There are a few cumulus clouds floating in the blue sky, the sun is making people's scalp hot, and the cicada's voice is much hoarse than in early summer.
In front is Cuiyun Corridor.
Song You took steps and looked up.
A small winding road that can only be passed by one person, with fields on one side and soil on the other, leads to an official road covered by thousand-year-old cypresses.
The cypresses are ancient cypresses and the roads are ancient. They will not become history after many years. Even in this era, they are already thousands of years old.
This road is called Jinyang Road and was built during the Yu Dynasty to open up the road from Yizhou to Guanzhong Plain. The ancients had the habit of planting trees on the roadside to mark the direction of the road to people. When people see trees on both sides, they will not go astray. Also starting from the Yu Dynasty, officials planted cypress trees on both sides of Jinyang Road. At its largest scale, there were hundreds of thousands of cypress trees on Jinyang Road. From a distance, it looked like a corridor shrouded in green clouds.
Therefore, it is also called Cuiyun Corridor.
After walking a few more steps and reaching the Cuiyun Corridor, I could see it more clearly.
It is the season of summer and autumn, and the ancient cypress shows a unique gray-green color. No one has pruned it for thousands of years. The branches grow freely and intertwine wildly. Even the sunlight can only struggle to penetrate through the lush leaves, and they are scattered on the road, creating a blur of light and dark.
The road below is paved with stone slabs. It is not smooth. Each stone slab seems to be different in height. It is not paved tightly, and there are often gaps and pits.
Song You stopped and looked back.
After walking for a long time, the familiar mountain and the familiar Taoist temple were no longer visible.
Song You was still staring with a calm expression.
I talked with Master yesterday and packed my luggage this morning. I said goodbye to Master and the old myna in the temple. I packed lightly and walked forty miles in half a day before finally arriving at this famous road.
But where to go?
The master didn't tell him, and he didn't know either.
"..."
After a long time, Song You finally looked back.
Just keep going.
In just a few steps, I stepped onto the Green Cloud Corridor. The soles of my feet quickly became hard, and most of the sun was blocked.
Song You didn't look back, and walked forward firmly and steadily, just always paying attention to the scenery on the roadside.
The role of this road in this era is no less than that of later highways. It connects Yizhou to the Guanzhong Plain. It also has a horse-blocking wall, similar to the guardrails of later highways. However, the constant wind and frost for thousands of years makes it look a little bit... dilapidated.
Even so, it is still a major transportation artery of this era.
Song You felt this ancient road carefully and felt the true scene on the Cuiyun Corridor in this era.
From time to time the mule bells jingled, and a caravan passed by him. The light and shadow under the cypress trees intertwined, and the two sides looked at each other. From time to time, the sound of horse hooves is heard coming from far away, with a rhythm unique to this era, and the government postman whips his horse and whips and gallops past.
Sometimes I also meet porters.
This is the only thing Song You can catch up with and surpass.
The porters in Yizhou are often thin, skinny and dark. They carry cargo that even a strong man cannot bear. They carry bamboo sticks and move forward silently with their heads lowered. They have exhausted all their strength and have no energy left. Mind the things around you?
Fortunately, there are ancient cypress trees for shade.
No one dares to cut down this ancient cypress.
Since the previous dynasty, the imperial court has officially enacted legislation to protect ancient cypress trees. The military and civilians have prohibited cutting down cypress trees. When state officials leave office, they must count and hand over the ancient cypress trees to their successors.
Rumor has it that in this steep mountain, on the green cloud corridor built by the Yu Dynasty, and among the lush ancient cypresses, there are often people who have become spirits after being too old. There are even businessmen walking at night who have heard the ancient trees beside them talking to them. .
you do not say--
These trees have provided shade and protection for more than 1,200 years. How many people have walked by them? I just learned to speak even though I was afraid of listening.
Song You really wanted to hear them talking to him.
Unfortunately not.
Walking alone on this journey is destined to be silent.
I kept going like this for an unknown amount of time, and I counted four roadside barriers, so I walked another twenty miles. I looked for the sun between the branches and leaves of the ancient cypress trees, and it was obviously leaning a little towards the west.
Song You was a little tired.
I saw an ancient cypress in front of me. It would take a few people to hug it. The curvature of the tree trunk was just right to lean on, and the ground under the tree was clean. I thought people would often rest here.
Song You was not particular about it, so he walked over and sat down.
Eat a pancake and drink some water.
At first, he was still thinking about something. People kept passing by him. He raised his head and met the faces of this era. There was always a strange feeling of encounter. When he felt sleepy, Song You had no intention of fighting with it. He packed his bags, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
The sound of cicadas does not disturb people, but only lulls them to sleep.
During the lunch break, the sun was setting in the west, and sometimes there were shadows of trees in front of me, and sometimes there was light. You can feel it even with your eyes closed, so many degrees of intertwining.
When I woke up in a daze, I saw a group of little people jumping around among the branches, playing non-stop.
Each little person is only as tall as a hand. They are slim and beautiful. They wear colorful clothes. They are both male and female and play carefree. But when I stretched out my hand to rub my eyes and looked carefully, I suddenly realized that there were only three or five tits.
"Ah……"
Song You finally smiled and gradually woke up.
