Chapter 605: It’s the first time, it’s the revisit
The Taoist walked ahead with a stick and climbed another high mountain.
The girl dressed in three-color clothes held a sugar cane that was about the same height as herself and used it as a crutch. She followed the Taoist, chirping and looking into the distance with him.
"Are you in Marsh County?"
The Taoist's voice came from in front of me.
"Bah, bah, bah..."
The girl had no time in her mouth and did not answer.
"Miss Sanhua has been eating sugar cane for several days. If she eats too much, her mouth will rot."
When the girl heard this, she just turned her head——
"Pooh……"
Spit out the bagasse, continue to put the sugarcane into your mouth, take a bite and keep chewing.
"Miss Sanhua will gain weight if you eat like this."
"Bah chi bah chi..."
"You may not be able to buy sugar cane anywhere ahead, so you'd better save some."
"Pooh……"
"..."
The Taoist shook his head and continued to move forward.
There are large tracts of flat land in the mountains, and there are many houses scattered there. The sky is sunny on the one hand, but what is rare is that the sky is full of cumulus clouds. The clouds cast shadows, and the gaps in the clouds shed sunlight. The light and clouds are in this flat land and
The mountains are sprinkled with spots, which change and flow with the wind.
The Taoist and the Taoist walked along the mountain road, often bathed in the sun, and often shrouded in shadows. Sometimes the shadows were still walking quickly on the ground. The Queen of Sanhua was often stunned for a moment, and then she raised her head to look at the clouds in the sky while holding the sugar cane.
, shook his head, then walked and ate again, keeping up with the Taoist in front.
There are houses and tea stalls beside the road.
Song You chose a place with a beautiful scenery. It was surrounded by pastoral cottages and was all golden. He thought it would be nice to sit here and bask in the sun, rest and drink tea, so he walked in.
"Want a bowl of tea."
"okay!"
"Is there anything to eat?"
"Roasted bait cubes and roasted milk fans."
"What is it?"
"One is made of rice and the other is made of milk."
"Let's all have a taste."
"okay!"
The store owner suddenly smiled brighter.
Song You went out to unload the horse's luggage again, and asked at the same time: "May I ask the store owner how far is Xian Ning?"
"This is Xianning, but we are on the edge here. If you go to the county seat, follow the road on the right, and you will be there about thirty miles away."
"Thank you."
There was another group of people at the tea stall.
It looked like they were dressed as businessmen. The horses, mules and goods were outside under the shade of the trees. Maybe it was too sunny, so they were drinking tea here. Some people were lying on the table, taking a nap. When they heard the Taoist's voice, they couldn't help but look at him.
When he looked up and saw that it was a Taoist priest, someone started chatting and asked curiously:
"Where are you from, sir?"
"Yizhou people."
Song You replied while unloading his luggage.
The girl followed him holding sugar cane.
“What does defibrination do?”
"A wandering Taoist travels everywhere and always goes wherever the scenery is good."
“It’s so comfortable.”
"Where are you guys?"
"We are miserable people. We have been traveling on this road for many years, doing reselling business. How can I be comfortable as a gentleman?"
"Those people come and go to Xian Ning often?" Song You came back and sat down and asked.
"yes."
"I heard that there is a strange thing in Xianning. There are often people who don't know where they come from. They claim to live here. The scenery is the same, but they don't know the locals, and no one knows them. They don't know where they are.
Is this true or false?" Song You continued to ask.
"There are indeed many strange things in Xian Ning. The one you mentioned is a relatively distant one. When the county officials heard about it, they all went to confirm it for themselves. It is indeed true."
"What about those people?"
"Of course they stayed in Xianning. Many of them are still alive. People often hear about this legend and are curious and go to them to ask. They all answer." The businessman yawned and said to him, "The latest time it suddenly appeared.
Here comes a woman. The woman was very frightened after arriving in Xianning. Fortunately, a kind person reported her to the government. After arriving at the government, the government had already experienced this kind of thing. Knowing that she was probably the same as those before, she suddenly didn't know.
Wherever it comes from, it is settled."
The businessman's tone was casual, as if he was telling the truth.
"This woman later got married to someone in the city. She got married quite well. People call her Xiao Chai Niang. If you don't believe me, sir, you can go to the city to look for her. Just ask Xiao Chai Niang where she lives, and everyone will know."
"Xiao Chai Niang..."
"Exactly!"
"How long ago was that?"
"Maybe seven or eight years ago?"
