(one)
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a kiln worker in the western suburbs of Beijing. His surname was Zheng and his given name was Li. Although he was still young, he had no one else in his family, so he worked in the kiln all year round and seldom went home.
The weather was cold in the winter of that year. Zheng Li worked for a kiln owner. When the twelfth lunar month came, he added another kiln, which would take seven or eight days to complete. After lighting the fire, Zheng Li planned to finish the kiln and settle the year's wages with the kiln owner so that he could go home for the New Year.
After three or four days of burning, it suddenly snowed heavily. The snowflakes were blown by the north wind and flew straight into the kiln. Zheng Li hurriedly found some sorghum stalks, built a straw wall at the entrance of the kiln, left a small door, and hung a door curtain, so that the kiln could warm up.
The next day, the snow stopped, and Zheng Li added coal again. Feeling lonely, he went out for a walk. When he went out, he saw that the wild had become a fairy tale world, white and colder than when it snowed. Zheng Li stepped on the thick snow, breathing the fresh cold air, and walked around outside. He shivered and was about to return. Suddenly, he saw a black object not far from the snow, which was very conspicuous. Zheng Li went forward to see, but it was a frozen pig. There was a row of footprints next to it that had not been filled by the snow. The footprints were winding and led to the village in front. I guess this pig must have escaped from someone's house and died of cold. Zheng Li loved to eat meat. Looking at this pig, although it was small, it was still thirty or forty kilograms. He thought, why not drag it back and cut it up? There was also a jar of good wine in the cave. He could drink a pot of it with the good meat to satisfy his craving. Anyway, it would be fine if he burned the kiln himself. Zheng Li thought about it, then bent down and lifted up the two hind legs, dragged it back, and drew a long mark on the snow.
He dragged the pig back to the kiln tunnel, boiled a pot of water, and dissected the pig while the kiln was burning. After that, he changed the pot of water, put it on the fire, added onions, ginger, garlic and other condiments, and started to cook the meat. After a busy period, it was already past noon. Zheng Li thought about the delicious meat, so he ate a piece of dry food to fill his stomach, and waited for the fat meat to go with the wine when it got dark.
When the sun went down, the meat was cooked. Although the pig was not big, the aroma of the meat was so fragrant that it filled the entire kiln tunnel, making Zheng Li salivate with joy. He took out the jar of wine, found a bowl, and drank from the meat pot.
Just after eating two bowls, he suddenly felt the curtain at the entrance of the kiln was lifted, a gust of cold wind blew in, and a man walked in. He heard the man say, "It smells so good, what kind of meat is being cooked?" Zheng Li looked up and saw that it was an old man, about sixty or seventy years old, his face and nose were red from the cold, and his shoes were covered with snow. He said, "Old man, where are you from? Please sit down." He found a stool in the kiln for the old man to sit down. "Why, you just let me sit down, but not let me eat a piece of meat or drink a sip of wine? I came here specifically for this aroma." The old man said seriously. Zheng Li laughed and said, "Old man, you are joking. How do you know that there is wine and meat in my kiln when you are just a passerby?" "How could I not know? Your meat smell told my nose, and it was my nose that led me in." "Okay, since you are interested, I, Zheng Li, will not neglect it. Although this pig is not big, it is enough for the two of us to eat. Although this jar of wine is not much, it is enough for the two of us to drink. I will get another bowl." As he said that, he found another bowl and handed it to the old man. They found a small table, put the meat pot on it, and moved the wine jar over to them. They each sat on a small stool, close to the table, and started eating and drinking, taking turns to eat and drink.
The old man seemed to love meat and wine more than Zheng Li, so he gulped down a bowl of meat, reached out and pulled a pig leg out of the pot, and brought it to his mouth, eating it in big mouthfuls. While eating, he shouted, "It smells so good! It smells so good!"
