Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

Chapter 125 Floating Life

The snow fell sporadically and fell on the surface of the river, where it melted when it came into contact with the water.Qingping's eyelashes were stained with a piece, and she didn't have time to wipe it off, and the knees were soaked in water, and it was bitingly cold at this time.She carried Wu Ying's cold body on her back and walked towards the cave. The snow was getting heavier and denser and covered her vision. She walked a few steps with difficulty, but she couldn't move anymore. The person on the bed slipped slowly and fell to the ground. Her hair was covered with snow, and she slept peacefully among the hay.

Qing Ping knelt down beside her, brushing off the snowflakes on her head with trembling hands, but after wiping off the old ones, new ones were added, those cold snow fell on Wu Ying's open palm, almost fused with her.Qing Ping stared blankly at her serene side face, and stretched out his hand several times to touch it, as if an invisible force stopped her, but she still couldn't touch Wu Ying's face.Those snowflakes accumulated more and more, and the dead grass was lowered. Wu Ying lay quietly in the grass, letting the snow cover her eyes, Qingping slowly lowered her head, unable to bear it anymore, and wept bitterly.

If only this was a dream, she thought, if only this were a dream.

She should get up and brush the snowflakes off her shoulders, blaming herself for not being here.Qingping raised his hand to sweep away the thin snow, and the tears dried up after only a while.As if her eye sockets were frozen, she couldn't shed a tear anymore.Kneeling beside Wu Ying, Qingping stared blankly at the snow that was getting thicker and thicker on her body. She was immersed in grief and couldn't extricate herself. She didn't know what she was doing at all, and all the sounds around her were far away from her.It has been snowing for an unknown amount of time, and she has knelt for an unknown amount of time, and she vaguely heard someone talking, but what does this have to do with her?This idea disappeared in a flash, and she knelt silently in the snow, with a thick layer of snow on her body, and her consciousness gradually faded, and finally her eyes went dark, and she fell down in the snow.

As the cold subsided, her body gradually warmed up. Qingping only felt that the stinging eyes could not be opened. She walked a few steps and found herself sitting in the study, holding a book and reading.It was already dusk outside, the wicker stretched its soft branches in the evening wind, and the shadow of the tree was reflected on the paper window of the study, fluttering with the wind in the afterglow of dusk, like a blurred dream.Where does the light come from?She closed the book and put it back on the shelf, and walked out the door.

Before stepping out the door, he bumped into someone.Qingping looked up and saw that it was Wu Ying.Wu Ying was dressed as a child, with a childish look on her face, Qingping vaguely remembered that she was not like this, but for some reason she didn't want to think about it.Wu Ying complained: "My books were knocked down by you."

Qingping had no choice but to help her tidy up together, picking up the scattered books on the ground.Wu Ying finished counting the books, and said: "All of them are there." Perhaps she felt that she had done something wrong, so she said shyly, "Thank you, Qingping."

Qingping was slightly taken aback, and wanted to say no.But Wu Ying took out something from her sleeve and said, "This is for you."

She looked along the girl's palm, and there was a paper crane there.

Suddenly the palm of the person in front of her grew bigger and taller, she put the paper crane in her palm, Qingping felt very flustered, and said: "I don't want it, you take it back."

Wu Ying just smiled, got up and touched her head, her eyes reflected the brilliant sunset outside the door, like a warm light that was about to dissipate.

"It's okay, Qingping," she said.

Qingping suddenly opened his eyes, seeing the dancing flames in front of his eyes, the study in the dusk was like a warm old dream, disappeared with the afterglow.

Perhaps it was because the firelight was too warm, she didn't have time to tell where she was, and fell asleep again.

When Qingping woke up, it was in the early morning of a certain day, the outside was already covered with snow, and the field was covered with heavy snow, and it will continue to fall like this until the beginning of spring next year.After she collapsed near the cave with Wu Ying on her back, she was rescued by a group of farmers who came to the cave to fetch firewood. She woke up after being in a coma for half a month, because she was caught in the cold in the snow that day, and she was very reluctant to go to the ground. , can only walk slowly with the help of people.

