On the black water, under the dim skylight, an old wooden boat lay sideways in the drizzle, spinning diagonally.
Like a needle turning slowly in a bowl of clear water.
In the cabin, Ji Pingan picked up the cup of strong tea that had been boiled over charcoal fire, lowered his eyes, and gently licked the fragrance of the tea.
The blind old Taoist priest sitting opposite him was stiff all over, and the silver bell on his waist made a very slight clanking sound. The flame flickered and trembled in the simple hexagonal oil lamp on his right.
The two girls who were standing around looked surprised.
"Haha..." After a short period of silence, the blind old Taoist priest regained his composure and said:
"Each family has its own method. Pindao's background is not as big as that of the 'calligrapher', but he still has a heart to eliminate evil spirits and protect the Tao. With a little blood, he can drive away evil spirits and eliminate evil spirits. It is worth it in the end. It's true." It is said that the law is not about good or evil, what do you think?"
Ji Ping'an put the teacup down with his two fingers, glanced at him, and said:
"There's no need to test it. I'm too lazy to play riddles with you. You and I are here to gather on the island this time. Speaking of it, hey... we are all considered to be under the command of the so-called 'Holy Master'. Whose blood do you use to light the lamp?" I was too lazy to pay attention to it, but I went straight to this ship, maybe it was not to eliminate demons, defend the country, and save the people on this ship."
While saying these words, Ji Pingan deliberately adjusted his attitude and temperament.
He gave people a touch of arrogance. When he mentioned the word "Holy Master", there was no humility and reverence in his tone, but a hint of resentment.
When the blind old Taoist saw this, he was slightly startled, and then he laughed, his tense heartstrings relaxing slightly:
“Young people are just impatient, whatever.
As expected of a descendant of the 'Shu Jia', his temperament is different from that of ordinary Qi Sect monks. Pindao had no other intention of boarding the ship this time. He just watched the movement here from a distance and stopped by to take a look and confirm your intention. However, it is a bit strange for this mortal ship to go so deep. "
Such a cautious person... He was still making insinuations at this time... Ji Ping'an said calmly:
"It was just brought in by the wind and waves. We are still wondering how the master of Qianjiao Island disciplines this big loach. If he really hurts people wantonly and attracts the government and the Taoist sect, he will really have fun."
Hearing this, the blind old Taoist stroked his beard and said:
"I think it's just to scare away idlers. Anyway, those who are qualified to go to the island to worship will not be stopped from competing for positions within the church."
Ji Ping'an's heart moved and he asked deliberately:
"Just competing for positions?"
The blind old Taoist priest laughed, waved his hand and said:
"Pindao knows his own family affairs. This time he is just going through the motions. I listen to the young master. Could it be that he is interested in the saint girl choosing a husband? It's normal. Young people are still motivated. If you want to I’m afraid it may not be easy to come out on top.”
Ji Ping'an smiled and said:
"The Taoist priest seems to be quite well-informed. My servant and I joined the religion when we were in Yuezhou, and we have only recently returned. However, I don't know much about the Lanzhou religion. May I ask if you can give me some advice?"
The blind old Taoist smiled and said:
"I am blind, but my ears are naturally brighter. But this place where mortals are, is not the place to talk. How about we go to the island together?"
Ji Ping'an glanced at him and smiled:
"That's fine."
Originally, according to his plan, he would wait for an opportunity to leave after entering Blackwater Lake.
We didn’t want the strong winds and waves to involve the ship, so it was indeed time to disembark.
…
outside the cabin.
The Zhao family father and son did not go busy, but waited in the corridor. The old man looked at the closed hatch from time to time, and his footsteps wandered.
"Dad, why is there no movement at all?" Zhao Daniu whispered.
Old man Zhao gave him a hard look with his eyes and warned:
"Say a few words, and when the immortal master comes out, kneel down immediately and pray for his protection."
Zhao Daniu: "?"
The old boatman said worriedly:
"Although the Dragon King was scared away, there is no guarantee that he will not be chased back. If our boat wants to leave the Blackwater Lake, it still has to go a long way. As for those young masters and ladies, if they are afraid, they will pull them back together. If they return, Tie, just give them a small boat and let’s leave quickly.”
After this incident, the old man had already given up the idea of catching crabs and just wanted to escape safely.
Zhao Daniu recalled the scene of Ji Pingan and his group suddenly appearing in the heavy rain, holding the rope with one hand, and all the contacts he had made in the past few days. Combined with the attitude of the "old immortal master" in his dialogue with him, he said:
"Dad, I think that young master might..."
