Infinity: Our Zhongzhou team is really amazing!

Chapter 470 Ghost Buddha! Mawei Slope (13)

Behind me, a pitch-black snowy night.

Before us lies a brightly lit post station.

This scene looks somewhat unreal.

Zhuang Boshi could even imagine that after walking in, he would find that it was a long-abandoned post station, completely deserted.

Even the offerings on the table were made from dead bodies crawling with maggots.

Several mummified corpses hung from the roof beams, and several coffins were placed in the back room.

But reality told him otherwise.

There are no ghosts here.

It's abnormally clean.

He had never seen such a clean place since returning to history.

Although Bosch's divine eye was still pinned down by Apocalypse, he still had no problem distinguishing supernatural auras.

Based on some basic observation, not only this post station, but even the entire world was extremely clean.

There was no supernatural presence.

It's so normal it's almost abnormal.

"Sir, the north wind is biting, and the raging fire at my post station is famous far and wide. Even Li Bai and Wang Wei wrote poems about it."

"Alright then, I'll go in and chat for a bit." Zhuang Boshi walked forward.

The post station was bustling with activity. Several foreign merchants were feeding their horses in the courtyard, while the main hall was filled with noise and brightly lit.

Amidst the aroma of food, Sogdians, Persians, Chinese, and others gathered together.

Once everyone saw a wandering Taoist priest, they stopped paying attention.

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism were highly respected.

The Li family claimed to be descendants of Laozi, which led to the rapid development of Taoism, and many noble families also entered the Taoist sect for cultivation.

It is not uncommon to see Taoist priests dressed as Taoist priests.

After Zhuang Boshi sat down, he threw down a gold bean: "Shopkeeper, give me two flatbreads first, then two bowls of rice cakes, with wine and meat, and a little bit of everything else as well."

He immediately produced a handful of golden beans, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The foreign merchants, in particular, looked at him with astonishment.

This was Zhuang Boshi's purpose, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with those foreign merchants.

The foreign merchants found it very strange to see a Tang person who could speak fluent Turkic and Persian languages.

By chatting with them, Zhuang Boshi quickly learned about the general situation of the world.

The history before Tianbao was not much different from what he remembered.

However, after entering the fifteenth year of the Tianbao era, history took a sharp turn.

"You mean, An Lushan was put to death by the emperor two years ago?!" Zhuang Boshi asked in surprise.

The Persian man named Ante, who claimed to be an old Chang'an resident, said with great pride: "In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan, the military governor of the three towns, openly rebelled, but was easily defeated by Shi Siming, the military commissioner of Pinglu, who led a light cavalry to take Fanyang."

"An Lushan could never have imagined that Shi Siming was so loyal and righteous. He was beheaded by General Shi in his sleep. General Shi led his troops to break through the encirclement, but he was outnumbered and fought to the death."

"Upon hearing this, the emperor wept bitterly and specially dispatched Geshu Han, the military governor of Longyou, and Guo Ziyi, the military governor of Shuofang, to launch a pincer attack from the north and south, wiping out the rebel party of Na'an in one fell swoop."

"After that, the emperor not only reflected deeply on his mistakes and banished all the treacherous officials, including Yang Guozhong, to Lingnan, but also issued a decree of self-reproach and restored the policy of selecting virtuous and capable officials and striving for good governance that had been in place since the Kaiyuan era."

“He promoted virtuous and capable men such as Guo Ziyi, Gao Xianzhi, and Li Bi, and pacified the Tubo and Nanzhao kingdoms and opened up the Silk Road. He also suppressed powerful clans and reduced the power of military governors, bringing them under central control.”

"It is said that the first thing he said every day when he went to court was to make the Tang Dynasty great again!"

"really--"

"The Tang Dynasty has become great again!"

Zhuang Boshi was taken aback.

During the An Lushan Rebellion, the two main culprits actually killed each other.

The prosperous Tang Dynasty of the fifteenth year of Tianbao, which should have collapsed, actually passed by unscathed.

