Ye Fuyu had read about this lake in a travel magazine. The locals called it the " Millennium Lake ". It was said that it had existed for thousands of years. The lake had existed since the village first appeared. It was originally located in the middle of the entire mountain range. Later on, the villagers who lived higher up could not stand the coldness of the high ground. Their water source also depended on this lake. They gave up the distance and moved to the lake.
As time passed, more and more people came here. These villagers were the descendants of a high official in an ancient dynasty. At that time, they had offended a certain imperial relative. Seeing that the situation was not good, they drove the carriage overnight with the old, young, and a few servants to the deep mountains to avoid disaster.
The villagers here liked this lake very much. They felt that it was clean, clear, and mirror-like. It was even wrapped in a mysterious veil, making people unable to put it down and feel comfortable. Later, because the villagers here had little rain in recent years and the drought was serious, the lake was transformed into a reservoir last year. However, its essence remained the same, and it was still quiet.
When Ye Fuyu and Mo Hexuan arrived at the lake, the sun was setting in the west. Looking at the surface of the lake in the warm evening, it was like some golden powder was sprinkled on the surface of the lake. The golden light made people unable to open their eyes. When the lake rippled slightly, one wave chased after another, making people forget that it was originally a calm lake.
Although the scenery of the Thousand Year Lake was beautiful, it was not magnificent. Ye Fuyu took out the magazine and showed it to Mo Hexuan. It recorded mechanically: The Thousand Year Lake was a crescent-shaped freshwater lake. It was speculated that it was formed by the intense movement of ancient glaciers blocking the water in the valley. During the rainy season, the surface of the lake was 1874 meters above sea level, 33.5 square kilometers from north to south, and the average width was 1500 meters. The depth of the lake was about 160 meters. The surrounding forest was lush and the scenery was beautiful. There was also a photo of the Millennium Lake in the evening. The watermark was September.
Mo Hexuan handed it to Ye Fuyu after reading it. He looked at the lake in a daze. He thought that the lake was beautiful because it was deep and clear. From their point of view, it was a clear dark green lake. Perhaps it was because of the reflection of the surrounding trees, so its color was dark green. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed as blue as the sky.
Mo Hexuan walked to the water's edge, but his feet didn't reach into the water. What he saw now was an incomparable, indescribable light blue. It looked like soaked satin, or a delicate and smooth bronze ware, or a piece of green glass when there was water.
The lake seemed to have no bottom. There was no mud or water grass in it, and there were no reeds or miscanthus around it. However, if one looked carefully, there would inevitably be some deposits in it. It might be the dead leaves blown by the wind on the lake. After a long time, they would rot and sink into the lake.
The water was transparent and could pierce 20 to 30 meters. There were schools of fish inside, including small stone fish, white fish, silver carp, black fish, carp, and many other fish. There were also some fish he did not know the name of, and there was also a colorful unknown fish. He reached out to test the water temperature. It was a little cool. He had never seen such a different scenery.
This lake could calm one's heart, as if it could cure all one's unhappiness. He had fallen in love with this lake.
The two of them walked along the shore for a long distance. They saw a simple wooden boat that seemed to be empty. There was a sign not far away. It said,"Water source protection area, no garbage is allowed inside."
Ye Fuyu looked at the surface of the lake and felt a little unsatisfied standing on the shore to admire it. He said,"Do you want to go down?" Mo Hexuan nodded heavily. Ye Fuyu pushed the boat and asked Mo Hexuan for help. Just as the two of them dragged the boat out about 10 meters, a thin middle-aged man wearing a straw hat with his trousers rolled up high rushed over.
"What are you doing?" the middle-aged man asked angrily. This is my ship."
Ye Fuyu smiled and said," Big brother, that's great. We were just worried that no one would row the boat for us. Can you send us to the lake to take a look?"”
"I use this boat to scoop up trash. This is a drinking water source. You can't go in."
"Why would there be a boat if we can't go in?" Mo Hexuan asked anxiously. You're lying!"
"Big brother, my brother and I came from a very far place. Your place is so far away, and we spent a lot of effort to get here. Please send us to the lake to take a look.”Ye Fuyu said kindly.
The middle-aged man said," Alright then. Don't move around on the boat. Otherwise, you'll drown if you fall off. It'll save everyone the trouble of drinking water."”
" No problem, I'll listen to you." Then, the two of them helped push the boat into the lake. The two of them jumped onto the boat from the low ridge at the side. At first, the boat shook a few times.
He glided forward steadily. The middle-aged man asked them what they were doing here, and Ye Fuyu said,""I heard that this place is very beautiful. Come and take a look."
The middle-aged man said," Of course. We have beautiful mountains and quiet waters here, and very few outsiders come here."
Mo Hexuan looked at the irregular lakeshore. It was hard to imagine how there could be so many sawtooth creeks. The north was more open, and in the distance were mountains of different heights. The lake was surrounded by mountains, and there was no better background than the trees on the shore.