After a few bowls of wine, Zheng Li asked, "Where are you from, what is your name, and where are you going now that it's late?" When Zheng Li asked, the old man didn't even look up: "I don't want to tell others my name, nor do I want to tell others where I'm going, and I don't want others to know where I live." Zheng Li was stunned by the old man's words. He didn't expect that there are such shameless people in the world who eat and drink other people's food, but don't know anything. But he couldn't get angry, for fear that the old man would lose face, so he had to lower his head and drink in silence. After a while, Zheng Li saw that the old man was drinking heavily, so he said, "Old man, drink less, don't get drunk." "What's there to be afraid of if you're drunk?" The old man didn't care: "It's so cold outside, you have wine, meat and fire here, I'll sleep here when I'm drunk." The old man was calmer than Zheng Li, as if he was at home. "Uncle, I'm afraid you can't make it and miss your business." "I'm not going anywhere tonight, I just came to your place to drink." The old man was a wine lover. When he saw the wine, he forgot about his own business. He didn't listen to Zheng Li's advice and didn't care. He picked up the bowl and gulped it down like drinking cold water. Zheng Li was helpless this time. The pig was enough for him to eat for two days, but he didn't expect to meet such a thick-skinned wine lover. It's hard to get rid of a good invitation. Who made him agree? Now that he had done a favor, he might as well go with him. So, he simply poured the old man a bowl of wine left and right, letting him drink as much as he wanted.
After drinking a lot, it was dark before he knew it. The oil lamp was lit in the kiln, and the old man was still drinking. Finally, the whole jar of wine was empty. Although he could drink a lot, he was now staggering. Seeing this, Zheng Li went out to take a look. It was icy and snowy outside, the sky was full of stars, and the north wind was biting. He thought that the old man couldn't leave after being so drunk. Alas, I didn't expect to meet such an old man today. He ate and drank other people's food, and even slept in other people's kiln. If he was allowed to leave, it would be unreasonable for him to leave at his age. Zheng Li turned around helplessly and was about to set up another small shop in the kiln, but the old man was no longer in front of the table. Huh? Where did he go? Didn't I see him go out? Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard snoring on his bed. He went forward to take a look. Who else could it be but that old man? This old man was really amazing. After eating and drinking, he actually lay down on his bed to sleep. Encountering such a rude old man, Zheng Li had no choice but to move a stool and sit aside while he burned his kiln. He felt sleepy and took a nap while sitting.
By midnight, Zheng Li was so sleepy that he added a few more shovels of coal and walked to the front of the shop, trying to push the old man in and squeeze himself in. But when he pushed, he saw something sticking out from under his trouser legs. He reached out and touched it, and it was fluffy. He took the lamp to take a closer look, and was shocked to find that it was a fox tail! Zheng Li was so shocked that he almost spilled the lamp oil. "He, he is a fox fairy. He drank too much and showed his true form?" Zheng Li stared at him, his mouth wide open, unable to close it. He had heard stories about fox fairies. They loved to go to kilns and the wild. He didn't expect to run into one today. What should he do? Zheng Li held the oil lamp and trembled as he returned to his original place. Even if he was brave, he couldn't help but feel scared when he encountered this in the middle of the night. Kill it? No, it didn't hurt him. It just ate some wine and meat. Drive it away? I'm afraid it won't work. It's already drunk and eaten, so what's the point of driving it away? Zheng Li thought about it and felt that this fox fairy was not very hateful, but just a little thick-skinned. Oh! Just give it some mercy and let it sleep comfortably for a night, and leave tomorrow. Thinking of this, he couldn't sleep anymore, and added a few more shovels of coal to the stove, and started to burn the kiln with all his heart.
(two)
It was almost four o'clock in the morning when the fox fairy woke up and got up. He rubbed his eyes and saw Zheng Li sitting and dozing off. Thinking about what happened last night, he felt rude and apologized, saying, "I drank too much yesterday and made you sit all night. I'm sorry." "No, no," Zheng Li knew what was going on and said politely, "You are the guest and I am the host. I should take care of you. I hope you will forgive me if I am not considerate enough." The fox fairy laughed and said, "Well said, well said. You are so warm to others. I will definitely come often in the future." "Oh my God," Zheng Li was shocked. He thought it would leave and never come again, but it would come often. It was really hard to get rid of it. But he couldn't say anything else, so he had to say, "Welcome, welcome." After saying that, the fox fairy cupped her hands and said, "Thank you very much. I have something else to do today. I'll take my leave now." After saying that, she lifted the door curtain and walked out of the cave. After leaving, Zheng Li was about to take a breath, but suddenly the door curtain was lifted and there was another cold wind. The fox fairy turned around and came back. Zheng Li was surprised. The fox fairy looked at Zheng Li's face and said, "There is something I didn't want to tell you, but I can't bear it. I think you are a good person and a good friend, so I have to tell you. Three days later, when you are on your way home, if someone calls you, don't answer." Zheng Li asked, "Why?" The fox fairy replied, "Don't ask too many questions. Remember, remember." Then he turned around, walked out of the kiln door, and disappeared in the snowy night that was about to dawn. After the fox fairy left, Zheng Li thought about it for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. He just felt that this matter was mysterious and seemed to hide some mystery.
