My enemies became my companions

Chapter 490: Picking up the bride (two in one)

The boat traveled for two days and two nights.

It was another early morning. Seeing that Yin Tingxue was still asleep, Chen Yi got up and sat alone at the bow of the boat.

Literati often describe the flooding of the Yellow River, which always gives people the impression that it is flooding all the time. When the river breeze blows, at the beginning of the new year, the Yellow River is not turbid. Instead, it is bone-chillingly cold due to the cold wind. This is a rare sight.

Chen Yi looked back at Yin Tingxue, confirmed that she was really asleep, and then he groped something out from the ground.

The slightly yellowed book cover appeared in the warm sunlight, and Chen Yi's fingertips pressed on the few words on it - "Xuan Guan Yan Ji".

When I was traveling alone, it was hard to kill time on weekdays, so I bought a lot of books to kill time. Among them were miscellaneous books such as "New Stories by the Lamplight", "Love Affairs in Wushan", and "National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance". My cultural level didn't improve much, but I learned a lot of knowledge.

Calculating the time, it has been a long time since I last watched it. Today, Chen Yi reviewed what he had learned and learned something new. Recently, he and the little fox have become more and more in love. Since she likes him so much, he has to learn more skills to reward her.

As for whether this is bullying her?
It’s not considered bullying if you bully her until she feels physically comfortable.

The river breeze blew, the water flowed rapidly, and Chen Yi was reading the book attentively. When he turned to about ten pages, he heard a soft "hmm" sound in his ear.

Chen Yi immediately closed the book and put it into the ground, while at the same time making a hand gesture to suppress his thoughts.

He stood up and went over and asked, "Are you awake?"

"Hmm..." Yin Tingxue rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked outside and said, "We are almost there."

"It's noon." Chen Yi responded.

Yin Tingxue nodded. She untied the water bag, then took out a toothbrush and leaned against the stern of the boat to wash. After everything was done, she gathered her clothes and looked at the beautiful scenery at the bow of the boat.

Then she turned her head and looked at Chen Yi strangely.

"what happened?"

"What... don't you want me to hear?" Yin Tingxue scratched his head in confusion.

Chen Yi sneered and said, "You want to hear everything?"

Yin Tingxue thought that Chen Yi's personality was such that he would rather be treated softly than harshly, and would be more likely to make trouble for others. Moreover, it was not very polite for her to always listen to other people's thoughts.

She whispered, "I can't help it... Master Zhou hasn't taught me how to control my Celestial Ear yet."

How could Chen Yi not know this? In fact, he was not too opposed to Yin Tingxue hearing his inner thoughts. It was just that this time, he really didn't want her to hear it.

After all, secretly flipping through that kind of book would be fine if other girls heard it, but it would be too embarrassing if the innocent little fox heard it.

.........

They went down Henan all the way to the border of Songshan. The two got off the boat. Chen Yi threw a few pieces of silver on the boat and shouted to the shrimp soldiers and crab generals:
"Return the boat."

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals received the order, dived into the water, the water flow rushed outward, and disappeared from the sight at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Where are we going next?" Yin Tingxue asked curiously.

"Let's go south."

Chen Yi responded without any hesitation and walked away.

Yin Tingxue hurriedly followed and grabbed his sleeve.

Since leaving Yinjian Mountain, the two of them have not been in a hurry along the way, just walking and stopping, stopping and walking.

At present, this area is still quite far away from Huguang Province, and no chaos has been seen. It has been shortly after the New Year, and the local people are still living their own lives. When asked about the White Lotus Rebellion in Huguang along the way, people could only give a general idea, and either could not explain it at all, or sounded mysterious. Chen Yi shook his head. It seems that he has to wait until he arrives in Huguang to know what the situation is.

Shortly after getting off the boat, a few pieces of paper money floated in the air, fluttering like snowflakes.

Chen Yi looked sideways and saw a family that looked like they were covered in white paint from head to toe. They were wearing paper clothes and paper hats, and someone was playing the suona loudly.

Just a funeral.

It was noon. Chen Yi asked people around for directions and left this unknown town with Yin Tingxue.

The road was no different from the previous ones, they were still dirt roads and not easy to walk on, but after Chen Yi put on two talismans, he could walk briskly.

The sun sets, dusk dyes the entire sky, and the drizzle is slightly hazy. After walking for half a day, the talisman has become ineffective. It is time to find a place to stay.

But the place was remote, with mountains and forests everywhere, so there was no inn to stay in. They could only settle for the next best thing and find a village to stay in. Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue found a village by following the smoke from cooking fires.

The three characters "Sui Lin Village" were inscribed on a stone tablet at the entrance of the village. It was already late in the day, and the houses scattered along the ridges of the fields were all submerged in the darkness, with no outlines discernible. Only one house had a faint light. Looking up, I saw a bluestone tile house, a vermilion plaque, and lanterns hanging to welcome the spring, which made it look like a wealthy family.

