A Young Woman's Heart

"Pfft..." Perhaps thinking of the joke from last night, Hua Yinyin couldn't help but laugh out loud, but she quickly covered her mouth and closed her eyes to avoid vomiting in the jolt.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't far, and with the bus driver slamming on the gas and brake, everyone arrived at the zoo stop.

"Huff... I feel like I'm really going to throw up after two more stops." Hua Yinyin took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the warm and bright sunshine outside. "Saved..."

"This is the zoo? It's so small."

"It might just be that the gate is too small." Cha Li took a few steps forward and saw a group of students from other classes.

It seems they weren't the only ones who chose to come here.

This zoo is indeed not grand at all. The entrance is as small as a kindergarten, and the walls are painted in bright colors, making it quite similar to a kindergarten.

“Small town, zoo…” Mo Xueyao looked up at the sign hanging on the ceiling before confirming that this was indeed everyone’s destination.

The ticket seller at the entrance was yawning and looked listless. It was only the second day of the May Day holiday, but there were hardly any customers.

The group looked at each other, some even considering giving up.

But in the end, I bought a ticket and went inside.

Somewhat surprisingly, the place was very clean. Although there weren't many tourists, there were still a few scattered around.

Lions, tigers, cheetahs... you name it, they're all here.

However, they were all locked behind tempered glass, looking sickly and listless, just like the ticket seller at the entrance.

As you walk further on, you gradually see many animals that are not caged. Although they are still separated by fences, visitors can now reach out and touch them.

There were giraffes and sika deer, as well as several parrots standing on a shelf.

These parrots were all shackled, seemingly to prevent them from flapping their wings and flying away.

Wang Jiale tried to greet the animals, but without exception, they all ignored her.

"These animals all look so listless."

“Yes, it feels like a specimen museum,” Mo Xueyao agreed.

"You're locked up and can't go out, and your activity area is so small, you must be feeling pretty down." Just then, Hua Yinyin suddenly ran forward a short distance, excitedly standing at the corner and waving to Mo Xueyao and the others, "There's a huge ranch behind this place!!"

"pasture?"

Mo Xueyao had been to ordinary zoos and wildlife parks with her godfather, but she had never seen a zoo with a ranch. She became curious and couldn't help but run over there.

As she turned the corner, she saw a lush green pasture, where an elderly man in denim overalls was sitting at the entrance, smoking a cigarette and looking remarkably relaxed.

"Grandpa! Is this part of the zoo too?" Hua Yinyin, who wasn't shy at all, ran over and asked quickly.

"Correct."

Wow—is that a ranch?

“That’s how it used to be.” The old man took another puff of his cigarette, his wrinkles rubbing together. “Heh, the ranch came first, then the zoo.”

"Is that so?"

The girls rushed over, and even though the surroundings were practically empty, they still squeezed together shoulder to shoulder.

Everyone looked out over the vast grassland, where not only were cattle and sheep grazing, but also horses running, and many gray rabbits and beautiful golden pheasants strolling around on their own.

The animals here are all free-range; some are common, and some are not.

But they all looked very docile.

"Hey, are those kittens and puppies also animals from the zoo?"

"Those are stray animals that have settled here." The old man finished his cigarette. "If you want to go in and take a look, go ahead and be careful. Don't get too close to the large animals."

"Great!"

The girls all ran inside.

Perhaps they prefer the various small animals scattered around to the large ones.

"The rabbits here aren't afraid of people!" Wang Jiale squatted down in front of a gray rabbit, first gently patting its head, then reaching out to pick it up.

The latter was so focused on eating the grass in its mouth that it didn't even struggle.

"Just as well-behaved as my Dark Chocolate." Mo Zhuyou couldn't help but pet it.

"What kind of bird is this silly bird?" Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan had only taken a few steps when a curious big bird blocked their way. It walked on the ground without flapping its wings, and just strolled up to the two of them like a big shot, tilting its neck as if it was looking them up and down.

“A whalebill.” Chali carefully reached out and touched its large beak, then gently patted it.

The latter squinted and took two steps forward.

"It's so friendly!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed in surprise as she leaned closer and touched its head, making it so comfortable that its head almost tilted to the ground.

"Hey, do you want some?" Hua Yinyin took out potato chips and fed one of the lambs.

There were still seven or eight staff members patrolling the grassland. When they saw her squat down to feed the animals, they immediately shouted and came over: "Hey—don't feed them random things!"

"Yinyin—you!" Mo Xueyao and Wang Jiale exclaimed in unison.

"Cough cough!"

