The Hutuo River originates from Hedong Road, flows southwest between Hengshan Mountain and Wutai Mountain, flows eastward to Jiehe, flows eastward to Zhongshan Village, Lingshou County, Zhending Prefecture, Hebei Road, and then flows all the way east to the Fuyang River to form the Ziya River, and then flows into the Bohai Sea.

The Hutuo River is not rich in water, and this year it is as usual. After the convergence of several tributaries upstream, when it flows through Zhongshan Village, it becomes a large river about dozens of zhang long. It makes a beautiful turn at Zhongshan Village, which is like a paradise, quiet and content.

Dozens of miles to the east, out of Lingshou County, to the territory of Zhending Mansion, the river surface is a little wider, quite a bit of mighty momentum. Although the boats of all sizes on the river are not as tall, luxurious and numerous as those on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, they also have their own artistic conception of floating and free.

On this day, a small boat set off from Zhending Mansion and went upstream, heading straight for Lingshou County. There is a person standing in the bow of the boat, dressed as a scholar, wearing a square scarf on his head, wearing a green shirt, standing in the wind, looking at the sky with his hands in his hands.

The scholar is handsome, with red lips and white teeth, thin shoulders, although he deliberately smeared his face, he still can't hide the delicate spirit of Zhou. He has a beautiful face, a small but firm nose, eyes like stars, and especially a slender neck, like beautiful jade. The current station, hidden between the green mountains and green waters, is like a fairy floating fairy.

Wei Xiaoba, the boatman, has been sailing on the Hutuo River for more than 40 years, and has long been accustomed to the beautiful scenery and steep peaks on both sides of the river. Not only did he praise the guest officer's generosity, but the reward alone was enough to give one or two pieces of silver, but he was also shocked by the guest officer's handsome appearance.

As long as the river is not blocked by heavy snow, for more than 40 years, Wei Xiaoba has been sailing on the Hutuo River every day, and the guest officers who have been sent to him have not 10,000 but 8,000, whether it is a lady who looks like a fairy or a young talent who looks like Pan An, he has seen a lot, but there has never been a guest officer like today, so that he will be happy at a glance. Not only because the guest officer is beautiful, but also because the guest officer's every move reveals a joy that makes people feel like a spring breeze.

Yes, this young and beautiful guest officer dressed as a man - Wei Xiaoba could see at a glance that the guest officer dressed as a scholar was actually a little lady - not only was she beautiful, but she also spoke tactfully and pleasantly, and she was like a flawless piece of jade, looking like a distant mountain, beautiful and mysterious. The close view is like a pool of water, secluded and quiet. In short, this little lady who calls herself Mantuo is the most comfortable guest Wei Xiaoba has ever seen in his life.

The little lady boarded the boat from Zhending Mansion and was going to Zhongshan Village. Usually the guest officials will get off the boat in Lingshou County, and then transfer to mules and horses to go to Zhongshan Village, which is more convenient. The little lady insisted on going directly to Zhongshan Village by boat, and after Wei Xiaoba repeatedly explained that it was safer to get off the boat from Lingshou County and then transfer to mules and horses, the little lady still insisted, and he didn't say anything more. Although the river surface from Lingshou County to Zhongshan Village is more than ten miles away, there are many bends and waters, and it is easy to have accidents, but the little lady is generous and speaks tactfully, he can't bear to refuse, so he agrees.

Wei Xiaoba believes that with his more than 40 years of sailing skills, he can survive even the biggest storms and turbulent currents.

The Hutuo River has reached the border of Lingshou County, parallel to the official road, and people are on the boat, and you can see the pedestrians and carriages on the official road in the distance. Going against the current, the speed of the boat is not too fast, when it is almost to Lingshou County, there are two fast horses flying by the official road by the river.

The fast horse galloped, leaving the pedestrians and carriages on the road far behind. Immediately, the two of them looked solemn, they were all dressed in capable clothes, the two of them were black and white, and their attitudes were very arrogant, which was particularly eye-catching.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way! The official errand handles the case, and it doesn't matter if he is injured or killed! ”

"Drive, drive!"

Mantuo stood at the bow of the ship for a long time, always admiring the scenery on both sides of the river, and rarely glanced at the official road. The arrogance of the two fast horses and the two horses finally caught her attention, and she glanced at them nonchalantly, a smile on the corner of her mouth.

Wei Xiaoba was rowing hard, and when he looked up inadvertently, he just saw Mantuo smiling, the sun was shining brightly, and the heat was hitting people, but for some reason, he suddenly felt like falling into an ice cellar, and his body was cold in an instant!

