Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 131 The Few Who Couldn't Be Stopped
Outside the courtyard in Jinhua County.

"My son, I had a dream yesterday. In the dream, you married a beautiful woman, but then..."

Ning's mother stopped halfway through her sentence, saying that the rest was too unlucky.

Moreover, it's inappropriate to say these things in front of the child's classmates.

Ning Caichen, however, thought this was a plea for marriage.

After Ning family members were admitted to Chongqi Academy, their status in the local area rose rapidly, and matchmakers came to their home in an endless stream.

Perhaps after seeing the outside world, he became more ambitious and wanted to postpone marriage for a while.

It would be better to discuss these matters after the autumn imperial examinations; official rank and fame are more important, so I can only offer a few words of refusal.

Ji Rui, who was standing nearby, said that he would help Cai Chen keep an eye out for such matters.

"Don't worry, Auntie. Caichen is so handsome and learned; he certainly has no shortage of women who like him, like last time."

Ning was shocked. "What do you mean, 'last time'?! Don't talk nonsense!"

I grabbed my friend and fled towards the door.

As I stepped out of the courtyard gate, a gust of wind blew, and the peach branch hanging on the gate fell to the ground with a thud.

Ning's mother hesitated and felt uneasy after seeing this from behind.

Ning Caichen picked it up without a care and hung it back up, carefully wrapping it several times to make sure it wouldn't fall off again.

"No need to see Mother off."

"I will write to you when I get to Qiantang."

After saying that, he jumped onto the carriage and greeted Master Mao, who was holding a butterfly inside.

Although it's unclear why the Ji family would send a Taoist priest for protection, they are wealthy merchants, so there must be a reason for doing so.

Instructor Xu also said not to mess with passing Taoist priests and monks.

The Taoist priest nodded reservedly, then continued to examine the paper butterfly in his palm, sometimes nodding, sometimes smiling, befitting a reclusive master.

架！
The carriage slowly drove out of Jinhua.

Halfway there, an old yellow ox suddenly appeared and blocked the road.

The mountain roads were narrow, and the carriage got stuck in traffic.

"Nobody cares about anyone's cow, it's just that I'm such a kind person."

Reluctantly, Young Master Ji got out of the carriage, and together with Ning Caichen, they kindly led the ox to the roadside and tied it up, thus completing their daily good deed.

Even after getting on the bus, he continued to complain with his friend that the cattle herders were really courting death.

Didn't they know that his family ate three cows that died from falls this year?

In ancient times, cattle were very valuable assets. Even if one dared not eat them, stealing them to distant places could be a very profitable business.

Even if a head is lost in a small county town, the county constable will be mobilized to investigate.

Ning Caichen also condemned this irresponsible behavior.

Both were upright and honest young men, and the carriage continued to move forward happily.

As a result, an owl flew over the car halfway there, followed by a crow cawing in a tree.

Master Mao didn't feel very comfortable.

As a spiritual practitioner, he was still very sensitive.

Just to be on the safe side, I plan to use my half-baked divination skills to predict what lies ahead.

It is extremely difficult for a rogue cultivator to achieve anything. He knows a little about everything, including astrology, medicine, and divination, and he reads whatever is available in the Taoist and Buddhist scriptures.

After years of traveling, Master Mao learned some skills, though not very great, but they helped him overcome many crises.

He took out a set of counting rods made of deer antlers from his pocket. As a tribute to the Ji family, these items were top-of-the-line.

"Young friend Ning, let's calculate the road ahead."

Just as a doctor cannot heal himself, divination is not very accurate when it involves oneself. Many external factors can interfere, such as not wanting to face a bad omen, which may unconsciously interfere with or misinterpret the divination results.

Young Master Ji and I traveled together, so we are quite involved and he will also be affected.

On the contrary, the later scholars' predictions of their future were more accurate.

Ning Caichen, somewhat bewildered, took the stack of antler counting rods and carefully scattered them on the ground.

The upper trigram is Qian (☰), and the lower trigram is Xun (☴). The host side is represented by the Xun trigram (three trigrams), and the guest side is represented by the Qian trigram (seven trigrams). The guest side is stronger than the host side and is the strongest.

If the woman is strong, do not marry her.

"Is it the Gou hexagram?"

Master Mao gave the refined scholar a strange look.

In the divination text, "woman" refers to the guest party, and "woman strong" means the guest party is powerful. "Take the woman" means to marry this woman, and "do not take the woman" means do not marry this woman, which is to advise the host party not to get too close to the guest party.

Gou means "encounter." One yin corresponds to five yang, one woman to five men; if they merely meet, it is against propriety, hence the name "Gou." A strong woman like this is considered promiscuous and should not be married. A woman's virtue lies in gentleness and yielding.

"Young Master Ning will meet a woman on the road whom he shouldn't be with, and that woman is very domineering and not a respectable person."

Ji almost burst out laughing; her friend really was a fickle person.

Ning's face turned bright red. Wasn't this supposed to be a test of the road ahead? How did it turn out to be a girl from a bad family?
"Ahem, I am not very proficient in divination. Let's continue."

Although I'm not an expert, I can still get a rough estimate.

Master Mao was completely relieved, thinking that his cautious approach should ensure everything went smoothly.

He lowered his head and continued to ponder the paper butterfly.

The two students continued arguing about women, and then the topic turned to the Shangyuan Literary Gathering.

After receiving the three students, they prepared for the arrival of the students from Qiantang.

Then the carriage arrived in the territory of Guobei.

The atmosphere inside the carriage became quite tense; after all, this was the legendary evil land.
The situation remained calm and peaceful, without even the so-called potential revenge killings or ambushes.

"It seems there are still too many people spreading rumors. Instructor Xu once said that practice is the only way to know... whatever."

"say."

"Yes, the right to speak. This place looks quite ordinary, not as terrifying as people at home say."

Master Mao looked outside but didn't sense anything eerie.

Could it be that the ghostly events were man-made?

The carriage swayed and rattled all the way to Guobei County, where the black city gates inspired awe.

"There are no black city gates. The people here are too fond of playing tricks."

Even after entering the inner city, the scholars were still muttering complaints under their breath, while nearby...
Poof! ! !

On the street, A gave passerby B a friendly stab, pulled out, stabbed again, pulled out, stabbed again.
Blood plasma was distributed in abundance, and the hot blood was splashed onto the carriage, giving this group of outsiders a passionate baptism.

"Why don't you use this wide road? You insist on riding on Grandpa's back!!!"

"Kill you, kill you, kill you!!!"

The two scholars were filled with fear, confusion, and dread. What reason could there possibly be to kill someone?
She trembled and hid inside the carriage.

Even the Taoist priest was shocked and opened his eyes wide. The local customs here are too radical!
Every few steps along the road, you'll see countless conflicts, ranging from minor head injuries to severed limbs.

It turns out that all the conflicts within Guobei County were concentrated in the county town, and the local customs gathered in one corner, naturally making it more active.

Master Mao felt something was wrong as soon as he entered Guo Bei, as if he had entered another world.

A sudden warning signal struck him, so he bit his fingertip and smeared the ink on the counting rods, then immediately cast a divination without thinking twice.

Kan represents water, and its hexagrams are: Ze Shui Kun (困), Shui Shan Jian (蹇), and Shui Lei Tun (屯).

(End of this chapter)