Qizhou

March, spring and Jingming.

The willows are dyed fresh green, and the oriole sings from time to time.There were bursts of reading aloud in the academy of the small town. As the sun got higher and higher, a few clappers rang, and the children who were studying dispersed in a rush, and ran out of the door with their cloth bags on their backs, laughing and going to the fields. run away.

"Sir, I still don't understand what you said just now..." A child in a cloth shirt held up a book and cautiously approached the gentleman who was much taller than him.He was timid even to ask, for fear of being punished by his husband.

"Where can't it be?" The gentleman's tone was exceptionally gentle. He knelt down, took the book, carefully read the child's question, and said patiently, "This is indeed a bit difficult to understand. When you grow up and read it again, you will have different questions." I have the same experience, let me tell you again..."

He spoke earnestly, and the child listened earnestly. This child is indeed spiritual. He understood after he said it again, and a smile immediately appeared on his troubled little face: "Thank you sir, I understand!"

The husband waved at him: "Go, go home and eat."

"Okay!" The child put the book in the bag and ran towards the door, but before he could get out, he turned his head again and called out, "Sir!"

"what happened?"

The child said with a smile: "Sir, you... are different from our last gentleman, he is extremely fierce... You... You don't curse, and you don't hit your palms either!"

The man smiled and said: "Go back, go back to eat quickly, remember to do your homework."

The child gave a "hmm" and smiled like a blooming flower. He hurried out the door, chasing after the little friends in front, and wanted to go with them to the river to fly a kite.

As the last child left the academy, Mr. also packed his things and walked slowly back along River Street.

Spring in the south of the Yangtze River has arrived.The weeping willows are green, the catkins are flying, the shops along the street are wearing seasonal spring clothes, and there are more fashionable peach blossom cakes in the pastry shop. When he was about to walk across the stone bridge, he suddenly heard a voice behind him. It was the voice of a young girl, crisp and lively. Yes, like spring rain hitting green tiles.

She shouted: "Mr. He! Wait for me!"

Perhaps the girl yelled too loudly, and all the peddlers along the street turned their heads to look at her along with her husband, which made the little girl a little shy, she scratched her head embarrassedly, and said, "Mr. Chaojie, the children have to go for an outing in the afternoon and will not come back to class, you just left in a hurry and the dean didn't catch up with you, that's why I came here!"

The old man who bought the umbrella at the side listened and joked: "Miss Xiaozhu ran in such a hurry, just to report a letter? I'm afraid it's because I think the new gentleman is handsome, so I want to come over and invite him to go for an outing..."

"A Niubo! What nonsense are you talking about!" The girl blushed even more, but she was even more afraid that her husband would be unhappy, so she hurriedly said, "Mr.

"Miss Xiaozhu?" Mr. He was a little surprised when he heard this, "Your surname is Zhu?"

The little girl waved her hand: "No, my surname is not Zhu...my surname is Lin, and everyone calls me Caiqing."

Mr. He became curious: "Then why did Uncle call you Miss Xiaozhu?"

Caiqing said embarrassedly: "They all said... I look like grandma, and my grandma's surname is Zhu."

"It's not just that you look alike..." A Niubo has gray hair, he stroked his beard, and said with a smile, "Your hot-tempered behavior is exactly the same as your grandma back then! Why don't I call you Miss Xiaozhu? Sigh , so many years have passed in a blink of an eye, seeing you again is like seeing her back then! She is Miss Zhu, aren’t you Little Miss Zhu! "

Mr. He asked again: "Where is this bamboo girl from?"

"My grandma is from central Sichuan. When I was a child, I heard her tell many stories! She said that she came from a place full of mountains and bamboo forests. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. There are mountain springs flowing from the mountains. It is cool to soak in summer. When Caiqing mentioned grandma, she seemed to start talking, "I heard from my father that when I was my age, grandma came out of the house by herself. She came here, entered the academy, and became the leader of the town. First Mrs. Lady!"

"Then your grandma is now..."

