Early next morning.
In the middle hut, a stove was lit, raincoats were hung, and fishing gear was leaning against the wall. There was only an old man and a calico cat lying next to the stove.
The old man used an iron rod to stir the fire and looked down at the cat.
The cat also raised his head and looked at the old man silently.
"Your name is Sanhua Empress?"
The old snake fairy spoke first, looking away and asked.
"Yes!"
Cat still stared at him and replied seriously.
"When did you meet him?"
"It's in the afternoon!" the cat answered with great accuracy, "when the sun is about to set!"
"which year."
"It's called the first year of Mingde..."
"where?"
"In the temple."
"Temple?"
"My temple!"
"Your temple?"
"Sanhua Empress was originally a cat god who helped people catch mice, but the gods in the Heavenly Palace did not allow Sanhua Empress to become a cat god..."
"So he took you away?"
"He asked Empress Sanhua to travel around the world with him so that he would not be lonely." Mao'er said in a serious tone, "And Empress Sanhua agreed."
"Then did you want to leave with him?"
"Empress Sanhua agreed!"
"I see."
The snake fairy nodded calmly, his eyes flickered a few times, wondering what he thought of, and then asked:
"how old are you?"
"I have no idea."
"have no idea?"
"The Taoist priest said that Empress Sanhua has a long lifespan, so it doesn't matter how old she is. The Taoist priest also said that Empress Sanhua was born free. She can be as old as she wants."
"Long life is not always a good thing..."
"Why?"
The cat is very puzzled, how comfortable it is to live a long life.
"..." Snake Immortal shook his head and didn't say much. He just asked, "How many years have you been enlightened?"
"I have no idea."
"do not know either?"
“I couldn’t count back then.”
"Where's the metamorphosis?"
"One, two...six years!"
"Then you are still young and have a long future ahead of you."
"It's a big cat!"
"hehe……"
The snake fairy couldn't help but smile and shook his head.
I think it's quite interesting to talk to this kitten.
But suddenly I thought that talking to children seems to be a kind of aging mentality.
At this time, Maoer took the initiative and asked:
"Your name is Snake Fairy?"
"Call it whatever you want."
"How did you get so big?"
"Um?"
"So big..."
The lying cat briefly took his hand out from under his chest, gestured with the length and width, and then retracted it again. The farmer looked up and stared at the old man.
"This."
The snake fairy really understood what she meant, and smiled at her and replied: "It is normal for the demon body to be larger than ordinary animals. I am old and have lived for hundreds of years, and the snake demon is Special, that’s why the body is so big..."
"What's special?"
Cat continued to ask seriously.
"Ordinary animals will not grow any longer until they reach adulthood. They will even become thinner and smaller when they are old. But it is said that snakes have the blood of dragons, so they will keep growing. Even ordinary snakes will. It will continue to grow until it dies of old age, but it will grow slower year by year." The snake fairy said in a slow voice, "When you become a demon queen, it will be easy to grow very big."
"Can I learn it?"
“You’re born with it, you can’t learn it.”
"How big can a cat get?"
"..."
The Snake Fairy turned to look at her carefully and met her eyes.
The old man's eyes were somewhat cloudy.
The cat's pupils were extremely clear.
Snake Fairy could not see any sadness in it, as if she had never worried about the lifespan difference between a demon destined to become profound and a Fulong Temple monk. Looking at the clear eyes, she thought she was washing her face outside. The young Taoist priest protected her very well.
This is naturally a good thing.
The Snake Immortal didn't say anything, but just thought for a moment before replying: "I remember there are several spells in Fulong Temple that can make you bigger, some fake and some real."
"The Taoist priest said so too!"
"Then what are you worried about?"
"Sanhua..."
Before the calico cat could say a word, the Taoist priest's shout came from outside:
"let's go."
The cat immediately swallowed what he had not finished, stood up quickly, turned to the Snake Fairy and said, "I'm leaving! I'll talk to you when I come back!"
"talk later."
"Say more?"
"up to you."
"Let's go!"
The calico cat shook his head and walked forward.
From here, we walked out the door. Every step we took was further away from the warm stove. The chill was getting heavier. When we got out of the wooden door, it was already ice and snow outside. The cold wind was blowing. The calico cat couldn't help shivering, and then he looked up and found The Taoist priest and the bay horse in front looked up at the swallows in the sky, then immediately took steps and ran quickly forward.
When she reached the Taoist, she slowed down and followed him slowly, walking hard in the snow, poking a small hole with every step she took.
The snake fairy watched them go away from the house.
Suddenly he showed a smile, as if he could feel a bit of beauty in his heart. Maybe the reason why older people like to chat with children is because they want to draw some simplicity from this process, so as to neutralize some of the complexity of their own lives. Vicissitudes of life.
…
It was already covered with snow and wind on the mountain.
"You happen to be here."
Song You patted the neck of the horse beside him and said to it as he walked: "I think Doctor Cai will bring some of his belongings over here. Without you, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to transport them in one trip with just his donkey."
"puff……"
The horse raised its head and snorted.
The calico cat took serious steps and walked in the snow. Every step was particularly sad, but it followed closely.
