The next morning, Yan Fang woke up from his sleep in a daze, with a splitting headache and a dry tongue, he struggled in bed for a while before he finally got up, got up and went to the kitchen to find water to drink, drank three bowls in a row, and his throat, which had been thirsty all night, was finally moist, and he took two steamed buns from the kitchen to fill his stomach and began to pack his luggage.

Yuezhou and Luoyang are thousands of miles apart, starting from Yuezhou, day and night, it will take more than half a month to get to Luoyang, if there are twists and turns on the road, there will be some delay. And after January, it is the day when Fuhu Mountain, the first sect of Great Chu, recruits new disciples once every three years, and the time is a little tight, for the sake of insurance, Yan Fang decided to set off today.

Yan Fang has lived in Cuiming Building for 16 years, eating and living here, but there are not many things, only one is "Guanshan Miscellaneous Conversations", one "Canghe Heart Sutra", a recipe, a few clothes, a folding fan and two bells. The recipe was written by the old man Zhao, the folding fan was bought by the lame Zhao Si who spent ten yuan to set up a stall at the east gate, and the bell was given by a Taoist priest who set up a stall when he visited the temple fair last year. There is nothing else but that.

Yan Fang put the packed package in a corner and entered the kitchen, where Li Dafa was peeling taro.

"Senior brother. ”

"What's the matter, junior brother. ”

"I... I'm here to say goodbye to you. ”

"The master told me last night. ”

...

The sound of the taro scalp rubbing against the metal suddenly disappeared.

The air around it seemed to freeze.

...

moment

"Senior brother. Li Dafa opened his mouth to break the silence.

"Hmm, brother, you say. ”

"This time I went to Luoyang, don't come back if I don't mix it up. Li Dafa grinned, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth.

Yan Fang froze, and it took a while to come to his senses, looking at Li Dafa's white and honest face, his eyes were a little red, except for Old Man Zhao, Yan Fang's closest person in this world was the senior brother in front of him, who was only two years older than him but always took care of himself.

He replied heavily: "Okay." ”

It's just that he added a sentence later, "Senior brother, wait for me to come back as a big official, and introduce you to a watery Luoyang daughter-in-law!"

Li Dafa laughed and replied, "Okay, I'll wait." ”

This joke dilutes the sad atmosphere of parting a lot. The conversation between the two returned to its usual nature.

"Senior brother, how many taro are left unshaven. ”

"There are a dozen or so more. ”

"I'll cut the rest, you go have some breakfast first. ”

"Okay. ”

...

After lunch, Yan Fang packed his luggage and prepared to set off, and greeted Aunt Liu, Miss Jiyue and others, who were familiar with each other in Cuiming Building.

Now everyone is standing at the door, bidding farewell to Yan Fang.

"Little Brother Yan, when you come back, remember to bring your sister's fat powder from Qiqiao Zhai. Luoyang Qiqiao Zhai's fat powder is the best in the world. ”

The girl Jiyue, who was dressed in a white dress and had a graceful body, said with a smile.

"Yan boy, come back with a few more girls in Luoyang. The breeze girl in a colorful skirt also joked on the side.

"Yan boy..."

"Brother Yan.."

...

Yan Fang and a group of sisters in Cuiming Lou got along well, and now they were leaving, and everyone expressed their concern for Yan Fang.

For Yan Fang, the old man Zhao, who was also a master and a father, squatted in the corner, smoking a dry cigarette and not saying a word. But the hand holding the cigarette gun trembled slightly, but it hinted at the old man's inner peace.

Yan Fang bowed deeply to the old man, looking at the people in front of him who were familiar with each other but would not be able to see each other again for a long time in the future, and his heart was inexplicably heroic.

"Brothers and sisters, aunts and aunts, don't say goodbye, I will definitely come back in Luoyang as a mixed person!"

...

After leaving Cuiming Tower, Yan Fang did not go directly to the direction of the city gate, but took a detour to Liu Xiaomei's steamed bun shop first, it was noon, the steamed bun shop had already closed, and Daddy Liu was lying on the rattan chair in front of the door to take a nap, snoring like thunder.

Liu Xiaomei sat on the threshold, holding her pretty face with her little hands, looking at the passers-by coming and going on the street with big eyes, a little bored. Seeing Yan Fang's figure gradually approaching, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he stood up and shouted coquettishly: Little Brother Yan, come to buy steamed buns at noon!"

"I'm not here to buy buns, I'm here to quit. ”

"Resign, Brother Yan, are you going to go far away?" Liu Xiaomei noticed the gray package on Yan Fang's shoulder.

"Yes. Yan Fang replied softly.

