Chapter 702: Old things arise in my heart, waiting for my old friend to return
Bai He sent the ceremony back to Fulong Temple in Yin Yang Mountain, while Song You rested in this open space for the night before continuing to set off the next day.
This is already within the territory of Yizhou.
The Taoist priest and Sanhua Empress walked all the way. It was already very warm in late spring, and even at night in the mountains, it was not cold. They often found a place to sleep outdoors for the night. If they were thirsty, they would look for some water from mountain springs or roadside houses.
If you don't have enough food, it's convenient to buy some in the towns you pass by or from villagers in the mountains. At least you don't have to worry too much about it.
Yizhou was also in chaos.
As the Taoist walked forward, whether he was being asked or invited by villagers or encountered by chance on the road, he excepted many demons who made trouble.
Of course, it was all the efforts of Sanhua Empress and Yanzi.
Sometimes I can get some money as a gift, sometimes I can get a good meal, sometimes I can get a lot of dry food and fruits, no matter what, it is considered a harvest.
So I walked much slower.
Especially sometimes there are too many demons and ghosts in the mountains. Song You stopped in one place to eat and drink, and Sanhua Empress and Yanzi exorcised the demons. They were warmly entertained by the villagers and even stopped to spend the night for a banquet. At first, they thought it was just the simplicity of the villagers.
However, after a banquet and a night of sleep, I realized that the people in the next village got the news last night and lined up to invite me early in the morning.
Enthusiasm is naturally enthusiasm, and simplicity is also simplicity.
But a lot of time was wasted.
Fortunately, the Taoist has nothing to do, and there is still a long time before the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. He is not in a hurry, and is full of leisure and leisure. He is happy to enjoy the mountains and rivers, and to eliminate some demons for the villagers along the way.
Have fun killing time.
Unknowingly, the sun became more and more dazzling, and the heat on my body became a bit hotter at noon and afternoon. Various cicada sounds began to sound in the mountains and forests, and the noise was full of life.
Empress Sanhua often walked by the roadside, stretched out her hand into the grass, and caught a cyan cicada the size of a fingernail. She gave it to Xiao Jiang Han behind her to play with. At first she would encourage her to eat it, but Song You persuaded her to do so.
After a few words, she changed her mind and decided to cook it for Xiao Jianghan in the evening.
The forest is mottled every day, and the light and shadow are constantly changing when walking in it, which makes it feel like a dream.
"It's already summer..."
As the Taoist walked in the forest, he couldn't help but sigh.
"That's right! There are more and more bugs, they are calling chickens, and local dogs are coming out. There are guest mothers at night, and there are eels in the fields. If you stay in the village again tonight, Sanhua Empress will
Take Xiao Jianghan and Yanzi to the fields to catch them, and we can eat them the next morning."
"..."
The Taoist didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Puff puff..."
A swallow flew overhead and landed on the treetop.
"Sir, we are only three hundred miles away from Yidu. If we don't delay, we can reach it the day after tomorrow in the evening. But depending on the current speed, it may take seven or eight days."
"Not urgent……"
The Taoist sighed and shook his head.
Before I knew it, I was arriving at Yidu again.
At this moment, dogs barking suddenly came from the mountains in the distance.
"Woof woof woof..."
The barking of dogs echoed in the mountains and forests for a long time.
The Taoist couldn't help but stop, turned around with his bamboo stick, looked into the distance through the gap between the trees on the roadside, and followed the sound.
But all I saw was a dense mountain forest, but no houses.
There are houses hidden in the mountains...
The house is well hidden by the woods, but you can vaguely identify where it is——
There are many miscellaneous trees in the mountains, but there is only one dense bamboo forest. Bamboo has always grown rapidly and is very suitable for covering houses. In addition, bamboo has many uses and is quite elegant. People who have lived in seclusion since ancient times have not used it to cover their houses.
The wind will also plant some seeds, which is not a bad thing.
In addition, if you look carefully in the mountains, there is actually a path that is not easy to find, and it is estimated that few people take it, leading there from the bottom of the mountain.
There are fewer and fewer hermits these days.
Living in seclusion is often the same as living alone. It is natural to avoid people to avoid the world. But even in the peaceful years, if you want to live in seclusion, there is no good place to go, not to mention the mountain goblins, ghosts, bandits and thieves, but also some rogues and fools in the villages below the mountains.
, sometimes when you are drunk, you have to drink a pot. If there are women at home, it is even more dangerous. As for completely staying away from the populated villages, it is not easy.
