In the evening, Yumenguan.
Yongzhou Prefecture Mufu - In a slightly nicer earthen house, Wu Modi was sitting on the balcony on the second floor, eating mutton powder soup.
The mutton noodle soup here is extraordinary. The mutton in it is carefully selected. It must be fat and strong Jie sheep raised in the West Desert Kingdom. When eating, you must first mix the bone soup with water, add seasonings and boil it, then cut the cooked meat into thin slices and the jelly cut into pieces into a bowl, ladle in the boiling soup, and sprinkle with minced coriander, leeks, green onions and peppers. The end waits.
However, Wu Modi didn't like to sprinkle chopped chili peppers because he didn't like chili peppers, so he ordered the cook not to sprinkle any chili peppers at all when making this bowl of mutton noodle soup, but he had to put enough of the mutton because he loved eating meat.
"Ha, this mutton noodle soup is so delicious." Su Xuan also walked out with a bowl of mutton noodle soup. But his bowl was red and shiny, and the spicy smell could be smelled from a distance.
"Are you bold enough to bring mutton noodle soup with so many chili peppers here to murder Honshu Mu?" Wu Modi frowned.
"Yes, I want to kill you, but let me finish my meal first, and my Lord will execute me later!"
After Su Xuan pretended, both of them laughed.
"Some people always say that I, a state shepherd, feel aggrieved. I stay in such a place where I don't know when there will be a war. I am also suppressed by the city of Chang'an. I have no power."
Wu Modi stared at the semicircular sun hanging on the Gobi desert for a while, while Su Xuan on the side was sweating from the spicy mutton noodle soup, but he had a look of comfort and satisfaction on his face.
"Actually, it's not bad here. There are few people and it's quiet. The house is just a little shabby compared to other Zhoumu." Wu Modi looked at his dilapidated earthen house and then at the bowl of mutton noodles in his hand. The soup was light and light, and he said, "But at least there is meat to eat."
Su Xuan groaned and finished the bowl of mutton noodle soup in his hand. While he was so spicy that he stuck out his tongue, he picked up the last leek on the edge of the bowl and threw it into his mouth.
"Can't you be more polite? He is a general after all!" Wu Modi glanced at Su Xuan with disdain and started eating slowly.
"It's rare to see green vegetables like this here. Those traders brought them all the way here, and they are quite expensive." Su Xuan licked the rim of the bowl again nonchalantly and said, " This cannot be wasted.”
"It doesn't matter if it's expensive. Why don't you give me a bunch first to honor me? Who would dare to sell it here if I don't nod." Wu Modi picked up a piece of mutton and put it in his mouth, with a look of enjoyment on his face and said, " If you ask me, the monks in the cave in the West Desert have never eaten this mutton, and it’s a shame that the West Desert raises so many Jie sheep.”
There is a grotto in the Western Desert Kingdom called Dunhuang. This was built by the previous king with the efforts of the whole country. There are countless Buddha statues enshrined in the grottoes, as well as countless exquisite murals, known as Dunhuang Thousand Buddhas. Dunhuang Buddhist Caves are home to many Buddhist believers who believe in asceticism. In order to distinguish them from Mount Putuo, outsiders call them Dunhuang Caves.
"When the altar is opened and the fragrance of meat is floating around, the Buddha hears abandoning Zen and jumps over the wall." Su Xuan put down the bowls and chopsticks and said, "I remember there is a dish in Xuzhou called Buddha Jumping Over the Wall, which means that the Buddha will also be seduced by this dish and jump over the wall and break his precepts. From This shows that Buddha also has selfish desires. Who knows if those monks have ever eaten that mutton in private?"
"It makes sense. I just don't understand those monks who eat those tasteless green vegetables and tofu and say that the taste in the world is happiness." Wu Modi sneered, "Humph, it's ridiculous. You eat this fat and tender food every day. Isn’t the tender mutton delicious? You have to stay in that dark hole to guard the motionless Bodhisattva Buddha.”
"By the way, sir. I heard that the eldest prince was assassinated on the way to exile last night. Among the six Dali Temple officials responsible for escorting him, only Qi Zixian went back." Su Xuan wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth and said, "According to He said that the eldest prince is probably dead, but no one knows if this is true, so He Shengbai has already led people to investigate."
"As long as you don't fight and kill them on my land, it doesn't matter if they get beaten to a bloody head outside."
Wu Modi drank the powder soup from the bowl in one gulp, burped, and said, "So what about the emperor of Chang'an? I have the final say here! I was pushed into a hurry, so I directly voted for the West Desert to see if he could win. What’s better than that?”
"Huh, you're just having fun here. If you dare to go out on the street and talk a lot, that's what you're capable of." Su Xuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "But I do hope that the eldest prince is really dead. It’s annoying to see this group of people stay here.”
"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's almost dusk. How long can these peaceful days last?"
Wu Modi looked at the sunset on the horizon, picked up the big bowl in his hand, and whispered towards the sunset, "Here's a bowl for you!"
In Chang'an City in the evening, the tender yellow buds on the locust trees beside the street turned golden in the setting sun, and the thin and blurry shadows of the trees cut off the backs of passers-by.
