Chapter 491 Not so young anymore
As soon as it was light, Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest set off in a carriage.
Fortunately, the weather was fine today, the snow on the road was thin, and most of the snow in the ruts had melted. Moreover, the snow hadn't melted since it was just dawn, so there was no worry about the road being slippery.
Song Chunxue's bundle was filled with many things, and her senior brother was still carrying his cloth bag, hanging on his shoulder, looking no different from before.
But Song Chunxue knew that her senior brother could take anything he needed from that cloth bag.
She suspected that the large cloth bag was the Qiankun Bag.
"Senior brother, now you should tell us, what grudges do you plan to settle when we go to your hometown?"
"You'll know when we get there. If you get bored, I'll teach you a hand seal to practice a small spell. You can sign up if it's in a pinch."
Spell?
Song Chunxue's eyes widened. "Did I hear that right?"
But thinking about how she had only learned a little bit of everything, and how she could barely stand on the sword last time, only to fall down after flying two meters.
"You heard me right, this is quite simple, just a minor spell. It's much easier to learn than sword control. You can learn one in an hour, and if you have a good memory, you'll never forget it."
Song Chunxue no longer believes much of what her senior brother says.
But since she had nothing better to do, she developed a habit of wanting to try everything.
The carriage would travel at a leisurely pace, stopping frequently to find a place to eat after half a day, let the horses rest for a while, and then continue on its way. After sunset, it would stop to find an inn.
Song Chunxue felt that her senior brother didn't seem to be in a hurry to go home.
Moreover, he has been preoccupied with something these past few days, speaking little and appearing quite unpredictable.
At first, she was very curious and wanted to get to the bottom of things several times. But later, when she saw a flat plain where she could only see the mountain peaks in the distance, she lifted the curtain and looked at the unfamiliar place with curiosity.
This chestnut horse is becoming more and more intelligent. It can walk steadily forward without them driving it. It turns when it should turn and slows down when it should slow down.
When they stopped to rest, Song Chunxue gave it extra hay, finding it to be incredibly well-behaved and lovable.
The further east you go, the wider your view becomes, and the smoother the road becomes.
She couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the second son wanted to settle in the south in his past life. The more he goes out and sees the world, the more he realizes how poor and barren our place is. It can only be described as a desolate and impoverished place."
The Taoist priest disagreed.
"Over the years, I have traveled to many places and met many people, but I feel that your place is more authentic, with four distinct seasons. Apart from having to rely on the weather, there is nothing wrong with it."
Judging from the weather, that's for sure.
If the Dragon King forgets to bring rain, they'll only have the northwest wind to drink, and there'll be plenty of northwest wind.
However, she herself felt that it wasn't that bad. She was used to having mountains in front of her, so suddenly looking at a plain that stretched as far as the eye could see was quite sad.
Suddenly I really want to go home.
In this freezing weather, she was sometimes hungry and sometimes full, and the people she met on the road were not friendly. If Song Chunxue asked a few more questions, they would get impatient, and the worst part was that she couldn't understand what they were saying.
But my senior brother could understand it, and could even chat with him a couple of times in a friendly manner.
"Senior, what are you talking about? Why do people ignore me when I ask them questions?"
The Taoist priest smiled slightly, "It's simple. You just need to get people to open up as soon as you start talking. If you see someone carrying water, say that carrying water must be hard work. Ask them if they drink river water, well water, or cellar water. If you see someone hauling something, ask what they are carrying, how the harvest is this year, and why their family didn't help. They will definitely pour out a lot of grievances."
"People are actually more willing to speak their true feelings to strangers, but if you speak as an outsider, they will definitely be more wary. Wherever you go and whoever you meet, treat yourself as someone they have a connection with. In this vast world, being able to exchange a few words with someone from afar is a wonderful thing, isn't it?"
Song Chunxue nodded repeatedly, finding her senior brother's words insightful.
"You've said a lot, senior. You must have met a lot of people and heard a lot of their honest words over the years. You must have felt reluctant to part ways while chatting, and it must have been quite sad when you said goodbye, right?"
The Taoist priest smiled, his eyes half joyful and half sorrowful, his clear gaze seemingly imbued with divine magnanimity and compassion.
"Yes, I can't bear to part with many people. A fleeting glimpse of their figures will become the fodder I constantly savor and chew on when I'm staying in a dilapidated temple, just like ruminating cattle and sheep. I chew on them until I fall asleep. Those regrets are as beautiful as wine, and only drinking them alone under the moon can truly satisfy me."
The Taoist priest sat on the dark stone embankment, holding a wine gourd, and laughed like a fool.
"Tsk, isn't this what you call self-pity?" Song Chunxue said somewhat in a spoilsport manner. "I understand what you mean, senior brother. You like being alone."
The Taoist priest looked at Song Chunxue, "Then you don't like it?"
“I like it, but I don’t think about things as much as my senior brother does. Before, I was always thinking about what work I would do tomorrow, but now I’m thinking about whether I can have a hot meal tomorrow.” Song Chunxue stood up. “It’s so cold. I’m going to wait in the carriage. It’s been seven days already. Will we be able to reach my senior brother’s hometown tomorrow?”
The Taoist priest picked up a few pieces of charcoal and put them in the hot water bottle. "It should arrive by nightfall."
Song Chunxue took off her shoes and tucked her icy feet between her legs, thinking that if she didn't get there soon, her feet would freeze.
Just as she was wrapping all her clothes in her bundle, intending to fall asleep early, she heard her senior brother playing the flute.
She lifted the curtain, thinking that if Tang Yuxiu saw this scene, she would definitely be bewitched.
Judging from this, my senior brother must have been born into a wealthy family in his youth.
It's probably not just ordinary wealth; after all, his father was able to have multiple women.
Song Chunxue guessed that the reason her senior brother couldn't forgive his father must be because his father had let his mother down and neglected him as a result.
She closed her eyes, listening to the flute music outside, and thought about how sad her senior brother must be. Her heart sank, and she wanted to cry.
She wrapped herself in a thick cloak and got off the carriage, standing aside looking at her senior brother, wondering if she should say a few words of comfort.
Suddenly, she heard the mournful howl of wolves on the distant mountaintop.
"Senior brother, stop bragging. I have one last jug of wine here. Do you want some?"
The Taoist priest stopped. "The closer I get to home, the more timid I become. How about I spend the day with you around the neighborhood tomorrow? You can eat whatever you want, and we can go the day after tomorrow?"
"This is your first time in the Central Plains, why don't you take the opportunity to see some famous places?"
Just as Song Chunxue was about to say yes, she suddenly heard a noise from the woods behind her.
She quickly took the longsword from the car and held it in her hand. "Senior brother, someone's here!"
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, several men wielding curved knives jumped down from the mountain.
Have they encountered bandits?
Senior brother, why did you have to play the flute for no reason? Now your life is in danger.
"Master Zhang?"
"It really is you!"
Just as Song Chunxue was preparing to fight desperately, those people excitedly ran over.
“My mother, as soon as I heard this flute sound, I knew it was you.”
"What's going on? Why don't you come up to my hill and sit down instead of just sitting here feeding the wolves?"
As they passed by Song Chunxue, they couldn't help but turn their heads and stare at her.
"Oh, no wonder. There are two of you. Where did Master Zhang pick up this nun? She doesn't look very young."
There's no need to say things like "I'm not young" to someone's face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
