Three Kingdoms Lords: Starting by walking into the mouth of a giant python

Chapter 125 Egg Monk

Wen Chou has been praised for his handsomeness for over a month now.

Ever since he presided over a [Martial Arts Bottleneck Test] on the fifth day of the sixth lunar month and took the [Bo Yi Wei] given to him by "Brother Fisherman", his appearance has changed drastically.

She couldn't be described as "beautiful," nor did she possess "red lips and white teeth, a face as if painted with rouge." Her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips seemed to be the same small and thin as before, yet they were pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at them.

The strange people in the Hebei Alliance all say that this is called "ugly handsome".

Wen Chou didn't understand; how could someone so ugly be handsome?

His parents at home didn't understand what "ugly-handsome" meant, but that didn't stop them from smiling from ear to ear every day.

Because someone came to propose marriage!

The eldest daughter of Butcher Wang in the village, the youngest daughter of Stonemason Liu in the township...

The matchmaker, who had arranged the meeting, visited the door several times.

The eccentrics of the [Hebei Alliance] also joined in the fun. A female artist skilled in sketching and drawing even went to the butcher's and stonemason's houses…

Wen Chou was not used to being the center of attention and did not want to pay attention to the chaotic scene. Well, the butcher's and stonemason's daughter was not pretty either.

Just then, Yuan Shao came to visit and invited him to help with the martial arts competition, along with the [Heavenly Rank Moonlight Scroll]. Wen Chou readily agreed.

After several days of trekking, we arrived in Runan.

It must be said that the life of aristocratic families truly broadened Wen Chou's horizons.

A magnificent garden and jade towers, with crimson wheels and ornate carriages. Servants in droves, bells ringing and tripods displayed.

The nobles and dignitaries were naturally dressed in elaborate robes and square collars, exuding an air of wealth and luxury. Even the maids and servants were adorned in beautiful clothes and surrounded by pearls and jade.

Yuan Shao was very generous; upon arriving in Ruyang, he offered Wen Chou a courtyard house.

Exotic flowers bloom in profusion, swallows fly in pairs, a hundred-step painted bridge spans the green waters.

Wen Chou liked it very much, but declined to accept it and stayed there temporarily with Yan Liang, who arrived later.

At dusk today, Yuan Shao said that all his men had arrived, and he led the two men to the old residence of the Yuan family.

The Yuan family had many members; in Yuan Shao's generation alone, there were more than ten members from both the direct and collateral branches.

Only four people were selected to be included in the scroll: Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Yi.

Among them, Yuan Ji was the eldest son of the Yuan family and inherited the title of Marquis of Anguo. He once served as Grand Master of Ceremonies, but was dismissed from office a few months ago when the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was popular.

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Ji were all sons of Yuan Feng. Later, Yuan Shao was adopted by his uncle Yuan Cheng, and he became cousins ​​with Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu instead of biological brothers.

Yuan Yi was the son of Yuan Ping. Although he belonged to a collateral branch of the family, he was quite capable and was highly regarded by the elders of the clan. He once served as the magistrate of Chang'an, but unfortunately, like Yuan Ji, he was dismissed from office and retired to his home.

Besides the four brothers, the Yuan family also had an extraordinary son-in-law, Shi Jun.

At the beginning of his transmigration, this person met and fell in love with Yuan Wei's daughter by chance.

Rumor has it that Yuan Wei originally intended to marry his daughter to Yang Biao and Yang Wenxian of the Yang family in Hongnong. However, Shi Jun intervened, and within just two months, his daughter declared that she would "marry no one but Shi Jun" and that "they would share the same bed in life and the same grave in death."

Yuan Wei couldn't dissuade him, and since Shi Jun was indeed quite capable, he ultimately had no choice but to accept him as his son-in-law.

It's just unknown whether Yang Wenxian, without Yuan's daughter, would still have given birth to Yang Xiu, who wrote "Ode to the Goddess," "Ode to the Peacock," and "Ode to a Festival." And many years later, will there still be couplets like "a box of butter," "a young woman in yellow silk, a grandson in a mortar and pestle"?

