One Qi Chaoyang

Chapter 167 Chapter 166: Cangzhou

Heavy rain came suddenly, hitting the tiles, walls, and streets, splashing countless small jade beads that floated in the air and became rain mist.

In the blink of an eye, a vast expanse of land appeared.

In a short period of time, the originally bustling streets were deserted, and Zhao Fuyun saw a faint smoke swirling up in the wind and rain.

His eyes glowed with fire, and he saw through the void and saw that it was actually a giant snake.

The snake's body was grayish white, with clear scales. It was about twenty feet long, but only a thin line when viewed from a distance.

Zhao Fuyun was very surprised. At this moment, in the city where he was staying, he actually saw a snake transforming into a dragon after transcending tribulation.

The snake was seen flying higher and higher, straight into the dark clouds in the sky. However, before it entered the clouds, a flash of lightning flashed down from the clouds and landed on the gray-white snake.

The snake's body trembled, but it did not fall.

Zhao Fuyun saw the lightning strike its head, but then flowed to the snake's tail like water.

This was followed by a loud thunderclap.

"boom!"

At this moment, Zhao Fuyun's mind went blank, as if all his consciousness was shattered by the sound of thunder.

At this moment, he froze and stopped moving, and all the chaotic thoughts deep in his mind seemed to be extinguished in an instant.

At this moment, he seemed to be experiencing the thunder tribulation together with the snake.

His eyes were still reflecting the sky. The gray snake twisted its body and dived into the dark clouds, tumbling silently with only lightning and thunder.

The snake in the clouds roared like a beast, as if it was angry and struggling. It seemed to want to break free from the constraints of heaven and earth, but there was a kind of helplessness and sadness in the sound.

A large gray snake fell from the sky and landed in the mountains outside the city.

When Zhao Fuyun regained consciousness, the scene in his eyes had calmed down.

It all seemed like a dream, like the imagination that came to me when I saw this sudden heavy rain.

He sat down by the window and seemed to smell a fragrance. He sniffed carefully and found that the fragrance seemed to be emanating from his body.

Suddenly I remembered a book I had read that described spiritual thoughts. It said that a pure body and mind will also produce fragrance.

After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, Zhao Fuyun heard someone in a teahouse talking about a snake that had survived a catastrophe yesterday.

The scholar said that the snake had been practicing in the deep pool at the mountain pass for five hundred years.

Zhao Fuyun didn't understand any of this and only heard a general idea.

It is probably known that this big snake has a close relationship with this city, and the mountain is called Shepan Mountain.

The scholar first talked about many stories of snakes saving people, and it could be heard that he seemed to have a good impression of the snake.

Zhao Fuyun had been listening halfway when someone suddenly came to chase him. It was the city constable, who said that the county magistrate had ordered that no one should talk about the snake monster anymore.

"That's the snake fairy." The storyteller argued.

"Don't say that anymore. The snake demon died yesterday. For so many years, this beast has been bullying us, calling itself a god. Now it's time to pay the price." The constable shouted loudly.

The storyteller shouted, "It was those people who forced the snake fairy to take the risk to survive. You are blocking their path and you will be punished."

However, as he was shouting, a constable rushed forward and took him away.

Zhao Fuyun sat there, watching the crowd surge in and out. For a moment, there was a lot of discussion. He sat for a while, then stood up and left.

Among all the spiritual creatures in the world, snakes are known as one of the five immortals. They are a very spiritual species and can realize the method of spiritual practice on their own over time.

He left the city and headed towards Cangzhou City, which was just ahead.

Cangzhou was not Zhao Fuyun's intention to come here, but after leaving Mount Li, he walked and walked and entered the territory of Cangzhou. He thought of a person in Cangzhou who could barely be called a friend.
Of course, if you say no, then you are not a friend either.

Cangzhou City looks quite large, and judging from the city walls, the post stations and temples on both sides of the road, Cangzhou City is an old city.

As he walked along, he saw many spiritual fields.

After the Great Zhou Kingdom unified this area, the greatest benefit was stability, and people were able to have food to eat and clothes to wear.

It is not like before, when everyone was a slave under the throne of various gods, just like raising livestock.

Although most mortals now are tenant farmers and long-term workers of various families, it is at least better than before.

However, with the rise and fall of the various aristocratic families, the people who originally belonged to the aristocratic families would also be displaced. Many people did not know about the existence of a country, but only knew about the aristocratic families, because the only sky they could see was the sky of the aristocratic families.

