Mu Fulan set out on the journey to the west. She left the Central Plains, passed through the West Pass, crossed the vast Hexi area, and followed the old road she had walked before, passing Jialin Fort, Yanzhi Fort, Heli Fort, and Dudeng Mountain in turn. After passing many passes and mountains, she went west for hundreds of miles, and finally arrived at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains one day.
There were only three or two days left to her destination, and the season had changed from autumn when she set out to winter.
What she saw along the way was different from what she remembered. She still remembered the desolate and sparsely populated westward that year. But this time, even in this weather, this ancient road that had been lost in the wind, sand and snow still occasionally encountered caravans traveling between the Western Regions and Hexi. There were also some post stations on the road for caravans to replenish supplies and rest.
At noon, the snow was falling heavier. When we passed a post station on the side of the road, the guide said that this was the last place for people to rest on the road to Jincheng.
Most of the followers looked tired, so Mu Fulan asked them to stop, made a fire to heat up food, and while they were resting, they suddenly heard a woman's painful groaning coming from a nearby tent.
The tent was made of sturdy cowhide. Outside were a caravan of dozens of camels, a dozen horse-drawn carriages, and hundreds of servants, all dressed in foreign attire. It was obvious that the owner was a wealthy family. It seemed that they had been staying here for some time. However, despite the wind and snow, everyone did not hide in the tent, but gathered outside the cowhide tent, as if anxiously waiting for something.
There was still half a day before dark. After resting, Mu Fulan was about to set off. Seeing this, she hesitated for a moment. She was listening carefully to the intermittent moans of the woman. Suddenly, a man in his thirties with thick eyebrows and a high nose ran out of the tent. He fell to his knees in the snow with a plop. His face was pale, his eyes looked up at the sky, and he kept kowtowing as if praying.
Mu Fulan had already guessed what was happening in the cowhide tent. Although she was in a hurry to get on the road and wanted to get to where she wanted to go as soon as possible, she still spoke up almost instinctively and ordered the guide to go over and find out what was going on. She said, "Go and tell him that I might be able to help him."
The guide went as he was told and spoke a few words to the man, who suddenly turned around and looked over here.
Mu Fulan was dressed in ordinary clothes all the way west, thinking she was looking for someone. Even the guide she hired in Hexi didn't know her identity, let alone this man from the Western Regions. When the guide said she might be able to help, she was overjoyed, climbed up from the snow, and ran towards her, gesticulating with her hands and talking nonsense.
The guide explained: "He is one of the richest merchants in Kubera, named Daman. He has admired the Eastern Kingdom for a long time. At the beginning of the year, he followed the king's envoy to the capital for trade and to gain experience. His wife is the daughter of a priest in Kubera. She can speak the language of the Eastern Kingdom, so he took her along. He stayed in the Eastern Kingdom for more than half a year and wanted to return to the West before the heavy snow blocked the road. When he arrived here, she was about to give birth, so he stopped. Since last night, she has not given birth yet."
Mu Fulan asked her followers to continue resting and she immediately went into the tent.
On the floor of the tent, there was a young woman in her twenties lying, her belly bulging with blood, she looked exhausted and dying. There were several maids serving her around her, all of them were pale and terrified, talking in a flurry. When they saw Mu Fulan come in, they hurriedly made way as if they had seen a savior.
After washing her hands, Mu Fulan had a brief conversation with the woman in labor, then comforted her softly, telling her not to be afraid. She would massage her abdomen to help her give birth, and asked someone to feed her some sugar water and food. After she had recovered some of her strength, she demonstrated to her how to accumulate and exert force by following her.
Her steady voice seemed to carry a soothing force, and the woman gradually calmed down and did as she was told.
Half a day later, the man who was anxiously waiting outside the tent heard the cry of a baby falling to the ground from the tent. Then the maid ran out and told him that his wife had given birth to a baby boy, and both mother and child were safe. He was overjoyed and turned around and threw himself on the snow again. After thanking the sky, he immediately ordered his men to bring out fine wine, slaughter sheep and light a fire to celebrate.
Outside the tent, there was a burst of cheers.
It was already dark and the snow had not stopped yet. Mu Fulan knew that the day would be delayed, so he asked his men to set up tents early, planning to spend the night here and set off again the next morning.