Looking up at the sky again, I saw that the few cumulus clouds in the sky had gathered at some point, forming a large piece of cumulus congestus. It was so thick that it blocked the skylight, so there was a dark shadow at the bottom.
The direction is ahead of the road.
I’m afraid it will rain next——
Most cumulus clouds do not bring rain or snow. Instead, they mostly appear on sunny days and are a symbol of good weather. However, when they turn into cumulus dense clouds, they may bring heavy rain for a short period of time. Depending on the temperature and air flow changes, they may develop. into more ferocious cumulonimbus clouds.
Song You didn't care, just packed up his luggage and continued to set off.
When you travel, whether it is sunny or rainy, it is an experience, whether it is good or bad.
Sure enough, after walking a few miles, the cloud base of the thick cumulus clouds ahead had become darker and darker. When Song You stood still and looked up, he saw rainwater sloping down, connecting the sky and the earth in an instant.
The cloud is still drifting this way.
"..."
Song You hesitated for a moment and chose to turn back.
There is a pavilion one mile behind, divided into two buildings on the left and right. I don't know which dynasty it was built in. Although it is dilapidated now, it can't protect it from the wind, but it can barely protect it from the rain.
When we reached the pavilion, the rain had just arrived.
According to the road signs I saw on the road, this pavilion originally sold tea. However, Song You did not see the tea sellers or people. There was only a pile of dry firewood piled in the pavilion and some burned ones on the ground. trace. Now he is the only one who comes here to take shelter from the rain.
Song You calmly chose a pavilion with a better ceiling, sat down on the spot, and began to watch the rain.
The rain was still gentle when it first came. It only exploded into water droplets on the dry ground. The water droplets were wrapped in the dust. Unexpectedly, it became louder in the blink of an eye. For a while, the sound of beating leaves through the forest was filled in my ears. Dense water bloomed on the stone slabs, completely soaking the stone slabs, and the soil was also thoroughly wetted.
The strong smell of dust almost hit my face.
The world here gradually became moist, and all the colors in the mountains became much cleaner. The sound of cicadas also stopped, and the only sound left was the sound of rain on the road in the middle of the mountain.
The pattering and crackling make people feel calm.
About half an hour later, it was getting later and later, but the rain had no intention of stopping. Looking at it like this, I don’t know how much longer it will continue. The lunch break itself wasted a lot of time, so even if the rain stopped now, I might not be able to get to the next stop.
With this thought in mind, Song You broke away from the state of watching and listening to the rain, and turned his head to look at the half pile of dry firewood in the corner and the fire marks on the ground.
People from the Jianghu community should be spending the night here.
Autumn will begin in two days, and it's not cold today. Even if it's cooler in the mountains, it's okay to spend the night here.
Song You felt calm and simply closed his eyes.
When heavy rain falls, all things grow.
The spiritual energy in the mountains is also a bit stronger.
It wasn't until dark that the rain stopped.
Song You stood up, picked up some dry firewood, put it on a pile, and took another branch in his hand.
"The wind stops and the fire rises."
The wind that passed through the pavilion stopped for a moment.
Then there was a soft sound——
"Canopy!"
A handful of orange flames ignited from the wooden branch in his hand, which looked no different from ordinary fire. Song You only used it as ordinary fire. He lowered his branches and inserted them into the dry firewood. He stayed still for a moment and then slowly lit the dry firewood.
"call……"
The wind picked up again, and the rain drifted in slantingly, and the edges of the pavilion were already soaked.
The fire made a crackling sound, and the temperature spread to Song You. His body was warm and his face was a little hot, but he just continued to sit cross-legged, staring at the blazing fire in trance, as if there was something extremely beautiful hidden inside. thing.
Sometimes he thinks about his future travel plans.
But it is destined to be impossible to think of.
Since he came to this world, he has grown up in a Taoist temple, dependent on his master. He has left many times, but the places he has traveled are limited. Moreover, he has little vision and interest in this world, lacks understanding, and lacks motivation, so it is naturally difficult for him to make detailed plans.
Sometimes he thinks about the past.
Some images flowed out of my mind uncontrollably.
But more often than not, he didn't think about anything. He just watched the fire burning and felt the temperature. His mind gradually became empty. A sense of security and comfort deep in his genes made his heart more peaceful.
The rain subsided and the sound of the rain subsided, and the mountains became quiet for a while. The most obvious thing was the sound of the fire burning in front of them.
On a rainy night in the chaotic mountains, a stranger is alone in the fire.
When I think about how far and how long I will walk alone in the future, and how many nights like this I will have, I feel a sense of loneliness in my heart.
It’s hard to even think about.
I don't know how long it took, but there was a faint sound of hoofbeats.
Song You looked away from the fire and turned to look in the direction he came from. A group of merchants came in the rain at night.
The livestock are mainly horses and mules, carrying extremely large packages of goods. Judging from the packaging, they should be tea. There were about ten people, and they also brought two escorts. From this, it can be seen that this group of people should have come from a relatively remote place. This section of Guanma Avenue is still relatively safe.
Before anyone arrived, I heard voices first.
"We can't walk any further. We should have passed that section. There is a pavilion in front of us. Let's make do with it here tonight."
"I'm afraid I'll have to walk a little longer!"
"There is no shelter in front of us."
"There's someone ahead!"
"It's lighting a fire..."
Song You was still sitting, watching the group of people approach.
