Chapter Thirty-Eight: Ant Gathering

Seeing that noon is approaching, there are more and more tourists passing by on the road.

In more than an hour, a total of nine groups of travelers chased after them from behind. More than ten rides, less than three or five rides, hurried over. Hu Tan's outfit attracted attention, and almost every group of travelers who passed by would throw a surprised glance at him without exception.

The little boy was very grinning, and when he saw that people were looking at him, he smiled in return, clenched his fists like an adult, and nodded to people.

This child has a bad temperament, since he was forced to sell game and medicinal herbs on the street at the age of five to earn money, he has been contaminated in the market, and in the past few years, he has gradually raised himself to be not afraid of heaven and earth.

Qin Su was a little worried in his heart. At present, the Lund Mansion is full of heroes, and the undercurrent is surging, which is no better than other secluded places. Hu Tan is so blatantly showing his head, but he is afraid that he will incur disadvantage. At the moment, he said: "Tan'er, put on your clothes, don't practice today." The boundary of Longde Mansion is just ahead, and there are many people, so we can't be too ostentatious. ”

As he spoke, two more riders rode by, surprised by Hu Tan's dress, and a young woman in a black shirt looked back frequently, almost dragging the horse diagonally to the opposite side.

The boy smiled and retracted his gaze and agreed, "Yes, auntie." He reached out and lifted up the saddle pouch, took out his robe, shoes and socks, and changed them at once. "I was still thinking just now, if that Dao Master from yesterday also took this road, he should catch up at this time. Let him see my clothes, just afraid that he will come up and fight hard. Hu Tan said with a smile.

"Then you're so careless...... Put on your hat too, it's a little cold. Waiting for the dissipation may be cold. ”

"I'm not afraid of him!" Hu Tan raised his eyebrows and smiled. Obediently, he took out the fur hat from the bag, put it on his head and put it on straight. "He was bitten by a poisonous snake yesterday. If you can't get up, you can run into me. I let him freeze in the snow for another four hours, hehe...... Oh, auntie, I have a way!" Xiao Tong's thoughts turned quickly, and when he was thinking about how to play tricks on Lieyang, he suddenly thought of another idea, and said to Qin Su happily: "Aren't you afraid that Old Elder Zhao will not be able to enter the village? After we arrived at Longde Mansion, we waited for this old Taoist master to tie him up." Then pretend to be a guest who reports and blend in. I just said that this evil Taoist had an accident on the road, and he couldn't come, so didn't he just go in?"

Qin Su was angry and funny, this little ghost was bold and reckless, and he had strange thoughts, and scolded him in a low voice: "Silly boy, now there are hundreds of disciples of the sect in Longde Mansion, I don't know how many eyeliner spies are staring at, how can you get it so easily." Besides. Can you keep yourself from being discovered? How can we get away with being discovered? Don't take things too lightly, these old people are not all vegetarians. ”

"Oh, that's just as well. Hu Tan grinned. I'm a little embarrassed.

Hu Tan has a sharp mind and is good at looking for opportunities, which is a good advantage. In the vendetta dispute that has always been encountered. It's easy for him to take the initiative, but the kid hasn't gone through a real storm after all. Unsolved the sinister rivers and lakes, I can't help but think about things too simply. Qin Su was worried that he would suffer in the future because he underestimated the enemy too much.

Staring at the little ghost, seeing his eyes rolling, he was obviously still thinking about how to make the action watertight, and warned him at the moment: "Don't fight this ghost idea, sit obediently, let's go to the Lund Mansion to settle down and make plans." ”

Hu Tan grinned, scratched his head, and really didn't think about it. After being quiet for a while, he began to discuss with Qin Su again, he wanted to have a big meal in Longde Mansion, and he wanted to eat the crispy deer breast of the original Zhai.

Qin Su smiled slightly.

This kid is naughty and naughty, but he is very obedient.

And with a father there is a son. Brother Hu attaches great importance to love and righteousness, and is very filial to his relatives, and this child has inherited these advantages. Since he was a child, he was extremely filial to his aunt and never disobeyed Qin Su's orders. For many years, Qin Su barely remembered what Xiao Tong had done to make him angry.

