Thirty miles west of Ningzhou City.

A desolate ancient road stretches from afar, and the weeds and flowers on both sides are red and green, adding a bit of life to this wilderness.

There is a hut on the side of the road, a bamboo pole picks up a piece of white cloth, and the big tea word is gently swaying in the breeze, and there is a tea stall near it, which is used by pedestrians to rest their feet and quench their thirst.

There are several bamboo tables in front of the stall, it is noon at this moment, there are few pedestrians on the road, only one old and one young sitting at the table on the side of the road.

The old man was coarse in green clothes, his demeanor was calm, and the young man was playing with a stoneware teacup with both hands, and a small bamboo pole with a cloth banner was placed in his hand.

It was Tiansuizi and Su Mai, who had just left Ningzhou City.

"Old man, where are we going this time", Su Mai asked after taking a sip of warm tea.

Tian Suizi carefully tasted the famous Cuiyun spring tea in Ningzhou, and said for a while: "The world is so big, you can't go anywhere, where you go, you can go."

"I heard that the crystal mullet in Bluestone City is the best in the world, the meat is tender and juicy, thin as nothing, there is a saying that 'I would rather eat bluestone fish than be a living fairy', why don't we go to Bluestone City"

Su Mai looked at Tiansuizi and said expectantly.

"Your kid's skills are just used to inquire about food, you know that you have a appetite, do you know how hard the old man makes money, and he still wants to eat the crystal mullet, and it's almost the same to eat loaches", Tian Suizi scolded angrily.

"You are a great immortal, you go everywhere to purify sentient beings, solve people's troubles, and give you guidance, I'm just an ordinary man, I don't ask what to eat," Su Mai retorted unconvinced.

Tian Suizi pondered for a long time and said, "But speaking of this Bluestone City, there was an old acquaintance ...... many years ago. ”

Before he finished speaking, Su Mai heard a cold voice in his ears, "Old friend, after many years of separation, I never imagined that we could meet in the world, has it always been good?"

Su Mai was stunned, looking for prestige, but the four fields were vast and there was no trace.

And Su Mai sat next to him, but there was a gray figure out of thin air, looking like a middle-aged man, obviously facing the two of them, but Su Mai couldn't see his face clearly, as if it was covered with a layer of mist.

At this time, the sun is in the middle of the sky, and there are occasional insect chirpings all around, which makes this tea house more silent.

This person came out of nowhere, without a trace, and if it weren't for noon, it would make people wonder if it was a ghost underground.

Tian Suizi sat quietly, still holding the stoneware tea cup in his hand, took a sip, put it down gently, sighed, and said leisurely:

"The end of the world, to see the old man, is a blessing. The rise and fall of this world is ushering in and sending it away, I'm afraid that only the Cuiyunchun of Ningzhou City is still the original taste, can Brother Dao be interested in having a drink together?"

"It's a good ushering send-off, but it's a pity that the world is overturned, the will of heaven is unpredictable, you are in the red dust, you have seen all the bitterness and warmth of this world, but you still can't understand the reincarnation of this heavenly way!"

The man in gray snorted lightly, which sounded a bit mocking.

Tian Suizi's face was flat, and there was no sadness or joy when he heard the words, and his voice did not move.

Before I could do it, I heard the man in gray say: "A hundred years of loneliness, if you have no confidant, what is the benefit of cultivation, it is just a shell." ”

After that, he got up and turned to the vast ancient road, motionless.

Su Mai looked at the back of this person, and felt a little depressed for a while.

"The red dust is barren, and then looking back, it has been a hundred years, an old and decrepit hexagram master, living in the rivers and lakes, how can I afford this two words, Brother Dao is serious."

Tian Suizi touched the green pole on the table and smiled indifferently.

"Those who are good and easy are unpredictable, spy on the heavens, and bewitch the world, is this what you call the Tao?"

The man in gray snorted softly, his expression full of loss.

Su Mai listened to the inexplicable strange words of these two people, like falling clouds.

I thought to myself, how could the old man have such a strange friend, mysterious and secretive, and refused to show his true face, maybe he was also a liar who walked the rivers and lakes.

Thinking about it, my eyes unconsciously became confused.

