Sword of Coming

Yi Cheng informed everyone that there is no night ban in Hongzhu Town. There is a market in the west of the town. Although the sparrow is small, it has all kinds of internal organs and all kinds of groceries. Knowing that Chen Ping'an and his party were going to buy items for the study tour, Cheng Sheng, the Yi Cheng, offered to be the guide, saying that it would save a lot of trouble. At least those merchants would not dare to ask for excessive prices. Chen Ping'an looked forward to those who had been to Hongzhu Town once. Ah Liang, the man in the bamboo hat nodded and said that he was only familiar with the scenery on both sides of the river and had never been to Fangshi.

Yi Cheng looked at A Liang, the two old men, and smiled knowingly.

There are nearly a hundred large and small boats in Fushui Bay. They sail out of the bay every night and enter Hongzhu Town along the river. After a circle, they return to Fushui Bay. During this period, men will continue to board those boats to get drunk and buy money. laugh.

In Hongzhu Town, although the girls from Fushuiwan boatmen and other brothel girls are all from Dali, the former has always been directly responsible for the management of household certificates by the Jiaofang Secretary in the capital. Even the county magistrate, who is the official of one of the parents, has not Qualification will change the identity of the woman on the boat from lowly to good. Therefore, there have always been rumors in Hongzhu Town that the ancestors of the five surnames in Fushui Bay were once the royal children of the Shenshui Dynasty and a distinguished family.

Under the guidance of Cheng Sheng, the local snake postmaster, Chen Ping'an and the others went to the market in the west of the town. The farther west they went, the more crowded the streets became. They learned that Hongzhu Town took a boat to go south for more than two hundred miles, and there were people along the way. The town station could supply supplies, so Chen Pingan gave up some ideas and did not buy too much rice, bacon and other food. However, he bought a lot of ointments and medicinal materials at a drug store to deal with minor illnesses such as wind, cold, heatstroke, and injuries. When it was time to spend money, Chen Pingan realized that just like his hometown town, a whole silver ingot was a rarity, so he converted the two ingots of snowflake-patterned silver into Dali general copper coins and Tianhua Yuanbao, because he had a high-grade silver ingot. The premium for the best silver was as high as two hundred cents, which made Chen Ping'an very grateful to the Xiuxiu girl in the blacksmith shop.

Because Cheng Sheng, the postmaster, was by his side, everything went smoothly. In small towns in counties and counties, subordinates should not be dismissed as officials, especially Cheng Sheng, who often dealt with wealthy gentry, wealthy businessmen, and detaining officials throughout the year. In small towns, ordinary people In his eyes, he was a big shot with hands and eyes that could reach the sky. Therefore, in every shop that Chen Ping'an and the others entered, they all called Master Cheng diligently, wishing they could enshrine this Master Yi Cheng as a Bodhisattva.

Along the way, Li Huai was very reserved. He almost only dared to hide behind A Liang and poke his head in. A Liang teased him because he was timid and only knew how to behave in a nest. Li Huai just raised his voice and wanted to fight with A Liang for three hundred rounds, but when curious glances came from all around, Li Huai immediately lowered his head and followed A Liang sickly. With a slap on Li Huai's head, the child dared not speak out in anger, and felt very aggrieved.

Lin Shouyi still looked cold and indifferent as if the matter had nothing to do with him. It is estimated that the young man is walking on the royal road in the capital with this kind of behavior.

Only Li Baoping was carrying her green bamboo box on her back, like a crab running rampant, with her head raised and chest puffed out. She wished she could just pick up a random person on the side of the road and tell him that her little book box was made by her junior uncle. .

Fangshi consists of two north-south streets. After visiting Guanshan Street, Chen Ping'an and the others were about to cross the alley to go to the next Guanshui Street. As a result, they passed by a deserted bookstore in the alley. Yi Cheng led the way. Cheng Sheng went straight forward, but Chen Pingan stopped. After saying hello to Yi Cheng, he smiled at Li Baoping and the others: "One person can buy a book. No matter how expensive it is, it doesn't matter, as long as we buy it I can afford it.”

