Today is the fourth day of May.
Soon, Ji Yuan felt that the light above his head was getting dimmer, and large rain clouds were approaching.
"Boom..."
Another violent thunder roared, and the lightning before the thunder was like a super camera shutter, illuminating the ground that was already a little dim under the dark clouds.
Woo….Woo…
In the wilderness outside, the wind blew before the rain, sweeping up the grass and trees with dust. Fortunately, the small cave in the stone wall where Ji Yuan was located was a little special. The stone walls on both sides blocked too much wind, and coupled with the inclined angle above, it seemed that even though the wind was blowing violently a few feet away, the cave was relatively calm.
"It looks like it's going to rain heavily!"
Ji Yuan smiled, reached into the bag, and his smile froze the next second.
He grabbed the bag, opened it, looked through it, and finally found four fresh dates in the corner, but nothing else.
'I've already eaten all the dates?'
Scratching his itchy scalp, Ji Yuan really felt that he might have stayed here too long. After all, being hungry was a real problem.
"Oh... these dates are hard to come by, and they are good for fighting hunger. I was planning to save some of them, but I didn't expect that it has only been a short time..."
Just as he was lamenting, Ji Yuan's ears suddenly moved and he heard a sound that was different from the sound of the wind.
Ji Yuan looked to the left in the direction of the sound. He could not see clearly, but it proved that he was not mistaken. There was indeed someone approaching.
"How could someone come to a place like this? It seems like they turned from the official road!"
Before long, the voices of the people coming could be clearly heard, and three people could be seen driving a carriage and leading two horses, hurrying towards the direction of the stone wall and mound.
"The Wolongbi is just ahead. Hurry up, hurry up, go over there and take shelter before the rain starts!"
"Hurry up, Zhuzi, Yulian, get out of the car so it can go faster."
…
From time to time, shouts and whip sounds could be heard, and it sounded like people were coming here specifically to avoid the rain.
Ji Yuan listened to their words and once again looked at the pea-shaped rock cave where he was.
"Wolongbi? Where on earth is this image?"
After a while, the group driving the carriage finally arrived near the so-called Sleeping Dragon Wall.
Naturally, everyone in the group noticed that there was a man with a bundle as a pillow at the other end of the cave, looking at them. Then an elder in the group, who was probably over fifty years old, bowed slightly to Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan really didn't want to get up, so he hugged Shuxu and shook his hand in return.
Neither party spoke. Ji Yuan watched them hurriedly drive the carriage close to the hole in the rock wall. Two of the strong men immediately and swiftly took a pointed piece of wood and a wooden hammer from the carriage and started to hammer in the horse stakes.
After working for a while, they finally secured the carriage and three horses to the side of the cave. The group relaxed, and everyone outside and those who got off the carriage sat down inside the cave.
There were seven people in total. In addition to the elder who bowed to Ji Yuan, there were two young men. The rest were a woman of similar age, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, and two little boys. The youngest boy was younger than Yin Qing, and the older boy was about thirteen or fourteen years old.
Ji Yuan focused his gaze on the three horses, then looked at the people who had hidden in the stone wall. Without any particular interest, he looked at the book again.
"Boom..."
The thunder sounded again, and after about a dozen breaths, heavy rain poured down on the earth. Although it was getting noisier outside, there was a feeling that the world suddenly became quiet.
"Oh, I almost missed it. This road leads to nowhere, but luckily it's not far from the Sleeping Dragon Wall!"
The elder in the team said this in a relaxed tone, and the group of seven sat there and chatted.
"Uncle Zhong, how long will it take for the rain to stop?"
"There are many sudden thunderstorms like this at this time of year. They come and go quickly. I think they will stop in an hour at most."
"Uncle, there's a person lying over there. He doesn't move at all. He's sleeping on the dirty ground. Is he a beggar?"
A little boy pointed at Ji Yuan and said this.
"Little kid, stop pointing fingers at others. They are just travelers hiding from the rain!"
The elder surnamed Zhong reprimanded in a slightly stern tone.
However, the little boy's words also made Ji Yuan look at his own appearance. At least his clothes were intact, and his slovenliness was not an exaggeration compared to his previous self... right? How could he look like a beggar
"Hehehe... I'm being called a beggar again~!"
Ji Yuan smiled a little nervously, mainly because he thought of his hesitant self back then, and also thought of a scene in his previous life when Stephen Chow played Tang Bohu. It can be said that "Today's mood is very different!"
Unfortunately, the reality was not as the elder named Zhong in the group said. The rain did not gradually weaken until an hour and a half later. The heavy rain turned into drizzle and showed signs of stopping. Except for Ji Yuan, most people in the cave were drowsy.
