Day and night tour

Chapter 396 Dream Fish
Now that the plan to impersonate Bi Fang had been decided, Zhou Xuan and Yuan Buyu parted ways and went their separate ways.

Old Yuan, relying on his status as the storyteller and incense master of Pingshui Prefecture, notified the storytellers of Pingshui Prefecture to falsely convey Bi Fang's order to tell Zhou Xuan's newly compiled book.

Zhou Xuan, on the other hand, would travel around every day to find storytellers in the other seven prefectures.

His first target was Mr. Bai Liu of Jingchuan Prefecture.

Speaking of Jingchuan Prefecture, it has a bit of the feel of a small Jiangnan region in the Jing Kingdom. In the city, there is a wide river called Qingling River.

The river meanders through the center of the city, with brick and tile houses lining both banks.
Within Jingchuan Prefecture, there are many stone bridges, painted boats, and stages. Performances such as the year-end "fire show," storytelling theater, and song and dance gala are not held indoors, but rather on large stages erected along the river. People from both inside and outside the prefecture who live nearby pay one or two yuan for a travel fee to board a painted boat and go to see the performance.

If it is a village or town that is far away, there are many white-awning boats in these villages and towns.

The townspeople and villagers then set off in groups of three or five in their white-awning boats toward the riverside stage in the prefectural city.

Jingchuan Prefecture is mountainous and has abundant water, so the local people live off the land and water.

There was a stage by the river, and many teahouses were built next to the stage.

If it's daytime, going upstairs, finding a seat by the window, drinking tea and eating snacks, enjoying the beautiful scenery outside the window, accompanied by the warm sun and gentle breeze, is a wonderful thing.

However, it was already late at night, and many teahouses had closed, so Jingchuan Prefecture could no longer display its daytime charm.

At this time, not many teahouses were still open. The "Mingyue Teahouse," not far from the "Yunmo Theater," still had a few lights on.

Mr. Bai Liu was in the teahouse, sipping tea with a worried expression.

Not long ago, he received an "invitation" from Bi Fang and went to the Divine Kingdom Thatched Cottage.

Bi Fang asked him to tell a story—how Zhou Xuan conspired with the wandering gods of Mingjiang Prefecture to slay the Heavenly Fire.

Bi Fang's orders were orders, but Mr. Bai Liu was not a fool who didn't use his brain and only knew how to obey orders.

He was not a pedantic scholar who "ignores everything else and only focuses on studying the classics."

He knew who Zhou Xuan was.

“It’s obvious that Bi Fang is at odds with that great master of Mingjiang Prefecture and wants to use all the storytellers in the world to frame Zhou Xuan for the crime of ‘killing a god’.”

"This master is no ordinary person. Not long ago, he became the personal disciple of the Dao Ancestor. Although the influence of the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters in Jingchuan Prefecture is not prominent, that's because they prefer to travel and enjoy themselves. If these Celestial Masters openly want to protect Zhou Xuan, then we storytellers in Jingchuan's incense altars will probably have a hard time in the future."

Mr. Shirayuki's repeated remarks were not to himself, but rather directed at a small fish tank on the table.

The fish tank is transparent, about the size of a washbasin, and contains a red fish swimming in the water.

Fish are a natural species with six fins. When they paddle around in the aquarium, the water around their fins doesn't look like water, but rather like clumps of viscous oil.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The fish seemed to understand their owner's worries and blew bubbles in his direction.

"I am also in a very difficult situation, caught between Bifang and Zhou Xuan, unable to advance or retreat, like an iron chain across the river."

Disturbed, Mr. Bai Liu picked up his teacup again and took a small sip.

boom!
A crackling sound came from behind Mr. Shirayuki, and an extremely oppressive aura rushed toward his back.

Mr. Bai Liu immediately pointed his right hand behind him, and his gavel emerged from his sleeve to probe the aura behind him.

At the same time, he made a sword-finger gesture with his left hand, and a folding fan flew out, reaching the fish tank. He then suddenly unfolded it to protect the fish swimming inside.

Mr. Bai Liu regarded this swimming fish with utmost importance.

"The gods have descended, yet Bai Liu'er dares to be so disrespectful."

A deep, resonant voice rang out.

Mr. Bai Liu quickly turned around and saw that the aura emanating from it was actually a flame.

