Chapter 341 Golden Bridge on the River

It was calm on the northbound road.

The martial arts of the Daquan Dynasty was 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 suffered a lot. If the three princes had not fought arm-in-arms, The fight for the Dragon Throne was almost over, and it took a lot of energy from the eldest prince. The eldest son of the Liu family, who was in the north, had to suspend a scheduled Northern Expedition to avoid accidentally conquering the thousands of miles of Southern Qi territory. , his own vitality was severely damaged, and he lost his power. Wouldn't it be a wedding dress for the new emperor of Mirage City?

There are also four or five small countries bordering the east and west. The monarch of one of these countries regards himself as 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 noses of the horses. At this time, Yao Zhen would leave the carriage and 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. After that, he was promoted to corps commander by virtue of his military merit. He studied the art of war with his master at home since he was a child, but he did not like it. He is boastful, young and mature, and is highly regarded by the head of the family, Yao Zhen.

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 everyone including his grandfather Yao Zhen. The disciple of the border army defeated the terrifying grandmaster wearing nectar armor with one punch. He fell back and faced a terrifying swordsman with infinite killing power, and he was even more comfortable in dealing with it.

Yao Xianzhi confronted Chen Pingan, and later heard from Yao Lingzhi about Chen Pingan's feats at the inn, and punched Shen Guogong's son to death on the spot with three punches, and dared to confront Li Li, the chief of the imperial horse supervisor. Yao Xianzhi became more and more impressed and wished he could feed Chen Ping'an's horse every day.

Chen Pingan 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 was probably trying to get close to him. He always ran out of things to say and often made some not-so-funny jokes. For example, the Southern Qi Dynasty was in the north, while the Northern Jin Dynasty was in the south. He also said that some people were good at writing about frontier fortresses. Poetry writers most yearned for the Yao family cavalry in the Daquan border 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 in the capital. After serving in the border army for ten years, Yao Xianzhi vowed to meet that gentleman when he came to Mirage City.

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 Ping'an. He is both grateful and awed, but he is still a little unconvinced in his heart. She is a young girl, so she is reluctant to follow Yao Xianzhi and get close to Chen Pingan.

Chen Pingan has ridden a horse before. He also accompanied an old Taoist to ride a donkey in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, so he knows how to talk about it.In Mr. Shu and the Romance novels, those so-called travels a thousand miles a day are all deceitful. In ordinary secular dynasties, the eight-hundred-mile express delivery of military intelligence boxes at the post station can indeed be done, but it requires changing people and horses. On the post road There is no responsibility for killing a person, but the horse is often seriously injured after running like this. Even if the horse is shoed, 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 offices where the stations were located, were very attentive. After all, he was a general with the prefix Zheng, the old head of the Yao family cavalry, and this was not just a return to the countryside. Instead, he went to Beijing to take up the post of Minister of the Ministry of War. The emperor relied on him, and he became a pillar of the court from a pillar at the border. General Yao could probably kill several small county magistrates with a little finger. Who dared not 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 any domineering arrogance. He would hardly refuse the banquet of any governor. As for the county The county magistrate, of course, did not have the guts to hold a reception 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 became 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, 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, planning 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 still wears the elegant and simple curtain hat that covers the skirt and neck. In fact, when the team stopped before, as long as no outsiders were present, Yao Jinzhi would take off the curtain hat. Chen Pingan had seen her face. Many times, she is indeed beautiful, and 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, in the blessed land of lotus root and he, Zhu Lian, has been domineering for decades. , I didn't meet one, but 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 Ping'an nodded and said yes.

Zhu Lian 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 heart, Miss Yao was like Guyu money and gold essence. Copper coins.

So when Chen Pingan 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 town, which specialized in selling antiques and treasures. She followed some gossip and wanted to find tiles there, and a kind of tile called Huaijing's ancient lucky money, Zhu Lian likes fantasy novels, and as for Pei Qian, she likes and wants all valuable objects, but she just follows ChenAround Ping An, it seems that most of her natural evil temper has been worn away. She only begs Chen Ping An to let her be the accountant all day long, just like Zhong Kui in the inn. Even if she only has a few taels of silver in her pocket, she is content.

Chen Ping'an ignored her at all. If he had ten cents in his waist, he would make a sound, and he was talking about Pei Qian.

This county has 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 border army. It was a coincidence. After quitting the border army, he began to climb the local official career. I heard the third master of the inn said 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. Most of them look like poor scholars, most of whom come from low-income families and are cunning. , most likely the items in the baggage came from the wrong way and were taken by other means, or they were simply the gentleman in Liangshang.

