At the end of February, the temperature at night in Berlin was still quite cold, but Famous was brought into the oxygen cabin of the flight. The temperature was about 25 degrees Celsius, as warm as late spring.
The flight attendants heard that it was the dog that won the Best Actor award at the Berlin Film Festival, so they took good care of it.
Looking at the tall white flight attendant's long legs dangling in front of the dog cage, Famous suddenly thought that if it was possible, Zhang Zian would definitely be willing to swap places with it …
After the flight took off, the surrounding noise gradually faded away. The oxygen cabin was warm and quiet, and only the low humming sound of the ventilation fan could be heard.
Famous was still excited, and hadn't calmed down from the ecstasy of winning the award.
Although the night was still long, it didn't think it could fall asleep, so it just wanted to lie down and rest for a while. Just lie down …
Almost instantly, it fell asleep.
…
"Brother Famous! Brother Famous! Wake up, the convoy is about to depart. "
Famous shook its ears and opened its eyes.
The sky was a little cloudy, and the surrounding temperature was almost exactly the same as in the oxygen cabin. It was the best late spring of the year.
Old Time Tea stood in front of it with a smile. "Brother Famous, your eyes and ears are very sensitive. Usually, when there is movement in the convoy, you are the first to wake up. Why are you so sleepy today?"
Famous yawned. "It feels like I just fell asleep."
Old Time Tea laughed. "Brother Famous is talking in your sleep again. Last night, Brother Famous fell asleep as soon as you lay down. You must have slept for at least ten hours. How could you say I just fell asleep?"
Famous looked around. In the village not far away, smoke was curling up, and chickens were crowing and dogs were barking.
The silent men carried their burdens and hoes to work in the fields, beginning the hard work that had been going on for thousands of years.
The chattering peasant women walked to the river in groups of three or five. Some carried wooden basins upstream to wash clothes, and some carried toilets downstream to dump feces and urine. Their voices were high and sharp, and they excitedly guessed the bride's appearance. From time to time, they would come up with a few dirty jokes that would make girls blush and their hearts beat faster.
The Wu family's convoy stayed in the village last night, and they would continue to depart today.
The world was not peaceful. Every day, the caravan would set off after daybreak. Before the sky was completely dark, they would look for villages and towns to stay. Along the way, they would try their best to take the main roads and official roads. They would cross rivers and detour around mountains, trying their best to avoid high mountains and dense forests. The route was winding.
There were many delicate women in the procession. Every day, they would complain that their backs and legs were sore after a little more walking. The carriages loaded with dowries sometimes got stuck in the mud, and sometimes got stuck in the cracks of the stones. They had to pull the horses to get out. The journey was much behind schedule.
The day of their arrival in Binhai Town was still far away. Seeing that they might miss the auspicious day if they delayed any longer, Wu Mancheng was so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters. Before dawn, he urged the team to get up, wash up, and get ready to leave.
From afar, Famous could hear his loud shouts.
Since they set off from Foshan, the three of them had been following behind the convoy. Wu Ning wanted to invite them to accompany her carriage, but Wu Mancheng didn't agree.
It wasn't that he was ungrateful. The name of the Chivalrous Cat and the Chivalrous Dog was widely known in Foshan, but the in-laws didn't know about it yet. If they listened to the gossip and thought they were ghosts, it might bring unnecessary trouble to the wedding.
Wu Ning felt guilty, but Famous and Old Time Tea didn't care. Xinghai was afraid of people. Even if Wu Ning invited them, they wouldn't say yes. Besides, it was inconvenient to sneak into the convoy, so they might as well follow from afar.
The large group of people packed up. Wu Mancheng, who was riding a tall horse, gave an order. The sound of the carriage bells rang incessantly, and the convoy slowly set off again.
"Let's go and have breakfast." Famous smelled the smoke from the kitchen and suddenly felt hungry.
Old Time Tea naturally agreed.
"Meow!"
Famous looked back. A black and white kitten jumped out of the grass, stretched out its two front paws, and happily pounced on a butterfly that was flying through the wildflowers.
The butterfly nimbly twisted its body and escaped from the gap between its paws.
"Xinghai, don't you feel bored catching butterflies every day?" Famous shook its head. "It's so nice not to have to eat … But we still have to eat. Let's keep up."