Speaking of which, Qin Su sometimes feels that this little doll is respectful and obedient, and very filial. He may have done more to himself than he had given him.

Since she was four years old, she has been so well-behaved that she has never mentioned an unfulfillable wish to her. Maybe in his small heart, he already knew his identity as an orphan, and he was grateful to the aunt who raised him.

At the beginning of the escape, Qin Su had almost no skills to make a living, and the two really went through many hardships, and Xiao Tong was very sensible at that time. When he is thirsty and hungry, he first looks at Qin Su's face, if his aunt is worried, he will not beg for food, and wait until Qin Su's mood improves before speaking. I was sleepy and tired, so I asked my aunt obediently: "Tan'er is tired, can you rest and leave." Qin Su was always sad and weeping for his caution.

After such hard work, it was not until April of the previous year that the livelihoods of the two changed dramatically. Qin Su's unremitting supervision for many days finally showed results, and the child practiced painting talismans in the morning, and the spiritual canal suddenly opened, shouting and feeling feverish. Qin Su inspected, found that he drew the spirit of the talisman effect of surprise, at that time the two were worried because of the difficulty of eating, in a desperate situation, Qin Su came up with a way to sell talismans to make money, draw flags to make moves, let Hu Tan walk around the streets and alleys to sell talismans to earn some loose money, money is getting more and more abundant. Since then, because of the healing of many injuries, Xiao Hu Tan has been respected and admired by many people. This is more lively day by day, and self-confidence has increased dramatically. However, from poverty to wealth, his filial piety to Qin Su has not changed in the slightest, serving Qin Su, who has not recovered from serious injuries, buying medicinal decoction, and being careful, which comforts the disciples of Jade Girl Peak.

This child is not flesh and blood, but he is better than flesh and blood. Tenderness welled up in Qin Su's chest.

Hu Tan suddenly became quiet on the horse. Qin Su turned his head to look at him, but saw that the young man was closing his eyes and looking at his heart, pinching the trick with both hands, and slowly withdrawing the "Asking Heart Mantra" aura on his body.

The "Heavenly King's Asking Heart Mantra" exercise, this is the homework that Qin Su arranged for Xiao Hu Tan to practice every day.

When Sui Zhenfeng was teaching disciples in the mountains, he often said: "Learning martial arts and spells is like sailing against the current. Qin Su was admonished for a long time and was convinced that he had the opportunity to teach Hu Tan. He also used this lesson on Xiaotong and walked the rivers and lakes for several years. Strict supervision, let Hu Tan practice at least four hours a day. Thousands of days, not a single day or break.

"The Mantra of the Heavenly King" is said to be written by Fu Yiqi, a famous scholar of the Western Jin Dynasty, and has been written for hundreds of years, creating countless famous artists. But since the Jin Dynasty, the world has been burned by many soldiers, and this book has almost been lost, and only a few sects still have it. The Jade Girl Peak in Jiangning Mansion is one of the factions that still has this book. Qinglian Shenzhen favored Qin Su and was bent on supporting her as the new head of Jade Girl Peak, so he was more demanding of her. Qin Su had memorized these many mantras since he was a child.

Later, Qin Su rebelled out of the school and took Xiao Hu Tan to wander around, so he re-transcribed this true recipe for the enlightenment of the little doll. The "Heavenly King's Asking Heart Mantra" is quite different from other spells for practicing Reiki, proposing that the internal qi and the external should be corresponded, and the five elements should be connected, with the four methods of "sucking, penetrating, passing, and rushing". Borrow external yin and yang to increase power. The cultivator disperses the spiritual energy evenly in the spiritual channel, gradually overflowing the appearance, and then drums the five palaces inside, sensing the external wind, fire, thunder, and water. Earth. When it is strong, it is retracted, and when it is weak, it is added, and so on. The aura in the practitioner's body gradually increased, and the senses were keen. Cast stronger.