Yunzhou is sparsely populated, and this village is located not far from the mountain, and has been isolated from the world for a long time.The people in the village are simple and enthusiastic. When they saw a person in distress like her, they took her home to take care of her.Qingping's old clothes are still there, and she took money from them to give to the family that took her in. The master felt sorry for her and didn't want to take her money, it was all a good deed.

As the new year was approaching, Qingping went to see Wu Ying in the old thatched house in the village.Because of the cold weather, Xu's body did not decompose, but his cheeks were severely sunken, and he didn't seem to have changed much from before.Qingping sat in the house for a long time, and finally decided to cremate Wu Ying and take her away.

Cremation is often practiced in remote places in Yunzhou, because the corpses are buried in the ground and are often dug out and eaten by hungry wild animals in winter.The farmer helped Qingping buy some dry firewood in the village. One day when the snow cleared, Qingping carried the firewood outside the village and carried Wu Ying out by himself.

The snow was deep, but Qingping didn't feel cold.Wu Ying lay on her back, it was never quiet before, she felt that she was much lighter.She trekked for a long time in the snow, put Wu Ying in the pile of firewood, straightened her clothes, melted the snow with her hands, and wiped her face clean. After all this was done, it was getting late when she looked up.Wu Ying's face was calm, and even the initial gloom between her brows disappeared.Qingping poured kerosene on the dry wood and held up the torch, but he couldn't do it for a long time.

She stood in the snow for a long time, her cheeks were flushed from the cold, even her lips seemed to be frozen, she opened her mouth a few times, but couldn't utter a single word.At last she said nothing, and lit the pyre before the night came.

The raging flames quickly swallowed the firewood, Wu Ying's face was reflected in the flames, Qing Ping could see it clearly, his chest was aching, thinking of that seemingly real dream, his heart felt sad again.She took out the paper crane from her clothes, looked at the writing on it, and wanted to throw it into the fire several times, but she was still reluctant.The paper crane was slightly hot after staying by the fire for a long time, and soon the flames became brighter, illuminating the surrounding snow, Qingping realized that he was too close to the fire, his fingers were burned, and a strand of hair was lifted by sparks When she got up, she retreated subconsciously, protecting the origami crane with her hand, but for a moment, Wu Ying was submerged in the fire, and she was never seen again.

Qingping held the paper crane in her arms. She didn't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, and she didn't know the depth of people's hearts. She thought that the most important lesson was to die here, but she never thought that it would fall on her best friend instead, so she told her goodbye. Everything has a price.

The snowy night is cloudless, the night sky is clear and clear, the stars are twinkling, unchanged from ancient times, silently watching the joys and sorrows of the world.

She couldn't say anything, but she didn't have to say anything.

The next day, Qingping put Wu Ying's ashes in a wooden box, packed them tightly, packed his bags, bid farewell to the villagers, and walked towards Anping County.

The villagers pointed out an official road for her, and asked her to walk along this road until she reached Anping County.

Qingping walked on this road for several days, but before reaching Anping County, one day he saw many fleeing people walking along the official road in panic with their family members saluting.Qingping had a bad heart, so he went up to ask. Those people said that the city of Anping County was broken. On the eve of the city's destruction, the county guard ignored the imperial court's ban and opened the rear passage, allowing tens of thousands of people in the county to flee in panic.

Qing Ping was speechless for a while, and asked: "What about the officials of the county government and the county magistrate?"

One of them wiped away his tears and said in a low voice: "Master Sun, the county magistrate, refuses to leave. I don't know what's going on now..."

There was a rumble in Qingping's ears, she bid farewell to the fleeing people, and continued to rush in the direction of Anping County.

The next day, more and more people were fleeing on the official road, rushing towards her like a torrent, and tens of thousands of refugees rushed towards Fengfeng and Fucheng in the face of the flying snow.

