From Yueyang to Xiangyin.
The confluence of the Yangtze River, Dongting River and Xiangshui River creates a rich water system rarely seen in the world.
Among them are Zijiang River, Yuanshui River and Lishui River, which are collectively known as three rivers, four rivers and one lake.
Dongting in particular was known as Yunmeng, Jiujiang and Chonghu in ancient times. The name Yunmengze was first recorded in Shiji, Zhouli and Erya.
Hanyang Zhizhong even clearly recorded that "clouds are in the north of the river, dreams are in the south of the river", so the northern and southern marshes are collectively called Yunmeng.
After the Warring States Period.
Yunmengze is divided into north and south parts. The south of the Yangtze River is still a large lake, but the north of the Yangtze River has become a swamp.
Plus there is a big mountain in the lake.
It is called Dongting, or Junshan.
So, from then on, the word Yunmeng was replaced by Dongting.
For a group of people, taking the waterway can also lead directly to the outside of Xiangyin City, but it will take a lot more time.
The green mountains are just around the corner, and my heart is like an arrow.
Even Kunlun, who is the most calm, can't hide his excitement.
This is the first time in so many years that he has been away from Zhuangzi for so long. Counting it all together, it has been almost five months, almost half a year.
It only takes half a day to cross the long embankment.
The vast Dongting Daze appeared in everyone's sight.
Looking from several miles away, the water vapor covered the sky and blocked the sun.
Even though they have seen it countless times, everyone can't hide their shock every time they pass by this place.
"Shopkeeper Chen, they all say that there must be dragons in Da Ze. This Yunmeng Ze stretches for eight hundred miles, is there a real dragon?"
Unconsciously.
Everyone has arrived downstairs in Yueyang.
This ancient building was built in the 20th year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is adjacent to the lakeshore, overlooking Dongting below and Junshan in front. However, it has been rebuilt more than ten times due to wars and fires in the past dynasties.
The Yueyang Tower they saw now was repaired in the sixth year of Guangxu's reign.
Today it is more than thirty years.
The glazed golden roof and interlaced rafters and purlins are solemn and majestic.
The red sandalwood carved screen hanging in the middle of the second floor is also engraved with the Yueyang Tower handwritten by the calligrapher of the previous dynasty.
A group of people went upstairs to take a rest.
I am standing on the second floor corridor with my hands behind my hands. I can overlook the Dongting Lake. I can only feel the vastness of the smoke, the clear river and the sea, and I can faintly see thousands of sails passing by.
You can take a boat to enjoy the scenery, or go fishing in a small boat.
A small island can be seen in the mist in the distance.
It is Junshan Island.
Chen Yulou looked at the island from a distance. Because it was too far away and it had been raining for the past few days, the lake was filled with fog and he could hardly see anything.
I don’t know if Uncle Yu ordered anyone to go to the island.
An island in Dongting, eight hundred miles away.
It is simply a perfect paradise.
Even if there is war and chaos, you can still be safe and sound.
After searching for so long, Junshan Island was his first choice, followed by Zhelong Mountain, and then the overseas islands.
Nowadays, practice often takes a few days.
He can clearly sense that the further back he goes, the longer the retreat will be.
This is why before setting off to the Western Regions, he secretly ordered Uncle Yu, who was guarding Zhuangzi, to send people to the island to make plans first.
He was thinking.
The remaining people also looked at the scenery of the lake in amazement.
The endless Daze stretches as far as the eye can see, the clouds are in the sky and the blue water is in the bottle.
In the mind of the old foreigner, the scene subconsciously emerged when he looked at Fuxian Lake outside the ancient city of Jianshui.
There are many rumors in the land of southern Yunnan.
Wherever there are rivers and lakes, there are dragons.
Whether it is a snake, anaconda, a dragon, a dragon, a fish, or a turtle, they can all be considered this category.
The big lake in front of him now is more majestic than Fuxian Lake. No wonder he thinks so.
“There are actually quite a few rumors about dragons in Dongting Lake.”
“As early as ancient times, it was recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas that both Sixiang and Ba Snake lived in Yunmengze , but the mythical color is so strong that it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false. ”
"But there are clear records about the Dongting dragon in the Yueyang Chronicles, Miluo Chronicles and Xiangyin Chronicles."
"There are many people in the older generation who have sworn to mention what they saw with their own eyes."
Chen Yulou grew up in Xiangyin since he was a child.
How could you not have heard the rumors about the Dongting water monster?
There are different versions, at least dozens of them.