To practice this method, one must be artificial. Second, it takes days. In winter, when the water was full of fire, Qin Su asked Hu Tanqiang to turn the fire in his heart to sense the fire that was almost imperceptible outside. As soon as the heart was on fire, overflowing the body surface, and the body was naturally hot, Hu Tan had to wear less to avoid sweating. But now that he is about to enter the Longde Mansion, the heroes of the rivers and lakes gather, so that people can see the outfit of the young man who is not an ordinary person, but I am afraid that it will be unfavorable.

After a short time, Hu Tan had finished harvesting, seeing that the wind was blowing at noon, and the sky was a little gloomy, but he was afraid that it would snow again, so the aunt and nephew began to ride their horses in a hurry. After a long run, the horses sweated and snorted, and then slowed down again.

Looking up, I saw that on the right side of the road ahead, a half-human-high stone monument was leaning diagonally, and the bottom was almost half covered by the snowdrift.

"Rumbling...... De," Qin Su recognized the two words on the tablet, and said to Hu Tan: "It's time to reach the boundary of Longde Mansion." "Hurry up and go forward, sure enough, it is the boundary monument of Lund Mansion. Longde Mansion is more than 300 miles away from Jiyuan County, which is not far, according to the strength of the two of them, it is time to enter the city after walking for two or three hours.

"Tan'er, are you hungry, do you want to eat something first?"

"No," Hu Tan shook his head and said, "I'll eat it when I get to Longde Mansion, and I'll eat the venison of Yuanwei Zhai." ”

"There are still two or three hours to go, how can we get there so quickly. ”

"Then it's good to be hungry for a while, it's nothing, just bear with it. Anyway, I'm going to have to eat crispy venison today. Auntie, you don't know, how delicious the venison was said by the guest yesterday...... "Hu Tan's eyebrows danced, and he learned how yesterday's guests praised the venison for being crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, how it melts in the mouth, and how to keep fragrant teeth and cheeks, and finally said that he was greedy again, and there was a 'grunt' sound in his stomach, smacking his tongue, and saliva almost flowed out of the corners of his mouth.

"Silly boy, if the original flavor is closed, or there are too many guests, and the venison is sold out, you won't eat?" Qin Su smiled when he saw his greedy face.

"It won't be so unlucky, why can't I eat it when I come. Hu Tan said. "They ate it the day before yesterday. ”

"That's not easy to say, look at how many people from the rivers and lakes passed by us just now? Now there must be more than these people in Longde Mansion, if this is the case on every road, there are at least 500 people in Longde Mansion now...... Huh, hey, no, Tan'er, why are so many people? It's just to celebrate his birthday, do you need so many people to go?" Qin Su finally found out that something was wrong. Even though the Broken Jade Knife is famous, it will not let many sects in the world, even masters and apprentices, go to celebrate together.

What happened? Could it be that there was something else in Lund Mansion that made the world's heroes so flocking?

Qin Su was a little surprised, and when he was hesitating, he heard Hu Tan sniffing on the side.

"What's wrong?"

"Auntie, it smells like medicinal herbs!" Hu Tan said, looking up at the front.

The wind is clear after the snow, and there is no dust barrier. There are no detours on this road, and it stretches straight into the distance. Hu Tan saw that half a mile ahead, a line of black dots was slowly moving. It was more than a dozen mules and horses walking with goods, and in the occasional wind, the luan bell of "bell" was faintly heard. A faint smell of medicinal herbs wafted from there. "It must be them!Haha, that's great!" Hu Tan exclaimed happily, "Auntie, maybe there is a ginseng seller! Let's go and ask him, and if there is, let's buy a few more! You haven't eaten it in a few days." ”

Ginseng nourishes qi and blood, and strengthens the foundation and peiyuan. It was exactly what Qin Su needed after he was injured. It's just that the north-south passage is now blocked, and it is difficult for goods to enter. Many towns are out of stock, with the occasional several. The price is also ridiculously expensive, and Qin Su has not bought good ginseng since the end of autumn. At that moment, I heard Hu Tan's cry and rejoiced. I was also very happy in my heart.

patted the horse to catch up, but saw that it was a fat-headed and big-eared southern medicine merchant, also riding a horse, urging the people to hurry. Qin and Su had sold all kinds of mountain herbs to support their lives in the past few years, and they were quite familiar with medicines.

