Fireworks in March, grass grows and orioles fly.
Every time during the spring equinox, light smoke often rises from the river in the lower reaches of the Luo River in Zhao Guo.
Even the local residents don't know how to explain this strange phenomenon. However, in the eyes of some wanderers, this place is a rare and beautiful picture, full of hazy beauty.
At this time, a small boat with a black awning was coming from the north along the long river.
At the stern of the boat, there was a boatman wearing a straw hat standing. Although he was a bit old, he had a strong body and strong arms, and he rowed the boat without any slowness.
There was a young man in gray clothes sitting on the bow of the boat. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with his head resting on his arms and sitting against the side. There was also a reed in his mouth, which gave him a rather leisurely look.
"I said, little brother."
The boatman grinned while rowing the boat: "You have picked a good time to go to Luo City now!"
"Oh?" The young man in gray clothes on the bow of the boat raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do you say this?"
"Little brother, I don't know that every time spring comes, a flower called 'fireworks' blooms in the streets and alleys in Luocheng. Although the flowers are small, they often cluster in groups, and the petals are soft and soft.
, the most special thing is that the flower color is transparent with a touch of white, just like clouds and white smoke."
"There are such strange flowers?" The young man in gray looked slightly sideways after hearing this.
When the boatman saw that he was interested, he immediately started chatting and said with a smile: "It seems that I rarely go out for long trips. As the saying goes, 'Fireworks are going down to the south of the Yangtze River in March. It's a pity not to be in Luocheng.'"
"Old man, I think you made this up yourself!" The young man raised the corner of his mouth and said jokingly.
The old man's face turned red, he coughed a few times at the stern of the boat, and argued forcefully: "Isn't that what I say is rude? The city of Luo is famous for its fireworks. When the flowers bloom, the talented people, merchants and dignitaries from the south of Zhao State all come one after another.
Appreciating flowers in the city, discussing poems, and making friends with each other can be said to be a grand gathering spanning officials and businessmen."
"Then Luo City must be overcrowded at this time?" the young man in gray suddenly said.
"Indeed!"
The boatman glanced at him and continued: "Luo City is only one city, how can it accommodate so many people? Therefore, at this time every year, the city gate will be heavily guarded, unless there are important people in the business world, or famous scribes, or powerful people
He is a dignitary. Ordinary people would not let him enter the city."
"According to what the old man said, wouldn't that kid not be able to enter the city?"
"That's not necessarily the case!" The boatman smiled slightly and pretended to be mysterious: "As the saying goes, officials have their own ways, and people have their own ways. If I sincerely want to go to the city to enjoy the flowers, there are other ways."
Just when he was about to say something more, his expression suddenly changed and he looked towards the bow of the ship.
They saw smoke filling the river, and a sailing speedboat was speeding toward them.
When the boat got closer, I saw two people standing on it.
Both of them were dressed in official uniforms, with swords at their waists. They had tiger-like backs and round waists, and had a rather ruthless air.
"Where are you these unruly people? Don't you know that the river here has been blocked?" one of them shouted angrily.
"Oh, sir! I'm just a boatman from Luohe River. The river here is blocked. I really don't know!" The old man put down the oar, walked quickly to the bow of the boat, and bowed to the two officers.
"I don't know? Huh! A nobleman from the capital is boating here, and you unscrupulous people dare to go with him! I think the crime is not small, so come with me first!" The man said and was about to reach out to catch the boatman.
"You can't do it, Mr. Cha! My family is old and weak, and they all rely on me to support the boat. If I'm taken away, I'm afraid I'll have to collect my old woman's body when I get back!"
"Huh, I don't care about you!" After hearing this, the two officials not only showed no mercy, but jumped onto the small boat with a black awning and reached out to snatch him away.
At this time, a sudden voice sounded on the boat:
"It's so strange in this world. He was obviously a bandit, but he put on official clothes and suddenly became an official!"
The expressions of the two officers changed greatly, and they all looked behind the boatman.
I saw a young man in gray clothes sitting there, half lying down, with his eyes raised to the sky, not even looking at them.
"Old Li, how does this person know our details?"
Among the two officials, the younger one suddenly asked the other in a low voice.
"You asked me, but who should I ask?"
The older official also looked like a monk who was two feet tall and was confused.
"How about just killing someone and settling the matter?"
"Well, move quickly and cleanly, don't leave any clues!"
"okay!"
The two of them were discussing for a while, and suddenly they pulled out a big knife from their waists at the same time, and slashed at the boatman with a fierce look on their faces.
"Help!"
The boatman watched his words and had a premonition that something was not going to happen. When he saw the two men drawing knives, he was so frightened that his legs became confused and he knelt down on the spot.
In the critical moment, he didn't know where the courage came from. He suddenly grabbed an oar from the bow of the boat and stabbed the two of them with his eyes closed.
"Pfft, pfft!"
Two slight sounds came, and then there was no movement at all.
"Huh?"
The boatman knelt on the ground for a long time, and finally dared to open his eyes, only to see the two officials who had shown off their power before, now their eyes widened, looking at him in disbelief.
"You two officers, what's wrong?"
The boatman seemed a little confused, and his hands holding the oar could not help but tremble slightly.
"Plop! Plop!"
When the two officers were touched by his oar, they fell straight backwards, and finally both rolled into the river.
What the boatman didn't see was that half a reed was stuck in the throats of the two men. Only when they sank under the water did blood trickle out.
"Killing people!"
The boatman shouted and hurriedly threw the oar in his hand into the river, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"Don't panic!"
Suddenly a faint voice sounded, and then a hand was placed on his shoulder.
The captain looked back and saw that it was his young boat passenger. Strangely speaking, this man was only sixteen or seventeen years old, but at this moment he felt a sense of peace of mind.
He slightly suppressed the panic in his heart, but his face was still extremely ugly, and he just murmured:
"I killed someone, I killed someone! Old man, I have never killed a chicken in my life, but today I killed someone!"
The young man glanced at him and said calmly:
"If you don't kill them, they will kill you. Are you going to resist, or are you going to stretch your neck and wait for others to slaughter you?"
The boatman was stirred by what he said, and he suddenly realized: "That's right, if I don't kill them, they will kill me. I can't help it. There is an old woman waiting for me to return home."
As he spoke, he stood up in a hurry, ran to the stern of the boat to support another oar, and was about to turn the boat back.
"What are you doing?" the boy in gray asked.
"Look back, little brother, it's too late to go ahead!"
"it's useless!"
The young man in gray clothes shook his head and said: "They are pretending to be officials here to intercept and seal the river. They must have a plan ahead. Once it is discovered that these two people did not go back in time, more people will be sent to support them. They are all sailing and fast boats. At this time, the wind is blowing from north to south.
Come on, you can't outrun them!"
"Then what should I do?" The boatman panicked for a moment.
"Go ashore from here and drag the boat into the forest." The young man pointed towards the river and said calmly.
The boatman followed his finger and saw that there was a dense jungle not far away from the river bank. It was so lush and green that the whole picture was not visible.
"That makes sense!"
The boatman nodded repeatedly after seeing this. He came back to his senses and wanted to say some more words of thanks. However, he suddenly discovered that there was no other person on the Wupeng boat except himself.
The young man in gray clothes actually disappeared out of thin air when he turned around, leaving only a bit of broken silver at the bow of the ship.
This chapter is already in the second volume. The author was confused and forgot to create a new volume. Sorry everyone!
I just have to start the second volume from the next chapter^^!