He asked someone about Zhuangshi, but the person looked at Zhao Fuyun and said, "Your Excellency went to Zhuangshi to apply for the service."

"The Zhuang family is recruiting priests? That's great. I was just about to go and take a look." Zhao Fuyun said.

"You are coming from another place, so you may not know the situation. Don't be fooled by Zhuang. Zhuang may not even be able to give out the spiritual stones for offerings. They are just trying to deceive outsiders like you."

"Cheat? Why?" Zhao Fuyun asked puzzledly.

The man seemed to know something and said, "The ancestors of the Zhuang family were once rich and powerful. They had thousands of acres of spiritual fields, a large number of servants, and a purple mansion cultivator. However, flowers do not bloom forever, and a family does not prosper for a thousand years. The spiritual fields of the Zhuang family have been hit by disasters every year, and they are only enough to pay taxes to the government."

"In this case, isn't it the time to turn the tide? This opportunity is rare. If someone has the ability to go to the banker and help him overcome this difficulty, will the banker treat him unfairly?" Zhao Fuyun said.

"Alas, you must have been practicing in the mountains for a long time and don't know how complicated things are in this world. The banker has these troubles, not just natural disasters, otherwise why would the natural disasters only fall on the banker."

Zhao Fuyun looked at the man in front of him and saw that although his clothes were good, they looked a little worn. His brows were furrowed, and he had a sparse black beard. He wore a hat on his head and looked like a wealthy man.

"Father, please tell me where the banker is." Zhao Fuyun said.

"Xinghua Lane." The old man replied.

Zhao Fuyun thought this man's behavior was quite strange and couldn't help but look at him a few more times, but he didn't say anything else and went straight into the city.

In the sky, the sun is setting and a red light is shining on the earth.

The weather has turned cold, and the soldiers guarding the city gate are already wearing winter clothes.

When Zhao Fuyun walked over, they seemed not to notice him at all.

The administrator of this city had a lot of ideas. He erected a wall at the entrance of the city. On the wall were many notices, the laws of Cangzhou in addition to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and a simple map of the city. The three words "Xinghuaxiang" happened to be on the map.

Xinghua Lane is very spacious, but you can also see that it is an old lane, with tunnels on the ground and peeling mud on the walls of the houses in the lane.

There are many doors, but all of them have single ears.

It was not until I reached the middle that I saw a huge door with a plaque on it with two large, powerful characters written on it - Zhuang Mansion.

He looked around and saw that there were many small doors on the other side of the gate. He was sure that those doors led to this manor house, and the entire Xinghua Lane belonged to the manor family.

The places entered through those small doors were probably where the servants of the Zhuang family lived.

On the left side of the main gate, there is a relatively larger door, which is a side door that opens in two directions.

After Zhao Fuyun's figure appeared in front of the door for a long time, a servant poked his head out from the side door, looked at Zhao Fuyun, and said, "Your Excellency has come to the manor to apply for a donation."

Of course, he couldn't tell whether Zhao Fuyun was a cultivator or not, but with Zhao Fuyun's attire now, anyone who saw him would have to call him a noble man.

Zhao Fuyun shook his head.

The servant asked in confusion, "Sir, you are here to volunteer for the service, so why are you peeping in front of the manor house?"

"I'm here to find Zhuang Xinyan." Zhao Fuyun said.

After hearing what Zhao Fuyun said, the servant suddenly closed the door. Zhao Fuyun heard him shouting from outside: "Oh no, someone is here to seek revenge, Uncle Ju, Uncle Ju, someone is here to seek revenge again."

There were banging noises inside, as if someone had knocked over a wooden barrel, which led to a burst of shouting and cursing.

Zhao Fuyun frowned slightly. He was too lazy to wait here and squeezed in through the crack in the door. He was just seen by a woman behind the door who was picking up clothes that had been spilled on the ground.

Seeing a person squeeze in through the crack in the door, he was horrified and shouted, "A demon has come in. A demon has squeezed in through the crack in the door."

Her voice became sharper and soon alarmed the entire manor.

A deep voice sounded from the mansion: "Fellow Daoist He Fang has trespassed into the manor."

A man who looked to be still in his prime jumped down from an attic and strode towards Zhao Fuyun.

When he walked over, his eyes flashed silver light, as if he was observing Zhao Fuyun's level of cultivation.

However, ever since Zhao Fuyun practiced the "Taixu Wujie Sutra", he also comprehended the invisibility spell. He stood here as if he did not exist. As long as he did not want ordinary people to see him, ordinary people could not see him at all, and the cultivators could not see his cultivation level.

