The road was lonely, and Xingyan had a conversation and laughter with Qiong Wei, and occasionally teased the elegant girl who was astringent in words. It wasn't long before the three of them came to the great river that stretched east and west.

Zhenshui River is a famous river in Lingnan. Today, when he came closer to take a look, he saw that this Zhenhe River was extraordinary:

Between the two banks of the riverbed, about three or four miles away, from this side to the opposite side, Rao is his eyesight, the scenery on the opposite bank in his eyes, is only kind and faint, at most, can only see the general outline of the river beach on the other side.

It's just that although the riverbed is wide, the water surface in the river is far less vast. Due to the drought, the river is only half as wide as the opposite path on both sides, and the water edge is far from the high bank. From the shore to the water's edge, a large dry riverbed is being revealed, covered with cracked lines. In this mud, which has been dried by the sun, there are still some shells that have been dead for a long time.

At the end of the post road that the three of them walked was a stone ferry near the Zhenshui River. It's just that at this time, the real place where the ferry carries passengers is a hundred steps away from this stone ferry.

Rushing to the ferry, Xingyan did not rush to wait for the ferry, but wandered around the dry river beach for a while. Because at this time, the vast open riverbed is crowded with people and bustling, and if you look at it from a distance, it looks like a bazaar.

Many of these people came to fetch water. As the saying goes, "big rivers have little water and small rivers are dry", just like the villages and towns that I have seen all the way before, most of the ponds are dry. Residents in the vicinity of the left almost all have to go to the Zhenshui River to get water. Now, these men and women are laboriously pulling water from the Zhen River into wooden barrels, and then carrying it back to their homes miles away. In these endless streams of people fetching water, there are also many half-sized little ladies active, carrying small buckets to share the worries of adults.

Except for these people who fetched water, most of the rest were people praying for rain.

Many elderly people are lighting incense and candles on the riverbed, offering food, and praying sincerely in the direction of the river. As he walked behind them, he heard that they were all begging the dragon king for rain. The younger men and women, dressed in bright costumes, formed a circle of ten or twenty people, beating gongs and drums, reciting mantras to exorcise ghosts, and dancing the common Lingnan pheasant dance, which is used to drive away the drought.

Passing them, Xingyan saw that there was still a circle of black people on the embankment, all kneeling on the ground, praying to a few portraits on the big tree in the center.

Looking from the outside of the crowd to the middle, I found that among the hanging images, most of them were painted half-naked women with vague faces, dressed in red, leaning on the edge of a red dead tree, and her long hair, like fire, was wrapped around the treetops. Above her head, there were a few red birds flying around. These red-eyed hanging statues are no strangers to young people who are familiar with the classics of Zhuzi, and they represent the drought-like fires everywhere they go.

Standing behind the circle of people, Xingyan could understand that these good men and women were making countless food offerings there, begging the great god of drought to be kind, and to set off as soon as possible, and return to the cave as soon as possible, or to visit other places as soon as possible.

Looking at the two parties on this river beach, who are either driving or begging, and have diametrically opposite attitudes towards drought fish, they can actually live side by side on the same river beach without disagreeing with each other, which makes the Shangqing Hall Master who does not believe in ghosts secretly marvel at himself, and thinks in his heart:

"Is this considered a 'coercion and inducement' at the moment?"

Listening to these sincere prayers and pleadings, I was very disapproving. If the records of the classics you have read are correct, then according to your own point of view, this Zhenyang drought is really not like a drought. You must know that this drought is an ancient god, if it doesn't come out, it is a thousand miles of red land, how can it be like now, but there is a lack of water within a radius of 100 miles.

"Perhaps, the current drought is just natural, and there is nothing surprising about it. ”

Thinking so in his heart, Xingyan couldn't help but feel thirsty in his mouth again, so he hurriedly pulled Qiong Wei and Xue Yi to the rippling Zhenshui River to quench his thirst. After a hearty drink, the three of them found a ferry boat to cross the river. Due to the scorching drought, prices in Zhenyang have risen sharply, and this ordinary river crossing cost Zhang Tangzhu sixty texts.

