Chapter 90: Meeting an acquaintance at the shore "Then, where are those two Jianghu people?" The scholar pointed at the water and asked in doubt. "Wait a minute." The third brother seemed to be completely fearless. He just sat by the boat, slowly wringing out his clothes, wiping water from his hair, and waiting for the two gangsters. Where can we wait for that? Although the third senior brother did not spend long fighting with the water monster in the water, it was still nearly a quarter of an hour. If those two were still alive and could float, they would have floated up long ago. At the same time, the boatman also narrated: “Our river is called Weishui River. "Several of you are from other places, so you may not have heard of this. Here, there are two sayings: "One theory is that in ancient times, maybe the previous dynasty or even earlier, the god of the river was a dragon, maybe not a god, but he was in charge of everything in the river, and there is still a temple for him on the bank.

"We have a swallow god here, and the swallow god is on good terms with the dragon, so all swallows are protected by the dragon, and anyone who travels by water cannot eat swallows. "The monsters in the water were all subordinates of the dragon at that time. If they ate swallows, they would be contaminated with the swallow's aura. Then, when they were on a boat, there would be waves without wind and the boat would capsize. "Another theory is that dragons like to eat swallows. If people eat swallows, they will be contaminated with the swallow's scent. If they travel by water, they will be attacked by dragons. "..." The scholar was surprised when he heard this. Lin Jue and his junior sister also found it strange. The fox lay at his feet and yawned. Only the third brother was busy wringing his clothes, with water sometimes dripping into the river, making splashing sounds. "The water monster just now was definitely not a dragon, nor a crocodile. It looked more like a catfish that had grown into a spirit." Lin Jue thought and said, "It sounds like the former is more credible." "Who can say for sure?" The third brother shook his head and said, "The world is so big that there are all kinds of strange things." "What should we do now?" The scholar couldn't help asking, "Can we still take the water route now?" "How should I know?" The boatman also turned to look at the three Taoists. "We've come this far, we have to take the water route. What else can we do if we don't take the water route? If we don't take this boat, won't we still have to take the water route? We are not the ones who eat the swallows." The third brother said indifferently. He felt that most of the water in his body had been drained. He stood up with his sword in hand and walked into the cabin, asking as he walked, "How long will it take to get out of the Weishui River?" "It won't take long to get to Yuanzhou. A few dozen miles ahead, it will merge into another big river. By then, it will no longer be the Weishui River. In ancient times, it would not be under the jurisdiction of the dragon master." "That's just right!" "Master, do you mean... to keep going forward?" "Isn't there a section for going back as well?" The third senior brother came out again, put down his sword, replaced his hand with a wine gourd, and raised his head to drink.

"This……" "Isn't it?" "Then...the two guests..." "Did they give you money?" "Yes, I did." "That's it!" The third brother looked calm, and smiled as he looked at his two junior brothers and sisters. "People in the martial arts world are smart. We've waited for so long, but they haven't shown up yet. If they're still alive, they've probably found some bushes to hide in, or have sneaked ashore somewhere. Just throw their bags ashore for them, and there's no need to wait for them any longer." "..." The boatman didn't dare to answer. Lin Jue didn't say anything either. In fact, he could tell from the moment the two men fell into the water that even if they could float, they were definitely not good swimmers, and the possibility of survival was very low. However, he still accepted his senior brother's gentle care. The sails are raised and the boat sails with the wind. The water surface was emerald green at this time, deep and calm. Even the blood color faded and disappeared and was left far behind. It seemed as if the previous danger had never happened. Only the third senior brother who was soaking wet, the young scholar who was shivering, and the boatman who was trembling with fear as he controlled the boat and looked at the water in the distance, told them that what had just happened was real. "Why did you take out all the pills and herbs?" "My senior brother saw that the situation was not good and asked me to take it out." The younger sister replied, "He raised the sail and used the wind to blow the boat towards the shore, and told me to throw it on the shore first when we got close to the shore." "Okay you guys!" The third brother could not help but feel surprised: "How long have you been on the mountain? It's good enough that you can help me to eliminate the monster, but in such a critical moment, besides fighting, you still have such thoughts!" "It was all my brother's idea." "Don't be so modest. If you were the senior brothers here, I'm afraid they wouldn't necessarily perform better than you." This was mainly said to my junior sister. In fact, he was mainly surprised by his junior sister. He knew Lin Jue. Before leaving home, he dared to spend the night in the ancestral hall where the monster was haunting. He dared to talk to the monster face to face. Before going up the mountain, he dared to exchange the head of the monster monkey for reward money and get travel expenses from the ghost. He also dared to go to the house with others to deal with the haunted tree monster, and dared to drink the wine of the mountain king. After going up the mountain, he went down the mountain with him. Lin Jue also fought with monsters and rats many times. He naturally knew the courage and ability of this junior brother. But I didn't expect that the junior sister was not panicked at all. "Brother, don't underestimate her." Lin Jue sat calmly beside him. He was thinking about the feeling when the water column rubbed his cheek just now, and guessing the magic spells from the ancient books. At this time, he also spoke, "Last year when we first encountered the rat demon in the temple, she beat the demons with a stick. This year during the Lantern Festival, we were attacked by the warrior at night. Thanks to her help, otherwise we might not have defeated the warrior." "Really? I thought she was just talented in swordsmanship." "Junior sister is very brave." Lin Jue said, "She fell down many times while climbing the mountain to collect herbs. Have you ever heard of such a fall?" "How many times did you fall down?" The third brother turned around and looked at the little sister. But the little sister just looked serious, sitting cross-legged, looking at her nose and her heart, as if she had become stupid and could not hear anything. In fact, this was her strategy.

