Sword comes

Chapter 486

The mural city occupies an area equivalent to a red candle town, but the streets and alleys are messy, with variable width and narrowness, and many are skewed, and there are few high-rise mansions. In addition to many shops the size of tofu cubes, there are also many stalls selling bags. One after another, it is like the cocks crowing and dogs barking in that rural village. Of course, more of them are silent pedestrian merchants, just squatting on the side of the road, with their sleeves shrugged, ignoring pedestrians on the street, whether they like to look or not, and whether they like to buy or not. purchase.

There are different opinions about the origin of the mural city, especially the pictures of female officials in the heavenly court painted all over the walls, which are full of demeanor and arouse people's imagination.

Chen Ping stopped and walked all the way, about the effort of a cup of tea, followed a mighty flow of people who also came here for fame, and came to a mural, the mountain wall was tens of feet high, and the mural was full of momentum. Among them, looking up, the content of the mural is a profile of a graceful goddess, who seems to be walking forward, with a flying look, with auspicious clouds under her feet, and a bag inkstone that is not very common in the world, tied around her waist. I don't know if it's the light or the aura of the murals, but the goddess' eyes are moving like a living person.

This mural goddess named "Hanging Inkstone" by later generations is mainly in turquoise, but there are also just the right amount of powder and gold, which is the finishing touch, making the mural thick and immortal. The impression is like cursive in a book. The brushwork seems simple, but when you look closely, whether it is the wrinkles of the dress, the accessories, the skin texture, or even the eyelashes, it can be said to be extremely dense. The pen is legal.

The person who wanted to come to paint must be a master of painting.

Chen Pingan only has a rough grasp of Beiju Luzhou elegant dialect, so the discussions around him can only be heard for the time being. The eight murals in the underground city have been taken away one after another by predestined people from all dynasties and generations for thousands of years. The five copies are blessed by God's will in the dark, and when the five goddesses walk out of the mural and choose to serve the master, the painted mural will fade instantly, and the scroll pattern will remain the same, but it will become like a line drawing, no longer colorful, and full of aura. The five murals were scattered, so the Pima Sect invited a certain ancestor of Liuxiazhou who had been friends with him for generations to cover the scrolls with a unique secret technique, so that the murals that lost their spiritual support would not be completely consumed by the years.

Most of the tourists who come here to enjoy the scenery are to admire the beautiful face of the goddess. Of course, Chen Pingan also looks at it.

It's just that Chen Pingan paid more attention to the small ancient inkstone hanging on the goddess's waist. It can be vaguely seen that the two characters of ancient seal script are "switching electricity". The authentic book, with many insect and bird seal characters on it, has actually been lost in Haoran Tianxia.

Near this mural, there is a shop that specializes in selling copies of this picture of the Goddess. The prices vary. Among them, the hard yellow book filled with double-hook gallery is the most expensive. For a piece the size of a round fan, you dare to ask for twenty snows. It cost money, but Chen Pingan saw that the picture was indeed exquisite, not only resembled a mural, but also had a slight resemblance in spirit, so Chen Ping bought two, planning to keep one for himself in the future, and give another one to Zhu Lian.

Zhu Lian said that when it comes to collecting, the most taboo is miscellaneous but not refined.

The shop is run by a pair of teenagers and girls. The girls don't like to deal with customers, but the boys are especially smart. Seeing that Chen Pingan bought the most expensive piece in the shop, he began to recommend a set to Chen Pingan, a distinguished customer. There are five gallery-filled hard yellow books with pictures of goddesses, and they are stored in a bright red wooden box. The boy said that the cost of the wooden box alone is worth several snowflakes.

Chen Ping gently wiped the wooden box with his hand. The wood is fine and delicate, and the aura is light but mellow. It should indeed be produced on the mountain of Xianjia.

The boy also said that the other two pictures of Goddess cannot be bought here, customers have to walk two more steps, and they can get them in other shops. There are still three ancestral shops in the Mural City. The business of other shops, but the five facsimiles of the murals that have been covered up by the Pima sect can be sold by all three shops.

Chen Pingan thought for a while, said to look again, put away the "hanging inkstone" picture of the goddess, and left the shop.

As for the chance of the goddess, Chen Pingan didn't even think about it.

I heard some guests gossip about that once the goddess walks out of the picture scroll, she will serve her master for the rest of her life. The five people in the picture scroll in history have all formed fairy and Taoist couples with her master, and at least both of them can become Nascent Soul Earth Immortals. Among them, a down-and-out scholar with mediocre monastic qualifications, even after gaining the blue eyes of a "celestial staff" goddess, broke through unexpectedly again and again, and finally became the great monk in the fairyland in the history of Beiju Luzhou.It's really a beauty to return home, and you can become a fairy on the top of the mountain. Life is so far, what more can a husband ask for.

