Li Jiang mustered up the desire to survive and stepped into the water carefully. The water had just submerged the instep of his feet. He became worried again, fearing that the center of the river was too deep or that there were some ferocious animals.

Slightly sinking, he turned back and glanced at the shore, but he thought that he had seen it somewhere. If the sound of a stone is dull when it enters the water, the deeper the water, the clearer the sound, which means the water is very shallow.

Following this train of thought, he picked up a stone as big as his fist, weighed it, and then threw the stone high into the air and dropped it toward the center of the river.

There was a crisp sound of "plop" immediately. It didn't seem to be very deep. After waiting for a while, no crocodile or anything like that was seen floating up. Li Jiang didn't care whether this method was reliable or not, so he decided to go in and give it a try.

He walked cautiously towards the other side of the river while taking a moonwalk. When he reached the center of the river, the water actually reached his knees. He breathed a sigh of relief and was secretly amused. He was really as timid as a mouse. It’s not like he couldn’t swim. What could happen in this small river?

How deep.

This time Li Jiang accidentally tested it, and went directly across the river, and climbed up the river bank unsteadily.

After landing on the shore, he first observed it. This side is a plain. The terrain goes from high to low. Weeds such as foxtail grass grow near the river bank. Then the weeds grow less and less as they grow away from the river, revealing a large area of ​​land.

The loess reaches the outline of the house in the distance.

After observing the target, Li Jiang took action. Regardless of the dirt and rocks on the ground and his sore feet, he hunched over and trotted all the way. After five or six minutes, the target gradually became clear. It was a small village with crisscrossing wheat fields outside.

Under the scorching sun, the wheat inside was wilting and drooping, and the golden wheat waves swayed in the wind.

Li Jiang stopped and looked carefully. He saw about dozens of households.

He didn't dare to be careless. The crops here were very low and not enough to hide his figure, so he crouched down and lurked. With high concentration, he walked slowly towards the village with duck steps.

Fortunately, it was afternoon, the sun was high, and the villagers should rest at home. Li Jiang did not hear anyone's voice, only the barking of dogs.

There is a dog! Li Jiang's moving body stopped, thinking whether he should go in and take risks. If he was caught, the villagers would treat him like a changer and beat him up because of his appearance.

After much deliberation, he pondered for a long time, but finally his shame prevailed and he dived in more carefully.

Li Jiang walked the few tens of meters with great trepidation, walking on thin ice, for fear of being discovered by the dog and attracting villagers. But fortunately, the dog might be tied up. Murphy's law did not take effect, and he finally sneaked to the outermost spot.

Under the house wall.

Leaning against the wall, pressing his heart that was beating at 200 yards in his chest, Li Jiang took a few quick breaths. When he calmed down a little, he looked at the earth wall he was leaning against.

The earthen wall should be the back wall of a villager's house. There is only a small hanging window on it, which is held up by a small wooden stick. It is very high from the ground, just above the head of his 1.78-meter-tall man.

He looked around and saw that no one was coming, so he quietly stepped back a few meters, then ran a few steps to gather strength and jumped up. His hands felt a huge pain, and he just grabbed the window sill and kicked the wall with his hands.

Li raised his head and looked through the window.

The room was empty with no one around. There were a few large cloth bags and some scattered wood in the corner. He guessed that this might be the villagers' warehouse.

Li Jiang carefully removed the small wooden stick holding up the window, stretched his head over it to prevent the window from closing, and pushed hard on the wall with his feet to climb up.

He couldn't care less about the burning pain on his bare feet. He held it up with both hands and pushed his head inward. He was sweating profusely due to nervousness and finally managed to get in.

With a backward movement, Li Jiang rolled down with his hands on the ground. At this time, he felt pain all over his body, and his skin was even scratched in some places. He couldn't help but gritted his teeth and cracked his mouth, but he was lamenting in his heart. He is such a good young man, but now he is...

I ended up being a thief because of this broken system.

Because he was afraid that the owner of the house would come in, he quickly got up after the pain subsided slightly and looked around the house for useful things.

The house was not big, only about twenty square meters, and he found it quickly. There was no clothes or anything like what he imagined.

Li Jiang was blinded by this. He reluctantly pulled the door, but found that it was locked outside and could not be opened at all.

Without opening the door, Li Jiang could only comfort himself in annoyance. If he ventured out of the house, he would increase the risk of exposure. If he was discovered by others, haha, it would be better to explain that he had become a wife if he ran away outside, but if he ran away in someone else's house, he would

It can only be a silver thief. The best outcome is that he will be sent to the government to be imprisoned, and there is a high probability that he will be beaten to death on the spot.

After preparing himself mentally, Li Jiang frowned and looked at the items in the house again. After a moment, he walked thoughtfully to several bags and looked at them carefully. These bags were made of gray coarse cloth, each with stitches on it.

With several patches of different colors.

Li Jiang stretched out his hand and pressed one of the bags. It made a rustling sound. Judging from the feel, it should be filled with small granular objects such as grain.

He turned around and found a sharp fragment similar to a sickle, and used it to open the short side of the sack, and the grain inside flowed out.

Li Jiang didn't know what kind of grain it was. After it was all drained, he picked it up, shook it, and then started making signs on his body.

The gray cloth bag was about 1.5 meters long and 0.6 meters wide. Li Jiang nodded with satisfaction, turned the bag over and dug a hole the size of a human head with a sharp tool on the other short side, and then dug a small hole on each of the two long sides.

hole. At this point, a simple costume is completed.

