The Great Seminary

Chapter 331 Escape
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the Qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival. The famous ancient Chinese myth, "The Match Between the Celestial Maiden and the Wild Man," tells the story of this festival.
On the Qixi Festival, birds and stars transform into small boats, crossing the Milky Way, their waters rippling and splashing across the earth.

Thus, the Weaver Girl in heaven meets the Cowherd, their love deep and profound; the beautiful maiden on earth receives divine dew, her hands skillful and her heart bright.

Poyuan City, one of the three outer cities of the Northern Sect of the Three Holy Swords in the underground world, is a prosperous and bustling place.

Traffic flowed freely, and large ships and boats converged along the main roads and the rivers flowing into the sea, creating a lively scene.

Inside a vintage mule cart.

Zhang Gui, covered in dust and dirt, lifted the curtain halfway up the car window and looked outside, a relaxed expression appearing on his face.

He thought to himself, "Once I enter the major city of the underground world, I'm like a drop of water mixed into the ocean; no one can find me."

The mule cart driver was a taciturn middle-aged man. He stopped the mule as soon as they entered the city and said in a gruff voice,

"Guest, we have arrived at the 'Three Holy Swords Northern Sect'. You should get off the bus now."

Zhang Gui hired the driver's carriage because of his reckless nature; without saying a word, the driver jumped out of the carriage and disappeared into the crowd.

Walking leisurely through the main streets and alleys, relying on my own efforts, I spent several hours getting a rough understanding of the roads in Poyuan City.

He entered a brokerage firm with a long plaque hanging above its large black wooden door that read, "Clan, Market, Residence, Suburban Fields, Contracts".

In front of the white wall at the back of the pharmacy, there is a row of short and tall counters.

Behind the counter, a dozen men and women dressed as registered disciples of the 'Three Holy Swords Northern Sect' sat on high chairs.

They were drinking tea and chatting idly.

When customers came in, everyone ignored them completely.

You should know that the word "sect" on the plaque doesn't mean that this is a brokerage firm authorized by the "Three Saints Sword Northern Sect".

Instead, they were brokers personally dispatched by the 'Three Holy Swords Northern Sect,' equivalent to government offices or bureaus in the 'human world.'

It has a naturally noble air about it.

Even if they want to make money off you, you have to beg and plead for it to work for them.

"A bunch of grandsons, still talking about 'the virtue of immortal sects lies in the fact that flowing water never stagnates,' but in reality, petty people in power are even worse than corrupt feudal nobles."

Seeing this, Zhang Gui cursed inwardly, but a gentle smile appeared on his face, revealing eight big white teeth. He chose someone who looked to be about his age.

The girl, who wasn't particularly charming, had a neat and clean-cut appearance and seemed unlikely to cause trouble, walked over.

As he got closer to the counter, he felt even more inferior to others, even when he stood up straight.

Even though the sect's disciples in the brokerage firm sat there with an air of superiority, they still looked down on others and appeared extremely arrogant.

"Well done, manager," Zhang Gui said with a smile and a cupped-hand salute.

As it turned out, the girl wasn't as understanding as he had imagined, and completely ignored Zhang Gui.

She turned to look at the mature woman next to her, who was about ten years older than her, and chuckled.
"Senior Sister Qingping, today is Qixi Festival. Let's go play together after nightfall."

The lantern riddles at Shuihuifang are hung all over the street by noon, and there are also boat releases, Kongming lanterns... it's always lively when the occasion calls for it.

"Junior Sister Zhenfeng, you go and have fun in the city by yourself, I won't go."

Upon hearing this, Senior Sister Qingping sighed and said:

"You also know about the 'Sweet Lake City' incident, which has been linked to Deacon Liao's family."

Even if I wanted to go and relax, my parents wouldn't allow it.

When Zhang Gui heard the words "Sweet Lake City," his heart skipped a beat.

When Nagarjuna committed suicide, he set the Bodhi tree ablaze.

Aside from the fact that he stumbled upon what seemed like an incredible stroke of luck, turning misfortune into blessing, the entire city, including the resident Xiangfan people and the tourists, was burned to ashes.

