The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 283 Three Hundred Thousand Yuan Without a Heir

Zhou Yan paused, and the young Taoist turned to the side, only to see that the fog was getting thicker. His avatar did not have the divine power of enlightened eyes, so he could not see very far. In the fog, a beautiful young woman emerged indistinctly.

The man was in his early twenties, wearing a narrow-sleeved short shirt and a high-waisted long skirt, with a shawl draped over his shoulders. He had the makeup of a woman from the Tang Dynasty, and his hair was tied in a high bun. Zhou Yan's mind stirred, and with a slight clench of his right hand behind his back, a whisk appeared.

He stepped forward smoothly, swept his whisk across the ground, and smiled slightly:

"This laywoman, please come in."

"I wonder what brings you to stop me?"

The woman smiled and said, "What do you mean? You little Taoist priest, you really don't understand romance." She reached out and tugged at Zhou Yan's sleeve, smiling broadly. Zhou Yan silently dodged her touch. When the woman tried again, Zhou Yan grabbed her wrist with his fingers.

His sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the touch in his palm was icy cold, with prominent knuckles. It didn't feel like he was holding a young woman, but rather like he was holding a skeleton in the water. However, just as Zhou Yan's whisk contained magical power, a loud shout was suddenly heard.

"Master, be careful, don't move!"

A flash of cold light exploded, and a horizontal blade cleaved through the mist. The cold light transformed into the blade, and with a single stroke, it severed the arm of the beautiful young woman, leaving her fair and delicate arm to fall into the mist, where it turned into a stark skeleton.

The young woman screamed, her eyes blazing with a layer of emerald flames. She twisted her body and lunged at the newcomer, but before she could move much, she froze.

The fine strands of the whisk, as if forged from refined steel, bound the 'young woman's' entire body. Zhou Yan held one hand in front of him, uttered the words "Boundless Dao Venerable," and with a flick of his hand, the young woman instantly disintegrated into a pile of white bones, which fell to the ground.

Upon landing, they combined with the mist, becoming two wisps of emerald phosphorescent light that slowly dispersed.

Zhou Yan's expression was solemn.

"...Has the divine will combined with resentment transformed into a monster?"

What exactly happened in Langzhong?

"Because of its flowing nature, water is often associated with the underworld and resentment in ancient legends. The concept of a river is indispensable in the underworld of different civilizations. Could it be that the appearance of the water god Gonggong also brought about the blurring of the boundaries of the underworld?"

A series of thoughts flashed through the young Taoist's mind, but the most important thing at the moment was to find Qingzhu and the old woman. When Zhou Yan came, he got an old bell from Lingxi. It was Qingzhu's personal item. The young Taoist tied the bell to his waist and used magic to quickly determine Qingzhu's location.

Zhou Yan gathered his thoughts, turned around, bowed respectfully, and said:
"I am very grateful for your help earlier."

A man in his thirties or forties emerged from the mist, dressed in a close-fitting outfit with a horizontal sword at his waist. He was sheathing the sword when Zhou Yan thanked him. The man waved his hand and said magnanimously, "No need to thank me, Daoist. Your move just now was much more powerful than my sword."

"This brave warrior is..."

The man bowed and said heartily, "My name is Lu Feipeng, from Langzhong. When that bastard An Lushan rebelled, I was one of the Sichuan soldiers. I followed the general to quell the rebellion. Now, the Emperor of our Great Tang has returned to Chang'an."

“I have a wife and an elderly mother at home. When I was on the battlefield, I was only concerned with serving my country. Now that things are over, I asked my superior to resign and come back to see my family.”

"My superior took pity on my family's poverty and agreed to everything."

"Ah……"

Lu Feipeng introduced himself with a smile and asked Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan only said that he was looking for an antique shop and told him about the place. Lu Feipeng said, "Ah, this place, I know it. Hehe, this is an old shop in Langzhong. I used to go there often when I was a child."

"It's gloomy inside, and there's a very beautiful female shop owner."

"The adults always said she was a monster, immortal and never aged, and looked the same for years. We didn't believe it. Back then, we made a bet to see who had the guts to sneak in and take a look. I was tricked into going in that time and saw her. She was very beautiful."

"Her skin was as white as snow, her hair was dark brown, and her eyes were big and round."

"They even gave me candy."

"However, when I got home, my father hung me up and gave me a good beating. He beat me until I cried and screamed for my parents. I never dared to go there again."

"However, how could anyone in this world be immortal? It's probably just a rumor. Thinking about it later, she ran the shop alone, and only the children would talk to her. Even though they had received her kindness, they didn't dare to see her again. In their hearts, they always felt indebted to her, as if they were repaying kindness with enmity."