"There is such a strange thing..."
Song You's eyes flashed and he murmured to himself.
"Hahaha……"
The merchant laughed loudly and even woke up his companions. He muttered something to him, but he ignored him and said to Song You with a smile: "Actually, we are not from Mao County. We come here to do business. In the end,
When I first heard about such strange things, I was surprised. I wondered where those people came from. Is it possible that there are other worlds besides ours? Whenever outsiders come and hear such things,
They were all surprised, especially many literati and officials, who wanted to look for and ask questions. Some people had no place to stay and no idea how to make a living after they emerged, but they only needed to rely on these literati and officials who came to look for them to ask them.
After listening to their stories about things in my hometown, I gave them some rewards and gifts, and I was able to eat. But the more we heard about it, the more we got used to it."
"I'm determined to go look for it."
"I have seen that little Chai Niang before. Because she was very pretty, she married a gentleman from a famous cloth shop in the city as his concubine. The husband liked her quite a lot and it is said that she had an heir..."
The stall owner first served Song You a bowl of tea.
Unfortunately, it was freshly brewed and not herbal tea.
The Taoist held the tea and waited for it to cool while talking to the businessman. The girl sat next to him, with her right leg stretched straight, her left leg resting on her right leg, holding the sugar cane and chewing it with concentration, especially in this posture.
You can lean slightly on the Taoist priest and still get some sunshine. Every time you take a bite, your eyes will slightly narrow, and you seem to be extremely happy and satisfied.
She threw the bagasse far away.
The roasted bait cubes and roasted milk fans also arrived quickly.
The bait cubes are made of rice, like pancakes, slightly burnt, and coated with sauce, so they are salty. The milk fans are made of milk, eggs, flour, etc., and are coated with brown sugar, which is sweet.
of.
Song You ate slowly, and after it cooled down, he broke off a piece and handed it to his children.
"Sir, you are very interested in this matter!"
"Indeed, in the many years since we have traveled around the world, we have seen many fairies and ghosts and heard many stories about ghosts and gods, but we rarely hear about such strange things." Song You replied, "You must try it before you go."
What does this bait cake and milk fan smell like?"
"Sir, please eat it yourself. We have eaten it before, and we are not used to it. But the rice noodles from Numa County are quite good."
"That's fine..."
"Speaking of which, there is another more interesting thing..."
"What? Can I tell you next?"
"It's just chatting, what can't we say?" The businessman was quite generous and said to him, "I heard from people who suddenly appeared in the past that where they lived, people occasionally came in and people disappeared inexplicably.
I left. I don’t know where these missing people have gone. I just thought they were dead and in trouble, but unexpectedly they came to us."
The businessman paused as he spoke, and his voice became mysterious.
"But I heard that Xiao Chai Niang said that I have only heard of people coming in and people disappearing, but I have never heard of people coming in and disappearing at the same time, only once."
"ah……"
The roadside stall was sunny and the wind was blowing. The Taoist was sitting in the tea stall, surrounded by the sounds of children chewing sugar cane, and he couldn't help but have a look of reminiscence in his eyes.
"Which time was it?"
"It is said that a young Taoist priest suddenly came there from the 'outside', but in their place, only a few old people knew where the outside was. After this Taoist arrived in the village, everyone in the village felt very strange
, just like when those people came to our place, we felt strange when we looked at them. Many people came to see him and asked him about his "outside" affairs, and one after another people invited him to their homes as guests and treated him warmly.
The first thing the Taoist arrived at was her home, brought back by her grandfather who went out to work."
The businessman paused and thought for a moment:
"It is said that the Taoist has some magic. They have long thought that he is unusual. Why? Because when other people come there from the outside, their reactions are completely different from when he comes there."
"Yeah……"
The Taoist is still thinking about it.
"There is another thing that shows that the Taoist priest is not an ordinary person." The businessman said, "There were no peach trees in that place. After the Taoist priest came, he went to the Taoist temple on the mountain one day and said that a peach tree suddenly appeared.
The peach tree bore a lot of peaches. Because their family once entertained the Taoist priest, the Taoist priest asked the Taoist priests in the Taoist temple on the mountain to do the work for them and gave them the peaches. After they ate the peaches, they planted the peach stones in the village, and from then on there
There are peaches. Unfortunately, not long after, the little Chai Niang came to our place, and the peaches she planted have not been eaten yet."
After hearing this, the fellow businessman who was napping next to him added lazily: "It was drawn..."
