Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes when he heard the sound and looked out of the hall.

I saw a large ship breaking through the sea of ​​clouds and slowly descending. Its bow seemed to be the head of a dragon. The ship was covered with wisps of water vapor. Water droplets kept rolling down, and a hazy sound fell below the ship. Light rain.

It seemed like a dragon carrying the pavilion flew from the depths of the sea to the sea of ​​clouds. Wherever it passed, there was wind and rain.

This is the flying boat.

The flying boat landed in the lake outside the palace, setting off layers of blue waves and filling the air with water vapor. Finally, it floats on the lake like an ordinary building boat.

Qi Xuansu only felt that it was an eye-opener.

No wonder the port is built on the top of a mountain.

After the airship came to a complete stop, a long wooden staircase was lowered from the ship. There were handrails on both sides, and the bottom was connected to a gap in the lake embankment, so that the suspended staircase would not sway at all.

Then a group of people came down the stairs. Most of them were impressive and well-established. They did not stay here and quickly dispersed. A seventh-grade Taoist priest finally walked down the stairs and said loudly: "Please show your ultimatum and jade plaque and board the ship one by one."

Everyone who had been waiting for a long time in the apse began to board the ship one by one. After the seventh-level Taoist priest inspected the ultimatum, he returned the ultimatum to those who boarded the ship, but left the jade token behind, and later returned it to the person in charge of selling tickets. female crown.

Qi Xuansu followed the crowd, checked the ultimatum, and boarded the flying boat.

In fact, this was not the first time Qi Xuansu went to the ancestral court, but last time he took the land route, which was very hard, and it was the first time he went to the ancestral court by flying boat.

The flying boat is a building-style boat, divided into three floors, just like an inn. The first floor is an ordinary room, a single room, not simple at all, with only one bedroom. The second floor is the upper room, which not only has bedrooms, but also is equipped with a small study room, which is specially used by Taoist priests of the fourth grade and above.

As for the third floor, it is where the cardinals control the flying boat. No casual person can enter it. The cabin below is where the formation of the spacecraft can travel in the nine heavens, and it is also forbidden to enter without permission.

The three-story pavilion is connected by stairs internally. After the flying boat takes off, all the doors of the three-story pavilion will be closed and no one can enter or exit. The flying boat will also activate the formation to withstand the fierce wind.

There is still one day left before the flying boat sets sail. At this time, the pavilion is not closed and you can visit it on the deck at will.

Qi Xuansu walked around the deck, looked at the scenery for a while, and then came inside the pavilion. A corridor ran through the entire first floor. On the left and right of the corridor were neatly arranged rooms. Qi Xuansu found his room, which only had a bed and a table. , you can meditate and fall asleep, or you can lie down and fall asleep. There are several Taoist classics on the table, including Tai Sheng's Five Thousand Words, Nan Hua Dao Lord's "Nan Hua Sutra", and several volumes of "Taiping Guang Ji" for passengers to kill time.

Qi Xuansu plans to spend this time by meditating and practicing Qi.

The cultivation methods of each lineage are different. Qi practitioners practice qi, alchemists practice meditation, and martial arts practitioners strengthen their muscles and bones. As a hodgepodge, Sanren can also practice qi and meditate. As for strengthening their muscles and bones, such a bedroom, But I can't stretch my legs and feet to practice boxing.

At this moment, a man with a slightly wretched appearance passed by Qi Xuansu's door. He glanced at him and was startled for a moment, then stopped.

Qi Xuansu, who was about to close the door, noticed this strange man, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Is this fellow Taoist... okay?"

The wretched man smiled wretchedly and asked, "Does this fellow Taoist tell fortunes?"

Qi Xuansu subconsciously thought that the person in front of him was a liar, but then he thought about it, this was a flying boat going to the ancestral court. The people who could ride on the flying boat were all Taoist priests of high rank. What kind of liar would come here to cheat?

Qi Xuansu prevaricated and said perfunctorily: "I am shy in my lower pocket..."

The wretched man smiled and waved his hands: "It doesn't matter, it's fate that you and I meet each other. I won't take any money from you today."

Qi Xuansu heard what this wretched man said, so he had no choice but to invite him into his room.

The wretched man took out something similar to a handkerchief from his sleeve, shook it out vigorously, turned it into the size of a chessboard, and spread it on Qi Xuansu's bed. There was a black and white Yin and Yang Pisces drawn on it, with the words "Iron mouth cut straight" written on the four corners. "Four words.

Qi Xuansu remained calm and did not speak.

The wretched man looked Qi Xuansu up and down, and said with emotion: "Fellow Taoist, you are not simple."

"How do you say this?" Qi Xuansu pretended to be surprised.

The wretched man shook his head and said: "As the saying goes, faces come from the heart, and I happen to know a little bit about the art of face recognition."

Qi Xuansu asked: "I wonder where you learned Taoism?"

The wretched man stroked his sparse beard and said in a deep voice: "Brother Yu is a few years older. He studied Taoism in the Wanshou Chongyang Palace in his early years. Later, he became a minor master of Taoism. Under the order of his master, he went down the mountain to help the world and accumulated external skills. On the river. By the way, I once met Master Donghua by chance. Seeing that I was related to him, Master Donghua taught me the 'Taiwei True Technique'. As long as I practice it persistently, I can see the will of heaven and the atmosphere of the earth."

