The Mural City covers an area equivalent to the size of a Red Candle Town. The only difference is that the streets are messy, with varying widths, and many are skewed. There are few high-rise buildings. In addition to numerous shops the size of tofu cubes, there are also many stalls and hawkers. One after another, it's just like the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs in rural villages. Of course, most of them are silent businessmen, squatting by the roadside, with their sleeves and shoulders shrunk, paying no attention to the people on the street, whether they want to see or buy. purchase.
There are different opinions about the origin of the Mural City, especially the pictures of female officials of the Heavenly Court painted all over the walls. They are full of various manners and arouse people's imagination. The Pima Sect, which founded the mountain here, is very secretive about this.
Chen Pingan walked and stopped all the way. In about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chen Pingan followed a huge flow of people who also came here to come to a mural. The mountain wall was more than ten feet high. The mural was full of momentum. Chen Pingan stood in the crowd. Among them, looking up, the content of the mural is a side profile of a graceful goddess, who seems to be walking forward, her spirit is flying, there are auspicious clouds under her feet, and around her waist is a luggage inkstone, which is no longer common in this world. I don’t know if it’s the light or the aura of the mural, but the goddess’s eyes are moving like a living person.
This mural of a goddess, which was named "Hanging Inkstone" by later generations, is mainly green in color, but there is also just the right amount of lime powder and gilding, which is like the finishing touch, making the mural thick yet fairy-like. At a glance, it makes people feel The impression is like cursive writing in a book. The pen seems simple, but in fact, upon closer inspection, whether it is the folds of the dress, the accessories, the texture of the skin, or even the eyelashes, it can be said to be extremely dense. The pen complies with the law.
I think the person who painted it must be a master of painting.
Chen Ping'an only has a rough understanding of Beiju Luzhou Yayan, so he can only hear roughly the discussions around him for the time being. The eight murals in the underground city have been taken away one after another by destined people from all dynasties for thousands of years. The five parts have their own destiny of providence, and when the five goddesses step out of the murals and choose to serve their masters, the painted murals will fade instantly. The texture of the scrolls will remain the same, but they will become like line drawings, no longer colorful and spiritual. The five murals were scattered, so the Pima Sect invited the patriarch of the sect who had been friends with Liuxiazhou for a certain generation to cover the scrolls with a unique secret technique to prevent the murals from losing their aura and being eroded by the years.
Most of the tourists who come here to enjoy the scenery admire the goddess's stunning appearance. Of course Chen Ping'an also looks at it. If you don't look at it, it's in vain. After all, it's just a mural. What can you do after looking at it?
However, Chen Ping'an focused more on the small ancient inkstone hanging on the goddess's waist. Two ancient seal characters could be vaguely seen as "掷电". The reason why he recognized it was also due to the book Li Xisheng presented to him. "Authentic Alchemy Book", many of the insect and bird seals on it have actually been lost in the world.
Near this mural, there is a shop that specializes in selling copies of this goddess painting. Prices vary. Among them, the double-hook gallery-filled hard yellow version is the most expensive. For one the size of a round fan, I dare to ask for twenty snowflakes. It cost money, but Chen Pingan saw that the paintings were indeed beautiful, not only similar in shape to murals, but also similar in spirit. Chen Pingan bought two paintings, planning to keep one for himself and give another one to Zhu Lian in the future.
Zhu Lian once said that when it comes to collecting, the most taboo thing is to be miscellaneous without being refined.
The shop is run by a young girl and a boy. The girl doesn't like to deal with customers, but the boy is particularly smart. When he saw that Chen Pingan bought the most expensive one in the shop, he began to recommend a suit to Chen Pingan, the distinguished guest.
There are five pictures of goddesses in a hard yellow book, placed in a bright red wooden box. The boy said that the cost of the wooden box alone was worth several snow coins.
Chen Pingan gently reached out and wiped the wooden box. The wood was delicate and the aura was light but mellow. It must have been produced at the top of Xianjia Mountain.
The young man also said that the other two paintings of goddesses cannot be bought here. Customers have to walk two steps before they can buy them at other shops. There are still three ancestral shops in the Mural City. There are rules set by the elders, and they are not allowed to rob them.
The business of other shops, but the five copies of the murals that have been covered up by the Pima Sect, can be sold by all three shops.
Chen Ping'an thought for a while, said he would look at it again, put away the "hanging inkstone" picture of the goddess, and left the shop.
As for the chance of a goddess or something, Chen Ping'an didn't even think about it.
I heard some guests keep saying that once the goddess steps out of the scroll, she will serve her master for the rest of her life. The five people in the scroll in history all formed immortals and Taoists with their masters, and at least they could both become Nascent Soul immortals.
