The sky was overcast, the wind was raging in the air, and it was hard to tell whether it was morning or dusk.
"The weather is not good today."
Wu Nuxia stood at the door and said to him.
"The weather is just right."
Song You had already taken the bay-red horse out of the room. When Empress Sanhua stepped out again, he closed the door, locked the lock, and handed the key to Wu Nuxia:
"Thank you, Heroine."
"Thank you for what?"
"The grace of shelter."
"It's not like I didn't pay."
Wu Nuxia took the key, put it in her arms, sighed, and said, "It's time for me to go out and leave the city. Let's go all the way."
"good."
The two of them, one horse and one cat, walked out of the city.
It was early in the morning, the shops on both sides were opening one after another, and the vendors who came to set up stalls in the city also entered the city. Song You walked through Willow Street. From time to time, shopkeepers and vendors saw him carrying his horse and luggage, with a bamboo stick in his hand. Out of curiosity, he greeted him and asked where he was going.
Song You answered patiently.
I felt a little dazed for a moment. It turned out that so many people had known me during the year I had been in Changjing.
Walk through Willow Street and pass through the city.
Some people still cast their eyes on him along the way.
Some people thought it was a bit strange that the Taoist was carrying a cat and a horse without a rein. Some people have heard the legend of the Taoist with calico cats and bay-red horses in other places, but they are not sure whether this Taoist is the Taoist in the legend, or they can't remember where they heard it.
Slowly he walked out of the city.
Changjing is prosperous, and there is still a large flow of people outside the city. There are many carriages and horses going back and forth, and caravans are often seen forming a long queue.
"Have you ever thought about when you will come back next time?" Wu Nuxia asked.
"Not sure." Song You shook his head. It depends on whether the monsters in the north are enthusiastic. "Maybe a few years, maybe ten years, but they will definitely come back."
"Tsk..."
Wu Nuxia smashed her mouth.
Song You smiled at her and said, "When we meet next time, you and I will be old friends."
"Yes, old friend."
Wu Nuxia also grinned.
The last time I saw him was in the spring of the second year of Mingde.
It is the spring of Mingde's fifth year.
Three years have passed.
When we met in Changjing last year, we were considered old friends and old acquaintances. If we meet again a few years later, we will naturally be considered old friends.
It’s just that we have to say goodbye.
This kind of farewell, where you don't know if you will meet again the next time, is the norm in this era. Song You and Wu Nuxia don't know if they are used to it. Anyway, the world doesn't care whether you are used to it or not. How should you treat each other? , or treat you the same way.
We have to do our best and obey fate.
"I will go down the mountain in the late summer and early autumn of the first year of Mingde for a period of twenty years. In the late summer and early autumn of twenty years later, I will probably return to the Taoist temple." Song You said to her first, "Then I will tell the heroine again, I am from The Fulong Temple in Yinyang Mountain, Lingquan County, Zhuo County, Yizhou, the heroine will come back to Yizhou and come to visit me. If you can't find the Taoist temple on the mountain, it means I haven't gone back yet."
"take note of it."
Wu Nuxia nodded. Seeing that there were few people on the roadside at this time, she took a few steps and said to him, "Please note something down as well."
"All ears."
"My surname is not Wu, my surname is Ruan, and my name is Ruan Zhen." Wu Nuxia said, "But I'm not deceiving you. Wu Suowei was the name chosen for me by the master, and I have used it for more than twenty years. years."
"I'll note it down."
Song You nodded solemnly, continued walking forward, and then asked: "Why does the heroine remain anonymous?"
"..."
Wu Nuxia glanced at him, pursed her lips and walked a few more steps before saying, "Do you still remember Shu Yifan?"
"Remember."
"I'm almost the same as him." Wu Nuxia said calmly, "My father is Ruan Changxing, the former Minister of Civil Affairs. Twenty years ago, he was framed by a traitor in the court and was dismissed from office. On the way back to his hometown, hmm, he said he was killed by Lu. The bandits nearby were robbed, and except for me who hid well, no one was spared. I still don’t know who the enemy is.”