This ball of fire seemed to have a flowing quality, exactly like the flowing fire on the forehead of the god Bifang.

"Master Bifang?"

“A storytelling session touched upon the gods of dreams. Fearing something might go wrong, I came to the mortal realm to personally instruct you disciples.”

The flames vanished instantly, and Zhou Xuan used his teleportation and teleportation techniques to appear beneath the flames—in Mr. Bai Liu's view, it was as if he had stepped out of the fire.

But this fire... was formed from Zhou Xuanhui's tattoo, not from Bifang's forehead.

Zhou Xuan reached out and extinguished the fire, then stood with his hands behind his back, looking quite like a Bifang.

Upon seeing Zhou Xuan's crane-like figure, Mr. Bai Liu immediately ceased his doubts, shook his storyteller's robe, and knelt down to kowtow: "Bai Liu, the storyteller of Jingchuan, pays respects to Ancestor Bifang."

He was a vigilant person who would analyze even the smallest things carefully, but today when he met Zhou Xuan, he did not doubt the other party's identity at all, not because he had suddenly become careless or negligent.

But...

The techniques of a magician.

Now, after the reconstruction of Mingjiang Prefecture, the people believed that the two streets of Donkey Shed Shop—two streets built by Miss Wall's flesh and blood—were real. Zhou Xuan's third incense stick had also burned out, and now it was starting to burn towards the fourth.

He has mastered three levels of tactics for this gang: "catering to their preferences," "bluffing," and "illusion."

From the moment he entered the room, he had been continuously using tactics of pandering to others and bluffing.

Catering to someone's interests means finding out what they like and care about, and quickly getting closer to them and Zhou Xuan.

By bluffing, Zhou Xuan impersonates someone, and if the other party falls for his charm, they will instantly believe his identity.

That ball of fire from Bifang was Zhou Xuan's way of "catering to Mr. Bailiu's tastes." No storyteller could be indifferent to the arrival of their ancestor.

The details Zhou Xuan imagined for himself, such as "a figure resembling a crane," "the voice of Bifang," and "emerging from the fire," were all foreshadowing of his "bluffing."

Once the show of force is put on, Zhou Xuan will appear to Mr. Bai Liu as the real Bi Fang.

With the two layers of tactics employed by Caixi Hall, even if Mr. Bai Liu wanted to doubt Zhou Xuan's identity, he was also a person in the play, and had no further ability to doubt him.

"Bai Liu pays respects to his master."

Seeing that Zhou Xuan did not respond, Mr. Bailiu bowed again with great piety. Zhou Xuan still did not speak, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the fish swimming on the tea table.

The fish, with its six fins spread out, swam naturally in the tank, seemingly unaffected by the "magic tricks."

"This fish seems to have something special about it?"

Zhou Xuan, seeing the fish's unusual behavior, remained unmoved. He sat upright on the bench and said to the kneeling Mr. Bai Liu, "Bai Liu, did you teach the book I asked you to teach, or not?"

"When the Patriarch gave the instructions, it was already late at night, and the people were all asleep. No one would come to listen to the storytelling. I plan to start the storytelling tomorrow morning by beating drums and gongs in the Yunmo Theater and offering free admission. Once the people have gathered, I will begin my storytelling."

"Ah."

Zhou Xuan said coldly, "Since you haven't spoken about it, there's still some room for redemption. The book I'm asking you to speak about tomorrow has changed in content."

"I wonder what form it will take. Please enlighten me, Master," Mr. Bai Liu asked hastily.

Zhou Xuan said, "I'll start by having you read the book. You will repeat the content once."

"The patriarch instructed his disciples to explain how Zhou Xuan of Mingjiang Prefecture colluded with the Wandering Gods to slay the Heavenly Fire that stole the power of faith."

"I remember the content well. Now, this part needs to be changed. Replace 'Heavenly Fire' with 'me'..."

"What if it were you?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Bai Liu was stunned. After a long while, he came to his senses and said, "The contents of that book are that you stole the power of faith and were killed by Zhou Xuan and the Wandering Gods?"

"There's no need to kill me. Just say that I was beaten like a dog by Zhou Xuan and the Mingjiang Prefecture's Wandering God Division, and that Zhou Xuan was merciful and let me go in the end."

