Chapter 4 third chapter

Cool and cloudless afternoon.Sandwiched between two majestic ridges, the Rumple Valley drops steeply to the southwest.They went down the mountain along the river, the blue water of the river suddenly dropped or turned sharply from time to time and stirred up white foam. On the way, they passed one small village after another: Grom, Maldives, Batai, Kalashgran, Pala Click. Birds sing among the rhododendron bushes, which are bursting with pink blossoms in spring.The waterwheel was working hard.Kalash women wear delicate shell headdresses and layers of bead necklaces, and prepare dinner around the kiln on the porch of the small house.

This valley is not the Garden of Eden. Because of their good looks and docile personality, Kalash children are sold at a high price in the slave market in Chitra. Their livestock are often robbed or stolen by neighboring powerful peoples.But, at least today, everything is peaceful and bright, like idyllic. After that, the mountain road became narrower and narrower.Fields, houses, and sheepfolds became rarer and rarer, and finally disappeared altogether.The Bumbury River meets the Rumple River in the valley, and then enters a narrow, barren gorge.The river ran swiftly below, dark red and gray cliffs blocking the sun.The road under their feet hung over the cliffs, twisting and turning as nature whirled.

At dusk they finally came out of the pass and into the vast floodplains of the Chitra Valley.Ayun Town, surrounded by rice fields, appeared in front of my eyes. The architectural style here was quite different from that of Kalash. Every household built high mud walls to prevent the female relatives from being seen by outsiders. The people on the road, regardless of age, were all men.Benny is used to the open house in Kalash, and feels the differences and contrasts more deeply. I told the other coolies to wait outside town, Leo said.We don't need to go into town. She felt relieved and exasperated at the same time.Are you doing well?

As the saying goes, be prepared, he answered very smoothly. Their guide was Imran, a weather-beaten man whom Leo sent first to inform the coolies of their arrival.When they arrived at the camp on horseback, the maid had prepared hot towels for Bernie to wipe her face and wipe away the dust of the journey.At the same time she took the hot tea, a tub had been prepared in the shower tent, filled with buckets of steaming hot water.After washing and changing, the servant brought a plate of pakora, that is, fried vegetables wrapped in soybean paste, and asked her to fill her stomach first while Leo finished bathing and the chef prepared dinner.

They sat down and began to eat. She usually had dinner with Mr. Bai and his wife around this time.Mrs. Bai likes this time very much. There is a faint smoke in the cool evening breeze, and there is a sliver of sunset glow in the sky, and a few fireflies that get up early start to shine and dance. Dinner dishes include curry broth, crispy fried chicken, and lamb curry risotto.Bernie looked at the food intently, and drew a chasm around her with a firm attitude.But Leo didn't seem to notice. What are you thinking?he asked, in the same graceful tone as before when he compared her to summer time.You are soft, you are harmonious.He even left Leh without notifying his family.Not to mention how did you go to Leh in the first place?Is there no need of doctors in all of Derry?

She was tempted to ignore him altogether, but finally replied: Derry is too hot. The temperature is really unbearably hot.But she can bear it if it's just hot.The bigger problem is that Leo's brother is also in Derry, and everyone seems to know not only who she is, but how unfortunate her marriage ended.She had gone all the way to India, and she didn't want to have to suffer the gossip of London society here. The Moravian Fraternity in Leh just happened to be looking for a short-term doctor. Their resident doctor went back to the country for vacation. During that time, he needed someone to act on his behalf. I think the climate there is more suitable for me.

and the isolated environment there. Leh is the capital of the state of Ladakh, a plateau east of Kashmir also nicknamed Little Tibet.Bei Ni originally thought that Leh had long bid farewell to its former glory and was a sleepy small village, but she did not expect that Leh was still very lively, welcoming caravans from all over the world, even from the farthest East Turkic.Long strings of prayer flags still flutter from the roof of the abandoned palace, where merchants from Tarim and Srinagar, as well as from Lahore and Amurisha trade. The Moravian Fraternity's mission house, humble as a cowshed, had a truly serene, sleepy atmosphere.A small group of brave and naive Christian ideals live there, converting at most one local person to Christianity a year, but gradually forgetting their distant hometown.

