It is said that during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a small village at the foot of Mount Tai, there were not many people in the village, and they were not rich, but everyone was safe and sound, and life was quite peaceful. There was a widow in the village, named Mei Xiang, whose husband died of illness at an early age, leaving her alone. Although Mei Xiang has no children, she has a kind personality and is helpful, and the neighbors in the village are very kind to her and often help her with some household chores.
On this day, Mei Xiang carried a basket of clothes and came to the river to wash. She had just put her clothes on the stone when she heard a scream, which seemed to come from the other side of the river. Mei Xiang was startled, and hurriedly looked up, only to see a young man lying on the ground in the woods on the other side of the river, motionless, with some blood stains on his body. Mei Xiang's heart tightened, so she put down her clothes and ran across the bridge, wanting to save the man.
When the man saw Mei Xiang coming, he pretended to be very weak and said: "Help, help, I am a tea merchant, I came from Shandong, I want to go to the capital to sell tea, but I didn't expect to meet robbers on the road, they robbed me of my tea and money, and injured me, I fled here, and I couldn't walk anymore." ”
When Mei Xiang heard this, she was very sympathetic in her heart, so she asked, "What's your name?" Do you have any relatives? ”
The man said: "My name is Nanfeng, I am an orphan, I have no relatives, only a master, he taught me to make tea, but unfortunately he has also passed away. ”
Mei Xiang said: "You poor child, your injuries are not light, you can't just lie here like this, you come home with me, I will bandage you, and then make you some food." ”
When Nanfeng heard this, he was secretly happy in his heart, he was actually not injured, he was just a **, specializing in pretending to be sick on the road and defrauding well-wishers of sympathy and money. When he saw that Mei Xiang was a widow and was good-looking, he thought of a bad idea, so he pretended to be very grateful, and said, "Thank you, thank you, you are such a good person, you saved my life, I will definitely repay you." ”
Mei Xiang said: "You're welcome, this is what I should do, you hurry up, I'll help you go." ”
With that, Mei Xiang helped Nanfeng up, and the two walked to Mei Xiang's house one after the other.
At this time, Mei Xiang's neighbor sister-in-law happened to come back from the river, and when she saw Mei Xiang and Nanfeng, she felt very strange, so she followed and asked, "Mei Xiang, who did you bring back?" ”
Mei Xiang said: "Sister-in-law, you don't know, this is a tea merchant, he met a robber on the road and was injured, I just found him by the river, I want to take him home and give him a **." ”
When my sister-in-law heard this, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in her heart, she felt that Nanfeng's appearance was very suspicious, not like a real tea merchant, so she persuaded: "Mei Xiang, you are too risky to do this, you don't know who he is, what if he is a bad person?" You are a widow and there is no man in the house, you have to be careful. ”
Mei Xiang said: "Sister-in-law, you think too much, he is just an injured person, I can't see death without help, don't worry, I will be careful, you don't have to worry about me." ”
The sister-in-law saw that Mei Xiang didn't listen to persuasion and couldn't say anything, so she had to shake her head and go back to her home.
Mei Xiang took Nanfeng to her home, she let Nanfeng lie on the bed, then went to fetch some medicinal herbs, bandaged his wounds, and went to the kitchen to cook some porridge for him to eat. Nanfeng was eating porridge while looking at Mei Xiang's home, he found that although Mei Xiang's home was simple, it was very clean, and there was a calligraphy and painting on the wall, which said "Pure heart and few desires", he smiled secretly in his heart, he felt that Mei Xiang was really a fool, he decided to stay here for a while, and when Mei Xiang relaxed her vigilance, he would find a way to cheat her out of her money, or simply take her for himself.
Mei Xiang watched Nanfeng finish eating the porridge, and said, "You have a good rest, I'll wash the dishes, if you have anything, just call me." ”
"Okay, okay, you're such a nice person, I don't know how to thank you," Nanfeng said. ”
Mei Xiang said: "No thanks, as long as you get better early, it is my greatest thanks." ”
With that, Mei Xiang went to the kitchen, and Nanfeng pretended to be asleep, but he was thinking about his plan in his heart.
