Ji Yuan now had a little more luggage than before. A gray cloth bag contained an extra martial arts secret book that was enough to make people in the martial arts world fight over it and bleed. He still tucked an oil-paper umbrella under his armpit, and a green vine sword was wrapped with the green cloth strip at the expense of an inner lining piece of clothing in the bag and carried diagonally on his back. The heavy nanmu box the size of a shoe box was not convenient to put into the bag, so he had to carry it in his hand.
Although Ji Yuan stopped and walked frequently during his journey, he was still thinking about the treasure left by Hero Zuo, so he was in a hurry more. Now that he has obtained the secret sword, Ji Yuan is much more relaxed. He feels like he was in elementary school when he finally finished all his summer homework at the end of the summer vacation.
Judging from the Sword Intent Post, Zuo Li’s ancestral home is Juntian Prefecture in Yizhou, and he grew up in the capital of Juntian Prefecture.
As the saying goes, a poor man is good at literature, but a rich man is good at martial arts. The fact that Zuo Li was able to freely learn about martial arts and achieve extraordinary success shows that not only is Zuo Li himself a genius, but the Zuo family must also be a wealthy family.
To put it another way, Zuo Kuangtu should still have some fame in Juntian Prefecture. I just don't know how the Zuo family is doing now. After Zuo Li's seclusion and death, there must have been a period of time when they were annoyed by the martial artists.
Walking along the official road, Ji Yuan's steps always maintained a state of seemingly slow walking but actually with extremely large strides, and his feet were not high from the ground. This not only required extremely high martial arts attainments, but also required an understanding of the meaning of swimming dragon to be able to do it as naturally as Ji Yuan did. This contradiction of seemingly slow strides but actually moving forward quickly might give rise to the illusion of shrinking the distance to an inch if anyone was watching.
After walking for a whole night and most of the day, they saw the morning glow and bathed in the scorching afternoon sun. Aidu Mountain had already been left far behind by Ji Yuan.
After walking for so long, I finally heard the sound of pedestrians in the distance ahead. They should be another group of passers-by.
Ji Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they were probably approaching a densely populated area near the official road, so he slowed down his pace and chased after them at a speed slightly faster than that of an ordinary person.
A little further ahead, there were four people walking and talking. From what they said, they should be villagers from a nearby village, and it seemed that they were going to attend a wedding banquet.
"I heard that the village slaughtered two sheep and a pig for this event. There must be enough meat!"
"Stop talking, stop talking, you're making me drool!"
Listening to the words of the predecessors, some people nearby swallowed their saliva. Only at a large banquet like this one could one eat and drink to their heart's content.
"Zhao Dongmu is so lucky. He married Xiaolian from the neighboring village. She is as good as a man when it comes to farm work!"
"Yeah, so many people have tried to be matchmakers but failed, so he got it for free!"
Others echoed the sentiment.
"Hurry up, hurry up, the sun is setting, we have to go back quickly, otherwise Uncle Zhao will be anxious!"
"Well, we're going to have to eat soon. Uncle Zhao will definitely blame us if we don't have enough wine!"
"Hehe, don't worry, we can make it in time. The four of us can even get a bonus red envelope later."
"Hahaha, I was just thinking about eating, so Uncle Zhao only gave me two big ones!"
“Hahahaha, that’s right!”
... ...
The four of them were walking and talking, and judging from their heavy breathing and footsteps, they must be carrying something heavy.
Ji Yuan walked closer and vaguely saw that there were two people carrying a jar. From the previous conversation, he guessed that the jar was filled with wine.
It's a wedding banquet, do you want to eat a meal? It's not like I don't give red envelopes anyway!
Thinking of this, Ji Yuan quickened his pace and was the first to shout forward.
"The guys in front, please walk slower!"
The four men carrying the wine in front heard the shouting coming from far behind, and they subconsciously slowed down their pace and looked back. They saw a man who looked like a gentleman in a wide-sleeved long gown catching up with them from behind the official road, holding an umbrella in one hand and dragging a wooden box in the other.
Ji Yuan seemed to be a little out of breath, with some sweat on his face.
"My dear brothers, I have been traveling for a long time. There is no village in front of me and no shop behind me. I am finally in a hurry to see someone. It will be dark in two hours. I am so anxious on this road!"
"Uh, Mr. Big, where are you from?"
The few of them just slowed down their pace to make it easier for Ji Yuan to catch up, but they did not stop.
"I came from Yongtai County and was going to Juntian Prefecture."
"Wow! The way here and the place we are going to are quite far. You are a very brave person, sir!"
Ji Yuan just smiled.
"Yes, are you from the nearby village? Can you let me go and ask for a drink and stay for one night? Uh, it won't be for nothing!"
Having said that, several young villagers naturally invited Ji Yuan to go to Zhaojiazhuang.
"Master, if you don't mind, come with us to Zhao's Manor. There's a wedding banquet going on in the manor. You look like a learned man, so Uncle Zhao will definitely invite you to the banquet."
"Yes, sir, but you have to follow closely. We are in a hurry to go back. Uncle Zhao's wine is not enough. We are waiting for these two large jars."
"Okay, okay. I'm confident in my speed. Just keep walking, guys. I won't lose you!"
Ji Yuan smiled and walked faster, getting closer to the others. He was looking forward to seeing if there were any special dishes from the countryside here, and he also took the opportunity to chat with the young men and get closer to them.
"Why don't you guys drive a bullock cart or something? Aren't you tired carrying all the things like this?"
"Hey, we bought the wine from the town on the other side of Helmet Mountain along the mountain trail. It's not convenient to use a bullock cart, so it's faster for people to carry it!"
