Chapter 16:

"So, are you planning to go back to find that Li Langjun?" Yuan Xianger said.
"Of course, I miss him very much in my heart." Xiaodi seems to have forgotten the "little" unhappiness between him and the prince, and only misses the goodness in his heart.
Yuan Xiang'er glanced at her, but stopped talking a little. Fifty years of time may be just a short moment for the demons, but for humans it is basically the life of Huangtong to Baisou.
Perhaps the life span is too long, the memory of monsters is often shallow and selective, and the concept of time is also very weak. When Yuan Xiang'er came to this yard for two years, Thieves would often think that she only arrived at Xiaowa yesterday.
"So, do you still remember where you lived?"
Sure enough, the horns were questioned.
"Oops, I don't remember." She thought for a moment in panic, "I only remember that there are two rivers that converge in that town. There is a river temple by the river. There is a golden treasure on the roof of the temple. gourd."
"I know this place, it seems to be Lianghe Town, not far from here." Yuan Xianger thought for a while, "If it is Lianghe Town, I can accompany you to visit."
Early in the morning of the second day, Yuan Xianger packed up and prepared to go to Lianghe Town adjacent to Queqiu Town.
A white dumpling limped to the door,
"Does Xiao Nan want to go together too?" Yuan Xianger bent over and squatted down.
The male's low voice suddenly sounded, and he only said one sentence, "You are not the opponent of this snake."
Nan He's voice is actually very nice, but he rarely speaks, so that Yuan Xianger can't associate such a cello-like voice with that furry little guy.
What he said was simple and indifferent, but he was actually not at ease with this snake monster.
Yuan Xiang'er quickly caught the awkward concern from Nan He, and happily softened the blue pad he used to go out, hugged Xiao Nan He and put it in.
The horn turned into a small snake with the thickness of a finger, and it was wrapped in a small bamboo cage. In order to prevent her from violently and hurting people, Yuan Xianger put a sealed talisman on the mouth of the cage and put the bamboo cage together in the basket.
When she said goodbye to Yun Niang, Yun Niang saw it and said in surprise: "Oh, where did the little snake come from? How can I bring this to Lianghe Town?"
Outside the gate, Yuan Xiang'er hurriedly lifted the cage where the horn was located, and asked quietly, "Are you not in a secret body?"
"Why do you want to hide your body?" The horns raised a small snake head in the cage and opened six eyes at the same time, "You see I have become so much like this, basically the same as the snake in the world, there is no need to be invisible anymore, right? ?"
"You are not allowed to show six eyes at the same time, no, no, one is not allowed, only two left and right. Yes, that's it. If you want to make three more eyes, I will cover the cage."
...
There were a lot of carts and horses traveling between Queqiu and Lianghe Town. Yuan Xianger paid five large sums of money and boarded an ox cart that transported firewood.
There was a heavy rain just last night, the temperature dropped sharply, the water stains on the ground had formed thin ice, and the wheels creaked. The trees on both sides of the road lost their leaves, leaving only bare trunks.
Sitting on the swaying ox cart and looking at the tree trunks that were speeding backwards, Yuan Xianger suddenly remembered the situation when she was lying on her master's back and walking along the green forest road to Queqiu Town.
"Ah, you said you met my master fifty years ago?" Yuan Xianger suddenly discovered something wrong in this story, "what did my master look like at that time?"
"Mr. is a fairy-like character. Of course, his appearance is also first-class. He will be like a star, green bamboo and jade reflected, and there is no other in the world, and it is forgotten to see..." Yu Yao looked admired. .
It turned out that Master was the same as it is now fifty years ago. Yuan Xianger was both surprised and admired in her heart. Perhaps Master has cultivated to the unity of life and Tao, reached the state of longevity, long-term vision, and full nature.
It's a pity that Madam is an ordinary person who can't cultivate the Tao. Yuan Xianger thought about it carefully, and suddenly remembered that Madam Madam hadn't changed significantly in her appearance over the years. The gentry surnamed Zhou who was found in the town a few days ago also said that Madam's appearance is the same as she was 20 years ago.
The bullock cart swayed all the way to Lianghe Town.
Perhaps it was because the town had changed so much in the past fifty years that Xiao Di couldn't find the luxurious house where he once lived.
"I lived alone in the backyard at the time and rarely had any contact with outsiders. I just remember that the place where I lived was carved with beams and painted buildings, magnificent and magnificent, occupying most of the street." The dynasty said while looking at the familiar street.
