Qi Jingzhi woke up suddenly, reached out and grabbed the scabbard of the ox ear sharp knife, and the whole person jumped up from the bed.

He swept through the house like a big bird, and pounced on the door that had been opened at some point.

At a glance, I saw a child about four feet tall wearing a maroon dress with a low scream and disappeared through the crack in the door.

Qi Jingzhi didn't hesitate to pull open the door, rushed to the porch and looked around, but the figure of the child was already gone, only a palm-sized jujube red cloth bag was thrown on the ground in front of the door, and it was bulging, and I don't know what it contained.

Qi Jingzhi frowned, and looked around again, but saw that the night was dark, and the doors of the surrounding guest rooms were closed, and there was no candle flame in sight, only the sound of snoring, grinding teeth, and dreams faintly, mixed with a few half-dreaming and half-waking curses.

Although the sword roar of Qi Hu Chan was loud, it was extremely short, and it did not alarm a few people.

He looked down at the lobby below, only to see that the door had been bolted, the stools were neatly buckled upside down on the table, the floor was clean, and there were faint traces of wetness.

There were two tables next to the door, and a guy slept on top of it wrapped in a quilt, and the sound of snoring could be heard even on the second floor.

Qi Jingzhi stared intently for a long time, and did not see the slightest abnormality from the guy, so he squatted on his knees and used the tip of Qi Huchan's knife to pick the strap of the cloth bag under his feet.

When the cloth bag was crooked, several crimson dates rolled out of the sac, all of them were full, and the faint fragrance of jujube mixed with the aroma of wine floated out.

This kind of wine aroma Qi Jingzhi is very familiar, it is the Qu'a yellow wine that he drank with Wei Yingdian in the evening.

Qi Jing's heart froze, and he immediately held his breath, sealed his mouth and nose with the breath of pine and cypress armor, and carefully sensed it for a moment before he was sure that there was nothing unusual around him.

He relieved his mind slightly, and then probed the cow ear sharp knife into the jujube sac and stirred, but did not find anything unusual, so he covered his palm with a smoky feather coat, picked up the jujubes scattered on the ground one by one, tied the rope and took it back to the room.

He closed the door tightly, picked up the wooden bolt on the ground and landed behind the door, although this thing is of no great use, to prevent a gentleman or a villain, but it is better than nothing.

Putting the jujube sac on the table, Qi Jingzhi sat back on the bed, and continued to meditate, as for the child who broke the door late at night and brought him dates to eat, since he did not show obvious malice, and he did not seem to have the courage and ability to do evil, there was no need to exhaust the roots.

This Qu'a Town Committee is really a bit weird, and it is not wise to go out late at night to pursue it.

So far, there has been no words all night, until the morning light is faint, Qi Jingzhi has not noticed anything unusual, and Qi Huchan has always been quiet as usual.

The innkeepers began a busy day, someone went up to the second floor, knocked on the door to wake up those who had to get up early to hurry, the tables and chairs bumped, the doors and windows opened and closed, and the sound of walking and talking gradually filled the inn.

A loud voice suddenly shouted in the lobby downstairs, and it clearly came into Qi Jingzhi's ears through the door: "Shopkeeper, I never thought that your store was actually a Yin nest!" If I don't give an explanation today, I will definitely go to the government and seal the door of your shop!"

The innkeeper immediately shouted: "Don't say anything about it, this store is a famous inn near and far, and it has always been a serious business, where does the word Yin Wo start?"

"Hmph, last night there was a disheveled, almost naked woman knocked on my door, I see that she is not a resident of the store, you store let such a debauched and shameless night woman enter the door, dare to say that it is not Yin's nest?"

Qi Jingzhi opened his eyes, and couldn't help but be a little surprised in his heart: "There are quite a lot of tricks in this inn at night."

He got up and picked up the jujube bag on the table, and when he went out to look down on the railing, he saw a young scholar standing in front of the counter, glaring angrily at the innkeeper.

Upstairs and downstairs, there were already many shocked residents watching, some were surprised and excited, some were disdainful and unbelievers, and most of the rest were full of envy.

The innkeeper and a few men standing in the hall looked the scholar up and down, looking strange as if they wanted to speak and stopped.

The young scholar looked at him quite uncomfortably, and asked with a calm face, "How is your shop?"

Rude, I'm looking for you, what are you staring at me?"

The shopkeeper didn't hesitate anymore when he heard this, and his tone was cautious: "The guest officer didn't let the woman in?"

Hearing this, the young scholar's face suddenly turned red, and his voice dropped a little: "Student...... The student was about to refuse strictly, so she got in by herself, which was really ...... It's shameless!"

As soon as the scholar said this, the hall immediately burst into laughter.

The innkeeper couldn't help but laugh, shook his head and said, "Guest officer, aren't you still selling well when you get cheap?"

The young scholar was originally blushing and silent, but when he heard this, he was angry and said angrily: "I saw that she was poorly dressed, although she was Yin Ben, she was also a little pitiful, so I gave her a jade pendant with me, and I thought that she would stay for a night temporarily, and then make a district after dawn. I don't want to get up early this morning, this girl and my family heirloom jade pendant are gone!"

