"So, are you planning to go back to find that Li Langjun?" Yuan Xianger said.
"Of course, I miss him very much in my heart." He seemed to have forgotten the "little" unhappiness between him and that gentleman, and only cared about the beauty of the past.
Yuan Xianger glanced at her and hesitated. Fifty years may only be a brief moment for demons, but for human beings, it is basically a lifetime from Huang Tong to an old man.
Perhaps the life span is too long, the memory of the demon is often shallow and selective, and the concept of time is also very weak. When Yuan Xianger came to this yard for two years, Chiizhi would often think that she only arrived at the little baby yesterday.
"Then, do you remember where you lived?"
The cockroach was indeed asked,
"Oops, I don't remember." She pondered in panic for a moment, "I only remember that in that town there were two rivers that converged, and there was a river temple beside the river. On the roof of the temple there was a golden treasure. gourd."
"I know this place. It seems to be Lianghe Town, not far from here." Yuan Xiang'er thought for a while, "If it's Lianghe Town, I can accompany you there."
Early the next morning, Yuan Xianger packed up and prepared to go to Lianghe Town, which is adjacent to Queqiu Town.
A white ball of hair limped to the door,
"Do you want to go with Xiao Nan too?" Yuan Xiang'er bent down and squatted down.
The male's deep voice suddenly sounded, and he only said one sentence, "You yourself are not the opponent of this snake."
Nan He's voice was actually nice, but he rarely spoke, so that Yuan Xianger couldn't associate such a cello-like voice with the furry little guy.
What he said was very simple and indifferent, but in fact he was not at ease with this snake monster.
Yuan Xiang'er quickly caught the awkward concern that came to Nan He, and in a happy mood, she made a soft pad with the blue pad she usually used to go out, picked up Xiao Nanhe, and put it in.
The cockroach turned into a small snake the thickness of a finger and was coiled in a small bamboo cage. In order to prevent her from violently injuring others, Yuan Xianger put a forbidden talisman on the mouth of the cage and put the bamboo cage together in the basket.
When she was leaving with Yunniang, Yunniang saw it and said in surprise, "Oh, where did the little snake come from, why did you go to Lianghe Town with this?"
Outside the gate, Yuan Xiang'er hurriedly raised the cage where the cockroach was, and asked in a low voice, "Don't you have a hidden figure?"
"Why do you want to hide your body?" The cockroach erected a small snake head in the cage and opened six eyes at the same time, "Look at how similar I have become, basically the same as snakes in the world, there is no need to be invisible anymore, right? ?"
"Six eyes are not allowed at the same time, no no, one is not allowed, only two left and right. Yes, that's it. If you want three more eyes, I will cover the cage."
…
There were many chariots and horses traveling between Queqiu and Lianghe Town. Yuan Xianger paid five large sums of money and boarded an ox cart that carried firewood.
There was a heavy rain just last night, the temperature dropped sharply, the water stains on the ground turned into thin ice, and the wheels made a creaking sound. Trees on both sides of the road lost their leaves, leaving only bare trunks.
Sitting on the swaying bullock cart, looking at the tree trunks speeding backwards, Yuan Xianger suddenly remembered the time when she was lying on Master's back and walked all the way to Queqiu Town along the green road.
"Ah, you said that you met my master fifty years ago?" Yuan Xianger suddenly found something wrong in the story, "What did my master look like at that time?"
"Mr. is an immortal-like figure, and of course his appearance is first-class. He can be like a star, the green bamboo and jade are reflected, and he is unique in the world. It makes people forget the world..." Yu Yao said with admiration on his face.
It turned out that Master was the same as he is now fifty years ago. Yuan Xianger was both surprised and admired. Maybe Master has cultivated to the unity of life and Taoism, and has reached the realm of longevity and longevity.
It's a pity that Shi Niang is an ordinary person who can't cultivate Taoism. Yuan Xiang'er recalled carefully, and suddenly remembered that Shi Niang's appearance did not seem to have changed significantly over the years. The gentleman surnamed Zhou who I found in the town a few days ago also said that the appearance of Shi Niang was the same as that of 20 years ago.
The ox cart swayed all the way to Lianghe Town.
Perhaps the city has changed so much in the past fifty years that the cockroach couldn't find the luxurious mansion where he once lived.
