chewing dragon

Chapter 133 Sacrifice
Qi Jingzhi woke up suddenly, stretched out his hand to grab the scabbard of the bull-eared sharp knife, and jumped up from the bed.

He swept past the house like a big bird, and rushed straight to the door that was opened a crack at some time.

In a blink of an eye, I saw a child about four feet tall and wearing a maroon dress screamed in a low voice, and disappeared through the crack of the door.

Qi Jingzhi pulled open the door without hesitation, rushed to the corridor and looked around, but the child had long since disappeared, only a palm-sized maroon cloth bag was thrown on the ground in front of the door, the inside was bulging, and he didn't know how to pretend. what.

Qi Jingzhi frowned, and looked around again, but saw that the night was dark, the doors of the surrounding guest rooms were all closed, and there was no candlelight, only the faint sounds of snoring, grinding teeth, and dreaming, mixed with a few words A half-dream curse.

Although Qi Huchan's saber blare was loud just now, it was extremely short and did not startle a few people.

He looked down at the lobby below again, and saw that the door had been bolted, the stools were neatly turned upside down on the table, the floor was clean, and there were still faint traces of dampness. He thought it would be carefully swept by the shop assistant after closing.

There are two tables pushed together by the door, and a guy is wrapped in a quilt and sleeps on it, and the sound of snoring can be heard even on the second floor.

Qi Jingzhi stared intently for a long while, but didn't see anything unusual about the guy, then bent his knees and squatted down, and used the tip of Qi Huchan's knife to pry open the straps of the cloth bag under his feet.

The cloth pouch tilted suddenly, and several dark red dates rolled out from the mouth of the pouch, each of them was full of grains, and the faint aroma of dates mixed with the aroma of wine wafted out.

Qi Jingzhi is very familiar with the aroma of this kind of wine, it is the Qu'a Yellow Wine that he and Wei Yingdian drank in the evening.

Qi Jingzhi's heart shuddered, he immediately held his breath, sealed his mouth and nose with the air of pine, cypress and first wood, and felt for a moment before he confirmed that there was nothing unusual about his body.

Slightly relieved, he put the sharp knife into the jujube bag and stirred it, but found nothing unusual, then covered his palm with the hazy feather coat, picked up the dates scattered on the ground one by one back into the bag, tied them So he tied the rope and took it back to the room.

He closed the door tightly, picked up the wooden horizontal bolt on the ground and dropped it behind the door. Although this thing is not very useful, it is better than nothing to guard against gentlemen rather than villains.

Putting the jujube sac on the table casually, Qi Jingzhi sat back on the bed and continued to sit and meditate. As for the child who pried open the door late at night and gave him dates to eat, since he didn't show obvious malice, he didn't seem to have the courage and courage to do evil. Ability, there is no need to delve into the fundamentals.

This town of Qu'a is really weird, it's not wise to go out to search for it late at night.

So far, there was nothing to say all night, until the early morning light, Qi Jingzhi didn't notice anything unusual, and Qi Huchan remained quiet as usual.

The inn staff started a busy day. Someone went up to the second floor and knocked on the door to wake up the guests who were going to get up early. The sounds of tables and chairs bumping, doors and windows opening and closing, walking and talking gradually filled the inn.

Suddenly, a loud voice yelled in the lobby downstairs, and it was heard clearly in Qi Jingzhi's ears through the door: "Shopkeeper, I never imagined that your shop is a prostitution den! If you don't give an explanation today, I will give you an explanation." You have to sue the government and close your store!"

The innkeeper immediately called Qu: "Guest officer, don't speak nonsense. This inn is a well-known inn, and it has always been doing business. How did the word "prostitution" come from?"

"Hmph, there was a disheveled and almost naked woman who knocked on my door last night. I don't think she is a resident of the store. How dare you say that you are letting such dissolute and shameless night-runners in. Lair?"

Qi Jingzhi opened his eyes, he couldn't help being a little surprised: "There are quite a lot of tricks in this inn at night."