Bernie intended to leave as soon as the resident came back, but she didn't want to go back to Derry either.It happened that there was a group of German mountaineers going down the mountain to Rawapindi, passing through Leh on the way, and Beni bought the tent from them for no particular reason, just because the tent symbolized wandering and fit her inner sense of wandering.A week later, Mr. Bai and his wife came to the clinic.They said they were going west, and professional doctors were very welcome, so she agreed without saying a word, and set off again with the newly bought tent. Unfortunately, the climate in Leh is not to your liking?You got tired of Leh and when you left you bribed the missionaries not to tell anyone where you were going.

She shrugged.Don't you get bored of Carrie's habit of writing gibberish letters? It is a pity that Carrie does not write novels.As soon as Leo was mentioned, her letters were full of wonderful fictions, stories about his illness, failure, or new love, all intended to make Bernie worry, anxious, and jealous. When leaving Leh, Bei Ni decided to seek peace and suspend contact with Jiali for a year.In order to achieve her goal, she scribbled a bunch of nonsensical text messages, asking the missionaries to send them regularly every week, and asking them not to tell anyone where she was going.Faced with the temptation of five hundred pounds, even Christian idealists are happy to keep a few innocuous secrets.

The letter is written on paper, you can burn it. I burnt. But every time she burned Jiali's letter without opening it, she would feel again that she still cared, or even cared too much to burn the letter.Might as well never get the letter in the first place. He took out the silver flat bottle from his coat pocket. Mr. Bai insisted that Leo take some of his special whiskey on the road. He took a sip of the wine and didn't answer. She remembered uncomfortably that he was here because of Carrie's deceit.A coolie took away the tray and set down a mulberry tower in front of her.She poked with a fork.I hope you didn't come all the way to India just because of Carrie's request.

