It was past noon, and the flowing stream washed the pots and pans and put them back on the rack behind the old donkey. Water stains dripped along the ground with the donkey's hooves.
After eating the pot of "Dragon and Phoenix Tonic Soup" made by Sun Yingxian, the group continued on their way from the small road that had just turned off the official road west of the capital. The road stretched out and there were patches of woods and fields, but it was not remote. After crossing a forest, they could see patches of fields and many scattered villages in the distance.
The mountain village where Wang Tianshi lives is much farther away from here. Before setting off, Lu Liangsheng compared the directions and roads on the map. The haunted village was also in the northwest direction, so he planned to help Wang Tianshi's hometown get rid of the evil ghosts.
After that, we can speed up our pace and rush to Heliangzhou in the northwest. There will still be enough time.
It is more than a hundred miles away from the capital Tianzhi, and life in the nearby villages is not too poor. The fields of Wangjiazhuang are connected and extend around the village to the foot of the mountain in the north.
There is a ten-zhang-wide river to the west. Lu Liangsheng and others walked up the river bank from the dirt road outside the village. There were reeds on both sides of the river. It was autumn again, and a gray-yellow color was rippling in the wind, reflecting the autumn afternoon. The water surface was sparkling, which was refreshing.
"There is a big river to the west, mountains nearby, and forests to the south to block the wind. The land is fertile and the scenery is beautiful. How can I bear to leave?"
The scholar led the old donkey and his gaze extended down along the river surface. When the wind blew, the clothes and hair bathed in the dusk were gently caressed by the wind.
"I don't want to either, little one."
Along the way, Wang Tianshi was truly enlightened. He walked more than a hundred miles in just a few hours, and he could brag about it for the rest of his life when he returned to the village.
Looking at the scholar's back, he quickly shook his head, shook off the idea, and replied:
"... Mr. Lu, who isn't afraid of ghosts? I've seen one once. I was so scared that I stayed in bed for a few days. It felt like I was soaking in water. My body was weak, so I couldn't do farm work and had to go out to find food."
The setting sun shines on the scholar, and his handsome profile turns backwards.
"Well, has that evil ghost ever killed anyone? Where does it appear?"
"It seems that no one has been killed..."
Wang Tianshi thought about it and it seemed that he had never heard of anyone dying before. He pointed in the direction farther along the river bank.
"Just go down this river, there is a ferry. I met it there last time. I saw it from a distance and it was scary."
"Well, exorcism is what Taoist Sun is good at."
Lu Liangsheng thought about it and nodded, then looked behind him, "Old Sun?"
There was no trace of Sun Yingxian next to the old donkey at the back. The Toad Taoist priest in the bookshelf compartment was sitting beside him with a rope tied around his waist, pointing down to the river.
"Going fishing."
The scholar looked over and saw a hurried figure running along the river for a few steps, finding a beach with few reeds. He didn't know what he was doing, but he was drawing on the palm of his hand with a brush, and then he pushed the brush into the river.
Then, there were several loud bangs in succession, the surface of the river exploded, several columns of water rushed up, and countless pearl curtains poured down, shining in the crimson glow.
"Old Lu, help!" Sun Yingxian shouted.
Between the splashes of water that rushed up to the sky and then pressed down, there were river fish falling down. Lu Liangsheng made a finger gesture, reached out his sleeves, and looked forward to brush them away.
As Wang Tianshi's eyes widened, more than twenty fish fell from the sky, turned around in mid-air, flew towards the river bank, and landed around the scholar's feet.
The fifteenth chapter of "Nan Shui Shi Yi".
"There was a Taoist priest in Xiling who knew a magic trick called "Five Ghosts Bringing Wealth". When the Xiling County government office was robbed, hundreds of taels of silver were stolen. The night watchman saw the silver floating in the air and flying far away. The constables in the government office and the soldiers in the city surrounded and arrested the thief. After interrogation, they learned that the magic trick was called "Moving and Moving".