“Master, why do you have to humiliate yourself? If this book gets out, it will be very bad for your reputation.”

Mr. Bai Liu couldn't bear to see his ancestor so defiled, so he immediately responded.

Zhou Xuan sighed, pretending to be "oppressed": "Do you think I want to tarnish my reputation? But the book I had you read earlier touched on some of the most powerful people in the world. He was extremely dissatisfied with my behavior. I can't afford to offend that person, so I can only give him an explanation by tarnishing my reputation."

"In this entire kingdom of Jing, there is actually a powerful figure you can't afford to offend. Could it be... oh... I have heard that Zhou Xuan has an extraordinary relationship with the Taoist priests..."

"Just keep it in mind... don't say anything more."

At this point, Zhou Xuan stood up, pressed down on Mr. Bai Liu's shoulder, and said, "Remember, when you lecture tomorrow, you must portray me as somewhat wretched and pathetic. The more wretched and pathetic I appear, the less difficult that master will be for me."
The life of our patriarch rests entirely on the lips of you storytelling disciples. Remember this well, remember this well.

"Master, you're too kind. Tomorrow I will make sure all the people of Jingchuan Prefecture know that you are a shameless, despicable, and vile person, as lowly as dirt."

Mr. Bai Liu made various assurances to Zhou Xuan.

"Then tomorrow, your teacher will supervise your lecture. By the way... when you are lecturing tomorrow, if you sense my divine power moving within your secret realm, don't pay attention to it. That is the patriarch's praise and commendation for you."

Zhou Xuan heard from Yuan Buyu that if Bifang wanted to "invite" all the storytellers in the world to the divine kingdom for a chat, it would use its divine power to initiate a connection and connection within the storytellers' secret realms.

At this moment, the storyteller will also sense the patriarch's summons, and will immediately stop what he is doing, draw a "fire" mark on his forehead with his finger blood, and his soul will enter the thatched hut of the divine kingdom.

Bifang will definitely be watching the storytelling in the Divine Kingdom tomorrow. If he finds that the content of the storytelling is wrong, he will use his divine power to guide the secret realm and ask those storytellers clearly and thoroughly—who told you to tell the story like this?
Zhou Xuan was now giving Mr. Bai Liu a heads-up: if you encounter divine power, just ignore it and treat it as praise from the ancestor.

"In accordance with the divine decree of the ancestral master."

"You immediately notify all the storytellers in Jingchuan Prefecture that the content must be changed to what I said."

"Rest assured, Master, I will do my best to accomplish this." Mr. Bai Liu kowtowed again, and Zhou Xuan was very satisfied. He then glanced at the fish swimming on the table out of the corner of his eye.

The fish were still swimming around in the tank, oblivious to their surroundings.

"Make your preparations well, for I will be reading books in the human world tomorrow."

Zhou Xuan smoothed his sleeves, his spirit wandered and shifted his form, and his true body descended outside the "Bright Moon Teahouse".

However, he did not rush to leave. Instead, he put on the "Dao Ancestor Mask" and used the "Escape Armor Incense"—a method that allows one to breathe for a thousand years—to completely conceal his aura and senses.

Zhou Xuan, who is in a state of tortoise-like breathing, will also be in a state of concealment.

Because of Bi Fang's "jealousy," he thought day and night about eliminating dissidents, resulting in the entire storytelling community not producing a single master of eight incense sticks' worth of skill for three hundred years.

Li Changxun, standing atop nine incense sticks, could not fathom the "turtle's breath," and the storyteller, standing below eight incense sticks, was even less able to decipher it.

Zhou Xuan straightened his Taoist robe and re-entered the teahouse...

……

Inside the Bright Moon Teahouse, Mr. Bai Liu wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said, "Alas, that great master from Mingjiang Prefecture is truly remarkable. He managed to persuade the Taoist priests to come and subdue the patriarch."
This forced the patriarch to tarnish his own reputation to appease the anger of the worshippers.

Although he spoke with melancholy, the irritability in his heart dissipated, and he happily popped a piece of mung bean cake into his mouth, saying with a smile, "But it's good. The patriarch has to tarnish his own reputation. If I tell the story of this newly compiled book, I won't offend that great scholar from Mingjiang Prefecture."