"Yes, yes! The painted peach tree!"
The businessman laughed as he spoke. Although this kind of fairy story is not thrilling, it is also very interesting. Even if it is not the first time, you will still find it interesting if you think about it and tell it to others.
The Taoist looked at his expression with a smile on his face.
He has also become a story told by others.
How many years will this kind of story be passed down?
"..."
The Taoist shook his head and smiled, while responding to the businessman, he continued to think deeply.
How many years ago was that?
Is this your first time in Changjing?
It seems to have been ten years ago.
The Sanhua Empress next to her was still chewing sugar cane, and she seemed to be listening to the wonderful stories told by the merchants. She didn't seem to be listening. Anyway, she didn't recall the past, nor was she sentimental about the past. She just chewed the sugar cane one bite at a time.
Sugar water, basking in the sun, and enjoying the time without worries.
The Taoist's mood gradually calmed down.
After drinking tea and eating, and having rested enough, he put his luggage back on the horse, said goodbye to the merchant, and continued to move forward.
"Ding-ding-dong..."
The sound of the bell is getting farther and farther away.
The two figures, one large and one small, also moved away.
The businessman yawned, stretched his neck, and said to his companion: "It's funny, Xianning doesn't seem to have a peach tree either."
"Indeed I haven't seen it before."
His companion responded to him in a daze.
The businessman looked at those figures again and felt that this Taoist was probably the same as the Taoist Xiao Chai Niang mentioned, a master with Taoism.
…
Not far ahead, almost just around the corner, a large lake appeared in sight.
The clouds in the sky blocked the light, and the lake on the ground was vast. The light was a little dim, but there was a beam of light shining down from the cloud cave above the head, shining on the quiet and deep lake. Where the light shined, a small boat slowly floated on the lake.
Driving by, I clicked my eyes on this picture.
The Taoist walked along the lakeside with a stick, followed by the Sanhua Empress and the bay-red horse. Whether it was a person, a cat or a horse, they all looked at it as they walked.
The land on the other side of the path by the lake is golden and shrouded in the ever-changing light and shadow. There are countless houses and criss-crossing paths. Farther away is a row of green hills like a sky wall. Although the tops are uneven, they are
It is generally flat, with an obvious mountain top line.
The shore is covered with reeds, and they are sprouting ears.
Birdsong is often heard in the lake, and their calls are different.
What a picture full of autumn mood.
It's really like a scroll.
Even the little girl couldn't help but put down the last sugar cane in her hand, turned her head left and right and looked around, with a serious face, and said to the Taoist: "Have we been to this place before?"
"I've been here before, and I've never been here before."
"What do you mean you've been here...oh, this is what you're talking about!"
"Miss Sanhua, I remembered."
"Miss Sanhua is very smart!"
"yes……"
The picture in front of me is really familiar.
It was afternoon, approaching dusk, when it was getting dark, and only a few smokes rose from the mountains at the foot of the mountain.
It's autumn again, and some people are burning straw.
Burning out a continuous stream of smoke.
During the dusk, the green smoke seemed gray and blue, but it did not go straight up. It was either suppressed by the wind and flattened, or the village at the foot of the mountain was too far away from the top of the mountain, and the smoke could not rise to the top of the mountain. Therefore,
It seems that it only stayed in the sky above the cottages at the foot of the mountain, and then was pulled into a line by the evening wind, spreading along the ground, like a layer of gauze covering the cottages in the dusk.
The Taoist walked slowly without stopping.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
There was a sound of birds chirping, and a seagull suddenly flew up from the reeds, startling Sanhua Empress.
Holding the sugar cane, she looked up at the group of sparrows and silently thought to herself, "You are lucky. If there were no swallows, Empress Sanhua would have to make sparrows out of salt to keep them."
"This is the painting!"
"The painting is here."
"The painting is here!"
"Have you noticed it, Sanhua Empress? The village is different."
"Empress Sanhua found out."
"Ms. Sanhua is indeed smart and has an extraordinary memory."
"Yes."
"Since Sanhua Empress is so smart and has such a good memory, why don't Sanhua Empress think about it and guess whether sugar cane is grown here?"
"!"
The girl's expression condensed and she felt that things were not simple.
The Taoist smiled and walked away stroking the reed.
Sure enough, the green mountains have not changed, and the lakes have not changed either. The Taoist came to Xianning, Marsh County for the first time, but it felt like he was revisiting the old place.