"Where are you going?" asked the girl.

"Luoyang. ”

"Luoyang, it's thousands of miles away from Yuezhou, how long will it take?"

"Maybe three years, maybe five years, maybe ten years. Yan Fang scratched his head.

A trace of loss flashed on the girl's delicate face, but she immediately blessed: Brother Yan, be careful on the road, go to Luoyang and come back with a personal appearance. ”

Yan Fang looked at the girl who was a little lost in front of him but tried to squeeze out a smile, his heart was mixed, he thought for a moment, took out two bells from the package, and handed one of them to Liu Xiaomei.

"I don't have anything good, this bell is for you, one for each of us, which is a testimony of our friendship. ”

"Poof"

Looking at the young man with a serious expression in front of her, Liu Xiaomei couldn't help but smile.

"Whoever asks for your broken bell can buy a string of silver. But although he said this, his hand was very honest, and he took the bell from Yan Fang's hand.

Yan Fang looked at the girl in front of him with different hearts, and couldn't help but tease: "It's worthless, why are you still taking it so quickly?"

"Although it's worthless, you gave it to me, so I can't help but accept it. The girl's face was slightly red, and she argued forcefully.

"Okay, okay, grandma, you're right. Yan Fang couldn't laugh or cry.

"Then I'm leaving. ”

"Hmm. ”

...

"Wait a minute. ”

Hearing the shouts of the girl behind him, Yan Fang, who had just walked a few steps, stopped.

"Is there anything else?"

"No... It's okay, you go. The girl's face was slightly red, and she waved her hand to urge.

...

Yan Fang just walked to the grocery store in front.

"Wait a minute. ”

"Huh?"

"It's okay, you can go. ”

...

"Wait...?"

"Xiaolian, is there anything else you want to tell me? ”

This time, before Liu Xiaomei's "wait a while" was finished, Yan Fang turned around and asked seriously.

The girl's whole pretty face was already red, like a pink peach.

"I... I also have something for you. The girl stammered a little, and while speaking, she hurriedly untied the jade pendant around her neck and handed it to Yan Fang, a delicate small bun carved from white jade.

"Isn't this a birthday present from Daddy Liu on your tenth birthday? Yan Fang hurriedly refused.

"Accept it, I must return the gift if you give me a bell. ”

"It's not the same..."Looking at the stubborn girl in front of him, Yan Fang sighed helplessly and said back to the next half of the sentence.

"Okay then, I'll always have the jade pendant with me. Yan Fang finally took the jade pendant from the girl's hand, and the jade pendant was a little warm, which was the girl's residual body temperature.

"Xiaolian, you and Daddy Liu have to take care, when I come back to see you, I'll leave. Yan Fang spoke with difficulty.

The "good" girl's eyes were already slightly red.

Yan Fang took one last look at the girl in front of him and turned to leave.

...

This time, Liu Xiaomei didn't speak again, and Yan Fang didn't look back.

Yan Fang's back gradually turned into a black dot, and finally disappeared at the end of the street.

Liu Xiaomei couldn't control her emotions anymore, and tears came out of her eyes.

"Tick"

The crystal dew drops on the bell held by the girl, making a crisp sound, as if it is a natural sound from another world.

....

Yan Fang left Yuezhou City from the North City Gate, preparing to rush to Cangnan County in Qinghe County before dark. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the pier in Qinghe County to take a boat.

Cangnan County is not far from Yuezhou City, from the north gate of Yuezhou City to the north for more than 20 miles to see the foot of Cangnan Mountain, you can see Cangnan County after Cangnan Mountain.

Yan Fang has the cultivation of the fifth layer of condensation, and he is a young man, and his foot strength is good, and he walked to the foot of Cangnan Mountain in less than an hour.

Compared with the Baiyun Mountain in the west of the city, the Cangnan Mountain in the north of the city is much more desolate, there is no Taoist temple with strong incense, the mountain road is also much more rugged, there is only a small road opened up by the travelers who have passed by for hundreds of years, if you go all the way down the path, you can safely reach the other side of the mountain, but if you accidentally go off the road and strayed into the surrounding old forest, then it is more auspicious and less, not only is it difficult to find the exit, you may also meet the bandits. Cangnan Mountain is inaccessible, and there have been strong people here for hundreds of years.

Yan Fang stepped on the fallen leaves, followed the path all the way up the mountain, walked for about an hour, just climbed to the mountainside, there was a fork in the road in front of him, the mountain road on the left looked slightly more wide, and the right side seemed a little rugged, Yan Fang hesitated for a moment and decided to take the mountain road on the left. At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps behind him.

...