Sword of Coming

On the way north, the weather was calm.

The martial arts of the Daquan Dynasty were prosperous. In the past few decades, only the frontier troops had bullied others. The Northern Jin Dynasty in the south and the Southern Qi Dynasty in the north had both suffered a lot. If the three princes hadn't wrestled for the Dragon Throne, almost all of them would have died. The battle was about to begin, which involved a lot of energy from the eldest prince. The eldest son of the Liu family, who was in the north, had to suspend a planned Northern Expedition to avoid accidentally conquering thousands of miles of Southern Qi territory and seriously injuring himself. Losing the momentum, wouldn't it be a wedding dress for Mirage City's new emperor?

There are also four or five small countries bordering the east and west. The monarch of one of them considers himself his nephew and respectfully calls Emperor Daquan Liu Zhen his uncle. Another one has directly become the Daquan vassal state.

The team stopped every thirty miles to wash the horses' noses. At this time, Yao Zhen would leave the carriage and go to chat with Chen Pingan.

After going back and forth, his grandson Yao Xianzhi became familiar with Chen Pingan, but this piece of "Yao's Uncut Jade" was very reserved in front of Chen Pingan.

Yao Xianzhi is only fourteen years old this year, but he has already been in the frontier army for three years. He became an official scout in the second year, and was promoted to a corps commander with his military merit. He learned the art of war from his master at a young age, but he did not like to talk too much. He was young and mature, and was very popular with the family master. Yao Zhen’s respect.

Yao Xianzhi made no secret of his admiration for Chen Pingan. When he was being brutally hunted down by two mountain monks in the valley, it was Chen Pingan who came out of the blue and saved the children of the border army, including his grandfather Yao Zhen, with one punch. The terrifying master who was wearing nectar armor fell back after beating him, and faced a terrifying swordsman with infinite killing power, and he was able to deal with it with ease.

Yao Xianzhi confronted Chen Pingan, and later heard from Yao Lingzhi about Chen Pingan's feats at the inn, and killed Shen Guogong's son with three punches on the spot. Yao Xianzhi dared to confront Li Li, the chief of the royal horse supervisor, and Yao Xianzhi became more and more impressed. I wish I could lead Chen Pingan's horse and feed it every day.

Chen Ping'an had a very good impression of Yao Xianzhi. He fought bloody battles in the valley and the determined eyes of the armored boy were still fresh in his memory.

It's just that Yao Xianzhi, probably to get close to him, would always find something to say. He often made some not-so-funny jokes, such as the Southern Qi Dynasty was in the north, while the Northern Jin Dynasty was in the south. He also said that some writers who were good at writing frontier poems yearned for Daquan the most. Among the Yao family cavalry in the frontier army, one of the great poets wanted to exchange poems for a first-class war horse, but his grandfather refused, so he held a grudge. After returning, he slandered the Yao family frontier army in the capital for ten years. Yao Xianzhi vowed that when he came to Mirage City, he would definitely meet that gentleman.

Chen Ping'an didn't talk much, but he wasn't bored either.

Among the Yao family, Yao Lingzhi, who is the most talented in martial arts, has quite complicated feelings towards Chen Pingan. He is both grateful and in awe, but also a little unconvinced in his heart. He is also a young girl, so he is not too sure about it. I am willing to follow Yao Xianzhi and get close to Chen Pingan.

Chen Ping'an has ridden a horse before, and even accompanied an old Taoist on a donkey ride in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, so he knows that those so-called travels a thousand miles a day in storytellers and romance novels are all deceptive and ordinary worldly things. Dynasty, the eight-hundred-mile express delivery of military information boxes at the post station can indeed be done, but it requires changing people and horses. There is no responsibility for killing people on the post road. Just running like this will often hurt the horse seriously, even if it is horse-shoeed , or the horse's hoof may be broken directly.

