The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 152 Dog Blood Rice
Hangzhou boasts unparalleled beauty, and Jingci Temple, located by West Lake, is an ancient temple with a history of over a thousand years.

Jingci Temple is definitely a place with excellent feng shui. It is backed by Nanping Mountain, and West Lake is just a few dozen meters away from the temple gate.

It was already the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), and the night was deep. In the distance, West Lake was filled with painted boats, brightly lit and filled with decadent pleasures. At that very moment, the bell of Jingci Temple rang out 108 times, representing the cleansing of 108 kinds of troubles in the world.

This is one of the famous Ten Scenes of West Lake: Evening Bell at Nanping Hill.

At this moment, the bell tolled melodiously, its deep and resonant sound echoing through the Nanping Mountains, like the chanting of Buddhist hymns, demonstrating great love and compassion.

I wonder which is more effective at making one forget their sorrows: the soul-stirring bells or the fine wine and beautiful women on the pleasure boat?

After a struggle with Guhua, Wu Chengyu revealed his true appearance, specifically the Southern Song Dynasty version of Yanzu. Even when he reverted to his true form and engaged in battle, he deliberately maintained his disguise.

After shaking off his pursuers, he used his bone-shrinking technique again, transforming back into a burly man over 1.7 meters tall. However, his original face, reminiscent of Yanzu from the Southern Song Dynasty, was no longer usable. Don't underestimate the constables of ancient times; once their faces were revealed, it was difficult for them not to be found.

Of course, being too handsome isn't good either. With that face, he's quite conspicuous in a crowd, and what should he do if that old monster, Guihua, can't get him out of her mind?

Wu Chengyu simply changed his appearance to something else: a square face, dark skin, large lips, large eye bags, and an honest and simple demeanor that made him seem harmless.

It evokes the feeling of a concerned citizen, Mr. Liu, reappearing.

Unable to return to his original inn, Wu Chengyu simply went to Jingci Temple. With the blessing of Qingyun's face and the donation of silver notes, he easily borrowed a meditation room to stay temporarily. He has now been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures for two days.

The reason for choosing this place is that Jingci Temple is not far from the Flower Harbor Viewing Fish Wharf. This is a good place for high-ranking officials, literati, and romantic young men to board painted boats at night, meet beautiful women, and engage in insincere and hypocritical romances.

After having eaten the vegetarian meal at the temple, Wu Chengyu secretly slipped out of Jingci Temple under the cover of night and went to Huagang Wharf to hide early in the morning.

Previously, when watching the play at the palace gate, it was a predictable and unexciting performance. However, Wu Chengyu's biggest gain was that he finally knew what Shi Miyuan looked like. Even if he was a disguised double, at least his face was drawn based on the real person.

But without finding the real Shi Miyuan, one cannot find his hiding place.

Fortunately, Wu Chengyu did gain something: when Li Feng, the Vice Minister of War, was talking to the fake Shi Miyuan, he mentioned that he had met Shi Chang on a painted boat on West Lake.

Wu Chengyu was quite familiar with Shi Chang. Of the three brothers, Shi Tong, Shi Chang, and Shi Shun, only Shi Chang was still alive and well.

Unlike Shi Tong, Shi Chang is the most outstanding younger generation of the Shi family. In the grand drama in Suzhou, Shi Chang was the true mastermind.

Wu Chengyu immediately went to Huagang Wharf to inquire about the news and learned that Shi Chang had been inviting guests to the West Lake pleasure boats every few days to enjoy the flowers and willows.

This guest was named Wanyan Qing, and like Wanyan Shang, he was a member of the Jin dynasty's royal family.

During the interrogation of Wanyan Shang, it was learned that in addition to the chief envoy, Wanyan Hongyu, the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom, the Jin delegation also included two deputy envoys, one of whom was Wanyan Qing.

However, Wanyan Qing was Wanyan Hongyu's confidant, unlike Wanyan Shang, who was Wanyan Honglie's man. He was thrown into Tiger Hill as bait early on, and his death was extremely tragic.