"I lived alone in the backyard at the time, and I seldom had contact with outsiders. I just remember that the place where I lived was decorated with beams and painted buildings, and it was majestic and splendid, occupying most of the street." He said while looking at the familiar street.
She only knew her Lang Jun's surname Li, not even her full name. Fifty years ago, a young man surnamed Li had to find a person in a densely populated town with little information.
Tired of walking, Yuan Xianger sat down in a teahouse to rest. On the second floor, I ordered a pot of Longjing and a few plates of dim sum, and put Nanhe and the hornet's cage on the table together to let them breathe.
In one corner of the tea house was a stage, and a storyteller who was over sixty years old was wearing a long gown and holding a sanxian, and was talking loudly on the stage.
Coincidentally, it was this storyteller, who was telling the story between Haji and Li Sheng fifty years ago. It turned out that the incident had caused a lot of uproar in the local area, and some literati and writers, based on the legend, added touches to the story and wrote the storytelling section of "Li Sheng meets the snake", which is still talked about by local residents.
I saw the gentleman shaking the strings, and the sound of the strings turned a thousand times.
"But that Li Sheng, since he married a snake wife, his family business has been prospering day by day. No one knew that back then, just walking on a horse from the street for a quarter of an hour on the Zishi Street outside the door. I still can't get out of Li's house. In the house, there are strange flowers and stones, beautiful slaves and beautiful maids, the ground is paved with gold bricks, the silver is forged into rocks, the branches are wrapped in Lingluo, and the red wax is used as firewood. The host is generous. , every night, singing and singing, feasting guests. You are truly a rich and noble person, and you can enjoy inexhaustible glory."
"If you can have such honor and wealth, let alone marry a snake wife, I will also marry that fox wife and ghost wife!" A big man in the audience heard the excitement and patted The table acquiesced.
"I heard that the snake wife, who looks like a fairy, can catch a man's soul just by looking at it. Is it true or not?" Someone else roared.
For these ordinary people who listen to the book, what attracts them the most is the erotic word in the story.
"Everyone, don't be impatient, and listen to me slowly." The storyteller shook his head and said, "The lady was coaxed by Li Sheng and raised in the backyard, so that no one can easily see it. There are very few people in Hezhen who have seen her true face. She is old and not talented, and when she was young, she was fortunate to have a glimpse of her fairy face."
The gray-haired old man talked about his childhood, and he was slightly proud: "At that time, the old boy was only ten years old, and he kicked a takraw ball into the backyard of Li's house while playing Cuju. I went to look for it. I will come down from the wall, and I heard a woman's laughter coming from a distance, so I searched for the laughter quietly and went over, only to see a swing frame in the courtyard, a woman in blue sitting there On the swing, he was swinging high into the sky, and he let out a series of bell-like laughter. Lao Sheng was still a child back then, although he only glimpsed that lady, he would never forget it again."
"You poor old man, what does the lady look like, you should tell me quickly." The people off the field were anxious.
The storyteller sighed, pulled the sanxian, and the music was melodious and beautiful, singing along with the tune,
"The willow has a hibiscus face on the waist, the crescent moon and the eyebrows are dotted with purple lips, the eyes are full of love in the autumn water, and the body is fragrant. How can you find ice and snow in the world, dare to be a fairy to descend into the world."
When listening to the limericks that the storyteller recited in the heart of the storyteller, the audience listening to the book could not help but imagine the appearance of the beautiful woman fifty years ago in their minds, and exclaimed in amazement.
Even Yuan Xianger and Nan He were attracted by the old man's eloquent way of speaking, and couldn't help but look down while leaning on the leaning rail of the private room.
In the cage, the cockroach straightened his head with his tail crossed, and nodded again and again, "That's right, that's right. I'm just so pretty."
"It's a pity that the human world is not enough, and it's hard to calm down. That Li Sheng is so beautiful and rich, but he is not satisfied. He wants to make a name for himself, but he can't stand the hard work of studying hard in the cold window. So I started the idea of the former Gao Shilang, the eldest lady of the Gao family. I went to the door to ask for marriage with gold and silver mountains, and I also coaxed the lady to be a concubine."
There was another burst of sighing and discussion in the audience.
Someone said: "The lady is charming in the mountains and wild, and there are no three matchmakers or six hires. She is just going to a private meeting at night, and there is no matchmaking. It is also a good thing to be a concubine."
