A collection of short stories about Qingshan as snow and yellow

In the sky, there was another faint sound of thunder rolling under the cumulus clouds. The torrential rain in the afternoon had been falling for about a quarter of an hour in the mountains.

Except for the moss on the stone steps of the path, there is only silt, and the rain is blocked by the intertwined branches and leaves, rolled into water droplets and smashed down on the head and face.Two young people supported each other and walked through the forest. Their heads were wrapped in translucent plastic raincoats, and they looked like a pair of long-legged jellyfish from a distance.

"I'm so stupid, really." Huang Shaotian wiped the water from his face and said in pain, "I only know that there are few people at this time, and I don't know that the rain in the mountains falls as soon as it is said. It is simply the face of a child in June. Good thing you brought a raincoat... After all, the tour guide is definitely cheating people, and we will definitely settle the score with him when we go back!"

"It doesn't matter, the travel brochure says there is a temple nearby." Yu Wenzhou tightened the cap of his raincoat and looked up, "At least you can go there to shelter from the rain and wait until the weather clears before leaving."

The first few days before their vacation this time, they had a good time. They went shopping and fishing in the small town, tasted the snacks at the night market stalls, and packed a lot of weird souvenirs.However, when they were going to go around the mountain that day, it suddenly rained heavily halfway there, and the two of them were soaked in the water, and any plans they had originally were in vain.

"But there is really a temple here?" Huang Shaotian was a little puzzled, "It doesn't look like a place where there will be incense, could it be that squirrels and birds came to offer offerings... Is the offering in the temple a Buddha, or is it God's Second Brother Stove?" Prince or something?"

"That's not clear." Yu Wenzhou climbed the last few steps, and gave him a hand back, "Come on, this is it."

Huang Shaotian staggered up the halfway up the mountain, he was a little dumbfounded when he saw it.

The buildings hidden by the old trees looked small and simple, no one would believe that it was a temple, at most it was an old stone house.On a sunny day, there should be many flowers blooming around here, but in the rain, those plants all look limp, and the green vines on the stone wall hang down wetly, making this place even more gloomy.

"Although it's a little small, it's good to have a roof." Huang Shaotian shrank his neck, feeling some rainwater flowing into his collar, the harsh reality made him quickly accept this setting, "Let's go in first, you Don’t you have a sore throat for the past few days? Don’t catch a cold—the big fairy inside is doing well, we didn’t mean to disturb you, we just came to hide from the rain, and we’ll leave when the weather clears..."

He walked over the threshold while talking, Yu Wenzhou followed behind him.As soon as the two entered, the light outside the house dimmed, as if an invisible door closed behind them.

This open room is empty, the floor is as clean as it has been swept, the alcove by the wall is empty, and there are a lot of things piled up on the stone table in front, including fresh fruits of unknown species, cut flower branches , there is also lacquerware that looks old.Huang Shaotian was surprised and said, "There are really offerings here, but there isn't even a statue, which god is it dedicated to?"

"Maybe it's a mountain god." Yu Wenzhou guessed casually, and hung the raincoats that the two of them took off on the railing.

Huang Shaotian didn't touch the things on the stone table, instead he ran to the empty alcove with clasped hands and murmured: "Whether it's a mountain god or a great immortal, thank you for letting us have a place to hide from the rain, I wish you more and more tributes." The more the crops are plentiful and the weather is smoother, the promotion and salary increase, marrying rich and handsome, and reaching the pinnacle of life, it would be great if the rain could stop sooner..."

Before the words were finished, a thunderbolt fell suddenly, as if it exploded not far from them, making people's ears buzzing.Huang Shaotian suddenly felt dizzy, he staggered to support the stone table, at this moment a hand stretched out from the side, covering his sweaty fingertips.

"I'm fine," he collected himself, "just now..."

He stopped talking.Yu Wenzhou lifted a finger to press his lips, and he followed the other person's line of sight, only to see a dark figure appearing at some point in the dim rain at the door.

He looked like a not-so-young man, with his back to them, with a fat figure, and the shadow he cast was like a round teapot.All kinds of strange stories about ruined temples and deserted temples on rainy nights in the deep mountains suddenly appeared in Huang Shaotian's mind, and he couldn't help but feel horrified.He stared at the door holding his breath for a while, and found that the other party was standing there, and he didn't intend to come in, so he couldn't help asking: "Brother outside the door, won't you come in to escape the rain?"

