It was not too far from the capital city of Chong Hua to Lin 'an. They would arrive in a day if they took the spiritual boat and traveled by water.
The journey was smooth. The apes on both sides of the river cried. The towns they passed gradually changed from magnificent buildings with deep eaves to houses with white walls and black tiles.
The boatwoman who steered the boat for them was about seventeen or eighteen years old. She was a native of Lin 'an and traveled this waterway all year round. Mo Xi and Gu Mang traveled in their usual clothes. The boatwoman only cared about how many fish and prawns she had and how the waves would be tomorrow. She had no interest in politics, so she did not recognize the two of them.
Along the way, she spoke in a soft Wunong language. She giggled and chatted with the two of them. She talked about the customs of Li Chun Kingdom and the harsh winter in Yan Beicheng. She talked about how the beef soup in Fan City was the best with chili in it. She talked about how crispy the pancakes sold by a pancake stall in the Northern Region were.
Gu Mang was chewing on the dried fish that the boatwoman gave them as he listened in confusion. He suddenly said, "You've been to many places."
"Me? I've never been there. " The boatwoman's laughter was brighter than the waves made by the thin bamboo pole. "When I arrived at a port, I taught the people to send food and necessities up. I don't get off the boat more than a few times a year. Hehe, my toes don't touch the ground. I'm an immortal on water."
If someone else said this, it would seem frivolous and pretentious. However, this woman was indeed as bright as a lotus and as beautiful as a peach. When she smiled, her dimples were deep and her eyes were filled with affection. They were so dark that they were purple. She stood at the bow of the boat, her slender hands holding the bamboo pole. Her clothes fluttered in the wind and her black hair was like ink. She really looked stunning.
It was a pity that she was a chatterbox.
Along the way, Mo Xi was a little tired of listening to her eloquent words. However, when he turned to look at Gu Mang, he was enjoying it. His blue eyes were wide open. Sometimes, he was so engrossed that he forgot to bite the dried fish in his mouth.
"I've been on this boat with my master since I was a child. After my master rode the crane, I was the only one on this boat. Although my boat is small, it has seen all kinds of storms and has carried all kinds of people."
Seeing that Gu Mang was interested, Moque followed the boat lady's lead and asked, "Who have you carried before?"
The boat lady said proudly, "There are quite a few major cultivators. Their names are too long, I can't even remember them. But let me tell you, when my master was alive, Lin 'an was bestowed the title of Prince Yue Juntian. "
Mo Xi was rather speechless. He smiled bitterly and said, "The Yue Juntian is a master refiner himself. Why would he need to ride someone else's boat?"
The boat lady's eyes widened. "I'm not lying, why wouldn't I? When he was young, he liked to travel incognito. He once rode on my family's boat. I was too young to recognize him. Later on, my master told me that the perverted man was the Yue Juntian. She likes to come to Lin 'an City to stir up some romantic debts. "
"…"
"My master also said that it was lucky that I was young. If I were older, I would smear mud on my face whenever I saw this person. Otherwise, with my beauty, he would take a fancy to me and take me back to be his concubine."
"…"
The boatwoman said, "Fortunately, he's gotten too old these past few years and can't play anymore. Us boatmen said that we haven't seen him travel south on his own." She patted her chest, "That's a great relief."
Gu Mang was confused by these words, but Mo Xi was rather embarrassed.
The Yue Juntian was a pervert. This was a well-known fact among the Chong Hua people. The ill-fated relationship between Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue was ultimately caused by the Yue Juntian being too fickle.
However, he didn't expect that the Yue Juntian's reputation among the people was so bad. Especially the girls in his fief, they actually regarded him as a terrifying figure in a ghost legend and talked about him like this in private.
However, the boat lady was right. The Yue Juntian was indeed unreliable. Fortunately, his health had not been good these years and he was old. Otherwise, after Jiang Yexue and Yue Chenqing, he might be able to create a third heir for himself.
