"Boom..."
The second thunder sounded, much weaker, and the thunder also echoed among the mountains.
Lin Xinjie and Lei Yusheng straightened their clothes with a bit of embarrassment. Their panic-stricken look just now was indeed a bit embarrassing.
Yin Qing and his three classmates walked closer to the inside and followed the peddlers' example, moving two tables to the corners, laying them down, and then placing the bookcases on one side.
The remaining tables and benches here can be put down to block the wind, and can be used as a cushion to raise them off the ground when the weather is cold and damp. In real trouble, they can be chopped up and used as firewood.
"Mo Xiu, let's go collect some firewood. It's very cold in the mountains at night."
Yin Qing suggested to his companions, and then said to Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie who wanted to speak.
"You guys tidy up here, clean up a small area, or move a few more tables over so you can sleep well at night."
Hearing this, Lin Xinjie frowned.
"Why go to all that trouble? Didn't we ask the previous driver to buy us a hatchet? Can't we just chop up the tables and chairs here and use them as firewood?"
"Yeah, we're exhausted after walking for most of the day, and it's going to rain soon, it will be troublesome for you to go out!"
Yin Qing squatted down, took out a hatchet from his bookcase, smiled and shook his head.
"Have you ever thought about why there are still so many tables and chairs in this deserted inn after all this time? If everyone chops them up and uses them as firewood, it will be very inconvenient for people to rest in the future! Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is better not to destroy them. Now that it is not raining and it is not dark, let's go out and get some dry firewood..."
Having said that, Yin Qing moved closer to Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie and spoke in a low voice.
"Keep an eye on the bookcase."
"Well, go ahead!" "Yes, the sooner you go, the sooner you come back!"
Yin Qing picked up the hatchet, called out to Mo Xiu and walked out. On the one hand, he wanted the two men to look after the bookcases, and on the other hand, the two were real young masters who had never done any work since childhood, and they were exhausted after walking for most of the day.
Mo Xiu at least still had some strength. Although Yin Qing himself looked tired, he was the one with the most strength.
Among the traveling merchants over there, after hearing what Yin Qing had just said, a few older ones turned their heads and looked at him intently. Although they didn't say anything, their impression of this scholar was obviously improved a lot.
When Yin Qing and Mo Xiu left the deserted inn, they could feel the wind starting to blow outside. They looked up at the dark clouds, which seemed to be closer to some of the surrounding tall peaks. Rumbling thunder could be heard from time to time.
"Let's go to the gentle slope nearby."
"Um!"
The two rolled up their sleeves, tightened their cuffs with the straps they took from the book box, and went to the nearby hillside.
There was no shortage of firewood in the mountains. Yin Qing and Mo Xiu picked up many branches of different sizes and cut some from the trees. They used a hatchet to cut off some forks and tried their best to tie them into bundles with straps. It only took them a quarter of an hour to collect a small bundle.
"Boom..."
The thunder in the sky became louder and the wind grew stronger. Mo Xiu was still picking up firewood, but Yin Qing had already stopped.
"Mo Xiu, stop picking them up. It's going to rain soon. Go back quickly!"
"Ah? This is just a little bit, how can it be enough!"
"If we don't go back soon, we'll be soaked to the skin. Getting wet in the mountains is no joke!"
The two men carried the bundle of firewood and walked along. If they found any dead branches or logs on the road, Mo Xiu would pick up the ones that were convenient and put them on top of the fire.
When we arrived at the deserted inn, the rotten wooden door had been mostly closed, leaving only a crack.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."
The two of them pushed the door together, and the old wooden door squeaked as it rubbed against the ground. Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie on the other side also hurriedly stood up and went over to help carry the firewood and then closed the door.
Only then did Yin Qing and Mo Xiu realize that they heard the sound of "woooo...woooo...woooo..." outside the door. It turned out that the wind was so strong.
"Young man, if you don't have enough firewood, we have some here, all dry firewood. If you need kindling, come over here and get some charcoal."
Looking at the four scholars busying around, an old man named Lu among the traveling merchants said something to them.
Traveling merchants are not big businessmen, and their money is earned through hard work. They will prepare everything when traveling anywhere. If there is firewood, they will chop it and burn it. If there is no firewood, they will always have dry firewood in their backpacks.
The four scholars were immediately surprised and thanked him repeatedly.