"Oh, that's a long way, right?"
"Yeah, it took a long time to walk!"
The young men were also talkative. After confirming that Ji Yuan was a literate and knowledgeable scholar who had even been to such a far place as Jizhou, they were even happier and said frankly that Uncle Zhao would definitely invite him to the wedding.
They talked as they walked, and with Ji Yuan's eloquence, he became much more familiar with the four of them as soon as he came out.
The wasteland along the way is decreasing, and the farmland irrigation canals are becoming more numerous and denser.
After walking for more than a quarter of an hour after leaving the official road from a small path, the outline of Zhaojiazhuang could be seen in front of them. A middle-aged man was looking at the road, and when he saw the four people coming back, he hurried over.
"Hey, why did you come back just now? If it's any later, the banquet will start!"
Then the man suddenly noticed Ji Yuan's presence and asked in surprise, "Who is this?"
Ji Yuan naturally bowed quickly.
"My name is Ji Yuan, I'm a passer-by, it's getting late and I want to ask for a drink and a place to stay!"
"Second uncle, this Mr. Ji is a learned man, and he comes from Jizhou!"
A young man quickly reminded him, and then seeing Ji Yuan's elegant yet worldly appearance, he believed it a little. Even if it was not true, today was a happy day in the village and he couldn't chase anyone away.
"Oh... Sir, you have come from so far away. Today is a happy day, so you must come to the manor to have a drink and a walk..."
The man also bowed to Ji Yuan and extended his hand to invite him.
"Excuse me, excuse me!"
The six people exchanged politeness and walked towards the village. It was bustling inside and the bride and groom had already married at the auspicious time.
There were more than twenty tables placed inside and outside the walls of a courtyard, both round and square, decorated with colorful decorations and red words everywhere. The villagers were chatting and waiting for the banquet to start. A dozen aunts were busy washing vegetables and stewing dishes. The atmosphere was extremely warm.
"A guest has arrived~~~"
The shouting inside was unusually loud and before long, the identity of Ji Yuan, the distant guest, was known to the festive host. He even came to greet him and let Ji Yuan take his seat with peace of mind.
Although it was still bright outside, there were no light bulbs in that era, so the banquet would definitely start before dark if it was held outdoors.
The dinner hadn't started yet, and Ji was sitting at a table at the edge. Although most of the people present were strangers in the village, there was a young man who had just returned with wine sitting next to him. He kept talking to Ji Yuan, asking about things in Jizhou and was full of longing for the world outside the village.
As he was talking, there was a burst of laughter from the other end of the main room, and Ji Yuan heard someone shouting, "It's wrong, it's wrong, why are there two more words on the left than on the right?"
There are also sounds like “Confused, confused…”
"Didn't we just see a great scholar from out of town? Can he write? Let him write one, right?"
"Yes, yes, that great master is like the teacher in the county, he must be very knowledgeable!"
"Uncle Zhao, go and invite that gentleman!"
It is a local custom here to write wedding couplets before the dinner. Unless they really have the means, families with a bit of status will not save on it when getting married.
A booing sound was heard over there, and several middle-aged men and an old man named Ji Yuan came over with embarrassed smiles on their faces. Before they could open their mouths, Ji Yuan stood up with a smile.
"But do you want to write wedding couplets? Let Ji write a couplet as a token of gratitude to Mr. Zhao for hosting the wedding banquet."
"Thank you so much, sir!"
"Come on, come on, let's see the master writing wedding couplets!"
"I'll go take a look too!"
In the whole Zhaojiazhuang, there is only the old village chief who can read. In the past, whenever there was something important that needed to be written, the village chief was asked to do it. Although he didn't have much knowledge, at least he could write clearly. But now his eyesight is getting blurrier and blurrier.
Ji Yuan was also infected by the simple enthusiasm of the villagers and seemed very excited.
Walking to the eight-immortals table in the main room, he saw several strips of cut red paper. Two of the strips had standard words written on them. On the left was "May there be many happy events in a newly married couple" and on the right was "Give birth to a fat boy soon". The character "小" might have fewer strokes and was much smaller than the others, which made Ji Yuan smile.
"Mr. Big, pen!"
Ji Yuan took a look and saw the groom, who was dressed smartly and tied with a red cloth flower, personally handing him the pen. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be in a very happy mood.
"Groom, please watch carefully!"
Ji Yuan held the pen in his right hand, pulled up his sleeve with his left hand, and wrote the wedding couplets on two flattened red paper strips.
"A hundred years of love and affection."
"A thousand miles of marriage are connected by a thread."
Then he took another piece of red paper and placed it horizontally, and wrote four words again: "Happy wedding."
The pen moves with such force that it can be seen through the back of the paper, and there is a kind of spiritual and elegant aura hidden beyond the sight of ordinary people.
While he was writing, the old village chief beside him read it aloud. Even though most of the people were illiterate, they could see that the great master's handwriting was extremely beautiful and definitely good.
The children nearby clapped their hands and the adults nearby also cheered.
Old man Zhao dragged Ji Yuan to the chairman's seat. Under the urging of others, the dinner was finally about to begin, and the kitchen helpers began to serve the dishes.
"Let's have a banquet~~~"
The best man's call sounded loudly, and the wedding banquet officially began in the red sunset.
Ji Yuan opened his eyes wide and looked around the banquet with a smile on his face. Waves of "joy" rose in his heart, especially after the wedding couplets were put up.
With a sudden thought in his mind, he took the chess piece in his sleeve, and the joy that was about to dissipate gathered again and moved towards the chess piece.
"Good, good, good joy!"
The Qingteng sword wrapped in cloth, which was always carried on his back, also radiated spiritual energy.