It is getting late, but it is not yet dark on the horizon. The mountains have turned into deep black shadows. The yellow and blue lights on the horizon are reflected in the water together with the silhouettes of the mountains, and the river is also dyed with color. A small boat was traveling with the waves. From a distance, the lights on the boat were no bigger than a soybean. They were reflected in the water and were wrinkled by the evening breeze.
The boatman sat on the bow of the boat, holding a long pole in his hand.
The fishing line is like water, with little ripples.
The boatman suddenly raised his pole and reached out to catch it.
Seeing it was just a small fish, he threw it casually on the cabin.
"Puff puff..."
Fish were dancing in the cabin.
The boatman just smiled and said to the calico cat:
"For you."
"Meow~"
The calico cat thanked him, then lowered his head and started eating.
The scholar also sat on the edge of the boat blowing the wind and watching the boatmen fishing. From time to time, he stretched out his hand. It was so close to the water that he could touch the water without stretching his hand.
Suddenly he smiled, pointed to the side and said to the boatman:
"Look, my husband, you have been fishing so hard, but you have only caught one fish less than two fingers wide, and now there is a fish floating here, right in front of me! This is mocking you..."
As he said that, he used his other hand to support the window edge so that he could lean out and stretch his hand out as if he wanted to catch the fish.
"Don't go get it!"
The boatman immediately turned around and said.
"Um?"
The scholar retracted his hand like lightning and looked at the boatman:
"Why?"
The boatman's face softened, he smiled, and said to the scholar:
"Sir, please don't go get it."
"What's the point?"
"It's not that particular. Even those of us who run boats and fish at night won't touch this kind of fish floating on the water's edge, not far or near, as if we could catch it if we stretch out our hands a little more." The boatman said. Continuing to sit on the bow of the boat and fish, the voice floated in the night wind, "I'm just used to it."
The scholar seemed to be interested.
"Master, please elaborate."
"What's the matter..."
"There must be something special about it!"
"My guest, please don't embarrass me."
"Don't dare to embarrass me! I don't know something. I've always loved hearing stories and rumors like this all my life. Please tell me."
"Nothing else. It's just that although the fish looks close, it has to stretch out an extra hand. If you stretch out an extra hand, there is an increased risk of falling into the water."
"That's it?"
"Guest officer, please note, how can grain fall from the sky today? Most of the things that come for free are not simple." The boatman sat motionless, focusing only on fishing, "Just like this fish in front of your eyes, your guest feels that he only needs to lean over and explore. You can get it with your hands, but if you lean down, if there is a little devil below, you can take advantage of your carelessness..."
The boatman stopped laughing mid-sentence.
"oh?"
The scholar raised his eyebrows, fearful and excited at the same time: "Has anything like this happened before on the Liujiang River?"
The boatman still smiled and said nothing, focusing only on fishing.
"My father-in-law, please don't be stingy."
"It's really insignificant."
"If I wish, I can pay for some tea."
It can be seen that the scholar really loves to listen to stories. In this case, the boatman can't refuse anymore. He pondered for a while and then patiently told the story.
"When I was young, I heard someone say that it is best not to touch the fish you can pick up if you take another step into the water, or the medicinal herbs you can pick if you take another step to the cliff. However, you are young and energetic. It's not that I don't believe this kind of statement. I usually believe it, but when it was my turn, I couldn't remember it until I saw such an incident happen with my own eyes.
"..."
There are quite a few weird stories on this Liujiang boat.
The boatman talked several times in succession.
It's just like a scholar who is greedy for gain, thinking that it's good luck from heaven, or walking by the river in the middle of the night and seeing someone falling into the water, or something else, and he is harmed by monsters.
Song You was also listening quietly.
Before I knew it, the fish that was floating close to the water and half a meter away from the boat was no longer there.
Most monsters and ghosts in this world are like this.
There is no need to say more about ghosts and ghosts. Unless you are a very advanced person, you have to put some thought into harming people.
Monsters are so different that it’s hard to say.
Like the tiger I met a few days ago. The tiger is the king of the mountains. Even if it has not yet opened its spiritual intelligence, it is just a little smarter than its kind. It knows how to bully the weak, avoid the strong, and identify traps. It can already make a group of young men and hunters in Lijia Village unable to do anything about it. If it harms people, The consequences are disastrous.
But if it is a rabbit, even if it becomes a spirit and develops spiritual wisdom, it may be beaten to death by someone with a stick, or it may be accidentally picked up by an eagle.
Let’s take another example of the common fox in stories.
They are more or less carnivores, but many foxes have become spirits and transformed into spirits. Before they were not good enough, they blended into the human world and had to avoid the keen village dogs.
This is an innate difference, and there is something wonderful about it if you think about it carefully.
Imps and demons are not strong enough. If they want to harm people, they have to rely on deception and temptation to make people relax their vigilance and fall into a trap.
But it’s not necessarily that he wants to harm people. Many aquatic animals have gained wisdom and will use fish to catch birds or other fish. Catching people is just an accident. It doesn't necessarily mean it's the work of demons. The boat traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles on the water, and there were many uninhabited places along the way. Sometimes the boatman had evil intentions and killed his guests, claiming that it was the work of evil spirits.
After the boatman finished speaking, the scholar was delighted.
"The little old man can't speak..."
"My husband, please don't say that. This kind of story is most moving when told in the simplest tone, as if it happened right around you." The scholar said, and quickly turned back and entered the boat, "I have to write it down quickly. , if I forget, I will lose the five cents of tea money."
A few stories and five cents of tea money are worth it.
There was a chill on the river at night, and it was cold outside.
Song You patted the bay-red horse's neck: "I've been asking you to stay here for the past few days. It's better not to say anything. But if something happens, just call me loudly."
The bay horse stood still and said nothing.
