In the end, Chen Ping'an only asked about the old site of the City God's Temple. No one had heard of the inn Cui Han mentioned. This county is a large city in the north of Huangting Kingdom. To get to the old site of the Old City God, one has to walk through almost half of the county. , by the time everyone followed the last pedestrian’s instructions, it was already approaching dusk, and they only found a high vermilion wall. It took them a long time to finally find an alley with an inconspicuous entrance, and they could barely pass two carriages.
The further you walk in, the more you feel like you are in a cave. From time to time, a light mist is emitted from the gaps in the green brick road under your feet, drifting into the high walls on both sides and gathering leisurely. Like a clear spring flowing slowly on the wall, there is a faint sound of running water.
Seeing that Chen Ping'an and the others were suspicious, young Cui Zhang explained: "This alley is one of the signboards of this inn. It's called Xingyunliushui Alley. After entering the mansion gate, you should be able to get there immediately. I saw a bright moon shadow wall, because there are spirits of unknown origins inhabiting the shadow wall. Their shapes are irregular, and they generally match the phases of the moon. The wax and shine are all reflected on the shadow wall. However, the truly valuable shadow wall must be the sun and the moon. If the combination can be combined with some astrology, I am afraid that the Xian family's mansion with the prefix Zong will sacrifice their dignity and rush to snatch it."
At the end of the alley, there is a door with two statues carved on it. The tall painted door gods are taller than young men, majestic and burly. They are all wearing golden armor. One is riding a tiger and holding a sword, and the other is riding a dragon and raising a sword. The two door gods glared at the alley, because they are carved wood carvings. It is not the paper of ordinary people, so it gives people a strong sense of oppression.
Li Huai swallowed secretly, feeling that he would be more comfortable sleeping on the mountain.
The door slowly opened. A beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes twisted her waist and crossed the threshold. She walked out slowly. Behind her were two young women with hair in their hair. There was a long sword with a green scabbard hanging on it. They did not follow the woman to the group of guests, but stood at the door.
The beautiful woman gave a graceful blessing, "I am Liu Jiahui from the slave family, Jia from Jiaqing, Hui from flowers. The name is really not elegant. All distinguished guests can call me Jiahui. Dare to ask Dear guests, do you want to stay at our Qiulu Inn?"
When the woman spoke, she looked directly at the young man in white who made people shine.
It’s just that the handsome boy was indifferent and very rude. The beautiful woman and the handsome boy looked at each other. Although the former was a little unhappy in his heart, the smile on his face remained unchanged.
The two maids at the door were obviously angry.
Who in the county dares to be so disrespectful to his wife? Even the county governor, who is a high-ranking official in a border area, always treats his wife politely if he meets his wife during an outing or burning incense. He politely calls out to Mrs. Liu or the second master. If he needs help, he Qiulu Inn helps with matchmaking, and even addresses him as Master Liu Xian in person.
The beautiful woman quickly glanced at the indifferent Lin Shouyi from the corner of her eye, but did not notice anything strange.Then he continued to look at the young man in white and asked softly: "Master, what do you think is wrong with Nujia and Qiulu Inn? Only after arriving here do you feel that you are disappointed and unworthy of the name?"
Young man Cui Chan Somewhat impatiently, she pointed at the straw-shoe boy beside her and said, "You worshiped the wrong Bodhisattva. The real master in charge of money is this one."
The woman was surprised and hurriedly gave Chen Ping'an alone. He gave a blessing as an apology. Before the woman could say anything, Chen Pingan glanced at the door. After looking away, he took a deep breath and made up his mind, "There are many of us. Is the room enough?"
The woman smiled sweetly, "Enough, why is it not enough? Although the county's triennial Water Temple Sacrifice Ceremony will be held soon, and immortal masters from all over the world are coming to support the county governor, the business of Qiulu Inn is not bad, but dear guests The guest's visit brings glory to the humble house. Even if the slave family frees up their small yard and temporarily moves to an inn elsewhere, they will never dare to let the distinguished guests return disappointed."
Finally, Chen Ping'an. I asked for a large courtyard called Qinglu. The old well located closest to the old city god is considered the Tianzi courtyard of Qiulu Inn. The reason why I have been idle until now is that the price is too high and the price is not calculated on a per-person basis. Anyway, it is two thousand taels of silver a day. There are many people staying at Qiulu Inn who are cultivators who have obtained the status of Qi Practitioners. However, if you don’t know how to plan carefully, you don’t have a strong family and backing, or you don’t have any. The means of making money by making money every day will make you extremely short of money. It is completely different from the immortal master who is as wealthy as the people in the market imagine.
The old well in Qiulu Inn is indeed a spring where spiritual energy overflows, but for a Qi practitioner, paying two thousand taels of silver a day for it is definitely not a cost-effective and loss-making business. Therefore, this courtyard is mostly used by wealthy local dignitaries to entertain bigwigs in official circles and heroes of the world.
