There is a saying in folk custom that the first day of each month is called Shuo, the middle of the month is Wang, and the end of the month is Hui. The last day of June is called the twilight of June. This day is the day when the master and the apprentice left Caixiantan. After noon, the two people hitched up the carriage. The leader of the group greeted Yan Siguan and then set off to continue southbound.
It was the end of June, but the summer solstice had just passed, and the hottest time of the year was getting closer and closer. The young man was wearing short brown shorts, but he was also dizzy from the heat. He kept complaining to the master why he didn't leave when it was cool in the evening. It's only two hours short, and besides, the class leader had just stayed for a long time, why bother to come out and suffer this crime? Wu Shuang was also very hot. He was already a big man, and his long gown was too thick, so he was sweating profusely from the heat. Sweat flowed down his neck. He had no choice but to pick two large leaves from a banana tree by the roadside and sat down weakly. Fan the cabin. The heat was even more unbearable for the horses. After all, there was a sunshade edge at the front of the carriage, and it was shady inside. Therefore, Wu Shuang and Yun Zhong were in a relatively comfortable situation. The horses were not so lucky, and their entire backs and faces were covered with heat. Under the sun, the horse's mane was dripping with sweat. The whole horse looked like it had been fished out of the water. It no longer had any of its usual domineering and violent temper. It staggered and paced forward with its legs raised, and even its tail was too lazy to move. The young man was worried that the heat would damage the horse, so he poured the water from the water bag onto the horse's back, only to find that the water was already warm and had no coolness at all.
The boy put away the water bag, and the horse neighed twice in a flattering manner, asking him to pour more water to relieve the heat on his body. Even though the water was already warm, after all, compared with the horse's back, it could be regarded as a temporary relief. urgent. "If you bear with it a little longer, maybe things will get better when it gets dark." After stroking the horse's back, the boy put the water bag away. This is not to say that the boy is stingy, but he is out and about, especially in this sultry weather that is approaching midday. Water is very important. How can a life-saving treasure be wasted on temporary pleasure? Wu Shuang did not teach this principle, but the young man was extremely impressed. When my mother was chatting with Aunt An, Yunzhong was playing beside her as a child. Somehow, Yunzhong, who had just learned to speak, understood the story her mother told.
There was once a son of a noble family who went out to study with a poor student. The poor scholar wore an old gown and went on the road; while the noble man wore gold, silver, and jade around his waist, and looked elegant, but he only had a bag full of money on his back. Package, no book. At first, both of them carried water bags with them. It was midsummer, and the one with a wealthy family would take out his water bag and drink as much as he wanted when he was thirsty. On the other hand, the poor scholar had always endured the heat and thirst. , until I couldn't bear it anymore, I took a sip of water to moisten my throat. Finally one day, the two of them walked deep into the mountains. There were no streams within ten miles, and there were no homes. The water bag of the son of the aristocratic family was already empty. He was so thirsty that there was nothing he could do. However, the son of the poor family still had nearly half of the water in his water bag. Unable to bear the pain, he offered to exchange the hundred taels of silver in the package for a drink of water, but was flatly rejected by Han Menzi. Later, the disciples from the poor family walked out of the mountain with half a bag of water, while the disciple from the aristocratic family died of thirst in the mountain while holding a package full of silver coins.
Water is drinkable, but silver is not.
To this day, the young man still feels that this story is very strange. He might be able to save the life of the student from the aristocratic family by sharing a couple of mouths of water. Why is the student from a poor family so unkind? It stands to reason that since the two of them can travel arm in arm and have a good relationship, why can't they let go of their saliva? However, when he was away from home, the young man kept the preciousness of water in mind and did not dare to forget it at all.
There is a dense forest ten miles away from Caixian Beach. The trees cover the sky and the sun. They are quite lush and even make people feel a little eerie. There are a lot of moist moss and climbing rattan in the forest, making this deep forest look like a dark green prison. It was so heavy that people couldn't breathe, so it was named Zialonglin. According to the class leader, there have been several murder cases in the forest in the past few years. The government and local dignitaries searched for dozens of days before the murderers were brought to justice. However, even if the evildoers have been eliminated, the forest is still under pressure. Be treated well. Firstly, the dense forest is empty and deserted, and the most vicious people commit crimes and do shameful things. They always prefer this kind of place where no one is seen all year round. If the mountain monkey and cliff snake hear the careful plan, they will not be able to escape. Secondly, in recent years, pedestrians and business travelers passing by Yalong Forest can hear roars in the forest that look like tigers but not tigers, and sounds like cows but not cows, which appear and disappear intermittently, which is very scary. . As for the latter, most of them are hearsay, at least in Caixiantan, no one has heard it with their own ears. People say it's scary, but it turns out it's really scary.
After more than an hour, the carriage slowly arrived at this dense forest. Wu Shuang didn't sleep at all. Instead, he closed his eyes and crossed his legs in the carriage, as if he was silently deducing something.
"Master, I always feel gloomy when I look at this forest. Why do you choose to pass through this place instead of walking on the main road?" The young man looked at the forest in front of him, which looked like a snake with its mouth open. It was really scary. He asked his mother to take medicine. At that time, he had walked through the woods at the entrance of the town and almost cried. This time with Master accompanying him, although the chill on the back of his neck was offset a lot, he was still unhappy.
"Master didn't say that I would pass by this place. It's just that this place is very cool and cool. I'm just going to avoid the heat here for the time being." Then Wu Shuang said with a smile, "Fourth brother, look, you have already lost your inner energy in just half a year." It has been running for nearly a week, and the hero among the people who have passed away is one step closer. When things happen in the future, don’t always make a fuss, just be a little heroic."
When the young man heard this, the figure sitting at the front of the carriage froze slightly, as if he was hesitating.
"Master, do you really think I have a good talent?"
"Yes." Wu Shuang answered without any hesitation.
"I don't believe it." The young man lowered his eyebrows, "I often chat with Mr. Ye, and Mr. Ye also cultivates Qi, but he never said that it would be so difficult in the first week. Instead, he said that in ten days, you can have clear thoughts and proceed to the next step. One day a week. But at the eye level, I am blocked by a bottleneck that makes it difficult for me to move forward."
"You bastard, believe it or not. The problems you encountered will be encountered by countless people in practice, and they have nothing to do with talent. Let me tell you, your talent is only a little lower than when I was young, not much. , just a little." The fat shopkeeper got out from behind the carriage and gestured with his index finger towards the young man.
The young man smiled broadly.
Wu Shuang was also smiling broadly, but in her heart she was thinking about how one day she could find some time to catch a snake and bring it back to make soup.
At this time, an old man far away in the distance was wandering in the night market carrying a fish basket. He sneezed inexplicably, which attracted sideways glances from the people around him. "Isn't there someone talking about me again?" The old man covered the mouth of the fish basket as if he was a thief, and soon disappeared from the crowd.
The two masters and apprentices decided to stay overnight at the edge of Yacong Forest tonight instead of rushing on the road. They would wait until early tomorrow morning when the sun was not too harsh before leaving.
The lights of the residence next to Caixian Beach were lit. Cheng Jingdong sat at the table, facing the bronze mirror alone, his face pale.