Chen Pingan's palms were sweating when he heard that, so he quickly drank a sip of wine to calm down his shock, and just barely put his hands together, silently praying that the senior goddess on the mural has a higher vision, and don't be blind to look at him.

Afterwards, Chen Pingan went to the other two murals, and bought the most expensive gallery copy, with the same style, and a set of five pictures of goddesses was also sold in a nearby shop. The price was the same as the boy said earlier, one hundred snowflakes. ,no discount.These two pictures of Goddess Tianguan are respectively named "Xing Yu" and "Riding a Deer". The former holds a white jade bowl and tilts slightly.The latter is riding a colorful deer, and the goddess's skirt is dragging, floating like a fairy. This goddess also carries a cyan sheathless wooden sword on her back, with the three characters "Quaizaifeng" engraved in seal.

Along the way, Chen Pingan was mixed in the crowd, listening more and watching more.

One of these words made Chen Pingan, a money fanatic, fall in love with it, and planned to be a Baozhai himself. This trip to Beiju Luzhou, in addition to practicing swords, might as well do business by the way. vacated,

Some passers-by said that it was a picture of a goddess in the mural city. Because of the beautiful painting and gimmicks, it is well known in the north and south of the continent. In the northern part of Luzhou in Beiju, there are often monks who offer extremely high prices, and they are very popular in the northern court and official circles. , There is even a powerful immortal master who is willing to pay a small sum of money to buy a complete set of eight murals of city goddesses.

Chen Ping thought about it carefully, at first he felt that it was profitable, and then he felt that something was wrong. He thought that such a good thing was like throwing a string of copper coins on the ground, and monks with a little bit of money could pick it up and earn the money. price difference.Chen Pingan took a closer look at the group of chattering tourists not far away, and saw that they didn't look like the nurses of the three shops. After thinking about it again, he realized a little bit. The family ferry boat is a big expense, not to mention the Goddess picture, whether it can be sold at a high price or not depends on whether the other party is hard to buy and has a good heart. There are so many boxes in the corridor of the shop, and the output is various. If you add them together, there may not be any monks who are willing to earn such a small profit.

Of course, it is also possible that there is a fixed sales channel on the side of the shop and the Pima Sect on the Bone Beach, and outsiders don't know it.

It's about making money.

Chen Pingan has traveled such a long way. Among the people he knows, Sun Jiashu from Old Dragon City and Dong Shuijing from Longquan County have done the best.Not to mention Sun Jiashu, who already has a big family and business, but Dong Shuijing, who was born in a back alley and "suddenly rich", Chen Ping admires his attitude towards making money the most. , Cao Duzao, and Guan Yiran who is going to visit and get acquainted recently, such a big man will also make friends, but he also earns the small money of the wonton shop, although Dong Shuijing now runs the shop, in the eyes of some people, it may be more important. It may be a kind of cultivation of sentiments after a rich family, but Dong Shuijing is still diligent, serious, and unambiguous.

This is the business experience that a businessman should have.

So Chen Ping found the shopkeepers in the two shops, and asked if they could give some discounts if they bought more copybooks in one go. Nothing less, there is no room for negotiation at all.In another shop, a hunchbacked old woman was in charge, and she smiled and asked the customers how many suits of Goddess pictures they could buy. Chen Pingan said how much was left in the shop. The main painter of the goddess picture in the gallery has always been the old Keqing of the Pima Sect. Other painters dare not paint at all. Every time Dengtuzi who has evil thoughts in the world looks at him, he will have an extra karma, which is really a waste of money.The old woman then said frankly that the shop itself is not worried about sales, so there is not much left. Now there are only about [-] sets left in the shop, and sooner or later they will all be sold out.Speaking of this, the old woman laughed and asked Chen Pingan that since this is the case, discounts are equivalent to losing money. Is there any such business in the world?

Chen Pingan had no choice but to rely on the old woman's sincere words, so he spent twenty snowflakes to buy a box with five pictures of goddesses named "Changxi", "Baogai", "Ganoderma lucidum", "Chunguan" and "Zhan Kan", the five goddesses respectively hold lotus lamps, hold treasure covers, and hold a white jade ganoderma lucidum in their arms, surrounded by flowers and flying birds. The last one is the most unusual, it is actually Wearing armor and holding a catty axe, the lightning is shining, very heroic.