Mrs. Liu personally led this group of foreign guests through the corridors, and finally came to a quiet courtyard. In the corner of the courtyard, there was a large bush of plantains, and a half-person-high stone water tank housing a group of colorful carps. , the water lotuses on the water surface only show their sharp corners when they are small.
Mrs. Liu smiled and pointed to a copper bell on the stone table, and said: "If something happens, you only need to shake the bell gently, and a maid with nimble hands and feet will come to the yard. And then At the back door of this courtyard, if you push open the bamboo door and walk more than thirty steps to the north, you can see a pavilion called Zhibu Pavilion. There are three futons placed there. The immortal master can breathe out the spiritual energy in the pavilion. , not open to the public, I hope you will understand."
Chen Pingan nodded and said: "We have made a note and will not go to Laojing without permission."
Mrs. Narrowing her peach blossom eyes with a natural spring spirit, she smiled sincerely and said softly: "Comparing one's heart with one's heart is the heart of the Buddha."
Li Baoping asked curiously: "Mrs. Liu, isn't that where you should be at the gate?" Is there a screen wall?"
Mrs. Liu sighed and did not want to elaborate on the details, but vaguely said, "PreviouslySomething happened and the screen wall lost its moon phase vision, so it was simply demolished. "
There are four rooms, one for Li Baoping and Xie Xie, one for Li Huai and Chen Ping'an, Cui Chan and Yu Lu, and the last one is reserved for Lin Shouyi, who is already a Qi practitioner.< /p>
After entering this place, Lin Shouyi really felt refreshed. That mysterious feeling was like rushing in heavy rain and mud before, and he had to pull his feet out of the mud with every step. , now that it has cleared up, the road is dry, and I have put on clean clothes, I feel comfortable and relaxed walking on the road, as if my whole person has been transformed.
Lin Shouyi was a little puzzled. Hidden in the bustling city, there is such a blessed land that is conducive to spiritual practice?
But along the way, I didn’t meet any other guests. According to Mrs. Liu, Qiulu Inn’s The business was not bad. It was very different from the noisy and lively town inns they had stayed in several times before.
After Mrs. Liu left, Chen Pingan first put the backpack in the house. He took out a gloomy wooden box from his backpack, inside which were placed four jade hairpins of the simplest style. Two of the hairpins were mutton-fat jade, which was warm and delicate, as well as jasper and black jade. Together with the box, It cost Chen Ping'an one hundred taels of silver.
On the way to find Qiulu Inn, they passed by a jade shop. Chen Ping'an originally planned to just go in and have a casual look, which would give him some insights and broaden his horizons. Well, I fell in love with them at first sight. The four hairpins were lying quietly in the open wooden box. They were cute and cute, which made people feel happy.
When Chen Pingan heard the shop owner say that. After seeing the staggering price, he made up his mind and didn't think much about it. However, Cui Chan hinted several times that he must buy this box of hostas. In the end, he simply threatened that if Chen Pingan didn't make a move, he, Cui Dongshan, would buy it, and Chen Pingan would buy it. As soon as he gritted his teeth, he agreed with the guy that it would be recorded in the account first like the accommodation money.
So Chen Pingan owed the boy in white the first payment, one hundred taels of silver, not much, but definitely. Not too little.
The shop owner gave Chen Pingan a small carving knife specially designed for jade craftsmen. At the same time, he explained to the boy the similarities and differences in the softness and hardness of the three jade materials. Chen Pingan should use different weights when cutting. I kept it in my heart word for word.
Chen Ping'an was on the Xiuhua River ferry when the jade hairpin given by Mr. Qi disappeared. He told Li Baoping at that time that if he had a chance in the future, he would do it himself. I will buy a hairpin and engrave those eight characters on it.
Now it is just four hairpins.
Li Huai put the small book box at the foot of the wall. After rooting, he fell back on the bed and said with a face full of intoxication: "It's really a place where gods live. My parents and sister are not so lucky. "
The child remembered something, stood up quickly, squatted in the corner, opened the book box, groped for a while, and simply took out all the objects, including the painted puppets and clay figurines, and placed them at his feet. Li Huai He put his head into the empty book box, then suddenly turned his head to look at Chen Ping'an's back, and said aggrievedly: "Cui Dongshan is really not a good guy.Hey, that silver ingot is missing! Chen Pingan, what should I do? Can I go and ask for it back? ”
Chen Ping’an put the wooden box and carving knife on the table, and then began to be in a daze. The young man’s face was serious, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Hearing Li Huai’s complaint Finally, Chen Pingan turned around and said with a smile: "Chongyin is yours now. If it is really with him, of course you can get it back. "
Li Huai hurried out of the house, "I'm going to settle the score with Cui Dongshan. ”
Chen Pingan reminded: “Remember to talk to people well.” ”
Chen Pingan went to close the door, sat back at the table, picked up the narrow and delicate jade carving knife with his fingers, and silently felt its weight.