This post station, which had been increasingly deserted due to the heavy snow, was bustling tonight. Despite the raging snow and wind, bonfires could not be stopped, tents were set up everywhere, laughter and the aroma of food filled the air.
Daman was so grateful to Mu Fulan that he ordered people to continuously send him fine wine and lambs. Mu Fulan distributed them to his followers. After changing his clothes in his own tent, he did not even take a rest and returned to Daman's wife's tent to remind her of some precautions after childbirth.
The woman's face was filled with a happy smile and she nodded continuously.
Mu Fulan looked at the little baby sleeping soundly in her arms. Although she was still tired, her mood seemed to be infected and gradually became happy and bright.
Daman entered the tent, and as if he had drunk a lot of wine, his face was flushed, and he spoke to Mu Fulan. His wife helped him to say, "Madam, my husband said that you and your group don't look like businessmen, so how could you come to this place? In a few days, the road will be blocked by snow, and traffic will not be restored until at least next spring. If you also want to go to the Western Regions, you can go with us. My husband has a wide range of friends, and you have helped us a lot, and he is very willing to serve you."
Mu Fulan smiled and gently touched the baby's soft hair. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard another round of cheers from outside, as if a new group of passers-by had come here. From the noise, it seemed that the person not only knew Daman and his group, but was also quite respected.
Amid the cheers, one of Daman's followers ran outside the tent and shouted a few words. He immediately showed joy on his face, said goodbye to Mu Fulan in a hurry, and walked out quickly.
The woman hurriedly apologized for her husband: "Madam, please don't blame him for being rude. He said that the Lord of Jincheng was returning to the city and just passed by here. Madam, you don't know that my husband's camel caravan once encountered a nomadic cavalry from the north in Tianshan Mountain and was saved by him. Not only my Kubera country, but also merchants from Dayuan, Parthia, Gumo and other countries were protected by him, so they could travel back and forth between the east and the west without worry. Everyone worshipped him like a god. I didn't expect him to pass by tonight, and my husband was in a hurry to pay a visit to him, so he neglected Madam..."
The woman was still apologizing to her husband for his behavior, but Mu Fulan no longer paid attention to what she was saying. She leaned against the door that separated the inside and outside of the tent, held her breath, and listened carefully.
The lively atmosphere outside reached a climax with the arrival of this group of people. The merchant from Kubera seemed to be toasting the other party, trying to keep him and share with him the joy of having a baby boy today.
Amid the noise that filled her ears, the sound of a man's laughter drifted faintly into her ears.
The man who laughed seemed to be in a very happy mood. After laughing, he continued to talk to Daman. She couldn't understand what he said, but how could she ignore this voice
On this journey west, her mood was no longer the same as when she first started out, hating the long and difficult road and the many obstacles ahead. The closer she got to her destination, the more anxious and worried she became, wondering if her old friends were still around.
She hadn't expected that, so soon, tonight, when she wasn't even fully prepared, she would unexpectedly meet him here.
Her heart was beating like a drum. She closed her eyes, took a long breath, reached out, slowly opened the door of the tent, made a crack, and looked out.
The sky was dark, the north wind was howling, and in the heavy snow, beside a bonfire dozens of feet away from her, she saw a man wearing a snow cloak and a full beard. Even though he was surrounded by people, his tall figure was still very conspicuous in the crowd and could be seen at a glance.
The man took a cup of hot wine from Daman, drank it in one gulp, and said with a smile: "Congratulations, and thank you for inviting me to stay. I passed by here tonight and saw it was so lively, so I came to take a look. My camp is at the foot of the mountain in front, just go there. You stay with your wife, I won't disturb you anymore, I will visit you again when I have time."
He walked out of the crowd surrounding him and went towards the dozen or so cavalrymen who were still waiting for him on the side of the road. He mounted his horse, clasped his fists and said goodbye to Daman who was seeing him off, then spurred his horse and continued on his way.
There seemed to be a ball of fire suddenly burning in my chest.
Mu Fulan rushed out and called out to the figure in front of her: "Xie Changgeng—"
The north wind that came from the distant mountain gorge howled miserably above her head in sync with her calls.
He didn't hear it, and the figure was about to disappear into the dark snowy night ahead.
