Chapter 90 Deyang

Chapter 90 Deyang

Chapter 90 Deyang
By the afternoon, we finally saw Deyang City.

Deyang has no city walls. At first, you can see scattered houses in the distance among the long fields divided by locust trees. Then the dirt road full of ruts and gullies becomes wider, with more gravel on it. When you pass the large fields on both sides, you can see more densely packed houses.

The taller ones were only four or five-story towers with flying eaves, and most were one or two-story wooden buildings. There were also more pedestrians on the road, mostly walking, mixed with ox-carts, donkey-carts, and rarely horse-drawn carriages.

The people of Deyang dress more elegantly than those of Jinshui. Chen Xiu's dress, which looked rich and luxurious in Jinshui, would not attract extra attention here. Their four horses were a little conspicuous, but when the passers-by saw Cheng Peixin's dress and the swords on Li Wuxiang and Cheng Shengfei, they all avoided their eyes.

Feiyun Temple is not in the downtown area. After passing the continuous thatched houses on the outskirts, there are mostly courtyards covered with green tiles, and there are smooth stone slabs on the road.

The stone road is not narrow, and can accommodate four horses running side by side. Passers-by can also walk on both sides, and residents facing the street can sit on the stone slabs placed outside their courtyards to enjoy the cool. It is now May, and the big trees on both sides of the road are lush and leafy. The treetops are reflected in different shades of green by the sunlight from the zenith, and spots of light are sprinkled on the bluestone slabs.

Li Wuxiang rode his horse slowly along the street and couldn't help but let out a sigh. There was a similar ancient town where he came from, but many of the buildings along the street were rebuilt later, built roughly and too new, and often with some neon lights, colorful signs, etc., which made people feel out of place and extremely uncoordinated.

And here, he can experience a restrained, natural beauty that is unique to the years of human life.

Feiyun Temple is at the corner at the end of this street. The wall is very high, about ten feet high, freshly painted with white powder, and covered with tiles. The gate is slightly higher than the surrounding residential courtyards, without carved beams or colorful paintings, only a vertical plaque with the words "Tianxin Feiyun Temple".

The three men dismounted, Cheng Shengfei called the door, and an old servant in green opened the door. He was not surprised to see Li Wuxiang, but lowered his eyes, took the reins of the four horses, and let the three men in.

When Li Wuxiang walked into the door, he still saw a white screen wall, but in front of it there were thin bamboos and banana trees planted, creating a unique scene.

After passing the screen wall, we saw a small courtyard, not even as big as the Chen family's courtyard. Directly opposite was the Taiyi Hall, which had eight doors, all open, and on both sides were side rooms.

The yard was beautifully maintained. There were only some fallen leaves from the old locust tree beside the wall on the stone floor of the yard, and the house had white walls, black tiles, and light brown wooden windows, which looked very quiet.

The most unusual thing is that there is almost no smell of worldly affairs - there are no incense burners in the courtyard like those in ordinary palaces and temples for devout men and women to burn incense. There is only an incense table in front of the Taiyi statue in the Taiyi Hall, with incense roots in the small burner and some fresh flowers and fruits as offerings.

This Taiyi looks almost the same as the one on Ran Mountain.

"I don't allow ordinary people to come and worship here." Cheng Peixin smiled and led him to the backyard. When they passed in front of Taiyi Hall, she and Cheng Shengfei stopped and clasped their hands together to worship, and then said, "Look, I said this place is very quiet, it's not false, right?"

Li Wuxiang also bowed and nodded: "Pure and beautiful."

He even wanted to build a yard like this himself.

The backyard is even more beautiful than the front yard. Although the yard is the same size, there is a large clump of lush bamboo in the middle of the courtyard, almost like a small forest. This becomes a natural umbrella, blocking the sunlight from the sky, casting a shade, and separating the east and west sides so that people can't see through it when they open the window.

Cheng Peixin led Li Wuxiang to the east wing, showed him a room with a faint fragrance, asked him if he was satisfied, and then said seriously: "I will go and prepare it first. One of the things needed is a little troublesome, so we have to wait until midnight tomorrow night to open the altar to perform a ritual to dissolve Xu Daosheng's soul. Taoist friend, you can rest for a while, or you can look around the city. Deyang is a big city. It has been peaceful for thousands of years, and the city is still bustling."

Li Wuxiang nodded in agreement, and after she left, the temple became extremely quiet.

From the time he left Jinshui to now, he had been sleeping in the open air and there were few people around. His body didn't need a good rest environment, but he still had a heart, and he felt tired after all the journey.

He sat on the bed and found the bedding was dry and soft. He walked to the window and found that the tables and chairs were spotless. There was no dust even in the gaps in the windows. He felt very comfortable.

So he opened the window halfway, and the sunlight from the top of the bamboo forest fell on the table. He sat at the table for a while, looked around, and decided to go out and take a look.

