Martial Cultivator

After dealing with the Luoshui Mountain matter, Chen Chao was still in no hurry to leave Danxiao City. Although the night was dark and most of the people had dispersed and slept in their own beds, the streets were still brightly lit with all kinds of paper lanterns. In this way, it can be regarded as a scenery.

Chen Chao walked alone at night, walking slowly on the almost deserted streets, like a tourist who had been away from home alone for more than ten years.

Somewhat lonely.

Chen Chao walked around and looked at the paper lanterns above his head with great interest. In fact, they were no different from the paper lanterns in other places in Daliang Chao. The only difference was that there would be paintings on them of the man who founded Danxiao City. The portraits of Taoist great masters, or the portraits of Taoist ancestors.

𝟼𝟿sʜᴜx.ɴᴇᴛ】

Some paper lanterns have both.

However, the common people's demands are the same. Whether it is the Taoist ancestor or the first city lord in the history of Danxiao City, painting them naturally prays for peace and no illness or disaster.

The needs of the common people are never many. They can have enough to eat, live a down-to-earth life, and no one will bully them, that's all.

In fact, Chen Chao could understand the previous rumors and even the situation of Danxiao City. At that time, there was no imperial court. Even if there was a imperial court, it did not protect the people, but sucked their blood.

Therefore, the people naturally placed their good expectations on the Taoist master who was born in the Taoist sect. Apart from anything else, the imperial court did not dare to do anything in Danxiao City just with the Taoist master above their heads.

As for those paper boats?

That is even simpler. Today's court is not the previous court, especially in the past twenty years. People in Danxiao City should understand what the world is like if they take a look outside the city.

So it's not surprising that there is such a thing.

Chen Chao came to the upper reaches. Before it was too late, at least a dozen letter writers would set up a stall and write blessings on the paper boats for the illiterate people. .

Now the night is dark, the people have dispersed, and the gentlemen have closed their stalls long ago. Now there is only the last gentleman left here. His things have been packed long ago, but he is not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he pours out a cup from the gourd he carries with him. A small bowl of wine, sitting by the river, drinking alone.

Seeing Chen Chao coming from a distance, Mr. Letter even though he saw it, he didn't pay attention to it. He just wiped his goatee and took another sip of the cheap drink. He felt that if he could continue to live like this in his life, it would be useless. enough.

However, in Mr. Letter's blurry vision, the young man walked towards him impartially and arrived in front of his stall in a few steps.

This moment made Mr. Letter a little irritable, but he still managed to put on a smile and laughed twice, "Young Master, you're late, I'm closing my stall."

I thought that this would make the young man ask for trouble and leave, but who knew, he seemed not to hear at all, but sat directly in front of him, smiled and said: "Closing the stall, can you ask the old gentleman for a drink?" ?”

Seeing that the other party was not here to write letters for him and the one who wrote on the paper boat, Mr. Letter's face looked much better. He looked at the young man in front of him with some suspicion, then took out an old wine bowl and put the gourd on his waist. When I untied it and poured the wine, I originally planned to pour only a small sip, but after thinking about it in the end, I added a lot to it. This time, it was at least two taels.

Mr. Letter had a look of pain on his face. After putting away the gourd, he said, "If you don't like it, it's just these two taels. There's not much more."

Chen Chao took a look at the wine in the wine bowl. Judging from the hops alone, he knew it was ordinary. As for the wine bowl, it looked a little old, but he didn't dislike it. He picked up the wine bowl and took a sip. Then he smacked his lips and said, "This wine is powerful."

Mr. Letter was a little regretful at first, but when he heard that the young man in front of him could say this, he immediately became energetic and said with a smile: "The drink is not expensive, but it is strong. I am not bragging. This Danxiao City, Not many people can handle it.”

Chen Chao nodded matter-of-factly, and then regretted: "I just drank without ordering any food, so I feel like it's almost boring."

As soon as he said these words, Mr. Letter was extremely angry, "You kid, you just cheated and drank, but you still want to push yourself further, this..."

Before he finished speaking, Mr. Letter saw the young man opposite placing a bag of soy beef on the table. The young man smiled and said, "I bought it for my wife before, but after drinking the old man's wine, Taking it out to serve the old gentleman is a way of reciprocating the favor. "

While Mr. Letter was saying that this was not good, he had already taken out two pairs of bamboo chopsticks and handed a pair to Chen Chao. He had already picked up a piece of beef with soy sauce, put it in his mouth and chewed it, mixing it with the aroma of wine in his mouth. Mr. Letter began to feel a little melancholy.

