Chapter 215 Thrush

(There is also Chapter 2.)

The pale-faced old woman had a stooped figure and stared blankly at the four people outside the door.

The scholar who knocked on the door was very timid. When he saw the gloomy old woman, he did not dare to look at himself and hid behind his companions. He only felt that there was no way to go to heaven and no door to the earth, so miserable.

This scholar liked to read hundreds of classics when he was young. From the reading notes he occasionally sent, he could often read some strange ghosts and ghosts, and stories about old friends. They can be roughly divided into two types: one. It's pretty and pink, like a fox who loves a scholar, but the one in front of you is so ghostly. Even if you check in when it's dark, you'll see a deep courtyard with carved beams and painted buildings. If you're lucky enough to survive until dawn, it will turn into a desert infested with foxes and rabbits. Tomb mourning grave.

The wind and rain were swaying, the weather was cold, and the scholar holding a torch was bolder than his companions. He bumped the big book box behind him, rubbed his hands to keep warm, and said with a wry smile: "Auntie, can you please help me?" Let us stay overnight? The rain outside is really heavy. One of our friends couldn't stand the cold and has fainted. If there is no warm place, it's hard to say whether he can survive the night. I hope my aunt can help. , think of it as saving a life, which is better than building a seven-level pagoda."

The old woman had a straight face and spoke in an unintelligible local dialect, as if she was asking something.

The scholar's face was full of bitterness, so he had to explain it in the same dialect as the old woman.

The old woman turned her dead fish eyes slightly, stared at Chen Pingan, and suddenly used the elegant words of Aquarius Island, "A person who practices martial arts?"

Chen Pingan nodded. head.

The old woman looked at the young Taoist priest Chen Ping'an was carrying, revealing the hilt of the mahogany sword. After falling asleep, Taoist Zhang Shan's breathing was longer and steady than when he was awake. This was probably a Qi practitioner. The magic of it is that it returns to its original nature everywhere, which is unexpected. After discovering the peach wood sword, the old woman narrowed her eyes and asked, "Is your friend a Taoist?"

Chen Pingan continued to nod.

The old woman finally looked at the timid scholar holding an umbrella, "A scholar?"

The scholar with a mutton-fat jade pendant hanging around his waist shook his head and said: "There is no imperial examination yet. He is not a scholar because of his fame."

The old woman twitched her lips and swayed her shoulders to get out of the way, "Since we are all serious people, please come in. Remember to rest in your own room after entering. Yes, don't wander around and disturb my master, you will be responsible for the consequences. There is a charcoal stove in the room. You gentlemen can do whatever you want. There is no need to ask. The visitor is a guest, and my master will not worry about it. "

When the old woman closed the door, she looked around and then quickly closed the door. The heavy door seemed as light as a feather in the old woman's hands and slammed shut.

This house is really not small. It should be the fourth courtyard. Four people, including Chen Pingan, were placed in the second courtyard and were told that they could not go to the rear courtyard. The raised eaves of the house are carved with auspicious animals, flowers and birds, and landscape and cloud patterns. The window grilles are exquisite. The ground in the courtyard is paved with green and red stone bricks. The primary and secondary roads are clearly defined and orderly.

Chaoshou veranda connects the mainThe room is a side room so that you can walk freely on rainy days like this.

The figure of the old woman disappeared into the narrow verandah connecting the second and third entrances to the courtyard. It was pitch black, and suddenly there was a flash of lightning. Before the two scholars could look away, they happened to see the old woman's pale smiling face. They were frightened to death and hurriedly left. Going to the adjacent wing, the two scholars surnamed Chu and Liu did not dare to sleep separately, so they had to temporarily gather in a room. After the scholar surnamed Liu put down his oil-paper umbrella, he read the books of sages at night to build up his courage.

