Chapter 273: Egret and Stone Horse
Endless eaves of the ancient city, a winter snow, a few wisps of smoke, the sky clears after the snow, and only a line of egrets fly leisurely in the clear blue sky.
At this moment, I don't know how many people are free to look up and admire the sky, and I don't know how many people are imagining riding the wind and flying freely with the white cranes, but there is only one person who invites them from below:
"Fellow Daoist, we are destined to meet, why don't you come down and have a chat?"
The sky was clear and cloudless. Among the line of egrets, the one at the front suddenly fell behind. I thought it would go to the back of the group, but unexpectedly it flapped its wings a few times and turned straight down.
People in the city who saw this scene found it strange.
But looking at the direction it fell, it seemed to be right next to the Juxian Mansion government office, the residence of the famous Master Fan.
The egret spread its wings and flew motionlessly directly to the edge of the lake and stood on the top of the willow tree.
The treetops shook.
The middle-aged Taoist below stared in amazement.
This is the magic of immortality.
At the same time, there was a young Taoist standing under the willow tree. He saluted Lu with a smile and handed over a pill:
"I have been busy for several days, and today I am free. These days I often see egrets flying across the sky, graceful and free. People like me who practice Taoism really envy and admire them. I don't know if it was you I saw in the past, but since I saw you again today, I will boldly invite you to come down and have a chat.
"I refined a batch of Xiao Yuan Dan yesterday, and there was a lot of medicine residue left. It would be a pity to throw it away, so I made some pills as a gift. I hope you don't mind."
The egret chirped softly, as if in answer.
Then it flapped its wings twice, floated down, took the pill from his hand, floated around again, and flew back to the treetop.
The egret raised its head and opened its mouth, with its neck bent, its posture still elegant, just like in ancient paintings, as it swallowed the pill.
The Taoist below said, "To be honest, I invited you down this time not only because I want to make friends with you, but also because I want you to do me a favor."
The egret rolled its eyes and stared at him.
"Ugh……"
Lin Jue sighed:
"Sometimes I always wonder, why can't I learn the magic of flying, so that I can soar freely in the sky like my feet?"
"Ah~"
"You are not in a hurry today, not at this moment, but in the future." Lin Jue said to it, "I have a junior sister who lives on Fengshan Mountain a hundred miles outside the city. I am in the capital most of the time, and she practices in the Taoist temple on the mountain. It is not difficult for us to communicate with each other, but it is inconvenient to ask passers-by to carry letters. This distance of a hundred miles, if it is a person, it will take a whole day to cross mountains and ridges, but if it is you or your relatives and friends, it will only take a short time. So I would like to ask you to help carry letters for my junior sister and me, and even to my second senior brother who is even farther away, and I will definitely reward you."
Lin Jue had thought it over carefully——
Master Fan said that in today's capital, there are only two kinds of flying birds that can be bought: one is for eating, such as pigeons and geese. Although these can also deliver messages for oneself, they are easily shot down; the other is for playing, such as carrier pigeons, starlings, falcons, or other ornamental birds. Because there are many people in the capital who are obsessed with toys, and the trend of playing with birds and dogs is prevalent, the prices are extremely expensive.
Lin Jue thought it would be better to find one locally.
Instead of buying, deceive.
Although I have just earned a hundred taels of silver, I can't spend it recklessly. I have to save as much as I can.
Although the medicinal residue can be sold for money, Lin Jue has never done so. In addition, even if he spends money to buy a flying bird, the medicinal residue left over from refining the elixir will probably be used to feed the bird, so this cost expenditure can be ignored.
"If you are willing, please come with me to find my junior sister and get to know the way."
"Ah~"
The egret turned its head and preened its feathers.
"Thank you very much."
Lin Jue then turned his head and looked at Master Fan beside him: "Fellow Daoist Fan, do you know where most of the Huizhou merchants who come to the capital gather?"
