It was not too far from the capital of Chonghua to Lin'an. By boat over the water it would take a day.
Along the way, with the wind and the water, they heard sound of apes on the mountains on both sides of the river singing. The towns they passed gradually changed from magnificent buildings with deep eaves to houses with white walls and black tiles and water pillows.
They were led by a boat lady, who was about 17 or 18 years old. Lin'an people came and went on this waterway all the year round. Mo Xi and Gu Mang often went out. The shiplady only cared about how many fish and shrimp there were, and how the wind and waves would be tomorrow. She had no interest in political affairs, so she didn't recognize them.
Along the way, she spoke the soft Wunong language, giggled and talked with the two men. She talked about the customs of Lichun country and the winter in Yanbei City. The beef soup powder in Fancheng was the most delicious across the Hu peppers, and the pancakes sold by a pancake stall in the capital were crunchy.
Gu Mang was biting the small fish stem that the boat lady gave them, listening to them in a dazed way, and suddenly a sentence came out, "You have been many places."
"Me? I haven't been before." The boat lady's laughter was more crystal clear than the clear waves lit by the thin bamboo pole. "I went to a port to teach people to send up all the food and materials. I didn't get off the boat most of the year. Hey, my toes didn't touch the earth. I was a water fairy."
In other words, it seemed frivolous. But this lady was really bright and gorgeous. When she laughed, she had deep dimples. Her eyes were dark and full of love. She was standing at the bow of the boat. Her hands were thin, her clothes were floating, and her hair was black like ink. It was really a little amazing.
It's a pity she was a little chatterbox.
Listening to her all the way, her tongue was shining. Mo Xi was tired of listening, but when he looked at Gu Mang, he had a lot of interest. A pair of blue eyes stared big. Sometimes he was so entranced, he forgot to chew the dried fish still in his mouth.
"I've been in this boat with the master who picked me back since I was a child. After master drove the crane, I've been alone. No matter how small my boat is, I haven't seen any wind and waves, and I've carried all kinds of characters."
Mo Xi saw Gu Mang was interested, so also along the way he asked the boat lady, "Who have you carried?"
The boat lady said proudly, "There are many major practitioners. I can't remember their names because they are too long. But I'll tell you, when my master was here, Yue Juntian, the king of Lin'an, was in our boat."
Mo Xi was speechless and said with a wry smile, "Yue Juntian himself is a master of refining weapons. How can he take others' boats?"
The boat lady's eyes widened. "I haven't lied, how could I? When he was young, he liked to travel in plain clothes. He had been on my boat. I was still young and could not recognize him. Later, my master told me that Yue Juntian was the one with narrow color. If you had nothing to do, he would come to love An Cheng and get into some romantic trouble."
"..."
"My master also said that fortunately, I was younger and he was older. When I saw this man, I would put mud on my face. Otherwise, I would be liked by him and be taken back as my wife."
"..."
"Fortunately, he's too old to play these years," said the boat lady. "We boatmen all say we haven't seen him go south again." Then she clapped her chest and said, "I'm so relieved."
Gu Mang listened to this speech muddleheaded, but Mo Xi had quite some awkwardness.
Yue Juntian was a lecherous man, which was well known to the people of Chonghua. Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue were relatives whose evil fates were all caused by Yue Juntian playing too much.
It was just that he didn't expect Yue Juntian's reputation among the people to be so bad, especially other girls who were in different fiefdoms, who actually regarded him as a frightening figure in the legend of ghosts, and said so in private.
But the boat mother was also right. Yue Juntian was not reliable. Thanks to his poor health and old age, he might be able to make a third successor for himself after Jiang Yexue and Yue Chenqing.
The boat lady chatted, and some of them drifted up and said, "Ah, no wonder old Yue likes to run to us. There are many beauties in Lin'an. Some girls are so beautiful. I have seen them washing vegetables and washing clothes on the water several times. They look so moving, and they are a little worse than me."
Mo Xi's head hurt.
Gu Mang was very calm. He took a bite of dried fish and said, "You are beautiful."
The boat lady then had a full bloom smile. Her sweet voice boasted, "Little brother you are also very pretty."
Gu Mang looked back and asked, "What does pretty mean?"
"Even you look good."
Gu Mang nodded and said to Mo Xi, "You are the most beautiful in this boat."
For a while, Mo Xi didn't say anything back. Finally, he turned around and watched the sparkling lake cut by reeds and coughed twice.
Near Lin'an city, the number of boats on the water was much higher. The lake region was different from the imperial capital in the end with boats crossing the river, women washing gauze, people on fishing boats singing late, and children competing at swimming.
Mo Xi even saw a child up to four years old swimming happily in the river and could not help saying, "Good swimming ability."
"That's not true. The residents along the river learn to paddle before they walk," the boat lady giggled, "My two guests, remember to pick up your things. When you see more people trampling on the waves and fishing ahead, then we will arrive at Lin'an port."
Mo Xi thanked him and asked, "Girl, you have seen so many people in these years, but have you heard that there is a hermit in the suburb of Lin'an mountain who has mastered the art of rebirth?"
He saw that she was naive and didn't care about any immortal sect skills. He was asking just in case, and didn't expect her to answer anything. However, the boat lady tilted her head. "Is that one of the three Forbidden Arts of legend?"
Mo Xi's heart brightened, and he said, "It is."
"Oh... I've heard a few shippers talk about this legend before, saying that there is such an expert outside Lin'an City. "
"Where was he going?"
