Chapter 138 Xiang River, Xiang Lady

Wei Yuan put away the relic and soothed Wu Zhiqi well.

It seemed that Wu Zhiqi was in a good mood after having a rare fight. The unhappiness caused by his things being broken and shattered was also alleviated. Seeing that his emotions were stable, Wei Yuan promised to send him some more 'vintage wine' later before leaving.

The relics had all been put into the Crouching Tiger waist tag.

On the other hand, the iron falcon that Wei Yuan had put into his sleeve earlier turned into a stream of air and flew out. It didn't pounce down with the ferocity it had shown in the Pure Land of Mount Ling, but instead landed on Wei Yuan's shoulder, extremely affectionate and familiar.

This was the iron falcon emblem on the Iron Falcon Sword.

It was the manifestation of the legend of the Black Ice Terrace of the Great Qin Dynasty.

The iron falcon circled Wei Yuan a few times. A gentle smile appeared on Wei Yuan's face. He opened his palm, and the iron falcon landed in his palm, turning into a stream of air and burrowing into his sleeve. At the same time, Wei Yuan took advantage of an undercurrent to fly out.

Then, he frowned slightly. Perhaps because he was a little happy to have obtained the relic, or perhaps because he was somewhat nostalgic after retrieving the emblem of the Iron Falcon Sword, he stepped on the undercurrent, which carried him a little further forward. It wasn't far, but it happened to be near the Xiang River.

Looking back, the Huai River system was not far away.

In front of Wei Yuan, he could already see the beauty of Xiang Mountain and the lush bamboo forest of this season. The leaves of the Xiangfei Bamboo were stained with tear marks, and as they passed by in the wind, the sound was faintly like a woman's weeping. The Xiang Lady Temple was hidden deep in the bamboo forest.

Wei Yuan rode the water current and landed on the bank opposite Xiang Mountain.

There wasn't a single drop of water on his body.

However, he could vaguely hear a desolate and magnificent melody. Mist had risen on the water at some point, making the singing even more distant and ethereal. Wei Yuan didn't leave, but quietly watched this place to see what tricks were being played.

The singing grew closer and closer.

After a while, a boat that was commonly seen in the Wu and Chu regions came over. The boatman was a man who was not tall, but looked extremely sturdy, with thick arms. There were also several passengers on the boat, one was a man in his forties, and there were also a few young men and women, who looked rather refined.

The boat docked at the river bank, and the man said with a smile, "Guests, do you want to cross the river?"

"There's a big temple fair at the Xiang Lady Temple today, to worship the two Xiang Ladies. It's very lively, and the surrounding people will go to pray for blessings. It's a rare opportunity, don't miss it."

As he spoke, the boat had already docked. The passengers were also happy to see someone who could accompany them, and greeted, "Young brother, if you don't have anything important to do, why not go and take a look? If you want to come next time, you may have to wait a whole year."

"Yes, the Xiang River isn't wide, it only takes an hour or two to cross over."

Everyone enthusiastically invited him.

Wei Yuan smiled, did not refuse, and stepped onto the boat. The boat sank slightly, but quickly floated back to its original height. A young woman invited Wei Yuan to sit over there, and Wei Yuan gladly sat down. The boatman skillfully used a long wooden pole to push against the shore, and with a little push, the small boat broke through the ripples and mist, and headed towards the mountain.

The boatman continued to sing the simple and ancient melody.

The young woman, who was wearing a white dress and high-heeled sandals, listened attentively and asked curiously with a smile, "What is this song about? I've never heard it before, do you know?"

She turned her head and asked the people she was traveling with.

The middle-aged man in his forties said casually, "Didn't you see the boatman's attire? This is probably a local folk song or something. Each place has its own customs, and dialects change every few miles. It's normal that we can't understand it."

Wei Yuan said calmly:

"It's the Chu dialect, singing about the *Nine Songs: Xiang Lady* by the Grand Master Qu Yuan.

The man who had been speaking eloquently was stunned and a little embarrassed.

He said unconvinced, "How do you know?"

Wei Yuan said, "The Chu dialect, to be precise, is the ancient Chu language."

He sighed and explained, "The writing of Shen Zhou is inherited from the same source, but the languages are different. I haven't heard such an ancient language for a long time."

The middle-aged man felt that he had lost his position as the center of the topic and that everyone's attention had shifted to this young man. He smiled and said, "I see, I don't have any research on dialects or anything like that, and I didn't hear that the boatman's tune was Qu Yuan's *Nine Songs*, but speaking of this *Nine Songs: Xiang Lady*, do you know who it's about?"