"Thank you Changgeng—"
She faced the north wind, called him again, and ran towards the figure in front of her regardless of everything.
She chased him to the side of the road, but the man in front of her had already disappeared. She continued to chase him in the thick snow, but accidentally stepped into a patch of snow on the side of the road that was deeper than her calves, and her foot got stuck and could not be pulled out.
"Thank you, Chang Geng—"
She called out one last time with all her might towards the deserted snowy night ahead, her voice breaking and hoarse, but her voice was torn into pieces by the north wind and swallowed up in an instant.
She couldn't bear it any longer, so she covered her face with her hands, bent over, and slowly squatted down.
Daman and her followers caught up, stopped nearby, and looked in surprise at the figure squatting in the snow.
"Madam, are you looking for the city lord? Don't worry, go back to the tent first, I will go after him on your behalf!"
Daman immediately ordered someone to bring the horse over.
Mu Fulan turned the back of her hand, pressed her sore eyes, opened her eyes, and stood up.
She shook her head and was about to speak when she suddenly stopped.
In front, a man, riding a horse, broke through the night and was coming back towards this side.
He was not riding fast. He rode his horse back slowly in the wind and snow, as if he was a little hesitant.
Daman called out "City Lord" in surprise and immediately chased after him. He caught up to the man's horse, said a few words, then raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Mu Fulan.
The man on horseback followed his pointing gaze, raised his eyes, and glanced towards where she was. Then he seemed to be frozen by the wind and snow, and stopped in place, his figure frozen.
Mu Fulan's blood instantly boiled. She immediately pulled out her leg that was stuck in the snow and continued to walk towards him with difficulty in the wind and snow.
He stared at her intently until a gust of wind came and blew her thin body like a branch in the snow, making her sway and fall. Then he seemed to come to his senses and quickly rolled off the horse's back.
Her feet sank into the snow again. She stopped and stood, looking at the man walking towards her through the snow.
His steps were heavy at first, then gradually became faster and faster. However, just when he was about to reach her, he suddenly stopped, stopping in the snow a few steps away from her.
The two of them just stared at each other, neither of them moved forward, nor did they speak.
The north wind blew the snowflakes towards her face.
"Chang Geng..."
She looked at the man opposite her whose face was hidden in the dim snow. Finally, she called him softly and tried to walk towards him again, wanting to completely complete the last few steps between them.
At the moment she took a step, a figure flashed in front of her, and the man was already in front of her. He untied his fur cloak and covered her from head to toe, then tightly grasped her hand, led her to the horse, helped her put on the horse's back, and then he also got on the horse, and rode away under the gazes of many surprised people behind him.
Her nose was filled with a familiar scent. At this moment, countless memories of the past were gradually awakened, bit by bit, gathering into a stream, rushing towards her. She closed her eyes and curled up tightly in the man's arms, wrapped in the warm woolen coat, letting him take her to any place ahead that she didn't know and didn't care about.
An unknown amount of time had passed before they finally arrived at a place where she was carried down from the horse's back. After she was laid flat, one hand gently removed the fur coat that had been covering her.
She opened her eyes and found herself in the tent. The snow and wind were blocked outside. In the corner, there was a stove burning for heating. The yak lamp was on, emitting a unique orange-red light, which enveloped everything in the tent with a warm halo.
Many years ago, on a snowy night, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, she seemed to have seen the same light burning quietly beside her. And the man who shared the tent with her that night was also beside her now, but after sending her into the tent and putting her down, he just looked at her silently without saying a word.
She sat up and stared at the face of the man beside her with a shaggy beard, who looked familiar yet a little strange. She stared for a long time without blinking.
Under her gaze, he seemed to lose his temper. He slowly raised his hand, touched his face, and said softly: "I'm old, right? But you still look the same as before..."
The moment she heard him say this, tears suddenly flowed out like pearls from a broken string, blurring her vision.
She shook her head vigorously, threw herself at him, pressed her face against his scraggly bearded face, and began to cry.
He comforted her and told her not to cry, but she didn't listen. Instead, she cried even harder. Finally, she stretched out her arms to him, and like a little girl asking for a hug, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly and refusing to let go.
He paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his arms, hugged her body in his arms, tightened his arms and never let go.