He wanted to buy some writing paper and a larger bird like a pigeon or a starling. He planned to write a letter to Xue Baoping and send two prisoner talismans with the letter. If she accidentally lost or damaged the talisman paper in her hand, she would have a replacement.

When I left, I didn't go through the front door, but through the back door in the backyard. The backyard should be the kitchen, toilet, utility room, and servants' residence. It was not so fancy, just a flat ground. There was also someone at the door in the backyard - an elderly woman wearing an apron, sitting on a bench, washing vegetables in a wooden basin filled with water.

Seeing Li Wuxiang, he stood up respectfully as if he had been notified and asked, "Are you going out, Taoist?"

Li Wuxiang said yes and immediately helped him open the small door.

He walked slowly to the right from the alley at the back door and came onto the street. He turned right and left along the street and saw a busy street market.

The road was slightly wider, and both sides of the street were lined with shops with their doors wide open, with the door panels removed, revealing everything inside. Outside the shops were some vendors who had set up stalls on the street, selling a wide variety of goods, and he couldn't tell what many of the items were for after taking a look.

This scene was very similar to the streets he had seen in movies and TV shows before, the only difference was that everyone's expressions were more vivid, with real joy, anger, sorrow and happiness.

Li Wuxiang changed his mind as he walked and looked around. He wondered if there were any hawks for sale here. Hawks should be able to carry something, right? They can catch rabbits.

He walked into a silver jewelry shop and picked out a pair of silver earrings. They were small and delicate, each with a red object, not sure if it was a gem. He collected some money from Xu Daosheng and the other wandering cultivators, paid generously, and asked if anyone was selling eagles.

There really was one. The shop owner called a boy and asked him to lead Li Wuxiang.

The boy looked no more than 13 or 14 years old, but he spoke and acted like an adult. He talked to Li Wuxiang earnestly while taking him for a walk, talking about the local customs and practices near Deyang. When they walked along this busy street and there were fewer people on the road, he said, "Sir, you are not a local, but you know that you have come at the right time. These days, the city is the most peaceful."

"How do you say that?"

The waiter chuckled and said, "Guest, you have traveled a lot, so you must have met those wandering cultivators, right? Uh...what do you do?"

Li Wuxiang thought for a moment and said, "I'll just trade some goods here and there."

The clerk's brows relaxed. "That's right. You know what I mean. Those wandering cultivators are the most harmful. They are cultivators, but if you encounter a lone merchant in the wilderness, the kind-hearted ones will rob him and run away, but the vicious ones will harm him!"

"There are many independent cultivators near Deyang, and they are a nuisance to the city! The poor ones often eat and drink, refuse to pay, and force people to buy at low prices. The richer and more powerful ones will go into a shop they like and say, 'I think your shop has bad feng shui, and I might be in trouble.' When the shopkeeper hears this, he will quickly offer money. It would be good if he can send them away, but some will just push the money away and glare at them, saying, 'Hey, who do you think I am?'"

"This is the kind of person who came for your shop. If the owner has some power, the two sides can say a few words to each other and the person will take the money and leave. If he doesn't have any power or background, he will only get this much in the future." He held up three fingers. "The casual cultivator took 30%?"

"Alas, the boss can only keep 30%! Many shops go bankrupt every year because of this." The clerk sighed, then smiled, "Where was I just talking about? This time it's good. A few days ago, many independent cultivators in Deyang went to Ranshan, saying they were looking for treasures. Guess what happened?"

Li Wuxiang immediately became interested. He felt in his sleeve and took out a dozen copper coins. "I can't guess, but I guess it's something fun. Tell me in detail. If you get thirsty, use these to buy something to soothe your throat."

The clerk took the copper coin and thanked him several times, "We in the city just heard the accurate news last night - a group of independent cultivators went to Ranshan to look for treasures, but they were actually going to the Ranshan Sect. What is the Ranshan Sect? It's one of the thirty-six sects. How brave!"

"They messed up the mountain. The magnificent halls were all knocked down. Countless gold, silver and treasures were looted! What happened now? The new leader of Ranshan Sect returned to the mountain! The new leader was a disciple of the old leader who was stranded outside. The old leader came down the mountain to pass on the throne to him! As soon as the new leader came up the mountain, he ran into this group of unlucky people—"

"He cast a spell, took a step, and killed more than a dozen people in one encounter! The group of people were scared to death, and hurried down the mountain to get reinforcements. The reinforcements came up the mountain a few days ago. There were so many people that the new sect leader, no matter how powerful he was, could not resist them for a while, and immediately sent out a cloud-piercing arrow!"

“We still have Feiyun Temple and Bixia Palace in our city, which are guarded by masters from Tianxin Sect and Louguang Sect. When they saw the cloud-piercing arrow, they immediately knew that their fellow disciples were in trouble, so they rode two auspicious clouds and headed straight for the mountain. After they got there, they didn’t take any action, but just stood there, and all the independent cultivators were terrified! At this time, the new sect leader showed his divine power and killed people everywhere, leaving a sea of ​​blood and corpses - they were all scared out of their wits and ran down the mountain overnight!”