"It's precisely the two people we're going to worship at the Xiang Lady Temple."

"They are the daughters of Emperor Yao, one of the three ancient emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu, and also the two wives of Emperor Shun. Legend has it that Emperor Shun died while on tour, and these two affectionate women chased after him, shedding tears on the bamboo, which became the Xiangfei Bamboo. They both committed suicide in the Xiang River, and are the legendary two Xiang Ladies."

"Ehuang and Nuying."

"There is a saying that the Xiang Lord and Xiang Lady in the *Nine Songs* are written based on Emperor Shun and his two wives, so the Xiang Lord and Xiang Lady have never been able to meet in the description of the poems."

The middle-aged man sighed. Seeing that the young people were attracted by his story, he smiled and said:

"However, Yao, Shun, and Yu are said to be wise rulers who abdicated to each other. This is just a mainstream view. In fact, there are other views. For example, Yao was imprisoned, and Shun died in the wild. Some people say that Emperor Shun was actually killed by Emperor Yu. It was a change of power in the ancient tribes, but it was decorated with the beautiful name of the abdication system. In fact, it was very bloody and cruel, and even the two women were..."

Since ancient times, this kind of conspiracy theory has always been able to attract attention.

Just as everyone was feeling emotional, a firm voice sounded.

"That's impossible."

The middle-aged man was stunned and turned to look. It was the person who had just spoken.

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "Yu is not that kind of person."

The middle-aged man said, "Oh? What's your opinion, young brother?"

Wei Yuan said, "I can't say I have a high opinion."

"It's just that the various anecdotes about Yu casting the Nine Cauldrons and controlling the floods all prove that he was an upright and aboveboard king. When he was in Tushan, the princes of the world gathered here, which proved that he had enough prestige. He killed Fangfengshi because he was late and because of his connection with Gonggong, in order to establish rules, both kindness and power, so that the hundreds of tribes of the Nine Provinces could obey his leadership and control the floods."

"At most, it can only be said that he was a more powerful monarch, but he would not harm Emperor Shun."

The middle-aged man questioned aggressively, "How do you know?"

"If he didn't do this, it's possible that Yu would not have been able to become the co-lord of the Central Plains."

"After all, he was just the leader of an ancient tribe, and there must have been limitations. Young brother, don't look at these ancient people too highly. We must look at the problem dialectically."

Wei Yuan looked at him strangely and said, "After the princes of the Nine Provinces went to Tushan to form an alliance."

"Yu was actually the leader of the Nine Provinces at that time."

"He killed a giant tribe prince, Fangfengshi, on the spot, and so many other princes didn't express any dissatisfaction. Why do you think that this kind of prestige would not be able to become the next master of the Central Plains? Or do you think that Emperor Shun couldn't even see this clearly?"

The middle-aged man's face turned green and white, and he squeezed out a few words and said:

"Young brother, what's your name?"

"Is there any historical data to support these things?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "No."

"As for me, I just opened a museum, so I know a little bit."

The middle-aged man's expression relaxed. He took out a business card and handed it over, with a hint of self-satisfaction, "I'm Liang Yucheng, and I'm researching the ancient mythology and history of Shen Zhou, especially this kind of place where mythology and history intersect. I have some experience. In fact, there is already a lot of historical data to support my statement. Since ancient times, many historians have been skeptical of the statement of abdication."

"It's good that you're thinking about this, young brother. I'll recommend a few books to you when I have the chance. Take a good look. It will be very helpful for you to understand that era. Hehe, in addition to the saying that Shun died in the wild, there is also the saying that Ehuang and Nuying were much younger than Emperor Shun and had very beautiful appearances."

"King Yu took a fancy to the beauty of the two Xiang Ladies and wanted to capture them, so he forced them to jump into the Xiang River."

Wei Yuan said, "That's even more impossible."

The middle-aged man paused and said, "What's your opinion this time, young brother?"

Wei Yuan thought of Nujiao, and his expression was strange, and said:

"According to you, Yu was a lustful person."

"But in that era, Emperor Shun had two wives, who were also the daughters of Emperor Yao. However, King Yu, who cast the Nine Cauldrons and controlled the floods, had even greater achievements, so why did he only have Nujiao as his wife? This is completely inconsistent with what you said."

Liang Yucheng opened his mouth, not knowing how to refute.

