Chapter 38: The Long Night

  Yang Ling wrapped his arms around Ma Lian'er and jumped onto the snowy slope. The snow, which had been exposed to the short daylight, had already crystallized on its surface. With the momentum, the two began sliding down the steep slope, Ma Lian'er instinctively let out a sharp cry and tightly wrapped her arms around Yang Ling's neck.

  The wind whizzed past her ears, like a galloping horse. Although Ma Lian'er was not afraid of death, she was frightened by this danger and her soul flew away, clinging to Yang Ling's body with her eyes tightly closed.

  Yang Ling had once slid down a sandy slope, and he thought that as long as he was lucky enough not to hit any wooden stakes or branches, he might be able to escape with his life. He hugged Ma Lian'er tightly, gazing anxiously at the slope, which was bare of trees, but the small shrubs and weeds bent by the snow scratched his robes without harming his skin.

  He saw that he was about to crash into the snow at the foot of the mountain, and with his current speed and angle, he would directly smash into the snowy ground like a cannonball. Yang Ling suddenly fell backwards, shifting his center of gravity, and strained his head upwards, arching it away from the snow surface, afraid of hitting rocks or tree branches.

  Ma Lianer was caught off guard, her body leaning forward in a sudden collapse, and she shared an utterly unromantic kiss with Yang Ling. Both of them let out a muffled hum, their mouths filled with a salty fishy smell.

  Ma Lianer's eyes widened, and before she could say anything, Yang Ling's body suddenly sprang up, bringing a burst of flying snow with him as he slid forward along the ground. Closely following, Yang Ling's right foot kicked against a small tree, and with a cracking sound, both their bodies turned around, spinning horizontally as they slid out.

  After rolling and tumbling for a while, Yang Ling finally stopped and looked around, only to find himself in a forest. About ten meters ahead of him was a small tree that he had just kicked down, and two meters in front of him was a huge boulder covered with thick white snow.

  Ma Lian'er's heart also fell, and it was only then that she realized she had been lying in a very ambiguous posture on Yang Ling's lap. She suddenly blushed bright red, and resentfully punched Yang Ling's chest. Yang Ling was just celebrating the fact that his usually fragile "weak body" was safe this time, but after being punched, he suddenly realized there was still a delicate body pressed against him. He hastily let go of her like he had been stung, and Ma Lian'er got up with a red face.

  Yang Ling thickened his face and stood up, walking to Ma Lian'er's front and gazing at the mountain peaks that the two had jumped down from. At this time, the heavy snow was confusing, and the line of sight in the forest did not exceed 100 steps, and it was no longer possible to see the situation on top of the mountain.

  Ma Lianer's heart was racing like a deer, she stole a glance and saw that Yang Ling's long gown had been torn into strips, revealing the blue cotton padded pants underneath, with two clusters of cotton balls exposed on his buttocks, looking extremely disheveled.

  He was so brave, a weak scholar, yet he dared to jump down the steep ice peak. Moreover, thinking of falling down the mountain, he always hugged himself tightly and put himself on top, Ma Lian's heart felt a sweet touch, and her eyes unconsciously floated up with a gentle warmth.

  Yang Ling still didn't know that he now looked like a peacock in full display, but only from the back. He excitedly turned around and said to Ma Lian'er: "The Tartars wouldn't dare come down the mountain like this, let's hide in the forest and avoid their search."

  Ma Lian'er looked at the desolate forest, where birds flew silently and there were no signs of human presence. She hesitated and said: "With such a steep slope, they shouldn't be coming down here, if we get lost in the woods, we'll be trapped to death".

  Yang Ling's face twitched and he said dryly, "If it were just me, the Tartars might not necessarily give chase, but with you added to the mix, it's hard to say. Better hide for now."

  "What do you mean? Am I a disaster... uh... then let's hide", she said, her tone suddenly changing to a embarrassed one.

  Yang Ling grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, slowly dissolving it, waiting until the snow water was no longer cold before slowly swallowing it down, while cautiously looking around. Ma Lian'er was also in disarray, with sweat dripping from her brow, her hairpins askew, and her skirt and sleeves torn to shreds.

  The snow has stopped, it's already late afternoon, the empty mountain is quiet and vast. This pair of beggars seems to be in a "Jade Pool Fairyland". Rocks, pine trees, ground, everything is covered under the thick snow, all dressed in silver and white...

  Very beautiful and primitive scenery, enough to make people linger and forget to return, if they are not lost and followed by a wolf behind.

  Originally, the two only wanted to hide in the forest for a while, but as they walked deeper into the dense woods, a wolf appeared ghostly behind them. The first reaction of the two was to run away, and the wolf followed slowly behind, waiting for them to exhaust their strength.