The officials at the stations along the way who were responsible for the reception, as well as the local county and county yamen where the station was located, were very attentive. After all, he was a general with the prefix Zheng, the old head of the Yao family's cavalry. Moreover, this was not a matter of disarming and returning to the countryside, but going to Beijing to take up the post of Minister of the Ministry of War. , the emperor relies on him, and he has become the pillar of the court from the mainstay of the border. General Yao can probably kill several small county magistrates with a little finger. Who dares not to take it seriously?

Yao Zhen welcomed the guests and was tired of socializing. He was not very enthusiastic about local officials, but he never showed the slightest domineering arrogance. He would hardly refuse the banquet of any governor. As for the warm invitation of the county governor, he would occasionally With excuses to refuse, the county magistrate certainly did not have the courage to hold a wedding banquet for a minister without permission.

Chen Ping'an would not attend these banquets, but Pei Qian wanted to sharpen his head and dig in. Once, after hearing Yao Xianzhi's description of the names of the dishes, he started to be greedy and drooled. The strange thing is that Yao Zhen always takes Yao Lingzhi and Yao Xianzhi with him, but ignores Yao Jinzhi who seems to regard the carriage as a deep house.

This time we passed through a little-known county town, and it turned out to be a street sweeping style. Chen Pingan still did not participate in it. He just left the inn with Pei Qian and Zhu Lian, intending to buy some trivial items, such as a jade hairpin. But Yao Jinzhi left the post house for the first time and wanted to go shopping with Chen Pingan and others.

She was still wearing the elegant and simple curtained hat that covered her skirt and neck. In fact, when the team stopped before, Yao Jinzhi would take off the curtained hat as long as no outsiders were present. Chen Pingan had seen her face many times and she was indeed beautiful. , her appearance is even better than that of the female swordsman Sui Youyou. According to Zhu Lian's joke, Miss Yao has such a charming appearance that he, Zhu Lian, has never met anyone in the land of lotus flowers during the decades when he has been domineering. I heard that later there was a little girl from Jingxinting named Tong Qingqing. I wonder if she could be comparable to Yao Jinzhi. At that time, Chen Pingan nodded and said yes.

Zhu Lian then said that if the beauty of women in the world were calculated in terms of a hundred cents, then Yao Jinzhi and Tong Qingqing should have more than ninety cents.

Chen Ping'an didn't want to talk about other people's looks behind their backs. He only had one thought in his mind, which was that these women were born with perfection, but they only had a hundred cents. In his mind, Miss Ning's was like Grain Rain money or gold and copper coins.

So when Chen Ping'an met a girl like Yao Jinzhi, it was just an encounter.

Chen Ping'an wanted to buy a hairpin. Yao Jinzhi said that there was a children's lane in the county that specialized in selling antiques and treasures. She followed some gossip and wanted to find tiles there, as well as an ancient lucky money called Huai Jing. Zhu Lian Ze likes fantasy novels. As for Pei Qian, she likes and wants all valuable objects. Just by following Chen Pingan, it seems that most of her natural sinister temperament has been worn away. She only wants Chen Pingan all day long. Let her be the accountant, just like Zhong Kui in an inn. Even if she only has a few taels of silver in her pocket, she will be satisfied.

Chen Pingan ignored her at all. If he had ten cents in his waist, he would shake his clothes, and he was talking about Pei Qian.

This county put a lot of thought into welcoming Yao Town. Yao Jinzhi explained the reason to Chen Ping'an on the way to Hao'er Lane. The county guard was from the Yao family's frontier army. By chance, after quitting the frontier army, he began to As he climbed up the local official career, I heard the third master of the inn say that he was a very ambitious young man back then.

Walking into the very long Children's Alley, there are shops of all kinds. In addition to the serious shops, there are also many Baofengzhai. The poor and scholar-looking ones are mostly from poor family backgrounds. Most of them are cunning and have the items in their baggage. If the road is not right, he may take other paths, or he may simply be a gentleman in Liang Shang.

