Chapter 229 Wei Nu (Thanks to the leader "Murong Fengfeng") "I was taking a nap in the water, and I saw that there were boats passing by these days. I came out to see you two giving me snacks and wine, so I was naturally grateful. I also heard you two say that you wanted to attend the banquet of the Alligator King, so I knew you were not ordinary people, so I wanted to show up and thank you in person. But the weather was not good, and the river was in a mess due to the rain, so I had to wait until the rain stopped." There was only one light on the dark water, and from somewhere came this sweet voice: "Fortunately, your ship hasn't left yet." "So that's how it is." Lin Jue sat by the boat, stroking the fur on his fox's neck with one hand, and followed its gaze to the bottom of the water. "But we are not two people, but three." "I only heard two voices and saw the reflection of a fox." "And I!" The junior sister then spoke and stuck her head out. "If it is three people, please forgive me." "Since we have this fate and you want to show yourself, why are you still hiding in the dark?" Lin Jue said. "There are lights on the boat. The lights are extraordinary. I am a little scared." The voice said, "Master, please turn off the lights so that I can show myself."
It seems that this person is quite cautious. No wonder it has survived in this river until now. I don't know whether she thought this night watch lamp was extraordinary, or that the lamp that Lin Jue lit using the lamp lighting technique was extraordinary, but even this night watch lamp did not have the ability to kill or injure people. But Lin Jue did not explain. He just waved his index finger cleanly and the only light on the boat went out immediately, showing his sincerity. The night was dark and quiet, with only one lantern left on the river. Suddenly, the lantern in the river slowly rose higher. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was being held by a hand. It seemed as if there was an invisible step in the water. A woman in a chest-length skirt slowly walked out of the water holding a lantern. Under the light, her dress, mainly red and green, did not look rustic at all. Instead, it had a sense of history spanning hundreds of years and a light and lively air from the previous dynasty, which also outlined her slender figure. The woman quickly walked to the surface of the river. She was barefoot and had no shoes on. In the dark night, she could not be seen clearly with only one lamp. She could only see two white spots. The calm river surface under her feet was like flat ground, carrying her slowly. During the whole process, there was no sound of water in the river. The three people and the fox on the boat were all watching this scene. Luo Seng found it even more strange. Just imagine that he is a warrior. Although he can slay demons and monsters, and dozens of demons and monsters have died under his sword, those demons and monsters he killed, no matter how powerful they were, were mostly extremely vicious. If they were not extremely vicious, they would not speak to him nicely. When has he ever seen such a scene? Just like an ordinary person, no matter how many people he meets in his life, it is rare for him to have the experience of enjoying singing and dancing, reciting poems in a brothel in a mansion, or having a conversation with monks in a temple in the mountains. You have to be a monk. Luo Seng thought so. Seeing that the woman quickly walked to the side of the boat, she stopped and looked at the height of the boat above the water, seeming to be a little embarrassed. Lin Jue immediately stepped forward and helped her. She just seemed to have no weight.
The woman then came on board. The lantern in her hand became the only light in the cabin, adding a touch of bright yellow to the wooden boards, making the eyes of several people look bright. The junior sister brought her a small stool. After the woman sat down, Luo Seng pushed a cup of hot tea to her. "Thank you. "Thank you. "Thank you." The woman changed direction and thanked him three times. He has a soft voice and polite manners, obviously from a well-educated family. "My name is Lin Jue." "I am Liu Qingyao!" "I am Zhang Dao!" "I am already dead, so my name is not worth mentioning anymore. I have returned it to my parents. Now I am in the Weishui River, and people on the bank call me Weinu." The girl picked up the teacup and said with a smile. Suddenly, she glanced at the warm teacup and sighed, "Since I died, I have lived in the river and haven't had a few cups of hot tea in many years." "It just rained, and the water is cold. We mortals feel extremely satisfied after drinking a cup of hot tea." Lin Jue said, "I wonder if you feel the same way." All three of them looked at the woman. The woman wore a chest-length skirt in red and green, with gold and silver ornaments on her body and her feet were bare. She has a sweet and pretty face and a slender and slim figure. "is also like this." After taking a sip of tea, the woman put down her teacup and asked them, "You are obviously human beings, why do you want to attend the birthday banquet of the Crocodile King?" "Is there anything wrong?" Luo Seng asked. "I heard that the Alligator King's birthday banquet is held once every ten years and it is very lively. We travel around the world and always like to see different scenery and experience different things." Lin Jue said, "We happened to come here and heard that the Alligator King was holding a banquet by the river. I felt it was fate and it was rare, so I prepared gifts and went to take a look." "There's nothing wrong with it, I'm just curious. Although there are always people going to the Alligator King's birthday banquet, the number of people is very small." said the woman. "There is no other way. Life is short. If we cannot achieve enlightenment, we will not be able to see for long. We will have to see more. We want to go and see the temple fairs in the human world and the birthday banquets in the demon world." Lin Jue said. "The two Taoist priests around Zhang are both skilled in magic. I think they will not be turned away by the Alligator King when we go to his birthday banquet, right?" said Luo Seng. "That's true. In the eyes of monsters, monks who can perform magic are just like birds and beasts that have attained enlightenment and become spirits in the eyes of humans. They are no longer confused with ordinary mortals." The woman paused and said: "But I have to remind you three that the alligator king wants to eat people." "Oh? Eating people?" Lin Jue was surprised. "We brought gifts to the banquet!" The junior sister was a little scared, "He won't eat us, will he?" "That's not the case." The woman said, "But every time people come to the banquet, whether they are great monks or extraordinary people, there are always people who find out that the Alligator King eats people when they arrive. Because they never expected it, at best they get scared and show their fear, and then the monster despises them or even insults them. At worst, they get angry and cause discord at the banquet, and are punished by the Alligator King. That's why I asked this question and gave this reminder."
