Tongtian River is one of the largest rivers in Dazhen. It stretches across half of the country, turns south across the southern border of Dazhen and then connects to the East China Sea of Dazhen. Except for a few places where the river section is slightly narrow, most of the river section is very wide.
The place where Ji Yuan was located was so large that one could not distinguish between cows and horses between the two cliffs. However, the river was calm and there were not many big waves.
Although the fishing float was bobbing up and down in the river, there seemed to be no sign of any fish taking the bait.
"Mr. Ji~~~Mr. Ji~~~"
Someone on the shore was calling Ji Yuan. It was the old man who rented the black-sailed boat to him. At this time, the old man was standing on the shore holding a small ceramic pot and some dried lotus leaf dumplings, and waving at Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan put away his fishing rod, picked up the oar, and slowly rowed closer to the shore.
"Hehe, Mr. Ji, this is two kilograms of homemade wine. I brought it to you specially. It's cold this day, why don't you stay in our village tonight?"
As the boat approached the shore, Ji Yuan stood up and took the wine and food from the old man.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen, but I am naturally resistant to cold. Besides, this awning can keep out the rain, and it can be sealed at the front and back. There are also blankets inside, so I won't get cold."
Old man Chen shook his head. How could he not know whether the black-sailed boat would freeze people or not
Mr. Ji is gentle, polite and knowledgeable, but he just likes to make trouble for himself. He has been staying in this black-sailed boat for such a long time in such a cold weather.
"Sir, you didn't catch any fish today?"
The old man glanced at the fish basket on the bow of the boat; it was empty.
"Yes, today two dragons passed by the river and scared all the fish away. They hid everywhere and dared not bite the hook!"
Ji Yuan replied with a smile.
"Hahaha, Mr. Ji, you are joking again. Enjoy your meal. I will leave first. If you can't bear it at night, please come to Xiashatou Village. I still have a guest house at home. You can be there at any time!"
Ji Yuan put down the wine and food and bowed to the old man.
"Okay, I will definitely go if necessary. Farewell, Mr. Chen!"
The old man also bowed, tightened his clothes and turned to leave. It seemed that Mr. Ji was really not afraid of the cold, but he was really a good person. He paid enough rent and even helped him write a letter to his eldest daughter who married far away in Beppu.
After watching Old Man Chen leave, Ji Yuan returned to the black-covered boat.
Look at the surface of Tongtian River. Unlike the crowded boats and pleasure boats outside Chunhui Mansion, there are few flower boats on Tongtian River. Of course, it may be due to the season.
I first pulled out the stopper from the pottery pot and sniffed it, then took a sip of the wine. It was a little turbid but tasted okay.
He untied the hemp rope on the dry lotus leaf package and opened the lotus leaf to reveal four steaming buns. After sniffing the fragrance, Ji Yuan knew that three of them were filled with vegetables and one with meat.
He was just sitting cross-legged at the bow, eating buns and drinking wine, looking at the surface of Tongtian River. Just a moment later, a blurry black shadow swam over from the distance, more than ten feet long, and countless aquatic creatures hurriedly avoided it as it swam at the bottom of the river.
'What happened under the river today? There are too many dragons in Tongtian River, or maybe not all of them are from Tongtian River?'
It is difficult for dragons to appear in shallow water, and even in large rivers, they may not be found. Even if there are, there will not be many, and they are lazy and unwilling to move all year round. Tongtian River can be considered an outlier.
However, no matter how curious he was, Ji Yuan didn't dare to stop a dragon to ask. With his level of skills, he would be unable to kill the dragon if he didn't draw his sword and fight with all his might.
Although "The Legend of the Outer Dao" has a strong prejudice against monsters, there is one thing that Ji Yuan still believes in, that is, dragons and other creatures all have bad tempers.
Under the Tongtian River, a dragon was swimming in the water with its four claws pressed against its belly, twisting its body. Its eyes were as bright as amber headlights. In addition to seeing everything on the bottom of the water, its peripheral vision could also catch a glimpse of the mortal ships on the surface of the water that were bobbing in the waves.
Just when it was swimming near somewhere ahead, the dragon suddenly felt that someone on a small boat was looking at it. As it swam closer, it discovered that the other person's face was always facing its body.
After swimming for about a few miles under the boat, the dragon turned around again and found that the people on the boat were drinking by themselves and were not looking at him.