Chen Ping'an found it interesting to see these off-the-table Baofuzhai transactions on the street. After the two parties had the intention to buy or sell, they went to a secluded corner and did not talk about money. They only gestured at the price in their big sleeves. Yao Jinzhi Xiaoyan said that this move was jokingly called "pairing in a cage". In addition to the unique gestures symbolizing copper coins and silver, the numbers are also particular about it. The index finger socket forming a hook shape is nine, and the index finger and middle finger overlap to form ten.

In this children's lane, Chen Ping'an and the three of them each gained something, except Pei Qian.

Yao Jinzhi got what he wanted and bought a bunch of ancient copper coins from all dynasties, which were known as famous springs. The prices may be high or low. It doesn't matter. When Yao Jinzhi found a few tiles in a small shop, there were Taotie There are tattoos, auspicious words written on them, and a complete set of four-god tiles. Even through the curtains and white gauze, Chen Pingan can feel her surprise.

After she went out, she had an extra package. Chen Pingan said some kind words to help carry it, but Yao Jinzhi quickly refused.

Zhu Lian bought two novels about talented scholars and beauties disguised as monsters.

Chen Pingan bought a white jade dragon hairpin. It was plain and had no seal inscriptions. The dragon pattern was simple and smooth. Chen Pingan fell in love at first sight, but felt it was a bit expensive. The shopkeeper even offered a price of eighty taels of silver, saying that it was made by the previous dynasty. The handiwork of Mr. Yu is just not signed, otherwise the three hundred taels would not be sold. If Chen Ping'an had turned around and left when he was studying in Sui Dynasty, before today, he would have gritted his teeth and bought it.

Fortunately, Yao Jin went over to talk and bargained for thirty taels of silver. This basically meant that he had collected a jade carving passed down from generation to generation by that master, which was a daffodil. It was called Linglong Qiqiao. For this She was very familiar with the art of carving, and she belittled the material of the Chilong jade hairpin, which made the shopkeeper speechless. He angrily cut the price in half for the lady and sold the jade hairpin to Chen Ping'an.

After leaving the shop, Chen Pingan took the small brocade box and thanked Yao Jinzhi for helping to negotiate the price. Then he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "If you tell Miss Yao like this, why do you think this hairpin is not worth thirty taels of silver?" ?”

Yao Jinzhi was silent for a moment, and when she was far away from the shop, she laughed softly and said: "The hairpin is really the work of that jade-picking master. Not to mention three hundred taels of silver, five hundred taels are worth collecting, and this person respects the quality of jade." Those who are not good will not be cured. The material of your hairpin is excellent, so good that he thinks it is 'the one with the best jade material, and the Kunxuan knife dare not fall on the face of a beautiful woman'. It's just that everyone can see whether the jade in the world is good or not. , it’s hard to say how good it is, not to mention everyone’s tastes are different, so it’s hard to reach a conclusion.”

Zhu Lian smiled and nodded, not knowing whether he admired Yao Jinzhi's knowledge or recognized the jade-pecker's attitude towards beautiful jade.

Chen Pingan put the brocade box into his sleeve and asked with a smile: "Miss Yao really has that jade-carved narcissus?"

Yao Jinzhi smiled and said: "Those rhetorics are all copied from the book."

That means no more.

Pei Qian rolled her eyes. She originally thought that she would flatter her more in the future. Maybe one day Yao Jinzhi would be happy and give her the narcissus jade sculpture.

Yao Jinzhi added: "The words are indeed in the book, but that jade carving is one of my little aunt's dowry."

Chen Pingan had no choice but to smile politely.

In this regard, Miss Yao is actually quite similar to her younger brother Yao Xianzhi, but their moral conduct is deeper than his, so it won't be too embarrassing.

It can be seen that Yao Jinzhi is not difficult to get along with.

Pei Qian had already begun to flatter the horse, and Jiao Didi asked: "Sister Yao, are you tired? Can I help you carry the package? I am very familiar with carrying things. I will carry them all the way. I promise not to break your babies." "

Yao Jinzhi smiled and shook his head, his hat and white gauze swaying slightly.

Pei Qian was a little disappointed, but still refused to give up, "Then sister Yao, you must tell me when you feel tired. This alley is still more than 5,600 steps from the inn. Sister Yao, you have long legs, about Four thousand seven hundred steps is about right.”

