Chapter 73: The th and th of the Year

Year twenty-nine.

Xie Yuan returned to Panlong Town after a long absence.

The town is decorated with lights and big red lanterns hung everywhere. Lion dance teams parade through the streets and children are running around everywhere. Even the poorest families have tidy up their homes during the past two days and put up blessing characters on their doors, creating a full festive atmosphere.

Except for the iron gate.

Xie Yuan stood at the gate of Tieyi Gate, looking at the tightly closed door and the silent stone lions. There was no New Year decoration outside, which was out of place with the entire town.

He frowned slightly, walked forward, pulled the copper ring and knocked it hard, but no one responded for a long time.

Xie Yuan took two steps back and looked at the plaque on the door again. The three large gold-plated characters "Iron Cloth Gate" were shining as new, and it seemed that they had not been cleaned for a long time.

What's going on? Why is it closed?
Xie Yuan thought for a moment and walked towards the market.

"Fresh pheasants! Fresh chickens, buy some to take home for the New Year!"

“Wild vegetables, wild vegetables! The last handful of wild vegetables in the mountains in winter! If you miss this one, you’ll have it next spring!”

"Selling fish, selling fish, big fat black fish, have a fish for the New Year's Eve dinner, and next year will be abundant!"

The New Year's Fair was extremely lively, as if all the people in the town had gathered here. The sounds of hawking gathered into a huge wave, which led Xie Yuan to find the place.

He looked around as he walked, and after a while, his eyes lit up and he walked straight to the fishmonger's stall.

"Sir, do you want fish? Our fish... um, thank you brother?"

The dark-skinned young man behind the stall was stunned for a moment, looking at the smiling Xie Yuan with great surprise.

"Happy New Year, Brother Tao. Long time no see."

Xie Yuan cupped his hands.

Tao Jielin bowed repeatedly, showing a surprised smile:
"Happy New Year! Hi, Brother Xie, it's been a while since we last met since you went to the county town, um..."

Now, it doesn't seem like it was that long? Just a month or two.

But after Xie Yuan left Tieyimen, he went directly to Longteng Escort Agency, the largest agency in the county. For the people in the small town, this was considered a meteoric rise to fame.

Therefore, even though the clouds were not too far away and the time was not too long, it always felt like the two of them were very far apart.

Tao Jielin sighed with emotion, and then asked excitedly:

"Brother Xie, you went to Longteng Escort Agency, so you should be a warrior, right?"

Xie Yuan listened and nodded with a smile:
"I was lucky enough to break through these two days."

"Musha!"

Tao Jielin rubbed his teeth, raised his thumbs repeatedly, and his expression became a little stiff:

"Brother Xie, congratulations! Hi, warrior... well, by the way! I have a precious fish that I just caught. It replenishes blood and qi, and is the favorite of warriors. I originally wanted to sell it for a high price, but since Brother Xie is here, I will give it to you to congratulate you!"

Tao Jie Lin made up his mind, took out a big black carp with red cheeks from a big fish basket, and stuffed it into Xie Yuan's hand.

Xie Yuan was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, but he could not resist Tao Jie Lin's enthusiasm, so he simply accepted the fish and took out a handful of silver coins and stuffed them into Tao Jie Lin's pocket.

Now it was Tao Jie Lin's turn to be at a loss, but he was no match for Xie Yuan. His hand was held down, and Xie Yuan directly swept the silver into his tower chain.

Tao Jielin took a look and sighed:

"Thank you, brother. That's a lot."

"How can it be considered a high price if it's not much?"

Xie Yuan estimated that he took out about seven or eight taels of silver. After he joined the Longteng Escort Agency, he learned about the treasure fish. It was a mutant fish that was indeed helpful for practicing martial arts.

This fish can increase your blood energy a lot. It is a good thing and it is worth getting it.

He knew the approximate price, and Tao Jie Lin would definitely not suffer any loss from these small changes.

Xie Yuan stopped Tao Jie Lin from talking and whispered:
"Brother Tao, when I came here just now, I saw that the martial arts gym was closed. What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Jielin put down the fish basket and sighed softly:
“Brother Xie went to the county town, and I don’t know what happened here.

"Originally, the share of the drugstore's profits had already been decided, thanks to Brother Xie's great power, and it remains unchanged; but the drugstore itself has run into problems -

"It is said that one of their major sources of medicinal herbs, the herbs in the Beidu Mountains, have inexplicably withered and died. The medicine shops are losing a lot of money, and the supply is insufficient, so the price is rising."

Hearing this, Xie Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. Beidu Mountains?

Beidu Mountains is a large mountain range. The entire Yunzhao area is actually located on the southern foot of the Beidu Mountains. Xiaoshi Village is located at the foot of one of the mountains.

Are the medicinal herbs in the mountains also dead?
Withered and dead...

Xie Yuan frowned and listened to Tao Jielin continue:
"Now the three martial arts schools can't sit still anymore. The Black Tiger Boxing School and the Divine Weapon School have completely torn their relations with us. They have fought several times in a month, and have fought with all the disciples, but there is no winner. In the end, they decided that the three school masters would personally take part in the battle on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month!

"This is what happened a few days ago. The next day, the martial arts school closed the door and gave the disciples a holiday. They said that Master Liu wanted to practice in seclusion. But some people also said that he actually ran away... Well, who knows? Anyway, this is what happened. Let's take a break during the New Year and see what happens after the New Year."