"She hasn't been here for a few days." Caiqing smiled, "She said that the peach blossoms in the town next door are blooming, and she is going to enjoy the flowers. Maybe after watching the peach blossoms, there is also pear blossoms. After seeing enough pear blossoms, there is also rapeseed. Flowers, radish flowers... Anyway, I don't know when I'll be back!"

A Niubo said: "You don't even try to persuade your grandma, she's already very old, and she's still running around..."

Cai Qing refused to accept it: "My father and I are taking care of the academy, grandma can go wherever she wants, you are envious of my grandma being able to go out to play, why don't you take you there!"

A Niubo picked up a small pouch from the stall, and threw it at Caiqing like an old urchin: "You little girl! You know how to get mad at me every day, old man..."

Seeing them laughing, Mr. He also smiled and said, "Okay, I see. When your grandma comes back, I will visit her old man's house again."

The mountains and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River are transformed into the warm sun in the afternoon in the harmony of spring.Mr. He walked steadily and quickly. He had just bid farewell to the people in the town on his front foot, and then reached the edge of the mountain on the outskirts of the city.There are also bamboos here, but they are not so lush, and they can only occupy a small half of the mountain, which is not as good as the mountains and plains in central Sichuan.

He was carrying a box of peach blossom cakes and a white jade hairpin, and he had just set foot on the first green stone road back to the mountain.

"Qizhou!" A familiar call came from the front, and he raised his head, facing the tall and strong figure.Qin Ge stood taller than him, carrying a lot of things in his hands. Seeing him raise his head, he hurried down a few steps: "I knew you had to come back at this time!"

"Why do you bring so many things?" Qi Zhou said helplessly, "How can you finish eating?"

"Why can't I finish eating this..." Qin Ge lifted up the chicken that was hanging upside down in his hand. The little thing was still very energetic, flapped its wings twice, and made a cooing sound, "Don't you have a yard? Keep it up, you can still eat it when you grow up!"

"What about this?"

Qin Ge looked at it and said, "Hey, this is also a good thing. It can calm the nerves and sleep better!"

Qi Zhou said, "Does it look like I'm not sleeping well now?"

Qin Ge said: "Of course it's not you... The last time I came, didn't you say that he still had nightmares occasionally? Didn't this bring him something..."

Qizhou led him back to the courtyard with ease, and as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he raised his hand and made a gesture of silence. Qin Ge was very knowledgeable, and quickly lowered his voice, and put a few dogs in his hand The chicken rushed to the backyard, and came back softly: "How is he these days?"

"It's better." Qi Zhou packed up the firewood in the yard, and made tea for Qin Ge with his hands free, "You haven't been here for a long time."

Qin Ge said: "It's not... After all, there are some things to be busy for a while. There are some things that are inconvenient for you to come forward, and I have to take care of the aftermath for you..."

"gone?"

"Yes." Qin Ge nodded, "At this age..."

"I know." Qizhou smiled, the hand holding the cup paused slightly, and finally drank the tea in the cup, "His wish in this life is just to be an ordinary mortal, Qin Tianjian It should be a job that suits him... If there is no apprentice like me, he will probably be more successful."

"Don't say that..." Qin Ge said, "He is over 90 anyway, the late emperor...couldn't make it to this age. If you hadn't laid the foundation for him during the ten years in Qin Tianjian, he might not have been able to Have such a smooth old age."

"That's good. In the next life, maybe we will meet somewhere." Qizhou sighed, "I used to always want to help him fulfill his wish. He used to practice Taoism in order to become an immortal. From now on, this immortality Whether or not it doesn't matter anymore."

Qin Ge was silent for a while, then suddenly said: "Ah... Speaking of which. The An family... was cleaned by An Wenxian."

"I guessed it." Qizhou's expression was not disturbed.

"Everything in the past is so inextricably linked that it will be unclear for a while, but after this incident, the foundation of the An family has been crooked. It should be said... it has been crooked a long time ago." Qin Ge said, "Now we have withdrawn How many, how many were fined, how many were demoted... There are many gaps in the upper immortal world, you..."