Lu Feipeng and Zhou Yan talked about the past, saying that he had returned to find his home, but for some reason, Langzhong was shrouded in thick fog, and in the fog there were many ghosts that looked like people but were actually demons.

"Although we are not considered Xuan officials, we cooperate with Xuan officials in formations during military campaigns. Over time, we have become able to distinguish between humans and demons. They are filled with bloodthirsty energy and cannot operate on their own. They can draw their swords and fight to the death, and they are not afraid of humans or demons."

Zhou Yan nodded.

In the era he came from, those veterans who fought in the founding of the nation, who had chopped off countless heads of Japanese soldiers with their broadswords, many lived to be over ninety or even a hundred years old. Their flesh and blood inevitably aged, but their eyes remained sharp and deep.

He was covered in a bloodthirsty aura, yet his will remained steadfast.

If a standard-issue broadsword is drawn, ordinary evil spirits wouldn't dare approach.

The same principle applies.

Lu Feipeng and Zhou Yan traveled together and along the way they came across a troupe leader who was selling puppets at a stall. He was wearing a simple wooden Nuo mask and looked very old. When he saw Zhou Yan coming over, he said, "Daoist Master, would you like to try a Nuo opera?"

"You can communicate with ghosts and spirits by watching plays, and Nuo opera is even more so."

As he spoke, he reached out to strike the iron gong beside him, but Lu Feipeng cleaved it in two with a single blow. It turned out to be a ghost, and the wooden Nuo mask fell to the ground. Lu Feipeng began to worry about his parents and wife, so he and Zhou Yan headed home.

"I don't know how my parents are doing."

"Ugh, this fog is really annoying. It makes people lose their way. Don't laugh at me, but I couldn't find my way back. I don't know if it's because I'm too far from home. I haven't been home for years, and I don't even recognize the roads anymore."

Lu Feipeng smiled.

The young Taoist priest spoke in a gentle voice, sensing the bell at his waist as he said:

"It's probably because of the thick fog and lack of sunlight."

He looked up; no matter how thick or dense the fog was, it couldn't obscure the sun.

Zhou Yan casually broke off a branch from the side, raised the branch, and pointed it at the distant sun. From Lu Feipeng's perspective, it looked as if the young Taoist priest was sticking the branch into the sun.

He was about to laugh when he realized how they could possibly light a fire like that.

But then he discovered that when the young Taoist moved the branch aside, the sliver of sun seemed to follow the branch down, and a cluster of red flames appeared on the branch tip. This technique was truly ingenious, leaving Lu Feipeng speechless with astonishment.

Zhou Yan was satisfied.

After holding the three-legged golden crow for a long time, Zhou Yan mastered the method of generating fire from wood without a teacher.

This skill is quite adept at!

Zhou Yan bought a lantern from the side.

White lanterns.

He casually tossed this branch in, and a fire broke out inside the white lantern.

The surroundings were illuminated, the fog dissipated slightly, and the road ahead became clear. Lu Feipeng was overjoyed and said, "Daoist Master, I've found my way home!"

"I've found my way home!"

Back home, it was a typical Sichuan-style house with a small vegetable garden in the yard, where some greens were planted, and a fenced-off area for raising chickens. Lu Feipeng knocked on the door and shouted as he went inside. After a while...

Lu Feipeng ran out again, covering his head with his hands, looking utterly disheveled. A woman of short stature, with graying hair, tears streaming down her face, carrying a broom, also came running out. This woman, who possessed a certain heroic spirit and was capable of wielding a sword to slay demons, covered her head with her hands and cried out in a strange voice, "Old man, old man!"

"You hold my mother's hand; there are people outside. Give your son some face!"

The old woman retorted, "I'm from the Shu Road, you stand still!"

Lu Feipeng's feet froze, as if he had been magically frozen in place. His old mother grabbed a broom and hit him hard several times. Then she hugged him and started sobbing.

After the family of three composed themselves, Lu Feipeng asked, "Mom, where's Qiaoqiao?"

His mother shed tears again, but only shook her head and remained silent.

Lu Feipeng looked somber: "Ah, yes... I've been gone for too long, and I don't know if she's alive or dead. I haven't even sent a letter. She must have found someone else by now. Sigh, Daoist, it's rare for you to come. Please come in, we'll treat you well."

The young Taoist priest did not answer, nor did he move his feet; he simply stood there quietly.

Looking at his mother, who was crying and unable to speak, inside the threshold, Lu Feipeng standing there, and his father sitting down in the main house with wrinkles on his face.

Lu Feipeng asked, puzzled, "Taoist Master?!"

"Although my family is poor, we can still afford to entertain them."

"I'm afraid I can't eat your food."

