Ye Lingyu was frightened.
Her heartbeat was as fast as if she had seen a ghost, but her mind quickly came to her senses and recognized that the person sitting next to her was a living person. It was just that the windows on both sides of the carport were down and there was no light inside, so she didn't see clearly.
"Sorry, I didn't know there was anyone here..."
"It's okay." The young man waved his hand and helped her move the baggage to the open space at her feet. "Since he is willing to pull you, we should be traveling together."
The young man has a plain voice, but his voice is a bit soft, but his pronunciation is clear and his Mandarin is very standard. The carriage swayed, and occasionally light and wind came in through the thick felt curtains. With this little light, she could clearly see the young man's appearance: he was about the same age as herself, right? Maybe two or three years older. He was wearing a simple white coat. It was a little gray, either because of the light or because it was too old, but it was washed clean. She wears a sleeveless warm long coat on the outside. It is made of slightly hard and heavy cloth. It is basically dark blue to nearly black in color. It is cheap but cost-effective. There are some simple decorations on the clothes, embroidered with simple gold patterns and decorated with dark satin ribbons. The belt is a very wide one with a metal ring for hanging the sword on it. But Ling Huan looked around and couldn't find the sword.
He's a very decent person. This kind of person either pays attention to his appearance, or he must have a wife or mother who loves him deeply. However, Ling Huan could not determine his identity. Although he looks like a white-faced scholar, a scholar would not make such professional weapon preparations; he is said to be a martial arts practitioner, and his body is not too weak, but he does not look like he can fight; said to be a business person... …That would be even more outrageous. His luggage was so small that it was negligible and was placed on his lap. He did not look like a rich man at first glance. Rather, he is the kind of ordinary person who is rarely seen and is immediately forgotten after one glance.
"I'm so sorry. It's so dark here. I didn't know or expect anyone else."
"It's normal. I'm used to it." The young man smiled. "When I first arrived at the inn, no one noticed me even after shouting for a long time. Even if I got in the car, my uncle thought I didn't follow him."
"Uh haha... maybe your voice is a little soft." Ling Huan felt embarrassed and funny, and then asked, "Are you going to a neighboring city?"
“Go further afield, but through neighboring towns.”
"Are you in a hurry too?"
"Yes. A little anxious."
Then the two of them had nothing to say. Driving a carriage from here would take at least half an hour, not to mention the wind and snow. The old horse owned by the coachman's uncle did a good job and pulled steadily along the way, except for the occasional bump because he couldn't see the road clearly. Time passed too slowly. Ling Huan felt very sleepy, but he was pretending to be busy, so he hung there half asleep. She occasionally glanced at the young man secretly, but he had been sitting upright and expressionless.
She decided to talk to the young man to cheer her up: "Well..."
The young man looked at her.
"May I have your name."
"Thank you."
"Xie Zhe..."
she repeated softly. It feels like a name that sounds ordinary but not too bad. Following the normal chat steps, the young man should have asked her name in turn, but he didn't respond. After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked straight ahead. He continued to keep a straight face and said nothing like a wooden stake. She felt even more embarrassed.
Ling Hu really wanted to ask: Why didn't you ask me my name. Isn’t it pointless for me to pick a topic?
But she held it in, as the qualities of a lady did not allow her to be so "unreasonable", and she didn't think Xie Zhe was rude, she just felt he was a little cold, a little... dull. So she took a deep breath and decided to announce herself.
"My name... is Ye Lingyu."
"oh."
Nothing further.
It's better not to say anything.
Fortunately, Ye Lingyu did not regret this decision for too long. He seemed to have some qualifications as a normal person, so he turned around and asked:
"Is it a paper kite or a mandarin duck?"
"It's the phoenix's phoenix."
"Oh..." he thought thoughtfully, "it's rare to see this character used as a name."
"Yes. A distant cousin of mine and I were born a few days apart. She and I used the same word. The advice was given by a fortune teller." In order to avoid a more rigid situation, Ling Huan decided to talk less about himself and transfer Topic: "What is your Chinese character? It seems rare. Your parents must also be people who read a lot of poetry and books."
"No. My mother is a peasant woman, and my father is dead."
"..."
Ling Huan felt a lump in his throat. This time he thought he had said the wrong thing without thinking. She didn't mean to expose anyone's scars, but this was a situation that people who met for the first time would never expect, so she felt she couldn't be blamed. But indeed, it was my fault that I made a mistake.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It doesn't matter." Xie Zhe said calmly, "I haven't met my father either. It was my mother who raised me up."
"So that's it." Ling Huan nodded, "Then your name was given by your mother?"
"Um."
