Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

Chapter 136 Tracking

The surging anger of the crowd was suddenly extinguished by the surging murderous aura, as if they were suddenly placed in an ice cellar, freezing cold all over.

This cold murderous intent was like a bucket of ice water, pouring from head to toe. The threat to life woke up those who were addicted to hatred and anger, and they looked at him in horror.

Xiao looked at everyone coldly and waited for a moment. Seeing that no one dared to come forward, he turned around and left. This time he did not look at Meng Liyun, nor did he speak to her.

It was not until Xiao walked several meters away that Meng Liyun came to her senses. She stood up tremblingly, looked at the people who were still there, hesitated for a moment, and followed him.

Xiao walked very fast, with no intention of waiting for her. Meng Liyun had to jog to catch up.

"Xiao..."

Meng Liyun panted heavily, wanting him to slow down and wait for her. But Xiao continued to move forward as if he hadn't heard her. He soon disappeared into the forest again, walking among the high mountains and forests.

Finally, Meng Liyun stumbled and fell to the ground, her palm was cut and bleeding.

Only then did Meng Liyun feel pain all over her body. She slowly sat up. She couldn't help crying softly, perhaps because of the pain in her body, or because of a little inexplicable grievance.

Meng Liyun wiped her tears, choked up, and tried to stand up again, but she was trembling with the belated pain and fear all over her body, and was unable to stand up.

I heard footsteps and saw a pair of black cloth shoes. I looked up and saw a hint of helplessness in the man's cold expression.

"You shouldn't have followed me." Xiao squatted down and said softly, "If they see us, they will think you are in the same group as me and will put you on the wanted list."

Meng Liyun then understood why he had left so fast just now, and she felt a little relieved.

Fortunately, he was not angry.

Fortunately, I don’t think she is a burden…

Meng Liyun wiped her tears, blinked, tentatively reached out her hand, gently held his fingers, and observed his expression.

Xiao's eyes were complicated, and he sighed after a moment of silence, pulled her up, and rolled up her sleeves and skirt. Only then did she realize that there were many bruises on her body, which she thought were probably caused by those people stepping on her.

He grabbed her wrist again and looked at the scratches on her hand. Xiao took out a handkerchief from his bosom and asked her to press it to prevent more bleeding.

Meng Liyun listened to him obediently and followed him.

This time the owl slowed down, looking around as it walked, occasionally picking some grass by the roadside and mashing it in its hands or chewing it in its mouth.

He mixed the chewed herbs with the mashed grass mud, went to the nearest stream to wash the wound, then bent down and applied it to the broken skin. It was icy and smelled of the fresh fragrance of flowers and plants.

After applying the bandage, he took out a roll of bandage from his purse and wrapped it around her. He then washed the handkerchief stained with blood and mud, wrapped a few wisps of white air around his fingertips, dried it in an instant, and put it back.

After Xiao finished his work in an orderly manner, he pulled her up and patted the sand off her body: "We can't stay here for too long, let's leave quickly."

Meng Liyun nodded and stood up despite the pain.

Xiao took her walking in the foothills for several days before they entered a town. When they passed by the wanted poster at the street corner, she saw her own. She searched carefully, but did not see any information about Meng Liyun, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao also bought her some new clothes, bought her the candies she had always wanted to eat, and took her to see the lively market and light lanterns...

Bend down, gently write your wish on a piece of paper, put it into the lotus-shaped lantern, and place it in the water. It moves away from the shore, joins other lanterns, and slowly flows to the outer river.

The moonlight shines on the river, creating ripples.

Meng Liyun turned around and found that Xiao was looking at her, just like usual.

But for some reason, looking into his eyes, Meng Liyun suddenly felt ominous in her heart.

After entering the city, Xiao found an inn to stay in and let her stay in the room. He went out alone in the morning and came back at night, and no one knew what he was doing.

Meng Liyun was also afraid of holding him back, so she just stayed in the room obediently and waited for him to come back.

Gradually, Meng Liyun began to look forward to it, and she waited every day for Xiao to come back and walk in. She seemed to have someone she cared about again in this world, and waiting day after day had become a habit.

Owl was occasionally injured, but never seriously, and she would help bandage him, applying powder to the bloody wounds and covering them with bandages.

Meng Liyun was a little worried about this, but she couldn't do anything for him. She could only prepare medicine before he came back every day in case he got injured.

Nearly a month passed like this, and finally one day, Xiao was going to take her away.

