The hillside is gentle and full of weeds. The sky and the earth are vast and yellow. The two dead trees on the top of the slope were originally the only embellishments in this open world, but today a group of people rested here.
The little girl skillfully picked up dead branches and weeds, piled them into a pile in the best way to burn them, lowered her head and recited silently, and raised her finger.
"Canopy..."
A fire appeared in front of him.
She has done this so many times in recent years, it seems to have become a habit for her, so it is of no importance.
After the little girl finished doing it, she just yawned and stretched. She didn't have any intention of getting compliments, and she didn't take any follow-up actions. She sat down next to the Taoist casually and turned to look at her curious eyes. Things, think about your own things.
The wind blows the fire in one direction.
The black horse was tied to a dead tree in the distance, while the bay horse stood alone on the other side. Both horses lowered their heads and gnawed grass quietly.
The Taoist turned his head and stared down.
There is an official road below, but there are also weeds growing there.
No one has passed by for an unknown amount of time.
The swordsman's voice came from beside him:
"No one."
"yes."
It had been half a day of walking, at least forty miles, but except for the pedestrians we met on the way out of the city, we didn't meet anyone after that. It seems that no pedestrians are passing by or coming in this direction. The sky and the earth are vast and empty, full of golden colors. If you find a hillside, you can see very far away, but they are the only ones between the sky and the earth.
This feeling is both lonely and comfortable.
There was a rustling sound in front of me.
But the swordsman took out the mutton he bought in the city. Without using anything, he skewered it and roasted it on the fire.
Song You also put away his thoughts and went to help.
The little girl has finished her work, so she can sit next to the Taoist and watch the adults busy at work. If she gets tired of watching, she can lean her body against the Taoist. In addition, she has plenty of time to do her own things and think about what she wants.
The best fresh mutton really does not need to be marinated. It only needs to be grilled. When it is cooked, the meat will be naturally fragrant and there will be no fishy smell at all.
Song You took out another small clay pot.
It contains dried chili noodles ground by yourself, and a variety of spices are added to make it a unique dry ingredient of this era. Not to mention being used with meat, it is also delicious when dipped in water and boiled with wood. It's a pity that so far, there are only two people and one cat in this world.
Sprinkle carefully over roast.
This thing is very expensive, and Song You only planted two of them in the middle of the year, so he felt bad for wasting it.
Opening the package sent by Governor Liu, as Song You expected, it turned out that it contained only some snacks and dry food, some that needed to be eaten in the past two days, some that were easy to carry, and some dried persimmons. Song You took a few snacks and shared half of them with the swordsman. Together with the fragrant roast mutton, it was today's lunch.
It's so nice to have such a meal during the trip.
Although it was a troubled year, I was so nourished, but my heart was calm and there was no ghost. On the contrary, I had eliminated demons along the way, so I didn't feel ashamed.
After eating, each person has a persimmon cake.
Sanhua Empress didn't want to eat this, but seeing that both of them had their own after-dinner snacks, she was not to be outdone.
The little girl got up and trotted away. She groped around the quilt for a while and seemed to find two small balls. She came back and sat down. Song You turned around casually and saw two little girls wrapped in gray wood slag. It was a small ball not much bigger than a thumb, and he didn't recognize it at first glance.
Until the little girl took the balls and smashed them against each other.
"Snapped……"
Peel off the gray wood residue on the outside and peel off the eggshells. Inside are two dark green and almost black bird eggs with beautiful pine flowers.
Even Song You was stunned.
I don’t know when she learned it, nor when she did it. I only know that she did put a lot of personal cat items in her robe, including miscellaneous things, but since the Sanhua Empress never knows how to When he rummaged through Song You's things in the quilt bag, Song You naturally didn't look at what she had packed in her trousers.
"?"
The little girl noticed his gaze, raised her head, and looked at him strangely, as if she didn't know what he was staring at her, but she didn't care, she just peeled off the eggshell, wiped the dust casually, and then put it away. He put a bird egg into his mouth and chewed it.
The other one was handed to the Taoist priest, who shook his head.
She handed it to the swordsman again, but the swordsman declined politely. She didn't care and continued to put it into her mouth.
My face was expressionless as I ate, but my heart was filled with joy.
People are really smart——
If it were a cat, the endless eggs and meat would have to be eaten by bugs, but people can actually come up with so many ways to turn meat and eggs into something that bugs don't like to eat.
No wonder only people keep cats and no cats keep people.
Fortunately, I am smart and love to learn...
The little girl was very happy when she thought about it.
After eating, I packed up the fire, sat in silence and rested for a while, and then continued on my way.
This walk went from noon to dusk.
Before leaving Pu County, there were still few people on the official road. Walking down this afternoon, I only met an old farmer going up the mountain to cut grass, and two waves of pedestrians going to Jingyu.
The existence of the snowfield seems to have turned Guijun into an existence like the scholar Guikou Zhongye Shanzijun. It is not alone, but it is actually alone. Except for local people in need who may come in and out of Guijun, there are no people from other places. If you enter Hezhou from Guijun, no one will go to Yanzhou from Guijun of Hezhou, and no businessmen or travelers will pass through here.
Since the outbreak of the plague, it has become even more closed.
Today's journey was good, and there was little time spent on the road. The group arrived at the junction of Pujun and Guijun before sunset.
There is a gate here, and there are also defenders.
