The desire for lights and warmth drove Arnold to pluck his remaining pitiful energy and followed the two of them towards the wooden house in the forest. Although the light looked very close, he found that it was at least one mile away when he really came close.

The wooden house is the most common type in Pale Mountain. There are three, close to each other. Under the eaves of the front porch of the wooden house, there is a big red curtain flag with black edges, with the words Cross slope written on it. Around these three wooden houses, a square yard is surrounded by logs outside. The courtyard wall is not high, about 1.5 meters tall, with the top cut into a pen tip, pointing straight to the sky. The yard is full of falling snow. The path in the middle of the snow has not yet had time to clean it. There are two lines of footprints on it. On the right side of the path, there is a pile of chopped wood covered by falling snow, and on the left side there is a stone roller.

Arnold suddenly regained his vitality before coming close, quickly surpassing Luo Lie and Yan Tianxin in front of him, and was the first to come to the gate of the yard and shouted, "Is anyone?"

Luo Lie's eyes were still looking at the curtain flag, and suddenly he remembered that Cross Slope was not a black shop that specialized in human meat buns in Water Margin?

Arnold shouted for a long time but no one answered, and he thought there was no one inside.

Yan Tianxin said loudly: "The stars are changing, and the white mountains and black waters have a thousand years of charm!"

A low voice came from inside and said, "The world changes, the iron bones and loyalty will last forever!"

The door opened from inside, and a man in a sheepskin coat stepped through the courtyard and appeared in front of them. The man had beards, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a red face. Although he was not tall, he was strong and strong. Seeing Yan Tianxin, he showed a smile on his face and bowed deeply to Yan Tianxin with his fists: "I welcome the big shopkeeper!" This person is Lao Tong, the shopkeeper of Cross Slope.

Yan Tianxin clicked a little, saying hello to him. After entering the yard, he walked into the wooden house on the snow, but the wooden house was as warm as spring.

Several people took off the cloaks outside one after another. Old Tong Yinqin took Yan Tianxin's cloak and hung them on the wall. A row of branches that looked like deer antlers were nailed to the wall to serve as clothes hangers.

Lao Tong said: "Shopkeeper, take a rest first, I'll make some hot water to wash the dust for you."

Arnold found a chair and collapsed into the body. He was so comfortable that he almost cried out. He waved his hand weakly and said, "I won't wash it anymore, I'll get some food. Now I just want to eat and sleep."

Yan Tianxin said: "Old Tong, go and prepare the room, where is your Lao Kuai?" In the local area, his wife is usually called Lao Kuai.

Old Tong smiled and said, "That lazy woman is sick. I asked Shuanzi to send her to the mountain to find Mr. Zhuo to see her. Now I am the only one here. The shopkeeper, the room has been ready for a long time. I have been burning the earthen kang. No one has ever moved your room. These two guests live in the big house. I will prepare meals for you now."

Arnold suddenly remembered something: "Old Tong, get some wine to warm up!"

"Hey!" Old Tongmei went out with a smile.

Yan Tianxin's room was located on the left. She pushed open the door and the things inside had not moved. This room was specially prepared for her. Cross slope is a post at the foot of Tianmai Mountain. Because they guarded the necessary road to Tianmai Mountain, any surrounding wind and grass movements can be known at the first time and quickly passed on to the mountain. Lao Tong is an old man from Lianyun Village. He and his wife and son have been guarding this post for ten years. His daily job is to receive brothers who go up and down the mountain, lead the heroes who come to join the grass, and also work part-time to inquire about the news around him. Over the past ten years, the three of them have been diligent and very conscientious.

When Yan Tianxin went to Heihu Ridge, he rested here for a night. He lived in this room at that time. Because he knew that Yan Tianxin might use it after he came back soon, he never moved this room.

Luo Lie gently knocked on the open door, and Yan Tianxin turned around and said, "Is there anything wrong?"

Luo Lie smiled and said, "Nothing is wrong, I'm just a little worried, so come in and take a look."

Yan Tianxin said, "There is nothing to worry about when I get here." This sentence shows her trust in Lao Tong, and also shows that she has reached her territory. When she comes here, she feels like she is home.

