The heavy rain continued for more than twenty days and did not stop until the end of May.
Affected by this disaster, countless people were displaced. Many Yangtze and Yellow rivers were levied, and countless farmlands and villages were submerged. It is difficult to count the casualties.
Along with this disaster, following the severe drought in the north ten years ago, the vitality of Jiangnan was also greatly weakened, and ten houses were empty.
But just when the heavy rain subsided and the floods gradually receded, before the people had time to cheer, the plague broke out.
After the flood, there were many epidemics. This is a truth that has remained unchanged throughout the ages.
Countless corpses were carried by the floods and scattered in all directions. Many corpses rotted and deteriorated in the water. After the flood receded, they infected the groundwater. People became infected with the plague as soon as they drank it.
In early June, almost every house in Hangzhou was hung with white cloth, and when walking on the streets, coughs could be heard everywhere.
The business of the coffin shop was booming. If they didn't have enough wood, they would use door panels to make up for it. I don't know how many people broke their scalps just for a thin coffin.
Not to mention the business of pharmacies and medicine shops. There is no room to sit in the room, and patients lie in the courtyard. The long queue for medical treatment can stretch hundreds of meters, and the price of medicinal materials is worth gold.
Unlike the common people who were gloomy and gloomy, Wang Xu gained both fame and fortune.
Because of the flood, most academies were on holiday. Scholars had the moral integrity to protect themselves, and not many people contracted the plague. Everyone hid at home to study.
The Three-Character Sutra was very expensive in Luoyang for a while, and anyone who couldn’t read two sentences of it would be embarrassed to say hello to others.
Affected by this, Wang Xu's suppression of the Poison Dragon Ancestor was also widely rumored, and it is said that even the script was published.
The casino even offered a handicap on when Wang Xu would become a great scholar.
Within three years, one will be compensated ten, within five years, one will be compensated five, one within ten years will be compensated two, and within twenty years, one will be compensated one.
If in the past, others regarded him as a future great scholar, he was actually a Jinshi.
Now, despite his reputation as a Jinshi and the prestige of a great Confucian, no real great Confucian dared to pretend to be great in front of him.
If anyone is dissatisfied, write a Three-Character Sutra, or suppress a demon king before speaking again.
It's okay to say that the Demon King is on the same level as the Great Confucians, and there are many great Confucians who can suppress the Demon King.
The Three Character Classic is really difficult. It is the greatest achievement of ancient literature and the first enlightenment. Even the sages will praise it after reading it.
There are even rumors that if the person who wrote the Three-Character Classic was not Wang Xu but an old scholar, he might be able to become a god and become a sage based on this book.
Wang Xu said nothing about this, he was just secretly wondering how many students would come here if the academy reopened after the plague receded.
night...
DONG DONG DONG!!
Late at night, while Wang Xu was sleeping soundly, there was a knock on the door outside.
"Who is it?"
Wang Xu was sleeping soundly, but was very irritable when someone woke him up. He lay in bed unwilling to get up.
The person outside the door didn't answer, and continued to knock on the door as if he didn't hear anything.
There were three long and two short knocks on the door, which were very regular. When Wang Xu heard it while lying on the bed, his heart moved slightly.
If he knocked on the door at this hour and didn't say anything, it must not be Liu He or the concierge.
There are only three of them alive in Ziyang Academy now. Since they are not Liu He and the concierge, something good must have happened to them.
"It has been many days since the Poisonous Dragon Ancestor was captured by me. Now that the floods have receded and the plague has just begun, could it be that Dongting Dragon Palace is taking advantage of this free time to redeem people?"
When Wang Xu thought of this, he lost all sleep and said loudly: "Stop knocking, it's coming."
Putting on his shoes, Wang Xu put on his robe and happily went to open the door.
When I opened the door, I saw a white-faced ghost wearing white clothes and a white hat with a red tongue standing outside.
Look again, it says in red pen on the white hat: "Make money at first sight."
"Brother, do you still remember my brother?"
The white hat had white powder on his face and stuck out his tongue, but he looked very happy when he saw Wang Xu.
When Wang Xu saw the four words "making money", he guessed the identity of the visitor. After careful identification, he turned out to be Xie Bi'an.
