Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Cats and Snowy Days Your Ex...

"In the saint's treasure house, are there any treasures that are bright, warm, and have a faint fragrance?" Duan Zhiwei brought a bowl of mutton noodle soup and placed it in front of Yuan Shenji.

Yuan Shenji once went into the Treasure Pavilion with the Minister of Revenue. All the rare treasures in the world were collected by the emperor. He thought about it for a while and felt that something was wrong: "Even if there are, I can't steal them."

Duan Zhiwei sighed: "That's true."

There was a burst of silver bell-like laughter coming from the backyard. The snowman made it snow in some parts of the yard. Several children were having a snowball fight with the cat and were having a lot of fun.

A luxurious carriage stopped at the door, and a well-dressed maid got out of the carriage and walked into the restaurant: "Madam Duan, do you still have shaved ice today?"

Duan Zhiwei was talking to Yuan Shenji, and when he saw the guest, he hurried over to greet him: "Yes, wait a moment."

She walked into the backyard. The snowman stretched out his two short arms to the sky. Snowflakes fell slowly from the roof of the yard. Several children were cheering nearby and the Jinhua cat was rolling in the snow.

"Stop playing, a customer asked for shaved ice."

The people and the cat stopped playing. The snowman closed his eyes seriously and rubbed his hands. A burst of snowflakes fell accurately into the bowl. Duan Zhiwei took the bowl away: "Thank you."

The shaved ice made here is surprisingly popular with diners, especially dignitaries. Even though their homes are too hot from the heating, they all crave the shaved ice from Duan's Restaurant.

The method is not complicated. Use syrup or buttermilk as the base, pour freshly cooked hawthorn sauce on it, and then add a spoonful of red beans.

The maid smiled and said to Duan Zhiwei: "The fire in the house is strong, and my wife is craving for this ice cream."

She took the food box and got on the carriage. The snowman stuck his head out of the window and quietly waved at the carriage: "Thank you for your patronage."

The hand-kneaded shaved ice was very popular, and it felt very happy that it had been put to good use.

Wu Langjun from the butcher shop also came to buy shaved ice. His wife is about to give birth and has been very irritable lately. Duan Zhiwei deliberately added more milk and less ice: "She is pregnant, she can't eat too much."

The young master of the Wu family was a big and strong man, but he spoke in a gentle voice: "I know, just give her a bite."

The Wu couple was a well-known loving couple in Xuanyangfang. After many years of marriage, they finally had a child. They even came to Duan Zhiwei specifically to order the sour and bitter candied fruit.

Aunt Duan said, "I see your wife is pregnant, maybe it's a girl."

"Greetings, girl, hello." Wu Langjun narrowed his eyes and smiled: "If I give birth to a girl who looks like my wife, she will definitely be a great beauty!"

"I'm leaving first. I still have to get the rocking cradle from the carpenter." He bowed to the two of them while holding the food box, and then left happily. His back was dancing with joy.

Aunt Duan also smiled: "I've been looking forward to this child for so long, I must be so happy."

The snowman poked its big head out of the window again, blinking its eyes as it looked at Wu Langjun who was walking away. It suddenly felt a little envious, but didn't know why. It could only shake its head and go back to the backyard.

【“Money-losing stuff!”

The girl was slapped hard by the man and fell to the ground. She cried and said, "Aye, please, I won't marry!"

The man said angrily, "You have to marry me even if you don't want to. Go to the Wang family and be a concubine. That's a huge fortune. I'll personally take you to Chang'an in two days. You can consider it as repaying your parents' kindness!"

A brand new copper lock was installed on the dilapidated woodshed. The bolt clicked and the man left.

Snowball scratched the door from outside, and his claws became blunt, leaving several white marks on the wooden door.

The girl was crying inside the door. She curled up into a ball, so small, like an apricot blossom trampled in the mud. 】

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the wintersweets in Da Ci'en Temple were in full bloom. There were activities such as chanting sutras, praying for blessings, and distributing porridge. In the afternoon, Xuanzang's disciples gave a lecture, reportedly telling the story of the day when Sakyamuni became a Buddha.

