A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 263 Temple Fair
After midnight, it is the first day of the new year of Xinchou!
The sound of firecrackers all around made the place even more lively, and Xiao Yu's face was already flushed from drinking.

Duan Rong's dark face also turned slightly red. He sat half paralyzed on the armchair and waved his hands, saying, "I can't do it anymore."

"What's wrong? I'm going to make you drink until you lose it today!" Xiao Yu leaned her elbows on the table and looked at Duan Rong with a blush on her face.

Duan Rong said: "Is it not okay for me to admit defeat?"

"No!" Xiao Yu said, "I don't want you to admit defeat, I want you to really lose!"

“I just really lost.”

"Stop talking nonsense, get up! Drink again!"

Duan Rong didn't get up. He kicked the two empty wine jars at his feet and said, "They are all empty. Where is the wine?"

Xiao Yu shook the wine jar on the table again and found it was empty.

The two of them had already drunk three jars of wine. And what they drank was not rice wine or yellow wine, but an aged strong liquor, Bamboo Leaf Green.

Seeing that the wine was really gone, Xiao Yu stopped yelling. She lay down on the table, the alcohol taking effect and her head aching.

Xiao Yu frowned, turned to look at Duan Rong, and said, "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there is a temple fair at the City God Temple. It is very lively. Dad has a bad leg and Xiao Qi is injured. You can accompany me to go shopping."

Duan Rong put his hands on the handrails, twisted his body upwards as it was about to slide down, and said with a smile: "That's great. I love visiting temple fairs the most."

Duan Rong was speaking from the heart, the temple fair at the City God Temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year was the busiest time of the year in Xiangu County.

It has been almost a year since my soul passed through this world. I missed the temple fair during the Grain Full Festival while on the way to escort the convoy. I must visit the temple fair on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Just as Duan Rong agreed, Xiao Yu had already fallen asleep beside the table. Duan Rong half-collapsed on the armchair, tilted his head, and fell asleep as well.

The sounds of firecrackers from far and near mixed together, creating a rumbling sound.

It was obviously the time when the sound of firecrackers was the loudest. Most people could hardly bear it and would just set off a few firecrackers and then prepare to go to bed.

Duan Rong was awakened by the rumbling sound of firecrackers. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and sat up.

The cold air was blowing in from all directions, and the air was filled with a faint smell of burnt sulfur. Duan Rong was already mostly sober by now, and he stood up and stretched. He wanted to go back to Liu Lu to sleep.

Duan Rong turned his head away. Xiao Yu also fell asleep on the armchair next to him. She rested her head on the back of the chair, her face tilted towards Duan Rong, and her long black hair hung down like a waterfall.

The moment Duan Rong looked over, his eyes lit up. He saw a kind of tranquil beauty on Xiao Yu's face. Xiao Yu's mutton-fat nose moved slightly, and her breathing was long and subtle...

The dim light shone on her face, and the blush on her face had not faded, which contrasted with her fair skin. The three colors intersected like a colorful flower, blooming in the dark night...

Duan Rong's eyes fell on Xiao Yu's two red lips, which were like the pistil of such a beautiful flower...

The red lips were flaming, and Duan Rong's heart was moved!
Duan Rong suppressed the throbbing in his heart and prepared to leave. Just as he reached the door, he suddenly realized that Xiao Yu had drunk a lot of wine. If he just slept here like this, he would be very cold and would easily catch a cold.

Duan Rong walked back, infused his internal energy, and suddenly grabbed the armchair and lifted it up. Duan Rong controlled the angle of the armchair so that Xiao Yu could lie steadily inside it.

Duan Rong walked into Xiao Yu's boudoir holding the armchair, feeling a bit like a king lifting a tripod.

The moment you enter the door, a faint fragrance hits you.

Duan Rong walked to the bed with the armchair in his hand. Duan Rong lowered his waist slowly and tilted the armchair over the bed. Xiao Yu then slid off the armchair, groaned softly, and landed on the soft bed...

Duan Rong positioned Xiao Yu's legs, took off her shoes, covered her with a quilt, and then turned and left.

The moment Duan Rong turned around, Xiao Yu opened her eyes in the darkness. She looked at Duan Rong's burly back in the darkness, and a familiar warmth flowed through her heart. It was not until Duan Rong's back disappeared in the yellow light at the door that she leaned inside, muttering in joy in her heart, "Stupid..."

Duan Rong walked out of the main room. He did not go through the courtyard gate. Instead, he used his body to climb over the courtyard wall, returned to Liulu, and fell asleep with the quilt.

Duan Rong slept until dawn before getting up to wash and dress.

On the first day of the New Year, Duan Rong washed himself more carefully and brushed his teeth with salt until they were white and shiny.

Duan Rong had just finished washing when there was a knock on the gate.

Duan Rong swept his spiritual sense and saw Xiao Yu standing outside the door gracefully.