"Meow!" Xinghai reluctantly left the butterfly and followed Old Time Tea and Famous.
Famous always felt that there were some subtle differences between this Xinghai and the real Xinghai. It wasn't the appearance, but the subtle and indescribable differences. For example, this one seemed to prefer catching butterflies rather than playing hide-and-seek. Of course, it could also be because there was no one to play hide-and-seek with.
Famous sniffed. After the convoy left, it followed the smell and found a large bluestone in the forest next to the road. The big bluestone had a bamboo cover on it, and the smell of beef pancakes and steamed fish floated out of the cover.
Every day after the convoy left, Wu Ning would ask the maids to put food on the roadside. She put it so well that Famous could find it with its nose.
Famous opened the rice cover with its mouth and put the beef roll into its mouth.
Old Time Tea slowly ate the steamed fish.
Xinghai stared at the sky blankly.
Famous wolfed down the beef pancake. It was food for the whole day, and the next meal would be tomorrow morning.
After eating, they were not in a hurry to continue their journey. They wanted to digest the food first. The ruts were so obvious that they wouldn't lose track of them.
"Famous, did something good happen last night?" Old Time Tea stroked its beard and stared at it with slight surprise. "I always feel that Famous today is different from yesterday."
"No." Famous looked down at itself. "Old Time Tea, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"No, Brother Famous, your eyes are clear and bright, as if you have let go of your obsession. Did you succeed in your enlightenment?" Old Time Tea said seriously.
Famous said helplessly, "Old Time Tea, you think too much. How could I be enlightened?"
Old Time Tea smiled, raised its head and said,
"Let go of obsession and don't ask for scriptures,
Once enlightened, the heart is clear.
Looking back at merits and demerits,
Seeing through the secrets of heaven for a hundred years! "
Famous was confused. It shook its head and said, "Old Time Tea, can you say it in plain language? I really don't understand …"
Old Time Tea said meaningfully, "Brother Famous, you said you came from a hundred years in the future. Why did you come here?"
Famous was stunned. It had never considered this question.
"Wasn't it a coincidence?" it said. "I can enter other elfins' imagined world, so I came."
Old Time Tea didn't think so. "Everything is predestined. I think you must have a deeper reason for coming here. Whether or not you can see through the secrets of heaven is up to you. "
Famous's heart moved. Why did it always come to Old Time Tea's world every time it entered the imagined world? Why did Xinghai follow it? Why was this Xinghai different from the Xinghai in the real world?
It had always thought that it was here to be a bystander, to witness the process of Old Time Tea following Wu Ning to the north. This journey had actually already happened in history. Its presence or absence wouldn't change the course of history.
Without it, Old Time Tea would still have saved Wu Ning in the barren mountain, but with more effort.
Without it, Old Time Tea would still have followed Wu Ning to the north, but it would have been a little lonely.
So what was the meaning of its and Xinghai's existence in this imagined world?
But … was it really like what Old Time Tea said? Was there an unpredictable secret hidden in this?
Famous wasn't good at thinking about these mysterious things. After thinking for a while, it felt like its head was getting bigger.
"It's getting late. Let's go." Old Time Tea interrupted its thoughts. "I heard last night that the motorcade will cross the river around noon today. I'm not good at swimming, so you and I should hurry and board the boat with the motorcade. Otherwise, I'm afraid we will be left behind …"
Famous came back to its senses and nodded. "Although I can swim, I don't want to cross a river … Then let's hurry up and catch up. Miss Wu should let us board the boat."
"Let's go, Xinghai," it turned around and said.
Xinghai stared at the sky and murmured, "Meow. It looks like it's going to rain."
Famous and Old Time Tea looked up at the same time.
Whoosh!
The wind with the smell of earth rolled up the sand. Famous squinted its eyes and spat out the sand in its mouth. It missed the pair of wind-proof goggles.
Pitch-black clouds were surging from the north at an extremely fast speed, and the sky was darkening at a speed visible to the naked eye. A heavy downpour was coming in the blink of an eye.
"Oh no!" Old Time Tea's face changed dramatically.
"What's wrong?" Famous asked disapprovingly.
It felt like Old Time Tea was making a fuss. Wasn't it just raining? It seemed like even as strong as Old Time Tea, like other cats, hated being drenched in water …
Famous was looking forward to this heavy rain. It hadn't taken a shower since it appeared in this imagined world, and its body was probably stinky.