The region is still experiencing a prosperous and thriving scene.

Has history been changed?

Impossible. During the late Qing Dynasty, the history of the Tang Dynasty remained unchanged.

Is this an IF timeline, or a special ghost realm?

Surely not? Could this ghostly realm possibly cover an entire country?
But these people in front of me are all living people.

"Has this world never seen a ghost?" Zhuang Boshi asked, looking at the Persian.

The Persian was startled: "A ghost? I've seen plenty of bandits, but ghosts and gods are mostly legends. How could I have seen one?"

At this moment, a burly man sat down, and the Persian immediately changed tables.

"Master, are you very interested in ghosts and gods?" the man asked familiarly.

Zhuang Boshi looked over and saw that it was actually a tall, bearded man who was eight feet tall.

"I am Zhang Xiaojing from Shuofang. I am on my way to Chang'an to purchase goods. Perhaps we are traveling together, Daoist priest?"

The burly man bowed and said.

"My name is Zhuang Zhengchu, a wandering Taoist from the Western Sichuan Sword Sect. Ten years ago, I went to the Western Regions alone for training and only recently returned to Chang'an." Zhuang Boshi returned the greeting with clasped hands.

"No wonder the Taoist priest speaks Persian so fluently," Zhang Xiaojing remarked.

"Why has this Taoist priest come from the Western Regions?"

"As far as I know, they are more Zoroastrian and often expel foreign religions."

Zhuang Boshi did not answer directly: "Brother Zhang, no matter where I come from, you are not an ordinary merchant, are you?"

"His right hand is habitually held horizontally, which is the posture of frequently using a horizontal sword. His hair bun has indentations left behind, which are marks that would only appear when wearing an official hat."

"He has an extraordinary demeanor. Seeing that I came from the Western Regions and could speak Persian and Sogdian, he took the initiative to probe my background. If I am not mistaken."

"Brother Zhang, are you a government official?"

Zhang Xiaojing was taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "You saw through me. I am the magistrate of Tianshui County. I am returning to the capital this time on the orders of the Secretariat to report on my duties and take over as the magistrate of Wannian County."

"Wannian County, that's a big county. Congratulations on your promotion!" Zhuang Boshi offered his congratulations with a cupped-hand salute.

Zhang Xiaojing felt a little embarrassed.

"I have kept things from you, brother, not because I suspect you, but because I need to conceal my identity, hence the excuse of being a merchant."

“It’s alright,” Zhuang Boshi said.

“I am from Xichuan. I have never liked studying the classics since I was a child. I only love metaphysics and classics. So I gave up my family business and became a wandering Taoist priest to see the rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty.”

"I want to find out if there are really ghosts and gods in this world." Zhuang Boshi looked into Zhang Xiaojing's eyes.

Zhang Xiaojing was a very forthright person: "Master Zhuang, there's no need to test me."

"I've seen ghosts."

Zhuang Boshi pressed on, "Are there really ghosts in this world?"

"As soon as you said that, I knew you had never been to the Western Regions, which is why you've been trying to find ghosts. I can only say you're quite lucky," Zhang Xiaojing laughed heartily.

"In the three hundred prefectures of the Tang Dynasty, to see a vengeful ghost is even rarer than being hit on the head with gold while walking on the street."

Zhuang Boshi asked in confusion, "Why do you say that? Could it be that all the evil spirits in this world have disappeared?" Zhang Xiaojing smiled and said, "Since Emperor Taizong led the thirty-six meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion to establish the Bad Guard to patrol the nine provinces, and the sage ascended the throne and performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, there have been no new evil spirits in this world for decades."

"Of the three hundred prefectures, there are no more ghosts."

“Like that Persian, who was born and raised in the Tang Dynasty and never returned to Persia, he naturally only regarded the talk of ghosts and gods as metaphysics.”

"Have all the vengeful spirits fallen silent?" Zhuang Boshi frowned.

Could it be that this era is an era in which vengeful ghosts have fallen silent?

