Chapter 12 Zhuangzi's Dream (Part 12) This Rebellious Son!
After finishing the paper, he wrote the three characters "Nie Fengxi" in a crooked and messy manner at the bottom of the page.
Song San lowered his eyes and pondered: "My uncle has lost his left arm. If he doesn't use a paperweight when writing, it will be difficult for him to write neatly. He must have left in a hurry and didn't have time to think about it."
It must be just as the letter said, fearing that his days were numbered, he might as well take a gamble and fight for his own survival.
Although this method is not reliable, it is the best solution that Uncle Nie can think of.
“The Murong family of Nancheng…” Gu Lianzhou lightly twirled the corner of the paper, his brows furrowing slightly, “That place is a den of tigers and wolves. My master is in poor health; how can he withstand the competition?”
Just as Song San was about to offer some words of comfort, he saw the man hastily stuff the letter into his sleeve and rush back.
"Hey," she hurried after him, "where are you going?"
Gu Lianzhou had already plunged halfway into the secret passage. Hearing this, he paused for a moment, then turned around with difficulty and replied, "I can't bear to leave Master alone. I'll go prepare a carriage and go find him."
"And then?" Song San raised an eyebrow and asked, "After finding them, did you bring them back to Warm Spring Pavilion?"
But Gu Lianzhou shook his head and said firmly, "I want to go with Master. It's freezing cold, and I'll be able to look after him on the way."
These words sound sincere and must have come from the bottom of their hearts.
Unexpectedly, this person had the heart of a child, preferring to risk going to the South City rather than return to his gold and silver den.
Song San felt a surge of warmth in his heart and immediately nodded in agreement, "Let's go."
-
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
The first insurmountable obstacle standing in Gu Lianzhou's way was the head of the Gu family.
"Zhou Ge'er only went out this morning, and when he came back he started packing his valuables and ordered his servants to prepare a carriage, as if he was about to embark on a long journey. It seems that the evil spirits have not been completely cleared away and he has suffered another bout of madness."
The third concubine of the Gu family clutched her handkerchief, heartbroken and full of embellishments, which alarmed Master Gu, who was painting at the time.
The plum blossom branch, its strokes abruptly halting, was instantly stained with ink. "A long journey? Where is he going?"
The third concubine, her brows furrowed with calculation, shook her head and said, "I don't know. I'm afraid she'll have to leave the Gu family and go far away!"
That unfilial son!
Master Gu could no longer sit still. He led a group of servants to block the people at the door. The sheer scale of their presence was so great that anyone unaware of the situation might have thought that thieves had broken into the Gu family.
After several questionings, seeing that his son remained silent and seemed determined, Master Gu believed his third concubine's words and immediately ordered her to be locked in the room. He also ordered people to guard her closely and not allow Gu Lianzhou to step out of the room.
Song San, who had watched the whole thing from behind a tree, felt a pang of sympathy for Young Master Gu. Then, she tightened her pack on her shoulder and turned to walk away.
With Uncle Nie not at Nuanchun Pavilion, she had no reason to stay any longer. She had originally planned to take advantage of Gu Lianzhou's influence to leave Huaidu, but it turned out that he himself was in dire straits and was unreliable.
Now she has no choice but to start a new plan.
After bidding farewell to Gu Shaoyang, Song San exchanged his hundred taels of silver for easily portable silver notes, and carrying a box of gold beans and bamboo leaf cakes, swaggered into the carriage shop.
Around noon, a carriage slowly drove out of the city gate and headed south.
-
The snow on the road was baked by the sun a few days ago, melting into ice water, and then frozen by the cold wind, making the road difficult to walk on. If you are not careful, the horse's hooves will slip.
Song San gripped the reins tightly and carefully urged the horse forward. When hungry, he ate some flatbread; when thirsty, he drank snow water; when sleepy, he would curl up in the carriage for a short rest, and then continue on his journey when he woke up.