As long as you can't hear it, you won't feel embarrassed. Lin Jue smiled and said no more. In fact, in his opinion, what was rare about the little junior sister was not only her courage, but also that she was never reckless - she actually knew exactly what she should do, just like on that snowy night at the beginning of the year, she tried very hard to help her senior brother, but she would never take a step forward. If she had taken a step forward, it would have been bad, and that was why she defeated that warrior so easily. The three Taoists were chatting casually, while the scholar and the boatman next to them were terrified. The waves outside were still blue, with green mountains on both sides casting shadows. The boat passed through the middle, and before we knew it, we had left the Weishui River. "Don't be afraid, brother. It's just a water monster. How different is it from a bigger fish?" The third brother called the scholar. "You and I can drink together like before, enjoy the river breeze, and talk about the wonders of the world. Isn't that wonderful?" The scholar answered tremblingly. Lin Jue went up to the deck to get some fresh air again. The junior sister and the fox followed him. There are mountains on both sides and many houses on the river bank. Before I knew it, it was already dusk. Smoke was everywhere on both sides of the river, hanging down on the mountainside and forming a line. Occasionally, lights were reflected in the lake. The boat has already reached the shore. There was no dock, just a rope tied to a tree on the shore, and smoke was rising from the boat. The third senior brother was indeed having a pleasant conversation with the scholar. Lin Jue was holding a fishing rod and lowering the line into the water. The boatman was cooking porridge at the stern of the boat, which was their dinner tonight. It’s really a nice day today. Even after dark, the sky is still deep blue, and the mountains along the lake all become silhouettes, reflected in the river. Those two Jianghu people were right in saying one thing - The boat is too crowded for six people. It's not too crowded for sitting, but it's too crowded for overnight stay. Now four people are just right. After dinner, the third brother and the boatman's scholar slept in the cabin. Lin Jue was not afraid of the cold and felt it was cool outside, so he lay on the wooden board at the bow. The younger sister did not want to squeeze in with the three people in the cabin, so she also half-lay on the board like him, and the two of them opened their eyes and looked at the night sky. The breeze on the river was blowing continuously, and the water surface was rippling at night. The boat was swaying slightly with the waves. It was not as scary as in the daytime, but it made people sleepy with the sky full of stars in their eyes. The stars are also reflected in the river. Fuyao lay beside Lin Jue, her fluffy tail swaying back and forth, without making a sound, and it was unknown what she was thinking about. There have been few strong winds recently, so the sailing has been smooth. Every day I cast a fishing net and catch some fish and shrimp for my morning meal. Sometimes when I pass by a prosperous dock, there are many vendors and I can buy some fruit steamed cakes, coastal specialties, and even wine. I often sit by the boat, letting the wind push the boat, drinking and fishing, chatting and laughing, with the fish on one side and the wine on the other. When we reached the big river, water transportation flourished and the number of boats on the river increased visibly. There were all kinds of boats, melon-skin boats, black-sailed boats, fishing boats, and even luxurious building ships and ships for transporting soldiers and horses. There are temples next to almost every dock on the river, but they are large and small. The largest ones are palace temples, and the smallest ones are small temples half a person's height. I think the court also attaches great importance to the water transportation on the river, and the gods in heaven and on earth should have a higher degree of control over this, so there are no more monsters.

…… Ten days passed quickly. The boat gradually approached the shore. There was still talk on board. "Nowadays, from the imperial court to the mountains and plains, there are either monsters or evildoers in this world. No place can live in peace. I'm afraid the world is about to collapse. Even gods and immortals may not be able to save it." "I don't agree with what you said, brother. There is an old saying that goes, 'The righteousness of the gods cannot be harmed by demons, and the changes of all things cannot be stopped by the Tao. Although there are more and more demons and ghosts in the world nowadays, and what I heard about the court is indeed as the hermit said, it is becoming increasingly unclear, but it is impossible to say that the world will collapse because of this." The third brother shook his head and said: "History rolls forward, the world is constantly changing, and dynasties will also change. This is a theorem. The changes in the world are indeed not something that can be stopped by Taoists who can use magic or gods in heaven. However, it would be too one-sided to talk about the changes in the world based on the ups and downs of a moment." I don't know what the two were talking about. Lin Jue listened in silence, just looking into the distance. The fox looked up with him. There was a large pier ahead, with many boats docking. Most of the people getting off the big boats were high-ranking officials, and many ordinary people and people of all kinds got off the small boats. On one of the boats, some Taoists got off. They were all unsteady on their feet, or looked uncomfortable, and needed each other to support them. He must be a Taoist from the talisman sect. "Dock!" The boatman also breathed a sigh of relief and said to Lin Jue, the little apprentice sister on the deck, and the third apprentice brother in the cabin: "From here, we will reach Weng County. After passing Weng County, we will soon reach Mingzhuo Mountain." The third senior brother also stopped chatting. "Our meeting was so brief, it seems that it is finally time to say goodbye." The third brother picked up the wine glass on the table and said with a smile, "Let's go our separate ways, let's finish the cup in our hands." "If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely come to Yishan to visit the Taoist priests and see the scenery of Yishan." "So good." The third brother said this without any reluctance. He stood up, picked up his bag and walked out. The donkey went ashore, and the luggage also went ashore. The three men and the fox stood on the shore, looking out at the departing ship. The scholar still had a long way to go, so he stood at the bow, maintaining a salute gesture, to see them off. The third brother smiled and turned around to return the greeting, then never looked back again. Instead, he looked at some vendors carrying loads on the shore, and the group of Taoists who had reached the shore just a little earlier than them. Coincidentally, he turned out to be an acquaintance. They are the Taoist priests of Qiyun Mountain. (End of this chapter)