Chen Pingan went back to the earliest shop again and asked about the inventory and discounts of the gallery booklets. The boy was a little embarrassed. The girl suddenly smiled and glanced at the boy who was her childhood sweetheart. She shook her head, probably thinking that this foreigner was too philistine , continue to be busy with his own business, facing the customers who file in and out of the shop, no matter how old or young, there is still no smile on their faces.

In the end, the young man was more talkative, or maybe he was thin-skinned, but Chen Pingan was watching him and smiling, so he secretly led Chen Pingan to the room behind the shop, sold Chen Pingan's ten sets of wooden boxes, and took ten less snow from Chen Pingan. spend money.

After Chen Pingan paid the bill, when he left the shop, he had an extra package slung across his back.

The girl nudged the young man with her shoulder, and teased: "How can you do business like this? The customer nodded and agreed after a little bit of grinding on you."

The young man said helplessly: "I'll follow my grandfather. Besides, I'm here to help you with odd jobs, and I'm not really a businessman."

The girl was very clear about public and private affairs, and said: "I don't care, I can see the loss of ten snowflakes here in the shop, and you can go to your great-grandpa to make up for it later, and beg him to give me more money from the shop." Draw some."

The young man nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, my great-grandpa loves me the most. Others begging him won't do anything. I'll go begging. It's too late for my great-grandfather to be happy."

The girl suddenly said: "Then, did you tell the customer that you don't show off when you go out, the shop is full of people, and he carries so many gallery notebooks, it's not a small amount of money. The area around the mural city is full of fish and dragons, and the atmosphere is smoky." Yes, I like to bully foreigners the most, and I can use all kinds of tricks and abductions. You didn't remind me that it looks like a bargain with you. If you don't agree, you will soon be able to work as a clerk in our shop, and that With a foreign accent, it doesn't look like someone with a lot of money, the more so, the more careful you should be."

When a young girl does business, she upholds the temperament of taking the bait from the volunteers. Only on the side of the young man, she does not hesitate to speak. She must also have a cold-skinned and warm-hearted personality.

The boy froze for a moment, slapped his head, and said guiltily, "I forgot."

The girl stared and said, lowering her voice, "Then why don't you hurry up, you are a direct disciple of the Pima sect, who are all about to travel down the mountain, why are you acting so unsophisticated."

The boy said, "What about the business here?"

The girl laughed angrily: "I have been here since I was a child. You have only gone down the mountain to help a few times in so many years. Is it possible that without you, my shop would not be able to continue?"

The boy rushed out of the shop, found the outlander ranger wearing a bamboo hat, and whispered some precautions.

Chen Ping smiled and said, "Okay, thank you for reminding me."

The boy waved his hand, and was about to turn around and run back to the shop.

Chen Pingan asked: "May I take the liberty to ask?"

The boy stopped immediately, nodded and said: "But it's okay to say, I will definitely not hide what I can say."

Chen Pingan asked: "These eight goddess murals have such a great chance, why didn't the Bone Beach Pima Sect be imprisoned? Even if their own disciples can't catch the fate, but the fat water doesn't flow to outsiders, isn't it common sense?"

The young man smiled and said: "The Pima Sect is not so stingy. Instead of stealing treasures and monopolizing opportunities, it is better to form a good relationship with those who are predestined. There is an ancestral motto in the Pima Sect Patriarch Hall, we practice the Dao, and we must not take care of our husbands." fight."

Chen Pingan chewed this sentence carefully, and said with emotion: "The Pima sect is very bold."

The young man is straight and happy. Although the young man is not tall and looks ordinary, he is actually an inner disciple of the Pima Sect Patriarch Hall. The girls in the shop in the city have known each other since childhood, and they would come down the mountain to help whenever they had the opportunity. When they arrived at the top of the Pimazong mountain, there were not a few white-haired old monks who called him little master uncle.

After thanking the young man, Chen Pingan walked towards the entrance. Since he had bought those pictures of goddesses, it was a worthwhile trip for him to do business in Beiju Luzhou in the future, so he stopped wandering around. In Mural City, I actually saw some ghost repair utensils sold by large and small shops along the way. Regardless of whether the items are good or bad, they are really expensive. I guess the real good items and top-notch items will have to stay here for a while. Slowly search for those time-honored brands hiding deep in the streets and alleys, and you will have a chance to find them. Otherwise, the shopkeeper Huang of the ferry boat will not mention this, but Chen Pingan does not intend to try his luck. Chen Pingan didn't need the last thing he needed, so he rushed to the Yaohe River Temple, which was [-] miles away from Pimazong Mountain.