Chen Yi changed into a Taoist robe, turned on a light, and knocked on the door.

After a while, an eye popped out from the gap.
"Who is it?" It was a female voice.

"Excuse me, we are travelers returning home and would like to stay here for one night. I wonder if it is convenient."

“…It’s not inconvenient.”

After a moment's silence in the room, he saw Chen Yi coming in with a light on, followed by a young girl. After hesitating, he opened the door.

A well-dressed woman appeared in front of Chen Yi. She crossed the threshold with a lantern and bowed.
"I don't know what to call it?"

"My last name is Du. You can just call me Madam Du."

"Madam Du, my junior sister and I are sorry for disturbing you. Please forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay, please sit down, I'll serve you some tea first."

The woman turned around and went to prepare tea. Yin Tingxue looked around the house. There was dark green moss growing in the corners of the walls, and there were white and yellow circles on the walls, as well as cracks. The wind blew out from inside, making her shrink her neck.

She turned her head and thought about the rich appearance of this mansion...it was obviously in decline.

After a while, the woman brought the tea.

Chen Yi took it and asked casually, "Does Madam Du live alone here?"

"No, I live with my daughter. We are an orphan and a widow, but she is going to get married. She comes from a good family." As she said this, the woman smiled happily, then her brows drooped, looking a little lonely.

"It's good to get married." Chen Yi also saw the big red box in the corner of the hall, thinking it was the dowry, "I wish the girl a happy marriage."

"Master, you are too short." The woman said with a smile.

Yin Tingxue didn't understand.

Chen Yi understood and said, "May you live happily ever after."

The woman nodded gratefully, exchanged a few more words of greeting, and then led the two to the guest room to rest.

Chen Yi casually spread the mattress, then pulled Yin Tingxue over to lie down and held her in his arms.

The little fox lifted his face and looked at Chen Yi and said, "Why don't you listen to my voice?"

"What's so good to hear?" Chen Yi still maintained the hand gesture of pinching the fingers, "I'm listening to this, I'm listening to that, I don't even have any privacy."

"Privacy?" This was the first time Yin Tingxue had heard this term, but because of Chen Yi's tone, she understood what it meant. "What a new term."

"You are uneducated."

Yin Tingxue was stunned for a moment. Wasn't this the word she had said before? She looked up and saw Chen Yi's somewhat smug look, and burst out laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Chen Yi raised his eyebrows.

"No, nothing..."

Yin Tingxue just thought that his expression was very interesting.

In the darkness, Chen Yi fell silent, staring at her without saying a word.

The little fox was a little frightened. She couldn't hear Chen Yi's inner thoughts. She couldn't help but move closer and asked in a tender voice, "What's wrong?"

"Yin Tingxue, I think you are becoming more and more bold." Chen Yi said coldly.

"Isn't it good to be braver..." Yin Tingxue hesitated, then pecked at his lips, "Being brave proves that you like me."

"Honey in mouth and sword in belly."

He was undoubtedly making up stories, and the girl was always in a panic and could only kiss him tremblingly, speak softly, and be on guard against him with fear.

But over the years, Yin Tingxue had seen a lot, dealt with a lot, and after a little bit of habitual fear, she did not refute, but kissed him.

"You said I was sweet on the outside but had a sharp tongue," Yin Tingxue raised her eyes and asked, "Is that sweet?"

His hands involuntarily hugged her tightly, and the girl leaned against him obediently. After a while, Chen Yi sighed and laughed, "You... I think you've been eating me up lately."

"No way, aren't you going to eat me?"

"Having said that, I always feel that something is not right..." Chen Yi said slowly, unable to explain exactly what was wrong.

"I know." Yin Tingxue suddenly showed an expression as if she had figured it out.

"you know?"

Yin Tingxue said: "You are old, I understand you..."

Chen Yi was furious when he heard this, and was about to speak, but the little fox clung to his arms tightly, avoided his sharp edge, and kissed him again...

…………

The next morning, Chen Yi opened his eyes as if he had sensed something.

All his clothes were intact, but after all he was staying at someone else's house, so it was difficult to get things done. After Chen Yi flipped through the reply book, he sat alone for a while.

dong dong dong...

There was a knock on the door.

Chen Yi stood up and went to greet them. Seeing Madam Du standing outside the door, he asked, "We have breakfast. Would you like to have some, Taoist priests?"

The other person had such good intentions that it was hard to refuse, so Chen Yi agreed and turned around to wake up Yin Tingxue. After the little fox stretched, the two of them went to the dining room, where Mrs. Du brought in some hot white porridge.

