Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 139 The boat has passed the Ten Thousand Mountains

The wind stopped and the rain stopped overnight. The morning geese flew across the canyon. The blue sky was cloudless and the world seemed to have been cleansed.

"Look, my dear! The rainbow is so beautiful!"

Xiao Cai's cheers were more cheerful than those of the birds, and she pointed at the rainbow across the canyon in front of her with her eyes full of intoxication.

Gao Jingming stretched himself lazily. After a good night's sleep, he was in a good mood to see the rainbow in the morning. He nodded and smiled, "Last night the wind and rain were fierce, today the wild geese and rainbow are beautiful. What a beautiful morning!"

"Brother Gao has great literary talent"

Chen Xuan, who got up early, practiced the calming and health-preserving exercises slowly on the deck. He did not forget to turn around and give a compliment, keeping in mind his pseudonym and his friend's personality.

Even though his martial arts skills have improved by leaps and bounds over the years, he has never neglected the health-preserving techniques he learned on the first day of Yushan Academy. He has made it a habit and feels relaxed after exercising in the morning.

Gao Jingming waved his hand and said hello, shaking his head and said: "Brother Chen, don't come here, it's just a jingle, not a literary talent."

Liang Ren, with sleepy eyes, wanted to say something but hesitated. He wanted to say something for a long time but couldn't come up with a good word. He could only mutter that the weather was nice.

I really envy these scholars. What they say sounds more refreshing than a glass of wine. Why can't I speak? It's like there's a big stone blocking my throat.

At this time, the morning sun rose behind them, a rainbow bridge formed in front of them, the river surface was like fire burning to the end of the sight, and the exit of the canyon was in front of them, as if a gate to heaven was right in front of them.

The light boat has passed the tens of thousands of mountains.

Half of the boatmen who had been busy all night were in no mood to appreciate the scenery. It was not a leisurely experience for them. All they could think of was the hardships of life.

There were even boatmen who clasped their hands together and murmured, "God bless us, may we have a safe night and pass through this Monkey Falls Gorge smoothly."

They were actually a little surprised. When had they not been forced to buy amulets on their previous trips? This time, they didn't even see a single pirate. Perhaps it was because of the heavy rain last night that they were too lazy to go out. It was really good luck.

It would be good to save some money, even if the Gao family had promised that they would pay.

Zhao Erhe, who was on duty late last night, seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Seeing him like this, Geng Hong said angrily: "Xiao Zhao, you are like holding your urine, if you want to fart, just let it out."

So he said with a little hesitation, "Boss, I don't know if it's luck that the pirates didn't find us, but last night when we passed the middle of the canyon, that river island, I took a quick glimpse in the lightning and saw that there were people on the river island, quite a few. It was raining so hard that I couldn't see clearly, but I was definitely not mistaken. Judging from their attire, they were definitely pirates. It's just that for some reason, they didn't give us any trouble."

"Is this true? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Geng Hong frowned slightly.

Zhao Erhe said speechlessly: "It's early in the morning and I haven't had time to say it yet."

Geng Hong's brows relaxed quickly and he said, "Who cares? We've already passed the canyon. They can't catch up with us. You have to know that they are also people in the underworld, and people in the underworld usually abide by the rules and won't extend their hands beyond their own territory. Outside the canyon is the territory of another force. I vaguely remember that they are a decent group. They won't embarrass us passers-by like the bandits did."

"That's true," Zhao Erhe was no longer troubled.

Liang Ren, who had overheard something, glared and said, "You were talking about pirates? Why didn't you call me last night? If they came, I could help. Although I'm not as good as Brother Geng in martial arts, I'm not afraid of a few pirates."

"It's okay, I didn't disturb your sweet dreams," Zhao Erhe said with a smile.

Liang Ren seemed to be a little regretful for missing the chance to fight the pirates, and muttered: "Then next time something like this happens, you must let me know." At this point, he slapped his thigh and shook his head, saying: "I'm afraid there will be no chance. I have to get off the boat soon. It's a pity that I can't fight alongside you."

"Don't be so anxious, we can give you a ride on the way," Geng Hong said in silence.

Of course, they did not reveal their destination to Liang Ren, but it was not too polite to say so. It was just something that happened on the way and would not delay anything else.

Liang Ren shook his head and said, "I'm already very grateful for being able to board the ship to avoid the storm last night. How can I trouble you again? Besides, I'm in a hurry to get on the road, otherwise I will miss the Zhao family's martial arts competition and marrying. After all, the land route is faster. There is a natural barrier ahead that is not difficult to cross."

"Well, I wish Brother Liang a smooth journey," Geng Hong said with a little regret. He was not pretending, he really thought this person was a good person.

In fact, if Liang Renruo continued to stay on the boat, it would take him one or two days to get to Dayuan Port faster than by land. However, Geng Hong was cautious and would not take the initiative to disclose his itinerary. He also did not ask Gao Jingming where his "cousin" lived, so it could not be considered as deception or concealment.

Liang Ren didn't think too much about it, and laughed heartily: "The road ahead is long, we'll meet again in the future, there will definitely be a chance to drink and chat happily."

"Wait, we haven't even left the canyon yet, and Brother Liang isn't in a rush. It's not too late to have breakfast," Zhao Erhe reminded him. His words made the atmosphere of the farewell feel a little awkward...

After Chen Xuan finished his exercise, he felt warm and comfortable all over. You see, this ordinary life is actually quite good, right? As for all the fighting and killing with swords and sabers, they don't exist at all.

Liang Ren had a fairly substantial breakfast on the boat. Afterwards, he wanted to pay, but Chen Xuan and the others naturally refused to accept the money. Who would take something that happened by the way seriously? Liang Ren did not insist, and patted his chest and said that he owed them a favor. He promised to help them once for free in the future, and the payment would be permanent.

