Sword of Coming

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 is 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, sleeves and shoulders shrinking, 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 the female officials of the Heavenly Court painted all over the walls, with various manners and arousing people's imagination. The Pima Sect, which founded the mountain here, kept it secret.

Chen Pingan walked and stopped all the way. In the time it took him to drink a cup of tea, he followed a huge flow of people who also came here for fame. He came 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, seeming to be walking forward, her spirit flying, with auspicious clouds under her feet, and a luggage inkstone tied around her waist, 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 gold, 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 conforms to 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 blessings of God's will, 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. As a result, the five murals were scattered. 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, which read "掷电". The reason why he recognized it was also due to the book Li Xisheng presented 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 facsimiles 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 did they resemble murals in shape, but they also resembled them in spirit. Chen Pingan bought two of them, planning to keep one for himself and give 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 on 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 have all formed immortals and Taoists with their masters, and at least they can both become Nascent Soul immortals. , one of the down-and-out scholars with mediocre monastic qualifications, after gaining 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 true that I have embraced such a beautiful woman, and I have become a deity on the mountain top. At this point in my life, what more can I 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 did not clasp 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 snow coins. ,no discount. These two paintings of the Goddess Tianguan are named "Walking Rain" 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, and the golden light of a dragon. The latter is riding a colorful deer, and the goddess's skirt is trailing, making her look like a fairy. This goddess also carries a green unsheathed wooden sword with the three characters "happy wind" engraved on her back.

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 be 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 powerful immortal masters who are willing to pay five Xiaoshu coins to buy a complete set of eight murals of the city goddess.

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 the shills of the three shops. After thinking about it again, he realized that Beiju Luzhou has a vast territory, and the Skeleton Beach is at the southernmost point. The ferry boat 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. It depends on how lucky it is, and it depends on three factors. There are so many boxes filled in the corridors of each shop, and the output is various. If you take it all together, there may not be any monks who are willing to earn this relatively difficult small profit.

Of course, it is also possible that the shop and the Skeleton 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 Laolongcheng and Dong Shuijing of Longquan County have done the best. Not to mention Sun Jiashu, who already has a big business, but Dong Shuijing, who was born in a poor alley and became "suddenly rich", Chen Ping'an admires the most for his attitude towards making money. After Dong Shuijing was already making money day by day, he and Yuan County Magistrate , Cao Duzao, and Guan Yiran, whom he recently visited and met. He can also make friends with such big shots, but he also makes 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 It may be a sentiment cultivated after having a rich family, but Dong Shuijing is still diligent, serious and unambiguous.

This is the business experience a businessman should have.

So Chen Ping'an found the shopkeepers in both stores and asked if he 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. Nothing less is required, and there is no room for negotiation at all. Another shop was run by a hunchbacked old woman. She smiled and asked how many goddess suits the customer could buy. Chen Pingan said how many were left in the shop. The old woman said that filling in the gallery was a delicate job and the shipment was extremely slow. Moreover, these The main painter of the picture of the goddess in the gallery has always been an old guest of Pima Sect. Other painters did not dare to paint at all. Lao Keqing never wanted to paint more. If it were not for the rules of Pima Sect, according to this old painter , every time he glances at the evil-minded disciples in the world, he will gain more karma and earn a lot of money. The old woman immediately admitted that the shop itself was not worried about sales and could not save much. Now there were only about thirty units left in the shop, and they would all be sold out sooner or later. At this point, the old woman laughed and asked Chen Ping'an. If this is the case, discounting means losing money. Is there anyone in the world who does this kind of 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 different from the ordinary. Wearing armor and holding an axe, his 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, but 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 resist Chen Pingan, who was looking at him and smiling, 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 a clear distinction between public and private affairs, and warned: "I don't care. I see the loss of ten pieces of snow in the shop. Later, go to your great-grandfather to make up for it by yourself, 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 the 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 always mixed and smoky. Yes, I like to bully foreigners the most, and I can do all kinds of deceptions. Why didn’t you warn me? 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 he’s 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 when she wishes. But when it comes to the young man, she is not shy about her words. 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 unsophisticatedly?"