"Mom, help me hold it!"

The girl who is going to get married today seems to be dressing up.

"Hey, here it comes. Mom will braid your hair again."

Before Mrs. Du had the chance to share the bowls, she hurried over.

"No, more than once."

"Don't make a fuss. You're about to get married. This is your last chance. If you want to ask your husband's family for help next time, please."

...The joy of getting married spread throughout the slightly dilapidated house. Yin Tingxue suddenly felt sad for no reason, wondering if her mother were still alive, would she get married like this?
Chen Yi noticed the subtle change in the girl's eyes and hugged her.

After Yin Tingxue recovered and breathed a sigh of relief, she was about to share the big pot of porridge.

However, Chen Yi raised his hand to stop her and said with a smile: "There's no rush to eat this breakfast."

Yin Tingxue was stunned.

Before she could figure out what was going on, she heard the sharp sound of a suona breaking through the sky and spreading to the entire village, accompanied by loud gongs and drums.

The wedding procession is here.

Mrs. Du hurriedly took her daughter to the hall. Yin Tingxue looked up through the window and saw a white team coming towards them. Soul flags were waving in the wind, and the people accompanying them kept throwing paper money on both sides.

The big white "囍" flutters in the sunlight.

Yin Tingxue was in a trance for a moment.

When I looked back again, it was as if the mist had dispersed gently, and there was no Mrs. Du and the little girl.

There are only two deities.

…………

"Are you two... Taoist priests who are passing through and staying overnight?"

When the wedding party saw Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue, two living people, they were so frightened that several people almost lost their souls.

After Chen Yi's explanation, these people finally calmed down, but they still looked at them with vigilance.

"Well, we're just passing through and asking for a place to stay." Chen Yi glanced at the huge procession of brides and asked, "Do you want to have a ghost marriage?"

The leader hesitated and then nodded.

Ghost marriages are not uncommon these days. The richer the family, the more likely they are to arrange a ghost marriage for their children who died young. A "ghost matchmaker" will arrange the marriage, then fortune-telling and gods will be consulted, a wedding ceremony will be held, and the man and woman will be buried together.

The purpose of ghost marriage is, firstly, to appease the dead soul, and secondly, to express grief, so in Dayu, as long as you report to the government and pay taxes, you can arrange a ghost marriage. Of course, if you want to find someone to be buried with you during marriage, that is absolutely not allowed, and is a serious crime defined by the official text.

Having stayed overnight last night, Chen Yi was considered to have received some favors. He glanced at the two shrines and asked, "Can I come and pray for the salvation of the dead?"

One more Taoist priest was not too much. The leader's eyes lit up and he quickly agreed, "Okay, okay, okay."

Afterwards, the men and women who came as the lead relatives bowed several times into the house, and very sincerely burned incense to the several-inch wide shrine of the Du family, and then brought out the small shrine.

Another person came over holding a shrine. The two shrines were of the same size.

Along the way, Chen Yi greeted another person and asked about the circumstances of the marriage. It turned out that the girl's family was surnamed Wei, and they were once one of the few wealthy landlords in the area. They were also kind and charitable, but unfortunately the family line only had one daughter, and when it came to the previous head of the family, there was only one daughter, who died of illness at the age of 28.

The head of the Wei family was very young and had read the Four Books and Five Classics. He had taken the imperial examination when he was young but failed. In his prime, he took the imperial examination again and passed unexpectedly. Unfortunately, he drowned on his way north to take the examination. A fellow villager named Li collected his body, and he was also the man's family this time. When the news of the death of the head of the Wei family came back, his only daughter also fell ill and died at this time. His wife could not bear the blow and was depressed. When she was finally found, she was dead in the hall.

"Our two families are familiar with each other. Brother Wei and my father had a great conversation along the way. We regarded each other as close friends regardless of age difference. We thought we could pass the imperial examination together, but we never expected to encounter such a disaster."

Li Chengxing was quite sad, and then talked about this couple,

"As for Miss Wei and my brother, they had known each other since childhood and were childhood sweethearts, so they got married early. However, a major epidemic in his early years caused my brother to die when he was six years old. My father kept thinking about this matter, so he prayed to the gods and Buddhas, and also asked the ghost matchmaker to ask the couple's opinions. After they met each other, they liked each other, so they got married."

After walking and asking questions along the way, the wedding party finally arrived at their destination, which was the Wei family's cemetery. Two tablets were placed in front of the tomb of the head of the Wei family.

Chen Yi immediately began to recite the sutras for salvation in a low voice.

"In times of disaster, mercy comes to you, the nectar of the universe comes to you, and you are called by the ten directions to save all living beings..."

But on the altar, two ghosts, a man and a woman, wearing wedding clothes, floated in the air and bowed to him politely.
(End of this chapter)