Aside from the Yuan family members, there were also invited helpers.

When Yuan Ji, the eldest son of the Yuan family, entered the house, he was followed by a short man who was less than seven feet tall and an ugly man who was more than eight feet tall.

Yuan Shao stepped forward and began to chat familiarly with the short man. Only then did Wen Chou realize that this man was the "famous" Cao Cao, Cao Mengde.

Cao Cao was standing next to Dian Wei.

When Wen Chou first saw someone even uglier than himself, he glanced at him a couple more times. Then, he was entangled with Dian Wei.

The sun sets in the west, and the rabbit rises in the east.

Ten people gathered in the courtyard, and Yuan Ji raised a [moonlight scroll].

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"Egg Monk"

[Rank] Heavenly Grade

[Attribute] The moon shines brightly at midnight, illuminating the earth. At that time, ten people who hold this scroll can open the gate of time and space.

[Description] Heaven sent down a king from among eggs, unlike any ordinary monk.

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A ray of moonlight shone down, and everything went dark before the ten people's eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, it was a completely different world.

Under the bright, sunny sun, beside the lush wheat and rice.

Around noon, many farmers were busy in the fields. They were all startled when ten people suddenly appeared.

Upon seeing Dian Wei's inhuman appearance, several farmers shouted "Monster!" and immediately ran away.

Some of the bolder ones brandished hoes and shovels, shouting, "Who are you?"

Li Yu slapped the [Liqiu Ghost Mask] onto his face, instantly transforming into a middle-aged Taoist priest.

He wore a purple-gold fish-tail iron crown, a black-edged crimson robe with fiery edges, a multicolored silk sash around his waist, and red shoes with cloud patterns on his feet.

Li Yu stepped forward and bowed respectfully to one of the elderly farmers, saying, "Greetings, sir. May I ask what kind of place this is?"

Seeing that Li Yu had an extraordinary appearance, the old man was filled with doubt and surprise. However, he dared not be negligent, so he put down his hoe and replied, "This is Fenzhou in Hedong Road."

Fenzhou, Hedong Road?

Fenyang, Shanxi?

"What year and month?"

"The first day of the sixth month of the fourth year of the Qingli era."

"Thank you, sir." Li Yu bowed in thanks. Then he summoned the [Spirit Crane] and, to everyone's astonishment, rode it eastward.

The old man was so frightened that he dropped his hoe and kowtowed, calling out "Immortal!"

"This...you're leaving already!"

Li Yu's departure was swift and decisive, leaving Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Shi Jun, and others astonished.

Yuan Shu cried out urgently, "Brother Li, wait for me!" With that, he ran into the nearby woods and summoned [Mountain City's Nest] and [Bird City]. However, after all that, the spirit crane had already vanished into the distance, and he could no longer catch up with it.

Yuan Shu returned home dejectedly.

Yuan Shao couldn't help but ask, "Gonglu, wasn't that the helper you found? Why did he abandon you?"

Yuan Shu shook his head: "I made a bet with Brother Li, and if I lose, I'll grant him a scroll quota."

Yuan Shao remained silent.

Wen Chou, standing to the side, felt a little regretful; he had wanted to say a few more words to "Brother Fisherman".

"Zigu, Benchu, Gonglu, we've traveled to the Northern Song Dynasty, eight hundred years in the future," Shi Jun said, drawing everyone's attention. "In this scroll world, gods and monsters coexist..."

Shi Jun was able to enter the [scroll] not only because he was the son-in-law of the Yuan family, but also because he had used the [Moonlight Scroll] many times and had rich "time travel experience".

Shi Jun didn't hold back, sharing some knowledge about Song Dynasty culture and his vague memories of the "Egg Monk."

Just as they were talking about "Egg-born fighting with three fox spirits", a commotion came from afar.

It was the farmers who had fled earlier who reported it to the authorities, and they arrived with several constables.

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Li Yu rode a crane south, occasionally transforming into a Taoist priest to ask for directions. Three days later, he arrived at his destination—Beizhou City.