Yao Jinzhi could only nod.

What a weird little girl.

The four of them were walking in the bustling Children's Lane. Zhu Lian lowered his head and asked with a smile: "Do you remember the steps so clearly?"

Pei Qian sighed and said, "It's boring. You don't want to spend money on me anyway, so I have no choice but to find something to do. What else can I do?"

Zhu Lian laughed.

In the dusk, when he returned to the inn where he was staying and went for a walk in the courtyard behind, Chen Ping'an found that Lu Baixiang and Sui Zuoyi had found a chessboard from somewhere and were playing chess in a small pavilion, with Wei Xian watching the game.

Chen Pingan walked into the pavilion. The winner had just been decided, and Lu Baixiang won a small victory.

Sui Youyou played chess with great lethality and momentum. As a man, Lu Baixiang was not as decisive as Sui Youyou.

Zhu Lian also came here, Sui Youyou said goodbye to Chen Ping'an, and left. Lu Baixiang invited Zhu Lian to fight. The rickety old man smiled and waved his hands, saying that he was a bad chess player and did not dare to show his shame. When Wei Xian looked at Lu Baixiang, he said that he was not even a bad chess player and didn't understand it at all. He just had nothing to do and wanted to know the outcome of the two people's chess game.

When there was no one to play chess, Wei Xian left, followed by Zhu Lian.

Only Chen Ping'an and Lu Baixiang were left to clean up the mess on the chessboard.

Chen Ping'an leaned against the railing, drinking green plum wine from the sword-raising gourd. Lu Baixiang twisted the chess pieces with his fingers and quickly put them into the chess box. Even though it was just such an inconspicuous action, but with the crisp sound of the chess pieces bumping and knocking, it turned out that Not only is it not boring, it is actually somewhat pleasing to the eye.

Chen Pingan was impressed.

If it weren't for the fact that he had no talent for playing chess, and that talking about hands would be too time-consuming and would delay his boxing and sword training, Chen Pingan would really want to think about how to play chess.

Yao Jinzhi came slowly, and she took off her curtain hat at the inn. After sitting down, she said to Lu Baixiang, who had almost finished packing the chess pieces, "Mr. Lu, let's talk about a game?"

Lu Baixiang glanced at the sky and said with a smile: "It's probably going to be a fierce battle. I don't mind playing chess after dark. I just wonder if Miss Yao can see the chess game clearly then?"

Yao Jinzhi nodded and said: "It's a full fifteenth month. You should be able to see clearly with the moonlight. Mr. Lu doesn't need to worry about this."

Guess first.

Lu Baixiang holds white, Yao Jinzhi holds black.

Chen Pingan stood up and looked at the trends of both sides. Without understanding the profit and loss, he returned to the bench, sat cross-legged, and drank slowly.

Since there are two large springs in the team, Chen Ping'an is not willing to reveal the details of the "Ginger Pot", so it is not pleasant to drink during the day. After all, monks and martial arts masters are sharp-eyed, and the posture of holding a pot and raising an arm may be too wide. You can see the clues. Chen Pingan wandered thousands of miles, and unknowingly, when he came back to his senses, Yao Jinzhi had already left, and Lu Baixiang was there to clean up alone.

Lu Baixiang put away the chess pieces and said with a smile: "I hope that one day I can go to Baidi City, which is located among the colorful clouds. What a 'first in the world to play chess', it is fascinating."

Chen Pingan blurted out: "I have a...student who is very good at chess. When you meet in the future, we can learn from each other."

The young Cui Han, or Cui Dongshan, was a great player who had negotiated ten games with the master of Baidi City.

However, admitting that Cui Dongshan was his disciple still made Chen Pingan feel helpless. After all, he could not be called a friend.