They walked out of the city together and came to a mountain on the outskirts of the city. After walking for nearly two days, they arrived at the foot of a mountain and stood in front of a house.

This house was no different from the village they had been to before, except that this one was a lonesome one, with no other neighbors around. It was next to a mountain spring, a house made of wood and straw, with a fence made of half-man-high wooden boards. Xiao took her to the door and knocked.

Meng Liyun didn't know why they came here, but she didn't ask. She just thought he was looking for someone again, so she stood aside obediently. The door opened and a middle-aged couple walked out.

The couple looked a little old, probably in their thirties or forties, and they were dressed very simply, no different from the ordinary people passing by in the village they had visited before.

"It's her."

Xiao put his hand on her shoulder and whispered to the couple opposite.

Meng Liyun was stunned for a moment, then she understood what Xiao meant, and found it a little unbelievable.

"You--" Meng Liyun opened her mouth to ask something.

Does he still feel like he's a burden and doesn't want me anymore?

Before Meng Liyun could ask, the couple came over immediately after hearing Xiao's words, opened the door for them enthusiastically, and held her hand.

Meng Liyun was suddenly held by a pair of warm hands. She was extremely stiff and looked at the woman's loving eyes at a loss.

"She's a good girl..." The woman gently lifted her hair that was hanging down from her face and looked her up and down, with deep satisfaction and joy in her eyes, "She's pretty and quiet... What a good girl."

The burly man next to her nodded in agreement, and also looked her up and down, and finally concluded: "This girl looks good... Are you sure you didn't kidnap her?"

"...No." Xiao seemed helpless when he heard the question.

Meng Liyun looked at him in confusion, wanting to get an explanation or answer from him.

"Do you think it's okay?" Xiao asked the couple without looking at her.

"Yes, quite good." The woman nodded quickly and stroked Meng Liyun's cheeks with both hands. There were calluses on her fingertips, which felt a little rough.

When Xiao saw that the strong man also gave the same answer, he nodded.

Facing Meng Liyun's confusion, Xiao squatted down and explained to her: "I'm going to look for someone. It's too dangerous for you to follow me. You can't."

Meng Liyun frowned and was about to say something.

"You told me before that you wanted a family." Xiao Qing raised her chin and gestured to the couple behind her. "I asked around and observed them. They have been married for several years and have always wanted a child, but have never been able to do so. I asked them, and it just so happens that they also have the intention to adopt."

Meng Liyun opened her eyes slightly and understood what he meant.

"Just follow them." Xiao touched her head and said softly, "It's too dangerous to follow me. Besides, don't you always want a home?"

Meng Liyun didn't say anything and felt a little sad.

To be honest, she could tell from the couple's expressions that they really welcomed her and were not sarcastic. The atmosphere between the couple was very harmonious, and given their age, they were just right for being her adoptive parents. From this point of view, she should have no point to refute.

but……

Meng Liyun looked at Xiao, her eyes filled with loss.

If she stayed, wouldn't he be alone again?

She felt very sad just thinking about it.

He rescued her, took care of her food, clothing, shelter and transportation, shielded her from arrows, bandaged her... He took care of her all the way, and now he has helped her find a family that suits her...

She can stay, but what about him?

Will he continue to run through the mountains and forests? Will he continue to evade those wanted and hunted? Will he face all this alone again?

Meng Liyun felt both conflicted and reluctant, yet helpless and sad.

She didn't want to be separated from him, but she had no choice. He was right. If she continued to follow him, she didn't know when danger would come again. What should she do then?

Will it drag him down like before?

Just watch him stand in front of you?

Hurt by your own incompetence?

Meng Liyun couldn't accept it.

She could only accept his kindness, this choice was good for both of them.

only……

She still feels a little reluctant.

Perhaps sensing her uneasiness, Xiao comforted her again: "I gave them the money for your support, it should be enough -"

Meng Liyun didn't wait for him to finish speaking and suddenly went forward and hugged him.

He felt the body in front of him pause, and he was obviously uncomfortable with this kind of close contact.

"...Thank you." Meng Liyun's eyes were dry and her nose was sore.

Xiao stared into her eyes, and after a moment, he slowly shook his head, touched her head again, and stood up.

"Well, farewell."

Watching Xiao turn around, Meng Liyun hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but speak again.

"If I grow up and can protect myself, can I come to you?"

Meng Liyun plucked up her courage and looked at him hopefully.