, one of them, a down-and-out scholar with mediocre monastic qualifications, got the favor of a "immortal staff" goddess, unexpectedly broke through again and again, and finally became a great monk in the Immortal Realm in the history of Beiju Luzhou. It's really true.
When you embrace a beautiful woman, you become a deity on the mountain top. At this point in your life, what else can you ask for?
Chen Ping'an's palms were sweating when he heard that. He quickly drank a sip of wine to calm down his shock. He only had to put his hands together and silently prayed that the senior goddess on the mural would have a higher vision and never fall in love with him blindly.
After that, Chen Ping'an went to the other two murals and bought the most expensive gallery book. The style was the same. A nearby store also sold a set of five pictures of goddesses. The price was the same as what the young man said before, a hundred pieces of snow.
, no discount. These two pictures of the Goddess Tianguan are named "Xing Yu" and "Riding a Deer" respectively. The former is holding a white jade bowl in his hand, tilted slightly, and visitors can vaguely see the sparkling light inside the bowl, with a dragon shining with golden light. The latter
The figure is riding a colorful deer, and the goddess's skirt is trailing, making her look like a fairy. This goddess is also carrying a blue unsheathed wooden sword with the three characters "happy wind" engraved on it.
Along the way, Chen Pingan was mixed in with the crowd, listening and watching more.
One of the words made Chen Ping'an become obsessed with money, and he planned to become a baggage owner himself. During this trip to Beiju Luzhou, in addition to practicing swordsmanship, he might as well do some business. Anyway, among the things close to him and the things in the square inch, the position is almost the same.
soar into the air,
Some passers-by say it is a picture of a goddess in the Mural City. Because of its exquisite workmanship and gimmicks, it is known to both the north and south of the continent. In the northern area of Beiju Luzhou, monks often bid extremely high prices, and it is very popular in the northern palace officials.
, there are even wealthy immortal masters who are willing to pay a small sum of money to purchase a complete set of eight murals of city goddesses.
Chen Pingan thought about it carefully. At first he thought it was profitable, but then he felt something was wrong. He thought that such a good thing was like a bunch of copper coins lost on the ground. A monk with a little wealth could pick it up and earn the money.
Price difference. Chen Ping'an took a closer look at the group of chatting tourists not far away. They didn't look like shills for three shops. After thinking about it again, he realized that Beiju Luzhou has a vast territory and Skeleton Beach is located at the southernmost end.
Taking the Xianjia ferry is a big expense, not to mention that the Goddess wanted to sell it for a high price. It depends on whether the other party has a good heart and is more casual. How much luck depends on it?
Looking at the box-stuffed boxes in the three shops, the output is very varied. Taken together, there may not be any monks willing to earn this relatively difficult small profit.
Of course, it is also possible that the shop and the Skull Beach Pi Ma Sect have their own fixed sales channels, which are just unknown to outsiders.
The matter of making money.
Chen Ping'an has traveled such a long way, and among the people he knows, Sun Jiashu of old Longcheng and Dong Shuijing of Longquan County have done the best. Not to mention Sun Jiashu, who already has a great family, but only those who were born in a poor alley and became "suddenly rich"
Dong Shuijing's attitude towards making money impressed Chen Ping'an the most. After Dong Shuijing had already made a lot of money, he got to know Yuan County Magistrate, Cao Duzao, and Guan Yiran who he was going to visit recently.
Big people can make friends, but he can also earn a small amount of money from the wonton shop. Although Dong Shuijing runs the shop now, in the eyes of some people, it may be more of a cultivated sentiment after having a rich family, but Dong Shuijing is still diligent.
Be sincere, be serious, and be unambiguous at all.
This is the business experience a businessman should have.
So Chen Ping'an found the shopkeepers at both stores and asked if they could get some discounts if he bought more gallery books at once. One shop just shook his head and said that you can buy up all the shop's inventory for a piece of snow.
There is no shortage of them, and there is no room for negotiation. In another shop, the owner is a hunchbacked old woman. She smiles and asks the customer how many sets of goddess pictures he can buy. Chen Ping'an says how many are left in the shop, and the old woman says "fill in the book."
It is a delicate work, and the shipment is extremely slow. Moreover, the main painter of these goddess paintings has always been an old guest of the Pima Sect. Other painters dare not paint at all. The old Keqing never wants to paint more. If he is not a Pima Sect, then
There are rules. According to the old painter, every time he looks at the evil-minded disciples in the world, he will have more karma, which is really a waste of money. The old woman then admitted that the shop itself was not worried.
There is not much sales left, and now there are only about thirty sets left in the shop, and they will all be sold out sooner or later. After saying this, the old woman laughed and asked Chen Ping'an. If this is the case, discounting means losing money. Is there such a thing in the world?
Doing business?