Duan Zhiwei sold Laba porridge for half a day, and as soon as he closed the door, people with their families also went there.

The lion dance team at the gate of Da Ci'en Temple started the show. The golden and red lion leaped up and down to the beat of the drums, and sparks came out of the lion's mouth. The people who came to burn incense formed a circle around the lion dance team and applauded.

The Jinhua cat looked up at the snowman and said, "Perhaps Ci'en Temple has what we want. Let's go in and take a look."

The Buddha sits in lotus position, looking at the world with loving eyes. The incense offered to the Buddha is warm, bright, and has a faint fragrance, but it is not it either.

The snowman stared at the Buddha for a while, then followed the Jinhua cat.

Duan Zhiwei followed Yuan Shenji into the temple. He had greeted the temple in advance. The two of them walked all the way to the Sutra Library. The faint fragrance of wintersweet blew through the cold, and Master Wuchen was sweeping the snow off the steps.

Duan Zhiwei put her hands together and greeted him. Facing this eminent monk, she spoke in a very literary way:

"Master, if a monster is persistently looking for something, but it can't remember what it is, how do you solve this problem?"

"It is said to be something with a faint fragrance, bright and warm." Duan Zhiwei added.

Master Wu Chen did not raise his head, but simply put his hands together to greet the two people: "The boat that was lost in the previous life has become a bridge in this life. You walk across the bridge every day, so why bother looking for it again?"

Do monsters have past lives? Duan Zhiwei was confused by what he said and could only look at each other with Yuan Shenji.

In the end, the snowman didn’t find what he was looking for at the Da Ci’en Temple. After listening to a secular lecture, they burned incense and went home at dusk.

The flame in the stove had not yet completely gone out. Duan Zhiwei had soaked black fungus, day lily and shiitake mushrooms in advance. The mushroom water could enhance the flavor, so he kept it for cooking vegetarian noodles.

The winter bamboo shoots were being cut on the table with a thumping sound, and the fried gluten was rolling in the frying pan with a sizzling sound.

A Pan brought over a large bowl and poured soy sauce, pepper, salt and sesame oil on it. Duan Zhiwei poured the noodle soup with the fresh aroma of mushrooms into the bowl and covered it with vegetarian toppings.

The noodle soup tastes sweet and fresh, the toppings are fragrant, the fried gluten is crispy, and the colorful mushrooms are delicious. Duan Zhiwei generously added pepper, so it is a little spicy, and one bite will warm your whole body. It is very suitable for those who have just returned from Da Ci'en Temple and have cold hands and feet.

She scooped out another portion of noodles from the ice and made a cold noodle dish.

The snowman was leaning his big head outside the window, looking inside eagerly. Everyone else was already eating from their large bowls. Duan Zhiwei finally finished making the cold noodles and placed them in front of the snowman.

Its two tile eyes narrowed into a smile, and it opened its mouth wide to swallow the noodles, then rubbed its bulging belly and said, "It smells so good."

Everyone laughed.

The Spring Festival was approaching, and the streets were full of vendors selling firecrackers. During the New Year's Day, Yuan Shenji also bought a lot, and the restaurants still had stock.

So the snowman and a few children started setting off firecrackers in the yard.

The little wolf was the bravest. He lit the largest firecracker at once, and the fireworks rushed into the indigo sky with a "boom".

The snowman was startled and turned to run away, but he bumped into the trunk of the osmanthus tree. The Jinhua cat and the guava wanted to help him, but he waved his hands to stop them.

It was dizzy for a while, then it stood up by itself, holding on to the tree trunk, and straightened its crooked carrot nose.

Duan Zhiwei sat in his room reading a storybook, looking out the window from time to time, and then said to Yuan Shenji:

"I don't know where this Dugu has gone. I think he should stop being the demon-catching commander. It would be a good idea for him to be an envoy to the Western Regions. He has experience traveling around and can exorcise demons along the way."

She still couldn't let go of the "past life and present life" theory. She felt it was ridiculous, but she couldn't help but believe the monk's judgment. So on her way home, she took a detour to the Monster Catching Bureau.

As a result, Dugu was not there and no one else knew where he had gone.

