Chapter 87: Encounter Halfway (asking for monthly ticket) "Junior brother and sister..." The third senior brother took out a few pieces of takoyaki from the bamboo basket and handed them to Lin Jue and the little junior sister respectively. Then he sat down in the fallen leaves, took out the wine gourd, and took a bite of the takoyaki. "I always feel that the custard cakes made by my junior brother are tastier than those sold down the mountain!" “It’s just because they use good meat and are willing to spend a lot of money on other ingredients.” Lin Jue sat on the ground with a tart cake in his hand, but still looked up at the sky. "That's how it should be! Well, it's just a little dry!" said the third brother, holding the wine gourd and taking a sip. He immediately showed a satisfied look, shaking his head and muttering, "A cup of wine is enough for the affairs of the Ming Dynasty, the setting sun and the rising moon, and the autumn wind goes with the wine, it's just right!" "Senior brother..." "Here——" "No, it seems like it's going to rain." Lin Jue looked at the wine gourd that the third senior brother generously handed over, unmoved, "Should we find a better place to shelter from the rain?" "Really? Xiaoyu?" "heavy rain."

"how do you know?" "I learned alchemy." "Huh? This thing has this function?" "Yes." Alchemy requires careful consideration of time, solar terms, rain, snow, wind and sunshine. Although Lin Jue cannot predict them in advance, he still has some ability to judge when the time comes. The three of them held the tatin and looked up at the sky at the same time. Sure enough, after a while, the originally white sky became much darker, and many clouds like randomly scattered ink were floating in the sky, and these clouds were gathering into a ball. It looks like it's going to rain heavily. The third brother scratched his head. Suddenly a gong sounded. The three of them lowered their heads again and looked in the direction of the sound. It was already past dusk, and the light in the mountains had dimmed. There was only one road in the forest that could accommodate a carriage, winding its way to an unknown place. The farther I looked, the darker it became. There was no one coming from behind, but there was a convoy coming slowly from the front. This is where the gong sound comes from. It was too dark, and I could only see clearly when I got closer. This team is quite a lot of people—— There were two young men leading the way in front, each holding a golden gong, which they beat twice after walking a distance. Behind them were two strong servants riding on chestnut horses, and behind them was a carriage pulled by two horses, followed by four boys, four maids, and four more people behind the carriage. The three people under the tree couldn't help but look at each other. The fox stared at them curiously. "Ghost?"

The junior sister noticed something was wrong and asked in a low voice. "No." The third brother said, "It should be a village in the mountains, a wealthy family, don't be rude." "Can I ask for directions?" Lin Jue also stared ahead. "OK?" "Then it's a good opportunity to ask for directions." Lin Jue's eyes flickered, "Because the heavy rain will ruin the elixirs and treasures." "Junior brother is still reliable. You will be the senior brother next time." "also." Lin Jue watched them approaching, so he picked up a sword, stepped out of the box, and went to the road to wait. The sky was really dark, and it was even darker under the trees. When the Taoist walked onto the road, the people passing by saw him and immediately stopped. They all looked at him and then turned around to look behind them. "Why did you stop?" A voice came from the carriage. Then the curtain of the car was lifted and an old man stuck his head out. "Hmm?" The old man looked at him in surprise. "It's so late, why are you alone on this mountain road?" "Excuse me, old sir." Lin Jue bowed to him, thought for a moment, and explained, "It's because we are lazy and stupid, and didn't plan the route well. It's dark when we got to the middle of the mountain. There's no village in front and no hotel behind. I thought it wouldn't be too cold at the beginning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I just stayed in the mountains for one night. I didn't expect that it would rain soon. I saw the old sir's procession, so I came to ask, is there a hotel nearby?" Under the tree behind him, the little sister sat upright, but she couldn't help but turn her eyes to the side and look at the third brother. The third senior brother also looked at her. Their eyes met, and the junior sister quickly turned her eyes away. "Oh! It's really going to rain!" The old man looked up at the sky with a kind expression, "Where are you from, Taoist priest?" "This way." "Coming from here, going to that place, oh, you have to walk to Huaishu Inn to find a place to stay. It's still thirty miles away. It will take an hour and a half even if you walk well." The old man was kind-hearted. He paused and squinted at the young Taoist priest. Seeing that he looked young, he felt sorry for him and said, "You can only stay in a nearby village." "Please enlighten me, old sir." "Go forward for about two miles and you will pass the first earthen ridge. Not far away, on your right, there is a small path. Follow it and you will reach our village." "Can I stay overnight in the village?" "The villagers are kindhearted. You can stay with us." The old man said with a smile, "The surname of the village is Zhang. There is a wealthy family in the village. That family is kind and wealthy. They like to do good deeds. They are the family at the head of the village. You can just stay at their house. The family's name is Zhang Yu. Just say that it was me, Zhang Yuande, who called them." "That's great!" Lin Jue couldn't help but his eyes lit up: "Thank you sir!" "You are too polite, Taoist priest. If you walk faster, maybe you can catch a good meal in time." "Thank you very much!"