After crossing the Zhenshui River, he had just traveled a mile or two, and was illuminated by the scorching words in the sky, and Xingyan actually felt that his whole body was hot and unbearable, so he asked the little mage Qiong Wei to cast a spell again, and poured it on the heads of him and Xue Yi. According to the current thoughts, this place is very close to Zhenshui, and there is a lot of water vapor, so it should be easy for the little girl to do it.

Unexpectedly, it is really a person who is not as good as heaven, this time Xiao Qiongwei just poured it on her Xue Yi's sister's face again, and when it was her turn to be the hall master's brother, there was no water!

This time, the young man shouted bad luck, and he couldn't help but have some strange feelings in his heart.

Just after Qiong Wei cast the spell this time, it didn't take long for the three of them to see the outline of Zhenyang County.

Looking at the towering city wall and the wide moat that surrounds the city, you will know that this Zhenyang is a large county in Lingnan.

Walking through the almost dry moat from the suspension bridge, just after the city gate hole, Xingyan saw that the city wall was customarily pasted with the official office of the government, and some idlers were surrounding them, looking at the notices on the wall with their necks tilted. Next to the proclamation, there were two officers and soldiers standing guard, which seemed to be quite grand. Seeing this, Xingyan's curiosity was immediately aroused, and he took the second daughter to squeeze in front to take a look.

When you come closer, you can see that there are many white paper notices posted on this city wall, most of which are offering rewards for catching bandits, or the wealthy family paying money to find escaped slaves. However, at the place where the two prefectural guards were standing, there were two notices written on yellow paper side by side.

Xingyan glanced at it and found that the one on the right was the announcement of the Zhenyang Government Office, the county order was named, and the mage warlock who could ask for rain and rain was hired with a heavy amount of money. The yellow list next to it is a private notice, saying that there are unfortunate monsters in his house, and he is willing to pay 200 gold to invite a warlock with high mana to come to the door to exorcise evil spirits and subdue monsters. Look at this monster hunting notice, it is the Peng Mansion of Zhuqiaowei on Zhenyang North Street.

Originally, these two notices were not worth the fuss. It's just that the private yellow list added another article after the gift money:

If the clean house is completed, and the people of Zhenyang Hexian County seek Ganlin, then no matter whether this mage is married or not, young or old, as long as it is a man, he is willing to give the little daughter of the family and give him a wife and a concubine.

"Hey, but I don't know if this little girl from Pengfu is also like the two veiled women in Willow Village in the morning?"

The young man read this and thought narrowly in his heart.

was thinking about it like this, but I heard an onlooker next to him, and he happened to say a word, as if answering the joke question in Xingyan's heart:

"Wow! I, Zhang Sanguan, have long heard that Miss Napengfu is not only outstanding, but also a good woman, and she is my leading lady in Zhenyang!"

"What's more!"

Then I heard a scribe near me shake a fan and joke:

"The students can hear it again, our Peng County Ye's young lady, Hui Lanxin, proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, is really a rare talented girl throughout the ages!"

"Tsk, I knew that there was this proclamation today, and I, Xu Yunlu, would have gone to find a Taoist temple to learn spells, and I also read very sage books!"

With this sincere lament, Xingyan heard a smacking sigh beside him.

In the midst of a mourning, someone suddenly interjected:

"According to me, why should the great officials go to Taoism to study the Fa. The younger brother heard that the monk in the temple has a good mana!"

Who knows, as soon as this gossip came out, it immediately caused a laugh in the vicinity. I only heard someone retort in a rough voice:

Who doesn't know that the county magistrate is begging for rain, and two bald monks also came a few days ago, and I got the news, so I also went to join in the fun to see a big scene - who knew that they would only fiddle with some bonsai, and they were still nagging and chanting scriptures there, tossing all morning, and finally not seeing a drop of rain!"

Before the words fell, another idler jumped out next to him:

"I said Butcher Zhou, that's not called bonsai, right? Willow branches in the porcelain vase are called gardening ......."

In the midst of this chaos, I suddenly heard someone laughing, announcing "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable", and then said aloud:

"Creation and creation! I have long said that today's trip will benefit the southeast. Looking at this list today, it's my fate to get it!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone saw a middle-aged Taoist priest with a high bun, striding forward from the crowd, and stretched out his hand to remove the two yellow lists of recruiting talents.

