The scene on the evening of the Community Day turned into a nightmare without anyone noticing.
The heavy snow was like a blanket, gently covering the ground, and bloodstains were faintly visible.
Thank you for clearing away the heavy snow bit by bit...
The next second, he suddenly woke up from the nightmare.
The boy stood up reflexively and looked over the screen.
Wen Qingci is not here—
Xie Bufeng's heart sank and he began to panic for no reason.
Regardless of the chilly spring weather, he pushed the door open and walked out of the bedroom.
The night in Yongdu was cold and dewy. The sun had not yet risen, and the air was filled with an indelible blue.
There are two side rooms in the courtyard, which are filled with medicinal herbs.
A few days ago, Wen Qingci asked someone to come and clean up for half a day and vacated a room to turn into a kitchen.
Through the small window of the ear room, Xie Bufeng saw...
There is only enough space for a small clay stove in the cramped kitchen.
Wen Qingci lit the firewood with a fire starter and placed the purple clay pot filled with spring water on it.
Turn around and soak the magnolia petals in water, then wash the glutinous rice.
The water in the purple clay pot has boiled and is bubbling.
Along with this, there is also the crackling sound of burning wood in the small stove...
The warm firelight danced in Xie Bufeng's pupils, adding a bit of warmth to his originally cold eyes.
Soon, the sweet fragrance of magnolia porridge penetrated into the body through the air.
Xie Bufeng's wildly beating heart gradually calmed down.
The gurgling sound in the casserole makes people feel at ease...
But this strange calmness suddenly made Xie Bufeng confused.
After a while, he slowly lowered his head and smiled at himself.
I almost forgot that Wen Qingci's name "Fairy-faced Rakshasa" was known throughout the world.
He can be considerate to me, but he can also... take my life at any time.
*
The son of Marquis Zhong'an, who brought the trapped animal into the palace, had a family that had gone through two dynasties and had a very deep foundation, making him a tough nut to crack.
The lights in the imperial study would be kept on until midnight every night.
Due to overwork, the emperor's old illness recurred, and this time the symptoms were more serious than before.
Wen Qingci found an ancient prescription from the medical book left by the original owner.
In this world, there is a medicinal herb called "Convolvulus". Pills made from it can quickly relieve symptoms of headaches and drowsiness after taking them. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a panacea.
It is not uncommon to see bindweed growing in valleys where rivers flow out of mountains.
However, it will gradually lose its medicinal effect within half an hour after being picked, and must be processed and made into medicine immediately.
After much thought, it can only be accomplished by Wen Qingci leaving the palace in person.
He was accompanied by several doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Seeing so many people, Wen Qingci simply took this opportunity to take Xie Bufeng out of the palace on the pretext of "needing to test the medicine on the spot".
—If he remembered correctly, Xie Bufeng, like himself, had never stepped out of Taishu Palace in the past few months.
Wen Qingci hopes that the young man can take this opportunity to go out and take a look.
The carriage rolled through the long street and headed towards the outskirts of the city.
The breeze lifted the car curtains, letting in the scenery outside.
Wen Qingci's gaze slowly fell on the streets.
The area outside the Taishu Palace is where high-ranking officials and nobles live, and it is usually a place that is bustling with people.
But today, they all locked the gates and refused to see any guests.
The tense atmosphere had unknowingly spread from Taishu Palace to the entire Yongdu.
When we reached the outskirts of the city, the feeling of depression gradually dissipated.
The water quality of Convolvulus is very demanding, and only the Yukou in the lower reaches of Wang River near Yongdu is suitable for its growth.
The sun was shining brightly at noon, and the foot of the mountain was already green, but at the top of the mountain there was still piles of snow that had not melted yet.
The entrance to the valley is narrow, with strong winds blowing from time to time.
In order to facilitate movement, Wen Qingci tied up his black hair with a silk ribbon.
The sunlight made his face as white as paper, and the cinnabar between his eyebrows was particularly dazzling.
Without the softening of the broken hair, the facial features appear more cool and ethereal.
After getting off the carriage, Wen Qingci said to Xie Bufeng, "Your Highness, I will take the doctor to the front to collect herbs today. You can walk around first and come back here in about half an hour."
"Okay." Xie Bufeng looked uninterested.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Wen Qingci always felt that Xie Bufeng's attitude had been particularly cold in recent days, and he was no longer by his side like he had been in the past few days.
Although he felt a little strange, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
The "Herb Compilation" of Shen Yigu describes in detail the growing environment of Convolvulus.
Wen Qingci led his men upstream to the gravel beach.
The Wang River is winding and narrow, with moss growing on both sides and almost no place to step.
