Peach Blossom Dyeing Jinge

From Sanping Village to Yushan, the journey is thousands of miles away, even if it is a fast horse, it will take more than ten days.Along the way, the mountains are connected with each other, layer upon layer, as if there is no end to it.

Two skinny horses stopped beside the official road.

There are not many people traveling on horseback these days, and most of the caravan's goods are escorted by horse-drawn carts, and the merchants shrink into the carts, like turtles shrunk into a thick shell.Most of the riders alone were soldiers, with thick mail armor on their bodies, jingling with the sound of horseshoes.

But on the backs of the two skinny horses were two plainly dressed ordinary people—a middle-aged man, dressed in black, tall and thin, with a slightly tired complexion, and a little gray hair in the shawl.A young boy wearing a green shirt, with a ponytail on his back and a white hair tie on his forehead.

The two dismounted one after the other, and sat down to drink tea in an open-air tea shop beside the road.

The tea shop was also deserted, and it didn't open a few times throughout the day. The shopkeeper saw two strange faces and asked curiously, "Where are you two going?"

The middle-aged man raised his mouth and patted the shoulder of the young man beside him: "Take my little apprentice home to visit his relatives."

"Visiting relatives? How many months are there until the end of the year?"

"This child is clamoring for two days to see his younger siblings, but he can't stop him."

"Oh?" The shopkeeper's eyes circled around the two of them, and then turned to the horses grazing not far away, "Why don't you take a carriage and save some energy."

"Isn't that so?" the man nodded and said yes, "I originally said the same thing, but my apprentice is very naughty. He has never traveled far since he was a child, so he has to ride a horse by himself to see the world."

The young man on the side was immersed in drinking tea, but when he heard this sentence, he almost sprayed the tea in his mouth onto the table.

The shopkeeper looked at him and smiled into two crescents: "So it's the first time I go out, no wonder I'm so reserved, come here, drink more." He said and refilled a bowl full of tea for him.

After the shopkeeper backed away, Lu Dongqing put down the tea bowl, and said in a low voice with a bitter face: "Master, we don't need to act so exaggerated."

Lu Zhengqiu was very calm. While drinking tea, he said leisurely: "Isn't that an exaggeration? You have never been out of the house since you were young, and you insist on riding a horse yourself?"

Lu Dongqing picked up the tea bowl, poured the tea soup into her stomach, and looked around.

It was indeed the first time for him to go out. When he was young, he lived in the capital with his parents, and later hid in the mountains with his master. It was not until he was 19 that he finally stepped into the rivers and lakes he yearned for.

But the rivers and lakes are not colorful, but like coarse tea in a bowl, astringent and weak, even the tea soup is gray.

Since they set off, the two have walked for more than half a month. The road is winding and continuous, like a beaded string, stringing the city and the post station together. The so-called journey is to move from one point on the rope to another point, feed Horses, fill their stomachs, sleep on their heads, and move on the next day.

Lu Zhengqiu saw him looking around, and asked, "How do you feel about this world when you go out this time?"

Lu Dongqing glanced at the empty tea stand again, and sighed softly: "It's like a tiger whose soul has been drawn out and locked in a cage, with no life left from head to toe."

Along the way, his face remained tense, and only then did he finally let out a sigh.

Lu Zhengqiu looked at him, and vaguely remembered the kid in the alley, who raised his neck and asked himself in a low voice, "What is Jianghu like?"

It's hard for a young man to grow up, but Jiang Hu grows old so fast.

Thinking of this, his heart softened involuntarily.

He suddenly turned around and asked the shopkeeper's back: "Shopkeeper, besides tea, do you have any food, wine or meat here?"

The shopkeeper was washing tea bowls, when he heard Lu Zhengqiu's question, he raised his voice, "I'm the only one watching the small shop, picking tea and burning tea, how can I have the time to prepare wine, meat and food for sale?"

Lu Zhengqiu asked again: "But you always have to cook for yourself, right?"

"Hey, I'll take care of what I eat. I can pick up a handful from the vegetable garden. If it's not enough, I'll go dig some wild vegetables in the mountains and cook a bowl of noodles in clear soup. That's a meal."

"Then can you cook two more bowls today?"