Yuan Shenji was also leaning on the side reading a book, and without raising his head, he comforted her: "The monk said that what we are looking for is the bridge, there is no need to look for it specifically. One day when you pass by the bridge and look down, hey~ you will find it."

Duan Zhiwei was so angry that he laughed and kicked him.

Yuan Shenji put down the book, leaned over and kissed her forehead. Tonight it was his turn to be on duty at Zhuque Street, and he was about to leave.

Dugu, who was teased by Duan Zhiwei, was standing not far from the restaurant at this moment, together with Jiuyuan of the Jinhua clan.

He put his hands behind his back: "How are the preparations going."

Jiu Yuan stretched his muscles and said, "That's about it. If it weren't for my stupid brother, I wouldn't have come to Chang'an."

The snowman and the Jinhua cat squatted together and set off firework sticks. Beautiful and dazzling gold powder sprayed out from the sticks, illuminating everyone's smiling faces.

Perhaps because the weather was warm, transparent water marks slowly seeped out from behind the snowman.

Jiu Yuan said: "I went to the Si Tian Tai to ask, and tomorrow will be a sunny day, warmer than spring. If we don't take action now, we will have no chance."

Dugu nodded, and then reached out to stop them: "Wait for those two kids to go in."

"Don't scare the civilians," he added.

Jiu Yuan sneered disdainfully: "You are kind to the human race..."

A few people were having fun in the backyard. The two children were yawning and were pushed back to the room by Aunt Duan. The snowman went to the warehouse with the doors and windows wide open and sat on the wooden bed. The temperature in the room dropped instantly. He tilted his head to look at the Jinhua cat: "Do you still want to live with me? It's very cold here."

The Jinhua cat slowly lay down on its cat bed: "I have thick fur, I am not afraid of the cold." It just wanted to stay with the snowman as long as possible, although it itself didn't know why.

The snowman wiped his eyes, and the round eyes made of tiles glowed wetly in the night.

The man and the cat were just about to lie down to rest when they heard footsteps approaching from outside.

They heard the roar of wild beasts.

Something came over the wall of the restaurant. The black mist was as thick as ink, surging and condensing into the shape of an animal, like a tiger in Mount Zhongnan or a lion presented as tribute by the Arab Empire.

The beast's two scarlet eyes were embedded in the black mist, like blood-soaked knives.

It's a monster!

The ferocious beast quickly pounced on the Jinhua cat, and the Jinhua cat jumped onto the roof. The snowman was heavy and slid a few times, then quickly climbed over the courtyard wall.

The beast was so fierce and powerful. Yuan Shenji was not at home. The room was full of old, weak, women and children. The Jinhua cat said to the beast, "Ugly monster, come and chase me!"

Then it turned around and ran away into the night. The snowman followed closely in its footsteps. The ferocious beast seemed to be angered and chased it all the way.

Ran all the way to Qujiang.

The ferocious beasts were roaring at them, and the entire ice layer of Qujiang was shaking.

The Jinhua cat stood on the ice, protecting the snowman. As a fellow animal, its hair stood upright and its back was arched high to form an iron arc.

The tips of its ears kept trembling, and it made a low "wooo" sound towards the beast.

But the Jinhua cat is really tiny in front of this huge and ferocious beast.

The snowman stood behind it, raised his arms, and shot many sharp icicles at the beast, which immediately turned into invisible smoke.

"It's useless." The beast uttered a desperate muttering, and then ran towards Jinhua cat. The snowman rushed forward to protect Jinhua, and the beast scratched off one of its arms with one claw.

An arm made of snow, which might have been made by a cat in Jinhua or by someone else, rolled several times on the surface of Qujiang River and then fell into the water.

"No!" The Jinhua cat's eyes were red with anger. It broke free from its protection, pounced on the ferocious beast and started biting it.

The ferocious beast screamed loudly, then threw it down with one palm, and it hit the ice heavily.

The Jinhua cat fell unconscious, and spider web patterns began to appear on the ice beneath it. As the ice sank, the Jinhua cat disappeared on the Qujiang Lake.

"No!"

The snowman rushed to the ice hole and jumped in without hesitation.

