The ferry slowly set sail. Because there was a strong formation blessing in the hull, it was not only able to resist the invasion of the undersea monsters, but also made the boat run very smoothly. Xu Huaigu sat in the room as if walking on flat ground.
Early the next morning, Xiao Cong followed Xu Huaigu's instructions and brought a whole bucket of water and put it into Gu Sanyue's room.
It turned out that the upper room of the ferry was a suite with several small rooms and a special place for drinking tea and reading. In the spacious room, Gu Sanyue had no worries about not being able to use his fists and kicks, so he couldn't let go of his boxing practice. .
Xu Huaigu also wanted to practice, so he specifically told Xiao Cong to be quiet. Since Xu Huaigu's letter was sent to the palace yesterday, although there has been no news of her sister being rescued, Xiao Cong has already confirmed this fact in her heart.
She felt that the monk in front of her was extraordinary, his behavior and demeanor were extraordinary, and he was upright and kind, so Xiao Cong obeyed his words.
Xu Huaigu asked her to be quiet, so she simply stood at the door, guarding the door, for fear that someone would disturb them.
Later, she stood alone at the door of the room for several hours without moving. She was really bored, so she took a big bag of melon seeds, sat at the door, carefully peeled the melon seeds with her hands, and put them on a plate to prepare for rest. , take it in and feed it to Xu Huaigu and Gu Sanyue.
What a coincidence. Normally, there are very few people coming and going in this room on the seventh floor, and generally no one makes any noise. But today, an uninvited guest came.
An old alchemist went upstairs at some point, followed by a little boy carrying a book box, and started shouting in the corridor.
"Fortune telling! With ten taels of silver, you can discern the secrets of heaven and turn bad luck into good luck. I can do it all!"
"With ten taels of silver, you can't be at a loss, and with ten taels of silver, you can't be fooled! Come and see me for a fortune teller!" The door of a room was suddenly pushed open by a strong man, and he roared at the old alchemist. : "My husband needs to be quiet while reading! You who are yelling are telling fortunes or are you trying to kill someone!" The old alchemist was startled and took a few steps back. Then he looked at the strong man carefully and was shocked and said: "Hey Ah, that's incredible! Brother, I see that you are burdened with karma. I'm afraid you have killed many people! You are going to have a calamity soon, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to get through it. If you can't get through it, you will die. Well, with all your karma, you will go to hell!" However, the old alchemist immediately changed his face and smiled evilly, "But fortunately you met me. I am a disciple of Cong Dao, who specializes in removing murder karma. By the way, I am adding you. The disaster will happen in a few days. I will only charge you a little more silver, fifteen taels, a conscience price. How about it?" The strong man was stunned for a moment at first, but when he heard the old alchemist talking about killing people, his face immediately turned even uglier. He stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar and cursed: "Bah! You charlatan! If you dare to talk nonsense again, believe it or not, I will cut out your tongue!" After that, he raised his fist to hit someone.
When the little Xingzi saw that her master was about to be beaten, she was even more anxious than she was being beaten. She rushed forward, hugged the strong man's leg tightly, bit him hard, and said, "You are not allowed to hit my master!" Zhuang! Han was in pain, so he lifted the little Xingzi up with one hand. Regardless of the situation, he raised his other fist and smashed it.
"Tongniu, stop!" A majestic middle-aged man's voice came from the room behind the bookstore. He yelled angrily: "Stop being rude! Come in quickly!" The strong man stopped unwillingly and glared fiercely. He glanced at the old alchemist and little Xingzi, pushed them away, snorted coldly, turned around and walked back to the room, closing the door.
It hit with a "boom". The old alchemist struggled to stand upright, looked at the closed door, sighed, and said: "If you save yourself, God will save you. If you don't save yourself, God will not save you. Little Xingzi, get up quickly, let's go on." Little Xingzi obediently packed up the things that had been spilled on the floor, picked up the bookcase again, and said, "Yes, Master!" Then the old alchemist, as if he had not suffered any pain from being late, started shouting again: "Fortune telling! Ten taels of silver. After all..." This time, no one opened the door, and the shameless old man and young man were allowed to walk through the corridor.
It wasn't until the old alchemist and Xiao Xingzi walked to the door of Xu Huaigu's room that they naturally met Xiao Cong, who was squatting at the door peeling melon seeds.
Xiao Cong said in a good voice: "Old gentleman, my guest has something important to do inside. Please be quiet and don't disturb him. I don't have much money, so I will give you these melon seeds to eat." She handed over He picked up a handful of melon seeds and went over and reminded: "Old sir, powerful people live here. Although they are rich, they don't believe in this kind of arithmetic. If you want to go, go to the first or second floor. Only if you lower the price, will someone do the math." The old alchemist took the melon seeds, put them all into his pocket, and said stubbornly: "My arithmetic cost only ten taels of silver, and I don't care if it's a penny less. Xiao Cong had no choice but to say: "Then please take care of me, old man. Please don't disturb my guests. You can go elsewhere." The old alchemist looked at Xiao Cong and said seriously: "Little girl, I see you are quite kind." , I might as well tell you something. You will also have a disaster in the next few days. If you can trust me, I will accept ten taels of silver from you and keep it to turn the disaster into good luck and tide over the disaster. And once this disaster is over, You will have great blessings to enjoy in the rest of your life." Xiao Cong smiled slightly and said: "Why does the old gentleman always talk like this to everyone he meets? You just said that the man will also have a disaster in the next few days, and it just so happens that I will also have a disaster. Is there such a coincidence? I'm just a little maid, I don't have much money, ten taels of silver should be my half-month's payment. I still have to support my family, so I'm sorry I can't give it to the old man." The old alchemist shook his head slightly, regretfully. He glanced at her and prepared to leave.
