Winter Returns

Chapter 242 "Rebellion"

That was Lu Qinglian's mother.

Although she was wearing a blue robe and had long hair, Zhang Shutong had never really looked at her closely before. It was only when she saw her in person by the light of the lantern that she realized the mother and daughter had many differences.

For example, Lu's mother has a very small beauty mark under the corner of her eye.

For example, Lu Qinglian's eyes are a bit longer at the corners, which Zhang Shutong would describe as "peach blossom eyes".

Their temperaments are also quite different; Lu Qinglian is aloof and cold. If you break down this word, Lu Qinglian is "cold," while Lu's mother is "refined."

He vaguely remembered Lu Qinglian mentioning that she didn't have a deep impression of her mother, but at this moment Lu Qinglian had already buried her head in her mother's arms and rubbed her head against her.

It seems I've been tricked by her again.

Huh, why did I say "again"? Never mind. Zhang Shutong wasn't in the mood for such an old joke right now. Lu's mother pulled Lu Qinglian's hand and walked towards the side hall, and he quickly squeezed into the temple gate as well.

Upon entering the hall, she was startled again, for the chill that had been lingering on her body suddenly vanished, and she felt as comfortable as if she had been dried by a heater. What was going on? Perhaps Qingyi had already taken her to the hospital?
Thinking of this, Zhang Shutong felt a little relieved and began to look around the room.

In the Weaver Girl's Thread, there were only two futons here, but now they are filled with various furniture and daily necessities. The most eye-catching thing is the two tall bookshelves, which are filled with books. The wooden boards of the shelves are slightly bent. There are also books on the table, some open and some stacked. It seems that Lu's mother was a person who loved to read.

He then realized that there was no television in the temple, so reading was the only form of entertainment.

There was a screen in the middle of the room, and further inside was probably the bed—this was the reason Zhang Shutong made this guess, because when he walked in, he bumped into an invisible barrier.

This is the boundary of dreams.

It seems the world isn't as free as we imagine.

Zhang Shutong became increasingly certain of his guess: this was Lu Qinglian's dream. In that case, his own situation was secondary; the key was to wake Lu Qinglian up.

But Lu Qinglian was already a little girl, and he couldn't touch anything, so he had no choice but to hold back and continue to observe.

Looking back, Lu Qinglian's high ponytail had been untied. She raised her head and asked:

"Where's Dad?"

“Dad is still in the car,” Lu’s mother said softly.

“I see.” Lu Qinglian lowered her eyes, her tone unusually dejected.

“Maybe Dad will arrive in a few days.” The woman smiled. “It’s the train I told you about, with a green shell and emitting black smoke. It’s moving too slowly, and Dad is anxious, and Mom is anxious too.”

"Um……"

“Let’s go,” the woman said, taking her hand again. “Let’s go out and have a look.”

Zhang Shutong glanced around the room again, wanting to check the time, but unfortunately he couldn't find a watch or calendar.

As soon as Zhang Shutong stepped out of the palace, he sneezed, and that chilly feeling swept over him again. He was stunned, thinking that the amazing thing was that room. As long as he stayed in the room, he wouldn't feel cold. If he could, he really wanted to stay inside and never come out. But Lu Qinglian and her son were already sitting on the stone steps at the palace entrance.

"Please," Zhang Shutong sighed. "Can't we just stay indoors and chat and enjoy the night view? I'm not as resistant to the cold as you guys." But in order to get more information, he gritted his teeth and went outside again.

A lantern was placed beside the woman, turning her blue robe orange. The woman picked up a piece of straw rope and deftly twisted it open.

"Watch closely, maybe you'll be the one doing this in the future."

Lu Qinglian was a woman of few words, and simply did as she was told.

Zhang Shutong knew this was preparation work before New Year's Day, just like Lu Qinglian did alone many years later.

That being said, she's not a temple keeper yet, is she?

Zhang Shutong didn't see her wearing that blue robe at least. Of course, it's also possible that the temple didn't have children's blue robes.

"Isn't the Christmas tree beautiful?" After a while, Lu Qinglian asked, "Has Mom ever seen one?"

"Mom met you a long time ago, why did you suddenly ask this?"

"I heard it from my classmates." Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that, looking at it this way, the timeline wasn't as close to New Year's Day as she had imagined; Christmas hadn't even passed yet.

Lu's mother put down the straw rope in her hand:
"It is a very, very big pine tree that glows."

Lu Qinglian nodded her chin, indicating that she understood.

But Xiaolu's quiet nature doesn't mean she has few problems. Right now, she's not like she will be later, able to focus intently on her tasks. After a moment, she became distracted again, saying:

"What about Christianity?"

"Christianity?"

"Um, we talked about Christmas in class today. The teacher said it's a Christian holiday," Lu Qinglian asked, puzzled. "Can I join Christianity?"

Zhang Shutong almost lost his balance, thinking to himself, "Well, Lu Qinglian, you're already thinking of betraying your faith at such a young age. What will you be like when you grow up?"
Mrs. Lu was also taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and smiled:

"No, you have to become a temple keeper too."

"Oh."

Why bring up Christianity?

"On Christmas Day, there was food in the church, a Christmas tree, and a white-bearded grandfather giving gifts to the children, but there was nothing in the temple."

Lu Qinglian softly recited again:

"It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Zhang Shutong found the words familiar and it took him a while to remember that they were from the Bible. He thought to himself that something was really wrong. Xiao Lu, didn't you believe in the Green Snake Cult? Although Zhang Shutong didn't know if the Green Snake Cult even existed.

Lu's mother also became serious:

Do you know where this quote comes from?

“I don’t remember,” Lu Qinglian recalled. “It was mentioned in the courseware. I liked it a lot, so I wrote it down.”

“It’s the Bible, the New Testament,” said Mrs. Lu. “This verse is from 1 Corinthians.”

Zhang Shutong, who had been leaning against a pillar in front of the hall, subconsciously lowered his arms, somewhat dumbfounded—in the Green Snake Temple on Green Snake Mountain, right behind the two of you is the Green Snake God? Are you really discussing the Bible in front of it as if nothing's wrong? Are you about to give a sermon?

It must be said that Mother Lu was truly learned; Zhang Shutong only knew that it was a verse from the Bible, but he couldn't have pronounced it so accurately.

The woman said again:

"Don't mention it in front of Grandma again. But... the reasoning is always good, you can keep it in mind."

Lu Qinglian tapped her head again.

"You little rascal, you've said so much, you just want a gift, right?" the woman said helplessly.

"Mmm," Lu Qinglian admitted without changing her expression. Zhang Shutong silently added a comment in his mind—"For now, you can understand it that way."

"what do you want?"

"Shoes, I guess," Lu Qinglian thought for a moment. "My feet will get cold at school these next few days."

"it is good."

After saying that, the mother and daughter went back to their work. Neither of them were talkative. Zhang Shutong leaned against the pillar, slowly slid down, and finally sat on the ground rather inelegantly.

The night was dark, and there was no sound of cicadas or birds in the winter. Everything was quiet. Two figures, one big and one small, nestled together in front of them. As time passed, one straw snake after another was piled up on the steps. The lifelike ones were made by Lu's mother, while the ugly ones that seemed about to fall apart were woven by Lu Qinglian.

The grand hall behind him seemed so tall and desolate at this moment. This was the first time he had spent the night in the mountains. Zhang Shutong wanted to wander around, but a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Zhang Shutong wondered to himself, "Can I sleep in my dreams?"
But before he could figure it out, his eyelids closed uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)