Chapter 3: The Wind Lady's Lonely Lamp

Xiaoqiu bent down on the horse, stretched out her right hand, and said in a hollow voice: "Come up and follow me.

Yelin Town, like a newly completed folk painting, suddenly came to a standstill. The residents in the distance woke up from the panic caused by the frightened horses, stretched their necks to look at the Shen family gate, and the crowd around the sedan chair was still in incredible surprise. The sound of horse hooves still echoed in their ears, and they still didn't understand what happened.

The little figure in front of the sedan seemed to be stunned and motionless.

A feeling of panic began to rise in Xiaoqiu's heart. He thought that Fangfang didn't hear what he said, or that he heard it and refused to accept it. In this case, he would become the biggest joke in the town and would not be able to get rid of it in ten years. .

If she doesn't get on the horse, I will run away by myself, Xiaoqiu made a decision at this moment.

The little figure hesitated for only a moment. Fangfang took off the red hijab, revealing a face that Xiaoqiu had no impression of.

He was stunned. The last time he saw Fangfang was two years ago.

From then on, Fangfang's movements became swift and neat. She picked up the hem of her skirt with one hand, put her foot on the lifting pole of the sedan, jumped up, held Xiaoqiu's hand with the other hand, and jumped behind him flexibly. Clothes, sit tight.

"Drive!" Xiaoqiu shouted.

The bay-red horse seemed to know that this gallop was of great significance. It raised its head and neighed, and ran towards the sunset at the end of the road.

All this happened in a very short time, Xiaoqiu had already run out for half a mile, and matchmaker Liu stood up in the sedan chair, put her hands on her brows, looked at the horse and two people in the distance, and said, "The new wife has been snatched away."

Mr. Shen was supported by two servants. After recovering from his shock, he repeated blankly: "The new wife was snatched away?"

Matchmaker Liu turned around and nodded solemnly, "Snatch it."

The groom's official, the eldest son of the Shen family, dimly knew that something was missing. He plopped down on the ground and howled, "Snatched! snatched!"

Er Shuan, dressed in new clothes, ran to the middle of the road and looked at the maroon horse walking in the distance. He and Xiao Qiu were enemies, but at this moment he worshiped him so much that he jumped several feet high, pumped his fist and shouted: "Good job! Brother Xiaoqiu!”

Master Shen was awakened by the shout, punched Er Shuan on the head, rushed across the street in a few steps, pulled out Lao Qiu from the crowd, and sprayed spit foam into his face, "That's your son, isn't it? He He stole my new wife!”

Lao Qiu was so frightened that he froze and said quietly: "He is still a child. When he comes back, I will beat him hard..."

"Wait for him to come back?" Mr. Shen's face turned the color of pig liver. His wife may be able to get her back, but his face will never be restored. "I want to report him to the official! I want to catch him and bring him back! I want him to enter Prison!"

The residents of Yelin Town had never seen Mr. Shen lose his temper like this before, and they were as frightened as Lao Qiu. They all thought that Xiao Qiu would be in trouble this time.

Xiaoqiu couldn't hear Master Shen's threat. The bay red horse had already run far away and was slowing down.

Xiaoqiu usually grazed and played in the forest at the east end of the town, and rarely came to the west. The gentle slope not far ahead was what he knew as the western boundary of Yelin Town. After passing it, it was another world.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He didn't understand why he wanted to do this. Behind him, Fangfang was holding his waist tightly, which was more real than anything in front of him.

"After passing this threshold, it is no longer Hengzhen." He said, looking for something to say.

"Yeah." The voice behind him was very soft, and the arms around his waist relaxed a lot.

Uphill, downhill, Xiaoqiu felt panic again.

"Who are you?" Fangfang asked.

"Xiaoqiu, don't you remember me?" In addition to panic, Xiaoqiu felt a little disappointed.

Fangfang didn't answer. After a while, she asked again: "Where are you taking me?"

"I don't know." Apart from escaping from Yelin Town, Xiaoqiu has not thought about any more questions.