Chen Pingan found these undesirable transactions on the street very interesting. After the two parties had the intention to buy or sell, they went to a secluded corner and did not talk about money. In addition to the unique gestures symbolizing copper coins and silver, the numbers are also particular. The index finger nest is in the shape of a hook, which is nine, and the index finger and middle finger are overlapped. 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 pile of ancient copper coins from all dynasties, which are known as famous springs. The prices may be high or low. It doesn’t matter. When Yao Jinzhi found it in a small shop, There were several tiles, some with Taotie patterns, some with auspicious words written on them, and a complete set of four-god tiles. Even through the curtain, hat and white gauze, Chen Pingan could 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 people and beautiful women dressed in strange attires.

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 thought it was a bit expensive. The shopkeeper even offered a price of eighty taels of silver. It is said that this is the handiwork of a jade master from the previous dynasty, but there is no signature, otherwise the three hundred taels will 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 still bought it.

Fortunately, Yao Jin went to talk to his superiors and bargained for thirty taels of silver. This roughly meant that he had a jade carving passed down from generation to generation by that master, which was a daffodil. It was called Linglong Qiqiao, and she was very familiar with this person's carving techniques. She also belittled the material of the Chilong jade hairpin, which made the shopkeeper speechless. He angrily cut the price of the lady's hair and sold the jade hairpin to Chen Safety.

After leaving the shop, Chen Pingan took the small brocade box, thanked Yao Jinzhi for helping to negotiate the price, and then couldn't help but smile bitterly: "If you tell Miss Yao like this, how do you feel about this hairpin? Not worth thirty taels of silver?"

Yao Jinzhi was silent for a moment and waited until he left.After 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 buying and collecting. Moreover, this person admires that people with poor jade quality will not be cured. You hairpin The material was so good that he thought it was "the best material for jade, and the knife wouldn't dare fall on the face of a beautiful woman." 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 that everyone has different tastes, so it is difficult to reach a conclusion."

Zhu Lian smiled and nodded, not knowing whether he admired Yao Jinzhi's knowledge or recognized the jade-picking master'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 said with a smile: "Those words are all in the book Just copy it.”

That’s it.

Pei Qian rolled her eyes. She originally thought about flattering her more in the future, so she said

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Not sure. Tian Yao was so happy that he gave 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 dowries."

Chen Pingan had no choice but to reciprocate as a courtesy. smile.

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 it all the way. I promise not to do it." Break those treasures of yours."

Yao Jinzhi shook his head with a smile, his hat and white gauze swaying slightly.

Pei Qian was a little disappointed, but still refused to give up, "Sister Yao, you must tell me when you feel tired. This alley is still more than 5,600 steps away from the inn. Sister Yao, you have long legs, about 4,700 steps is enough."

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, anyway. They will spend money on me, so I have no choice but to find trouble, so 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 Pingan found that Lu Baixiang and Sui Youyou 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.

The Sui Dynasty's chess player was extremely lethal and full of momentum. As a man, Lu Baixiang was not as decisive as the Sui Dynasty's chess player.

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. Wei Xian looked at Lu BaixiangWhen he was on the line, 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.

With 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.

Chen Pingan leaned against the railing, drinking the 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 if it was just such an inconspicuous action, but with the collision of the chess pieces, The crisp sound of knocking is not only not boring, but also somewhat pleasing to the eye.

Chen Pingan was impressed.

If he had not really had any talent for playing chess and felt that talking with his 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. 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 fifteenth month. With the moonlight, you should be able to see it clearly. Mr. Lu doesn't need to worry about it."

Guess first.

Lu Baixiang holds white, and Yao Jinzhi holds black.

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

Since there are two Daquan worshipers in the team, Chen Ping'an is not willing to reveal the details of "Ginger Pot", so it is not pleasant to drink during the day. After all, monks and martial arts masters are sharp-eyed, and one may insist on Clues can be seen in the extent of the pot's arm lift. 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.

While packing up the chess pieces, Lu Baixiang said with a smile: "I hope that one day, I can go to the Baidi City located among the colorful clouds. What a 'best chess player in the world', it is fascinating. "

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

Youngster Cui Chan, or Speaking of Cui Dongshan, he was a great national player who had negotiated ten games with the master of Baidi City.

However, admitting that Cui Dongshan is his disciple still makes Chen Pingan feel helpless. After all, he cannot be called a friend.