Chen Ping'an had no choice but to rely on the old woman's sincere words, so he spent twenty pieces of snow to buy a box set, which contained five pictures of goddesses, named "Changqiao", "Baogai",
"Lingzhi", "Chunguan" and "Zhankan", the five goddesses respectively hold lotus lanterns, support the treasure cover, and hold a white jade Ganoderma lucidum in their arms. Hundreds of flowers are swirling, and birds are flying. The last one is the most unusual, actually
Wearing armor and holding an axe, the lightning flashed, and he was very heroic.
Chen Pingan returned to the earliest shop again and asked about the inventory and discounts of the gallery. 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 foreign customer was too philistine.
, continued to be busy with his business, and faced the customers, old and young, who were filing in and out of the shop, and still had no smile on his face.
In the end, the boy was easier to talk to, or maybe he was thin-skinned, but he couldn't get Chen Pingan to look at him and smile, so he secretly led Chen Pingan to the room behind the shop, sold Chen Pingan ten sets of wooden boxes, and took away ten snowflakes from Chen Pingan.
Spend money.
After Chen Ping'an checked out, when he left the store, he had an extra package slung across his back.
The girl nudged the young man with her shoulder and teased: "How can you do this kind of business? The customer just chatted with you for a few words and then nodded in agreement."
The young man said helplessly: "I'll follow my great grandfather. Besides, I'm just here to help you with odd jobs, and I'm not really a businessman."
The girl kept her business private and told her, "I don't care. I see the loss of ten pieces of snow in the shop. You can go to your great-grandfather to make up for it later, and beg him to give me more money for the shop."
Draw some.”
The young man smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, my great-grandfather loves me the most. If others beg him, it won't work. If I go and beg, it's too late for my great-grandfather to be happy."
The girl suddenly said: "Then have you told that customer that you should not show off when you go out? There are many people in the shop. He is carrying so many corridors to fill in books. It is not a small sum of money. The area near the mural city is already full of fish and dragons and a smoky atmosphere.
Yes, I like to bully foreigners the most. I can do all kinds of deceptions, but you didn’t give me a word of warning? Look at how I bargained with you. If you didn’t agree, you would almost be able to work as a waiter in our shop. And
With that foreign accent, it doesn’t look like someone who is particularly well-off. The more so, the more careful you should be.”
When a girl is doing business, she always has the temperament to take the bait. But when it comes to the young man, she doesn't hesitate to speak. She must also have a cold-skinned and warm-hearted temperament.
The young man was stunned for a moment, slapped his head, and said guiltily: "I forgot!"
The girl glared and lowered her voice: "Then go quickly! You, a direct disciple of the Pima Sect, are about to go down the mountain to travel, how can you act so unsophisticated?"
The young man yelled, "What about the business in the shop?"
The girl laughed angrily and said, "I've been here since I was a child. Over the years, you've only come down to help a few times. Is it possible that without you, my shop won't be able to open?"
The young man rushed out of the shop, found the foreign wanderer wearing a bamboo hat, and whispered some precautions.
Chen Pingan smiled and said: "Okay, thank you for reminding me."
The young man waved his hand and turned around to run back to the shop.
Chen Pingan asked: "Can I take the liberty to ask?"
The young man immediately stopped, nodded and said, "But it doesn't matter if you say it. If you can say it, I won't hide it."
Chen Ping'an asked: "The opportunity for these eight goddess murals is so great, why isn't the Pima Sect in the Skeleton Beach imprisoned? Even if one's own disciples cannot seize the good fortune, isn't it common sense that the wealth should not flow to others?"
The young man smiled and said: "The Pima Sect is not so stingy. Instead of stealing treasures and dominating opportunities, it is better to form a good relationship with those who are destined to be together. There is an ancestral motto in the Pima Sect's Patriarch Hall, 'As we practice on the great road, we must not worry.
Husbands argue.'"
After Chen Pingan chewed these words carefully, he said with emotion: "The Pi Ma Sect is very powerful!"
The young man was very happy. Despite his short stature and plain appearance, he was actually an inner disciple of the Pima Sect's ancestral hall. He was successful in spiritual practice, so he had a reserved spirit. Although he was very young, his seniority was quite high. It was just different from the murals.
The girls in the city's shops have known each other since they were young, and they would come down the mountain to help him whenever they had the opportunity. When they reached the top of Pima Clan Mountain, there were many white-haired old monks who called him "junior uncle".
After thanking the young man, Chen Ping'an walked towards the entrance. Since he had bought those pictures of goddesses, which would be used as capital to open a business in Beiju Luzhou in the future, it was considered a worthwhile trip and he would not continue wandering around.
In Mural City, I actually saw some ghost repair artifacts for sale in large and small shops along the way. Not to mention the quality of the items, they are really expensive. I guess the really good items and top-notch items will have to stay here for a while. Take your time.
