After Mr. Yu gave Jining the jade pendant and the incomprehensible book, he sent Jining to play somewhere else.
Then he said to the old Taoist priest: "Although you and I came here to escape from the world, it can be regarded as atonement, and we are also pursuing the vast immortal way, but we have no immortal destiny and have not been able to do so. I have been away from home for more than ten years, although I have gone back to stay for a while. After a few times, I realized that my heart is still tied to the mortal world. This time I am going to go back and spend the rest of my life. When you and I meet today, we have put it aside and hope that you and I will take care of each other!"
The old Taoist priest looked a little lonely and nodded, clasping his fists towards Yu Qingyuan to say goodbye, and then greeted the young Taoist priest to prepare to return to the Taoist temple.
The little Taoist priest played with the jade pendant given by Yu Qingyuan and carefully examined some special patterns on the jade pendant. He did not feel anything strange about the master and jumped around like a little bird.
After playing with it for a while, he put the jade pendant on his body. He felt that this jade pendant was a little different, because he felt that his mind seemed to be clearer after wearing it.
Time flies, and two years have passed by in an instant.
In the early morning, a crisp bird chirping broke the tranquility here. In the backyard of the Taoist temple, a young Taoist priest was practicing sword skills. The shadow of his sword was like a dragon entering the sea. After hearing the bird's song, he suddenly made a shadow of his sword. The young man The Taoist priest put away his sword. Then the young Taoist priest sprinkled some grains on the stone table in the yard. At this time, a green bird as big as a dove jumped onto the stone table and started eating by itself. The bird looked full of spirituality.
The young Taoist priest ignored the bird, and then began to breathe and meditate beside it. The little Taoist priest who was once was now a young adult of sixteen or seventeen years old.
After the young Taoist priest and his master met Mr. Yu together, less than a year after returning to the Taoist temple, the master returned on a crane.
When the master was dying, he handed over which book he had never left his body to the little Taoist priest, hoping that he could get a glimpse of the secret and embark on a different path from him.
Later, the young Taoist priest learned that what his master had left for him was a Taoist Taoist classic called The Secret of Immortality. He heard from his master that if he could get started, he would be able to glimpse the immortal way.
Jining has been practicing the Secret of Immortality according to the classics for more than a year, but he doesn't feel anything special until now. He just feels that his mind is much clearer than before after practicing this.
After several hours of meditation and breathing, Jining slowly opened his eyes and exhaled softly.
He saw this emerald-green bird jumping happily beside him. After he started practicing the Immortality Art for a while, this bird came from nowhere, and then followed Jining every day.
The green bird began to chirp after seeing Jining open his eyes.
Jining ignored it and walked to the kitchen to get some dry food and a medicine basket. It seemed that he was going to the mountain to collect medicine. Since Master Jiahexian left, Jining's livelihood has basically come from collecting herbs in the mountains. Occasionally, he has also helped farmers and fishermen in nearby small villages to see doctors.
When the green bird saw Jining carrying a medicine basket up the mountain to collect herbs, it jumped onto the medicine basket and followed Jining into the mountain...
In the early morning, the smoke and willow mist by the river are vague, and occasionally you can hear the shouts of fishermen in the heavy fog of the Yulong River. There is a street called Hebin Street next to the river, which is the most prosperous area of Hekou City. There are many kinds of shops.
Although it is still early, many shops on the street are already ready to open for business. The waiters in the shops are rubbing their sleepy eyes, slowly stacking the door panels next to the door, stretching, some sorting the goods, and dusting off the goods with dusters. of dust.
A large number of people gathered around the fishermen who had just landed on the open space on the dock by the river, picking up fresh fish that the fishermen had just caught, and the sound of bargaining could be heard endlessly.
Although it is early in the morning, there is already a bustle of people in the teahouse called "Ivy" by the river. The name of the teahouse sounds elegant, but in fact it is just a big shed set up by the river, with more than a dozen old teahouses inside. wooden square table.
There were many merchants coming and going at the estuary, and the teahouse became a happy gathering place for merchants and locals. Gradually, the habit of drinking morning tea was formed in the estuary. Due to its affordable prices, Ivy Teahouse has become a favorite place for local people to visit.
When there are more people, the teahouse also becomes a place for rumors and strange stories to spread. Local people like to come here to hear strange stories even if they have nothing to do. Far away in the teahouse, I could hear the shouts between the waiter and the tea guests, and the crisp clanking of bowls, making the teahouse seem a bit noisy.
The teahouse was always noisy, but the sudden sound of a particularly loud voice in the corner of the teahouse still aroused everyone's thoughts. "Did you know? The herb collection team of Qijia Pharmacy came back from the Yulong Mountains a few days ago. I heard that a large number of medicinal materials were collected at the foot of Lujiao Mountain in the Yulong Mountains, including century-old Poria grass and other precious medicinal materials. It seems that this Ciqijia Pharmacy is really going to make a lot of money."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a thin build and a sparse beard at the corner of his mouth. Everyone turned around after hearing the words.