When he came back to his senses, the gray back was gone, as if it had disappeared out of thin air.

Su Mai looked around, the ancient road was still the same, the traces were faint, and he could only hear the empty air, and there was a faint sound of clumsy singing:

The end of the world is near, and the red dust is far away

The road is difficult to achieve, and there are three lives in a snap of a finger

The immortal road is so slim, and there are a few people who have realized the Tao

......

Realize the idea of the unity of gods and demons

Hundreds of years of disappointment in the mountains

The voice is far away and empty, but it is endless desolation and loneliness.

......

Travel 300 miles west along Ningzhou City, pass through the cloud-shrouded Cuiyun Mountain all year round, and you can enter the boundary of Bluestone City.

Tian Suizi and Su Mai traveled all the way to the west, on the way to calculate the fortune and approve the fate, not late to stay, the rooster crowed, along the way to stop and stop, more than half a month.

The scene of the tea house outside Ningzhou City, under the casual coping of Tiansuizi, also dissipated on the day of this dull trip.

However, since meeting the mysterious man outside Ningzhou City, Tian Suizi's attitude towards Su Mai has improved a lot.

The food and drink along the way were good, but it also made Su Mai happy, and he was in a good mood along the way.

Now it is the turn of spring and summer, the weather is good, the flowers and grass are green, and it is suitable for travel.

The two of them traveled and walked, and on this day, they had arrived at Gujing Village under Cuiyun Mountain.

This place is named after an ancient well at the head of the village, it is rumored that this well has been there since the ancestors moved to live, I don't know where for thousands of years, no matter when it is half a well and clear water, look at the black and heavy, I don't know how deep it is.

The well water has never dried up, nor overflowed, the well is covered with moss, full of primitive and clumsy atmosphere, it is said that the tea is made with the ancient well water, there is a characteristic fragrance.

There are about 50 households in the village, all of which are mainly tea pickers.

Due to the reputation of the Cuiyun Spring Tea produced in this Cuiyun Mountain, there are also many foreign merchants who enter the village to buy fresh tea every year.

As a result, although the village is far from the town, there are shops and inns, but they are much smaller than those in the city.

When the two entered the village, it was already sunset, the sky was dark, and the inn signboard fluttering in the east of the village could be seen in the distance.

Along the way, it was a farmhouse-like inn, which was named Gujing Inn.

There are more than 10 guest rooms, because it is the season of tea picking, there are many tea merchants here, and the business is good at this time.

When the two of them stayed, the guest room was full, and the shopkeeper saw that the two of them were dusty all the way, but they had an extraordinary bearing, and there was no place to stay for dozens of miles around, so they deliberately vacated a utility room that was usually idle for their accommodation.

The sky is accustomed to the wind and dust for a long time, but it is not very careful, Su Mai young heart, usually walking outside, encountering mountains and wild villages, it is common to find a mountain temple to deal with a night, and there is no requirement.

Especially after a full meal of the shopkeeper carefully recommended the small fried mountain delicacies, he was in a good mood, and he was full of praise for the small snacks made of tea.

After Tiansuizi settled down, he didn't stay in the room, and went straight to the ancient well at the head of the village.

Since entering the village, I vaguely felt a cold atmosphere, after the meal to the villagers to inquire about the old village, learned about the rumors of the ancient well, then went to investigate, the closer to the ancient well, the stronger the cold breath, but ordinary people are difficult to perceive.

Looking at the dark and secluded cave entrance and the rough and stone platform, Tian Suizi was silent for a long time, and only heard him seem to say to himself and as if he was pointing: "Be a cocoon and bind yourself."

In the early morning of the next day, when Su Mai woke up from his sleep, he found that the Tiansui Zi who was next to the bed had disappeared, along with the sign that Su Mai had been carrying for a long time, and the room was empty, as if Su Mai had always been alone.

Su Mai settled down, and wondered for a while, the old man would never go out alone, since taking him in ten years ago, the two had never been separated, why did he suddenly disappear this morning?

His mind was racing, but he couldn't think of where the old man would go.