Slowly look for those time-honored brands hidden deep in the streets and alleys, and you have a chance to find them. Otherwise, Shopkeeper Huang of Ferry Boat would not mention this. It’s just that Chen Pingan doesn’t want to try his luck. Moreover, the most outstanding Yin Ling Puppet in Mural City, buy
Chen Ping'an didn't need to be a retinue the most, so he rushed to the Yaoyinghe Temple, six hundred miles away from the top of Pima Zong Mountain.
After leaving the Mural City, and looking at the Pima Sect on the top of the mountain covered with clouds and mist, Chen Ping'an thought of Taiping Mountain in Tongyezhou for no reason.
The foot of the mountain is bustling and overcrowded. This Xian family mansion with thirty-six direct descendants and one hundred and eight outer disciples, for a sect-headed cave mansion, has really few monks, and the mountain is mostly deserted.
In fact, my current situation is almost the same.
There are still too few people.
But when there are more people in the future, Chen Pingan is also worried. He is worried that a second Gu Can will appear. Even if it is half Gu Can, Chen Pingan will have a big headache.
There was once a Taoist allusion about a layman worrying about heaven. Chen Pingan read it over and over again, and the more he read it, the more he thought it was.
Chen Pingan took off the sword gourd, took a sip of wine, tossed the package, put away his thoughts, and continued his journey.
Still going on foot.
As for the speed of breathing and the depth of steps, I deliberately maintained the appearance of an ordinary martial artist in the five realms of the world.
The River God Temple is easy to find. You just need to walk to the bank of the swaying river and then go all the way north. The Ghost Valley is located northeast of the temple, so it's just a good way to find it.
The Swaying River is extremely wide and stretches as far as the eye can see. The water is deep and the river is slow, giving you the feeling of watching a lake.
There is no bridge on the swaying river. It is said that the river god does not like others walking on his head. There are many ferries and boats. Chen Pingan rested at a small ferry and drank a bowl of local dark tea. Generally speaking, making tea
The water in the river is of inferior quality, but the gloomy tea here is extremely refreshing and sweet if you drink water from the river at will. This is probably due to the strong water transport of the swaying river. The water transport is flourishing, which invisibly benefits both sides of the bank, with lush vegetation and large
The large clumps of reeds are still green in early winter, so many birds and water birds inhabit them.
Along the way, we can occasionally see traveling monks, followed by Yin Ling followers with clanking iron armor, but their steps are extremely light and almost do not splash dust, just like the masters of the martial arts in the small country of Aquarius Continent, wearing extremely armor.
It is exquisite, the seal is engraved with Taoist talismans, the gold and silver threads are interlaced, and the glistening light flows. It is obviously not ordinary. The burly Yin spirit is almost entirely covered with face armor, and some of the exposed skin is green and black.
The soil and water nurture a person. Regardless of their level of realm, the monks in Luzhou, Beiju, are more cautious and restrained than the monks in Aquarius Island who walk at the Dadukou. The monks here look like no one else and are very bold and unrestrained.
If Pei Qian got here, he would probably feel like a fish in water.
Chen Ping'an ordered two more bowls of Yin Shen tea. It wasn't that Chen Ping'an was so thirsty that he needed a cow's drink, but the rule of the tea stall was that three bowls of tea cost one snowflake. If he drank less than three bowls, he would still get one snowflake.
Start with money.
Chen Ping'an was not in a hurry, so he drank tea slowly. Then most of the dozen or so tables were occupied, and they all took a rest here. More than a hundred miles further, there was a historic site. On the bank of the swaying river over there, a statue fell to the ground.
The ancient iron bull has unknown origins, is of extremely high quality, and is close to a magic weapon. It was neither sunk into the river by the Swaying River God to suppress water transportation, nor was it taken into the possession of the great monks of the Skeleton Beach. An Earth Immortal once tried to steal this thing.
, but the end was not good. The river god clearly turned a blind eye to this, and did not use his magical power to stop it. The water of the swaying river was violent and turbulent, overwhelming, and actually directly swept a golden elixir earthly immortal into the river and drowned him alive.
After that, no one dared to covet this iron bull worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Chen Ping'an had just finished his second bowl of tea when a table of customers not far away got into an argument with the tea stall man over why the tea stall had to charge two snowflakes for four bowls of tea.
The shopkeeper was a lazy man. He was blushing when he saw his waiters arguing with the customers. He actually gloated about his misfortune and lay down on the oil-stained counter to drink alone. In front of him was a plate of food to accompany the wine. It was a particularly delicious water celery that grew on the banks of the swaying river.
, the young waiter also had a bad temper, and did not seek help from the shopkeeper. Surrounded by four customers, he still insisted on his own opinion. Either he took out two snow coins obediently, or he had the ability not to pay the bill. Anyway, here is the silver tea stall.