"Brother Xie, aren't you dead?" Wang Xu recognized Xie Bi'an, but did not shout out directly, because the underworld had just come to the world, and there was no reason for him to recognize black and white at a glance.
Seeing Wang Xu's shock, Xie Bi'an put away the tongue in his mouth, transformed into a mortal, and sighed: "I was originally a merchant from the south of the Yangtze River. I learned two magic arts by chance. I don't want to help the world, I just want to help the world.
I wanted to be alone, but I didn't expect that everything was fixed.
When I was alive, I was good at catching souls, and my eighth brother was good at catching souls. After my death, thanks to the grace of King Ksitigarbha, King Yama took his fancy and recruited my two brothers to join the underworld and take over the Hall of Impermanence, but they spared the pain of reincarnation."
In a few words, Xie Bi'an explained the situation.
Wang Xu himself made up his mind again, but Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu were good at catching souls when they were alive, and their deaths were affectionate and righteous.
The underworld is opening a government office and is in urgent need of talents. The senior management above thought that you two are the talents that the underworld needs.
Okay, no need to reincarnate, just follow us and work hard. In the future, you will inevitably have people who are popular and drink spicy food.
"Brother Xie, why are you here?" After thinking about it, Wang Xu realized something was wrong again. It had been a month since Xie Bi'an died. Why didn't he come earlier or later? Why did he come tonight?
When Xie Bi'an heard this, he smiled and said: "Brother, to be honest, I'm here to tell you the news. Your father Wang Dafa's birthday has come, and he will die violently in the afternoon in five days. If he can survive this disaster, he will
If you can live to be eighty-three, if you cannot survive, your soul will return to the underworld.
You must remember that on the afternoon of the seventh day of June five days later, you must not let your father leave the house. Your Wang family has the great merit of providing disaster relief to protect the ancestral home, and there is also the No. 1 Scholar plaque to suppress luck. If you don't leave the house, you can avoid this disaster.
past."
After Xie Bi'an said this, he looked at the moon in the sky and said: "The cycle of life and death is destiny. The underworld just follows the will of heaven. The more interference, the greater the backlash. There is not much I can do."
You buried my two brothers in peace that day. We have always remembered this friendship, so we secretly came out to tell you.
It's a pity that people and ghosts live in different ways, so I can't visit you often. I don't know when I will see you next time. Please take care of yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Bian turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared directly into the ground.
Wang Xu didn't expect Xie Bian to leave so simply, and said anxiously: "Brother Xie, brother Xie?"
No one answered. Xie Bian's escape technique seemed to be Taoism, but in fact it was not at all.
Under Wang Xu's induction, he seemed to be using some kind of law of heaven and earth to freely travel between the Yin and Yang realms. The white smoke came together here, and Xie Bian returned to the underworld there. The two sides were separated by more than 108,000 miles.
"It's too urgent to leave. I also want to ask if there is a god in the underworld and plan something for my parents." Wang Xu looked helpless. It seemed that he could only wait until next time.
After seeing Xie Bian off, Wang Xu turned around and returned to the room.
Five days later in the afternoon, Wang Dafa was about to face a calamity. If he could not survive this calamity, he would die. If he did, he would be able to live another twenty years.
With Xie Bian's guidance and preparedness in advance, this disaster should not be difficult to overcome.
Wang Xu wrote a letter home overnight, waking up Liu He and asking him to rush to Jinshan Mansion. He repeatedly told Liu He that in the afternoon of the next five days, he must not let the master leave the house, and he must be tied up at home.
Liu He received the letters and promised one after another, and went out with a starry sky.
Watching Liu He leave, Wang Xu breathed a sigh of relief, but just when he was about to catch up on his sleep and sleep for a while, the door was knocked again.
"Xie Bian is back again?"
Wang Xugang lay down without even taking off his clothes. When he heard a knock on the door, he hurriedly opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, a burst of steam hit my face. When I looked outside, it was not Xie Bi'an, but it was still an acquaintance... Ao Xin, the seventh princess of the West Lake Dragon Palace.
"How did you come?"
After not seeing each other for more than a year, Ao Xin seemed to have grown up a lot. Her eyes were a little less innocent and a little colder. The change was so drastic that it made people wonder if she was a twin sister.
"I'm not welcome?"