At this moment, another voice came from the room, saying: "Old sir, wait!" The door was gently pushed open, and Xu Huaigu walked out of the room.
Xiao Cong immediately stood up with the melon seeds, stood respectfully on one side of Xu Huaigu, and looked at him curiously.
Xu Huaigu raised his hands and smiled at the old alchemist: "Old sir, I haven't seen you for a long time. I didn't expect to meet you again today. It seems that you and I are really destined." The old alchemist squinted his eyes and looked at it for a while, and then suddenly realized, Said: "So it's you! That day in Xicheng, just after I told you your fortune, I was beaten by that barbarian woman! Oh, don't mention it, it's really unlucky!" Xu Huaigu still put on a smile and said: "If Mr. If you don't mind, you can come in and have a chat. I also want the old gentleman to help me tell my fortune." The old alchemist looked at him with admiration and said, "Yes, you are quite polite. Since you asked me like this Well, then I will give you a divination, but the money must not be less." Xu Huaigu said: "That's natural." The old alchemist shook his sleeves and robe, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at him with piercing eyes. Ahead, with an enigmatic look, he was about to enter Xu Huaigu's room.
But just when he was about to step in with one foot, he suddenly stopped, then frowned and asked, "The girl who hit someone last time is not here, right?" Xu Huaigu shook his head and said, "Not here." The old alchemist suddenly His frown relaxed, his face turned into a fairy-like one again, and he smiled and said: "That's good, then I'll go in." Xu Huaigu made a gesture of invitation, and the old alchemist happily followed his hand into the room. , Xiao Xingzi also went in, while he stayed to close the door.
Xiao Cong was outside the door. At this moment, she saw that the old alchemist was invited in by Xu Huaigu. She couldn't figure out Xu Huaigu's intention for a while.
But she didn't ask any more questions and was ready to squat down and continue peeling melon seeds. Xu Huaigu quickly approached her and said in a low voice: "Come in quickly, I have something to tell you." When Xiao Cong heard Xu Huaigu's anxious tone, she didn't ask anything, so she picked up a plate with half a plate of melon seeds and walked in quickly. in the room.
She put the plates away, made another pot of tea for several people, put it on the table, and waited beside Xu Huaigu.
Panting and the whirring of fists were coming from the room next door. The old alchemist asked curiously: "What is in the room next door? Why is the sound so strange?" Xu Huaigu handed him a cup of tea. He explained: "This is the woman whose fortune the old gentleman told you last time. She was on the same boat with me and was practicing boxing inside." The old alchemist's face suddenly became serious and he said, "Didn't I tell you? She has been practicing boxing in it recently. You are destined to be in trouble and cannot cross the river or the sea. Why are you on this boat again? Are you turning a deaf ear to what I said?" Xu Huaigu smiled calmly and said: "Of course we dare not disobey what the old man said. It's just that you accepted it that day. I took her ten taels of silver, but I agreed that there was a way for her to survive the disaster safely. I brought her on board because I believed in the old gentleman. I believe that the old gentleman must have a way to keep her safe." The alchemist curled his lips unhappily and said, "Of course I will keep what I said. Don't worry, I will let her get through the disaster." Xu Huaigu said, "Then I will thank the old man in advance for him. But this time I invite the old gentleman to come in, can you help me tell my fortune?" The old alchemist immediately stretched out his hand, and Xu Huaigu took out a piece of silver from his body and put it down in his palm. The old alchemist then laughed and put the silver in his hand. Putting it away, he said without thinking: "I see in your fate, although there will be a disaster in the near future, fortunately, you will have an expert to help you. Not only will your life not be affected, but it will be a good thing. Don't worry Yes." Xu Huaigu's frowning eyes relaxed, and he smiled kindly: "I see, thank you, Mr., for informing me." The old alchemist quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, thank you. If it weren't for the sake of the money, I would I'm too lazy to tell your fortune for you." The old alchemist drank a few more cups of tea, then became impatient and said, "I've also told your fortune, should you let me go? Every inch of time, every inch of gold, delaying me That's a waste of money. I'll take my leave first and come back to see you next time when I have time." Xu Huaigu quickly reached out to stop him, and then pushed Xiao Cong standing next to him with his elbow. He said to her: "Quickly give this old gentleman ten taels of silver and let him change your destiny." A glint flashed in the old alchemist's eyes.
Xiao Cong glanced at him reluctantly and said resentfully: "Is this useful?" Xu Huaigu said: "I would rather believe that he has it than that he doesn't have it. I think this old gentleman is very powerful. Give him ten taels." You will never lose your money." Xiao Cong hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly took off a jade-inlaid silver bracelet from her hand, handed it to the old alchemist, and asked, "This should be worth ten taels of silver, right?" "The old alchemist grabbed the silver bracelet, opened his old eyes, put it in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully, and said overjoyed: "It's worth it, it's definitely worth it!" He put the silver bracelet into his arms, laughed and assured: " Don't worry, girl, I will help you do something good if I accept your money. In this disaster, the girl will definitely turn danger into luck and escape." The old alchemist stopped staying and quickly walked away. He ran out of the room and said: "Little Xingzi, follow me quickly, I will take you to eat delicious food!" When he heard that there was delicious food, little Xingzi's face turned red with joy, and he pulled away. He raised his voice and replied excitedly: "Yes, Master!"
"Wait a minute." Xu Huaigu spoke up again and asked, "But I'm a little curious. Not only does the old gentleman not know our birth dates, he doesn't even know our names. How did he calculate our lives?" The old alchemist who stepped out of the door paused for a moment, then stroked his beard and said with a smile: "That's because I have a superb Taoism." Xu Huaigu said with a smile: "I see, that's okay. Please leave, old gentleman." The alchemist smiled, stepped out of the door with the other foot, and left with little Xingzi.