At this moment, he suddenly saw the two guards, and as soon as the spear fell, he stopped the man from coming, and shouted:

"This Dao master, my county master's list is not for you to reveal!"

"Huh?!"

"You still don't know? Before you, more than a dozen Taoist Dao Masters went to the county government to report first. ”

"Check-in?"

Hearing this, the imposing Taoist master was slightly stunned, and then said with some anger:

"What does this mean?, don't you still believe in the magic of this Dao Master?!"

Seeing that he was a little angry, the guard soldier hurriedly accompanied him with a smiling face, and said warmly:

"Dao Master's mana, we little soldiers naturally don't dare to doubt it. However, before that, there were a lot of warlocks from our county who only knew how to go, and they couldn't beg for rain one by one, and it took a lot of effort for the county lord to speak. Therefore, now the public has an order, all those who come to see the list of votes, will first report to the official post of the government office, only wait for the city to be burned down after the repair of the dragon king temple is completed, then the altar will be opened, according to the first to come to the order of the gods to take the stage to ask for rain. ”

"When will the Dragon King Temple be completed?"

"Don't worry, Daoist. You're lucky, I heard that the Dragon King Temple can be finished in about three or four days. ”

"This Dao Master, this is the order of the county commander, we are also acting on orders, don't be angry!"

Now these soldiers don't know which one is really a living immortal who saves the suffering, so they don't dare to slack off, and their words are really polite.

Hearing what the county soldier said, the middle-aged Taoist immediately lost his breath, and when he remembered the soldier's words just now, he didn't dare to slack off, and quickly pushed away from the crowd.

Besides, the master of the Shangqing Hall, who had been listening attentively to the side, listened to the answer just now, and aroused a lot of interest. Originally, the demon who had survived the failure not long ago had been reviewed several times, wondering if he was really as those spectators said, and he was indeed a little nosy. However, after reading the two side-by-side proclamations carefully, he had something else in mind:

"It seems that according to the situation along the way, this Zhenyang drought is indeed a bit strange. Perhaps, there are really demons doing it. ”

As soon as I thought of this, I naturally thought about my mission again:

"Although this time the head of the house came out to find a water spirit, it seems that it has nothing to do with this drought. It's just that things in this world complement each other and opposites, and physical yin and yang are also accompanied by each other. The matter of Zhenyang in front of him may not necessarily have nothing to do with the water elves at all. ”

Thinking about it like this in his heart, the young man's face couldn't help but become solemn, and he looked carefully at the two yellow lists in front of him, and then turned around and said hello, and took the two girls out of the crowd.

"Well, since the Peng Mansion is the county commander's house, and after three or four days of asking for rain, I will go to visit the Peng Mansion first. ”

What the young man who was planning in his heart didn't know was that just around the corner of the street not far away, there were two women, one big and one small, who had been staring carefully at the list. The woman, who was a little older and about ten **, saw the young Taoist priest's focused gaze, and finally stayed at the end of the Pengfu exorcism notice for a while, so she couldn't help but get angry in her heart and snorted heavily.

However, Xingyan didn't know the reason for this, he was taking Qiong Wei Xueyi and the two Taoist boys with him, and he was rushing to the city.

"North Street Bamboo Bridge Tail ......"

When the young man was silently reciting the location of Peng's mansion, a little woman suddenly appeared in front of the three of them.

This change came suddenly, but the young man who was determined to move forward was caught off guard and almost bumped into this reckless little girl. finally stabilized his pace and looked up, and saw the girl in front of him, who was fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed as a maid, with a delicate face and clear eyes, and was very clever.

Seeing that the little maid was standing in front of her and just looking at herself, she was a little inexplicable, so she asked:

"Why is this young lady blocking the way?"

Seeing him speak, the little maid's eyes rolled, and she said with a smile:

"I didn't see that Xiaodao's long mouth was quite sweet. For the sake of this, I'll do you a favor and tell you exactly how to get to the Peng Mansion, right?"

"Huh?"

