At this moment, in his arms, as the tears flowed down my cheeks, it felt so hot that it didn't seem real.
She couldn't help crying and didn't know why she kept crying until she felt him lift her face and bend down to kiss her.
His lips were still a bit cold at first, and when they touched her, her body trembled slightly, and her arms hugged his neck even tighter.
The ancient wind from the north of Tianshan Mountain blows across the steep mountains, wanders all night, and echoes in the foothills. On a snowy night, in this small tent, the lights are orange, the fire basin is warm, and the man named Xie Changgeng is beside her.
It was like the old days reappearing, but she knew that so much time had passed, so much time that she originally thought that the man who had chased her here in the past would always be just a memory, a faint memory that she could never look back on.
She gradually forgot to cry and began to respond to his kiss. When she heard him calling her "Lan'er" in her ear with a suppressed and hoarse voice, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the man's face so close to her.
"Do you still remember the question you asked me when we were in Xiguan?" she said. "If I hadn't thought it through at that time and didn't know how to respond to you, now I know it clearly."
"I came here to thank you. Chang Geng, you made me see again the boy I met under the cypress tree at Junshan Mountain. You are the boy I have loved since I was thirteen years old in my previous life."
"That young man, if he gets old, he will look like you now."
She held one of his hands, guided it, and pressed it against her chest.
Beneath the softness, the heart is beating.
Xie Changgeng lowered his head and looked into her eyes.
The ice and snow that had accumulated on his temples and shaggy beard melted and turned into water. A stream of snow rolled down his forehead, over his eyebrows, and into his eyes. He blinked, and suddenly held her in his arms again, hugging her tightly.
The eternal snow on the peak of Tianshan Mountain and the wind that blew all year round in the Gobi Desert had aged his face and frozen his blood. However, at this moment, because of the bright eyes of the person staring at him, everything suddenly became the best.
With red eyes, he pressed her under him and kept wanting her. He seemed to have really turned into a young man, trying to mend the sky with his own hands, full of blood and energy, with endless strength, and he would never be able to get enough of her.
The night gradually deepened. After an unknown amount of time, even the yak lamp in the corner of the tent finally went out.
The sound of the man's even and quiet breathing was beside her ears. He was tired and fell asleep, but his hot breath still spread on her face, like feathers, constantly and gently touching her. She couldn't help but gently twisted her body in his arms. As soon as she moved, a hand reached out from the side and held her hand.
"where are you going… "
In the darkness of the night, a vague voice that seemed to come from a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness reached her ears.
She immediately moved towards him and curled back into his arms.
"You go to sleep. I'll stay here and won't go anywhere..."
She put her lips to his ear and coaxed him softly.
He then became quiet. After a while, just when Mu Fulan thought he had fallen asleep again, she suddenly heard him whisper, "Lan'er, when I first came here, there was a period of time when my health was very bad. When I coughed, it hurt so much that I could hardly stand up straight. I thought I was going to die. During that period, I often dreamed of you. One time, I even dreamed that you came to see me."
"I told you that I failed you in my last life. In this life, even if I have to spend my whole life atonement, I still owe you. But if we have another life, I hope that I will be the one who remembers everything. I will take the black boat again, go from the Yangtze River to Dongting Lake, and ask your father to marry his daughter. I hope you will wait for me at the place where we first met. I will go there and help you rescue the bird that fell off the cliff. In this way, you will like me..."
"I woke up before I could wait for your answer."
He fell silent for a moment, then continued, "Later, Medicine Master came here, and my old injury gradually healed. But I have always remembered this dream, and I remember it clearly..."
His voice gradually became quieter until it was silent, and only the arms around her became tighter and tighter, as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would wake up like in that dream to find everything empty.
Mu Fulan's eyes were filled with tears.
She raised her hand, and groped with her fingers, stroking his chest, along his neck, slowly coming to his face, and little by little, inserted her fingers into his scraggly beard and brought his face over.
"I promise you. Not only in this life, but we will be together in the future. If there is a next life, I will wait for you there, and you must remember to come. We will start as young couples again, and that must be great." she said.
Xie Changgeng held her tightly, not moving.