It's rare to see such a persistent guest, so I turned around and said, "Today is boiled noodles with rattan notoginseng and bitter vegetables, as long as you don't think it's bitter."

"Bitter..." Lu Zhengqiu frowned.

But Lu Dongqing interjected: "The former improves eyesight and relieves dryness, while the latter dispels dampness and cold. Both are good medicines, and it doesn't matter if they are bitter."

After hearing what he said, the shopkeeper immediately stopped what he was doing, and walked in front of the two of them in three steps at a time: "Are you two doctors?"

Lu Dongqing nodded.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up: "Can you show my baby Mao Mao what's wrong?"

Lu Dongqing was also surprised: "Why, is any child in your family sick?"

The shopkeeper had already returned to the house, and soon came out again, with a little guy in his arms, with long and drooping ears, a wet nose, and gasping for breath.

It's a dog.

Although its name is Mao Mao, its body is really hairless. Its yellow skin sticks to its skeleton, and it looks as thin as a sausage.

Lu Dongqing was a little dazed. Originally, the methods of treating people and dogs were different, but seeing the shopkeeper's earnest eyes, he really couldn't refuse.

He made up his mind and asked, "What's wrong with Maomao?"

The shopkeeper said with a bitter face: "Maomao is always refusing to eat these days. I thought it was because the steamed buns were too bland recently, and it was time to eat meat, so I walked three miles to buy meat, but he didn't feel as energetic when he saw the meat. , I don’t even gnaw on the bones. Doctor, can you show me?” He said, holding Mao Mao’s two armpits, and handing it to the person opposite.

The dogs that Lu Dongqing saw in Sanping Village before were all guard dogs. He had never hugged such a small native dog before, so he took it tentatively. Hand teased it's mouth: "Stick out your tongue."

Maomao didn't move at first, and was patiently teased by the stranger for a while, then suddenly barked and stuck out his tongue to lick his face.

"Ugh——" Lu Dongqing was caught off guard by the lick, and couldn't help but took a step back. She was caught by the stool leg again, and sat down on the ground.

One side of his face was wet and hot, Mao Mao came out of his arms, threw himself on his chest, grabbed his shoulders with two front paws, screamed and jumped, and licked the other half of his face with his tongue.

Lu Zhengqiu watched from the side and couldn't help laughing: "It seems that the little guy likes you very much. Could it be that this is kindred spirits?"

"Same kind??" Lu Dongqing was aggrieved.

He tried his best to push Maomao back into his arms with great difficulty, and finally he was able to observe its tongue carefully: "The tongue coating is very thick, I'm afraid it may have been too dry recently."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyelids and thought for a while: "It seems to be the case."

Lu Dongqing said again: "Add more water to what you feed it in the future, for example, today's noodle soup is very good."

"Understood, I understand." The shopkeeper nodded, and finally said to the wild dog, "Maomao, come here, don't be rude to the customers."

Maomao groaned a few times, followed his master and walked away, leaving only Lu Dongqing sitting on the ground lost in thought.

The place where he sat happened to be next to Master's stool.

Lu Zhengqiu lowered his eyes and poked his apprentice's forehead with his finger: "Why are you so dazed?"

Lu Dongqing blinked, raised her head and said, "Although there are no tigers, there are still some cute little creatures."

Lu Zhengqiu was stunned for a moment, then said softly: "Isn't it?"

When he said this, his brows and eyes stretched, the breeze gently brushed his hair, and also lifted his spacious sleeves. The dark black gown clearly outlined the outline of his shoulders.

Lu Dongqing raised her head, just in time to see the man's slender neckline, one end was connected to the deep collarbone, and the other end was connected to the clean and stretched jawline.

Ever since he gradually grew taller and gradually surpassed Master's shoulders, he never looked up at Master again.

And Master's face became more and more beautiful.

He had seen it countless times, but it was as if he had never seen it before.

He has obviously watched it for many years, but it seems like he can never get enough of it.

The breeze blew up Lu Zhengqiu's hair, which was tied up casually, a few strands slipped from his shoulders, landed on Holly's forehead, and rubbed against the headband between the foreheads, leaving a subtle, indescribable itchiness meaning.

Dongqing couldn't help but raised her hand and touched Master's cheek with her fingertips.