Having said this, the wretched man's face showed regret, annoyance, helplessness, and sadness, and he continued: "Unfortunately, Brother Yu is a little weak and cannot practice this method. Fortunately, Brother Yu is still a blessed man. When he traveled to Qizhou, he met him again. Master Donghua, so I asked Master Donghua for advice on the ‘Ziwei Dou Shu’, are you sure?”

Donghua Zhenren was a strong man, ranked among the top among the thirty-six real people, and was extremely famous.

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but think of what he had casually said: "Master Donghua greets the commander", and had to suppress a smile and said: "It turns out that Brother Taoist is a disciple of Master Donghua. It's disrespectful and disrespectful. Haven't you asked Brother Taoist about Gao's name?"

The wretched man smiled slightly, tried his best to show his popularity, and pretended to be casual and wrote: "My surname is Pei, and I am Pei Xiaolou."

"Brother Pei Dao." Qi Xuansu handed over his hand again, "My surname is Qi, and my double name is Xuansu."

Pei Xiaolou gently twirled his beard, looked Qi Xuansu up and down, and said, "Brother Qi has a good face. The good thing is..."

At this moment, a voice suddenly interrupted Pei Xiaolou: "Pei Xiaolou, you are such a killer, are you hiding here to read your fortune again?"

Before Qi Xuansu could react, he saw a big hand grabbing Pei Xiaolou's back collar and lifting him up.

A tall woman squeezed her way into the already crowded room and scolded Pei Xiaolou: "You don't even urinate and take a photo. You are born with such a miserable life and poor appearance, and you show it to others." Prime Minister? I’m not afraid of misleading my son! How could I be so blind to fall in love with a guy like you? I’ve been with you for more than ten years and I’ve suffered a lot!”

Qi Xuansu was frightened by the aura of this tall woman for a moment and did not dare to make any move.

Although Pei Xiaolou is as tall as a bamboo pole, she can lift it with one hand, which shows that the strength of this strong woman is no longer comparable to that of ordinary people. Moreover, her opening made Qi Xuansu's ears buzz, as powerful as a Buddhist lion's roar.

Pei Xiaolou, perhaps because he couldn't save his face in front of outsiders, said with a pinched neck: "What's wrong with my appearance? Do I have a very peaceful appearance? If I don't endure hardship, how can I enjoy happiness? As the saying goes, only by enduring hardship can you be a human being. Master, according to my calculations, if you have to endure hardship for another ten years, you will be lucky."

"Ten years? Bah!" The tall woman became furious and slapped Pei Xiaolou in the face.

But he never thought that Pei Xiaolou was extremely flexible. He shrank and slipped out, leaving only an empty robe in the woman's hand. Immediately after the golden cicada escaped from the shell, Pei Xiaolou ducked down and slipped out from the woman's side.

The woman became more and more angry, and immediately turned around to chase him. The two of them gradually disappeared, leaving only Qi Xuansu and the "iron-cut" piece of cloth.

Qi Xuansu calmed down and felt that his horizons had been opened too much in the past few days. He didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

It is true that Qi Xuansu has not seen much of the big world, but he is not a newbie and has rich experience. Naturally, he knows that Pei Xiaolou and the tall woman are not ordinary people. I am afraid they are strangers with unique skills. Regardless of whether they are real people who don't show their faces, are playing games with the world, are innocent in nature, or have other agendas, it is always best to stay away from them.

Pei Xiaolou and the tall woman were gone forever, which made Qi Xuansu feel a little more at ease, closed the door of the room, and began to meditate.

The day passed by in a hurry. When Qi Xuansu woke up from trance, the flying boat had already set sail. Qi Xuansu got up from the bed and looked out through the glass window. He saw only the vast sea of ​​clouds and the golden light.

The windows are also blessed with special formations. Not only can they withstand the wind, passengers in the building cannot open the windows and can only watch the scenery through the windows.

Only when you reach the stage of being a celestial being can you fly with the wind, so this is the first time Qi Xuansu has flown into the sky. Seeing the scene outside the window, he can't help but feel excited and unable to regain his senses for a long time.

It wasn't until Qi Xuansu felt a little hungry that he came back to his senses.

Only then did he remember that he only had breakfast at the Qingpinghui contact point on July 13th. Today was July 15th, and he had not eaten rice or water for two days. No wonder Qi Xuansu was negligent. It was actually his first time riding a flying boat and he didn't know the rules here.

As for Feizhou, they will also provide some tea, wine and food, but those are benefits only available on the second floor and not on the first floor. Most of the other experienced passengers brought their own dry food, but Qi Xuansu did not prepare any and did not learn the "big grain technique", so he could only go hungry.

It takes a total of twelve hours from Huainan Mansion to Zuting, that is, one day and one night.

At first, Qi Xuansu was quite interested in the scenery outside the window, but as time went by, the seemingly endless white clouds became boring, so Qi Xuansu had to pass the time by meditating and practicing Qi.

At this moment, a Taoist with fluttering sleeves rode on the clouds and mist, passed over the flying boat, and headed straight towards the ancestral court.