He got up and picked up the jujube bag on the table, went out and leaned on the railing to overlook, and saw a young scholar standing in front of the counter, glaring at the innkeeper.

Upstairs and downstairs, there are already many alarmed residents watching, some are amazed and excited, some are contemptuous and unbelieving, and most of the rest are full of envy and fascination.

The innkeeper and a few guys standing in the hall looked up and down at the scholar, with a strange look of hesitating to speak.

The young scholar was looked at quite uncomfortable, and asked with a sullen face: "Why is this shopkeeper so rude, I came to you to ask for an explanation, why are you staring at me?"

The shopkeeper didn't hesitate any more when he heard the words, and his tone was cautious: "The guest officer didn't let that woman in?"

Hearing this, the young scholar's face suddenly flushed red, and his voice lowered a bit: "Student...students are the ones who want to sternly refuse, so she just slipped in by herself, it's really... really shameless! "

As soon as the scholar said this, the whole room burst into laughter.

The shopkeeper of the inn couldn't help laughing, shook his head and said, "Guest officer, aren't you still acting good when you get a bargain?"

The young scholar was originally blushing and kept silent, but when he heard the words, he became angry again, and said unhappily: "I see that she is not clothed, and although she is lewd, she is somewhat pitiful, so I gave it as a gift with a jade pendant. I want her to stay overnight, and I will be the District Office after dawn. I don’t want to get up early this morning, and this girl and my family’s jade pendant have disappeared!”

He paused, pointed to the door of the inn and said: "After closing, your house is closed and locked, but that woman can come in and out freely, she must be in collusion with you, the store, to seize the property of the guests!"

Speaking of this, the young scholar turned around and bowed to the guests who were watching the excitement: "The student endured the humiliation, and he did not hesitate to ruin his reputation to tell the matter in public, just to warn everyone, don't let it go!" This store's way has ended up with nothing but personal wealth!"

After saying these words, many guests immediately changed their faces and started clamoring one after another. Many of the shopkeepers seemed to smash the inn if they didn't give an explanation, sending the shopkeeper and the waiters to the officials for justice.

Seeing the turmoil of the crowd, the innkeeper finally changed his face, and hurriedly said loudly: "Guests, please be safe and don't be impatient, and listen to what the villain has to say!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the young scholar again, and said seriously: "Guest officer, you said that there were prostitutes running around at night last night. This kind of thing happens from time to time in our town of Qu'a, not only at night, but also during the day. .Speaking of which, that woman... that woman is not actually a human being!"

The young scholar was startled when he heard the words, and then he was furious: "What are you talking about? That woman is as warm as jade and has a shadow under the lamp. How come you are not even human?"

The surrounding audience also buzzed, and there were voices of discussion everywhere.

The innkeeper didn't mean to joke at all: "There are many otters in the mountains, rivers and lakes of Qu'e Town. Otters are promiscuous, and they often look for those young and handsome youngsters. This is really common in the local area. It is "Yunxiang There is also a record in the "County Chronicles" that "the otter girl recruits her husband". If the guest officer doesn't believe it, he can go to the street and find someone from his hometown to inquire about it, and he will find out if he asks!"

Hearing what the innkeeper said, the young scholar's face suddenly became cloudy.

Seeing his appearance, the shopkeeper immediately smiled and said: "If the villain's guess is correct, the girl's fingers should be much shorter than ordinary people last night, maybe there is still some foul smell on her body, I don't know..."

At this moment, the young scholar couldn't bear it any longer, turned around and ran back to a room with closed doors and windows on the second floor.

But after a while, he came out in a daze, holding a bunch of green things tightly in his hands. When everyone looked closely, they turned out to be aquatic weeds such as weeds and apples.

The innkeeper raised his head and saw it, with a clear smile on his face: "It must be the clothes that the woman is wearing."