"Why, there is still my business?" Qi Zhou was surprised, "Didn't An Wenxian be asked to take the jade plaque back?"

"Dijun...he meant to save you some space." Qin Ge said in a low voice, "Oh, I'm a rough person, and I don't know much about it, just like when I was in Chang'an, I didn't understand that Dameng Your Majesty, what do you mean by opening your mouth and shutting your mouth..."

"If you don't understand, you don't need to understand." Qizhou said calmly, "If you have a chance, tell the emperor for me that Qizhou's mission is completed, and there is no need to go back in the future. My name is crossed out, don’t let me send a thunderbolt down to force me to ascend, I have lost a piece of Dan Yuan, and I don’t have that ability anymore.”

As soon as Yunhong was mentioned, Qin Ge's face became uneasy, and he said cautiously: "Yunhong is no longer in the Department of Trustees."

"Not anymore?"

"Not here anymore." Qin Ge said, "He is now...in the patrol department."

Patrol Division.At that time, the various patrols were from the patrol division to find out the flaws and kept currying favor with An Xu.In this way, that person was also withdrawn.

"Not only that, in recent years, as the An family has collapsed one after another, and there are more vacancies, it seems that he was coerced by An Xu and made a good report, so...he has to go up."

"Where are you going?" Qi Zhou was curious, "Go to An Xu's place?"

"And your position now belongs to... Yunhu." Qin Ge said, "Yunhong suggested it."

This is spring in Jiangnan.The afternoon sun was not so hot, the two of them sat in the bamboo hut, suddenly they were silent.Qi Zhou felt that the wind in the mountains was a bit strong, and it made him feel cold, so he put on a piece of clothing and sighed with a smile: "He has been waiting for a long time."

Regarding other things in the upper fairy world, the two of them talked about it here, and there was a tacit agreement not to mention it again.

"How is Ci Nian, are you still asleep?" Qin Ge broke the silence.

"Asleep, it's much better than before." Speaking of the year of passing away, Qi Zhou's expression was unavoidably gentle.

"It's better if it's much better..." Qin Ge sighed, "It was so dangerous at the beginning, but fortunately he survived. It's just that he is like this, and I'm afraid he won't be able to become a fairy in the future..."

"If you can't, then you can't." Qizhou took out a pack of fried pine nuts from his arms, and began to peel them one by one, his tone was brisk, "That place is not suitable for him, and it won't be suitable for me either. It's up to him What's wrong with going to some favorite places and eating some favorite things?"

"It's good if you can see it." Qin Ge said with a smile, "I've always been afraid that you would hold a grudge..."

"If you are done with your work, remember to go back early." Qizhou said, "Don't miss the time to go back, I won't keep you for dinner."

Qin Ge gave a "tsk", muttered to look at the sky, then got up to leave.

Qizhou suddenly smiled: "Just kidding, if you really can't leave, you still have to treat this meal. After all... you have helped me so much, I should thank you."

Qin Ge said: "Okay, okay, brothers have been together for so many years, don't be polite to me, I really should go back, I will come down to see you when I have a chance!"

"Okay, see you later." When Qi Zhou raised his head again, Qin Ge was nowhere to be seen. This person's temperament of saying that the wind is the rain really hasn't changed at all.

A small piece of the elixir in his stomach was missing, which did not affect the operation of spiritual power, which was fortunate.The other piece made up for the vacancy left in the year of resignation, and he was also missing a small piece, but he has been missing it for so many years. Fortunately, he narrowly escaped death.

According to the agreement, Qizhou brought Ci Nian to the south of the Yangtze River. They built a small yard in the mountains on the outskirts of the city, which was exactly the same as when they were in Zhuxi Village.There are bamboo forests and wild flowers beside the courtyard. Qizhou has planned everything very well——

In spring, he will take Ci Nian to enjoy flowers and dig bamboo shoots, and watch the little fox go into the stream to catch fish.In summer, they would just sit in the yard and watch the stars. If it thundered or rained, the two of them would hide in the house, eat snacks, and he would tell stories and read to Ci Nian.When autumn comes, sweep the fallen leaves together, light a bonfire, roast pheasants from the mountains, and simmer the dug taro for the New Year.When winter comes, you can bring the year of resignation to the town to celebrate the new year. The town is lively, there are firecrackers, and you can sell him a red dress, dressed warmly and festively...

