(4)
"Brother, where are we going now?"
"What do you think?"
The girl sitting on the horse looked up at the sky. Her eyes had never been so clear. It seemed that the curtain that had been lingering for a long time was opened, and her closed heart felt the real world for the first time.
"It's not snowing today, shall we hurry up and get out of Cangzhou?" Ake's desire to see her mother became stronger because she had already taken the first and most difficult step.
Bai Feng suddenly stopped holding the reins. He looked at the blue sky, stopped and looked into the distance for a while, and replied: "Actually, I don't know where to go. I'm not sure that I can bring you to Jinyang smoothly... But in Before you think about this matter, you must first have a set of clothes that can successfully survive the winter, otherwise, your body may not be able to withstand the torture of long distances."
"Yeah." Akko looked down at his clothes and replied shyly.
"By the way, you don't know me yet, right?" The young swordsman introduced himself: "My name is Bai Feng."
As they spoke, the two of them arrived at a tailor shop. Bai Fenghao spent a lot of money and ordered people to make a set of winter clothes overnight. While waiting, they stayed at a nearby inn, ate and drank, and took a hot bath.
That night, Bai Feng came to the inn proprietress with the clothes and shoes she had sewn and handed them over to Akko, who was still bathing.
However, after a while, A'ke put on new clothes and new shoes and walked out. She was seen wearing a light pink brocade fur coat with a thick layer of lining on the inside, and a pair of cotton shoes on her feet. Considering that A'ke was still growing, Bai Feng specifically asked the tailor to make the trouser legs and cuffs a little larger. The remaining width of the trouser legs and cuffs was fixed with red silk knots to facilitate movement.
"Oh, what a charming girl!" the innkeeper's wife praised: "Guest, are you her father?"
Bai Feng smiled happily and said: "Auntie, do you think I am a father?"
"It doesn't look like it to me!" The landlady covered her mouth and sneered, and echoed: "It's just that this girl used to work in that inn. It was so pitiful. It's hard for us outsiders to say anything... Today, I'm really looking forward to seeing someone. She took it.”
"He is my brother!" Ake suddenly said: "He is my brother, he is here to pick me up to meet my mother."
"So that's it..." The innkeeper's wife breathed a sigh of relief, and then happily touched A'ke's head: "I will cover your food and lodging tonight, and you don't have to pay. Come on, I'll go in and clean up for you. Hair, you can't go to see your mother like this."
Bai Feng thanked the store owner for his kindness and returned to the house to rest with a smile.
In the middle of the night, I suddenly heard the sound of the flute, and A Ke came from the room following the sound. As expected, I saw the young swordsman expressing his emotions to the moon, feeling lost in ecstasy.
"Big brother……"
Bai Feng stopped playing and looked back at Akko, but saw that her hair, which was still messy just now, was neatly taken care of, which made her thin facial features more prominent. Even though her eyes had some luster, they could not hide the years of aging. The scars left by his sufferings make those who hear them sympathize and those who see them feel pity.
"What, am I disturbing you?" Bai Feng replied: "Then I won't brag."
"No!" Akko replied in panic: "No, the sound is very nice."
"Oh..." After saying that, the two of them were silent for a long time, until Bai Feng accidentally remembered what happened just now and said: "Why do you tell others that I am your 'brother'? We have only known each other for a day, so I advise you not to try your best. Please please me, as I said before, I am not sure that I can successfully take you to Jinyang and see your mother. If something unexpected happens on the way, you have to find a way to walk the rest of the way by yourself."
Akeleng stood there for a long time, only half a word came out of his mouth: "Huh?"
"Hehehe..." Bai Feng sneered and said, "I thought you had the guts to come with me because you had already thought of a way out. Hmm, you are just a kid, always thinking about what you can accomplish by relying on others, I I hate such innocent people the most. Look at me, just like you said last night, I am a drunkard. Do you expect to get anything from me?"
"I..." Akko tried his best not to shed tears, and his upper body kept shaking: "I call you brother because a wealthy businessman came here a few years ago and wanted to ask me to be a 'child bride', but my aunt I didn’t agree, because the price he gave was too low, so the man took me out secretly... It’s the same place, it’s the same kind lady, she found out and sued the authorities and saved my life. I call you ‘brother’ , I’m just afraid that Auntie will misunderstand your good intentions.”
After Bai Feng heard this, he felt ashamed for a moment. He walked up to A Ke and said hello: "I just said something serious... But I am still not your 'nanny'. You have to learn to survive in this world by yourself. Understand ?"
"Understood." After Ake said this, he leaned down and bowed his head, saying, "Please, 'sworn brother,' accept my bows!"
"Sworn brother?" Bai Feng smiled and said, "Humph, you can call me whatever you want!"
After saying that, Bai Feng turned around and got the wine glass and said, "I'm going to drink. Are you still here?"
A'ke retreated silently, and just as he was about to close the door, he heard Bai Feng's loud shout: "A'ke!"
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Bai Feng said: "You have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow we will go to Lingcheng to meet some old friends." He pondered for a moment and then continued: "One more thing, thank you for coming - if the other party is A person who is worthy of your trust will not hesitate to put your life in his hands, are you right?"
"Yes... right?" Akko was a little surprised by Bai Feng's sudden change of gentle attitude: "Is my sworn brother going to meet some close friends?"
"Yes." Bai Feng put down the wine glass and said freely: "Thanks to you being here, I, Bai Feng, remembered that I am not alone."
Hearing his foster brother's praise of him, A'ke was secretly overjoyed and stepped back with a smile.
Early the next morning, light snow fell from the sky. At this time, the streets and alleys of Cangzhou City were sparsely populated. Even the people who usually made a living by doing business outside were defeated by this cold feeling. However, Bai Feng and A Ke decided to set off at this time. Without it, as long as there is fire in the heart, the road will naturally be clear.
Akko said hello to the inn lady, then hurried to the horse, took Bai Feng's arm and sat on the saddle. They met by chance and didn't know each other, just like Bai Feng and Akko, but The separation at this moment is particularly jealous.
"Thank you..." A'ke waved from a distance and kept talking, but her strength was so weak that the innkeeper's wife couldn't hear her at all, but she was still waving.
After a while, after watching the two travelers go away, the innkeeper's wife wiped away her tears and returned to the house to start her daily life. First, she would clean the room where the two travelers had lived.
A surprising thing happened soon. A money bag was left on the couch where Bai Feng had slept. It contained a lot of money, which was more than twenty times the required room and board.