Halfway through, he was interrupted by the old man. He only heard the sound of water coming from the mist, and the "tuk-tuk" sound of wooden fish.
The boatmen were surprised to find a awning boat approaching on the side of the lake.
There was no one rowing on the boat, and there was a brown and black wooden fish the size of a table placed on the bow of the boat. A fat nun was beating it with a mallet.
There were ripples on the lake surface, and inside the awning boat, there were several similarly fat companions crowded together. The monks' robes were embroidered with pink peach blossoms.
With a "squeak" sound, the hatch opened.
The blind Taoist and Ji Ping'an walked out. The door next door opened, and Yu Yu and others heard the sound and walked out.
Zhao Daniu knelt down with a puff and was about to kowtow, but found that the old Taoist didn't look at him at all, and he was immediately embarrassed on the spot.
The two ships were getting closer and closer, and the nuns on the awning ship also noticed this side and glanced lightly.
The blind old Taoist smiled and bowed his head, but the nuns recited a curse-like chant, and the small boat passed by the big boat and headed straight for Qianjiao Island.
There was no continuity at all.
Ji Ping'an saw that the old Taoist priest's expression froze for a moment, with hints of anger, but he blinked and regained his masterly demeanor, and said calmly:
"This is a female nun from the Qimen Taohua Temple in the Jianghu of the Southern Tang Dynasty. She broke all the Buddhist precepts, especially the desire for food and drink. I didn't expect that she would also give in... haha."
In view of the presence of mortals, he swallowed the words "Four Holy Religions".
Oh, is there another "abandoned disciple" of Buddhism... Ji Ping'an thought of the Dervish sect. If the Dervish sect was not close to Yuhang, it would be difficult for the Four Saints to penetrate, otherwise they would probably try to attract them.
When these words fell on the ears of a group of boatmen, they were greatly surprised.
Obviously, the boatmen who travel all over the country have also heard of the "Peach Blossom Temple", a powerful force in the world.
But it was only heard. At this moment, hearing it from the mouth of the Taoist priest, I suddenly felt like a mortal had mistakenly entered the world of immortals and heard the secrets.
The female nuns were obviously acquainted with the blind Taoist, and they did not deal with each other very well. They did not interact with each other. When the awning boat left, Zhao Daniu was about to kowtow when he heard the blind Taoist calmly order the two girls:
"Haitangzi, Tianjiu'er, let's go sailing. It's time for us to land on the island."
"Yes. Master." The two girls hurriedly nodded and ran straight to the side of the boat to untie the boat again.
Zhao Daniu is embarrassed ×2
At a loss for words, he looked up at his father.
The old man was very anxious, but the old boatman who had been on the water all his life, faced the real Qimen monk, stammered and couldn't say anything to save him.
Ji Ping'an saw the boatmen's thoughts at a glance and said:
"We will say goodbye here. You should go back as soon as possible. Don't worry, the 'Dragon King' has returned to the island and will not chase you."
Zhao and his son were startled, and suddenly realized that the young man, dressed as a scholar and holding a volume of books in his hands all day long, seemed to have a different aura.
There was a faint light of hope in Zhao Daniu's eyes, but Old Man Zhao had not yet returned to his country:
"You want to go to the island? You're not afraid of that..."
At this time, the blind Taoist walked to the side of the ship and suddenly said to Ji Pingan and others:
"How about fellow Taoist fellow Taoists riding together with poor Taoists?"
Ji Ping'an glanced at the other party's small boat, which could only accommodate a few people, and smiled.
Realizing that the other party was testing again, he simply flipped through the book in his hand, raised his hand, tore off the next page, and threw it into the lake!
Immediately, the page suddenly shone brightly and swelled in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it folded into a huge paper boat and fell into the lake.
The paper boat's light converged, condensing into a beautifully shaped wooden boat with embossed patterns, with two wings on the left and right, sinking into the water.
"ah……"
On the deck, a group of boatmen headed by Zhao's father and son were stunned. This ability to control the boat out of thin air had an impact on them no worse than Mo Jiao.
boom!
Old man Zhao's mind seemed to explode, and he looked at Ji Ping'an and the other five in disbelief.
This stubborn old man finally realized that the person who took the boat was not an ignorant young master, but a Taoist man who was on an equal footing with the old Taoist priest.
"Immortal magic, immortal magic..."
Zhao Daniu read in a daze, understanding that the abnormalities he noticed along the way were not false.
It turns out that he is so close to the practitioner.