……

Chapter 250 Flying Emperor Ridge

(One)

Feihuangling sounds quite imposing and ethereal, but it is actually just an isolated mountain located in the city center.

Apart from the mountain, it stands out conspicuously in the surrounding flat land.

As for the myths and legends, Mo Xueyao wasn't particularly interested, but she was especially curious about the introduction that there were cable cars going up and down the mountain a hundred years ago.

Of course, it wasn't the electric cable car we have now, but a hand-cranked cable car. It was quite fast to come down, but going up would exhaust you.

Apart from that, there are no man-made mountain roads leading up the mountain.

There might have been a few paths before, but now they are probably all covered by weeds.

This place is a unique attraction in a small city. It doesn't require an entrance fee, but you have to take a cable car to get up there, so you still have to pay.

Unlike the cable car ride at Kitagado Peak, this one is much higher, and riding the cable car up makes you feel like you've reached the clouds.

Feihuangling, or Feihuangshan, has a very spacious summit, but buildings only occupy about one-tenth of the area.

It was a small temple.

The statues inside are not of gods or immortals, but rather the memorial tablets of famous people and heroes who came from this place.

The most recent names are probably those of the heroes who died in the War of Resistance against Japan.

Standing here, it feels like you're standing on a cloud. Looking up, there are no clouds, only the sky. Leaning on the railing and looking down, you'll see clouds floating below.

Mo Xueyao found a spot where there were no clouds to block her view and gazed into the distance.

From here, you can see the golden beach and the still vast ocean.

The houses and vehicles below look like models because they are so tall that even pedestrians can hardly see them clearly.

"Hey, Teacher Ye, we've arrived at Feihuang Temple now. Everyone's here." Li Wanyan was calling Ye Wen on Mo Xueyao's pink phone, a routine call they made every hour.

"Little Yaoyao, come on, come on, let's go inside! What are you doing here!"

"They're here!" Mo Xueyao turned around and hurriedly followed the crowd toward the small temple.

Besides memorial tablets, there are also statues of martyrs inside, and inscriptions covered with words can be seen everywhere, telling the stories of our predecessors.

A long life can be condensed into just a few sentences.

Mo Xueyao looked at them one by one, feeling a little melancholy.

"Oh, what is this stone statue? Why does it have fox ears and a tail?" Hua Yinyin, who was walking the fastest, suddenly stopped and looked up curiously. Wang Jiale, who was following behind her, almost bumped into her back.

"What's wrong?"

"A fox spirit? Aren't there any gods or immortals here?"

Cha Li went around to the back of the stone statue, where there was a stone tablet with an inscription about the origin of the statue.

"It was rebuilt later; the original stone statue had cracked." Cha Li explained to everyone while reading the inscription on the stele. "It says that there used to be an earthen temple here, which enshrined a stone statue of a fox spirit. People would go up the mountain to burn incense and pray for blessings on special festivals."

"Are there any legends or stories about it?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

No.

The direction that this expressionless fox spirit statue faces is the prayer grove of this temple.

It's not a forest, but a stone forest.

Various uniquely shaped stones are displayed here, with many wooden plaques for blessings hanging on them.

It seems that wherever there is a temple, there is a place to pray for blessings.

Besides, next to the Stone Forest, there is a small stall where an elderly man with gray hair is selling tea—the tea comes from this mountain.

"Would you like to pray for blessings?" Mo Zhuyou looked at the stone forest behind her with some interest.

"Hey? Praying for blessings every time is so boring. Didn't we already pray at Beigaofeng last time? Forget it, forget it." Hua Yinyin waved her hand. "Praying too many times will make it less effective."

"Want some snacks? That stall seems to sell more than just tea, doesn't it?" Wang Jiale shook her backpack. She had eaten quite a few potato chips on the way to school, and was probably getting a little tired of them.

"Lele, have you been eating too many snacks these past two days? Be careful not to gain weight," Mo Xueyao teased with a light laugh.

"Hehe, I deliberately skipped breakfast and dinner for the two days before I left, so it'll be fine!"

"It's easier to gain weight this way, isn't it..." Mo Xueyao gently flicked the ponytail on her right side.

"Grandpa, how much are the tea and snacks?"

"Tea is one yuan, snacks are fifty cents." The elderly man, dressed in a blue robe and looking quite spry, stood up and asked with a smile, "Would you like a few servings?"

"Tea and snacks cost 1.5 yuan, one serving per person!"

"okay."

The tea is a tea with a lot of bitterness and astringency, while the pastry is a kind of cake that looks very old-fashioned.

It's filled with sugar. When you take a bite, it's semi-liquid, and the slightly grainy sugar makes a 'sandy' sound in your mouth.