The figure lifted the curtain with her slender hands. The woman was beautiful and fragrant. She and the scholar looked affectionate... The scholar's mind suddenly wavered. When hesitating, the beauty's eyes were filled with resentment and she bit her lips. The purple-clothed waiter fell to the ground and spoke sincerely.

, the scholar finally moved forward and boarded the car...

In the blink of an eye, the green carriage, the purple-clothed waiter, the beautiful lady holding hands with him, and the big locust tree all turned into smoke and dispersed.

The scholar fell to the ground and rubbed his buttocks in pain.

Now I was finally sure it was not a dream.

The old Taoist priest suddenly put his hands on his hands and laughed, "Wonderful."

At the same time, Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo also changed the landscape painting, but in Chen Ping'an's heart, the old Taoist priest's voice rippled, saying that somewhere in Huangliang Kingdom, there was a sword secret.

Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo came to a land where the heat was rising. There was a drought. There was no rain for three consecutive months. The rivers dried up and the lakes dried up. There was no harvest, and all the vegetation was gone in the land thousands of miles away.

Chen Ping'an cast a water spell that brought down the rain, but after casting the spell, he would return to the original place. But if he wanted to ride the wind, it would be like going back in time, so he had to take Xiao Mo on foot on the earth.

During the drought season, there was no harvest and the people were migrating. Along the way, there were piles of bones and the horrific human tragedy was everywhere. Previously, when he encountered a group of women, children and children who were about to die on the way, Chen Pingan knelt down and gave them food and drink.

It will just slide through the throat and intestines and fall straight to the ground.

Chen Pingan was squatting on the spot and did not get up for a long time.

Xiao Mo comforted him: "Master, it's all fake."

Chen Pingan nodded, then shook his head, "It used to be true."

After getting up and walking on the road again, Xiao Mo took a look at the young master's face and found that there was nothing strange about him.

Later, we encountered a county town where someone had opened a warehouse for disaster relief and had set up a porridge shop for many days. However, they were rushed past by a group of bandits who came after hearing the news.

By the time Chen Ping'an entered the city, it was already like purgatory on earth.

In that family where everyone was dead, there was a young man lying in a pool of blood. With tears on his face, he turned his head with difficulty and looked at an old man who had been hacked to death with a knife.

The young man and his father repeatedly said that since ancient times, disaster relief has required military guards. Why don't you listen? Why don't you listen...

Chen Pingan sat on the courtyard steps covered with blood and corpses. He stood up and came to the young scholar. He wanted to gently hold his hand, but there was an afterimage, but Chen Pingan's hand still hovered in place.

He said softly: "Don't be afraid. For you good people, walking through this world is like walking through hell."

Afterwards, they walked out of the county town and came to the outskirts of a state city with Xiaomo. On the bank of a dry river, officials with chapped lips were praying for rain, while in the city they were practicing the folk custom of showing off the Dragon King.

Chen Pingan squatted on the other side of the river, reached out and grabbed a handful of broken soil, listened to the official's hoarse voice praying for rain, read it over, and started from the beginning again. After Chen Pingan stood up, he stepped down, came to the other side of the river, and stood

Next to the incense table, he took out a pen and paper and helped rewrite a prayer for rain. After handing it to the sallow-looking official, the latter, with the mentality of treating a dead horse as a living horse doctor, prepared to recite this prayer for rain that was inconsistent with the etiquette system.

, just after reading the beginning, the official looked flustered and turned to look at the man in green shirt, as if asking with his eyes, is it really okay? Is it really not going to cause more disasters?

Because the content of the prayer for rain on that piece of paper was really too disrespectful.

Generally speaking, this kind of rain prayer book has a formal standard similar to that of the officialdom, mixed with some respectful words, such as "sincerity and fear", starting with "I want to write to the rain master", and then writing something like "spring rain is like a benevolent edict, summer rain is like a benevolent edict"

"Pardon Letter" words.

The letter he held in his hand to pray for rain began with the words: "Uncle Feng, Master of Rain, Mother of Thunder, Lord of Thunder, listen to my orders, and those who disobey orders will be killed."

Therefore, when this official endorsed the letter, his voice was trembling, because he had not had a hearty drink of water for a long time, otherwise he would have been sweating profusely. When he finished reading the treasonous prayer for rain, the official felt relieved and collapsed to the ground.

After a while, dark clouds gathered, thunder rolled, lightning thundered, and in an instant there was heavy rain, covering thousands of miles, and nectar fell everywhere.

Xiao Mo raised his head and said softly: "Young Master, I was in the county town before. I almost couldn't hold it back and handed the sword to it. Killing it counts, so I can't just let it continue to deliberately disgust you."

Chen Pingan stretched out his hand to catch the soybean-sized raindrops, "It actually has nothing to do with your Taoist friend."

Xiao Mo smiled and said: "To be honest, if Xiao Mo saw this kind of scene ten thousand years ago, he would only be indifferent. Even if Xiao Mo opened his eyes wide and stared at it for several days, he would still be the same.

