At the foot of Siyou Mountain, Maling Town.
Tuozhou is vast and sparsely populated, with many mountains and mountains. It is not considered a wealthy place. The villages and towns are more than a star and a half poorer than Jiuqu, and Maling Town has nothing to do. Wen Heng and Xue Qinglan found a fairly clean restaurant, sat down opposite each other, and asked the guys to serve some freshly made hot dishes.
Wen Heng, a poor bastard, just wanted to be the shopkeeper. Xue Qinglan asked him to say anything when ordering food, but when he heard that he asked for wine, he raised his eyebrows and smiled in surprise: "Yo, I've grown."
Xue Qinglan uneasily avoided his gaze and said, "It's a happy event to meet again after a long absence, so it's a good thing to drink a glass of water and wine to celebrate."
Wen Heng smiled and said nothing. After a while, the guys served the dishes, wine and rice one by one. The two poured a glass of wine each, Xue Qinglan raised the glass and said, "Brother He has done a great job in this cup, and his hard work will pay off. In the future, he will definitely be famous in the world and make a big splash." Head drunk.
The village mash is weak and the wine tastes not too heavy, but Wen Heng had no chance to drink since he was a child, and this wine was still a little stimulating to him. He held his breath and swallowed hard, frowning involuntarily in the middle, but saw Xue Qinglan raised his hand without changing his face, and filled the glass for the two of them again, holding the cup with a kind of proficiency over the years.
"Second cup, congratulations to you and me to meet again later, my brother treats me with the same friendship, I am very happy."
Wen Heng's eyes deepened as he looked at him, and followed him to drink a second glass of wine.
Xue Qinglan picked up the jug again, and poured the wine into the cup like a thread: "This cup—"
A chopstick of fried pheasant fell into the bowl in front of him, interrupting his congratulatory speech. Wen Heng lowered his eyes and clamped some mushrooms for himself, and said casually, "Eat a dish to pad your stomach first. If you drink on an empty stomach, you are not afraid of hurting your stomach."
Xue Qinglan stared at the still steaming tender chicken breast, as if looking at something unfamiliar. The wine glass turned around in his hand, and after all, he put down the wine glass and picked up his chopsticks as Wen Heng wanted, and slowly ate the dish.
The bursting flavor of the rich sauce dissipated the alcohol. In the countryside, the cooking is not so delicate, and the taste can only be called Zhongping, but he chews it very seriously, it seems that he has not sat down to eat a meal like this for a long time.
Wen Heng sighed: "Why do you still have so many options to eat? Are you full at the Drooping Star Sect?"
Now that Xue Qinglan put down the cup, she no longer thought about drinking. She took a fried tofu box for him from the plate in front of him, and picked a piece to eat slowly, foolingly said, "It's alright."
Wen Heng filled the soup, gave him a bowl, and asked, "How is your health, is it better than before?"
Xue Qinglan lowered her head to pick up vegetables, like a child who was asked about homework at the dinner table, drank a sip of hot soup, and said perfunctorily, "That's it."
Hearing this answer, Wen Heng was very dissatisfied, his brows furrowed like his father who hated iron.
"This fish is well cooked, you can try it." Wen Heng picked up the shredded onion, garlic and ginger from the plate and pushed it to Xue Qinglan's hand. Seeing the way he was eating, he wanted to sigh, "It's okay to be picky eaters, you like it. What, at least eat a few more bites."
Xue Qinglan was so meticulously taken care of by him that she really didn't have to think about anything but food. He is also a little confused. It stands to reason that old friends who have been reunited for a long time will always have a strange time. Both of them are people who have experienced wind and rain. Shouldn't they talk about the wine first, and only when they are dizzy can they reveal their hearts? Recalling the past and regaining the past friendship? How come to Wen Heng, he naturally skips many steps, and treats him like in the past
Wouldn't he have... even a little bit of grudge in his heart
"Don't patronize me," Xue Qinglan said, "you eat too."