"No," Zhang Xiaojing shook his head.

“Tianshui is adjacent to the Western Regions, and we have seen many people who fled from the Western Regions.”

"Many of them had to flee east to the Tang Dynasty because their hometowns had been ravaged by vengeful ghosts."

"The same is true of Japan. According to Abe no Nakamaro, there are hundreds of demons roaming around every day, and people are like beasts. Therefore, the Japanese envoys sent to Tang China to learn how the Celestial Empire subdues evil spirits."

"The same goes for the Turks. Back then, when Duke Li Jing of Wei went deep into the grasslands, he encountered a monster with every step. No wonder those Turks tried every means to move south."

"Goguryeo was even worse off, almost being destroyed by a vengeful ghost."

"Besides the three hundred prefectures of the Great Tang Dynasty, other small and insignificant countries are suffering terribly from the scourge of evil spirits."

"Further westward, in the land of Qin, it is said that the evil spirit has also caused them unbearable suffering."

"The Great Tang Dynasty is truly a paradise on earth!"

Zhang Xiaojing spoke with great pride.

"How could that be?" Zhuang Boshi was very surprised.

They actually defied the wave of ghost resurgence and almost accomplished the feat of ending the era of ghosts.

That's something only Zhang Dong and his group could do.

Zhang Xiaojing didn't hold back and directly recounted the great feat of sealing away ghosts in the Tang Dynasty.

Since the Zhenguan era, Emperor Taizong personally led the charge, and the thirty-six meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion suppressed countless ghosts, forming a systematic method of suppression.

At the same time, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng creatively developed the Wenhua Tattoo Pattern, which enabled the Bad Guards to use ordinary people's bodies to resist the killing patterns of vengeful ghosts.

The key is that this method doesn't have the risk of vengeful ghosts reviving; it only slightly shortens one's lifespan.

Other forms of writing include poems for suppressing ghosts. Scholars who write famous works can use their literary power to suppress evil spirits.

Military generals also possess a kind of "military aura," meaning that weapons imbued with killing intent can ward off evil spirits.

In the decades that followed, the evil spirits of the world were gradually suppressed, and a prosperous dynasty without ghosts gradually formed.

Some people in the Tang Dynasty never even saw a fierce ghost in their entire lives, and thought that fierce ghosts were some kind of mysterious myth.

Of course, the Hu people of today have seen many vengeful ghosts, especially the Turks and Fusang people, who were tormented by the vengeful ghosts and could only seek the protection of the Tang Dynasty.

So Zhang Xiaojing was right; the tiny country was living in dire straits.

Only the scenery here in the Tang Dynasty is truly beautiful.

Zhuang Boshi was somewhat surprised. He had thought that even though the Tang Dynasty had suppressed all ghosts, it had created a brief window of opportunity for the supernatural.

But it is very likely that the vengeful spirit has entered a period of dormancy.

However, it seems that this is not the case now. At present, the evil spirits in other regions are still active. Rather, the Tang Dynasty has a very profound understanding of evil spirits, and a large number of geniuses have emerged.

Scholars, military generals, Taoist priests, and Buddhist monks all possess methods to suppress vengeful spirits.

There are also the Bad Guards who specialize in dealing with vengeful ghosts, and the Dali Temple that detains them.

Looking at Zhang Xiaojing's back, Zhuang Boshi noticed that the tattoo extending from the back of his neck to his spine was not a traditional tiger or leopard, but a fierce bear carrying a ghost.

Zhuang Boshi asked, "Brother Zhang, are you also from the Bad Guard?"

“That’s right.” Zhang Xiaojing took a sip of hot wine.

"The tattoos on my body are a legacy of my Zhang family. During the Shenlong era, three hundred rogue guards surrounded and killed Blood Bodhisattva, and my grandfather also died in that great battle."

"That was the last large-scale battle in the Tang Dynasty to exterminate the evil spirits."

