An extra post this week since I have a little more time. Enjoy!
Part 2
Lin did not rush her but bent down to roll up some water from the well, then tear a piece of cloth from his outer garment to soak and pa.s.s it to her to cover her nose and mouth to prevent her from choking from too much smoke. At the same time, he asked: "Who built the house? "
Qing Chen replied: "I……I don"t know."
"The cliff is behind the house?"
"I think so. "
"Anything similar to secret path mechanisms? "
"There is." She answered without hesitation, seeming like a natural instinct.
"Where is it?" Lin continued with his question.
"Where is it?" She actually asked back.
Lin reached out to hold her shoulders and asked her using a calm tone: "Don"t worry, take your time. "
Qing Chen"s heart has become a messy knot. She could not seem to think of anything. The fire around them were becoming more intense. The smoke became thicker and thicker with the wind. ‘Pili Pala" the sound of the bamboo house exploded was suddenly heard. The fire continued to lick their surroundings, but the enemy did not stop their fire arrows.
Lin blocked way a stray arrow, then pulled her to the side of the house, under the dark shade. Seeing the burning fire glow reflected on his face, something suddenly flashed in her mind. "The medical room!"She screamed, "There is a secret path in the medical room."
"Where does it lead to?"
"I don"t know. "
Lin"s lips which had flattened to a straight line curved up hearing her response, as though he was smiling. While Qing Chen was thinking that her eyes must be playing tricks on her, Lin put the soaked outer garment on her and said: "Let"s go!"
The bamboo house was dyed red by the blazing fire that was climbing to the sky, but luckily, it had not collapsed. The two could only felt extreme heat after going back in, there were sometimes things falling down. Fire were dancing around them, as though burning stars jumping around.
Lucky for them, the house was not big so they reached the medical room in only a few steps. Qing Chen"s thoughts had cleared up at this time, pointing at the book case that was being engulfed by the fire, saying: "There!"
Covered by the heavy smoke and burning fire, nothing seemed to be visible. Lin guided her back a little, then hit the shelf with the wind from his palm.
With a ‘hong" (sound), the bookshelves seemed to wither along with the scattering flames, leaving a hole big enough to fit a person. A wave of cold wind rushed through blowing the fire towards the two.
Lin moved away with Qing Chen to the side taking the almost dry outer garment at the same time then flick it to blow away the incoming fire. "Let"s go!" He first let Qing Chen to go into the secret path, then followed after her.
The secret path is considered s.p.a.cious. After getting away from the hot waves, the moist and cold air in the tunnel felt nicely cool. Waves of soft winds blew pa.s.s once in a while. Seems like the exit was not too far. Qing Chen followed Lin"s footsteps slowing walking along. He was holding her hand throughout the way. She felt that her palm was cool, while his were as warm as always. He never seemed to be affected no matter what changes.
Their surrounding were as dark as black curtain. The path under them were pretty b.u.mpy. They will sometime stepped on puddles. One can deduce from these facts that this said "secret path" should be a natural occurance not man made. After walking for about 15 minutes**, the burning sound behind them had became lower and disappeared. Lin stopped and said: "The exit is in front, I will go to have a look first. "
**(T/N): the original writing was a kettle of tea. This is around 15 minutes.
Before Qing Chen could move a step, he had moved the tall gra.s.ses to get out of the tunnel, then turned to return saying: "They should find us pretty quickly here, let"s get out first then think of a way out. "
After getting out of the tunnel, she realised that they were not far from the bamboo house. This exit and the entrance in the bamboo house are actually the two sides of the mountain, the bamboo house on one side and the exit blocked by the naturally grown gra.s.ses on the other side, which is where they are.
Looking back, there were only a piece of blaze. The fire has slowly becoming less intense and finally put out. It seemed that they were put out intentionally. With the speed they start and put out the fire, they seemed to be orderly and fast. Obviously, they are properly trained military soldiers, not some mountain bandits. The wind brought along vague sounds of hollers and gallops. A short time later, the scattered torchlight quickly merge in a place, then divided to a few groups. A group follower the upwards stream, the remaining 3 groups followed the downwards stream. Out of the 3 groups, one of them were quickly coming towards them. The other 2 groups were also spreading like a fan coming towards them. They have surrounded the mountain.
The yells were coming closer. Somewhere in the mountain, Lin"s gaze was cold like the tip of a sword, quietly watching the movement of the enemy. After finding the bamboo house, the enemy should pretty much guessed their current location. The cavalry quickly gathering towards them, making the opposite sh.o.r.e to be empty. After a light consideration, he asked Qing Chen: "When we are in the water, grab onto me."
Qing Chen nodded in agreement, having guessed that he planned to cross the river. Lin"s hand reached out surrounding her, taking her towards the deeper water. The floating ability of the water started to support their weight, then his arm moved to grab her waist so that they don"t get separated by the water flow.
This side of the river is pretty deep, unlike the shallow stream in front of the bamboo house which only reached her ankle. Even if the enemy found out that they are across the river, they could only get off their horse to follow suit. That way, they will gain a little advantage. The darkness was just enough to hide their tracks. A short while later, they could her the sound of gallops closing to the sh.o.r.e behind them. Lin softly said next to Qing Chen"s ear: "Breath in, hold your breath. "
Qing Chen followed his instruction, then she was suddenly pulled into the water, diving along the water flow.
Qing Chen does not swim well and the two were under the water. She tried hard to hold her breath initially, but she quickly felt her chest becoming tight causing her to struggle a little. She could almost feel herself fainting. Lin seemed to notice her discomfort, but the soldiers behind were still after them so it was not the right time to come up for a breath. He tightened his arm, then bent down to give her some air through his mouth.
Qing Chen quickly felt warm air flowing through her body, bringing a certain warmth into her heart. The water flow made people felt like they were flying in the clouds. At this time, the sounds of galloping continued down the river. Lin was also diving with her towards the opposite bank at the same time. The two quietly float up, Qing Chen was so exhausted that she was supporting herself on Lin"s shoulder while taking large breaths. She felt like she was finally back in the human world. After she had rested for a short while, she looked up to see that he was also looking down to her at the same time. The coldness in those pair of eyes were deeply engrained in her heart, this body did not feel like a dream anymore. The sun and the moon had slowly become so real, all because of this person.
"Fourth brother……" She softly called out unconsciously.
Lin looked deeply into her eyes. There seemed to be a little wave in his eyes when he said: "This place is not safe to stay for long, let"s go. "
At this time, the sky has started to brighten. When the day is bright, it would be difficult for them to hide their tracks. After resting for a short while at the bank, the two chose a small and deserted road to go into the mountain. Along the way, Qing Chen never stopped to recall. The pieces of memories slowly gather becoming clearer than before. Under her direction, the two entered a peach forest, going upstream, until they found a cave that can be considered pretty hidden to rest.
The cold air at dusk were the coldest. The cold wind in the mountain continued to blow, on the gra.s.s and woods, causing them to hover. Qing Chen looked around in the cave, recalling that there should be a flint of something，the real "Feng Qing Chen" used to come here pretty often and this place has hints of being properly cleaned. At this time, she does not feel as confused as a few days ago. She quickly adapted to her surrounding. Finally, she found an oil paper bag in the middle of the stone wall. Inside the bag, there were flint and some tools, and some commonly used medication. Lin entered before her. After making sure there was no danger in the cave, he turned around only to see her trembling from cold. He took off his outer garment and pa.s.sed to her, saying: "Starting a fire to warm up might attract the chasing soldiers, please bear with it for a little longer."
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