In the evening, the dusk smoke is everywhere, and the scenery is vast.
On the endlessly flowing river, there is a light boat going down the river.
There was smoke rising from the stern of the boat, and the fisherwoman was preparing meals on the stove made of ashes and mud. The smoke of the stir-fry in the pot mixed with a strong aroma of beans filled the boat.
"It smells so good! What kind of food did the boatman cook?" A voice suddenly sounded from the canopy of the boat.
The person who asked the question was a white-shirted scribe in his thirties, with sharp eyebrows, a high nose, and piercing eyes. His words and deeds were quite magnanimous.
The boatman who was driving the boat stuck his head in and smiled at the white-shirted scribe: "My wife fried broad beans. If your guest is not in a hurry to go ashore to rest, I will teach her how to serve some. But the wine on the boat is not very good, I'm afraid." You are not used to drinking."
The scribe in white shirt smiled and waved his hand: "That's not necessary. Thank you boatman for your kindness! I wonder how far we are from Sutou?"
Seeing his refusal, the boatman was not too polite and replied: "We will arrive at the dock of Qu'a Town, Yunxiang County in a few minutes. This is the largest market town nearby. There are many merchants coming and going, and there are good inns where you can rest. Wait. We'll dock soon, and I'll call a few guests ashore again."
"Thank you!"
The white-robed scribe nodded with a smile and glanced diagonally across from him inadvertently.
In the corner near the bow of the ship, a young man in a dark green brocade robe, silver belt and black boots was sitting quietly with his eyes closed.
The white-shirted scribe noticed this unusual young man as soon as he got on the boat. It was not because he traveled alone with a sword at such an age. After all, there were as many young swordsmen as crucian carp crossing the river, so it was really common. Yes, but the other party's clothes are quite ingenious in terms of materials and tailoring. Although there is nothing special about them at first glance, if you take a closer look, you will see that they are not something that ordinary people can wear.
Especially because of his conceited eyes and sharp eyes, he couldn't tell what the material of the silver belt around the opponent's waist was.
With this preconception, the more the scholar in white shirt looked at him, the more he realized that the young man's demeanor was very extraordinary. Although he was just sitting quietly in a corner, he looked like green pines and strong cypresses, high and unique.
He secretly guessed the origin of the other party, and just as he was about to look away, the young man's eyes suddenly opened, his eyes bright and sharp as a knife, piercing straight into his heart.
Fortunately, the other party just glanced at him and turned to look toward the stern of the ship.
Almost at the same time, a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old suddenly got in from the stern of the boat and stumbled to the side of the white-shirted scribe, with a look of panic on his face.
Seeing his appearance, the white-robed scribe's face suddenly darkened and he yelled in a low voice: "Why are you running! What a panic!"
The young boy was still in shock, so he calmed down and said, "Master, I saw a water monster!"
Hearing this, anger appeared on the white-shirted scribe's face, and he shouted: "What water monster! What nonsense are you talking about?"
"It's absolutely true! I saw with my own eyes that a claw covered with black hair reached into the boat and begged for food from the sister-in-law who was cooking. The sister-in-law had no choice but to give it a spoonful of fried broad beans, which made the water monster squeak. He screamed and refused to let go, grabbing the fried broad beans and returning to the river!"
Hearing what the boy said so vividly, the white-shirted scribe also had a look of surprise on his face, and lowered his voice again and asked, "What does that water monster look like?"
The boy shook his head like a rattle: "The body of the water monster was outside the boat, and only its claws were stretched out. The little boy was startled, and his hands and feet were numb. How could he dare to stick his head out to see it?"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the arm of the white-shirted scribe: "Master, please don't go there. If anything goes wrong, I will die without redemption!"
The scribe in white shirt grinned in pain and hurriedly waved his sleeves away. But looking at his servant's tearful appearance, he didn't feel like criticizing this loyal servant anymore.
He stretched his neck and looked toward the stern of the ship for a long time, and saw that the ship's lady was still standing by the stove doing her business. He was slightly relieved and told the boy in a deep voice: "It doesn't matter even if there is a water monster. It's heading towards the ship." Mom is asking for broad beans. She must be a vegetarian, so she shouldn't be harmful to anyone. Don't make any further noise. As soon as the ship docks, we will go far away. We will take the land route in the next few days. "
When the young man heard this, he immediately
With his backbone, he nodded firmly and said, "I listen to you!"
The scribe in white shirt ignored him, but subconsciously glanced at the young man diagonally opposite, only to see that the young man was also looking at him with a smile on his face.
He couldn't help but be stunned, and then he bowed his hands to the other party and said, "I wonder what you think, young hero?"
The young hero mentioned by the white-shirted scribe is naturally Qi Jingzhi.
After he left Chaozhou City, he walked eastward, relying on Jiao Yulang's money bag. He had no worries about eating and drinking on boats or horses along the way. He originally wanted to change his clothes, but then he thought about it. This was a gift from an old friend. , and there are no special marks, so there is really no need to stop eating because of choking. If you really encounter Qing Yuanzi, Xin Changji, etc. and those few mountaineers, no matter what you wear, it will be useless.
