Chapter 697 The Living God of Wealth
Master Han and Lord Zhao secretly escorted them all the way.
Watching that slender yet stubborn figure ride a chestnut horse, passing through city after city, over mountains after mountains, the journey became increasingly desolate, yet he was getting closer and closer to home.
She managed to shorten the journey, which was originally scheduled for twenty-five days, to twenty days.
When we left, the mountains were shrouded in rain; when we returned, the mountains were covered in flowers.
The buckwheat flowers in my hometown are in bloom, a vast expanse of pink and white, like a smooth floral cloth spread across the mountains and fields.
You can smell the sweet fragrance of flowers from afar, and you can hear the buzzing of bees when you get closer; it's estimated that the whole swarm of bees has come.
Buckwheat flowers are a favorite of bees, producing abundant nectar, and they are also the last crop to bloom in large areas.
Beekeepers move their beehives to the mountaintop and live in tents with their dogs and poultry. Many of them are couples, and they stay there for more than three months at a time.
In recent years, she has learned that there are not many places where buckwheat is grown. The farmers in Zhuanglang County are particularly hardworking because their land is the steepest and driest, so they can grow crops in three seasons. Buckwheat will definitely have a bumper harvest if there is autumn rain.
Song Chunxue took a detour, following a path she had never taken before, from north to south, heading straight for Lijiazhuangzi along the mountain road.
On a dark evening, she passed by her fourth sister's and second brother's house. Instead of disturbing them, she met Ah Lai, who was meditating on the mountain.
Alai jumped down from the apricot tree that had no apricots and happily called out, "Fifth Aunt?"
Because she was closer to home, she wanted to slowly savor everything familiar. Leading her horse along the mountain path, she heard only the occasional hooting of owls around her.
Suddenly hearing voices, Song Chunxue was startled.
Seeing the figure running down the hillside, Song Chunxue, who had been silent all the way, finally smiled.
"Ah Lai, what are you doing here?"
She led the chestnut horse, a cotton cloth loosely wrapped around her head to shield her from the cool evening breeze.
When her lips cracked open, they felt tight from dryness, and she longed to go back and drink a bowl of rice gruel.
But there was nothing in that abandoned old courtyard, and she didn't want to go to the old man's house.
"I like to meditate in the mountains; it feels more comfortable and relaxing. Aunt, why are you leading the horse alone so late?"
He didn't ask Song Chunxue why she didn't stop when she passed by his house. Instead, he pointed to the crooked old apricot tree in the distance and said, "Let's sit there for a while. I brought some wine that my mother made. Would you like to try some?"
“Okay,” Song Chunxue smiled, feeling a sudden warmth in her heart that had been calm for many days. “I just bought a roast chicken on Dagou Street. I’ve wanted to eat it several times, but I didn’t want to delay my journey, so I’ve been holding back. Luckily, I met you.”
She had been walking for most of the day, and her legs were very sore. She sat down in the crooked branch of a tree and sighed comfortably, "Oh, this tree is so nice. It's like a chair with a backrest. No wonder you like to meditate here."
"Yes, these two trees are older than my aunt. They were this thick when I was a child. They haven't grown much in all these years, but the apricots on the trees still taste the same. This year, I picked them all, removed the pits, dried the apricot skins, and sold them for a hundred coins."
Ah Lai stomped his feet happily, "My mother made me a new pair of shoes after buying new cloth, and I'm already wearing them."
Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh along with him, and looking at the shoes on his feet, she sincerely said, "Fourth Sister is still so diligent, but the shoes you make don't have toes, won't they fall off?"
"It won't slip off, it fits perfectly." A-Lai looked at Song Chunxue, "Why does Auntie look unhappy? She seems to have something on her mind."
"Really?" She smiled, raising her hand to touch her face. "I feel very happy. It's true what they say, the closer you get to home, the more timid you become. I've been traveling for 21 days, so I should have lost some weight."
"No, Auntie is very sad, I can tell."
Alai handed her the gourd of wine, saying, "Auntie, drink first. I won't ask if you don't say anything. After all, this is a good thing. I can tell that you're carrying something very important, which makes you seem very mysterious. This means that you have gained something very precious in the world, something that ordinary people can't get in their entire lives."