She only knew her Langjun's surname, Li, but she didn't even know his full name. Fifty years ago, a young man with the surname Li had little information to find someone in a densely populated town. It was almost a needle in a haystack, and there was no way to find it.
Yuan Xianger, tired of walking, sat in a teahouse to rest. Ordered a pot of Longjing dim sum on the second floor lounge, and placed Nanhe and Xiaodi's cages on the table together to let them breathe.
In a corner of the teahouse venue is a stand. A storyteller who is over sixty years old is wearing a long gown and holding a Sanxian in his arms. He is talking on the stage vividly.
It happened to be the storyteller, who said exactly the story between Xiaodi and Li Sheng fifty years ago. It turned out that there was a lot of trouble in the local area back then, and some literati and influential people wrote the storytelling "Li Sheng Meets Snake" according to the legend, and it is still talked about by local residents.
I saw that gentleman shook the strings, the sound of the strings turned a thousand times, like a cry like a cry, grabbing the audience's attention.
"But Li Sheng, since he married the snake's wife, his family business has been prospering day by day. No one knew it back then. Just outside the door on this purple stone street, he rode a horse from the street for a quarter of an hour. It’s not out of the scope of Li’s house. The house’s courtyard is filled with strange flowers and stones, charming slaves and maidservants, gold bricks paving the ground, silver forged into mountains and rocks, Lingluo wrapped in branches, and red wax for firewood. The owner is generous. , Sing songs every night, guests at a big banquet. It's a splendid wealth and endless glory."
"If you can have such a glory and wealth, let alone marry a snake wife, it is the fox wife, the ghost wife, I will also marry!" A big man in the audience heard the excitement and shot The table echoed.
"I heard that the snake wife, who looks like an immortal, can hook the soul of a man with just one glance. Is it right?" Another person screamed.
For these ordinary people who listen to books, the story is the most attractive character in the story.
"You guys, stay calm, and listen to me slowly." The storyteller shook his head and said, "The lady was coaxed by Li Sheng and kept in the backyard, so that no one could easily see it. So this is a huge couple. Few people in Hezhen have seen her really good-looking. Old and talented, when she was young, she was fortunate to have a glimpse of the fairy face."
The gray-haired old man talked about his childhood, and he was slightly proud: "Back then, a naughty boy who was less than ten years old, kicked a sepak takraw ball into the backyard of Li's house when he was playing cuju. Go and find. I will come down from the wall and hear a woman’s laughter coming from afar, so I quietly searched for the laughter, only to see a swing in the courtyard, and a woman in Tsing Yi sitting there On the swing, it was high up in the sky, making a series of bell-like laughter. The old student was a child back then, although he only caught a glimpse of the lady, he would never forget it."
"You old poor and poor, what does the lady look like, you just say you." The people off the court were anxious.
The storyteller sighed and pulled the Sanxian, the melody was mellow and beautiful, and sang along with the tune.
"Yangliu waist with hibiscus noodles, crescent moon Emei's crimson lips, full autumn water eyes and sentimental, misty and scented Luo body is scented, no one looks like ice and snow in the world, dare to be a fairy to fall into the earth."
The listeners at the scene listened to the limericks chanted from the heart of the storyteller, and they couldn't help but think of the beauty of the beautiful woman fifty years ago, and exclaimed.
Even Yuan Xiang'er and Nan He were attracted by the old man's circumstantial way of speaking, and couldn't help holding Yajian's lean on the railing to look down.
The horned head straightened his head with his tail crossed in the cage, and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that's right. I'm just so beautiful."
"It's a sigh that the world is inadequate, and the desires are hard to settle. That Li was born with such a beautiful family, splashing the sky and wealth, but he is not very satisfied. He wants to have a good future, but he can't stand the hard work of that hard study. So he took up the idea of ​​the former Gao Xiaolang, Miss Gao's family. Holding Jinshan Yinshan to the door to ask for marriage, she also coaxed that lady into a concubine."
There was another sighing and discussion in the audience.
Someone said: "Zi Niangzi is a mountain, wild and charming, and there is no three-media or six-employee, but a private meeting at night, without a match, and you should be a concubine."
There are also poor scholars who have substituted into the story themselves, pretending to be infatuated and authentic, "If there is such a beautiful woman who can add fragrance to my red sleeves and help the young student to study hard, then the young student will live up to her. Such a friendship."
