Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 185 Chen Tang: Even if I spare you, my military merits won't spare you! [Seeking monthly votes]

Early in the morning, Zhou Yi woke up from his sleep. He had drunk more than half a jin of baijiu last night, and his head was still a little dizzy.

He washed up, went to the Zhongtian Hall to offer up the statue of the god, and made himself some breakfast.

Right after we finished eating, Brother Wang drove up the mountain in a Wuling Rongguang van, a vehicle he specializes in delivering goods, and brought over all the unsold seeds from the shop.
"Xiao Yi, is anyone really interested in these seeds? If not, I'll take them back. Don't force yourself."

The Book of Changes says:

"No pressure at all. Take as much as you want. I'm just helping out, so I won't lose out."

The two began unloading the truck, and Zhou Yi then discovered that in addition to corn seeds, there were also rapeseed seeds, soybean seeds, cotton seeds, watermelon seeds, winter melon seeds, cabbage seeds, bok choy seeds... In short, the variety was quite comprehensive, but the quantities were uneven, with many seeds having only one packet.

These seeds have been optimized; if they were transported to ancient times for cultivation or hybridization, it should increase yields.

However, before transporting them there, they must be placed on the offering table in the Three Emperors Temple to ask the Shennong Emperor to bestow blessings upon these seeds and add some mystical buffs.

After unloading the truck, Zhou Yi was about to transfer money to Brother Wang when the man suddenly wanted to take a statue of a deity home.
"Ever since Lao Jin brought back the Guanyin statue, his business has clearly improved. Xiao Yi, who do you think would be a suitable deity to put in my shop?"

The Book of Changes says:

“Normally, you would just invite the God of Wealth, but your place is full of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, which is quite dangerous. You should invite Shennong instead, let him experience modern agriculture and broaden his horizons.”

This was the first time Jia Ziwang had ever heard of a shop that could summon Shennong (a legendary Chinese deity):

"Won't this be too flashy and attract jealousy from our peers?"

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"Shennong was a low-key deity who did not flaunt his abilities."

After inquiring about his birthday and using the Eight Characters (Ba Zi) to calculate his destiny, he discovered that Jia Ziwang was indeed quite suitable to invite the Shennong Emperor, so he ordered a statue of the Shennong Emperor made of boxwood.

Jia Ziwang asked:
"Xiao Yi, how much does the statue cost?"

The Book of Changes says:

"Including the statue and the consecration ceremony, it cost 12,000 in total."

Upon hearing this, Jia Ziwang immediately offered to pay the difference, but Zhou Yi refused.
“If any of your competitors have unsold seeds, you can help me find some more, and I won’t have to pay extra.”

"Okay, I'll get the people involved and get you some seeds... Do you want wheat seeds?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Yes, I'll take it. I'm giving it away anyway, so anything is fine. I'm not picky."

After Jia Ziwang drove back, Zhou Yi moved the seeds to the nearby Jade Emperor Hall to prevent them from being exposed to sunlight.

For the next few days, Zhou Yi stayed in Hunyuan Palace until the statue of the Ziwei Emperor that Fang Hongyan had invited had been worshipped for nine days. Only then could he finally go to the city to reap the rewards of his good deeds.

Fang Hongyan brought a piece of high-grade silk cloth and wrapped the statue of the Ziwei Emperor layer by layer, then solemnly placed it on the back seat of his Maybach and fastened the seat belt.

With everything ready, Fang Hongyan drove down the mountain, while Zhou Yi, carrying a full set of magical artifacts, followed behind in his Leopard 8, heading towards the city together.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou bid farewell to Xin Qingji and led their entourage away from Fulu County. They traveled south along the Hexi Corridor and, after several days and nights of tireless travel, finally arrived at Zhangye County, one of the four counties of Hexi.

Upon arriving at Lude County, the seat of Zhangye government, the group dismounted, intending to rest at the inn within the city. Just as they reached the city gate, an official in loosely draped robes pulled a portrait from his robes, compared it to Chen Tang's appearance, and then arrogantly blocked Chen Tang's path.

“I am the gatekeeper of Lude City. Where did you come from? Do you have any official documents or credentials? Is the armor you are wearing registered? If…”

"Trying to trip us up before we even enter the city, huh...?" Chen Tang silently pulled out the Hunyuan Palace token from his pocket and said loudly:

"I am Chen Tang, the Deputy Commandant of the Western Regions. Several months ago, we traveled thousands of miles to kill Zhizhi Chanyu of the Northern Xiongnu. What merit do you, you wicked and despicable man, have that you dare to treat a meritorious official of the Han Dynasty like this? Even if I can spare you today, the military merits in my hands will not spare you. Lei Lai!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, turning the city gate token into charred remains.

The soldiers led by the city gate commander were so frightened that they collapsed, and many of them kept kowtowing to Chen Tang.

Chen Tang brushed the ashes off his body, didn't even glance at these people, and led his horse forward with great strides. This time, no one dared to stop him, and everyone watched the group enter the city.

The governor of Zhangye, who was secretly preparing to give Chen Tang a hard time, was so frightened by what he had just witnessed that he wet his pants.

Not long ago, Chancellor Kuang Heng and Grand Secretary Shi Xian sent letters one after another, asking the Prefect of Zhangye to find a way to detain Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou and delay their journey to the capital.

He thought the matter was a sure thing, but who knew that Chen Tang could actually summon divine thunder. The governor of Zhangye trembled all over at the thought of the divine thunder descending, and even his newly acquired concubine lost her appeal.