All the spectators in the hall were stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter again, and some of them cheered loudly: "The scholar gave the jade pendant, and the otter girl returned the skirt. It is really a good story! Shopkeeper, what happened today is worthy of writing." Into the county chronicle?"

"Haha, this man is so honest, but don't let others tell you what to believe! We have all seen the fragrant clothes that the otter girl gave to the scholar now, so it is true! But did the scholar give someone a jade pendant?" But it’s hard to say! It can’t be said that you are afraid of poverty, so you don’t want to lose face, and you want to use this water plant to extort money from other people’s inn!"

As soon as these words came out, all the onlookers laughed and clamored again, and became more and more excited.

The smile on the innkeeper's face could not be concealed no matter what, but he just cupped his hands in all directions and said nothing.

Seeing this, the young scholar couldn't help feeling ashamed and angry, and suddenly threw the water plants in his hand at his feet, then covered his face with his sleeves, and hid in the room.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the spectators upstairs and downstairs gradually dispersed, busy with their own livelihoods, and went their separate ways.

Qi Jingzhi turned around and closed the door, walked down the stairs with the jujube bag, and stood in front of the counter.

The shopkeeper, who had already lowered his head to look at the account, raised his eyes, and immediately asked respectfully, "What's your order?"

Qi Jingzhi was about to speak, but there was someone behind him who spoke up first, with a very urgent tone: "Shopkeeper, you just said that there are many otters in the mountains, rivers and lakes, and there is a lake near Qu'e Town?"

Qi Jingzhi was quite familiar with the speaker's voice, but when he looked back, it was Wei Yingdian who smelled of alcohol and looked tired.

Seeing this old man staring with bloodshot eyes, as if he was about to eat the innkeeper, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help asking in surprise, "Brother Wei, what are you?"

Wei Yingdian cupped his hands at the young man indiscriminately, but he never took his eyes off the innkeeper, and asked again: "Where is there a lake near here? My ancestral home is Xunyang County, Junzhou. Although it is not Yunxiang County, it is also in Xunjiang County. The distance between the two waterways is less than [-] miles, why have I never heard of a lake near here!"

Hearing this, the face of the shopkeeper of the inn showed a look of surprise. Although Wei Yingdian didn't know why Wei Yingdian paid so much attention to this matter, he still nodded and said: "The guest officer doesn't know that there was indeed no lake in Qu'e Town originally, but only five years later. A while ago, the former county magistrate made great efforts to promote water conservancy, and he took a fancy to the land surrounded by mountains and valleys, which is five miles southeast of this town and next to the Xunjiang River."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pointed out the east window of the inn, and he could just see a shadowy mountain shadow in the southeast direction.

In fact, Qi Jingzhi and Wei Yingdian had seen that mountain from a distance when they were blowing the wind from the bow of the boat.

I heard the innkeeper continue to say: "After inspecting the terrain in person, the county governor ordered the use of manpower from the three nearby counties. It took more than three years to dig the soil in that depression, and built an embankment for [-] miles, and diverted the water from the Xunjiang River to irrigate it. , to create a large lake with a radius of tens of miles, which is used to regulate and store mountain torrents, irrigation and economic transportation."

"Because this lake is located on the side of Qu'e Town, it was named Qu'e Back Lake by the county magistrate. This lake has only been built not long ago. The guest officer must have been away from home for many years. It's not unusual to have never heard of it."

The innkeeper is worthy of being a leader in the industry in a place where business travelers gather. His speech is quite knowledgeable and well-organized, and he can clearly explain the origin of Qu'a Houhu in a few words.

At the end, he glanced at the room where the young scholar was before, and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, since the establishment of Qu'ahou Lake, the rumors about the otter girl recruiting husbands in the town have gradually decreased. There are often gorgeous women who paddle alone on the lake, luring middle-aged men to make peace in the boat, and even the frivolous prodigal sons from all over the world rush there, so there are fewer dirty things in the town. "

Hearing this, the eagerness on Wei Yingdian's face eased a little, and he was a little dazed for some reason, before he nodded slightly after a while and said: "The letters from my relatives and friends in my village have indeed mentioned that the county has been doing more water conservancy projects in recent years. I also recruited civilians to build dikes and dams, and I didn't expect such a scale in Yunxiang County."

