书斋小说网

第 5 章（第1页）

Themountainswerecolderthanusualthatm。Athinmistgtothetrees，turningthedistantslopesintopaleshadowsbehthegraysky。Suyuanpulledhercloaktighteraroundherselfasshefollowedthenarrowmountainpath。Ayaowalkedbehindher，carryingtwoemptysacksandabasket。”Miss，areyousurethatweoethisfar?”Suyuanglaowardthedeeperpartoftheforest“Yes，thereareherbsherethatdon’tgrowhepalace”。Ayaofrownedandtheytiheirjourney。Suyuansmiledslightly，shehadetothemountainsmanytimesovertheyears。Sheknewwheretofindedibleroots，wildveggies，mushroomsandsomeherbs。Buttodayshewasseargforsomethingelse。

Afterwalkingnearlyanhour，Suyuanfinallystoppedbesidearockyslope。Hiddehseveralplantswithdarkgreenstemsandtinypurpleflowers，hereyesnarrowed。Ayaoleanedcloser，“whatisit?”“Apoisonousherb。”Ayaoimmediatelysteppedbackward，Suyuancarefullyputonapairofthingloves。Shedugaroundtherootswithasmallknife，carefullyremovingtheplantfromthesoil。Ayaonervouslyasked“whywouldyouwantsomethingpoisonous?”。Suyuansmiledandreplied“becausepoisonislikemedie，everythingdependsontheamount”。Shetiedthepouchshut“Alittlesavealifeandtoomuchtakeone”

Ayaolookedatthelittlepouchasthoughitmightbiteher，“thenIdefinitelywon’ttouchit”。Suyuanlaughedsoftly，andtheytinueddeeperintothemountains。Bynoon，theirbasketfilledwithwildvegetables，edibleroots，mushrooms，medicalherbsandseveralsmallanimals。Theyalsogatheredasmuchdrywoodtheycouldcarry。Theworkwasexhausting，thetwogirlshadtomakeseveraltripsbetweentheforestandthelowermountainpath。Bythetimetheywerereadytoreturherofthemhadmuchstrengthleft。AyaocarriedtheheaviersackacrossherbackwhileSuyuancarriedthebasketofherbsandbundleoffirewood。Theweightmakesherstepsslower。Thejourneydownthemountaintookmuchlohanthejourneyupasthepathwassteepandtheweighttheycarriedmakeeverystepdifficult。

Bythetimetheyreachedtheedgeoftheforest，thesunhadalreadybeguntodesd。Theygatheredthemselvesandtiowalktowardthepalace。Suyuansfingersbrieflytouchedthepouchshehidandherexpressionbecameunreadable。Suyanhadlearnedlongagothatsurvivinginthewildernessrequiredknowingwhichplantscouldhealandwhichcouldkill。

WhentheyreachedtheOrchidCourtyard，darknesshadbeguntosettleoverthepalace。Thefirewoodwasstackedbehtheeaves，foodwasstoredcarefullyandherbswerewashedandhungtodry。Ithadtakewogirlsnearlytheentiredaytogatherthesuppliesfortheupingwinter。Suyuanlookedatthemainhall，hermotherwasstillinside，shequietlytouchedthepouchhiddehherclothes。Thenshelookedatthedarkeningsky，thewinterising。Andsomehowshe，Suyuan，hadthestrangefeelingthatthiswinterwouldbecolderthananybeforeit。