Stealing Pens: Travelers from the End of the World

They didn't stay at the door for long.

More than ten minutes later, the wooden door opened from the inside and two little monks walked out.

"Two distinguished guests, please come in." The little monk's reaction to the arrival of Zhang Qiling and Qin Yuchen was calm, as if he knew from the beginning that there were people waiting at the door, and he also knew that the people waiting were them.

The two men greeted each other in unison, and one of the young monks reached out to take the reins.

They handed him the reins and walked in.

This Lama temple was built against the mountain, with the houses leaning against the rocks and extending upwards.

A crooked main road extends along the extension of the houses, and branches out into many small intersections to connect these houses together, making them form a whole.

The two of them were now in the front yard, which contained only some stools, tables and farm tools. However, due to the accumulation of snow, it was impossible to tell what materials they were made of.

"Please come this way." The little monk who came in with them led the way with all his heart and led the two to the end of the road.

After a while, the three of them stopped in front of a house.

The little monk lifted the curtain in front of Tan Yuchen and Zhang Qiling, motioning for them to go in:

"Inside please."

"Thank you." Qin Yuchen nodded and thanked him, then walked in with Zhang Qiling.

As soon as you come in, the warmth hits you in the face.

There was a big temperature difference between inside and outside the house. The two of them frowned subconsciously and pulled the scarves on their faces down at the same time. Then Qin Yuchen began to look around the house.

The room was not very big. There was a fire pit in the center for heating. There were several low tables on both sides. There was a futon behind each table. There were pens, ink and documents on the tables, some of which were open.

That should be for people to copy and put away.

However, there is no one in these positions now.

And right opposite the door, there sat an old man.

He was wearing a monk's robe, with his hands folded and his eyes closed.

He must have noticed someone coming in, so he raised his eyelids and looked towards them.

After just one glance, the old man stood up and walked over slowly.

When he was only a few steps away from Zhang Qiling, he bowed slightly and said, "You are here."

"Yeah." Zhang Qiling bowed in return.

The old man greeted Qin Yuchen again and moved aside to let the two of them sit down:

"It seems you have remembered a lot."

Zhang Qiling nodded and did not deny it.

The old man smiled, poured them some tea, and asked casually, "Are you confused?"

Zhang Qiling shook his head again, lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment, then said: "I will bring back the news. There should be a lot to remember this time."

Hearing this, the old man's gaze slowly fell on Tan Yuchen, who had not said a word since entering the room, and he understood.

Then he said something without any context: "Follow your heart."

"?"

Qin Yuchen withdrew his gaze from the cup and looked at the old man with a puzzled look.

Zhang Qiling knew what this sentence meant. He smiled silently and picked up the teacup to cover the corners of his raised mouth.

The conversation between the two was very brief, but even so, it still took quite a while to go through several rounds.

Qin Yuchen didn't interrupt from beginning to end. He was like a listener, sitting aside and listening quietly to their every word.

The old man asked Zhang Qiling if he needed to see the documents, and told him who had investigated.

Zhang Qiling listened mostly, and when there were questions that needed to be answered, he just gave a brief statement.

The two never mentioned the room.

But the three of them knew it clearly and knew that they had to go and take a look.

It was already late when we came out of the old man's house.

The cold wind at night was extremely biting, and the scarves and hats that they had taken off in the house were now put back on them.

Qin Yuchen held the lantern and followed Zhang Qiling for a distance towards the residence before finally stopping.

The place where he was standing now just happened to allow him to see the yard where he had just entered.

The moonlight shone through the snow, casting a layer of silver light on the yard. Qin Yuchen was able to see the motionless statue standing next to the yard with his sharp eyes.

That was the first time he and Zhang Qiling came to Motuo, and Zhang Qiling left it at the Lama Temple.

They were just friends at that time.

Qin Yuchen also maintained a certain distance. Knowing some of the plot through 007, he felt that as an outsider, it was not easy for him to get involved in such matters, so he did not follow Zhang Qiling to the Lama Temple, but stayed in the small town at the foot of the mountain.

Another reason is that,

For Qin Yuchen, the feeling of family affection is too far away. Each time he has it, it is only short-lived, followed by a blank period of many years.

Faced with such a thing, Qin Yuchen didn't know what it felt like to have someone accompany him.

So he subconsciously thought that Zhang Qiling must be thinking of someone.

Would it have been better if I had been with Zhang Qiling at that time?

Qin Yuchen thought so.

The footsteps behind him disappeared. Zhang Qiling stopped and turned around to see Qin Yuchen who was thinking silently.

"dust."

Zhang Qiling didn’t know what Qin Yuchen was thinking, nor did he know what happened in these few short minutes.

All he knew was that the man who rarely showed his emotions now looked a little sad.

Zhang Qiling walked to the side of Qin Yuchen, slowed down his voice, and called out gently.

The biting cold wind brought in a hint of tenderness, which dispelled some of Qin Yuchen's emotions.

The breath of the person next to him gradually approached, and then a figure appeared in front of him, forcing his eyes to fall on Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling learned a lot of little tricks from him.

First, Zhang Qiling touched his face with his hand, then someone pulled up the brim of his hat, and finally he patted his head soothingly.

Qin Yuchen mercilessly slapped away the hand that was causing trouble above his head, wrapped his arms around Zhang Qiling's waist and hugged him tightly, rubbing his head against his shoulder.

Zhang Qiling didn't think about it and hugged back immediately. One hand fell on Qin Yuchen's head again. He heard Qin Yuchen drawl and call him in a muffled voice:

"Zhang Qiling..."

"Well, I'm here."