After leaving the Mural City, Chen Pingan thought of Taiping Mountain in Tongyezhou for no reason when he saw the Pimazong, which was shrouded in clouds and mist covering the top of the mountain.

The foot of the mountain is bustling and overcrowded. This immortal mansion with 36 descendants and [-] people from the outer sect, compared to a Zongzitou cave mansion, there are really few monks, and the mountain is mostly deserted.

In fact, my own Lost Mountain is similar now.

There are still too few people.

But when there are more people in the future, Chen Ping'an is also worried, worried that there will be a second Gu Can appear, even if it is half of Gu Can, Chen Ping'an will have a big head.

There was once an allusion in Taoism about a vulgar man worrying about the sky. Chen Pingan has read it many times, and the more he reads it, the more he feels the endless aftertaste.

Chen Pingan took off the gourd of Yangjian, took a sip of wine, shook the package, put away his thoughts, and continued to travel far away.

Still going on foot.

As for the speed of breathing and the depth of footsteps, they deliberately maintain the appearance of an ordinary five-level martial artist in the world.

The Temple of the River God is easy to find, as long as you walk to the bank of the swaying river, and then go all the way north, the ghost valley is located in the northeast of the temple, so it can barely be considered as a way.

The surface of the swaying river is extremely wide, stretching as far as the eye can see, the water is deep and the river is slow, giving you the feeling of watching the lake.

There is not a bridge on the Swaying River. It is said that the river god does not like others to walk on his head. There are many ferries and boats. Chen Pingan rests at a small ferry and drinks a bowl of local gloomy tea. The water of the river is low-grade, but the gloomy tea here, drawn from the river at will, the tea is extremely refreshing and sweet, which is probably due to the richness of the swaying river water.The water transportation is at its peak, and it benefits both sides of the river invisibly. The vegetation is lush, and there are large clumps of reeds. In early winter, it is still green and verdant, so many birds and waterfowls inhabit it.

Along the way, you can occasionally see wandering monks, followed by Yinling retinues with clanking iron armor, but their footsteps are extremely light, hardly splashing dust, just like the masters of the rivers and lakes in a small country belonging to the Aquarius Continent, the armor on their bodies is extremely Excellent, with Taoist talismans engraved on the seal, gold and silver threads interlaced, and the light flowing, it is obviously not ordinary. Almost all of the burly ghosts are covered with visors, and some of their exposed skin is blue and black.

One side of water and soil nurtures one side of people. The monks in Luzhou, Beiju, no matter how high or low their realm, are more restrained than the monks in Aquarius Island who walk in Dadukou. The monks here look like no one else, very bold and unrestrained.

If Pei Qian came here, he would probably feel like a fish in water.

Chen Pingan ordered two more bowls of gloomy tea. It was not that Chen Pingan was so thirsty that he needed a cow to drink, but the rule of the tea stall was that three bowls of tea were sold for one snowflake. money to start with.

Chen Pingan was not in such a hurry to rush, so he drank tea slowly, and then most of the dozen or so tables were seated here, all of whom rested here. A hundred miles ahead, there will be a historic site. The ancient iron ox has an unknown origin and a very high rank, which is close to a magic weapon. It was neither sunk into the river by the river god to suppress the water transport, nor was it collected by the big monk of the bone beach. An earth fairy once tried to steal it , but the end was not very good, the river god obviously turned a blind eye to this, and did not stop it with magical powers, but the swaying river was violent and turbulent, covering the sky and covering the sky, and actually directly involved a Jindan earth immortal in the river, drowning alive. After that, no one dared to covet this iron bull that was worth hundreds of thousands of catties.

Chen Pingan had just finished his second bowl of tea, when a table of guests not far away had an argument with the waiter at the tea stall, over why the tea stall charged two snowflakes for four bowls of tea.

The shopkeeper is a tired and lazy man, he gloats at his own troubles with the customers, and sits on the oil-stained counter to have a drink alone, with a dish in front of him, which is especially delicious water celery that grows on the banks of the swaying river , the young guy is also stubborn, and he doesn't ask the shopkeeper for help. Surrounded by four customers, he still insists on his opinion. It is not charged for one or two.

A strong man with a big beard and a purple face, behind him was an astonishingly imposing yin spirit retinue. This puppet made by the Phi Ma sect was carrying a large box on his back.The purple-faced man was about to turn his face on the spot, so he persuaded a carefree woman with a knife sitting cross-legged on a bench, and the brawny man took out a Xiaoshu coin and slapped it heavily on the table, "Two snowflake coins, right?" Then give me some money."

