Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 317 Welcome
Huiyuan City is not considered a large city.

It is said that long ago, in the era when immortals and Buddhas still walked among the people, this place was the hub of the entire Han land, connecting the gates of the celestial court above and the dark road of the earthly palace below. Even the first city built by the human emperor was built here as its foundation.

However, as time passed, all the prosperity faded away—even whether that prosperity was real is uncertain—nowadays, Yuancheng is just an ordinary little town in Songzhou, with a total population of less than 10,000. It is not comparable to a capital city with hundreds of thousands of people, let alone a slightly larger county.

But now, for some reason, this small town has become lively.

The queue at the city gate stretched into a long line, mostly merchants who had come after hearing the news. The city defense department added manpower several times, but still could not cope with the surge in the number of people.

The clerk at the gate was already sweating profusely from his work, so he naturally didn't have any particular attitude. Those who knew what was good for them obediently handed over their money and travel permits were fine, but as for those who didn't know what was good for them, or those who just wanted to argue a bit, that was fine too.
"You wait! My father was a scholar, after all. How dare you insult such a scholar!"

—After a series of blows, a poor man covered his head and ran away with his face covered in blood.

This was the first sight that Zhou You and Na Fei'an saw.

Fei An clicked his tongue and sighed.

"It's been a while since I've seen them, and the guards at Huiyuan City are getting increasingly violent."

To avoid attracting too much attention, Zhou You had already taken the silly roe deer back, so he was now standing next to Fei An, asking curiously.

"Is this a common occurrence?"

Fei An scoffed.

"It was better before, at least we kept to our limits and avoided bloodshed, but now..."

As they were talking, it was Zhou You and his companion's turn. Fei An, being quite tactful, went to greet them first, handing them their travel permits and asking them to inspect the goods. In the end, he even expertly presented them with a small gift.

The clerk unabashedly squeezed his pocket, his face finally brightening from gloomy to cheerful. He waved for Fei An to pass, then turned his gaze to Zhou You.

Fei An quickly and subtly stopped them.

"Sir, sir, this is my companion, a law-abiding citizen, so there's no need for you to trouble yourself."

But the other party completely disregarded the previous act of filial piety and said with a cold face.

"Do you think I'm stupid? How could a merchant like you get involved with a Taoist priest? The authorities are cracking down hard lately, who knows if he's some kind of thief—you, hand over your travel permit."

Zhou You remained unusually calm, simply pulling a document from his pocket and handing it over.

The clerk checked it over, found nothing wrong, and frowned again.

"What about those who passed through customs?"

Zhou You then took out another piece of paper.

"Where are the county government's documents?"

Another piece of paper.

"What about proof of ancestral origin?"

Then a piece of paper.

The clerk, holding a stack of papers, chuckled and looked around for a while before speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but why did you prepare so much stuff?"

Zhou You glanced at him indifferently, and replied in a calm but subtly sarcastic tone.

"I'm not trying to be mean, sir, but you've investigated this thoroughly, I can't get through without going through everything."

"you--"

The clerk wanted to give this fool a good beating on the spot—but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that the guy hadn't broken any rules, and he remembered the harsh orders from above a few days ago. In the end, he could only wave his hand and let the soldiers who had run over go down.

But soon, he saw something else.

That was the huge package that Zhou You always carried on his shoulder.

"Open this thing and let me see what's hidden inside."

But the person did not move.

Seeing this, the clerk finally grinned maliciously—but just as he was about to give this clueless fellow a good beating and vent his pent-up stress, Zhou You suddenly handed him another calling card.

"Are you out of your mind? What's the point of handing this thing over at a time like this? Do you think you're some kind of monster?"

Unexpectedly, just as the clerk took it and glanced at it subconsciously...

All sound stopped.

He examined it carefully for a long time, not even missing the nooks and crannies. After a while, when he looked up again, he had a warm and enthusiastic smile on his face.

"My apologies, my apologies! This is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple! Come, come, let the Taoist priest pass—tsk, look at this mess!"

Even after entering the room, Fian still had an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Master, what did you just take out? Why did this guy's attitude change so suddenly?"

Zhou You shrugged and did not answer.