In the deep river, the Jinhua cat was sleeping and sinking. The snowman had only one hand left, so he swam over with difficulty to pick it up, and then floated up holding it.

It saw the dead branches of a tree by the water.

It was the branch of an old apricot tree, stubbornly stretching out above the ice.

The snowman no longer had hands to reach the apricot branch, so he had to swim over and bite the life-saving branch with his mouth.

The moment it touched the branch, the entire withered apricot tree began to glow. At first, there were only a few small flower buds hidden among the gray-brown branches.

The snowman carried the Jinhua cat upstream, and the tree shone brighter, as if at the command of the Green Emperor. In the blink of an eye, the petals spread out layer by layer.

One, two...countless apricot blossoms bloomed in the light, like clouds and rosy clouds, and the pink and white petals fell from the trees to every corner of Qujiang.

The apricot blossoms emit a faint floral fragrance, bright and warm.

The snowman stared at the apricot blossoms for a while.

[The girl was tied up and put on the carriage: "Aye, please, at least let Snowball go with me."

She clung to the car window and cried.

The man was impatient: "You are going to be a concubine, not a mistress. What's the point of bringing a cat with you?"

She was still crying and begging, but the man slapped her impatiently: "If you keep crying, I'll throw your broken cat into the well when I get back."

The girl stopped crying, and her clear eyes were stained with bloody hatred. 】

The snowman remembered everything.

She was looking for something with a light floral scent, bright and warm.

Is it apricot blossom? Apricot blossoms that only bloom in warm air, with bright pink branches all over the tree and a faint floral fragrance?

No, what I have been looking for is you, the warm body temperature when I hug you, the bright eyes when we smile at each other, and the faint fragrance coming from you.

The light from the almond tree shone on the snowman, and her body began to melt. As snowflakes fell, the light of the apricot tree became brighter.

The snowman completely melted in the light, but was reshaped in the light again.

A young girl walked out from the light, with a half-opened apricot flower pinned on her hair. She was wearing an apricot-colored skirt that looked like gauze, with dark patterns like snow flowing on it.

Her eyes were so gentle. She raised her hand to stroke the head of the still sleeping Jinhua cat, and then put the woven apricot blossom wreath on its head.

The light from the wreath gently enveloped the Jinhua cat, and its fur, which had been wet by the river water, quickly became soft and dry.

My wish is to find you, who depended on me in my previous life, and then say "goodbye" to you properly.

The girl's face was filled with sadness of meeting again after a long separation. She bent down and kissed the Jinhua cat on the forehead: "Goodbye, Snowball, have a good dream."

Her figure gradually dissipated and broke into thousands of pink apricot petals.

Dugu, who was far away, quickly took out the treasure box, and all the apricot blossoms that were scattered everywhere poured into the box.

The fierce beast beside him turned back into Jiuyuan's appearance: "Alright, I will cooperate with you to collect these wandering undead spirits. As promised, you have to help Shigou erase this memory."

"You are such a cruel sister. What if Snowball, oh no, it's Shigou who wants to keep this memory?"

"I don't care about that." Dugu Jiuyuan sighed, "I just don't want it to get hurt. And you have to erase all the memories of the people in the restaurant who are related to the snowman."

"As expected of the cold-blooded Jinhua family." Dugu Luling smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I promise you, but I have to go to the Lord of Mount Tai first. The dead souls wandering in the human world should have returned long ago."

He shook the box in his hand and said, "She had a very miserable life in her previous life. This time, we need to find a good family for her to be reborn into."

[Snowball squatted by the West Lake for most of the day and finally stole a crucian carp from a dozing fisherman.

It happily ran back with the fish in its mouth, and now both its owner and itself could have a good meal.

The dilapidated tile house was now empty.

Snowball picked up the fish and walked around in a daze. Aunt Wu, the neighbor, came over with a small dish of cat food to feed it: "Your master has taken a boat to Chang'an to live a good life!"

Snowball ran to the dock. There were only tank ships sailing away on the river. Where was his owner?

…

"I heard there's a mad cat in Lin'an City that loves to crawl under the feet of pretty girls."

