Chapter 118: Insects Fill the Sky!

  The dense stars retreated, a round moon hung high in the night sky, pouring down its clear and serene moonlight onto the earth. Xiao Yun and Ye Lan were chatting idly on the mountain slope, Ye Lan telling Xiao Yun about the events at Tongtian Village, while Xiao Yun shared stories of the outside world. Xiao Huo was listening absent-mindedly beside them, his eyes rolling around occasionally as he searched the grassland for the appearance of the North Dipper insect.

  "Shh, Little Orchid, look quickly!"

  Suddenly, Little Tiger interrupted Xiao Yun's conversation, pointing to the grass beside him, his voice was both suppressed and abnormally excited.

  Xiao Yun looked in the direction that Little Tiger was pointing, and a string of small lights floated out from the grass, like a child's eyes blinking on and off, radiating yellow-green light. They slowly rose into the air, drifting with the evening breeze, as if dancing.

  "It's really fireflies!"

  Unexpectedly, the fireflies they were talking about were actually the very same fireflies she knew. Looking at those scattered, star-like points of light in the sky, Xiao Yun couldn't help but stand up, her face filled with smiles.

  Fireflies are called environmental detectives, they have very high requirements for environmental quality. Once any link in the ecological chain is polluted, there will be no fireflies. Wherever fireflies appear, it can only be said that the environmental quality here is particularly good. In Xiao Yun's memory, she had only seen fireflies with her own eyes when she was a child. With the development of industry in previous generations and severe environmental damage, it has become very difficult to see the traces of fireflies again.

  "Wait a bit, don't disturb them first, wait until there are more before doing anything!" Seeing Xiao Hu excitedly wanting to catch the Northern Dipper insects, Ye Lan grabbed him.

  Xiao Hu could only press down the excitement in his heart, sitting aside and waiting. Before long, another group of fireflies flew out from the grass and woods, scattered in the air above the slope's lawn, twinkling like stars, probably numbering in the hundreds. Xiao Yun let out a sigh of satisfaction, feeling that this trip was not made in vain, as he got to see so many fireflies.

  "Xiao Gege, let's go catch them together!" As the timing was ripe, Ye Lan knew that these fireflies would fly away after a while, so she prepared to take action quickly.

  Xiao Yun shook his head and smiled, "You go ahead, I'll watch you catch!"

  These were all the spirits of nature, in Xiao Yun's eyes, they were all for appreciation, but he couldn't bear to catch them. Moreover, Ye Lan and the others had only taken two baskets, there was no share for him, so he just wanted to quietly appreciate this rare beauty on the side.

  Ye Lan and Xiao Hu didn't force themselves, each took a basket, quietly approached the group of fireflies, picked up the basket, and happily caught the bugs.

  "What a pity there's no phone, otherwise it would be great to record this scene!" Xiao Yun sighed with regret, but that's life, good flowers don't often bloom, and good scenery doesn't last long. It's also useless to feel sorry, being able to see such a scene is already something to be content with.

  ——

  "Hey, Sister Alan, isn't this Northern Dipper bug too hard to catch?" After messing around for half a day, Little Tiger looked at the cloth pouch hanging from his waist and had only caught four or five of them. He couldn't help but feel a bit impatient. These shiny bugs were incredibly agile, and even though he had been jumping around for half a day, he hadn't made much progress.

  Ye Lan didn't gain much, only catching seven or eight, but after hearing Xiao Hu's words, she threw a white glance at him, "Hey, I'm helping you catch them, and you're still yelling here, hurry up, otherwise these Beidou insects will be gone soon. Tonight is the last time I'll help you catch them."

  Xiao Hu heard this and immediately regained his spirit. Because of the two people's disturbance, the originally piled-up fireflies began to fly around randomly, making it difficult to catch them. After a while, they started flying away in all directions.

  "What can be done about this?"

  The little tiger touched the flat bag, but there were only a dozen or so northern dipper insects. How would he lure out the life-saving insect tomorrow night? He wouldn't dare come up the mountain alone to catch it then.

  Ye Lan wiped the sweat from her forehead and gazed at those small lights flying higher and farther away, feeling a severe headache.

  "The dark sky hangs low, bright stars follow, insects fly, insects fly, who are you thinking of..."

  A pleasant sound of the zither came from behind, a sweet song echoed in the night sky. Ye Lan and the others turned their heads to look back, but under the moonlight, Xiao Yun was sitting on the mountain slope playing the zither.