It had rained a few times before, but at that time, it and Old Time Tea stayed in the Temple for the Righteous Cat and the Chivalrous Dog, so it didn't taste the rain. It had thought about taking a shower in the rain, but the temperature was too low at that time. It was afraid of catching a cold, and there was no hairdryer in this world.
Old Time Tea gazed at the horizon in the west. There were endless mountains in that direction.
"The clouds are very fierce. I'm worried that this rain will cause a flash flood. If the river rises, maybe the ferry will be washed away … or even burst the dam …"
Flash flood?
Famous blinked. Whether it was in Hollywood or Binhai City, it had never experienced a flash flood, and it had never heard of it. But it didn't sound good …
"Then let's catch up quickly!" It thought that the rain would dilute the smell of the motorcade, and it would also form puddles on the road to cover the tracks. If they delayed any longer, they might lose track of them.
They didn't say anything else. Famous let Old Time Tea and Xinghai sit on its back, and it ran toward the north.
In the real history, Old Time Tea didn't chat with it. It must have followed the motorcade early, so it had to make up for the time difference.
Famous ran fast and steadily. Old Time Tea vaguely felt that its speed seemed to be faster than before, and its jumps were also higher. If it encountered a short tree, it did not avoid it at all. Instead, it directly soared into the air, leaped over the treetops, and almost ran in the direction of the convoy in a straight line.
Unexpectedly, the motorcade soon appeared in front of them. It was faster than they expected. Maybe it was because the motorcade saw the dark clouds coming from the north before they did.
Wu Mancheng had ordered the motorcade to stop temporarily. He was hesitant. Should they speed up to the river and try to cross the river before the rain fell, or should they go back to the village and wait for the rain to pass?
The former was more risky, and the latter would delay them for a day.
Although he was anxious, he didn't lose his cool. He knew what was more important. After hesitating for a moment, he ordered the back team to become the front team, and the front team to become the back team. He left one or two capable servants to continue to move forward to the ferry by the river to find out the situation. The main team turned back and returned to the village.
After going back and forth, some of the people in the motorcade inevitably complained in a low voice. They felt that the master was too cautious.
Famous happened to meet the returning motorcade. It stopped, stepped aside, and let the motorcade pass first.
When Wu Ning's carriage passed by, she lifted the curtain a little and waved at them with a sad face. It seemed that she was also worried that if they continued to delay, they would miss the wedding date.
For a big family like this, there were hundreds of invitations. Among the invited guests were many big shots. The wedding date couldn't be changed at will. If they were late, it would be criticized.
Seeing this, Famous and Old Time Tea were very sympathetic, but they couldn't help. After all, it was difficult for people to compete with nature, and it wasn't worth the risk.
The motorcade dragged hundreds of meters in front and back, slowly returning to the village and settling down. Of course, the villagers welcomed them back. The Wu family was generous. They could make a lot of money in one night by feeding the horses, which was equivalent to a month's hard work.
The farmers who went out to farm and wash clothes also hurried back to the village.
Old Time Tea took Famous and Xinghai to a small cave nearby that was high and sheltered from the wind to avoid the rain.
Not long after the motorcade settled down, the sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot. A dazzling lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the dark clouds.
Then, one thunderclap after another rolled over. The wind howled, and trees as thick as a forearm were blown into the shape of a bow.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning struck a crooked tree on the cliff, and several orange fireballs instantly burned the trunk into charcoal.
The unstoppable power of thunder and lightning between heaven and earth shocked the onlookers.
As the vanguard of the lightning and gale raged, raindrops the size of soybeans fell from the sky, smashing holes on the dusty road.
The heavy rain went up and down, forming a translucent bead curtain between heaven and earth. After a while, the water on the ground converged into a small stream.
Everyone hid under the eaves and stared blankly at the sky, wondering when the rain would stop.
The rain didn't stop, from day to night.
The servants who went to the river to inquire seemed to have brought back bad news. Wu Mancheng's face was so serious that it almost dripped water.
The people who complained just now were secretly glad that their master had made the right decision.
It was late at night, and the rain was still falling.
The sound of the rain was like a lullaby, making Famous close its eyes unconsciously.
Its belly was next to the rock, hard and cold. It curled up its body and fell asleep.
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