27 Long Time No See, the Great City (2/2)

However, was Ning Que willing to live in that way? Of course not. As a result, he knew he would meet the proud young general again one day shortly.

After the princess and her cavalries had left, the population of the small town decreased a lot. However, it became livelier. The vendors and dealers, who had been frightened to come out before, suddenly showed up. The merchants, who had tried to avoid conflicts by shutting their doors, now reopened their stores and began to do businesses.

Ning Que sold the shabby horse carriage for a low price at a store in the town that collected all kinds of rags. He patted on Sangsang's shoulder to show consolation as the shabby carriage and old horse had followed them for many years in the City of Wei. Anyone would be reluctant to sell such a thing, but memorizing and feeling sad was not suitable at that moment when Chang'an was just right in front of them.

They chose to stroll along the field ridge beside the official route instead of walking on the road, on which eight horses could run side by side. In the furrow, flowers were flourishing with butterflies and bees flying around. The tear stains in the canthus of the little handmaiden's eyes gradually dried up. She grasped the laces of the bag, which appeared to be bigger than her, tightly and walked on the field ridge with occasional smiles on her face.

In the sunlight, Ning Que took over the heavy package and chatted with the little handmaiden. Even though he usually could not get a reply from her, he was still happy to continue the conversation while admiring the scenery of the countryside. He waved his hands as he saw a farmer resting in the near field. He pretended to catch butterflies as they flew in front of him.

He had left Chang'an when he was very young. Then he had been living in Min Mountain, the grassland, the Wilderness and the little border town. In his surroundings, there were merely vicious jungles, boring grasslands, and ubiquitous danger. Now, he returned to the center of the empire. He was excited and happy to observe such a peaceful and harmonious image of life.

They kept walking for about two or three hours. Then a shadow suddenly spread over their heads from a brook and a peach forest in the front. Ning Que thought that it was still not night yet and there were no signs of rain before in his mind.

He looked up confusedly, and then he saw a black wall in front of him. This wall was so high that it seemed to have no edge. It covered half of the sky and also covered the sun, which was still in the sky. Faintly, they could see three black dots continuously flying in a circle in a high position near the wall.

They could not find the end of the wall in both the right and left directions. They were surprised by how big this city was. It stood silently between the heaven and the land. Sangsang's eyes widened as she looked at the great city and the crowd on the official route, which was not far away from them. In awe, she asked, ”Is this Chang'an?”

The three black dots in the sky flew to a lower position. It turned out that two eagles were helping their child practice flying. They were going back to their nest on the dark wall. As this wall had experienced rain wash and weathering for thousands of years, it seemed ragged on the surface, but it was still solid and indestructible inside.

The younger eagle learned how to fly and returned to its nest. Ning Que looked up at the greatest city in the world and smiled sincerely. He finally returned after he had traveled for many years.

Long time no see, the city of Chang'an.