As the boat lady chatted, she felt a little smug. She propped herself up on the pole and said, "Ah, it's no wonder that old man Yue likes to come here. Lin 'an Prefecture is so beautiful. There are a few girls who are so beautiful. I've seen them washing vegetables and washing yarn on the water several times. They look so beautiful, just a little bit worse than me."
Mo Xi's head hurt when he heard this.
Gu Mang was very calm. He took another bite of the dried fish and said, "You are beautiful."
The boat lady was immediately overjoyed. She smiled and praised in a sweet voice, "Little brother, you are also very beautiful."
Gu Mang turned to look at Mo Xi. "What does' beautiful 'mean?"
"It means that you are also beautiful."
Gu Mang nodded and said to Mo Xi, "Then you are the most beautiful person on this boat."
Mo Xi didn't know whether to reply or not. In the end, he turned his face and looked at the sparkling lake water cut by a reed. He coughed lightly.
When they were approaching Lin 'an City, the number of boats on the water obviously increased. After all, the water town was different from the imperial capital. The boats flowed freely, the girls washed yarn, the fishing boats sang late, and the children competed to swim.
Mo Xi even saw a child who was at most four years old swimming happily in the river like a white stripe in the waves. He couldn't help but say, "What a good swimmer."
"That's right. The residents in the Lin 'an area all learned how to swim before they learned how to walk." The boat lady giggled. "Guests, remember to pack your things. When we see more people fishing by stepping on the waves, we will arrive at the port of Lin 'an."
Mo Xi thanked her and asked again, "Miss, you have met so many people over the years. Have you ever heard of a hermit in the suburbs of Lin 'an who has mastered the Art of Rebirth?"
He saw that she was naive and didn't care about the Art of Immortality. He was just asking out of luck and didn't expect her to answer. Unexpectedly, the boat lady tilted her head and asked, "Is that one of the three legendary forbidden arts?"
Mo Xi's heart lit up. He said, "Yes."
"Oh … I did hear a few passengers talking about this legend before. They said that there was such a master outside Lin 'an City."
"Do you know the specific location?"
The boat lady shook her head. "I don't remember that clearly. My master said that we can't force people to live, grow old, get sick, and die. I also felt that the Art of Rebirth was too mysterious. At that time, I just took it as a casual conversation. If you are interested, why don't you go to the city and ask the cultivators? Recently, the Yue Juntian Master came to the fief to cultivate and worship. The whole family accompanied him. Asking those cultivators will definitely be more useful than asking me. "
Her eyes were clear and calm as she spoke. She had the calmness of an ordinary person.
In fact, if they set sail outside the sky, they would have a long and leisurely life. Life and death were not a big thing that they had to be obsessed with. However, this kind of tranquility was destined to be unattainable since they were born.
At the port, Mo Xi and the boat lady paid the money. Gu Mang reluctantly stared at the burlap bag hanging by the boat lady's mast. So Mo Xi bought a burlap bag of dried fish from the boat lady. This time, Gu Mang was happy. He held the burlap bag and ate while walking in the streets of Lin 'an City with Mo Xi.
"Selling steamed cakes — lotus cakes — osmanthus cakes, step by step —"
"White orchids, selling white orchids ~"
The scenery here was different from the imperial capital, and even more so from the northern border. Gu Mang looked left and right along the way. Although he didn't say much, when he saw something he liked, he stared at it motionlessly. After a while, Mo Xi's Qiankun Bag was filled with a bunch of inexplicable trinkets.
From bamboo dragonflies to small clay figurines, from small porcelain cups to small silk fans, there were a lot of trinkets.
Mo Xi originally planned to go directly to the Yue family's mansion in Lin 'an to pay a visit, but seeing that it was getting late, he changed his mind and said to Gu Mang, "Let's find an inn to stay first, and then I'll take you to dinner, okay?"
