Because of the spring rain two days ago, the streets were still muddy. The cart rolled over the accumulated water and mud, splashing water to the side of the street, attracting shouts and curses from the outlaws squatting under the eaves.
Lu Liangsheng led his donkey into the city, watching knights with swords on their hips hurrying by. On the street he passed, blacksmith shops were banging away on red-hot iron tools. He occasionally glanced at him with a wary look, and only turned away when he saw it was a scholar.
"There are quite a lot of people in the Green Forest in Penglai County. I guess it has something to do with the shipping at the dock."
Since ancient times, water transport and sea transport have been controlled by powerful people. When it comes to interests, there will naturally be profit-seeking outlaws involved. This has both advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to explain in detail.
"Let's find an inn to stay in first and ask if there are any ships going out to sea in the near future."
Penglai County is not big. You can roughly figure it out by walking two or three streets. Lu Liangsheng smiled and thought about it. He stopped a passerby, bowed, and asked about the nearby inns.
When the man saw that the scholar was polite, the displeasure on his face gradually disappeared.
"Don't blame me, sir. A few scholars asked for directions before, and it was so annoying... Well, if you want to stay in an inn, it's better to go to Yuelai. Many places have them, and they are famous. There won't be thefts here. Here, there are all kinds of people, and outsiders are easily bullied... Look, go forward from this street, turn the corner, and you can see it in about fifty steps."
"Thank you very much."
Lu Liangsheng exchanged a few polite words with the other party, thanked him, and then followed the instructions. He saw the flags fluttering on the street from afar. The waiter in the inn saw the guest coming in and took the reins attentively.
"Please come in, old donkey. I will pull you to the backyard to feed you some hay."
Then, he turned around and shouted, "There's someone outside!"
Sure enough, being able to open stores in various places does require some skills, at least it can make people feel comfortable. Lu Liangsheng stepped over the threshold and said to another shop assistant who came over: "Do you have any rooms left in your store?"
"Yes, yes, sir, please follow me."
I got a room number from the shopkeeper and followed the waiter to the third floor. There were many merchants coming and going in the city, so the rooms on the second floor were basically full. Even on the third floor there was only one side room left. I opened the door and went in. The furnishings inside were quite complete, except for a window on the side through which I could see a corner of the dock in the distance.
"Let's go with this one. Brother, go down and prepare a meal for me. I'm alone, so ordinary dishes will be fine."
Lu Liangsheng glanced out the window, turned around and took out two coins from his sleeve and put them in the waiter's hand. The latter stroked the copper coins and put them in his arms with a smile, "Okay, I'll go down and prepare it. If you want to take a hot bath, just tell me and I'll make it for you right away. By the way, if you're bored... I can also find some fun for you."
Seeing his winking expression, Lu Liangsheng could guess what it meant. He smiled and waved his hand: "I don't have any interest in wild flowers outside, so there's no need."
The local area is a mixed crowd, so it is normal for this kind of thing to happen. Moreover, not all businessmen who have traveled a long distance are people who can remain calm in the face of temptation, so it is great to have a woman to accompany you in bed.
After sending away the somewhat disappointed waiter, Lu Liangsheng changed his clothes from the bookshelf. The Toad Taoist climbed onto the bed and stretched comfortably. Then he turned over and sat up, took out a cookbook from the small wardrobe, and slid his round webbed head over it.
"Liangsheng, what kind of dishes will be served here?"
"This place is close to the sea, so naturally there are more seafood." Lu Liangsheng came out from behind the screen, tied his silk scarf and looked at the toad on the bed.
"Master, there are too many people here, so I won't take you down to eat with us. I'll pack some for you later."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
Without even raising his head, the Toad Taoist squinted his eyes and carefully looked at the dishes he had recorded: "Master, it's a good opportunity for me to stretch my muscles and recuperate, otherwise I will get seasick when I go out to sea."
Lu Liangsheng stood at the door and smiled, then did not disturb his master's rest. He left the room and closed the door gently, then cast a spell to secure the door to prevent someone from sneaking into the room and stealing anything as soon as he left.
Afterwards, we went down to the first floor of the inn. The waiter had already prepared the meal, which was simply three dishes and a soup. Two of the dishes were seafood. I asked the price, and it was quite reasonable.
Sure enough, a big store has its advantages, and there are fewer people who overcharge their customers.
"Ouch, here it comes!"
Suddenly there was a commotion outside, and a waiter guarding the door ran back in a hurry. The shopkeeper on the other side was also urging him. Lu Liangsheng looked at the waiter who ran into the kitchen curiously. In less than a moment, he came out quickly with a basin of water and ran outside the inn as if waiting for something.
"What is this for?" Seeing this strange scene, Lu Liangsheng asked the guy passing by.
"Throw water on the Dragon King to get some luck and good fortune."
"I see."
Lu Liangsheng thanked the waiter, put down his chopsticks, stood up and walked outside. Pedestrians went to both sides, and even the fierce outlaws had a calm look on their faces and concealed their weapons.
