After crossing the Yangtze River, it is a plain area of Pingchuan. There are nearly 2,000 rivers in the size of the place, and countless hubs dotted around. The larger ones are Huai River, Yi River, Shu River, Si River, and Guan River. These rivers have brought large amounts of sediment from the upper reaches for hundreds of millions of years, silting up a vast plain.

Perhaps because of the frequent floods, in this fertile land near the Yellow Sea. Except for a few larger towns in Huai and Yang, it is sparsely populated and in fact an uncultivated jungle area.

Fan Li rode a horse, walked when there was a road, walked on the wasteland if there was no road, met a market town on the way, stayed in the town, and sometimes spent a night in a certain village. Sometimes there is no village or shop, so I have to stay in the wilderness.

It's already winter, and it's still very cold at night, but going out is a matter of suffering and sinning. Eat hard, Fan Li doesn't take it to heart.

At the peach blossom ferry port of the Yangtze River, after a night, the misfortune of the old man's family made him sad and sad. The scene of the old man's whining and crying, and Xiaobo's young hero's dream, have always haunted and lingered in his heart.

Ten years have passed, is Xiaobo's mother still there? After all, the woman named Shao Jiang was not yet thirty years old. Does she know that her son Xiaobo has grown into a half-grown child?

If he meets her, he must rescue her no matter what, so that they can reunite their mother and son. The old man said that she was kidnapped by a group of bandits, and the leader was called Liu Zhanxiong. They are entrenched in the Black Dragon Mouth.

So, where is the Black Dragon Mouth?

Close to villages and market towns, there is a cultivated farmland, and away from the populaces there is a dense jungle.

At dusk, Fan Li walked out of the jungle. In front of him was a large field of farmland, and winter wheat had already covered the ground, like a large expansive green carpet, stretching out to the horizon. The afterglow of the setting sun was still very bright, dyeing the clouds on the horizon cherry red. Flocks of birds swept across the sky and threw themselves into the trees. Riding on a horse startled a hare, and the fellow galloped wildly, ran out of the way, and suddenly stopped again, looked at the man and the horse, and then ran away without hurrying.

In the twilight, a field of houses appeared in front of me. Looking closer, it turned out to be a small market town. The difference between a normal village and a market town is that a market town has a street that is either large or small, while a village does not.

Outside the town, Fan Li got off the horse and led the horse slowly into the market town. An old man came to him, Fan Li bowed and saluted, and said, "Old man, is there an inn in this town?" ”

The old man looked at Fan Li, a person riding a horse and carrying a sword is rarely seen here. He said, "Where did the guest come from?" ”

Fan Li said: "I am from Jiangnan. It's getting late now, and I want to spend the night here and hurry tomorrow. ”

The old man looked like he wanted to speak and stopped, and then pointed with his hand and said, "Go north along the street, west of Beitou Road, there is a Sitong Inn." ”

Fan Li bowed: "Thank you for your advice." He led the horse to the north, and when he reached the north end, he saw a bamboo pole on the west side of the road, carrying a wine flag.

Fan Li stepped forward and shouted, "Shopkeeper - is anyone there?" ”

"It's coming, it's coming." A thin middle-aged man ran out of the store, and when he saw Fan Li riding a horse and carrying a sword, he hurriedly bowed down and saluted. "What's the matter with the guest officer?"

Fan Li looked at the wine flag in front of the door: "Isn't your family an inn?" ”

The man said, "Yes, yes." That's where my family runs an inn. ”

Fan Li said: "I'm a passerby, what do you say about me?" ”

The man said, "Do you want to stay in the hotel?" ”

Fan Li said in surprise: "Hey! You're such a strange person, as if guests are not welcome to stay in the hotel. Are you the boss? ”

The man said, "I'm the boss." Guest, please come into the house and sit on the ground. He took over the general, led the horses to the manger to feed, and turned around to greet Fan Li: "What do you want to eat?" ”

Fan Li said: "I don't pay attention to going out, I have a full stomach to eat." ”

The boss said, "Wait a minute, the meal will be ready soon." ”

There was not much time, so the boss cut a plate of beef and a plate of stir-fried shredded pork, and the meal was white flour cake.

Fan Li was a little hungry and buried himself in eating. Suddenly raised his head and beckoned to the boss. The boss ran and said, "What else does the guest officer command?" ”

Fan Li said: "I think the look you just spoke was a little strange, and the implication seemed to be unwilling to receive me. Say, what is your secret? Don't you see that I can't afford to pay for the store," he said, slapping a silver horn on the table, "Is that enough?" ”

The boss hurriedly smiled and said, "The guest officer said that he was joking, where do you want so much money?" ”

Fan Li said: "Put the money away first, and I will settle the bill when I leave." ”

The boss smiled flatteringly: "Yes, yes!" You are the God of Wealth in the shop. As he spoke, he put the money away, "I'll take it first." How many days are the guest officers going to stay? ”

Fan Li said: "Pay for one day for one day." Okay, you've taken the money, you should be honest with me now, right? ”

The boss looked outside, turned around, and whispered, "Guest officer, I won't tell you." In the past two days, the small shop really doesn't plan to receive customers. ”

Fan Li said: "Hey, the more you say, the more strange it becomes, is your family afraid of making more money and tired hands?" ”

The boss smiled awkwardly: "Where! How much money can I make from this small shop? The small shop does not want to receive customers because it is afraid that something will happen to the guests. In recent days, I'm afraid it's not been peaceful here. ”

Fan Li said: "What's going on here? ”

The boss said, "Alas! It's a long story. Thirty miles from our town, there was a gang of gangsters. For many years, they have not provoked each other with our town. Everyone is safe. Just three days ago, this gang of gangsters suddenly informed all the families in the town that each family would have to pay five buckets of grain a year as a protection fee. The townspeople reasoned with them, saying that we are under the control of the imperial court, and the imperial court has collected a land endowment, so why should we pay them grain? ”

Fan Li said: "There is such a thing? ”

The boss said: "Of course the two sides can't talk about going together, and that gang of gangsters threatens to wash this town in blood if they don't pay food for three days." ”

Fan Li said: "Hurry up and report to the officials, and let the officials clean them up." ”

The boss said, "I've reported to the official." However, the official family has not moved for a long time, and some people suspect that the official family has been bought by the gangsters and has become their protective umbrella, and will not send troops to eliminate them. Now everyone was scared. Everyone packed up their things, and as soon as the gangsters came, everyone ran to hide inside. We are afraid that the guests will be hurt, so we don't want to receive them. After the guest officer finished eating, he better leave, otherwise the robbers will come and lose their lives in vain. ”

Fan Li laughed: "I can't imagine that there is such a thing." Is there still a royal law for this? ”

The boss looked outside wary. Lowered his voice and said, "Guest officer, be quiet." Now in this world, the official and bandit families are oppressing the common people, isn't this an obvious thing? ”

Fan Li smiled: "Do you know who I am? ”。

The boss said, "The little one doesn't know who the guest officer is." ”

Fan Li said: "I am a person who does not believe in evil. ”