'This person doesn't have any magical power or divine light... Could it be an illusion?'
Shaking off the thoughts in his mind, the dragon continued to swim forward. Soon it would be the thousandth birthday of the real dragon. All the aquatic creatures from all directions who had some connection with the dragon were eager to come here to celebrate the birthday, but not many were qualified, and he happened to be one of them.
Ji Yuan swallowed the wine in his mouth and chewed the residue in the wine. It was another dragon just now, and its intuition was quite sharp. He, Ji, didn't stare at it for a while longer, and it seemed that the other party had noticed it.
. . .
The Tongtian River section is 150 miles south of Jiyuan's boat. The river is more than ten miles wide and is surrounded by mountains and forests. The depth of the river is difficult to estimate.
Under the cover of a layer of water plants attached to the bottom of the water, there is a magnificent palace-like building complex. This is not only the divine water palace of Tongtian River, but also a dragon palace.
At this moment, the Dragon Palace was extremely lively. Aquatic monsters were hurrying back and forth, some were carrying tripods, some were lifting screens, some were paving crystal roads, some were busy clearing water plants, and there were also countless colorful fish shuttling back and forth.
However, there was a man and a woman sighing in the main hall, which was in stark contrast to the vitality and festive atmosphere outside.
"Hey... Dad hasn't come back yet. It's already this critical moment, and he's not here!"
The person who spoke was a handsome man with a well-proportioned figure. He was wearing a long silk satin gown that looked like water clouds and a small gold and jade crown. He was lazily leaning back in a soft chair.
Standing next to him was a woman, whose clothes were similar to the man's. She had a delicate and gentle face, and her hair was tied up like a flower. Her long hair and sideburns were about to drag on the ground, and she also had a worried look on her face.
"He said he was going to look for a friend and that he couldn't be absent from the birthday party, but he couldn't find him after searching for a long time... Now, Dad can't find his friend, and we can't find Dad, ah...!"
While the two were complaining to each other, a yaksha stepped into the hall.
"Report to the Goddess Jiang, Master Gao from Tianshui Lake has arrived."
The woman nodded and waved her sleeves.
"Got it. Arrange for him to rest in the palace. Oh, and tell him to try not to show his dragon form. Many of the water creatures helping him are not very advanced, and the dragon energy will make them uncomfortable."
"Yes, I will take my leave!"
After paying his respects, Yaksha left the palace and walked away.
After the Yaksha left, the man who was sitting lazily spoke.
"You think Dad won't come back on his birthday?"
"How is that possible! Dad still knows his limits!"
The woman immediately refuted him, then thought about it and added hesitantly.
"If... I mean if, you become like your father, do you think people will be able to see through you?"
"Ahem... ahem... little sister, do you know what you are saying? You are pushing me into the pit of rebellion!"
The woman smiled awkwardly.
"It's just talk..."
There was silence in the hall for a while. The man began to drink, and the woman sat in her seat with her eyes closed. In fact, her spiritual thoughts covered the Water Palace, checking the preparations for the banquet.
During this period, Yakshas or other water monsters came to report, all of them were about which important figures were coming.
. . .
At this moment, on the Wafeng Mountain on the edge of Chunhui Prefecture, Old Long Yinghong was standing on the cliff above the Heifeng Valley, looking at the sword mark that split the mountain below.
Even though so much time has passed, judging from Lao Long's level of cultivation, there is still a faint but unstoppable sword intent permeating the air.
When Yin Zhaoxian passed the imperial examination and returned home, the county, led by the county magistrate, held a grand banquet. At that time, Lao Long went to Ning'an County again, thinking that Ji Yuan might go back to congratulate him, but he didn't.
He privately looked for Yin Zhaoxian again and found that he was drunk. After asking him carefully, he learned that he was almost harmed by evil spirits. After further chatting, he learned that Lao Long, who had learned about the conversation between the City God and Yin Zhaoxian, also guessed some other situations.
After circling over Chunhui Mansion for a long time, it finally found Wafeng Mountain. Seeing the elegance of this sword, it was no wonder that the City God of Chunhui Mansion would ask whether the master whom Yin Zhaoxian knew used a sword.
"Ji Yuan, Ji Yuan... I've been looking for you for three years and can't find you. Where on earth have you been?"
Lao Long was a little amused and helpless. Normally people would look for him, but now he was the one looking for someone.
And it’s too real that we can’t find it!