After Zhang Xiaofan, Baguio and Shitou left Xiaochi Town, they headed eastward, and after flying for a certain distance, they landed on the ground.
Shi Shi first asked Zhang Xiaofan: "Brother Zhang, where are you going next?"
Zhang Xiaofan pondered for a while, and said: "Since Senior Sister Yanhong from Fenxiang Valley has said that my master is going to Liubo Mountain in the East China Sea, then I will also go to meet them. What about you?"
Shitou thought for a while, and said, "Then I'll go too! Anyway, Master told me to travel around the world and practice Taoism to accumulate good deeds. This time, I just heard that the remnants of the Devil's Cult are going to stir up trouble again, so I'll go and do my part too."
"Huh!" Suddenly, there was a sneer from the side, but it was Bi Yao who snorted and said coldly: "You are so ambitious and upright, don't expect that you will not be able to subdue the demons, but you will be subdued by those remnants of the demon sect." It’s when you’re down.”
Shitou was stunned, didn't know what to say for a moment, turned to look at Zhang Xiaofan, saw Zhang Xiaofan was embarrassed, looked at Biguio, but was also speechless like Shitou.
Baguio sneered, "What do you see me doing?"
Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou looked at each other, but Zhang Xiaofan was better, after all, he had been with Baguio for a while, knew her temper somewhat, and he knew Biguio's identity in his heart, so he didn't really care.
But Shitou, a rough and straightforward man, was suddenly reprimanded by Baguio inexplicably at this moment, feeling depressed, but also embarrassed to be angry with this pretty and delicate girl, so he could only feel depressed in his heart. I thought that Master had warned me many times before going out to stay away from women, saying that the most unreasonable things in this world are women, especially beautiful young beautiful women. When I saw it today, it was indeed the case, the master is indeed extremely wise.
Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Shi Shi, seeing him staring at the spot without saying a word, felt a little bit sorry. He didn't know that this guy was full of emotion in his heart, he talked about women in the world and praised his master for being wise and wise, and thought that Shi Shi was robbed of a few words by Baguio, and he was sulking.
He turned his head, looked at Baguio, saw that she still had a cold face, sighed, and said, "Where are you going?"
Baguio glanced at him, snorted, and said, "I want you to take care of it!"
Zhang Xiaofan was choked back by her, he was speechless, but he was not too angry, after all, if he went to Liubo Mountain in East China Sea, he would almost be her enemy, so it is normal for her to be angry. Just at this time Shitou walked up behind Zhang Xiaofan, his eyes were full of sympathy, he stretched out his hand and patted his shoulder lightly, as if I understood you.
Looking at his appearance, Zhang Xiaofan opened his mouth wide, but he still couldn't utter a word for a long time, he just felt that this scene was really embarrassing, he was so depressed that he couldn't express his suffering.
At the end of that day, Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou still did not ask where Biguio was going. In fact, after the two of them were rejected by Baguio for a few words, they didn't dare to ask any more. Anyway, they were walking east, but Biguio was ahead of them.
Along the way, she wasn't in a good mood, she kept saying sarcastic remarks, and in the end, Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou were a little afraid of her. The two were chatting to a happy place, when they saw Baguio and turned around, they immediately fell silent, either lowered their voices, or temporarily stopped talking.
※※※
After walking like this for two days, the three of them headed east and came to a big city called "Changhe City".
They went to the city, Shitou and Zhang Xiaofan asked people separately, it turned out that Changhe City is already a relatively large-scale city closest to the East China Sea. Four hundred li further east from here is the coast of the East China Sea.
The three of them walked in the city of Changhe, and saw the houses in the East China Sea, and the clothes of the people, all of which were almost the same as those in the Central Plains. This place was originally an important point in the East China Sea area, and most of the merchants and travelers who come and go come and go to rest and trade here. However, during this period of time, there have been a lot of cultivators in this city. Even when they are walking on the street at this moment, they also see many people wearing different sect costumes, walking around, wondering if they also want to go to Liubo Mountain and go
Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou discussed it together, they decided to find a small inn here, stay for one night, and set off for Liubo Mountain early in the morning. The two of them negotiated, and turned to look at Baguio who was standing aside. In fact, when the two of them were talking just now, their voices were deliberately amplified, and it was expected that Baguio was standing next to them, so they could hear them clearly.
Unexpectedly, Baguio seemed to know nothing, stood there with a blank face, looked at the passers-by on the street with a pair of pretty eyes, and didn't respond at all. Helpless, Zhang Xiaofan had no choice but to bite the bullet, stepped forward, and asked, "Miss Baguio, do you think this is good?"
