Chapter 42: Recovery

  Sang Kun and Zha Muhe only hoped that this trip would be a success, and almost all the main forces were mobilized to gather outside the camp. Except for the sentries searching for posts on the outer circle, only some scattered soldiers and women were left to guard the livestock and jewelry. Cheng Ling Su and others were in a remote area of the camp, so no one noticed the situation here.

  The crystal-clear Khentii River is the source of all Mongolians' blood. The deep and bottomless river water is as clear as ice, and the vast grassland stretches out in waves. Under the iron hooves of the high-headed horses, clusters of green shadows like scattered snowflakes rise up, almost merging with the blue sky into a single line. It seems that if you ride your horse along the grassland, you can break through layer upon layer of white clouds and run to the other end of the sky.

  In the upper reaches of the Onon River, brave and majestic Mongolian generals, passionate girls who are good at singing and dancing, the sound of people is overwhelming, Wang Khan fled far away, Jamukha died, and Temujin was captured. Everyone raised their cups to celebrate the mighty Temujin who shook the great desert.

  Everyone went to the source of the Wudang River, and Temur's big camp suddenly became quiet, without a single sound.

  Outside a certain tent, a small wooden tripod stood in one corner of the canopy, its entire body a deep yellow that almost blended into the dark yellow of the canopy. If not for a closer look, even if people were still coming and going as usual, no one would have noticed this delicate, jade-like object that was only about the size of a palm.

  A frail young man seemed to appear out of thin air, standing half a zhang away from the wooden tripod, motionless. A plain Mongolian robe hung loosely on his body, fluttering loudly in the wind.

  "Are you leaving?" He suddenly raised his head, a face that shouldn't be so gaunt and dry at his age looked up, speaking in Chinese, his voice hoarse, like an old wooden window frame creaking in the cold wind.

  The curtain suddenly moved, and Cheng Ling Su walked out of the tent with a small package on her shoulder and a small basin in her hand.

  As she spoke, she changed hands and held the flowers in one hand, walked to the tent, picked up the wooden tripod, and supported it with her hand.

  The young man seemed startled and took a step back.

  Seeing him like a beast avoiding flood, Cheng Lingsu sighed. She put the flower pot on the ground, found a handkerchief and carefully wrapped up the wooden tripod.

  "I'm a businessman, since I've sold it to you, don't let me see it again." The young man's pale face had improved somewhat, but his voice still trembled slightly. He rummaged through his robe and pulled out a cloth pouch, tossing it to Cheng Ling Su, "This is what you wanted last time, take a look first."

  Cheng Lingsu took over, tied the wooden tripod to his waist, and then opened the cloth bag. Inside, he found a small knife with a blade as thin as a finger, extremely sharp, and four gold needles of varying lengths.

  "How?" The young man seemed unwilling to miss any of her expressions, staring intently at her face.

  "That's right, that's how it is." Cheng Lingsu picked up the small knife with her index finger and thumb, then put it back down, wrapped it together with the golden needle, and put it in her bosom. "Thank you."

  "What about the reward I want?" The young man obviously let out a sigh of relief, and his eyes showed a hint of longing.

  Cheng Lingsu picked up the flower pot and handed it to him: "This pot of flowers, I'll give them all to you. Place a bottle of wine next to the flower pot, every three months pick off a blue flower, bury it in the soil, not to mention snakes and scorpions, within ten steps around, no grass will grow, insects will disappear."

  The young man's eyes lit up and a look of wild joy appeared on his face: "So to say... from now on, there will never be any poisonous insects crawling on my body again?"

  Cheng Lingsu nodded: "These blue and white flowers, interdependent and mutually restrictive, as long as the middle one 'Tianxia Xiang' is still there, you can plant the blue flower yourself."

  The young man's heart was racing with excitement, his hands shook slightly as he took the flower pot, and he firmly hugged it in his arms.

  "I'm really leaving now."

  The young man immediately turned around and left upon hearing this.

  Cheng Lingsu raised his voice and said from behind him, "In these years, I have benefited a lot from your efforts to find this and that for me. Although it was a transaction, I really gained a lot. This flower species was originally found by you and given to me, and I just kept it alive. So, this time... let's say I still owe you one favor. If you have anything in the future, just come looking for me."

  But the young man kept his head down, his eyes fixed on the pot of flowers, and it was unclear whether he had heard her words or not.

  Cheng Lingsu sighed again, turned her head to look in the direction of the source of the Wudang River, where the noise was cutting through the sky above the grassland. She led the blue horse in front of the tent, mounted it, identified the direction, and rode southward.

  "Hua Yun! Hua Yun!" Just over ten miles away, only to hear the eagle's cry above, tearing through the sky, the horse hooves behind fluttering, the whip cracking like a series of firecrackers, getting closer and closer.

  Cheng Lingsu pulled the reins, turned her head to look at Tuo Lei who was originally supposed to be at the Wu Dan River source conference, riding alone and galloping towards her. The two young white eagles that had just learned to fly made a beautiful turn in the air, spread their wings, and flew sideways from in front of her horse.