There are also poor scholars who have substituted themselves into the story, pretending to be infatuated, "If there is such a beautiful woman who can add fragrance to my sleeves, help me with axe, and make it possible for Xiaosheng to study hard, then Xiaosheng will live up to her. Such camaraderie."
On the stage, the music of the piano became urgent, and it was noisy and cut, like a pearl falling on a plate, and the drums were beating in unison. The story turned to the most climax.
"I think of that Li Sheng, a tall horse, full of pride, when he was marrying his bride. Suddenly there was a strange wind blowing on the roadside, and I saw flying sand and rocks, and the wind was rolling. In front of him, it turned out to be the eyes of a big snake, the big snake opened its bloody mouth, and a stench blew up, overturning the bridal sedan chair, and the bride rolled off the sedan chair and the groom fell off the horse. For a while, a good welcome team turned around, crying for father and mother. But the guest officials asked why this is? It was the snake wife who overturned the vinegar jar, and she was unwilling to show her true shape and came to mix it up."
Hearing this, the men who had been clamoring to marry snake wives all had a chill on their backs and shrank their necks.
"Then Li Sheng has been with the snake wife for a long time, and he is very aware of the details of his wife. He has already found a number of high-gong masters, disguised as a potential family. Catch this snake monster. Who knows that the lady is so eloquent and fierce, that the mages can't take her down. They only killed her on Zishi Street, blood flowed into rivers, and houses were destroyed, but they could do nothing. Now at the end of the street, There is also a stone pit with a depth of three feet, which is the trace of the snake demon's tail at that time, so it is called the falling snake pit. Fortunately, there was a master of the Tao who passed by, and this was the only way to perform great work. The supernatural power has subdued that snake monster. Otherwise, whether Lianghe Town still exists in this world is unknown, unknown."
The storyteller stopped the sound of the piano and sang a sad song, and sighed again, "At that time, Madam Chong was restrained by the Master and turned into a small snake coiled on the ground. You Zi raised her head and couldn't stop looking at Li Sheng, but Sighing that Li Sheng was ruthless and ruthless, he was only busy helping the new wife of the servant's family, how could he take care of the old snake demon. The wizard took the snake demon away, and since then there is no snake wife in the world. Say."
"How did the lady end up?"
"No one knows how Snake Lady is. But Li Sheng in that story is a person from our town. You must also know his ending, so there is no need for Xiaosheng to say more. There is only one sentence for all gentlemen, good and evil. In the end, there will be a reward, and every dream of Huang Liang will be gone. It is better for us to do less ungrateful things in our life."
The storyteller sighed at the end, put down the sanxian, took out a tray, and went to look for a reward, "Today's "Li Sheng Encountered a Snake" is here for the guest officials. A generous reward or two."
When passing Yuan Xianger downstairs, Yuan Xianger reached out and threw a few big money from the railing, and asked with a smile, "Sir, I'm from out of town. It's very interesting to hear this story. I want to ask you about that. What kind of character is Li Sheng in the story, who is still alive today."
The people around laughed, "I'm still alive, I'm living very well, and I'm living a fairy-like life."
The storyteller put away the big money and said with a smile, "Little lady, don't listen to these bastards. Then Li Sheng drove away the snake wife and married Miss Gao, thinking that he would soon be able to rely on his father-in-law. The sky is on the rise. Who knows if it’s not like the sky, the high servant had committed a crime in the capital and urgently needed a lot of money to fill the bottomless pit of the lawsuit, so he married the young lady of the family to his rich owner. It's just money."
"It's pity that Li Sheng spent all his family's money, but he couldn't keep his father-in-law's official position after all. This couple, one is a weak scholar and the other is Miss Jin Gui. A little money, like the snow-capped mountains disappearing in an instant, disappeared without notice. After a few years of discussions, the days went from bad to worse, the husband and wife beat and scolded each other all day long, and in the end they did not leave a child. It is also deplorable for people to become beggars on the street. Therefore, there is a folk saying here that snakes are guardians of the family. If they are seen in the courtyard, they should not be hurt. If they are respected and worshipped, they can protect the family home Prosperity, hurting his life, and ruining his family's wealth. This Li Sheng does not believe in evil, and he will have this reward in the end, and he can't blame anyone."
There was that good person beside him, stretched his neck and shouted, "If the little lady wants to see Li Sheng's appearance, now open the window and look at the one across the street who is sleeping in the quagmire."
