Chapter 87: Encountering Yaoguai on the Boat

"The world is so big, there is nothing strange. The ancients did not deceive me," the Third Shixiong said as he walked. "If you don't come out, who would have thought that in this world, there is a mountain that can let birds and mice live in the same hole?"

In front was a big river, and the pier could already be seen.

Some distant work songs came from the river surface.

Lin Jue couldn't help but look back as he walked—

It is said that this is also the only way to the capital.

What is the capital of this world like?

If Master passes away in a hundred years, and he goes down the mountain, he will probably have to take a trip.

Turning his head back, he had reached the river.

There were quite a few passenger ships docked here, large and small, large ones going long distances, small ones going nearby, and even a building ship could be seen, showing the development of water transport.

"Daoist, do you want to take a boat?"

"Where is the Daoist going?"

"Daoist! My boat is fast and stable!"

Before the three got close, they had already heard the greeting.

"Going to Yuanzhou, Mingzhou Mountain in Weng County, need to find a boat that can carry a donkey," the Third Senior Brother said, carrying a bundle of hay.

At this time, among the three, Lin Jue was still carrying his book bag, but the Third Shixiong and his Xiao Xiao Shimei each carried a bundle of hay. Even on the fox's back, the Third Shixiong put a small handful that could be circled by two hands, and also tied it with hay, but it was just the Daoist's playfulness, and the symbolic meaning was greater than the practical meaning.

But the fox also honestly carried it, standing by Lin Jue's feet.

"Yuanzhou..."

Many boatmen stopped talking.

Small boats couldn't walk such a long road, and couldn't carry a donkey, and some didn't go to Yuanzhou.

Only one larger canopy boat had an old man standing on it, organizing the sails.

"Taoist going to Mingzhou Mountain in Weng County?"

"Need to carry a donkey."

"Of course a donkey can be carried, but it can only be placed in the back, not affecting other guests," the old man said. "It also depends on whether the Daoist's donkey is afraid of water. If it is frightened and falls into the water, it will not be compensated."

"My Donkey Shixiong is smart."

"If it's smart, then it's fine."

"How much money?"

"Daoists also have a... this is a fox, right? It won't bite people, will it?"

"Absolutely not."

"The waterway to Mingzhou Mountain is more than a thousand miles, it will take about ten days. Originally, it was more than three hundred coins per person. If the Taoist is willing, just make a good fate, and it will only count as three hundred coins," the old man said while looking at them. "Breakfast and dinner are cooked on the boat, the donkey's forage is brought by yourself, and the fox doesn't count as money. As long as you don't dislike the fishy smell, fish and shrimp are enough."

"Okay."

The Third Shixiong didn't bargain either and agreed.

So the three stepped forward first and stepped onto the canopy boat.

Unexpectedly, the donkey also stepped up steadily.

It stood wherever it was told to stand.

The donkey was not big, and the canopy boat was not small. Donkey Shixiong could stand sideways in the back of the canopy boat, and naturally it was more spacious standing vertically. And besides the three, there were actually three people in the canopy boat.

A young man dressed as a scholar.

Two jianghu people with knives and swords and scars on their faces.

Looking at Lin Jue and the three getting on the boat, the three people in the boat all looked at them, looking up and down.

The scholar looked at Lin Jue's book bag and his Xiao Xiao Shimei's young face, feeling that these three Daoist priests also had some literary spirit; the jianghu people looked at the swords they carried and the whistle stick Lin Jue leaned on, but saw a few jianghu spirits from them. It was true that besides the Fulu Sect, Lingfa Sect, and Danding Sect, there were also some Daoists who used the Daoist temple to avoid taxes and officials, but actually practiced martial arts and mixed in the jianghu.

"Greetings."

The Third Senior Brother bowed first and said: "We are Taoists from Fuqiu Temple in Mount Yishan. We have always cultivated in seclusion. We brought a donkey to carry luggage on a long journey. However, our Donkey Senior Brother is always obedient and will neither bark nor defecate randomly. It is fate to be on the same boat with the three of you, please forgive me."

"Where is Mount Yishan?"

"People in the jianghu don't pay attention to so much! But brother, why do you bring a delicate young man and a little girl when you walk in the world?"

The two jianghu people asked one after another.

"Mount Yishan? Tiandou Lotus?"

The scholar returned the salute and asked.

"Yixian County Mount Yishan, very remote. These two are my Junior Brother and Junior Sister. This time I took them out to attend the Grand Daoist Ritual on Mount Mingzhou to gain some knowledge," the Third Senior Brother answered one by one, and then looked at the scholar. "This benefactor is truly knowledgeable. It is indeed that Mount Yishan with Tiandou Peak and Lotus Peak."

