After a two-hour break at noon, they continued their journey. This time, the trip was quite long, and their destination was Jiangling, the very place known for the saying "a thousand miles to Jiangling in a day." The distance between the two places was quite far, and it took Jiang Yue and her friends three months to reach it, as they traveled and explored along the way. After resting there for a month, they set off for Changsha and Guilin.
After arriving in Guilin, Jiang Yue had been away for a full year. After spending the New Year in Guilin, she continued her journey. Upon reaching Quanzhou, Jiang Yue left a mark for the puppet to hire and travel by carriage overland. Jiang Yue, along with her apprentice, traveled by water to Suzhou. When they arrived, the puppet and the others had not yet arrived. Jiang Yue took her apprentice to visit Shaoxing and Hangzhou, and finally met up with the puppet in Jingdezhen.
Afterwards, she returned to Yangzhou and continued north, passing through Bozhou on her way to what is now Beijing. She then stopped heading north, rested for a while, and began her return journey to Chang'an. Having been away for almost three years, Jiang Yue planned to return to Chang'an before the end of the year so that she could spend the New Year at home with her apprentice.
When they arrived in Luoyang, they stayed here a little longer. According to Jiang Yue's plan, this should have been the first place they came to, but because they wandered around aimlessly and got lost, they ended up coming here last.
After leaving Luoyang, Jiang Yue quickened her pace, passing through some small towns along the way, and occasionally stopping for a few days to experience the local customs and culture, but she always kept in mind that she had to return to Chang'an before the end of the year.
Along the way, the little apprentice chattered excitedly, sharing her experiences and discoveries, her words tinged with curiosity about Chang'an. She wanted to know what her master's place was like. Jiang Yue, on the other hand, was more calmly eager to return home.
However, fate is unpredictable. Halfway through the journey, an unexpected event occurred: a heavy snow blocked the road ahead, making it difficult for the horses to move forward. Jiang Yue had no choice but to find a place of high ground to take shelter. There were only fifty miles left, which would take about a day, but she never expected to encounter a heavy snow at such a critical moment.
After clearing a flat area, they took out the tent and started setting it up. At night, they lit a campfire, and the puppet took out a pot from the vehicle. It was so pleasant to have a hot pot on such a snowy day. Just as they were about to start eating, they suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats. Judging from the sound, there were quite a few people.
Jiang Yue stood up and shielded her little apprentice behind her. The two puppets stood in front of her. In fact, the puppets had already discovered these people. Although the scanning radius Jiang Yue activated was small, it was still within a kilometer radius. Otherwise, how could they feel safe setting up camp in the wild? Jiang Yue thought they wouldn't come from this direction, but she didn't consider one thing: the smoke from a fire could be seen from a distance.
However, since the people who came were acquaintances of Jiang Yue, there would be less trouble. After the group stopped near Jiang Yue's tent, the leader dismounted and greeted Jiang Yue: "Master Jiang, it's been a long time. Have you returned from your travels?"
"Captain Zhou, long time no see. You just got back. If it weren't for this snow, you would have been home today. By the way, what brings you out on patrol?"
"Um...."
"It's okay, if it's hard to say, then don't say it. I don't necessarily need to know."
"Haha, by the way, Master Jiang, do you need me to escort you back?"
"No need, this snow won't last long. I can walk by myself when it stops."
"Alright, Master Jiang, please forgive me for being busy with official duties. I will bring my son to visit you when I have some free time."
"Okay, goodbye then."
After the person left, Jiang Yue continued eating. Seeing that her little apprentice was curious, Jiang Yue told her who the other person was. That Captain Zhou was the pregnant woman that Jiang Yue had saved before and who had fed her a pill. Logically speaking, he was supposed to be guarding the palace, so it shouldn't be that he was sent out to patrol.
Something must have happened again. Jiang Yue put some food on her little apprentice's plate. The little apprentice chewed the food and mumbled, "Master, has something happened?"
"Maybe, but that has nothing to do with us."
After eating, I tidied up my things, then transferred some of the embers from the fire into the charcoal brazier, moved the firewood pile outside, and prepared to go to sleep as it was getting late.
The snow lessened considerably after breakfast the next morning, and it was estimated that it would stop by noon. In fact, it wouldn't affect visibility and they could continue their journey, but Jiang Yue still waited for the snow to stop before setting off.
"Master, Master, is our Taoist temple the same as the one you painted?"
"Same."
"Master, Master, are there many fruit trees planted around our Taoist temple?"
"Yes."
"Master, Master, will my calico cat like me?"
Yes, it will.
What a load of rubbish! When Jiang Yue left, she left the cat at the village chief's house. After three years, it's one thing if he still doesn't recognize Jiang Yue, let alone like her.
"Master, Master..."
"Are you free? How about reciting a passage of scripture?"
The little apprentice gestured to indicate that he would not speak, but then turned around and went to bother the two puppets. It was normal to be a little excited about returning home for the first time. Finally, they were almost at the Taoist temple. In the distance, the Taoist temple looked quite peaceful amidst the white snow.
When she arrived at the foot of the mountain, people were already shoveling snow. Jiang Yue recognized them as people from the village. When the people nearby saw Jiang Yue return, they rushed up to greet her. Jiang Yue responded warmly. Soon after, the village chief, who had heard the news, arrived. However, he was no longer the village chief and had stepped down.
"Master, I've finally returned after three years. I thought I wouldn't get to see you again before I left."
Jiang Yue stepped forward to help the old village chief up, saying, "You're talking nonsense. When I have time, I'll take care of your health so you can live for a few more years without any problem."
"Hehe, you're talking nonsense. You're not a god. I'm getting old, just let me suffer less."
Having not seen each other for several years, they were quite talkative. The group went to the estate and chatted for a long time. During this time, Jiang Yue introduced her young apprentice to everyone, saying that she would invite everyone to attend the apprenticeship ceremony. After talking for a while, it got late, so Jiang Yue said goodbye to everyone and took her young apprentice home.
Jiang Yue took her little apprentice hiking. Although she had shown the little apprentice a picture of the Taoist temple, she still introduced it to her as they climbed the mountain. As soon as they arrived at the temple gate, they heard a familiar meow. It turned out that Sanhua had returned to the temple at some point. When she saw Jiang Yue and her little apprentice, she rubbed against them affectionately. The little apprentice was overjoyed and hugged Sanhua, spinning her around in circles.
Jiang Yue thought that Sanhua wouldn't recognize her. She should have brought the cat with her when she went out. After entering the Taoist temple, she first took her little apprentice to offer incense. After that, she took her around the Taoist temple. Fortunately, someone had cleaned it for the past few years since Jiang Yue left, otherwise a big cleaning would have been necessary.
After touring the interior of the Taoist temple, Jiang Yue took her for a walk around the outside. The temple, which had been expanded twice, was much larger, and it took them some time to walk around. During this time, Jiang Yue even took her little apprentice to pick persimmons, but they couldn't eat them right away; they had to thaw them first. When they returned to the temple, the puppet had already carried everything up. It was too late for Jiang Yue to pack up today, so she decided to do it tomorrow.
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