On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the General's Mansion. The plum blossoms outside the window are blooming in the snow all over the sky, and the trees are like jade carvings carved from ice. "You have been standing here for three hours," a voice sounded slowly, "What are you thinking?" Standing in front of the window is a young man, wearing a sable fur, holding on to a gold cup, standing quietly in front of the carved window, quietly looking at the plum blossoms in the snow outside the window.The snow light reflected into the room from the window, and reflected on his face through the window, so pale that there was a faint blue.

"Are you still thinking about her?" the voice asked again, trembling slightly in the old voice. "Bingmei is dead." After a long time, the young man said calmly, "I understand very well that she will never come back." He turned around suddenly, his eyes were shining like stars, and there was an uncontrollable tremor in his voice: "But I... I don't know why, when I see plum blossoms, I just..." There was also an old man with white hair like snow sitting in the room.The old man was sitting in a soft chair, with a Persian blanket spread on his knees, and a copper stove was placed on it, and he was putting his hands like withered leaves on the stove to keep warm.He is at the end of his life, but there is endless wisdom and tranquility on his face, like a wise man far away from the world of mortals.

"Ning'er, if this continues, I will really worry about you." The old man said with a sigh, "You have become depressed." The young man was shocked suddenly, and the wine in his hand splashed a little. After a long time, he raised his head suddenly and drank the wine in the golden cup in one gulp. "Master, you don't have to worry, I won't be so weak!" His pale face was slightly flushed, which was the catalytic effect of alcohol.His voice also returned to the calmness and authority of the past: "Father has sent me to replace Yu Duhu, who has returned to the court, and go to Yumen Pass as a general stationed at the border. I will leave in three days."

He sighed: "Farewell to Jiangnan, go to Beyond the Great Wall, maybe I will forget Bingmei and this past." The old man nodded: "A good man should contribute to the country. As the son of a general, you are both civil and military, and you should become the pillar of the country, supporting one side of the sky and preventing Di Yi from disturbing the Central Plains." ——This young man is Ding Ning, the first-class Wei Linghou of the imperial court, the son of Ding Yi, the general of Zhen Guo.General Ding has power in the government and the public, and his prestige is so high that even today's emperor personally calls him "brother", and all military affairs of the country are paid to General Ding.

Ding Ning is his only son.A tiger father has no dogs and sons, and there are no cowards in the generals.Ding Ning is destined to join the army and spend his whole life among the gold and iron horses on the frontier. Steeds and horses travel north in the autumn wind, and apricot blossoms rain in the south of the Yangtze River.Ding Ning has left Kaifeng and entered Jiuquan County. Zhongyuan is already behind.The farther he was from the Central Plains, the calmer he felt.The shadow that has plagued him all year is fading in the increasingly rough wind.About Jiangnan, about Bingmei...everything seems to have become a ecstasy dream last night.

He led the horse and walked slowly on the bustling street.The ears were filled with yelling and hawking from other places, and the barbarian spread out many small silver knives and swords on the ground, as well as all kinds of jewelry from Persia and Dashi, and peddled them along the street. Ding Ning came to Jiuquan County alone to take office, with official letters and documents in his arms.None of the soldiers at the border would have expected that this pale young man would become their commander in a few days. As the sun approached, he casually found a small shop to sit down and eat.The person in charge is a Uighur lady, with her eyebrows drawn into a line, her nose high and her eyes deep, but she speaks fluent Chinese.She brought a plate of mutton fingers, a plate of naan and a bottle of kumiss.Ding Ning only took a sip, and his brows were slightly frowned. This spicy food really didn't suit his taste.He still ate it all slowly.

He didn't come here to eat, he came here to maintain the stability of the frontier. And there is...in order to die outside that cage! He had just put down the knife and wiped the oil stains on his hands with a towel when the proprietress brought a plate of pomegranates.He silently peeled one, grabbed a few grains and threw them into his mouth, chewing slowly.Sour and sweet, as if it was his old memories... ※※※ The old Jiangnan town.A big house near the water.A child in white clothes was waving his hands outside the courtyard, shouting: "Bingmei, Bingmei!" The upstairs window opened with a creak, and a little girl stuck her head out, and said with a smile, "Nong is here?" Then, after a while, the back garden door opened, and a little girl ran out: "Brother Ning, eat pomegranate!"

A bunch of bright red pomegranates were wrapped in her skirt, she smiled beautifully, and her white face reflected the red pomegranates, like pomegranates in May... "Bingmei, Bingmei..." He suddenly let out a low sigh.A handful of pomegranate seeds were crushed in his hands, and the blood-red juice stained his hands—it was like the blood on the ground when Bingmei died! Ding Ning sighed.It seems that no matter where he is, he can never forget the past. He stroked the long sword beside him.The name of the sword is "Yitian".The ancients said: "Geng Geng's long sword leans on the sky", and later, "the long sword leaning on the sky" is often used as a metaphor for the famous general guarding the border.This sword was given to General Ding by the emperor himself, and he gave this sword to his son before going out to fight.He is too old to gallop on the battlefield and contribute to the country.He passed this Yitian sword to his only son, and the meaning is self-evident.

At this time, there was a sudden noise in the street, and people gave way one after another. Ding Ning raised his head and looked outside.From the looks of it, it seems that some noble person has come.At this time, a sound of music was suddenly heard, and everyone clapped together and sang happily. "Ana'er Guli is here!" "Ana'er Guli is here to dance!" Everyone cheered and rushed outside the door. "The glacier is flowing gently, as if the dombra has been touched by a skillful hand. I sang this song, people from afar please stay." A slightly hoarse female voice sang, with a deep and lingering voice.The singer was a Uighur woman in her thirties, accompanied by several middle-aged men with mustaches.Although she sang well, it was the dancing girl over there that really caught the eye.