At this time, Yu Yu, Fang Shijie and others had jumped into the paper boat. The last trace of vigilance in the old Taoist priest's eyes disappeared. He finally confirmed his origin and identity and said with a smile:
"As expected of the calligrapher's magic, it's wonderful, wonderful."
Ji Ping'an turned his head indifferently, looked at Zhao Daniu, smiled, and said:
"When returning from the original route, if you return to the place where crabs first appeared, you can try to move a hundred feet south and test again."
After saying that, before everyone could recover, they also landed in the paper boat. The left and right wings swung on their own, pushing the paper boat straight to Qianjiao Island like an arrow off the string.
The old Taoist priest followed closely behind.
It wasn't until both sides were hidden in the drizzle that Old Man Zhao woke up from his dream and called the boatmen to turn around and flee.
And along the way, as Ji Ping'an said, there were no dangers, and no one was attacked by the "Dragon King" again.
After the ship left the danger zone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt that they had escaped.
At this time, Zhao Daniu's sharp eyes identified the direction and directed everyone to drive the boat to the place pointed by Ji Ping'an.
He ordered the crab to be dropped and soon tried to pull it up.
"In stock! Lots of black water crabs!"
"Yes, yes!"
"What a big crab, pull it up quickly!"
Amid the shouts of surprise from the boatmen, the crab trap pulled out of the water was covered with two fist-sized plump autumn crabs.
Next, as the crab traps were pulled up one by one, more and more black water crabs were thrown on the deck. In a blink of an eye, there were hundreds of them.
"The crab farm, there is such a big crab farm down there!"
The boatmen who survived the disaster had red eyes. They thought they were lucky to have escaped death.
I don’t dare to hope that there will be gains, but I don’t want to be rewarded after all the hardships.
Old man Zhao held his pipe and stared blankly at the huge crab farm that he had never seen before after decades of crab fishing.
Then he looked at Erlang who was giggling next to him, thinking about his behavior in making friends with that young man along the way.
Suddenly realized: I may be old.
…
…
There was a steady drizzle, and the entire lake seemed to be shrouded in a layer of fog.
The two boats were almost side by side, with the river breeze blowing on their faces.
The outline of the island ahead is becoming clearer, and you can already see the strip-shaped islands, towering rocks, dense vegetation, and buildings hidden among them.
Along the way, Yu Yu and others acted as loyal servants. Ji Pingan chatted casually with the blind Taoist, and actually got a lot of information.
for example:
Although the Four Saints Sect has the largest number of warriors, because the Martial Arts Alliance still has control over the world, most of the warriors absorbed by the sect branch in Lanzhou are not very strong and are at a lower level.
Although some people came to participate in this rally, most of them were limited to participation and lacked the ability to compete for rankings.
Can be used as a background board.
Correspondingly, the main members are the "Qimen monks" in the world.
There are "lone rangers" like blind Taoists, and there are more people like peach blossom nuns.
In other words: the candidates competing for positions within the teaching and the "Xue Ji husband-in-law" are basically chosen from among the strange sects in the world.
"I'm not sure how many Qimen monks have joined the Holy Cult, but there are a few notorious and not weak ones who will definitely join,"
The blind old Taoist holds a soul lamp in his hand and a silver bell hanging from his waist. He stands on the bow of the ship, looking like a man in the world:
"For example, if the poisonous dragon layman, the yellow turban warrior, and the famous colorful opera artist are all here, then the young master must be careful."
Yu Yu pretended to be a well-behaved maid and heard the words:
"What are these things? Have you heard of them?"
No one said a word, including Dr. Huang, who knew very little about this master from a strange sect.
Ji Ping'an, on the other hand, had collected some information through the dark web, Chuanyin explained:
"They are all Qimen monks with a bad reputation in the Lanzhou arena and are wanted by the government. Among them, the 'Caixi Master' is the strongest and has committed the most crimes. His cultivation level is generally at the ninth level.
Although the Four Saints can use poisonous insects to control people, pulling them by force is ultimately a bad idea and is not the mainstream. The leader of the Four Saints does not want to have a group of subordinates who have a grudge against him and are willing to compromise and devour his generals.
Therefore, most of them are still based on inducements, and the Gu insects are just auxiliary. Therefore, most of the people in the sect must be gangsters in the world and criminals wanted by the government. "
Everyone suddenly understood, and looked at the blind old Taoist with ambiguous eyes.
I began to think about how much reward this old Taoist priest could get in exchange for his head given to the government.
