ninety thousand miles

Chapter 552: Mountain Guard
"Oh oh..." Li Chuan nodded.

After waiting for a long time, there was still no movement. He saw County Magistrate Xu open his mouth several times and then close it again, so he asked Liu Yang again, "What's going on now?"

Jiang Mei answered him and said, "Soon."

Liu Yang explained: "Brother Jiang used firewood to set up a formation. Only after everyone comes down can we see the obvious fire."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chuan saw a wisp of faint green smoke floating out from the mountain.

"It's burning," he said.

Magistrate Xu felt relieved and repeated softly, "It's on fire."

Wisps of smoke kept floating up.

When County Magistrate Wei and his men returned, a thick black smoke was already rising into the air.

When County Magistrate Wei came closer, he sat down and kept wiping the sweat off his face. He said, "It's too humid. I finally managed to light the fire, but it went out while it was burning."

"Are they all lit now?" asked County Magistrate Xu.

"They are all lit. I asked them to check several times." County Magistrate Wei put down his hands, his face black and white, "It's just that, today's weather..." He looked at the sky and said worriedly, "It might rain."

Li Chuan heard this and sniffed the air. It was a little damp. He looked up at the sky. The sun was hiding behind the clouds, with a few rays of light occasionally falling through the cracks. "With the two Taoist priests here, the fire can be started even if it rains." He said firmly, "Then the people around will wake up faster when they see it."

County Magistrate Xu also echoed, "I have seen some monks use this method, it is indeed true."

After hearing this, County Magistrate Wei looked up at the gathering smoke and said, "I know. I knew it when you told me that day. Just burn all those unlucky things and it will be fine..."

Black smoke began to pour out.

There was no smell of smoke.

Li Chuan was feeling strange, then he saw the person standing in the distance start coughing and covering his nose with his sleeve, then he realized that Jiang Mei had set up a barrier around them.

He looked at the sky intently. The black smoke gathered more and more, and soon covered half of the sky, making the light dim.

There was a commotion all around.

At first, there were only a few people, they looked up the mountain and asked the guards stationed below for information. After they left for a few minutes, people kept coming to watch. When there were few people, they just looked from a distance. When more people came, they gradually approached where Li Chuan and his companions were standing.

Li Chuan heard someone saying that it couldn't be burned, because King Ziyun would punish him when he came back. These voices gradually gathered from all directions, and the crowd was getting thicker and thicker, pushing in.

No, something will happen.

I should have set up a platform earlier and let County Magistrate Wei go up and say a few words, to call for action... No, to appease him...

At this moment, the dim light around suddenly turned bright red.

The fire started, crackling and roaring, and the grass, soil and stones on the mountain were all burning.

At this time, the sun also broke through the clouds, penetrated the black smoke, and connected with the flames that shot up into the sky.

Everything is bright red.

Li Chuan felt as if he was watching a grand contest. He couldn't tell the names of the two contestants. It might be the black smoke with its mouth open like a beast, or the fire that kept spewing out tongues of fire, or perhaps this entire mountain and the entire sky.

He couldn't tell.

He looked in the direction of the crowd. They were all standing there in a daze, with their heads tilted up. Some of them opened their mouths, mumbling words they couldn't even hear themselves, and some were shedding tears and crawling on the ground.

The shadows hidden in Ziyun Cave, in the mountains, and among these people were completely burned away by the fire.

Li Chuan looked at Xu Wei and the others. Magistrate Xu was whispering something to Magistrate Wei, while Magistrate Wei was nodding and wiping the sweat that was constantly coming out of his body.

The fire burned until sunset.

Unlike when it started, the fire went out all at once.

After the wildfire was extinguished, Li Chuan was about to say goodbye to Xu Wei and the others, when County Magistrate Wei walked up to him and said, "Dr. Li, this time it's all thanks to you and the two Taoist priests you invited. I've heard of your name a long time ago, but I never had the chance to visit you. Now that you're here, you must stay for a meal and let me show my hospitality."

After hearing what County Magistrate Wei said, Li Chuan felt like he was being pulled back into the secular world. He knew it was difficult to refuse, so he politely said, "It's my duty. You're so polite." and agreed.

The dinner was very sumptuous. County Magistrate Xu and County Magistrate Wei were both good at talking. Seeing that Jiang and Liu were not willing to talk about the matters of Xuanmen, they talked about many interesting things in the two counties. They also mentioned Li Chuan's reputation as the Doctor of House Guarding, saying that after Li Chuan went to the capital, many people beat their chests and stamped their feet, regretting not inviting Li Chuan to guard their homes earlier.

After dinner, County Magistrate Wei invited them to stay. After Li Chuan refused, he did not force him to stay, but just sent him far away.

After returning home, Gong Er was staggering out from under the grape trellis. When he saw Li Chuan coming back, he jumped up to him and said, "Brother, you are finally back."

Li Chuan noticed that Gong Er looked a little strange, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Gong Er started to complain, saying, "That brother Jiang wants to stew me!" "What did he say?" Li Chuan asked.

