Legend of the Sword Immortal

chapter8

Zhou Chun paid the bill, gave some more money, and went to Yan'er's house. Yan'er was about to ask about the Taoist's background, but Zhou Chun told him not to say anything and just hurried him on. Soon, they arrived at Yan'er's door. Yan'er's mother, Old Lady Zhao, was standing at the door staring at where they were coming from. When Yan'er saw his mother, he left Zhou Chun and threw himself into his mother's arms. Zhou Chun nodded secretly when he saw this. Mother Zhao supported Yan'er and invited Zhou Chun in. Although his house consisted of three earthen houses, it was kept clean. In front of the hall was a loom with unfinished cloth stretched on it, and a crepe cotton robe was placed across the loom, along with a large package that looked like silver. Yan'er said, "Teacher, look, isn't this the cotton robe you gave to the poor Taoist? How did it end up in my house?" Zhao's mother said, "Just now a Taoist came and said that Mr. Zhou and Yan'er were delayed on the road and felt burdened with a lot of silver, so he asked him to bring it to me first. I know that Mr. Zhou is a martial artist and Yan'er has some brute force, so how could he feel burdened with such a small thing? He refused to accept it. The Taoist took Mr. Zhou's cotton robe as evidence. This cotton robe was made by me, and the stitches can still be vaguely recognized. Although I reluctantly accepted it, I still had some doubts. I heard from the Taoist that Mr. Zhou would be here soon, so I went to the door to see. Sure enough, Mr. Zhou came by himself not long after." After hearing what Zhao's mother said, Zhou Chun opened the silver bag and saw that there were about three hundred taels. There was also a note wrapped around it, with the eight words "Drunk Taoist Presents a Chaste Wife and a Filial Son" written in a flourish. Zhou Chun said to Yan'er, "What do you think? I said there are many extraordinary people in the world. You think we are fast, but this Taoist traveled more than 200 miles in a short time, as if it were a child's play. His martial arts are more than ten times better than ours. Fortunately, we didn't neglect him at Mount Emei." Zhao's mother hurriedly asked what happened. Zhou Chun met the Taoist from Mount Emei and talked to him until he went to the hotel to pay the bill. He also explained the purpose of taking Yan'er with him. He advised Zhao's mother to just take the money and there would be no mistake. Zhao's mother said, "Although Yan'er is the only child of our Han family, if we hadn't met the teacher, my mother and I would have died of cold and hunger long ago. Moreover, although he is a little smart, it would be in vain if he didn't meet a famous teacher. The teacher is a man of both civil and military talents. It's great that he is willing to take him out to experience." Zhou Chun thanked Zhao's mother.

In the evening, Zhou Chun went to see Ma Xiang again and gave him many instructions. The next day, he set out for Chengdu. He went to the inn to look for the drunk Taoist priest, intending to make friends with a strange man. But the Taoist priest and the gourd were not there. He found the bartender from yesterday and asked him where he was. The bartender said, "The Taoist priest came back yesterday, as if he had something urgent to do. He went in and took his precious gourd and left. We told him that the guest wanted to ask him for the bill, but he said he knew it a long time ago. You told him to meet in Chengdu. He left after saying that. When I got out, he was gone." Zhou Chunqing knew that the drunk Taoist priest had left and could not find him. He was very unhappy. He had no choice but to set off with Yan'er and headed straight to Chengdu. After walking for several days, he suddenly came to a place called Sanchakou. Going southwest, he was the main road to Chengdu. There was a small road to the west, which also led to Chengdu. It was more than 200 miles closer than the main road, but it had to pass through many mountains and was not easy to walk. Zhou Chun had heard that there were many wonders in these mountains. He was eager to go to Chengdu and wanted to enjoy the mountain scenery, so he walked with Yan'er to the trail. After walking for half a day, they had already entered the mountain path. This mountain is called Yunling Mountain, with towering ancient trees, rugged rocks and many wonders. The master and apprentice were a little thirsty and wanted to find some spring water to drink. There happened to be a stream beside the road, the spring water was clean and there were a few fish swimming. So he went down with Yan'er, took out the wooden scoop he brought, sucked some spring water and drank it at will. At this time, the sun was setting on the mountain. The master and apprentice were afraid of missing their place to stay, so they hurriedly stepped up and walked forward. As they were walking, they suddenly heard a crane cry. Zhou Chun said, "When I was at the foot of Mount Emei a few days ago, I heard crane cries twice in a row. Today is the third time." After saying that, he looked up at the sky, only to see that it was clear and cloudless, and there was no trace of any crane. Yan'er suddenly called out, "Teacher, it's here." Zhou Chun looked quickly and saw a huge crane standing on a large rock beside the road. Its head was bright red, its body was snow-white, and there was not a single stray hair. It had golden eyes and an iron beak, and its claws were like copper hooks. It was about eight or nine feet tall and was plucking its feathers. Zhou Chun said, "It's rare to see a crane as big as this." As he was talking, he suddenly saw a green snake about seven or eight feet long jump out from the rock. The crane saw the snake and hurriedly pecked at it. Unfortunately, the snake ran very fast. When the crane's beak reached it, it had already drilled into the cave and disappeared. The iron beak pecked the rock everywhere, causing it to break into pieces and sparks to fly. The crane suddenly got angry and used its feet and beak to grab and peck at a rock about six or seven feet in radius, breaking it into pieces. The snake saw that it could no longer hide and was about to flee. As soon as it stretched its head out, it was caught by the crane's beak. The snake rolled up its body, and the seven or eight feet long snake body tightly wrapped around the crane's legs. The crane was not in a hurry, and first pecked off the snake's head with one beak, and then used its long beak to gently rip the snake's body into seventy or eighty pieces. It took only a few pecks to eat it. It shook its feathers, let out a long cry, and flew away into the sky. In a blink of an eye, it had flown into the clouds.

It was already dusk, and the sky was full of smoke. Zhou Chun hurriedly urged Yan'er to hurry up. After walking more than three miles, it was getting dark. There happened to be a house on the side of the road, so he went forward and knocked on the door to ask for the night. After knocking for a long time, someone inside answered and asked, "Where are you from?" Zhou Chun explained his purpose. The man said, "My life is in danger now, and this place is extremely dangerous. If you want to stay, go more than five miles southwest. There is a thatched hut where a master named Baiyun lives. You can ask her to stay for a night. If she agrees, you can still avoid danger." After that, there was no sound. When he knocked on the door again, there was no response. Zhou Chun was curious by nature, so he asked Yan'er to wait outside and said, "I won't come out, and you can't move easily." Then he jumped over the wall. At this time, the bright moon rose, illuminating the courtyard as clear as a painting. Zhou Chun looked carefully and saw a man lying on a rattan bed in the yard. When he saw Zhou Chun coming in, he said, "Why don't you listen? Go away quickly and don't get close to me. It will be very bad for you." Zhou Chun said, "Everyone is a friend in the world. What are your sufferings and what dangers are there here? Why don't you tell me? I may be able to help you. Why do you have to sit and wait for death?" The man said, "Why don't you leave quickly! I have been poisoned by the demon. If you get three feet close to me, I will be infected. I have been struggling for my life here for three days. Now I am hungry. If you have some food, you can give me some. The demon will find it sooner or later. I don't need to say that your life is in danger. If you can quickly go to Master Baiyun, you may be able to help me. Just tell her this about my affairs." When the man said this, he was already weak and dying. There were seven red moles on the man's arm, which were very bright. Zhou Chun thought that this was not a good place, so he threw some dry food to him and then jumped out. When I called Yan'er, she suddenly disappeared.