It was midsummer in the third year of Da'an.

The scenery along the road has changed dramatically.

The vast and clean world of the Western Regions and Xingzhou has become narrow and messy, with hills everywhere and different shapes, making it difficult for people to see the horizon at a glance like in Xingzhou of the Western Regions, but there are very few big mountains.

The grass and forests beside the road are lush, which is different from the bare alpine grasslands that are common in Xingzhou, and also different from the neat alpine forests in the Western Regions. Instead, there are rich types of wild grasses and trees intertwined together. They are all in their prime at this time of year.

Occasionally, small flowers bloom and wild fruits are produced.

The official roads are obviously better built than those in the Western Regions, and the roads are obviously more prosperous than those in Xingzhou. In Xingzhou, there are sometimes no roads, and even if there are roads, there are no pedestrians visible all day long, only vast grasslands and heaven and earth.

But there are no camels here.

They mainly use short southwestern horses, donkeys and mules, and the goods they carry are mainly tea.

Tea-Horse Road.

After more than half a year, the Taoist party had passed through Xingzhou and entered Yizhou.

When walking on the mountain road, the cluttered mountains and vegetation block people's sight, and people often can't see the people in front and behind. Unlike in the Western Regions and Xingzhou, you can see someone in front of you from a long distance but you can't catch up with him in a day. Business travelers here

It was less than a mile away, and sometimes I couldn't see anyone. I could only hear the sound of bells coming from the mountains in front and behind, and the sound of people scolding horses and mules, so I knew that I was not alone.

"Let's rest for a while."

The Taoist picked an old tree and walked towards it.

There is an open space under the old tree, which is obviously brighter than other places. The fallen leaves have been pushed to the side, and the floating dust has been wiped clean. It is obvious that people often rest here.

After unloading the horse's luggage, he sat down in this open space and leaned back, just leaning against the tree trunk.

It was fine while walking, but when I stopped like this, I realized how busy this road was.

The bells and shouts coming from the left and right almost never stopped, getting closer and farther away. I don’t know how many people passed by them, and when they saw the Taoist and his party sitting under the tree, almost all business travelers would be bored.

Some of them looked at him, and some even talked to their companions.

The Taoist sat down to rest but did not close his eyes. He also looked at them one by one. In a trance, he seemed to be seeing those merchants on Jinyang Road more than ten years ago.

Although this ancient tree is not a cypress, the sun shines through the branches and leaves in spots, and the light and shadow change under the wind, which also gives the Taoist a feeling of that midsummer year.

I just don’t know how good the person was back then?

Are those merchants who once crossed paths with Taoists on the Jinyang Road still alive? Thirteen years later, do they still have the strength to walk on this road?

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding..."

The ringing of horse and mule bells brings people back to their dreams.

The calico cat sat next to him, sitting upright with its tail wrapped around its little feet. Together with him, it looked at the pedestrians in front of it with a serious face, wondering what the cat was thinking in its head.

"Sanhua Empress."

"Well?"

"Get some wild fruits to eat."

"OK!"

The cat sat still and waited until the porter in front passed by. Then he took two steps forward, looked left and right at the roadside to make sure there was no one. Then he changed back to his human form and took out a bowl of wild fruits from the brocade bag.

She took it back to the Taoist and handed it into his hand, then quickly transformed into a cat and sat down to lick its paws, as if nothing had happened just now.

"Ding-ding-dong..."

Another group of merchants passed by leading donkeys, all carrying large packages of goods on their backs.

When they saw the Taoist, everyone looked at him.

The two sides only met each other's eyes and had only a short-term fate.

The Taoist ate wild fruits and remained silent.

The bowl in my hand is ice cold.

This bowl of fruit was passed by a mountain forest grassland a few days ago and I found a kind of forest strawberry growing on the roadside. It grows everywhere. It is about the size of a finger and is round. It is not like the strawberry in Song You's impression.

It's close to the shape of a heart, but it's still red, with an uneven surface and a slightly weak aroma, but the taste is pretty much the same. The yaks on the mountain love to eat it.

Song You ate a few pills at that time and liked them very much.

Seeing that the Taoist priests liked and loved to feed them, how could they bear it? She immediately took advantage of her break to set up pots and pans, centering on the place where they stopped to rest, covering a large area of ​​forest.

Clean the wild strawberries and put them in brocade bags to refrigerate.

The Taoist has been eating for several days.

"Puff puff..."

Just then, a swallow flew down.

Still standing still, Yanzi waited for a group of escorts passing by below and looked left and right before he spoke: "Sir, this place is about eighty miles away from Yidu."

"Eighty miles..."

The Taoist pursed his lips, feeling inexplicably tired, and then said: "If we continue walking today, we will arrive tomorrow. If we don't leave today, we will arrive tomorrow. Let's rest here tonight."

Yanzi said nothing because someone else came.

As expected, this place is no better than the Western Regions and Xingzhou.

Whether it is the vast world of the Western Region or the endless prairie of Xingzhou, the two little monsters can talk casually while walking there.

"Oh! There is a little gentleman!"

The merchants turned to look at him and smiled kindly.

The accent is the Yizhou accent familiar to Taoists.

The Taoist also nodded and returned the greeting.

"Where are you from, sir?"

"He's from Yizhou."

"Where are you going?"

"Go to Yidu."

"Why are you sleeping here?"

"I'm tired."

"It's still early. There is a carriage and horse shop twenty miles ahead. You can still walk." The merchant held the reins of the mule with his hands behind his back. As he walked away, he looked back at him. He kept walking, leaving only goodwill.

The mountains have become increasingly unstable over the years, so don’t spend the night in the mountains, otherwise there may be monsters coming to your door..."

He talks too long, walks too fast, and his voice gets quieter and quieter later on.

The Taoist has no chance to reply to them.

"Little sir...

"Monster..."

Song You couldn't help but smile.

It really feels like a trance.

The Taoist sat here for an unknown length of time, passing by countless faces.

Dinner is this bowl of wild fruits.

Until nightfall, there was no bonfire in the mountains, but there was fluorescent light all over the ground. The Taoist lay under the tree and fell into a deep sleep. Only clear dreams of the past came with the wind, and no ghosts came to disturb him.

pity……

…

In the afternoon of the next day, there was a roadside stall outside Yidu City.

The emerald-green bamboo stick was leaned against the wooden table by the Taoist. When the sunlight shined on it, it became crystal clear. It really looked like a work of art carved from jade. However, in comparison, the wooden table was so dark and covered in starch that the contrast was really obvious.

A Taoist priest wearing an old white Taoist robe sat at the table, and sitting opposite was a girl wearing three-color clothes. A maroon horse without a rein was waiting next to it, carrying a bag, and nibbling weeds on the roadside.

Each person held a bowl of fresh meat wontons and ate them slurpingly.

It's a thin dough with fresh meat stuffing inside, and there's not much else except salt and ginger. The soup base is made from pork bones, with a handful of chopped green onion added.

There is no need to pay attention to techniques, high cooking skills, or complicated seasonings. The pork bone soup is already delicious when cooked, and with the aroma of chopped green onion, such a bowl of wontons is simple, but it is full of flavor when you eat it.

Full of lightness and deliciousness, very comfortable.

The Taoist finished his last bite and looked at the boy opposite.

Tong'er also finished his last bite and looked at him.

The Taoist smiles and the child is serious.

The Taoist picked up the bowl and drank the soup.

Seeing this, the child was not to be outdone. He followed suit and quickly picked up the bowl and drank the soup. While drinking, he raised his eyes and glanced at him through the edge of the bowl.

"Store, checkout."
To be continued...