Legend has it that in the area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, somewhere in Suzhou, there was a garden from a long time ago.

An unknown water garden.

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was no concept of common sense barriers. In that era, wars broke out, there were corpses on the road, and the people lived a miserable life. Those who live in popular towns are fine, but the foot-traders who travel from place to place are not so lucky. They have been sleeping in the mountains for many years, and often encounter mountain demons and ghosts, and there are many dead and injured.

In that era, most of the people who would choose to be foot merchants were those who couldn't survive the famine in their hometowns, and no one cared about whether they lived or died. But ah, there are always some unfortunate and lucky ones who survive. Some strange things will happen around these surviving people, and in order to seek peace of mind, they will ask the wandering Taoist priest to exorcise the demons for themselves, and occasionally ...... They will also hear about this place from the mouths of the mages.

There are many people who have heard of it and searched for it, but very few people have actually found it.

Because ah, it's outside of common sense.

.........

Sanxiang Township, located in the southeast of Suzhou, is a small township surrounded by mountains and dense lakes.

There are only more than 300 households in the township, and the scenery is quaint, quiet and elegant.

There are not many roads in the township, and there are rivers everywhere in front of the house and behind the house.

On both sides of the river, there are many old bamboo and wood huts.

Quaint, tranquil, with a strong antique atmosphere.

Next to the main river, on the second floor of the small teahouse.

Xiao Rin, who had just come to Sanxiang Township, chose to rest here.

"Wow, this is super delicious~" Rin contentedly put a small cage in her mouth.

This is the signature snack of this teahouse, and the small bun is less than a mouthful, but the soup is delicious.

"Rin, you're not just here to travel, you've eaten a lot today. Ling Ning, who was sitting on the side, lay on the windowsill idly, looking at the antique path outside the window, where there were not many people. There are very few people in this small town, and the roads are scarce, except for three or five main roads, the rest are all rivers of various sizes.

In front of the two of them, there was a small boat on the river moving slowly, and the boatman was rocking the pulp, unhurried, very leisurely.

There are not many people on the few streets, and their way of life is somewhat different from that of the fast-paced city people, whose faces are a little less impatient and more laid-back. This does not mean that their life is better than that of the city, after all, there is a lot less prosperity and convenience of the city.

Ling Ning thought about it, and only felt: under the east fence of picking chrysanthemums, I can see Nanshan leisurely.

It's beautiful, but it's not what she likes.

She's more suited to the hustle and bustle of the city.

.........

A mother holding her child in the crowd caught Ling Ning's attention.

A little boy of seven or eight years old stopped in front of a candy store and shouted at the corner of his mother's clothes.

It was useless to persuade his mother and bought him a few sweets.

It was an ordinary scene, but Ning watched it very attentively, and his thoughts gradually drifted away.

As the two of them walked away, Ning suddenly came back to his senses, and a faint smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

Just a slight smile, with a memory.

Once, she did the same.

When I was shopping with my mother, I grabbed my mother's hand and yelled for candy...... It's been a long time.

It's two o'clock in the afternoon, and since the morning in this small town in southern Jiangsu, Rin has taken her around. Of course, Rin herself was happy, and she would buy a big bag of a new snack every time she saw it, but she could only watch Xiao Rin eat it, and she secretly drooled

Thinking back on this hellish morning, Ling Ning looked at Xiao Rin with resentment.

Seeing her face full of happiness, she wiped out all the cages of xiaolongbao......

"Rin, didn't you say you were going to buy rune paper, how did it become a tour?"

"Well, the xiaolongbao here is better than Fenghua City!" Xiao Rin didn't pay attention to Ling Ning's question at all, and after wiping the remaining oil stains from the corners of her mouth, she pointed to a small shop selling sesame cakes and crab shell yellow not far away and said to her: "Ning, help me go over there and buy some sesame cakes, I just finished eating." ”

"Don't, if you want to eat, go by yourself~" Ning, whose face was even more ugly, immediately turned around.

"Nana, do you want to eat it when you watch me eat it, yes, it must be. With a teasing evil smile, Rin put her face back on Ling Ning, and shook the empty bag of snacks on the table in front of her nose: "It's very fragrant~"

"Rin, you must have done it on purpose!, knowing that I can't eat ......" Ling Ning gritted her teeth as she looked at her resentfully.

I don't know if it's sad or too angry, and my cheeks are bulging high.

......

The sun is shining in June.