The situation of one person surviving out of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dead is too conspicuous.

Moreover, after going through the whole thing, even a fool would know that there are countless hidden secrets, and one must never get involved.

So Zhang Gui used the "Black God Explosive Soldier Master's Complete Method" to transform into an ancient demon god, seized the "Bodhi Spirit Fruit," and immediately leaped into Sweet Lake without stopping, swimming away. He endured wind and rain all the way until he passed the legendary boundary marker of the "Cave Boundary," only then did he feel a little relieved.

They began to slow down, stopping occasionally to rest in towns inhabited by humans.

Get firsthand information about the 'underground world' from the locals.

If the final decision is to lay the foundation as the first step, it might be wise to settle down temporarily with the emerging major power, the Three Holy Swords Northern Sect, which is closest to the boundary marker.

Then, step by step, they slowly advanced towards the 'Xia Que' of the Great Qi Emperor.

"The territory of the Great Qi Emperor is home to countless talented and extraordinary individuals."

If you resort to lying, fabricating an identity, buying houses, and acquiring land to open up secret realms, the truth might be exposed in an instant.

They were driven directly out of the underground cave.

Therefore, it is still safer to make arrangements from afar.

This plan is absolutely correct.

But who could have imagined that upon arriving at the outer gate of the 'Three Holy Swords Northern Sect', they would encounter the continuation of 'Sweet Lake City'?

That's really bad luck!

A thought flashed through his mind, and Zhang Gui chuckled dryly without saying a word, seemingly waiting patiently for the broker's manager's reply, but in reality, he was eavesdropping.

This time, however, it wasn't Junior Sister Zhenfeng, who was right next to them, or Senior Sister Qingping, who were speaking, but rather a few competitive old men in the distance.

"I heard that Deacon Liao and his 'friends' secretly bought a million-dollar Western-style gold-refining passenger ship."

Walking on the sea between the 'underground realm' and the 'human realm'.

Making a fortune every day.

Therefore, he sent his third son, Liao Xinsheng, and his adopted son, Lu Miaowen, to keep an eye on the ship to prevent them from being scammed.

As a result, while Liao Xinsheng and Lu Miaowen helped their father manage the boat, they felt that no matter how much money they earned, it shouldn't be theirs to use.

So, he 'side-by-side' committed murder and robbery on the ship to support himself, but this time he was exposed…

"Old Liu, what you're saying is quite bizarre. A Western-style alchemical passenger ship worth millions of taels? Do you think Deacon Liao's pocket is even 'lucrative' than the elders'?"

And how is it that when someone dies, the murder and robbery are exposed instead?
That's utter nonsense.

"Countless people died in Sweet Lake City this time, and there are many secrets hidden within it."

Otherwise, how could Xiang Fan's 'Spirit Mountain' have remained undisturbed for so long?

And the corpse of the 'Xia Que', the one-horned dragon that was specially reserved for the direct descendants of the Great Qi Emperor, was also picked up from the sea.

They peeled off the skin and tendons, sold them piecemeal, and still couldn't explain the "reasoning" behind it.

However, all the victims in this tragedy in Sweet Lake City have a traceable background and their identities can be verified.

Their actions over the past three years have all been predicted by cultivators and extraordinary individuals skilled in divination.

Those who came from major or medium-sized sects and committed evil deeds were all held accountable.

"Isn't this exactly what Emperor Daqi said, 'Those who commit evil deeds by major sects and factions are punished ten times more severely, and their ancestors for three generations shall be punished'?"

Could it be that Xia Que issued a decree of exile?

If that were the case, given the temperaments of those bigwigs in our 'Three Holy Swords Northern Sect,' Deacon Liao's entire family would have been dead hundreds of times over.

"Zheshu, you really dare to dream!"
Deacon Liao may be a big shot in our eyes, but in Xia Que's eyes, he's not even as big as an ant.

Even if someone dies and is brought back to life, it's not worth a mere 'death sentence'.

I reckon at most he just passed on a message, using the opportunity to extort some gold or silver.

(End of this chapter)