No, to be honest, I was originally in Gilgit. What are you doing in Gilgit?She was very surprised.He happened to be in Gilgit just when Carrie needed someone to find her.That city is located at the foot of the Karakoram Mountains, almost halfway between Leh and Chitra, which is the ideal starting point. A friend of mine organized a balloon expedition to explore the highland slopes of Nanga Parbat.They chose to camp in Gilgit.Although Charlie has gone to New Delhi, which is more developed, after all, he used to be an administrative officer in Gilgit. My friend invited me to go with him, it can be said that it was for convenience. She tried to understand this astonishing ingenuity, but finally gave up. How did you find me later. You actually want to ask me how I bribed the missionaries to let them tell you your whereabouts? No.I was wondering if you showed them that photo too? In what must have been the most earth-shattering scandal of a dreary missionary career, the husband of the widow doctor came back from the dead.She doesn't mind being seen as cold and aloof, but she definitely doesn't want to come across as cheating. He rolled his eyes.I would love to show them too.It's a pity that the photos were not sent to Gilgit until after I left for Leh. She frowned.Then how can you get the missionaries to tell me my whereabouts?They should keep it a secret. I pretended to be your furious brother and threatened to set their house on fire. No way? He capped the bottle and put it back in his pocket.I did pretend to be one of your two stepbrothers, but the rage part didn't have to.I did not threaten to set fire to it.I'm simply pointing out a very reasonable fact.A well-to-do English lady disappeared after leaving the mission, and of course it was thought she had been murdered.The missionaries were scared to death by this assumption, but they hawed and hawed so long that I really wanted to set fire to it. She chewed and swallowed the mulberry tart slowly, then picked up the napkin and tapped the corners of her mouth.I didn't mean to make you travel long distances, I just wanted to leave. He didn't ask her what she wanted to leave.Immediately after their marriage was annulled, she left England, spent the rest of 1994 in Germany, almost all of 1995 in the United States, and arrived in India in early 1996.However, no matter how far she runs, the past always seems to catch up with her. Go rest, he said.Tomorrow we head south. The one who needed a break was actually him.The more she looked, the more she felt that he was not only too skinny, but also looked malnourished. How long have you been on this trip? He frowned.I can't remember.Six and a half weeks, seven weeks?Should be about the same. First head east from Gilgit to Leh, then turn back from Leh to Chitra via Gilgit, and finally enter the Kalash Valley: at least nearly 1,600 kilometers.Moreover, the long distance of 1,600 kilometers not only has no roads, but the terrain is even more rugged, and the occasional flat land is also very scattered.As far as she knew, the journey could not be completed in fifty days. He must have been extremely light-packed, and most likely he only took a guide to lead the way, because dragging coolies, cooks, tents, and beds, it is absolutely impossible to have such a journey. How can it be?she asked in great perplexity.But another question is more important.Why?Why are you doing this? Why do you want to do this?He repeated her question, seeming rather surprised. Yeah, why don't you just tell Carrie to go to hell? He laughed out loud, self-deprecating.Apparently Carrie was very good at picking who she would tease. Their lives would never have intersected if Bernie's stepmother hadn't invited Leo over for dinner. After completing her medical studies in Zurich, Bernie returned to London to undertake practical and clinical training at the Royal Free Clinic and later as a resident at the New Women's Hospital.For convenience, she lives in the Ai family's London apartment, where her father, sister, stepmother and two stepbrothers also live, but she is rarely involved in family and social activities. That day, she had kind of wanted to eat in the room.She's on long shifts and doesn't like to be around people even when she's in the best of moods.But without her, there would be thirteen people at the same table, which was very unlucky, so she had to reluctantly dress up and head to the banquet hall. However, when Leo smiled at her after he arrived, she fell into a hazy illusion for an instant. She was in a daze all night, not knowing what she ate or said. She only saw the look in his gray eyes when he spoke. The shape of your lips when you smile. From that day on, finding him became the focus of her life.As long as it is an event that he may attend, she accepts the invitation.He gave a lecture on Greenland at the Royal Geographical Society, and she was among the packed audience.She even went to the Mathematics Society to listen to his paper despite the surprised eyes of others, even though she couldn't understand a word from the first minute. It wasn't strange enough that she didn't even ask for his response at all.Just as an alcoholic doesn't expect the bottle to reciprocate his love; she just wants to drink him when she gets the chance. Until the day he kissed her. It happened at the home of his eldest brother, Earl Weedon.To be more precise, it was in the study room, where a lively concert was being held in the banquet hall.She was dismayed by his absence, and she had counted on his presence, since he was currently living at Wyden House.But she couldn't leave, because Carrie was having a good time. Her sister, who completely refused human contact when she was a child, grew up to love places where a large number of human beings gather.So she buried her head in the encyclopedia for solace.Turn to the letter I and it reads The Cradle Age.Items such as terbazole, indene, and the list of banned books. She suddenly noticed someone entering the study.He stood at the door with his back against the door. Mr. Mo!How long had he stood there looking at her? Miss Ai. There was no smile on his face.He is usually so cheerful and cheerful, she is not used to his serious appearance.Then at last he smiled, a smile so radiant and brilliant that it makes the blind see and the deaf hear.But there was an undercurrent hidden in such a bright smile, causing her heart to react in a medically unfavorable way. I advise you not to