"My surname is Song, and my name is You. I come from Changjing."
Song You stood in the woods, wearing a paper fur coat outside his Taoist robe, and the snow had fallen all over his body, looking at them.
"Why would you, sir, be walking in the deep mountains during such a heavy snowstorm?" The middle-aged man looked at him curiously, feeling calm and unafraid, "Is sir, an elf from the mountains, or a deity from the outside world?"
"Just a Taoist."
"Why are you here in the mountains?"
"Isn't your step also deep in the mountains?"
"I'm quite rude." The middle-aged man smiled and saluted, "I have always admired Divine Doctor Cai and the Snake Immortal in Beiqin Mountain. I heard that Divine Doctor Cai was grateful for the merits of the Snake Immortal, so he settled here. The Snake Immortal was grateful to Divine Doctor Cai. With a kind heart, he always protects and guides people. Such deeds should be passed down as beautiful things through the ages, and when they reach your ears, they will also feel that they are very beautiful."
After a short pause, he added:
"I came to Beiqin Mountain to enjoy the snow a few days ago. I met a hunter on the way down the mountain. I talked to him. The hunter told me that there was a small lake in the mountain. When he went into the mountain to hunt and got lost, he saw a snake fairy. When he went fishing at the lake, the snake fairy gave him fish to satisfy his hunger. I also heard that the snake fairy liked tea, so after returning to Beijing, he immediately bought the best tea in Changjing and followed the road pointed by the hunter to look for it. Unexpectedly, The wind and snow got heavier and heavier on the way, but luckily there was a snake fairy to guide us."
The middle-aged man pointed to the snake path on the ground.
"I see."
"Could it be that sir also came to the mountains to look for the snake fairy?"
"Exactly."
"Have you found sir?"
The Taoist listened but did not answer. Instead, he stood quietly in the wind and snow, looking at him without speaking.
"I'm rude." The middle-aged man saluted again. He glanced behind the Taoist inadvertently and saw the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain, the hut beside the bamboo forest, the quiet lake in front of the hut, the small boat on the lake, and the old man and the old man fishing on the boat. The raincoat covered with wind and snow couldn't help but move in his heart. When he saluted, he bent down even lower, "I would like to ask, sir, if I can find the snake fairy if I go down here."
"You can find it if you have the chance."
"rational……"
"But..." Song You looked back and saw the Snake Fairy. He almost knew the Snake Fairy's thoughts in his heart, so he said to him, "In such a heavy wind and snow, I can still insist on coming even though I have many followers around me." I don’t want to go back despite my advice, and I am a polite person, so I would like to wish you all your wishes.”
When the middle-aged man heard this, he didn't know that this was a hint, and he was immediately overjoyed:
"Thank you sir."
"Don't dare."
Both sides bowed to each other and then took steps.
It was only then that the two of them saw that the Taoist was actually followed by a calico cat, which had just been buried in the snow and stared at them. At this time, he was walking as if jumping in the snow, and every time it fell, it covered the cat. The loose snow on the weeds will submerge it, and when it moves forward, it has to jump up again, which is very interesting.
This gentleman must also be a strange person.
Both sides missed each other.
Amidst the wind and snow came the conversation between the middle-aged man and his servant.
"Let me tell you, they must be guests of the Snake Immortal. They are probably people like us who come to look for the Snake Immortal."
"My husband is right."
"Let's walk faster. People are not afraid of wind and snow, so we shouldn't be afraid either. If others can find it, we can probably find it too."
"Mr., don't be anxious!"
The middle-aged man has already gone away.
The entourage hurriedly followed, turned around and took another look at the Taoist man in the wind and snow, and could only sigh, not to mention that my husband is crazy, even more crazy than my husband.
…
Song You tightened his clothes and took the calico cat further and further away.
It was really cold on the mountain, and the wind and snow were so heavy that even if the paper fur was used to protect me from the wind, I still felt very cold even if I kept walking around.
The cold didn't get better until we walked through several mountains and left the wind and snow-raging area. And it didn't get better until we walked back to Dr. Cai's hut and went down the mountain. The temperature at the bottom of the mountain is always higher than the temperature on the top.
It is taller and feels warm when walking, even without paper fur.
"Taoist priest..."
"Um?"
"Do you think our horses will die of cold in the mountains?"
"Will not."
"Why?"
"It's not that easy to die from the cold."
"Cats have fur on their bodies, and they often die from the cold."
"Is this..."
Song You thought for a while and then explained to her: "Our horse is a Northern Yuan horse, which is naturally resistant to cold and heat. It is less afraid of the cold than a cat. Even if it is a cold winter on the top of the mountain in Changjing, the Northern Yuan horse will not die from the cold. Besides,
Although it is not as good as Sanhua Empress, it is still very powerful."
"Well!"
The cat felt a little relieved, but still worried.
Although it is said that the cold will not kill you, it is still very painful when it is cold. The horse is not like the Sanhua Empress in the past who has her own temple on the mountain. Besides, even the Sanhua Empress who has her own temple is not able to survive the cold weather.
It will still be very cold at night, so you have to huddle in the corner to avoid being blown by the wind blowing in from the door.
"..."