He paused, pointed to the door of the inn, and said, "After closing, your house will be closed and the latch will be broken, but the woman can enter and leave freely, and she must have colluded with you, the shopkeeper, to rob the guests of their goods!"

Speaking of this, the young scholar turned to the crowd of guests who were watching the excitement: "The student endured humiliation and dirt, and even ruined his reputation to tell this matter in public, just to warn you, don't fall into the way of this store and end up with no personal wealth!"

After saying this, many guests changed their faces and clamored, and if the shopkeeper did not give an explanation, they would smash the inn and send the shopkeeper and his men to justice.

Seeing the turmoil of the crowd, the innkeeper finally changed color, and hurriedly said loudly: "Gentlemen, don't be impatient, and listen to the villain!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the young scholar, and said, "Guest officer Rongyu, you said that there was *** night running last night, this kind of thing happens from time to time in our Qu'a Town, not only at night, but also during the day. Speaking of which, the woman ...... That woman is not a human being!"

The young scholar was first shocked when he heard this, and then he was furious: "What are you talking about? That woman is as warm as jade, and there is a shadow under the lamp, why is it that when it comes to your mouth, she is not even a human being?"

The onlookers also buzzed, and the voices of discussion were everywhere.

The innkeeper didn't mean to laugh at all: "There are many otters between the mountains and rivers and lakes in Qu'a Town, and the otter woman Yin often looks for those young and handsome offspring spring breezes. This is really common in the local area, and there is also a record of "otter girls recruiting husbands" in the "Yunxiang County Chronicles". If the guest officer doesn't believe it, he can go to the street and ask someone from his hometown at random, and he will find out as soon as he asks!"

Hearing what the innkeeper said, the young scholar's face suddenly became a little cloudy.

When the shopkeeper saw him like this, he immediately smiled and said, "If the villain guessed correctly, the woman's fingers last night should be much shorter than ordinary people, and maybe there is some water and soil on her body......

At this moment, the young scholar could no longer bear it any longer, and turned around and ran back to a room on the second floor with doors and windows closed.

In a moment, he came out in despair, still clutching a green mass in his hand, and when everyone looked closely, it turned out to be aquatic weeds such as weeds.

The innkeeper looked up and saw a smile on his face, "Presumably this is the dress that the woman is wearing."

The audience was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter again, and some of them even cheered loudly: "The scholar gave a jade pendant, and the otter girl returned a skirt, which is really a good story!" Shopkeeper, can today's events be written in the county chronicles?"

"Haha, this benevolent brother is so honest, but don't believe what others say! The otter girl gave the scholar a close-fitting incense dress, we have all seen it now, it is true! But it's hard to say whether this scholar gave away jade pendants from others! I can't say that I'm afraid of poverty, so I don't want to lose face, and I want to use this water and grass to blackmail other people's inns!"

As soon as these words came out, the audience was laughing and clamoring again, and it became more and more boiling.

The smile on the innkeeper's face could not be concealed in any way, but he just arched his hand in all directions and said nothing.

When the young scholar saw this, he couldn't help but die of shame, and suddenly threw the water and grass in his hand to his feet, and then hid his face with his sleeves and hid back in the room.

Seeing that there is no bustle to see, the building

The spectators who went upstairs and downstairs gradually dispersed, each busy with his own livelihood and going to his own future.

Qi Jingzhi turned around and closed the door, walked down the stairs with the jujube bag, and stood in front of the counter.

The shopkeeper, who had already looked down at the account, raised his eyes and immediately asked respectfully, "What do you have to say from the guest officer?"

Qi Jingzhi was about to speak, but a person behind him spoke first, and his tone was very eager: "Shopkeeper, you just said that there are many otters between the mountains, rivers, rivers and lakes, and there is a lake near this Qu'a Town?"

Qi Jingzhi was quite familiar with the voice of the person who spoke, and when he looked back, it was not Wei Yingdian, who was full of wine and tired.

Seeing this old man's bloodshot eyes, as if he was about to eat the innkeeper, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Brother Wei, what are you?"

Wei Yingdian arched his hand at the young man indiscriminately, but his eyes never left the innkeeper, and he asked again, "Where is there a lake near here?" My ancestral home is Xunyang County, Junzhou, although it is not Yunxiang County, but it is also on the bank of the Xun River, and the two waterways are separated by less than 200 miles, so why have I never heard of any lakes near here!"

Hearing this, the innkeeper's face showed a sudden look, although he didn't know why Wei Yingdian was so concerned about this matter, he still nodded and responded: "The guest officer doesn't know, Qu'a Town did not have a lake originally, but just five years ago, the former county keeper made a great effort to build water conservancy, and fell in love with the land surrounded by mountains and depressions five miles southeast of the town and close to the Xun River."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pointed out the east window of the inn, just in time to see a shadowy mountain shadow in the southeast.

That mountain, in fact, Qi Jingzhi and Wei Yingdian had seen it from afar when they were blowing the wind on the bow of the boat.