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, and you've only come down to help a few times over the years. Could it be that without you, my shop won't be able to open?"

The young man rushed out of the shop, found the foreign ranger wearing a bamboo hat, and whispered some precautions.

Chen Pingan smiled and said: "Okay, thank you for the reminder."

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 and nodded: "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 Skeleton Beach Pima Sect locked up? 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 monopolizing opportunities, it is better to form a good relationship with those who are destined. 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 sighed 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 restrained spirit. Although he was very young, his seniority was quite high, but it was 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 chance. When they reached the top of Pima Sect's 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 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, so he stopped 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, but Chen Ping'an doesn't want to try his luck. Moreover, the most outstanding Yin Ling Puppet in Mural City, buy Being a retinue was the last thing Chen Pingan needed, 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, which was covered with clouds and mist on the top of the mountain, Chen Ping'an thought of the Taiping Mountain in Tongyezhou for no reason.

The foot of the mountain is bustling and overcrowded. This Immortal family mansion with thirty-six direct descendants and one hundred and eight outer sect members, for a sect-shaped 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 many times, 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 go there on foot.

As for the speed of breathing and the depth of steps, he deliberately maintained the appearance of an ordinary martial artist in the five realms of the world.

The River God Temple is easy to find. Just 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 barely a good way.

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 and river water here are of low quality, but the gloomy tea here, if you drink water 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 transport is at its peak, which invisibly benefits both sides of the river. There are lush vegetation and large clumps of reeds. In early winter, they are still green and lush, so many birds and waterbirds inhabit it.

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, the armor they wear is extremely It is exquisite, the seal is engraved with Taoist talismans, the gold and silver threads are intertwined, and the glistening light flows. It is obviously not ordinary. The burly Yin spirit is almost entirely covered with face armor, and the slightly exposed skin is green and black.

The soil and water nourish a person. Regardless of their level of realm, the monks in Beiju Luzhou are more cautious and restrained than the monks in Aquarius Island who walk at 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 rules of the tea stall were 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, and then most of the dozen or so tables were occupied, all of which were resting here. More than a hundred miles further, there was a historic site, and by the swaying river over there, a statue fell to the ground. The ancient iron bull has an unknown origin, 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 whose respect was worth hundreds of thousands of kilograms.

Chen Ping'an had just finished his second bowl of tea when a table of customers not far away started arguing 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. He lay on the greasy counter and had a drink alone. In front of him was a plate of food to go with the wine. It was the particularly delicious water celery that grows 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. He would either obediently take out two snow coins, or he could not pay the bill if he had the ability. Anyway, here is the silver tea stall. Not even one or two.

A strong man with a big beard and a purple face, behind him is an astonishing Yin Ling retinue. This puppet made by the Pi Ma Sect is carrying a large box. The purple-faced man was about to fall out on the spot, and gave some advice to a carefree woman with a sword sitting cross-legged on a bench. 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 some 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 traveling. There should be no shortage of it. Of course, there must be some money for Xiaoshu. 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 the direct descendant of a mountaintop 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 it's to go straight down the mountain and go straight to 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 attendant 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 sinister 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." Tai Chong, 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 after I wait for it. This is a reward for you, 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, have you forgotten how I taught you? Breaking someone in front of you will cause the most trouble. The rules of the tea stall have been passed down from our ancestors. No wonder you are so stubborn and the guests are unhappy. , there is nothing we can do, but 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 me?"

The woman covered her mouth and smiled sweetly, her flower branches trembling wildly.

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 Ping'an 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 edge 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 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 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 does not interfere with the river water.