When Chen Tang and his entourage arrived at the post station, everyone, from the postmaster to the servants, knelt down. Chen Tang said with an air of arrogance:
"I had no intention of killing anyone, but someone is eager to help me establish my authority. Rise, rise! I am a very amiable person, I just occasionally like to eat mutton. Surely our official Han post station can afford to have mutton?"

Having already hinted at it to this extent, the postmaster immediately ordered someone to prepare mutton, fearing that neglecting it would result in a divine retribution.

After settling this ancestor in, the postmaster immediately wrote to his friends back home, telling them to be careful when receiving Chen Tang, lest they be struck by lightning and turned into charred remains.

Inside the inn's room, Gan Yanshou washed his face and said:

"After His Majesty's decree was issued, Shi Xian and Kuang Heng were clearly flustered. Do you think the road ahead will be smooth?"

Chen Tang toyed with the token in his hand, completely unconcerned about the resistance:
"I actually hope there are more clowns like this, so we can use the guise of immortals to kill a bunch of them... But no matter what, once we get to Chang'an, I will settle accounts with Kuang Heng. He framed meritorious officials and sided with the foreign tribes, so it's not too much for me to impeach him for colluding with the foreign tribes, is it?"

Gan Yanshou sighed in distress:
"It's definitely not excessive, but we have no evidence!"

Chen Tang grinned:
"With the token, what evidence do we need? The divine thunder is the best evidence... Besides colluding with alien races, I need to come up with a few more charges so that people ten thousand years from now will feel nauseous and disgusted when they mention Kuang Heng, and all people with the surname Kuang will be ashamed of him!"

After saying that, Tom Cruise was caught in a dilemma... It's easy to fight to the death, but it's hard to fabricate charges. I'm definitely not cut out to be a treacherous minister!
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi arrived at Fang Hongyan's residential area and inquired about Dai Shengli's situation.

Fang Hongyan said:
“Yesterday we went to the hospital to visit Mr. Dai. He has been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward. Today his caregiver said that the old man strongly insists on being transferred to a nearby private nursing home. Apparently, he consulted a fortune teller in his hospital room and found the divination result to be unfavorable. He insisted on leaving, and when the doctor disagreed, he started cursing.”

Zhou Yi asked calmly:
Where is that sanatorium?

"It's in a building right next to the Central Hospital, occupying an entire floor. It's quite upscale, and the owner's surname is also Dai. He's supposedly Dai Shengli's nephew."

Zhou Yi opened a map app and found the sanatorium. The description did indeed indicate that it was quite upscale.

He then asked:

"Is that nursing home any different?"

Fang Hongyan shook his head:
"I haven't been there. I heard that access is very strict, and unauthorized people are not allowed to enter. Even the elevators are private, direct elevators for the sanatorium, so people don't have to squeeze in with those on other floors."

It seems Dai Shengli really foresaw something; hiding him in a place like this, his plan to send him off in the hospital ward wouldn't work.

Fang Hongyan moved the statue to the living room on the first floor and solemnly placed it in the central position. He then placed an incense burner and fruit on it, and carefully unwrapped the silk cloth that wrapped the statue.

He bowed earnestly, praying to the Ziwei Emperor to bless his family with peace.

Zhou Yi used a compass to measure the feng shui of the house. As soon as the statue was placed, the feng shui began to improve steadily. Fang Hongyan would not encounter any villains in the short term.

"Master Zhou, since you've come all this way, why don't you eat at my place today? I've invited the head chef from Yiyang International Hotel over, and we'll have a proper meal together."

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said:

"Next time, I have to take care of some important business first. I'll come to your neighborhood this afternoon."

First, we need to find a way to get rid of Dai Shengli from the sanatorium, and then go back to the community to clean up the mess. No matter what plans or tricks this guy has up his sleeve, today is his last day.

Zhou Yi parked his car in front of Fang Hongyan's house, strolled out of the community, and came to the west side of the Central Hospital, where he saw the building.

The lobby on the first floor of the building has information about the sanatorium, such as one-on-one service with expert doctors, single rooms, etc., which seems to be a sanatorium service that is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the hospital.

The so-called expert doctors are probably just people from the central hospital who come to visit after work.

Zhou Yi looked at the poster and observed it for a while. The sanatorium was located on the fifteenth floor, with a dedicated elevator that was operated by a dedicated elevator operator.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi wisely gave up his plan to sneak up in.

He walked around the building, using a compass to calculate the "life gate" on the fifteenth floor as he went... Since Dai Shengli knew divination, he would definitely choose the room with the strongest "life force" to stay in.

As Zhou Yi walked and searched, he finally determined that the room on the left side of the building was the place with the strongest vitality on the entire fifteenth floor, which was also the location of the "Gate of Life".

"The fifteenth floor is too high, I can't climb up..."

When Zhou Yi realized he couldn't take action, he changed his approach and decided to try something different with Dai Shengli.

He looked around and saw a hotel with more than 20 floors a few hundred meters away. He went over, took out his ID card, and booked a room. He requested a room on the 15th floor or above, in the southwest corner, and that the price didn't matter.

The receptionist booked him a room on the sixteenth floor. After paying, Zhou Yi took the room key and went upstairs in the elevator.

He swiped his card to enter the room, inserted the card into the power outlet, checked the room, and then went to the window to carefully observe the sanatorium across the street.

After confirming the room where the Gate of Life was located, Zhou Yi opened his satchel and took out an antique-looking bronze mirror...

(End of this chapter)