Lu Feipeng didn't understand, but when he reached out his hand, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He was missing a finger. Lu Feipeng froze, slowly looked down, and saw a large hole in his chest, an arrow stuck in his back, and blood on his body.

"This, this is..."

Lu Feipeng's eyes widened, as if he suddenly understood. The young Taoist swept his whisk, revealing slightly graying temples and gentle compassion in his eyes. He softly chanted Taoist scriptures, and with a sweep of his whisk, the courtyard instantly changed its appearance.

The original vegetable garden suddenly rotted and turned into a black patch of land; the chicken coop also became dilapidated, half of the house collapsed, and wild rice and wild sunflowers grew on it, turning the peaceful scene into a scene of desolation.

Lu Feipeng was stunned and lost in thought. Suddenly he realized what was happening, and tears streamed down his face.

"Ah, is that so? I've been dead for a long time..."

With the nation in ruins, the Sichuan Army marched out of the pass to fight against the opportunistic foreign invaders. In the end, a spear shot him from behind, piercing a large hole in his back. Yet, he refused to die, grabbing the cavalryman's spear and pulling him off his horse. Just as he drew his sword to fight to the death, he was shot to death by a hail of arrows.

The lingering spirit refused to rest and made its way home, but could not recognize the road.

"If it weren't for the Taoist Master, I'm afraid I would never have been able to return home. However, my wife is probably still alive. If the Taoist Master has the time, please go and tell her that I have died on the battlefield and that she should stop waiting for me."

Lu Feipeng knelt down and kowtowed.

Tears flowed down my face.

He also knew what seeing his parents here meant.

Zhou Yan's expression was gentle. He swept his whisk, and ripples spread out. He walked into the courtyard and looked at the dilapidated house. With a flick of his sleeve, Zhou Yan summoned the Kitchen God Jade Talisman. He then used the remaining grains, wild vegetables, and wild rice in the courtyard to cook a meal.

Zhou Yan didn't say anything, but simply took out three thin incense sticks from his sleeve.

With a flick of the wrist, three thin incense sticks were lit.

The young Taoist priest suddenly felt something and murmured: "At fifteen I went to war, at eighty I finally returned. On the road I met a fellow villager: 'Who is at home?' I looked into the distance and saw your house, with pine and cypress trees covering the graves. Rabbits enter through the dog hole, pheasants fly from the roof beams."

"In the courtyard grows corn, and above the well grows sunflower. Pound the corn for rice, and gather the sunflower for soup."

"The soup and rice are cooked in a short time, but I don't know who to serve them to."

"Alas, prosperity is bitter, and so is ruin."

The significance of what is depicted in poetry can only be truly appreciated by seeing it with one's own eyes.

The young Taoist priest held three incense sticks, bowed slightly, and inserted them into the rice.

Clang, clang, clang—

After Zhou Yan escorted Lu Feipeng home and fulfilled his wish, the incense burned down, and an invisible ripple seemed to spread out. The mist dissipated, and the ripples transformed into waves that quickly swept across the land.

Zhou Yan saw the real Langzhong City.

In an instant, the young Taoist's expression changed drastically.

"!!!"

Langzhong was a major city in Sichuan. According to Tang Dynasty records, it had nearly 40,000 households and about 270,000 registered residents. The number of ordinary people and merchants was even more unpredictable. However, in Langzhong, which is now roughly estimated to have a population of 300,000, the population is much larger.

The streets were deserted!
Restaurants, teahouses, and street vendors remained the same, yet all were empty.

It wasn't as lively as the situation just now, when the thick fog filled the air.

"This is……"

Zhou Yan's expression was solemn, as if he had entered a ghost town, and alarm bells were ringing in his mind. At the same time, in this silent and deserted street, the bell at Zhou Yan's waist rang.

Ding-dong, ding-dong—

The sound was crisp and clear, from one end to the other.

It carried a chilling and terrifying feeling.

Zhou Yan's brows furrowed sharply as he followed the sound and quickly found the antique shop where Lingxi was sitting. Without hesitation, he raised his fist, unleashing ten times the power of the Giant Spirit, and slammed it hard against the door.

Open it for me!

However, his fist, carrying immense power, failed to strike the door.

Because another spear was also simultaneously trying to break through the gate.

The fist and the gun collided, creating incredibly violent waves. The force was ten times greater than the power of the spear, barely matching the energy of the spear. Zhou Yan looked over and saw that the person opposite him was also looking at him with a sharp gaze.

"Zhou Yan?!"

"Golden King?!"

Enemies meeting are bound to be furious. Of course, Zhou Yan only felt a headache, but Jin Tianwang's eyes were filled with a cold glint. Just as the two were about to have an unavoidable battle here.

squeak-

The sound of the wooden door opening was subtle yet clear.

The antique shop door opened.

(End of this chapter)