Three days later, Zheng Li finished firing the kiln, settled the wages with the kiln owner, packed his bags and headed home. When he arrived at a small town, he heard someone calling him, "Isn't that Brother Zheng?" Zheng Li remembered the words of the fox fairy, so he lowered his head and did not answer, and hurried forward. "Oh, Brother Zheng must have made a fortune, and today he is looking down on us brothers?" Zheng Li was a little bit scathing when he heard the words, and he couldn't help but look back. It turned out to be his old friends, one Liu Tian and the other Zhao Di. It turned out that the two of them had sold meat together, and they didn't know what they were doing here today, so they had to turn around and say hello. Of course, when good friends meet, it's inevitable that there will be a lot of fun, so they went to a restaurant, ordered wine and food, and started drinking. After three cups, Zheng Li learned that the two of them lost money selling meat, and now they have nothing to do, just wandering around, preparing to look for an opportunity to do other business, and the three of them talked and drank.
At this moment, a man suddenly staggered in from outside, saw Zheng Li's package, and insisted that it was his lost, and stretched out his hand to take it. Zheng Li was not willing to listen, and snatched the package and held it in his arms. The man did not give up, and stammered and argued with Zheng Li, and it was unclear what he was talking about. After the argument, he rushed over to grab the package. Zheng Li dodged to the side, and the package was almost snatched away. The big man stood unsteadily, stumbled, and hit his forehead on the corner of the table. Blood immediately spurted out and he fell to the ground motionless. Seeing that this was a disaster, someone immediately sent them to the county government. Two good friends testified that the big man was not killed by Zheng Li, but he was unreasonable and made trouble, and his head hit the corner of the table and died. But the matter was not that simple. The big man was none other than Zhou Xing, the son of Zhou Dalai, a rich man in this town. Zhou Xing had a strange disease since he was a child – he was obsessed with money. When he saw other people's things, he always wanted to grab them and say they were his own. Normally, the people in the town all knew the details, and since his father was not someone to be trifled with, they would rather endure some humiliation and stay away from him. But how could Zheng Li know this?
Seeing his son's death, Zhou Dalai wanted to take this opportunity to blackmail Zheng Li. So he gave the county magistrate a break and let Cheng Quan take over. The county magistrate was naturally happy after getting the money. He insisted on concluding that Zhou Xing was kicked to death by Zheng Li, and asked the Liu and Zhao brothers to give false testimony, otherwise they would be beaten. Although the two brothers usually said nice things, at this critical moment, they were all diarrhea. They were afraid of the county magistrate's board, so they changed their confessions and gave false testimony against their will, saying that Dalai's son was indeed kicked to death by Zheng Li. Therefore, the county magistrate put Zheng Li in death row and asked for two thousand taels of silver to redeem his life, otherwise he would be executed. Zheng Li was a poor kiln maker, how could he have so much silver? He was very regretful, just because he did not listen to the fox fairy's words, and got together with his friends, which caused this lawsuit, and he had no choice but to wait for the knife.
More than half a month passed, and no one came to see Zheng Li. When the county magistrate saw that he could not pay the money, he pretended to kill him and sentenced Zheng Li to murder, and executed him the next day.
Upon learning of the punishment, Zheng Li cried like a tearful man that night. He never thought that he was innocent but suffered such an injustice. He also never thought that his good friend would be afraid of the beating and give false testimony. People are really different and the world is fickle! Zheng Li was very sad.