Since the Jin delegation arrived in Hangzhou, Wanyan Hongyu has kept a low profile, and even now Wu Chengyu does not know where the delegation is actually staying.

However, Wanyan Qing preferred places of pleasure, so the Shi family sent Shi Chang to properly receive this Jin deputy envoy. As for Wu Chengyu, not being able to find Shi Miyuan at the Shi residence, and no longer being able to go to the gates of the imperial city, it was impossible for him to directly confront Shi Miyuan.

Therefore, the only option is to use a roundabout tactic. When Shi Miyuan meets Wanyan Hongyu, he cannot and dares not use a double again. So, by finding Wanyan Hongyu's current location, he will eventually meet Shi Miyuan. This is called a roundabout way to kill.

From then on, Wu Chengyu would hide in Jingci Temple during the day and wait for his prey at Huagang Wharf at night.

This was a clumsy method, but sometimes clumsy methods are more effective than elaborate schemes. Wu Chengyu waited at the dock for two days and finally saw Shi Chang appear.

Just as the evening bell at Nanping finished ringing, Wu Chengyu's troubles indeed disappeared. In the distance, he saw several carriages arriving at the dock, and the first to step down was none other than the long-absent Shi Chang.

He was dressed in Confucian scholar's robes, looking like a talented scholar, holding a folding fan, and smiling as he led another person out of the carriage.

From a distance, Wu Chengyu could tell that this man was dressed much like Wanyan Shang, wearing a tall crown and adorned with jewels and gold thread. The only difference between him and Wanyan Shang was that he had a red flower pinned to his temple.

This person should be Wanyan Qing. He is somewhat ugly, with a bulbous nose and dead fish eyes, which makes him quite interesting to be compared to the red flower.

Wanyan Qing and Shi Chang had been traveling together for many days and were getting along very well. Wanyan Qing was not as arrogant as Wanyan Shang, and Shi Chang was somewhat submissive. The two of them, along with their entourage, boarded a painted boat. It was more like a pleasure boat than an ordinary painted boat, and there were many people on board.

After identifying his target, Wu Chengyu immediately made his way stealthily to the ship. Not long after, the sound of a gong was heard, and the large ship slowly sailed away from the dock.

The ship had two decks. Wanyan Shang and Shi Chang arrived at the second-floor hall. Shi Chang had booked the entire ship for the night. Apart from their entourage, everyone else was specially selected to serve the Jin envoy.

The only thing that surprised Wu Chengyu was that when he casually walked into an unmanned cabin, there were actually several dogs tied up inside. They were all black mongrels. When the dogs sensed Wu Chengyu's presence, they were about to bare their teeth when they were frightened by the murderous aura that Wu Chengyu deliberately displayed and lay down on the ground, whimpering.

Wu Chengyu didn't quite understand why there were dogs on the pleasure boat. Before long, he heard someone approaching and quickly hid.

"These Jin people are really strange. Every time they come to the pleasure boat to find girls, they actually want to kill a dog on the spot and mix the dog's blood with rice. They've only come a few times, and we've already killed several dogs."

“I also find it strange. Surely these Jin nobles can’t still be eating raw meat and drinking blood. What’s the difference between them and wild beasts? If you ask me, it’s just that their bestial nature is hard to eradicate.”

"Alright, keep your voice down. We can't afford to offend them. If they hear us, we might lose our heads."

"Sigh, even the high-ranking officials in the court are terrified of the Jin Kingdom. We little people are just bullied like this. Let's go, pick two dogs and take them out to kill."

"Who says it's better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos? The world is still relatively peaceful now, but a dog is still a dog."

Wu Chengyu, who was standing nearby, was also quite surprised. Eating dog meat was common in later generations, but he himself did not eat it, and he could only pretend not to see others eating it.

But eating rice mixed with raw dog blood is something I've never heard of before. What that person said earlier was right; these Jin people really are hard to rid themselves of their bestial nature.

　Just to clarify, I didn't make up the name "dog blood rice." Although the name is just as dramatic and straightforward as my naming habits, the Jin dynasty nobles really did eat it this way. I also found it baffling when I was researching it.

　　This is the fifth update today, the last three days of the month, please vote.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)