I used to think that having a sip of wine every day was the best day, but now that I can eat meat, the best days are when I can have both wine and meat.

Human hearts are not enough!

Mr. Letter sighed with emotion, but he put this matter behind him in the blink of an eye. Regardless of whether it was present or not, he had to finish the meal first.

Don't think too much about things. The more you think about them, the more troubles you will get.

The two chatted while eating meat and drinking wine, and they were somewhat harmonious. However, when Chen Chao finished the last sip of wine in the bowl and then raised his head to look at Mr. Letter, the latter had a look of pain on his face.

"Old sir, don't be reluctant to take a few sips of wine."

Chen Chao picked up a chopstick and threw the beef in sauce into his mouth, chewing it carefully.

Mr. Letter sighed helplessly, took out the wine gourd, and simply poured out all the wine inside, half for each person, and then said casually: "That's it, it's enough for a few days, and I'll finish it in one day!" "

Mr. Letter glanced at Chen Chao, "You still have a very old temper."

Before drinking, you can still call him "Young Master", but after drinking, you won't mention these things anymore.

Little boy, there is no difference.

Chen Chao took a sip of wine and asked casually with a smile: "Did the release of paper boats on the Bitter Wood Festival only start this year?"

Mr. Letter shook his head, "It's been about three or five years, but the scale was not big before, and it can't be compared with the lantern festival here. But since last year, it has become quite powerful, and this year it is even more powerful than the lantern festival. It's probably In a few years, the lantern festival will be commonplace, and the paper boats will be the big one.”

Chen Chao smiled and said, "The people can do whatever they want. No one can stop them."

Mr. Letters glanced at Chen Chao in surprise and asked, "Isn't there any encouragement from the imperial court?"

"Where do I know where to go?"

Chen Chao held the wine bowl, shook the wine, and kept talking, "I'm just an alcoholic who drinks too much."

Mr. Letter didn't say anything, just minding his own business.

But soon Chen Chao smiled and said: "Maybe it's because of the war in the north that this year is like this. I can't say what will happen in the future, but there's no need to think about it. I saw a piece of paper with "Beijing" written on it today. The situation is difficult, I have worked hard for a few words, and I suddenly want to see what kind of person the person who wrote these words is, these eight words are really sincere."

Mr. Letter said in surprise: "Did you know that those words were written by an old man, so that's why you said this?"

He remembered clearly that it was a woman who lived on that Furong Street who asked him to write two messages. She had a distant nephew who was in the north at the moment. At that time, Mr. Letter asked her what his nephew's name was, but the woman took the Zhichuan shook his head and said that it was not necessary. If I wanted to write this, I would like to wish all the young people over there well.

So Mr. Letter thought for a while before he came up with those eight words.

Chen Chao's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "That old gentleman is just a ghostwriter of letters, so he is undermining his talents."

Mr. Letter laughed and scolded: "Don't make fun of me. This little literary talent of me means I can make a living by doing this all my life."

He then changed the topic and said: "On the contrary, you are the young master. He doesn't look like an ordinary person no matter how you look at him. There must be something special about him."

Chen Chao nodded seriously, "Yes, my wife is very beautiful."

Mr. Letter was startled, and then he said with a meaningful smile: "That young master must have something extraordinary."

Chen Chao laughed loudly, "Just what the old gentleman said, it should be obvious!"

…

…

After three rounds of wine, the five flavors of food are gone.

A chance encounter seems to be coming to an end.

Mr. Letter was drunk and said softly: "I have been in Danxiao City for most of my life, and I have seen this city all over. In the early years, this city seemed to be the same every day. Only in recent years has it gradually become more and more different." After seeing some differences, the old man was wondering what the difference was. Then he looked at those paper lanterns, looked at those portraits, then looked at those paper boats, and looked at the various goods that had been shipped in from outside in recent years. Only then did I understand.”

Chen Chao smiled and asked: "Old sir, could you please tell me a little bit?"