Late at night, Zheng Li was grieving. Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from the prison window. When the wind blew, an old man stood in front of him. It was the fox fairy. Zheng Li came forward crying and said, "Old man, I know you are the fox fairy. I regret not listening to you and causing this disaster. Now I must pay two thousand silver coins to redeem my life, otherwise I will be beheaded tomorrow. I hope the fox fairy can save me." After hearing Zheng Li's words, the fox fairy's silkworm eyebrows were raised, and his steel teeth were gnashing. After a long while, he said, "It's come to this point. There is no need to say more. I came here tonight for this matter. Don't say that you and I don't have so much silver. Even if we do, we can't give it to them!" "What should I do?" Zheng Li asked. "I will send you out now," said the fox fairy. "How to get out? The prison door is locked and guarded by officials." "It's just a small matter, how can it be difficult for me." After the fox fairy said this, she wiped Zheng Li's face with her hand and said, "This time you go out, you must hide your identity, otherwise you will cause trouble." Zheng Li suddenly felt hot on his face, as if something had taken root. When he touched it with his hand, he actually grew a beard. He knew that the fox fairy was disguising himself. Then, the fox fairy opened his mouth and blew out a breath, and the locks of the prison fell off by themselves. The two doors opened halfway without a sound, and the two guards immediately fell to the ground and fell asleep. Then, the fox fairy sent him out of the prison and said to him, "You go, this time no one will recognize you." "What about you, old man?" Zheng Li asked. "You don't have to worry about this." After hearing the fox fairy's words, Zheng Li thought that he was a fox fairy and had many ways. It was better for him to escape, so he would kill me . He jumped into the black.
However, the city gates were closed at night, and he could not go out, so he found a straw hut to sleep in and leave at dawn. Unexpectedly, he overslept and when he woke up, the sun was already shining outside, but it was already noon. Because he was hungry and had no copper coins, he got up, left the straw hut, and went to a family to ask for some water. Just as he was about to leave the city, he suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums behind him. A team of people and horses came with a prisoner cart and were about to go to the execution ground. And the person in the prison cart was none other than himself. Zheng Li was shocked. What was going on? He hurriedly touched his beard with his hand, and it was still there. He guessed that he must be a fox fairy in the prison cart. But why didn't he leave? Zheng Li was very puzzled and worried about the fox fairy, so he squeezed in the crowd to go to the execution ground to watch.
The execution ground was set up in front of a dirt slope outside the city. More and more people gathered to watch the execution. There were three layers inside and three layers outside. It was so crowded that it was impossible to squeeze through. But the executioner stood with his face turned sideways. In the cold weather, he still rolled up his sleeves. His thick arms and hands showed a lot of black hair. He was holding a ghost-headed machete. The machete was shining brightly, enough to reflect a person's figure. The handle of the machete was tied with red silk cloth. It shivered in the cold wind, like a flame in the ice and snow, or like a poisonous snake curling its tongue. It looked very ferocious. Just wait for the three soul-chasing cannons to sound, and then take the head of "Zheng Li". Look at the fox fairy again. It was tied up with flowers and a sign stuck behind its back. It looked neither arrogant nor humble, and it didn't shout. It knelt on the ground, motionless, as if it was not going to kill itself, but to kill others. Oh my God, it can spell, why doesn't it leave? If the time comes, everything will be too late. Zheng Li's heart was as anxious as fire, but the fox fairy still didn't move. Suddenly, a white-clad woman rushed out of the crowd. She was about the same age as him, crying and wailing as she rushed forward: "Ada, Ada, no, no…" Her cries shook the sky, but she was stopped by several guards. The woman struggled desperately, in agony. Zheng Li was puzzled. Who was this woman? Why was she so affectionate to "me"? Why did she call "me" Ada? I've never seen her before? Soon, the woman was taken away by several guards.
Finally, three soul-chasing cannons rang out, and the executioner stepped forward, swung his sword, and the red silk cloth fluttered in the air. In a flash, fresh liquid gushed out of the fox fairy's neck, and her head rolled to the side. Her body fell to the ground, and it was all red. The executioner swiped the blood from the sword on his shoes and turned away. Zheng Li stared blankly, dumbfounded.