After putting on the bag clothes, Li Jiang's unrestrained heart calmed down. Now that he was covered with clothes, he finally got rid of the embarrassment of primitive people.

After solving the problem of shame, his stomach began to rebel. Touching his belly that was close to his back, Li Jiang thought that the terrain here was unfamiliar and there was a high chance of being discovered if he did more things. He might as well go back to the mountains and search for it.

What fruits are there to satisfy my hunger?

After making his decision, Li Jiang found a wooden shelf to place under the window and climbed out along the same path.

As soon as he landed, before he could stand up, he heard a "barking" sound. When he looked up, he saw a large khaki dog rushing toward him with a barking bark.

Li Jiang was so frightened that he used his hands and feet to run in the opposite direction. Unexpectedly, he panicked and ran towards the village at lightning speed. The sound of "woof, woof" kept chasing after him, and he turned around every corner.

He was so anxious that he wished his parents had two more legs.

After running for another few hundred meters, the wind blew into his mouth, and his chest felt like it was being burned. The barking of the dog behind him gradually became smaller. After Li Jiang ran for another distance, he looked back and saw that the big yellow dog had disappeared.

Traces.

Only then did Li Jiang stop, holding on to the wall, panting, and cursed intermittently: "Damn dog, you, come here again, see if I can't kill you, just eat meat!"

While he was cursing, a person suddenly came out from the corner of the wall. He probably didn't expect that there was someone here, so he was startled. He leaned back half a step and looked towards Li Jiang.

Li Jiang was also stunned, and immediately shut up, looking at this man who seemed to be in his fifties or sixties. He saw that his dark face was full of ravines, and his half-black and half-white hair was tied into a bun with a cloth.

He was wearing a short jacket that was slightly whitish, maybe blue, and his brown trousers were rolled up to reveal his strong black calves.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. The old man raised his finger and pointed at Li Jiang. His lips moved and he was about to speak, but Li Jiang struck first.

"Amitabha, the donor is so polite!" Li Jiang clasped his hands together and loudly shouted the Buddha's name. This was a strategy he had thought of when he came, because in ancient times, most monks had short hair, so it would not arouse suspicion, and even if they were beaten, they would be treated lightly.

?

The old man was stunned for a moment and asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Why did the master come to Ermen Village?"

Li Jiang Baoxiang replied with dignity: "Oh, don't forget, this poor monk is on his way and is a little tired. He happened to see a village here and came here to ask for a drink of water, Amitabha Buddha."

After hearing this, the old man's doubts disappeared and he quickly said: "Your Majesty, Master, follow me."

After speaking, the old man enthusiastically led the way. Li Jiang had no choice but to follow silently.

After walking a few steps, he turned a corner and the old man stopped. Li Jiang took a look and saw that this was a small courtyard surrounded by low earth walls. There were three earthen houses in it, and there was a well drilled in the courtyard.

A thatched shed was built next to the earthen house, and wisps of smoke drifted out.

The old man pushed open the door made of firewood, turned around and said to Li Jiang: "Master, please come in, and I will get you water."

Li Jiang paid a courtesy and said, "Thank you so much, donor." Then he straightened out the rags he was wearing, and Shi Shiran walked in.

The old man quickly entered the thatched shed, took out a large porcelain bowl, and walked to the well to fetch water.

Li Jiang took the opportunity to observe the main room with the door open. There was a shrine inside. There was a high altar table under the shrine with several memorial tablets on it. In the middle of the room, there was an Eight Immortals table with a wooden color, and two long wooden stools were placed on the table.

Besides, there is nothing else. It is really a family with only four walls.

Li Jiang frowned secretly, but the old man had already filled the water and brought it to him with a bowl.

After performing a Buddhist salute to the old man again, Li Jiang took the water bowl with both hands, took a sip, and said in a casual tone: "Old man, are you the only one at home?"

The old man's expression darkened and he said, "I still have a son, but he's not at home. He recently went to the king to recruit troops, and he went with him."

King Chuang! Li Jiang understood that this was the last year of the Ming Dynasty and the time was determined. He quickly asked again: "Old man, where is this place? The poor monk didn't know the direction and got lost!"

The old man replied: "This is Huashan, doesn't Master know?"

"Well, the poor monk is wandering around and has never been to Huashan, which makes the old man laugh!"

The old man quickly waved his hand and said: "No, no, master, don't be offended."

Li Jiang nodded, shouted the Buddha's name, and took another sip of water. After putting down the bowl, he pointed at the thatched house and asked: "Old man, it's already past noon, why are you still cooking?"

The old man looked back and said awkwardly: "Well, I was a little late working in the morning and missed the afternoon, so I started cooking. Oh, by the way, master, why don't we have some together?"

Li Jiang was secretly happy in his heart, but he said calmly: "No need to trouble the old man, a bowl of water is enough for the poor monk."

The old man shook his hand and said eagerly: "No trouble, no trouble. Master is an honored guest that we usually can't invite. Please don't refuse."

Li Jiang had a troubled look on his face, and after a few seconds he sighed and said, "I don't dare to refuse the elder's gift. Since the elder has warmly invited me, I can just stay here and disturb you."

After hearing this, the old man immediately stood up and said happily: "Master, please sit down for a while. I was just going to dig some vegetables to go with the rice. I will go get them later."

Li Jiang also stood up and Heshi said: "Amitabha, I'm sorry to have you here!"
Chapter completed!