This is obviously making things difficult and disgusting.

Practitioners on the mountain, as well as pure martial artists with good martial arts skills, generally speaking, prepare more snowflake money when they go out to travel. Objects are lighter than snowflake money and are easy to carry. If it is the earth immortal who owns small fairy tombs and Linglong arsenals, or the descendant of the Dashantou immortal family who has obtained these rare treasures since childhood, it is a matter of choice.

As for the more precious Grain Rain money, it is not even a matter of saying that the more the better, because there are not many places where the Grain Rain money is needed, unless it is a one-off

Hill, just go straight for the big deal.

As a result, the young guy responded directly, "Why don't you take out a piece of Grain Rain money?"

The purple-faced man stared, folded his arms around his chest, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up, don't delay my going to the Heshen Temple to burn incense"

The shopkeeper finally opened his mouth and said: "Okay, hurry up and give the customer some change."

The young guy grabbed Xiaoshu's money and went behind the counter, squatting down, there was a clear sound of money being knocked into the money, he was stunned to carry a sack of snowflake money, and threw it heavily on the table, "Take it"

The purple-faced man smiled and waved his hand. Behind him, the servant of the Yin spirit grabbed the heavy bag of snowflake money and put it into the box behind him.

The young man said with a straight face: "I will not see you off, please don't come."

The purple-faced man took out another Xiaoshu coin and put it on the table, grinning grinningly: "Four more bowls of gloomy tea."

The young guy said angrily: "You can't stop fucking!"

The woman sitting cross-legged twisted her body, her figure was ordinary and her figure was seductive. This twist made the peaks and peaks more and more undulating. She smiled coquettishly at the young man: "Since it is a business of opening doors to welcome customers, don't lose your temper." It’s too aggressive, but my sister doesn’t blame you, young people are very angry, it’s normal, I won’t drink my sister’s bowl of tea, it’s a reward for you, let’s put down the fire.”

The guests at the other tables laughed loudly and screamed strangely again and again. A young and strong man whistled directly and glanced at the woman in front of him, wishing to tear off the two hills with his eyes and move them home. middle.

The young man was furious, and was about to yell at the coquettish fox, but a young man with a sword beside the woman was already eager to try, gently rubbing the hilt of his sword with his palm, as if he was waiting for the man to humiliate the woman with his words.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper finally put down his chopsticks, and said to the young guy, "Okay, I forgot how to teach you. You are the most troublesome by breaking people in person. The rules of the tea stand are passed down from generation to generation. No wonder you are stubborn and the customers are not happy. There’s nothing you can do about it, but it’s fine to scold people, there’s no business like this.”

Then the shopkeeper smiled and looked at the group of customers, "Business has business rules, but as this beautiful sister said, the door is open to welcome guests, so the next four bowls of gloomy tea are just like I met four good men, No charge, how?"

The woman covered her mouth and smiled coquettishly, the flowers and branches trembling wildly.

The purple-faced man nodded, put away the Xiaoshu money, drank the four bowls of gloomy tea that had just been served, and then got up to leave.

The woman did not forget to turn around and wink at the young man.

Chen Ping frowned, and glanced at one of the white bowls on the table, which still had more than half a bowl of tea left. There was still some imperceptible rouge on the rim of the bowl.

The shopkeeper shook his head with a smile, went around the counter, and threw the white bowl casually into the swaying river before the young guy.

Chen Pingan finished his tea, put a snowflake money on the table, got up and left.

From the Mural City to the crossing of the river, there is a fork in the road. The small road is close to the river, and the main road is slightly away from the river. There is also a particular point here. It is easy to disturb the Qingxiu of the master of the river god, so Pi Mazong paid for it and built two roads for people to travel. If you like to enjoy the scenery, you can take the small road, and if you run business, you can take the main road. The well water does not violate the river water.

The path Chen Ping walked was sparsely populated.After all, no matter how beautiful the scenery of the Swaying River is, it is just a gentle river. The freshness of the ordinary tourists who came from the Mural City before will pass away. There are also small Baobaozhai stalls on both sides of the road. After all, you still have to pay a sum of money to set up a stall in the mural city, not much, just a snowflake, but mosquito legs are also meat.

As a result, when Chen Pingan walked for more than ten miles along the small road by the river, Chen Pingan vaguely heard a wave of weak shouts and curses coming from a large clump of reeds in the distance. Among the wrist-struggling guests, the woman among them suddenly heard thunder in her abdomen, panting softly: "Oh, my mother, here we come again." The woman turned around and ran towards the depths of the reeds, not forgetting He reminded: "Tell that puppet you just bought to go away, this puppet in the wilderness, didn't show the old lady's ass to the wild man, did it take advantage of a pussy?"