Song You turned around and glanced at her, then said: "If Empress Sanhua is really worried, why don't we go look for it?"
"Go find it!"
"Anyway, we have a painting."
"Where to find it?"
"It's on the mountain."
"On the mountain?"
The calico cat, which had just come down from the mountain and was walking towards Changjing, stopped again, turned around and looked at the mountain behind it.
"It's not here, it's another one."
"Which one?"
"..."
Song You had no choice but to stretch out his hand and point in a direction.
The cat immediately stretched its neck to look.
"where?"
"Let's go."
"oh……"
The cat immediately followed with small steps.
It can be seen that she loves her bay red horse deeply and is also worried about it.
The mountain where the bay red horse was released was the direction from which they entered Beijing. Although it was not completely opposite to this direction, it was quite different. After the bay red horse arrived, it moved again, but the general direction was always the same as when Song You
The mountain pointed out to it has never gone far.
You can also see its inner thoughts from it.
Sanhua Empress is right, you can put it in the painting.
Sanhua Empress is right, winter is too cold.
It's not the coldest time yet.
So it's time to go find it.
In the cold winter, life is gone, the nights are long and the days are short. Along the way, the weeds on the mountains are mostly withered and yellow, the trees are mostly bare, and only the pines and cypresses are evergreen.
One person and one cat continued to move forward, but did not return to the capital. Instead, when they got close to the capital, they saw a road leading to Donghe County. They asked the passers-by and saw that they could walk to where they wanted to go, so they went
I changed this road and continued walking. When I returned to the road I had walked before going to Beijing, I tried to identify it, had a meaningless discussion with Empress Sanhua, and then I also chose a direction.
There is a difference between winter and spring. The road in front of you is still the same, the mountains are still the same, and the houses in the villages are the same, but they just look strange.
Sanhua Empress loved to worry and missed her horse. She asked several times on the way if she was going the wrong way.
Song You could roughly perceive the location of the bay red horse.
Finally, we set foot on the path again and reached the hillside where we were separated from the bay red horse.
Looking into the distance, there is a huge mountain.
"It seems I made a mistake."
"That's right."
The calico cat obviously recognized it and ran forward quickly with small steps.
The mountains look close, but are actually very far away.
The mountains are covered with forests, and the deeper you go, the deeper the forests become. Normally, only hunters and woodcutters would come in.
When one person and one cat stopped, they saw a few wild horses gathering together in front of them. One was standing guard and the others were eating grass. Not far from this group of wild horses, there was a bay horse, which also lowered its head and gnawed on the grass on the ground.
"Horse!"
A soft and thin shout really doesn't travel very far.
However, the bay red horse still heard it, and instantly pricked up his ears, raised his head and looked over.
"Xilulu..."
The bay-red horse neighed and ran over immediately.
Like a calico cat, the closer the horse got to them, the slower it walked. When it came to them, it changed from running to walking. When it stopped in front of the Taoist and the cat, it lowered its head and stood still. People
He Mao still couldn't read any emotion from the horse's face.
"Does Ma miss Sanhua Empress?"
"..."
"Why don't you speak?"
"..."
"You're not smart."
"..."
The horse still stood still and made no sound.
The Taoist stretched out his hand, touched its mane, and asked with a smile: "Do you feel comfortable living in this mountain?"
"..."
"I'm not leaving right away, but it's a cold winter. Empress Sanhua was worried about you not having a good time, so she came up with an idea to invite you to a place where it's not too cold. I wonder if you are willing."
"..."
"But it's not far to go."
"..."
"Well."
The Taoist nodded, smiled, but said with some emotion: "Thank you for waiting."
"Thank you~"
The calico cat also imitated him.
Immediately, one person and one cat turned around and walked towards Changjing. The horses followed them obediently and silently as before.
Empress Sanhua seemed to be extremely excited. She kept talking to the bay red horse all the way, asking questions, talking about her own affairs, the spells she had learned and the magical powers she had learned, the words she had learned to recognize, and the stories she had captured in Changjing.
No matter how powerful the rat is and how much money it can earn, it is natural that there will be no response.
In the evening, they entered Changjing.
Once we entered the city, the cold wind became much lighter, and the Taoist was still a little hot while walking on the road wearing paper fur.
However, this is just because he is well fed, clothed and warm, and he is well-behaved. Really poor people in Changjing cannot use this method to keep warm.
When I returned to Willow Street, I saw a figure nestling in front of my house.
It was a man wearing a dirty and tattered monk's robe, with a long beard and gray hair, huddled at the door of his house, motionless.
"Meow?"
The calico cat looked back at the Taoist.
"Um."
Song You nodded, indicating that he had seen it too.
Then a man and a cat walked over, and the Taoist bent down to look at him. The calico cat also came closer and looked at him warily.
This man is still alive, but very weak.
He must have been poor, so when he came here, the other entrances were all shops, and the shopkeepers did not allow him to sleep in the doorway. It happened that the door of Song You and Sanhua Empress's shop was closed, so they huddled here.
"Fellow……"
Song You pushed him and shouted twice.
The downcast middle-aged Taoist priest opened his eyes in a daze, turned to look at him, and was shocked.
Only then did Song You realize that this person was somewhat familiar.