As long as Ci Nian wakes up, he will follow the arrangement, and he has already thought about it.

Ke Ci Nian slept for a long time.His seriously injured body was too weak to support him to be that lively little fox.

But Qizhou can wait.

He has waited for both the Immortal Realm and the Human World, Zhuxi Village and Chang'an.He's not bad for a while.The snow outside the house was falling and melting, and the soup in the stove was hot and hot again. Xizhou forgot how many springs, autumns, winters and summers he had been waiting here. Maybe he had already waited for the lives of many ordinary people in this time.

He cleaned the bamboo house many times, weaved many bamboo hats and sword tassels for Ci Nian, bought all the hairpins in the town, and he started to make them himself, bamboo or jade, carefully carved, slowly Slowly grinding, he sat by the bed, waiting tirelessly.

Until that day, the peach blossoms outside the window suddenly bloomed, and his heart moved, so he went out to pick them.When he returned to the house with a sprig of spring, his little fox finally opened his eyes that had been closed for many days.

Forgetting that he was still holding a branch of peach blossom, he rushed to him and half knelt beside the bed.He had a lot to say, but at this moment, he looked into those soft eyes, but couldn't say anything.He was afraid that this pain would make Ci Nian forget himself again, he was afraid that the little fox would face a strange room and get to know a strange person again when he woke up.

Ci Nian looked at the peach blossom in his hand, and slowly stretched out his hand, trying to reach it, but he had just recovered from a serious illness, and his strength was really limited, so he tried hard for a long time but there was no result.In the end, the little fox had no choice but to admit defeat, calling softly: "Qizhou..."

He has waited too long for these two words.

Qizhou's vision suddenly blurred.He smiled so hard that his face was wrinkled. Even though the corners of his eyes were hot, he didn't care to wipe them off. He just handed over the peach blossoms in his hand, and then gently lowered his body and pressed it against the bed, even lifting his pale face. With cold hands, I put the freshly cut peach blossom on the crown of hair.

Ci Nian let out a sigh of relief with a smile, and said softly, "Okay..."

Qi Zhou took his hand and said softly, "Go to sleep when you're tired, it doesn't matter, I'll always be here, as long as you wake up, I will definitely be here, don't be afraid..."

Like coaxing a child, he coaxed Ci Nian, who had just woken up for less than a quarter of an hour, to sleep.The little fox's injury needs to be recuperated, more sleep will be more conducive to his recovery.After getting the good news, Qin Ge ran more frequently. Although he never saw Ci Nian resting in the house, but he was getting better and better from Qizhou, Qin Ge also thought of it. feel happy.

Well, the life he saved was considered a success.

The weather is getting warmer day by day, and Ci Nian's body is gradually getting better.From the original, he could only wake up for a while, to wake up longer and longer. Later, he could sit up straight and try to get out of bed, until Tianqizhou came home one day and found that this little fox could already crawl. Go to the roof to pick up the kite that I accidentally put on it.

I slept for many years in the year of resignation, and missed many things in the world.He always has to sleep for a while in the afternoon, and occasionally snoozes, and Qizhou won't disturb him, so he wakes up and chases after him, clamoring to eat this and that, and no matter how he turns around, Qizhou will eventually get it for him .Thanks to his care, Chi Nian, who had been sick for a long time and was frail and bony, gained a lot of weight, and his face became rounder.

Once the awn seeds are over, summer will arrive.Ci Nian sat on the railing of the bamboo house, weaving the reed grass in his hand. He recently learned how to weave a cricket from Qizhou. Unfortunately, when this person walked away, he forgot his back foot. He had no choice but to Dismantling the weaving, weaving and dismantling, and breaking the reed grass into several pieces.