  Ma Lian'er had lived on the grasslands for many years, she knew that she couldn't run anymore, if she continued to run, her fate would be to easily become food in the mouth of this wolf. She picked up a large tree trunk broken by snow from the snowy ground and confronted the big green wolf.

  Yang Ling saw that she didn't run, and he also picked up a tree branch to join the battle. Modern people may have heard too many stories about the big gray wolf since childhood, but when they really see an animal of this shape, which is similar to a native dog, it's hard for an adult holding a big stick to feel too much fear towards this "native dog".

  Ma Lian'er knew the ferocity of wolves, but Yang Ling did not. Ignorance is bliss, and Yang Xiucai raised his stick and shouted loudly as he brought it down with all his might. Although Yang Ling's physique was not good, this full-force blow would have been enough to crack open the skull of a robust man.

  The stick hit the big wolf's head with a loud thud, and Yang Ling hadn't even had time to feel happy when Ma Lian'er shouted loudly: "Be careful!", swinging her stick horizontally. The big wolf was hit hard, whimpering like a dog on the ground, rolled over, and then sprang up again, ferociously pouncing towards Yang Ling.

  Yang Ling was startled by the swift reaction of the green wolf, and he had already seen the white teeth in the big green wolf's mouth. At this time, Ma Lian'er's stick, accompanied by a whistling sound, also arrived, and the stick heavily swept across the wolf's hind legs. The green wolf let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, limping and escaping into a thicket, still staring at them fiercely without letting go.

  Ma Lian'er grasped the wooden stick with both hands and said to Yang Ling, "The wolf's skull is extremely hard, if you want to hit it, hit its legs and waist. The wolf is 'copper head, hemp leg, iron tail, tofu waist', stare at that place and hit".

  That green wolf also sensed that the two creatures were not easy to deal with, but it refused to retreat. The two chased after it, and the wolf ran away, turning around and walking away. The wolf followed again, and they walked and fought like this until now, when the green wolf suddenly disappeared without a trace, and the two also got lost on their way.

  Now they were so exhausted that they could hardly move, their clothes were soaked through, and the sweat on their underwear was almost frozen into ice. They were shivering with cold. As night was approaching, if they spent the night like this, they would either be eaten by wolves or freeze to death. Under Ma Lian'er's guidance, Yang Ling learned a survival skill in the wilderness: digging a snow pit.

  The snow in the forest covered many towering ancient trees, and the ancient trees broke down and fell to the ground, forming some pits. Although the area was not large, there were gaps that allowed air to pass through. Yang Ling hollowed out the snow cave, compressed it, and moved two withered tree trunks inside. The two of them huddled together, sitting inside, which could both keep warm and avoid wild beasts.

  The night had completely fallen, and Yang Ling's legs were already completely frozen. Ma Lian'er was somehow squeezed together with Yang Ling, her head resting on his shoulder, drowsy.

  "Can't sleep, let's talk to refresh ourselves, we must hold on till dawn", Yang Ling's eyelids were also about to close, he pinched himself and shouted at Ma Lian'er with a stiff tongue.

  "Umm... Yang Xiuzai, Yang Yizheng, Yang Daguo, you do good deeds, I'm so tired, hungry and sleepy, I just lean on you a little, just for a moment, until dawn... it's fine", Ma Lian'er said weakly, her soft and gentle tone was like a spoiled child, if heard in a boudoir with fragrant charcoal fire, it would surely make one's heart flutter and imagine forbidden things.

  "No way!" Yang Ling had no experience of surviving in the wilderness, but he had read too many stories about people freezing to death in their sleep from newspapers and magazines. He wanted to wake up Ma Lian'er, but she was so tired that she didn't even want to move, her entire weak and boneless body leaning lazily on Yang Ling's, playing dead and refusing to get up.

  "No, wake up! By the time it's daylight, you'll have frozen to death too, with a layer of ice on your body, so stiff that even wolves can't gnaw through it! I don't want to drag back an ice sculpture!" Yang Ling was anxious and slapped her cheek.

  Her lips hurt, Ma Lian'er opened her sleepy eyes, the cave was pitch black inside, but Yang Ling's breath sprayed on her face, so warm, that was the only warmth, Ma Lian'er became more drowsy, she murmured: "Chat... what are we chatting about? Let me... sleep for a while".

  "Can't sleep!" Yang Ling said anxiously: "Cheer up, my body won't last through the night, women have thicker fat layers than men and are more resistant to cold. I'll give you my clothes to wear, can't sleep, every one who can live is one."

  Ma Lian'er's mind was dazed, and for a moment she couldn't digest Yang Ling's words. She greedily leaned her body closer to Yang Ling, and asked in a daze: "What... what fat?"

  "Uh, subcutaneous fat... cough, you won't understand even if I tell you, just think of it as fatty meat then."

  After a while, in the dark and quiet snow cave of the mountain forest, a loud voice suddenly shouted: "Fatty? Am I very fat?"