When Baguio moved her body, she seemed to be taken aback, and then she looked away from the distance on the street.
Seeing her frowning slightly, Zhang Xiaofan groaned silently, she didn't seem to be ignoring him deliberately, but seemed to see something suspicious, he couldn't help wondering: "What's wrong?"
Baguio's gaze drifted away, and she looked into the distance again, Zhang Xiaofan followed her gaze, but saw that all the people coming and going on the street were pedestrians, among them there were many people in strange clothes, presumably they were people on the path of cultivation, But she didn't know what she was looking at.
Baguio was silent for a moment, then turned her head and said, "What are you asking me?"
Zhang Xiaofan carefully told her about the discussion with Shi Shi about going to the inn for one night, seeing that Bi Yao didn't answer, and seeing Shi Shi still standing in the distance, he lowered his voice and said: "You, you next What are you going to do? You can’t go to see my master with me! I see that there are many righteous people in Changhe City, if your identity is exposed, it will be dangerous!”
Baguio glanced at him, and suddenly said: "Are you worried about my safety, or are you afraid that I will hurt you?"
Zhang Xiaofan was stunned, raised his eyes to look at Baguio, saw her eyes were as bright as water, staring at him. Deep in his heart, he suddenly jumped.
Bi Yao suddenly smiled, turned around and walked away, Shi Shi walked over from a distance, glanced at Bi Yao, and said to Zhang Xiaofan: "How is it? What did Miss Bi Yao say?"
Before Zhang Xiaofan could answer, Bi Yao had already turned his head in front of him, with a rare smile on his face these few days, and said, "Didn't you say you're going to stay at the hotel? Are you still leaving?"
Both Zhang Xiaofan and Shi Shi were startled, then looked at each other. Shitou showed admiration on his face, secretly gave Zhang Xiaofan a thumbs up, and said: "Brother Zhang, you are really capable, you can make this young lady happy with just a few words!"
Zhang Xiaofan was inexplicably praised by Shitou, and wanted to tell the difference, but he didn't know where to start, so he followed Biguio silently with Shitou, but his mind had turned around: Is it true that he and this woman from the demon sect were involved? too deep
※※※
According to what Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou wanted, they just need to find a small inn to stay for one night. Unexpectedly, as they walked, the two watched Baguio walk into an inn called "Haiyun Tower" without looking back, and this inn was more luxurious and spacious than the "small inn" they had imagined. More than ten times.
Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou looked at each other in blank dismay, but seeing Bi Yao walking in, he had no choice but to follow. Along the way Zhang Xiaofan whispered: "Brother Shi, do you have enough taels? I only have four taels of silver..."
As soon as he said this, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly lost his voice, but he remembered that even the only four taels of silver had already been cheated by Zhou Yixian, a fortune teller.
Shi Shi didn't notice Zhang Xiaofan's expression, and said with a bitter face: "I'm better than you, but only a few taels more." Twelve..."
At this moment, Baguio had already walked in front of the shopkeeper's counter. The shopkeeper raised his head, with a smile on his face, and said, "Miss, do you want to stay at the shop?"
"Bang", a small ingot of gold was thrown in front of the shopkeeper. It looked like it was worth at least one hundred and eighty taels of silver. The shopkeeper laughed so hard that his eyes widened, and he said in a low voice, "Don't worry, girl, this shop is a century-old shop. You will feel at home, come here with peace of mind, and leave with satisfaction..."
Baguio interrupted him and said, "Give me a room on the upper floor, it's clean."
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "This is natural, this is natural."
Baguio glanced back and said, "Find another room for those two people standing there!"
The shopkeeper glanced at Zhang Xiaofan and Zhang Xiaofan, then turned to Bi Yao and smiled, "Then these two also want to..."
Baguio snorted and said, "Just give them a woodshed."
The shopkeeper was dumbfounded.
Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou stood there, also generally dumb.
In the end, the shopkeeper greeted the staff and treated Baguio in like a princess. As for Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou, after all, the shopkeeper didn't dare to arrange them in the woodshed, but he only arranged for an ordinary room.
Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou didn't really care about it, after all they were not pampered characters, but they just knew a little bit more about the temper of that young lady in Biguio.
After the three of them went in, the inn returned to calm. People on the street were hurrying to and fro, watching the changing situation in the sky, and it was getting dusk, but two people, an old man and a young man, walked in again. The old one was holding a cloth coat with the words "immortal guiding the way" written on it, and the young one was a little girl who was only ten years old, holding a bunch of candied haws in her hand, and was eating with relish.
It was Zhou Xian and his granddaughter Xiaohuan.
Zhou Yixian looked around, and Xiaohuan was also looking at the environment here. Seeing the magnificent decoration here, he took a breath and whispered: "Grandpa, did you go the wrong way?"