Despite carrying gold and silver, Song San lived a life of hardship, sleeping in the open until he was left with only half a cake.
She looked at the post station not far away, touched her flat stomach, and felt a burning hunger rising from her stomach, almost forcing acid up her throat.
She thought to herself, "I'm hungry. I should have some biscuits."
After driving the carriage to the post station, Song San picked up his luggage, jumped off the carriage, and walked towards the stable by the reins.
"Feed them some of the best hay." A piece of silver flew through the air and was caught steadily by the groom.
The short, small-eyed man immediately smiled at Song San and said politely, "Thank you, sir."
After settling the horses in, Song San lazily walked inside. This post station, located in the wilderness, was not large in area, much like an ordinary inn. Because the end of the year was approaching and travelers were returning home, there were quite a few people who came to rest.
Pushing open the door, a wave of steam immediately hit him. Song San squinted, smelling the warm aroma of food in the air, and his stomach rumbled appropriately.
"Please come in, sir." The waiter came forward and warmly led the person into the inner room. "What would you like to eat, sir?"
Song San pointed to the table next door, where white steam was rising, and asked, "What's that pot?"
The waiter glanced back and smiled, "Sir, that's our restaurant's signature dish, a mixed vegetable hot pot. It's wonderful to have such a hot pot on a winter's day, along with a few cornbread buns."
Upon hearing this, Song San's cravings were immediately whetted, and he promptly replied, "I'll do as you say."
"Yes." The waiter took out a burlap towel from his shoulder, quickly wiped the table clean, poured Song San a cup of hot tea, and then happily left.
A moment later, a heavy iron pot was brought out. The waiter set out the bowls and chopsticks and joked, "Sir, please eat to your heart's content. Everyone who enters our shop comes in with a flat belly and leaves with a round belly. If you're still hungry, just call me and I'll refill your pot."
Song San glanced at the waiter, then looked down at the iron pot the size of a washbasin. "You're too kind."
The mixed vegetable hot pot was delicious, and the cornbread was soft, sticky, and sweet. After finishing his meal, Song San called over the waiter, paid the bill, and then asked, "Do you sell bamboo leaf cakes?"
Upon hearing this, the waiter shook his head and said, "Sir, our shop has all kinds of steamed buns, white steamed buns, and egg pancakes, but we don't have the bamboo leaf pancakes you mentioned. It sounds like a novel thing, so it must be made from bamboo leaves, right? You see, there isn't even a bamboo grove around our shop, so even if we wanted to make it, we couldn't find the ingredients. I'm really sorry, sir."
It's so dry and windy; it's really hard for him to explain such a long string of words.
Song San took out a piece of silver and said, "Then I'll trouble you to prepare some steamed buns for me, so I can take them with me as provisions."
"Alright." After receiving the money, the waiter's heart warmed even more. He said with concern, "Sir, please don't blame me for being nosy, but I just noticed that the sky outside is gloomy and it's already snowing. If we leave our post station and head south, it will take at least two days to reach our destination. We'll inevitably suffer some hardship then. Why don't we stay here for now and wait for the snow to stop before continuing our journey?"
He must have said this to more than just her.
Song San glanced around the huge room and noticed that more people were coming in than coming out, and there weren't enough chairs and benches to sit on. Some people were even standing by the counter eating with their bowls in their hands.
If he hesitated even slightly at this critical juncture, there might not even be a room left. Song San decisively took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and said, "I want a private room."
Just as Song San had predicted, due to the snow, many people were stranded at the post station. It was a small place, and the available rooms quickly became scarce. In the end, there were only large communal beds with a few people per room.
After that, even finding a connecting shop became extremely difficult.
-
The heavy snow lasted for a whole day.
The already icy mountain road was covered with a layer of fresh, white snow, making it look quite desolate.
Song San lowered the window, hunched his shoulders, returned to the bedside, opened the bundle, and repacked it.