The scholar surnamed Chu was a little bolder, otherwise he would not have known that there was a house here. He put down the torch and began to tinker with the brazier. He took out the fire folding bag tightly wrapped in oil paper from the book box and quickly lit the charcoal fire. , the house quickly warmed up. He looked around and reached out to touch the bed. The quilt smelled faintly of dampness and mustiness. However, this was unavoidable. After the spring of this year in Caiyi Country, it was rainy and there was almost no sunshine. It was not good to be in this kind of environment. It is a blessing in misfortune to criticize the master harshly, not to mention having a place to rest.

The scholar surnamed Chu wears a green scarf on his head. He is slender and has a dignified appearance. There is an awe-inspiring righteousness between his eyebrows. He looks around and finds that the window panes are changeable, with exquisite styles and beautiful meanings, and the carvings are Bats, carps, Ganoderma lucidum, etc. are generally only considered by scholarly families. He suddenly approached the window and looked intently, and found that there seemed to be some traces of red paint on the slightly wider wooden strip between the two windows. The writing was mottled and blurred, and he could vaguely see some talisman writing.

As the room gradually became warmer, the scholar surnamed Liu became more courageous, so he put down the book in his hand. Seeing that his companion seemed to be staring at the window, he followed his line of sight and looked up. Seeing the redness outside the window, reflecting an old face, he said hoarsely: "It's getting late, I hope you two gentlemen can rest early."

The old woman who was patrolling the night with a lantern suddenly suddenly Appeared and almost scared the two scholars to death.

The old woman just came from the wing across from the yard. The boy with a backpack over there was also reading a book with a lamp on his back and looking at the window, but he was not so panicked. The old woman shook her head and staggered away, haha. He smiled and said: "Students are less courageous after all."

The room opposite.

Chen Pingan stood sideways near the window and reminded softly: "The old lady is gone."

It turned out that the young Taoist had woken up before entering the house and swallowed a Huiyang pill. Pill, Chen Ping'an's strong wine from the Jianghu instantly refreshed him. Originally, he was unwilling to waste a pill, but he suddenly felt that the evil spirit was gone, and he did not dare to be stingy with the pill anymore. After all, Xiaoxue's money is no match for his own life. Taoist priest Zhang Shan sat up from the bed, put on a brand new Taoist robe, bent down and sat next to the fire pot, stretched out his hands to warm himself, and lowered his voice: "Chen Pingan, let's take turns to keep vigil tonight, otherwise I'm really worried, I always feel that here Something’s not right.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Just hang the peach wood sword with the demon bell attached to it near the window. I don’t know much about demons and spirits.So I still need the bell to help remind me. As for keeping vigil, I am very good at it. You can sleep at ease. If something happens, I won't be unable to even notify you. "

Taoist Zhang Shan thought for a while and found a reason, "Hang up the mahogany sword and the bell to listen to the demon. Let's warm ourselves by the fire on the path. It's not too late to go to sleep after our body and bones are warmed through. "

When the young Taoist priest was hanging the wooden sword at an angle, Chen Pingan said: "Someone once drew a talisman on the other side of the window pane, but it has been a long time and I can't see it clearly anymore, but it should be your Taoist talisman. Do you recognize it? "

The young Taoist priest didn't pay attention at first. After Chen Pingan reminded him carefully, he looked carefully and found clues. He couldn't help but admire Chen Pingan's boldness and carefulness. After careful inspection, his expression became more and more complex. He felt heavy, and finally stretched out his fingers to lightly smear the traces of vermilion paint, sniffed at the tip of his nose, and sat back in his chair in silence, "If it is as Xiaodao thought, there will be some trouble. The talisman painted on the window pane is used to drive away Judging from the remnants of the ghost's red book, it should be a kind of Shen Gaozong's Qingci talisman. The Shenxian Qingci written with special vermilion paint is very powerful, and since it is the handwriting of a senior Shengaozong expert, it is almost full of it. Most of the windows were open, and the pen was written in a hurry. It can be imagined that the evil ghost that the senior had to face must have a lot of experience.