Ao Xin didn't enter the house either. She stabbed there coldly and said, "When the demon came, you used me to block the gun and almost killed me. Do you still remember this incident?"
"Remember, you are here to take revenge on me?"
Wang Xu frowned slightly. Back then, he went to a restaurant to participate in a poetry meeting as arranged by Ao Xin, but he met the fake Yuan Rushi.
At the critical juncture, he pushed Ao Xin out in an attempt to use Ao Xin to distract the demon and thus build a grudge against the West Lake Dragon Palace. How could he not remember it?
"I'm not looking for revenge on you."
After hearing this, Ao Xin shook her head slightly and said: "West Lake is located in Hangzhou. The matter of the Poison Dragon Ancestor should be resolved by me, the West Lake Dragon Palace. I, the West Lake Dragon Palace, are willing to give you one water-dividing bead and three pieces of dragon blood ink in exchange for the poisonous dragon."
Ancestor is released. If you are willing to agree, how about you wipe out all the grudges between me and West Lake?"
"Did you, West Lake Dragon Palace, take over the matter of Dongting Dragon Palace?" Wang Xu looked strange. He didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd. Could it be that Dongting Dragon Palace knew that he was in trouble in front of West Lake Dragon Palace, so he asked West Lake Dragon Palace to come forward to settle the matter.
This is really possible. Although Ao Xin was responsible for what happened back then, he used Ao Xin as a shield and almost caused Ao Xin to be killed. It's hard to say who was right or wrong.
Later, the West Lake Dragon Palace did not pursue the case and allowed him to leave with Fahai. This made it appear that he was not particular.
"How?" Ao Xin still had a cold face and didn't say a word.
Wang Xu lowered his head and thought for a moment. The West Lake Dragon Palace was interested in repairing it, and he didn't mind letting go of his grudges with a smile.
However, the price for one water-dividing bead and three pieces of dragon blood ink is too low.
It is true that water-dividing beads can control seawater and are the magic weapon of the aquarium. However, the grade of water-dividing beads is not high. Even general-level sea tribes disdain to use them and use better water-fixing beads.
As for dragon blood ink, it is boiled from dragon blood. It is the best inkstone among literati. It can add 30% of the power when used to write articles. A piece of dragon blood ink can be worth a fourth-level demon soldier, and it is valuable but not marketable.
The two together are more than enough to buy a fourth-level big demon, but not enough to buy the Poison Dragon Ancestor. After all, the Poison Dragon Ancestor is a fifth-level demon king, so this thing is a little short of weight.
"One water-fixing bead, five pieces of dragon blood ink."
When Wang Xu said this, he paused slightly and said: "Besides, I want my bird!"
"Your bird?" Subconsciously, Ao Xin glanced at Wang Xu's crotch.
Wang Xu's face turned dark and he said in a deep voice: "It's not this one, it's the golden-eyed silver-winged eagle that I didn't take with me when I left."
Ao Xin hesitated slightly. This was something Wang Xu didn't have when he asked for Dingshui beads and five pieces of dragon blood ink. After a while, he nodded and said: "Okay..."
"A lot of friends means a lot of paths. Let the past go by. It will be good for me and for you, West Lake Dragon Palace."
Wang Xu has great ambitions and is not willing to have a grudge with the West Lake Dragon Palace. He is happy to see the success if he has the chance.
Shaking his hands, he released the golden book, and the Poison Dragon Ancestor who was sealed inside escaped.
As soon as the Poison Dragon Ancestor came out, he saw Ao Xin, who was wearing palace clothes and with a cold face. He first glared at Wang Xu, then smiled at Ao Xinqian, and turned around and left without saying a word.
Ao Xin watched the Poison Dragon Ancestor leave, and when there was no one in sight, she raised her lotus steps lightly and walked out without looking back: "I will bring you the things tomorrow morning. In addition, you are even with the West Lake Dragon Palace. Come with me."
We still have to settle our grievances."
Wang Xu didn't answer, so he couldn't just say harsh words without being let go.
Looking at Ao Xin flying away in the clouds, Wang Xu took a sip of the herbal tea on the table and hummed: "A princess with only a low-level bloodline also wants to settle accounts with me. Humph, you are not overestimating your own capabilities. I treat you as the Dragon King of West Lake."