chills

After Ye Gui came down from the mountain, he would often write letters to Qingyunzong, but most of them were routine to report to the old suzerain where he was going and whether he was safe or not.These letters were brought back by Ye Gui's pigeon. The pigeon brought the letter back, rested for a night, took the reply letter and set off again, flying back to Ye Gui's side.

Among the official letters, Ye Gui would sometimes insert a private letter to Shen Lin, and these private letters were casually written between the lines.Ye Gui's letters to Shen Lin were very long, and she recorded a lot of interesting things she had seen and heard abroad.At that time Zhang Xinglan also got started, he was slightly older than Shen Lin in terms of age, and secretly laughed at Shen Lin's behavior of hiding in the room alone to read a letter from his senior sister immediately.

He laughed at him, Shen Lin didn't care much, Zhang Xinglan couldn't beat him anyway.Every time he would read the letter Ye Gui gave him many times over and over again, and then put it in the book and put it away.These letters seem to record some interesting things, but Shen Lin is very clear that these are just Ye Gui's announcement of good news but not bad news.They also heard a lot of news in Qing Yunzong, such as Ye Gui's shocking sword that surprised everyone.After the old suzerain heard about this, he just nodded and shook his head, without saying anything.

However, the letter Shen Lin is holding now is different from those.This letter came from someone else, and both the handwriting on the paper and the pigeon that delivered the letter were completely different from before.He could hardly stop the trembling of his hands, and at the same time, there was great fear welling up in his heart.

"Is this still my dream?" He was a little dazed, "Is this... what I'm afraid of?"

As if he realized for the first time that he was afraid of this, he fell into endless daze.However, Ye Gui's words rang repeatedly in his ears.

"You can't refuse to face something just because you are afraid of something."

"After I leave, you have to be strong."

"Xiao Linzi, people always want to move towards independence."

"Go," this sentence was so clear and true among those infinitely echoing words, as if Ye Gui had really returned to him, "Go back, there are still people waiting for you..."

Shen Lin woke up suddenly.

He casually grabbed at the pillow and caught a little doll made of wood.The doll is very delicately made, the joints are movable, and the face is also very delicately carved.He has never seen such a thing, but he feels that such a thing is very familiar, as if it has been by his side a long time ago.

He tried his best to recall, and probably remembered what happened before.At that time, he desperately killed the person who killed his senior sister with all his strength, and then... after that, he seemed to fall into an endless long dream.

The dream itself was so beautiful that he almost didn't want to wake up.It seemed that as long as he didn't wake up, he would never have to face that cruel reality...the reality without Ye Gui.

Shen Lin held the little wooden doll and looked at it for a while, and couldn't help thinking about the memory that made him break free from the nightmare.

"This is not what you said before." He looked at the puppet and said softly, "...Did you really come back? To wake me up?"

The little puppet couldn't speak, but just lay quietly in his palm.

The door squeaked softly, and Shen Lin raised his head abruptly, only to find that a little girl with two buns pushed the door open.He shrank subconsciously, and the little girl said "ah" when she saw him move, covering her mouth with her small hand, with indescribable surprise on her face.

"Lord Sovereign, are you awake?" The little girl was only surprised for a moment before returning to normal.She flashed into the room, closed the door, and walked in steadily.

Shen Lin felt very puzzled. He was sure that the place where he was was Qing Yunzong, the room where he had lived for more than ten years, and he was also sure that he had never seen this stable-looking little girl—in other words, Qing Yun Zong hasn't had such a small child for a long time.The little girl was holding a bowl in her hand. She put the bowl aside and saluted: "My name is Fanhua, and I have been taking care of you all this time."

Shen Lin was silent for a while, and suddenly felt that there were too many questions that he didn't know, and he didn't know where to ask them.

"If you want to ask me why I'm on the mountain," Fanhua said, "I went up the mountain with my master Ding Xian."

Shen Lin could only ask: "Who is Ding Xian?"

... How long has he been asleep!Has Qing Yunzong turned the sky upside down!

Lu Huaiyuan and the others strolled down the mountain again, and Ye Qinqin had a good time pulling Jiang Qingyun along.Lu Huaiyuan originally planned to follow behind, but was pressured by Shen Huaiyu to order two thick clothes.

"Why do I want this..." Lu Huaiyuan laughed dryly at the time, "I have great firepower, so it's hot to wear so much."

"You wear unlined clothes in winter when the fire is strong?" Shen Huaiyu looked a little annoyed, "You and I don't understand these things, why don't you ask Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Qingyun glanced at the two of them, then at the clothes Lu Huaiyuan was wearing that looked too thin in mid-winter, and said nothing.

"I admit defeat," Lu Huaiyuan said, "Let's go, let's go together."

Before going up the mountain, Shen Huaiyu asked Lu Huaiyuan if he wanted candied haws, but Lu Huaiyuan refused.He bought a pack of sugar-fried chestnuts himself, and stuffed them warmly into Shen Huaiyu's arms: "Help me carry it."

When the sun was about to set, the disciples of Qingyun Sect who were scattered in Shiquan Town gradually walked up the mountain in groups of three and four, and Lu Huaiyuan and the others walked back slowly.This mountain road is not short, and I have walked it many times over the years, and every time I step on these bluestone slabs, I feel a little different.

Ye Qinqin chirped with Jiang Qingyun, Jiang Qingyun listened carefully and responded from time to time.Shen Huaiyu walked aside and listened nonchalantly, with the bag of chestnuts Lu Huaiyuan just stuffed in his arms.A vaguely sweet scent lingered around him, as if the winter chill had been dispelled.He looked up and found that Lu Huaiyuan was walking a little faster, standing on the high steps and smiling at him, for a moment, Shen Huaiyu felt a beat in his heart.

He lowered his head guiltily, and the two girls next to him didn't seem to notice anything and were still talking.They caught up with Lu Huaiyuan, and Lu Huaiyuan walked beside him and walked side by side with him: "Hurry up, it's not easy to go when it gets dark."

If only it could be this quiet all the time.Shen Huaiyu doesn't have too big aspirations, if possible, he wants to live his life peacefully.

When they returned to Qing Yunzong, it was completely dark.The two girls retreated first to go back to rest, and Fanhua came up to whisper to Lu Huaiyuan.When Lu Huaiyuan heard what she said, his expression changed obviously.Shen Huaiyu asked with a smile: "Why, whisper behind my back?"

"Brother," Lu Huaiyuan said, "Master is awake."