What's going on? Wei Xiaoba's heart was pounding, and it was clear that Mantuo was just smiling casually, why did it make him feel terrified all over his body? Manta is just a delicate little lady, and he is not a man-eating tiger and a water python that makes waves, how can he be afraid and uneasy?

Of course, Wei Xiaoba couldn't figure it out, because although he had lived a lot of age and experienced countless storms, he had never seen real winds and waves, and he didn't know what killing intent was. That's right, the chill that was revealed when Mantuo smiled slightly just now was the killing intent that anyone who had experienced a life-and-death battle had experienced!

"Boatman, the two fast horses just now will arrive in Lingshou County half an hour earlier than us, right?" Mantuo turned around and smiled at Wei Xiaoba, the killing intent just now was completely gone, only the spring breeze and brightness.

"Yes, yes, it's only been half an hour. Not far ahead, the official road is full of potholes, and you can't run fast if you want to. Wei Xiaoba felt the softness of the mantle like a beautiful jade again, and his mood relaxed, suspecting that the chill just now was just his own illusion.

"After Lingshou, how much faster can the boat go to Zhongshan Village than by horse?" Mantuo didn't notice that the killing intent she inadvertently revealed just now actually frightened Wei Xiaoba too much, and now she just wanted to rush to Zhongshan Village with Kaohuaguan and Mu En.

"It should be fine for half an hour." Wei Xiaoba raised his face and said, with a smug expression, "Little lady, that is, I, Wei Xiaoba, dare to sail to Zhongshan Village, and I can't change anyone else." Not to mention Lingshou, I am the only one who dares to sail from Lingshou County to Zhongshan Village in Zhending Mansion. ”

Manta didn't speak again, and turned to look up at the green hills. The green mountains are charming and colorful, and in addition to the colorful, there is the unique vigor and majesty of the northern green mountains, and the softness of the southern mountains and rivers is missing. Mantuo's heart was unwavering, remembering that she went all the way from Hainan to Quanzhou to Jinling, Lin'an, to Daimyo, Zhending, Baozhou, and then to Shangjing. If she hadn't met Hua Guan and Mu En in the Happy Forest outside Shangjing City, she would have settled in Shangjing City by this time. After many years of running, she has long wanted to find a quiet yard, play the piano, practice martial arts, and chant poetry, but she is tired of the wind and rain in the rivers and lakes.

Although he grew up in the south, he longed for the mountains and rivers of the north. The majesty and magnificence of the northern landscape is a magnificent momentum that cannot be compared with the southern landscape. Throughout the ages, when the capital of all dynasties is set in the north, it is a strong dynasty and a peaceful and prosperous era. Great Xia originated in the north, and when the capital was set in Tokyo, Tokyo was more Lin'an, and the meaning of temporary resettlement was to always be vigilant and never forget the ambition to go north. Fortunately, Taizong swept the north and returned all the great mountains and rivers in the north to Daxia. Otherwise, if there is still peace and tranquility today, there will be no prosperous era in Daxia.

Mantuo was originally a woman in the water town in the south of the Yangtze River, and she grew up in the picturesque Wuyi Mountain, but she was not a good woman and a good martial artist. When he was five years old, he met a famous teacher and taught him martial arts. When she was ten years old, her father entered Beijing as an official, and she came to Beijing with her father, and since then she has fallen in love with the mountains and climate of the north. Later, her father was demoted out of Beijing, and the guest died in Hainan, and after she buried her father, she went all the way north to avenge her father's grievances.

As a result, he met Hua Guan and Mu En in the Happy Forest.

Who are Huaguan and Mu En, Mantuo didn't know, she just met the two of them in the happy forest, overheard the conversation between the two, knew that the two were the people of the three princes, and learned from Li Guanyu that the two were for the three princes to go to Zhongshan Village in Lingshou County to do things, and she didn't care what to do, but it was not difficult for her to guess that the dignified three princes sent people to an inconspicuous small mountain village hundreds of miles away, which must be a great event. Since it is a major event of the third prince, she has to find out. If she can ruin the big things of the third prince, it can be regarded as a blessing for the people of the world and angry for her father.

After all, the death of Daddy, the Three Kings and the Star King have something that they can't get rid of.

Tracking Huaguan and Mu En all the way south, Mantuo acted cautiously, hiding his whereabouts without being discovered by the two, but the level of the two was too average, and with Mantuo's skills, he didn't have to be too deliberate to hide from the two. However, after arriving at Zhending Mansion, Mantuo learned that Lingshou County is mountainous, and Zhongshan Village is surrounded by mountains and the Hutuo River.

Therefore, Manta decided to go by water.