"These people returned to the city and didn't dare to ask for anything. They said that the sect leader was called...what was his name, Li..."

"Li Wuxiang?"

"Yes! That's the name. Have you heard of it, sir? They say that Sect Leader Li was too ruthless. He recorded all the people who offended him! Feng Ji, the four brothers of the Feng family, owned six or seven shops on the street we just walked by. They were all killed by the Sect Leader! No one dared to mention collecting the bodies!"

"There are also some who have occupied the shop. As soon as they arrived in the city, they packed up their belongings and ran away at night. They all knew that if they offended that person, they would die if they didn't run away! Didn't the customer want to buy an eagle? Coincidentally, the owner was a wandering cultivator. I heard that he also went to the mountains. He should have run away too!"

"Oh, what's your name?"

"Chuanyuntian, it's a shop that has been around for a long time, and it's also a time-honored brand in Deyang."

"Oh, I mean, what's the name of the independent cultivator who occupied that shop?"

"Sun Dihuang." The young man snorted twice, "What a piece of shit, he took over someone else's shop and also took over the shopkeeper's daughter - they were married, but he poisoned her husband to death! Everyone knows about this, but we can only say that he died of illness, how tragic."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "When I came here these two days, I also met a casual cultivator named Lao Guo. Have you heard of him?"

"There are several people with the surname Guo who are famous. What does the one the guest met look like?"

Li Wuxiang described Lao Guo's appearance in detail.

"Oh, him..." The clerk laughed, "He is a poor fellow. He bought a silver knife on credit from my shop. Did he blackmail you? You don't have to be afraid of him, sir. Well, let me put it this way. When he came to my shop to buy on credit, the shopkeeper couldn't figure out where he got the money, so he gave it to him and he took it."

"After receiving it, he took out the silver again and said, Boss, let me buy it. Hahahaha, the shopkeeper never paid any attention to him again after that. These casual cultivators who try to be reasonable are all incompetent. You don't need to be afraid of them!"

Li Wuxiang breathed a sigh of relief.

He had previously thought that the wandering cultivators in the martial arts world were all desperate criminals, but he had not expected their actions to be so despicable. If Lao Guo was also that kind of person, then things would be a bit troublesome - he had promised to teach him how to be a swordsman.

From this point of view, he was grateful to him for letting him go in the back mountain, and he didn't reveal his whereabouts completely. He was also released in the stone cave, and he really looked for Feiyun Temple and Bixia Palace. Even if he was considered from the perspective of a bloodthirsty man who took risks to gain wealth, this person was not bad. If he had not embarked on the path of cultivation and had always been an ordinary person, he might have been considered kind and honest.

I just don't know how many lives this guy has taken, and whether there are any innocent civilians involved.

The young man continued to talk about the new leader of Ranshan, as if he was there and saw it with his own eyes. Then he turned a few more streets and entered a less glamorous road.

This road should be on the edge of Deyang City. Although the road is wide, it is all loess road, and there are hoof prints of various livestock on the road, which smells not good. There are sheds of all sizes on both sides of the road, with donkeys, mules, horses, cows and the like, as well as some goats, sheep, and hunted mountain products. It seems that they specialize in this kind of business.

The young man led him past several stables and cow sheds, and passed several stalls selling wild game, and saw a shop called "Chuan Yuntian".

However, it seemed that this shop did not want to open for business anymore. Some shop assistants were moving some wooden cages containing birds that were originally placed outside the shop into the shop. There was also a man who looked like a manager who was sighing and weakly urging them to hurry up. A group of people were watching.

The clerk stopped and frowned, "Sir, I'm afraid we can't buy it. Let's look for another store. Oh, that's right, Sun Dihuang is married in Deyang, and he wants to move this shop. Look, the one in charge is the owner, and he is very reluctant to leave. Who wants to leave? Pah, Sun Dihuang really treats it as his own property."

Li Wuxiang followed him and stood down, looking inside for a while with the people watching the excitement: "So he hasn't left yet?"

"Well, this is because I am reluctant to give up my family business."

Li Wuxiang thought again about what Cheng Peixin said by the campfire last night - although most people would not come to provoke him again, there might still be some who were not in their right minds.

In fact, he felt that Cheng Zhangguan might have been too conservative in his statement because he had been practicing cultivation all the time and had not come into contact with enough ordinary people.

In fact, most people in this world are fools, and there are very few people who can actually use their brains to think about things, weigh the pros and cons, and act rationally.

Before going up to Ranshan, he had planned to blend in with the crowd, take the treasure and leave, but he did not expect to meet a person walking on the True Form Dao. He also heard these words from the waiter, and then he knew that his reputation in Deyang was actually very big.

People are afraid of becoming famous and pigs are afraid of getting fat, but if it were a tiger instead of a pig, that might not be the case.

So he smiled and said: "I like this shop very much. I'd rather buy it here."

　Two chapters combined into one.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)