At this time, Cheng Yu had landed on a window pane. The window was covered with a layer of oil paper and was damaged in some places. It was convenient for him to observe the indoor situation through the window hole.
The furnishings in the house are simple, with a square table and two chairs in the front, a brick kang on one side, and a row of wooden cabinets sitting on top of the kang, that's all.
The light inside the house is not very good. If the weather is dark, it may be difficult to see the expressions of everyone inside.
The old Taoist named Huo Yazi was sitting on an armchair at this time. The little Taoist boy Feiyan next to him saw the village head stunned at the door and asked directly: "What's the matter, Uncle Master, I think there is any inconvenience."
What?"
"This... you two don't know. Our village has been having a lot of troubles in recent years. There were two ancient wells in the middle of the village. The water from the wells was sweet and has been drank by the people in our village for generations. However, a few years ago, both wells dried up instantly.
Not even a drop of water can be drawn, and not only that..."
When Zhuangtou said this, he was interrupted by a young boy who came in and said:
"Zhuangzi has not seen a drop of rain for several years. There was only a thunderstorm a while ago, and there has been no news since.
Over the past few years, not only has there been no water in the well, but even the original small river at the foot of the mountain behind the village has dried up to the point where only the river channel is left, and now even the river channel is almost invisible."
The little boy is the youngest son of the Zhuangtou family. He stood at the door and spoke with a bit of childishness. He looked to be at least seven or eight years old. He continued with a bit of annoyance:
"The water for the hundreds of people in our village has to be brought from far away with great effort. Each family uses water as usual every day, which is just enough for food and drink. As for bathing and changing clothes, hum! Let me think about it... last time the villagers took a bath, it seemed that two people
There were more than a few years ago."
"Oh?"
Huo Yazi stroked his three strands of long beard and remained silent.
The village head next to him said quickly: "This is my son, who is used to being wild in the countryside. He bumped into the Taoist priest. Don't blame the Taoist priest."
Huo Yazi waved his hand and said: "No problem, I just have a question. If the farm is so short of water, do you have to buy water to irrigate the crops in your field?"
Zhuangtou was afraid that his son would bump into Lao Dao again, so he rushed ahead and deliberately lowered his voice and said:
"The strange thing is here. Even though there hasn't been a drop of rain in several years, not a drop of water can be squeezed out of the village, but the fields outside the village are still barely used. Although there are signs of cracking, the crops can survive.
, plus transporting some water from afar to barely irrigate the fields, although the harvest is still there, it is declining sharply year by year, but it is really inconvenient to use water in the village."
"Oh? Then have you tried bringing water from elsewhere?"
The old Taoist Huo Yazi asked with a frown.
"To be honest with the Taoist priest, we have also tried to open channels to divert water, but before we reached the village boundary, the water disappeared as if it was sucked away from the ground, and a lot of silver was poured out of thin air."
"Well..."
Cheng Yu saw Huo Yazi pondering for a while after asking, suddenly frowning and thinking for a while, then stood up and walked back and forth in the room twice more. Fang asked Zhuangtou: "Besides this, is there anything else weird?
Something happened?"
The little boy standing at the door said smartly: "Yes, I went to the Dragon King Temple several times to pray for rain from the Dragon King Grandpa, but to no avail. I heard from my father that it is not as good as before..."
"Shut up! Xiao Po's skin is so itchy!"
Zhuangtou hurriedly shouted in a low voice.
"Oh? There is a Dragon King Temple here? Why don't you tell me earlier that Pindao will take this opportunity to ask for rain. Firstly, it can alleviate the drought in your village, and secondly, it can be regarded as a share of our merits."
As soon as Huo Yazi said these words, Zhuangtou immediately stood up, excitedly cupped his hands and said:
"To be honest, we have gone to the Dragon King Temple to pray for rain before, but we didn't have the guidance of an expert. I think Grandpa Dragon King has never been worshiped. If Taoist Master can pray for rain today, it will ensure that our village has good weather.
May I have a golden body for you as an old man, and may your worship and incense continue forever."
Huo Yazi smiled slightly, waved his hand and said: "We came down from the mountain to help the world and save people. If we just want the gold body and incense, the world is so big, why should we come to your village? This is the fate between the poor Taoist and the noble village.
That’s all.
Since the owner of the village also agrees to pray for rain, I will make a list. According to this list, you can prepare the things needed to pray for rain and blessings. After my master and disciple have fasted and bathed for seven days, they will go to the Dragon King Temple.
Rain Prayer Ceremony."
The head of the village said hello repeatedly and ordered his youngest son to get pens, inks, paper and inkstones. The little boy's legs and feet were very fast, and he rushed back in a few words. The father and son stood respectfully beside the old Taoist, waiting quietly for the old Taoist to write down the list. p>
However, Huo Yazi sat still and said with a smile: "If I make a list, I must test the chance and tell the fortune. The top is heaven and the bottom is life. There must be no strangers around, lest I miss the destiny."