Following the two of them all the way, Mantuo heard some of the things that the two talked about along the way, some of them were heard directly at close range, and some of them were inquired about from the stalls where the two of them ate, and her interest in Xia Xiang became stronger and stronger. A fledgling scholar who has not yet achieved fame and has never taken a step in Zhongshan Village, how could the third prince, who is famous all over the world and has power in the government and the opposition, send someone to investigate? With the power of the third prince, he has every opportunity, and all he cares about is the major affairs of the court, not to mention that Xia Xiang has not yet obtained fame, even if he is famous, what can he do? Released as an official, it is just a small seven-rank county, and compared with the Star King, there is still a difference of more than 108,000 miles!

So why did the third prince have to plan with Xia Xiang for a long time? There must be something unknown in it.

Mantuo didn't have the idea of standing up for Xia Xiang, she just wanted to find out the truth, as one of the foreshadowings she could use to fight back against the Third Prince. She and Xia Xiang are not related, and they have never known each other, whether Xia Xiang is dead or alive has nothing to do with her.

After Lingshou County, the river narrowed, the water flow became rapid, and as far as the eye could see, there were almost no boats on the river, only Wei Xiaoba's boat was floating alone on the river. As the sun sets, the scenery on both sides of the river changes abruptly, with fewer trees and more strange rocks. On top of the abrupt peaks in the distance, there are cliffs and strange rocks.

"Little lady, this cliff is called a cliff, a few days ago two posterbs fell, by the way, it is the offspring of Zhongshan Village, one is called Xia Lai, the other is called Xia Qu......" Wei Xiaoba steadfastly took the helm, although tired, but full of passion, a lot of this feeling of inexhaustible strength, the river in front of him is rolling, the undercurrent continues, not only is he not afraid, but he inspired the courage to fight the wind and waves.

"Are you dead?" Mantuo didn't care about Xia Lai and Xia going, and asked casually, also in response to Wei Xiaoba's enthusiastic introduction.

"No, they didn't die. However, I heard that the two fell off the cliff separately and were rescued separately, and they did not meet, and the two brothers still don't know whether each other is dead or alive. Wei Xiaoba shook his head and sighed, with a sad look worried about the ancients, "It's really pitiful, Xia Lai and Xia went to be a good offspring of Zhongshan Village, just because he wanted to go to Beijing with Xia Xiang to catch the exam, and wanted to wait for Xia Xiang to enjoy the glory and wealth after high school, who knew that he fell off the cliff soon after he walked out of Zhongshan Village." Some people also said that Xia Lai and Xia were pushed off the cliff by Xia Xiang......"

It turned out to be related to Xia Xiang, and Mantuo asked, "Why did Xia Xiang push Xia Laixia to fall off the cliff?" Boatman, don't listen to the wind and rain, Xia Xiang will be much safer when Xia comes and Xia goes all the way to Beijing, he pushed the two off the cliff, for him, there is no benefit, Xia Xiang is neither stupid nor crazy, why kill his own people? ”

Wei Xiaoba was speechless for a moment, and held back for a long time before he said embarrassedly: "I'm also hearsay, I don't know if it's true or not, I should relieve the boredom of the little lady, and the little lady doesn't have to take it seriously." ”

was recognized by the ship's official identity as a woman's disguised man, and Mantuo didn't explain, but responded indifferently: "It's better to use such a boring thing to relieve boredom." ”

Wei Xiaoba's face turned red and coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment. After a while, he remembered something again, and couldn't help but say: "I heard that Xia Lai was rescued by a horse team, and followed the horse team to make a living outside the Saiwai. Xia Qu was rescued by a caravan and went south to Quanzhou with the caravan and went to sea. I don't know if it's true or not, in short, this matter has spread all over the country near Zhongshan Village, and it is said that Xia Xiang is not an auspicious person, and whoever approaches him in the future will be unlucky. Xia Lai Xia went to this poor pair of offspring, and I don't know if I can come back to Zhongshan Village in this life......"

Xia Xiang doesn't care about life or death, and she won't care about the fate of Xia Lai and Xia Go, Wei Xiaoba's words, she has heard it. After a while, I felt a little bored, seeing that the river was becoming more and more turbulent, and the color of the water was getting darker, and at the same time, a slight coolness hit me, and I couldn't help asking: "Ordinary boatmen don't dare to go to Zhongshan Village by boat, is it because the river here is turbulent and dangerous?" Or is there something else."

Wei Xiaoba smiled, stroked his sparse beard complacently, and said: "This section of the river is a little turbulent, but the river is not very deep, other boatmen dare not sail, there is a reason for the turbulence of the river, and some people say that this section of the river is where the gas veins of the Hutuo River are located, and it is easy to alarm the river god and attract unwarranted disasters." ”

"Qi vein? Could it be that you mean cold veins? Manta was slightly surprised, she felt a chill coming from the river just now, which was very different from the previous river water.