"I see." Only then did Lin Jue nod. The junior sister also breathed a sigh of relief. Luo Seng was the most generous and just waved his hand and said: "Why not? People are eaten everywhere. This Alligator King is quite restrained. I heard that some demon kings in the north are causing chaos. They love to kidnap people and eat them on the border between us and the north or even on the battlefield. They even feed civilians and enclose land to form their own country." Luo Seng paused: "And in today's world, those high officials, nobles, princes, generals, and ministers, who are all trying to squeeze the people's money in various ways, are much different from man-eating monsters? I think it's hard to say which knife cuts the flesh more painfully!" "This... is also..." The woman looked at them deeply. "By the way, wasn't Wei Nu once a human? After death, she became a ghost and was worshipped by people. Isn't that why she still exists today?" Luo Seng probed again, "Isn't Wei Nu also used to it?" The woman did not answer whether she was used to it or not, but smiled and said: "What can I do if I don't like it? This alligator king has been here for a long time. Even the gods don't care about him. Even the original river god of Weishui River was killed by him and his military advisors. I am weak and I am in this Weishui River. What else can I do except to submit to him?" "Why don't the gods care about him?" Luo Seng narrowed his eyes. "It is rumored that the Alligator King has an extraordinary origin." "What's the origin?" "..." The light illuminated the woman's pretty and sweet face, but she just smiled and shook her head slowly without saying much. "Haha." Lin Jue chuckled twice and changed the subject, "Since you have pledged your loyalty to the Alligator King, I think you will also go to the Alligator King's birthday banquet in a few days?" "This is the second reason why I came here without permission." "Oh? Please go ahead!" "King Crocodile usually doesn't care about the monsters in his territory, but every ten years when it comes to his birthday banquet, everyone with a name must attend. This is also true for me." The woman said softly and helplessly. Just when Lin Jue and the others thought that she might ask them to buy or exchange gifts for the banquet, they heard her say: "However, when I jumped into the water to die, I accidentally lost my shoes. Since then, I have rarely come ashore and have no use for shoes. Only once every ten years, I must have a pair of shoes. Therefore, every ten years, I ask for help from people who pass by on the water to buy a pair of embroidered shoes. Unfortunately, I was accidentally delayed this time. In the past few days, no one dares to walk on the water. Without shoes, I can't go to the banquet, so I have to dare to ask you." "What's the harm?" "a piece of cake!" "Hmm~" All three responded. "Thank you very much." The woman said, "There is a market not far from the ferry ahead. If it is convenient, I would like to ask you two to buy me a pair of red shoes with gold and green thread rabbit embroidery." "..." The three of them couldn't help but look at each other. This requirement is quite detailed. The junior sister was even ready to turn around and say that she brought an extra pair of shoes as a backup and wanted to take them out to show her if they were suitable, but upon hearing this, she weakly withdrew her hand.
Her shoes are so ordinary. The woman took out a willow branch: “Here’s the size.” He took out a small piece of silver from his pocket: “This is shoe money.” Lin Jue and Luo Seng couldn't help but look at each other. "Forget it! Meeting is fate! Tomorrow morning, Zhang will dock the boat and go to run for you!" Luo Seng still said generously, waving his hand to take the money, "If we meet at the birthday banquet of the Crocodile King, and we have some problems with other monsters, or some misunderstandings, please ask the goddess to say a few good words for us." "It should." “How do I give you the shoes?” “Just buy it and throw it into the water.” "it is good!" After the few people made an agreement, the woman quickly stood up, bowed politely, said goodbye to them, and walked back to the river with the lantern. "call……" The night light came back on, illuminating the cabin. The three of them looked at each other and said nothing else. Luo Seng held the silver and looked at it carefully, then wiped off the water stains on it. "This sister was pretty and easy to talk to. It's such a pity that she jumped into the river and died." The little sister broke the silence and asked, "I wonder what her story is?" Only then did Luo Seng hum. This is what should be said and is convenient to say at this time. So Luo Seng began to tell them the story about this Wei woman that was popular in this place. It was similar to what he had briefly said before, still a story about a girl from a royal noble family who fell in love with her lover, but was forced to marry someone else without her parents' permission, and then she would rather die than obey and committed suicide by jumping into the river. Just explain it in more detail. This place is Qinzhou, close to the capital. There are many princesses, rich daughters, literati, scholars, and celebrities. They all love stories like this, and such stories are easy to spread. This person probably took advantage of this convenience, which is why after his death, a temple was built to commemorate him and even worship him. If it were somewhere else, I might have died. As the night deepens, I light the lamp and go to sleep. It rained again in the middle of the night. The next morning, the river was still smoking and mist filled the mountains and rivers, like an ink painting. Sometimes people could be seen walking and talking on the shore.
Luo Sengzhen docked at the next ferry, and the three of them got off the boat temporarily. There was no need to ask anyone. Just by looking at the people coming and going carrying baskets and loads on their shoulders, they knew that there must be a market ahead. This is not surprising, as the ferry is usually very busy. (End of this chapter)