There are two roads from Huai'an County to Lingyang County, one is by land and the other is by water.
Liu Hongyi's original words were: "Brother Jiang, it's a one-day and one-night trip to Lingyang. How about you and I take a boat, have a drink and talk on the boat, and take a look at the mountains and rivers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait?"
Jiang Chaoge thought for a while and replied: "Excellent!"
So, the two went to Huai'an Pier and found a passenger ship.
The boatman was an old man, in his fifties, with a somewhat skinny face, but his physical strength seemed to be very good, and he had a particularly loud voice.
"You two gentlemen, please board the ship quickly!!"
Jiang Chaoge felt the membranes in his ears trembling, and subconsciously got on the boat.
There were three other people on the boat, a merchant in his forties and a woman in her twenties, with a three-month-old baby in her arms.
Jiang Chaoge rubbed his ears and looked at the turbid river water and the sparse dead trees on the other side.
As he was watching, Liu Hongyi came over and said, "Brother Jiang, are you interested in poetry?"
I just have an earache... Seeing that the other party paid for his boat ticket, Jiang Chaoge couldn't put off his interest, so he said, "Of course there is."
"Oh? Brother Jiang, please come quickly!" Liu Hongyi's eyes lit up.
Jiang Chaoge thought for a while and chanted: "The river is surging thousands of miles away, passing by the water snake waist in Huai'an. The graceful scenery is a beautiful sight. I really want to practice floating on the water."
Liu Hongyi was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to react.
Then, with a wry smile on his face, he opened his mouth to praise: "Good poem, good poem! Brother Jiang is really talented!"
"What kind of bad poem is floating in the water? I'm afraid you don't want to float in the water!"
A girl wearing a colorful dress came over.
He has red lips and white teeth, and raised eyebrows. He is holding a three-foot green sword in his hand, and a sheepskin bag hanging on his waist, with three flying knives stuck diagonally on it.
A heroic heroine!
Liu Hongyi's eyes immediately lit up again: "Is the heroine going to board the ship?"
"Why, you won't let me in?" The girl raised her eyebrows.
"How dare you, there happens to be another spot." Liu Hongyi immediately moved out of the way.
The girl held the sword and jumped onto the bow of the ship. When she passed by Jiang Chaoge, she glanced sideways and said, "She is quite good-looking, but it's a pity."
Jiang Chaoge thought about it and said, "Is the girl seriously ill?"
"No?" The girl didn't respond at once.
"What a pity." Jiang Chaoge sighed.
Without a serious illness, it is impossible to be strong. I guess this heroine cannot float on water either.
So, when the passengers were full, the ship set sail.
Along the way, the old man paddled behind and the girl shouted in front.
"Don't come close to me, you bastard!"
Liu Hongyi blushed: "A gentleman loves beauty, what's wrong with him?"
On the contrary, it expresses the first two characters of romantic talent vividly.
Jiang Chaoge had no interest in women and naturally did not want to talk to the two of them. He just held the book in his hand and studied it silently.
This scientific examination mainly tests the essay strategy, just like the composition in the previous life. If you are not up to your own level, you won’t even know how to copy.
Moreover, there is now a very fatal problem, that is, his calligraphy... is very poor!
In addition, I don’t know much about the history of Da Qin... either.
"It's only Jiang Yu'er's fault that his memory is incomplete. Otherwise, how could I, Jiang, be in this predicament?"
Watching and watching...
It's almost dusk.
The old man stopped in the middle of the river, took two more river fish caught in the river, started a fire at the stern of the boat, cooked them, steamed one fish and made soup for the other.
These are included in the shipping fee.
The vendor was the first to come over, looking a little hungry.
The woman nursed her child in the boat.
Liu Hongyi couldn't stay in the boat any longer, so he pulled Jiang Chaoge to the bow of the boat: "Brother Jiang, look at the beautiful scenery on both sides of the bank."
"Beautiful? Is this your first time taking a boat to Lingyang? The journey is not very beautiful!" The merchant interjected from behind the boat.