"You are inside, I can't go in." The man said.

Huang Shaotian thought to himself that although the two of us together are not as wide as you, no matter how small this room is, it shouldn't be a problem to accommodate you.

"You shouldn't go in either," the other party said again, "This is a place that belongs to the mountain god."

Huang Shaotian's eyes widened: "Is there really a mountain god? Could it be that you are that mountain god? Wait, are we breaking into a private house—"

"I am not in the same room as humans," said the mountain god.However, his voice sounded a bit honest and honest, and he felt aggrieved by saying this cold and cold sentence.

Huang Shaotian felt embarrassed, at first he thought it was a ruined temple, but the owner came to the door; he was about to stand up, but Yu Wenzhou silently grabbed his wrist and shook his head at him.

They have known each other for so many years, and they can understand each other's meaning with every look and expression.Looking at the other person's expression, Huang Shaotian clearly told him to calm down and wait for the changes.

Sure enough, the mountain god continued: "According to the rules here, we should each tell a story, and if the story is not good enough, the room will be given up."

"How do you call it a good speech?" Huang Shaotian didn't understand why.

"It's just to convince the other party." Shan Shen said.

"I like this competition!" Huang Shaotian was eager to try, "Then I will come first! Once upon a time there was a mountain..."

Yu Wenzhou smiled at the side, showing an expression of winning.

……

Four or ten minutes later, the mountain god collapsed holding the pillar at the door: "You win! You win! Please stop talking—"

Huang Shaotian stopped calmly, still a little bit unsatisfied: "But don't you want to hear the ending?"

"I don't want to!" the mountain god said firmly.

He sat down by the door of the house, his chubby figure looked a little clumsy, but fortunately the protruding eaves were wide enough to barely block some rain for him.Huang Shaotian and Yu Wenzhou sat side by side by the empty alcove, looking at the gray rain curtain hanging from the door.

"Brother Mountain God," Huang Shaotian began to talk, "This is the first time I've seen a mountain god. I didn't expect you to look like this. It's not the same as what I thought when I was a child."

The mountain god asked, "What do you think it will be like?"

"Hmm..." Huang Shaotian thought about it seriously, "Be thinner and more handsome?"

"..." The mountain god was so sad that he didn't want to answer.

Huang Shaotian also realized that something was wrong, so he quickly changed the subject: "Didn't you just say that each of you should tell a story, Brother Mountain God, how about your story, tell it to make everyone happy?"

"Since you asked so, then I'll tell the story." The mountain god said, his voice visibly revived, and it seemed that he really liked telling stories. "Once upon a time, I had a friend who was a mountain god, and this is the altar dedicated to him..."

"Is this the 'My friend is me' series?" Huang Shaotian asked.

"No," Shanshen said angrily, "I'm from the opposite mountain."

Knowing that the person in front of them was not the one responsible for their trespassing, Huang Shaotian inexplicably felt much better.

"This mountain god is a very good god, and everyone likes him." The other party's storytelling level seems to be at the level of a primary school student's weekly diary, "He fell in love with a human being and lived a good life with him, but humans cannot live It was too long, and he passed away within a few decades. So the mountain god decided that no matter how many times that person was reincarnated, how far away he was born, or whether he didn’t remember the past at all, he would find him again and spend every lifetime with him. All together."

"Thinking about it, it's a little romantic." Huang Shaotian murmured, "As expected of a mountain god, it's so powerful to talk to someone."

"And every time he finds his lover, he will carve a mark here." The mountain god said, "Humans, if you look back, it should be on that wall."

Huang Shaotian jumped up and leaned against the wall to watch.In fact, there is no need to search so carefully, because there are many marks of all kinds, one by one, covering the entire stone wall.

Some marks are ancient characters, or older and unrecognizable symbols; some are small stick figures, drawing a flower, a cloud, or a grass; Perhaps only the mountain god who wrote them knows the meaning inside—the gentle lines engraved the long years into the stone, and there are as many marks as there are gains and losses.

Even if one day he can no longer find a place to engrave a new mark on the wall, he will probably keep looking for it forever, walking through the repeated paths in the world over and over again, to come to the lover who no longer remembers him.

