"Since ancient times, people have said goodbye to relatives...
"There were more tears than in the palace."
Song You walked slowly with a bamboo stick, matching the spring scenery, as if on an outing. The bay-red horse behind him followed him obediently with a quilt on his back. In comparison, the cats and swallows were much freer.
Yaozhou has many poor mountains and rivers, and is full of miasma.
It's still spring, but it's already as hot as midsummer.
For example, Zhengxi and Anmin are better. The further south you go, the hotter it gets. The proportion of natives increased, and there were fewer and fewer people who could speak Mandarin. Song You often chatted with people on the road, and often couldn't understand him. Occasionally, he heard in the Mandarin mixed with a strong accent that even in winter here , also like warm spring.
But there is one interesting thing -
"This seems to be very close to Xuzhou." Song You sat in the bamboo forest, holding "Yu Di Ji Sheng", turned to Sanhua Empress and said.
"Xuzhou?"
The calico cat that was chewing grass on the roadside suddenly turned to look at him.
The swallow also flew over and landed on the Taoist's shoulder, staring down at the book in the Taoist's hand.
"Yes, Xuzhou."
"Is it the Xuzhou we went to when we were away from home?"
"Miss Sanhua has a good memory."
"Is it the Yanzi's Xuzhou?"
"Ms. Sanhua has an extraordinary memory."
"Did you meet the neighbor heroine Xuzhou?"
"Sanhua Empress has a photographic memory." Song You said but paused, "But why didn't Sanhua Empress talk about the woman next door?"
"Miss Sanhua remembers her name."
"Miss Sanhua is really amazing."
"Xuzhou is far away!"
"It's very close to here."
"Well?"
The cat tilted its head and looked at him with doubtful eyes: "But we have gone a long way!"
"Yeah, I've been gone for seven years."
"Seven years!"
"Miss Sanhua, come and take a look."
Sanhua Empress has obviously become more mature. I think the one year of independent living and studying in Yeshan as well as the worry of taking care of her Taoist priest who is paralyzed on a high platform and loves to eat is a great contribution. I wonder if she is as good as she was a year ago. Thanks to the fierce changes in the field, in short, taking advantage of Sanhua Empress getting smarter, Song You showed her the map, pulled off the half of the grass in her mouth, pointed to the map in the book with the tip of the grass, and said to her :
"We were originally here, this is Yizhou, then we went east to south to Xuzhou, and finally we went east to north to Changjing. We circled in the north like this, returned to Changjing, and then went south all the way. After arriving at Fengzhou, we arrived at the western part of Yaozhou, which is right here..."
Song You pointed to Yaozhou on the map.
The cat watched carefully.
Song You pointed to a state to the west of Yaozhou: "This is the Xuzhou we passed through before. It is also the home of Yanzi and where the Liujiang River is located."
The cat didn't blink, with a serious expression.
At this time, she no longer asked questions like "Why don't we just come here?", just like she now doesn't ask people why they want to climb a mountain. It takes hard work to climb up and then work hard to get back down.
After all, Empress Sanhua was extremely smart. In the few years she had been with the Taoist, she already knew why the Taoist went down the mountain and the meaning of the journey.
But for her, most of the meaning of the journey is still to follow the Taoist priest.
Just as the Taoist said when he asked her to leave the small temple, she would go with him so that she would not be lonely. Just as she often said on weekdays, she would follow the Taoist.
Song You patiently spent some time telling her about the appearance of Dayan's world and the basic geographical concepts.
"Then we have to walk back to Xuzhou?"
Empress Sanhua looked at Song You with a serious face.
"Does Yan An want to go back to his hometown for a visit?" Song You turned slightly and said to Yan Zi on his shoulder, "If Yan An wants to go back for a visit, we will wait for you in the county ahead for two days. It's not far anyway. With your The speed is such that I can fly back in half a day. We just need to take a rest."
The cat also turned his head and stared at the swallow.
"..."
Yanzi thought for a while and then said: "My ancestor has gone to heaven and is no longer in Anqing. Although I want to go back, there is nothing to see when I go back. One day is enough for me to fly back and forth."
"That's fine."
Song You nodded, staring at the simple map in his hand, with a hint of memory in his eyes.
When we first arrived at Xuzhou, we had just come down the mountain. After leaving Yidu, we went straight to Xuzhou. Looking back now, if I only think about that time, it seems like not long ago, but in fact it has been more than seven years. And if you think back to the mountains and rivers you have traveled and the ups and downs you have experienced in the past seven years, you will feel that a long time has passed.
Naturally, Song You would not go back to see it again.
Now that Lao Yanxian is no longer in Xuzhou, I don’t know if the temple owner I was familiar with before is still there. The Liujiang Convention should still be held, but it won’t be held this year. It won’t be held now, and it may not have been held in the past. He could still see his old friends, but only the familiar landscapes were left - Song You should have seen these familiar landscapes again, at least once. At least before the end of life, you need to look at the path you have taken when you were young, but it is obviously not now.
"Then where are we going?"
"Let's go to Zunzhe Mountain." Song You said to Sanhua Empress, drawing lines on the map with his hand, "Go slowly and take a look at the customs and customs of Yaozhou."
"OK!"
"..."