At some point, the white mourning woman suddenly rushed up like crazy, hugged the corpse and cried loudly, crying blood and tears, and the sky and the earth mourned. Zheng Li didn't know the woman, but he was moved, so he went forward with tears in his eyes to comfort her. At this time, he saw his two good friends, holding a mat, squeezed out of the crowd, and lay on the ground crying: "Brother Zheng! We are sorry for you, it's us who hurt you and wronged you. It's not that we don't care, it's that the county magistrate's board is too severe, we dare not! Now we come to collect your body!" Weeping and crying, it was very miserable. Hearing this, the woman suddenly stopped crying, turned around, and said angrily: "Who are you!" "It's… his friends," the two answered. "Huh, friends?" After hearing this, the woman sneered: "You were greedy for life and feared death and ignored your friends, and now you come to cry for the corpse, what kind of friends are you!" The two were ashamed, looked at each other, and dropped the mat and wanted to leave. "Wait, take your mats away. You don't care about life or death before the execution, so these will be unnecessary after you die!" After hearing this, the two men looked at each other and had to pick up the mats and leave.
(three)
The crowd on the execution ground gradually dispersed, and the dirt slope was in a mess. After a while, a carriage with a blood-red coffin drove up from the road outside the city. The woman waved her hand, and the carriage flew over here. It seemed that the woman had made arrangements in advance. When the carriage arrived, four people jumped off the carriage and helped the woman bury the body. The woman then got on the carriage and followed the carriage away crying.
Zheng Li saw this and was puzzled for a long time. He decided to find out the truth, so he followed the carriage and walked quickly. He didn't know how many villages he passed before he came to the foot of a mountain and followed a mountain road up the mountain. When he reached the middle of the mountain, he saw a pit with freshly turned soil, which was obviously dug not long ago. The woman asked people to put the coffin into the pit, and the four people began to fill the soil. After the burial, the woman let the cart go down the mountain, and then she knelt down in front of the grave alone, crying and burning paper. The new grave, the white mourning, the woman, the painful crying, made Zheng Li, who was watching from a distance, unable to bear it any longer. He walked out slowly from behind the slope and stood still. The woman seemed to have noticed it long ago. She glanced back and turned back to continue burning paper. Zheng Li stepped forward and said to the woman: "Excuse me, I would like to ask who he is, why you are collecting his body, and why you are so sad?" After hearing this, the woman did not turn back, but complained: "Don't bother with my business, go away." "No, I want to know." Zheng Li said: "I have a friendship with him, he is my…" Zheng Li didn't know whether to say "he" was himself or the fox fairy. "Isn't it a pot of wine and food that makes people pay for your life!" Before Zheng Li could explain clearly, the woman interrupted him. "You you…" This sentence made Zheng Li's throat choke, and he didn't know how to answer. After that, the woman stopped talking and continued to burn her own paper. It seems that this woman is burning paper for the fox fairy, not for "Zheng Li". She must know the reason.
The gray smoke, accompanied by clusters of burnt paper ashes, was blown up by the wind and floated around the grave, like black butterflies fluttering around, and like unsolvable black mysteries lingering in Zheng Li's mind. How could the fox fairy die if she knew magic? If she didn't die, why was the woman so sad? Was she really dead? Who was she? Why did she love him so deeply? Zheng Li couldn't figure it out. While he was confused, the woman had finished burning the paper, and without paying any attention to him, she got up and left. He saw her staggering along the mountain path, step by step up the mountain, and gradually her figure disappeared.
Zheng Li became more and more melancholy. Thinking over and over, he felt that he had been wronged and that the wages he had worked hard for a year were also swallowed up by the county magistrate in the lobby. The fox fairy was so humane and righteous in order to save him, but he was numb and indifferent. He was unkind, unjust and unfriendly. He was unworthy of being a human being. Now that the fox fairy was dead, how could he live alone? I could only express my feelings by dying… So, he made up his mind, chose a tree in front of the grave, moved some stones, stepped on it, untied his belt, tied one end to the tree fork, tied a knot at the other end, crawled in, looked at the world, closed his eyes, kicked his feet, and hung on the tree like a sack.
But just as he hung it up, somehow, the branch as thick as a bowl suddenly snapped, and he fell heavily, his butt hurting. He rubbed it with his hands, stood up and looked, only to see the woman, huh? Why is she standing in front of me again? Didn't she leave? Just wondering, the woman said sternly: "Isn't the price I paid for your life small? Why don't you leave? You are causing trouble here!" It turned out that he was saved by her. Zheng Li also said sternly: "I, Zheng Li, am not a coward, I am also a flesh and blood person. If you don't tell me the truth now, I will not live alone!" After hearing his words, the woman softened her attitude and said: "It's useless for you to know these, so let's go." "No!" Zheng Li said stubbornly: "I must know the truth!" "Okay, since you must know, then I will tell you." Seeing Zheng Li's firm attitude, the woman told the whole story: "He is my Ada, Ada is my father!"