Xiao paused, obviously a little dazed because of her words, turned around to look at her, met those cautious yet expectant eyes, and slowly shook his head.

Meng Liyun's heart suddenly sank completely.

"Don't come to me." Xiao looked at her and said this very seriously, "Live your own life well."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Looking at the man's figure gradually going away, Meng Liyun slowly pouted her lips, her eyes became more and more sore, and finally, she couldn't help crying out of grievance.

"Oh, why are you crying?" The woman felt something and quickly bent down to look at her. She gently wiped away the tears from her eyes and coaxed her softly, "Don't cry, don't cry. Everyone has their own experiences. Even if you follow him now, you can't be with him forever."

Meng Liyun could not understand the deep meaning of the woman's words at that time, she just leaned on her arms and cried quietly. The woman's arms were very warm, like a mother's arms, gentle and safe.

In order to welcome her arrival, the couple specially prepared a sumptuous meal. It is said that they originally wanted to sit down and chat with Xiao and eat, but they did not expect Xiao to leave so quickly and abruptly. Before they could even remember her, she had already gone far away.

Looking at the strange-looking fish on the table, it looked like tuna, but had a red beak like a bird. They said it was pike mackerel, and eating it could cure ringworm.

Although she does not have ringworm, she can still eat normally.

During the meal, the woman kept picking up food for her, leaving no empty space in her bowl; the sturdy man also frequently asked her how the food tasted.

Meng Liyun gradually felt a little uncomfortable. The couple seemed to notice it and looked at each other to stop their passion, although it could be seen from their eyes that they were still very happy to see her.

After dinner, the woman took her to see her room. Probably because they heard she was coming, the couple specially cleaned it up. Although the room was simple, it was very clean. From the warm bedding, you could smell that it had just been exposed to the sun.

The bedding was pink, which must have been specially selected. The pillows were also soft and fluffy, and felt very comfortable.

Meng Liyun was very grateful to them, but the two of them waved their hands and told her that it was nothing, and told her to tell them if anything happened.

In the first few months, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between Meng Liyun and them. Although both sides acted very friendly, they were always polite when getting along with each other.

After several months, Meng Liyun finally got familiar with them. She usually helped the woman go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and fruits. She found that the woman was very agile. Some mountain women who she would stumble on walked as if they were walking on flat ground, and passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, her adoptive mother also taught her many skills about the mountains. Although she would occasionally follow Xiao to identify some herbs when she followed him before, the woman was obviously better at these than Xiao, especially in identifying directions and recognizing traces.

During one trip when she was picking wild vegetables, her foster mother saw through the sunken grass nearby that there were wild beasts hiding nearby, helping her escape. She also determined based on a few inconspicuous traces whether there were people or wild beasts passing by.

At Meng Liyun's request, her adoptive mother agreed to teach her how to track and judge targets from traces.

The adoptive mother taught in great detail and Meng Liyun learned very quickly.

Meng Liyun initially thought that her adoptive mother was so good at it because she grew up in the mountains and was familiar with the area.

But soon after, she noticed something strange.

It’s not that the couple’s attitude towards her has changed. They are still very close to her, but she found that the couple would go out at night from time to time and would not come back until dawn.

In order to verify her guess, she stayed up for more than a month. Finally one day, after pretending to be asleep, she heard them quietly leave the house.

Meng Liyun was afraid of being discovered by them, so she waited for a long time before following their footprints - after being here for so long, she learned a lot from the woman, especially how to observe the traces left by people.

She followed the traces. Perhaps the two of them did not expect that someone would follow them, so they only covered their tracks slightly. The tracks were not very deep, and she could still vaguely see them through the pressed grass stalks.

Looking back, she was really brave, ignorant and fearless at that time. She never thought about what would happen if she encountered wild beasts or hunting traps in the mountains. She just followed them without thinking about the consequences just for a little curiosity.

She walked through the woods at night, following the faint traces. As time went by, she found that the traces were getting deeper. Under a big tree, there were some more traces of felling, as if someone had added them.

But there was no blood around, so they must have made an appointment.

This made Meng Liyun even more curious.

I don’t know how long it took, but I finally saw a cluster of light.

Meng Liyun approached slowly, getting closer and closer to the fire. She pushed aside the branches in front of her eyes, and her vision gradually became clear. When she was about to see clearly, someone suddenly grabbed her collar from behind and lifted her up.