The young Taoist lamented and said regretfully: "If I had known this, Xiaodao should not have saved that Yang-Returning Pill and taken it early, so that he would not have been unconscious when he approached the house. Otherwise, Xiaodao has some experience in Kanyu Feng Shui. If he looks at it from a distance, he can roughly see what kind of style the house has to hide wind and gather water, as well as the fundamental method of gathering Feng Shui, whether it is yang or yang. Yin, whether you have deviated from the right path or not, as long as you can identify the general context, you can deduce many things... Chen Pingan, I'm sorry, it was the wrong path that put you in danger..."

Chen Pingan listened to the young Taoist priest. In his words of self-blame, he did not say any words of comfort, but just joked: "Master Zhang Da, exterminating demons and defending the Tao, isn't it your specialty? ”

The young Taoist priest waved his hands quickly, “Bye, no, no, no, no, no, Xiaodao cannot deserve the title of ‘Heavenly Master’. "

Speaking of this, Zhang Shan felt a little longing and said softly: "The real Celestial Master is the direct descendant of the Zhang family from the Celestial Master's Mansion in Longhu Mountain. They all wear yellow and purple. They are hereditary. In addition to the prime ministers of the mountain who have been on the mountain for thousands of years, the Celestial Masters with other surnames who have reached the middle five realms are also eligible to receive the title of 'Celestial Master'. However, they are also Longhu Mountain Celestial Masters, and there are many types. The first-class Celestial Master , are the old gods of the upper five realms who have entered the Longhu Mountain Patriarch Hall to enjoy the incense. Next are the direct descendants of the Zhang family who were born as yellow and purple nobles. One of them will be in charge of the 'Tianshi Seal' and an immortal sword in the future. Down below, there are many heavenly masters with foreign surnames practicing in Jie Mao of Longhu Mountain. Longhu Mountain is a natural blessed place and is open to the outside world. As long as those Qi practitioners agree to go down the mountain to kill demons and eliminate demons after they have succeeded in practicing Taoism. When the time comes, Longhu Mountain will give you a wooden sword made of peach wood. This is where Longhu Mountain’s magnanimity lies, making us, Taoist priests from other continents, extremely fascinated by it. ”

Chen Pingan listened carefully and feltIt is indeed good to get this Longhu Mountain and Zhang Tianshi.

Heavy rain.

The two small stone lions at the entrance of the house made a slight cracking sound from time to time.

The old woman stood outside the main room at the third entrance to the courtyard, stepping on a small bench and hanging the lantern on the frame of the corridor pillar. The light was dim and swaying in the wind.

Poof, the lights went out. It turned out that the candles inside had burned out.

The old woman coughed and stood up on the bench again, took off the lantern, and took out a brand new candle that was as red as blood from her sleeve. If she looked closely, there was no wick. The old woman turned her back to the yard. Pull out a piece of white hair from your head and insert it into the center of the candle, as if using it as a wick material. Then the old woman breathes lightly into the candle flame, and the candle is instantly lit. After putting it in the lantern, it hangs it again on the porch. On the pillar.

This lantern swayed slightly, and the light shone in the mansion.

If it is a clear night, it will inevitably attract moths to the flames, but I don’t know what the meaning of its existence is in this rainy night in the wilderness.

The young Taoist priest was not sleepy. Chen Pingan sipped the strong wine from the vermilion wine gourd. Listening to Zhang Shan talk about his thrilling experiences of encountering demons several times before, Chen Pingan made a silent gesture. , the young Taoist priest subconsciously looked at the mahogany sword out of the window. The bell was quiet, nothing unusual.

Soon there was a knock on the door. It turned out that it was the two scholars who were visiting together. Chen Pingan carried a wine gourd and went over to open the door. The heavy rain outside was still scary, and the wind was slanting. So much so that there is no dry place on the floor of the corridor. The slender scholar surnamed Chu holds an umbrella and a wine bottle in one hand with a smile on his face. The scholar surnamed Liu puts his hands to his mouth, breathes to keep warm, and says with a smile: "Brother Chu." I brought several jugs of good wine with me on this trip, and now I have one jug left. I won’t be afraid of you making fun of me if I tell you this. I didn’t dare to fall asleep tonight, so I was thinking about whether I could take advantage of the wine and fall asleep when I got back. Chu Brother said that having fun alone is not as good as having fun together. If you two are willing to have a few drinks, let's have a drink together? I have agreed in advance that I can drink at least half a catty, so you can only drink a little. I'll forgive you. ."