Chen Pingan kept his eyes fixed and quickened his pace.

The purple-faced man glanced at Chen Pingan.

The young man with the sword next to him whispered: "It's such a coincidence that we have met again. Could it be the Immortal Tiao who came out of the tea stall together? I saw the money earlier, and now I plan to take advantage of it."

An old man in gray clothes who looked like a housekeeper rubbed his colic stomach, nodded and said, "It's best to be careful."

The purple-faced man had a gloomy expression, "I didn't expect that this bone beach is really lawless. A tea stall that does not have long legs dares to act like this."

The old man in gray said helplessly: "Bone Beach has always been full of strange people and strangers, let's take it as an opportunity to gain wisdom, and think about how to take the next road. The distance before the Heshen Temple is difficult."

The young man looked at the back of the young man in the bamboo hat, and made a gesture of raising a knife and falling, "Then it's better for us to act first than to find out the truth for them, and then we will catch a turtle in a urn somewhere, maybe we will kill them. Instead, he dared not do anything casually.”

The purple-faced man thought it was reasonable, but the gray-clothed old man wanted to plan again, the man had already said to the young swordsman in a deep voice: "Then you go and try the depth, remember to keep your hands and feet clean, it's best not to throw it into the river, it's really going to catch you!" Said, we have to rely on the protection of the river god master, throwing the corpse in the river, maybe we will contradict the river god of this river, don't waste such a big reed."

The young man with the sword smiled and nodded, then said with a smile: "It looks like a pure martial artist who has passed the body training stage. It’s tricky to win the interview.”

The purple-faced man glanced at the gray-clothed old man, who nodded silently.

The two rushed forward one after another.

A moment later, the purple-faced man rubbed his stomach that was starting to turn over again, saw the two of them returning the same way, and asked, "It's over."

The gray-clothed old man shook his head and said: "It ran away in no time, faster than a rabbit, but it may be that it was a bad opportunity and hid in the reeds. It's hard to find if you just lie down."

The man with the big beard and purple face looked gloomy, and looked around, "That's nothing to do. Let's go a little further. We'll play by ear. If it doesn't work, we'll go back to the ferry and bow our heads to the shopkeeper who gave the medicine. We strong dragons do not fight local snakes."

With her hands on her hips, the woman staggered out of the reeds, sickly, and said, "That fellow at the tea stand is bad, a smiling tiger who has received a thousand knives, such a domineering laxative, even a strong cow has been thrown down, I really don't know Cherish the flowers and cherish the jade."

Chen Pingan left the path earlier, turned into the reeds, bent forward all the way, and soon disappeared.

After walking for more than twenty miles, I slowed down, went to the river to scoop up a handful of water, washed my face, and then put the package containing the picture of the goddess into the things close by while no one was around. Leaping up lightly, stepping on the lush and dense reeds, the dragonfly touches the water, and the wind whistles in the ear, drifting away.

That group of Jianghu people, even if there are ghost puppets as personal followers, together, they are probably not as good as an experienced monk in the Longmen realm. If it hurts the fish in the pond, the omen is not good.

It was close to the Heshen Temple, and there were more pedestrians on the side of the path. Chen Pingan floated to the ground, walked out of the reed marshes, and walked there.

Standing on the top of the reeds, looking at the famous temple in the distance, I saw a thick mist of incense, soaring into the sky, so that the sea of ​​clouds above was stirred up, and the colorful colors were blurred. This phenomenon should not be underestimated. The Tongyezhou Buried River Temple that I passed by at the beginning, and the Biyou Mansion that was later promoted to the palace, were never so strange. As for the few river temples in the Xiuhua River area of ​​my hometown, there is also no such strange phenomenon.

The common people have the incense burnt by the common people.

There are also water fragrances exclusively for high-end customers.

The River God Temple is very kind, there is a wooden sign not to mention, there is also a young boy who is guarding the wooden sign, with a childish voice, telling all the guests who come here to worship the gods to burn incense in the temple , only look at the sincerity of the heart, not the high or low of the incense.

Chen Pingan didn't save the money, so he bought a tube of swaying river water incense from the ancestral temple dedicated to worshiping the gods. The three sticks of incense in the temple cost a snowflake, which is much more expensive.