When Song You saw this, he couldn't help but said: "I said we go to pick up Divine Doctor Cai. If everything goes well, we can come back in the afternoon. Even if Divine Doctor Cai takes a long time to clean up, it will only be tomorrow at most. It's windy and snowy outside, and Empress Sanhua can't walk." I’m very tired here, and my feet are cold, so I asked Lady Sanhua to wait here, but Lady Sanhua refused.”
"Miss Sanhua is not afraid of being tired, nor is she afraid of being cold!"
"Really……"
"Yes!"
The cat didn't hesitate, looking up at him as he walked.
Every step I took was covered in snow up to my thighs.
Just as I was walking, I suddenly felt that the horse in front of me had stopped. Just as Sanhua Empress also stopped and raised her head to see what was going on, she saw a movement and the horse lay down.
After a while, the calico cat was lying on the horse, talking to the Taoist as she walked, telling the Taoist about what she had just talked to the snake fairy in the house.
About noon.
Song You knocked on the door of Divine Doctor Cai again, and under the watchful eyes of the three masters and disciples, he said to them: "I have already told Snake Immortal. Snake Immortal is grateful for the moral character of the miracle doctor and also feels that the medical scriptures have come out." It is a good thing that will benefit all people in the world. He promised that if the miracle doctor wants to finish writing the medical book, he will allow the miracle doctor to go to the hut where he usually fishes to write the book, so as to ensure the safety of the miracle doctor."
"This...this means..."
The miracle doctor opened his eyes wide. It seemed that the snake fairy also felt that the loss of his medical knowledge was related to the gods.
"As long as the miracle doctor is willing to finish writing the medical scriptures, just go. You can feel at ease with the Snake Immortal." Song You paused, "There is just one thing."
"Sir, please speak."
"The Snake Fairy said that he is a snake after all. Snakes are often used as medicine in medicine. Snake sloughs and snake eggs can be used. However, snake gallbladders need to be killed and the use of snake gallbladders as medicine is actually a bit risky. In exchange, I hope that the miracle doctor will write it in the medical scriptures. When it comes to using snake gallbladder, you should be more cautious." Song You looked at the miracle doctor Cai, "I wonder what the miracle doctor wants?"
"The Snake Immortal is absolutely right. Using snake gallbladder as medicine is indeed a bit risky, as it can easily lead to people being invaded by insects. I have been studying its alternative methods. What's more, there is no need for Mr. and the Snake Immortal to tell you that they are in Beiqin Mountain." After being blessed by the snake fairy, the old man seldom uses snake gall as medicine."
"So much the better."
"It's lunch time. We've just finished cooking, so I'll treat you to a meal before you leave, and let me and my apprentice pack their things."
"Not urgent."
Song You smiled at them and said: "I'm not in a hurry to go down to the mountain and the miracle doctor can take his time to clean up. When we get to the hut by the lake, just to be on the safe side, we also ask the two disciples of the miracle doctor to take the first half of the remaining medical scriptures." Copy it again and divide it into two parts. One part is kept in the hut, so that the snake fairy can help preserve it and the miracle doctor can refer to it when he writes the next half of the book. One part will be taken away by me. Let’s see if some of the gods have the guts to come to my place to do some tricks.”
"It takes a long time to copy. Even if the two of them copy separately, day and night, it will take at least ten days."
"Don't be in a hurry, just enjoy the snow scenery in the mountains, imitate the snake fairy on the fishing boat, or go to the mountains to make tea and talk with the snake fairy, and tell the story of the teacher's family." Song You said to him with a smile.
"Thank you sir!"
Doctor Cai immediately gave a big gift.
Not long after, the two apprentices served the food.
A pot of clear porridge, a plate of fried eggs, and a plate of walnut blossoms mixed with soy sauce, which are both light and flavorful.
The two apprentices quickly packed up their things without eating a few mouthfuls. Song You told them that he had brought a horse with him. He was afraid that he would have to live in a hut by the lake for more than a year. He asked them not to take anything except pen, ink, paper, inkstone and Bring as much food, dried meat, and other necessities as you can. Try to bring enough in one trip. At least bring enough for this winter. If there is not enough, we can wait until the weather is fine or the snow melts after spring, and then we can use donkeys to carry the goods back and go down the mountain to purchase.
Depart in the afternoon and return to the hut before dusk.
By this time the Snake Fairy was no longer here.
Song You helped them clean up the thatched huts. There was a damaged roof on one of the thatched huts, so he helped repair it. He also went to the mountains to find ancient wood and cut it into tables and stools, which were convenient for the three masters and apprentices to use when writing and copying.
After that, he stayed here, waiting for the apprentices of the two miracle doctors to finish copying the first half of the medical scriptures.
The miracle doctor writes every day, almost constantly.
The two apprentices had no intention of copying slowly, and almost forgot to eat and sleep.
Song You had free time anyway, so he would sometimes go to the mountains to visit the Snake Fairy, make tea and chat with him, and sometimes go down the mountain to buy some chickens and ducks that are good at laying eggs, buy some grains and dried meat, and paper, pens and ink sticks to provide supplements for Dr. Cai and the others. Material reserves, and from time to time we have to persuade them to take care of their health and not to rush things. Even Sanhua Empress would go to the house after dusk every day, and at their request, she would use her own skills to light lamps for them.
(End of chapter)
