Chapter 4: The Girl Named Mengzhu

  "Hey, where do you live? Others should know the name of my village." Zhu Yongxing stretched out his hand to cover the wound on his face, but as soon as he touched it, he felt a sharp pain and sucked in cold air, gritting his teeth.

  Mengzhu took two more steps forward, looking at Zhu Yongxing's injury. She felt she had to do something. This somewhat strange man had saved her, killed the golden-haired bear, and solved the trouble of the village. That was a terrible bear that made everyone in her village talk about it with fear! Several brave young men had joined forces to get rid of this scourge, but instead lost their lives! And was he the person Da Wu said?

  A coolness, then a soft thing carefully wiping the wound on his face. Zhu Yongxing was in pain, but seeing that face like white jade, especially those bright black eyes, warm, soft, and gentle... He couldn't help but move the corner of his mouth, using a smile to express gratitude.

  Mengzhu also responded with a smile, her eyes flowing, and handed the calabash to Zhu Yongxing. Zhu Yongxing unscrewed the stopper and took two sips, he found that Mengzhu seemed to have unconsciously licked her lips, rose petal snow, hmm, this phrase was very fitting, he gently handed the calabash back to her again.

  After cleaning the wound, Mengzhu got up and searched around. Before long, she let out a happy cry and returned to Zhu Yongxing's side with several unknown plants in her hand. After chewing these plants into a paste, Mengzhu applied the medicinal paste to Zhu Yongxing's wound.

  The medicine seemed to carry the faint scent of a young girl's lips, an inexplicable strangeness. The wound first felt warm, then cool, as if it didn't hurt that much anymore. Zhu Yongxing glanced at Mengzhu, whose lips appeared even more vibrant due to their moistness.

  "Moon Pearl... Moon Pearl." The moon pearl's processing is complete. With a relieved smile, she stands up and points to her own chest with her finger.

  So your name is Mengzhu. Zhu Yongxing blinked his eyes, smiled and nodded, pointing with his hand, repeating: "Mengzhu."

  Mengzhu nodded repeatedly with a smile and pointed at Zhu Yongxing.

  "Who, me?" Zhu Yongxing hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give his full name or a fake one. He pointed to his own chest with his finger and said slowly, "Zhu Ge... Zhu Ge." After finishing speaking, he grasped the tree trunk with his hand and slowly stood up.

  "Brother Zhu." Mengzhu called out stiffly, then pointed in a direction, "I'll take you to the village?"

  Zhu Yongxing nodded and followed Mengzhu down the mountain slope, walking slowly towards the sound of running water.

  Haven't eaten, bled again, and another bout of turmoil, physical exhaustion was too great. Zhu Yongxing felt dizzy and weak, barely making his way through the sparse forest, when a small river about 5-6 meters wide appeared before him. Mengzhu also sensed something was amiss, supporting Zhu Yongxing as he sat on a rock, anxiously staring at him, and using a waistband with an unusual fragrance to wipe away his sweat.

  "Is there anything to eat?" Zhu Yongxing said weakly, his stomach growling in protest. He patted it gently with a bitter smile.

  Mengzhu laughed and reached into the cloth bag slung over her shoulder, pulled out a fruit, peeled it, and handed the pulp to Zhu Yongxing's mouth, her big eyes fluttering.

  This is a fairy, laughing makes people excited, no, it should be like putting oneself in a dream, and can pour out all the secrets, all emotions hidden in one's heart to her. Zhu Yongxing lowered his head to avoid looking at the fruit, which looked like a mountain bamboo shoot, he opened his mouth and took a bite, the taste was sweet and delicious, it was indeed a mountain bamboo shoot, but I don't know where Mengzhu picked it from.

  The crimson sunset is slowly sinking in the disorderly clouds and wisps of cloud, the rose-colored afterglow flickering uncertainly on the western horizon.

  Lychee is also known as 'fruit behind', apart from its own sweet taste, another main reason is the role it plays in traditional Southeast Asian medicine. Traditionally, lychee was used to control fever and prevent various skin infections. Moreover, lychee contains rich protein and fat, which has a good nourishing effect on the body, and has a good regulating effect on weakness, malnutrition, and post-illness recovery.

  After eating several mountain lychees, Zhu Yongxing shook his head at Mengzhu, wiped his mouth with his hand, indicating that he was full. The wound had stopped bleeding and had been applied with medicine, and there was something in his stomach too, so his spirit and physical strength recovered a bit.

  Mengzhu didn't eat the mountain bamboo shoots herself, but kept passing them to Zhu Yongxing, smiling brightly as she looked at him, as if a little kid had seen something extremely interesting.

  Two people got up and walked forward, not far away, they saw a boat tied under the shade of trees near the river, to be exact, it should be a dugout canoe. The dense branches leaned towards the river water, setting up a natural green canopy for the riverbank, the white mist dyed green was faintly visible, if not carefully examined, the small boat hiding among them would absolutely not be seen clearly.

  "Mengzhu." Zhu Yongxing stretched out his hand to beckon her, calling out her name. When Mengzhu came over, he pointed and said: "The boat, is it yours?"

  Mengzhu nodded vigorously and helped Zhu Yongxing up, walking towards the shade of the tree where the boat was moored. The two got on the wooden boat, Mengzhu rowed with all her might, and the boat left the riverbank, going upstream. Mengzhu's boating skills were extremely impressive, and the boat moved very quickly.

  The sun has set, and a moonlit glow floats on the water's surface, flowing ceaselessly. The two banks are lined with dense green trees. A solitary boat glides across, causing its reflection in the water to ripple into a dark blur, before reappearing on the water's surface, undulating in a gentle curve. In a little while, it returns to clarity behind me.

  Boom, boom, boom... A rhythmic drumbeat came from afar. Zhu Yongxing saw a smile on Mengzhu's face, as if the drumbeat represented some kind of language. With one hand holding the oar, she made the boat slowly turn on the water surface, and with the other hand, she started beating the leather drum on the dugout canoe.

  It turned out that it was used to convey information. Zhu Yongxing understood and felt uneasy about who would appear, he opened his eyes wide and waited quietly.

  The distant drumbeat became more cheerful and clearer, a string of bright spots appeared, getting closer and bigger. It turned out to be emitted from a very peculiar ship. Closer still, Zhu Yongxing finally saw clearly that it was not one ship, but a dozen or so canoes strung together head to tail, with torches lit on each canoe.

  A dozen or so canoes drifted downstream, Mengzhu stopped drumming and gently rowed to stabilize the canoe, with a happy smile on his face, looking at the approaching canoes.

  A sampan drew near, and on it stood a young man, tall and straight, with bare torso and shorts, radiating youth and strength in the moonlight. He was speaking loudly, seemingly angry, while Mengzhu pouted and also stood up, as if arguing back.