"Forgive me," Wen Heng shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Fish that has been roasted in the valley for four years is full when I smell it, and I really can't eat it."
Xue Qinglan suddenly lost his appetite, and his fingers holding the chopsticks tightened unconsciously: "Did you have a bad time there and suffered a lot?"
"Is it bitter? Fortunately, it's nothing more than limited food. The utensils are not as complete as outside, and there are no other people. Only the old man and I are disgusted with each other." Wen Heng said, "But the appetite is the same, and it doesn't count if you get used to it. Difficult."
Xue Qinglan was keenly aware of the other side that he didn't say, and asked, "Then what is hardship?"
"You know again?" Wen Heng looked at him with a smile, saw that he didn't move his chopsticks, he took an order for him, and teased him casually, "When I think that there are still people waiting for me outside, I get very anxious, and I wish I could go earlier. When I go out, I can’t run, so I often feel tormented.”
He suddenly said something bluntly, Xue Qinglan almost choked on the soup: "cough, cough...I..."
Without waiting for him to deny it, Wen Heng said: "Yes, I know you didn't wait for me and no one was waiting for me. I was bored and I imagined it to lie to myself."
"I… "
"But in such a cage-like place, it's human nature to think wildly. If you have thoughts in your heart, you will practice martial arts quickly, otherwise you will be decadent-"
"I was wrong." Xue Qinglan picked up a steamed bun and blocked his mouth like lightning, took a deep breath, and said earnestly, "Brother Heng, I shouldn't be hard-mouthed. I'm waiting for you, really, these four years I've been thinking about it day and night, waiting for you to go out to the mountains for reunion. But let's not talk about the sad things. You must be starving in the mountains, so shut up and eat."
Wen Heng held the steamed bun that he used as a murder weapon in his hand, and laughed silently, looking so handsome and hateful, so angry that Xue Qinglan kicked him under the table.
The last bit of restraint disappeared, and he finally found the familiar way of getting along. The empty heart seemed to be filled with belated sadness and joy, and it fell heavily into his chest. Every beat brought a subtle, tidal pain and sweetness.
After the two had eaten, they were not in a hurry to return to Siyou Mountain. Wen Heng only intended to solve the temporary danger for Chunjun faction, and did not want to fight for them. Xue Qinglan was originally left by Wen Hengqiang, and was too lazy to deal with others. The two hit it off, and simply stopped in the town and wandered around doing nothing.
This small town is not as lively as Yuanxi in Zhanchuan City, and it is actually quite interesting. Xue Qinglan took Wen Heng into the clothing store. The gray robe he wore before was a porter in the field, but thanks to Wen Heng's tall legs, wide shoulders and thin waist, he actually supported it. This time, Xue Qinglan took the lead, changed him from head to toe, and finally dressed the unruly gangster into a dashing young chivalrous man.
He wears dark blue, and Wen Heng wears white teeth. The two of them stand side by side. The owner of the ready-to-wear shop looked at these two live signboards and was full of praise, and the praise was not like money: "There is a conference on Siyou Mountain in the past two days. Many young sons have come to our town. There are a lot of people who buy ready-to-wear clothes, but none of them are as good-looking as the two young masters!"
Xue Qinglan stretched out her hand to tidy up Wen Heng's collar. Hearing this, she was also happy. She rarely said anything in agreement: "Life is good, and clothes fit people... How does your head grow, is it so useful to eat fish? It has grown a lot, why does it seem to be more different from you?"
Wen Heng stood up straight and compared with him, but he was still half a head shorter, so he smiled and comforted him: "You are young, you still need to grow, eat and sleep well, and then you will be taller."
Xue Qinglan knew that he was coaxing people, or that he was obediently obeyed, and went to the counter to settle the bill, and said to him: "Everything is ready, only a sword is needed. I don't know if there is a sword shop in this town. I don't seem to see it."
