Chapter 56: Phantom Moon
Chapter 56: Phantom Moon
Qingzhou, Longchuan County, Gaoliu County.
Chen Yuan was wearing a neat white gown and looked particularly eye-catching as he walked on the street.
The pedestrians on the road were generally dressed in tattered clothes and looked pale.
Beggars were squatting at the foot of the wall on the street, most of them were children, with unkempt hair, dirty faces, pale complexions and thin bodies.
Chen Yuan's face was solemn, and he looked around, looking for a restaurant or teahouse.
He avoided the caravans on Yuanpingxing, traveled at night and slept in the morning, and after ten days, he finally walked out of the Chimang Mountains and arrived in Gaoliu County.
The State of Qi was divided into 35 states, 22 of which were located south of the Chimang Mountains. The terrain was flat, with rivers crisscrossing, suitable for farming, and home to 70% to 80% of the country's population.
There are only thirteen states, including Qingzhou, to the north of the Chimang Mountains. One state is as big as four or five states to the south. The terrain is rugged, mostly mountains and hills, and there are many dangerous places with no human habitation.
Most of them lived in Qingzhou, Yongzhou and Lingzhou near the Chimang Mountains. The remaining ten states had harsh environments and were sparsely populated.
Gaoliu County, like Leping County, is the county closest to Yuanpingxing in Qingzhou. Since ancient times, it has been a prosperous gathering place for business and travel.
Yet, even in such a place, there were so many beggars. Outside the city, there was a refugee camp built by the government, which gathered thousands of refugees who had fled from all over Longchuan County. It was like hell on earth.
During his time in Yuanpingxing, Chen Yuan encountered many bandits who blocked his way and robbed his family. They were extremely rampant, but he wiped them out one by one.
He had only been practicing in seclusion for two and a half years, but the State of Qi seemed to have suddenly fallen into chaos.
"Master, please be kind and give me some money..."
A ten-year-old beggar rushed to Chen Yuan, imitated the adults, bowed and looked at him eagerly.
Chen Yuan looked down and saw that the beggar was as thin as a stick, with sparse hair, frighteningly deep eye sockets, and black dirt between his fingernails.
Looking at his hopeful eyes, Chen Yuan sighed and said:
"You come with me."
The beggar hesitated for a moment and turned to look at the street. Two taller beggars were staring at him fiercely.
Chen Yuan walked forward without looking back. The beggar gritted his teeth, followed him, and repeated:
"Master, please be kind and give me some money..."
Chen Yuan didn't answer, but just walked in front. The boy said a few more words, finally stopped, and just followed silently.
Finally, Chen Yuan stopped in front of a steamed bun shop on the street. Without asking the price, he said to the owner:
"Give me five meat buns."
As he spoke, he reached into his arms, took out a tael of silver and handed it over.
This was something he had specially searched for from the bandits, and it came in handy.
"Okay, wait a minute."
The boss's eyes lit up as he took the silver, weighed it on a scale, and then carefully cut off a piece with scissors, put it on the scale, and after showing it to Chen Yuan, he smiled and said:
"One bun costs two cents, a total of ten cents. I cut a little more, please forgive me, sir."
As he spoke, he took out three cents from the cash box and handed them to Chen Yuan along with the remaining silver.
Then he turned around, picked up a wooden clip, took out five buns from the steamer, put them in a washed lotus leaf, and handed them to Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan took the bun, handed it to the boy, and said:
"Eat."
The boy took the bun and started eating it.
Chen Yuan handed another three cents to the boy, looked at him, and turned away.
Everyone has his own destiny, and he still has his own way to go, so he could only let the young man have a full meal.
"Thank you, Master! I wish you good luck and good health!"
Chen Yuan paused, without looking back, and continued walking forward.
Gradually, the streets became more and more prosperous, the number of patrol officers increased gradually, and the number of beggars on the streets decreased.
Finally, Chen Yuan saw a restaurant, walked in, went straight to the second floor, and sat down at a table by the window.