Therefore, some mountains that are famous for hermits actually have hermits gathered together.
Most of the hermits who really dare to live alone are lonely people who are pure monks, or those who have the ability to live alone.
Nowadays it is even more chaotic.
Song You was a little curious.
"Woof woof woof..."
The dog barked a few more times and then stopped.
The Taoist withdrew his gaze and continued to move forward.
However, they had not gone very far, and just after passing a corner, they saw two young peasants running along the mountain road, sweating profusely, with a look of panic and panic on their faces.
I met so many along the way.
The Taoist knew what was going on as soon as he saw it.
So he stepped to the side of the road with his staff, seemingly clearing the way for two young people who were rushing on their way. However, when the two young people looked at him because of his Taoist robes, he asked: "Why are you two like this?"
I was running in a hurry through the mountains, but what happened?"
The two young men looked at each other and really stopped.
"Hui, Mr. Hui, there was a monster in our village last night. We were ordered by the village leader to go to the mountains ahead and ask an expert to eliminate the monster before the monster ran back to the mountains!"
"First of all, sir, can you slay demons?"
Both of them were panting and said to him.
"I am good at eliminating demons." Song You said modestly, "I can go to Erbi Village to eliminate demons."
"That monster is so fierce. The house was knocked down by it in one fell swoop. Sir, you don't dare to lie!" A young man still had a look of fear on his face. "If sir, you can't get rid of it, wake it up and run back again."
It’s a trivial matter in the mountains and forests, I might hurt my husband’s life!”
"Yes! Don't be careless!"
"You two are so anxious, how dare I deceive you?" The Taoist said, "If you don't believe in our ability, you can still go ahead and ask the experts you two call us, and you will have double insurance."
"..."
The two looked at each other.
This is exactly what they wanted.
Muramasa also means the same thing, please invite more experts.
"We would like to ask sir for help. If sir is really capable and can really get rid of the monster, he will definitely be grateful! But the monster is fierce and cunning, and the opportunity is rare. Please let us invite the expert in front to go with us."
"It's not that I don't believe you, sir. It's actually that the monster is still sleeping outside the village. It will wake up at some point. If it escapes back to the mountains, it will be difficult to find it again. Muramasa asked us to invite the expert. If
If we failed to invite that expert, the villagers would definitely blame us."
"It should be."
The Taoist showed a reasonable smile: "I wonder which direction your village is?"
"It's ahead. It's still more than twenty miles away from here. The mountain road is difficult to find. Please sir, wait for us here. We'll go back as soon as we go."
"In that case, can I go with you two?"
"The mountain road is not easy to walk on."
"It doesn't matter."
The two young men didn't waste much time. They just stopped to talk to him and found another expert. They also stopped to rest and catch their breath. After resting for a short while, they hurriedly ran forward again.
As I ran and looked behind me, I always felt strange.
Although the two of them are not good at running, they are young and strong, and they have already run forward with all their strength. However, the Taoist behind him is holding a bamboo stick and walking at a leisurely pace, but he is still following behind him. And the Taoist beside him is still following him.
A girl carrying a doll on her back looked like she hadn't grown up yet, but she followed them closely, without blushing or gasping for breath.
It turned out that right behind, on the edge of the mountain road, where even the Taoist and the Three Flower Empress had not noticed, there was a path hidden under the grass, which was the path leading to the hermitage in the mountain.
The Taoist followed behind, always feeling a little strange.
There seems to be a feeling in the dark.
The two young men obviously knew the road, but they were not familiar with it, and the path was really difficult to identify. They only realized they were on the wrong track several times when they disappeared while walking.
Finally we got close to the hermitage.
The hermitage also showed its true appearance behind the bamboo forest.
There are several houses in total, none of them are big. They include both bamboo houses and thatched huts. They are built in a large bamboo forest. There is a chicken coop in front of the house and a yellow dog as a guard.
"Woof woof woof..."
The yellow dog started barking wildly when it saw them.
Two young men ran over panting, as if they were about to faint, but when they got closer, they saw that the doors of every house were closed, and only the yellow dogs kept barking. The two men faced the threat of the yellow dogs and walked in.
I asked a few times at the door if anyone was at home, but got no response.
The Taoist looked left and right.
There are chicken coops between the houses, and a large group of chickens are raised in the bamboo forest. Most of them are fat old hens. There is also a big red rooster with his head held high and his chest high, with bright and colorful feathers, standing in the middle of the chickens.