Of course, this was also something he didn't know how to answer—

After all, in his eyes, the name card was just a blank page.
-
Once inside the city, Fei An took the initiative to invite Zhou You to have a meal.

After all, the two of them had parted ways. Zhou You went to find his creditors, while he, although he had lost all the spices, still had some other goods that he needed to deliver quickly to try and recover some of his losses.

The banquet was to be held at a restaurant in the city.

This place isn't exactly luxurious, but it's not exactly shabby either. Considering Fei An's current financial situation, it shows a considerable amount of sincerity.

A table of dishes and two jugs of wine—that was the farewell banquet for this brief acquaintance.

"Master, I'd like to offer you a toast."

Fei An raised his glass, downed the contents in one gulp, and then laughed.

"Ah, we've really had a rough time this time. Oh, right, Taoist priest, I forgot to ask you, who are you planning to collect your debt from?"

But before Zhou You could answer, Fei An, who was already three-tenths drunk, patted his chest and said.

"Master, it's not that I, Old Fei, am bragging, but I'm considered someone of importance in this small town of Huiyuan. Putting aside the official circles, I even know quite a few of the local thugs and ruffians. If all else fails, I can introduce you to a few, which would at least save you the trouble of going to great lengths."

Zhou You didn't drink with him, but just played with his wine glass while maintaining that gentle smile.

“My debt is quite substantial, Brother Fei, I’m afraid you can’t be of much help.”

Fian let out a burp and said drunkenly.

"Hiss, you're looking down on me, aren't you? Don't be fooled by my respectful attitude towards that city gate clerk—that's because I'm too lazy to bother with him. Now that I'm talking to you, Master, the person you're trying to collect a debt from isn't someone like a captain, is it?"

Zhou You just smiled.

"Not only, not only."

"Are they from the government office?"

"Not only, not only."

"People from the prefectural capital?"

"Well, I've already asked for it." Hearing this, Fei An actually laughed.

"No, Daoist Master, could the one who owes you a debt be the Governor?"

Zhou You smiled without saying a word, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of meat, and slowly chewed it in his mouth.

Seeing Zhou You's mysterious smile, Fei An decided not to pursue the matter further—in his opinion, this Taoist priest was exaggerating even more than he was. So he simply raised his wine glass and toasted Zhou You again.

But just as he was about to say something polite, another burst of drumming and music suddenly sounded outside.

The table that Fei An arranged was right by the door, so you could see outside as soon as you looked up.

—It was a long queue.

At the very front, minor officials cleared the streets and paved the way, followed closely by heavily armored soldiers. Behind them were three tall, pure white horses, each worth a fortune. Following them was a whole band, their music accompanied by a flurry of petals.

Zhou You had been in this world for quite some time and had done a lot of research in reality, so he recognized the situation at a glance.

"Three horses pulling a carriage, clearing the streets, and with music playing in unison—this is the ceremony of royalty! Is some member of the imperial family in attendance?"

But Fian just scoffed at this.

"Songzhou is a place designated by Emperor Taizu that is not to be granted fiefdoms. Where did these imperial relatives come from? This is just a welcoming party."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You became quite curious.

"Although our dynasty is not as strict as the previous dynasty, it still attaches great importance to the law regarding ceremonial processions. Such a crime of overstepping the bounds of authority is punishable by exile at best, and execution at worst. Who would dare to take such a risk and pull off something like this?"

Fei An glanced outside, then lowered his voice.

"Daoist Master, you don't know this, do you? This is a unique sight in Huiyuan City. It happens every few years. It's said to be a grand event hosted by a big shot, who specially invites all kinds of important figures to participate. And this is the welcoming procession—do you see the car in the middle? This is just red, the lowest grade. If you encounter a gold car... tsk tsk tsk, it's said that even the emperor's travels are no more than this."

"Is no one going to do anything about this kind of behavior?"

Fei An immediately sneered.

"Who dared to interfere? Back then, some foolish person did stab him in the back, and guess what? The next day, that person and his entire family disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed. Everyone in the city was saying that he was a retired high-ranking official. Who dared to interfere?"