However, Lu Baixiang was not too serious. Neither Sui Youyou nor Yao Jinzhi could use his seven or eight points of strength in the two games of chess. However, Sui Youyou really lost, but Yao Jinzhi did not. She hid her chess skills, but even though she tried her best, she still lost. Lu Baixiang was almost conceited about his chess prowess. In that distant world for hundreds of years, Lu Baixiang, the founder of the Demon Sect, was not only unrivaled in martial arts but also invincible in chess.

What Lu Baixiang is really curious about is that Chen Ping'an is not very young and is not a disciple of Confucianism in this vast world, but he actually has a student disciple.

After chatting for a while about the customs and customs of the county, Lu Baixiang went to return the chessboard and chess box, while Chen Pingan stayed alone in the pavilion.

It was late autumn, and according to the team's itinerary, we arrived at the ferry outside Mirage City, and it was almost the beginning of winter.

I heard that after heavy snowfall in Mirage City, it is a rare beauty in the world.

Chen Ping'an was in a peaceful mood. Compared with his expectations when he just left Hanging Mountain, Chen Ping'an reached the seventh realm, the Golden Body realm, ten years later. His progress in martial arts was extremely fast, far beyond imagination. This was attributed to both inside and outside Feiying Castle. In addition to the two life-and-death battles, there was also a series of fights between Lotus Flower Paradise and Border Inn. Not only did he successfully enter the fifth realm, but he also had a solid foundation. Even if he broke through the bottleneck now and entered the sixth realm in one fell swoop, Chen Ping'an would not be able to I feel light on my feet.

Not to mention Zhong Qiu among them, which one of the others, such as the Golden elixir monk with the Five Mountains crown on his head, Ding Ying, the number one man in the blessed land, Huai Lili, the palace guard of the Daquan Dynasty, and Chen Ping'an, won easily?

Chen Ping'an couldn't believe how difficult it was to enter the Sixth Realm and the Seventh Realm, and what kind of opportunities and background it required. After the Seventh Realm, there is the Ascension Realm, also known as the Far Traveling Realm. A pure martial artist can truly ascend to the sky in one step and be able to ride the wind and travel far away like an immortal on the mountain.

The nine realms of pure martial arts, plus the true end of the secret, make a total of ten.

Among them, the eighth realm, Far Traveling Realm, was the one Chen Pingan yearned for the most.

In the deserted night, Chen Ping'an, who was practicing the Eighteen Stops of Sword Qi even while riding a horse, rarely got lazy and just sat in the pavilion drinking and dazing.

It wasn't until Yao Zhen and his granddaughter Yao Jinzhi came for a walk that Chen Ping'an stood up and found that the old man's face was not very good-looking. Yao Jinzhi said softly: "The county governor here, at the banquet, I only talked with grandpa about the past on the battlefield. Grandpa drank and enjoyed himself. The county In private, the governor sent someone to deliver a heavy gift to the inn, hoping that after grandpa enters the capital, he would take care of his protégé in the court, which made grandpa very angry."

Yao Zhen patted his knees lightly, with a lonely look on his face, and said with emotion: "I remember what a great young man I was back then. He was full of energy and righteousness. He was never timid when fighting in battle. How come he has changed so much in just over ten years since he entered the officialdom?" many."

Yao Jinzhi smiled and said: "Grandpa, ten years are not short. Wusha slightly wears his mood, and Huanggexuan takes on a new look."

Yao Zhen snorted coldly, "It's superfluous! Don't expect me to say anything against this kid in the temple."

Yao Jinzhi asked with a smile: "Is it possible that if he doesn't give him a gift, Grandpa, you will say good things for him because of the friendship he has accumulated in the past? Obviously not, since he doesn't know how to do it anyway, he might as well take a gamble. Grandpa, you know that you can't help yourself in officialdom, so you have to do as the Romans do. After entering the Yamen of the Ministry of War, I bet that I will win over a group of old people from the army to avoid being squeezed out by the officials and nobles of the capital. When the time comes, I will be isolated and helpless, and the situation will force me. Maybe the first name I remember is that of the local county governor.”

Yao Zhen smiled bitterly.

Chen Pingan didn't interrupt, but the grandfather and grandson were willing to talk about these crooked official rules in front of outsiders. Chen Pingan just listened to them as a piece of knowledge that is hard to buy.