Zhou Yixian had a smug look on his face, and said: "Do you think your grandfather is really worthless after all these years?"
Xiaohuan wondered: "Isn't it?"
Zhou Yixian was stunned by her question, glared at her, and said, "Just wait and see."
After finishing speaking, he turned his head and looked around, and saw that the shopkeeper was standing behind the corner counter to settle accounts, he pulled the small ring and walked over.
The shopkeeper felt that someone was coming to the front, so he raised his head, and was about to say hello, when he was startled suddenly, with a surprised expression on his face.
Zhou Yixian smiled, his whole body resembled a crane bone immortal, as much as a Taoist master, and said, "Treasurer Wang, do you still remember me?"
The shopkeeper Wang exclaimed "Ah", and ran out from behind the counter, his expression was extremely respectful, and his expression was even more pleasantly surprised, he only stared at Xiaohuan who was next to him dumbfounded. I just heard him say: "Oh! It's you, the old god! Why are you here? Alas! It's, this, this has been gone for thirty years! I miss you all the time!"
Zhou Yixian smiled slightly, with a superb temperament, stretched out his hand to brush the wind and dust on his clothes, and said with a faint smile: "I am not an ordinary person. I have traveled around the world these years, and even went to famous mountains and wonderlands to visit immortals and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. How can I come here?"
Xiaohuan fell to the ground beside him.
But shopkeeper Wang seemed to be convinced, nodded frequently, and said: "Yes, yes, old fairy, of course you are different from us ordinary people."
Saying that, he greeted Zhou Yixian and Xiaohuan to sit on a clean table, and quickly called the waiter to serve him the best tea.
Zhou Yixian looked around with a smile, and said, "Look at this, your business should be pretty good these years!"
Shopkeeper Wang said respectfully, "Yes, thanks to your old age."
Zhou Yixian coughed, and said: "I came here this time, and I wanted to visit a Taoist friend in the East China Sea. I remembered that I had a relationship with you back then, so I came to have a look. Then I will stay with you tonight." !"
Shopkeeper Wang nodded repeatedly, and said: "Of course, you must give the little one this face, and I plan to let all the young ones come to see you!"
Zhou Yixian chuckled, stretched his hand into his bosom, and said, "Then how much money will it cost for a night's stay..."
Shopkeeper Wang immediately shook his head and said, "Look at what you said, I can't wait for you to come to my place. How can I still accept your money?"
Immortal Zhou still put his hands in his arms, shook his head and said, "Oh! Shopkeeper Wang, I know I gave you a few words back then, but when you do business, I don't want to break the rules..."
Shopkeeper Wang was a little excited, and said: "Old Immortal, let's see what's going on. If you hadn't pointed out the maze back then and let me be in—" At this point, he suddenly looked around, then lowered his voice, and said : "If you didn't let me plant the God of Wealth tree in the 'Donghai Dragon's Cave', how could I have been in succession for 30 years. If you come to stay in the hotel, if I still charge your money, I will be struck by lightning !"
Zhou Yixian took out his hand with a smile, and said, "Since this is the case, then I will be disrespectful."
Shopkeeper Wang nodded and chatted for a few more words. The man came over and said that the upper room had been arranged, so shopkeeper Wang got up and sent Zhou Yixian and the two over in person. All the way to the back hall, I saw that the house was built in a strange way, three stories high, but in the shape of a hexagon, with a large courtyard in the middle, all paved with bluestone slabs.
It may be a long time, and green grass can be seen everywhere in the crevices of stones. Only in the very center, there is a solitary white birch tree, but its branches and leaves are withered and bony.
Shopkeeper Wang sent them to a secluded upper room on the third floor, sat with them for a while, and then left knowingly, and when he left, he said that he would definitely come to treat the old god to a big meal at night.
The "Old Immortal" naturally evaded in every possible way, saying that he had practiced Taoism for many years and had not touched the fireworks of the world for a long time. But shopkeeper Wang was very kind and sincere, and in the end, the old god finally reluctantly agreed for his granddaughter Xiaohuan's sake.
After shopkeeper Wang left, Xiaohuan closed the door, and only Zhou Yixian and her were left in the room. Zhou Yixian chuckled and said, "How?"
But Xiaohuan asked back: "Did you really want to pay him just now? What if he really takes your money?"
Zhou Yixian was upright, and said: "What's the matter? I Zhou Yixian is a Taoist immortal, so I don't care about things outside of me?"
Xiaohuan snorted, and said: "You don't come here, do you think I don't know? You don't have any money in your arms!"