"That master is not someone to be trifled with... The wandering deities of Mingjiang Prefecture and Pingshui Prefecture are all his confidants, the Bitter Ghost of Huangyuan Prefecture is said to be quite close to him, and the Dragon-Seeking Taoist of Jingchuan Prefecture is also considered his disciple."

The Dragon Seeking Sect has declared that all its disciples must address Zhou Xuan as "Mountain Master Zhou" upon meeting him.

"Their power is too great, I can't afford to offend them... Fortunately, the founder changed his mind, otherwise my future days would be very difficult."

Mr. Bai Liu took a sip of tea, and the gloom in his heart involuntarily dissipated.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The fish on the table blew several bubbles at Mr. Bailiu, its six fins flapping rapidly, as if it had something to tell Mr. Bailiu.

"Meng Yu'er, do you have something to say?"

Mr. Bai Liu noticed the strange phenomenon of the dream fish and immediately understood the thoughts of this unusual fish.

Mengyuer spit out three more bubbles and ran away, indicating her agreement.

"Come on, tell me about it properly."

Mr. Bai Liu reached his right hand into the water and lifted Meng Yu'er up. A faint blue light appeared around Meng Yu'er.

Characters flickered in the light.

After the characters flashed out, they were arranged in the order that Mengyu wanted, and they actually condensed into a sentence—the Bifang from before was fake, he is Zhou Xuan.

Upon seeing the characters, Mr. Bai Liu was immediately horrified.

"The grandmaster we just saw was a fake? He was the great master Zhou Xuan! No wonder... no wonder... this makes sense now."

Mr. Bai Liu immediately changed his perspective and finally understood "why the Patriarch defiled himself" and also understood why Bifang, who was detached from worldly affairs, would personally descend to the human world.

"I was unintentionally caught in the Master's dream, but that's impossible. It's true that the Master cultivated the incense of storytellers, but how come I had no reaction at all to the dream he created?"

Mr. Bai Liu was somewhat dejected: "Could it be that my cultivation has declined?"

"Gurgle, gurgle"

The dream fish, amidst the deep blue halo, condensed words once more.

“Colorful plays, wind horses and swallows.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Bai Liu understood somewhat. As a storyteller who had been performing for seven incense sticks, he did not know what Cai Xi (彩戏) was.

This sect has been lost for a long time. Only those who have deeply comprehended its secrets know its name, origin, and abilities.

However, if even Mr. Bai Liu doesn't know about "Taoist methods and temples," then they must be extremely profound.

"The master deceived me using a technique I had never seen before."

Mr. Bai Liu shook his head again at this point, patted Meng Yu'er's back, and said, "Meng Yu'er, Meng Yu'er, sometimes you can be mistaken. That patriarch just now was not an imposter; he was the real patriarch."

When Mengyuer saw that Mr. Bailiu did not believe her, she became somewhat unhappy. She turned her fish tail towards Mr. Bailiu and sulked.

Mr. Bai Liu then put Meng Yu'er into the fish tank and said, "The patriarch is a deity, while you, Master, are just a mortal. How could you possibly imitate the patriarch so well? Impossible, it's impossible."

Hearing Mr. Bai Liu's distrust of it, Meng Yu'er grew even angrier. It nestled at the bottom of the tank, constantly blowing dense bubbles, as if to say, "You're driving me crazy!"

"I'm off, I'm off. I'm going to inform the other storytellers that the content of their stories needs to be changed. As for my worries, they've been resolved."

Mr. Bai Liu put away his folding fan and gavel, held the fish tank in his right hand, paid the bill, and went out.

He walked all the way to the entrance of "Mingyue Teahouse," where Mengyuer was still blowing bubbles incessantly, seemingly determined to argue with Mr. Bailiu to the very end.

At this moment, Mr. Bai Liu suddenly stopped and said to Meng Yu'er with a smile, "Are you still wondering if the Patriarch was Zhou Xuan in disguise? Let me read you the couplet at the entrance of the teahouse."

At the entrance of Mingyue Teahouse, there is a couplet.

Mr. Bai Liu then began to read: "What a dilapidated building, who is the master and who is the guest; only three old rooms, half suitable for the bright moon and half suitable for the wind."

The phrase "half suitable for the bright moon, half suitable for the wind" in the couplet is the origin of the name "Bright Moon Tea House".

