After Yu Nianyuan returned to the house.

On the deck of the merchant ship bathed in the cold moonlight, only a tall figure wearing a floor-length Wu skirt and blond hair reaching her waist were left.

The snow-white sword lay horizontally in front of him. Under the moon, the sword seemed to be filled with white snow made of moonlight.

Shining brightly.

Xue Zhongzhu made a sword finger shape with one hand and slowly drew across the blade of the snow-white sword, unable to sweep away the snow-white moonlight.

The sword finger rested on an inconspicuous engraving on the long and narrow sword.

The pad of the sword finger slowly caressed the two small engraved seals.

Zhishuang.

Under the moon, the candle in the snow lowered its head to watch the sword, and the sword was also watching her.

The snow-white sword light illuminated the upper half of the Yunmeng lady's face. The sword light was dazzling, but her blue eyes did not blink at all.

The scene of that day flashed faintly before the eyes of the candle in the snow.

"...Hey, hurry up, little lady Zhishuang, forget it if you don't come, I'm too lazy to wait for you, mother-in-law...

"Hey, it seems that I guessed it right. It's really your nickname in the boudoir. After all, it was the tactful thought of the youngest daughter's family that carved it on the sword. Well, you didn't expect that someone in this world would hand over your sword..."

In the dead of night, even though a long time had passed, the reverberation of the disgusting and flirty tone of a young man wearing a bronze fox-faced Confucian shirt still lingered in my ears.

That day he was walking leisurely in the courtyard, quoting scriptures casually.

"There are bells in Fengshan, and when frost falls, the bells ring, so I know it, and the name is quite particular..."

"Tell me, who would have thought that the world-famous eldest daughter Junxue Zhongzhu would have an elegant and playful nickname, Zhishuang, tsk tsk..."

The white mixed-race face in the snow is as cold and unchanging as the frost and snow that have lasted for thousands of years.

After a while, her maiden name was "Zhishuang", she slowly lowered her eyes, murmured softly, and repeated:

"There are bells in Fengshan, and when frost falls, the bells ring, so the saying goes... So that's what it means, does it come from here... So that's it..."

The tall Hu Ji, who had always been domineering and unruly but seemed unaware of the origin of her maiden name, was briefly confused. She tilted her head slightly, with a thoughtful look in her blue eyes:

"Where is Fengshan... where is the bell that rings when the frost falls... Is this the place that Master has longed for..."

I don’t know how long I stood alone on the deck, facing the evening breeze. At a certain moment, Xue Zhongzhu put away Zhishuang’s sword, turned around, and prepared to return to the cabin.

Turning half way, the tall Orchid suddenly had a cold expression on her face and said coldly:

"You know so much and you are so smooth-talking. It seems I really can't keep you here."

…

After the new rain in the empty mountains.

At noon, there was still a little bit of light rain, but the sky was very bright.

In the deep forest, there is a bamboo house with the door open.

A small table is placed in front of the door.

The three of them sat cross-legged at the table and ate quietly.

During the dinner, there was only the slight sound of silver chopsticks hitting porcelain bowls against teeth, and occasionally a hoarse old cough.

The old man's cough was not severe, but intermittent, as if he was ill.

It came from a short, skinny old man among the three.

The short, thin old man had no outstanding features, he was just an ordinary little old man with a kind face.

Wearing a musician's robe that has been washed white, it is vaguely visible that the robe should have been cyan.

At the table, there were two other people eating with him.

They are a cold girl in palace clothes and an old woman with white hair and purple clothes.

The girl in cold palace attire has her hair pulled up high, in the standard style of a palace official. It is only fixed with a mandarin duck jade hairpin. Other than that, there is no trace of her daughter's decorations on her body.

As clean and deserted as a snow-white lotus.

The white-haired old woman has deep sunken eyes covered with whites, her chin is like a cone, and her head of silver hair is meticulously pulled up in the same style as a cold girl in palace clothes.

She was wearing a dark purple gilt palace dress, with complex antique simple cloud and crane patterns embroidered on the skirt. Every move she made was solemn and majestic.

The old man, the young man, and the two female historians all stood straight when eating, holding rice bowls in their hands and eating in small bites.

They lowered their eyebrows and lowered their eyes, chewing slowly without making any chewing sound between their lips and teeth.

Be strict and orderly.

Ignoring age and appearance, they are almost carved from the same mold.

"Cough cough cough..."

During the dinner, the old musician covered his mouth from time to time and coughed, which became the loudest noise during the dinner, echoing inside and outside the bamboo house.

Halfway through the meal, the old musician glanced at them and couldn't help but put down his chopsticks:

"Both of you, the older one and the younger one...don't you talk?"

The tone was a little helpless.

Rong Zhen and Sister Song didn't even raise their eyelids, as if they didn't hear anything.

Maybe it was because of the deep hollows in her eyes that they were covered with whites, so she didn't know if she looked at the old musician, silently took a mouthful of food and stuffed it into her toothless mouth.

Rong Zhen seemed to be in a fugue the whole time. When she was carrying a bowl to eat, her little face was in a trance, staring down at the nearest plate in front of her... The old musician noticed that she seemed to be only staring at the plate of stir-fried lettuce in front of her, and all other dishes were gone.

Haven't moved.

"Are all the female officers in your Si Tianjian like this? Haha, that's really interesting."

The old musician touched his palms and smiled cheerfully.

After the words fell, there was silence at the table.

Nanny Song slowly took out a neat pile of handkerchiefs from her arms, wiped the corners of her mouth, and continued eating.

Rong Zhen, who was next to him, seemed to be reminded by her actions and came to his senses. He also took out a neat pile of handkerchiefs from his sleeve, wiped the corners of his lips, put the handkerchief away, and continued eating with a dazed expression on his face.

Old musician:......

No one paid attention.

A little bit embarrassing.

The old musician picked up the bowl again and turned to look outside the door.

A thin rain curtain hangs from the eaves of the bamboo house.

The spring rain that has lasted for several days has stopped, and there is still a little light rain intermittently today.

Through the renewed green bamboo forest outside the courtyard, the outline of a headless Buddha carved in open-air stone can be faintly seen.

The old musician's face became lonely and he listened to the soft sound of rain for a while.

This time, he said without looking back:

"According to the agreement, the matter of Xingzi Lake Giant Buddha is over, and it's time to let the old man go."

"no."

"No."

Nanny Song and Rong Zhen, who were silent, almost answered in unison.

The old musician turned back and said curiously:

"So you two are not deaf or mute."

Aunt Song snorted coldly:

"Old man Yu, if you are bored, I won't let you speak if I talk to you."

Rong Zhen glanced at Deputy Superintendent Song, said nothing, continued to stay quiet, and chewed slowly.

The old musician touched his thin head with sparse white hair:

"This meal is so deserted. It's better for me to live alone. When you two came here, you really only watched and didn't chat, right? There was no affectionate chat about everyday things."

Nanny Song frowned and looked at him with white eyes.

No words were spoken, but everything was left unsaid.

The old musician smiled:

"Well, even if this is really the case, you two can't just pretend. Don't be too hard, try something soft. I've always been soft and not hard, so why are you so... so dry?

?

"Hey, you, Si Tianjian, are still the same as before. You are really impersonal. I tell you, it's a good thing you met me. If it were anyone else, something would happen sooner or later..."

The old musician thought for a while and took a bite of rice from time to time.

Finally someone spoke, and the meal became more delicious.
To be continued...