read on that table, he said. oh? Both Charlie and Will's first time happened at that table. She held her bare neck with one hand, the pulse in her head thumping wildly under her thumb.God, she managed to make a sound, and it wasn't shrill, but it wasn't much better. You better get off that table.He pretended to be polite. She wanted to leave so badly, but her legs felt inexplicably limp.In this room, I believe my virginity should not be in danger. He left the study door and came to the desk, smiling again, that radiant smile was enough to achieve world unity.Miss Ai, has anyone ever tried to destroy your virginity? It was definitely the first time for her to have such a shocking inappropriate conversation.But she wants him to continue.His words bring a deep joy, like the best wine with the best chocolate. No one had any interest in my virginity, let alone try to destroy it. How can it be? This is true. Well, since you insist.However, chaste women can still commit many sins. Oh my god.She swallowed nervously.maybe.But I assure you, sir; whatever my sins may be, they have nothing to do with carnality. I am very different, however, he murmured.Even if it is not a sin, it is also inseparable from carnality. Ugh, you're so funny. He moved closer, to the side of her seat.Miss Ai, I have to admit that I think it is my responsibility to make up for the attention owed to you by men all over the world. I'm pretty sure the men of the world don't owe me anything. He bent down and pressed his hands on the armrests on both sides of the chair.I am extremely against it. She leaned back against the back of the chair.How are you going to correct it? Of course, it is to make love to you heartily and tirelessly. She was about to melt, and she was quite surprised that she didn't slip out of the chair and lie down under the table.it's here? ! This time her voice was really high-pitched and thin, plus trembling and panting. Didn't I warn you that this table would lead to crime?You should have left when you had the chance.It's too late now. He whispered the last few words almost directly into her ear.Her heart beat wildly, like a window not shut in a storm.In a distant banquet hall, someone with more ambition than talent began to play the opening passages of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.And in the corner of the study, she suddenly realized that this was the feeling she was looking for all along, such closeness, such violent turmoil. He laughed, overflowing with irrepressible glee, as if he'd been trying to be serious for too long and couldn't play anymore.sorry.When I came in, I saw how hardworking you were, so I couldn't help but want to tease you. After about ten heartbeats, she finally realized that he was just playing a prank.Nothing that happened just now made any sense. bring it on.He holds out his arm.Your sister is looking for you.I promise she will find you and take you back. She stood up and passed him.Is not funny. I apologize.I didn't intend to play it that far.But you look so innocent I am not naive.What's so great about having sex?It's just a penis inserted into the vagina, releasing semen in the process. He was taken aback, then lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile.Been taught a lesson.I thought it was just love, obsession and romance. Well, glad at least one of us thought it was funny, she said angrily. She made her way to the door, but he got there first. You are angry.Am I really that heinous? Yes, there is.She chased this handsome man around like a loyal dog all day, and in his eyes, she was just a horrible spinster who was almost twenty-eight years old, and any idea of ​​getting close to her was a complete joke.Listen, I have no shortage of male admiration.I also know how to commit carnal sins and remain chaste.For example, genital rubbing, masturbation, oral sex.Not to mention the enduring anal He kisses her.She didn't know how that happened.A moment earlier she had been babbling with righteous indignation, and he was leaning against the door, listening.The next moment, she was pressed against the door, he was kissing him, and she couldn't move because of shock. He backs away slightly.My God, he whispered.i really did She felt the door panel vibrate down her spine, and the high and low chords from the banquet hall scorched her spine.Morio kissed her.She didn't understand what it meant.Do young people nowadays treat kissing as a game?Should she ask him to apologize?Do women still get slapped for kissing without permission? What you said made me think that he didn't finish. Of course, that's exactly what she meant.She wanted him to believe that, beneath her spinster appearance, she was a wild orgy in London's hospitals.However, even so, what does it have to do with this matter? Why don't I just kiss you formally, he murmured. Yes, how about this, she heard her answer, her tone was still resentful. His lips are very close.what kind of soap do you use have no idea.The most powerful kind. You have a different taste than other women. What do they smell like? Flowers, spices, and occasionally musk.And you, it reminds me of industrial solvents. She stared at his mouth.Do you like industrial solvents? His lips curved slightly.Then he kissed her again, a kiss that was curious and unhurried, soft as a butterfly on a petal, patient as a wave.This kiss was very pure, even in public, there was no problem, except for lifting her chin with his fingertips, he did not touch other parts of her body.The kiss felt strange, like falling and flying. She thought dizzily, no wonder everyone likes to kiss, regardless of the fact that kissing can infect diseases.What a strange pleasure.Shortness of breath.It felt like an electric shock, something must have passed through their pressed lips, because every nerve in her body was throbbing, every cell in her body was singing. She wasn't sure when the kiss would end.She woke up from a haze and had to blink hard to see her surroundings. Promise me you won't kiss me again, he said.You're going to make me unable to submit to other women. He's likely to say the same lines to every woman he's kissed, because such a perfect sentence couldn't have just popped up on the spot.Even so, she was still fascinated by it.She nodded slowly. very good.Because if you break my heart, I will never forgive you.He is smiling, dazzling youth, the favored son of heaven who is favored by God.should we go?Otherwise Carrie will come to us.