Although the terrain here is flat, there is a large river running from east to west, with deep and fast water. The pass is located on one side of the river, called Beifeng Pass. It is not only a rare pass in Hezhou, but also the most important pass.
Song You and the swordsman led their horses towards the pass.
The defenders probably hadn't seen anyone heading towards Guijun for a long time. In addition, the swordsman was very brave and alert, so he stopped them early and came to inquire.
"Who? What are you doing?"
"I have met the school captain. My surname is Song Mingyou. I am a Taoist priest who wants to return to the county." Song You saluted angrily. "I have the ultimatum with me. I passed by Pujun Jingyu before and got acquainted with the county governor. I also took it. A handwritten letter from Governor Liu, please make it convenient."
After hearing this, the guard guard did not ask him what he was going to do in Guijun, nor did he immediately accept the certificate and handwritten letter he handed over. Instead, he was stunned for a moment.
Then he turned around and asked his comrades to inform the general. Then he put away his weapons, received the ultimatum, opened it and checked it, and then looked up at the maroon horse behind Song You, the calico cat wearing clothes and a hood, and the heroic soldiers beside him. The extraordinary swordsman seems to be comparing something.
Gradually, the slight slightness on his face quickly dissipated, and his vigilance gradually turned into dignity and respect.
"I've met Mr. Song!"
"Don't dare."
Then there was a sound of armor.
The general guarding the gate came with his own soldiers.
He has a general's belly, beard, and a strong back. He is a very imposing general.
"Bang!"
The general raised his hands and said, "Is this Mr. Song Yousong who has been killing demons and demons all the way in Hezhou?"
"Just little monsters."
"It's polite for the last general to practice martial arts."
"Be polite."
Song You thought that they knew about his deeds of slaying demons and demons all the way in Hezhou, so he was treated so politely, but unexpectedly, after a few words of conversation, he heard the Zong general say:
"Since this year, news about Mr. slaying demons has often reached our ears. In August, General Chen passed by and specially told us that a gentleman came all the way north and passed through Hezhou. If you hear about the epidemic in Guijun and the monster in the snowfield, you must live it up, and let us pay close attention to it and don't neglect sir. Zong made a conclusion and concluded that the two must be the same person."
"General Chen?"
"General Chen Ziyi!"
"General Chen has returned to the north?"
"Since the summer of this year, the Eighteen tribes of the northern grassland have once again invaded in large numbers. The imperial court was shocked and ordered General Chen to quickly return to the north to resist the Great Wall."
"I see."
Song You nodded.
Although the defenders here were in Pujun, Hezhou, they had actually been guarding against the Saibei people before. Because Hezhou is really flat and there are few natural dangers. If the Saibei people defeated Yanzhou and went south from Heyuan, the entire Hezhou would have only a few passes guarded by the river to defend. If this place is lost, the entire Hezhou will have no resistance in front of the cavalry. The Saibei people can gallop all the way south until Angzhou, and the Central Plains Dynasty will have natural danger.
Most of the military power in the north is in the hands of General Chen, and this general guarding the pass may also be General Chen's man.
It's just that the Saibei people have been defeated long ago and have only been peaceful for a few years. It would be fine if they were harassed by a small group, but what the Zong general said was a large-scale invasion, which would inevitably make people feel strange.
I don’t know if it was because General Chen Ziyi’s cronies in the northern frontier army made a special show when they saw that General Chen had been left in Changjing for a long time, or because General Chen Ziyi had previously said that he would write a book and go to the north to investigate the ghosts of the soldiers he dreamed about. caused by something.
Song You didn't think much about it. After Guijun, there was the snowfield, and beyond the snowfield, there was the border of Yanzhou. Since General Chen had returned to the north, he would probably be able to see him.
"I'll tell you the truth, sir, guarding the gate is boring. Whether it's a general or a soldier, we often tell the story of sir slaying demons and slaying demons when we're on guard duty at night. It's better than the long night." General Zong said, looking up and looking into the distance. The setting sun said, "It's already getting late now. After crossing this bridge, we will return to the county. Why don't you, sir, rest in the camp for the night and come back early tomorrow morning? How about we entertain you?"
"General, I appreciate your kindness. It would be better for us to pass the customs." Song You thought for a while and then said to him, "I have received General Zong's courtesy and I am very grateful. However, I am only waiting here to go to Guijun. Although it is late today, But we can take advantage of the daylight to walk one more journey. The general only needs to let us pass, and we will be grateful."
"good!"
General Zong didn't waste any words. He waved his hand and let him go immediately.
Song You saluted him, and together with the swordsman beside him, he led two horses and slowly walked through the pass.
Sometimes when I think about it, it's still a bit dreamy. People like him can one day be treated politely all over the state just based on their names. If he had just come down from Fulongguan that year and was lying on the ancient cypress tree on Jinyang Road for an afternoon rest, he would probably have never imagined it.
Things in the world will indeed take people to places they never expected.
It's just that this title didn't come out of thin air. It came from the accumulation of various legends after traveling through three seasons and four counties in Hezhou, slaying demons and demons everywhere.
After passing the pass and then crossing the river, we returned to Guijun.
Day and night happen to alternate, there are many bones on the road, strange birds chirping in the wilderness, and the setting sun scares travelers. If you are walking alone on the road, you may be walking with ghosts without knowing it.
(End of chapter)