…
Wang Tianshi opened his mouth for a long time before he came to his senses. He closed his mouth, hurriedly took off his tattered coat, and put a dozen fish that were flapping their tails on the ground into his clothes.
"Fish are plump and tender in autumn. Taoist Sun really knows about wild delicacies."
Below, Sun Yingxian took a step forward and leaped up lightly. He picked up two and held them in his hands, waving them in front of the scholar.
But it was snatched away by Lu Liangsheng, who said with a smile:
"It's getting late. We may have to stay overnight in this village. We can't go there empty-handed, right?"
"Hey, hey, I'm offering you this flower. After all, I got this flower here."
While the Taoist priest was gesticulating and shouting beside them, many villagers were already standing on the dirt road outside the village. They probably heard the loud noises and rushed over. When they saw Lu Liangsheng and his companions getting down from the river bank, they all clenched their farm tools.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?!"
Suddenly a few strangers appeared and there was a loud noise, forcing them to be on guard. Wang Tianshi ran over first with the fish in his arms and shouted at them at the top of his voice.
"I'm Tian Shi, don't you recognize me?!"
A group of villagers holding hoes and carrying poles looked at the approaching figure and laughed.
"Wang Shitou, you were out, why are you back?" "You've only been back for a few months, have you made any money?" "Yes, Widow Li is still waiting for you to marry her!"
Most of the villagers who were joking did so. Outsiders might find it a bit sarcastic, but Wang Tianshi, who was familiar with the place, was not angry. He straightened his chest in front of everyone.
"Hey, I came here because I was thinking about the things in the village. The food and accommodation in the city are good, and there is a monthly salary. I have saved a lot."
Wang Tianshi stretched his legs and raised his toes to look at the toes of his shoes.
"See? It's made by Zhang's tailor shop in the city. Isn't the workmanship better than that of Master Wang in our village?"
After showing off for a while, the people from the opposite village became speechless. At this time, the crowd parted and an old man squeezed out, pausing the end of his stick on the ground.
"Then why did you come back?"
"It's all about the haunted village... thing..."
When Wang Tianshi saw the old man, he immediately behaved himself, stood up straight, and pointed to the scholar and Taoist who were leading the old donkey behind them.
"Dad... this is the one I found to exorcise ghosts for the village..."
"Still talking about ghosts? Where do the ghosts in the village come from!" The old man raised his stick and hit him. Wang Tianshi did not dare to fight back. After taking a few hits, the old man calmed down a little. He turned his head to look at the scholar and the Taoist priest over there. The scholar was wearing a white scholar's robe with light apricot patterns. He had a handsome face and was smiling and nodding at him.
The Taoist priest standing next to him had a brand new robe, but his hair was a little messy, he had a mustache, and a short beard on his chin, and he didn't look like a good guy.
"There are no ghosts in our village, but you two are guests from afar, and it's getting late, so please come to my house."
Lu Liangsheng and the Taoist looked at each other, then looked at Wang Tianshi.
I feel a little confused.
"Let's go to the village first."
The scholar whispered something and followed the old man into the village entrance. The surrounding villagers also dispersed one by one. While thinking, he came to the old man's house. The house was not big. There was a small courtyard at the entrance and a peach tree planted in the corner.
Inside the room, a pale blue flame slowly lit up the oil lamp.
The old man shook off the sparks on the tinder, put it aside, and asked Wang Tianshi to put the fish in the water tank outside. Then he turned around and invited Lu Liangsheng and the Taoist to sit down.
He turned around to get the pottery kettle and poured two bowls of cold water.
"You two haven't eaten yet, right? I'll go cook some food for you guys to eat."
"Okay, thank you old man."
Lu Liangsheng bowed and said something, then looked at Wang Tianshi who was stirring the water tank in the yard, turned back, and asked:
"Old man, are there any ghosts in this village?"
In front of the stove, the burning fire illuminated the old man's face, and there was silence for a while.
"Yes... a boatman."
His voice was low and hoarse.