"If you have anything to say, it's nothing more than a sentence. Some people can't give you any good things even if you ask for them. Some people are afraid that you won't have a good life if you don't ask for them."

Mr. Letter said calmly: "How can Daozu bless you? What can a lifeless portrait accomplish? It would be better to issue a decree from the capital of God to reduce taxes by 10%. That would be a real favor."

"Besides, isn't the imperial court responsible for eradicating the demon troubles in Qingshan Prefecture these years?"

At this point, Mr. Letters exhaled, "Belief is useless. It's better to kowtow to the Emperor of Daliang and the garrison of Daliang a few more times. That will be useful."

After listening to the words, Chen Chao looked down at the wine bowl. It was already empty. He said regretfully: "Based on what the old gentleman said, I should have drank. What a pity, what a pity!"

Mr. Letter shook his head, "It's not a pity. When you meet a speculator, you can drink thousands of words like wine. If you don't speculate, no matter how good the wine is, it will be difficult to swallow."

As he spoke, Mr. Letter took out a paper boat from under the table with a smile, and took out all the pen and ink, and said: "Although the young master is not a local, since he is here, he must be here to put a paper boat, which happens to be , I still have one here, there is still half an hour left, it will be Zishi. Isn’t it too much to ask for a piece of gold from the young master?”

Chen Chao looked shocked, "The old gentleman seems to be a scholar, why is he so disgusting now?"

Mr. Letter shook the empty gourd on his waist and sighed: "Life is not easy, life is not easy, so I have to put aside my conscience."

Chen Chao took out a piece of heavenly money from his arms, held it between his two fingers, but never put it down.

"I always feel it's a bit expensive. You know, I haven't seen a shadow of my wages for so many years. Speaking of which, I am also a poor man."

Chen Chao smiled and asked, "Can we negotiate the price?"

Mr. Letter nodded: "Okay."

Chen Chao suddenly put the heavenly coin on the table, shook his head and said, "Just one heavenly coin will buy a paper boat, and I will write the words myself."

Mr. Letter said: "There is no extra charge for ghostwriting. Do you really want to do it yourself?"

Chen Chao shook his head, "Some things should be done by yourself, and you can't trouble others."

Mr. Shuxin smiled, said nothing, and just made a gesture of invitation.

Chen Chao then held the pen in one hand and the paper boat in the other hand. After a moment of silence, he started to write a line of words.

Mr. Shuxin took a look and said nothing.

Chen Chao stood up, squatted down by the river, and then put the paper boat down.

After that, he watched the paper boat float down the river until it disappeared.

Chen Chao turned to look at Mr. Shuxin, who had also packed up and said with a smile, "Mr. Shuxin's words are well written, more powerful than wine, you should be a high-ranking official!"

Chen Chao smiled and asked, "Mr. Shuxin, do you know that I am an official, so you said that?"

Mr. Shuxin laughed, "Only high-ranking officials can take out a gold coin to buy a paper boat without frowning, otherwise they must be businessmen, but you don't have the slightest business aura."

Chen Chao half-jokingly said, "It's okay, you always talk about business with people."

Mr. Shuxin smiled and didn't comment on it.

"We met by chance, and I enjoyed the wine tonight. See you later, sir."

Chen Chao smiled and said, but he bowed to the Taoist.

Mr. Shuxin laughed it off.

……

……

After saying goodbye to Mr. Shuxin, Chen Chao had no plan to stay in Danxiao City any longer, and he wanted to leave the city overnight.

Just as he was approaching the city gate, the young garrison commander stopped and waited for a moment before he smiled to himself, "If you don't come out, I'll really leave."

As soon as he said this, a man poked his head out from the corner and smiled embarrassedly, "Gangster commander, we meet again."

The person who came was not a stranger. He had met her once before. It was the little junior sister Liu Yefu from Songxi Mountain. In fact, he had heard of this little junior sister from Songxi Mountain before. It was said that this person was born to be very suitable for practicing the techniques of the Qi Refiner lineage. She progressed very quickly and was praised as a person who was expected to become a leader of the Qi Refiner lineage in the future.

However, the road to practice is long. Liu Yefu had just started. No one could say how long it would take to reach that high place.

Chen Chao was too lazy to expose Liu Yefu in front of him, and just smiled and asked: "What's the matter?"