The first time Dugu Jiuyuan followed Aye to Lin'an, he was very angry when he heard the rumor: "He crawled under the feet of a beautiful girl? This is really embarrassing for our cat family. Look, I will teach him a lesson."

Jiuyuan took his father along the way to ask questions, and soon they arrived at the dilapidated tile house.

Snowball lay beside the apricot tree, dying.

Aunt Wu next door sighed and said to Jiuyuan, "Poor Snowball, its owner was going to marry in Chang'an, but something went wrong on the boat and it sank directly into the Grand Canal, and it can never come back."

"Snowball didn't mean to get under a girl's skirt. He just wanted to find his master. Yesterday, he happened to get on the skirt of the governor's wife. The wife was afraid of cats and screamed in fear. Snowball was whipped by the guards and thrown to the side of the road. He was covered in blood. He came back and lay under the apricot tree. I guess he won't live long. How pitiful."

After Aunt Wu finished talking with Jiu Yuan, she sighed and went back to her room.

Snowball lay in the mud like a ball of wool discarded by someone. The night dew had formed on his wounds and turned them into pus. He wanted to raise his head to lick them, but he had no strength left. He could only lean his head on his front paws and stare at the apricot branches.

Jiu Yuan was already in tears. She tugged at the corner of her father's clothes and said, "Father, please, you can save it, right?"

The head of the Jinhua clan stood aside, totally unable to bear the crying face of his most favored youngest daughter.

"Take it home and I'll find a way." said the master.

Jiu Yuan finally burst into laughter: "Thank you, father."

She bent down and hugged Snowball: "Let's go home, Snowball."

"No, it's going to be reborn soon. We can't call it Snowball anymore."

"What is it called? Freshman?"

Jiu Yuan was very disgusted: "Father, you are really uneducated..."

She thought for a moment and said, "The dog at home just gave birth to nine little dogs. Why not call it Ten Dogs? A humble name will make it easier to raise the dog..."

The master held his forehead and said, "You are not as good as me."

"I don't care. I'm going to call the Ten Dogs."

"Okay, okay, let's call them Ten Dogs."]

When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, Jinhua woke up.

It looked at Qujiang River in confusion, and then stroked the apricot blossom wreath on its head.

"Why am I here?"

"Never mind, let's go home first." It ran towards Duan's restaurant.

The weather is sunny today. Hot mist is rising from the Hu Bing stall. The wintersweets by the river are emitting a faint fragrance. Even the remaining snow on the eaves is given a layer of gold by the bright sun.

At the time of Si, the sun rose completely and even the air became thick. The whole Chang'an was shrouded in this gentle light and shadow.

Jinhua Cat finally ran back to the restaurant, where he was scolded by Pu Tao: "Where have you been? You made me so worried!"

Jinhua Cat stammered: "I was lying down at home sleeping, and I don't know how I woke up by the Qujiang River!"

Putao put his hands on his waist, squinted his eyes and looked at it for a while, then turned around to complain: "Madam, look at Jinhua, he must have drunk Tusu wine secretly and is talking nonsense here."

Duan Zhiwei didn't have time to pay attention to them, so he just hurried to help Aunt Duan pack her things.

"What's wrong?" asked Jinhua Cat.

Aunt Duan said worriedly, "Oh my, the wife of the Wu family, who owns the street meat shop, is about to give birth. I heard she went into labor in the middle of the night, and she hasn't given birth yet. The husband of the Wu family has gone crazy and is running around the street!"

She packed her things and went out: "I delivered babies when I was young. I'll go over and take a look!"

Duan Zhiwei saw her off and said, "I'll go with you. It's faster to go by donkey cart than to walk."

Pu Tao was bored in the restaurant, so he took his Jinhua cat out to play. It was really hot today, and many flowers in Chang'an bloomed as if spring had come.

Pu Tao was holding Jinhua Cat under the apricot tree, waiting for Zhu Niang. A warm breeze blew by, and petals fluttered down. "Look, Jinhua, it's not even February yet, and the apricot flowers are already blooming."

It looked up and saw a petal happened to fall on the cat's nose.

Like a gentle kiss that is a hundred years late.