"Meng Yu'er, do you understand this couplet? The Kingdom of Jing is a dilapidated building. If you want to live well in this dilapidated building, you have to distinguish who is the master and who is the guest."

Mr. Bai Liu gently poked the fish's back, intending to comfort it, and said, "Zhou Xuan is the master, the Dream God is also the master, and Bi Fang is still the master. People like us with lowly abilities are the real guests."

Since the host has spoken, we, as guests, should simply do as he says—regardless of whether it's true or not.

"I'll tell everyone about it tomorrow—then Zhou Xuan won't bother us, and Bi Fang won't be able to cause us any trouble either… That Cai Xi's methods are too powerful. I was fooled, and I didn't intend to disobey the ancestral master's divine decree, right?"

Hearing this, Meng Yuer's sullen mood subsided a little. She turned her head and looked at Mr. Bai Liu with her big eyes.

"Let's go, little Mengyu. If we want to live well in the Well Kingdom, and if we want to be half moonlit and half windy, we have to learn to play dumb. Your old master Bai is a master of playing dumb."

"It's rare to be confused, it's rare to be confused."

Mr. Bai Liu became somewhat proud as he spoke, humming a little tune and carrying his fish tank as he walked through the streets and alleys.

Hundreds of feet behind him, Zhou Xuan stood on the street, staring at Mr. Bai Liu. Only after he could no longer see the storyteller did he smile and say, "What a remarkable fish, what a remarkable storyteller."

On his way to Jingchuan Prefecture, Zhou Xuan saw Mr. Confused.

This kind of foolishness is also a skill in navigating life. In the world of martial arts, if you only bleed but don't use your brain, you'll die even if you have a life.

"Mr. Fool, thank you. This saves me from having to go to great lengths."

Zhou Xuan clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the night sky, and then traveled by day to Huangyuan Prefecture.

……

“Sister, Mr. Bai Liu has a fish that can see through my magic tricks.”

"Brother, Elder Yuan told me that these storytellers used dreams as weapons and dominated the Jing Kingdom for many years. They knew the power of dreams, so they devised ways to counter them."
That dream fish was a rare species from the South China Sea. Despite its small size, it had lived for thousands of years and was obtained by Mr. Bai Liu by chance.

This fish is extremely simple-minded and possesses the ability to dispel dreams. It fears neither dreams, deceptions, nor illusions of the world. Because of this fish, Mr. Bai Liu is the strongest figure in the storyteller's civil war.

Zhou Lingyi patiently explained to Zhou Xuan.

After listening, Zhou Xuan nodded and said, "It is said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. I have really seen some strange things on this trip."

“A seasoned veteran must have traveled all over the country, but little brother, if you visit all nine prefectures of the Jing Kingdom today, you’ll be a seasoned veteran too.”

"I wouldn't call myself an old hand, my brain is really scrambled. The wind in Huangyuan Prefecture is so strong, it's giving me a headache."

Zhou Xuan's playful words made Zhou Lingyi laugh heartily...

……

That night, Zhou Xuan traveled through Huangyuan, Jingchuan, Dongguan, the capital, the snow mountain, and other prefectures.

He toured all nine prefectures of the Jing Kingdom in one night.

The bustling capital city, the serene Buddhist atmosphere of the snow-capped mountains, and the biting wind of Huangyuan gave Zhou Xuan his first taste of the unique characteristics of each place.

He used the same method on Mr. Bai Liu to fool the other storytellers in the prefecture.

Mr. Bai Liu was lucky; he once obtained the Dream Fish, but the other incense masters were not—they were deeply deceived by the magic tricks.

On that very night, all the storytellers in the Jing Kingdom remembered two things: first, the fire of the gods originally written in the book was changed to Bifang, and Bifang was to be described as lewd and despicable.

Secondly, if the secret realm is drawn by Bifang's divine power during the storytelling tomorrow, it is not the patriarch summoning them, but rather the patriarch's praise and affection for their storytelling.

……

The next morning,

Bi Fang sat upright in the Divine Kingdom thatched hut, his gaze coldly fixed on the folding fan and gavel on the table. He said, "Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan, a storyteller's tongue is like a weapon. Today, all the storytellers in the world will use their sharp tongues to scrape your marrow dry."

(End of this chapter)