When she heard this, she was stunned, and she said that this girl was a spirit, and she could hear her very low muttering just now. But seeing her kindness, she also hurriedly shook it and said with a smile:

"Then thank you, girl, and listen to me. ”

"Well, you go from here, turn right at the first intersection, then turn left at the intersection, then turn right every time you see the intersection, turn three times in a row, then turn left, then turn right, turn right, turn right, turn left, turn right, turn right, turn left, turn a few times, and finally you arrive!"

The little girl's call, the faster she talked, the faster she spoke, and in the end, it was like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, her mouth moved quickly, and she was like a tongue twister!

Unexpectedly, Rao is little girl said it so quickly, but she remembered it all over again. Immediately, after thanking this kind-hearted person again and again, Hall Master Zhang, who was full of the intention of slaying demons and eliminating demons, took Qiong Wei Xueyi and went to find Peng's mansion according to what the little maid said.

After the young man left, he saw the little girl who was guiding the way, and quickly ran back to the Ailing woman on the corner of the street, and asked her for credit with a smile:

"Miss! Xing'er sent those hated Taoist priests away again~"

"Well, little Apricot is getting smarter and smarter now. ”

praised it, and Miss Jiao, who was dressed up by everyone, asked casually:

"Where did you point them?"

"Hey, Miss Runlan, Xing'er was talking nonsense just now, and I don't know if they are going to go to the wilderness outside the city, or which dead end they will walk into!~"

"You clever ghost, but it's also bad luck for these unscrupulous Taoists who are greedy for money and lust. ”

Hearing the maid's words, the woman named Runlan was also sad, laughed and scolded, and couldn't help but stretch out her hand and scrape the maid's face, and said happily:

"For the time being, there are no Taoist priests coming. Let's go, let's go to the fortune divination!"

For the time being, I don't want to remind the three of them to wander around the city, and then the master and servant and the two daughters walked two streets and stopped in front of a hexagram stall known as the god of the Guigu Valley.

After handing over the hexagram silver, this graceful lady of the noble family held the hexagram in her hand, closed her eyes, and shook it sincerely. After a while, a stick flew out of the bamboo tube and fell under his feet.

Seeing this, Xing'er quickly picked up this hexagram and handed it to the stall owner, and then listened nervously to the results of this hexagram with the young lady who had opened her eyes.

After getting the hexagram stick, the stall owner squinted and asked:

"What is the young lady asking for?"

"Marriage!"

The wise maid preemptively answered for the young lady. Seeing her grab her mouth, Miss Na Runlan just glanced at her slightly, but she didn't blame, she only looked at the old fortune teller shyly, nervously waiting to hear his answer-

But when he saw the fortune teller, he sighed slightly, and said:

"The hexagram master does not hide the evil of others, and does not hide from Miss that your hexagram is the sixth sign——"

"How?"

Hearing him say this, Runlan's heart was half cold, but she still couldn't help but blurt out a question. I only heard the hexagram master reply:

"It's signed. The name of the hexagram is 'Mandarin Duck Flying': Mandarin Duck blocks the two flights, and when the hope is not obtained. Conservative but should rest on reform, but now it is hesitant to advance and retreat. ”

As soon as I heard the hexagrams, this lady who was familiar with poetry and books was stunned!

was in a daze, and the brute girl beside her who felt sorry for her own lady immediately raised her willow eyebrows, and said in a coquettish voice:

"You hexagram teller is a pure liar, Miss's hexagram doesn't work at all!"

Just as he was about to say a few more words, he felt the young lady pull his sleeve beside him, and said in a mournful voice:

"Xing'er, don't say it. The old gentleman's hexagram is very spiritual. ”

"No, Miss,"

Seeing Miss's dejected appearance, Xing'er couldn't help but say:

"If it doesn't work, then count it again!"

As she spoke, she took out a piece of silver from her sleeve and patted it in front of the old man in the hexagram stall.

Seeing that the little maid in front of the stall was anxious and stuffed the hexagram into the young lady's hand, the old man was silent and said calmly:

"It's okay, maybe there will be some improvement in another hexagram. ”

"That's nature!"

The apricot maid replied categorically, and then urged the young lady to shake quickly.