Old Tong brought in with hot water, delivered a basin to Yan Tianxin's room, and another basin to the big house on the right. This big house is larger than the living room and the small house in Yan Tianxin. The kang is built against the south wall, and there is no problem with ten people sleeping side by side, and it is still burning hot. Luo Lie was quite curious. After careful observation, he realized that the construction of the wooden house was very knowledgeable, and the builders had already considered the issue of fire prevention.

Old Tong greeted enthusiastically: "Master Luo, wash your face and burn your feet."

Luo Lie nodded and seemed carelessly: "Brother Tong, are you the only ones who are doing such a big inn?"

Old Tong smiled and said, "How can I be busy alone? I still have my wife and son on weekdays, but my wife accidentally got infected with the cold. I couldn't stand it yesterday. I asked my son to accompany her to the mountain to see a doctor. Because I guess the shopkeeper would come back in the past two days, I stayed and waited."

Luo Lie came to the basin and washed his face. Old Tong said, "Mr. Luo has nothing else to do. I'll take it back first. You clean up and come out to have a meal, and the food will be almost ready."

After washing his face, Luo Lie found that the water in the basin had turned black. He came to the small mirror hanging on the wall to take a look. He found that the disguise on his face had completely faded. He couldn't help but remember the scene when the sparrow put on makeup for himself before entering the mountain. It seemed that the effect of this makeup was far less than that of the sparrow said. It was only a week before he had already revealed his true form. However, the sparrow also reminded himself not to wash his face on weekdays.

With this basin of black water, he burned his feet. After several days of running around, many blood blisters had been ground into the soles of his feet. His feet were soaked in hot water. The blood blisters and frostbite were suddenly painful like a knife cut. Luo Lie bit his lips hard. Under this painful torment, he felt an indescribable pleasure. The golden medicine and plaster that Yan Tianxin gave him was very effective. In just a few days, the broken ribs of his left chest no longer felt pain. He should be in a rapid recovery process.

Arnold has always been lying on the chair in the living room, motionless. He has been exhausted in the past two days because of the journey. Arnold was surprised by the amazing physical strength and even more amazing perseverance that Yan Tianxin showed. In his impression, most Chinese women are weak and dependent on others. Although Yan Tianxin looks gentle, she has a kind of independence and strength that is rare for even Western women. Arnold is now convinced. If he had known that this trip was so painful, it would be better to go to Baishan with the blind man first.

In this warm room isolated from the wind and snow, there are two completely different worlds outside the cold wind and howling heavy snow. Arnold was so comfortable that he was almost asleep. Suddenly he smelled a strong smell of wine. He opened his eyes as if he had taken stimulants, but saw Lao Tong walking in with a tray. There were two pots of vegetables and a pot of good wine in the tray.

Arnold jumped up from the chair like a strong spring and went forward to help serve the food.

Old Tong smiled and said, "Master Nuo, please rest, I'll do these small things."

Four dishes were prepared in the evening. Although the dishes were not large, they were full of portions, namely stewed with white meat from pickled cabbage, stewed with mushrooms from pheasant, braised roe deer meat from braised roe deer meat, and stewed with tofu from cabbage.

After Luo Lie and Arnold sat down, Yan Tianxin started to come out after much attempt. She had just washed her hair, her long black hair was scattered on her shoulders, her skin was white and red, her eyebrows were picturesque, like a lotus from the water. Although Luo Lie was used to seeing beauties of all kinds in the East and the West, she couldn't help but be stunned.

Yan Tianxin said, "You can eat first, why wait for me?"

Luo Lie said: "If the host doesn't come, how can the guest use chopsticks first?"

Yan Tianxin sat down and found that Lao Tong had not sat down. She was about to go out again and greeted, "Lao Tong, sit together!"

Old Tong smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, I've eaten it. The corn is burned in the pot. I know that the shopkeeper is good at this. I just stewed it, so I have to watch it so that the pot will not be muddy. You guys talk." He said that and opened the door and went to the kitchen.

Arnold had poured three wine glasses, and took the lead and said, "Celebrating our safe arrival in Tianmai Mountain, and thanks to Master Yan for his kind hospitality."

Luo Lie picked up the wine glass, and Yan Tianxin's eyes fell on his face. In fact, the moment she came out, she had noticed Luo Lie's facial changes, which were completely different from the previous image of dark skin and birthmarks. Although Yan Tianxin had guessed that Luo Lie had been disguised before, she did not expect that his image would change so much.

Luo Lie smiled and said, "Don't you know me anymore?"
Chapter completed!