Huang Shaotian stroked along the dents on the wall, looking at the marks one by one.Gradually he didn't know what was going on, he became more and more sleepy, and finally sat down against the wall and fell asleep.

Half asleep and half awake, he didn't hear the last words of the mountain god:

"But for a human being like you, isn't it dangerous to go up the mountain alone?"

The mountain god heard footsteps approaching the door, and then a voice with an unfamiliar tone but a familiar tone sounded: "Long time no see, you are still so fat."

He was so frightened that he jumped up on the spot and wanted to escape, but was grabbed by his tail by a hand.With a soft sound, the fat mountain god under the eaves disappeared, and what remained was a chubby raccoon whimpering and trying to save its tail.

Yu Wenzhou held its tail in one hand and said with a smile, "Is it fun to pretend to be a mountain god?"

"I really didn't mean it!" The raccoon was crying, although its fluffy face didn't show much expression, "I thought there was only one human in there, and I just wanted to scare him away, who knew that your old man was also there ah!"

"I don't really mind you pretending to be a mountain god," Yu Wenzhou said, "but when you pretend to be a mountain god, you still maintain a teapot figure, which will damage your image."

As soon as he let go, the raccoon quickly hugged its tail back with its paws. It curled up into a ball and said aggrievedly: "Although you have been gone for so many years, we still want to maintain your glorious image..."

"I really want to believe you," Yu Wenzhou spread his hands, "if I hadn't just heard a complete set of gossip in front of the client."

The raccoon twitched in despair and lay down on the ground to play dead.

Yu Wenzhou bent down and touched its ears. "But for the sake of respecting the facts in the story you tell," he said, "I don't care about you pretending to be a mountain god and stealing my sacrifices."

The raccoon opened his eyes secretly, seeing that the other party was not angry, and quickly rubbed his head against the palm of his hand to please him.After a while, it boldly poked its head into the door for a look, and quickly shrank back.

"He doesn't look much different than he did," the Raccoon murmured. "It's pretty good."

"It doesn't matter if it changes," Yu Wenzhou said, "I will always find him."

The water on the eaves still rolled down in strings, but no more rain fell on this mountain forest.He went into the room, threw his coat over the sleeping man's shoulders, and sat down by the wall.

His fingers lingered on the cold stone surface, thought for a moment, and drew the first line.

When Huang Shaotian woke up, the rain in the mountains had completely stopped.The setting sun was sinking in the western sky, over the opposite col, and shone in through the open door of the house, making the damp stone tiles on the ground sparkle.The air in the evening is as clean as it has been washed by water, and the fresh fragrance of flowers floats in the wind.

"Did I sleep for a long time?" He rubbed his neck and sat up.

"Not too long." Yu Wenzhou was packing his backpack beside him, "It just so happened that the rain stopped, so we can go back down the mountain."

"Let me tell you, I seem to have had a dream." Huang Shaotian tried to recall, "In the dream, a guy who claimed to be a mountain god came to the door and asked me to tell him a story, and then he told me another story, which is What was it about—I can’t remember clearly, but it seemed to be a love story anyway, and I still felt it was very touching in the dream.”

"That sounds interesting." Yu Wenzhou smiled, "What did that mountain god look like in your dream?"

"Round, like a ball, but quite friendly." Huang Shaotian picked up his backpack while gesticulating, "Do you think all mountain gods really look like that?"

"Trust me, absolutely not." Yu Wenzhou said with certainty.

They walked out of the sheltered hut and down the stone-paved path.Looking from this angle, the forest has completely washed away the gloom under the rain clouds, whether it is the dark green canopy in the valley or the sparkling stream in the forest, they are all shrouded in the golden afterglow of dusk.

"Didn't it mean that the morning glow does not go out, and the evening glow travels thousands of miles?" The young man's voice came faintly from a distance, and gradually became inaudible. "Tomorrow will definitely have a good weather, don't you think so..."

In the mountain forest after the rain, there are echoes of the evening wind blowing through the branches and leaves everywhere.The setting sun slowly moved down along the stone wall, and finally illuminated a newly carved pattern in the corner; the small sword was surrounded by staggered straight lines, and seemed to be shining with a faint light that never went out.

END