The two jianghu people were disappointed and shouted "Qi".

Originally seeing them carrying long swords at their waists, and the Third Shixiong carrying a wine gourd, they thought they were jianghu people, but it turned out they weren't, and they were literary, so they felt it was meaningless.

The scholar's eyes lit up.

"I haven't been there either, but I have heard that although Mount Yishan is remote and dangerous, the scenery is the best in the world. Therefore, there is a poem like 'Let him be a guest returning from the Five Mountains, seeing Tiandou is also called strange'."

"This is true."

"Go, go!" A jianghu person shouted loudly, "There are six people, and two animals of different sizes, and they are all walking long distances. How much money do you want to earn in one trip? There is no place to sleep at night!"

The little fox immediately tilted its head and stared at him.

The boatman's response came from outside.

So the canopy boat slowly left the shore.

It happened to be windy, so the sails were hung and they walked with the wind.

The inside of the boat cabin was very simple. There was a fixed long wooden bench on the left and right, which could be used for sitting. There was also a small fire stove, some rain gear, fishing nets, fishing gear, pots, bowls, basins, and ladles. The luggage was placed in the middle at will. Lin Jue and the three sat on the left hand side in the direction of progress, and the three sat on the right hand side.

Lin Jue was looking at the boat cabin, and his Xiao Xiao Shimei was learning from him with a serious face, turning her head to look everywhere.

The fox was obediently lying at his feet.

Although this boat was not small, it was not like a building ship, which had accommodation space. At night, unless there was an inn where they docked, I was afraid they could only make do for a night in the boat cabin or on the boat deck.

The fox sniffed its nose.

Lin Jue also inhaled silently.

The two jianghu people opposite hadn't bathed for too long, and their bodies were not only sour, but also had a strong smell. Not only that, their behavior and speech were also very unparticular.

Originally, the Third Shixiong had a jianghu spirit and was also an open-minded person, but jianghu people also have to see whether they are speculative when making friends. After chatting for a few words on the boat, he found that their speech was vulgar, but the young scholar was very polite, so he didn't talk to them anymore, just chatted with the scholar.

But then again, where in this world is not the jianghu? Who among the people encountered in the mountains and fields is not a jianghu person?

If you are speculative, chat, and make friends to your heart's content.

While Lin Jue was looking around, the two jianghu people were also looking at them. To be precise, they were looking at his Xiao Xiao Shimei. Perhaps they thought his Xiao Xiao Shimei looked good. Jianghu people are bold and straightforward, and their eyes are not avoided.

His Xiao Xiao Shimei had a serious face and also aimed at them. After a while, Lin Jue stood up and walked to the boat deck outside.

As expected, the little fox and his Xiao Xiao Shimei stood up at the same time and followed him to the outside.

There was space in front and behind the canopy, and the donkey stood in the back, but the front was also spacious. Once standing up, the moist and refreshing breeze on the water surface blew on his face, which was very comfortable.

If the weather was good, at night, it might not be impossible to sleep on this, drifting in the quiet water, watching the stars in the sky spinning, thinking it would be very happy.

At this time, the boatman was adjusting the sails.

Lin Jue had nothing to do, stroked the fox's body, rubbed off a tuft of hair, scattered it in the wind, and chatted with the boatman casually: "Boatman, are the wind and waves usually big on this river?"

"As long as there is no flood and no encounter with Tuo Dragon water yaoguai, the waves are not big. Even if there is some wind, it can only push the boat to walk," the boatman said with a smile. "Daoist, don't worry, my boat is very stable."

"It's good to be stable!"

"Haha, as long as the Daoist's donkey is not frightened, it will definitely not fall down."

"Don't worry about my Donkey Shixiong."

"Why does the Daoist call the donkey Shixiong?"

"I also call it that following a few senior brothers," Lin Jue said. "Probably because it entered the Daoist temple before us, so naturally it is called Shixiong."

"The Daoist is a high person..."

"Don't dare, don't dare," Lin Jue said hurriedly, and then said to him, "Boatman running a boat on this river is also a good way to make a living."

"What's good? Wind, rain, sun, snow, even if you are not exhausted, you will have pain all over your body when you are old," the boatman shook his head. "And now the world is not stable, and there are fewer people taking the boat."

"Isn't there quite a lot?"

"Is the Taoist going to Mount Mingzhou to open a Taoist meeting?"

"Hmm? How does the boatman know?"

"How can I not know about such a big thing? Many good men and believing women are rushing there, and there are also many dignitaries. It is only recently that there are more people going to Mount Mingzhou," the boatman said. "In the past, there were not so many people taking the boat at all. There were more people running boats on the water than people taking boats. Moreover, someone was harmed on the water a few days ago. The government investigated for a long time, ruined the reputation, and fewer people came to take the boat."

