劍問蒼天 - 第114章 脫困 - 翰墨軒

Bili had long since grown impatient waiting at his side. The fragrance seemed to seep in everywhere, entering through every pore of her body; one sniff and she felt as though she would float up, so light did she feel. As for her mouth—needless to say, if she had not been careful to conceal it, the little rascal would surely have heard her stomach rumbling.

So when she heard that Zhang Qingyue, in his great kindness, had at last declared it done, and saw before her a golden, fragrant hare, she nearly drooled. She could not resist reaching out—but forgot herself for the moment, and the instant her hand touched it she gave a cry of "Ah!" and snatched it back, having burned herself.

Zhang Qingyue said with a smile, "No need to rush!" With that he lifted the branch away from the fire and moved it up and down so the fat could drip off and the meat cool a little. Then he carefully tore off a hind leg and handed it to Bili, saying with a smile, "Eat."

Bili reached out at once and took the hare meat; she was just about to bite into it when she suddenly saw Zhang Qingyue's gentle smile turned upon her. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves of the forest, sprinkling down in bits and drops, a few of them falling upon his face—so bright and open was his look.

For some reason her face suddenly flushed. She turned away, her back to Zhang Qingyue, and only then began to eat. Zhang Qingyue was taken aback for a moment, but thought nothing of it; he himself was famished beyond bearing, so he tore off the other leg and fell to gnawing at it.

Halfway through, he suddenly saw Bili turn back to look at him, and asked in mild surprise, "What is it? Oh—is the meat good?"

A faint blush lay on Bili's cheeks; a light breeze blew from deep in the woods, gently lifting her soft long hair and brushing past her fair face.

"It's delicious. Er..."

Zhang Qingyue: "What is it?"

Bili: "...I'm finished."

Her face wore a faint gentleness, a thread of quiet shyness. Zhang Qingyue's mouth fell slightly open; he was utterly entranced.

Bili lowered her head a little, and suddenly silence fell between them. After a long while Zhang Qingyue started as if waking from a dream: "Ah!"

Sweat broke out on his brow, and he stammered, words failing to form a sentence: "I—I wasn't looking, no, I mean, you look at me—ah, no, ah, here, take this."

So saying, he shut his eyes and held out the hare leg, and somehow he dared not open them again.

But a long while passed and Bili seemed not to move. Zhang Qingyue gathered his courage and slowly opened his eyes. Bili was looking at him, her face wearing a half-smile that was not quite a smile, yet her eyes were tender, a softness and charm beyond all telling in them. In a low voice, with the faintest smile, she said, "You're giving this to me to eat?"

Zhang Qingyue did not understand. He looked down at his hands—and his face flushed scarlet with shame. For what he had held out to Bili was the half-gnawed hare leg in his right hand, while most of the hare meat he was clutching in his left, held close beside him.

"N-no, that's not—" Zhang Qingyue was mortified beyond measure. Like a flash he drew back that shameful hare leg, then sheepishly held out the untouched meat, muttering, "I was—I was—I meant to..."

"I know." Bili took the hare, tore off a piece, and put it in her mouth, chewing gently. "It's delicious. The best thing I've ever eaten in all my life is this hare you've just roasted."

Zhang Qingyue's heart gave a leap. On Bili's lovely, pure-featured face he saw a look half smiling, half earnest as she spoke, and his heart stirred; not daring to look again, he opened his mouth and bit into the half-eaten rabbit leg, burying his head and eating with all his might.