Qingping walked against the crowd for a few days. Originally, she still had hope, thinking that Sun Congshan and many colleagues in the government office would survive. Among the growing crowd of refugees, she finally heard the news that Sun Congshan, the governor of Anping County, He led the officials of the government and the Xirong army to fight to the death in the city, covering the escape of the residents in the county, and the last cadres all died in front of the city gate.

At that time, she was standing in the crowd, surrounded by the cries of refugees. The county town had been destroyed, and many people were separated from their families while fleeing. Hoarse and mournful cries could be heard everywhere.Some people are ruined, and they are alone, following the crowd in despair, with dead silence in their eyes, like a walking corpse.Qingping originally wanted to go back to Anping along the road, but there were too many people fleeing, she walked slowly against the direction, and soon some people who fled behind said in panic: "The people of Xirong are catching up, everyone run away! "

The fleeing crowd exploded, and no one was willing to leave behind and become the victim of the Xirong people.Many people in the crowd were scattered, and once they ran for their lives, they really didn't care about anything.For a while, the cries of children, the cursing and complaints of passers-by were heard endlessly, and an old man with gray hair was pushed into the grass. Seeing this, Qingping quickly helped her up. I can't walk anymore, it's a drag. Don't pay attention to me, run for your life quickly!"

She pushed Qingping four or five times, and said: "I am the only one left in the old man's family. There is no hope for this life. Girl, I know your good intentions. You should leave as soon as possible!"

There were more and more people behind, Qingping was pushed by the crowd and walked for a while, looking back, he saw the old man got up from the ground with his back to her, standing beside the rushing crowd, with gray hair and sad figure, as if he was Looking back at the distant hometown.

However, the clouds in the sky are surging, the snow is getting bigger and bigger, and the wind is carrying the heavy snow and rolling up the mourning. No matter what, the shadow of the hometown can no longer be seen.

Qingping was crowded with people all the way north. The snow was heavy and the weather was freezing. There were corpses curled up in the snow everywhere along the way. Those were people who were frozen to death on the way to escape, including the elderly and children.Because the weather was too cold, some people couldn't bear to take off the clothes on the dead body to keep out the cold, and then threw the naked | naked body in the snow.At this time, everyone only cares about running for their own lives, and there is no need to care about other people's minds.Traveling in the snowy weather where supplies are extremely scarce, in order to survive, people can do anything. Malicious robberies often break out in the arms of the crowd. The winter clothes and food were frozen to death and starved to death.

Qingping held the wooden box tightly in his arms when he was on the road during the day, and he had to be careful of people with malicious intentions to rob him when he slept at night.This journey was extraordinarily difficult, and finally arrived in Fucheng County at the beginning of the year.

Qingping queued outside the city for three days and three nights. Countless refugees continued to pour in. The line of entering the city could hardly see the end. review.People without paperwork could not enter the city. There were mourning and complaints outside the city. Some people broke through the barrier in groups, but they were quickly driven away by the soldiers who came.

There are wandering refugees everywhere outside the city. Several people gather around a small fire to keep warm and plan food in the snow.People wander outside the city like beasts, and people continue to die every day.Even though Qingping was used to seeing death all the way, he still couldn't help crying when he saw this scene.

Qingping was dressed in rags and looked like a beggar. The official in charge of checking the documents saw a big wooden box in her arms and asked, "What's in it?"

Qingping replied: "It's ashes."

Originally, items such as backpacks and boxes had to be opened for inspection, but perhaps because the official saw that Qingping was too pitiful, he didn't let her open it. He just checked her paperwork and let her enter the customs.