Chen Ping twisted out three incense sticks from the yellow bamboo incense tube with blue and green spray patterns, followed the pilgrims into the temple, lit three sticks of incense in the main hall, held the incense with both hands, raised his head high, worshiped the four directions, and then went to enshrine the golden body of the river god The main hall is imposing, the painted statue is gilded all over, and its height is suspected of trespassing. It is more than three feet taller than the Tiefu River God statue in Longquan County. All strictly abide by the rules of the academy, but it is not surprising that Chen Pingan thinks that this is Luzhou in Beiju. , like a heavenly king glaring, extremely powerful.

Then Chen Ping'an spent more than half an hour just walking around the huge ancestral temple with dozens of ancestral halls. The roof ridges are covered with eye-catching golden glazed tiles.

One of the side halls was built in the shape of a dragon palace in the water. The statues are lifelike, and they are full of assistants and officers transformed into human figures by big fish and snakes. They have various postures. Some old pilgrims and their children laughed and said that this is the other palace of the river god. , at night, these civil servants and military generals who can call the wind and rain will come back to life, but the temple has a night ban. The master drinks and drinks tea.

Chen Pingan stayed in the apse for a while before, saw a couplet, and twisted out three more incense sticks. After lighting them, he stood respectfully on the white jade square, put them in the incense burner, and then left.

Behind Chen Pingan, the couplet with gold letters on a black background is the words "Don't kowtow with sincerity, you will be sheltered by Yin virtue", "If you do evil, you can burn incense, and you will only make the water god angry".

After Chen Pingan left this river god temple, he continued to travel north.

At dusk, Chen Pingan came to a small ferry. He had to take a ferry to cross the shore before he could go to the ghost valley that Chen Pingan governed in Bone Beach.

It’s just that the ferryboats at the ferry and the boatmen of all ages have stopped working. The ferryboats stopped on the shore and tied ropes, and they all returned home. Chen Ping’an wanted to increase the fare to cross the river, but still no one agreed. They all said that the ferryboat does not cross the river at night, which is a rule passed down from generation to generation. Otherwise, the God of the River will be angry, except for three kinds of people. Scholars go to Beijing to rush for the exam, some people seek medical treatment for diseases, and people who are suffering want to throw themselves into the river.

Chen Pingan thought about the importance of not building bridges on the Swaying River, and these rules, so he didn't even think about skimming the water to cross the river. He simply lit a bonfire at a secluded place by the river near the ferry, and planned to take the ferry across the river at dawn. shore.

The night was heavy and the river was slow.

Facing the river, Chen Pingan sat cross-legged and practiced sword furnace stakes.

All night.

When the sky was slightly bright, Chen Ping got up and walked to the ferry. There was a strong old Zhouzi with oily and dark skin, who was already squatting at the ferry, waiting for guests.

Chen Pingan negotiated the price with Lao Zhouzi, eight renminbi, and the old man said wait a moment, and only earn eight renminbi for carrying a person across the river, a little sorry for his strength, so he asked Chen Pingan if he would wait for a while, as long as he came again One person, earning another eight renminbi, can cross the river on a boat.Chen Pingan smiled and said it was okay, just wait, anyway, he was not in a hurry.Chen Pingan took off the bamboo hat, sat at the ferry with Lao Zhouzi, took off the Yangjian gourd and drank the wine. The wine in the pot was the self-brewed rice wine that Dong Shuijing presented to Luoposhan.

Old Zhouzi smelled the aroma of the wine, his eyes lit up, he turned around, and asked with a smile, "My lord, can I have a drink?"

Chen Ping was about to hand the Yangjian gourd, but the old Zhouzi waved his hands together, and said with a smile, "Young master is particular about people, but I, a poor old man, have to be particular about it. You just need to pour the wine into my hands."

Chen Pingan poured the wine, Lao Zhouzi raised his callused hands, bowed his head like a cow to drink water, and after drinking, he smashed his mouth and asked with a smile: "Young master, you will go to that place and never turn back. Er is our dialect here, and according to the great gods and masters of the Pima Sect, it is the Valley of Ghosts and Creatures."

Chen Pingan nodded with a smile and said, "Go here, I'm a swordsman, and I say that you must go to the three places of Bone Beach. Now I have been to the Mural City and the River God Temple, and I want to go to the ghost valley to learn more. .”

Old Zhouzi stretched out two fingers, twirled the corner of Chen Pingan's green shirt who was sitting cross-legged beside him, and said, "I'll just say, the young master is actually a young fairy. I don't want to say anything else about the old man. He spent his whole life on this river." Greeting and sending, the money in the pocket is silent, but the eyesight is still there, young master's clothes are really valuable."