But whether seen with one's own eyes or heard from hearsay, Dongting water monsters are almost like snakes or dragons, with broad heads, thick bodies, and whole bodies covered with scales.
This is almost identical to the legendary dragon.
So Chen Yulou concluded that there must be a dragon hidden in the big lake.
As for whether he turned into a real dragon, he couldn't guarantee it.
After all, even the thousand-year-old dragon in Fuxian Lake saw an opportunity and planned to try to escape after getting a piece of real dragon bone.
"In addition, don't forget Lu Zu's song Tanzhou Crane Club."
"A sword flew into the air and flew away again, startling the old dragon in the Dongting."
Chen Yulou put his hands behind his back and chanted softly. Reciting ancient poems.
What appeared in front of his eyes was Lu Dongxuan crossing the water with his sword. The sword flew out and cut a white mark on the lake. The sleeping dragon in the water mansion was immediately awakened.
How magnificent it is.
"It's true."
"It's a pity that I didn't see it, otherwise..."
The old foreigner's eyes lit up.
He actually said it casually.
“What else?”
A smile appeared on Chen Yulou's lips, "Want to hunt dragons again, eat dragon meat and drink dragon blood?"
"It's not impossible."
That day, a group of them demolished dragons in Longtan Mountain The bones are removed from the body, and the essence and blood of the dragon are removed for later use. In addition, the blood energy is too strong, and even martial artists dare not take it easily.
They ate every bit of the dragon meat they had taken apart.
It’s just that we really have to compare.
In terms of taste, the green-scaled snake meat from Zhelong Mountain was even better.
"You are quite loud now."
Hearing this.
Chen Yulou’s eyes couldn’t help but jump.
Slaying the dragon in Longtan Mountain seems simple, but that is because they have taken advantage of the right time and place. If they had not been suppressed for hundreds of years, and the Buddhist sect's magic weapon Vajra Prong was hanging down day and night to kill the evil spirit on their bodies, they would not have Maybe it's that easy to get.
Those who can truly reach the dragon.
The natural dragon species is not bad.
If they transformed into each other step by step, each one could be called an eternal demon.
It takes five hundred years for a snake to turn into a python, five hundred years for a python to turn into a snake, and another five hundred years for a snake to turn into a dragon.
It took thousands of years to reach that point.
How can it be easy to kill a dragon?
“Aren’t you here, shopkeeper Chen?”
The old foreigner grinned.
However, when the words of the two chatting fell into Yang Fang's ears, his heart couldn't help but beat wildly.
What does it mean to kill a dragon again, eat flesh and drink blood?
Could it be possible that these people have been here before?
Forget about killing the snake.
He also saw it with his own eyes when he came to the ancient city.
But slaying the dragon...
Isn’t that something that only immortals like Lu Zu can do in myths and legends?
What's more, he grew up by the Yellow River, and he had heard many rumors about dragons causing chaos. There were even some dragon-suppressing ponds and dragon-locking wells, but he had never heard of anyone daring to talk about killing dragons.
"No, wait."
After the old foreigner finished speaking, Yang Fang finally couldn't suppress the shock in his heart and grabbed his shoulders, his brows almost knitted together.
"Zhan, dragon?"
At this moment, because of his surprise, his tone seemed a little weird.
"You kid are not..."
The old foreigner frowned subconsciously.
But just as he spoke, he suddenly remembered that Yang Fang did not accompany him during the trip to Zhelong Mountain. In addition, the journey was too long, spanning several provinces and thousands of miles, and involved Muchen Pearl.
At that time, Yang Fang had not practiced entry.
For him, slaying demons and subduing demons was too shocking, let alone slaying dragons.
Therefore, he really didn't know about this from beginning to end.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
“No, have you really eaten dragon meat?”
Seeing the change in his expression, Yang Fang couldn’t figure out what happened. What? His eyes suddenly widened, as if he had seen a ghost.
The old foreigner couldn't hide it, so he nodded.
time.
Yang Fang is like a worm in the ground.
No longer caring about the beautiful view of the lake in front of me, I asked again and again.
“Mom, how does it taste? Is there any more? They say dragon meat is in the sky and donkey meat is on the ground. I haven’t had the chance to eat grandma’s donkey meat a few times. It’s you who even eat dragon meat. It’s on.”
“It just tastes like that.”
The old foreigner had a headache. If he had known this, he shouldn't have been so mean.
If this kid finds out, it is conceivable that he will be noisy until the sky is dark.
“That’s it?”
“No, do you have any more? Give me a pound and a half to try.”
If there weren’t so many people right now.