Seeing that she was so dedicated, Miss Runlan couldn't either, so she had to reluctantly shake it a few more times. Suddenly, I only heard a "snap", and another bamboo stick fell. Seeing this, Xing'er hurriedly picked it up and handed it to the stall owner, and then said eagerly:

"How is this hexagram old man?"

But when he saw the old man, when he looked at the hexagram, his expression suddenly changed greatly, and he said strangely:

"Strange! Why is it signed this time!"

"Humph!"

Hearing the old man's words, the little apricot girl was very angry. It was only in the blink of an eye that she suddenly remembered what the old man had just said, and she reacted, and immediately clapped her hands and shouted:

"Sign up?!Then quickly give my lady a good explanation!"

Seeing her urging, the old hexagram master still said slowly:

"This hexagram is auspicious, and it is called 'No Ji Tailai'. The hexagram explains: There is a fate to create a self-arrangement, and Hugh sighs that there is no fate and disharmony. At this time, it is good to listen to the rhyme of the piano, and the night raindrops are empty. ”

As soon as she heard this, Miss Runlan, who was originally sad and worried, couldn't help but jump up with the little girl at this moment. It's just that, in stark contrast to the two of them, the old fortune teller now has a bitter face and mutters:

"This really doesn't make sense, my Zheng hexagram has always been a hexagram, why is it ...... today?"

Then the two servants who were rejoicing at themselves were very strange to hear the stall owner eagerly say:

"This young lady, today I will give you a free hexagram to see what is going on!"

"Miss, go away, don't pay attention to this weirdo!"

The little maid, who was afraid of a long night and a lot of dreams, hurriedly urged repeatedly. But Miss Runlan ignored the maid's kindness, calmed down and said:

"It's okay, thank you, old man. I also thought that it would be safe to calculate one more hexagram. ”

"Well, that's it, let's see what the will of heaven is. ”

So, Miss Runlan shook it for the third time. And before this hexagram interpretation, the little apricot girl was even more nervous and anxious than the seeker herself.

I only listened to the old man who explained the hexagram, and he was puzzled and said:

"It's weird! It's still good luck: the karma of the past life will be in this life, don't love and hate for wealth. If there is a nobleman to promote, it is good to climb the laurel to the clouds......"

"Hmph! Miss Marriage Will Be Happy!"

It turned out to be a little girl Xing'er, but the more she looked at the old man, the more unpleasant she became, and she pulled the young lady who was about to double the payment, and walked away without looking back. Behind him, only the stall owner who was known as the god of the Guigu Valley was left lamenting:

"Strange things, strange things, my Zheng Yi Hexagram actually has times when it doesn't work! It seems that if I don't practice diligently, my name of 'Zheng Yi Hexagram' will be changed to 'Zheng Sangua'!"

Not to mention that this dedicated hexagram master sighed for a long time there, and the two masters and servants of Runlan were in a happy mood now, just like a light willow warbler, laughing all the way back to the mansion that was only two streets away from here.

Almost at the same time as they arrived home, they saw a young Taoist priest who was taking two female Taoist children and happened to come to the front of the mansion. Looking up at the plaque above the gate with "Peng Mansion" written on it, the young man was wiping the sweat on his forehead and panting:

"Huh~ The young lady's guidance is really not bad, although there are many turns, but it is finally here. ”

"Well, it's really up to you to help you go out, such a complicated road, if you don't have the guidance of well-wishers, it's really hard to find!"

Hearing his brother's gratitude, Xiao Qiongwei also echoed:

"Yes, yes, I think that big sister is really kind~"

At this moment, the two masters and servants of Na Runlan and Xing'er looked at the three people who were grateful to Dade not far away, but they were dumbfounded, and they couldn't speak for a while with their mouths wide open!

After a long time, the young lady came to her senses and asked suspiciously:

"Xing'er, you really didn't point the right way?"

"I ......"

When asked by the young lady, the little girl was a little speechless. was stunned for a moment, and then said with some crying:

"Miss, you have to believe me, I'...... I'm really just talking nonsense!"

Guan Ping Chao Sendai Chronicle: Ocean, Hot Springs, Waterfalls, Lu Xun:

;