Chapter 38: No Homogeneous Customs
Bai Ya did not answer. After a brief moment of silence, the woman turned around and lifted the curtain in front of her slightly. She still looks quite young, maybe only a little older than Jun Aoyan, no more than five years. She had a basket at her left foot and a wooden stick in her right hand that had gone out. Bai Ya took two steps closer and stopped, because there were many suspected bee corpses on the ground.
The woman's gaze quickly swept over her face, lingering on the scimitar for a few more moments, then moving back to his. She didn't make any further introductions, but said softly:
"If anything, wait a while. You don't want these murderous bees to wake up, do you? β
Bai Ya remained silent, not even nodding. But he acquiesced to the woman's statement, and there were no other problems after she turned back. He crouched down, looked up at the woman who was collecting the bees, and continued to study the bees on the ground. They are smaller than ordinary bees, with a slender body, red where they should be yellow, and black hair. Maybe it's not a bee, but a hornet or a bug like Hu Feng. He stood up again, looking in the direction of the woman, and a dark beehive diagonally above her. The hive was also strange, it was supposed to hang from a branch or under the eaves, and it stood on a branch as if it had been put on it.
Looking at this plainly dressed woman, Bai Ya's heart swelled up with a trace of emotion for the first time in a long time. Although many doubts were still in my mind, the fear of not seeing other big people for a few days was dispelled. He was not afraid to wander alone, he had been to many deserted places and spent much longer periods of time. But this place is different, everything is too unfamiliar, and the harsh environment and experience make him not feel the slightest feeling of exile in a foreign country - because this is another world at all, and everything cannot be handled by experience.
But what about the woman in front of you? He couldn't help but wonder, is she real? It is not excluded that you may have hallucinations after eating the wrong thing. He had to keep an eye on her, as alert as if she were going to disappear at any moment. Compared to the crazy believers on the beach, this woman is obviously different. is not only fair skin that is less sunburned, but also "self-confidence" that cannot be said in every gesture. This trust is trust in the self, believing in the self - at least she will not believe in an ethereal illusion like the god of the sea. Is she a believer in any deity? Will she be friendly?
There are too many questions without answers, and that is no problem. Bai Ya never thought about unnecessary things, but he rarely waited patiently for her to finish the task at hand.
The woman put down the rod and took out a white cloth from the basket. She held the cloth in both hands, slowly covering the black hive, and then breaking it down. The hive was pouring black dust, cinders. Instead of putting the hive directly into the basket, the woman rubbed the hive with that piece of cloth so that more "cinders" fell from it, and there were still that kind of bees mixed in with it. Bai Ya watched from behind, but he didn't see anything like honey flowing out, like a beehive had dried up. The cloth was always white and not stained.
"What are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Well, that's hard to explain." The woman shook her head, "You only think I'm picking honey." β
So he didn't ask any more questions, but took a few steps forward and glanced at the basket. The basket has a strangely shaped off-white frame with fine hollows that make it uncomfortable to look at.
Eventually, the entire nest was dismantled, revealing the same gray frame inside. It's more hollow and well-defined.
Like a human half of the ribcage.
"You're skeptical." The woman said.
"I also suspect that the basket is bones, people." Bai Ya looked at her smoky gray eyes, "And it's pelvis." β
"You're smart."
This woman is very calm, so calm that Bai Ya feels uncomfortable. He didn't think it was strange what was going on in the woods, and the other party had lived nearby for a long time, and he knew everything he didn't know. But Bai Ya still didn't have a good impression of her, perhaps deep down he still deeply hated this country and its inhabitants. Therefore, the more people here know everything about this place, the more his disgust is strengthened.
But he can still control it.
"What kind of bee is this? You say it kills. β
"Yes. Even a black bear can be killed by a bee sting. Moreover, their poison is released slowly and only attacks when the prey has traveled a long distance. Eventually, the prey festers and dies, and the carcass exudes a unique scent. The scent wafted for miles, telling them that the time had come. Then, a party will be split from the original lair, and the new queen will lead the soldiers to establish her own kingdom on the corpses. β
"They eat dead meat? Those bones are even the prey they sting? They only eat people? β
"You're right. However, they only eat the prey they kill. However, until the new team arrives, the scent will also attract other animals. Their poison works against ordinary insects and does not cause carcasses to decompose quickly, but it is not effective against larger scavengers. Usually by the time they arrived, the corpse was left near the wound. However, human bones are rare...... After all, basically no one comes here. These are rare, and I'm more ...... today Fortunate. β
"What do you want these bones for?"
"Medicine."
"You're a witch doctor?"
"Sort of."
Bai Ya looked at her. The woman stood face to face with him, very close. The woman is well-proportioned, and her height is a little shorter than Jun Aoyan, but she is also tall compared to most women of the same age. Bai Ya lowered his head slightly and looked at her, for a long time, he said such a thing.
