I don’t know when the snow stopped, but after dawn, nothing really fell.
They are the first to wake up. Rather, I almost didn't sleep all night. Except Ye Lingyu slept in the small room at the beginning - she proposed it herself because the other house was larger. Unfortunately, the two of them didn't get along well. Xie Zhe was only used to sleeping alone, and being in the same room with a monster really made him feel uncomfortable. He had nothing to say to Zhongli Hanzhang, and Hanzhang didn't make any trouble and just read the book honestly all night. Neither of them slept much, but Xie Zhe was the only one who had dark circles under his eyes the next day. Sure enough, the physiques of old monsters and ordinary people are not the same.
"Are you okay if you haven't rested?" In the corridor, Ye Lingquan, who was ready to go, asked with concern, holding a package on his arm.
"It's okay, let's go." Xie Zhe didn't say much.
After going downstairs, Xie Zhe reached for the door and found that the door felt heavier than yesterday. Sure enough, an arc-shaped mark was drawn in front of the door, and thick snow was piled together. Maybe the snow fell lightly at night, so it wouldn't accumulate too much. But now the height of the snow is thirty to forty centimeters, and the thickest part is about half a meter.
"...Why is this?" Ling Huan frowned, "How should we go about this?"
Saying this, she still walked out of the door. Further forward, the snow covered my calves, and the cold air penetrated into my bones. What's more, the sun is out now and the snow is starting to melt, which is even more terrifying than when it snows.
"I definitely won't borrow a carriage, so there's no need to ask. Besides, no coachman would drive in this kind of snow." Xie Zhe was at a loss. "They just hope that we can stay here longer before leaving, so that they can collect more money."
"Will Hanshang's fake money be exposed?" Ye Lingyu said suddenly. She really remembered it every time it came out.
"Well, not as long as I stay here. But aren't you in a hurry?"
After saying that, Han Chang stepped forward. Where he walked, within half a meter of his feet, all the snow melted rapidly and spread into the surrounding snowdrifts, causing them to collapse and condense. A narrow path was pushed forward by him. He walked five or six meters, turned back, spread his hands and said:
"Look, like this, you just need to follow me."
"Wow……"
Joy crept up on his brows, and Ye Linghua jumped up and followed him.
"I'm afraid it's still a long way from the foot of the mountain." Xie Zhe said as he stood at the door. "The driver told us that this post station is about halfway. It's probably a long way to get there."
"Look, aren't the mountains right in front of you?" Ye Linghua pointed to the clean sky, and the outline of the mountains appeared in the dim dawn. "If we leave now, it will definitely be too late. I calculated the time, There’s still about twenty-three miles to go, right?”
Han Chang looked back at him and tilted his head: "Aren't you leaving?"
Xie Zhe took a deep breath and followed suit. He knew that Han Chang's behavior of melting snow was actually a very consuming method, but it seemed to be painless to the fox demon. Xie Zhe also knew that this monster wouldn't really have planned anything against them from the beginning, otherwise it would have started already. But the vixen is capricious, and who knows what new bad ideas he might come up with along the way. He thought it was just a matter of one night, but unexpectedly, he had to start paying attention in advance.
"We said we would have to leave for at least an hour, and it would only take longer than usual." Xie Zhe was somewhat worried, "Miss Ye, that's all for me, but do you know what this concept is...?"
"Hmm... It won't be very tiring, I guess." She thought for a moment, "It should be fine."
That being said, she was a little unsure herself. Indeed, this girl never leaves home. The most traveled route throughout the year is to temple fairs during festivals. She has never traveled far on foot. She felt a little guilty, but when she thought that she had been preparing for this day for so long, she felt a steady stream of strength coming up.
"It's okay -" Han Chang drawled, "When the time comes that you can't walk anymore, just call me good brother and I'll carry you half a mile. Do you think it's a sure profit?"
"Why do you always want to take advantage of me?"
With what could be termed as laughter, the three of them headed towards the mountains in the distance. The surroundings were quiet, as if the snow had drowned out all sounds. There were no cries of birds, and no traces of animals. The sky gradually became brighter, and only occasionally could one or two calls from living creatures be heard. Sometimes, fragile tree branches on the roadside would be crushed by the snow and fall down with a "plop", stirring up a large cloud of white dust and smoke.
Ye Linghua's legs were indeed not as agile as he thought, and he had to stop and rest after a while. Han Chang couldn't stand it, so he said he had suffered a loss and called out "good brother" to carry him for a mile. Although, in fact, Ling Huan would not lose anything, but her strange pride caused her to refuse to let go, and she would go on her own no matter what. Sometimes, even Xie Zhe finds it funny.
"Why, you also want someone to carry you?" Seeing him laughing secretly, Han Shang squinted his fox eyes and said.
"No need." Xie Zhe immediately rolled his eyes.
"Oh, today's young people really can't bear any hardship. Tsk tsk..."