The boat lady shook her head. "I don't remember that clearly. My Shifu said that life, old age, and death can't be forced. I think it's too mysterious for me to understand the art of Rebirth. At that time, I thought it was just a little gossip. If you are interested, why don't you go to the city and find a practitioner. Recently, the great master Yue Juntian came to the fiefdom for cultivation and sacrifice, accompanied by his family. It must be more useful to ask those practitioners than to ask me."
Her eyes were clear and calm in her speech, and she had the calm and relief of an ordinary person.
In fact, living a long and leisurely life outside, life and death is not a matter of obsession. It's just this tranquility, but it's something they were destined to seek from the beginning of their lives.
When he arrived at the port, Mo Xi settled the shell coins with the boat lady, but Gu Mang was reluctant and stared at the sack hanging by the mast. So Mo Xi asked the boat mother to buy a sack of dried fish, which made Gu Mang happy. Holding the sack, he ate it while following Mo Xi in the streets of Lin'an City.
"Selling steamed cakes - lotus cakes - osmanthus cakes, rising step by step -"
"White orchid, selling white orchid ~"
The scenery here was different from that of the imperial capital, and even different from that of the northern border. Gu Mang looked left and right the whole time they went down. Although he didn't say a word more, when he saw what he liked, and he only stared at it motionlessly. After a while, Mo Xi's spatial bag filled with a bunch of inexplicable gadgets.
From the bamboo dragonfly to the little clay figurine, from the small porcelain cup to the small silk fan, there was a lot of jingling.
Mo Xi was going to visit the Yue house in Lin'an first, but it was late, so he changed his mind and said to Gu Mang, "Let's find an inn first, and then I'll take you to dinner, OK?"
Gu Mang was holding a sugar gourd fruit covered with icing in his mouth. He didn't make a sound when he heard it, and nodded his head cleverly.
They found an inn near the lake. It was the end of the lotus blooming period, and they could see the lotus leaves connecting with the sky's infinite blue color by pushing open the window. The dragonflies stopped on the lotus blossoms, and the lotus plants were pretty and graceful. Mo Xi took out all the spare parts in the spatial bag in the room. Then they went downstairs to talk to the shopkeeper.
Xiao'er was busy wiping the table. When he saw Mo Xi, he bowed to say hello.
"Excuse me, which restaurant has the best taste in Lin'an City?" Mo Xi asked.
Xiao'er was also an understanding person. Seeing that the clothes of the two were not eye-catching, but the tailoring of the cloth was the best quality, he heaped a smile and said, "Aiya, you two, please be clear that the best taste is not necessarily the richest. Sometime the stir fry in the noisy alley is the best, though I'm afraid it would be rejected by the two dignitaries."
Mo Xi then turned around to ask Gu Mang, "Do you want to eat the best food, or in a place that's comfortable?"
Gu Mang was very straightforward. "Can't it be both?"
Mo Xi looked at the waiter again.
"If you want to be comfortable and eat well, you can only fold it. At the second lane, turn left when you leave the inn. Cross three streets, and you will see a tailor shop. Go to the left side of the tailor shop, and there is a restaurant in the second lane. That restaurant has two floors. It's spacious. It's not the best, but it's also very good."
After a moment, he said with a smile, "The shopkeeper used to be a wharf runner. They all have snacks in these big cities near the water in the south of the river. Crystal shrimp balls and mandarin fish with sweet and sour sauce are the best. Oh, don't forget the house pear white. It's the best wine made in Lin'an
City. "
Mo Xi asked Gu Mang, "Do you want to go?"
Gu Mang still didn't put down his bag of dried fish. He bit a dried fish and nodded.
Thanks to the waiter, they found the restaurant smoothly. Most of the time, the local rent was fair, so they had made a lot of repairs. The space was indeed wider and more comfortable than many restaurants. They asked for a seat on the second floor, some special dishes and stir fry, a small pot of wine and some cakes.
The dishes were prepared very quickly, and soon they were all ready.
But they could see that the shrimp balls were crystal clear. The full shrimp meat was placed in the white porcelain plate paved with green lotus. The sweet and sour sauce on the mandarin fish was bright. When poked with chopsticks, they were full of fat, tender, and plump white fish. They dipped them in the sweet and sour sauce sprinkled with finely ginger. It was sweet and sour. The white meat with garlic puree was also specially prepared. It had three layers of streaky pork. After cooking, it was cut into thin slices like cicada wings then frozen in ice. It came out with a cool breath. The fat and greasiness were completely eliminated. It could be dipped in raw soy sauce and salt and pepper. The taste was only cool and the meat quality was clear.
As for the sauteed dishes, they were also delicious. Sauteed kidney flowers were in good-looking rolls. When they were served, it seemed that they still had a spark in the kitchen. When they were tender, they were also very crisp. Even the green vegetable soup was green and tender. It seemed they had an appetite.
As the two were eating, Mo Xi saw that Gu Mang especially liked the shrimp balls. Soon the the bottom of the plate was visible, so he planned to call the waiter to add another one.
He turned his head to call someone downstairs. Suddenly, he saw an acquaintance coming to the counter downstairs. He was dressed in white and looked solemn. He was talking with the shopkeeper.
Mo Xi paused for a moment.
Murong Chuyi?
So skillful… No, he came to Lin'an with the Yue family. It's just that he didn't stay with Yue Juntian. What was he doing in the streets alone?