About half a quarter of an hour later, the rain finally started to fall "clatter..." Fortunately, although the post station had been abandoned for a long time, there were not many leaking places, and most of them were in the corners near the outside. The positions of Yin Qing and those traveling merchants were fine.
Two piles of fire were burning in the post station. Yin Qing used a few earthen bricks in the post station as a stove and followed the example of some traveling merchants who used pots to collect rainwater and then brought it back to cook.
When it rains in the mountains, it gets dark faster. The traveling merchants were obviously well prepared. Those who were sitting inside were warming themselves by the fire, while those who were sitting outside were wearing straw raincoats and hats, and they also set up tables and benches.
There were fewer people on Yin Qing's side, so it wasn't cold as they were roasting a fire. They also prepared some dry food and followed the peddlers' example, sticking the food on wooden sticks to make toasted buns.
"This night won't be that difficult, but I might not be able to sleep."
Lei Yusheng said this, took out a book from the bookcase, and began to read it in the firelight.
About two hours later, Yin Qing, Mo Xiu and Lin Xinjie were still sitting by the fire, staring at each other, while Lei Yusheng had fallen asleep curled up on a low table with a book as his pillow.
"I really admire Yusheng..."
Lin Xinjie said with a twitch of his lips, and Mo Xiu beside him was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"What did he just say, that he won't be able to sleep tonight?"
Many of the traveling merchants over there were lying down, and some were even snoring, obviously sleeping soundly. But there were basically a few people awake, and those who were keeping watch were also chatting in low voices.
"Uncle Lu, where do you think those scholars are from? Their accents don't sound like they're from Wanzhou."
Someone looked over there and asked curiously.
"That's not clear. It's none of our business anyway."
"A scholar who passes the imperial examination can become an official. Hey, Uncle Lu, when can I get rich, go to school, pass the imperial examination, and become the top scholar, and then live a life of wealth and honor for the rest of my life?"
The elderly man surnamed Lu looked at him, then at the scholar over there.
"Well, it's almost done. Someone will be there to keep watch for you in a little while."
The man scratched his head, not quite understanding what Lu Bo said and felt that he was talking nonsense. However, Yin Qing, who heard it clearly, laughed out loud.
The elderly man surnamed Lu then sighed at the man.
“Hey, that’s the difference in the brain!”
Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door of the deserted inn.
"Bang, bang, bang... bang, bang..."
"No one is looking at the fire!"
The shrill voice and the knock on the door woke up all the sleeping peddlers.
"The door isn't blocked, just push it open!"
As soon as the peddler finished speaking, someone pushed the door outside, and the wooden door was pushed open with a plow on the ground.
“Woo…Woo…” “Hua La La La…”
It's stormy outside.
"Boom..."
“Ah~~~”
As lightning illuminated the door, a woman screamed, and several figures at the door hurried into the inn, then pushed the door closed again.
With the light from the fire inside, the peddler and the scholar could see that there were three women. Although they had umbrellas, they were obviously wet. They were rubbing their arms and looked very cold. Some parts of their clothes were sticking to their bodies, and their graceful figure could be seen.
"Shall we warm ourselves by the fire?"
The leading woman looked at both sides and asked.
As for the traveling merchants, although most of them were staring at the bodies and faces of the three women, almost all of them held their axes and did not say anything extra.
On the scholar's side, four people, including Yin Qing and Lei Yusheng who had just woken up, were also looking at the woman, but including the youngest Yin Qing, who had received strict education from the teacher, their eyes were not too direct.
So the three women naturally walked towards the scholar.
Lei Yusheng hurriedly got down from the table and sat upright by the fire, while Lin Xinjie brought a stool and dusted with a towel.
"Young man, you are all scholars, men and women should not touch each other!"
The elder surnamed Lu suddenly said this: old people become cunning. It is very strange that three women suddenly appeared in the wilderness in the middle of the night.
Yin Qing also immediately followed suit.
"What the old man reminded me of is that the girls were soaked by the rain and needed a separate place to warm themselves by the fire. Oh, old man, how about we give the bonfire to the three girls? As scholars, we should not look at them without permission. How about we squeeze in with you? Brother Mo, don't you agree?"
The other three looked at Yin Qing, hesitating and not answering.
"Not bad, not bad. Then come over here, you youngsters!"
Yin Qing bowed to the old man, glared at his three friends sternly, and forcibly pulled his three friends over there.
"Oh...we don't care..."