Upon entering the city and arriving at the market, Li Yu, carrying a small earthenware jar, began to shout: "I possess the secret to immortality. Whoever fills this jar with money will receive the secret from this humble Taoist."

There were many onlookers, but none of them believed it.

Half an hour later, a butcher who had been drinking came out, his neck bare and slurring, shouting, "I...I want to live forever...and never grow old!" He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a string of coins, and threw it into the earthenware jar.

The copper coins clattered in, nearly filling the shallow earthenware pot. It seemed that just three or five more coins would fill it completely.

Some people were secretly delighted and threw five or six copper coins over, hoping to flatten the earthenware pot and get a bargain.

The can is still not full.

Seeing this, many onlookers also took out one or two copper coins and threw them into the earthenware pot.

After a series of crisp, clanging sounds, dozens of people put in over a hundred coins, but the jar remained full.

Many people began to have doubts.

A notoriously destitute man in the market, clutching half a string of coins, slammed it over the irrigation ditch.

The townspeople gathered around, and the drunken butcher pried his hands open, revealing—

The jar, as before, was neither full nor empty.

The butcher grinned foolishly. The down-on-his-luck man's face changed, and he reached out to snatch the earthenware pot. Li Yu dodged to the side and said, "What do you want, sir?"

The impoverished man glared and said, "You cunning and deceitful Taoist priest, return my money at once. Otherwise, I'll hand you over to the authorities!" With that, he tried to snatch the jar again.

Li Yu hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, I'll return it to you." The impoverished man then gave up, and the others, seeing this, also clamored for their money back.

Li Yu agreed to each request. Then he placed the earthenware pot on the ground and made a few gestures with great seriousness: "Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its power. The Pixiu opens its mouth, the Qingfu spits out its offspring. Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

The earthenware pot remained still.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, borrowing the power of heaven and earth. The Pixiu opens its mouth, the Qingfu spits out its offspring. Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"

The earthenware pot remained completely still.

The impoverished man, impatient, stretched out his foot to kick.

Li Yu quickly stopped him, saying, "This jar is greedy and won't spit out any money. I'll go in and get it back for you." With that, he got up, jumped onto the jar, and disappeared in an instant.

It startled the city's residents.

After a while, the Taoist priest still hadn't returned. The impoverished man bent down and shouted at the jar, "Taoist priest, come out! Taoist priest, come out quickly!"

There was no sound from inside the jar.

The impoverished man flew into a rage, grabbed the jar, and smashed it. Broken porcelain shards littered the ground, but the Taoist priest and the copper coins were nowhere to be seen.

The crowd was taken aback and began to murmur amongst themselves, all saying that the Taoist priest was a great sorcerer and a true Taoist master. Only that poor fellow shouted that he was a demonic Taoist priest and that if he saw him again, he would surely be handed over to the authorities.

The next day, Li Yu delivered another earthenware pot to the market. A down-on-his-luck man saw it and raised his fist to strike. Li Yu casually hooked the pot, sending the man sprawling on his back, covered in dust and dirt.

Enraged, the impoverished man raised his fist to strike again, but Li Yu said, "Wait, wait."

He took out a foot-long piece of white cloth and said to everyone, "This is fire-resistant cloth. If it gets dirty, burn it with fire and it will be as clean as new."

Some people didn't believe him, so Li Yu let them bring fire to burn it. After some effort, it indeed had the ability to ward off fire. Then someone asked, "How much is this cloth worth?"

"Not for sale." Li Yu shook his head, then raised the earthenware pot in his hand again. "Just like yesterday, whoever can fill this pot will receive a [fire-resistant cloth] as a gift."

As a result, the people of the city rushed to throw the jars into the water.

For several days in a row, the name "Clay Pot Taoist" quickly spread throughout Beizhou City.

On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, Li Yu finally received a visit from someone.

"May I ask your esteemed surname and title, Venerable Master, from which you received them?"

A military officer with phoenix eyes, thick eyebrows, a yellow beard, and a fair complexion stepped out from the crowd and bowed.

(End of this chapter)