Because the shadow of the tree was upside down on the water, it looked even more beautiful. Not far away, there were a few birds that looked like white cranes fishing on the surface of the water. As the water rippled, they seemed to be frightened and quickly spread their wings and flew away. They came and went like a group of elves in a hurry and disappeared in a moment.
Ye Fuyu thought that there was nothing more pleasant than boating on the lake on such a sunny day! The Thousand-Year Lake was like a mirror. He could clearly see his own reflection in the water. He saw that Mo Hexuan seemed to be deep in thought. He thought that Mo Hexuan wasn't too wooden. The beautiful scenery could still move him. People who knew how to appreciate beautiful scenery wouldn't have a bad taste. He thought that Mo Hexuan was a superficial person. He didn't expect that Mo Hexuan would have quiet moments. It seemed that he wasn't a heartless person.
Just as they were looking on, the middle-aged man said,"This lake has been here since one or two thousand years ago. Anyway, it has been here since the ancestors came. It is all thanks to its ancestors that it can survive safely for generations.”
"Is there any legend about this lake?" Ye Fuyu asked.”
The middle-aged man replied," There are too many legends. One year, when the villagers were fishing, they caught a big white fish that was more than 10 meters long. The big white fish even asked them to let it go. It said that it was the guardian of the lake. If it was killed, the lake would dry up. Everyone was frightened and quickly put it back into the lake. After that, no one saw it again."
Mo Hexuan burst out laughing after hearing this. He thought to himself that the people here were so gullible. They were indeed ignorant.
Ye Fuyu glared at him." Anything else?”
The middle-aged man thought for a while and said," When I was young, I heard my grandfather say that he saw a water monster in the water. He went up the mountain to collect firewood. When the sky was getting dark, he saw the water monster sticking its head out to breathe in the middle of the mountain. I didn't see its body. It was a big black ball, as if it had two horns on its head. After taking a breath, he dived into the bottom of the water and splashed a lot of water. It was about two to three feet high and scared my grandfather.”
" It's very possible. There's no open channel around the lake. There should be an undercurrent or an underground river at the bottom of the lake. Otherwise, it's impossible that the lake has never dried up. Perhaps the water monster is in here, so the lake can maintain the Feng River." Ye Fuyu had been abroad for many years and had seen many strange things. Many of them were legends, but he treated them as stories.
"Why do you believe this?" Mo Hexuan asked.”
"It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. If you believe it, it exists. If you don't, it naturally doesn't exist. Have you heard of the Loch Ness Monster?"
Mo Hexuan was deep in thought." I've heard of it. Could it be that there really is one?”
"Maybe there really is. There are many strange things in nature in the vast world. Who knows how many surprises the Creator has given us?”
Mo Hexuan thought that he was about to start his discussion again, so he turned his head and pretended to be immersed in the scenery. He suddenly thought of an ancient poem describing mountains and rivers, and suddenly recited it. The original poem was as follows: "Jingkou and Guazhou are separated by a river, and Zhongshan is only separated by several mountains. The spring breeze is green on the south bank of the Yangtze River. When will the moon shine on me?”
Ye Fuyu held back his laughter." Why? Do you want to go back?"”
"Why do you ask?"
"I thought you were borrowing poems to express your emotions."
"My brain is rusty today. Maybe it's because the old man used to recite it so often that it automatically entered my mind.”
"It doesn't match the current scenery. It should be Li Bai's poem: The gate of heaven cut off the Chu River, and the clear water flowed eastward to this place. Green mountains on both sides of the river stand opposite each other, and a lone sail comes from the sun. It's exactly the same as this situation." Mo Hexuan nodded noncommittally.
After saying that, the boat approached the northern end. The middle-aged man asked,"Where are you staying?"
"I don't have a place to stay yet. Is there anywhere in the village to stay?" Ye Fuyu asked.”
The middle-aged man said," There's no place to live in the village. There's a chicken farm on the south side of the lake. There are many places to live, but they used to be used to raise chickens. It's still habitable after cleaning.”
"Big brother, take us there. We almost got lost when we went up the mountain. It's already late.”
The middle-aged man chuckled." Alright, I'm going to buy a chicken, so I'll bring you there."”
The middle-aged man began to row the boat towards the south. When he returned, Mo Hexuan's stomach was growling. To hide his embarrassment, he walked to the stern of the boat and stared at the bottom of the lake. He felt more and more that the lake was wonderful. This trip was really worth it. His aesthetic sense seemed to have risen to a higher level. He did not feel that it was dangerous anymore. Ye Fuyu saw that the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
When it was almost dark, they arrived at the southern shore. When they got off the boat, Ye Fuyu gave the middle-aged man some compensation. He was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. He spat out water and counted the money as if he had never seen money before.
Mo Hexuan gave him a look of disdain. He felt that the middle-aged man would have given him money if he had known. After the middle-aged man finished counting the money, he led them to a quiet, grassy dirt road. After walking for twenty minutes, they arrived at the chicken farm. The sky was already dark, and only the chirping of insects could be heard.
When they arrived at the chicken farm, Mo Hexuan stared at the wooden door and said,""Here? F * ck!"