"Cold veins? What is a cold vein? Little Lao'er doesn't understand. "How did Wei Xiaoba know that as soon as the cold vein said, even the statement of the qi vein, he was only half-convinced, and he listened to it, but he didn't know what the qi vein was.

"The cold vein is ......" Mantuo wanted to explain a few words, but the words came to his mouth and swallowed back, with Wei Xiaoba's knowledge, he didn't understand it, it was better not to say it, wasting time, "How long will it take to get to Zhongshan Village?" ”

"Half an hour." Wei Xiaoba didn't really want to know what the cold pulse was, he just wanted to rush to Zhongshan Village earlier, at this time, the cold was bursting, as if it was from summer to autumn in a blink of an eye, he was a little more panicked for no reason, could it be that he really alarmed the river god, the river god was angry, and wanted to blame him?

"Can it be faster? I'll add another tael of silver. As soon as Mantuo's wrist flipped, there was an extra ingot of silver in her hand, and she didn't say much, she raised her hand and threw it to Wei Xiaoba, "There is a labor boat." ”

"Okay, okay, it must be fast, it must be possible." Wei Xiaoba was extremely surprised, after more than 40 years of sailing, it was the first time he saw such a generous guest officer, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and used 12 points of strength to row.

Mantuo turned around, no longer paying attention to Wei Xiaoba, looking at the distant mountains like Dai, the sunset like fire, and then looking at the river deep and far-reaching, if you look closely, you can see that there is a trace of white cold air rising, it is really a cold vein...... When she first heard the statement of the cold vein, she was still young and didn't know what the so-called cold vein was, only that the cold vein was a qi vein hidden underground, which could not be seen or touched, but could be felt. Qi veins are divided into warm veins and cold veins, if it is a warm vein, it will be an auspicious vein, above the warm vein, the vegetation is abundant, the house is prosperous, and the body is healthy. If it is a cold vein, it is an ominous vein, above the cold vein, everything withers, the house is not prosperous, and all kinds of diseases are numerous.

Today, I saw the cold veins with my own eyes, and it was as magical as the legend. Mantuo has practiced martial arts since he was a child, and his physique is much stronger than that of ordinary people, but he can still feel the cold bursts. Looking at the water again, there are no fish to be seen, and there are no grass growing on both sides of the shore. Even the scenery on both sides of the strait is also cold and gray, with more depressing and killing meanings.

It's like stepping from midsummer to late autumn.

I heard that the emperor's illness was also caused by the palace built on the cold vein? Mantuo remembered his father's instructions before leaving, and couldn't help frowning slightly. Although the palace is built on the cold vein, the palace is so big, but there are thousands of rooms, if the emperor chooses a room far away from the cold vein, it is not difficult, why is the emperor's condition not getting better, is it someone deliberate?

I was fascinated by it for a while, and I don't know how long it took, when I suddenly heard Wei Xiaoba shouting: "Guest officer, it's here." ”

Arrived at Zhongshan Village? As soon as Mantuo raised his head, on the bank of the river, there was a mountain village surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the mountain village was located at the foot of the mountain, looking from afar, like a jewel dotted between the green mountains and green waters. Three mountains and one water, backed by the water, is really a good feng shui treasure land, it should be a lot of talents, how can it be hidden in the mountains for more than 100 years?

Mantuo's mind moved, and he suddenly figured out a point, yes, if a feng shui treasure has been unknown for more than 100 years, then once the aura of more than 100 years gathers on one person, it must be the talent of the heavens and the earth, this person, should it be Xia Xiang?

Wei Xiaoba enthusiastically sent Mantuo off the boat, it was getting late, he didn't dare to venture back, he would spend the night in Zhongshan Village tonight, and it would not be too late to return early tomorrow morning. Moreover, if the little lady wants to go back tomorrow morning, he will take her back again, which can be regarded as a complete merit.

Wei Xiaoba tied up the boat, followed behind Mantuo, and kept introducing Zhongshan Village to Mantuo, and after walking a few steps, he suddenly saw two fast horses galloping over, and in the blink of an eye, the fast horses were already close at hand.

"How can it be so fast? No! Wei Xiaoba thought that they were the two fast horses that the little lady was referring to, and also, horses were rarely seen in the poor countryside.

After a moment of stunned work, the fast horse had already rushed to Wei Xiaoba's eyes, and immediately raised his hand and whipped him, hitting Wei Xiaoba's cheek.

"Bastard, fuck off!"

Wei Xiaoba was whipped and the pain was unspeakable, and his body fell to the ground with a shake. Coincidentally, there was a slope on the ground, and he fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and the second fast horse arrived just in time, and the horse's hooves were raised, neighed, and stepped on it.

When Manta turned back to look, it was too late!