I listened to the innkeeper continue: "After personally inspecting the terrain, the county keeper ordered the use of manpower from the three nearby counties, which took more than three years to dig soil in that depression, and build an embankment for forty miles, and divert the water of the Xun River to irrigate it, creating a large lake with a radius of dozens of miles, which was used to regulate and store mountain floods, irrigation, and transportation."

"Because this lake is located on the side of Qu'a Town, it was named Qu'a Hou Lake by the county guard. This lake has only been created for a short time, and the guest officer must have been away from his hometown for many years, so it is not unusual that he has not heard of it."

This innkeeper is worthy of being a leader in the industry in a place where business travelers gather, and he is quite knowledgeable and very organized in his conversation, and he will explain the origin of Qu'a Hou Lake clearly in a few words.

In the end, he glanced at the room where the young scholar was before, and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, since the establishment of Qu'ahou Lake, there have been fewer rumors about otter girls recruiting husbands in the town, but on the contrary, there are often gorgeous women who support boats alone on that lake, luring men in the prime of life to make peace in the boat, and even the frivolous prodigal sons from ten miles and eight towns have also rushed to that side, so there are many fewer pickles in the town."

Hearing this, the eagerness on Wei Yingdian's face eased slightly, and for some reason he was a little stunned, and only nodded lightly after a while: "The letter from relatives and friends in my township did mention that the county has built more water conservancy projects over the years, and the county government has also recruited people to build embankments and dams, but I didn't expect that Yunxiang County would have such a scale."

He paused, and then asked, "Dare to ask the shopkeeper, is there such a house next to the embankment of Qu'ahou Lake, where two extremely tall jujube trees are planted, and the canopy not only covers the entire courtyard, but also extends to the lake, and the jujubes that bear on the trees are as big as walnuts, all of them are deep red and full, and they look like they are full of red clouds from a distance?"

Wei Yingdian finished speaking in one breath, and looked at the shopkeeper with both confusion and unconcealed anticipation.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper suddenly showed the strange gaze he had when he looked at the scholar before, and his face was surprised and speechless. z.br>

Being stared at by the other party like this, Wei Yingdian was obviously a little unbearable, and immediately coughed, took out the demeanor of a returning Beijing official, and asked in a solemn voice, "Yes or no?"

The innkeeper's eyes were vicious, and he almost immediately straightened his position, and his already somewhat hunched back was a little shorter: "Yes! The house that the guest officer said is also famous because of those two jujube trees."

Wei Yingdian's pupils shrank, and he almost broke the score, and his voice was a few points higher: "Where is that mansion? Who lives in it?

"Just beside the embankment in the southwest corner of Qu'ahou Lake, there is only one old woman living in the courtyard, because the dates on her tree are excellent, not only sweet and fragrant.

What's even more strange is that she was born with a smell of Qu A Huang wine, and everyone who has eaten it is full of praise, and over time, everyone will call her a jujube woman."

"Wine? Jujube?" Wei Yingdian's expression changed, so that people couldn't tell whether they were happy or sad.

When Qi Jingzhi heard this, he couldn't help but glance down at the jujube bag in his hand, and faintly sensed something wrong in his heart.

He stretched out his hand and pulled Wei Yingdian aside, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Wei, you don't even know about Qu'a Hou Lake, how do you know about the mansion with jujube trees?"

Wei Yingdian was still a little distracted, but suddenly saw the jujube bag with an open mouth in Qi Jingzhi's hand, and his eyes immediately widened.

He snatched one and stuffed it into his mouth, only chewing two bites, and before he even had time to swallow, he asked in astonishment, "Brother Qi, where did you get this date?"

Qi Jingzhi shook his head: "Please also ask Brother Wei to answer the question below!"

Wei Yingdian glanced at him steadily, as if he finally remembered the extraordinaryness of the young man in front of him.

He no longer hesitated, looked left and right, pulled Qi Jingzhi to the no-man's corner of the inn lobby, pondered the words and said, "This thing is a bit ridiculous, last night the foolish brother fell asleep after drinking, and saw an old woman burning incense and making sacrifices under the two big jujube trees in the courtyard, and the sacrifice was this kind of jujube with the fragrance of wine!"

"Huh?"

Qi Jingzhi was surprised when he heard this: "Brother Wei can dream of a place he has never set foot in and someone he has never met, this matter is miraculous. But where does this ridiculous word come from?"

Hearing this question, the corners of Wei Yingdian's mouth twitched, and he immediately lowered his voice to the lowest: "When the foolish brother wakes up from a dream, his mouth is full of wine and smells, and there is even jujube fragrance between his lips and teeth!" I asked the little guy who followed, there was nothing like this in the wine you and I drank last night! In this way, it is not possible to say that the old woman will make sacrifices at night, and it will be the foolish brother who goes to enjoy the sacrifices!"

"I've been serving in the Ministry of Rites for many years, and I've heard a lot of about it, whether it's the evil god Yin Ritual or the ritual overstepping, I don't want to become a sacrificial spirit myself inexplicably overnight!"

Speaking of this, the former Great Qi Rite Lang Zhong stretched out his hand and rubbed his cheek, and his tone became unpredictable: "Brother Qi, do you say that the foolish brother is dead? Or...... Became a god?"