Knife splashing

Chapter 174: Vermillion Bird Fish and Dragon Dance

The two teams almost met on a narrow road.

"Well, you come with bad intentions!"

When Manager Wan saw this, he immediately became furious.

Each team's route is carefully planned, and their strategy can be seen from it.

For example, the Jinzhou team had abundant financial resources and strong strength, but they chose to go to Pingkangfang Street, which would allow them to directly reach Suzaku Gate and avoid fighting with everyone.

They only wanted one spot, which was almost a sure win.

The Jinzhou people's style of being both cautious and prudent has never changed.

The bank had money, but it was very frugal. Like a hamster, it would hide the money it earned in the cellar and would not spend it on food or clothes.

Even the martial arts industry follows this style, training their disciples in deep mansions. Their boxing style is simple and unsophisticated, not ostentatious or wild, and they pursue simplicity and long-term goals.

There is even a saying in the underworld, "You only see Jinzhou boxers beating people, but you don't see Jinzhou people practicing boxing."

Manager Wan's route is from Daozhengfang to Changlefang, bypassing the East Market and going straight to Zhuque Street, which can preserve his strength to the greatest extent in the early stage.

If the Yulin team went straight forward, they would arrive before them and the two sides would just miss each other.

But the opponent went in the opposite direction, definitely not wanting to attack the Jinzhou team, but to eat them up first!
Shopkeeper Wan squeezed to the front of the team in two or three steps. Seeing the old man in a sheepskin coat in front of the other team, he immediately shouted angrily: "Hu Qingquan, what do you mean? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

The old man in the sheepskin coat was holding a whip in his hand, with a helpless look on his face. He sighed and said, "Manager Wan, we are old acquaintances. I don't want to do this, but my weakness has been caught, so I have to do this."

Shopkeeper Wan was startled, "Someone wants you to cause trouble for me?"

"It's not just you, either."

The old man shook his head and said, "Others want more than one spot. Even if I beat you, I will go to someone else to lose. You should understand that."

Shopkeeper Wan's face suddenly darkened. "Is it the Fire Bear Gang?"

Some things become clear if you think about it. It was originally a grand event of Xuanmen, but this time an outlier joined in: the Fire Bear Gang.

These guys will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

Leaving aside the teams from other provinces, the organizers of the teams from within the province are mostly unorthodox sorcerers like Manager Wan, who have families and businesses, so it is normal for them to be threatened by someone by holding their weak points.

As long as a few teams fight each other and lose to the Fire Bear Gang, the other side can easily get a few spots.

Knowing the reason, Shopkeeper Wan stopped talking nonsense and said in a cold voice: "Hu Qingquan, now that things have come to this, what do you want to do, by civil or military means?"

The old man in the sheepskin coat raised his eyebrows and said in a hoarse voice, "If someone holds something against you, you don't have to work hard for him."

"Let's just do it literary. If Brother Wan can't get past me, he won't last long on Suzaku Street."

Li Yan had already walked over, but when he heard this, he stopped and smiled at Guo Luquan next to him: "Brother Guo, it's Wen who's here, it's up to you!"

Those who came today are all people from the underworld.

The so-called literary competition does not mean showing off one's literary talent, but rather, honestly following the rules of the God's Tower and competing to see who has the greater ability.

"Look!"

Guo Luquan shouted, "Brothers, the situation is as fierce as the forest!"

"Master Zuo, don't worry!"

At the command, the team carrying the God Tower immediately shrank into a tight formation, relying on each other and moving slowly forward.

Next to the team, an old man led three young men and leaped onto the largest Wenshen Building by stepping on the bodies of the men carrying the building.

They are the members of Huayin Zuo Family.

After paying respectful tribute to the statue, the three men came to the side of the shrine, raised their hands, and immediately pulled down a white curtain from the eaves.

Light the butter candle and use the bronze mirror to create a shadow play screen.

"Hey~"

As the desolate roar continued, mountains and rivers suddenly appeared on the screen. They were all made of shadow puppets. The shadow puppet band in front of the drum band also immediately began to play accompaniment, with gongs, drums, bangzi and suona playing together.

Then, nine golden crows appeared on the screen.

It is the Huayin Laoqu "Shooting the Nine Suns".

Accompanied by the desolate and heroic singing, the shadow puppets suddenly moved.

"Look, look!"

The people in Guanzhong love to listen to opera, and the Zuo Family Troupe is a famous troupe in Huayin that has been around for a hundred years. Connoisseurs can tell whether a performance is good or not just by looking at its performance. This immediately attracted a large number of people, and even people from Yulin came over.