"The capital is divided into the East and West, each with its own East and West Market. Both markets have Huizhou merchants. I've been to the East Market more often, and I know that most of the Huizhou merchants there gather in Wenbaofang, north of the East Market. Most of the merchants there sell the four treasures of the study, and nine out of ten are from Huizhou. The pens, inkstones, paper, and inkstones from Huizhou are very popular in the capital."
"The writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones produced in Huizhou are indeed excellent." Lin Jue said with a smile, "I knew that it would be right to ask Fellow Daoist Fan about such matters."
"I know, but..."
"how?"
"The rice paper in my room is almost used up. I would like to go shopping with you. But you are looking for Huizhou merchants, so you want to ask the merchants to help carry the letter, right?"
Master Fan said, pointing to the sky:
"However, Huizhou is not close to the capital. It will take a month to walk there without any delay. Today is the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month. If you want to go back to Huizhou for the New Year, you would have gone back long ago. If you are still in the capital, you probably won't go back for the New Year this year. So if you go to look for someone now, you will have to wait until the New Year before someone is willing to help you bring the letter."
"Hmm? That makes sense..."
This Master Fan really has something.
But then I heard Master Fan say:
"but……"
"Ok?"
"If you just want to ask someone to deliver a letter, I know a spirit. He has no other strengths, but he is good at traveling. He can travel a thousand miles a day. If you are willing to give some sacrifices, he can also deliver the letter to Huizhou for you."
"Fellow Daoist, do you know this kind of monster?" Lin Jue was a little surprised, and then said, "Master Fan really has a wide range of friends!"
"By chance, we met by chance."
"But this kind of spirit, for making a special trip and delivering the message very quickly, must want a lot of sacrifices, right?"
"That's not necessarily true. In this world, some monsters don't have an easy life."
Master Fan shook his head and said:
"If an ordinary person asks it for help, three animals must be sacrificed. Depending on the distance, the urgency, and whether a reply or waiting is needed, sometimes only small animals are needed, and sometimes large animals are needed. Some flexibility can be made among the small three animals, and sometimes only chicken, duck, and fish are needed."
"Chicken, duck and fish, that's not much."
"Yes, if we talk about the amount of money, asking a traveling merchant to carry a letter hundreds or thousands of miles away, the money he gives can't be less than buying a chicken, a duck, and a fish, right? Not to mention that after the letter is delivered, he has to be treated to two meals, and he may have to kill an old hen, right?"
"What Daoyou said is absolutely right."
"Besides, I have done it some favors. If I ask for it, I'm sure it won't refuse, nor will it accept the gift."
"That is absolutely unacceptable."
Lin Jue thought about it and felt that it was okay. If you ask someone to deliver a letter, it is not certain that he will be able to deliver it. There is a possibility that someone will not deliver the letter. It is possible that someone wants to deliver the letter but cannot find the location. It is also possible that the person may encounter thieves on the way, or the letter may be lost due to rain or other accidents.
Therefore, if people in the world have important matters, they often have to ask several people to deliver the letter at the same time.
It's even slower than the one delivered by the goblins.
But we can't rely entirely on this person.
If I were to send a letter to Shu Village, my uncle and aunt were ordinary people, and letting a spirit deliver the letter would probably scare them. If I were to send a letter to Fuqiu Temple, there was a mountain god in Yishan, and this kind of foreign spirit might not be able to deliver it in.
It can only be used to send letters to several other brothers.
"Okay, fellow Daoist, please help me contact that person and ask him to deliver the letter to me in a few days." Lin Jue said, "I haven't finished writing the letter yet, and I don't know if my junior sister has written it yet. Today I will go find the pair of stone horses first, then find my junior sister, and ask her to come to the city to celebrate the New Year, and write the letter by the way."
"it is good."
"Our Yishan is not a place that spirits can enter at will. I'm afraid I still have to find a few Hui merchants who are going the same way. I'll wait until the beginning of next spring and invite fellow Taoists to go to the East and West Markets together."