"My friend needs you. They were injured. β
The woman turned her face slightly. In the shadow of the brim, her expression was mysterious.
"You are from the northern continent."
"Yes."
"Well, come with me. If these bees wake up, we won't be able to go back. β
"Why don't you just kill them?"
"There aren't many of them...... Bone harvesting will become more difficult. β
When Bai Ya and this woman appeared from the woods at the same time, Qi Huan and Jun Aoyan were so surprised that they couldn't speak. It's been too long since they've seen anyone other than each other, living people, normal peopleβat least they seem. When the woman saw Jun Aoyan for the first time, her attitude was a little serious, and she only told them without further ado, and then took them away.
The three of them followed her in a daze, and it took an hour to leave the dense forest that had trapped them for days and nights. The feeling of seeing the light of day again when the clouds open and the fog disperse is like a new life, and it is even more incredible. Perhaps they had already reached the vicinity of the exit, only to be trapped in the dense forest by an unknown force. But it doesn't matter...... Importantly, they came out.
They go with the women all the way. Before dark, she came to her cabin, away from the hustle and bustle. The hut was small, sitting alone on the banks of a river surrounded by mountains and rivers. The river does not flow through the dense forest, and it is reassuring to see the fish pop up and disappear.
There are two beds in the hut, one made of bamboo, in the reception room. Before entering the door, Bai Ya smelled that there was a strong smell of Chinese medicine in the house, but it was not bitter, but it was sweet, mixed with an elegant floral fragrance.
She asked them to put Jun Aoyan on the bed and go to the back room to change their clothes. When she came out, her whole temperament changed. They don't know how to describe this feeling, just like a village girl who has lost her line of planting rice and changed into the brocade clothes of the eldest lady, and the whole person has become a fairy daughter. The examples at both ends are a bit extreme, but they can fully express the surprise of people. This material is really not silk brocade, but the style is beautiful. The outermost smock is an ink-colored underneath, dyed with large silk-colored flowers, and the light-colored lining inside is tied with a wide blue belt, and the ink on the body is white, white with green, and green inside. When I took off my hat, I realized that she was wearing a bun. Although there are new ornaments on the head, it is still a little messy. But chaos can be chaotic, and people go there to stop like that, so that you can think of the weeping willows by the spring stream, slim and elegant. Bixi, white flocculent, green leaves, all come into view.
"You just call me Liu Shenghan." The woman introduced herself and said.
The two big men felt like mud worms crawling out of the ditch. It's no wonder that they can't be decent for anyone who is left in that kind of place for six or seven days. Qi Huan wiped her face with clean water, her face was much cleaner, but her face was still as earthy. Liu Shenghan took her pulse, and the other two stood to the side in a daze, hoping to hear some good news from her mouth. But the woman was silent for a long time, and she didn't mention Aoyan's injury, but looked Qi Huan up and down for a while, and asked him:
"Didn't you stop when you went out into the sea?"
ββ¦β¦ Indeed, indeed. β
"Swimming in this sea is different from rivers and lakes."
"Hmmm......"
"I'll get the medicine for you later, and you'll feel better. In the future, you can't panic anymore. β
Qi Huan thanked him again and again, but Bai Ya was still holding his arms and standing to the side with cold eyes. Until now, he still has an indescribable sense of alienation from Liu Shenghan, which has not disappeared since he first saw her. Unfortunately, Liu Shenghan's gaze chased after Qi Huan and stayed on Bai Ya's scimitar for the second time.
"The first time I saw you, I wanted to say: your pair of knives is not ordinary."
"How's her injury?"
"Hmm...... It's not good to go on like this. She won't die, but she will suffer from it alive. I'm afraid you've provoked something that shouldn't be messed with along the coast. The people on the mainland of the Nine Heavens don't like to deal with them. β
Whether the "they" here refer to the believers of the god of the sea or the group of yakshas, it is not known how many people are. Combined with the problems on Qi Huan's body at a glance, it is not difficult to guess what the three of them have experienced. Jun Aoyan was lying on the bed, conscious, but still couldn't make a sound. She trembled and stretched out her other hand, struggling to touch Liu Shenghan's arm, and Liu Shenghan held her.
"Don't panic, it's not an incurable disease. You can't speak because there's no energy in your throat where the sound comes from. They are your friends, and if there is anything they do, they answer for you. β
Jun Aoyan pursed his lips and tried his best to keep his eyes open. Waiting for Liu Shenghan to speak, she nodded with difficulty.
"I'll ask you......" Liu Shenghan looked at the two of them again, especially at the Mo Dao that Qi Huan was holding.
"Ah, just ask."
"This is the daughter of the great general, the drunken king, and the arrogant face of the horse?"
Jun Aoyan almost sat up.
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