After he had traveled hundreds of miles with caution, leaving Chaozhou and entering Junzhou without seeing anyone following him, he felt completely relieved.
Faced with the overture of kindness from the white-robed scribe, Qi Jingzhi immediately returned the salute with cupped fists: "There was indeed a foreign object following the stern of the ship just now. It has gone far away now. I think it's no big deal."
Somehow, when the white-shirted scribe heard what he said, his mood immediately calmed down, and a smile appeared on his face: "I am Wei Yingdian, who was previously a doctor in the Ministry of Rites in Beijing. Now he resigned and left the capital to return to Xunyang County, Junzhou to worship his ancestors. , I wonder what the young hero’s surname is?”
"Oh, it turns out to be Mr. Wei."
Qi Jingzhi smiled and said: "Qi Jingzhi, a hunter in the mountains in Huaide County, Xialin Prefecture, has a white body."
"It turns out that the young hero actually has the surname of the country, which is disrespectful and disrespectful! Wei has only served as a humble official and cannot be called an adult!"
Orion, Bai Shen, etc., Wei Yingdian obviously didn't believe it, but he didn't show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he became more polite: "It's fate to be on the same boat. If Qi Shaoxia doesn't dislike it, how about you and I treating each other as brothers?"
Qi Jing was startled, but the word fate touched his mind. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and smiling: "That's fine."
As he spoke, he stood up and stepped out of the boat canopy: "It's a little stuffy in this boat. How about Brother Wei follow me to the bow of the boat to get some fresh air?"
Naturally, Wei Yingdian got what he wanted, so he immediately stood up happily and followed closely with his servant.
The three of them stood on the bow of the boat, and immediately felt the river breeze blowing on their faces. In front of them were the shadows of three or five sails, and the vast outline of the river and sky, and their hearts suddenly felt at ease. Especially the two masters and servants of the Wei family, most of the worries in their hearts disappeared immediately.
When the boatman saw them coming out to enjoy the wind, he just said he couldn't wait any longer. He raised his hand and pointed at the dark shadow between the water and the sky in front of him and said, "Guests, under that hill is the dock of Qu'a Town."
The three of them looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough they saw a faint smoke from a house.
After staying for a while, the pier was visible in the distance, becoming more and more distinct.
Wei Yingdian's mood became more and more comfortable, and he suddenly opened his mouth and recited: "Under the setting sun, drinking and leisurely, two or three voyages have not landed. It is late at night in the fragrant thatched cottage of Luohua Shui, and the fish sellers are scattered at the end of the broken bridge."
Qi Jingzhi stood aside and could hear a bit of leisurely mood in it: "This person is quite open-minded. Just now he was very afraid of the water monster that the boy said. He didn't want to forget about it in the blink of an eye."
Qi Jingzhi had just closed his eyes and sat quietly. His perception of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was extremely keen. When the foreign object in the water climbed up the stern of the boat, he felt it. Although he did not know what it was, he did not detect any malice from the other party, especially the cook. It was obviously not the first time for the fisherman to deal with this situation, so she just let it go.
I heard Wei Yingdian continue: "Brother Qi, although I have not returned to my hometown for many years, I still remember that the rice wine produced in Qu'a Town, Yunxiang County is excellent and is famous for its mellow and refreshing taste. When we get ashore later, Brother Yu must buy it. Serve some fresh fish, take them to the inn and let the store prepare a table of delicious dishes, and then have a drink with the old lady!"
Without waiting for Qi Jingzhi's response, the boatman on the side shook his head: "At this time, guests can't buy fish on the dock. They can only try their luck in inns and wine shops. These places usually have a lot of fish prepared."
Wei Yingdian was stunned when he heard this: "Why is this? It's far from the time when the sun sets."
He pointed to several nearby boats that were also heading towards the pier: "With so many merchants coming and going on the river, there must be many who want to buy fish to go with wine. Fishmongers
How can we not make any money? "
Hearing this, the boatman shook his head again: "It's not that you can't make money if you have money. There is only one old man selling fish in Qu'a Town, and he only sells fish for half a day, and he doesn't wait until after noon."
"Boatman, the more you talk, the more nonsense you say! How can there be only one fishmonger in such a big market town?"
Wei Yingdian obviously didn't believe it, and said with suspicion on his face: "Qu'a guards this Xunjiang River, how come there are no fishmongers who rely on the water to draw water? Besides, just one old man selling fish can't supply the entire market town. ?」
"Of course we can provide it." The boatman replied in a muffled voice and stopped talking.
"Hey, from what you're saying as a boatman, it sounds like the old man has taken over all the fish in this section of the Xun River, and he only sells them for half a day, not until noon..."
Before Wei Yingdian could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt his sleeve being pulled from behind.
He stopped talking, looked back, and saw his young man pointing towards the river with an uncomfortable look on his face, and whispered: "Master, please don't say a few words. I'm afraid this place has some rules that are different from other places."