The shop is very small, and the door is only two feet wide. After walking in, there are two rows of tall book walls on the left and right. In the innermost part of the shop, there is a young man wearing a black gown sitting on a small bamboo chair with his legs crossed. He was closing his eyes to relax, holding a folded fan in his hand, tapping his palms gently, and humming a tune.

The young shopkeeper has a handsome, feminine and outstanding face, without the coppery smell of the previous shopkeepers.

When the girl Zhu Lu saw it for the first time, she was stunned. She probably didn't expect to meet such a refined and elegant person in the market of Hongzhu Town.

After the land lord of Qidun Mountain got rid of his shackles, he regained his status as a god and transformed from a short old man in white to a noble son with a beautiful tree in front of the wind. However, in the girl's mind, Wei Bo was still more of the untidy and untidy image. But the first impression given by the young master in front of him was too vivid.

Even Zhu He was suspicious. Could this person be a son of a wealthy family whose family was in decline? Compared to the two young masters of my family, they are not bad at all.

The young man did not open his eyes and said lazily: "There is no bargaining on the books in the store. Whether you make a profit or a loss later depends on the customer's discernment."

Cheng Sheng, the Yi Cheng, said softly to Zhu He: "This shop is famous in our Hongzhu Town. Most of the scholars who pass by here like to come here for a visit. However, this shop owner has a weird temper, and all the books he sells are much higher than The market price, and anyone who dared to bargain would be kicked out on the spot. He had a noble character and was not familiar with common people's affairs. There was once a household official who paid a private visit in disguise and stayed at the villain's pillow inn. The gentleman fell in love with it. I bought an orphan book with a price of three hundred taels of silver, but after only counter-offering fifty taels of silver, I kicked him out of the shop without saving any face. He was so angry that the official did not calm down when he returned to the inn, and almost let the county official The government closed down this small shop, probably because it thought it would get a bad reputation, so it escaped disaster."

Zhu He knew clearly in his heart that he was probably a rotten scholar who was not familiar with the world. He was the kind of person that his second son liked to ridicule. He called him a person who usually talked about his nature with his hands down, but who died to repay the king when in danger. The second young master still smiled and said that he could not tell for two hundred years, and we, Da Li, will do the same.

Therefore, Zhu He has always had a bad impression of scholars outside.

This post road passing through Hongzhu Town is one of the three main post roads leading to the capital from the southern border of Da Li. If the wealthy merchants and officials go north to important towns and cities including Da Li’s capital, they will often choose this road, because Although the other two post roads are wider, almost every post station along the way is overcrowded, and there are not enough official Kanhe and military fire signs. Let alone stay, even the gates are not allowed to enter. Every year, there are many people who are not familiar with this. The officials and gentry were disgraced.

Southern scholars who came to Beijing to take the exam, as they had not yet had official status, often chose this post road, often traveling in twos and threes, so that they could take care of each other, enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way, and explore the secluded and immortal places together.

The officials who were relegated to the south were depressed and frustrated. They liked to write poems on the walls of inns and hotels, and they also liked to take this road south. Over and over again, the walls of the Pillow Inn in Hongzhu Town were filled with poems written by literati and poets complaining about traveling abroad.

Li Baoping raised his head and began to look for a book. He would glance here and there, depending on his mood. Occasionally he would take out a book, flip through a few pages, and put it back if he was not interested. Finally, the little girl found a landscape travel journal with a price tag of three Bai Wenqian felt a little distressed, but he really liked it, so he turned to look at his junior uncle. Chen Pingan smiled and nodded.

Lin Shouyi's gaze slowly passed over the wall of books, in an orderly manner, from right to left, top to bottom. Every time he picked out a book and flipped through it, it must have started from the title page. The young man finally fell in love with an unsigned Feng Shui book with a price tag of four hundred cents. Lin Shou looked at Chen Pingan, who still nodded.