He hummed like this, feeling that this topic was coming to an end again. Ling Hu secretly thought that maybe he didn't like chatting. In fact, she herself is not a talkative person, but she just doesn't dare to fall asleep in the car. It's too cold and it's easy to catch a cold. If you get sick on the way, you will lose more than you gain. Just as she was thinking about whether there was anything else she could say, Xie Zhe spoke again:
"She said I have traces of my father in my name."
"Eh?" She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, "What do you mean?"
"She said that my father also came from a farmer's family. Later, in order to supplement the family income, he became a soldier and received subsidies. More than 20 years ago, when the border was not peaceful, he took the initiative to go to the front line to serve the country. But he didn't know that my mother was pregnant with me at the time. He only found out when he received a letter on the way, but he could no longer come back. Later, his leg was broken and he couldn't fight, so he wanted to get money and come back to accompany his mother in giving birth. But... because he didn't treat it well, the wound became infected and he developed a high fever on the way. It was snowing the day my mother gave birth to me, and the only thing that arrived was the obituary brought by a courier."
"..."
He talked to himself for a while, and then he realized that Ling Huan's eyes were straight, as if he would cry at any time. He was stunned, not expecting a girl to react so strongly. He shut up for a moment, not knowing what to do.
"It's okay, just stop talking if you're unhappy! I don't have to listen..." Ling Huan waved his hand quickly.
"Ah, it's nothing...my mother is actually illiterate. As for the literate people, she guessed it if she refused to read to her. The next day, she went out with my newborn me in her arms. The snow stopped, but the door There were ruts on the ground in front of me made by messengers driving all night, so she gave me this name. Probably, this was the most literate moment in her life."
When talking about this matter, Xie Zhe was quite relaxed, while Ling Huan's heart felt as heavy as a stone. She felt that she shouldn't ask. Aren't both of them in a worse mood now? She shook her head repeatedly and sighed.
"But your father is so awesome. Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism is something that many ordinary people cannot do."
"Yeah. Anyway...my mother won't let me become a soldier."
"Then what are you doing now?"
“Catch ghosts and exorcise them.”
"..."
Xie Zhe felt that Ye Lingyu had moved a little farther away. He didn't know if it was an illusion.
"I find a lot of people have a bias against this industry."
"No, it's nothing." Ling Huan did not admit it, "In this industry, we should be respected by others..."
Xie Zhe said nonchalantly: "That's what you say, but the truth is also very easy to think about. For something as sacred and solemn as a funeral, people respect both the mage and the coffin bearers. But if it weren't for the high esteem You said that you put makeup on the dead, dress the dead, and carry the coffin..."
Ye Lingyu choked up again, but she felt it made sense. Moreover, this young man seemed to be thoughtful, and he was not as alienated as she had felt before - even though it was only a few words.
"Then, your mother isn't afraid of you because of this business..."
"That's all. Our mother and son once received help from an expert... She was not taboo about these things, but rather liked them. Therefore, it did not hinder my choice. I took this path, and it was also the expert who He was...a monk. He and I convinced my mother and told her that fighting is for the common people; exorcising ghosts and doing evil deeds is also for ordinary people. In this way, I no longer need to be a soldier. I can also inherit my father’s legacy.”
Ling Huan nodded: "That's quite good."
They had nothing to say again. However, there was no need for Ling Huan to think about what to say, because the carriage suddenly stopped. She thought to herself, why so fast? The driver suddenly opened the windshield and said to the two of them:
"Girl, I can't leave."
"What?"
"It gets snowier as we go forward. I'll only charge half of your money and you'll have to go back."
"But you can't just-"
The driver waved his hand and pointed to the side of the road.
"There is still half way to the foot of the mountain. There is a small inn here. I won't compete with you for a guest room, and I don't have any spare money. When the road is clear the next day, you can borrow carriages and horses from here, or Just stop a car traveling the same way."
"But...okay, okay, thank you."
Ling Huan got out of the car first, Xie Zhe handed the package to her to catch, and then got off. The wind and snow were indeed getting heavier, so heavy that everything in front of me was gray and white, and the small inn in front of me was only a faint outline. The carriage was about to turn around and leave, when suddenly a chubby middle-aged man came out and immediately called the coachman to stop, saying that he was going back to the city. This made the uncle very happy.
The two stood alone in front of this pitifully small inn, looking at each other. Xie Zhe saw Ye Linghua wrapped tightly in the snow canopy and urged her to get in quickly. Otherwise, I don’t know how much snow she would have to eat with her dumb look.
Since one person just left, let's not say there is still another room.
With this in mind, they pushed open the door and walked into the store. Unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped through the door with my left foot, I heard a shout from the front desk:
"Girl, it's full! Please come back."