The sound of the piano on stage turned sharp, noisy, like a jade on the plate, drums rang in unison, and the story turned into the most climax period.
"Thinking that Li Sheng headed up to the horse, proudly, when he married his bride. Suddenly a strange wind blew on the side of the road, I saw flying sand and rocks, the wind was turbulent, and a pair of lanterns were raised in the sky in the dim, swaying, and approaching. Before, it was originally the two eyes of a big snake in the mountains. The big snake opened its mouth, and a fishy wind blew up and overturned the sedan chair. The bride rolled off the sedan chair, and the groom fell off the horse. For a time, a team of welcoming relatives turned their backs on their horses, crying for their fathers and their mothers. The guest officials asked why? It was the snake's wife who overturned the jealousy, unwilling to show her true shape and came to stir up."
Hearing this, the men who were still clamoring about marrying snake wives couldn't help but shrank their backs and shrank their necks.
"Then Li Sheng and Snake's wife have been together for a long time, and he knows the details of his wife. He has already spent a lot of money to find a number of high-practice mages, posing as potential welcomers in the team. Beware of this moment. For a time, the golden charm, the treasure volley, all Catch this snake demon. Who knows that Niangzi has a deep and aggressive manner, and the wizards can't help but kill her on the purple stone street, blood is flowing, the house ruined the house, but nothing. Now at the end of the street, There is still a three-foot-deep stone pit, which is the trace of the snake demon’s tail thrown off at that time, so it is called the pit of falling snakes. Fortunately, a man of the Taoist walked by and walked through. Supernatural power, surrendered that snake demon. Otherwise, whether Lianghe Town still exists in this world today is unknown, it is not known."
The storyteller stopped the piano and sang a tragic song, and then sighed again, "At that time, Lady Zie was restrained by the mage and turned into a shining little snake on the ground. You Zi raised his head and couldn't help looking at the Li Sheng, but Sigh that Li Sheng was ruthless and unrighteous. He was only busy supporting the new wife of the servant's house, where he still cared about the old snake demon. Since the mage took the snake demon away, since then there is no snake wife in the world. Say."
"What happened to that lady?"
"Nobody knows how the Snake Lady is. But Li Sheng in that story is from our town. You must all know his ending, so there is no need for Xiaosheng to say more. There is only one sentence for the kings, good and evil In the end there will be a reward, and Huang Liang will have a dream. It is better for us to live a lifetime and do less ungrateful things."
The storyteller sighed the ending, put down the Sanxian and took out a tray, and then went to find a reward. "Today's "The Story of Li Sheng Meets the Snake" is served here for the guest officials. If you feel a little bit interesting, please A generous reward or two."
When Yuan Xiang'er passed downstairs, Yuan Xiang'er reached out and dropped a few big money from the railing, and asked with a smile, "Sir, I'm from a different place. It's very interesting to hear this story. I want to ask you about it, who Who is the character Li Sheng in the story is still alive today."
The people around burst into laughter, "I'm alive, I'm living well, living a life like a god."
The storyteller put away the big money, and said with a smile, "Little lady, don’t listen to these pompous talks. Since Li Sheng drove away the snake’s wife and married Miss Gao, he thought he would be able to rely on his father-in-law soon. Qingyun went straight up. Who knows that people are not as good as the sky. The high servant had committed a crime in Kyoto and needed a lot of money to fill the bottomless pit of the lawsuit. Only then did he marry the young lady of the family to him, the rich man. It is just Tu Lisheng's family. That’s it."
"Poor, that Li Sheng made all his wealth, and ultimately failed to keep his father-in-law's official position. The couple, one is a weak scholar and the other is Miss Jin Gui. Both of them are incompetent in general affairs, and they can't put down the ostentation for the sake of face. Some money, just as if the snow-capped mountains disappeared in a while, and disappeared without knowing it. After years of learning and discussion, the days went from bad to worse, and the husband and wife beat and scolded each other all day, but there was no child left. It’s sad to be a beggar on the street if it is kept by people. Therefore, the folk saying here is that a snake is a guardian immortal. If you usually see it in the courtyard, you can’t be scared. If it is respected, it can protect the house. Prosperity, life hurt, wealth and wealth. This Li Sheng does not believe in evil, and he will eventually get the reward, and he can't blame anyone."
There was someone with good deeds around him, stretching his neck and shouting: "If the little lady wants to see the appearance of Li Sheng, now open the window and look at the one who is sleeping in the quagmire across the street."