"Oh, someone is coming here in the rain!"
At one end of the cave, which had been quiet for a while, the little boy's voice started shouting again.
"Oh, you're walking so slowly. You must be soaked!"
Someone echoed.
Ji Yuan frowned, put down the book temporarily and looked up into the rain. In the dim light, he saw an elderly man wearing a round-necked long gown and a straight-breasted coat walking slowly towards the stone wall.
Not only could Ji Yuan see this person clearly, but he could not hear the sound of rain falling on him. However, as the person got closer and closer, it was obvious that his clothes were already wet.
Ji Yuan subconsciously looked at the seven people at the opposite corner of the cave, hoping that it was not a bad situation.
The visitor seemed to be in a good mood. He strolled to the edge of the cave in the rain. Suddenly, he was stunned and looked at Ji Yuan, as if he had just realized that he was there, while Ji Yuan had already sat up with a book in his hand.
The two sides' eyes met, and after two breaths, the person who came in the rain smiled, then stood in the rain and bowed to Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan, feeling a little relieved, also returned the greeting with a smile.
The man walked over in the rain, entered the shelter of the stone wall, and walked to the front of the cave. He just nodded and smiled at the seven people who were looking at him curiously, and then walked directly to Ji Yuan.
The sound arrives before the person arrives.
"Sir, you are in a very elegant mood!"
The man had already carefully observed Ji Yuan's entire body. The dust on his clothes and his slightly messy hair showed that Ji Yuan had been lying here for quite some time.
Ji Yuan also observed the person carefully. He was of medium height and had a straight posture. His eyebrows and beard were long under the square crown on his head. His eyes were clear and full. He did not look like he was in his seventies or eighties, but he looked like he was over sixty. Hearing the other party's words, which were not sure whether they were praise or ridicule, Ji Yuan responded with a smile.
"Hehe... I'm just taking a short rest here. Speaking of elegance, nothing can compare to your leisurely stroll in the rain."
While Ji Yuan was speaking, his peripheral vision was still paying attention to the water drops dripping on the other person's clothes. He could hear the footsteps and the sound of water falling to the ground. The water on the clothes did not seem fake.
The visitor is definitely not an ordinary person, but it is unclear whether he is a god, a demon or a fairy. Ji Yuan is not as relaxed and contented as he appears to be on the surface.
The visitor's leisurely demeanor was not fake. He walked slowly to Ji Yuan and glanced at the book in his hand, and his eyes seemed to widen a little.
"Heterodox Biography? It's a miscellaneous book from many years ago! Do you mind if I sit beside you?"
"Please help yourself, sir."
Even though I mind, this isn't the right occasion to say it out loud.
The old man just sat one foot away from Ji Yuan. The rain on his body flowed out from the ground where he was sitting and also flowed onto Ji Yuan. However, Ji Yuan really didn't care about it. Seeing that the old man had no intention of talking for the time being, he naturally would not take the initiative to start a conversation. He picked up the book and pretended to continue reading, while his mind was mostly paying attention to others.
The two of them were silent for a while, one of them was reading a book absent-mindedly, and the other was looking at the rain outside the cave.
"Uncle, what are they doing?"
"Shh... don't talk nonsense! Everyone, pack up, we'll leave when the rain stops..."
The elder surnamed Zhong lowered his voice, as if he had sensed something was wrong. As he spoke, he winked and asked the two strong young men to go and pull out the hitching posts.
The older generation often said that evil winds and rains are likely to cause encounters with mandrills and spirits. The one who came here in the wilderness didn't seem like a normal person, and now it seems that the one who was originally there was not normal either.
Yes, in this situation, except for the youngest child who was curious, the fastest and strongest feeling among the others was actually fear. The simple wisdom of the country folk cannot be said to be completely correct, but it did help to avoid many disasters. This kind of reaction at the time may be difficult to imagine for many people who have not experienced it. If it were Ji Yuan's previous life, many people would have scolded him for being stupid.
The cave became very quiet, and the only sound was the gradually sparse rain outside. After about another quarter of an hour, the rain gradually stopped, and the seven people at the other end of the cave hurriedly left under the leadership of their elders, leading the horses and driving the carts.
Ji Yuan naturally hoped that the seven people would leave quickly, but seeing them leave so decisively, Ji Yuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
The word "fate" is really amazing. Some people spend their entire lives and never encounter the mystery they are pursuing until they die, while others encounter it inexplicably, but are frightened. Perhaps the feeling of regret will ferment only afterwards.