Liu Yefu laughed dryly. She had been prepared before, and she had written the script again and again, but she didn't expect that when she really came in front of the garrison commander, she was still a little nervous and speechless.

Chen Chao was about to leave, and Liu Yefu said in her heart that she would die, and then said: "Governor, can you go to Songxi Mountain when you are free?"

Speaking of this, she gritted her teeth and said, "It's best to go as soon as possible."

Chen Chao looked at the young girl in front of him and asked: "Reason."

Liu Yefu took a deep breath and said: "Senior Sister Liang is not doing well in the mountains. There are some gossips, and words can really kill people sometimes."

As a junior sister, Liu Yefu is not so heartless. In fact, she can clearly feel that her senior sister has been getting less energetic these days.

It's nothing else, but some words in the ear can also affect a person.

Chen Chao thought about it, but did not give his answer. Instead, he asked Liu Yefu a question, "Can you be sure that my trip to Songxi Mountain will be useful for this matter?"

Liu Yefu frowned. She had never thought about things this way. Chen Chao's question made her a little confused.

Chen Chao said, "My trip once can temporarily stop the rumors, but what if I only go to Songxi Mountain once in my life? Will it be useful?"

Liu Yefu was a little confused.

Chen Chao looked at her and said patiently, "Your Senior Sister Liang talked to me for a long time and didn't bring up such a thing. Some of the reasons are that she doesn't want to trouble me, but more of it is that she knows that such things will be useless whether she does it or not."

Liu Yefu didn't understand, but she was a little sad. She knew that if Chen Chao didn't want to go to Songxi Mountain, then those rumors would always be there.

Chen Chao saw her sadness, thought for a moment, and said, "I will write a letter and have someone send it to Songxi Mountain."

Liu Yefu said, "I brought a pen and ink!"

Chen Chao was helpless, "Some things will have different effects when done by different people."

The same letter, Liu Yefu took it back to Songxi Mountain, and it was sent to Songxi Mountain by a military officer of the garrison commander's lineage, which was two different things.

Liu Yefu said "oh", then looked at Chen Chao suspiciously, and said uncertainly, "Sir, you are not lying to me, are you?"

Chen Chao was even more helpless. What was wrong with this little girl? How dare she talk to him, the garrison commander, so directly?

Chen Chao looked at her and shook his head, saying, "I don't lie."

Liu Yefu was still a little girl in the end. When Chen Chao said this, she immediately took it seriously. Not only did she nod her head repeatedly, but she also thanked Chen Chao happily.

Chen Chao looked at the little girl and smiled sincerely, "You are a good junior sister."

Liu Yefu smiled, then looked at the sky and said that she had to go back quickly. She had sneaked out in the first place, and if the senior sisters found out that she was missing, they would definitely be very anxious.

Chen Chao stood there and watched Liu Yefu walk away. When she turned around, Chen Chao waved to her with a smile on his face.

Liu Yefu stood in the distance, thought for a while, and then shouted: "Master, I still want to see you in Songxi Mountain!"

Chen Chao responded: "There will be a chance."

…

…

Mr. Letter, who had closed the stall, walked upstream along the river. About half an hour later, he passed by a huge palace.

This was built by the people to commemorate the first and last Danxiao City Lord after he emerged. After several expansions, the scale has actually become somewhat terrifying.

Mr. Letter passed by here without even taking a second look. He just continued walking forward, walking through two long streets, and finally stopped in front of a small Taoist temple whose incense had obviously faded.

The Taoist temple is dilapidated, and there is only one word "See" on the plaque.

The people of Danxiao City often talk about the word "seeing" and think that time has erased the other half, so only the word "seeing" remains.

But in fact, only a very small number of people know that this plaque has only the word "see" from the very beginning.

Observe half of the words.

This Taoist temple is actually called Banzi Temple.

The Taoist master of the Taoist sect was originally named Tongxuan, and later changed it to Banshan.

But even fewer people know that when the great Taoist master of the Taoist sect wanted to leave the Tao of Immortality and turn to the Tao of Taiping, he first built this Taoist temple and practiced hard here.

It can be said that this Taoist temple existed before Danxiao City existed.

Mr. Letters stayed in front of the Taoist temple for a moment, then pushed the door open and entered, as if he were returning home.

"I guess there will be another chapter later. This chapter is quite long. Please vote monthly."