"Since then, there have been no ghosts in the world for nearly fifty years, which is why I said that if you, Taoist Master, see a fierce ghost in the Three Hundred Provinces, it is even more rare than gold falling from the sky."

Zhang Xiaojing's attitude reflects the attitude of the Tang Dynasty government.

We don't deliberately hide or avoid vengeful ghosts, nor do we deliberately publicize them.

"Master Zhuang, why are you so concerned about matters of ghosts and spirits?" Zhang Xiaojing asked curiously.

Zhuang Boshi casually made up a story: "Our Taoist sect specializes in the art of imprisoning evil spirits."

"However, after completing my studies, I wandered through famous mountains and rivers for more than three years, only encountering a few ghostly events, and most of them were ghosts that haunted the mountains."

"Therefore I am very puzzled. I am afraid that my skills will not have a place to be used. This time I plan to travel west to the Western Regions."

"Unexpectedly, I met Brother Zhang, who enlightened me. It turns out that my arduous cultivation method has become useless."

"Oh?" Zhang Xiaojing said, "In the past few decades, the number of evil spirits has dwindled, and even the Shangqing and Chan sects no longer have Taoist priests who specialize in imprisoning evil spirits."

"It seems your family is a direct descendant of a sect from the Taizong era, but you haven't had any contact with the outside world for a long time." Zhang Xiaojing listened attentively.

"Then, Taoist priest, what kind of technique do you practice to imprison vengeful spirits? Is it the Ink-Entering Technique, the Binding Technique, the Soul Technique, or something else?"

What kind of magic is this?

Zhuang Boshi could only smile and say, "Our sect cultivates a unique secret technique: alchemy."

"By the way, our Taoist sect is called the Ten Thousand Gold Sect."

Zhang Xiaojing's expression stiffened slightly.

What kind of Taoist sect would choose such a vulgar name as the "Ten Thousand Gold Sect"?

"I've heard so much about you." Zhang Xiaojing assumed Zhuang Zhengchu was just fooling him, but he didn't mind, since it was Zhuang Zhengchu who had kept it a secret first.

"Brother Zhang's tattoo, is it Li Zhaodao's blue bear design?" Zhuang Boshi asked. "It is indeed very mysterious."

“Such elaborate tattoos require tattoo artists from Wenqing Garden in Chang’an. Even the most ordinary tattoo artists are seventh-rank officials, far more capable than a county magistrate like me,” Zhang Xiaojing remarked.

"Any tattoo needs the calming incense of Zen, the dew of the Shangqing Temple, and the masterpiece of a master; none of these can be missing."

"My tattoos are at most classified as grade five."

Zhuang Boshi was intrigued: "Are there different grades of 'artsy' tattoos?"

Zhang Xiaojing explained, "Of course there are different grades; a tattoo must be compatible with a person's destiny."

"If one's fate is average, one can only get a third-grade tattoo, which can only ward off the death calamity of vengeful ghosts. If one's fate is strong enough, one can get a middle-grade tattoo, which will allow one to utilize the death calamity of vengeful ghosts."

"If one's destiny is exceptionally noble, then one should have a tattoo of a third-rank official. This not only disregards the usual rules of death for ordinary ghosts, but also allows one to become a ghost in a short period of time."

"I have heard that there was once a person who had Wu Daozi's Hell Transformation picture tattooed on his body, and that one person could suppress a thousand ghosts."

"That's a top-tier image; I have no hope of ever getting one."

“Currently, there are at least eight hundred Bad Guards in Chang’an, and thousands more in other places to suppress them. There are even more like us who have served in Bad Guards.”

Zhuang Boshi pondered for a moment: "Brother Zhang, I have a question."

"If there are no ghosts in the world, why do you maintain such a large-scale guerrilla force?"

Zhang Xiaojing's expression changed slightly.

At that moment, the courier who had led Zhuang Boshi in rushed in, covered in blood.

His face was filled with panic, and he was panting, "It's terrible! Outside... outside!"

"There's a ghost!!!"

(End of this chapter)