As long as we cross the buried river that crosses the territory of Daquan, we are halfway through the journey north.

The Yao family team stayed at a posthouse on the south bank of the Mi River that evening. It was only half a mile away from the Mi River. Yao Zhen took Chen Pingan to go to the river to enjoy the scenery and relax.

The hard dish on the dinner table just now is the buried river carp. The carp from this big river, golden-scaled red tail, has no fishy smell at all whether it is steamed, sweet and sour or braised. It is extremely delicious and is a tribute from the Daquan Dynasty. one.

It is a pity that the famous buried river temple is a little far away from the inn and the ferry. It is more than 300 miles away. Throughout history, literati and poets from several countries have left precious calligraphy on the wall of the water temple. , the earliest can be traced back to six hundred years ago, and there are even many poems and lyrics by great writers from different eras, one after the other, one question and one answer, complementing each other, as well as secret competition on the same theme, plus the comments of later generations of scholarly celebrities. , making a water temple shine with splendid literary talent and rich literary fortune, which is simply more exaggerated than the Mirage City Confucian Temple.

The walking team was divided into three groups, led by Yao Zhen and Chen Ping'an walking side by side, and Pei Qian followed behind with a hiking stick.

Two Daquan worshipers who served as monks accompanying the army stayed with Yao's "San Zhi".

The two monks were a pair of Taoist masters and disciples. Because they were sneaking this time, they did not wear eye-catching Taoist robes. Instead, they wore front army-style waist knives to conceal their presence. Along the way, the two masters and disciples alienated everyone. The young Taoist priest had a face as good as jade and a gentle temperament, like a noble prince who came out of the Zhongmingdingshi family.

Wei Xian, Zhu Lian, Lu Baixiang, and the four people on the right side of Sui Dynasty rarely appear together.

Yao Zhen sincerely likes to get along with Chen Pingan, although Chen Pingan doesn't talk much most of the time. The old general who was stern in his family and the army became much more talkative when he came to Chen Pingan. At this moment, Chen Pingan was introduced to Chen Ping'an about the rankings of the landscape gods of the Daquan Dynasty. In addition to the five sacred gods, the buried river water god was the highest. He was a great prince. Not only could he open a mansion, but his specifications were also the same as those of secular vassal kings. equal.

It's just that the Water God Mansion has been closed all year round, and the Buried River Water God has almost no contact with the world. In the past two hundred years, he has only revealed his true form a few times. Generally speaking, he is always like a dragon in the clouds, looming and looming. Because the incense is so popular that it even outshines the most orthodox and lofty gods of the Five Mountains, during every temple fair, hundreds of thousands of people from the north and south gather on the banks of the Buried River, making the golden statue enshrined in the Water Temple look like a statue all year round. Located in the mist.

Yao Zhen laughed loudly and said: "Whenever there is a drought, His Majesty the Emperor will come to the Water Temple in person to pray for rain. Even if he cannot come in person, he will send a member of the Liu family to go south with the Minister of Rites. It is extremely effective to bury the river god. The people of Daquan have never been disappointed.”

After hearing this from Yao Zhen, Chen Pingan began to regret not being able to pass by the Water Temple, otherwise he could drink green plum wine and write down everything he saw and heard on the bamboo slips with a carving knife.

After walking four or five miles downstream along the rolling river, they met an old man squatting by the riverside and staring blankly at the river.

Yao Zhen looked back at the old monk, who nodded slightly, and then the old general strode towards the old man.

The old man looked dull but had a strong body. He was just frightened by the battles of Yao Zhen and others. He stood up in a panic, his Adam's apple twitched slightly, swallowed his saliva, and after cowardly calling "Master Guan", he didn't know how to respond, and he didn't know where to put his hands. Where is the best place?

Yao Zhen called "big brother" and asked the old man not to be nervous. He casually asked him where he lived and what he did for a living. The old man did not dare to hide anything and answered honestly. The final answer was surprising. It turned out that the old man was not only a farmer but also a farmer. Han, who still works as a corpse fisherman, often hangs around the riverside, and calls himself a water ghost according to the old rules passed down from generation to generation.

Yao Zhen was curious and asked in detail about the water ghost and the corpse recovery. The old man was a little hesitant, probably because he thought it was difficult to talk about the matter. He was afraid that these noble people would be unhappy after hearing this. Yao Zhen comforted him with kind words, and the old man then After talking about local customs intermittently, there are indeed many unknown secrets. It turns out that these boatmen, who call themselves water ghosts, are paid to search for corpses in the river, or they encounter corpses and salvage them. Someone comes after hearing the news. , do not take the initiative to ask for money. If the living person is willing to give it, just accept it. If you don't give it, it will count. It is just a accumulation of bad virtues, otherwise it will be plagued with bad luck for at least three years. However, the relatives of the corpse will not give money and return it. If you are not willing to treat yourself to a meal, you will have bad luck keeping it.

Probably Yao Zhen and Chen Ping'an both looked at Mian Shan. After the old man started talking, he gradually lost his restraint. His vague Daquan Mandarin became smoother and smoother, and he took the initiative to tell Yao Zhen about the details of how to recover corpses, and his words were harmonious. In his expression, the honest old man also had a smile, "You may not know, sir. When a man falls into the water and dies, he must be leaning on the water, and the mother-in-law is lying on her back. There is no exception. If you look at the shore, you will know whether it is a man or not." Female. After being pulled ashore, if no one comes to collect the body, you have to help bury it in a place not far from the Water God Temple. Then go to the temple to burn three sticks of incense, and ask for a red cloth strip outside the temple to tie around your wrist. , even if you do good deeds, you will be rewarded in the future."

The old man glanced at the water surface of the buried river, his face became serious, "But there are two kinds of things that cannot be fished out. One is those that stand upright in the river after death. No matter men or women, we can't fish them out. Their hair is floating on the river. We can't see the faces clearly, no matter how much money we pay, we don't dare to go. Then there are some yellow-flowered girls who drowned themselves in the river. If they can't be fished out with bamboo poles three times, we can no longer care about them. As long as No one will be rewarded if they get their hands dirty."

Pei Qian listened with interest at first, but later he heard that her scalp was in trouble and he didn't dare to look at Mi He again.

The old man stretched his brows and smiled honestly, "Whenever I stop being a water ghost, I will find a time when the sun is bright and come to the shore to wash my hands and say hello to the water god."

Yao Zhen nodded and asked, "How many people have you fished out over the years?"

The old man thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I can't remember clearly."

Yao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Good people are rewarded. Don't think that the business of collecting corpses is shameful. It's very good to accumulate virtue and do good."

The old man smiled and said: "The old man must be a good official, Master Qingtian."

This is already the most sincere compliment the old man can give.

It was getting late, and Yao Zhen said goodbye to the old man with a smile.

Chen Pingan said he would stay for a while.

In the end, only the old man who fished for the corpse, Chen Pingan, Pei Qian and Zhu Lian were left, and everyone else returned to the post house.

Zhu Lian continued to walk downstream.

Chen Ping'an sat next to the old man and handed over the wine gourd with a smile, "Can I drink, old man?"

The old man quickly waved his hand, "Master, please don't ruin the good stuff. Keep it for yourself."

Chen Pingan stretched out his arms, "That means you can drink."

The old man still didn't dare to take the jug, so Chen Ping'an chuckled softly: "I may not believe it, but I also came from a poor background and have been a kiln worker for many years."

Seeing that the young man had no intention of taking back the flask, the old man had to carefully take it, raise it high, take a sip, and quickly return it to Chen Ping'an.

After swallowing the drink in one gulp, he probably didn't taste anything, but the old man's face was already red and he was very happy.

Chen Ping'an took a sip of green plum wine and asked, "I'm here today to see if any corpses have floated by?"

The old man shook his head and said: "The water in the river is dry now, so it's not easy to see corpses."

At this point, the old man seemed to feel that he had said the wrong thing and was a little embarrassed, "It would be better not to see him."

Chen Ping'an hummed and drank silently.

The old man was a boring gourd, and he chatted so much with Yao Zhen today, probably more than he had in the previous year combined.

Chen Pingan looked at the buried river water in front of him and remembered the Longxu River and Tiefu River in his hometown.

The old man suddenly turned his head and said with a smile: "Young Master has finally come to the end and has great potential."

Chen Pingan scratched his head, but he didn't know how to answer the question. He said that he had no money, and it seemed that his back hurt when he stood talking. He admitted that he had great potential, but it was a bit awkward.

Pei Qian was puzzled. It was strange. He didn't know what Chen Ping'an had to talk to such an old man. He thought that you and Old Yao, who were generals, didn't talk much.

The three of them were silent together for a long time. The old man squatting on the bank suddenly sighed and looked at the water of the buried river. "You said some unflattering words. Don't be angry, sir."

Chen Ping'an nodded and said, "Old man, just tell me."

The old man said softly: "When my baby was about the same age as the young master, he met a poor person who shouldn't be fished. He didn't listen to the advice and fished him ashore. Within a few days, he was gone. I should have stopped him. .”

When talking about this, the old man didn't have much sadness on his face.

When the old man finally left, he thanked Chen Pingan and said that the wine was delicious. He had never had such a good wine in his life.

Chen Pingan stood up and watched the old man walking further and further away.

Pei Qian still didn't dare to look at the surface of the river.

Zhu Lian had already turned back the same way, and Pei Qian became bolder.

Chen Pingan sat cross-legged, looking at the river and the other side. He asked Zhu Lian to take Pei Qian back to the post house first, but Pei Qian was unwilling and wanted to stay by Chen Pingan's side, so Zhu Lian had no choice but to stay on the shore with her.

Chen Pingan closed his eyes, as if falling asleep.

Pei Qian picked up stones one by one out of boredom, but did not dare to throw them into the river for fear of accidentally smashing a corpse standing in the water. When she thought of the scene of a female corpse with hair floating on the water, Just goosebumps all over. Pei Qian subconsciously moved towards Chen Ping'an, clenched the hiking pole in his hand, and began to recite the chapters of the book silently in his heart to embolden himself.

Zhu Lian's body was stooped and he looked into the distance with squinted eyes.

What mountains, rivers, gods, ghosts and spirits.

Zhu Lian, the martial arts madman, naturally didn't take it seriously.

After a long time, when the night was dark, Pei Qian said in surprise: "Why is there a bridge on the river?"

Zhu Lian was stunned for a moment and followed Pei Qian's line of sight. There was no bridge, the river was surging, nothing more.

Pei Qian's eyes widened and sparkled, "Wow, a golden bridge!"

Zhu Lian first glanced at Chen Ping'an's back, but there was nothing strange about it.

The old man was a bit dumbfounded. He just thought it was this ghostly girl talking nonsense. Even if you lied that there was a corpse on the river, it would be more credible than a long golden bridge on the river.

Pei Qian was a little confused and looked confused.

Because she seemed to hear the sound of Chen Pingan reading. It happened that what Chen Pingan read was a passage that he asked Pei Qian to memorize by rote. This was the only thing Chen Pingan wanted her to remember besides the Confucian classic. Even He also wrote it with a small snow cone at the end of the book, so Pei Qian remembered it deeply.

He never wanted to tell her any truth. Chen Pingan only told Cao Qinglang those truths outside of books. Pei Qian felt that these words were probably the only thing she was better than that little nerd.

At this moment, feeling aggrieved, she recited it loudly.

It is that "the stars are spinning, the sun and the moon are shining brightly, the four eras are in control, the yin and yang are changing, the wind and rain are blessing..."

It is that "A gentleman does not act rashly, and his actions must be justified. A gentleman does not speak in vain, but his words must be reasonable. A gentleman does not ask for anything, and his requests must be righteous. A gentleman does not act in vain, and his actions must be righteous!"