Yuan Xianger opened the window as she said.
At noon in winter, the sun is a bit dazzling.
An old beggar sat in the corner of the street across the street basking in the sun, goosebumps and filth all over his body, and he stretched out his thin fingers to scratch the lice on his body. Like the dead wood that is about to decay in this winter, it will eventually rot into the mud as the ice and snow melt and be forgotten by the world.
At this moment, not far from him, across the crowd of people passing by on the street, stood a woman quietly, with a tender lotus face, a red body and a fragrant brow, and Chunhua was just right.
"who is this?"
"Which lady, you don't seem to have seen it before?"
"Is there such a beautiful woman in our town?"
"Be softer, carefully and abruptly to the beauty."
Pedestrians passing by whispered, and the young descendants couldn't help but looked at it frequently, and quietly blushed their faces.
Yuan Xianger hurriedly turned her head to look at the bamboo cage on the table. I don't know when the talisman on the cage fell off, the cage door opened wide, and the little snake inside was long gone.
Ah Xing couldn't hear the discussions around him, and stood silently on the street as if no one was there, staring at him.
With this glance, she passed through the turbulent crowd, through decades of time, and had a trance of not realizing the dream of spring grass in the pond and the sound of autumn leaves in front of the steps.
The little monster who doesn't know what the time on earth is, always tastes the bitterness of life, such as the sour meaning of morning dew.
"You, are you A Xing?" The old beggar sitting in the mud shook his hands, squinted his eyes for a long time, and suddenly became excited. He leaned on crutches and barely got up, separated the crowd tremblingly, and staggered forward. Jump over.
"Ah, my Ai, you're finally back, I've been waiting for you, I've been waiting for you all these years. The Immortal Master once said that I will definitely live until the day I see you again, Mr. lied to me, not lied to me..."
Ah Xing took two steps back and looked at the trembling human staggering towards him with a strange expression. There were only three or two sparse white hairs on the top of the man's head. With a rotten smell, he used his toothless mouth to call out his name.
A passerby who was squeezed in impatiently pushed the beggar, "Stinky beggar, what is it? It's been a few decades and I've still been there all day, and I'm dreaming of your spring and autumn."
The beggar threw himself on the ground, climbed up again, and looked up, only a beam of scorching sunlight shone on the empty street, and the flying dust in the beam danced gently, as if mocking him, who didn't know what he was called, where could he see it? What a beautiful woman, a snake wife in a dream.
On the way back in the car, Ah Di, who had transformed into a human figure, sat quietly in the car, bent his arms and leaned on the edge of the car, looking back and staring at the direction of Lianghe Town.
Yuan Xiang'er looked at her fair neck and expressionless face, and didn't know how to comfort this friend of a different race from her, "Ah, you still hate that Li... Langjun?"
Ah Xian turned his head to look at her for a moment, then shook his head gently, "If I adore Lang Jun himself, no matter how old he looks, I should be delighted to see him. Now it seems that I only adore him. It's just a skin. Fortunately, Mr. has insight into the world and enlightened me, so that I know what I want in my heart."
The driving was getting worse, and the cold wind blew the skin on his face.
Yuan Xianger fished the fluffy little wolf onto her lap, took off her cloak and put it on upside down, wrapping the little wolf and herself in the big plush cloak.
"It's warmer," she said.
Nan He's little head struggled to get out of the cloak,
"You, is your life so short too?" The nice bass sounded again.
"Yes, human life is so short." Yuan Xiang'er looked at the setting sun gradually falling from the top of the mountain, "From your point of view, it looks like a mayfly. It is born in the morning and dies in the evening. But fortunately we Humans generally don’t feel that way, and they feel that life is very long, with a lot of troubles and joy.”
Nan He's voice no longer sounded, Yuan Xiang'er took advantage of the cover of the cloak, quietly and recklessly on his back several times, he did not dodge uncharacteristically.
It's fluffy and so nice to touch. If only I could be this obedient every day, Yuan Xianger thought happily.
Something like the morning dew, I'm still moving towards it anyway, so I don't have to think about Mu's affairs.
When they returned to Queqiu Town, it was already dusk. Yuan Xianger was holding the little wolf and was about to open the courtyard door, but Ah Xing, who was following behind, stopped.
"I won't go in anymore. I've been bothering you for a long time. I'll accept it. Come back in the future to thank you."
She crossed her hands and bowed slightly.