From afar, a group of people with music and drums came over in a lively manner. Eight burly men with bare arms were carrying a large red sedan chair without a roof. On the sedan chair was a clay sculpture with a dragon head and a human body, wearing a crown with pearl curtains. When they passed in front of the scholar, the guy at the door hurriedly poured the water in the basin onto the side of the sedan chair.
After watching the excitement, the pedestrians on the street returned to their normal activities. Lu Liangsheng returned to the inn and continued to ask the waiter he had just spoken to: "By the way, I want to ask you a question. Are there any ships going out to sea in the next two days? It doesn't matter where they go."
The reason why I'm asking here is, firstly, the inn is well-informed and the waiter must know something or two, and secondly, it will give rise to a topic of conversation, and maybe some kind-hearted person will interrupt and say a few words and give me some advice.
The guy next to him frowned and thought about it.
"There should be some... After the spring, everyone goes out to sea to make a living. You might as well go to the dock and ask. If the price is good, there should be a ship that can take you there."
Lu Liangsheng nodded, roughly understanding a little, and then asked again.
"Oh? Where do you usually go?"
"It's hard to say. Many people go to Goryeo, and many go south along the coast and go to other places. Sir, you don't really want to go to sea, do you? That's not fun."
Seeing Lu Liangsheng dressed like a scholar, he thought he was showing off his literary style and wanted to go out to sea to see the sunrise and compose some poems. Lu Liangsheng looked down at himself and asked with a smile, "Why?"
The waiter paused, looked around, and whispered, "I've heard from many people that the sea is sometimes calm, and sometimes stormy. Isn't that the work of monsters? Some people say something even more mysterious, saying that they saw people with half fish tails on the sea, naked, swimming around in groups... There are also many sea monsters, and a single wave can overturn a boat."
“Hehehe…”
After listening, Lu Liangsheng chuckled a few times. He didn't care about the so-called wind and waves. There were many storms on the rivers. As for the monsters, there was no need to pay attention to them. The half-human and half-fish creature was strange. It should be the mermaid mentioned in "Shan Hai Tu Zhi", or the mermaid-like sea people. Asking them about the place of Guixu might give more details, after all, it was all under the sea.
The clerk saw the scholar grinning foolishly and thought he wouldn't listen, so he sighed, shook his head and went on his way.
After dinner, Lu Liangsheng took some food back to the third floor. He sat on the bed and told his master about what he heard downstairs at sea. The Toad Taoist was eating when he suddenly raised his face, with food still on his cheeks, and cursed: "Here we go again, quack! Next time, don't talk about this in front of your master. Are you going to let me eat..."
Before he could finish, his head suddenly drooped, and when he raised it again, his face looked dignified. He stood up with his flippers on his back, chewed casually twice, swallowed the food, took a deep breath, and looked out the window at the corner of the pier.
"Ah... I'm here again."
Lu Liangsheng frowned and said, "Your Majesty, have you been here before?"
Hearing the word "Your Majesty", the First Emperor, who was originally looking outside, quickly turned around and ticked his flippers.
"Quick, call twice more and let us hear it!"
"…" Lu Liangsheng looked at him speechlessly, but still called out, "Your Majesty."
The First Emperor closed his eyes in contentment, raised his face and slowly turned towards the window, and let out a long sigh "Ah~~". It took him a while to come back to his senses and continue what he had just said.
"I have been here more than once... Xu Fu alone went to sea twice. By the way, I remember encountering a huge fish here, as big as a house. It was not afraid of me and even dared to ram my ship. In the end, I killed it with one sword, and its blood dyed a large area of the sea red."
He turned his head and looked at the scholar sitting on the bed: "Do you know why?"
Lu Liangsheng shook his head and said nothing.
"This is the edge of the Ten Thousand Spirits Formation. The seal's magic power has become weak. The gods in the sky know that I am going out to sea, and they are trying to stop me. They sent a big fish to attack me. This time, you have to be careful. You are a cultivator, and the things you encounter may be even more dangerous than what I encountered."
The short figure in front of the window frame waved its flippers angrily and said this while looking outside. Lu Liangsheng frowned as he listened. There was actually such a thing.
He looked out the window. The bright spring day outside had gradually turned cloudy since he didn't know when.
…
On the calm sea, the clouds covered the shadow of the sun and pushed the sea surface quickly over, enveloping the bustling pier. The white bird in the sky seemed to be frightened and flew to the nearby cliffs and reefs in panic.
Looking down at the deep blue sea, a huge long shadow silently meanders from the bottom of the sea, rolling up circles of waves to form a white line that quickly hits the shore.
boom-
A loud thunderclap exploded among the dark clouds, and soon heavy rain poured down. People on the dock and in the city hurriedly hid from the rain by covering their heads with their sleeves of their robes, cursing the horrible weather.
Lu Liangsheng, who had originally planned to go out in the afternoon, reached out to catch the rain curtain falling from the eaves. It was raining heavily outside and the streets outside were completely invisible. He had to give up his trip for the time being. He walked past his master who was eating big mouthfuls of food, and simply took out two books from the bookshelf and leaned against the bed to read while listening to the sound of rain, feeling quite leisurely and contented.
It won’t be too late to go after the rain stops tomorrow.