With his temper, he had to take off the old foreigner's bamboo basket that never left his body and take a look.
“You’re only half a catty, are you crazy?”
Although the black dragon was amazing in size that day, it was a monster after all. How could the group of people really dare to eat it as a snake? Got the best piece of grilled food to share.
The remaining bit was baked into dried meat and kept as food supplies along the way.
Everything has been eaten long ago.
If we really want to leave anything behind, it would only be a few bottles of dragon essence and blood.
Used to feed two armored beasts.
"This is the only one, do you want to try it?"
After hesitating for a long time, he took out a palm-sized porcelain bottle.
“What the hell?”
Yang Fang frowned, a trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes.
“You’ll know after you see it.”
Hearing this, Yang Fang didn’t waste any time, took it in his hand, and gently pulled out the cork with a bang. In an instant, The extremely pungent smell of blood rushed directly into the mouth and nose from the bottle.
In that blood, there is a faint evil aura. It's like a tiger roaring, choosing people to devour.
However, Yang Fang had already opened the door and entered. Under the attack of the evil spirit, his whole face suddenly changed, and he felt that the blood all over his body was completely stagnant at this moment.
"This..."
"Jiaolong Essence and Blood?"
He had some knowledge and understood it immediately, frowning and whispering.
“Yes, that’s all the good stuff, why don’t you try it?”
The old foreigner shrugged, with a smile on his lips.
Tell the truth.
For a moment, Yang Fang was really moved, but the pungent smell of blood, like a knife cutting his throat, kept him from doing anything.
How is this guy who drinks hair and drinks blood different from a savage?
“Forget it.”
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Fang gave up the idea in his mind.
“Didn’t Shopkeeper Chen say that there are dragons in Dongting Lake, and it won’t be too late to eat dragon meat then.”
“That’s okay.”
Listening to the two of them You say something to me.
It seems that the matter of slaying the dragon is already a certainty.
A question slowly popped up in Chen Yulou's mind: Do these two guys think too highly of him, a tiger in the mountains and a water dragon in the lake?
They are all the most amazing monsters in the world.
Not to mention the old raccoon son of the ancient raccoon monument, even the six-winged centipede is incomparable.
Do you really think he is a land immortal, able to conquer all things?
“Kunlun, what time is it?”
Shaking his head and ignoring the two guys, Chen Yulou asked casually.
"Shopkeeper, the time has passed, and the time of application is just around the corner."
Kunlun, who had been following closely behind him, silently calculated before giving a definite answer.
“It’s getting late.”
“Brother Dao, and a few other brothers are still dozens of miles away from Xiangyin. We can’t delay any more. We should set off first and try to get back before dark. Zhuang.”
Chen Yulou nodded.
It seems to be still early now.
But in mid-spring, night falls early, and the road from Yuanjiang to Xiangyin is full of rugged mountains.
"Okay."
The Partridge Whistle, who was leaning on the second floor, leaning on the railing and looking at the Dongting Lake, nodded immediately.
The same goes for the rest of the people.
Originally, I had no intention of climbing the stairs on my way back, but I just happened to pass by. I was tired from galloping all the way, so I simply dismounted and let Bailong and the others eat water and grass on the river bank.
They might as well take a short break.
It must be said that Yueyang Tower is worthy of being one of the four famous buildings. Even though it has been renovated dozens of times since ancient times, it can still be seen from it the thickness of thousands of years.
Right now, there are many tourists besides them upstairs.
Listen to the tones, both in the north and the south.
After all, a trip to Dongting Lake without climbing the Yueyang Tower is a waste of time.
So even the foreigners who went south to avoid trouble still have a rare smile on their faces.
Far away in a foreign land, with a bad fate, I live in pain and helplessness almost every day. At this moment, I can relax my tight heartstrings a little.
A group of people passed by by mistake.
But for some reason, when going downstairs, Chen Yulou suddenly turned around and glanced at one of them.
"What's the matter, shopkeeper?"
Perceiving something strange about him, Kunlun reacted first and subconsciously followed his gaze.
However, a large group of people did not show anything special.
They all seem to be ordinary lower-class people.
There is neither inner energy nor spiritual energy fluctuations.
I didn’t even see anyone with the temperament to leave the world.
“Brother Chen?”
Not only him, Partridge Whistle also asked in a low voice.
“It’s okay.”
"I must have seen it wrong."
Chen Yulou waved his hand and looked away from an unattractive man in the crowd.
He looks to be in his thirties.
He is covered in dust, wearing coarse linen clothes, with sunken eyes, a skinny figure, and confusion in his eyes. He is very familiar with this look. Every time someone enters Zhuangzi, they have almost the same expression.