Gong Er said, "I was practicing swordplay in the training room. He watched for a while and said he wanted to teach me. I asked him for guidance, but he said that I couldn't connect my sword moves because my transformation skills were not good enough. I only looked like a human, but I was not actually a human. Then he said that Qing Zong had a method that could help me become more like a human. I asked him how to do it, and he said that I should soak it in hot water for 49 days until it was soft and tasty..."

It doesn't sound reliable.

"He is kidding you." Li Chuan said.

Gong Er said: "Even if it's a joke, you can't say that. We are both cultivators. Why does he make fun of me like that? Is it because he is a Qing Sect cultivator and I am a demon?"

"I'll go and argue with him." Li Chuan said immediately.

"I'm not making fun of you."

Jiang Bai's voice came from not far away. The next moment, he also appeared under the grape trellis. He said, "My brother has also used this method."

Then he apologized to Gong Er in a serious tone, saying, "Friend Gong Dao, I used the wrong words before and caused you to misunderstand."

Gong Er was a little shaken. He asked, "Will this method really work?"

"Guaranteed." Jiang Bai said, "This method is based on the medicinal bath of ordinary warriors, and has been improved. The essence is to dredge the meridians and make the bones and flesh reach a more coordinated state. It's just a small trick, not the secret technique of Qing Sect, and it won't harm your body. I will personally prepare the ointment to improve your physique and that of your fellow Taoists. How about it?"

Gong Er looked at Li Chuan.

Li Chuan said, "If you want to try, then try." After that, he turned to Jiang Bai and said, "Brother Jiang, please don't tease my second and third brothers about this matter in the future. They are devoted to the Tao and practice hard every day. They can't joke about this matter, and they shouldn't."

So Jiang Bai apologized to Gong Er again, "I was wrong, I won't do it again."

Gong Er said, "It's okay. Then you can give it a try for me and my third brother tomorrow."

Jiang Bai agreed and said, "Okay, don't worry. After taking the medicinal bath, you can pick up the sword and make rapid progress."

After dealing with this minor incident, Li Chuan yawned and decided to go to sleep. At this time, Jiang Mei said goodbye and said, "I have already understood the fire-burning matter. I also have to go to the Four Gods Palace to inform the three masters about the Ziyun Cave."

"Okay." Li Chuan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Master Jiang, when will you be back?"

Jiang Mei said, "I may have to stay there for a while, maybe a month at the fastest, or I will come back with Gu Ying." Then, he explained to Li Chuan, "It will take a long time to complete the formation diagram we got in Ziyun Cave." He saw Li Chuan's hesitant expression and asked, "What do you want?"

Li Chuan said: "I want to go to Xuanshui Mountain and Xialin Village."

Jiang Mei thought for a moment and said, "Outside the secret realm of Xuanshui Mountain, there are disciples from three sects taking turns guarding it, so it should be relatively safe. So, I will leave the Qingye Boat to you. Whenever you want to go there, you can get there in half a day by riding the Qingye Boat."

"Okay." Li Chuan said.

Then Jiang Mei taught Liu Yang how to drive the Qingye Boat, and also taught him a few tricks to escape. After teaching, he said to Li Chuan with some guilt: "I should have stayed, but this matter involves Luoxia Secret Realm, and several of my fellow apprentices are going to Luoxia Secret Realm, so after getting the clue, I wanted to do my part for them."

"It's okay, it's okay, just go ahead." Li Chuan said, "Xuanshui Mountain Secret Realm, I'm sure I can get out of it."

Liu Yang also said: "Brother Jiang, just focus on your work. I will protect Dr. Li."

Jiang Mei nodded and said, "Then I'll leave."

After Jiang Mei left, Li Chuan rested at home for a few more days, memorized the "Wen Jing" and Ming Heng's notes, and took out the fragments of the Xiquan flute to study them. He had no clue for the time being, so he stopped thinking about it for the time being.

One morning, he woke up and the weather was very good. He thought it would be very comfortable to go out for a walk until he was slightly sweating. He took some New Year's goods and went to find Cen the blacksmith.

As expected, I ate a delicious goose.

Blacksmith Cen asked about the next county and said, "I heard that you went to Ning County and suppressed Ziyun Cave?"

"What?" Li Chuan bit his tongue and twisted his body for a long time before he recovered.

He explained: "County Magistrate Xu came up with the idea, County Magistrate Wei set the fire, and Taoist Priest Jiang set up the formation. I just watched from the sidelines. If I wasn't unfamiliar with them, I wouldn't have gone. I came back with the smell of fireworks all over my body, and I couldn't wash it off."

Blacksmith Cen poured him some hot wine and said, "But in those rumors, you just pointed your finger and the fire started. Then you pointed again and the fire burned towards the ghosts, and immediately there were ghosts howling..."

"Alright, alright, you know me," Li Chuan couldn't stand it anymore and said, "If I want to take action, nothing will be under my control."

"But if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to invite the two Taoist priests, and they might not be willing to intervene." Blacksmith Cen toasted him.

Li Chuan paused for a moment and drank the wine.

After returning from Blacksmith Cen's house, he rested for a few days and then set out for Xuanshui Mountain with Liu Yang.

When Gong Er and Pang San found out, they both wanted to go, but they were in the middle of a medicinal bath and their bodies were filled with fragrance, so they had to give up.

(End of this chapter)