Zhongli Hanzhang pretended to shake his head, with a mature tone. If he hadn't had to climb a mountain to conserve his strength later, Xie Zhe would have caught up to him and given him a kick. Hanshang stretched out his hand through the snow canopy and rubbed Linghua's head. She immediately shook her head.
"What are you doing?"
"Pfft." He waved his hand, "It's okay, I think it's funny. You and my sister reacted exactly the same."
"You really do have a sister."
"Yes." He nodded happily, "But strictly speaking, we are considered adopted sisters. We grew up together. She was my brother's wine warmer... Well, you call a relationship that is not married but is engaged. What? A good friend?"
"Absolutely..." Ling Huan scratched his head, "I really didn't expect that there is such an important relationship. Then your sister must be very beautiful? Is she also a fox demon?"
"Yes, she is a very beautiful fox. Her hair is as white as the snow in the sky. When winter comes, I think of her. Of course, although you are also beautiful, she is a little more beautiful!"
"...Hahaha, should I thank you? But why did you suddenly pull me out again?"
Ling Huan was a little embarrassed and helpless, somehow it got involved with her again.
"You are very similar. Although you don't look alike, you both have interesting personalities. You are more lively than her. Rather, you remind me of her when she was young. She was also very enthusiastic when she was young. The older she gets, the more distant she becomes. La. Alas, is this the inevitable fate of being an older brother..."
Although this was true, the strange words coming out of his mouth made Xie Zhe just want to curse: Psycho. In order to avoid trouble, I didn't say anything after all. Having said that, since the road is so difficult now, I wonder if the mountain road has been blocked. He even didn't know how they would spend the night if they really went up the mountain. If he was alone, he would always have a way, but Xie Zhe never thought that the current situation would arise.
As if hearing what he was thinking, Ling Huan suddenly said: "There is a hotel at the foot of the mountain where you can take a rest. But we can't stay too long. The people there know my family."
"Is there such a store?"
"Yes. They also built a villa in the south mountain...but it is still far away from the mountain road we are going to take. Yin'er and I were born there. A long time ago, there were only two old people staying here, and their children stayed here. Yuecheng makes money. It was Yin'er's family who said the Feng Shui here was good, so they asked their children to convert it into a hotel when they came back, which gave it its current appearance. So the children also came back to run the place. But I have hardly been here, they should... ...you won’t recognize me!”
"Don't worry too much."
It was almost noon and they were all a little hungry. But the good news is that the outline of the mountain is already very clear, and the appearance of the hotel at the foot of the mountain is gradually becoming clearer. Ling Huan felt that he could no longer walk, but when he saw the hot steam coming out of the hotel's chimney, he seemed to have a little more strength and quickened his pace.
They didn't feel cold after walking for so long, and they felt especially hot when they entered the store. The scene here is completely different from the outside world - there are too many people. I'm afraid, everyone is trapped here due to the sudden snowfall. However, there are advantages to being in large numbers. They sneakily found a corner to sit down, preparing to rest for a while and have a hot meal before leaving.
Xie Zhe swallowed, not because he was hungry.
"Miss Ye..." he said cautiously, "don't you think the price of this restaurant -"
Quite touching?
"It's not a big problem. As for the money, you can get whatever you want." Han Chang smiled.
"Hey, you can't cheat this family." Ling Huan poured tea and suddenly became unhappy, "It's not easy for them either. There is no village or shop here, and the ingredients have to be transported from the mountains or the city, which is expensive. Some of them are normal. Moreover, their old man was too tired in his early years and accidentally broke his leg. Yin'er's family said they wanted to find a doctor to show him, but they were determined to save money on their own. And they were really nice people. Although the money for the hotel came from Yin'er's family, they insisted on paying it back for seven years, plus interest. But this was all before I was born...my aunt told me."
Since Miss Ye said so, Han Chang had no choice but to give up.
"Oh, what a pity. I originally wanted to order some hard dishes."
"If you want to eat, just order it." Ling Huan said, "I can still afford this little money."
This little money. Listen, are they human words? Han Zhang and Xie Zhe looked at each other.
As the saying goes, people who eat people are soft-mouthed, and they were too embarrassed to say anything more, so they just let Miss Ye watch. She didn't bother too much, just ordered two meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes, four dishes and one soup, and also packed two steamed buns to take on the road.
After eating, they didn't rest for too long, so they just picked up their things and headed off. The situation was better than they thought, because when the snow reached the mountains, it didn't fall very hard. But the bad news is that Han Zhang can't use magic, because the mountain road is not a flat road, and the melting snow will cause unnecessary trouble. The snow was up to my ankles and blocked the original mountain road. The stone steps became slippery and they had to walk up the ground on the side. By mid-afternoon, the three of them finally climbed over the top of the mountain and headed down the mountain instead.
"If we are lucky, we can go down before dark." Han Zhang estimated, "If we are not lucky, there will be no place for us to rest after going down the mountain."
"It's easier to go up the mountain than to go down the mountain." Xie Zhe said, "Don't be too optimistic."