Afterwards, he got off the boat and left, just like when he got on, using his lightness skills to step on the water and leave, jumping and hopping, each step was several feet away, until he reached the shore, turned around and waved goodbye, and his figure disappeared from the shore.

This is how the world of martial arts is. We meet unexpectedly, have a great chat, and then go our separate ways. There is not much nostalgia and it is very free and easy. After all, when you are in the world of martial arts, no one can guarantee that you will not die in a foreign land the next day, so too many concerns will make life too tiring.

The rest of the road was almost flat.

As we go further north, the environment on both sides of the river also changes. The vegetation gradually becomes less lush and vigorous than in the south, and becomes short and sparse little by little. It is not desolate though. The crops in the fields in spring have also changed. In the south, this season, most of the crops are economical and practical crops such as rapeseed, but as we go further north, the fields are turned to food crops such as wheat.

In fact, rice is grown in Jingguo, both in the north and south, but that requires waiting until after the plum rain when crops like rapeseed and wheat are ripe and ready for harvest.

Rapeseed and wheat are both cold-resistant crops. They are planted before the New Year, stored in winter and sprouted in spring, and a season's harvest can be completed in a few months. However, the yield is not high.

In any case, the lower-class peasants are busy all year round and rarely have a moment of leisure. Even during the slack season, they are still forced to do forced labor, which is even harder than farming...

After a few days of peaceful journey, the vegetation on both sides of the river became increasingly short and sparse, and even the distant mountains looked a bit desolate. It was not the kind of desolation that came from deforestation, but rather that there were not many tall plants growing on the mountains at all.

This is caused by the soil and climate, and most areas of Fengzhou are like this. Fengzhou is a relatively desolate area, and the name also carries the hope that all things will be prosperous.

Early in the morning of that day, the boatman informed Chen Xuan and his friends that they would arrive at Dayuan Port in one or two hours, and asked Chen Xuan and his friends to prepare to disembark. As the final destination of this trip was Dayuan Port, the boatman and his friends were not in a hurry to return. They would dock for some time and try to take back passengers, and try not to return with an empty boat.

The Gao family had already paid the fare before departure, so Chen Xuan and his friends didn't need to pay it after getting off the ship.

Firstly, when traveling far away, people who make a living by boat should not carry too much money on the road. Secondly, although the boat is privately owned by the boatman, if they want to ferry people to take jobs, they must register with the government, and then they can take jobs under the management of the boat gang. The money is paid to the boat gang and will not go directly to the boat owner. Layer by layer, a shipping framework is formed, and people in this industry make a living quietly within this framework, which is an unspoken rule.

Not only shipping, but every industry in this era has its own circle structure, including opera troupes, storytelling, fortune telling, martial arts schools, escort agencies... even begging, all have their own rules. If you want to make a living in the industry and do not abide by the rules, you will be boycotted by practitioners in the entire industry.

There are pros and cons. Although they will be exploited at every level, the advantage of the bottom level is that they are relatively stable and can make a living. As for the changes in the interests of the management, they usually do not affect the bottom level. After all, without the bottom level, how can those at the top live a good life?

After more than ten days of water travel, even Chen Xuan felt a little listless at the end. It was really too boring.

You know what, I actually missed Liang Ren a little. Although he was on the ship for less than a day, listening to him talk about those trivial things in the underworld was not boring at all. It was a pity that they didn't meet such a person again afterwards. Not everyone is as stubborn as him and has to get on a ship.

I don’t know where that guy went after he got ashore. He said he would come to Dayuan Port. Unless he rode day and night, he would definitely not be as fast as Chen Xuan and the others.

After getting ashore, I said goodbye to the boatman and was actually a little reluctant to leave. After all, the surrounding environment had changed, the accent was different, and I was unfamiliar with the place. They were the few fellow villagers left.

There is not much difference between Dayuan Port and Jinxia County Wharf, except that both have scenes of ships coming and going with goods, but they are much smaller.

This is still a dock outside the county town, but due to geographical reasons and population factors, Luoshi County, not far from Dayuan Port, is just a "lower county", and its dock is not as prosperous and busy as the Jinxia County dock.

To be honest, the population of Luoshi County is not as large as that of some of the larger counties in the south.

After getting ashore, Chen Xuan and his companions unanimously decided to rest in Luoshi County for a day and set off early the next morning to continue heading north. Their bones were almost rusted after being on the boat for half a month.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to rest here for three days and have a good stroll, but Gao Jingyu was delayed because he had to go home, so the time on the road was a bit tight and they had to compress it as much as possible.

With the certificate of honor, they left the dock and entered the city smoothly without any trouble. Refusing to solicit other customers, they found a nice inn to stay in. Perhaps because of the long boat ride or because of the unfamiliar climate, Gao Jingming felt a little sleepy when he entered the inn and had no desire to wander around.

If they continued to head north, they had two options. They could go find a carriage and horse company, but they had to follow their arrangements. They would not set off unless there were a certain number of people and time. Therefore, Chen Xuan and his companions had to buy their own carriages and set off alone. After arriving at their destination, they could sell the carriages to make a profit.

Geng Hong and his team will take care of these small matters.

When they were still at the dock, they heard people discussing the Zhao family's martial arts competition to recruit a bride. The city was abuzz with the news. The competition had been set up for several days, but there was still no result. Chen Xuan, who was exhausted from the long journey, really had no interest in it. It was not because he was physically tired, but he was a little mentally tired.

Because the Zhao family's martial arts competition attracted many martial artists, such a large gathering of people could easily cause trouble. From within the inn, Chen Xuan could hear the sounds of fights happening simultaneously in several places on the nearby streets...

(End of this chapter)