"Where are you going to sleep tonight?"

"What next? Where will you live?"

"I don't know." Xiaoqiu felt frustrated because he had never considered any of the things Fangfang asked.

"Then what shall we eat?"

Xiaoqiu was annoyed by the question and said angrily: "Drink the northwest wind."

There was no sound behind her for a while. Xiaoqiu was feeling guilty when her arms around her waist suddenly tightened a little tighter. Fangfang whispered: "Then drink the northwest wind."

The sky was getting dark, but Xiaoqiu's panic disappeared. "I'll go find something to eat later, and then find a place to sleep. I'll continue walking tomorrow, wherever I go...Besides, I won't let you starve anyway."

Xiaoqiu thought about the skills she had learned in the forest during herding, and felt that it was not a big problem.

"Yeah." Fangfang said softly without asking any more questions.

No one was chasing after them. There were only a dozen horses in Hengzhen, and they all ran away without knowing where to go.

After walking in silence for a while, Fangfang suddenly said: "Ahead is Granny Feng's house, we can stay there."

Xiaoqiu saw a little light in front of her a long time ago and said in surprise: "Is she that crazy old woman who is not allowed to enter the town?"

"Grandma Feng is not an old crazy woman. She often goes into town to buy things. She is a very nice person. She lives outside the town because she loves peace and quiet."

Xiaoqiu didn't argue. He had heard the rumors about Granny Feng since he was a child, and the impression was a bit scary. During the next journey, he kept thinking of excuses for not getting in.

However, seeing the light change from soybeans to a warm glow, Xiaoqiu gave in. Even if he lived in the old crazy woman's house, it would be better than sleeping in the wilderness. He was tired, and he thought that Fangfang must be even more tired.

Xiaoqiu jumped off the horse first, then reached out to help Fangfang down. Looking directly at her face for the second time, she still felt unfamiliar, but this may be because it was too dark.

Fangfang lowered her head, stretched her numb legs, and led the way to the wooden gate.

This was a small courtyard embedded in lush vegetation. The fence was covered with plants, and there was almost no trace of human intervention. If it weren't for the little light coming from the courtyard, passers-by might not have seen the existence of the three thatched houses.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a wooden pole as thick as a bowl, on which sat a small oil lamp. Xiaoqiu immediately regarded this unusual behavior as evidence of a "crazy woman". Just as she was about to call Fangfang, she had already walked around the oil lamp and rushed to a person at the door of the thatched house, crying, "Grandma Feng."

A wrinkled but extremely kind face was revealed in the dim light. Xiaoqiu's nervousness and vigilance disappeared at once. This could not be a madman. He walked in slowly, followed by the bay horse.

"Fangfang? Why are you here in the middle of the night? Aren't you getting married today?" Grandma Feng was short, about the same height as Fangfang, who was about ten years old. Her voice was vague, as if she had lost a few teeth.

Fangfang cried, crying very sadly, saying something intermittently, her voice became more vague, Xiaoqiu stood in the yard uncomfortably, and the red horse stretched its head to sniff around his neck to give him some comfort.

Grandma Feng hugged Fangfang and warmly invited them into the house.

Sitting on the stool, Fangfang finally stopped crying, "I don't want to marry the Shen family, Xiaoqiu... Xiaoqiu rescued me."

The oil lamp was also lit in the room, brighter, and Grandma Feng looked at Xiaoqiu with a smile, "Well, good boy, pretty handsome, why did you save Fangfang?"

"Xiaoqiu, Xiaoqiu." Grandma Feng repeated the name, "A few years ago, did you take Fangfang and tell people everywhere that she was your wife?"

Now both of them blushed, lowered their heads, and no one looked at each other.

Grandma Feng laughed even more happily, her eyes curved into slits, and tremblingly brought half a pot of rice porridge and a few side dishes, muttering in her mouth that it was really pitiful, Fangfang wanted to help, but she didn't accept it.