A woman said in a daze.
"But we care! A girl's reputation is no small matter!"
Yin Qing dragged the people to the peddler without saying anything, without even taking the bookcase. At this moment, his strength was so great that three scholars who wanted to dawdle were dragged away by him alone.
The three women were obviously dazed. After a long time, the leader laughed and said jokingly, "What a nerd!" Then she led the other two women to sit by the campfire where Yin Qing and others had been, and subconsciously looked at the four book boxes.
On the other side, the elder surnamed Lu nodded to Yin Qing and others, asked them to sit down in the empty seats near the campfire, and spoke in a very low voice.
"When you go out, it's better to be safe than sorry!"
Yin Qing just bowed without saying anything. Unlike others, he seemed to be able to smell a foul odor, which made him extremely uneasy, especially since these women all looked like humans.
During this period of time, in addition to reading by the river, he occasionally chatted with the old turtle on the river when no one was around. The old turtle on Chunmu River said that although Dazhen was peaceful, there were actually countless types of mountain spirits and monsters in this world. But regardless of their strength, as long as they had truly cultivated into a human body, their cultivation was not shallow.
Of course, the word "cultivation" in transforming into a human body is extremely important. The human bodies of some monsters are created by magical powers and sorcery, and they remain essentially unchanged, but mortals cannot see through them.
Then there are various means of luring mortals, such as "fraudulent sacrifice", in which they steal the essence or vital energy of human beings, some of which shorten people's lifespan, while others even kill people.
As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Yin Qing had been exposed to some such things and instinctively felt that there was something wrong with these three women.
With a "bang", a bookcase fell over, and the inkstone, wolf hair brush and other items inside fell out.
"Oh... Whose thing is this? I accidentally knocked it over!"
A woman looked anxious.
"Mine, mine! Hey, don't step on the rice paper!"
"Ah...don't step on it!"
Mo Xiu was anxious and ran over quickly. Yin Qing shouted "Mo Xiu!", but there was no time to hold him back.
However, nothing happened when Mo Xiu arrived. The woman apologized repeatedly and helped him pack the bookcase. When she saw Mo Xiu's clothes among the bookcase, she timidly said.
"Sir, my clothes are all wet, and I feel cold and uncomfortable. Can I borrow your clothes to wear?"
"Ah? Uh...oh..."
Mo Xiu looked at the woman clinging to her clothes, his face becoming a little irritated, and he opened the bookcase to get clothes for her.
"What about us... Can you guys borrow some clothes?"
The two women stood by acting delicately.
Yin Qing suddenly had an idea. He looked at the elder surnamed Lu, then stood up and walked over. Seeing that Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie also wanted to stand up, he turned around and said something serious.
"Sit down!"
After saying this, Yin Qing turned around and immediately put on a smiling face and walked over quickly.
"How about this, I have a few sets of clothes, I'll get them for the two girls!"
Several women covered their mouths and smiled.
"Thank you very much, sir!"
"Yeah, it's okay!"
Yin Qing half-knelt, hiding the sweat on his forehead that was actually from panic with the restraint that came from never having interacted with a woman before.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a woman squatting beside him and looking at him. Something seemed to move under her skirt, and a faint, foul smell came into his nose again, making him move more impatiently.
'found it!'
What Yin Qing found was a letter. It was the letter that Ji Yuan had given to Yin Zhaoxian when he first left Ning'an County. It was given to Yin Qing by Yin Zhaoxian when he went to Wanzhou. In addition to asking his son to copy the handwriting, it was also a form of encouragement.
Yin Qing quietly took the letter out of the old envelope, then took it out from under his clothes.
"I wonder if this dress is okay?"
"Just don't make them naked~"
A woman jokingly picked up her clothes and shook them, and a piece of letter fell out.
Brush~~
A ray of light containing deterrence flashed across the letter paper.
“Ah…” “Ah…” “Ah…”
The three women were so frightened that they jumped away from the campfire, their faces full of fear.
"Oh, Mr. Ji's letter paper has been found. It's all my fault for not putting it away properly!"
Yin Qing's voice was filled with surprise. After confirming that the letter was indeed useful, he picked up the letter paper that had fallen to the ground. In his eyes, each of the words on it seemed to be flashing with a faint light.
Although a letter written by Ji Yuan in his early years was not a decree, the will and spirit it contained at the time have remained condensed for many years.