Because of those words, Song Chunxue felt incredibly bitter.
“Our Alai has grown up. He’s so eloquent now, he even has the same mannerisms as his senior brother. It seems that you’ve not only learned to read these past few years, but you’ve also made great progress in your cultivation. Has he come to see you yet?”
Alai laughed and said, "He came by a few days ago. He also brought me some books and silver. Oh right, and two strings of Bodhi seed bracelets. One of them was too small, so my mother didn't want it. I'll give it to my aunt."
As he spoke, Alai took out a bracelet from the cloth bag in his arms and handed it to Song Chunxue.
The light green bracelet has a delicate anemone pendant on it.
But Ah Lai said he came a few days ago. Could it be that Senior Brother has also returned?
Or did he simply travel by sword to visit Alai?
She smiled with relief; it seemed her senior brother was much busier than her, as he could be seen everywhere.
She will no longer let her senior brother accompany her when she goes out.
She is now capable of venturing into the world on her own.
The two of them leaned against the old apricot tree, looking at the dark and sparse apricot grove and the faint light coming from the windows of the houses on the opposite mountain. They drank and ate meat, chatting idly.
The chestnut horse was nibbling on the grass, its beard swaying. The grass, which had been nibbled on by sheep, was a bit short, and it snorted in dissatisfaction, but it was better than nothing.
Returning to a familiar place brings a completely different feeling; it's as if everything has settled down, and I feel much more at ease.
It wasn't just because she was almost home, but because she had confirmed something.
Her carefree sword disappeared on the third day after she left the capital.
She wasn't nervous at all, because she was certain that Wuyou had gone to find Xie Zheng, and that the sword had chosen to remain in the capital.
Just like her true feelings, she often deceived herself, but she could never deceive Wuyou.
She hoped to stay and help him through this difficult time.
She has let go of the initial resentment, and now what stays by her side is her longing and yearning for that person.
For more than twenty days and nights, she woke up in different places every day, met different people, and passed through unfamiliar places, but she could not help but think of one person.
Before falling asleep, while eating, or when riding a horse and seeing beautiful scenery, she would think of one person.
Unbeknownst to her, she had already placed that person deep in her heart.
Apart from the earring she had lost as a child that she cherished so much, she had never experienced this feeling again.
"Aunt, you should go home. You probably want to go home tonight, so I won't invite you to my house. Come over when you have time."
Song Chunxue gave him a bag of silver, saying, "Give this to Fourth Sister. This is what I earned in the capital. She can spend it however she wants, so don't be stingy with it."
"So much?" Alai's eyes widened. "Even if we split it with my uncle and aunt, it would last us for several years. You're practically our living god of wealth."
“Not much, I still have some.” Song Chunxue stood up with a smile. “If I wasn’t afraid of scaring Fourth Sister if I threw it in the yard, I would have just left it there. Luckily, I ran into you.”
Alai stood up and watched as she led the horse, looking much more relaxed. He couldn't help but feel curious.
"Aunt, you seem to have changed a lot. You're like a female knight-errant. Could you take me with you next time you go out?"
"So, do you know how to use a sword? Can you protect yourself?" Song Chunxue took out a sword from her Qiankun bag and handed it to him. "Practice hard. If you can pass my test, I'll take you there."
P.S.: Haha, the previous chapter showed five comments, but I couldn't see them when I clicked on them. I guess they were all complaining about the plot.
Good things come to those who wait. Actually, I haven't had an outline lately. I have a new idea every day. I feel like I'm practicing under Song Chunxue's guidance, encountering new problems and gaining new insights every day.
But this relationship needs a transition, because she is emotionally barren. Whether it's familial or romantic love, she has always been the one giving and never daring to ask for anything in return.
Unexpected affection would frighten her and overturn everything she had; she wanted it but dared not accept it.
Since starting this profession, this book has been written with a lot of emotion in it; I felt something was off if I wasn't in the right frame of mind. And it turned out that this was the right approach. I didn't dare look at how other books developed later on, because that would have left me confused.
Don't worry, I'll make her accept me wholeheartedly. Mwah~
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