"At least you can earn some money," Lin Jue thought of his uncle and aunt, and couldn't help but sigh, "It's better than digging for food in the fields, facing the loess and backing the sky, and not seeing a few copper coins in a year."

"It's all hard work..."

While the two were talking, the two jianghu people behind had loud voices and didn't cover them, and the sound was also transmitted.

They were discussing the mountain where birds and mice lived in the same hole behind.

"The people in this place are okay. Find a hole in the mountain, touch it casually, and you can touch birds and bird eggs. You eat birds every day, stew bird soup, roast bird meat. Where else is there so much meat to eat!"

"Don't say! I've fallen in love with this bird meat!"

"It won't be easy to eat in the future..."

The boatman was not young and was a talkative person. Hearing them talking, he couldn't help but echo: "Guest, you are joking. Although we have birds and mice living in the same hole in this place, birds are not so easy to catch, and we don't usually eat birds. There are some taboos about this."

"You taboo is your taboo, we are not people from this place, what taboo do we have?" a jianghu person said.

"It's not a taboo, it's easy to get sick if you eat it."

"What disease? Don't curse me!"

That jianghu person immediately raised his eyebrows.

"Haha..."

The boatman laughed twice.

"Brother Wang, what is this saying? Why won't it be easy to eat in the future? Where are there no birds?" The two jianghu people continued to talk, "Just hit it!"

"How can it be so easy to hit?"

"If you can't hit wild birds, can't you hit swallows?"

When the boatman heard this, he couldn't help but say: "Swallows are house sparrows, how can you hit swallows to eat?"

"You boatman! Just drive your boat well, why do you like to answer so much? The world is so big, there are no birds in this place, and there are no birds in other places?" a jianghu person said.

"We eat swallows!" another jianghu person said, "We poked two swallows in the inn this morning to eat."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

When the boatman heard the person in front talking, he was still smiling and nodding, but when he heard the person behind say this, his hand shook and he was startled.

"What did the guest say?"

"What's wrong? You boatman, why are you startled? Drive your boat well!"

"Did the guest say you ate swallows this morning?"

"So what if I ate swallows? Does it hinder you?"

"Really?"

"You boatman!"

"Oh! No! Don't the guests know that you can't eat swallows on the waterway?" The boatman's face was already pale, and he hurriedly adjusted the direction, looking like he wanted to turn around in the middle of the mountains and water.

"Why can't you eat swallows on the waterway? What happens if you eat it?"

Before he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.

It was clearly sunny with white clouds, and the wind was calm and the waves were calm, but at this time, this canopy boat was undulating quite violently.

Deng deng deng—

The two jianghu people stood up immediately, took their knives and swords, and ran to the boat deck in a few steps to look out.

The clear water under the boat was deep, but suddenly waves rose.

The waves in front had a thousand layers. At first they were small, but one layer was higher than the other, like a water monster passing through, a big yaoguai draining water, lifting the canopy boat up and down.

But the back was good.

"Peng!"

A water column rose in the river, like a tornado, aiming at the jianghu people on the boat deck.

The jianghu martial artist practiced the Dao of the cart and jin. These two people, not to mention their character, still had skills. Suddenly one jumped up on the spot, and one dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding it.

However, when they landed, the canopy boat was shaking.

The two jianghu people almost couldn't stand firm.

"Peng peng!"

Two more water column tornadoes.

The two jianghu people barely stood firm. Caught off guard, they couldn't avoid it at all, and this water column was as thick as a water basin, and the force was not something that human power could easily resist. The two were flushed off the boat.

"Wu... save... save..."

A burst of splashing water and blurred shouting.

Lin Jue only had time to push his Xiao Xiao Shimei into the boat cabin, watching the two fall into the water, struggling and splashing in the water, as if they knew how to swim but didn't know how to swim well. Just as he was about to take his whistle stick, he suddenly saw them being pulled by something, and with a splash, the whole person disappeared into the river water. ===== CHAPTER 88 =====

The two martial artists barely managed to stand firm, but caught off guard, they had no time to dodge. This water column was as thick as a washbasin, and its force was not something human strength could easily resist; the two were instantly swept off the boat.

"Ugh... save..."

A burst of splashing water and muffled cries.

Lin Jue only had time to push his junior sister into the cabin. Watching the two fall into the water, struggling and flailing desperately—as if they could swim but not very well—he was just about to reach for his whistle-staff when he suddenly saw them pulled by something. With a splash, they vanished into the river water.