Zhou Yixian was taken aback, and said, "What did you say?"
Xiaohuan said: "The money on your body is divided into three parts, one part is hidden in your belt, one part is hidden in your boot tube, and the other part is hidden in your 'immortal guide' cloth coat, do you think I don't know? You don't even have a penny in your arms."
Zhou Zhouxian was stunned for a moment, his face flushed, and he said, "You brat, why do you know everything."
Xiaohuan glared at him and said, "What did you lie to him thirty years ago?"
Zhou Yixian said angrily: "Nonsense, when did I lie to him?"
Xiaohuan snorted, and said in a bad mood: "Come on, the Dragon Cave of the East China Sea is the source of the huge sea, the spiritual realm of heaven and earth, it is definitely under the misty deep sea, how can it be in this secular world? You can only say that To deceive such honest people as shopkeeper Wang."
Zhou Yixian smiled awkwardly, but then he let out a sigh, actually feeling somewhat desolate.
Xiaohuan frowned, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Yixian was silent for a moment, and said: "Actually, this matter has something to do with your father."
Xiaohuan asked in surprise, "My father? Didn't he pass away twenty years ago?"
Zhou Yixian nodded and said: "Thirty years ago, I brought your father who was still a boy to Changhe City. Although he was young, just like you, he was really talented in physiognomy. At that time, shopkeeper Wang was just a clerk in an ordinary inn, but your father said that he had a good face, with a broad forehead, a square face without edges and corners, big eyes but no brow hooks, and a peaceful life, so he can make a fortune safely. ..." At this point, he smiled and said: "I found a time and gave him a sneak peek, saying that as long as a white birch tree is planted on the Donghai Dragon Cave and the word 'fa' is used, he will surely be able to leave. Fortune. So…”
Xiaohuan continued: "So he did as you said, and he really made a fortune, opened this big inn, and the business is booming, so he thought he was relying on you to guide him, right?"
Zhou Yixian chuckled.
Xiaohuan glanced at him, and said: "But I'm rather curious, where did you tell him that the East China Sea Dragon Cave is?"
Zhou Yixian frowned and said with a smile, "Come here." He pulled her to the window, pointed down, and said, "That's it."
Xiaohuan was taken aback, and looked down, only to see that he was pointing at the half-dead birch tree, and asked in surprise, "This is it? Why does this tree seem to be dead?"
Zhou Yixian said: "Nonsense, if your tree is planted on a bluestone slab, will it be able to survive?"
Xiaohuan was dumbfounded.
Zhou Yixian looked at the sky leisurely and said, "The sky is so gloomy today, I'm afraid it will rain tonight!"
※※※
The night was getting deeper and deeper, and the rain that started to fall in the evening did not stop when everything was quiet.
Baguio lives in the upper room on the third floor, but Zhang Xiaofan and Shitou live together on the lowest first floor, after it rains, the air feels a bit damp.
Zhang Xiaofan tossed and turned, couldn't fall asleep all the time, but one reason was obvious. Shi Shi was asleep, but the grunting sound of that thick and strong man actually matched his figure very well, not to mention earth-shattering, it also made the bed tremble faintly.
Zhang Xiaofan sighed, sat up, put on his clothes, sat in the dark for a while, then went to open the door and went out.
In the dark night, the courtyard he was in seemed to be deep and invisible.
The dim light came from nowhere, bringing faint light, allowing him to see the faint shadow of the white birch standing in the rain in the depths of the courtyard.
He looked up and looked at the sky.
Take a deep breath.
Cool and slightly icy cold and humid air rushed into his chest, even though he was standing in the corridor, the wind outside hit his face with thin strands of rain.
He turned around and closed the door, and walked along the circular corridor.
The night is deep, the wind howls, and the rain is heavy.
The raindrops falling from the sky hit the bluestone slabs in the courtyard, splashing one after another. Between the eaves and tiles above the corridor, the rainwater gathers into a stream, flowing down gently like a small waterfall. Walking this way, it seems to be walking in a deep and quiet mountain cave.
And it seems that once upon a time, in the memory of a teenager, there was once such a——
night!
In an unknown place in the darkness, there is a low sigh!
The wind blew past, and there was a "woo", and the rain all over the sky also slanted like that.
Zhang Xiaofan's clothes were wet in a few places, but he didn't care at all, he just looked forward in astonishment.
In the wind and rain, someone held an umbrella with bare hands, standing silently under the tree in the rain, standing quietly.
Her bright eyes were like water, and her eyes were flowing, as if she heard something or felt something, the woman turned her head gently.
The sky is silent, the wind and rain are silent.
He and the woman looked at each other silently, silently.
The wind and rain are still blowing and falling...