The path Chen Pingan took was sparsely populated. After all, no matter how beautiful the scenery of the Swaying River is, it is still just a gentle river. For ordinary tourists who came from Mural City before, the freshness has passed. The bumpy dirt road is not as smooth as the main road, and the road There are also some small roadside stalls on both sides. After all, you still have to pay a sum of money to set up a stall in the Mural City. It's 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 Jiaorou gasped: "Oh, 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: "Get away from 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 kept his eyes straight 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 Dance that was 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 and nodded: "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 Skeleton Beach. Let's just take it as a lesson and gain wisdom. Think more about how to go on 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 sword raised and dropped, "Then let's strike first? It's better than finding out the truth for them, and then we can 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. The old man in gray still wanted to make plans. 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 is best not to throw it into the river. You are really going to get caught." He said, we still have to rely on the protection of the river god. By dumping the body in 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 of them 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, faster than a rabbit, but it is possible that he took advantage of the situation and hid in the reeds. He just lay down casually 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 Pingan had left the path and turned into the reed marsh. 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 gently Jumping up lightly, stepping on the lush reeds, a 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 beginning, 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 Temple is very kind. There is a wooden sign not to mention that there is a young boy who stands guard over the wooden sign. With a childish voice, he informs all the guests who come here to offer incense to pay homage to the God when they enter the temple. Burning incense only depends on sincerity and not on the quality of the incense.

Chen Ping'an didn't save the money, so he bought a tube of swaying river incense from the ancestral temple dedicated to the gods. It was expensive, ten pieces of snow cost, 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 Ping'an twisted 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 it above his head, 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 Beiju Luzhou, 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 walking around 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 have transformed into human forms. They have various postures. Some old pilgrims and their children are laughing and saying that this is the other palace 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 there is a night ban in the ancestral temple. 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 in the apse for a while and saw a couplet, so he twisted out three more incense sticks. After lighting them, he stood respectfully in the white jade square, 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", "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.

As the sun set over the Western Mountains, Chen Ping'an came to a small ferry at dusk. He needed to take a ferry across the shore to get to the Ghostly Ghost Valley, which Chen Ping'an governed in the Skeleton Beach, and which he most wanted to visit.

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, which 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 in a secluded place by the river near the ferry, planning to take the ferry across at dawn tomorrow morning. shore.

The night fell and the river flowed 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, with eight more silver coins, can punt across the river. Chen Pingan smiled and said it didn't matter, just wait, there was no rush to go anyway. Chen Ping'an took off his bamboo hat and sat on the ferry with Lao Zhouzi. He took off his sword gourd and took a sip of wine. The wine in the pot was the home-brewed rice wine Dong Shuijing gave to Luopo Mountain.

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, clasped 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. Young Master just pours 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 the 'No Looking Back'? Oh?" , this is the dialect here, and according to the great immortals of Pima Sect, it is 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, twisted the corner of Chen Pingan's green shirt who was sitting cross-legged beside him, and said with a click of his tongue: "I'm just saying, the young master is actually a young god. I don'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, "I'm right."

Lao Zhouzi turned around and glanced, "Young Master is 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, she started to feel embarrassed when she heard that Old Zhouzi wanted to collect eight coins. Then she turned to look at Chen Pingan. Chen Pingan looked like a fledgling in the world. He pretended not to know anything at first, 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 coins with her, so if she bothered the young master to give her some help, her kindness would definitely be rewarded.

Chen Pingan just shook his head.

Lao Zhouzi was 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 looked 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.

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

Chen Pingan observed his eyes, nose and mind, pretending to be an old monk and entering meditation.

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

The old woman was the most angry. She felt 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 "can'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 slapped the railing of the boat upon hearing this.

Lao Zhouzi rolled his eyes.

Finally, when they arrived at the ferry on the other side, Lao Zhouzi 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 stunned for a long time, then 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 up to you? It's because he can't grasp the good luck himself, and he can't blame others! This guy is the first one who can't pass the three small tests. , I want to 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 forcefully cross the river. 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 gave 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, pretending to be fat"?

The old woman became furious and stamped her feet, causing the old boat and the ferry to sink to the bottom of the swaying river.

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

The old woman has regained her graceful true body, with colorful ribbons fluttering, 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 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 and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, he was lucky. Otherwise, just count on his fingers, how many times would he be beaten to death by Miss Ning? Even if I don't get beaten to death, I still dare to hug her and kiss Zhui'er on the mouth next time we meet...

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!"