Instead, the scholar's laughter came from behind: "It's really interesting, little sir. It's quite common to talk to cats. Now you talk to horses. Could it be that your horse has become a spirit and can understand human speech?"
Song You smiled and turned to look.
When the boatman was telling stories earlier, he had caught several big fish and made soup in advance. Now the heat was rising on the small stove. In the heat, the scholar used his clothes box as a table, covered it with straw paper, and carried it in his hands. He put the brush in his mouth to wet it and buried his head in writing.
Song You also entered the cabin and took a casual look.
It is exactly the story told by the boatman just now.
After that, the scholar immersed himself in writing and stopped talking.
Looking at the boatman again, he first used the soup made from fish bones and fish heads, then carefully packed the meat on the fish and cut it into thin slices. When the fish soup was ready, only the translucent and delicate fish fillets were poured in. In the pot, after just one roll, it turned as white as snow, and the aroma became more and more attractive.
"There's nothing good to eat on the ship. It's all here all day long. Guest officers, don't be offended."
The boatman took the dishes and chopsticks from the low cabinet.
The scholar had just finished writing, so he was not polite and immediately went to get a bowl. Like the owner of the boat, he greeted Song You, then the family of three, and served them soup.
Song You also got a bowl and thanked him.
It's very cold on the river, but the heat in the bowl is strong.
Before I even started my mouth, I could feel the temperature in my hand that was in sharp contrast to the outside, and I was already feeling something.
"Um!!"
The scholar's voice sounded first.
"My husband is so good at his craftsmanship!"
"But it's not really a craft. Everyone who makes it tastes like this." The boatman laughed, "Guest, I just took the first sip and felt comfortable. It stayed like this for the next few days. It was either fish soup or fish mixed with meat to cook a pot of porridge. , a few more meals will make you tired.”
"My father-in-law is being humble. He just sailed upstream from the Liujiang River to Yizhou two years ago. The boatman on the boat at that time also made it in the same way, but it was not as good as my husband's taste."
"I dare not say that!"
Song You listened and lowered his head to take a sip.
The fish soup almost only contains salt and ginger. It has a slight salty taste but no fishy smell. The freshly caught fish has its own delicious taste, but there is no other taste, so it is normal at this point.
Mainly the fish fillet that comes later.
The fish fillets were very thin and none of the fish bones were missing, so it required some knife skills and patience. The fish meat that was placed at the end was very tasty. It was only rolled twice in the pot, and the fish skin was even a little crisp when you first ate it. It was completely different from those methods where the fish meat was put into the pot and stewed together at the beginning.
This boatman is quite humble.
Even if it is indeed not very fancy, sometimes it is more difficult to do simple things well. Isn't this a skill?
"call……"
Song You exhaled hot air and felt extremely comfortable.
Then he lowered his head and glanced at the calico cat next to him.
"Miss Sanhua, do you want to eat?"
The calico cat said nothing, only shrank back.
The scholar looked funny again.
After finishing the fish soup, he came to talk to Song You again:
"Where are you from, sir?"
"People from Yizhou."
"Oh? Where is Yizhou?"
"Lingquan County."
"Lingquan County?"
The scholar suddenly became interested: "I have also been to Lingquan County during my trip to Yizhou."
"The next step is..."
"You haven't reported your family status yet. How rude!" The scholar quickly smiled and cupped his hands, "My surname is Fu. The Taifu's Fu has a single name of "Yu" and the courtesy name is Wendong. He is from Xuzhou and Dujun."
"Song You, whose name is Menglai, is from a mountain in Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"Sir, are you practicing in Lingquan County?"
"Hisama is very surprised."
"It's not that I'm surprised, I just have something to ask." The scholar raised his hand and said, "Since you are practicing in Lingquan County, have you ever heard of Fulong Temple in Yin Yang Mountain?"
"I've heard of it."
Song You still looked at him calmly.
"To be honest, I went to Yizhou this time, firstly to visit relatives and friends, and secondly, to visit Yinyang Mountain to visit Fulong Temple." The scholar couldn't help but shook his head, showing regret and remorse, "But I went to Lingquan County After searching in many places, I finally found Yin Yang Mountain, but I searched all over the mountain, not to mention the palaces and temples, and I couldn't find a single brick or tile on the mountain."
"Is Fulong Temple famous? Where did you hear about it?"
"It's not that it's famous. I just like this Taoist practice and like to collect legends about gods, ghosts and monsters. I accidentally discovered that several good rumors collected happened to mention this Taoist temple. Out of curiosity, I took this opportunity to think about it. I went to look for him, but I came back in vain and wasted many days."
As he spoke, he looked at Song You.
"Isn't Fulong Temple not on Yin Yang Mountain? Or is there another Yin Yang Mountain? Did I inquire wrongly?"
"You don't know what you're doing with just one step."
Song You still told him calmly: "The Fulong Temple is quite strange. Even if pilgrims at the foot of the mountain want to offer incense, they can only find the Taoist temple when the temple owner wants to open the door. At other times, even if they walk along the well-known road , and can only return in vain.”
"really?"
“You can’t do anything fake.”
"Such a strange thing happened!!"
"I heard that the master of Fulong Temple is lazy by nature, and there is only one disciple who is still diligent. Maybe it's not that I didn't find the position, but I just didn't get the timing right."
"It's wonderful..."
The scholar opened his eyes wide and flapped his hands.
"Since there is such a magical place, it must be a famous fairy mountain. If I have another chance in the future, I will go look for it again!"
"What year will it be in the future?"
"I'm afraid it will be many years later."
"May all your wishes come true."
"Thank you so much..."
Song You leaned in the cabin, Sanhua Empress was lying next to him, and he put his hand on Sanhua Empress's back, transferring body heat to each other, and gradually became sleepy.