Wen Qingci was fine as he knew some light skills, but the doctor who came with him had difficulty walking.
But a few people were influenced by the rumors and wanted to stay as far away from him as possible, so they walked a little faster.
In just over twenty minutes, they arrived at their destination ahead of schedule.
"It's here." Wen Qingci breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the bindweed with their own eyes, several doctors were extremely excited. "It really exists!" One of them hurriedly took out the wooden box on his back and said, "I'll go pick it now!"
Wen Qingci coughed lightly and did not stop him.
There is nothing special about picking bindweed, and it is not a problem for the doctors of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The other party picked the flowers in no time and put them in a wooden box.
However, before everyone could completely relax from their tense mood, the doctor who was collecting herbs suddenly screamed.
Then, the man fell straight down.
The wooden box then fell out of his arms and into the river.
How is this going
Wen Qingci subconsciously looked at the other person's feet.
I don't know when the trickle of water overflowed the stones on the gravel beach, making the road under my feet even more slippery.
There was silence for only three or five seconds, and suddenly a loud rumbling sound came from the distance, deafening.
Wen Qingci immediately raised his eyes and looked upstream—
Huge pieces of ice and boulders flowed down the river, filling the river channel in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, it rolled onto the gravel beach.
"Get out of the way first!"
"Yes, yes—" Several medical officers immediately went to higher ground, using all four limbs to climb up the low cliff beside them.
The people on the river also stood up with difficulty and stumbled over here: "What...what is this?!"
"It was an ice flood. The dam upstream collapsed." Wen Qingci answered quickly.
The mountains upstream of Wang River are nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. The river flows extremely fast during the flood season, but in spring and winter, the river water and waterfalls upstream are all frozen, and the water flow is less than one-tenth of the usual amount.
But this does not mean that ice floods are not dangerous.
Now, the sun has shattered icefalls and rivers that are hundreds of meters high.
All the ice that had accumulated over the winter rolled down from upstream along with the remaining river water.
Although the river will not drown people during the dry season, the ice in the river can easily sweep people on both sides of the river and crush them to death.
Not to mention that the icicles broke through the stone dam upstream and brought down the boulders.
Hearing this, the doctor's face turned pale instantly.
By the time they came to their senses, the gravel beach had been filled with icicles, and the small wooden box had been swallowed up by the ice and disappeared without a trace.
It’s over... How can I report this to the authorities
"You guys pull him up, ahem... stay here and don't move." After saying that, Wen Qingci actually followed the river and went downstream with Bing Ling.
The Flowing Stone Beach is the widest and smoothest part of the Wang River. The downstream where Xie Bufeng is located is a hundred times more dangerous than here!
At this moment, Wen Qingci had only one thought in his mind:
Xie Bufeng is still there.
I must find him myself!
It hadn't been long since Tianci's attack, but Wen Qingci's body had still not recovered much.
After taking a few steps, he tasted a strong taste of blood in his mouth, and his chest began to burn, and his vision went dark.
Without caring about anything else, Wen Qingci endured the pain and went downstream.
Even with the use of light skills, his speed was still not as fast as the flow of ice.
When Wen Qingci arrived at the entrance of the valley, he saw this scene—
Giant icicles filled the narrow river channel, piling up nearly ten meters high in the center, like countless sharp flying swords, pointing their blades toward the sky.
The chilly air illuminated the river.
The situation is slightly better on the concave bank where the river bends.
At this time, Xie Bufeng was half-kneeling there, his calves were heavily pressed by the icicles, making it difficult for him to move.
As luck would have it, the wooden box was also brought here by Bingling.
Xie Bufeng's gaze fell on Wen Qingci.
Is he here looking for the medicine box
Without thinking too much, Wen Qingci lightly tapped his toes and stepped directly on the still moving icicles to come to Xie Bufeng's side.
Then he tried his best to pull the boy out.
“Cough cough cough… Follow, follow me.” Wen Qingci’s lips were bleeding at some point, and his voice became exceptionally hoarse.
But at this time, he still didn't look panicked at all.
The next moment, there was another loud rumbling sound coming from the valley entrance.
—Under the pressure of the ice behind, the originally stable ice pile began to move again
During the rolling, the wooden box that was originally floating on the ice was finally completely rolled in and buried deep under the ice pile.
But from beginning to end, Wen Qingci never even glanced at the medicine box.
A cold wind mixed with ice chips blew over.
The ribbon on Wen Qingci's head slipped off at some point, and her soft black hair fell on her shoulders like a waterfall.
Then, with the wind, it gently brushed past Xie Bufeng's cheek.
Along with this, there is also that familiar bitter fragrance.
(End of this chapter)