"Your Excellency, what do you intend to do by trespassing into the manor?"

"Is Zhuang Xinyan not at home?" Zhao Fuyun did not answer the big man's question, but asked back. He felt that as long as he saw Zhuang Xinyan, he would not need to explain who he was.

"Our eldest lady is not at home. I wonder why this noble gentleman came to the Zhuang Mansion?" An elderly man who looked like a butler came out, followed by a group of guards, each holding a weapon in his hand.

"I have nothing to do. I just passed by here and came to see her." Zhao Fuyun said, "If she is not here, forget it."

After Zhao Fuyun finished speaking, he turned and left.

The housekeeper was stunned for a moment when he saw Zhao Fuyun turning around and leaving. He immediately thought that this person might not be an enemy of his family.

"Please wait a moment, my dear. The young lady has gone to Shuixiufang to discuss something. I will ask someone to invite her back." The housekeeper said quickly, "Douzi, go, go and ask the young lady to come back."

The butler welcomed Zhao Fuyun into the main hall. Zhao Fuyun thought about it and decided to wait since he was already here.

The bean ran all the way to Shuixiufang.

He didn't know why his eldest daughter was in Shuixiufang, but he knew that these days, his eldest daughter's face was full of sorrow, which made him feel heartbroken.

The Zhuang family owed Shuixiufang a lot of money for fabrics. Zhuang Xinyan came here to talk to the owner of Shuixiufang and hoped that they could give her some time to pay.

"Sister Xinyan, I can only give you a month at most. You should also know that this is the limit of what I can do for you. Although I have followed my father to manage Shuixiufang and become the shopkeeper, you should also know that I am also a woman and how difficult it is to do something. My father and brother are watching me."

"Your family still needs to build connections as soon as possible. Your family has been going from bad to worse over the years. Ever since Xiange died outside, many people have said that your family is going to fail. You have to remember that many times, when people talk about it, your family will inexplicably decline."

Zhuang Xinyan was silent for a while, then said, "Thank you, Sister Huang, for your help and sincere words. I will pay you back in a month and will not make things difficult for you."

Zhuang Xinyan stood up, bowed, and turned to leave when Sister Huang spoke again, "Xinyan, there is a saying that ruin is the way to avoid disaster. You have to think clearly. Sometimes, the more you want to keep something, the harder it is to keep it. In the end, it will only become a disaster."

Zhuang Xinyan knew it, but she was unwilling to accept it.

At this time, someone came to report that a servant from the Zhuang family had come and wanted to ask Zhuang Xinyan to go back.

Sister Huang stood up to see Zhuang Xinyan off, and when Zhuang Xinyan went out, she saw the servant, who immediately said, "Miss, someone just came to see you. He is a cultivator who was able to squeeze in through the crack in the door."

Sister Huang also heard it nearby.

Zhuang Xinyan frowned and said, "What does that person look like?"

"He was dressed in purple, with a jade crown on his head, a jade pendant on his waist, and a pair of beautiful boots on his feet. He looked like a nobleman."

Zhuang Xinyan thought to herself that she didn't know such a person, so she couldn't help but ask, "Did he tell her his name?"

"No, he came and said he was looking for you. When Uncle Shen said you were not here, he said forget it and said he was just passing by. Uncle Shen then called him back and asked me to come and call Miss back."

When the servant said this, he looked at Zhuang Xinyan, wanting to know if she was his eldest lady's friend.

In fact, he also felt that it might be the eldest lady's friend, and he hoped that the eldest lady would have a capable friend coming.

Zhuang Xinyan thought about the people she might know, and a figure flashed through her mind. She couldn't help but say, "Could it be him?"

"Sister Xinyan, do you have any friends visiting?" Sister Huang said from the side.

"Sister Huang, Xinyan is not very clear either. Let's go back and take a look first. Whether they are friends or not, we will know once we meet them." Zhuang Xinyan said.

"Yes, you can only know it after seeing it. However, sister Xinyan, you have to think clearly about what the 'friend' who suddenly comes at this time is thinking. You have to see it clearly." Sister Huang said.

"Xinyan knows, Sister Huang, Xinyan is leaving." Zhuang Xinyan walked out of the door quickly and headed home. At this moment, she wanted to turn into a cat and go back quickly to check.

The sun sets.

Her mood suddenly brightened up for the first time in a long time. No matter what, it was always a happy thing to have friends visit her.

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(End of this chapter)