I don't charge even one or two.
A strong man with a big beard and a purple face, with an astonishing Yin Ling attendant behind him. This puppet made by the Pi Ma Sect was carrying a large box. The purple-faced man was about to fall out on the spot and sit cross-legged in front of a carefree man.
The woman with a sword on the bench persuaded, and the strong man took out a small summer coin and slapped it heavily on the table, "Two snow coins are money, right? Then give me change!"
This is obviously a difficult and disgusting tea stall.
Practitioners on the mountain, as well as pure martial artists with good martial arts skills, generally prepare more snow money when they travel. There should be no shortage of it. Of course, there must be some Xiaoshu money. After all, this is
Objects are lighter and easier to carry than snow. If it is an earthly immortal who owns small immortal tombs and exquisite arsenals, or he is a direct descendant of a mountain-top immortal family who has obtained these rare treasures since childhood, then there are two reasons.
As for the more valuable Guyu money, it's not even that the more the merrier, because there aren't many places where Guyu money can be used, unless you're going straight down the mountain to make a big deal.
As a result, the young man said directly, "Why don't you take out some Grain Rain money?"
The purple-faced man glared and crossed his arms across his chest, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up. Don't delay me from going to the River God Temple to burn incense!"
The shopkeeper finally came to the rescue and said, "Okay, hurry up and give the customer change."
The young waiter grabbed Xiaoshu Qian and went behind the counter. He squatted down and heard the crisp sound of money being knocked against money. He suddenly picked up a sack of Xueqian and threw it heavily on the table, "Take it!"
The purple-faced man smiled and waved, and the Yin Ling retinue behind him grabbed the heavy bag of snow coins and put them into the box behind him.
The young waiter said with a straight face: "I won't see you off, but you are welcome to come."
The purple-faced man took out another Xiaoshu coin and put it on the table, and said with a ferocious smile: "Four more bowls of gloomy tea."
The young man said angrily: "Are you finished yet?!"
The woman sitting cross-legged twisted her body, with a normal appearance and an attractive figure. This twist made her look more and more ups and downs. She smiled coquettishly at the young waiter and said: "Since we are in the business of opening the door to welcome guests, then don't have a bad temper."
Taichong, but I don’t blame you, sister. It’s normal for young people to be angry. I won’t drink my sister’s bowl of tea when I wait for it. It’s a reward for you to calm down your anger.”
The guests at the other tables laughed loudly and screamed strangely. A young and strong man whistled directly and glanced at the scenery in front of the woman. He wished he could chop off the two mountains with his eyes and move them home.
middle.
The young waiter became angry and was about to yell at the naughty fox, but a young man with a sword next to the woman was already eager to try. He quietly rubbed the hilt of the sword with his palm, as if waiting for the waiter to humiliate the woman with his words.
Fortunately, the shopkeeper finally put down his chopsticks and said to the young waiter: "Okay, I forgot how I taught you? The biggest trouble is to betray someone in person. The rules of the tea stall are passed down from the ancestors. No wonder you are stubborn and the guests are unhappy.
, there is nothing you can do, just curse people, we don’t do business like this.”
Then the shopkeeper looked at the group of customers with a smile, "Business has business rules, but as this beautiful sister said, open the door to welcome guests, so the next four bowls of gloomy tea will be regarded as my getting to know the four heroes.
How about not charging money?"
The woman covered her mouth and smiled sweetly, while the flower branches trembled.
The purple-faced man nodded, put away the small summer coin, drank four bowls of the newly served gloomy tea, and then stood up and left.
The woman did not forget to turn around and give the young man a wink.
Chen Pingan frowned and glanced at one of the white bowls on the table that 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, walked around the counter, and threw the white bowl into the swaying river before the young waiter could.
Chen Ping'an finished his tea, placed a piece of snow money on the table, stood up and left.
From Mural City to the ferry across 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 point here. The river god here likes peace and quiet, but the main road in Skeleton Beach is full of traffic and constant flow every day. It is said that
It is easy to disturb the repair work of the River God, so the Pima Sect paid for and built two roads for people to travel. If you like to enjoy the scenery, take the small road, and if you are doing business, take the main road. The well water will not interfere with the river water.
The path that Chen Ping'an took was sparsely populated. After all, no matter how beautiful the scenery of the Swaying River is, it is still just a gentle river. The ordinary tourists who came from the Mural City before would have lost their fresh energy and the small dirt road was filled with bumps.
It is not as smooth as the main road, and there are some small roadside 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. It is not much, just a piece of snow.
But mosquito legs are also meat.
As a result, when Chen Pingan walked along the riverside path for more than ten miles, Chen Pingan vaguely heard a feeble yelling coming from a large clump of reeds in the distance. The four people who walked out to support each other were the same people who had broken up with the tea stall earlier.