Duan Rong opened the gate and saw Xiao Yu standing there in a moon-white dress. When the breeze blew, the hem of her skirt swayed gently like a water lotus.

Xiao Yu stuffed a steaming dried lotus leaf into Duan Rong's hand.

That was the breakfast she brought to Duan Rong, including steamed, fried and buns.

"Let's go. The temple fair has begun."

"So early?"

"It's still early! Today is the first day of the new year."

Duan Rong closed the gate, took a bite of fried fish, looked at Xiao Yu's skirt and said, "Is this skirt newly made? I've never seen you wear it before."

"Of course I have to wear new clothes for the New Year. I ordered them at the tailor shop before the New Year, one for me and one for Xiaoqi."

"Children wear new clothes. Adults wear the same old clothes."

Duan Rong had been wearing two sets of escort uniforms for the past six months. Although he had made a lot of money, he had hardly ever been to a clothing store. He didn't even know where the tailor shop was.

When Xiao Yu saw Duan Rong laughing at her for being a child, she turned her head and rolled her eyes at Duan Rong, saying angrily, "I can't even stop your mouth when I'm eating!"

After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he walked forward quickly.

"Why are you walking so fast?" Duan Rong took a bite of fried pork belly and quickly chased after him.

The two walked to the neighborhood of City God Temple. As expected, the temple fair had already begun. Early in the morning, the streets in front of the City God Temple were already crowded with people.

The hawking sounds from the roadside vendors were even more frequent. The white air exhaled by the vendors mixed with the morning mist and floated above people's heads...

There are people making candy figures, selling candied haws, spinning cotton candy, making popcorn, and rolling egg rolls...

There were jugglers, fire-breathing and sword-swallowing people, and everything else...

Every stall was crowded with people, and Duan Rong managed to snatch two strings of candied haws with syrup hanging from the crowd with great difficulty.

He handed a bunch to Xiao Yu, who took it with a smile and said, "Only eating candied haws can celebrate the New Year."

The two of them ate candied haws while looking at the stalls.

They stopped in front of a circus booth performing fire-breathing and sword-swallowing. The man was swallowing a long sword that was shining with cold light into his mouth.

Duan Rong smiled slightly. He knew without using his spiritual sense that there was a mechanism on the sword.

However, there was still an exclamation from the crowd.

At this moment, a burly man with a scraggly beard suddenly pulled out a knife and shouted, "I see you have tampered with your sword. If you can swallow my knife, I will admit that you are capable!"

The sword swallower looked at the provocative man with an unpleasant expression.

There were people smashing things up early in the morning, which immediately attracted people's attention. Not only did passers-by gather around, but people from the two stalls next to it were also attracted.

The brute waved the steel knife in his hand and said, "What? You don't dare!" "Swallow!"

"Swallow it!"

At this time, some people in the crowd started to make a noise.

The sword swallower was in a dilemma and had to take the knife from the ruffian reluctantly. Amid the people's shouts, he stabbed the tip of the knife into his own mouth.

The crowd watching suddenly gasped!
Then the sword swallower actually swallowed the knife bit by bit.

Duan Rong's eyebrows jumped. The provocative man was obviously a stooge.

Xiao Yu also noticed that the two people left the stall. Many people also obviously noticed it and dispersed cursing. However, the number of people surrounding the sword-swallowing stall was more than twice as many as before!
The two continued strolling and stopped at an old man performing a monkey show.

After the monkey went through the fire ring, it actually took the monkey keeper's pipe, stuffed it with tobacco leaves, lit it on the fire ring, and started smoking.

The way he blew out smoke was so sophisticated, just like a human...

"This monkey is simply a spirit!" Xiao Yu was amused and laughed.

Duan Rong was also amused by what he saw, so he threw a few pieces of silver to the monkey holding the gong as a reward for the craftsman.

Perhaps because they saw that Duan Rong was quite generous, as soon as the two men turned to leave the stall, someone passed by Duan Rong.

The moment the man approached, Duan Rong's heart moved. "A clean insertion."

In Weiyangfang, he devoured the spirit of Fang Jingbao's jade ring and had already attained the mastery level of the Qingcha Miaoshou realm.

Before the man made a move, Duan Rong had already seen what he was going to do.

"The technique is not bad!" Duan Rong commented in his heart, still walking and chatting with Xiao Yu with a smile on his face.

The man took out something from Duan Rong's arms. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and he was delighted, thinking it was a silver ingot. But when he opened his hand, he saw a bright red candied haws coated with sugar in his palm.

This man knew that he had met an expert. He turned his head with fear and glanced at Duan Rong's back, then immediately ducked his head and dived into the crowd...

Duan Rong looked back at the man, then continued walking along the street with Xiao Yu.

The two of them strolled along the way, watched many acrobatics, and ate a lot of snacks, before they arrived at the gate of the City God Temple.