Seeing that Zhou You didn't reply, Fei An downed another glass, then smacked his lips and said...

"But that's good too. At least every time they pull off something like this, we merchants can make a profit. As for anything more, that's a matter for the higher-ups to handle. It won't affect us commoners, Taoist priest?"

Fei An called out twice before Zhou You finally turned his gaze away from the convoy.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment."

Upon seeing this, Fei An immediately burst into laughter.

"Master, don't be envious. This kind of thing has nothing to do with people like us. Yes, I know you're skilled, but everyone who can get in is either very rich or very powerful, and not just ordinary rich or powerful. At least none of the high-ranking officials I know can get in. What good is your fighting ability? No matter how good you are, you won't catch the eye of those big shots."

Hearing the impolite drunken ramblings, Zhou You smiled but didn't react. He simply continued to pick up food and drinks.

Just when we thought this wave had passed, the music started up again in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Fei An raised his head and glanced outside, looking puzzled.

"That's strange. Usually, it's considered good if this welcoming procession comes once a day. How come they've come again after such a short time? Hmm, and it's a gold car?"

Fei Anjiu instantly sobered up halfway and saw him pulling Zhou You along, leaning out of the room with great interest.

"Master, this is going to be a good show—it's rare to see a golden carriage passing through the street like this, you've really caught up with it this time."

Zhou You continued to smile, without looking up, and continued to pick up food and drink.

As the line outside drew closer, Fei An's expression grew increasingly excited.

As they crossed the first street corner, he was still arguing with Zhou You, wondering which big shot would receive such a welcome.

As he crossed the second street corner, his guess had changed from the branch president of the three associations to a high-ranking official like the governor.

As he crossed the third intersection, his excited expression gradually subsided.

By the time he reached the fourth intersection, his face was filled with nothing but fear.

The reason is simple: unlike the team that rushed over without hesitation just now, this team is getting closer and closer, and...
They're obviously heading this way!
Fei An's legs trembled, and he almost ran away first—but he still had some conscience, so he pulled Zhou You back forcefully and said in a low voice.

"Master, trouble is brewing! Let's slip out the back door while these guys aren't looking!"

Who would have thought.

Zhou You remained completely still this time, not even changing his smile.

Fei An was getting more and more anxious, and sweat was pouring down his face.

"Taoist Master, what are you dawdling for! If we get stuck with this, we're definitely doomed. If we don't run now..."

However, Zhou You simply tapped the cup lightly.

"Hey Fei, you were enjoying the show just now, why did you stop watching at this crucial moment?"

"Watching the show is one thing, but now that trouble is falling on my own shoulders, who has the heart for such things—"

But at that moment, the words came to an abrupt end.

One person had already stepped out of the group. Fei An looked at the extremely conspicuous official robe with an absurdly high rank, his legs went weak, and he knelt down tremblingly.

But the man ignored him completely, and simply jogged up to Zhou You, then respectfully asked.

"Excuse me, are you carrying the Prince's invitation?"

Zhou You then put down his wine glass, maintaining his usual demeanor, and casually took out a glowing jade pendant from his pocket, tossing it over as if it were trash.

But even though he did so, the official dared not treat him the same way. He carefully took the jade pendant, examined it from top to bottom for a long time, and then became even more humble.

"This was indeed a personal gift from the Prince, but it should be hanging with General Zuo. May I ask him?"

"He has some things to take care of, but he'll be there soon, so I came first."

The official dared not ask any more questions, but instead lowered his head and respectfully gestured for him to enter.

"Then please get in the car, sir. The prince's birthday banquet will be held in the next few days. You are the last group, and there will probably be some preparations to be made afterwards."

Zhou You nodded in agreement, but as he passed Fei An, he smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Fei?"

"No, the younger one is here."

Looking at the trembling body, Zhou You shook his head and sighed, but said nothing.

"I'm really sorry, we probably won't be able to finish this farewell dinner, but if you don't mind, brother, please take my advice."

"Please speak."

"—Something big is probably going to happen in this city in the next few days. You should finish dealing with the goods and leave, the farther the better."

After giving this instruction, Zhou You picked up the oversized bag and never looked back.

(End of this chapter)