On the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the fiery red clouds burned half of the sky in the morning, and the sky looked very gloomy, there was no wind, and the air was filled with a sultry heat.

On the official road to Taoxi Town, an old carriage moved forward unhurriedly, the wheels pressing against the ground, and there was a heavy squeezing sound.

The coachman in front was about twenty-seven or eighteen years old, with a dark face, slightly thin cheeks, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a loyal and honest man, concentrating on driving the carriage, without the slightest concern for the people and things in the carriage behind, and without the intention of snooping.

This is the rule of their business, transporting people, only the location and the price, as for what is being transported, they will not ask, and they do not want the guests to say, so as not to cause trouble.

He has been in this industry for several years, and the coachman Wang Zhonggan has been doing smoothly, and his life is also delicious, which is quite good, and he is very satisfied with the current state of life, and feels that he has experienced the kind of 'happiness' that the reader said.

Before arriving at Taoxi Town, there were guards who inquired about the situation and stopped the car for inspection.

"Brother, why do you have more checks now?" Wang Zhong asked with a smile.

The two guards are also the people of the town, who are guarding the rich Feng family, and now they are specially sent to see the way, one of them is a square-faced man about forty years old, shook the long knife in his hand, and said, "Isn't it the day when the spirit monkey descends the mountain recently?" This time, Master Feng plans to hold a book contest, please review the spirit monkey, if there is a first-class masterpiece, not only can the book be published, adapt the opera, but also get the recommendation of Master Feng, and have the opportunity to go to the royal capital Jincheng to visit the prime minister of our Jin country, such a grand event, attracting a lot of literary students, many people have stayed in Taoxi, this person is many, easy to make trouble, so I ordered me to set up cards everywhere to check to see if there are gangsters and evil people who want to take the opportunity to mix in and make trouble. ”

"I see, it's the triennial Spirit Monkey Festival again, and I don't know what the Spirit Monkey will bring us this time?" Wang Zhong looked at the ethereal outline of the mountains in the distance, and his eyes were in a trance.

"The spirit monkey is favored by heaven and earth, and it can naturally bring us good things, so just wait for it this time. The man said, his tone tinged with pride.

Wang Zhong nodded, said no more, and drove the carriage into the town.

Although it is only a town, but Taoxi because of a prime minister more than 20 years ago, it has become very famous, the scale has expanded a lot, and now the resident population has more than 1,000 households, and the foreign population is also a lot, because the spirit monkey loves opera scripts, Taoxi Town has developed well in this regard, the industry is very large, and there are many practitioners.

Many readers who love opera scripts call this place 'Spring Paradise', and every time they come, they are addicted to it and are reluctant to leave for a long time.

"What's going on with the Spirit Monkey Festival?" said a middle-aged woman's voice in the carriage.

Wang Zhong continued to catch the car and said with a smile: "Many years ago, there was a legend in Taoxi Town that the monkeys on Huaguo Mountain in the distance were psychic and had the extraordinary ability to appreciate the opera of the script. Therefore, many readers come with their own scripts and find someone to arrange and play, hoping to get the favor of the spirit monkey, once famous, known all over the world.

However, the vision of the spirit monkey is extremely high, and the content of the book is generally not read, and it is rare to take the initiative to appear, so someone came forward and called on everyone to raise money and hold a banquet for the spirit monkey and invite them to come down the mountain. It's also strange to say, there is really a spirit monkey down the mountain, just one, after reading a lot of words, finally selected one, after eating and drinking, drifting away. ”

"One?" The woman in the carriage was stunned, and said after a moment: "Isn't it the popular Legend of the Seven Heroes and the Demon Conquering Demons today." ”

"Exactly. Wang Zhong smiled: "It turns out that the guests also know this book." ”

"Feng Qinglu, the prime minister of the Jin Kingdom, published the book when he was young, and now it has spread to the Water Country and the Wood Country, and I heard that many people in the Fire Country and the Earth Country also like it very much, how could I not know. It is said that the Prime Minister was able to rise to prominence back then, but he relied on these words to enter His Majesty's sight. The woman sighed softly, "I probably understand now why the Spirit Monkey Festival is so fanatically pursued by scholars, they probably want to become the second Feng Qinglu, it's really sad." ”

"Isn't this a very good thing, and what is so sad about it?" asked Wang Zhong.

The woman sighed and said, "Demons and spirits are rampant in the world, and people in the world suffer many disasters, and they don't want to become cultivators to punish evil and promote good, but they have devoted themselves to fictional scripts and operas, isn't it sad what?"

Wang Zhongdao: "Cultivation requires extremely high talent, ordinary people may not be able to produce one person out of a hundred, most people can't cultivate if they want to, in the face of demons and spirits, how can ordinary flesh and blood resist, and only scripts and operas can give the people some comfort, so that they have the confidence to live, isn't it good?"

There was silence in the carriage, and Wang Zhong stopped talking, and drove the carriage all the way to the Wangyuan Inn.

A man had already come to greet him, the door of the carriage opened, and a woman with a hat and a veil hanging down to cover her face walked down with a lute in her arms.

"Move the stuff off the car. ”

The man called a helper, and the two got into the car, carried down a red lacquered wood box, and walked into the inn.

The woman took the pipa in one hand, took out a string of copper coins, and handed it to Wang Zhongdao: "This is the fare, go home and take good care of your wife." ”

After speaking, the woman walked to the inn.

Wang Zhongleng was in the same place, he hadn't said anything about his wife since he received this woman's guest, and he had never returned home, how did she know that she had a wife, and what she said to take good care of, it was really strange.

"Maybe guess. Shaking his head and not thinking about it anymore, Wang Zhong led the horse to turn around, ready to get some breakfast to eat, and after a night's journey, he was tired and hungry.

"Shout, it's Xiao Zhong!" A middle-aged man in the distance came over and greeted him with a smile, "You haven't had breakfast yet, are you?"

The two drove the carriage to a deserted courtyard and went to the front for breakfast, Wang Zhong only needed a cake and a bowl of miscellaneous soup, and the middle-aged man asked for three cakes and two bowls of miscellaneous soup.

"You, a beautiful young lady who married an official master's family, why have you become so stingy when you eat now, and you can be full after a night of travel?" the middle-aged man laughed and teased.

Wang Zhong reluctantly smiled and said, "Let's pad it first, and I will eat it when I go back." ”

"Hey, the eldest lady will cook for you herself, that's really amazing, it must be delicious, I'll bring a piece of pork strip meat to your house as a guest, and how about tasting your wife's craftsmanship?"

"She doesn't like to see outsiders, and the third brother forgives me. ”

"That's it, then forget it, after all, it's the eldest lady, it's normal to have a temper, and people like us are also qualified. ”

Wang Zhong smiled, lowered his head to eat and drink, and stopped talking.

After dinner, they parted ways, and Wang Zhong drove the carriage home.

It was already noon when he got home, he parked the carriage in the backyard, unloaded his things, drank the horses, put the fodder, and confirmed that there was no one on the left and right, Wang Zhong took out a chain from the carriage, wrapped it in the hem of his clothes, quietly slipped into the courtyard in front, carefully opened the door, and entered the room.

In the afternoon, the sky became darker and darker, and when it came to the unitary, the sky was completely dark, the raindrops of beans were falling, crackling, and on the dirt road, a group of people flew over against the wind and rain, and it was the five people who were in a hurry.

"Can I spend the night? We are passing Daoxia, we will leave when the rain stops, we can pay-" Wang Banxian shouted as he stood outside the courtyard gate.

In the room, Wang Zhong's body, which was holding a chain, stiffened suddenly.