It's indifferent. It's different now. Maybe I've been with you for a long time and have become a little soft-hearted. Master, is this the difference between a cultivator and a Taoist?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "The transformation from ancient Taoist priests to today's Taoists is actually not all a good thing. Just speaking of the speed of cultivation, it will definitely be slower."

After that, Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo came to a new situation, a county, which was flooded year after year, and their homes were submerged in the water.

It turns out that there is a river in the county that has been flooded since ancient times. Chen Ping'an found that he had suddenly transformed into a prefect of a county. He was born in the Han tribe. Fortunately, he seemed to be a young prodigy. He was a Jinshi at a young age.

Not married yet.

Because he roughly knew the method of the "God", Chen Pingan gave up the idea of ​​using magic and began to beg for help with wealthy people in counties and counties. As for the specific method of controlling water, Chen Pingan had a method.

After all, in addition to the construction methods compiled by Zhu Lian, there are also many books from the Nanyuan Ministry of Industry. I have carefully read them. It is more than enough to be a plumber for the imperial court. Chen Pingan took Xiao Mo and a group of subordinates to inspect the city.

After studying the geography of the riverbed outside, we found that we only need to build a fish-mouth water dike. We need bamboo cages filled with stones to block the water, and then open a flat water tank and a spillway. The curvature of the bottom of the riverbed is also somewhat particular, and they are all those

Chen Pingan just copied and used the knowledge recorded in detail in ancient books.

After that, I went from door to door, seeking wealth with local wealthy people, and saw some anecdotes about high-level people and various things in the market. One of them once slapped the table in front of his face and said, "We who read the books of sages all work hard on the principles."

A rich man, but in the end he was only willing to give out fifty taels of silver. At the beginning of the year, a piglet ran out of his pigsty and went to his neighbor. He thought it was unlucky, so he sold it to his neighbor at the market price. By the end of the year, it had grown to more than one hundred taels.

A pig that weighed 5 pounds ran into the house again. As a result, the rich man could only pay according to the "market price" at the beginning of the year, so he started a lawsuit and went to the county government. Chen Ping'an, the county governor,

So he looked for an opportunity to attack the matter, raised an army to investigate, and made a fuss about it. Only then did Mr. Maocai, who had worked hard on the rules, come to the house overnight and take an extra hundred taels of silver.

The largest family in the county was a man who had retired from the Ministry of Rites in the capital. He had no children and only had a daughter. He claimed to the public that his daughter had written thousands of articles on the subject, including Cheng Mo's calendar and examination papers for masters in various provinces.

, if it were a son, dozens of top picks, Jinshi would have been successful long ago.

When Chen Ping'an took the initiative to come to discuss Taoism with him, the old man had served as a reviewer for several times. Even when he spoke to the county governor, he still regarded himself as an elder in the officialdom and said categorically that if the imperial examination essays were well done, you can do whatever you want. Everything is a mark with a whip, a slap with blood. But if the imperial examination essays are poorly done and lack of attention to detail, no matter what you do, you will be a wild fox Zen and an evil heretic... I heard Chen Ping'an say this The young prefect of Qingliu, who was born in the right way, had no choice but to nod vigorously and agree repeatedly, otherwise he would not be able to get money from the defraud. The old man then said that he was sad that the son-in-law who entered his wife's house was a well-matched and talented son-in-law, but he refused to start a career. The young county governor comforted him by saying that as long as he raised a son early and taught him to read, there would be no difficulty in taking over his grandfather's job as a Jinshi in the coming year. At the end, he said categorically, "In this way, Miss's imperial edict will be fulfilled." It's very safe." The old man was so happy that he gave him three thousand taels of silver.

As a follower of the county guard, Xiao Mo watched and listened, and felt that he had learned a lot about the world outside of books.

In this scroll of heaven and earth, there are three colorful characters. In addition to the old man Gaosheng who was quickly ordered to return to the center of the imperial court by a piece of paper from the capital, there is also a poor scholar who has been trapped in a house for many years. His family is poor, and there is a man who works in the county town. The last father-in-law in the cooked food case is none other than the wealthy Mr. Maocai who ran away with a little pig at the beginning of the year and returned with a big pig at the end of the year.

When the old man moved his family back to the capital, the old man turned into black and white. But when Chen Ping'an completed the water conservancy project and there were no more worries about waterlogging in the jurisdiction, he was praised by the court, but he found that Brother Maocai was still the same as the poor scholar. Chen Pingan thought for a while and had to pay a private visit incognito. He went to the latter's home and saw the poor man saying goodbye to his wife at the door. He patted his chest and promised that he would definitely win the provincial examination. , I’ve been patient for more than a month, you are definitely a lady. The woman wiped her tears and said with a smile, I hope that I can be both civilized and blessed, so that I can win some glory for my ancestors and help my wife to be poor. Then I will worship heaven and earth. Already.

