Chapter 753 – Green Plums and the Fire of a Stove (2/2)
Her body became extremely cold and stiff. She couldn't even move a finger.
She even felt like her sea of consciousness was on the verge of being frozen, that she was about to noiselessly die.
It was at this moment that the girl saw the purse in An Hua's hand.
The girl slowly nodded, her movement so subtle that it would be impossible to notice without careful observation.
She turned back and looked out the window once more.
The violent blizzard ceased, the giant indifferently looking down upon her vanished, and An Hua finally felt the warmth of the real world once more.
Her body was no longer stiff. It could move, so she no longer dared to stay. She got her maids and quickly went downstairs.
When she reached the first floor of the inn, she realized that her clothes were completely soaked in sweat.
.……
……
.……
……
An Hua did not speak of this matter to anyone, not the general leading their group or the Sacred Hospital steward surnamed Yang. This was because she had an intense understanding that she had almost discovered some secret and died. Since she was still alive, she could continue to keep treating the matter as a secret.
This had been the girl's unspoken demand.
When she returned to the backyard and heard the general say that it was best to head out immediately, her fear allowed her no objection, and she only asked a few questions.
”Has the specific location been confirmed?”
”Headquarters has had people investigating the source of the ingredients for two days. It should be correct.”
There was a medicine store in Gaoyang Village, and based on the reports from the scouts, many ingredients would be transported to the store, and then be transported out of the town in the middle of the night, their ultimate destination unknown. It was evident that the master of the Cinnabar Pill had chosen Gaoyang Village because transportation was convenient and they could acquire any sort of herb or ingredient they required.
On the afternoon of the same day, the general, An Hua, her maids, Master Yang, several dozen soldiers, and the young array master on the stretcher set out to seek the medicine.
After leaving Gaoyang Village, they left the official and military roads and headed deeper into the mountains, where the path was gradually immersed in snow. Though no longer a muddy slurry, it was still just as difficult to walk in.
The deeper they headed into the mountains, the more quiet and beautiful their surroundings became. The faint steam of hot springs could be seen rising from between the pine trees.
If not for the war, this place would have become a famous tourist spot.
The warmth of twilight completely vanished and darkness descended. By the starlight, the group arduously advanced forward. At some point, they reached their destination.
There was a small courtyard nestled deep within the mountains. A stream of water wound its way around the courtyard, steam rising from it. It had probably been drained off from the hot spring.
Due to the warmth of the land, the area around the small courtyard was still brimming with life even in the winter. So close to the waters of the hot spring, nature took on the appearance of all four seasons.
Growing along the wall of the courtyard were a cluster of onions and a bamboo forest. In front of the courtyard, flowers bloomed, and trees shedding their leaves grew in front of the half-arch windows.
Of course, the vast majority of the area was still in the grip of winter, like the small snow-covered lake.
There was a pavilion on the snowy lake, draped in curtains. The figures of two people could faintly be spotted within.
A gust of wind raised the curtains.
Within the pavilion, a stove sat on a fire, with several plum branches serving as fuel.
A man and a girl sat across from each other, the stove in between them.
This girl had a childish face, was clothed in black, and exuded an aura of cold.
The man was rather young, his eyes clean.
Neither the snow nor the plums could match up to their cleanliness.