Fucheng County is not too big, and there are refugees everywhere in the city, and they may not be able to survive after entering the city.Because it was a wartime, the material capital in the city was limited, people kept freezing to death in the relief shed every day, and Qingping didn't have much money, so he couldn't afford to live in an inn.She found a ruined temple to live in. The clay sculptures in the temple had been destroyed by the refugees, and the prayer flags had been torn off to warm the fire.For her, as long as there is a place that can shelter from the wind and snow, it is enough.She slept in the temple at night, and went around to inquire about the news during the day, wondering when Yunzhou would be able to open and close.It's just that she had only lived for half a month, and there was another heavy snowfall. It snowed for several days in a row. Many refugees who escaped from the snowstorm came to the temple and lit fires in the temple to keep warm.

This is the coldest time of the year, and the fire in the temple attracts many homeless refugees. Qingping leans against the corner, curls up in the straw pile, holds the wooden box in his arms, and sees the constant snowflakes through the faint fire in the hall. Float in.She knew that many people would die that night. She had seen those who were frozen to death in the corner of the wall. Their bodies were sealed in ice and tightly attached to the city wall.The ice froze the city walls into dark blue, and also frozen them together. Only when the ice and snow melted in the spring could they be pried apart.

Every time Qingping passed by the city, he could see more and more people freezing to death in the city, and such shadows were everywhere, which were soon submerged in snow.Carrying a wooden box on her back, she wandered aimlessly through the streets and alleys. On the way to escape, she had brushed against death countless times, and even thought about dying.But I am used to seeing life and death all the way. In this icy purgatory, I don't know when, this idea gradually dissipated, replaced by the endless desire to live.

"Live."

She wrote down these words one by one in her heart, every night without dreams, she fell asleep tiredly, everything in the past was deeply buried in her heart, and finally she fell into a deep sleep with the clarity of hunger.

The heavy snow fell profusely, and many people in the temple were silent the next day.Some people searched for the belongings of the people who had been frozen to death one by one. Qingping hid the box in the straw and ran out of the temple with the things when the group of people were unaware.

After tonight, those cries were hard to hear, and many people were buried in the snow, including those painful partings.

Since she couldn't go back to the temple, she spent a few days in the relief shelter, and finally found out that the pass from Yunzhou was already passable.She bought some dry food with a few copper coins, went to the post station, looked for those caravans going to Guangyuan, and begged them to take her to Guangyuan with the remaining silver.

She wandered around the station for several days, and finally found a convoy willing to take her to Guangyuan.After half a month's journey, Qingping finally arrived in Guangyuan City. She pawned the fine white jade pendant. There were too many people pawning it when the current situation was chaotic. The shopkeeper had never seen any jewelry before, and only gave a very low As for the price, Qingping thought about it and decided to accept it.

The shopkeeper ordered the clerk to make a record, and asked, "Is the customer alive or dead?"

Qing Ping asked: "If it's death, do you want to give more money?"

The shopkeeper said: "That's natural, so that we can teach the guests to know that if we die, we will not be able to redeem it. Please think about it carefully."

Qingping smiled, slowly but firmly said: "Then let's die."

So she exchanged the jade pendant for some silver, mixed it on the cargo ship to Hezhou, lived in the bottom cabin with other refugees, and went south along the waterway.

The weather is getting warmer, the cold winter is about to pass, and spring is coming.

She arrived in Le'an, Hezhou at the end of March. Standing in front of the familiar city gate, the warm sun shone on her body, making people feel very warm.There are vibrant green everywhere, peach blossoms are blooming all over the city, she looked up, the sky is as blue as wash under the clear sky, and the figure of Le An Tower can be seen in the distance.

The people who came and went looked at her curiously, and Qingping knew that he must be in a mess right now.After escaping from Yunzhou, she hid on a cargo ship for a month. When she disembarked, she glanced at her own reflection in the water. Her coat was torn and her face was thin, like a hungry ghost.Standing in the sun, she greedily enjoyed the long-lost warmth, as if she had gained a new life.

For some reason, she laughed and tightened the things on her back.The breeze was smooth, and the pink petals rolled up and fell to her feet. She bent down to pick them up, her voice became lighter, and she patted the wooden box on her back against the glare of the sun, and said in a very soft voice: " Wu Ying, we are here."