The two rode their horses to catch up, and as soon as they ran to the back of the convoy, they heard the fat man's shrill scolding:

“...... Slave bones! Master, I will feed and clothe you. Raising you for so many years. I tell you that if you don't reach Lund Mansion in three hours, and if the dart car is delayed, you won't want to eat!" After saying that, he waved his horsewhip and slapped it on the medicine bag of the horse in front of him. Scared the guy behind the horse.

Hu Tan's face sank, and he whispered to Qin Su: "Auntie, this is also an uncle. We don't have to spend any money. ”

For the arrogant people who oppress the good, Hu Tan has always used "uncle" to jokingly call him, every time he meets the uncle. He will be punished. At that moment, the two of them slowly pressed their horses, slowed down, and followed behind the caravan, not chasing.

The merchant had no idea that someone was watching him from behind. Riding back and forth, just a hard lesson. What "dog slave, killer with broken leg ......" scolded all the time. It's probably that his subordinates don't work according to their own hearts and slowly take off. I don't know that time is precious. Hu Tan listened for a moment and figured out the identities of the group.

Since ancient times, traders have profited. The secret relied on is the four words "selling scarce and expensive". The more scarce something is, the higher the price. Every merchant will almost speculate, buy low and sell high, and hoard goods, which is the source of profit. The businessman in front of him is an out-and-out speculator, and now the Song and Liao are fighting against each other, the people are struggling to make a living, and there are countless patients in the north and south who need to be treated, but the freight is blocked, and the drugs from the south cannot be transported to the north, and the drugs from the north cannot be sold in the south, resulting in the price of medicinal materials in various places rising.

This businessman opened a pharmacy in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and felt this business opportunity, so he imported a large number of motherwort, atractylodes, andrographis, and Angelica dahurica drugs from the local area, and escorted them to the north to sell them at a high price. Later, in Zhendingfu and other places at the border gates, they went deep into the mountains and collected mountain ginseng, mutong, aster, and deer antler velvet from all over the country, and prepared to sell them to the south to obtain high profits.

This group of people braved the snow regardless of the weather, because this merchant wanted to take advantage of this rare bad weather, and other medicine merchants did not have time to transport the goods. Only his men were suffering, everyone was glazed-eyed, bloodshot, and wanted to be rushed by the master too quickly, and they didn't even sleep well.

Hu Tan smelled the smell of all kinds of medicinal herbs from him. Among them, there is ginseng, which is absolutely true, its taste is fragrant, and the quality should be good.

After waiting for tea again, the merchant scolded his men to the point of blood, and his viciousness and meanness were revealed. Hu Tan and the others also saw that they were almost there, so the little devil urged him to step forward and asked with a smile: "The master is from Jiangsu, right?"

The merchant folded his horse back and forth several times, and he had already seen Qin and Hu. Although I don't know the identities of the two, I saw that Qin Su and Hu Tan were dressed in Duli, which was worth a lot of money, and I didn't dare to underestimate them when I knew that they were not ordinary people. When he heard Hu Tan's question, he nodded yes, and looked at Hu Tan suspiciously, seeing what he had to say.

"My aunt and I had also been in contact with medicinal herbs in the early years, and we smelled that there seemed to be ginseng in the old man's goods, so I took the liberty to come over and ask the old man to buy one. ”

"I came to ask for medicine. The merchant breathed a sigh of relief, and lifted most of his guard. Merchants buy and sell, the most feared is the buyer, the price is in me, the goods are also in me, no real money is not shipped, there is no risk at all. glanced at Qin Su and said slowly: "Little brother has good eyesight! Yes, the villain has received a few ginseng sticks and is going to be shipped to the south to sell." But it doesn't matter, the merchants buy and sell, there is a market everywhere, and if the little brother wants to buy, it is easy to discuss. But the little brother should know the current market, this price is ......"

"The price is not a problem, please rest assured, sir. Hu Tan said with a smile. "As long as ginseng is a good thing, it will never let the master suffer. So saying, he took out the purse from the pouch under the saddle, and opened it, but there were a few neat envelopes of silver, a few ingots of glittering gold, and some scattered jewels. "I don't know if this money is enough to buy ginseng?"

