no soul

Granny Shi may have been lonely for too long, she slowly told the story of the past.

From the beginning of the snow-capped mountains to the migration of the village; from the major events in the village to the daily trivialities of oneself, from the lively years to the famine years...

Telling the story of the only son's childhood with a smile, complaining about this traveler who did not return.

The old voice resounded in the dark room, not in a hurry, as if tracing the growth rings inch by inch with fingertips, like steady footprints in time.

Long and not warm, it seems that even the flickering light and shadow are stretched very long...

The woman didn't say a word, she just stared at the fire in a daze, listening to Granny Shi's words and occasionally nodded to indicate that she was listening.

From her eyes, it can be seen that this is a sad person, so everyone agreed and did not ask about her story.

Grandma Shi didn't ask, neither did Lin Hong and Wan Guchuan.

They are all listening to this old voice, like tasting the old spirits in the cellar of time.

Granny Shi couldn't hear their questions, so she didn't need to respond aloud, just listened silently.

Heating permeates every inch of the house.

The house is built of stone, and several walls are covered with warm cotton or animal skins, and hunting gear is hung.

The hunting gear is rusty because it has not been used for too long.

Even the house is old.

After Granny Shi finished telling her story, the ending slowly melted into the peace, and the whole room was silent, like the silence that Granny Shi had been used to day and night.

Only the firewood was crackling, and the lid of the boiled Choshi was gently bumping against the mouth of the pot, making a "ta-ta-" sound. (Note 1)

It was so natural, no one needed to speak, and the atmosphere was just right.

Lin Hong and Wan Guchuan sat on the kang against the wall.

The heat and the silence made Lin Hong a little sleepy, his body was unstable, his head tilted and hit Wan Guchuan's shoulder, startled, he regained his senses, and sat up straight.

Wan Guchuan looked at him sideways, and saw him sitting there, staggering with his eyes closed, and was about to fall over to the wall again.

Wan Guchuan raised his hand, walked around behind him and placed it on the hard and cold stone wall.

Lin Hong's head just hit the back of his hand.

Lin Hong woke up again, opened his eyes, sat up straight in a daze, and held on, "It's strange, it's not yet noon, why am I so sleepy..."

"Sleep if you want to sleep for a while." Wan Guchuan said.

"No..." Lin Hong raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, now it's better to look for clues while it's daytime, "What's the arrangement?"

Wan Guchuan glanced at an old man and a woman in the room. The old man couldn't hear their questions, and the woman remained silent.

"Go out for a stroll." Wan Guchuan said.

Before Lin Hong could answer, Grandma Shi's elderly voice sounded, "It's going to snow heavily."

Lin Hong almost thought she heard them talking, but after looking carefully, she realized that she was just talking to herself.

"If it's going to snow, I won't be able to go." Lin Hong looked at Wan Guchuan, "It's snowing heavily in the mountains, so I can't go."

He had a deep understanding of this yesterday.

Wan Guchuan hesitated, and glanced at the woman, "Then wait for the snow to stop."

"Sleep for a while." He looked at Lin Hong.

"Where to sleep?" Lin Hong was indeed sleepy and yawned.

Wan Guchuan raised his eyes and looked around the room.

Except for the living room, the small room has only two compartments, without screens and doors, and only thick cloth is hung on the door frame to separate them.

Presumably these two compartments were the rooms of Granny Shi and his son.

It's not time to go to bed, and Granny Shi didn't arrange a room for them.

Wan Guchuan looked at him, lowered his eyes, and said softly, "Lean on me."

Lin Hong slept until lunch.

Some people feel refreshed, while others have sore arms...

Sure enough, as Grandma Shi said, there was already a heavy snowfall outside the window at some point.

The snowflakes swirled in the biting cold wind and landed silently.

Covered with snow, to erase all traces.

Including, the woman's footprints.

Wan Guchuan originally planned to follow her footprints to find where she came from, but now it seems impossible.

Because of the arrival of the three young people, Grandma Shi cooked an extra-rich lunch, eating wild game against the mountains.

Granny Shi is an old man at home, and the villagers take good care of her, and she will always share some of the prey they hunt, so she is doing well.

A hot table.

"Eat more!" Grandma Shi was very enthusiastic, her yellow and black face was flushed, she was missing a front tooth, and she smiled like a childish child.

"Wow! Thank you, Grandma Shi!" Lin Hong knew she couldn't hear, but still wanted to say.

Granny Shi's craftsmanship is also quite good.

After the meal, the woman helped Granny Shi clean up the dishes without saying a word.

Lin Hong was even thinking, could she be dumb because she couldn't speak at all?

The snow came and stopped quickly, and Lin Hong and Wan Guchuan were going to go out to have a look while there was no wind and snow.

As soon as he went out, Lin Hong tightened his fur coat and hid the lower half of his face in the collar.

The exhaled white gas can obscure the vision.

Everything is white, even the sky is bleak, and the air after the snow is even colder and choking.

The snow that has just been laid is extra fluffy, and it can sink a lot under one foot.

The village is quite large, built along the terrain, in a continuous stretch, with snow on the roof, quietly as if sleeping in the cold wind.

The fence in the courtyard was slanted, and half of it was flooded, and the cleared road in front of the door was covered with snow again.

Wan Guchuan said that he wanted to visit the village.

"Then I'll go find someone to ask. It's too cold, let's split up and make a quick decision." Lin Hong stretched out his fingers and pulled the collar to cover the bridge of his nose.

The two acted separately.

Lin Hong walked through a family's courtyard and knocked on their door.

It was the owner of the house who opened the door. He was short and stocky, with a beard. He yawned a long time before he woke up. His voice was raised a lot because of the yawn, "What's the matter, guest?"