  Tuo Lei rushed to the front of her horse, half a meter away, and suddenly pulled hard on the reins. The galloping horses abruptly stopped their hooves, let out a long whinny, lifted their forelegs, and stood upright.

  "Hua Xuan," Tuo Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead, hastily untying a leather pouch from the saddle and securing it to Cheng Ling Su's saddle. "Although Father will be angry, you are still his daughter. Whenever you get tired of playing around and want to come back, don't be afraid, just come back."

  "Brother Tuo Lei..." Cheng Ling Su originally thought he was here to stop her, and she was thinking about how to explain herself, but unexpectedly, Tuo Lei, who usually seemed careless, suddenly said something like this on the road to cultivating immortality.

  Tuo Lei leaned over from his horse, stretched out his arm and gently patted her shoulder: "If you head south, it's the Jin country. The Jin people like to use cunning schemes. This time Wang Han suddenly sent troops to attack Father, it was because he was instigated by the King of Jin, Wanyan Honglie. They are different from our children on the grasslands, often not keeping their promises after speaking. You must be careful, don't get cheated."

  Cheng Lingsu chuckled and nodded, raised her head and whistled, the two white eagles cried out in unison and landed on the shoulders of the two people.

  Cheng Lingsu stretched out her hand to tease the carved claws, and the white eagle lowered its head and rubbed its sharp beak back and forth in her palm, then flapped its wings again.

  "Hurry up and leave, if Father finds out that neither of us is here, he'll send someone to look for us." Tuo Lei waved his hand, trying to shoo away the white eagle perched on Cheng Ling Su's shoulder. But unexpectedly, the white eagle was extremely spirited and instead pecked at the back of his hand.

  Fierce and ferocious, even though it's not yet grown up, this peck is really not light. Looking at Tuo Lei holding the back of his hand with a red mark, staring blankly, Cheng Ling Su couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Crystalline laughter and the gentle breeze rustling through the grasslands intertwined, emerald green blades of grass rippling in layered waves of jade, as if also echoing this most beautiful melody, dancing with abandon.

  I don't remember when I last laughed so loudly, and the lingering thoughts of parting that had been entwined in my mind seemed to have drifted away with this laughter. Whether it was Yao Wang Zhuang or the Mongolian desert, Cheng Ling Su had always been one to leave as soon as she said goodbye, and now with a clear heart, she patted Tuolei's shoulder, bid him farewell, turned her horse around, and rode south without looking back.

  Two white gyrfalcons suddenly spread their wings, like two white clouds attached to the horse's back, slowly drawing two beautiful arcs in the air, then one after another, one left and one right. From a distance, the four hooves of the blue roan horse seemed to have grown a pair of wings. The long hair of the girl on the horse's back fluttered, as if she were floating outside the sky.

  Layers of white clouds floated gently and slowly on the top, occasionally revealing a line of bright blue sky that was crystal clear to the extreme. Looking far into the distance, the vast grasslands and deserts stretched out, meeting the sky and earth, as if endless.

  Cheng Lingsu let the horse run for a while, with only the sound of the wind whizzing past her ears and a vast expanse of scenery unfolding before her eyes, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhilaration in her heart.

  The vast yellow sand, the lush green grassland, it's hard to tell directions, even for seasoned travelers who have taken this road many times, they need to be careful and stop every ten or so miles to confirm their route. However, Cheng Ling Su didn't have such concerns. The two white eagles soared into the sky, with exceptional eyesight, they could see from afar the inns along the trade routes, the green horse closely followed the eagle's shadow, never missing a single overnight stop.

  After walking for several days, they crossed the grasslands and deserts, and arrived at the banks of the Black Water River. The white eagle let out a long cry, flew ahead to the inn beside the main road, and circled around in mid-air.

  Cheng Lingsu took a deep breath, knowing that she had finally set foot on the land of Zhongyuan. Just as she was about to urge her horse towards the inn, she suddenly heard a familiar camel bell sound.

  Her eyebrows slightly furrowed, the camel bell sound was completely different from what she usually heard in those merchant teams, and even more different was the source of the camel bell - indeed, walking closer, four snow-white camels leaned against the side of the road, occasionally raising their heads and shaking them, causing the bells under their necks to ring out.

  The author has something to say: First, let me explain the origin of these medicinal herbs and flowers ~ A certain young person is not just a passerby, but will have a very important role later on.

  Farewell to the grassland and desert... I haven't been to the desert, but I have seen the grassland, it's really continuous like Windows ~ [Is this a metaphor?!]

  Here are two photos of Yuan Yue and Blue Sky White Cloud Grassland Miao's horse from back then ~ They're really beautiful ~

  Here is the translation:

  The following is a conversation between Yuan Yue and Ji You about this chapter:

  The full moon [suffocating]: The male lead always disappears suddenly

  Bro: Leave his JJ behind!

  Yuè yuè: JJ is still being promiscuous everywhere...

  Ouyang Ke: