Section 12: A Good Skin
Populus euphratica ferry is located in the upper reaches of the Ximin River, more than 300 miles away from Laoya Ridge. The name of the ferry comes from the three Poplar euphratica trees on the riverside, and the local natives call it It is "three thousand years old", which means "if you are alive but not dead for a thousand years, if you die but not fall for a thousand years, if you fall but not be immortal for a thousand years".
Going north from Populus euphratica and crossing the Ximinjiang River, you will reach the majestic Kunlun.
On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, when the weather turned cooler, Wei Shiqi came to Populus euphratica ferry alone, looking at the Ximin River rolling eastward with emotion.
The ferry is built along the river and is dotted with more than a dozen restaurants and inns. Wei Shiqi chose an old poplar euphratica restaurant that was the most prosperous in the city, ordered a pot of wine, three to five kilograms of beef, and looked at the river. Jing, slowly finished the wine and beef, asked the waiter to pay, and asked by the way: "Has a sloppy old man been here recently?"
The waiter smiled and said: "There was also a customer yesterday. The official asked about the slovenly old Taoist who lived in the Earth Temple and arrived the night before yesterday. He was carrying a burnt yellow gourd and went to our shop to drink a gourd of wine before leaving."
"He held it. Vegetarian or vegetarian?”
“I don’t care about wine and meat. I come here to buy beef every day. This is not a small boast. Our store is famous for its unique beef, and customers have traveled dozens of miles. Just for this taste."
Wei Shiqi nodded and asked the waiter to cut another ten pounds of beef, wrap it in oil paper, put a small jar of good wine, tie it up with hemp rope, and throw it away. With a broken piece of silver, he carried the wine jar in one hand and the beef in the other, leaving the restaurant and heading to the Tutu Temple.
The Earth Temple is located at the west end of Huyangdu, facing the river. It is dilapidated. Inside the temple, there are spider webs hanging over the beams, and the clay statues have collapsed. A slovenly old Taoist is sitting on the ground, with his back against the altar, and an empty gourd lying across his feet. , there is a person standing behind him, it is Yue Zhilan from Zhao Mansion in Xinyang Town. (本章由77nt.Com&# 26356; 新
The sloppy old Taoist rolled his eyes. He was more white than black, and his appearance was a bit fierce. He said in a sharp voice: "Is this wine and meat your filial piety to the old Taoist?"
"Yes, Please accept it, Taoist priest."
The sloppy old Taoist lifted the wine jar, patted off the mud seal, brought it to his mouth and drank three sips. He breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and praised: "Good wine!"
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the iron ring on the index finger of Wei Qiyi's right hand, and asked: "Who gave you the iron ring on your hand?"
"Taoist Deng from the Xiandu Sect."
"Deng Yuantong or Deng Shouyi?"
"It's Taoist Deng Shouyi
."
The sloppy old Taoist was quite surprised, "It's a small stool again - come closer, sit down and let me take a look."
"So Deng Shouyi has such a nickname , I don’t know whether he meant ‘little stool’ or ‘little Dengzi’.” Wei Shiqi thought in his mind, took a few steps forward, and sat neatly next to the slovenly old Taoist. He was tall and had long legs, and was one taller than the old Taoist. His head makes him look like a child. The old Taoist raised his head and looked at him. He didn't feel dissatisfied. Instead, he praised him: "Big man, what a skin! Come on, come on, stretch out your right hand——"
Wei Shiqi stretched out his words. Taking out his right hand, he thought to himself: "Will he say that I think your bones are amazing..."
The sloppy old Taoist grabbed his wrist, and his dirty nails pierced into the flesh. In an instant, his vitality It poured into his body, like a scalding hot stream, quickly circled along the meridians, and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. Wei Shiqi frowned slightly. He felt that when the vitality passed through the Beishintai acupoint, it paused for a moment and was intercepted a little, leaving it in the orifice acupoint.
The sloppy old man said "Huh" and asked with a straight face: "What skills have you practiced?"
Wei Shiqi knew that the strangeness in his body could not be hidden from him. He took out a piece of animal skin from his arms and said: "I found a piece of animal skin in the bear's den in the Black Pine Valley in Laoya Ridge, and I practiced randomly according to the method on it, but I don't know if it's right or not."
Hearing this, Yue Zhilan couldn't help but feel regretful. If he hadn't rushed down the mountain to reply to Butler Deng when he was in Laoya Ridge, he might have shared the skills on the animal skin.
The sloppy old Taoist glanced at it a few times, but was too lazy to take it and take a closer look. He sneered and said: "It's better not to practice this stupid technique."
Wei Shiqi took the animal skin away in a sullen manner. I put it away, feeling a little uneasy.
The sloppy old Taoist let go of his hand, touched the goat's beard, and thought thoughtfully. He paused for a moment and said: "Although it is a stupid exercise, it is not bad for tempering the body. Your five elements are close to the soil, open It's a so-so thing. For the sake of your respect for the old man, just stay."
Wei Shiqi breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to salute him. The sloppy old man waved his hand. , said: "Stand aside and wait, don't stand in front of you and block other people's way."
While talking, another young man stepped into the temple with confidence, his face was like a crown jewel. , the white clothes are better than the snow, the weapons are majestic, and he calls himself so-and-so. The slovenly old man rolls his eyes and asks him as usual where the iron ring on his hand comes from. He tells him to come and sit down, grabs his wrist, and releases his hand after a moment. He took off the iron ring from his index finger and waved him away.
As if struck by lightning, the young man knelt down at his feet, kowtowed repeatedly, and begged the immortal master for mercy and shelter. The sloppy old Taoist asked slowly: "You have closed acupuncture points all over your body. You are an acquired filth. Why should you become a disciple of Xiandu?"
Wei Shiqi's heart moved. Hearing the sloppy old Taoist's tone, It seems that as long as a sufficient price is paid, the Xiandu Sect will also accept the acquired turbidity.
The young man was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he felt blessed. He said that his family had thousands of hectares of fertile land, wealth, and many servants. He was willing to give him thousands of taels of gold.Ten pairs of boys and girls...the more they say, the more outrageous they become. The sloppy old man tilted his head and listened for a long time. Seeing that he couldn't get to the point, he reached out and pushed impatiently, but he didn't see any effort. The young man flew out of the temple and fell all over the ground.
Yue Zhilan sighed in his stomach, feeling quite hurt. In fact, he was also a congenital person with inoperable acupuncture points. Because Deng Zhang couldn't leave his country for him, he felt guilty and asked Deng Shouyi for help. Deng Shouyi mentioned a few words, and Deng Zhang secretly hid dozens of A piece of black iron was given to him in 1999, and he bribed the sloppy old man before he reluctantly stayed.
After that, thirteen more people came to the Earth Temple. The sloppy old Taoist accepted the three people and left ten iron rings. By midnight, no new people showed up.
The eighth day of July passed like this.