Yuan Xianger opened the window according to his words.
At noon in winter, the sun was a little dazzling.
An old beggar was sitting in the sun in the corner across the street, covered in filthy skins and hair, and tremblingly stretched out his thin fingers to scratch his body for lice. Like the dead wood that is about to decay in this winter, it will eventually rot into the mud as the ice and snow melt, and be forgotten by the world.
At this moment, not far from him, across the crowd of people on the street, a woman stood quietly, with a tender lotus face, a red body, with crescent eyebrows, just in time.
"who is this?"
"Which lady, I don't seem to have seen it before?"
"Is there such a beautiful beauty in our town?"
"Speak softly, carefully and offend the lady."
Passing pedestrians whispered, and the young descendants couldn't help but look frequently, and quietly blushed.
Yuan Xianger hurriedly turned to look at the bamboo cage on the table. At some point, the talisman on the cage fell off, the cage door opened wide, and the little snake inside was nowhere to be found.
Ah-Zi couldn't hear the comments around him, as if no one stood still on the street, staring at it.
With this look, she passed through the tumultuous crowd, and passed through decades of time, and she had a dream of spring grass in the pond without realizing it.
The little demon who doesn't know what the years of the world are, always tastes the bitterness of life, such as the sourness of the dew.
"You, are you a scorpion?" The old beggar sitting in the mud shook his hands, squinted his eyes for a long time, and suddenly became excited. He barely got up on crutches, tremblingly separated the crowd, and staggered forward. Pounced.
"Ah, my boy, you are finally back, I'm waiting for you, I've been waiting for you all these years. The immortal master once said that I will live and wait until the day when I see you again. Lie to me, not to lie to me..."
Ah Z backed two steps and looked at the human who was trembling and staggering towards him with a strange expression. Only three or two loose white hairs remained on the top of his head. The skin was dry and loose, and stains were deposited on his face. With the rancid smell all over, he used his toothless mouth to call out his name.
A passer-by who was squeezed into pushed the beggar impatiently, "Smelly beggar, what a scorpion. It's been a long time since decades, stubborn is dreaming of your spring and autumn."
The beggar pounced on the ground, then climbed up again, looking up, only a beam of scorching sunlight was shining on the empty street, and the flying dust in the beam was dancing lightly, as if laughing at the so-called him, nowhere else. What a beautiful woman, a snake wife in a dream.
When he went back in the car, the humanoid Ah-Zi sat quietly in the car, bending his arms on the edge of the car, looking back and staring in the direction of Lianghe Town.
Yuan Xiang'er looked at her white neck and expressionless face, and didn't know how to comfort this friend of a different race from her, "Aren, are you still reluctant to bear that Li...Langjun?"
Ah Z turned his head to look at her for a moment, then shook his head lightly, "If I admire Lang Jun himself, no matter how old he looks, I should be happy to see him. Now it seems that I just admire him. It's just a skin. Fortunately, Mr. has an insight into the world and enlightens me, so that I know what I want in my heart."
The car was getting stronger, and the cold wind hurt the skin on his face.
Yuan Xiang'er fished the furry little wolf onto her knees, took off her cloak, and put it upside down, putting the little wolf and herself together in the big fluffy cloak.
"It's so warm," she said.
Nan He's little head struggled to get out of the cloak,
"You, is your life so short?" The nice bass sounded again.
"Yes, human life is so short." Yuan Xianger looked at the setting sun gradually falling from the top of the rolling hills on the horizon, "In your opinion, it looks like a mayfly. Born in the morning, it will die at night. But fortunately we are Human beings generally don’t think so, and they think that life is quite long, with a lot of troubles and a lot of happiness."
Nan He's voice no longer sounded. Yuan Xiang'er used the cloak to cover him, quietly and recklessly slapped a few on his back, but he did not escape from normal.
It's fluffy, it's so easy to touch. It would be nice if she could be so behaved every day, Yuan Xianger thought with joy.
What is the morning dew, anyway, I am still facing now, so I don’t have to think about twilight.
When returning to Queqiu Town, it was already faint, Yuan Xiang'er was holding the little wolf and was about to open the courtyard door, but Ah Zhe who followed behind stopped.
"I won't go in anymore. I have been disturbed for a long time, and I won't give up, and I will come back to thank you in the future.
She crossed her hands and bowed slightly to salute.