Aggrieved Fish Sprite

On the second day of the first lunar month, there is a market at the junction of Yongzhou and Pingzhou.

It was originally a wasteland with only wild grass growing.

Bandits and bandits were rampant in Pingzhou, and there was a three-year drought in Yongzhou, and many people were displaced.They couldn't pay the city gate tax, had no place to go to, and were afraid of being arrested by the court for hard labor, so they gathered together and temporarily settled in the wasteland not far from the town.

In order to survive, the refugees took out their only possessions and exchanged them with others.

After a long time, it became such a dilapidated market where the village is not like a village, and the town is not like a town.

Mo Li was very unfamiliar with such a place, so he subconsciously grabbed Meng Qi, motioning him to walk in front of him.

Meng Qi: "..."

Since leaving Mount Silang, the doctor's attitude towards him has changed.

In the past, he followed the doctor and was very familiar with the doctor's back, but now he was suddenly asked to change positions by the doctor, Meng Qi was not used to it.

"A master of martial arts will never get lost." Meng Qi couldn't help but said.

"You are my patient, I want to observe your every word and deed." Doctor Mo naturally rejected Meng Qi's opinion, and said seriously, "I have a new guess about your condition, before I confirm it , I need you to be in front of me every moment."

"..."

Meng Qi was in a very complicated mood.

Seven points are difficult, and three points are vaguely happy. This happiness is too vague, and I haven't figured it out yet.

Meng Qi's back tensed involuntarily when Mo Li's gaze swept over him, subconsciously showing a sober and rational appearance, and then struggled to feel the time when his gaze stopped.

——Could it be that I habitually stared at the doctor in a daze, and looked down on him, and now I'm turned against the general?

The debts of the twelfth lunar month were paid off too quickly.

Maybe it was because I met the doctor in the twelfth lunar month, and I didn't get a good compliment, so Meng Qi fell into deep thought.

Wait, why did the line of sight move away?

Meng Qi came back to his senses suddenly, he turned his head and saw Mo Li was looking at a stall on the street.

There are countless of these stalls lining the street, selling everything from chipped pottery to patched clothes.

There are also food sellers, but they are all coarse grains. This small stall sells soybeans, which are not very full, and they are packed in a small cloth bag. Someone on the side of the road wanted to exchange two pairs of platform shoes, but the stall owner refused.

"Brother Meng, take the money."

Mo Li stretched out his hand, and Meng Qi silently took out a money bag.

General Liu's purse, this is the one that was robbed outside Qinghu Town.

"The copper coins are all spent, only broken silver." Meng Qi gave Mo Li a piece.

Dr. Mo was a little worried, since things are exchanged here, money is not easy to use.

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly saw Ning Changyuan.

Although they came all the way, after arriving at this market, Ning Changyuan was like a fish in water, and there was no one in the blink of an eye.

Ning Changyuan was dressed in Taoist robes and had a long sword on his waist. This man had a certain quality, no matter where he was, he would not make people feel out of harmony.On the broken road in this narrow alley, Ning Changyuan arched his back slightly, looking no different from a Taoist priest cheating money for food, even the sword would be subconsciously ignored.

"His swordsmanship must be very high," Mo Li murmured.

"Doctor want to try?" Meng Qi immediately suggested: "Or I will go to compete for the doctor first?"

He fought Ning Changyuan for too short a time, and he didn't use any weapons, so he didn't know anything about Ning Changyuan's swordsmanship.

"No need, one more thing is worse than one less thing." Mo Li resisted the curiosity in his heart and refused. He was afraid that Meng Qi and Ning Changyuan would get into a fight, and if he accidentally fell ill, would he want to imitate a cat in front of Ning Changyuan? call?

Disciples of genius doctors also want face.

Ning Changyuan respected Mr. Qin, and Mo Li, as Qin Lu's disciple, naturally couldn't embarrass the teacher.

"The doctor has been in Zhushan County for a long time, and he has never met a master in the rivers and lakes. It's just a competition, it doesn't matter."

"Okay, let's find a way first..."

Mo Li's voice came to an abrupt end, and he saw Ning Chang Yuan suddenly turn around and throw a man who was following him to the ground, and then punched and kicked several people flying here and there.

The people on the street were not panicked, but watched the fun with a smile on their faces.

"The Daoist is very skilled!"

"The priest is back!"

Ning Changyuan clapped his hands, and said to those disgraced people: "You have been following me since just now, why? You want to use me to go to the government to exchange some money for wine? To teach you that it is difficult to earn any money in this world. , let alone catching wanted criminals!"

Those few people looked terrified, did not dare to respond, got up and dispersed.

People on the street laughed together, and some people who didn't know Ning Changyuan were surprised and quickly asked passers-by.

"This is Daoist Ning."

"In fact, he can't be considered a Taoist leader. He is a fake Taoist priest and is wanted by the government."

"...No, no, he didn't do anything like murder or arson. He just forged documents. He stole the official seals of all county and government offices in Yongzhou, and then returned them every few days."

When Mo Li heard this, he couldn't help interjecting: "Stole it to engrave the seal privately?"

Meng Qi looked at Ning Changyuan, but he didn't see that this person had so many seals on him, so it's not heavy?