In this way, half a month has passed, Nanfeng's injury has basically recovered, and he has also become familiar with Mei Xiang, he often chats with Mei Xiang, tells interesting stories, and makes Mei Xiang happy. Although Mei Xiang is not a stupid person, she also has little contact with the outside world, she believes in Nanfeng's words, and gradually develops a good impression of him, feeling that he is an honest and kind person, and she even expects him to stay by her side and give herself some warmth.
On this day, Nanfeng said to Mei Xiang: "Mei Xiang, you are so good to me, I am really grateful, I want to give you a surprise, can you do me a favor?" ”
Mei Xiang said, "What do you want me to do for you?" ”
Nanfeng said, "Can you go to the town market and buy me some seafood, I want to make you a delicious meal as my thank you for it." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Seafood? That's a very expensive thing, do you have any money? ”
Nanfeng said: "Yes, yes, I still have some money, hidden in my luggage, you don't have to worry, I'll give it to you, you take it and buy it." ”
As he spoke, Nanfeng took out a bag from under the bed, and after opening it, there was some silver in it, Mei Xiang was dumbfounded, she didn't understand, since Nanfeng had so much money, why did she pretend to be injured and deceive her sympathy.
Nanfeng saw that Mei Xiang was a little hesitant, so he said: "Mei Xiang, don't doubt it, this money was left to me by my master, he asked me to go to the capital to sell tea, but unfortunately I couldn't fulfill his wish, this money has no meaning to me, I just want to use it to repay you, you just take it, go buy some seafood, I promise, you have eaten the seafood I made, you will feel very happy." ”
When Mei Xiang heard this, her heart was a little shaken, she thought, since Nanfeng was so sincere, she couldn't refuse, and besides, she also wanted to taste the taste of seafood, she had never eaten such a good thing. So, she took the money from Nanfeng and said, "Okay, okay, then I'll go buy some seafood, you wait for me to come back, don't run away." ”
Nanfeng said: "Don't worry, don't worry, I won't go, I'll wait for you here, you come back quickly, I'll cook for you." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Okay, okay, then I'll go, you take care." ”
With that, Mei Xiang took the money, went out, and walked towards the town.
Nanfeng looked at Mei Xiang's back, a wicked smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he thought to himself, Mei Xiang, you are such a fool, you think I really want to cook for you, in fact, I just want you to leave for a while, so that I can have a chance to do something bad in your house. Wait, and when you come back, you'll know what kind of person I am.
So saying, Nanfeng got up and went to the kitchen, where he found some medicinal herbs, he put some of them in a bowl, added some water, and boiled them into a bowl of black soup, he put this bowl of soup on the fire to keep it warm, and then, in another bowl, he poured some tea leaves, and made a bowl of tea, which he put on the table, waiting for Mei Xiang's return.
When Nanfeng had done this, he went back to bed and lay down, waiting for Mei Xiang's return.
When Mei Xiang arrived at the town market, she saw all kinds of seafood, including fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish, and she was dazzled and didn't know which one to buy. She thought that since Nanfeng had given her so much money, she would buy some good ones and surprise him. So, she picked some delicious seafood, paid for it, took a basket of seafood, and went home happily.
On the way home, Mei Xiang encountered a heavy rain, and she hurriedly found a thatched hut to shelter from the rain. There, she meets two pig demons, and the sow is giving birth to piglets. Mei Xiang helped the sow, who gratefully told her not to drink tea when she got home.
After returning home, Mei Xiang discovers the true face of Nanfeng, who is actually a bad person. Just when Nanfeng was about to do something bad to Meixiang, the Iron Bull suddenly appeared and drove Nanfeng away. However, Mei Xiang had already drunk the medicine under the south wind and lost consciousness. The next morning, Mei Xiang wakes up and finds herself with Tie Niu, she is very angry and asks Tie Niu to give her a reasonable explanation.