There are a few small pieces of soil between the bamboo groves that cannot block the sun, and vegetables are grown there. There is soil behind the house, and there are fields in front of the house, all of which are planted with crops.
There is a shed next to it, which seems to be a stable.
The master is obviously not at home.
But it doesn't look like he's traveling far.
The two young men couldn't help but panic.
When Song You looked around, he found that his Sanhua Empress had already walked to the door of the house with Xiao Jiang Han on her back. She ignored the big dog barking beside her and ignored the big dog on her back.
Xiao Jiang Han, who was so frightened by the barking, just approached the crack of the door, bent down and looked inside.
He sniffed and sniffed while watching.
It's like smelling the smell in the air.
"Woof woof woof..."
"We don't mean any harm, please don't panic." Song You first said to Huang Gou, then looked at Sanhua Empress, "Sanhua Empress, this is not very polite."
"Well……"
Sanhua Empress straightened up and looked back at him, but she just stared at him for a few times without even explaining or making excuses. She only sniffed twice, then bent down again and continued to look inside.
The yellow dog really calmed down and just stared at them.
"It smells weird here..."
Sanhua Empress bent towards the crack in the door, and heard a voice.
"What's weird?"
"Somewhat familiar."
"familiar?"
"Miss Sanhua, she forgot!"
"..."
The Taoist was silent for a moment, looked at the two people around him, and asked, "I wonder what this expert looks like? What skills does he have?"
"We only invited her once when the ghosts in the village came to visit us. We only know that she is a woman, not too old nor too young, very capable, and good at using swords. Even monsters and ghosts cannot block her blows."
"ah……"
The Taoist looked astonished.
No wonder he had a feeling in the dark that made him want to take a trip here.
"gentlemen……"
The two of them didn't know where the master here had gone, nor where to look for it, so they had no choice but to look at Song You. At least this Taoist they met by chance in the mountains seemed to be knowledgeable about magic.
"Don't worry, you two. I have a good helper who can explore the way, and he also has a way to eliminate monsters. Most monsters in the world can't stop his magic sword." The Taoist pointed at the swallows in the sky and said to them, "Please come back now.
Just go to the village, and my swallows will follow and help the villagers get rid of the demons."
"this……"
"Sir, aren't you going?"
"Don't worry, you two. If my Yanzi fails to eliminate the demon, I will make sure that the village is rid of the demon before leaving, but it probably won't fail." Song You said, "As for me, the experts here are probably from many years ago.
My friend, I have to wait here for her to come back."
"..."
The two looked at each other, then looked up at the top of their heads.
There was really a swallow standing on the top of the bamboo, lowering its head and looking at them.
"I am a descendant of Immortal An Qingyan. Please lead the way. I will do my best to subjugate and eliminate demons for you two."
The swallow rarely opens its mouth and spits out human words.
The two were shocked, but they believed it.
Then he ran back again without resting enough.
The swallow flapped its wings and followed behind.
The Taoist watched them go away, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the secluded mountain village again.
Then he took a step forward and approached the house. Following the example of Sanhua Empress, he approached the crack of the door and looked inside. He actually saw a familiar dagger on the wall.
Fortunately, Empress Sanhua noticed the emotional fluctuations in his heart and did not remind him of this impoliteness at this time.
"..."
At this time, the yellow dog had stopped barking, but it didn't seem to believe them completely. Instead, it ran to the bamboo forest and stood in front of the group of chickens that were pecking for insects in the bamboo forest. It raised its head very much.
He watched them vigilantly, as if protecting his own property.
The Taoist vaguely remembered that a long time ago he and the heroine ate meat, drank wine, and talked about the future.
This heroine once said that from now on, she would find a place that does not charge taxes and live a leisurely life. During the busy farming season, she would go to the mountains to catch rabbits and birds when she was not busy, and she would also live a carefree life like a fairy.
There are fields and soil here, chickens and dogs, and the nearest village is not a short distance away.
Stay away from towns and rivers and lakes.
Several huts, clean and tidy.
Chopped dry firewood and short-cut bamboo tubes are stacked neatly against the wall, which can probably be burned for half a year; there are also a lot of hay piled next to the stables, most of which the horses like to eat; crops growing in the fields
Although the vegetables are a little careless, they are completely edible and some are already ripe.
There is an inexplicable sense of peace and security in simplicity and abundance.
I just don’t know whether to pay taxes or not.
You’re probably living the life you want, right?
The Taoist couldn't help but smile, and then he sat down cross-legged under the rain eaves in front of the house, thinking about old things, and waiting quietly for his old friend to return.