"Brother, can I ask you some questions?" Lin Hong was at a loss when he thought that the people here were xenophobic.

The man smiled, "A stranger, right? It's cold outside, come in."

Isn't it exclusive?So not deporting them not because they are from the outside world?So what happened to deporting that woman?

Lin Hong followed the man into the house.

The house in this family is much more spacious than Granny Shi's, with more decorations, and the fire is burning more vigorously. A choko is on top of it "clanging" and the water is steaming.

The animal skins were spread all over the ground, and they were extremely soft to step on.

"哐" There was the sound of bowls colliding and splashing water in the kitchen, and a woman's voice was high-pitched and thin, "It's that man who is particularly good at hunting, his surname seems to be Li... yes, yes, his surname is Li." , I’m talking about his wife, stealing people!”

"Sit." The man didn't answer the woman, but motioned Lin Hong to sit down.He also sat back on the chair covered with animal skins, leaning casually.

Lin Hong picked a place nearby, untied his fur coat, and prepared to chat for a while.

The woman was still talking, accompanied by the sound of enamel bowls colliding and the sound of water, "It's so unruly! That woman doesn't look like a good woman with the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues'."

Lin Hong glanced at the source of the sound, and the thick cloth covered the scene in the kitchen.

Because the weather is too cold, the houses in this village are all single buildings, with courtyards surrounded by wood, but there is no independent kitchen, so the heating can circulate anywhere.

The man still didn't respond to the woman.

While washing the dishes, the woman was still talking, "She still refuses to admit it, the man she stole has admitted it - that is, the newly moved man who has not yet married, and scolded her for being heartless, hahahaha this woman Ah, scolding at both sides, her husband will also say that she is heartless!"

It's too noisy to talk gloatingly about people's misfortune...

Lin Hong looked at the fire and rubbed his nose, forgetting all the questions he wanted to ask.

The man turned a deaf ear to the woman's words, looked at Lin Hong, and said, "What does the guest want to ask?"

"Uh... did any major events happen in the village?" Lin Hong asked.

The man stroked his beard, "It depends on what kind of question you are asking. Is there a major matter of life and death, and there are many small things in the house."

"Wow" the thick cloth in the kitchen was pulled away, and a fat woman who looked a bit aggressive came out. She saw the steaming water vapor, "Oh! The water is boiling, why don't you pile it up?" !"

She walked over, lifted Chozi who was making a "clang, clang" sound, and saw Lin Hong, "Hey, here's a guest!"

She smiled, "It's pretty handsome! Where are you from? What do you do here? Are you planning to settle here?"

"Is there a marriage?" The woman wiped her red and swollen hands with a handkerchief, "I have a beautiful cousin, sir, think about it?"

Lin Hong was dazed by these hurly-burlying questions.

"Can you fucking shut up!" the man finally said, "Stop for a while!"

The woman stopped talking for a moment.

Lin Hong was also stunned.

The air seemed to be frozen, only Choshi's ignorance was making a soft sound, and the atmosphere was so embarrassing as to die...

The woman mentioned Choshi, turned around and left, and gave Lin Hong a hard look as she left.

Lin Hong: "..."

"The guest is laughing at me. If I offend you, I will still look at Haihan." The man said politely.

This attitude is a bit big in comparison.Lin Hong touched the back of his neck, "It's okay, I'm the one who bothered you."

"What else does the guest want to ask?" the man asked.

In fact, the woman who wants to ask has already said it. "It's nothing, that's the problem." Lin Hong stood up and said again: "I'm bothering you."

"Stay for dinner." The man stayed.

"No, I still have a friend outside, and I'm going to find him." Lin Hong picked up his fur coat, thinking that he would have a long talk, but unexpectedly wanted to leave without even sitting on the stool.

Walking out the door, Lin Hong was instantly enveloped in the cold, but somehow he felt that the air outside the house was more relaxing.

It is too easy to find a person wearing a black cloak in the blinding white snow.

Wan Guchuan stood on the side of the village, near the snow mountain.

Lin Hong walked towards him with one foot deep and one foot shallow. The cold wind blew on his face like a knife, making his fur coat fly away, and all the hot air brought out from the room just now was blown away.

Wan Guchuan stood in the cold wind, behind him was the vast snowfield, so white as nothingness.

The whole person is tall and slender, tall and straight, with flying ink hair, scattered on the dark cloak, black eyebrows, thin lips with a light color, and drooping eyes, which seem to be more chilling than the cold.

As Lin Hong walked over, he raised his eyes and looked over. Looking from a distance, the sharpness in his eyes was instantly sharpened by the cold wind, and it was clearly gentle at that moment.

A spring breeze blows through the bitter air.

Lin Hong was stunned, his heart skipped a beat, he didn't leave, and just watched him from afar.

"Come here and take a look." Wan Guchuan didn't notice the change in his expression, let alone the change in Lin Hong, and he set his eyes on the snow again.

Lin Hong almost moved over, keeping his eyes on the ground, "Why?"

Wan Guchuan knelt down and pointed to a place for him to see, "This."

It was a few footprints that were not very obvious covered by snow—the footprints of a woman.

The rest were covered, and there were only a few that could be discerned.

Lin Hong bent over to look, "It's the footprints of the woman from the snow mountain, but unfortunately there are only a few left."

"Yeah." Wan Guchuan stretched out his slender fingers to trace the outline of the footprint in the air, "She came from the snow mountain, but, look..."

"The toes of these footprints are facing the snow-capped mountains."

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Note 1:

Choko: [diào]

A utensil for decocting medicine or boiling water. It is shaped like a relatively tall pot with a large mouth and a cover, and a handle on the side. It is made of sand or metal.