"I see."
Song You understood and didn't ask any more questions.
Everything is explained.
She practiced martial arts hard since she was a child, and her daughter was better than many men in the world. After completing her studies, she resolutely left the martial arts and came to Changjing. While doing the work of collecting intelligence and investigating various forces for the noble, she also used the noble's network to investigate the past. The mystery of the family's annihilation was mostly spent on these places. Twenty years of planning was really not easy.
Song You shook his head and didn't say much.
I heard Wu Nuxia's voice coming from beside me: "There are people in the world watching you from behind."
"It doesn't matter."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"No need, Heroine can just go and do her own thing."
"Okay, there may be more people this time, but there should be fewer masters than last time. People who are doing well in Changjing will be more hesitant as long as they hear about the Taiwei Mansion. In short, you should be careful, especially Beware of the hidden scheming of the Jianghu people, we are the best at playing dirty tricks." Wu Nuxia paused, "I walked this way and sent you here."
"Then..."
"See you later!"
Wu Nuxia clasped fists with him and said in a deep voice.
"See you later."
Song You also saluted Wu Nuxia.
Wu Nuxia kept her fists clasped, lowered her head and said, "I'll see you soon, Sanhua Empress."
"See you later!"
The two of them looked at each other and said nothing else. One turned to the left, the other to the right, and then drifted away.
This separation was very uneventful.
It seems that this kind of separation is the norm.
Looking back at her leaving figure, Song You realized why people used the phrase "see you later" when they said goodbye - in this era, it was very good to see each other again after separation.
…
Going north out of the city, there are obviously fewer people than going south.
The biggest difference is the caravan.
Although there are not none of the caravans coming from and going to the north, they are obviously fewer than those from the south.
Mao'er doesn't seem to have much feeling of separation. It seems that she has no attachment to any place except her temple. It seems that she is just in a simple mood and is not sensible. She only knows where the Taoist priest goes and she follows him. She didn't want to miss a certain place, so soon after leaving the city, she walked to the front with cheerful little steps.
A sniff here, a sniff there.
He only occasionally stopped and turned his head to look behind him. He didn't know whether he was looking at the Taoist priest behind him or at Changjing who was gradually receding.
After walking a few miles, the terrain started to go up.
The cat suddenly stopped and looked up.
Song You also stopped and looked at her.
I saw a thatched pavilion on the hillside in front of me on the left. I don’t know when it was built. I don’t know if it was used to rest in the cool air or for people returning from Beijing to look at Changjing. I don’t know how many poems were written here. . However, there were two familiar figures in the pavilion at this time.
One person was dressed in white, with a veil covering his face, sitting on a stone bench, with a maid standing behind him, all looking in his direction.
The calico cat glanced back at Song You, then walked up the path leading to the hillside and the pavilion with small steps. Soon when she arrived in front of the pavilion, she stopped and looked up at the two of them.
Song You and Zao Hongma then arrived.
"It's polite."
"Wanjiang is polite." The woman in the pavilion also stood up and gave her a curtsey. "I knew that the Taoist Master was leaving Beijing today. I guessed that the Taoist Master was going north, so I came here to wait and practice for the Taoist Master."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Wanjiang has nothing to give to the Taoist priest, so he invites the Taoist priest to have a drink of water and wine." Miss Wanjiang said, "I play a piece of music for the Taoist priest. I wish the Taoist priest a smooth trip."
The maid smiled and brought a glass of rice wine.
Song You reached out and took it, the wine glass was still warm.
The seated woman has already started playing the piano.
The sound of the piano was three points weaker after leaving the pavilion. It was scattered in the wind and could not reach the road down the mountain.
The Taoist held the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Then he stood still and listened to the sound of the piano.