Xiaoqiu was really hungry. She was quite reserved at first, but soon she didn't care about pretending and drank the porridge in big mouthfuls. She filled another bowl after another. Just when she was about to thank Grandma Feng, there was a sudden sound of hurried horse hooves outside, followed by a loud voice shouting: "Grandma Feng, did you see two children riding horses passing by?"

Xiaoqiu's heart tightened. The red chestnut horse was still outside and would be seen by the pursuers at a glance.

Grandma Feng smiled at the two of them, indicating that there was no need to be afraid. She turned around and left the house, and asked at the door: "Who is it?"

It was still the same loud voice, "It's me, Shen Laosi from the town... Oh... Disobedient stubborn donkey, I'll kill you when I go back..."

"Oh, you mean Fangfang?"

"Yes, she got married today and was snatched away at the gate."

"I saw it. She was still wearing the bride's clothes. She ran over and ran over in a flash."

There was a sound of hooves outside, and the people who came left, not just Shen Laosi.

Grandma Feng came into the house after a while, still smiling, as if lying was commonplace, "Don't worry, you will be fine in my house."

"My horse..." Xiao Qiu was puzzled.

"Your horse is eating grass in the back." Grandma Feng comforted, and served Xiaoqiu another bowl of rice porridge, then sat opposite, hugged Fangfang intimately, and asked the boy: "Where are you going to take Fangfang?"

Xiaoqiu was already a little prepared, quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, and said anxiously: "Go a little further, I will release the horse, or do something else, I can learn it, anyway... anyway, the Shen family can't find out."

Grandma Feng nodded approvingly, "Well, so you have a plan, are you willing to listen to my advice?"

Xiaoqiu didn't think this old woman was scary at all, and the rumors in the town were obviously not credible, "Of course, I'll listen to you."

"Haha." Grandma Feng turned her head and glanced at the little girl in her arms. The dense wrinkles on her face were enough to make the viewer lost. "In any small town, the two of you will be very eye-catching. I suggest you go to Xijie City. Do you know where it is?"

"Isn't that our capital?" Xiaoqiu said immediately, not wanting to appear ignorant.

"Well, it's a big capital city. Go along the official road, passing Linhe Town, Xiao'er Fort and Da'er Fort. It will take about a month to get there. You can go even faster by riding a horse."

"Xijie City, one month." Xiaoqiu repeated numbly, feeling that it was really far away, as if it was a journey to the horizon.

Grandma Feng noticed the boy's panic and smiled more, "I will write down an address later. When you get to Xijie City, you can go find an old sister of mine. She will help you get established. When you grow up a few years and can get married, you don't have to be afraid of the Shen family anymore."

The two blushed together. Xiaoqiu hesitated and didn't dare to speak. He didn't know how to describe his true thoughts: he just wanted to rescue Fangfang and never thought about marrying her.

Granny Feng settled the two of them to sleep in the inner and outer rooms respectively, and walked to the yard alone to add oil to the lonely lamp. She looked around with her head raised, sighed, and whispered: "Let's go, let's go, the farther the better, everything is destined."

Her tone was like she was talking to herself, but a reply came from the corner of the courtyard: "Why interfere with something that is destined? You know our rules." Granny Feng turned her head to look at the blue-clothed Taoist priest in the shadows, with no surprise on her smiling face, "Strictly speaking, I didn't do anything. The two children ran out of Yelin Town on their own. This doesn't count as breaking the rules, right?"

"Alas." The Taoist priest in blue sighed, "I just don't understand, the building is about to collapse, but you are spending your mind on two ants."

"It's just a little effort, why not do it?" Grandma Feng smiled even more, "Is the rumor true? A large number of demons escaped?"

The Taoist priest in blue nodded, "It's not far from here. You have lived here for a long time, don't you have any awareness?"

Grandma Feng glanced at the lonely small oil lamp in the yard and said nothing. As long as this lamp was there, she had nothing to fear.

The Taoist priest in blue took a step back, almost disappearing in the shadows, and said solemnly: "The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished."

Grandma Feng put away her smile, tried to stand up straight, and the whole person instantly became much taller, "The fire of Taoism will not be extinguished."