After circling the lake, we passed by Xianning again, but we didn't stop there. We only stayed one night at the Three Pagodas Temple, and then headed west.
For the first three hundred miles, the scenery was still common. There were relatively more people who could understand Mandarin. The temperature was slightly lower than that of Xianning but similar, and there were many pedestrians on the road. After three hundred miles, the scenery began to change to that of the plateau and mountains.
, in the cold winter, the grass is withered and yellow, the woods are bleak, the lake is so blue that it seems fake, and the snow-capped mountains are reflected in it. At the same time, the proportion of people who understand Mandarin has significantly decreased. Most of the people are local herdsmen, and there are even only a few noble officials.
Only then could I understand the Mandarin, the temperature dropped sharply, and the number of pedestrians decreased significantly.
Go all the way to the border between Yunzhou and Dayan.
It is close to Xueyu and Yizhou.
Along the way, the most impressive thing was the lake.
All kinds of plateau lakes and streams, no matter how big or small, are like gems and jade belts on the plateau. Each color is different. No matter how clear or deep they are, they are all too beautiful to be true.
At the same time, the temperature also dropped sharply. I occasionally encountered tea and horse merchants on the road, all of whom were wrapped up like bears.
I almost found the feeling of walking in the Western Regions in winter before.
After seeing the scenery, I came back and turned to the south.
Winter is getting deeper and deeper.
However, going south is completely different from going west.
The higher you go west, the colder you go; the lower you go south, the warmer you go.
The scenery along the road has also changed significantly.
At first, it was a transformation from plateau scenery to normal landscape. When the transformation came back, going south, it was another transformation from normal landscape to tropical rainforest - the vegetation on the mountain roadside became visibly richer and unfamiliar to the naked eye, and there were quite a few interesting things about it.
There are many types of vegetation, and there is vegetation at any height. The stratification is not obvious. Unlike the common mountain forests in other places, except for a few tall trees and grass growing on the ground, there is almost no middle.
.
There are often many ferns along the roadside.
Large trees often have plate-shaped roots and aerial roots.
Even Song You found it novel, let alone Empress Sanhua who was always very curious.
When calico cats are walking on the road, whenever they encounter strange-looking grass that they have never seen before, they will go over to smell it and take a look. Whenever they encounter tall and strange trees, they will also turn their heads when passing by.
Staring at it with wide eyes, until it was difficult to turn his head, he took it back and looked at the new tree ahead.
The weather is getting warmer and we know fewer and fewer trees.
It's like entering a new world.
But it’s not completely unknown.
Sanhua Empress knows at least three kinds of common trees.
Bamboo, plantain, sugar cane.
Although none of these three seem to be trees.
Yes, there are a lot of bananas grown here, and many of them look like wild ones, growing on top of the mountain or on the roadside. Those closer to the road rarely see mature ones, and most of them are picked by passers-by to satisfy their hunger.
But there are often ripe bananas on the tops of mountains farther away. They rest and sleep in the open every day. As long as they can be seen, Sanhua Empress will go there to pick them, either by herself or with a bay-red horse, and then feed them to the Taoist priests.
.
There are people growing sugar cane here.
And they plant a lot of them, and people often plant a large area of one kind.
Empress Sanhua was extremely happy.
Many times the Taoist walked in front with a bamboo stick, and she also transformed into a human form, walking behind with a crutch, but it was not her small bamboo stick, but a long sugar cane.
Eat while walking.
Every time I tear off the sugar cane skin, I don't just throw it on the roadside. Instead, I use it as a dart, find a target at random, aim and throw it out.
As we traveled south, it became warmer, we had snacks to eat, we could play while walking, and there were more and more small animals on the roadside, whether they were birds in the trees, squirrels, snakes on the ground, four-legged snakes or even mice.
There are a lot of them, and there are also a lot of bugs, and you can easily find something to eat. For Empress Sanhua, the happiness here is second only to the seaside and Lan Mo.
"We have reached the southernmost county of Yunzhou and are almost approaching the southernmost part of Dayan land."
The Taoist looked through "Yu Di Ji Sheng" and then looked up at the surrounding scenery. He could roughly determine the direction, but he didn't know exactly where he went.
In fact, I'm afraid I don't even know it when I leave Dayan.
"call out!"
The girl took the sugar cane peel, aimed at a strange weed, swiped it and threw it away.
And also make sounds from his mouth.
The sugar cane bark rotated and hit the wild grass. The wild grass was immediately bent down and swayed again after bouncing up.
The girl nodded silently, seemingly satisfied, and mentally imagined the weed as a monster. The sugarcane peel she threw became a magic weapon, and she had already chopped off the monster's head while spinning.
Then he took the sugar cane and brought it to his mouth.
"Bah!"
Take another bite, use your hands and head together to tear off a piece of sugar cane skin, and repeat what you did before.
She seemed not to have heard what the Taoist said.
"..."
The Taoist raised his head and looked at the sky again.
The wind was light and the clouds were light. It was clearly winter, but the climate was similar to the summer in Yizhou, but much cooler than the hot summer. A swallow flew left and right in the air, free and easy.