Wen Heng looked up at the sky, and suddenly said: "That's not in a hurry, go and buy an umbrella on the opposite side first."
"Huh?" He half pushed Xue Qinglan out of the clothing store and came to the umbrella stand opposite. He was just about to say what umbrella to buy on a sunny day, when the top of his head suddenly darkened, thick clouds rushed from the sky like waves, and the gust of wind suddenly overturned several stalls near the two of them.
For a while, dust and sand were flying all over the sky, and Xue Qinglan was the first to bear the brunt, and was blown away. His eyes hurt unbearably, and he hurriedly raised his hands to rub without taking shelter from the rain. Wen Heng asked "what's the matter", but before his voice landed, the howling hot wind suddenly turned cold, lightning tore through the sky, and heavy rain poured down from the ceiling.
Xue Qinglan closed his eyes, only to feel a gust of breeze swept across his cheeks, a slight muffled sound tucked in the din of the rain, and an oil-paper umbrella suddenly opened above his head.
There was a loud bang in the sky overhead, and a thunderous whirl followed.
Unable to see, Xue Qinglan was startled by the thunder. Wen Heng wrapped his arms around his waist, pulled him to him, and pulled away his hand rubbing his eyes gently and irresistibly: "It's alright, don't be afraid. Sand got into your eyes? Look."
The space under the umbrella was limited, and the two were very close. Xue Qinglan felt that his cool fingertips opened his eyelids, and he gently pushed and rubbed somewhere. A sudden sour tingling caused him to dodge and blink involuntarily, and tears continued to flow. It poured out, and quickly washed away the small grains of sand, sliding down the outer corner of the eye.
Wen Heng raised his hand and wiped it gently on his cheek. There was a smile in his tone, but also a little helplessness with anger: "It's raining in the sky, and it's raining for you too."
Xue Qinglan's eyes are still unclear, but he can finally open his eyes to see the world.
It's summer, and it's close to Siyou Mountain. The climate changes as soon as it changes, and the people have also developed a good habit of running away. From the time he closed his eyes to the time he opened them, no one was left on the street. The vendors all huddled under the eaves to hide from the rain. Only the two of them stood in the rain with umbrellas.
The rain was extremely heavy, and there was a vast expanse of white everywhere. The water droplets on the ground splashed around and wet the corners of his robes. Fortunately, there was an umbrella covering his head, so that he would not be drenched into a messy chicken—
Just as a hint of luck appeared, Xue Qinglan glanced down inadvertently, and his eyes suddenly froze.
He suddenly raised his head, looked at Wen Heng who was standing in front of him, half a head taller than him, and murmured: "Brother Heng..."
The direction the wind was coming from was exactly the direction he was facing, and the rain feet slanted down, which should have all fallen on him, but Wen Heng just happened to stand opposite him, blocking him tightly with his back and umbrella. Reality.
No, not "just right" at all.
With Wen Heng's agility and agility, he even had time to use an umbrella. If he didn't want to be drenched, it was an easy thing to dodge.
But he was standing there quietly now, as tall and straight as a sword, the rain pierced through his clothes, so much that it overflowed and fell into a fringe-like line under the hem of his clothes.
"you-"
Xue Qinglan suddenly panicked. In the torrential rain that almost wiped out the world, he felt a wave of fear like never before, as if his heart was caught by an invisible net. Before he struggled, he knew that he was destined to fall.
He subconsciously grabbed Wen Heng's sleeve, but the words blurted out: "Senior brother, you're wet... Find a place to shelter from the rain first."
Wen Heng turned his wrist, clasped his cold hand in the palm of his hand and held it in a vain manner, but Xue Qinglan stopped moving.
Wen Heng motioned to Xue Qinglan to look at the shadowy mountains in the distance. The pouring rain reflected in his eyes, which rarely showed a kind of cool and quiet that was different from the restrained sharpness.
"It just suddenly came to my mind that we didn't seem to have seen the rain together."