Ye Fuyu frowned and didn't say anything. The wooden door had already rotted due to the wind and rain. The middle-aged man pushed the door open and entered. Ye Fuyu followed him into the courtyard and saw a long bamboo pole near the center. The bottom of the bamboo pole was buried in the soil. There was a light bulb in the courtyard that emitted weak light. Above the light bulb was a basin.
Mo Hexuan saw that the courtyard was very spacious, about 200 square meters. The ground was filled with soil and some grains. A group of old hens were pecking at their food. On the right was a row of wooden houses made of wooden planks. There were two houses with steel frames that could be moved. He judged that they were probably for people to live in. The wooden houses were chicken coops. There was a fence surrounded by wooden planks and some ropes.
The man who was driving the chickens into the house was stunned when he saw an outsider. The middle-aged man who was rowing the boat quickly ran over and whispered something to the man. Because of the distance, Ye Fuyu and Mo Hexuan didn't hear what he said. The man caught a chicken for the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man gave the money and walked over with the chicken feet and head down."You two, I'll be leaving first. I've already told the chicken farm owner that you can eat and sleep here. If you want to go anywhere tomorrow, you can find me at the place where the boat is parked today.”
"Alright, thank you."
The middle-aged man smiled and hummed a folk song before leaving. Then, the owner of the chicken farm came over and asked them to come in and sit down. His wife was cooking, so he brought the two of them into the house. It was not spacious inside. The front was used for cooking and the back was used for sleeping. There were no traces of children.
The lady boss of the chicken farm looked at the two young city people with extraordinary temperament and moved a small stool for them to sit on. Ye Fuyu took the stool and said,"Thank you. Let's sit outside."
The lady boss smiled happily and said,"Okay." When she came out, she smiled at the two of them and pointed to the toilet. There was water beside it. Mo Hexuan glanced at where he was pointing and felt like dying.
Ye Fuyu smiled nonchalantly." Alright, we got it. Do your thing."”
The boss quickly moved the chickens into the chicken coop. A few of the disobedient chickens flapped their wings randomly for a while, causing the courtyard to be covered in dust and feathers to fly everywhere. One of them almost hit Mo Hexuan's head, but luckily he dodged in time.
Ye Fuyu smiled at him.
The two of them entered the house to eat. There were two vegetarian dishes and a chicken. It should have been stewed in clear soup. At this moment, it was on the main board and was emitting steam. The boss was using a knife to cut it smaller.
"Do you need help?" Ye Fuyu asked the boss.”
"No need, no need. Hurry up and sit down."
Then, Ye Fuyu and Mo Hexuan sat on the low stool on the bamboo table, which was about 70 centimeters tall. The stool was about 20 centimeters tall. Both of them were more than 180 centimeters tall. Just imagine how uncomfortable this meal was. Out of politeness, Ye Fuyu remained seated. When Mo Hexuan was picking up food, he bent down to pick up the food and stood up again. However, he was almost touching the roof, which made him depressed for a long time.
During this period, the lady boss asked some of the polite words that she had just met. Where did they come from? Where to? What are you doing here? What do you do? Ye Fuyu answered honestly and politely.
The Lady Boss sighed and said," This Thousand-Year Lake is a divine lake. It has nurtured many people. Oh right, you have to stay away from that boatman." He wasn't a good person. He was a money-grubber. He secretly caught a lot of fish in the lake and sold them. When the villagers went to fish, he used a stick to chase them away and didn't let others fish. The fish in the lake were probably almost all fished up by him. Now that it had become a reservoir and they couldn't put the fish in, there were probably not many left.”
The boss glared at the lady boss and said,"Long-winded. The guests are not here to listen to you nag. I'm sorry, the two of you. After you're done eating, go to bed early.”
Ye Fuyu thanked them and asked the boss how much the room and board cost. After paying, he waited for the lady boss to make the bed. After making the bed, he came over and told them that they could go and rest. Mo Hexuan first went to the toilet and came back. He said with a frown, I can't pee. It's too smelly."
Ye Fuyu brought him to the open-air toilet. The two of them walked around the area and came back. There were so many mosquitoes that it was terrifying.
When they came back, the two of them lay on the same bed after washing up. It could not be said to be a standard bed, but it was covered with wooden planks. After putting on cotton wool, the two of them went to bed. As the two of them were too long, they could only lie on their sides with their legs curled up.
Mo Hexuan heard the buzzing of the mosquitoes and couldn't fall asleep, so he asked Ye Fuyu to chat with him. "How can you live like this when you go out alone?" he asked. Just the two of us today?"
"Yeah, are you happy?" Ye Fuyu said.”
"Not bad, I had a good day today."
Ye Fuyu continued,"This is the primitive life. It makes people happy and forgets their worries."”
"You sure know how to enjoy life. No wonder you didn't find a woman. It's a pity that Jiawen is such a beautiful woman.”
Ye Fuyu chuckled and said," It's not too late now. You just have to chase after what you like. Don't be afraid of anything."”As they chatted, Mo Hexuan heard Ye Fuyu say that he would watch the sunrise tomorrow, and then he fell asleep.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。