It was noon, and we had covered more than half of the road, and we were getting closer and closer to Sanjian Creek.
With Wang Xu's instructions, Liu Quan didn't buy any gifts, so he brought some fruits from the countryside.
Tick-tick, tick-tock
Passing by a forest, far away, the sound of blowing could be heard.
Upon hearing the commotion, the guards came on horseback one after another, guarding Wang Xu's carriage in the middle, and placed their hands on the steel knives.
"Don't be nervous, it sounds happy, someone must be getting married." Wang Xu stuck his head out of the carriage and said to Liu Quan.
After hearing this, Liu Quan shook his head slightly and whispered: "Young master, the joy is true, who knows what it is to get married!"
Wang Xu was stunned. Although the most famous monster in Liyang County is the blood monster, it does not mean that there are no other monsters besides the blood monster.
I heard that in Sangu Village below Jiuquan Town, there was a young girl who was married off by a mandrill pretending to be a rich man.
It is common for monsters to marry people, and it is common for monsters to get intimate with each other.
There is joy, but it does not mean that the person getting married is a human being, it may also be a monster that has become a spirit.
"Get out of the way, no matter if it's a human or a demon, it's always not good to bump into the wedding procession." Wang Xu thought for a while, ordered the coachman to drive the carriage, and led the procession to the woods to avoid and get out of the way.
small road.
After a while, accompanied by the sound of pipes and beatings, the wedding team arrived.
At the beginning were eight trumpeters wearing black coats, playing trumpets and wearing red silk.
Behind him is a young man riding a donkey. This young man is relatively thin and his eyes are wandering around, as if there is a colorful world around him.
Further behind, there is a sedan chair carried by four people. There are maids on both sides of the sedan chair, and behind them there are porters carrying dowry. There are thirty or fifty people in the bustle.
The groom who was sitting on the donkey took the initiative to get out of the way when he saw Wang Xu and his entourage. Without saying anything, he sat on the donkey and raised his hands repeatedly to express his gratitude.
Wang Xu watched the groom go away. The moment they passed each other, he saw a yellow tail swaying under the groom's coat.
"Sure enough, they are not human!" Wang Xu was startled, and then looked at the porters and trumpeters, and found that the collars of these people were also furry and yellow.
"Master, it may be a weasel getting married."
When the procession to welcome the bride was over, a nurse came over on horseback and said mysteriously.
"How did you know?" Wang Xu asked.
"I smelled chicken poop, it was on every box they were carrying."
It's normal for people to bring one or two chickens when they get married, but if you don't run a chicken farm with more than a dozen boxes of chickens, isn't that a joke?
Thinking again of the yellow tail under the groom's mantle, who else could marry a weasel if not a weasel? Not to mention foxes, there are no foxes in Liyang County, but there are quite a few weasels.
"Don't think about it, it's more important to hurry up."
Wang Xu and his team are not magicians who kill demons. No matter how hard-headed they are, they will not eliminate demons without any reason.
What's more, animals such as rats, hedgehogs, weasels, and rabbits do not pose much of a threat to humans even if they become spirits.
Those that can harm people are often ferocious beasts, such as bears, tigers, wolves, snakes, spiders, centipedes, and scorpions.
Statistics from various prefectures and counties show that more than 80% of the great monsters that cause trouble are born from ferocious beasts. Ordinary animals have gentle personalities. Even after becoming monsters, those who should be vegetarians will still be vegetarians and will not treat humans as blood food.
When you encounter such a gentle monster, if you don't provoke it, it will not provoke you. It will not be surprised and will not be harmed. This is the situation.
Along the way, Wang Xu never encountered anything else except an encounter with a married weasel.
After all, the land of Kyushu is the base camp of the human race, not the northernmost land of the demon race.
Here, the demon clan is weak. Except for some big and crazy demons, there are not many chances of seeing demons on weekdays, and there are even fewer who cause trouble.
Hurrying slowly, Wang Xu and his party arrived at Sanjian River in the afternoon.
Sanjian River is a good place, surrounded by mountains and rivers. Except that it is a little far from the town, it can be called a paradise on earth.
Once you get here, you can't go any further.
At a glance, Sanjian Creek is surrounded by mist. Without Xue Mushan's invitation, no matter how old you are, even an expert can't get in.
Wang Xu came prepared, approached the fog, and took out Xue Mushan's letter inviting him to discuss calligraphy.