As a result, it happened that Chen Ping'an, the county governor, had made great achievements in flood control. The imperial court ordered him to serve as an academic administrator for a state and to serve as the examiner of this examination. He extracted the examination essay of the poor scholar from the failed examination paper and circled his name. Painting can be regarded as being promoted to Juren. From this moment on, the scholar who was transformed into a Juren master became black and white. As for Brother Maocai, who was ill and dying, he was still in color. Chen Pingan was puzzled. , had no choice but to sneak into the other party's home, and found that the man's hand stretched out from the quilt, stretched out two fingers, and refused to take his last breath. Chen Pingan couldn't laugh or cry, so he had to push the door in and light two lamp grasses on the table. He picked out a stem from the oil lamp. Everyone looked at him and saw that the man on the bed nodded, lowered his hand, and immediately lost his breath.

Xiao Mo leaned against the door, shaking his head helplessly.

When Chen Pingan walked out of the house, the picture scroll changed. He and Xiao Mo seemed to be on the edge of the battlefield. The two armies were facing each other, only separated by a river. The chariots and horses were all ancient-looking. One side had a large banner with the words benevolence and righteousness written on it, and the other One side has strong troops and horses, and the monarch is laughing with the military advisor beside him and saying, "The enemy has more than enough armor but not enough benevolence and righteousness. The enemy has not enough armor but has more than enough benevolence and righteousness. We will definitely win a great victory."

Later, the military advisor saw that the enemy was crossing the river with troops and horses, so he suggested to the benevolent and righteous monarch to attack halfway across the river. However, if he refused, the two armies fought and were defeated.

Chen Ping'an stood aside and watched. After the scroll was restored to its original state twice, he went to the army and came to the car with the only colorful figure. The latter asked: "Is I wrong?"

Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves and remained silent.

"What do the history books of later generations say about the widowed people?"

Chen Pingan still said nothing.

"Let's not talk about history books, what about the people in the market, and what about the official and unofficial history?"

The monarch was full of sorrow and tears filled his eyes. He slapped Che Shi hard and said with grief and anger: "There should be a good word, right?!"

Chen Pingan still did not give a direct answer, "Right things, good things, immediate things, behind-the-scenes things, current things, and eternal things are all mixed together, how can we distinguish them clearly?"

"Besides, you are not a Taoist. When you are in charge of your political affairs, you must always take care of the safety of the people of a country. As a battlefield warrior, you must win the battle in front of you."

The king who had subjugated his country shouted "benevolence and justice" several times, and his figure disappeared.

After that, Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo met many strange people and things.

The two of them were sailing in a small boat on a moonlit night, drifting with the water. When they arrived at an ancient bridge, they saw a small building like a painting, closed by the water. It turns out that every time the breeze blows and the moon shines, the ethereal figure of a woman can be seen in the winding sill of the cloister.

Wandering and leaning, lingering and melancholy, throwing money into the water.

Later, thousands of miles away, Chen Ping'an finally saw another elegant young man with a colorful figure. In the bustling market, he asked the servants to kneel on his back, ordered the book boy to play the flute, and ordered the servants to do the flute.

As the luan crane flew away, the servant was a little slow to get up. The young master felt sad and broke down in tears. He said to himself that I am no longer a fairy, so I went to see the beautiful woman as a narcissus. Then he got up and ran wildly, jumping into a nearby pond. He probably threw himself into the water, but

He was quickly picked up by a servant and kept drowning.

Chen Pingan asked Xiao Mo to do it for him and help deliver the letters. Even if the relationship between such a talented and beautiful woman was sincere, Chen Pingan was too lazy to be the matchmaker.

Later, when we came to a mountainside, an old monk took a young novice down the mountain. When he met the woman on the way, the old monk only said that the tiger at the foot of the mountain can eat people and should not be approached and must be avoided.

When he returned to the mountain, the little novice monk looked stunned. He touched his little bald head and said to his master, "I don't want anything but the man-eating tiger at the bottom of the mountain. I can't bear to let him go."

Chen Pingan held back his laughter.

Afterwards, he returned to the dilapidated temple in the mountains. When the weather was freezing, the old monk chopped down the wooden Buddha statue for firewood and started to light a fire to keep warm. He turned to look at the green-shirted scholar who stayed in the temple and came to Beijing to take the exam.

Chen Pingan shook his head and said, "You can do it, monk, but I can't."

The old monk asked why he couldn't do it. He always prayed to Buddha, but didn't he worship himself?

Chen Pingan just remained motionless.

So the master and apprentice went down the mountain, and the old monk returned to the temple to cut the Buddha statues and burn firewood, and the cycle continued like this.

Finally, Xiao Mo couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but say something to the old monk.

The old monk then stood up and smiled, lowered his head with Xiao Mo, and clasped his hands together.

After the rain, I met an old woman on the road, wearing ragged clothes and riding a horse with a gorgeous saddle and bridle, which seemed a bit nondescript.

The old woman looked kind, stopped her horse quickly, and asked in a warm voice: "Where are you going, Master?"

Chen Ping'an said he was going to visit relatives in the countryside. The old woman said: "The road is difficult and there are many tigers. Why don't you come with me to a humble house for a short rest? We can go early the next day and be more relaxed."

Chen Ping'an bowed to express his thanks.

The old woman rode her horse slowly and led the two of them along a secluded path for about three or four miles. They faintly saw a light in the forest. The old woman pointed her whip at the light and smiled.
To be continued...