That woman is known as "Anar Guli" (Pomegranate Girl). She is dressed in a crimson dance dress, with sparrow feathers on her head, a long veil, and silver chains on her bare feet. She is dancing to the beat. dance. She dances like a dream.The joints of her whole body are as flexible as a snake, and she can twist freely.A tremor spread from her left fingertips to her shoulders, and from her shoulders to her right fingertips.The silver bracelet in her hand vibrated accordingly, she did not deliberately affect at all, every movement was natural and smooth, like a white lotus emerging from water.

Ding Ning's gaze stayed on her face all the time, as if he wanted to see her true face through the thin veil.She seemed to see Ding Ning's gaze, lifted the veil with her fingertips, and smiled at him.Ding Ning was stunned.Bingmei!They are eyes that are very similar to Bingmei!That naughty, naive, charming and charming lowered head smiled, even though it was exactly the same as Bingmei! Could it be... Could it be that she was reincarnated in this small city outside the Great Wall? The crowd watching the dance burst into cheers: "Anal Guli!" "Pomegranate girl!" On the neck: "Anar Guri, Allah bless you!" She pressed her hands to her chest and bowed deeply. Then, they started dancing again, dancing across the long street, dancing across the busy city... wherever they went, there were huge crowds of people. It wasn't until she disappeared from sight that Ding Ning woke up from his contemplation. Xiao Er came to check out.Ding Ning paid the bill and couldn't help but ask, "Who was that girl just now?" Xiaoer smiled, with proud and boastful eyes: "Newcomers always ask this! She is a famous dancing god in Jiuquan County with a radius of hundreds of miles - since two years ago, at the beginning of every month, she always comes to Dance on set, only dance for three hours, then go back, close the door and not come out for a month." Ding Ning looked at the pomegranates on the table and asked, "Where does she... live?" Xiao Er smiled strangely: "The guest officer is Han, so it's inconvenient to inquire about the residence of a big girl, isn't it?" Ding Ning didn't answer, and only used an effective method - stuffing a silver coin into Xiaoer's hand.Xiao Er immediately stopped making detours, bowed down, and whispered in his ear: "She lives in that white stone house fifty miles outside the city. You can see her when you walk along West Avenue out of the city." Ding Ning nodded, held his sword and got up to leave. Xiao Er added another sentence: "Many people have plotted against her, but no one has ever benefited. Young Master, be careful!" Ding Ning walked out without looking back, only the smile that resembled Bingmei was in his mind. Fifty miles out of the city, there is already a piece of yellow sand all around.Occasionally there are a few cacti that grow as tall as a person. Ding Ning was under the scorching sun, but there was no sweat.He had found the house of white stone. In the vast expanse of yellow, stands a white stone house, and every stone on the house is square. In this desert, it cannot but be said to be a miracle. Under the eaves of this lonely stone house, there is a string of silver wind chimes hanging. Under the wind chimes, a girl in white sat quietly. Who is she?Anal Guli?How can Pomegranate girl wear white clothes? When Ding Ning walked ten steps away, the string of wind chimes rang without wind. Then, he heard a voice that was more beautiful than the ringtone: "Who are you? You were looking at me on the street just now, and now you follow me here again. What are you worried about?" The girl in white turned her head.Her veil has been removed, her black hair hangs like water on her shoulders, her complexion is delicate and beautiful, and her pair of beautiful eyes are even more dazzling. Ding Ning was speechless—strange, she didn't look like a Uyghur, but a Han? Everything in the room is made of stone, simple and elegant, but practical.His eyes stopped on the wall, looking at the few poems written on the stone—— "What is life like everywhere? It should be like Feihong stepping on slush. Occasionally, fingers are left on the mud to scratch, how can Hongfei count things? " It is written in a delicate and upright manner, which is obviously taught by famous masters since childhood.He looked at it for a long time, and couldn't help saying: "You wrote it?" Anal Guli nodded slightly: "I wrote it a year ago." Ding Ning sighed, "I don't think you can speak Chinese." Anar Guli smiled meaningfully: "I am originally a Han Chinese, but I just live in Hudi." She stood up, pointed to a few poems on the wall, and said calmly, "My name is Xuehong." She stared at the lights in the city, and sighed: "I was originally from the Central Plains, and I only came here a few years ago, alas..." In fact, even if she didn't mention Ding Ning, she also understood how lonely a woman who was accompanied by wind chimes under the eaves felt.Maybe she also had some sad experience in the Central Plains before she came to the outside of the Great Wall and lived alone in the desert. Xuehong asked: "What's your name?" "Ding Ning." He said lightly.Xuehong was slightly startled, looked him up and down, a very strange expression flashed in his eyes, and after a long time, he asked: "Who are you? What are you doing here from the Central Plains?" Ding Ning was silent.He didn't know whether to reveal his identity. Xuehong suddenly smiled: "Young General Ding, if you don't say it, the Yitian Sword in your hand can say it for you." Ding Ning raised his head suddenly, his eyes were as sharp as a knife—a woman dancing on the frontier, unexpectedly recognized this sword?Who is she? He asked word by word: "How do you know? Who are you?" Xuehong smiled and raised his head, but ignored him, and just said: "Young General Ding, since you have become hostile to me, you should go back! I just want to tell you that I am someone who has absolutely nothing to do with you .” She is already seeing off guests, she is decisive and decisive.When she was speaking, she also had an unspeakable aura, which made people dare not be a little rebellious. Ding Ning realized that she was wrong - she didn't look like Bingmei, not at all.Bingmei is gentle and submissive, with a pleasant smile; but she is dignified and steady, decisive in her actions, and faintly has the air of a royal family. He left without looking back.When he left, the wind chimes under the eaves rang automatically without wind, ringing in the desolation.