Heroes of the Fantasy World

(2)

The endless snowfield, to the limit of the field of vision, is it the end of the wind and snow? When we got there, we saw another snowfield.

The cold wind mixed with ice and snow kept blowing in the air. My mind began to become numb, my fingers lost feeling, and my feet waded through the snow as if they were wading in water, which was very difficult.

This situation repeats three or four times, and travelers will soon realize that traveling in this harsh climate will only make them farther and farther away from the destination. The top priority is to find a place where they can camp and make a fire until the snowstorm stops.

They were lucky enough to encounter a group of nomadic barbarians.

The nomad walked against the wind and snow, shouting with all his strength: "There is a camp ahead, come and rest! Don't freeze to death outside!"

His voice was small, far less loud than the wind, but it was enough to warm people's hearts.

It's hard to believe that after passing through this thin curtain, there is a long-lost tranquility. The wind and snow that raged like an evil beast from morning to night suddenly disappeared.

The three travelers were finally able to put down their hats and sweep the snow off their bodies.

The ground in the camp was paved with hay, and then covered with a thick wool blanket, which was very comfortable and warm to walk on. A circular fire pit was dug in the center, and the hot tea hung on it, rolling and shaking the lid.

"Where did it come from?" A Central Plains man was sitting cross-legged behind the fire pit, looking listless: "You don't look like herdsmen."

One of the travelers replied: "Just a traveler preparing to return home."

"Traveler?" The Zhongyuan man put up one of his legs, changed to a more relaxed posture, and fiddled with his beard with his left hand: "Haven't you heard that the relationship between Beizhen and Zhongyuan has been tense recently? Beizhen just broke up a while ago With thousands of troops, I’m afraid there will be a war soon.”

The traveler continued: "That's why I want to go back. Before my hometown is destroyed by the war, I want to remember everything there."

"Hahaha, you are really interesting. Don't normal people just run to other places?" The man stood up and invited the three travelers to sit down around the fire pit: "Come on, come on, you guys wait here, wait for them Then bring some food over."

After sitting down, a traveler dressed as a bhikshuni asked: "Senior, you treat us so warmly, does this camp belong to you?"

"No! I spent a hundred taels of silver on this tent alone. These barbarians are really cannibals. If I hadn't paid them to go out and rescue you, they wouldn't be so kind!" There were three men. The visitors filled the cups with hot tea and offered them one by one: "My name is Zhong Ziqi, and I am a man who lives all over the world."

"Zhong Ziqi?" There was a sneer from the travelers: "Then my name will be 'Yu Boya'."

Zhong Ziqi said angrily: "Master, I'm not kidding you, my name is really 'Zhong Ziqi'!"

"Brother, what do he mean?" the smaller girl among the travelers asked.

Yu Boya said: "Zhong Ziqi and Yu Boya were figures in the Spring and Autumn Period. They were close friends of each other. Boya wrote "Mountains and Flowing Waters", and Ziqi had a good understanding and relaxed harmony. It has been passed down as a beautiful story through the ages."

The little girl nodded: "Oh..."

"Back to the subject, why did you call us in, Zhong Ziqi?" asked the traveler who called himself Yu Boya.

Zhong Ziqi pretended to be polite and said, "Brother Boya, how could you not know?"

Before he finished speaking, the herdsman came in carrying half of the sheep, placed it on the fire pit, and said, "You guys, just eat these today, and there won't be any more." "Eat, eat quickly." Zhong Ziqi continued. : "Seeing that you have been traveling so hard, you must be hungry, right?"

The three travelers remained silent.

"What's going on?" Zhong Ziqi asked confused: "If I want to harm you, why should I spend money to save you!"

The herdsman couldn't understand the situation, so he snorted disdainfully and left the tent.

"Tell me, we don't want to eat the food that comes here." Yu Boya looked on with cold eyes, and the two women beside him did not dare to speak.

Zhong Ziqi said: "Actually, I just want to talk to a few people... I was trapped here for several days and nights because of the heavy snow. Those barbarians don't recognize anything except money. I'm almost suffocated!"

Yu Boya replied: "I am all ears."

Zhong Ziqi said: "Once upon a time, there was a man. He was born in a merchant family, and he had no worries about food and drink. He had the best teachers, the best friends, and the most understanding parents. Naturally, he could choose what he wanted. What he was doing, he became obsessed with calligraphy.”

"In his eyes, the tip of the brush was like a magic, something that could create miracles! He admired the sage of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, and had heard and read countless legendary stories about Wang Xizhi. Gradually, he also began to copy Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. In this way, twenty years passed in a flash, but in the end, he had no choice but to find that he might never be as good as Wang Xizhi, and at best he would be a teacher."

——Zhong Ziqi became increasingly depressed.

"He suddenly realized that he had wasted twenty years, and he regretted it very much... So he began to give up on himself, hanging around gambling houses and brothels all day long, trying to find a sense of identity and accomplishment from other people. Although it was only temporary, but It can indeed heal his pain. Until...his parents passed away one after another."

Yu Boya interjected at this time: "As expected, he must have lost all his family property and was forced to wander the world, right?"

"No, just the opposite." Zhong Ziqi replied: "On the day his parents were buried, he suddenly realized that what he should regret most was not taking good care of his parents. He even forgot what his parents' smiles looked like last time. At this time, he remembered that he still had the brush in his hand, and based on his vague impression, he drew the smiles of his parents. This was his first painting."

Zhong Ziqi's eyes were filled with tears, and he was obviously talking about something emotional. He continued: "After that, he began to sell his property in order to learn painting, and voluntarily fell into a wandering life in order to find famous teachers, just to restore the 'smile' in his memory. That’s all.”

"Just to restore the smile in your memory?" Yu Boya asked, "Then why did you come to Beizhen?"

"You...how did you know it was me?!" Zhong Ziqi blushed, probably thinking that he had disguised himself well before.

The traveler dressed as a bhikshuni replied: "Because he is 'Yu Boya', of course he knows."

"Because my parents have been to Beizhen before. They have been doing business here for many years, but I have never been here." Zhong Ziqi said, "I want to take a look here and see what is so special about it."

Yu Boya said: "So, brother Ziqi is a 'wandering painter', am I right? Then we won't be polite."

After that, the man who called himself "Yu Boya" broke off a leg of lamb and started eating it boldly.

"Please! Let's rest here after eating. The barbarians will look after the door for us." After Zhong Ziqi vomited his bitterness, he became cheerful.

——By the way, what is your name?

"White Phoenix." The traveler replied.