Xie Yuan was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect the fighting in Panlong Town to be so fierce.

But, did Master Liu really run away? Then my skills...

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment and said, forget it, let’s go to Panlong again on New Year’s Day and we’ll know the answer.

He said goodbye to Tao Jie Lin, bought some chicken, duck, fish and meat, and returned to Xiaoshi Village to celebrate the New Year.

Thirty years old.

"Yuanzi, you bought too much!"

Li Lan wiped her sweat and brought up the last fish, and the table full of reunion dinner was ready.

"It's okay. The weather won't spoil the food. You can eat it slowly from the first to the seventh day of the New Year." Xie Yuan said with a smile.

Wang Lei smacked his lips:
"Yuanzi, you work so hard in the escort agency, but it's not easy to make money..."

"It's easy to make money. Working in the county town is like picking up silver. These are nothing. It's the New Year, let's have fun!"

Xie Yuan waved his hands repeatedly, picked up a piece of meat for Hu Wa, and then raised the wine cup and drank a rare drink:

"Brother Shitou, Sister Lanhua, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

The few people on the table didn't eat much, especially the precious fish. The family of three ate two chopsticks of it and then felt full and stopped eating. It would be difficult to digest this energy without practicing martial arts.

Xie Yuan just let them have a taste of the new food, and he ate the whole fish and half of the dishes on the table, which made Li Lan and Wang Lei's eyes widen.

Is this how much a warrior eats?

I wish Tiger Boy could eat as much as me someday. However, I'm afraid I can't afford to feed him if he eats so much...

After the reunion dinner, Xie Yuan chatted with his brother and sister-in-law for a while. Seeing that they were going to coax Hu Wa to sleep, he said good night and left, going back to his own little house.

We are as close as a family, but after all, we are not a family, and we still have to spend the New Year by ourselves.

Looking at the happy family of three in front of the door, Xie Yuan suddenly felt a little melancholy.

This is the first time in decades that I celebrate the Chinese New Year alone. Even the boring Spring Festival Gala makes me nostalgic.

Xie Yuan was carrying a wine jug and walking towards his home on the hill, when he suddenly turned back.

In the courtyard of the big house in the village, two people were looking in this direction. When they saw his movements, they paused and went into the house.

Xie Yuan broke through the second level of training and reached the third level of internal energy. With sharp ears and eyes, he knew who those two people were at a glance.

The eldest and second son of the Zhang family.

Zhang Yufeng lives in the county town most of the time and only returns to Xiaoshi Village during the New Year and Qingming Festivals.

Xie Yuan's eyelids drooped slightly, he paused for a while, and then slowly returned to his own courtyard.

Sitting in the yard, admiring the moon on New Year's Eve, Xie Yuan drank intermittently in silence.

The rice wine has a low alcohol content, but laughter and the sound of firecrackers can be heard from the village from time to time, which makes the courtyard even more quiet. This scene is more intoxicating than wine.

Xie Yuan was slightly tipsy, looking up and thinking:

"Why are those two looking at me?
"They haven't bothered me for a long time. Have they given up? Are they so easy to talk to? Or is there a conspiracy?

"They have been targeting me for so long. Even if they give up, I am not done yet! Damn it, I can't let them keep picking on me. Things will change over time. Don't bully the poor youngsters!"

Xie Yuan suddenly felt that the rice wine was burning his heart, so he drank the whole jug in one gulp, stood up, pushed the door open and walked out.

The Zhang family in the village.

The two brothers drank wine on the kang and waited for the dawn, which is also a tradition of the Zhang family.

"Brother, fill the wine."

Crooked-mouthed Zhang Laoer poured wine for his eldest brother. From childhood to adulthood, he was only docile in front of Zhang Yufeng.

Zhang Yufeng nodded and said:
"Second brother, how much did the village's fields yield?"

"It was almost halfway there, but it stopped at Wang Lei's place. That kid..."

Zhang Laoer spat and cursed.

Zhang Yufeng's face darkened and he shook his head:
"It's okay. I've already made an agreement with the Second Master. He will personally help us solve this problem."

"How to say?"

Zhang Laoer's eyes lit up.

"I just didn't see him. He really went back to the village. It's easy to deal with him if he's not in the escort agency. I will send a letter to the second master tomorrow. It won't take him long to get to the village with his speed. Then I will think of a way to lead him to a secluded place, such as the forest behind the mountain..."

Zhang Yufeng's eyes flickered.

Zhang Laoer nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining:
"What's the solution? How about I just lie low to him and trick him into trusting me, just like Xie Lun did?"

Zhang Yufeng shook his head slowly:
"He is much smarter than his brother. He may not be fooled. I have a better way to make him submit."

"what?"

"Aren't Wang Lei's family of three as close to him as family? Just arrest them and take them to the woods, and let them come here by themselves. Don't make any noise. Judging from this kid's personality, he will definitely do as I say."

"Oh! Big brother's idea is the right one."

"After that incident, what happened to Wang Lei's family of three?"

"Of course I dealt with it. It's just right to take the field..."

"!"

Zhang Yufeng was suddenly startled because that question was not asked by the second brother.

The two of them turned their heads suddenly and saw a figure flash by on the window paper.

With a bang, the solid wooden door was kicked down, and a tall figure holding an axe stood in the moonlight, his face unclear in the shadows.

 Tomorrow is Tuesday, and like before, the update will be later. Please support and follow along. This is the last round. Thank you very much!

  
 
(End of this chapter)

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