The inn was full of people of dubious origin, including some with ulterior motives who coveted other people's money. While eating hot pot, she noticed several eyes on her, but when she looked over, the discomfort she felt vanished without a trace.
Now that she has a lot of money, it's best for her to stay indoors to avoid trouble.
After stuffing the bundle into the side of the bed, Song San quickly washed up and, like a miser, covered himself with the quilt, hugged the bundle, and closed his eyes.
The room wasn't exactly warm, but it was much more comfortable than the carriage. Song San lay on the flat bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, lifted the window and slipped into the room through the cracks, scattering a light layer of white on the floor.
Song San shrank back in his sleep and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
As the wind and snow intensified, the howling wind, like the wailing of a ferocious beast, grew increasingly noisy.
Song San slowly opened his eyes, hesitating whether to get out of bed and close the window because he was afraid of the cold outside the blankets. When his gaze swept over the dark shadow next to him, his heart stopped for a moment.
Because of the reflection of the snow, the room was not very dark, even though no lights were on, and the basic furnishings were clearly visible. At this moment, a dark figure appeared between the bed and the square table.
Was it the thief who had been watching her during the day?
Or have the people who arrested her arrived?
wrong.
The shadowy figure seemed unusually tall...
An ordinary man is no more than seven feet tall, but this shadow was clearly almost touching the roof beam. Moreover, she had locked the door before going to bed, so there was no way to open it from the outside.
The thing that suddenly appeared in her room couldn't possibly be a person.
Realizing this, a chill ran from the soles of his feet to his head. Without thinking, Song San threw off the covers, jumped up, and threw the object at the monster's head with a hand seal.
The towering black shadow seemed frozen in place, not even flinching, looking down at the little figure jumping around in front of it.
Song San threw out seven or eight yellow talismans in a row, until a thin layer of sweat broke out on his back, but the dark figure remained unmoved.
It makes absolutely no sense...
Celestial magic can subdue demons and evil spirits, and judging from the current situation, this dark figure is neither human nor demon.
Seemingly waiting for Song San to calm down, the dark figure made a puzzled "hmm" sound, then bent its neck, hunched its back, and stretched out a huge black hand towards her.
Song San immediately backed away, looking at the other party warily.
But then the dark figure slowly opened its hand, revealing fine, snow-white fragments underneath.
Is this... snow?
Song San opened his eyes wide and saw a handful of white snow lying on the monster's pitch-black hand.
The shadow sneaked into her room in the middle of the night, just to give her a handful of snow?
She glanced at his palm, then looked up at the shadowy figure's "face." Although she couldn't see his features, she inexplicably felt a strong sense of anticipation.
The dark figure seemed eagerly anticipating her receiving its "gift".
As if guided by some unseen force, Song San reached out and grabbed the handful of snow. His fingertips touched the dark figure's icy skin, and he roughly knew the answer in his heart.
This dark figure was pure and kind, behaving with the innocence of a child; it must be a spirit born of nature.
I just don't know why it grew so tall; perhaps it was so it could carry the snow with it more easily...
Seeing the little figure accept his gift, the shadowy figure was overjoyed. He raised his hand and sprinkled more snow into Song San's palm until Song San, unable to bear the weight, trembled and said, "That's enough, that's too much, it's too cold..."
Upon hearing this, the dark figure finally stopped, and then, under Song San's gaze, ran "thump thump thump" all the way to the half-open window, and jumped down from the window.
Unable to withstand the elf's "enthusiasm," Song San was shivering from the cold of the snow in his arms. He took stiff steps and put all the snow on the table.
After a while, a man's shrill scream suddenly rang out from downstairs.
"A ghost! I've seen a ghost!"
Then came a loud clanging and banging sound, it was unclear whether it was people who were frightened and ran away, or elves who were startled.
Downstairs, it was a complete mess.
Hearing the commotion around him, Song San was no longer sleepy and was fully awake.
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