The town of Suzhou is full of trickling rivers, and although the water never stops, it is surprisingly calm. Occasionally, a few small boats passed by, and there was a soft creaking sound. On the riverside path, Rin wears a neat and crisp shirt and strolls through the old town.

After leaving the teahouse, Rin exhaled comfortably,

Looking at Ling Ning, who was still sulking beside him, Xiao Rin whispered: "Ning, it's not bad to come out for a walk." It's much better to see the scenery outside and communicate with people more than if you were in a room playing on the computer. ”

This town, surrounded by rivers and flowing water, is much cooler than Fenghua City.

Ling Ning, who was dressed in a cold summer dress, stood beside her with a parasol that was one size larger than usual, and immediately pouted disdainfully when she heard Rin say this: "What's so beautiful, you should sleep at home in broad daylight." As she spoke, she took away her parasol and looked at the scorching sun in the sky: "It's true that the temperature here is much cooler, but the sun is still scorching, which is really irritating." ”

"It's good to get used to it, you, you're obviously not afraid of the sun, but you still play an umbrella every day, it's really not a good habit. ”

“...... Although this is true, but it always hurts when the sun shines!" Ning Zizi under the umbrella bared his teeth, as if he remembered some bad memories, and muttered to himself: "After becoming like this, I was so hurt when I went out for the first time, and it took a few days to get better." Thinking of her recklessness that time, she said that she had palpitations.

"......" opened his mouth, but Rin didn't speak again.

Habits have been formed, so let it be.

“...... Rin, where the hell are we going, didn't you say someone would pick us up?" After crossing the four small stone bridges and turning a few more corners, Ning, who was seriously lacking in patience except for the game, finally got impatient.

"It's almost there, it's almost there, peace of mind. ”

“...... Really?" looked at her with suspicion, rather distrustful.

"Uh-huh~"

......

"Rin, that ......" The crowd has decreased, and there seems to be more black and white gas in the clear river around it.

In the lower layer of the water, in the riverbed, a faint layer, ordinary people would never have noticed, but she saw it.

"Tired?" After a long while, Rin sat down against the riverbank and took off his shoes.

"No, there seems to be something strange around......" Pointing to the river, and then looking around, Ning Hu frowned suspiciously: "I can't say what the specific strangeness is, I just feel that something is wrong." That's right, it's the atmosphere!!"

"The atmosphere here is so deserted, it doesn't feel like a small town at all. Her gaze shifted to the small wooden building beside her. The moss vines spread along the steps, and on the dim and old walls, some green and yellow vines climbed up the corners of the walls, slowly spreading upwards.

Seem...... No one has been here for a long time.

Because there is no one to tidy it up, the breath of the people who belong here is sparse and faint, as if it is about to disappear.

Correspondingly, the sparse popularity gives it a strong sense of darkness.

Although rather not hate...... No, she loved the atmosphere.

Xiao Rin didn't answer, and walked straight to a small ferry by the river.

Looking at the bottom layer of the river, the clear and transparent river water in the eyes of ordinary people has a thin trickle in Xiao Rin's eyes, milky white and dark intertwined, like a strange swirl of milk mixed with ink. Xiao Rin confirmed the direction, turned to Ling Ning and explained, "Ning, remember the road we have walked. We have now left the town, and here is the entrance to the Su family's water garden, the secluded spring water crossing. This river, together with the Su family's water garden and the outside world, is called: Youquan Waterway. ”

Ling Ning put away the umbrella, there was still no sunlight in the ordinary sense here.

There was a gloomy atmosphere in the air, which made her feel comfortable.

"Xiao Rin, do you know the way?" Ning clenched his fists, his face a little dark.

"Of course, otherwise how would I have found the ferry?" Xiao Rin looked at Ling Ning with a look of 'you are such a stupid person'.

"Then what are you doing in the town!!"

"Nonsense, of course you have to try the special snacks here. ”

Seeing Xiao Rin's straightforward answer, Ling Ning glared at her straight.

After being silent for a long time, she gritted her teeth and said, "...... Rin, you're super bad!!"

Xiao Rin was looked at by this kind of condemnation, indicating that there was no pressure.

Ning continued to star.

“...... Okay, okay, I'm sorry for you, it's useless for us to come too early. No one takes this secluded spring waterway, and outsiders can't enter it. Even if we forcibly crossed the Youquan Water Channel, we wouldn't be able to reach the Su family's water garden, so ah, wait with peace of mind......"

......

After a quarter of an hour, waiting for the ......

"It's cold, would you rather try it?"