Tie Niu said: "Mei Xiang, don't get me wrong, I'm here to save you, I'm an immortal, I was ordered by the Jade Emperor to come to the world to destroy those demons and monsters who do a lot of evil." I've been looking for Nanfeng, he's a notorious ** who specializes in pretending to be sick on the road, defrauding well-wishers of sympathy and money, and more hateful things, I won't talk about it. I found out about his whereabouts last night and followed him, but I didn't expect him to lie to you, I was really angry, so I rushed in and drove him away. However, you have already drunk his medicine and are unconscious, so I have to use my mana to bring you here and give you **. I didn't do anything disrespectful to you, you can trust me. ”
Mei Xiang listened, her heart was a little shaken, she didn't know if what Tie Niu said was true or not, but she felt that Tie Niu's eyes were very sincere, and he also saved her life, so she said: "Tie Niu, is what you said true?" Are you really a fairy? You really didn't do anything to me? ”
Tie Niu said: "Mei Xiang, what I said is true, you can ask those two pig demons, they are also my friends, they can prove my identity and my kindness." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Those two pig demons? You mean, those two pig demons I met yesterday are your friends? ”
Tie Niu said: "Yes, yes, they are my companions in the world, and they are also immortals, but for some reason, they were lowered by the Jade Emperor and turned into pigs. They also told you not to drink tea to help me, but unfortunately you have already drunk it, otherwise, you would not have been in such trouble. ”
Mei Xiang said: "So that's the case, then do you also have any mission to eliminate bad people like Nanfeng?" Mei Xiang asked.
"Yes, yes, our mission is to protect peace on earth and get rid of those demons and monsters. The south wind is one of our targets, he has done many evils, and we must bring him to justice. ”
Mei Xiang said: "Then why don't you just kill him and drive him away?" ”
Tie Niu said: "Because we can't kill people at will, we have to abide by the rules of heaven, and we can only attack him when he commits a heinous crime." We drove him away to stop him from doing worse things to you, and also to give him a warning that what he did had angered the Heavenly Dao, and that if he did not change his ways, he would have retribution. ”
Mei Xiang said: "I see, then you are really amazing, you are my savior, how can I thank you?" ”
Tie Niu said: "No thanks, this is what we should do, you just need to live a good life and don't be deceived by people like Nanfeng again, which is our greatest gratitude." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Okay, okay, I will remember your words, I will be careful, you also have to take care, don't encounter danger again." ”
Tie Niu said: "Don't worry, rest assured, we have the ability to protect ourselves, you don't have to worry about us." By the way, you haven't told me yet, what's your name? ”
Mei Xiang said: "My name is Mei Xiang, what about you?" ”
Tie Niu said: "My name is Tie Niu, this is my Dao number, you can call me Tie Niu." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Tie Niu, your name is very personal, I like it." Are you from? ”
Tie Niu said: "I came from the sky, I am the Jade Emperor's guard, I am responsible for protecting the safety of the Jade Emperor, and I am also responsible for carrying out the orders of the Jade Emperor, coming to the world, and destroying those demons and monsters." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Heavenly? Jade emperor? You mean, you're a god? ”
Tie Niu said: "Yes, yes, I am an immortal, don't be surprised, the world and the heavens are actually connected, but you don't know it." ”
Mei Xiang said: "Then why did you become like this, shouldn't you have a fairy robe, holding an immortal weapon, flying around?" ”
Tie Niu said: "This is because I was punished by the Jade Emperor, because I caused trouble in the sky, I was lowered to mortal dust by the Jade Emperor, and I became like this, and only after completing the task can I restore my original appearance." ”
Mei Xiang said, "What trouble have you caused in the sky? ”
Tie Niu said, "This ......This ......It's inconvenient for me to say, you just treat me as a stupid cow who accidentally broke the Jade Emperor's treasure bottle and angered the Jade Emperor, so that's it. ”
Mei Xiang said: "Oh, so that's the case, then you are really unlucky, don't be sad, I believe that you will definitely complete the task and return to heaven." ”
Tie Niu said: "Thank you, thank you, you are such a good person, your heart is very pure, you will definitely have a good reward." ”
Mei Xiang said: "No thanks, no thanks, you are also a good person, your nature is very kind, you will definitely have good luck." ”
The two comforted each other and praised each other, and gradually, a subtle feeling arose between them, and they both felt that each other was their bosom friend, their partner, and their destiny.