At this time, a big man dressed as a farmer who was sitting not far from the skinny middle-aged man took over after hearing the words: "Chen Laipi, your news is true or false. Poria grass is already a treasure even if it is ten years old." , it is rarely seen on the market now. I heard that Poria cocos is the main medicinal material used in making Yiqi pills in the world. This pill is very famous in the world. I also heard that Poria cocos has not been made for hundreds of years. Yiqi Pills, taking Poria cocos directly can cure all kinds of diseases."
Someone on the side also said: "I heard that the price of a ten-year-old Poria cocos plant is about ten taels of silver. The hundred-year-old Poria cocos plant can be sold for a sky-high price. However, there are often herb collection teams at the foot of Lujiao Mountain. I don’t think it’s credible that this medicinal material has not been harvested for such a long time.”
Chen Laipi pursed his lips and said: "Who doesn't know that I, Mr. Chen, am well-informed? For sharing such a big news with you, just don't thank me. You dare to question me, Mr. Chen. It seems that next time, I, Mr. Chen, will I won’t tell everyone the big news.”
The big man who just spoke took over Chen Laipi's words and said: "You Chen Laipi are talking about someone Chen. People who don't know you think it's Mr. Chen who is talking. And if you don't tell us the next time you have news, it doesn't matter to us. I'm afraid you'll hold it in yourself." Then the teahouse burst into laughter.
For ordinary people whose annual income is only a few taels of silver, although they are envious, they don't take it seriously, because entering the foothills of Lujiao Mountain to collect medicine is earned with one's life, not to mention that the place where these medicinal materials are produced is not a deep valley filled with miasma. , just on the towering cliffs. Everyone gradually changed the topic. You and I were laughing and joking, and the elders and younger members of the family were chatting. This may be why everyone likes to drink tea in teahouses.
Amidst the noise of everyone's discussion, three middle-aged men wearing brocade clothes and looking like merchants were sitting on a table by the window of the teahouse near the river. After hearing everyone's discussion, they all slowly lowered their heads and took a sip of tea. One of them, who was slender and looked like an elegant scholar, gently placed the teacup on the table, his slender white fingers carrying a soft melody. He lightly knocked on the table and said: "We originally went to Hekou City to look for Mr. Yu. Although we didn't find Mr. Yu this time, it's not bad to get this batch of medicinal materials. When we have a good drink of tea, we can go to Qijia Pharmacy to see if we can You cannot buy this batch of medicinal materials."
A fat middle-aged man with a dark complexion sitting opposite him was about to speak after hearing this, but he saw the elegant scholar's hand gently pressing down. The elegant scholar continued: "The Jade Dragon Snow Tea in the small town of Hekou is... This is such a good tea, but it is hard to drink in other places in Lu State, so you should taste it well."
A middle-aged man with a medium build and a fleshy face next to him took over: "Brother, we are different from you. Although Jade Dragon Snow Tea is good, we still prefer drinking. I can't understand why eldest brother likes drinking tea so much."
A dark-skinned companion next to him also nodded. The middle-aged elegant scholar smiled after hearing this and continued to drink the tea in his hand.
Suddenly, a frightened and crying cry came from a distance: "It's not good, someone is killed."
Then everyone saw a child in tattered clothes and a frightened face rushing toward him while crawling away.
A young man in official uniform walked out of the teahouse and grabbed the collar of the little boy who ran over: "Little beggar, what's going on? You came out and screamed early in the morning. Be careful, I'll cut your tongue."
The little boy raised his head with panic on his face and stammered: "Captain Wang, someone died at Qi's Pharmacy. I was at the back door of Qi's Pharmacy just now and saw several people lying in the backyard. The ground was covered with blood... …woo woo woo woo". Mr. Wang didn't wait for the little beggar to finish speaking, and hurriedly said to a young man next to him in similar clothes: "Li Hu, you go back and inform the county magistrate. I'll go and take a look first."
Without waiting for Li Hu to respond, he quickly ran towards Qijia Pharmacy.
Everyone in the teahouse sighed for a while. There were many merchants and customers coming and going in Hekou City, and occasionally murders occurred. However, this was the first time such a tragedy happened. The people drinking tea also stood up and walked towards the Qijia Pharmacy.
People were just envious of Qijia Pharmacy for being able to collect a large number of precious herbs, but as soon as they turned around they discovered that such a tragedy had happened in Qijia Pharmacy. It was a blessing and a disaster.
Although the small town at the mouth of the river is lively, it is not very large. News of this massacre spread throughout the city in an instant. Everyone was frightened when they heard the news, and every household was panicked. However, there were still bold people who wanted to see what was going on and walked towards the Qijia Pharmacy.
At this time, the elegant middle-aged man in brocade clothes by the window became a little ugly after hearing the news. He also put down the tea in his hand and asked the other two to go out together. However, those who were careful could see that they were leaving. The pace was more urgent. At this time, the teahouse was thrown into chaos by the news of the massacre. No one noticed the three people leaving in a hurry.