Among the guests who were competing with each other, a thunderous sound suddenly sounded in the abdomen of the woman, and she gasped softly: "Hey, my dear mother, here she comes again." The woman turned around and staggered all the way to the depths of the reed marsh, not forgetting.
He reminded: "Keep away that puppet you just bought. This puppet in the wilderness didn't show my ass to the wild man. How could it be that a vagina took advantage of it?"
Chen Ping'an didn't squint his eyes 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 bumped into each other again. Could it be the Immortal Jump created by the tea stall together? He was interested in Cai before, and now he plans to take advantage of it?"
An old man in gray clothes who looked like a butler rubbed his cramped stomach, nodded and said, "It's better to be careful."
The purple-faced man's face was gloomy, "I didn't expect that this Skeleton Beach is really lawless. A tea stall doing such a stupid business would dare to act like this!"
The old man in gray clothes said helplessly: "There have always been many strange people and strangers in the Skeleton Beach. Let's just take it as a lesson and learn more about the next journey. If we really want to make money and kill people at the tea stall, when we arrive
The journey before the River God Temple is difficult to walk."
The young man looked at the back of the young man in the bamboo hat and made a gesture with his hand raised and lowered, "Then let's strike first? It's better than letting them find out the truth and then catch a turtle in a jar somewhere, maybe kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
On the contrary, the other party did not dare to attack casually."
The purple-faced man thought it was reasonable, but the old man in gray still wanted to make some more plans. The man had already said in a deep voice to the young swordsman: "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. You're really going to get caught."
He said, we still have to rely on the protection of the river god. If we throw the body into the river, we may offend the river god. Don’t waste such a big reed swamp."
The young man with the sword nodded with a smile, and then said with a smile: "Looks like a pure martial artist who has passed the body refining realm. If he is a hidden hero, and has a heroic courage, let alone capsizing in the gutter, you can imagine
It's very difficult to get questioned."
The purple-faced man glanced at the old man in gray, who nodded silently.
The two of them swept forward one after another.
After a while, the purple-faced man rubbed his stomach, which started to churn again. Seeing the two people returning the same way, he asked: "Is it over?"
The old man in gray clothes shook his head and said: "He disappeared in an instant. He was faster than a rabbit. However, it is possible that he took advantage of the situation and hid in the reeds. He just lay down and is hard to find."
The man with the big beard and purple face had a gloomy expression and looked around, "Then there's nothing we can do. We'll go a little further and we'll act according to the situation. If it doesn't work, we'll go back to the ferry and lower our heads to the man who drugged him.
Our strong dragons will not fight local snakes."
The woman put her hands on her hips and staggered out of the reed marsh. She said sickly: "The guy at the tea stall is so bad. He's a smiling tiger who has been stabbed a thousand times. He's such a domineering laxative. Even a strong cow was knocked down. I really don't know."
Cherish the flowers and cherish the jade.”
Chen Ping'an had previously left the path and turned into the reed swamp. He bent forward and quickly disappeared.
After walking for more than twenty miles, he slowed down, went to the river to grab a handful of water, washed his face, and then when no one was around, he put the package containing the picture of the goddess into something nearby, and then he lightly
Jumping up lightly, stepping on the lush reeds, the dragonfly touches the water, and the wind whistles in your ears, drifting away.
That group of Jianghu people, even if they have Yin Ling puppets as personal followers, together they are probably not as good as an experienced Dragon Gate monk. Chen Ping'an doesn't want to go to Beiju Luzhou and fight with others, let alone be killed.
It is a bad omen if it affects the fish in the pond.
Nearing the River God Temple, there were more pedestrians on the other side of the path. Chen Pingan fell to the ground, walked out of the reed marsh, and walked there.
Previously, I stood on the top of the reeds and looked at the famous ancestral temple that is famous throughout the continent. I saw a thick mist of incense rising into the sky, stirring the sea of clouds above and making it colorful. This scene should not be underestimated.
The Tongyezhou River Burial Temple that I passed by at the time, and the Biyou Mansion that was later promoted to the palace, were not so strange. As for the several river temples near the Xiuhua River in my hometown, they also had no such strange phenomena.
The common people have the incense burned by the common people.
There are also water fragrances specially designed for high-rollers.
The River God Ancestral Temple is very kind. There is a wooden sign not to mention it. There is also a young boy who is guarding the wooden sign. With a childish voice, he tells all the guests who come here to offer incense to pay homage to the God when they enter the temple.
When burning incense, one only cares about sincerity, not whether the incense is high or low.
Chen Ping'an didn't save the money, so he bought a tube of swaying river incense from the ancestral temple, which was specially used to worship the gods. It was expensive. It cost ten pieces of snow, but the incense tube only contained nine sticks of incense. Compared with the river god temple in Qingluan Kingdom,
The three sticks of incense in the temple cost a piece of snow, which is a lot more expensive.