A servant came up to greet him, and Chen Yuan ordered a few side dishes and a pot of wine, then sent the servant away.
Afterwards, he spread out his spiritual sense, covering the entire restaurant.
It was afternoon and past lunchtime. There were not many customers in the restaurant. Including Chen Yuan, there were only four tables.
A young scholar was sitting at a table, drinking silently by himself.
At one table were two middle-aged men dressed like businessmen, who were discussing the cotton business, toasting each other and drinking to their heart's content.
At the last table, there were two dusty men, dressed in luxurious clothes, drinking, chatting and laughing.
But the topic they were talking about attracted Chen Yuan's attention.
"Brother Cheng, what did you gain from your return from Lingzhou this time?"
"Don't mention it, it's just barely enough to break even."
"Why?"
"Wang Zhubu of Yingbei County in Xianyin Prefecture joined the White Lotus Sect and believed in the Mother of No Birth. He wanted to distribute land equally, make wealth equal, and establish a heavenly kingdom on earth, a vacuum hometown. A large number of people followed him in the rebellion, and they have already captured two counties. The momentum is huge, and the market is depressed. It's a good thing that I sold it quickly, otherwise I would have lost everything."
"Alas, things have become increasingly chaotic in the past two years. When I went to Yuzhou this time, I heard that the White Lotus Sect was also causing trouble in the south, and it was said that some had already broken through the county town."
"Who says it's not true? In the past two years, various places have been hit by floods or droughts, and several states have even been hit by locust plagues. There are fewer people in the north, so we can go into the mountains and forests to find some food. The population in the south is dense, and once there is a disaster, the fields will have no harvest and there will be starving people everywhere. How can we not rebel?"
"There are more bandits in the Chimang Mountains than before. I encountered five robberies along the way. Fortunately, I spent a lot of money to hire escorts from the Longmen Escort Agency. If it were someone from one of the small escort agencies, they would have to give away at least half of their goods to ensure safety."
"Brother Cheng is really courageous. This trip will earn you at least three thousand taels of silver, right? Unlike me, I only dare to travel around the three continents to earn some hard-earned money. I am really getting worse and worse as I grow older."
"Haha, Brother Wei, this is a safe move..." Chen Yuan heard this and his heart moved. He touched his storage bag and a silver note of 100 taels appeared in his hand. He stood up and walked in front of the two men, bowed and said:
"Excuse me, my two brothers. I am Chen Yuan. I have something to ask you."
The two turned to look at Chen Yuan, and saw that he was wearing a white gown, clean as new, with a calm expression. They did not dare to be negligent, and stood up to greet him and bowed in return.
The man named Wei who was doing business in Qing, Yong and Ling states said with a smile:
"What do you want to ask, Brother Chen?"
Chen Yuan put the banknote on the table and said:
"Just now I heard that you two brothers traveled between states for business and had extensive knowledge. I want to go to Shuozhou to visit friends, but the world is in turmoil and I dare not go alone. I want to travel with a caravan. Can you two brothers introduce a way for me?"
When the two saw Chen Yuan casually take out a hundred taels of silver, they were shocked and dared not underestimate him anymore.
The man surnamed Cheng reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the banknote and said:
"Please forgive me, Brother Chen. I travel to Yuanpingxing all year round and am not very familiar with Shuozhou. I am afraid I can't help you."
The man surnamed Wei smiled and said:
"Wei often does business in Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Lingzhou. He has also been to Shuozhou twice and knows several colleagues who travel to Shuozhou. However, Shuozhou is a vast place. I wonder where in Shuozhou Brother Chen is going?"
Chen Yuan replied:
"Fantasy Moon Mountains."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of both of them changed. The smile on the man surnamed Wei's face turned cold and he said:
"Brother Chen, are you trying to tease me?"
Chen Yuan's heart moved, and he said:
"What do you mean, Brother Wei?"
The man surnamed Wei said coldly:
"Everyone knows that the Huanyue Mountains are dangerous and often haunted by ferocious beasts. There is also a soul-confusing miasma. Even the herbalists who value money more than their lives dare not go into the mountains to collect herbs. Could it be that Brother Chen's friend is a ferocious beast in the mountains?"
Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said:
"Brother Wei, you misunderstood. I didn't mean to enter the Fantasy Moon Mountains. It's just that I haven't seen that friend for many years and have no news. He only told me to go to the Fantasy Moon Mountains to find him. According to this, he should be near the Fantasy Moon Mountains. As long as the caravan can take me to the town closest to the Fantasy Moon Mountains, it will be fine."
Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Wei relaxed his expression and said:
"I misunderstood Brother Chen's meaning. It's just that this one hundred taels of silver..."
Chen Yuan smiled and said:
"It's just a small gift, not a token of respect. After the matter is completed, Chen will give another reward to the caravan manager."
The man surnamed Wei finally felt relieved and said:
"Brother Chen, if you don't mind, please sit down and have a few drinks with me. I will introduce a caravan to you later. How about that?"
Chen Yuan lifted the hem of his long gown, sat opposite the man surnamed Wei, and said with a smile:
"Chen is respectful and would rather obey your command."
……
After dinner, the man surnamed Cheng said goodbye, and the man surnamed Wei led Chen Yuan to the house of a merchant surnamed Shen.
This person travels between Shuozhou and Qingzhou for business all year round and is familiar with the route, which just meets Chen Yuan's requirements.
Chen Yuan immediately handed over a hundred taels of silver. The merchant named Shen hesitated for a moment and then allowed Chen Yuan to join the caravan.
But just by adding one more person, I can earn one hundred taels of silver. This deal is a great deal.
It happened that a merchant named Shen was about to set off for Shuozhou, so Chen Yuan only waited for six days before leaving Gaoliu County with the caravan.
Shuozhou is located in the north of Qingzhou, separated by Liangzhou, and is four thousand miles away from Gaoliu County.
The further north you go, the more desolate the place becomes. From time to time you can see victims of floods and droughts who have left their homes on the road.
Chen Yuan chatted with a merchant named Shen and learned that the caravan's destination was Qingyang Town, which is at the foot of the Qingyang Mountains and is the closest town to the Huanyue Mountains.
The Qingyang Mountains are a branch of the Huanyue Mountains, which are rich in minerals and medicinal herbs. Brave people went into the mountains to mine and collect herbs, and gradually Qingyang Town was formed at the foot of the mountain.
And for some reason, the mineral herbs in these branches are of much better quality than those in other places.
Every year, caravans would come there to purchase minerals and herbs. Even caravans from the south of the Chimang Mountains would come here to buy them.
A merchant named Shen was one of them. He traveled between Qingzhou and Shuozhou all year round. He was experienced and familiar with the conditions along the way.
The caravan had a safe journey and after three months, they finally entered Shuozhou.
In another half a month, we will reach Qingyang Town.
But the closer they got to the destination, the more cautious the merchant Shen became. He sent out guards every day to scout the way ahead, as if they were marching to war.
Chen Yuan was curious and asked:
"Why is Manager Shen so cautious after entering Shuozhou?"
Shopkeeper Shen looked solemn and said:
"There are often ferocious beasts in Shuozhou that are invulnerable to swords and guns. Some people have even seen monsters that can control water and fire. We have to be on guard."
In the evening of that day, the caravan arrived at a deserted place and set up camp by a small river to rest.
After Chen Yuan had his meal with his guards, he returned to his tent to meditate and practice to increase his magic power.
During the entire journey, he showed no arrogance and ate simple meals with his guards.
The only difference was that he spent money to buy a carriage, and meditated with his eyes closed in the carriage during the day, seizing every opportunity to practice.
If you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach a thousand miles.
No matter how slowly your magic power grows, you can't waste your practice.
Just as Chen Yuan closed his eyes and meditated, he suddenly heard a not-quite-real roar of an animal:
"Ouch!"
Then, a faint shout came into my ears:
"You evil creature, how dare you destroy my treasure!"
(End of this chapter)