Snow fell all night in Hanshan Temple. When I woke up in the morning, the snow in front of the steps was already up to my ankles.
Xie Qingshu gathered up the skirt of his plain robe and was squatting by the medicine garden, carefully cultivating the soil for an overwintering Ophiopogon japonicus. There were slight footsteps behind him, with a hint of deliberate caution.
Without turning his head, he said quietly: "It's difficult to travel on the snowy road. General Zhenbei isn't staying in the military camp. Why are you here in this cold mountain?"
Xiao Heng was dressed in a black outfit, with a thin layer of snow falling on his shoulders, which made his eyebrows look sharper. However, he lost the murderous spirit he had in the military camp. He just walked to Xie Qingshu carrying a food box and placed the food box on the stone table: "On the way."
Xie Qingshu finally straightened up and turned to look at him. The morning light fell on his cold brows and eyes, melting away some of the alienation, revealing a bit of jade-like warmth. "General Zhenbei's route may have come from Northern Xinjiang to the south of the Yangtze River."
Xiao Heng didn't refute, just opened the food box, which contained a steaming basket of crabmeal soup dumplings and a small pot of warm plum wine. "It's freshly steamed in the kitchen. I thought you might like it."
Xie Qingshu glanced at the soup dumplings, and the delicious aroma lingered on the tip of his nose. He lived in seclusion in Hanshan for three years, and Xiao Heng searched for him for three years. In the first year, he brought an army of 100,000 across the border, and the tranquility of the mountain gate was trampled by horse hooves; in the second year, he stood outside the mountain gate all night wearing commoner clothes and carrying half a jar of bad wine; this year, he learned to carry a basket of soup dumplings.
He walked to the stone table and sat down, picked up a soup dumpling, and gently bit into a small mouth, and the delicious soup spilled out. Xiao Heng was sitting opposite, not speaking, just looking at him, all the sharpness in his eyes gone, leaving only softness.
"The military camp is busy with affairs, generals don't have to..."
"I'm not busy." Xiao Heng interrupted him with a low voice, "The northern border has been determined, and the barbarians dare not invade. I asked your majesty to relinquish my military power and come to accompany you."
Xie Qingshu's hand holding the soup dumpling paused slightly and raised his eyes to look at him. The morning light passed through the gaps in the pine branches and fell between the two of them. The snowy light shone like stars scattered all over the ground.
"The cold mountains are pure and bitter."
"With you, there will be no pain."
Xie Qingshu lowered his eyelashes, and a faint smile slowly spread on his lips, like a plum blossom quietly blooming in the snow. He picked up the pot of plum wine, poured two glasses, and pushed one glass in front of Xiao Heng.
"Then, let's taste the snow in this cold mountain."
Snow falls among the pines, and the fragrance of wine floats, overflowing with years of waiting.
Intention: Let go of the shackles of obsession and identity, and pursue your true heart.