There is a long queue in front of the entrance of City God Temple!
Duan Rong said: "The incense of the City God is very popular!"

Xiao Yu said: "It's not just the incense. It is said that the prayer tablets on the first day of the Lunar New Year are also the most effective."

"A prayer card?"

Then two people were seen coming out of the temple gate, walking quickly to the ancient mulberry tree not far away, standing under the tree, throwing up to the sky, and wanting to hang the prayer cards in their hands on the branches of the ancient mulberry tree.

Xiao Yu said: "As long as the ancient mulberry tree can be hung, the City God will accept it."

It was winter, and the leaves were withered. Moreover, the branches of this thousand-year-old mulberry tree were tall, so the two men tried to hang it several times but failed.

At this moment, a young man in gorgeous clothes reached out and threw the prayer board in his hand, which was firmly hung at the highest point of the tree, making the two people envious.

Duan Rong's eyes narrowed, and the young man stretched out his hand and threw a hidden weapon, which was no weaker than his.

Duan Rong looked at the man, and it turned out to be Tao Rong, the son of Tao Jiusong, the owner of the weapons shop.

A few months ago, Duan Rong had heard rumors in a teahouse that Tao Rong had already achieved the highest level of inner breath realm at that time.

Tao Rong noticed Duan Rong's gaze and turned to look over. However, he didn't know Duan Rong, but he recognized Xiao Yu. So he nodded slightly at Xiao Yu and turned away.

Duan Rong knew that this person would definitely take part in the assessment for registered disciples on March 3rd.

Obviously a strong enemy!

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu stood in a long queue for half an hour before they finally kowtowed and burned incense to the City God. Then they received the prayer cards from the old temple priest Xu Dongyang.

The wishing card is blank and you need to write down your wish.

Xiao Yu and Duan Rong came to the desk in the corner, picked up the pens prepared on it, and wrote down their wishes.

Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and smiled, "What did you write?"

Xiao Yu held the sign in his arms and said, "Why do you care about me?"

Duan Rong could easily spy on others by using his spiritual sense to penetrate, but he never used this method to spy on his friends for no reason. Not only would it consume his spirit, it would also be a bit mean.

After the two of them finished writing, they took the prayer boards out of the temple gate and came to the ancient mulberry tree. Both of them were accomplished warriors, so they reached out and threw the boards, then hung them up!

Xiao Yu looked at the shaking sign on the dry mulberry tree in the winter sun, her eyes flickering. She turned her head to look at Duan Rong and said, "Let's go, let's go back."

Duan Rong walked behind Xiao Yu, looking at her thoughtful face. The warm winter sun illuminated the fluff on her cheeks.

Duan Rong suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility in his heart.

Duan Rong knew that this feeling was given to him by Xiao Yu.

It was obvious that there was no love between him and Xiao Yu, but that faint feeling was another kind of emotion.

Duan Rong's parents died early in his previous life, and he had no family yet, but his soul traveled to the world of Jiuzhou. But when he arrived here, his parents also passed away.

He has lived two lives, but has never felt the warmth of family.

But for some reason, when he looked at Xiao Yu at this moment, he suddenly felt a warm and peaceful feeling.

Behind the two of them, a number of prayer boards had been hung on the ancient mulberry tree at the entrance of the City God Temple. Duan Rong and Xiao Yu's were also hung on it, swaying in the wind.

What was written on Xiao Yu's prayer card was: I only wish your heart is like mine.

There were only three words on Duan Rong’s prayer card: Taiyi Gate.

The new year has passed, and it is already the sixth day of the first lunar month.

The escort agency's business was about to start, but Ruan Fengshan stayed in the backyard, closed the door, and refused to see anyone, let alone show up.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Ruan Fengshan's personal servant Zheng Wei suddenly sent an order and brought a document with the seal of the escort agency and Ruan Fengshan's personal seal.

The document only had one line of words on it: From today on, Xiao Zongting is appointed as the chief of Yuanshun Escort Agency, with full responsibility for the agency's business.

Xiao Zongting received the document and was confused. He ran to the backyard to ask to see Ruan Fengshan, but was turned away again.

Xiao Zongting was helpless, but he had served in Yuanshun Escort Agency all his life and had deep feelings for this place that most people could hardly understand. Since Ruan Fengshan had handed over the management of the escort agency to him, he would do his best no matter what.

After Sun Huang's death, the Second Escort Team was left leaderless.

Moreover, March 3rd is the day for the assessment of registered disciples. Duan Rong and Xiao Yu both have to prepare for the assessment and have no time for the affairs of the escort agency for the time being.

Xiao Zongting directly disbanded the second escort team and merged the escort masters and porters into the remaining escort teams. Duan Rong and Xiao Yu took time off from work to practice and prepare for the assessment!

(End of this chapter)