Xiao Rin sat by the river very childishly, took off his shoes, and put his white and tender feet into the flowing river.

"Don't ......" turned around, Ning puffed out his cheeks and looked like he was ignoring her.

I don't know when the sun above them has sunk into a gloomy rain cloud, and the more shady environment makes her feel more comfortable. Looking at Xiao Rin with a happy face, she had a serious face, and wanted to say something serious: "Na, Rin......"

"Huh?"

"I suddenly noticed something very interesting. ”

"Tell me about it. ”

"No, you're going to get angry when you hear it. ”

"No, it won't. ”

"Really?"

"Hmm!"

"I found ...... Sometimes your behavior is commensurate with your face~"

Xiao Rin's paddling feet in the water suddenly stopped, Rin showed an inexplicable smile and turned his face sideways: "Ning, I'll unplug your network cable immediately after I go back!" I found that the recent Internet and electricity bills are a bit high, and the income of the Affairs Department is too small to pay the Internet bills. We need to save energy and reduce expenses. So...... I can't get on the Internet for the time being~"

"Ahh

She took off her shoes and threw them away, and she also followed Xiao Rin's example, sitting next to her and paddling the water with her feet, and her picturesque face was even more approving: "Well, it's really comfortable to have cool feet." Rin, I found out that you are a genius~~"

"Uh-huh~!" Rin turned her head sideways and didn't look at her.

"Lord Rin~" Ling Ning eagerly helped Xiao Rin pinch his shoulders.

"Are you comfortable, Lord Xiao Rin. ”

"Not bad, a little to the left. ”

"Yes, yes...... Is this it, Rin-sama. This addicted zombie decisively lost his discipline and did so.

"Well, that's good~"

"Isn't this a matter of course, everything is for Lord Xiao Rin~"

.........

Ning shook his feet and twisted uneasily.

"Rin~~" shouted weakly, waited for a while, and she turned around without getting a response, and found that Xiao Rin had closed her eyes and was lying comfortably on the wooden board of the ferry.

"Rin, how old is your sister?"

"Five-year-old, don't you know?"

"It's cute, isn't it?"

"Hmm. Responding softly, Rin muttered, "Do you miss them, then go and see." ”

Ning pillowed on her and did not respond.

Just deep, deep, looking into the distance.

.........

After taking a nap for a while, the energetic Ning heard a strange squeak,

She stood up and looked at the end of the river.

Ling Ning shook Xiao Rin, pointed to the distance and shouted, "Rin, there's a ship coming there!!"

"What's so strange, haven't you seen a lot along the way?"

"It's different, it's different, look at it yourself, this boat is all black, and there is a roof!" Pointing to a canopy boat in the crisscrossed river beside him, Ning jumped excitedly onto a stone platform to look.

In the distance, under the dim quaint stone bridge, the otherwise calm water surface rippled.

From far and near, a small canopy boat headed in the direction where the two men were.

"Alas, what an ignorant little ghost. Rin sighed a little nerve-wracked, she was already a little desperate for this guy's barren knowledge. Maybe he had been indulging in the two-dimensional world for too long, and some common sense in the real world was particularly unfamiliar to Ling Ning. Of course, if you talk about games and anime and other things, I believe she will roll up her sleeves and confidently talk to you for three days and three nights.

......

The rower was an old man in his late teens, dressed in a pitch-black robe. Behind him sat a kind-looking middle-aged woman, in her early thirties, dressed in white short sleeves, with a plump figure that had a sense of maturity.

Although she has passed her youth, the traces left on her body by the years are very small.

"Rin, that auntie is so beautiful!"

“...... You guy!" Xiao Rin pressed the corner of his forehead with a headache: "I always feel that you have studied badly recently." ”

The boat was very old, and there was a soft creak when the old man swayed, which made people worry a little about whether the boat was sturdy. The boat swayed and stopped at the intersection, and the middle-aged woman whispered to the old man holding the boat beside her: "Yoyo, I didn't expect there to be guests today." ”

"Yes, this time is indeed uncommon, it stands to reason that it will take a while for someone to come?" The old man shook his head slowly, not paying attention: "Maybe it's just to copy some information." ”

The boat had already arrived, and the middle-aged woman thanked her and stepped off the boat: "It should be, the boat is bothering you to wait here for a while, it will take about two quarters of an hour." ”

"All right," said the old man, nodding his head, sat down barefoot in the bow of the boat, and expertly picked up a rod from the side of the boat.

"You two girls should also accompany the old man and wait, don't worry. ”