The young woman next to him thought for a while and said hesitantly, "Maybe... King Yu loved Nujiao very much?"

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, nodded solemnly, and said:

"You're right."

"I express my absolute support."

……………………

The Xiang River is indeed not very wide.

They soon arrived at the other bank. The passengers who had just said that they wanted to go ashore with Wei Yuan now seemed to have forgotten about it. They got off the boat like puppets and walked ashore, their movements exactly the same. Wei Yuan found that two water-shaped chains had appeared under his feet, trapping him.

The boatman pointed the long wooden pole in his hand at the shore, and the entire boat sailed towards the center of the river again.

The fog was getting thicker and thicker.

Wei Yuan asked knowingly, "Boatman, I haven't gotten off the boat yet, why are you going back?"

The boatman hid in the fog, turned around, and looked at Wei Yuan with a grin, and said, "Oh, you're going to a different place, not here. Don't worry, it's also the invitation of our Xiang River Lady." As he spoke, the short, thick-chested man transformed into a strange shape.

There was a hard carapace on his back, and the hands that were originally holding the wooden pole turned into two fat crab claws.

He lowered his head and grinned, "However, it's in the heart of the river, not here. Are you ready, Mr. Wei from Quanzhou..." Wei Yuan thought to himself, as expected, and said slowly, "What if I say no?"

The crab demon didn't say anything, but the surrounding fog had dissipated a lot at some point.

Many water monsters emerged from the water, all holding weapons. Coupled with the hazy fog around them, it looked like a mixture of reality and illusion. The boat sank slightly, and some monsters had already climbed onto the boat.

Two of them, one on the left and one on the right, were about to grab Wei Yuan. These monsters obviously only regarded Wei Yuan as a mortal. They didn't expect that when they approached, they couldn't even see Wei Yuan's movements clearly, and they had already been directly knocked into the water.

The crab demon was stunned. Seeing that Wei Yuan had taken out a long strip of something from somewhere, he only thought that he was a cultivator, and quickly reached out to grab it. Wei Yuan held the thing in his hand, and his five fingers loosened slightly. The crab demon used too much force and staggered back, unable to hold the thing.

The long strip-shaped object wrapped in white cloth turned into a stream of light and was inserted directly into the boat.

The crab demon's palm stung, but he was overjoyed. He jumped to the side of the awning, stretched out his fat claws, and tried to pull out the thing, but only felt a sting. Then, a stream of green light flew out from Wei Yuan's sleeve and flew onto the long strip-shaped object. The white cloth strips shattered layer by layer.

A Han sword with eight sides rang out.

The crab demon screamed and retreated step by step.

Then he saw the sword ringing, and saw an iron falcon emblem slowly emerge on the hilt of the sword.

A vast sound of falcons came from the depths of his memory.

The man in black *xuan*, and the Black Ice Terrace that came to destroy the mountains and temples.

That was the deepest, most terrifying memory.

The crab demon's body instantly stiffened. It wanted to escape, but at this moment, it didn't even have the strength to escape. A peaceful voice came from behind, "Bring the sword back to me."

The crab demon stiffly raised the sword, lowering his head.

He felt his claws loosen, and the sword had been lifted up.

Then he heard Wei Yuan say, "Start the boat."

The crab demon was stunned: "Huh?"

He raised his head, and his pupils suddenly contracted. The man who had stood up sat down, and a layer of water ripples dissipated. When he sat down, the shirt on his body turned into Qin clothes, the belt was as fiery as flames, and a jade dragon pendant hung on one side. He had a Qin Dynasty hairstyle and indifferent eyes.

The eight-sided Han sword also looked like a Qin sword at this moment.

The voice slowly spread out on the water.

"Since the two Xiang Ladies have extended such a warm invitation."

"Then..."

"Yuan, the *zhiji lang* of the Iron Eagle Sharp Warriors of the Black Ice Terrace under the command of the Great Qin Emperor, will gladly go."

ps: Today's second update... 4,000 words. Thank you to bu tiao de ma xiao tiao h for the silver alliance.

Starting tomorrow, there will be more updates. The group has exploded. The hand holding the cigarette is trembling slightly. I was too Buddhist before, and the group has rioted. If I don't update more, I'll probably be found at home and kidnapped. After a vicious negotiation of the nature of 'fraud and threats', there will be more updates for a period of time, a total of ten more updates... to be fulfilled within a month.

I was only given the choice of ten or one hundred more updates, but why would I be so stupid?