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Chapter 29 – Numerous disasters, Part 9
Chapter 29 – Numerous disasters, Part 9
Chapter 29 – Numerous disasters, Part 9
Yang Guo laughed and said, “What’s so special about other people’s children? Of course except we make one ourselves.”
Xiao Longnü’s face turned red. Yang Guo’s words touched a mother’s instinct deep in her heart. She thought to herself, “Only if I could give you a child… Alas, how would I have such a good fortune?”
For fear that she would be sad; Yang Guo didn’t dare to look her in the eyes. Instead, he lifted his head to check the weather and then saw that the northwest sky was low and heavy as if it would crush down any minute. He said, “Looks like today it will snow heavily. We’d better stay overnight in someone’s home.” When they were evading the fires, they walked down the back side of the mountain to a remote and uncultivated no-road area that was filled with scattered rock piles and thorny bushes. They climbed up to the high ground and looked in all directions. Unexpectedly there was no smoke from a house within a ten li radius. Yang Guo said, “The snow definitely won’t be light. If we get snowed in on the mountain, that could be pretty bad. Let’s push a little harder. Today we must get off the mountain.”
Then Xiao Longnü asked, “Do you think Uncle Wu and Guo Guniang [Miss Guo] will run into the Mongolian army? And could the Taoist priests from the Quanzhen sect get away with their lives?” While saying this, she was genuinely concerned about these people.
Yang Guo said, “Your conscience is really too good. These people have wronged you and yet you still don’t forget all about them. No wonder years ago your master realized that your conscience was too good. Afraid that you’d be miserable later on, she had you practice cutting off all emotions and desires, not involving yourself in all matters. Yet you’ve been caring for me, wasting your over ten years practice. You are also concerned about everybody.”
Xiao Longnü faintly smiled and said, “Is that so? I’ve made your life miserable. In bitterness there is sweetness. My worst fear is that you wouldn’t want me to be concerned about you.”
Yang Guo said, “That’s right. The more bitter… the sweeter. It’s much better than no pain and no gain. I can be madly crazy but can’t stand too many quiet and peaceful days.”
Xiao Longnü giggled and said, “Didn’t you say we’d go south to farm, raise some chickens, and enjoy the sun?”
Yang Guo sighed and said, “I only hope we can always be like this.”
They walked for another several li and then the empty sky was filled with flying snow. At the beginning it was quite light but then the north wind gradually picked up and the more it snowed the heavier it became. The two people knew they couldn’t set their minds at ease until after the blizzard; they used their lightness skills to rush ahead.
Xiao Longnü suddenly asked, “Guo’er, where do you think my shi zi [Apprentice Sister] has gone to?”
Yang Guo responded, “You are still worried about her. We didn’t kill her this time and don’t know… and don’t know…” He originally was going to say “and don’t know if we will be able to when we run into her again” but he was afraid that he’d give Xiao Longnü grief so he decided not to say it.
Xiao Longnü said, “Shi zi [Apprentice sister] is actually a very pitiful person.”
Yang Guo said, “She isn’t willing to be pitiful alone but is determined to make everybody in the world miserable like herself.”
While they were saying this, the sky became even gloomier. But as they came around the corner of the mountain, they suddenly saw a tiny little wooden house between two big pine trees. Several inches of thick white snow were accumulated on its roof.
Yang Guo said in delight, “Great. Let us stop here tonight.” They rushed forward but noticed that the door was left ajar, with no trail of footprints in the snow outside the house. In a clear voice he said, “We passers-by are out here in the snow. May we stay overnight at your place?” A while passed and there was no reply from inside the house.
Yang Guo pushed the door open and saw that there was no one inside. All the tables and benches were covered in dust, indicating that no one had occupied this place for a long time. He then called Xiao Longnü to enter the house. She shut the door and started a fire. A spear was hung on a wooden wall and there was a rabbit snare in one corner of the room. It looked like this place was a temporary hunting shack. In another room there was a bed, with several already tattered wolf skins piled on top. Yang Guo picked up the spear and went out to hunt a deer. He was successful and when he came back, he skinned and dressed it. He used the snow to scrub it clean and then roasted it over the fire.
During this time it snowed even harder outside. But the fire was burning bright inside the house, making it warm like spring. Xiao Longnü chewed the deer meat before feeding it to Guo Xiang. While flipping the meat back and forth over the fire, Yang Guo looked at the two of them with a smile.
The fire was gently crackling. The room was filled with the smell of roasted meat. The small shack on the wild mountain was indeed a warm and deliciously smelling world.