Chapter 1 There was no snow on the Huoyi Island 1-2 When we left the hole, it was already morning. The sun shone on the tree and earth, posting shadows beside us.
The man was still sleeping.
“Chuyu, are there many wars in the outside world?” I asked him when we returned to the city.
“Eh, wars are everywhere. For example, you kicked me today, I will rob your wife tomorrow...things like this are bunch of.”
“Chuyu, you know what I mean. If the outside world is a peaceful one, why the people we saved mostly are chased by others? ”
“Are you hungry, Snow? How about we catch a rabbit to have barbecue?” He saw a rabbit and got closer secretly.
“Chuyu!” I called him loudly, to frightened the rabbit from danger.
Chuyu missed the rabbit and he was angry at me. “Snow, our island is a quiet place and it is suitable for living out your whole life. Stop thinking about the outside. Besides, we have rabbits.” Finally, he got that poor rabbit and brought it to me with the ears.
Giving the rabbit to me, he smiled as a naughty boy, and he left me.
I came back to my living. It was a small house, called “Xiaowu House”. I planted those blue flowers with white leaves in front of my house. They liked shady and wet places. I had put a lot effort to make them survived in this sunny environment. I loved their pure blue lights, which could drive away all the disturbing moods arose by worldly business. I gave them a name called “Suyu”.
Suyu enjoyed spreading out their little petals into the winds and tell everybody that life was beautiful, and everything bad would be fixed.
I was watching those beautiful plants, when someone came in and called me.
I turned back to find Yin Lianfei. She was the granddaughter of the Second Elder of our island, one year younger than me. She lost her parents since she was a little one, so my father took her as his foster daughter, giving her the same position as me on this island.
Today she was in a white long skirt, beautifully stood in the winds.
“Brother Huanzhe is back.” She smiled to tell me.
“Really?” I was so happy to hear this news.
“Yes, I just came back from the Zhaoxu Hall. He was there just now and told me many new stories outside.”
Her statement surprised me. “He told you many stories outside?”
“Yepp! Don’t you know that? Chuyu also told me many stories about the outside world.” She did not find my upset, and kept on talking.
I was so envious in this moment. Why didn’t they tell me even a bit? I had asked for them thousands of times and they ignored my desires. But they told her a lot.
I ran away from my house.
I did not go the see my brother, because he irritated me. I could not forgive him. I went alone to the hole beside the sea. I just did not want to be a fool anymore. I needed to know the outside world, and the man could tell me everything I was curious about. Why wouldn’t I use him? I was his savior.
I was disappointed that he had not woke up.
The Suyu around him all died, because of the poisons in his body. The flower had a strong immunity to any kind of poisons, so the poisons in his body was terminal.
I took a flower, planning to get back to configure an antidote.
When I stepped out, I heard a groan from him.
“You are sober again?” I was surprised.
He looked at me with defensiveness, trying to memorize what happened before this sleep, finally he got the answer and asked me sadly, “How long did I fall asleep?”
“Not very long.”
“I am dying, right?”
“You won’t die.”
“I heard the steps of death when I closed my eyes.”
“No, you won’t die. Believe in me! I have saved many deadly hurt. You won’t be the only exception.”I became angry and yelled toward him. Though my anger was not because of him.
He was stunned by my overreaction, and did not know how to reply.
The days followed, I searched the whole island to find the gra.s.ses could heal this poison. After nineteen failures, I found the correct medicine. This was already the second week since we saved him from the beach. His life was sustained by my lifesaving pills. Though he was alive, the day when I feed him the antidote, he was as slim as a dead one.
After three days of eating the antidote, he turned much better.
Then, I knew his name, Bai Feng(White Maple in Chinese). He was as handsome and straight as the tree.
“Bai Feng, I have something good for eating.” I entered the hole with a basket. He gave me a familiar slight smile,”I have been waiting for you for a long time. Smells good.”
Sending food to him had been my daily work. At first he was not used to the foods on our island, but soon he loved the flavor. I asked him about the foods outside, he would describe them to me in details. Most of the foods I had no idea about. Step by step, we talked about some other things outside. I got to know some new phrases, and a complicated outside world became more and more clear to me.
“Why didn’t the man accompany you here?” He suddenly mentioned about Chuyu.
“Chuyu is busy.” I did not want to talk about this. In fact, I was hiding from he and my brother for this two weeks. I could not bear their different treatments to me and Yin Lianfei.
“His name is Chuyu? A beautiful name as yours. Snow, you must be born in a snowy day, right?” He asked.
“I did not see any snow. Our island has no snow.” My tune was a little blue.
“Why? This island is not in the torrid zone...You didn’t see real the snow? The heavy snow like goose feathers falling down?”
“No.”I shake my head, “Someone once told me, but I did not have a view yet.”
He felt my depression and a meek expression flashed in his eyes and disappeared soon. “Do you want to see a real snow?”
I nodded, “Yes. Not only the snow, I wanted to see everything outside.”
Bai Feng Smiled, “I will bring you out when I recover.”
“Really?” I was surprised.
He nodded with a firm expression, “Yes.”
I was so exited with this answer. I jumped up celebrate. I had no need to stay on the island anymore. I should go out, letting my brother and Chuyu understand that without them, I could still see the outside.
Bai Feng simply smiled to enjoy my happiness.
Suddenly I stepped on a log and fell backward, almost hit the wall of the hole. I could feel the coldness of the wall already. Immediately he came to support me, and I fell into his embrace. I was embarra.s.sed by this surprising intimacy, so did him, and he quickly let me go.
But the next minute, he found something strange behind me.
I looked back through his eyes, to find a big hole on the wall. This wall was not a steady one? My fell had hit the wall just now, and this was not a real stone wall, it was a fake one. I had been here with Chuyu for many times but did not find the truth.
Bai Feng was curious what was hiding in the hole.
“What’s in it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Go in?”
“Is it dangerous? I am afraid...”
“Then you wait here, I will enter it to have a look.”
He went in before I had a chance to stop him.