The smoke from the thermos steamed upwards, and the aroma of alcohol and tea mixed together. It was hard to tell whether it smelled good or bad.
Between the small rooms, the wind and snow do not invade.
Landscape calligraphy and paintings were hung on the wall. Zhao Siqi and Yuan Yao sat across from each other, making a pot of hot tea.
Above the two of them, a frog as big as a copper coin was holding an extremely small jade cup, sipping wine and smacking his lips, his cheeks flushed by the heat from the charcoal fire in the small stove.
"Don't mind, my uncle is an alcoholic."
Yuan Yao introduced General Jinhua to Zhao Siqi and said, "Speaking of which, why did you come to Qiantang?"
Zhao Siqi and Yuan Yao didn't have a close relationship. They met a few times, and they were at Gong Mengbi's banquet, so Yuan Yao was not very familiar with Zhao Siqi's affairs.
Zhao Siqi told Yuan Yao the whole story. After hearing this, Yuan Yao sighed with emotion and said, "It's really not easy."
General Jinhua looked at Zhao Siqi. There was a golden pattern in his eye sockets. When he looked at Zhao Siqi, his eyes seemed to be shining slightly, and then he said: "The little fox is really good. If you endure hardships, you will be blessed later."
Zhao Siqi smiled bitterly and said, "Don't think about future blessings, just get on with it."
General Jinhua laughed loudly and said: "Although it is more difficult now, it is not uncomfortable, right?"
Zhao Siqi thought for a while, and there was really no way to say that he was uncomfortable.
Although a person will be lonely and miserable when wandering, he will encounter many incredible things, and he will experience many setbacks and hardships, but in the world of rivers and lakes, people are not at ease with their hearts and minds.
To be precise, Zhao Siqi was originally ignorant and had no temper. He did not understand what happiness was, what freedom was, what reluctance was, and what sadness was.
But now, they all gradually understand.
Zhao Siqi asked about Yuan Yao's current situation again, and Yuan Yao said, "I am practicing at my uncle's place and helping him manage the temple. It's nothing special."
In fact, the most important thing I did was to pick up the drunk old man from the theater, so that he wouldn't be accidentally taken home.
However, when Zhao Siqi saw that Yuan Yao could transform into a human form, he knew that his practice must be beneficial.
Zhao Siqi asked about the current situation of Mengbi in Yuan Yao Palace. Yuan Yao said: "The last time I saw him, he came to Qiantang. Maybe I haven't seen him for a long time and I don't know what he is doing now. But you don't have to worry about him. He is a person full of bad intentions. He is the only one who can harm others, and no one else can harm him."
Zhao Siqi smiled sarcastically, neither able to refute nor disagree.
Fortunately, Yuan Yao doesn't need other people's approval when he speaks ill of Gong Mengbi. In theory, at this time, there should be a little gossip and a little nigger to refute him to stimulate his desire to create.
Zhao Siqi could not fulfill this role, and Yuan Yao was not discouraged.
Yuan Yao invited him to drink tea, then took out some broken silver and copper coins from the temple and handed them to Zhao Siqi, saying: "I'll give it to you. Going to the city will always cost some money. You can go after you have rest, otherwise you will attract trouble." The old man may not be able to bear the snake coming."
General Jinhua is a frog and Yuan Yao is a golden toad.
Snakes are their nemesis, and they are more afraid of dogs than foxes.
Zhao Siqi did not refuse and said: "I can only repay your kindness another day."
Yuan Yao said: "What kind of retribution will you give me? You should live first and then tell me."
After warming up, Zhao Siqi took the five red dogs into the city and stayed in the city for a few days.
Yuan Yao said he didn't care about him, but ended up going to chat with him every day. I heard that he came from Min, and asked him if he had seen the Toad Temple.
Zhao Siqi had never seen it before, and Yuan Yao felt a little pity.
He has not forgotten Toad Temple's hatred, but he has not yet had a chance to take revenge.
Before the seventh day, Zhao Siqi left.
After leaving Qiantang and heading west, beyond the boundary of Qiantang, it snowed again not long after.
The snow was so white that it was difficult to tell the difference between east, west, north and south.
After Zhao Siqi left Qiantang, two or three days later, two uninvited guests came to Yongjinmen.
One is a somewhat sinister young man in green clothes, and the other is a very beautiful woman in white clothes.
Yuan Yao stood at the window of the restaurant in the distance and looked down. General Jinhua was leaning against the window drinking and saw these two people.
Yuan Yao didn't notice it at first, until the drunk General Jinhua said: "What two big snakes."
He suddenly became alert and recognized the two monsters.
At the same time, the woman in white suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the restaurant.
The young man in green clothes followed her gaze, but saw nothing. He couldn't help but ask, "What is Sister Lizhu looking at?"
The woman in white, Lizhu, slowly withdrew her gaze and said, "It seems like someone is spying on us."
The young man in green clothes showed a bit of irritation and said: "That guy must have been guided by an expert. No matter how hard we chase, we can't catch him. We always encounter some difficult opponents along the way."
Lizhu laughed and said: "Don't be anxious, you will definitely meet him. Just like me, you will meet him one day, you just need some patience."
The young man in green looked gloomy and said, "I haven't had any new feelings yet. It seems I have to stay in Qiantang for a few more days."
Lizhu said: "Just rest for a few days. The wind and snow are so severe along the way. It is not warmer and humid than Jiaozhi. It is difficult to get to Qiantang, but it is much warmer."
The siblings rested for three days before setting off again.
When they left Qiantang, Yuan Yao was also watching from a distance.
Yuan Yao frowned and said: "The white snake of the sixth grade, the green snake of the seventh grade. Xiao Qi, you have more agile legs and feet."
If he goes straight forward, I'm afraid these two feet are faster than him, and they might catch up.
Fortunately, Zhao Siqi had already had experience. Although he had never faced the two snake monsters face to face, he had also had indirect contact with them.
When you are wandering, you will make friends who are willing to help him look back and report back to you.
And when the green snake sensed him, it was also when he dreamed of the green snake.
As he gets higher and higher, and as they get closer, the dreams will become clearer.
For example, this time heading west, he was not walking in a straight line.
He had no destination to begin with, so he often changed directions. Either escape into the mountains and forests, or cross rivers, or enter the city, or hide in the countryside.
There is no direction in the first place. As long as it is not found, the whole world is home.
This winter has been unusual.
It's colder than before, much colder.
The probability of encountering snow ghosts is also much greater. They are strange ghosts transformed by the souls who originally died in the snow. As they fly along the wind and snow, they will turn people who have also frozen to death into snow corpses.
Zhao Siqi had met him before and asked Gong Mengbi for help.
Later, we met and fought with each other, but in most cases we just ran away.
I met more snow corpses this time than before.
It's too cold and people are too fragile.