The blind old Taoist was playing and showing off his knowledge when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He "looked" at the crowd with the soul lamp and found nothing unusual.
Ji Ping'an coughed lightly and said:
"Well, someone's here to pick you up."
While he was talking, the ship had arrived at the island pier. An awning was set up here, and there were people in dark green clothes waiting, who were obviously disciples of the Dazai sect.
Taohua'an's awning boat was moored in the dock, but the fat nuns were gone.
A middle-aged man stood up and looked at Ji Pingan and others warily, holding a strange incense burner in his hand.
He raised his hand and clapped it, and everyone noticed at the same time that the poisonous insects in his body became active.
Wisps of smoke escaped from the incense burner and circled above everyone's heads before slowly condensing.
The middle-aged man smiled:
"Everyone is here, please register first. My island owner has prepared a house, and someone will guide you to stay later."
The owner of the island... is undoubtedly the head of the Daze Sect, one of the only remaining high-ranking members of the Lanzhou Tankou of the Four Saints Sect, and the real host of this gathering.
Ji Pingan's eyes flickered and he touched his arm to soothe the active golden Gu worm in his body.
When he met the blind old Taoist, the worms in his body had already awakened, and he could clearly sense the silver worms in his body.
Now that I'm ashore, the feeling is even stronger. For example, the registered middle-aged man has a bronze Gu worm in his body.
Along with it, there was a clear and definite premonition conveyed by the Gu insect:
As long as he is willing, he can forcibly control the middle-aged man in front of him.
As for the old Taoist priest, it is much more difficult, but he can also control the opponent for a short period of time.
When masters compete with each other, a single momentary mistake by the opponent is enough to determine the outcome.
This made him sigh. No wonder everyone within the Demon Cult wants to be promoted.
Once you become a high-level person, you can suppress all low-level believers through Gu insects and almost control life and death.
This feeling of power is something few can resist.
And these people don’t know yet:
The harmless scholar in front of him actually possesses a "Dharma Protector" level golden Gu, which can harvest their lives at any time.
"The rally will start in the next two days. Please stay on the island temporarily."
After his enthronement was completed, the middle-aged disciple put away the book and spoke with a smile.
Then he ordered his subordinates to lead Ji Ping'an and eight others toward the buildings on the island.
After the people left, he carefully looked at the information in the book:
"The Soul Lantern Sect...a descendant of the calligraphy family...a subordinate of the Yuezhou Protector?"
He was a little surprised, but not too surprised. Practitioners are different from ordinary people. They are not locked in their place of residence. It is common for them to travel around.
But since both inheritances are considered special, he still called someone over and said:
"Send the brochure to the island master for review. He said that another powerful cult member has come to the island."
…
…
Qianjiao Island occupies a large area, but most of the area is filled with jagged rocks, green pines and cypresses.
The area suitable for living is the area on the east side of the island. Dazepai has been operating for a hundred years and is now quite large. At first glance, it feels like a "resort".
The houses are mainly bamboo buildings, dotted on both sides of the road.
At this moment, in a courtyard deep inside the island.
Xue Ji sat quietly by the window of the bamboo building, her black gauze robe hanging softly, outlining her exquisite figure and graceful curves.
Her long, shiny black hair was tied up behind her head, and her cold, snow-white, delicate and beautiful face was slightly raised, looking aimlessly at the drizzle outside the window.
His sight tried to cross the high wall, as well as the towering mountains and mist in the distance, but was firmly blocked.
"It's time for Saint Maiden to have a meal. The autumn crabs that are abundant in the black water are at their peak. Wouldn't it be a pity not to taste them?"
Footsteps approached, and an old woman in gray clothes held a tray, pushed the door open and entered the house, saying with a smile.
Xue Ji ignored her and remained as motionless as a sculpture.
The old woman was not surprised. She sighed softly, placed the tray on the table, and then began to open the autumn crabs by herself, sucking and tasting them with her leaky teeth:
"What a delicious crab. If you don't eat it, I'll accept it, old lady."
Xue Ji looked away and looked at her with disgust: "Get out."
The old woman was not annoyed, she just said "ha" and said:
"Okay, okay."
While speaking, she stood up, patted the crab shells off her hands, and suddenly said:
"I originally wanted to tell you about the news about the Great Zhou Imperial Master."
Xue Ji's body trembled, her whole body suddenly became radiant, and she hurriedly said to stay:
"Wait! Who are you talking about?!"
…
ps: Tonight I personally tested a saying: blowing the air conditioner directly will indeed cause diarrhea...
(End of chapter)