Chen Pingan twisted out three sticks from the yellow bamboo incense tube with green and green water flowers, 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 in all directions, and then went to worship the golden body of the River God.
The main hall is majestic. The painted statue is gilded all over, and its height is suspected of being arrogant. It is more than three feet taller than the Tiefu River Water God statue in Longquan County, while the height of the statue of the landscape god of the Great Li Dynasty is,
They all strictly abide by the rules of the academy, but when Chen Pingan thought that this was Luzhou, Beiju, it was not surprising. The appearance of this swaying river god was an old man in golden armor holding a sword in each hand and stepping on a bright red snake.
, looks like the King of Heaven with angry eyes, very powerful.
Then Chen Ping'an spent more than half an hour just walking around the dozens of huge temples. The roofs were covered with eye-catching golden glazed tiles.
Among them, there is a side hall built to look like a dragon palace in the water. The statues are lifelike. They are all the assistant generals after big fish, snakes and dragons transformed into human forms. They have various postures. Some old pilgrims and their children laughed and said, this is the villa of the river god.
, as soon as night comes, these subordinate officers and generals who can call the wind and rain will come to life, but the temple has a night ban. At night, only those immortals who fly in the clouds and mist are qualified to come here to visit and interact with the river god.
The master drinks wine and tea.
Chen Ping'an stopped for a while in the back hall and saw a couplet, so he twisted out three more incense sticks, lit them, stood respectfully in the white jade square, and then inserted them into the incense burner before leaving.
The couplets with gold characters on a black background behind Chen Pingan are "Don't kowtow if you are sincere, you will be protected by your own virtue", and "I will let you burn incense for evil, and you will only make the water god angry".
After Chen Pingan left this river god temple, he continued his journey north.
At dusk, Chen Ping'an came to a small ferry. He needed to take a ferry across the shore to get to the ghostly ghost valley that Chen Ping'an had under his jurisdiction in Skeleton Beach. He wanted to go there the most.
It’s just that the ferries at the ferry and the old and young boatmen have stopped working. The ferries stopped at the shore and tied ropes, and they returned home one after another. Chen Ping’an wanted to increase the fare to cross the river, but no one agreed. They said that ferries can’t cross the river at night. This is a rule passed down from generation to generation.
Otherwise, the River God will be angry, except for three kinds of people: scholars go to Beijing to take exams, some people seek medical treatment for their illnesses, and people in distress want to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the river.
Chen Ping'an thought about the importance of not building bridges on the Swaying River and these rules. He no longer even thought about crossing the river. He simply lit a bonfire at a secluded place by the river near the ferry and planned to take the ferry across at dawn tomorrow morning.
shore.
The night falls and the river flows slowly.
Chen Ping'an faced the river, sat cross-legged, and practiced setting up sword stoves.
Nothing happened all night.
The sky was slightly bright, and Chen Pingan stood up and walked towards the ferry. There was a strong old boatman with shiny and dark skin, already squatting on the ferry, waiting for the guests.
Chen Pingan and Lao Zhouzi agreed on the price, eight cents of silver. The old man said to wait a moment. He only earned eight cents of silver for taking a person across the river. He was a little sorry for the energy, so he asked Chen Pingan if he was not willing to wait a moment, as long as he came again.
One person, if he earns eight more coins, he can punt across the river. Chen Pingan smiled and said it doesn't matter, just wait, there is no hurry to go. Chen Pingan took off his bamboo hat, sat at the ferry with Lao Zhouzi, and took off his sword gourd.
After taking a sip of wine, the wine in the pot was the home-brewed rice wine Dong Shuijing gave to Luo Lo Shan.
Old Zhouzi's eyes lit up as he smelled the aroma of the wine. He turned around and asked with a smile: "Master, can you please have a drink?"
Chen Ping'an was about to hand the sword-raising gourd to him. Old Zhouzi waved his hands, clasping his hands together, and said with a smile: "Young master is very particular about people, and I, a bad old man like me, have to be very particular. You just pour the wine into my hand."
Chen Ping'an poured the wine. Lao Zhouzi raised his calloused hands, lowered his head like a cow to drink water. After drinking, he smashed his mouth and asked with a smile: "Young master, are you going to that 'no turning back'? Oh?
, this word is the dialect here, and according to the great immortals of the Pima Sect, it is the Ghost Valley."
Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded: "I'm here because of the reputation. I'm a swordsman. Everyone says that you must go to the Skeleton Beach. Now that I've been to the Mural City and the River God Temple, I want to go to the Ghost Valley to have a long experience.
.”