The Taoist smiled and closed the book in his hand with a sudden sound.
Before I knew it, it was the time for the flowers to fall.
The road ahead is full of smoke and water, and the sun is setting over thousands of miles.
There are countless mountains, as red as rain.
…
In the summer of the ninth year of Mingde, Huangliang County, Xiejun, Yaozhou.
The Taoist, leaning on a bamboo stick and covered in travel dust, came to this remote town and looked around. Behind him was a bay-red horse with neither reins nor saddle, but it followed him silently.
This small town is at the foot of the Venerable Mountain, only dozens of miles away from the Venerable Mountain. If the weather is a little better, you can see the mountain from the city.
However, Song You did not stay in the city, because on the way, he asked someone for directions, and they said that there was an inn at the foot of the Venerable Mountain, and there were quite a few, so it would be more convenient to stay there.
Zunzhe Mountain is probably the highest mountain in the entire Yaozhou and Langzhou. Hundreds of miles of continuous mountains naturally separate Yaozhou and Langzhou. Zunzhe Mountain stands on these mountains, like a giant pillar holding up the sky. The same Tianzhu Mountain looks like an old man standing motionless, hence the name Venerable Mountain.
Climbing Mount Venerable takes a whole day, so naturally you have to stay at the foot of the mountain for a night.
So Song You just passed through Huangliang County, made some supplies, and arrived at the foot of Zunzhe Mountain before dusk. He wanted to take advantage of the good weather in the past two days to go up the mountain to have a look, and then come down to the city to rest.
Sure enough, there are several inns at the foot of the mountain and there are quite a few tourists.
Song You found a hotel to stay in, bought a bowl of carved rice from the innkeeper, and asked him about Zunzhe Mountain.
The store is here to deal with tourists. I don’t know how many people have answered similar questions. Almost as soon as Song You asked the question, he said them all:
"You must have seen this loess road in front of the shop. Go early tomorrow morning. Go left and follow this road. When you reach the front, someone will ask you to pay the mountain tax. It's fifty cents. Pay the money. You can go up the mountain by following the path. Horses, donkeys and mules can also go up. If you climb fast, you can reach it in the middle of the afternoon. If you don't climb fast, you will arrive in the evening. You don't have to worry about taking the wrong road in the middle. It's not the only way up the mountain. It’s just a road, but the guest arrives on the right day. As long as you leave early, there will be many people along the way.”
"Fifty cash mountain tax?"
"Yes, it's a famous mountain, Venerable Mountain. Burning incense at the top of the mountain can bring you good luck, and picking up a stone can ward off evil spirits. For fifty cents, you won't lose money." The store owner said, "Besides, it's all collected by the government. "
"How much does it cost for a toddler?"
"How big a toddler?"
The store owner looked at the Taoist curiously, and then looked around. He didn't see any children. He only saw a calico cat with its head raised and bright eyes. He couldn't help but asked doubtfully: "Didn't you come alone, sir? Why do you want to do this?" Ask the toddler.”
"About this high."
Song You stretched out his hand to indicate a height.
"That's more than half a man's height." The shopkeeper frowned and shook his head, "I don't know about that. If you meet someone with a conscience, maybe you won't charge any money. If you meet someone without a conscience, you might charge half of it. Mr. If you are willing to secretly put ten coins into the policeman's belt, maybe no one will take it."
"That's it."
Song You nodded, and then asked: "Are there really many people going to climb the mountain?"
"There are many famous mountains, and there are also many dignitaries."
"Thank you, store owner."
"Remember to get up early..."
"Write it down."
Song You turned his head and looked outside.
It was at sunset, the mountains in the distance were pitch black, and the clouds above our heads were thick, but there was a thin line in the middle, allowing the light of the setting sun to shine in, dyeing the clouds on the mountains ablaze. There seems to be a huge stone man standing under the clouds, with a bloated figure and a robe that reaches the ground. Only the upper half has been penetrated into the clouds, so his true appearance cannot be seen, leaving only half of his body.
Outside the door, another official was sitting on a bamboo sedan, being carried by two people from one side to the other.
"The food is here!"
A bowl of rice was brought to Song You.
It was a bowl of dark rice, served in a thick brown bowl. Each grain of rice was a long black strip, which looked very rough. There were a few pieces of pickled radish thrown on top, and there was nothing else.
Song You picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. It seemed that in addition to the sauerkraut, the store also poured some sour soup on it. The rice also tasted a bit sour. It had a taste and was quite appetizing in this summer, but the texture of rice was still the same. It can't be called good, at best it can be called strange.
Diaohu rice is actually wild rice.
Originally, it was used as a staple food in many areas of Dayan, but later it was gradually eliminated due to various reasons. Interestingly, when it was no longer used as a staple food and gradually became rare, some places began to use it. Coming to entertain distinguished guests probably has a traditional meaning.
"Ms. Sanhua, please try it too."
Song You scooped up a spoonful of rice, mixed it with a small piece of pickled radish, put it in the palm of his hand, and handed it to Mao'er.
The cat was honest and took a bite.
He glanced at the Taoist blankly, and probably swallowed it out of economy, but then he looked at the Taoist with more pity and worry in his eyes.
Song You finished it.
(End of chapter)
