Painter

Chapter 152 One: Troubled Times

In the autumn of the 23rd year of Lin Gong, the sage went to the west of the country for more than seven months. Even though the various prefectures copied the news of success, there were still many disasters and demons in Dayong, and bandits and chaos were everywhere.

The remnant clouds in the sky are burning like fire, the guest in green clothes is carrying a bookcase on his back, and the hemp rattan shoes under his feet are covered with mud and frost.He led a black donkey, stepped on withered yellow dendrobium leaves, and stopped in front of an ancient bridge.Under the black raincloth of the book case, there was a fair and clear face.Days of running around did not leave a tanned look on this face.

It was dusk, when it was supposed to be the time for the walker to rest, but it was the time for him to set off.Around five months ago, he crossed half of the Dayong Kingdom and traveled six thousand miles, at least four thousand miles of which were walking with ghosts under the stars and the moon.

Beside the bridge, the moss-stained boundary monument was engraved with the word "Qizhou", and he glanced over it.On the opposite side of the bridge is a mountain barrier, with red flowers and yellow leaves on the mountain, with distinct colors.This mountain is called Sangwu Mountain, and beyond it, it is the boundary of Gyeonggi-do.

He led the donkey across the ancient bridge. The autumn water was crystal clear, and the flowers beside the bank and the crescent moon in the sky were vaguely reflected.The wooden box went up and down with the donkey's back, and a wisp of mirage emerged from the cracks in the box, and floated to the opposite bank, where it turned into a girl in red and landed between two goose pears and three wild jujube trees.

He walked across the bridge, and the red-clothed girl withdrew her gaze from searching the branches, and said helplessly, "It's still far from ripe, and the fruits have all been picked."

The guest in Qingyi just passed through Xiazhou. After a severe drought, the state was full of mourners, and the people were in dire straits.Although the mountains and rivers are clear here, he sighed: "It seems that the capital has also suffered disaster."

A few figures appeared beside the black donkey, and the white cat jumped up. Its fat body landed on the slender jujube branch, but it stood firmly.There are a few grape-sized green fruits hanging here and there among the branches, and it shouted: "This is not edible? Let's try it!"

The girl in red smiled and said, "Who will stop you?"

The white cat patted a green date with its paws, opened its mouth to swallow it, chewed it twice, its pupils shrank into vertical lines, and said pleasantly, "Yah, it's so sweet!"

The girl in red frowned suspiciously, took off a few green dates, ate one, and said curiously: "It's true, Ah Lang, you should try it."

The guest in Qingyi took the green dates, tasted them for a while, and said thoughtfully: "Could it be that this jujube tree has grown into a spirit?" He handed the remaining green dates to the fox girl who was holding a knife beside him.

The fox girl casually threw a jujube into her mouth, chewed it for a while, then nodded slowly, "Not bad."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Qing Yasha was so envious, he snatched a green date from the fox girl's palm.Chewed twice, shivered violently, green face was soured into black face, grinned, and jujube dregs came out.Hastily plunged into the water, gurgling mouth.

After a burst of laughter, Li Chan took the black donkey and walked towards Mount Wuwu.

The sky was getting darker, and the ghost shadows around him quietly increased.

There were demons everywhere in Dayong territory, traveling all the way to the east, even though he seldom stopped, he still got rid of many man-eating demons.The demonic aura incorporated into the painting became stronger and stronger, and those little demons also grew into full form, with green faces and long fangs, covered with fur and feathers, holding the sword snatched from the bandits, and smashing the broken armor picked up on the battlefield.

The black donkey was a fool, accustomed to being frightened by demons and ghosts, and followed Li Chan unhurriedly, with luggage, rice noodles, dry food, and dried meat on his back.

At the foot of the mountain in front, there are continuous cottages embedded in the blue and yellow. If you can borrow the stove to buy firewood, you can start a business.

……

Li Chan leads the black donkey through a simple wooden archway, on which there is a paulownia plaque of "Baitou Village".

As soon as he approached the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, he smelled a looming rotten smell.

In the twilight, a young man with a sword came out from the cottage in front of him. He wore a green scarf on his head and his face was like a crown jade. Although he was wearing a rough cotton shirt, he looked bookish.

Li Chan raised her eyebrows when she saw the young man.

The young man put his hand on the hilt of his sword and asked cautiously, "Who is here?"

Li Chan stopped a few feet away, cupped her hands and said, "I'm passing through this place when I'm going to Beijing, can this gentleman lend me a stove to cook some food for me?"

The young man looked at the book case behind Li Chan, and then his eyes wandered on the back of the black donkey for a while, then nodded, turned around and pushed open the wooden door, "Come in!"

Li Chan tied the black donkey to the tree and walked into the yard with the young man.

The young man led Li Chan into the house and said, "Don't blame me for being rude. Recently, there is a famine and horse bandits are making trouble. I have to be cautious. Those horse bandits are cruel and inhumane. They rob food and money, and even rob The children went to cook. I also saw that you are indeed carrying luggage, otherwise, I would not dare to let you in."

"You should be more cautious." Li Chan walked through the small courtyard with the young man, and glanced at the bubble house, where there were water dippers and bamboo hats hanging on the wall of the house, and the ropes for hanging garlic were all empty.The incense burner in front of Zaojun's altar is completely cold, and it looks like it has not been offered for many days.