Old Zhouzi stretched out two fingers and twisted the corner of Chen Ping's green shirt who was sitting cross-legged beside him, and said with a click of his tongue: "I'm just telling you that the young master is actually a young god. I won't say anything else, old man. I will spend my whole life on this river.
We were greeted and sent off, and there was no money in my pocket, but I still had good eyesight. Isn't this young master's clothes worth a lot?"
Chen Ping'an smiled heartily and said: "When you go out, you still have to show off your style, just to pretend to be fat."
Lao Zhouzi said: "Young Master's foreign accent sounds like someone from another continent. You must change it. Let's change it here. The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. The more incompetent the people are, the more they like to stick together and bully others."
Chen Ping'an hummed, "That's what I said."
Lao Zhouzi turned around and glanced, "Young Master is very lucky. Someone came to the ferry so early. It seems we can cross the river."
Chen Pingan then followed the old man's line of sight and turned around to see a staggering old woman. When he looked closely at the old woman's face, Chen Pingan felt helpless.
When the old woman arrived at the ferry, when she heard that Lao Zhouzi wanted to collect eight coins, she started to get into trouble. Then she turned to look at Chen Pingan. Chen Pingan looked like a fledgling in the world. He first pretended not to know anything, and then waited until the old woman was stunned.
After being stunned, she took the initiative to ask the young master if she could help her. She only had four or five pieces of silver with her. If she bothered the young master to give her some help, her kindness would surely be rewarded.
Chen Pingan just shook his head.
Old Zhouzi became a little anxious and winked at Chen Ping'an. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the old man, he was quite smart before, but now he looks like an ignorant wooden man.
At the end of the quarrel, the old woman angrily said that she owed money and would pay it back next time she crossed the river, and Lao Zhouzi agreed.
Peering across the river, the atmosphere on the boat was a bit awkward.
Chen Pingan observed his eyes, nose and heart, pretending to be an old monk and entered meditation.
Lao Zhouzi was a little anxious, but he didn't know what to say clearly.
The old woman was the most angry, thinking that the young man was really a thief.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she gave Chen Ping'an a fierce look.
Chen Pingan just pretended not to see it.
Later, he seemed to "couldn't help it" and started to make excuses. He had a pedantic conversation with the old woman, which roughly meant why he couldn't blame him for being stingy.
The old woman patted the boat rail when she heard this.
Lao Zhouzi rolled his eyes.
Finally, when they arrived at the ferry on the other side, the old man was about to say something when the old woman grabbed his sleeve.
Chen Pingan jumped off the ferry, said goodbye, and left without turning his head.
Lao Zhouzi was dumbfounded and was stunned for a long time. He turned to the "old woman" and asked, "Just forget it? Isn't it a pity?"
The rickety old woman had stood up straight at this moment and sneered: "What else? Do you want me to stick to you upside down? It's because he can't grasp the good fortune, and he can't blame others! After three small tests, this guy is the first one who can't pass it. The word spread.
, I will be laughed to death by my sisters!"
Lao Zhouzi always felt that something was wrong.
Why did that young man seem to deliberately miss this great blessing?
The first test was set by the "old woman", whether to cross the river by force. The young man passed it. Then he replaced her and symbolically tested him again. The young man also successfully passed the second test and gave generously.
After taking a sip of wine, Lao Zhouzi felt that the overall situation was settled and the matter was definitely done, so he sold the young man a small favor and deliberately removed some of the blinders to reveal some clues. Since the young man had already been to the River Temple, he
You should be aware of it, and you should deal with it appropriately and not care about trivial matters like a few dollars. Who just said "walking around in the world and pretending to be fat"?
The old woman became furious and stamped her feet, causing the boat and the old boat to sink to the bottom of the swaying river.
The two of them took a ferry and shuttled freely on the bottom of the river.
The old woman has regained her graceful true body, her ribbons are swaying, her appearance is stunning, and she is a well-deserved goddess.
The old boatman sighed and felt very sorry for the young man.
After Chen Pingan left the ferry, he started to run away. He only regretted that the sword rising into the air was too eye-catching, otherwise he would have run further.
He took off his sword-raising gourd and took a sip of wine to calm down his shock. Then Chen Pingan laughed and imitated Pei Qian and walked a few steps. He was very pleased with himself. I, Chen Pingan, am a veteran of the world!
After Chen Ping'an laughed, he felt scared again. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Okay, okay, thank you for being smart. Otherwise, count on your fingers, how many times will I be beaten to death by Miss Ning? Even if I don't get beaten to death, I will be beaten to death next time."
When they met, he dared to hug her and kiss Zhui'er on the mouth...
On the other side of the ferry, Jiang Shangzhen had a slight change of heart. He noticed some signs, so he decisively left and returned. Now he reached out to cover his forehead and murmured: "Chen Pingan, Brother Chen, Uncle Chen! You are still the best!"