I couldn't think about it, and finally decided to go to the shopkeeper to take a look, maybe the old man was addicted to alcohol and went to drink, but why didn't even the signboard and his baggage disappear?

Shaking his head, after hastily washing up, Su Mai rushed to the front hall of the inn with the package, and found that it was still early, the hall was a little deserted, only a few people were eating meals, and the figure of Tiansuzi in the middle of the period did not appear.

Just as he was wondering, the shopkeeper's voice came from behind Huer: "This little boy, the old fairy with you left early in the morning, and left a letter for me to hand it over."

Su Mai turned his head and saw the shopkeeper holding a folded rice paper in his hand, hurriedly took it, stood still at the table on one side, and took it down to see that it was a short letter, the font was vigorous and round, which was the handwriting of Tiansuizi:

"The old man has an enemy to follow, it is very tricky, he has to run away in a hurry, I am afraid that I will not be able to get out in the near future, you can leave by yourself, the world is big, you can do it, don't look for me. The world is treacherous, so that you can cherish yourself".

After reading the letter, Su Mai suddenly felt that his mind was blank and he felt dizzy.

The letter was very simple, neither told him where he was going, nor said who the enemy was, listening to this tone, it seemed that there was no time to meet, it seemed that this day was a long way to go, and he might be the only one wandering in the future.

Thinking of this, Su Mai was a little helpless, after ten years of companionship, Tian Suizi has always been a down-and-out fortune teller, or an old liar who is a fool of the rivers and lakes, with a smiling face on everyone, and has never heard of any enemies.

Shopkeeper Tong also said that he is a living immortal, and immortals also have enemies?

Su Mai shook his head, and a gray figure flashed in front of him.

"The world is so big, I have my own to do, I don't even have a place to go, can I be a fart?", with a mind full of questions, Su Mai walked out of the inn with a shout.

Leaving the inn gate, Su Mai suddenly felt at a loss, where should I go, go east, or west, no one told him.

In the past, I followed the sky and the son of the world as my home, and I never thought about this problem, but now I am alone, standing in this vast world, with ten zhang of red dust in front of me, but I don't know where to go.

He is an orphan, has no relatives and friends, and even his son is gone, and in this land of China, I am afraid that there is no one he cares about or remembers him.

Su Mai tried his best to recall, but he couldn't think of any familiar names in his mind, and the last and only one was the shopkeeper Tong who came to the inn far away.

Why don't you go back to the inn and be a buddy?

Su Mai thought about it and thought about it, but felt that it was inappropriate, for ten years, he had followed Tiansuizi to wander all over the world, and he would not stay in one place for more than a month at most, and it would be more uncomfortable than death to let him stay in the inn for a long time.

"Go and learn from the old man and help people tell fortunes?"

Su Mai muttered to himself, and then shook his head again, although he has been following Tiansuzi for so many years, he has never formally learned his fortune-telling system, but he has only heard and seen it, and knows a little about it.

Because he never believed it, he always felt that it was a deception to make money and survive, and he could only coax ignorant women and children.

Besides, even if he is willing to do it, at least he can't even say all the hexagrams, let alone pretend to show people his handprints and faces.

"It seems that fortune-telling is not successful, I knew that I should have learned from the old man, and I had the capital to eat."

Su Mai said with a wry smile, now that I think about it, I have really not learned any serious skills after following Tiansuizi all these years.

In addition to teaching him to learn literacy, tell some strange stories, and worldly anecdotes, he also used a set of cold mantras given to him when he was a child, so that he would not freeze to death when he stayed in the wilderness.

If you want to say anything else, it is nothing more than that he is used to seeing all kinds of things in the world, and the warmth and coldness of people make him more mature mentally than his peers, but these are not in exchange for food.

After thinking about it for a long time, Su Mai decided to go to Bluestone City to have a look, after all, Tian Suizi said that there was an old acquaintance there, although he didn't even know the name, but at least there was a hope, if he really found it, it would be good to inquire about the old man's enemy.

With his mind set up, Su Mai followed the path at the head of the village and walked towards the towering Cuiyun Mountain.

It's just that this foot has stepped into the rivers and lakes, and the road ahead is boundless, and he doesn't know whether it is sadness or joy, blessing or curse?