting dark, and there was no way to go to the village or back to the shop, but it happened to encounter a landslide.

Qin Xianghe had no choice but to throw the burden to Fang Ling, and asked her to stay where she was first, and go to explore the way by herself to see if she could barely get through.

The sky was already dark at first, but the forest was deep and the trees were dense, making the light even more dim.

I saw Qin Xianghe took off his shoes and rolled up his trouser legs, walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow, walking with great difficulty.

Seeing this, Fang Ling shouted on the spot:

"Be careful, the soil is loose, so be careful of the top."

Qin Xianghe turned his head and said with a smile:
"You don't have to worry about me, it's just that it's hard to walk through this mud. If you don't beg me later, I will definitely not carry you."

While he was chatting and laughing, his foot suddenly slipped. Qin Xianghe exclaimed and quickly slid down the mountain without warning.

The speed was so fast that it had already slid two feet away in the blink of an eye.Even if the mountain is steep, it shouldn't be so fast.Seeing that the sound of rumbling water could be heard below the steep slope, it must be the Jianhe below.

But listening to the roar of the water, if you accidentally fall into it, there will be no bones left.

Fang Ling didn't have time to think about it, so he hurried over, scrambling and chasing down the slope.

Qin Xianghe was seen yelling something in panic while grabbing the surrounding branches and grass with both hands.

Fortunately, although many trees were washed down by the mud, their root systems were still there. After Qin Xianghe slipped another ten feet away, he managed to grab a branch as thick as his wrist.

Fang Ling just breathed a sigh of relief, but Qin Xianghe shouted:
"Something grabbed my ankle!"

Sure enough, Fang Ling could vaguely see something in the mud violently dragging him down.

Qin Xianghe kicked his feet wildly and struggled violently, but he couldn't get away.The thing was surprisingly strong. Seeing that the thick branch was getting harder and harder, it even showed signs of breaking.

Fang Ling hurriedly chased down the slope, shouting:
"There's blood on the tip of your tongue. Quick, spit it with the blood on your tongue!"

Qin Xianghe heard the words and immediately bit the tip of his tongue, and spurted out a mouthful of blood.

There was only a screech, like a cat being stepped on by its tail.Hearing it made people get goosebumps all over, and then there was no more movement.

Fang Ling slid down on the ground with hands and feet and pulled Qin Xianghe up, and hurriedly opened his trouser legs to wipe off the blood-stained mud, only to see a dark handprint on the ankle.

Qin Xianghe was still in shock.

"What it is?"

Fang Ling frowned and said:
"I don't know, but it's definitely not a good thing."

"Then how do you know you can deal with it with blood from the tip of your tongue?" Qin Xiang was puzzled.

"I don't know either. I just heard you say that something grabbed you. I thought if it was a beast, it must have been biting. How could it be scratched?
It's just a matter of luck.It's not safe here, let's leave quickly. "

The two of them glanced at the dark forest, feeling an inexplicable chill down their spines, and then quickly climbed back to the path.

Now that the whole body is wet, sticky and full of mud, they don't have any scruples. They just carried their bags and supported each other to climb over the landslide, and hurried on the road.

Qin Xianghe had abrasions on his legs, back and arms. They had been roughly cleaned and bandaged with the water from the landslide, but now they were getting heavier and heavier as he walked.

Fortunately, five or six miles further on is Linchuan Village.Like Yuanchuan Town, this village also lives by the river, but it is much smaller than Yuanchuan Town, with only forty or fifty households.

Because Qin Xianghe was injured, he didn't finally enter the village until Xushi.

The people in the mountains rested early, and there were no lights at this time, except for one house that was brightly lit.Although the house is similar to other cottages, the two large lanterns at the door look very impressive.

When I got closer, I saw that the lantern was white, with two big words "Dian" written on it.

Both Fang Ling's hearts tensed for no reason.But looking around, it was pitch black and dead silent. For now, I'm afraid I can only go to this house to stay overnight.

Qin Xianghe stepped forward and knocked on the door.When I was young, an old man's voice sounded through the door:

"Who is it? Why are you still walking around so late?"

Qin Xianghe replied:
"I am from Yuanchuan Town. I was heading to Minchuan City. Unexpectedly, I injured my legs and feet due to a landslide on the mountain. I am unable to make the journey. I would like to stay overnight. Can it be convenient?"

There was silence inside for a long time, until Qin Xianghe knocked on the door again and shouted:
"Master...Master?"

It took a while before the sound came from inside again.

"It's not that I don't want to keep you, you've also seen that it's really inconvenient for me to stay here now."

Qin Xianghe said quickly:
"Uncle, it is true that I was injured late in life and cannot walk. My roommate is weak and her clothes are already soaked.

Now the other families in the village have rested, only here is the light, please make it easy, we will leave tomorrow morning. "

Fang Ling also hurriedly begged:
"Master, you can do as long as you want. My brother is injured, and it would be good to wash the wound with some hot water."

There was another moment of hesitation inside, and the door creaked open a crack.An old man with gray hair poked out from inside and was startled as soon as he opened the door.

I saw two people at the door, in a distressed state, their bodies were covered in muddy water except for their faces, and only men and women could be vaguely distinguished.

Qin Xianghe smiled awkwardly and said:
"Don't be afraid, my brother and sister are from Yuanchuan Town. It's just that there was a landslide on the road, and I accidentally slipped and fell into the mud pit. After climbing all the way, I became like this. It's a joke."

The old man hesitated for a moment.

"Well, it's not peaceful around here lately. At this hour, I can't bear to force you to leave, so come in first."

The yard is not big, and there are many weeds growing in a crooked manner. There are also some sundries piled up in a mess on both sides of the gate, which shows that the owner of the house must not be very diligent.

The interior of the house is also very simple, with nothing more than a few benches and a square table.

Because there was a mourning hall, there was a dark coffin in the middle, with a long light burning at the bottom of the coffin, and a large brazier in front of it, with some vaguely unburned burning paper.

Seeing this scene, the two of them lit up a stick of incense as a courtesy.The old man returned the gift and said:
"Thank you! You two are also the first people to come to express condolences."

Fang Ling was a little surprised when he heard this, but looking around, it was indeed deserted.Except for this old man, there was no one else in the huge courtyard.

(End of this chapter)