Chen Pingan raised the vermilion wine gourd in his hand and said with a smile: "I brought the wine myself, you can share a pot between the three of you."

At that time, it was given to Chen Pingan and Young Man. The Taoist scholar surnamed Liu, holding an umbrella, strode into the house and laughed heartily, "That's very good, that's very good."

The scholar surnamed Chu followed him with a smile and placed the umbrella at the base of the wall. , the four of them sat around the brazier and simmered the wine for a while. The scholar surnamed Liu patted his head and said, "I forgot the wine glass."

Then he looked at his companion with a wry smile, "Brother Chu, I don't dare to get it. "

The scholar surnamed Chu stood up with a smile and said helplessly: "If there are ghosts and gods in the world, wouldn't it be a good thing to be afraid of death? Besides, scholars must have great righteousness in their hearts. You have to be a little respectful to ghosts and gods. What are you afraid of?"

When there were more people, the scholar named Liu who was sitting on the chair became angry and joked: "I couldn't even pass the exam, which shows that I don't have much righteousness in my belly. Of course I'm afraid. Brother Chu is a Jinshi scholar, far better than me, so of course there's no need to be afraid. ”

The scholar surnamed Chu shook his head with a smile and strode away. His figure soon appeared in the opposite wing. Then he pushed the door closed, walked back quickly, and brought four wine glasses. , painted with two majestic and colorful roosters. Taoist Zhang Shan took a wine glass and asked tentatively: "Brother Chu, Brother Liu, is this the unique cockfighting cup of Caiyi Kingdom?" ”

The scholar surnamed Liu’s eyes lit up, “Taoist Priest has also heard of our Caiyi Country’s Cockfighting Cup?” "

The lights on the table were not bright enough, so the young Taoist held the wine glass with his fingers, tilted it, and carefully observed the two colorful roosters by the light of the brazier fire. He sighed: "Famous, famous. Of course, I have heard about it for a long time. The trail comes from Juluzhou in the north. When I was walking in the rivers and lakes, I once saw two martial arts tycoons spending a lot of money on this and borrowing fighting cocks for gambling. It was amazing. I heard that as long as the wine glass is filled with more than half of the wine, the wine will Inject a ray of spiritual energy into the wall of the cup, and the two roosters will fight to the death on their own. Moreover, even the tenth realm saints among the gods of the middle and fifth realms may not be able to predict the outcome, so as long as your treasure comes out of the cockfighting cup, In Pingzhou, the price has skyrocketed hundreds and thousands of times. The ferry from Nanjian Kingdom and the cockfighting cup from Caiyi Kingdom are one of the important goods to board the ship. ”

The scholar surnamed Liu had a rather complacent expression on his face, nodded and smiled: “I don’t know what is so spiritual or not, I only know that our master of martial arts in Caiyi Country likes to have fun with this, pouring it into the cup.” After adding wine, they can make the cockfighting cup come alive with just a squeeze of two fingers, and then fight endlessly until the winner is determined. As for why it is so mysterious, I have seen some records in county annals from various places, saying that the five-colored soil used to make cockfighting cups is the only interesting thing in the world. Moreover, it is said that once this soil leaves the territory of Caiyi Kingdom, The smell will change in a short time, and it will no longer be different from ordinary soil, which is why the cockfighting cup has become our unique porcelain. ”

Taoist Zhang Shan was amazed and thought that if anyone could monopolize the porcelain clay for the cockfighting cup, wouldn’t it be possible to earn a lot of money every day and become rich overnight?

Chen Pingan believed this statement, because As for the properties of soil, Chen Pingan has a lot of contact with it because of his porcelain making. Longquan kiln workers have been kiln workers for generations. When making porcelain, you need to deal with soil, so Chen Pingan has heard many myths and myths, such as Old Man Yao. It has been said that when the soil leaves the ground, it will eventually be molded into a clay Buddha to eat incense; whether it will be burned into porcelain and sent to the emperor's home; or whether it will become broken bottles and jars in ordinary people's homes, which cannot escape being exposed to fire and water. They all have their own roots, and each has its own fate, similar to people.

