"Master Ma went to prepare a large iron pot for us, as well as a small half barrel of sake, and a large piece of fragrant meat. By the way, prepare some glutinous rice, steam the rice into a small dough that can be swallowed, and put a jujube core in each dough. Wu Youqiu sat at the table, stretched out his hand and patted the dust on the boots on his feet, and said three things to prepare.

"Okay, I'll go get ready now. When Ma Shiping heard this, he didn't ask a word, and was about to turn around and walk out of the door, when he was stopped by Wu Youqiu.

"You wait for Master Ma first, in addition to the things I just said, you need to prepare something for me. After stopping Ma Shiping, Wu Youqiu walked up to him and said, "You go and prepare some hemp, and then burn it to ashes, and prepare a bucket of hemp ash for me." I think I'm going to have it ready tonight. ”

"Okay, then I'll go and prepare it now. After Ma Shiping listened to the explanation, he went out with a few soldiers.

At the same time, the shopkeeper walked in with some food, and after he put his things on the table, he also exited the room with interest.

"Big brother, what are you asking the old county official to prepare those wine, meat, glutinous rice and other food?" After the shopkeeper left, Mao Shibai closed the door and walked to the table and asked puzzledly.

"Sit down and eat first, and I'll talk to you while you eat. Wu Youqiu picked up the chopsticks, picked up a chopstick dish and put it in his mouth, and then said while chewing, "The third brother just said that the water tiger has disappeared from the world since the Sui Dynasty, but in fact, this is not the case. Instead, at that time, the water tigers were in trouble, and the world's cultivators gathered together and wiped out most of the water tigers. Of course, there will definitely be fish that slip through the net. ”

At this point, Wu Youqiu put down the chopsticks in his hand, walked to the window and pondered for a while, and then sat back at the table with a trace of tears in his eyes, and whispered, "When my master passed away, he once told me that when he was a child, he followed my ancestor to meet a water tiger by the Lingjiang River. At that time, they cooked fragrant meat in sake......"

"I didn't expect the jujube core to be so useful, big brother, what do you say is the reason for this?" After listening to Wu Youqiu's narration, Jingchen put the empty bowl with only a few grains of rice left in his hand on the table and asked.

"I don't know, at that time, my master just said that using jujube kernels can suppress this species that does not belong to the human world, and he didn't say exactly why. After explaining the matter about the water tiger, Wu Youqiu picked up his rice bowl and ate lunch silently.

At the dinner table, Jingchen and Mao Shibai saw the tears flashing in Wu Youqiu's reminiscing eyes, and they didn't ask more, they also ate silently.

After lunch, Jingchen sat on the side with a string of Buddhist beads and recited the scriptures silently. Not far from him, Wu Youqiu was holding a book and watching it with Mao Shibai. In a comfortable atmosphere, Ma Shiping's shout suddenly came from outside the room, "Oh no, three masters, there are dead people by the Wei River." ”

"Dead?" Hearing the shouts outside the room, Mao Shibai hurriedly walked to the door and opened the door. Before, the frightened old county magistrate walked in.

"Amitabha Buddha is good, good!" Hearing the words of the old county official, Jingchen, who was sitting on the side and silently chanting the scriptures, hurriedly got up, walked to the former and recited the Buddha's name aloud.

"Dead again, Lord Ma, take us to see it. Wu Youqiu saw the old county official with a panicked face, put down the book in his hand, and followed the latter out of the inn and walked towards the Wei River.

The place where the dead man died was on the river beach north of the Wei River, and when the four of them arrived, a group of people were gathered along the path along the north bank of the river.

I saw that in the crowd, there was a woman who was sitting on the ground and crying bitterly. Next to the woman, a bloody white cloth covered the body of the deceased.

"Master Ma, how did this person die?" Looking at the corpse covered by a blood-colored white cloth, Wu Youqiu asked softly.

His wife said that it was when he came to the river to fetch water. Ma Shiping sighed helplessly.

At the same time, Mao 18 and Jingchen walked to the deceased's side, squatted down to uncover the blood-stained white cloth and took a look. Immediately, both of them changed their complexions.

"Amitabha! It's so bloody, the little monk has never seen such a cruel picture. After seeing the corpse under the white cloth, Jingchen walked to Wu Youqiu's side and whispered.

Seeing Jingchen's frightened face, Wu Youqiu gently patted his back, and then walked to the deceased's body, uncovered the white cloth and took a look. Immediately, a bloody picture appeared in front of him.

I saw that the deceased under the white cloth had his intestines pierced through his stomach and his eyes were wide open, and it was obvious that he had been greatly intimidated when he died.

"Hmau~" Seeing the corpse under the white cloth, Wu Youqiu sighed, turned around and stared at the gently flowing Wei River for a while. In the end, silently led Mao 18 and Jingchen away.

"I've seen a lot of dead people, but it's the first time I've seen such a miserable death. On the way back to the inn, Mao Shibai said with an embarrassed face.

"There are thousands of demons and monsters in this world, and we still have too little knowledge. Wu Youqiu looked at the little monk and the young man who followed behind him with a bitter face.

On the side of the path on the bank of the river, Ma Shiping looked at the back of Wu Youqiu and the three of them leaving, and sighed, and then shouted to the crowd of onlookers standing on the sidelines, "Disperse, go back." Then he ordered some soldiers to carry the dead back to his home.

It was night, the moonlight was still hazy, and by the silent Wei River, Wu Youqiu and Mao Shibai found two flat stones, and put the iron pot prepared by Ma Shiping during the day in the middle of the stones.

After setting up the iron pot, Jingchen took a few sticks of firewood and put them under the iron pot and lit the firewood. Then Wu Youqiu poured a small half barrel of sake into the iron pot, and put a large piece of fragrant meat into the pot together.

At the same time, Mao Shibai held a palm-wide and more than two feet long wooden board on the iron pot, and in the other hand held a sea bowl filled with a bowl full of white glutinous rice balls.

After placing the glutinous rice balls in the bowl one by one on the wooden board, the three of them got up and hid behind an old tree not far from the iron pot.

On the riverside path, the firewood crackles, and after a long time of burning, the thick aroma of sake wafts from the boiling sake pot. The aroma spread gently with a gust of breeze and drifted into the noses of the three people hiding behind the old trees.

"The fragrance of dog meat is unbearable, let alone ordinary people. Born with a mouth like this, a full meal is like a fairy. Smelling the aroma of wine and meat wafting into his nose, Jingchen couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"Jingchen, do you want to open meat?" Hearing the poem that Jingchen was reading, Wu Youqiu said softly.

"Sins and sins, the little monk just thinks casually, don't misunderstand, big brother. Hearing this, Jingchen hurriedly shook his head, then moved his gaze away, folded his hands and silently recited the scriptures.

"It's so fragrant, it's sure to lure the water tigers out of the river. Looking at the iron pot that exuded tempting saliva in the distance, Mao Shibai said softly, "Big brother, when we eat tomorrow, let's also order a fragrant meat to taste." ”

"Okay~" Wu Youqiu nodded in response, looked at the little monk who was silently chanting the scriptures on the side, and whispered, "Jingchen, why don't you break the vows tomorrow and taste the taste of fragrant meat?"

"Big brother, don't seduce the little monk, the little monk is not the kind of monk who doesn't abide by the precepts and rules. Jingchen listened to this, without the slightest hesitation, and simply shook his head and replied.