After Li Huai arrived at the store, he finally lost the hustle and bustle on the street and immediately returned to his naughty nature, just like a wild horse running wild. He was the youngest and shortest, and had to sit on A Liang's shoulders to pick out books. A Liang agreed. , but threatened that if Li Huai didn't choose one, he would be thrown into the street when he left the shop. As a result, Li Huai chose a brand-new book at the top with a price tag of nine taels. When he looked at the price, he was so frightened that he secretly tried to throw the book away. However, he was so busy that the book was not successfully stuffed. Returning to the bookshelf, it fell to the floor.

The young shopkeeper who tapped the folding fan opened his eyes, looked at the book that had fallen to the ground, and said angrily: "I have bought it and left it. The latest edition of "Broken Water Cliff" costs nine taels."

Li Huai didn't dare to talk back to the stranger, so he could only look at Chen Ping'an cautiously with a sad face. The latter asked: "Will you read it if you buy it?"

Li Huai nodded vigorously.

Chen Pingan smiled and nodded: "Then buy it."

A Liang asked: "Chen Pingan, don't you buy a copy yourself?"

Chen Ping'an, who was taking out the money, quickly shook his head and said, "I don't know all the characters yet, so why are I buying a book?"

Zhu He turned to his daughter and asked, "Is there any book you want?"

Zhu Lu stood at the door of the store without moving, glanced sideways at the book wall, and shook his head.

The young shopkeeper who was about to collect the money stood up, tied his hair with an ebony hairpin, and held a folding fan with snow-white bones. His eyes passed over the little girl in the red cotton jacket and the stern boy, and finally looked at the child who was timidly holding "Broken Water Cliff" and smiled. Interesting.

A Liang grinned.

After leaving the bookstore and walking towards Guanshui Street, Zhu He was moved. Looking back, he found the good-looking young man leaning against the doorpost, watching them leave. After seeing Zhu He, the man smiled and nodded. Salute.

Zhu He turned his head and frowned. After leaving the alley, he walked quickly to the man in the bamboo hat and said, "Senior Aliang, is there anything weird about the owner of the bookstore?"

A Liang held his hand on his bamboo hat and said something truly weird, "Compared to this guy, the real trouble is yet to come, but it has nothing to do with you."

The Chongdan River has the most rapid currents, many reefs and dangerous shoals, and is famous for its wonderful sights. One section of the river has many large and small stone pillars protruding from the water, and is known as the bamboo shoots that spring up after a rain. Only a small boat can shuttle through the gaps in the stone forest, and it is difficult for large ships to cross, even on the riverside. Boatmen who have grown up and are familiar with the water will not dare to take a boat into the water easily, unless they are literati who come here because of their fame and spend a lot of money to hire them. Therefore, there is also a saying by the iron boatman of the white paper boat. Every year, boatmen and foreigners die in the stone forest waterway of the Chongdan River.

It's just that there are many tourists on the Chongdan River in the twilight tonight.

The turbulent river water hit the stone pillars that emerged from the water. There was a bare-chested man sitting on the top of one of the stone pillars, gently throwing an empty wine bottle into the river. There were three unopened wine bottles beside him.

In the distance, there is a red light getting closer and closer. It turns out that there is a rickety old man holding a big red lantern, using the stone pillar as a step to wade into the water, and a dragonfly is grazing over the water.

Suddenly, a majestic figure descended from the sky and stepped on the top of a stone pillar. The rock under his feet was overwhelmed and turned into powder in an instant. He just stood in the river.

In the river, there was a woman with a graceful appearance swimming upstream, strolling leisurely. Three feet above her head, there were fist-sized snow-white beads suspended, which shone brightly and made the bottom of the river as bright as day.

The woman said lazily and boredly: "I have traveled more than a hundred miles on the waterway, and I still can't pick up half of the treasure. Who told me that there are flower heads under the Chongdan River?"

The drinking man sitting on the top of the stone pillar looked at the bottom of the water and said calmly: "My lord is already in Red Candle Town."

The old man waved a bright red lantern and said with a hoarse smile: "Your Excellency, you actually took action in person? What else do you need the four of us to do? Hold the bench and watch the show?"

The man took a sip of wine and said solemnly: "I hope so."