"Why, is there any danger on this road?" Liu Hongyi obviously understood the hidden meaning of the merchant's words.
"Haha, after passing the water mouth in front, there is the big stone statue!" The merchant took the opportunity to glance at the woman in the boat: "That is the most dangerous place in the Qing River."
"What's the danger?"
"Have you ever heard of 'mountain ghost'?"
"Mountain Ghost!!"
…
"It's ridiculous that you are still a scholar. Haven't you read Qu Sheng's "Nine Songs"?" The girl said disdainfully in the boat: "There is a chapter about mountain ghosts in it."
Qu Sheng? "Nine Songs"... There is Qu Yuan in this world!
Jiang Chaoge blinked his eyes and realized something.
Liu Hongyi blushed again: "How could I not know Qu Sheng's "Nine Songs"?"
"Since you know "Nine Songs", how can you not know about the mountain ghost?" The girl's eyebrows were flying: "I heard that this mountain ghost is extremely beautiful. By the way, she also particularly likes handsome men. She wants to marry him as soon as she sees him!"
After saying this, the girl glanced at Jiang Chaoge.
Jiang Chaoge ignored her.
The girl seemed a little disappointed when Jiang Chaoge didn't respond, so she added, "Actually, that big stone statue contains not only mountain ghosts, but also mountain spirits. Those are all wandering spirits who have been married to mountain ghosts."
"Are there really mountain ghosts and mountain spirits at that big stone statue? Then...why don't we take a detour?" Liu Hongyi likes to listen to Zhiyi legends, but that doesn't mean he likes to mess with them.
"Don't mention it, Master, a year ago... we really had to take a detour." The old man cooking the river fish smiled: "However, not many things have happened in the past year."
"How to say?" Liu Hongyi asked again.
"Speaking of which, this is quite strange..."
The old man began to take over the conversation from everyone on the boat and began to talk.
Jiang Chaoge was interested in these ghost stories, so he naturally put down the book and began to listen to the old man talk about the big stone statue.
According to the old man, this big stone statue is indeed extremely strange.
In the past few decades, there have often been cases of murder. Passengers passing by on a boat would be missing for no apparent reason, and the boat could not be found.
There are also some people who suddenly get mad when they pass by a large stone statue, and shout: "Lady, beautiful lady!"
Then, jump into the river and swim towards the big stone statue.
However, the people who swam past...
Neither came back.
"I heard that they all followed the mountain ghost and became wandering spirits on the mountain!"
The old man made a frightened expression.
Then, he continued to talk.
"So, in the past few decades, those who ran boats in the Qing River basically took a detour. Few merchants would take the risk of taking the waterway of the big stone statue because they were in a hurry."
"However, this matter changed a year ago..."
While the old man was talking, the fish soup had already been cooked, and it was fragrant and white.
After serving a bowl of fish soup to everyone on the boat, the old man continued: "A year ago, an old Taoist came to this big stone statue... and he sat on the belly of the big stone statue!"
"A year ago? Is the old Taoist that the old man mentioned still around now?" Liu Hongyi's eyes widened.
"Yes, of course I am!" The old man nodded.
When Jiang Chaoge heard this, he was also a little surprised. An old Taoist sitting on a big stone statue didn't eat or drink. Didn't he starve to death in a year?
Seemingly sensing everyone's doubts, the old man explained: "The old Taoist is indeed still sitting on the big stone statue. You will be able to see it when you pass by later, but whether he is dead or not... I don't know."
"Hasn't anyone climbed up to the big stone statue to take a look?" Liu Hongyi asked quickly.
"Young Master really said what he said. In the past year, more than a dozen people have climbed up to the big stone statue to look at it. However, these people... all died after they returned."
"All dead?"
"Yes, no one who has climbed the big stone statue is alive. As time goes by, no one dares to climb the big stone statue to see the old Taoist. A year has passed like this..."
"..."
"However, strange to say, since the old Taoist sat on the big stone statue, there have been fewer incidents of mountain ghosts seeking our lives. In this way, we sailors can dare to pass."