The ears on his head are very sharp, and when he heard the rustling footsteps, he knew that Qizhou had returned, and he didn't want the grass stalk in his hand, so he jumped down from the railing, and ran out of the courtyard gate to meet him, and met Ti Qizhou, who was eating snacks, embraced him.

Qi Zhou was helpless: "Pants, put them on...it's not summer yet, if you catch a cold, do I have to find a doctor for you? The medicine is so bitter, do I have to coax you to take it?"

But Ci Nian muttered: "Then... I wear pants, and I have to leave a space for the tail, how troublesome..."

He was indeed only wearing the upper half of his clothes, barely covering half of his thighs, not to mention the lower half, which had a big white fluffy tail growing out of it.Ci Nian turned his head, looked at the tail behind him, and said in distress: "How long do I have to practice...with a tail, I can't go to the town to play..."

Qizhou couldn't help laughing: "That depends on you, did you practice today?"

Ci Nian said confidently: "No."

Qizhou smiled: "Then why do you hide your tail? Why don't you hide it?"

Ci Nian hummed, turned around and ran back to the railing, kicking his legs and shouting: "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I want to eat chicken legs!"

Qizhou guessed that he had this, approached with a smile, sat down on the railing, and took out a paper bag from the food box. As soon as the paper bag was taken out, the aroma was overflowing, and Ci Nian's eyes lit up. Immediately, a greasy chicken leg was removed from the inside: "How do you know!"

Qizhou said: "How can I not know about your thoughts?"

Ci Nian was unceremonious, he bit off a large piece in one bite, the tender and juicy chicken filled his mouth, it was a supreme enjoyment, he praised a few delicious words in succession, then suddenly remembered something, asked: "Well ...You said last time that you saw Miss Bamboo here?"

"It's Grandma Zhu." Qizhou smiled, "She's very good. She came to teach in the south of the Yangtze River. The children here like her."

Ci Nian also laughed: "I knew that Miss Zhu is promising."

"By the way..." Qizhou said, "I entrusted Qin Ge to visit Chang'an, to have a look...Aman."

When Ci Nian heard it, his ears perked up: "Aman... are you okay?"

"Yeah." Qi Zhou nodded, "Qin Ge told me that the front hill of Wuming Mountain has no traces of burning. The trees there have regrown and are now lush... And, he saw a little girl."

"Little girl?"

"It was brought by Aman, a little girl." Qizhou said, "That little girl has delicate features, and looks like Fu Jin...Aman has been taking her with her, teaching her how to read and speak, and reading poems with her , but they were in the Tiankeng area, and did not go to Chang'an. I asked Qin Ge, and he said that a magnolia tree grew at the place where the magnolia tree was before, but it was just a small tree , without the towering momentum of the year."

"Perhaps the original fire did not burn the roots of the magnolia tree. After so many years, this tree full of spirituality has been revived again by taking advantage of the opportunity of spring back to the earth." Qizhou said this, and then Turning around once, the young man tied up his messy hair, "Just like you."

"That's good, that's good..." Ci Nian nodded half-understood, gnawed off the last bit of meat, took the handkerchief from Qizhou, and wiped his hands and face clean net.

There was a wind in the mountains, and it blew slightly, like a pair of gentle hands. Ci Nian looked at the hustle and bustle of the bamboo sea in front of him, and suddenly said: "Do you regret it?"

"No regrets."

Ci Nian was taken aback, his ears trembling: "I haven't asked what I regret..."

But Qizhou looked at him: "No matter what you ask, I don't regret it."

Waiting is not regretting, and giving up is not regretting.

He tilted his head, pressed his forehead against the year of resignation, and said softly: "I am no different from hundreds of years ago, but beside me, there is one more you."

"You said, what do I have to regret?"

The summer wind was gentle, blowing the hair on Qi Zhou's temples, and seeing his feathers hidden under layers of blue hair, Ci Nian suddenly moved.He hugged the person in front of him, wishing he could fuse flesh and blood into one.

"Same as you." Ci Nian said, "I never regret it."

(End of the article)

Postscript + Extra Story