The scholar surnamed Liu drank three ounces of wine, his face was red, and he happened to be slightly drunk. He was in the best mental state. He shook his head and asked with a smile: "The Taoist Master carries a mahogany sword on his back. He looks like a god at first sight. Can he make this cockfighting cup come to life?" If possible, we might as well gamble, have some fun, and have some fun. What should we bet on? "

This scholar's face glowed with a strange look. It was obvious that whether he drank or not, he was completely the same person, and he was somewhat of a gambler.

The scholar surnamed Chu sighed and advised softly: "Brother Liu, after drinking half a catty of wine, take a rest quickly."

Taoist Zhang Shan also quickly said: "One The cockfighting cup can be worth a lot of money, so why waste it?"

The scholar surnamed Liu drank the wine in one gulp, then slammed the wine cup in his hand against the wall, smashing it to pieces. , laughed and said: "Since ancient times, all sages have been lonely. Only the drinkers leave their names, and those who leave their names die. Only this thing has existed for thousands of years. It is really ridiculous. How many dollars can a cockfighting cup be worth in Caiyi country? Money? Just two taels of silver. How much is a Jinshi worth? That’s expensive. Anyway, I, Liu Zhen, can’t afford it..." The scholar surnamed Chu looked embarrassed and explained: "Brother Liu is drunk. After that, I liked to talk nonsense, so I beg the Taoist priest and the young master to forgive me."

Chen Pingan smiled and drank silently.

In the end, Liu Zhen, who was drunk and talking a lot, was helped back by his companions, and Zhang Shan was sent to the door.

Chen Pingan glanced at the door, but never got up and moved.

————

In the heavy rain, a bearded swordsman walked through the heavy rain curtain, strode toward the house, and knocked on the door.

The old woman stood on the threshold and asked hoarsely: "What are you doing?"

The man shouted: "Take shelter from the rain!"

The old woman was pitiful. He said: "You are a man who speaks with a strong voice. You are not someone who needs shelter from the rain."

The man said angrily: "Why, your house doesn't even have a place to stay?!"

The old woman chuckled and said: "There is still some place to stay, but I am afraid that my master will not like you because of your strong temper. If you annoy the bad-tempered master, let alone a place to stay." , even a place to put one hundred and seventy-eight pounds of meat will be there."

The swordsman's beard was as hard as a spear and halberd. He pressed the handle of the knife with one hand and opened his eyes. Yuan stared at the door, "What nonsense! Open the door quickly, the rain is so evil, how can I not hide from the rain? How can I visit the brothel in the future? Isn't it a joke to those annoying little goblins?"

The door slowly opened, and the old woman sighed softly: "It is better to die as a joke to others than to die for real."

The bearded swordsman was slightly awe-inspiring, but soon burst out laughing. Said: "I have the body of a boy, and I have accumulated Yang Qi for more than thirty years. I am afraid of eggs! Not to mention monsters, even their ancestors will take the initiative to avoid me when they see me."

The old woman slammed the door again.

There was a click of a stone lion outside the door, and it turned out that its head fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

This little movement had already been covered up by the heavy rain.

————

Some countries in the southern part of AquariusAmong the wealthy families, most of the women lived in exclusive boudoirs and embroidered buildings. Some noble families with strict family traditions would even tear down the stairs leading up and down, and "shelf" the waiting women in the boudoir like books, waiting for the day of marriage.

As soon as we finally entered the courtyard, there was an embroidery building. On the second floor, the beauty was leaning. It was dark, but there was a man drawing eyebrows for a woman. The eyebrow pencil in his hand fell lightly on the woman's face. The woman's flesh and blood were blurred. The body was in terrible shape, with bones exposed in many places, and even white maggots rolling around, but her smile could still be vaguely seen.