"No, I heard that Daoist Ning held a pen, dipped in his special cinnabar ink, and could draw a seal on the paper... Tsk, the strokes are of different depths and thicknesses. It looks just like the real thing!"

Mo Li was startled, he subconsciously looked at Meng Qi, who also had the same expression.

"...This is a magical skill!" Mo Li said to himself.

Ning Changyuan came over. The martial arts practitioners had sharp eyes and ears, and happened to hear the conversation between Mo Li and the passers-by. He immediately coughed in embarrassment, and said humbly, "There is no such thing. I have been practicing swords all year round, and my hands are just steady."

Meng Qi shook his head and said: "There are as many people who practice swords in the world as crucian carp crossing the river. Daoist Ning is the only one who has this skill."

"Actually, there are still people who know how to do this, especially in Jiangnan, but they don't practice swords." Ning Changyuan rubbed his nose, looked around, and said in a low voice, "It's forged antique calligraphy and paintings."

"..."

That's right, in addition to imitating the original strokes, there are also paper, ink, and seals that are realistic.

"It's also a coincidence, because the ink pads are all made of cinnabar, and I can't do without this thing when I sell fake road guides. A while ago, I was buying suitable cinnabar in Yongzhou, and found that it was out of stock everywhere, so I realized that it was all bought by the Si family caravan. Let's go." Ning Changyuan sighed, if it wasn't for this reason, he wouldn't have gone to Qiuling County so soon.

"You said this place is suitable for Qiuhong to live temporarily?"

Mo Li looked around. Although it was dilapidated, it was in order.

I didn't see any stealing, and many people knew each other. Although they were sallow and thin, they looked like they were celebrating the New Year, and they were smiling.

"I took her to the workshop here before, and there just happened to be a lack of people there." Ning Changyuan looked at the people coming and going on both sides of the street, and said in a deep voice, "The land around here is quite fertile, as long as you grow some crops, you won't starve to death." People. After the year, many people will go to Yongzhou to work, and it is suitable for her to leave."

"There are no bandits here?"

"Why not, but I'm too poor, so I basically don't come here." Ning Changyuan pointed to the simple houses on both sides and said, "In the beginning, they lived here temporarily, but I found that there is no good place to go in this world. Like this For the time being, there are no exorbitant taxes in the wild collection, and life can be lived."

"If there is a place that is inaccessible to people and the people are self-sufficient, it will be considered a peach blossom garden." Mo Li was thoughtful.

Meng Qi was noncommittal, but Ning Changyuan said with a smile: "How can there be such a good place? Even if there is, how many people can it accommodate? The world is so big, in order to fight to live in Taohuayuan, I am afraid that we will have to beat the blood first flow."

"What kind of morals does Daoist Ning want to see?"

"I read "Mencius" when I was young. It is an exaggeration to say that you don't pick up things on the road and don't close your house at night. It is enough to have enough food, to live, to support children and the elderly, and to know the difficulties of others."

When Meng Qi heard this, his expression was a little subtle.

He also believed in the books of sages and sages.

"...In this way, Daoist Ning helps the world, why not help Mingjun?" Meng Qi asked tentatively.

"Although Mingjun is good, so what if Mingjun's descendants are unknown?" Ning Changyuan held his sword and said in a dignified tone, "For example, a swordsman should use a good sword. Does he believe in a ready-made sword, or does he believe that the swordsmith is still alive?" An unbaked sword?"

Meng Qi stopped talking, because Ning Changyuan asked an eternal problem, how to make the kings wise from generation to generation.

The courtier obviously couldn't do it.

Neither can the emperor himself.

Who can know what will happen after his death and 100 years later?

Ning Changyuan saw the purse still in Meng Qi's hand, and asked, "What do you two want to buy?"

"Oh, those beans." Mo Li recovered and gestured.

Ning Changyuan smiled and said: "This matter is easy to handle, if the doctor doesn't mind it, you can let me do it."

Saying that, Taoist Ning went to the stall, took out a paper bag, and opened it to find salt.

The stall owner's eyes lit up, and he hastily agreed, and Ning Changyuan returned calmly with the small bag of beans.

Mo Li wanted to give money to Ning Changyuan, but the latter refused: "If the doctor is willing to stay here for a few days, I will bring a few people to invite the doctor to see a doctor, and it will be considered a reward."

"We still have important matters to go to Taijing."

"Three days." Ning Changyuan persuaded, "I don't think it's convenient for the doctor to go on the road like this. If the doctor trusts me, I can buy some clothes and bags for the doctor."

"Cough!" Meng Qi suddenly said.

Mo Li and Ning Changyuan looked at him inexplicably, thinking that Meng Qi was going to say something, but after waiting for a long time, Meng Qi said: "I don't want to bother Daoist Ning about buying clothes, I'll do it."

"Some small things are the same for everyone..."

"It's different." Meng Qi said solemnly.

It's not easy for outsiders to know the size of underwear.

"It's not good to delay Daoist Ning's business." Meng Qi said solemnly, "After all, fake... drawing road guides is also a labor-intensive thing. Besides your own things, you should buy them yourself and rest assured."

——But you are not Doctor Mo either!

Ning Changyuan looked at Meng Qi, then at Mo Li, and finally understood what Qiu Hong meant by "strange".

What is the relationship between these two people?