Actually, I'm eating.
Due to climate reasons, even in the cold winter, there are many mosquitoes here. There are many bugs in the air, which are delicious meals for swallows. Flying around so irregularly is not only playing for fun, but also preying on bugs flying in the air. They eat them as they fly.
full.
"well……"
The Taoist touched the neck of the bay-red horse, and as soon as he put back the "Yu Di Ji Sheng", he heard a neighing sound in the distance.
"Moo..."
It's long and clear, reaching directly over the treetops and into the sky.
The dense rainforest in the distance swayed.
A herd of elephants walked out of it and strolled over.
"..."
The sugarcane peel that Sanhua Empress was about to throw stopped in place, and she turned her head, looking blankly at the elephants walking towards her with a fair and delicate face.
The herd of elephants is quite large, with dozens of animals in total. They walk in an orderly manner. The strong adult male elephants are walking at the front. The female elephants and their calves are protected in the middle of the group. Each elephant is in close contact with the other elephants.
An elephant walked from the rainforest, keeping a suitable distance.
Seeing two people and a horse on the roadside, the elephants became a little wary and paused for a moment to observe. However, after only a brief pause, they judged that they were not a threat and then continued walking over.
As the elephants got closer and closer, their huge size became more and more clear in the girl's eyes.
In comparison, not to mention myself, even my own horse looks very petite.
"Moo..."
The elephant made a sound and passed in front of them.
The Taoist stepped aside with his staff, without feeling any fear or showing any sign of danger. He only looked at the passing elephants. What was interesting was that he seemed to feel his friendliness and seemed to sense a natural warmth in him.
Breath, these elephants were not afraid of him at all. When he passed by, no matter the elephants or the little ones, they all looked at him.
The two parties' eyes met, as if they could communicate.
The girl also followed the Taoist to the side, looking up and staring at these behemoths, but her eyes were more wary, and when she was wary, she was filled with wonder.
The long ivory tusks dangled in front of her.
He is not even half as tall as an elephant's legs.
Slowly the elephant herd also moved away.
One party is friendly and the other trusts, completing a chance encounter that requires a lot of fate.
"call……"
Sanhua Empress breathed a sigh of relief, took the sugar cane, turned to the Taoist priest and said: "These elephants are so big, the small elephants are as big as horses..."
"Didn't Sanhua Empress see elephants in Changjing?"
"Not so much!"
"I see."
"And the elephants in Changjing have no teeth!" Sanhua Empress still marveled, "They are as big as monsters!"
"The world is big and wonderful."
"It's really unfair. They grow so big and the cats grow so small."
"Let's go..."
The Taoist withdrew his gaze and took steps forward.
The girl quickly followed him.
“Bah chi…
"Bah, bah, bah..."
Take two bites of sugar cane and feel surprised for a moment.
There is a small town ahead, in the rainforest, on the banks of the river. Most of the people living there are local people. Although there is a government, it is almost autonomous by the local people. After walking here, the Taoist is sure that he has really reached the southernmost city of Yunzhou.
It's a county, but it's not Bujun, but Daijun.
The people here are very honest and enthusiastic.
Song You caught up with a family getting married and had a banquet. The locals liked to eat insects and there was a banquet of hundreds of insects. The Taoist also tasted a lot of it, which made Empress Sanhua stare at him without blinking.
There is also fragrant bamboo rice.
It uses tender fragrant bamboo, and the inside is glutinous rice mixed with fruits. After cooking, the inner membrane of the bamboo will wrap the glutinous rice tightly. When you eat it, peel the outer shell of the bamboo, like tearing the shell of sugar cane or peeling a banana.
The skin reveals the glutinous rice inside, which is long and soft. The fragrance of bamboo is mixed with the aroma of glutinous rice fruits, which is very delicious.
The most important thing is that eating it always reminds me of Song You’s childhood memories in his previous life.
In addition, due to the hot weather here, the appetite is not good when the weather is hot, so I like to eat sour food, which is very suitable for Song You's appetite.
After staying here for a few more days, counting the time, the cold winter was almost over, so the Taoist set off in a hurry, walking along the line to the south of Yunzhou to the other side.
Let’s look for Bujun, which is also in the south of Yunzhou.
Walking out of Daijun, you will reach Bujun.
Bujun is no longer a tropical rainforest, but you can occasionally see tropical plants, such as the combination of Numajun and Daijun. The temperature is slightly lower than that of Daijun, but it is equally warm.
Two hundred miles into the county, about two days' journey, swallows flew from the sky and told them that they had found the red river. Then under his guidance, it didn't take long for the Taoist party to arrive at the red river.
before.
"So that's it..."
The Taoist looked at the river and smiled.
He originally thought that the river water would be red, so that the unique red rice could be grown. He also thought about the reason. In the end, the river water was still ordinary river water, even very clear, but there was some fine sand in the river. These fine sand showed a
The vermilion color makes the river water look red.
The water rushes down and goes straight to Luchuan.