He followed the young man into the room, the space was cramped, and he could see the low bed in the back room with a few books beside the bed.He asked: "Isn't this gentleman from Baitou Village?"

The young man didn't answer, but asked instead: "From the accent of your step, it seems more like you came from afar."

"I'm from Xuandu."

"Oh? I traveled thousands of miles to Beijing, could it be for the end of autumn..."

"Exactly."

"It's a coincidence!" The young man rejoiced, "I was recommended by the Shu School the year before last, and this year I will also be admitted to the Qianyuan Academy. I don't know my name..."

"My surname is Li and my name is Chan, what about you?"

"My Majesty Zheng Lang, please sit down, Li Lang. Recently, the world is in chaos, so I can't offer anything to entertain. It's really impolite."

Li Chan sat on the floor beside the short table, looked at Zheng Langjun's coarse cotton shirt, "You seem to have been in this village for a long time."

"It's hard to explain this matter." Zheng Langjun shook his head and sighed, "I was studying in Yujing three months ago. At that time, there was a disaster in Qingling County, Qizhou. I heard that Baque County, Mizhou, could still buy food, so I traveled day and night. They rushed to Baque and collected [-] shi of grain. On the way to deliver the grain, they got sick and had to stop and recuperate in this Baitou village."

Li Chan asked curiously, "What about the food?"

Zheng Langjun said: "Crossing Yiwu Mountain, Qingling County is more than [-] miles away. I asked the villagers to send the food, and it must have arrived."

Li Chan cupped his hands and said in admiration, "Mr. Lang is a man of benevolence and righteousness."

"Three hundred shi is just a drop in the bucket. I will do my best." Zheng Langjun sighed.

After he finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Can Li Lang do me a favor?"

Li Chan said: "But it's okay to talk."

"Li Lang was just passing through here, I shouldn't have caused you any trouble." Zheng Langjun smiled embarrassedly, "But I only left one stone of the three hundred stones of grain, and after sharing it with the villagers, I have already eaten it. No I told Li Lang that I had been starving for several days, and the villagers couldn’t live any longer. I saw that Li Lang’s donkey seemed to be carrying some rice noodles. I wonder if Li Lang could sell some?”

As he spoke, he took out two [-]-dollar bills, stuffed them into Li Chan's hands, and said earnestly, "Just two buckets of rice are enough. When I arrived in Baque, the price of rice had already risen, so I am recuperating here." After many days, it must be more expensive. I would like to pay a thousand dollars for a bucket of rice."

Li Chan shook her head, "You can't buy rice with this money."

Zheng Langjun was taken aback, "The price of grain outside is already so expensive? I'll pay you two thousand dollars, how about Li Lang selling me a bucket of rice?"

Li Chan still shook her head.

Zheng Langjun's face turned cold, "How is it different from those profiteers who take advantage of people's danger and hoard their goods?"

Li Chan sighed: "Your Majesty is a benevolent person. If you want food, I can give it to you. But the money..."

Snapped!Zheng Langjun slapped the saber on the table, "I'll exchange the family-heirloom sword for a bucket of rice! Don't think this sword looks amazing. My father, Zheng Junshan, was the order of Qingling County, and he went to Qingling County to hold this sword and hand it over to my father. I can exchange for more rewards. Please also send a message for me, so that my father will send someone to Baitou Village to pick me up..."

Before Zheng Langjun finished speaking, Li Chan asked abruptly, "Have you ever thought about when your illness will recover?"

Zheng Langjun was taken aback, "My illness..."

Li Chan looked at the two handovers on the table, and what Dan saw in Dan's eyes was a pile of Yin money with "Lin Gong Tong Bao" printed on it.

Zheng Langjun murmured: "When will my illness be cured? It's strange..."

Li Chan said, "Have you met other villagers recently?"

Zheng Langjun shook his head blankly.

Li Chan said: "Since I entered the village, has there ever been a dog barking?"

Zheng Langjun still shook his head, but his confusion gradually faded away, and his lips trembled.

Li Chan sighed softly: "You are already dead."

"I'm dead? What kind of joke is Li Lang making?" Zheng Langjun's complexion was pale, and he forced a smile, "I am young and weak, and I have practiced breathing techniques to the innate level. If nothing else, I will be able to enter the Qianyuan Academy this year. , Cultivate the truth and impart supernatural powers... I can compose poems at the age of six, master the classics at fourteen, and know the things of the three talents and six tops at sixteen, the number of bright halls and treasures... My ambition has not yet been fulfilled, and the green plums in my hometown are still waiting for me, how could I? Died in this remote place?"

"me……"

Halfway through the speech, he was crying, and at the end, tears were streaming down his face.He looked at the pair of mandarin duck eyes, and the two colors of blue and blue gradually blurred.

He tremblingly stretched out his fingers to touch the sword on the table, as if trying to reach for something lost, but his hand faded away like ink in water.

Zheng Langjun disappeared, and the twilight was reflected on the scabbard through the window.There was an empty sack under the table, and the words "Baque Disaster Relief Food" were written on the bag.

Li Chan turned her head to look at the back room. There was a rotting corpse lying on the bed, and the flies were flying up and down, emitting a pungent stench.This young man who should have been high-spirited had died quietly in Nomura, with no one to bury him.

(End of this chapter)