His own What should be engraved on the hairpin? It is very simple. It is the eight small characters engraved on the hairpin that was lost before: Yan Nianjun is as gentle as jade.
But he planned to give the other three jade hairpins to Li respectively. The three Aquarius came to Sui Academy as a farewell gift.
Aquarius. Huaiyin
In the end, Chen Pingan could only think of it. Although these three statements are not elegant at all, they can guarantee that they will not go wrong.
Lin Shouyi suddenly opened the door and stood outside the door angrily, "Chen Pingan, you are. Aren't you crazy? ! Two thousand taels of silver just to stay here for one night? ! ”
Chen Pingan turned his head blankly and looked at the very strange young man.
Beside Lin Shouyi, a young man in white appeared with his hands folded in his sleeves and a smile that didn’t want to be beaten.
Lin Shou was so angry that his lips trembled and he pointed at Chen Pingan, "Two thousand taels of silver! Are you, Chen Ping'an, the son of the county governor, or a more remarkable relative of the emperor? ”
Chen Pingan frowned, gently put down the carving knife, stood up, and was about to speak, but Lin Shouyi had already turned around and strode away.
Li Huai sneaked in quietly. In the room, holding the silver ingot in his hand, the child did not dare to mix in the muddy water. He sat on the edge of the bed, his face a little pale.
Chen Pingan glanced at the boy in white and acted again. Stool.
Cui Chan leaned against the door. The culprit did not forget to fan the flames. "
Chen Pingan ignored him.
Cui Han thought for a while, walked into the room, sat across from Chen Pingan's table, raised his cheek with one hand, and looked at Chen Pingan with a smile. , continued to add fuel to the fire, "You said Lin Shouyi would treat your private pocket as the common property of your team, so you spent money this time for his practice, but you have a precocious temperament and Lin Shouyi, who already had an idea of wealth, still felt that he had lost money after weighing the pros and cons, so he got angry at you? I think this possibility exists. "
Chen Pingan's expression did not change.
Cui Chan said with a smile: "Do you think I am just a troublemaker? ”
Cui Chan said to himself: “Then you have wrongly blamed me. For example, I bought thatThe package is in tatters, so you have to pay for the silver ingot. However, if the insect silver falls into the hands of a stranger, it will wait for an opportunity to turn into a grasshopper or a dragonfly and return to its owner. So you will think that I am using magic to deceive others, right? Wrong, absolutely wrong. That man is a desperate gambler. Judging from his luck, he is a short-lived ghost who does not know how to cherish his fortune. If I gave him real money for gambling, I would be harming him. Maybe in the past few days He would suffer misfortune. Now that he has no money to gamble, the prodigal son would have to steal things from home and sell them at low prices. This would allow him to live a few more days. ”
Chen Pingan finally said, “From the time you got off the bus, introduced the Chenghuang Temple, and then casually mentioned the Qiulu Inn, you were actually setting a trap for me, right? But I can’t figure it out, what’s the point of doing something that harms others but does not benefit oneself? "
The boy in white with his head tilted, tapped his fingers on the table in turn, "There once was a man slightly older than you. He had a seal hidden in his hand, with the four words 'The world welcomes spring' engraved on it. Character. "
The boy in white was lost in thought.
Chen Pingan asked: "Then? "
The young man in white came back to his senses and rubbed the red mole on his forehead. Thinking of the strange weather along the way, he became more and more sure of one thing. It should be what Qi Jingchun gave to the young Zhao Yao, as he guessed. That seal was of great significance, but it was a pity that he appeared. Once the young man was tempted, he chose to protect himself wisely. Whether it was for his own future or the safety of his family, the young man put the seal with both hands, and then the things contained in the seal would naturally return to the world. , no wonder the weather in late spring this year is so long.
But Cui Han feels that things should not be so simple.
Regardless of whether Qi Jingchun has any backup plans, under the arrangement of the old scholar, He, "this Cui Chan", has been tied to the fate of the boy in Mud Bottle Lane. Although he was dragged down by Chen Ping'an and his future was bleak, Cui Chan still did not want to break the jar, but instead inspired a vigorous He hopes to lead Chen Pingan to his own Yangguan Avenue step by step, instead of being led by this uneducated little mud-legged man to his shabby road to drink from the northwest wind
This is like a tug-of-war between two people. The strength is not the strength of the waist and arms, but the strength of the heart and mind.
The mood of the boy in white gradually improved, competing with the guy in front of him in terms of mind and spirit. Resilience? After all, I, Cui Han, was once a top monk who successfully reached the 12th realm, and I was also a famous chess master in the Middle Earth Divine Continent. It would be difficult to lose against a child, right?
The boy in straw sandals opposite had completely ignored the boy in white.
Because Chen Pingan started to carve the first word with the carving knife and jade hairpin.