Lu Baixiang was not too serious. Neither Sui Youyou nor Yao Jinzhi were able to exert seven or eight points of strength on Qipan Mountain in two games. However, Sui Youyou was really serious. Losing, Yao Jinzhi 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 old, and he is not in this Haoran.There are actually students and disciples among all the Confucian disciples in the world.

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. 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 the 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 left Xuanxuan 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. , thanks to the two life-and-death battles inside and outside Flying Eagle Castle, as well as a series of battles between Lotus Flower Paradise and the Border Inn, not only did he successfully enter the fifth realm, but he also had a solid foundation. Even if he broke the bottleneck now, he entered the sixth realm in one fell swoop. In such a situation, Chen Ping'an would not feel lighthearted in his steps.

Not to mention Zhong Qiu among them, among the others, such as the Golden elixir monk with the crown of the Five Sacred Mountains, Ding Ying, the number one person in the blessed land, Huai Lili, the palace guard of the Daquan Dynasty, and Chen Pingan, which one 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 and secret realm, make ten in total.

Among them, the eighth realm, Far Traveling Realm, is what Chen Pingan yearns 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 Pingan stood up and found that the old man's face was not very good-looking. Yao Jinzhi said softly: "The county governor here only talked about the battlefield with grandpa at the banquet. In the past, grandpa was having a great time drinking, but the county magistrate secretly sent a heavy gift to the inn, hoping that after grandpa came to Beijing, he would take care of his disciple 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 vigor and righteousness. He was never timid when fighting in battle. How come he was only ten years old when he got to the officialdom?" So much has changed in the past few years."

Yao Jinzhi said with a smile: "Grandpa, ten years have passed. Wu Shaluo Dai's mood has changed, and Huangge Xuan has a new look."

Yao Jinzhi asked with a smile: "Is it possible that he doesn't give gifts? Grandpa, you Would you say good things to him because of the friendship you have accumulated in the past? Obviously not. Since he doesn't know how to do it, he might as well take a gamble. You know that in officialdom, you can't help yourself, so you have to follow the Romans. After the military office, I have to recruit a group of old people from the army to avoid being squeezed out by the officials and nobles in the capital. When the situation forces me to be isolated and helpless, the first name that my grandfather will remember may be the local county guard. "

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 in this big river, golden-scaled red tail, has no fishy smell at all whether it is steamed, sweet and sour or braised. Extremely, it is one of the tributes of Daquan Dynasty.

It is a pity that the famous Temple of Buried River Water is a little far away from the inn and ferry. More than 300 miles apart, literati and poets from several countries in history have visited the Temple of Water. On the walls, precious calligraphy has been left, which can be traced back to six hundred years ago. There are even many poems and lyrics by great writers from different eras, one after the other, questions and answers, complementing each other, and secret contests on the same theme. Comments from scholars and celebrities in later generations have made a water temple shine with brilliance, literary talent and rich cultural 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 pole.

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

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 military-style waist knives to conceal their presence. Along the way, the two masters and apprentices alienated everyone. The young Taoist priest had a face as good as a jade and a gentle temperament, like a noble son 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 most of them

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Chen Pingan doesn't talk much for a few times. The old general, who was unsmiling in his family and in 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 and mist, 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 it all year round. Located in the mist.

Yao Zhen laughed loudly and said: "As long as 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 Liu family member to go south with the Minister of Rites. Extremely efficacious, the god of buried river water has never let the people of DaquanDisappointed. "

When Yao Zhen said this, Chen Pingan began to regret that he could not pass by the Water Temple, otherwise he could drink green plum wine and write down what he saw and heard on the bamboo slips with a carving knife.< /p>

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

Yao Zhen looked back. After looking at the old man, the latter nodded slightly, and then the old general strode towards the old man.

The old man looked dull but had a strong body. He was frightened by the battle of Yao Zhen and others, so he stood up in a panic. , his Adam's apple moved slightly, he swallowed his saliva, and after timidly calling out "Master Guan", he didn't know how to deal with it. He didn't know where to put his hands.

Yao Zhen called out to the old man, "Big Brother". Nervous, I asked him casually 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 corpse collector. He often wandered around the buried river and called himself a water ghost according to the old rules.