Gu Mang was biting a candied hawthorn fruit covered with sugar frosting. Hearing this, he didn't say anything and nodded obediently.
The two of them found an inn by the lake. Right now, it was the end of the lotus season. When they opened the window, they could see the lotus leaves reaching the sky. It was a boundless jade-green color. On top of the blooming lotus flowers, there were dragonflies hovering. There were even lotus pods that stood prettily, graceful and graceful. Mo Xi put all the miscellaneous things in the Qiankun Bag in the room, and then the two went downstairs to ask the innkeeper.
The waiter was busy wiping the table. When he saw Mo Xi, he bowed and greeted him.
Mo Xi said, "Excuse me, may I ask which restaurant is the best in Lin 'an City?"
The waiter was also a sensible person. Although the two of them were not dressed in eye-catching attire, the fabric of the clothes was of the best quality. Thus, he smiled and said, "Aiyo, two guests, I have to make it clear first. The ones with the best taste are not necessarily the most expensive. Some of the dishes in the noisy alleys are very good, but I'm afraid that the two of you will dislike them."
Mo Xi turned to Gu Mang and asked, "Do you want delicious food or a comfortable place?"
Gu Mang was very straightforward, "Can't I want both?"
Mo Xi looked at the waiter inquiringly again.
"If you want a comfortable place and good food, then you can only choose between the two," the waiter said. "Go out of the inn and turn left. After crossing three streets, you will see a tailor shop. Walk to the left of the tailor shop, and there is a wine restaurant in the second alley. That restaurant has two floors and is spacious. As for the food, although it is not the best, it is still very good. "
After a pause, he laughed and said, "The shopkeeper used to run the docks. They have all the snacks and dishes in the big cities near the river in Jiangnan. The crystal prawn balls and sweet and sour mandarin fish are the most delicious. Oh, don't forget their pear blossom white wine. It is the best wine in Lin 'an City. "
Mo Xi asked Gu Mang, "Do you want to go?"
Gu Mang still did not put down his bag of dried fish. Hearing this, he nodded with a dried fish in his mouth.
After thanking the waiter, the two smoothly found the wine restaurant according to the directions. Probably because it was located in a remote area and the rent was reasonable, the restaurant was very large. The environment was indeed more spacious and comfortable than many other restaurants. They asked for a seat on the second floor and ordered some special dishes and stir-fry dishes. They also asked for a small pot of wine and some pastries.
The dishes were served very quickly. In a short while, everything was served.
The prawn balls were white and shiny, and the plump prawn meat was crystal clear. They were placed on a white porcelain plate covered with green lotus flowers. The sweet and sour mandarin fish sauce was bright. With a poke of the chopsticks, it was full of tender and plump white fish meat. After dipping it in the sweet and sour sauce sprinkled with fine ginger, it was sour and sweet and delicious. The white meat with garlic paste was also specially seasoned. The three layers of pork belly were boiled and cut into thin slices. They were frozen in the ice mirror. When they were served, they were cold and the fat was completely gone. They could be dipped in soy sauce, pepper, and salt. They tasted cool and the layers of the meat were distinct.
As for the stir-fry dishes, they also tasted very good. The stir-fried kidney was rolled up nicely. When served, it seemed to have sparks from the stove. The tender bamboo shoots were also very crisp. Even the Soaked Green Vegetable Soup was green, tender, and refreshing. It was especially appetizing.
As the two were eating, Mo Xi saw that Gu Mang liked the prawn balls very much. In a short while, the plate was empty, so he planned to call the waiter to add another plate.
Just as he turned his head and was about to call the waiter downstairs, he suddenly saw an acquaintance in front of the counter downstairs. He was dressed in white and had a serious expression. He was talking to the shopkeeper.
Mo Xi was stunned.
Murong Chuyi?
What a coincidence … No, he came to Lin 'an with the Yue Clan. It was fine if he did not stay with the Yue Juntian, but why did he come to the streets alone?
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