"Well, the rice paper in my room is almost used up." Fan Tianshi said with a smile, "Some time ago, an official gave me a piece of fine Hui ink, which has a condensed fragrance when I write. I was so happy that I lost control for a moment and only cared about the ink, not the paper."
"Then it's settled."
"Never break a promise."
"The weather is good today, so I won't delay any longer. I'll just take my Fuyao out to enjoy the snow." Lin Jue said, and took out a pill bottle. "The small Yuandan that was just made yesterday can help restore mana and replenish the mind and body. I made it just for practice. I rarely have the chance to eat it, so I'll bring it here for you to try as a token of my gratitude."
"I'm not polite either."
Master Fan accepted the pill and returned the gift with a smile.
Lin Jue had already packed his luggage.
Then he took out a piece of paper and shouted "Show the donkey". The paper donkey fell to the ground and turned into a medium-sized gray donkey.
The Taoist took his bag, got on the donkey, and set off.
When Master Fan Tianshi saw this, he was a little stunned and could only raise his hand to say goodbye to him.
The egret then spread its wings and flew away.
A faint fragrance wafted from the street.
It's nothing else but the wintersweets blooming next door.
……
An hour later.
There is a barren mountain covered with snow, and there are a few ruins on the ground. It is impossible to tell what the original buildings were. In the wind and snow, there are only two stone horses standing here quietly, like two ordinary stone sculptures.
Suddenly a white shadow flashed by.
The white fox landed on the ground, stepped on a few plum blossoms, and looked back.
A man and a donkey walked through the wind and snow.
"call……"
Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief and saw the two stone sculptures: "So you two are here."
As if they heard his words, the snow on the backs of the two stone sculptures suddenly fell off, and the two stone horses also moved, but they did not run away. Instead, they turned their heads and looked at Lin Jue.
"I heard that you guys got spiritual powers a long time ago, and left in the past two years because of the changes in the capital and the Guanxing Palace. Is it true or not?"
Of course, there was no response.
"Well, I don't care about that. Anyway, you can't go to the city anymore. If you are willing and trust me, I have a good place where you can stay."
"..."
"If you are willing, you can take two steps forward. If not, I will leave. From now on, as long as you don't run around the city and don't disturb the world, we will have nothing to do with each other."
"..."
The two stone horses were silent for a moment, then suddenly took two steps forward.
"Thank you." Lin Jue said, getting off the donkey, "The donkey is too slow, please give me a ride."
He took back the paper donkey, got on the horse again, and took out a seal from his arms.
"Chen Niu, Chen Niu, let's go to Fengshan Red Leaf Viewing Hall."
A little ghost appeared quietly, turned his head to look at him, and heard him go to Fengshan Red Leaf Temple. He turned his head again, looked around to identify the direction, raised his hand and pointed:
"Go this way!"
"Follow it!"
The stone horse took a step forward, and with a rumbling sound, it easily surpassed Chen Niu.
The little ghost had a dazed look on his face as he watched the two stone horses leaving and the white fox that stopped to look at him. Then he reacted and hurriedly chased after them.
"Go this way!"
The little ghost appeared in the wind and snow ahead, raised his hand and pointed in a direction, then quickly disappeared.
But in the blink of an eye, the two stone horses behind broke through the wind and snow, rushed past the place where it had just stood, and carried the Taoist priest all the way.
Another egret was flying leisurely in the sky.
Lin Jue discovered that the two stone horses ran very fast, even faster than the two horses that he and his junior sister rode to the Western Regions. They were almost as fast as Luo Gong's precious horse, and their load-bearing capacity was very strong. It seemed that riding on their backs had no effect on them at all.
Moreover, it is not afraid of thorns, grass, gravel and potholes at all. It only needs to avoid woods and some terrain and move forward without hesitation.
Aside from being extra bumpy, there are no downsides.
In just half an hour, they arrived at the foot of Fengshan Mountain.
(End of this chapter)