Lin Jue respectfully stepped aside, bowed and waited for them to leave. Looking back, the fox was already beside him. The third senior brother and the younger junior sister had also packed their luggage and walked out of the box with the donkey. "Look!" The third brother also laughed and said to them, "I told you, when you get to the mountain, there will be a way out, and when you get to the bridge, there will be a way out. Why worry so much?" The two looked at each other and said nothing. It's getting darker. Lin Jue took out a very small lantern, not much bigger than a palm, and whispered a few words. The light in the lantern lit up and he hung it in front of Senior Brother Donkey with a long whistle stick. The little apprentice sister stared at him, wondering—— How come he always learns new spells without realizing it even though he practices with his junior brother every day? The light can only illuminate a small area. The group continued walking forward. There is a pavilion every ten miles and a watchtower every five miles. Two miles is a bend in the mountains. As expected, we saw a mound. After walking past the earthen rampart, there was indeed a small path leading to a village behind the mountain. When it was dark and even the shadows of the distant mountains could not be seen, lights appeared in the distance, and at the same time there were faint sounds of blowing, beating, crying and shouting. The closer you get, the clearer the sound becomes. They were a family at the head of the village. They lit lights in the dark night and were holding a funeral inside and outside the ancestral hall. The group looked at each other and walked over with lanterns. "May I ask if this is Zhang Yu's family?" The neighbors who came to help were surprised to see the sudden arrival of several Taoist priests, and they quickly invited the host from the ancestral hall. The owner of the house was also puzzled. "What's this, Taoist priest? Oh! I have asked the Taoist priest to take care of my family affairs." The host said, wiping the tears from his face. A few drops of rain fell on them. "You have misunderstood, we are not here to steal our fellow practitioners' rituals." The third brother ignored the falling raindrops, "We are Taoists from Mount Yi. We were on our way to a long journey when the weather changed. We didn't want to get wet in the rain. We heard that the owner of this place is a kind person, so we came here to ask for a place to stay for one night." "Yishan?" “The mountains of Yi County.” "Yi County?" Zhang Yu frowned. "So far? How did you know about us? But we knew each other before?" "I didn't know him before." The third brother said truthfully, "We met an old man on the road. His last name is Zhang Yuande. We asked him for directions and he told us to stay here for the night."

