"I have a hunch. If I lie down tonight, my legs will hurt when I wake up tomorrow morning!"
Ling Huan was already worried about tomorrow. Xie Zhe sighed and said that with her body, just walking that little distance in the morning might be enough to cause leg pain the next day. Han Chang suddenly laughed and said:
"According to what you said, Ye Yatou still made money?"
"I didn't say that."
Ling Hu sat down on a fallen tree trunk by the roadside. She was panting again from exhaustion and felt dizzy.
"My eyes feel very uncomfortable...it hurts a lot."
"You, you have been staring at the snow under your feet for too long. You have to look in front of you from time to time, look at the sky and so on. Forget it, let's take a rest." Han Yang sat a little distance next to her and asked her again, " Do you want something to eat? You should be hungry by now."
"Alas..."
At this time, they heard the fourth person's voice. Han Zhang and Ling Huan turned their heads at the same time, and Xie Zhe, who was standing, also looked behind them. There is a woman here, alone. She came up from the other side of the mountain.
"Are you from Fei Yue City?" she asked curiously.
"Well, yes." Ling Huan responded.
This woman's identity is not something that can be seen at a glance. She carries a staff specifically for climbing. They guessed that this girl came up later than them, otherwise she would have climbed over the mountain by now. She was wearing a long pink dress and looked clean. As for the material, it looks like a bargain that rich people would occasionally buy, but it also looks like a expensive item that poor people would bite the bullet and buy. You couldn't tell whether she had money or not, and what she did for a living. You couldn't tell just by looking at her. You could only guess that she was in her twenties, maybe no more than thirty.
"You are..." Xie Zhe's eyes looked a little strange.
"A passerby." The woman smiled politely, which made people feel a bit friendly.
Ling Huan and Han Shang both exchanged greetings with her, but Xie Zhe stood aside and said nothing. The two of them sat on either side of the fallen tree trunk, sweeping away the surrounding snow to make a place for her to rest. She put down her cane, took out a copper stove and put it away. The hand stove looks very old, and the workmanship is not very exquisite or valuable.
"Where are you from?"
"From far away."
The woman rubbed her hands. Her right hand, which had always been exposed and held the hiking pole, was almost frozen. She did not answer Ling Huan's question directly. This is understandable, after all, they are just passers-by who met by chance. The woman turned her face sideways, looked at Ling Huan, and said:
"You must be from Feiyue City."
"Yeah. How do you know?"
"I guessed it at a glance. Isn't it amazing?"
The two girls were chatting. Han Chang glanced at Xie Zhe, who shook his head. On this point, they reached a consensus: this girl is really easy to deceive. Now she is just a kind-hearted female passerby. Next time she meets a fierce and strong man, or meets a monster who talks sweetly but has a sword, will she still dare to admit and talk about everything without any worries like now? You have to find opportunities to educate her well later, otherwise it will be too late to suffer a loss.
And after all, this woman’s origins are unknown. The snow-covered mountain road, besides them, who else is so "move forward bravely"?
"This girl...is there something urgent?" Han Chang knocked from the side, "This mountain road is not easy to walk on. Are you in a hurry like us?"
"Oh..." The woman in a pink long dress pulled back her fallen temples, "So, you are in a hurry?"
Han Zhang briefly looked at Xie Zhe again.
"Then - if there is no emergency, why are you so willing to risk going up the mountain?"
"I thought you were people who like snow scenes as much as I do." She chuckled, with a gentle look on her face, "I like all kinds of scenery and all kinds of people, so I like all kinds of scenery. Time and travel to various places.”
This explanation makes sense. There are indeed many people who like to wander, but women like this are rare. Because no matter how you say it, the relationship between people and people and monsters is not so kind as to not bully a lone woman. Maybe she has some unknown martial arts skills, or maybe she is not acting alone. They looked around, but could only find her footprints on the way they came.
"So where do you want to go next?"
"I just want to go up the mountain and see if the rumored Yue Lake is really as magical as they say."
"ah……"
They were in such a hurry that they forgot about it. It's not far from the top of the mountain now, so she can probably get her wish from a long distance. When you come to this place, you always want to see the magical lake between the two cities.
"I've always wanted to know if this lake could be as clear-cut as Tai Chi if we stood in the center. Unfortunately, there are no mountains in the center to enjoy such a view..."
"Well..." Ling Huan also agreed with her with some regret.
At this time, Ling Hu felt that his stomach seemed to be making a growling sound. It was so small that others probably didn't hear it, but she could feel her stomach protesting. Climbing a mountain consumes so much energy, not to mention they have to be careful not to slip. It is normal for her to be hungry in advance. But seeing that none of her companions had any intention of eating, she was too embarrassed to say anything.
"Hey, it's time to eat something."
Han Chang suddenly said this and opened the bamboo box with rice. Ling Huan blinked, understanding that the vixen's ears must have heard something. She felt even more embarrassed.
