Immortality: Starting from meeting the fox girl

Chapter 28 The corpse does not rot, but a young child looks at its soul

Lu Chenran lifted up the corner of his robe, sat next to the old man, took out the remaining pot of green wine from last night, placed it in front of the two of them, smiled and said:

"Can you talk to me?"

As he spoke, he poured wine into the old man's wine vat.

He likes to listen to stories, especially stories told by elders who have experienced hardships and hardships.

Not long after, the young prince also came over, sat cross-legged next to Lu Chenran, and looked at the old man with a smile on his face.

The caravan didn't want to go around dozens of miles of mountain roads and was preparing to cross the river. It would take some time.

The old man was not restrained. After taking the bowl of wine, he eagerly took a sip, smacked his lips, and narrowed his eyes in enjoyment:

"This wine is good and quite clear."

"."

The drunkenness on his face drove away the severe cold. The old man breathed the hot smell of alcohol into his mouth and started talking:

"My name is Wang Er, and I am from Jiamu County. To be honest, I have had the habit of pouring wine into the Loach River for more than ten years."

"The little old man has a baby, and he is kind and honest, but the best thing in his life is wine. It has reached the point where if he doesn't drink for a day, he feels like he is covered in lice."

"One night it rained heavily, and he happened to be addicted to drinking. He said that the wine in Jiamu County was bland and tasteless, and the taste was far different from that of Jiuquan. He didn't know what the reason was, and he had to go out to find a drink. "

"The gangsters in the city said that my son was drunk to death. How could my son be drunk to death? The flow of the Loach River is very fast, and even a normal person will drown in the water if he is not careful. Oh, pity me, how many days will it take? Before he returned, the little old man searched for several days and fished out his floating body in the river. He must have accidentally stepped on the air while drunk."

Lu Chenran looked at the old man with a sigh on his face.

However, drowning in rivers is not uncommon in this world, especially in the north. The ice-free rivers are fast-flowing. If you step on the water if you are not careful, it will be okay to fall into the water. The terrible thing is that in the cold winter, most of the people who fall into the water die. Due to hypothermia.

But from the old man's ambiguous words, he heard a key point.

Jiuquan?

Is it the same place as the Jade Feeding Spring written in the "Shen Yi Jing"?

This place is under the jurisdiction of Jiamu County, but the book records that it is four thousand miles west of the northern border.
  The old man poured another sip of wine into his mouth. Perhaps as the years passed, the pain of losing a child in middle age gradually faded away. He said leisurely:

"Later, the little old man took my dead son home and buried him. He only waited for my son's first seven days before being buried. In the past few days, my son's body showed no signs of decay, and there was no trace of swelling. .”

"Just one month after my son was buried, there were still children at the Loach River who saw my son standing in the river, begging for a drink from passers-by——"

"."

Hearing this, Lu Chenran couldn't help but feel a little curious.

The corpse does not rot, but a young child looks at its soul? Could it be that this old man's son has become a drunkard in this Loach River?

"and after?"

"."

"The little old man found a fortune teller, and he made a fortune for my son. He said that my son has become a lonely ghost wandering around. I feel sorry for me. Even if he becomes a ghost, he still wants to beg for a bowl. Drink.”

"No, first of all, in order to make my son feel at ease and not hurt innocent people, the little old man comes here every hour to pour him wine. Secondly, he also gives a hand to the passers-by, not wanting anyone to be careless again. He fell into the river and drowned, and he suffered the pain of losing his son."

"."

Lu Chenran took a deep look at the old man, clapped his hands and praised:

"What a kind fellow, fellow countryman."

The young prince frowned and stared at the rapid Loach River in front of him.

If we don't take the official road and cross the river directly from here to Jiamu County, we can save twenty miles of mountain road. Although the Nilu River is not wide, its current is very fast. Many people drown in rushing to cross the river every year. But why hasn’t anyone built a bridge over the Loach River for so many years?
  Are all the officials in Jiamu County working for a living?
  "Fellow, for so many years, the local officials have not built a bridge here?"

After hearing this, the old man burst into laughter and looked meaningfully at the handsome young man in front of him:

"Building a bridge? Yao Sikongke from the county thinks about the money approved by his superiors every day for building a bridge."

"Two gentlemen, I've been spending a lot of time here today. I have to go home and take care of my sick mother-in-law."

"."

The story was finished and the wine was almost finished.

The old man's face was glowing and he burped from wine. Then he bowed his head to the two men in white shirts again and stepped tremblingly onto the official road, detouring twenty miles along the mountain road and heading towards Jiamu County.

Watching the old man leave, the young prince squinted his eyes, thinking about something in his heart.

Not long after, Uncle Wang came over, shook the snow water off his body, and his beard was covered with ice crystals. He shook his head and said:
  "It's impossible to cross the river. The horses' legs are shivering with cold as soon as they enter the Loach River. The caravan has no choice but to take a detour. We should be able to reach Jiamu County before dinner."

"."

The young prince nodded, but his mind was no longer on this.

The caravan set off again, traveling along the Loach River.

"Tap-"

The horse neighs and the whip whips lightly.

Lu Chenran was sitting in the carriage, leaning against the wall of the carriage, constantly flipping through the "Shen Yi Jing" in his hand, trying to find out some information about the mysterious wine spring in the mountain, but it mentioned very little, not to mention the details. The address, even whether there is this wine spring, still needs to be considered.

After thinking about it, he picked up the "Jiamu Zazu" again, turned to the title page of Jiamu County, and followed the catalog from top to bottom with his fingers, looking for information about Jiuquan.

Soon it was afternoon, and his legs were a little sore from sitting cross-legged for a long time. He stood up, put a miscellaneous book in his arms, moved around in the car, raised the curtain, and looked at the car. Outside, the road is winding, splitting into two in the distance, and the fork is approaching.

One is going to Jiamu County, and the other is going to Beijiang County.

In this wind and snow, at the intersection, an old man with a hunched back walked towards him.

Just looking at the attire, he has a long crown, white hair and beard, squinted triangular eyes, and wrinkled cheeks, which does give him a certain charm.

The clothes on his body were a little dirty and sloppy, he was carrying a baggage on his shoulders, and he was holding a yellow flag with the words "Be equal to the sky, live as long as the earth" in his hand. In the wind and snow, he had an unruly demeanor.

The old Taoist walked forward unsteadily, then walked to the caravan and said in a hoarse voice:
  "Pindao came all the way from Sanjiang County to practice Buddhism and went to Beijing to seek immortality."

"I'm tired from the journey. I wonder if I can follow the caravan for a while?"

"."

Uncle Wang looked at the old man in front of him, and then looked at the young prince.

Li Zijun, who was riding on the horse, came back to his senses and looked at the old Taoist in front of him.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but this old Taoist always gave me an uncomfortable feeling. But I heard that he also came to Beijing to seek immortality, so I didn't refuse and nodded lightly.

The old man nodded his thanks repeatedly and walked towards the back of the caravan.

Seeing this scene, Uncle Wang couldn't help but remind him:

"Old Taoist, there is a tiger cage in the car behind the caravan, and the tigers are locked up, so be careful."

"."

The old Taoist nodded warmly and responded.

(End of this chapter)