"what?" When this man heard this, he was shocked. After the panic, I felt a little angry. "What did you say?" "no offense." "You Taoist priest! My family is known for our generosity and kindness. If you were to come and stay overnight, you should have said politely that even though my father is dead, we can still make room for you to stay overnight. But you are making fun of my dead father!" Hearing this, the junior sister behind him was shocked. However, the third brother looked calm and continued to salute: "No, no, we Taoists from Yishan have the true teachings and dare not lie. We did meet your father's procession on the road, and with his guidance, we came here to stay overnight." After a pause he continued: "Your father had a goatee that barely reached his chest? His ceremonial procession included four young men carrying golden gongs, four horses and servants riding them, four boys and four maids, and a two-horse carriage?" When the man heard this, he was shocked. Not only was he shocked, but the people behind him were also surprised. When we asked each other, we found that they were completely consistent. Surprised, he dared not suspect anything and could only treat them as distinguished guests, inviting them into his home and treating them well. This place has not yet left the territory of Huizhou. The houses are still white-walled and green-tiled. There are many couplets on the pillars of the main hall. The most eye-catching one reads: To have good children and grandchildren, one must respect their ancestors. If you want to bring honor to your family, you should study hard and do good deeds. There was a table next to the main room, with a lantern hanging diagonally, an oil lamp on the table, a few hot meat dishes, and a pot of homemade wine. Three people were eating. There was a circle of people around. It had already started raining heavily outside. Although the takoyaki is delicious, it is dry food after all. It is better when it is hot, but its taste is greatly reduced when it is cold. No matter how good the dry food is, how can it compare to the hot wine and meat? Whether it was the neighbors who came to help the Zhang family or the Zhang family’s children and grandchildren, when they heard about this, they were all surprised and curious, and they all ran over to surround them. "Where did you Taoist priests meet my father?" "It's not far ahead." "May I ask, may I ask how is my father?" "Don't worry, your father is fine." The third brother wiped the grease from his mouth and said, picking up the wine pot to drink, "You left on your own and all the people buried with you are with you. This is not a treatment that ordinary people can have. I think your father did a lot of good deeds when he was alive, so he is treated so well." "Yes Yes Yes……" Everyone was happy and busy wiping their tears. "What did my father say to the Taoist priests?" "Your father is very kind..." Lin Jue told them about his conversation with the old gentleman, the old gentleman's demeanor and tone, as well as all the small details of his accent.

When everyone heard it, they all agreed. Then he did not dare to disturb them while they were eating. He just asked the women to make the beds for them and the younger generation to feed the donkeys, and then everyone went out to do their own things. The three of them were full quickly. "Oh, I saved another meal of tart cakes." The third brother said with a smile, "Look, if you hadn't followed me, you wouldn't have encountered such a thing, you wouldn't have had such a good meal, you probably would have eaten porridge somewhere else." Under the oil lamp, the two looked at each other. Although the junior sister didn't say anything, her face showed a strange expression. Lin Jue also fell into deep thought. The sound of blowing and rain continued to come from outside. …… The next morning, I said goodbye to the Zhang family. The old man's eldest son Zhang Yu inherited his kindness and hospitality. He not only refused the money given by a group of people for accommodation, but also specially made some steamed cakes and gave them as gifts. “We’ll eat on the way.” "Thank you, sir!" said the third brother. "By the way, how do I get to Yuanzhou?" "Yuanzhou?" "Yes……" "Although we have traveled farther than people in the same village, we have never been to Yuanzhou." Zhang Yu said thoughtfully, "But I have a cousin who has been to Niaoshu Mountain for business before. I heard him say once that after arriving at Niaoshu Mountain, taking the water route will lead to Yuanzhou, which is also the best way to get to Yuanzhou. Water routes are always easier to travel than land routes." "How do we get to Bird and Mouse Mountain?" "Go to the main road, turn right, and keep going. It will take several days, so you will have to ask for directions several times." "Thank you very much." The three of them had no choice but to enter the ancestral hall, stand in front of the old man's coffin, respectfully burn three incense sticks for him, and then leave and continue their journey to Mingzhao Mountain in Yuanzhou. There are many strange things along the way, as well as goblins and ghosts. A few days later, I asked about Niaoshu Mountain. Then we looked for the water route and went to find the pier. (End of this chapter)