Yao Zhen was curious and asked about the water ghost and the corpse removal in detail. The old man was a little hesitant, probably because he thought this was the case. It was hard to talk about the matter, for fear that these nobles would be unhappy after hearing it. Yao Zhen tried to comfort him with good words, so the old man intermittently talked about the local customs in this area. There are really many unknown ways. It turns out that these people who call themselves water A ghost boatman is paid to look for corpses in the river, or if he encounters a corpse and salvages it, and someone comes after hearing the news, he should not take the initiative to ask for money. If a living person is willing to give it, he can accept it. If he does not give it, it will be counted. It must have accumulated a lot of evil, otherwise it will be plagued by bad luck for at least three years. However, if the relatives of the corpse do not give money and are unwilling to treat them to a meal, it will be unlucky for them to keep it.

It is probably Yao Zhen. He 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 retrieve corpses. Between his words and his expression, The honest old man also smiled a little, "You may not know, adults. 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. You can tell whether it is a boy or a girl at a glance from the shore." 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. If you do good deeds, you will be rewarded in the future.

The old man glanced at the surface of the buried river, his face became serious, "But there are two kinds of things that cannot be fished out. One is the ones that are standing upright in the river after death. No matter whether they are men or women, we can't fish them out." , hair is floating on the river, face cannot be seen clearly, no matter how much money we pay, we don’t dare to go. Then there are some yellow-flowered girls who committed suicide by drowning themselves in the river. If they can’t be fished out on the boat after fishing them with bamboo poles three times, we can’t take care of them anymore. As long as we get our hands on them, no one will be rewarded. "

Pei Qian listened with great interest at first, but later he heard that she was in trouble with her scalp and did not dare to look at Mi He again.

The old man stretched his brows and smiled honestly, "Where? If I don't want to be a water ghost anymore, I need to find one.When the sun is shining brightly, coming to the shore to wash your hands is like saying hello to the water god. "

Yao Zhen nodded and asked: "Brother, 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 is 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 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 It will take a while.

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

Zhu Lian continued. Walking downstream.

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

The old man quickly waved his hand, "Young 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, Chen Ping'an chuckled softly: "I may not believe it, but I was also born in poverty and worked as a kiln worker for many years. "

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

After swallowing the wine, he probably didn't taste anything, but the old man's face was already flushed and he was very happy.

Chen Ping'an took a sip of green plum wine and asked, "I'm here today. Are you looking to see if any corpses are floating 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 snorted and drank silently.

The old man was a boring gourd. He chatted so much with Yao Zhen today, which may have been more words than usual in a year.

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

The old man suddenly turned around and smiled. He said: "Young Master has finally come to his fore and has great potential. ”

Chen Ping’an scratched his head, but he didn’t know how to answer the question. He said that he had no money, as if standing and talking didn’t hurt his back. He admitted that he had great potential, but it was a bit embarrassing.

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 for a general like you and Old Man Yao, you don't talk much. < /p>

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

Chen Ping'an nodded and said, "Old man, just say it. ”

The old man said softly: “When my boy was about the same age as the young master, I metI caught a poor guy who shouldn't have been fished. He didn't listen to 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. I have never had such a good drink in my life.

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

Pei Qian still did not dare to look at the surface of the river. Zhu Lian had already retraced his steps, and Pei Qian became bolder.

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

Chen Pingan closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep.

Pei Qian picked up stones one by one in 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 floating on the water, her hair , with goosebumps all over his body. Pei Qian subconsciously moved towards Chen Ping'an, grasped the hiking pole in his hand, and began to recite the chapters of the book silently in his heart to embolden himself.

Zhu Lian. The figure was hunched, and he looked into the distance with squinted eyes.

Wu Lian, the mad man, naturally didn’t take it seriously. It was dark at night, and 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, that's all.

Pei Qian's eyes widened. His eyes were shining, "Wow, golden bridge! "

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

The old man was a little dumbfounded. He just thought it was this ghostly girl talking nonsense. , even if you lied about 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 confused. When the sound of Chen Pingan's reading came, it happened that what Chen Pingan was reading was a passage he wanted Pei Qian to memorize by rote. This was the only thing Chen Pingan wanted her to memorize besides the Confucian classic. He even used Xiaoxue specifically to do so. Zhui was written at the end of the book, so Pei Qian had a deep memory.

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

At this moment, she felt aggrieved, so she read it out loud.

It was the "column". 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 spreading..."

This is the saying: "A gentleman will not act rashly, but he will act in a proper way. A gentleman does not speak in vain, but his words must be reasonable. A gentleman is unscrupulous in what he asks for, and what he asks for will be justified. A gentleman does not act in vain, and his actions must be righteous! ”

(End of this chapter)