Sensing the letter, the mist dispersed automatically, and a path opened out of the mist. At the end was a thatched hut hidden in the bamboo forest.
"You guys wait here."
Wang Xu carried the melons and fruits, opened the way with the letter, and walked towards the hut with the ingot.
Before anyone arrived, an old man walked out. He first glanced at the letter and the ingot in Wang Xu's hand, and then said: "Baby, why are you here? Where is your master?"
After hearing this, Wang Xu changed his mind and asked with a smile: "Old man, why are you here? Where is your son?"
"my son?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, but still replied: "My son is in Beidi, do you know him?"
"What a coincidence, my adults are at home. Does the old gentleman know them?"
After asking and answering, the old man couldn't help but laugh, and said with a smile: "What a naughty little guy, tell me, what are you here for?"
"Someone invited me to come and appreciate calligraphy. I came here as an invitation. Old gentleman, please don't treat me like a bad guest." Wang Xu smiled as he opened his mouth, and the old man's face froze as he smiled.
The old man is Xue Mushan, a great scholar who lived in seclusion in Sanjian River and the former censor of Zuodu.
Hearing Wang Xu's answer, Xue Mushan looked like he had seen a ghost, and said unspeakably: "Did you write that eagle character?"
"As the saying goes, people cannot be judged by their appearance, and sea water cannot be measured. Since the old gentleman is a man of great knowledge, why do you still judge people by their appearance? When Confucius saw two children arguing with each other, they couldn't win. Why do you look down on me?
"
Wang Xu's answers were humorous and polite, and he didn't look like a child at all.
When Xue Mushan saw it, he was secretly surprised. At the same time, he no longer regarded him as a country urchin. He said, "You said you wrote that word. Are you willing to write it again?"
"Of course, I have to prove myself with my words, but I have proved myself. Should the old gentleman apologize to me?" Wang Xu looked at him with a smile. His so-called apology was not really asking Xue Mushan to apologize, but
It's to see how strong he is.
In the outside world, everyone said that Xue Mushan was upright, a mainstay in the Qing Dynasty, and a famous official.
There are so many hypocrites under the great reputation. What outsiders say is what outsiders say. What exactly they are remains to be verified.
It's true that Wang Xu came to be a disciple, but he also wanted to see Xue Mushan's ability and see if this person had the ability to be his teacher.
If he doesn't even have this kind of courage, I'm afraid that when he excels in the future, Xue Mushan will not only not be his help, but will actually be an obstacle.
If you don't see it, a gentleman's swordsmanship will be different. When he saw that Linghu Chong's swordsmanship was still superior to his own, instead of being happy, he became murderous.
This is the capacity to accommodate people. Yue Buqun can't even tolerate Linghu Chong, who is half a disciple. How can Wang Xu guarantee that Xue Mushan will tolerate him.
"Zengzi said, I will examine myself three times every day. Confucius said, "When three people walk together, there must be my teacher. This is true for all the sages, let alone me. If you can prove yourself, I will apologize to you and treat you as a distinguished guest."
Appreciating calligraphy.”
It is obvious from Xue Mushan's words that if Wang Xu can prove that he is the one who wrote in Liu style, he will naturally not underestimate his young age. Instead, he will regard Wang Xu as a fellow-traveler and appreciate calligraphy together as mentioned in the letter.
Since we are all in the same camp, we have made mistakes first, so what does it mean to apologize?
From Xue Mushan's words, Wang Xu could tell that this great scholar was by no means the kind of person who would be unyielding and would find it harder to admit others than to kill him.
That kind of person has no magnanimity. Every mountain is higher than the next. If you acknowledge others, you are not seeing yourself clearly.
"With a word from a gentleman and a whip from a horse, Wang Xu, a latecomer, dared to borrow the old gentleman's pen." Wang Xu did not refuse. He came to become a disciple. The purpose was obvious. He saw Xue Mushan's magnanimity.
After that, you also need an opportunity to brag about yourself.
This is not a shame, but a great opportunity.
Many capable people can only follow the trend in the end, and what they lack is this opportunity.
After a while, Xue Mushan returned to the hut and came back again, bringing pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
Wang Xu took over the Four Treasures of the Study without thinking about it. He put the pen tip on the ink and wrote: "Seventy mandarin ducks and fifty strings, wine smokes the flowers and willows and stirs the spring smoke. The only thing in the world is that gold is precious, and you don't buy young boys from God."