When the merchant saw these gorgeous things, he still had a reason to hesitate in his heart. The only remaining guard in his heart was also eliminated, and he hurriedly said: "Enough! Enough! Even if you buy ten, it is enough, please forgive the villain's clumsiness." Snubbed the honored guest. Reaching into his arms, he pulled out a few red cloth packages. He asked, "I don't know what kind of ginseng my little brother wants?" I have a 300-year-old, a 100-year-old, and a 60-year-old ...... here."

"Three hundred and one hundred. It's all wrapped up for me. ”

The merchant was full of joy, but he did not expect such a large profit. This little boy thought that he was born in a wealthy family, and he was so generous that he didn't even pay back the price of buying and selling things, which was really good luck! ”

"Not bad. The price is fair and you're good. Hu Tan grinned and said, this sentence did not make the fat man happy in his heart. Oh my God! I met the God of Wealth! Even in today's situation where goods are difficult to pass, the 300-year-old ginseng is only 800 taels, and the 100-year-old ginseng is more than 500 taels, and he has earned more than 1,000 taels of silver from this transaction alone!

watched the young high roller count the silver, handed it over, and carefully examined it. There are no fakes. The merchant was so fond of Xiao Hu Tan that he was so excited that he immediately fell at the young man's feet, hugged his shoes and kissed him wildly, and gave him all the flattering words. What kind of person do businessmen like the most? The one who throws money without saying a word!

"Master, are there any other rare things in these goods?" asked Hu Tan after collecting the ginseng.

"Yes, yes, there are horses in front of them. It's all the best deer antler, I don't know ...... little brother."

"Forget about deer antler velvet. It's not an unusual thing. Hu Tan said. The merchant immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes! The little brother is a great nobleman, of course these things are not eye-catching." There was a pause. He also said: "I am in the medicine hall in Suzhou, and there is still a shouwu in the shape of a human being, but it's a pity that it ......" He looked at Hu Tan eagerly, only hoping that this little rich man would be on a whim, and it was unknown whether he would go to Suzhou with him to buy and sell.

"Hahaha, forming Shouwu is a good thing, but it's a pity that Suzhou is too far, thousands of miles away, I can't go that far. ”

The merchant also felt that this idea was ridiculous, and hurriedly smiled, and said: "Yes, yes, it is the villain who thinks too much, and it is also today that he sees a good customer like the little brother, so he can't help but want to offer treasures." ”

"Haha, my lord's business has always been okay?"

Brother Lao asked, and he has always been okay. The small shop is honest in business, and it is still a little famous in Suzhou Prefecture......"

"Yes, yes, when you pass through Suzhou, you must go to the treasure to have a look. ”

"It's very welcome, a noble person like Xiao Ge can come to the shop, it is really full of brilliance, and Xie will definitely treat him wholeheartedly when the time comes. ”

"Well said, well said. Hu Tan said with a smile, constantly looking for topics to talk to the businessman. In such a casual relationship, the other took a strategic stutter, and in a short time, the two became familiar as if they had known each other for many years. As they talked, they talked about the situation of merchants buying goods in the northern mountains.

"Alas! This Tongshan is really not a place for people to live, there is no rice and flour, there is no salt, the poor sticks in there are dirty, and there are lice biting people in the winter! Can you imagine? I have been in it for a month and a half, and I am almost going crazy, and if it weren't for the sake of these ginseng sticks, I would not want to live for a day. The merchant lamented the misery in the mountains.

"Yes, there are too many hardships to endure in business. Hu Tan said sympathetically. "Did the master enter Tongshan? There are lice in the winter...... Is the bite bad?"