Feiyan hurriedly waved his hand in an inviting gesture and said: "Uncle owner, please invite you two first. My master is going to do some calculations. If there are strangers around, the calculations may not work well. It will be counterproductive.
”
The owner and his son repeatedly said yes, and followed Feiyan's instructions, clearing out the front yard and locking the door, for fear that someone would break in and spoil the secret.
Cheng Yu stood on the window pane and looked down at the house. He saw Feiyan in the house. He looked through the crack in the door and looked into the courtyard. Seeing that no one was there, he closed the door and turned around and nodded at Huo Yazi.
Nod.
The old man took the pen and licked it in the inkstone, then lifted up his sleeves and started writing on the paper.
After about half a stick of incense, the old Taoist picked up the densely written list and called Feiyan in a low voice: "Come and take a look. Is there anything else you need to add?"
Feiyan read the list carefully, frowned and said, "Master, you have listed so many things, can a poor village like him, which has been hit by the disaster, afford it?"
"It's all about human effort."
"Oh... By the way, Master, you were just making the list, but what did you forget?"
"Huh? What did you forget?"
"You have listed so many things, but there are only two of you and me. How can we carry these things?"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, I was negligent. I'll make up for it. It's a green donkey."
"Both ends, I also have blisters on my feet."
"According to you, then I will be a docile, vigorous Yin and a Yang green donkey."
After Huo Yazi finished making the list, he recited it to Feiyan in a low voice. Cheng Yu heard that in addition to the common tribute items such as various foods, cakes, and fruits, there were also fine noodles, millet, various grains, and meat.
Two hangings, a pair of wineskins, and finally two donkeys, a male and a female.
These two things...
Liar...
The master and apprentice, who were discussing in low voices in the room, had no idea that there was a sparrow watching them all the time on the partition wall.
Feiyan suddenly remembered something at this time and asked worriedly: "Master, I heard what the owner of the village said, the origin of the drought here is very strange. Is there really something evil... Could it be that there is a drought demon causing trouble here?"<
/p>
Huo Yazi was shocked when he heard this, but after thinking deeply, he said: "Xiao Pocaijing said some unlucky words. If there was really a drought demon at work, this place would have been thousands of miles of wilderness and covered with bones.
The teacher judged that the local water source was probably cut off due to changes in the terrain of the mountains.
Hmm... Well, just to be on the safe side, you and I will go to the Dragon King Temple with the Zhuangtou later to check it out. If there is anything abnormal, it won't be too late to make a decision."
Feiyan nodded quickly, took out a handful of incense from his baggage, ignited the fire stick with a flint, and then lit the incense.
Then he took out a small copper-colored incense burner less than the size of a palm and threw the incense into it.
After a while, the whole room was filled with cigarette smoke. Huo Yazi sat upright in the middle, and for a moment he really looked like a fairy.
When Fei Yan saw that everything was ready, he opened the door and summoned the head of the house to come in.
Zhuangtou's expression after taking the order was exactly as Cheng Yu expected, his face looked like Gu Er's when he was constipated.
The old Taoist didn't wait for the village leader to speak, he stood up directly and said first: "Please lead the way, master of the village, we want to go to the Dragon King Temple to burn incense and worship first."
"Oh, okay, of course, I will take the Taoist priest there."
Huo Yazi smiled slightly and continued: "Thank you. As for the things listed on this list, I would like to ask the owner to prepare them within seven days. Don't miss the time. Oh yes, the seven days should start from tomorrow." p>
After saying this, without giving the village owner any chance to complain, he pulled out a sheathed sword from his baggage, flicked the fly whisk and came out first.
Followed by a non-verbal greeting.
The owner of the village had no choice but to guide him all the way to the back of the village.
A group of people passed through the village. The group that originally had only a few people gathered like a snowball, and the village was once again bustling like a market.
Seeing that there were too many people watching the excitement behind him, the owner of the village wanted to drive them away, but was stopped by the old Taoist, who said that there was no problem in the crowd. Everyone was happy to see this rare thing, and one after another, an old god surrounded the master and the disciple and headed towards the foot of the mountain. Cheng Yu wanted to follow this pair of scammers to see what tricks they had up their sleeves, but he was stopped halfway by Mrs. Que.
Behind her was a strong female finch. Cheng Yu recognized the female finch as the widow's finch living in Qian Siliu's house, and her male finch was a trap caught in this summer and made into kebabs.
The two female birds chirped at Cheng Yu, who immediately couldn't laugh or cry.
This old lady must have taken advantage of someone else's shortcomings, and she actually personally led this widowed bird to marry her.
Go, go, go!
After Cheng Yu finally broke off the marriage with the widow bird, he agreed to give her a meat insect as compensation, and then he gave up and flew away angrily.
When they were about to fly to the Dragon King Temple, they saw a group of people surrounding the master and apprentice back to the village.