Suddenly there were birds and cranes flying over, either flying in front of the mountain or stopping on the top of the pavilion. When the merchants and travelers down the mountain saw this, they were all surprised and stopped to watch.
After a long time, the sound of the piano gradually disappeared.
"There seem to be some Jianghu people wandering over there." Miss Wanjiang stopped playing the piano, looked into the distance, and then looked at the long box that was very obvious in the quilt behind the maroon horse, "If the Taoist priest finds it troublesome, Wan Jiang can also use some tricks to persuade these Jianghu people to go back."
"Don't bother."
"Then I wish the Taoist priest a happy journey."
"Thank you so much for your kindness. I will keep this glass of wine and this piece of music in my heart." Song Xing said in a ceremony.
"I only hope that I can see you again when Taoist Master returns to Changjing next time." Miss Wan Jiang said, "Perhaps Wan Jiang will be free by then, and we can talk about the landscape and romance with Taoist Master by then."
"It doesn't matter if we can't see you when we return to Changjing. The Taoist Master will naturally return to Fulongguan." The maid said with a smile, "When we repay our kindness and regain our freedom, we will also learn from the Taoist Master to travel around the world and pass by Yizhou. If you want to come to Yin Yang Mountain in Lingquan County to look for the Taoist priest, please don’t hide behind closed doors.”
"I hope I can see you two again in Changjing. If not, I will be waiting for you in the temple more than ten years later." Song You said respectfully, "I will take my leave."
"Taoist Master, walk slowly."
"Kitten, walk slowly." The maid looked down at the calico cat on the ground, tilting its head to look at her, and waved her hand with a smile, "Kitten, please don't forget us."
"..."
The calico cat stared at her silently.
Song You turned around and walked out of the pavilion, walking down the mountain with his stick.
The cat and the bay horse also quickly followed.
The maid turned to look at Miss Wanjiang and said with a smile: "Those monsters and monsters in the north are going to be in trouble."
"The demons and monsters spawned by the troubled times, no matter how high their moral standards, are just a group of barbarians. If they act so arrogantly, they will be unlucky sooner or later." The woman in white said calmly.
"It's a pity that I can't go with him, otherwise it would be great to go and watch the show."
"Shou Qin, let's go back too."
"Aren't you going to watch the excitement here?"
"Nothing to see."
"You are the master, you have the final say..."
The two of them looked into the distance and saw that the Taoist had already gone far.
They looked at each other, wondering what they were thinking.
…
The sound of horse hooves can be heard.
The mountain is not high, but the road is very steep. The loess road slopes upward with a very steep slope. It looks like it leads to the sky. If there were not pavilions and a private house on the mountain, no one knows how high it would go. .
The wind rustles and the grass rustles, a scene of early spring.
Several schoolchildren were walking bent down on the road, carrying schoolbags. They must be going to a private school or a kindergarten somewhere.
When they were young in school, they would frolic from time to time, running around and laughing even on such a steep road. I wonder if they knew that this might be one of the happiest moments in their lives.
It's a pity that no one in this era can remember this moment.
After this day, no one will see this day.
"Meow!"
"It's a peach blossom."
"Meow……"
Peach blossoms bloom early all over the mountain, in front of the house, behind the house, and in the mountains and fields, which adds a bit of fun to the journey.
Just as the Taoist was walking, many Jianghu people unknowingly appeared behind him. He turned around and looked down the mountain behind him, and saw that Jianghu people kept coming, either riding horses or trotting with swords and bows. At this moment, The dark clouds in the sky tend to gather more and more. After plotting for half a winter, the Taoist monks from Youfang finally left the city. They received news that many Jianghu people from Changjing came.
However, these Jianghu people did not approach, but followed the Taoist from a distance, looking at the box wrapped in oilcloth on the back of the maroon horse.
This wooden box is really eye-catching.
Song You looked up at the sky, picked a flat spot, stopped, turned around and waited for them.
…
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