Li Ergou, who had taken a nap in the shade, stretched out and stood up. He walked to the top of the city bored and looked at the pedestrians coming and going at the city gate.
Suddenly, a group of people rode tall horses and ran towards the city gate from the distant street. Pedestrians along the way gave way.
Li Ergou took a closer look and saw that the leader was none other than Xiaoyao King Zhou Ruoxiao, and he was suddenly shocked.
"I heard from Wang Dashan on duty this morning that the Minister of Dali Temple led a group of people out of the city early in the morning. Now that King Xiaoyao has also left the city, I am afraid something big is going to happen." Li Ergou sighed secretly.
He actually thought of something from the bottom of his heart and thought about it for a long time. It would be best to start a war so that he could watch the excitement from the top of the city.
Although his life was poor, it was also too boring. You don’t have to think about anything every day, just go about it day after day.
He gradually didn't know what to do with such a mess. The matchmaker next door came to his house several times and mentioned it, saying that she wanted to find him a wife. But he refused. He didn't even understand it himself, and he didn't want to drag others into living a confused life with her.
He talked to his brothers Wang Dashan and Old Man Li about his hope for a war in Chang'an, but they all said that he was not clear-headed and that he was just confused and that others were getting better and better. Understand, there is something wrong with his mind.
But he didn't think so. He felt that he was quite healthy and he didn't feel any physical discomfort all year round.
He talked about this with the old storyteller at Fugui Tavern, and said that he envied him for traveling all over the country over the years, because he was bound to encounter many things along the way, and he might even get into a war.
The old storyteller shook his head and said, how can we afford a war now? The world is so peaceful. He had traveled all over the country for half his life and never seen any fighting, except in books and dreams.
He found it incredible. After all, the old man's mouth had been telling stories for half his life. Countless battles had been fought in the stories, but he had never seen a real battlefield.
Seeing the regret on his face, the old storyteller comforted him and said, the world is about to be in chaos. I believe Chang'an won't be peaceful for a long time. Maybe Chang'an will really be going to war soon.
Thinking of this, Li Ergou nodded with deep understanding.
Huo Xuemin, who was walking on the street, was a little surprised when she saw a soldier at the top of the city nodding to himself.
"Miss, what's wrong?" an ordinary-looking young man behind him said softly, "That soldier seems to be simply distracted."
Huo Xuemin held up the bamboo hat on her head. Next to her was the guard her father had given her, named Zi Lan, who was said to be the most powerful one under her father.
She actually didn't quite understand why her father wanted her to go to Yuzhou alone with this guard instead of going with her father and the others.
Huo Xuemin gathered up her loose robe, which covered her bulging belly. But the robe was still too roomy for her and it kept falling down.
Huo Xuemin rubbed her belly and continued walking towards the city gate. Zi Lan also continued to follow her.
There are too many people in Chang'an who don't want to reveal their identity, so dressing up like this is not too out of the ordinary.
After passing the simple inspection by the soldiers at the city gate, not far out of the city gate, Huo Xuemin looked back thoughtfully at Chang'an City, a place that held too many memories and time for her.
To her, Chang'an is not a cold place name, but a drop of tear, which contains too much taste, but no matter how heavy the tears are, they will eventually flow out of her eyes.
She feels that human tears are the most difficult thing to understand because you can never guess what is contained in them.
"Father said that we might never come back again, is that true?" Huo Xuemin didn't wait for Zi Lan to answer, and continued, "Actually, I don't want to stay in this place anymore. I'm tired of staying here for a long time."
"I don't understand." Zi Lan said honestly, "Master asked me to follow the young master, so I will follow the young master."
Zi Lan looked at Huo Xuemin's fair face under the bamboo hat, and he could feel a pair of bright eyes looking at him.
"How long have you been staying in Chang'an?" Huo Xuemin asked, stroking her hair around her ears.
"Hmm... It's been seven years. I was brought into the Huo Mansion by my master when I was ten years old, and I have been learning martial arts with him since then," Zi Lan replied.
"Then where were you before?"
"I grew up in a place called Niujiaoao, which is a small mountain valley on the edge of Tianzi Mountain. My parents died of illness when I was eight years old. I survived with the help of the surrounding villagers. Later, I encountered After getting on board with the master, you will come to Chang'an."
The two chatted for a while, and their figures gradually disappeared at the end of the road, swallowed up by the increasingly gloomy sky.
Li Ergou on the top of the city stared at the backs of the two people in a daze. For some reason, he always felt that there was something unusual about the backs of the two people. But he couldn't tell what was unusual about it.
If anything, he had a vague premonition. Unlike the countless back figures he had seen on the city wall over the years, he had a premonition that these two extraordinary figures would return to Chang'an one day.
The darkness swallowed up the last bit of light, and thousands of lights lit up in Chang'an. The giant city standing on the land of Yongzhou has seen too many faces and experienced too many people's farewells. Countless people shed tears and left footprints in Chang'an. It has never resisted anyone's arrival, nor has it kept anyone from leaving. It is as strong as death.