"Here, let's eat some meat buns."
Passing over the woman, he placed the bun into Ling Huan's hand. Unfortunately, the buns were already a little cold. He asked the woman again if she wanted one, but the woman shook her head and declined. However, she seemed to have seen something, and she reached out her hand abruptly and landed on Han Shang's collar.
"You've lost a hair here."
"...Huh?" He was stunned, "Oh, thank you..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chang didn't even know what he was talking about. Is this too enthusiastic? He felt a little uncomfortable, but within acceptable limits. The woman reached out and took away his hair, then waved her other hand:
"There's no need to eat. Thank you for your kindness. To be honest, I don't like steamed buns."
"Eh?" Han Shang's bun stopped at his mouth, feeling a little funny, "There are people who don't like eating buns. Are they being deceived too much by profiteers of steamed bun fillings?"
The woman was amused. She laughed a few times, but shook her head.
"No. I don't like anything with fillings, such as steamed buns, dumplings, wontons, etc..."
Ling Quan was thoughtful.
"What about spring rolls?"
"That's not good either."
“Where are the pot stickers?”
"Well... I can barely accept it." She really followed Ling Huan's conversation, "It's better to say that I don't like wrapped things. Since there are fillings, they are all written on the signboard. There is no surprise at all, so I might as well just dig it out. I haven’t liked eating these since I was a child, and they are always like this during festivals. Zongzi, Yuanxiao, Qingtuan... When I have to eat it to match the atmosphere, I just eat it. I turned the stuffing out before eating it, but my parents still scolded me."
"Why?" Ling Huan was puzzled, "Didn't you eat everything? It wasn't wasted."
"They think I'm in a mood." The woman smiled and shook her head with emotion, "Fortunately, no one cares about me anymore."
After hearing this, Ling Huan pondered for a long time. Suddenly she said this:
"Then you must like Laba Festival. Because Laba porridge is delicious and has no fillings."
"Yes, I like Laba Festival."
The woman laughed softly, she seemed happy. Ling Huan always has weird ideas in his head. Although she may not like it for this reason, how could she say anything to refute such an interesting topic?
"It's getting late, I should go." The woman stood up and patted the snow on her clothes. "You are still in a hurry, so I won't delay you any longer."
"You too. There is an inn at the foot of the mountain. If you get lost when it gets dark, you can follow the light."
Ling Hu also stood up. The woman nodded, thanking her for her kindness. Then she opened her arms as if to hug him. So Ling Huan hugged him as a memorial to this close relationship. They hugged for a while, and then the woman left them. She waved goodbye to Han Zhang and Xie Zhe in turn, and then walked higher up the mountain.
"What a strange person." Han Chang sighed with emotion when the woman's figure completely disappeared.
"But it's quite interesting, isn't it?" Ling Huan asked.
"That's what I say..." Han Chang glanced at Xie Zhe, who had been silent, "We met some weird people today."
Xie Zhe's brows were furrowed, and he seemed to be frowning more than before the woman left.
"She's weird. I mean..."
"But she is not impermanent." Han Zhang said, "You can see her eyes."
"I know, but - she doesn't look like a human either."
"Hey, that's what you said. Why don't you believe anyone?" Han Chang seemed to think that he was worrying too much, "She is indeed not ordinary, but she is indeed a real human being. You should know it very well, right? Not to mention some people with high spiritual powers. Aren't all the immortals and mages special than ordinary people? Maybe she's just hiding her identity, it's just weird, and there's no need to be so sensitive."
Xie Zhe seemed still worried. He opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak. He thought for a long time before he finally said:
"...But something really isn't right. It's not exactly human, nor a monster; nor is it half-demon or six-path impermanent. This is so weird, I've never seen anything like this before."
Han Chang finally straightened up and patted the corner of his clothes: "There are still many things you haven't seen before. Okay, okay, you care so much about everyone, why don't you go check the household registration for the imperial court? I really admire you."
"Why are you saying strange things again?" Ling Huan looked at the two of them separately, "I quite like that sister. But after all, she is just a passerby. We will never see each other again, so why bother thinking so much? Let's go Well, we still have to hurry."
makes sense. So Xie Zhe stopped caring and hurried on with them. Although he didn't say anything, he was still thinking about various possibilities. And Ling Huan and Han Shan were "laughing and laughing" all the way, and he was too embarrassed to disturb such an atmosphere. Anyway, no one will care if he doesn't speak, no one will doubt him. The thoughts in your head are your own secrets, and a secret that only one person knows is always safe.
They hurried down the mountain before dark and found another inn. There are just a few bits of snow here, but it's almost gone now, which is really good news. They rented a new inn, which was much more spacious than the previous one. After eating and washing up, Xie Zhe was still thinking about what happened during the day.
Until he fell into a deep sleep.