He paused, and then asked later: "Dare to ask the shopkeeper, is there such a house next to the embankment of Qu'e Houhu Lake? There are two extremely tall jujube trees planted in the courtyard. Stretching out to the lake, the jujubes on the tree are as big as walnuts, all of them are deep red and plump, looking from a distance, they seem to be full of red clouds?"

After Wei Yingdian finished speaking in one breath, he looked at the shopkeeper with both bewilderment and anticipation.

Hearing this remark, the shopkeeper suddenly showed the strange gaze he had when he looked at the scholar before, with a look of surprise and hesitation to speak.

Being stared at by the other party, Wei Yingdian obviously couldn't bear it any longer. He coughed immediately, and with the air of returning to the capital, he asked in a solemn voice: "Yes or not?"

The innkeeper's eyes were vicious, and he straightened his position almost immediately, and his already hunchbacked back became a little shorter: "Yes! The house the guest officer mentioned is also far away because of the two jujube trees. famous."

Wei Yingdian's pupils narrowed, and his voice was almost broken, his voice became a little higher: "Where is that house? Who lives in it?

"Beside the lake embankment in the southwest corner of Qu'a Hou Lake, there is only an old woman living in the yard, because the dates on her tree are very good, not only fresh, sweet and delicious, but even more strange is that she is born with a Qu'a Everyone who has tasted the rice wine is full of praise for the aroma of the rice wine, and as time goes by, everyone calls her Jujube."

"Scent of wine? Jujube woman?" Wei Yingdian's expression changed, making it impossible to tell whether it was joy or sorrow.

Hearing this, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but look down at the jujube pouch in his hand, feeling something was wrong in his heart.

He stretched out his hand and pulled Wei Yingdian aside, and asked in a low voice: "Brother Wei, you don't even know about Qu'ahou Lake, so how did you know about the house planted with jujube trees?"

Wei Yingdian was still a little hesitant at first, but suddenly saw the jujube pouch in Qi Jingzhi's hand, and immediately widened his eyes.

He snatched one and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and before he could even swallow it, he asked in amazement: "Brother Qi, where did you get this date from?"

Qi Jingzhi shook his head: "Brother Wei, please answer the question below!"

Wei Yingdian gave him a fixed look, as if he finally remembered the extraordinaryness of the young man in front of him.

He no longer hesitated, looked left and right, dragged Qi Jingzhi to an unoccupied corner of the inn lobby, thought about his words and said seriously: "This is a bit absurd to say, brother Yu fell into a dream after drinking last night, and saw an old woman Burn incense under the two big jujube trees in the courtyard and set up a sacrifice, and the sacrifice is exactly this kind of jujube with the aroma of wine!"

"Ok?"

Qi Jingzhi was surprised when he heard the words: "Brother Wei can dream of a place he has never set foot in and a person he has never met. This is a miracle. But where does this absurd word come from?"

Hearing this question, the corners of Wei Yingdian's mouth twitched, and he immediately lowered his voice to the lowest possible level: "Brother Yu woke up from a dream, his mouth was full of the smell of wine, and there was still a scent of dates between his lips and teeth! I asked the boy who followed me, last night There is absolutely no such thing among the things you and I drink! In this way, it is impossible to say that the old woman made a sacrifice at night, and the one who went to enjoy the sacrifice is Brother Yu!"

"I have worked in the Ministry of Rites for many years, and I have heard and seen a lot whether it is evil gods' obscenity or sacrificial rituals. I don't want to suddenly become the spirit of sacrifice for no reason!"

Speaking of this, the former doctor of the Ministry of Rites of Daqi stroked his cheek with his hand, and his tone became unpredictable: "Brother Qi, do you think Brother Yu is dead? Or...became a god?"

(End of this chapter)