Chen Pingan said with a hearty smile: "When you're away from home, you still have to talk about your style, just slap a swollen face to pretend to be fat."

Old Zhouzi said: "Young master's foreign accent sounds like a person from another continent. You must change it. Let's do it here. The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. The more incompetent you are, the more you like to bully others."

Chen Pingan hummed, "The old man is right."

The old Zhouzi turned his head and glanced, "Young master is lucky, someone came to the ferry so early, it seems that we can cross the river."

Only then did Chen Pingan follow the old man's line of sight, and turned his head to look at an old woman who was staggering. Looking at the old woman's face again, Chen Pingan felt a little helpless.

The old woman arrived at the ferry, and when she heard that the old Zhouzi wanted to charge eight qian, she started to have trouble, then turned her head to look at Chen Pingan, Chen Pingan looked like a fledgling kid, and first pretended not to know anything, until the old woman was stunned After being stunned, she took the initiative to ask the young master if she could do me a favor. She only had four or five coins on her, so if I trouble you, the young master will pay for it. Your kindness will definitely be rewarded.

Chen Ping just shook his head.

The old Zhouzi was a little anxious, and tried to wink at Chen Pingan, but unfortunately in the eyes of the old man, he was a smart young man before, but now he looks like a wooden man who doesn't understand.

At the end of the quarrel, the old woman said angrily that she owed the money and would pay it back next time when she crossed the river, and the old Zhouzi agreed.

Punting across the river, the atmosphere on the boat was a bit awkward.

Chen Ping'an watched his nose, nose and heart, and pretended to be an old monk.

Lao Zhouzi was a little anxious, but he didn't know what to say.

The old woman was the most angry, thinking that the young man was really a pickpocket.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she gave Chen Pingan a hard look.

Chen Ping just pretended not to see it.

Later, it seemed that he "couldn't help it", and began to tell the truth, and had a pedantic conversation with the old woman, which roughly meant why he couldn't blame him for being stingy.

The old woman slapped the railing of the boat.

Old Zhouzi rolled his eyes.

As a result, at the ferry on the other side, the old boatman just wanted to say something, but the old woman grabbed his sleeves.

Chen Ping jumped off the ferry, said goodbye, and left without turning his head.

The old Zhouzi was dumbfounded and stunned for a long time, then turned to the "old woman" and asked: "Isn't it a pity to just forget it?"

The crooked old woman had already stood up straight at the moment, and said with a sneer: "Otherwise, why would I post it upside down? It's because he can't grasp the fate by himself, and he can't blame others for going through the small test three times. This guy is the first one who can't pass it. If it spreads, I want to Being laughed at by the sisters"

Lao Zhouzi always felt that something was wrong.

Why did that young man seem to deliberately miss this great fortune?

The first test was set by the "old woman". Whether to force cross the river or not, the young man passed. Then he replaced her and tested him again symbolically. The young man also successfully passed the second test. After taking a sip of wine, the old Zhouzi felt that the overall situation was settled and the matter must be settled, so he sold the young man a small favor, deliberately removed some blinders, and revealed some clues, since the young man had already been to the Heshen Temple. You should be aware of it, and you should deal with it decently, and you won't care about such trivial things as how much money you have. Who said just now, "Walking in the rivers and lakes, slapping a swollen face to pretend to be fat"

The old woman became furious and stomped her feet, and even the old boat and the ferry sank to the bottom of the Swaying River.

The two of them took a ferry and shuttled freely at the bottom of the river.

The old woman has recovered her graceful real body, with fluttering ribbons, an alluring face, and the well-deserved posture of a goddess.

The old Zhouzi sighed unceasingly, feeling very sorry for the young man.

After Chen Pingan left the ferry, he started to sprint. He hated that Yu Jian's lift-off was too eye-catching, otherwise he would have run farther.

He took off the Yangjian gourd and took a sip of wine, suppressed his shock, then Chen Pingan laughed, and walked a few steps like Pei Qian, complacent, I, Chen Pingan, am an old Jianghu

After Chen Ping laughed, he was scared for a while, wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, it was okay, thanks to his astuteness, otherwise he would count how many times he would be beaten to death by Miss Ning, even if he didn't, see you next time After seeing her face, I dare to hope to hug her and kiss her on the mouth

On the other side of the ferry, Jiang Shangzhen's mind moved slightly before, and he resolutely went back when he noticed some signs. Now he stretched out his hand to cover his forehead, and murmured: "Chen Pingan, Brother Chen, you are still the best, Mr. Chen."