It snowed all night. The next morning, the snow cleared and the sky cleared. The winter sun shone brightly on the white snow on the top of the Tianshan Mountain.
Mu Fulan's followers stood in front of the Jincheng outpost at the foot of the mountain, bid farewell to her, and turned to leave.
Mu Fulan watched them leave, lost in thought for a moment, then turned and said to the man beside her, "Let's go, take me to Jincheng. From now on, besides Junshan, that place will also be my home. After winter, when the weather is warmer, when you are free, take me to the Western Regions to see it. I have read in my master's notes about the countries in the Western Regions that he has visited. The customs and habits are very different from those in my Central Plains. I am very yearning to go there."
Xie Changgeng slowly withdrew his gaze from the direction of Shangjing, looked at her, and a smile appeared on his face.
He nodded and said, "Okay."
Mu Fulan looked at Xie Changgeng who was silently putting the cloak on her shoulders. "Are you thinking about Xier?" she asked.
Xie Changgeng slowly put the hat on her and whispered, "He still won't forgive me after all." His voice was full of regret.
Mu Fulan asked: "Do you know my master, how did he come here?"
"I asked him once, and Yao Weng said he was traveling around the world and wanted to go to the Western Regions. By chance, he passed by here."
Mu Fulan shook her head: "It was Xier who found my master and asked him to come here to treat your injuries."
Xie Changgeng's hand stopped.
"When he was little, he didn't know who you were to him, let alone those things that happened in the past. You were just a stranger to him. But it was you who gained his respect and affection. Later, he remembered the things that happened in the past. Because of me, he hated the you of the past, and he will always remember the you he knew as a child throughout his life."
"The last thing I wanted was for him to remember the past. He is the kindest and most caring child. I hope he knows nothing and lives his life with the purest heart. But the current situation may not be a bad thing. He has experienced the worst moments and also felt the best feelings. Give him some time and he will figure it out."
Xie Changgeng was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked her to wait, took his sword, wrapped it in cloth, mounted his horse and chased after them. After a moment, he caught up with the group of followers who had just followed Mu Fulan's orders and were on their way back to the capital to report. He handed over the sword in his hand and said, "When you return, present this to His Majesty, and tell him that the original owner is still as happy as when he gave it to him, and has not changed at all!"
No one recognized him. They only knew that he was the defender of this isolated city outside the Great Wall. Moreover, he seemed to have an unclear relationship with the young Queen Mother Mu. Now that they saw him chasing them and giving them such orders, how could they dare not disobey
The team leader hurriedly dismounted, took it respectfully, and agreed repeatedly.
Xie Changgeng nodded, turned around and rode away.
He returned to the sentry post and saw her standing in the snow from afar, talking to the soldiers.
The identity of the city lord is mysterious. The soldiers guarding Jincheng, apart from worshipping him for his military prowess and his fearsome power, have never even seen his face under his beard, let alone his origins. In the past, when there was nothing to do, the soldiers occasionally discussed him privately out of curiosity. Some said that he was an old general of the previous dynasty, who was sent here to redeem himself for meritorious service. Some said that he was either a capable person around the previous emperor, or that he was too meritorious to be tolerated by the young emperor, so he came here. He never expected that suddenly there would be such a beautiful lady, who would come here from afar to meet him.
Just after the city lord left, a few brave soldiers approached her and asked her if she was the city lord's wife and would stay.
Mu Fulan smiled and said, "I am his wife and also a doctor. He said that this place is bitterly cold and you are short of doctors and medicine, so I came here."
The soldiers were overjoyed. When they saw the city lord coming back, they rushed forward and shouted, "Sir, it's cold here. Hurry and bring the lady back to the city!"
Xie Changgeng laughed loudly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to stay here for a few more days. When the snow blocks the mountain and you retreat back to the city, I'll have someone slaughter sheep and serve wine as a reward for you!"
Amid the cheers of the soldiers, Xie Changgeng rode his horse closer, bent down, grabbed Mu Fulan, put her on the horse's back, and galloped forward.
The author has something to say: The next chapter will be out at 18:00 tomorrow.