Immortality: Starting from meeting the fox girl

Chapter 31 A pool of living water

"Tanghulu -"

"The father has tea, the mother has tea, the husband-in-law's sister-in-law comes to have tea, and if the girl's uncle wants to eat, he can go and get the two bowls on the stove. The two take them away and walk slowly, crying and chattering while soaking their hands."

"Grinding scissors——grabbing a kitchen knife——"

"Although I am an old man from the farmland, I am leisurely visiting Beituan and Nanzhuang. The freshly caught hot rice is heart-warming, and the half-cut melons are dipped in sauce-"

"."

The people of Jiamu County live a stable life, especially during the Xiayuan Festival Temple Fair, the economy is particularly prosperous.

The vendors here all have their own unique voices, and they can even improvise lyrics and sing. Lu Chenran and the young prince were walking on the streets where fireworks were flourishing.

The vendors carried their burdens and walked through the streets, selling food, clothing, and entertainment in a very interesting way. According to the young prince, it was "songs called Guan Pu".

[Singing] is to use singing to sell goods, and shouting is like singing.

[Guanpu] is a prize promotion similar to Blue Star, such as darts and roulette, throwing dice to see the points and giving you corresponding items, etc.
  Lawrence Lu hasn't felt this way for a long time.

Perhaps as the young prince said, he has been away from the world for too long.

Continuing to walk forward, a troupe of costumed actors came along the road.

There are those who walk on stilts, those who play lions, and those who play ironwork.
  Folk troupes and entertainment activities such as this are called "Shehuo", also called "Performing Shehuo".

The two of them and the fox were wandering around like this.

In the middle, I bought two bunches of candied haws, but it was because the snow fox on Lu Chenran's shoulders was too eye-catching, so in the end I could only hold it in my arms.

"Brother Lu, if you go to Beijing and find no destiny, what should you do?"

"."

Suddenly, the young prince turned around and looked at Lu Chenran.

Lu Chenran was eating candied haws, breathing in the cold wind, thinking for a while and softly said:

"Then I will go see the world here and travel around."

"Walking around broadens your horizons, such as the yellow sand in the western border, the vast grasslands in the north, the Qinhuai River in the south of the Yangtze River, and the rich peonies all over the city in Beijing."

"."

There were dim fireworks in the sky, and their dim luster gradually extinguished.

But the lights stayed on in the dark night.

The young prince said ‘oh’, and there was a bit of envy in his eyes:
  "It's good to travel, it's good to travel, people should walk around."

"I really envy Brother Lu. I also want to be as carefree and free as Brother Lu."

"."

Lu Chenran blinked his eyes and said softly:

"Why can't Brother Li be free?"

"."

Li Zijun raised his head, his eyes reflected the brilliant fireworks on the sky, he exhaled, shook his head and said softly:
  "I'm about to reach my age. According to the law of the imperial court, I have to go back to my fiefdom. I will find a suitable family step by step, get a wife and have children, and live out the rest of my life."

"Going to Beijing to seek immortality is probably the last thought I left for myself after leaving Shangjing Prince's Mansion."

"."

Lu Chenran looked at her blankly, not knowing how to comfort her.

On the other hand, the snow fox standing on his shoulder stared at the young prince in disbelief. Some charming picture appeared in the fox's head.

‘Marry a wife and have children? she? ah? ’

Suddenly, the young prince turned around, staring directly into his pupils, and his hot breath lingered between their noses:

"Brother Lu, if I go to the fief in the future, will you visit me?"

Lu Chenran blinked his eyes, and then nodded happily:

"Yes, I will go, you are my friend."

"Do you have to go?"

"Must go."

"Then let's pull the hook——"

"Hook."

"As promised, don't lie to me."

"Of course not."

"."     ——The little fingers were pulled together, and then the thumbs hugged each other.

"Brother Lu has really become an immortal. He won't leave the mortal world and stop caring about worldly affairs in the future, right?"

"Of course not."

"."

The young prince took a bite of the candied haws and asked as he walked forward:
  "Brother Lu, are you so sure? I have read the Taoist books. The three thousand avenues are ruthless and untainted by worldly cause and effect."

"That's misleading."

"Brother Lu, why did you say this?"

"Since you are an immortal, you must first have a person next to you."

"Brother Lu, your absurd reasoning makes me speechless."

"How can it be wrong?"

"Ok."

Xue Hu lowered his head silently, chewing on Ran'er's words.

The two of them continued walking along the street, and soon they arrived outside the City God's Temple.

In a corner, there were many people around, and sighs could be heard from time to time.

There was light from the fire, and black smoke rose straight into the sky.

The two of them walked over with the intention of watching the excitement, and saw a ten-foot-long paper horse placed on the snow. Next to the paper horse, there was a pool of water. There was a person frowning, holding a torch in his hand, trying to clear the pool. Roast in medium water.

"Water Sacrifice has been around for a few days, haven't you found a solution yet?"

Another fat Taoist scratched his head and sighed:
  "This is how to do ah?"

"Who would want this winter to be so cold? What if we can't find a solution on the day of the water ceremony?"

"."

A short Taoist walked over, looking at a bag of coarse salt over his shoulder. He walked over panting and poured the salt grains into the water with a splash.

This extravagant approach shocked the onlookers and exclaimed repeatedly.

The northern border is not as good as the coastal areas. Salt can only be collected from salt wells. The cost of boiling salt is much higher than that of sea salt, and the transportation cost of sea salt is very high. In the northern border, salt is a precious thing.

Although the tax revenue has decreased in recent years, it is still more than 40 yuan per pound.

Such a bag would probably weigh more than sixty kilograms at least.

But in order for the water ceremony to be successfully held, I had to grit my teeth and put the precious salt into the water, hoping that the water in the square pool would melt.

But this bag of salt is still useless.

"Why? In the past, water rituals used salt water, which did not freeze."

"Maybe it's just too cold this year? It only felt so cold in the twelfth lunar month before."

"Indeed, I noticed that the ice bottle placed at the city gate froze very early this year."

"If there is no water for the water sacrifice, it will be all ice. City God and Shuiguan Emperor must not be angry?"

"."

Outside the pool, the people watching were talking to each other.

Lu Chenran looked at everything in front of him silently, looked at Lu Chenran, and asked in a low voice:
  "Did the previous Xiayuan Festival water rituals require living water?"

"."

The young prince nodded and said:

"That's true, but it's really a troublesome thing in the north where water dripping into ice."

After a pause, she continued:

"Moreover, during the period before and after the Xiayuan Festival, the legendary 'Shuiguan Emperor' will travel around the world and descend on the water sacrifices to eliminate and resolve the people's long-lasting plight and misery. 'The good and evil in the world, The Tao lies in the human heart. If you lend a helping hand to people who are in trouble or help others, you can accumulate great blessings for yourself."

"."

Before he finished speaking, he discovered that Brother Lu beside him had disappeared. When he raised his head again, he saw that Brother Lu had already walked to the pool.

——In the doubtful gaze of the fat Taoist, he tapped his finger on a pool of ice.

The wind carried the snow and raised it slightly.

The ice in the pond has melted.

A pool of living water.

(End of this chapter)