"Ah? You are his daughter?" "Yes." The woman nodded. "Isn't he a fox fairy? Why doesn't he run away but be killed?" Zheng Li was puzzled. "Although we are foxes," the woman said, "we are also like humans and have feelings. Since he can rescue you, how can others do anything to him? But he thought that without you in prison, this matter would never end. The government would definitely continue to search for him. How could he give up? That way, you would never have peace in your life. So in order to save you, I am willing to spend a thousand years of Taoism, turn into your appearance again, and be beheaded. In this way, no one will look for you anymore, and you can live a peaceful life in the future. He can only return to the fox species and cannot be reborn as a human for a while…" As the woman spoke, she cried sadly again. After hearing the woman's words, Zheng Li was moved to tears. I didn't expect that a fox fairy would be so loyal and righteous, which was beyond the reach of humans. He said, "Where is your father now? I want to go and see him." The girl said, "He has turned back into a fox. There's no use looking." Zheng Li said, "He has practiced Taoism for me for a thousand years. I don't know what's happened to him now. How can I bear not to visit him? I would go even if it means dying!" Seeing that he was determined, the girl said, "Then you must be brave and don't be frightened. We foxes will not hurt people at will." After that, she led Zheng Li up the mountain.
When they came to a cave in the mountain, the woman bent down and crawled in. Zheng Li followed her example and crawled in. Although the cave entrance was small, the inside was very large. In a corner, under the weak light coming in from the cave entrance, there was some hay spread out. On the hay, curled up an old fox covered in blood, sleeping tiredly. Zheng Li stepped forward to salute and gently called "old man". The old fox woke up and saw that it was Zheng Li, so it screamed at him, as if it was saying something, but Zheng Li did not understand a word. The woman stepped forward and said to Zheng Li, "Father is asking how you are, why haven't you run away yet?" Then, the fox girl used the same language to scream with her father, as if they were arguing. After a long time, the girl took out a clay pot from the cave. Her temper was much better. She said to Zheng Li: "Father said you are a good person. When you found out that it was a fox fairy, you could have killed him, but you would rather sit on the bench than disturb him. Now that you have been pardoned, father sees that your family is poor, so he specially gave you a pot of gold and silver so that you can live in anonymity and go home to live." After hearing what the fox girl said, Zheng Li said he would not take the gold at all: "You keep it for use." The fox girl said: "Foxes rarely go out, and gold and silver are useless no matter how much. If you don't take it, father will be angry." As soon as the fox girl finished speaking, the old fox raised his head and screamed at Zheng Li again, as if he was very angry. The fox girl said: "Father said that he would let me accompany him to the mountains to practice again soon. I am afraid that I will not be able to come out for a long time. I don't know when we will meet again. This gold and silver is his intention. You must accept it." After hearing what the fox girl said, Zheng Li had to accept it with tears. Then the old fox screamed at the fox girl a few more times and curled up to sleep. The fox girl said, "Father wants you to go. We will have to part ways sooner or later. Take care of yourselves." But Zheng Li refused. He was determined to stay and take care of the old fox. It would not be too late to leave after he healed his wounds. Seeing that Zheng Li was not leaving, the fox girl suddenly became angry again. Like at the beginning, she pushed him out of the cave and shouted, "Don't make father angry again!" When Zheng Li tried to drill in again, he hit his head against the stone wall. The cave entrance was gone, and in front of him was a hundred-foot rock wall. No matter how Zheng Li cried and shouted, or how he knocked, the rock wall did not change. The only answer he got was his own echo, buzzing from the opposite mountain stream.
Zheng Li was helpless, knowing that the father and daughter would never want to see him again. This might be for his own good, but his heart was still empty. He thought that his living friends might say nice things on weekdays, but once things happened, they would be exposed. However, the fox fairy, whom he had only met once, was so righteous. He must live well, otherwise, he would be sorry for the fox fairy and his daughter! After thinking about it, Zheng Li bowed to the rock wall, said "Take care, old man", and then held the jar of gold, looking for the way down the mountain, and walked step by step…