But I don’t know why.
When he passed by him just now, he suddenly felt an indescribable strange feeling in his heart.
It’s like... I’ve seen him somewhere.
But upon closer inspection, that face was indescribably unfamiliar.
You must know that in his current state, photographic memory is just a matter of course. Anyone who has seen it will definitely not ignore it.
Besides, the aura on his body is nothing special.
So after thinking about it, Chen Yulou could only explain that he might have made a mistake.
"Then I will lead the horse?"
Kunlun scratched his head. He had never encountered this situation before.
"Okay."
The three of them quickly went downstairs and went to the forest outside the building to fetch the white dragons who were kept here.
The partridge whistle walking behind him was thoughtful.
Seeing that Chen Yulou was about to walk down the stairs.
He just caught up and asked in a low voice.
"Brother Chen, do you want me to ask?"
"No need."
Chen Yulou shook his head and smiled.
Even if I have met him, he should be a minor character.
If they were from the same group, he might still be somewhat interested, but now... they have to rush back to Chenjiazhuang, Xiangyin as soon as possible, so there is no time to hang around with him.
“That’s fine.”
I heard the determination in his tone.
Partridge Whistle then gave up the idea.
A group of people went downstairs and rode up. The thunderous sound of horse hooves echoed across the lakeside.
The sky is getting dark.
The team has moved from Dongting Lake to the coast of Xiangjiang River.
Once you pass Shijun Mountain, you will feel even more familiar along the way.
Not to mention Chen Yulou and Kunlun, the two brothers, Partridge Sentry Master, have stayed in Xiangyin for almost half a year.
Especially the Shijunshan Hundred-foot Fire Dragon.
The old foreigners’ Jiaoshe bow was cast here.
"Shopkeeper Chen, these arrows..."
Looking at the bare peak, the old foreigner lowered his head and glanced at the quiver. There were originally a total of thirteen iron arrows, but they were not accurate. Juegucheng and his party suffered heavy losses.
Now less than half remains.
There were even a few of them, which he found from various places afterwards, and the arrows were severely corroded.
Now he has reached the peak of Qi Refining Pass.
With the Jiao Archer Bow in his hands, his strength will only become more terrifying.
It would be a pity if the arrows cannot be replenished.
"Don't worry, old foreigner brother. In a few days, Chen will send someone to ask Shopkeeper Li, and he will cast some more arrows for you at once."
"Okay, thank you Shopkeeper Chen!"
This is what the old foreigner was waiting for. At this moment, his face was full of excitement.
I seem to hear movement on the mountain road.
The guys guarding here walked out of the hut.
"The boss?"
"The boss is back."
Seeing several figures on the horse, the man was startled at first, and then couldn't help but exclaimed.
Everyone in Zhuangzi knew that he always led others to fight in other places and did not come back for almost half a year.
I thought it was mountain people coming to cut firewood, but I didn’t expect it to be such a big surprise.
Whether it is the Chen family or Changshengshan, Chen Yulou is the absolute core.
As long as he is here.
This flag will never fall.
“It’s me.”
Feeling the waiter’s excitement, Chen Yulou waved his hand.
The guys guarding here are all sons of the Chen family, and they are even more loyal to Chen Yulou.
"Is everything okay with the fire dragon at the foot of the mountain during this time?"
"It's okay. We will go down the mountain to patrol every day."
After asking a few questions, Chen Yulou breathed a sigh of relief.
Later.
The group did not delay.
Follow the mountain road and go straight to Chenjiazhuang.
It wasn't until the moment when it was getting dark that everyone finally saw the small town located among the green hills and fertile fields. There were countless people busy in the fields outside the village.
Burning straw for fertilizer.
Obviously it is preparation for spring farming.
Without disturbing them, the group of four walked through the thousand acres of fields.
It’s just...
I haven’t had time to enter the city yet.
In the distance, several figures had already heard the news, opened the door and rode up to greet them.
One of them is a cyan robe and a red skirt.
"It's Junior Sister and Miss Hong."
The old foreigner's eyes lit up. Originally, they were planning to enter the city quietly, but they were discovered in advance.
"There are also Guaizi, Baiyuan, and Senior Uncle Yu."
There is no need for his reminder.
Chen Yulou, who was sitting on the horse, had already noticed that he was standing on his horse at this moment. Looking at those figures, he couldn't help but have a touch of tenderness in his eyes.
There is no such thing as an arrow.
It’s just because there is someone I care about. (End of this chapter)