"Awesome! I slept all night, and when I woke up the next morning, how many red envelopes did I have? More than 30 of them! How can lice in the south be so fierce, the poor mountains and bad waters, if they are really not stupid, there are lice in winter, I can't imagine it in the past. ”

"I know this place in Tongshan. Hu Tan said. "I have a distant uncle who was on an errand under General Yuan Jizhong, and he was sent to Tongshan to dig trenches in the past to prevent the Khitan invasion. ”

"Oh! Uncle Ling is loyal to the country and a pillar of the society, which is really admirable. The merchant praised, "Speaking of which, if we traders do not have the protection of the warriors in front of us, the country will be ruined, what money can we make?" ”

"Hehe, he once mentioned to my father that there are many strange little insects in the Tongshan area of Zhending Mansion, one of which is called ...... The beard worm is very similar to the kind of lice that the master just mentioned, the male sucks human blood, and the female sucks human essence. I was listening to it at the time, and I thought it was funny, so I remembered it. ”

"Hahaha, is it?" said the merchant with a dry laugh, "maybe this is the worm I encountered, well, it seems that the worms that bite me are males, and they only suck blood." If it's a female worm, it's bad, hehehe. ”

"yes, if you run into a female, that's bad. Hu Tan looked at the merchant and smiled, "It's just that the male worm has sucked blood, but this female worm is very venomous, sucking sperm from the tail vertebrae and back of the human ......."

The merchant smiled and listened, what kind of worm can suck sperm from a person's tail vertebrae, and can the tail vertebrae also have sperm?

Hu Tan said next: "My uncle said, we ordinary people, the essence of the body is generally gathered on the top of the head and the soles of the feet, but there is no essence in the back of the tail vertebrae, but this female worm has a way to force the essence of the person to the tail pass, and after sucking, it will also stab the poison into the human body." ”

The merchant thought, "Oh, so he's talking about Jingyuan...... Ahem, I've thought about it too much, this young man is so young, and he doesn't know anything about it. ”

"This poison is not ordinary, it will kill people, but this insect is very small, and the toxicity attack is slow, usually a month or two after the bite, and at that time many soldiers in my uncle's army died bravely from insect bites. ”

"Yes......" The smile on the merchant's face slowly froze, and he forced a smile, "It's good that I wasn't bitten, otherwise I ......"

"Hahaha, of course, look at the old man's red face, he must not be poisoned. Hu Tanxin laughed without a city, "It is easy to identify people who have been poisoned, my uncle said, after being bitten by insects, they are more sensitive to wind and cold than ordinary people, and they will feel hot and cold, from the tail vertebrae to the back of the head, which is the place where the insect is mouthed, and the bite will be a red envelope with a big finger......"

The merchant broke out in a cold sweat.

It can't be like that, is it...... For a month, he would feel sometimes cold and sometimes hot, and he always thought that it was the weather conditions that disturbed the yin and yang of the human body. He felt a little uncomfortable just now, and his body was cold and hot for a while, as if he had been affected by the wind. , but it wasn't really bitten by insects! He couldn't laugh anymore, and reached out to his back, only worried that a red envelope would grow on his tail ridge.

At this time, Hu Tan was still talking about his uncle's experience: "...... Insect poison is extremely difficult to solve, generally speaking, only three to five days after the poison occurs, people must be finished. My uncle had been in the pharmacy in his early years, and he had learned some medicines, and told my grandfather about the properties of the poisonous insect, and made an antidote...... "Before he had finished speaking, he heard the merchant's terrible cry: "Rejoice! Come and see! What has grown on me!" His hand was pressed against the middle of his back, and his face was ashen and trembling. The finger trembled and slid to the side several times.

The subordinate named Sui Xi trotted all the way over, bowed and asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

"You...... Raise...... Opened...... My clothes, look here...... Over here...... What's the matter......" In just a moment's time, this successful businessman who was full of ambition became a pale man, with cyanotic lips and a fat body that was as stiff as iron for a while, and trembling like a shaker for a while. When he heard the command, he lifted up his master's robe and looked at it.

"Sir...... Look at your face isn't very good. Hu Tan said with concern, "The lips are purple...... Ah, no, this is ...... This is...... You're not really going to be bitten by bugs, are you, sir, getting chills?"

When the merchant heard this, his body trembled a little, and he looked at Hu Tan in horror. He saw surprise and regret in Hu Tan's eyes.

"Master, you have a red envelope here......" Sui Xi said at this time.

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