  "Wow, Xiao Da Ge sings really well!"

  "Yes, Sister Alan, but it sounds much better than your singing!"

  This time, Ye Lan surprisingly didn't refute Xiao Hu's words. Almost in an instant, both of them were attracted by Xiao Yun's singing voice.

  Watching Xiao Yun singing under the moon, I feel so lonely and sorrowful. The melody is beautiful, but the lyrics are extremely simple, even like a nursery rhyme, easy to recite. However, what appears in Ye Lan's mind is a desolate picture of an old earth and a withered sky, bleak and mournful, moving people to sorrow.

  The sound of the zither flowed through the mountains and forests, Xiao Yun's gentle singing voice poured out his emotions to the heavens, those fireflies that had already flown away slowly flew back, one by one flying out from the mountain forest, grass thickets, three or five together, more and more, as if accompanying Xiao Yun in a dance, like the stars filling the sky, accompanied by moonlight, making the entire slope exceptionally bright.

  Under the moonlight, the scene in front of them was so beautiful that Ye Lan and the other person didn't even dare to move, afraid of making any sound that would ruin this picturesque view.

  "Xiao Ge seems to be in a sorrowful state, I wonder what he's thinking of? Is it his Lin Shimei?" Ye Lan thought to herself, moved by Xiao Yun's sadness, and unknowingly, her eyes became slightly moist.

  "What are you still dazing about? Quickly catch the bug, or else it will run away again in a moment."

  A voice sounded in their ears, bringing Ye Lan and the others back to reality. Only then did they realize that the singing had stopped at some point, and Xiao Yun was standing on top of the slope, smiling at them with a smile on his face.

  The moving melody still lingers in my mind, and countless sparkling lights float in the air. These fireflies have returned, and there are several times more than before.

  "Xiao Da Ge!"

  No time to think of anything else, Ye Lan quickly picked up her stuff and caught the bug, while Xiao Hu also came back to his senses and immediately took action.

  Watching Ye Lan running back and forth on the lawn, watching that group of twinkling stars dancing wildly, Xiao Yun's mouth corners rose with a hint of an arc, but it was a bitter smile.

  Insects are heartless, but humans have feelings. Insects fly, who are you thinking of? And who am I thinking of? Relatives from past lives or friends from this life?

  A fleeting image of Lin Chunyin flashed through Xiao Yun's mind, and he let out a long sigh. Even with his eagle to cushion the fall, he had almost died; she had fallen from such a great height that she was probably already crushed to death.

  After a while, the insects gradually dispersed, and Yelan and Xiaohu also had a bountiful harvest. With joyous faces, they walked towards Xiao Yun.

  "Xiao Da Ge, look!"

  Ye Lan waved the shiny cloth bag in her hand, with a joyful expression on her face. Inside, there were probably over a hundred fireflies, their lights flashing on and off, very dazzling.

  Xiao Yun smiled and asked, "Is this enough?"

  Ye Lan nodded, "That's enough!"

  Adding the dozens caught by Xiao Hu, there were over two hundred, which was enough for Xiao Hu. Ye Lan handed the bag to Xiao Hu, who asked Xiao Yun, "Xiao Gege, what song did you just sing? It sounds great."

  "The insects fly!" Xiao Yun said.

  "Are insects flying? The Big Dipper insect seems to like listening to this tune!" Little Tiger's face was full of curiosity.

  Xiao Yun smiled and said, "This tune should be considered a bug-driving song!"

  Xiao Yun was also moved by the moment, and casually played this tune, but didn't expect to get such an effect. This piece doesn't enter the ranks of refined music, it should be a miscellaneous tune.

  "I heard your singing sounds very sorrowful, Xiao Da Ge, is there something that's been weighing on your heart?" Little Tiger said.

  Xiao Yun's face stiffened.

  "Cough!"

  Ye Lan coughed lightly and stared at Xiao Hu, her intelligent and astute nature allowing her to sense that Xiao Yun had concerns he didn't want to mention. She immediately said, "Xiao Da Ge, the North Dipper insect has been caught, let's head down the mountain!"

  Xiao Yun nodded and walked down the mountain road with Ye Lan, while Xiao Hu scratched his head in confusion, not knowing what he had said wrong again. Seeing that the two were already far away, he quickly caught up with them.