Wei Yingdian was startled when he heard this, and then he came to his senses. He glanced at the boatman not far away and calmly closed his mouth.
Qi Jingzhi listened silently for a long time, feeling amused and surprised at the same time, and immediately asked: "Boatman, do you have any fresh fish on your boat? It's the same thing if you sell two to us."
The boatman immediately shook his head: "Not only the fishmongers, but also those of us who sail on the river cannot catch or sell fish in this area."
"Oh? What a big rule!"
Hearing this, Qi Jingzhi was not only surprised but also a little angry. This is like someone occupying all the wild animals in Xiaosong Mountain and not allowing others to hunt in the mountain. How overbearing and arrogant is this?
He didn't ask any more about the reason. He just looked at the boatman's increasingly cautious expression and knew that asking was in vain as he would not cause trouble to others. Maybe we can get some clues when we meet the old man selling fish tomorrow.
While he was talking, the boat was slowly approaching the shore.
Qi Jingzhi and his master and servant settled the boat fare and followed the boatman's guidance to find the largest inn in the town.
In such a short time, Wei Yingdian acted like a normal person again, completely forgetting all the previous speculations and unhappiness. The first thing he did when he entered the inn was to ask the innkeeper if he had fresh fish and Qu'a rice wine. When he got an affirmative answer, I just had to drag my new acquaintance Qi to have a drink.
While Qi Jingzhi couldn't laugh or cry, he could more or less imagine how aggrieved this dear man would be in the Ministry of Rites, which pays the most attention to etiquette and rules. It's no wonder that he had to resign and return home.
Since the young man couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to be respectful rather than obey.
The two of them immediately found a table in a quiet corner and sat down, sipping on a plate of peanuts and a plate of cold mixed fish.
The bright orange-yellow wine with absolutely no impurities is poured into the bowl, exuding a rich aroma. After entering the mouth, you will feel the freshness, sweetness, and salivation.
After three or five bowls of rice wine, Qi Jingzhi was aroused by Wei Yingdian.
The experiences between him and Wei Yingdian were very different. Naturally, there was no such thing as meeting a close friend and a thousand cups would be too little. However, they also experienced a bit of the unrestrained and heroic feeling of meeting a close friend and drinking for him.
In the eyes of Qi Jingzhi, a young man from the countryside, compared with the two ordinary dishes and a bowl of old country wine, whether it is the rare and rare night banquet on Caojiang River or the extremely wealthy and illustrious Dragon Mother in Chaozhou City, Birthday banquets are too dull and boring.
So at the end, when the young man raised the wine jar high and drank the remaining half of the jar of rice wine in one gulp, when he looked at Wei Yingdian again, the former doctor of the Ministry of Rites of Da Qi had already crawled under the table.
Qi Jingzhi, who had improved his cultivation and was only slightly drunk at this time, helped Wei Yingdian to the bed with the Wei family boy, and then returned to his room.
He did not rest on the pillow, but sat cross-legged on the couch and took out Qi Huchan and the last small piece of East China Sea heavy iron.
Introducing gold energy to repair a sharp knife is a difficult and delicate task. Qi Jingzhi has regarded it as part of his own practice, and he practices it diligently every day.
To this day, not only the Niuerjian Dao has been repaired, but most of it has been repaired.
, even his own practice and the red gold beads have benefited a lot.
In the process, he gradually discovered that compared with fine iron, burnt steel and flower pots, the gold energy contained in the East China Sea sunk iron was the purest, and Qi Huchan had the greatest benefit and was the most difficult to induce, so even if he passed After all this time, there is still some leftover. It's just that this last small piece of heavy iron weighs too little and is obviously not enough for use. It is necessary to find another good iron material.
Now Qi Jingzhi's horizons on the path of spiritual practice are gradually broadening. In his opinion, Qi Huchan's absorption of golden energy is just like his own Dianxia practice. There is no doubt that the purer the golden energy, the more solid the foundation of his younger brother. The more stable it is, so it is best to make some choices when choosing iron materials, and it is better to have less than too much.
Qi Jingzhi has already decided that before he can find better iron materials, he will only use heavy iron to feed Qi Huchan and Chi Jinzhu. Fortunately, the Liaozhou he is going to belongs to the East China Sea, so there will be no shortage of it. Good heavy iron.
It is worth mentioning that after killing the paper-armored boy of the same realm with one sword, Qi Jingzhi finally became more fond of Jian Renshou, whose origins were not entirely innocent and his true identity was still unknown, and he was ready to feed him equally.
Unexpectedly, Jian Renshou was so ungrateful that he didn't even take a bite. He didn't know whether it was because there was no spirit in the knife that made him so ungrateful, or whether the golden energy from the heavy iron in the East China Sea didn't suit his taste.
After some practice, Qi Jingzhi visualized the angry crane in his heart and gradually entered the deepest state of concentration.
The night was getting darker, and I don't know how long it had passed. Qi Huchan, who was placed on the young man's lap, suddenly jumped up and pulled out a section of the blade on its own.
Immediately afterwards, a clear sound of a sword resounded throughout the entire inn!