At the same time, Guo Luquan and others were still moving forward.

Li Yan saw this from the side and praised it in secret.

The sedan chair bearers were carrying the shrine, and no matter how steady it was, there were always some bumps. However, the people from the Zuo family were not affected at all.

Their hands are extremely dexterous, and one person can operate several shadow puppets at the same time. Everything from the scenery to the characters, and even their expressions and movements are lifelike.

What’s even more amazing is that they were singing at the same time.

It's just like that if you divide your attention into two or three tasks.

The shrine of the Yulin team opposite was much smaller in size, and after being threatened, they were too lazy to bother with it.

"Brother Wan has good intentions!"

The old man in the sheepskin coat opposite gave a thumbs up, then shook his head and said, "We also prepared some small things, but they are far inferior to yours, so we won't show them off."

"I just don't know if this divine building of yours is solid or not!"

Before he finished speaking, the teams carrying the building from both sides had already met.

"Unmoving as a mountain!"

Guo Luquan roared loudly, and all the men immediately lifted the pole with one hand, while the other hand stood in a horse stance and pressed tightly on the back of the person in front of them.

The two teams immediately collided with each other.

Since it was a verbal fight, no one was trying to play dirty. They just relied on pure strength, like a head-on fight, and shouted slogans to disperse the other team.

However, the Yulin team was still smaller in number.

After Guo Luquan and his men formed a formation, no matter how the other side attacked them, no matter how angry they were, they could not shake their divine tower.

Lifting the building and colliding at the same time would consume a huge amount of energy.

Seeing that the enemy's men were sweating and breathing rapidly, Guo Luquan would not miss the opportunity and roared, "Invade like fire!"

This is why Manager Wan invited him.

This group of sedan chair bearers from Dongzhuang, who carried the god's tower back then, even developed a set of methods for carrying the tower based on military tactics.

As long as you don't play dirty, you're not afraid of anyone.

As Guo Luquan gave the order, the team changed immediately. The person standing at the back began to exert force, pushing the chest of the person in front with his hands.

One after another, they continue to pass on the baton.

It was like a tide or a fire. When this force reached the front, it had multiplied several times.

The person in front was also prepared. He lifted the bar with one shoulder and supported himself with both arms, pushing the other person back.

The whole team acted as one, and with a sudden force, the formation of the Yulin Shenlou team immediately collapsed.

You know, they are still carrying the shrine.

The center of gravity was unstable and the God Tower also swayed. As the people in the front fell to the ground and rolled to the side, the people behind could hardly bear the weight of the God Tower.

Boom!

The huge divine building fell heavily to the ground.

The rules for the shrine are the same as those for the coffin. Once it is lifted, it cannot be put down to the ground unless it reaches the destination.

Landing is considered an ominous sign. And in this case, it naturally means failure.

"What a coward!"

"I'm furious!"

The men lying on the ground were so angry that they slapped the ground.

They also felt aggrieved. They were originally very excited and wanted to compete in the Drum King Conference, but they were tricked and could only be scapegoats. No matter who it happened to, they would be unhappy.

The old man in the sheepskin coat was very open-minded. He stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Brother Wan, good trick. If you have the chance, please help me vent my anger!"

After saying this, he took down the flag from the shrine, waved his hand, and threw it over like a javelin.

Shopkeeper Wan was an elder of the Craftsman Sect. Although he was mainly skilled in craftsmanship, he had also practiced martial arts. He used a clever move to grab the flag, clasped his hands and said, "Just watch, brother!"

Go ahead and stick the French flag respectfully at the other end.

Li Yan watched with interest from the side.

He could smell that as the magic flag was taken away, the aroma of incense gathered in the other party's temple and even the divine power condensed on the statue all surged along with the magic flag and reached their temple.

The Yulin team was also very particular. They didn't lose the battle but the people. They directly moved the shrine to the side so as not to block the road. At the same time, they all bowed:

"Good weather and good harvest! Peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

Li Yan and others also bowed and said:
"Good weather and good harvest! Peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

This is the original intention of playing the God Tower, which originated from the ancient Yu Dance and was for the purpose of warding off disasters and praying for blessings, not simply for a competition.

"Good weather and good harvest! Peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

The people also cheered, holding incense sticks, gathered again, and followed Li Yan and his team to continue moving forward.

Going further ahead, there is a straight line and the road is smooth.

They passed through Anyi, Qinren and Changxing along the way.

The shadow play on both sides of the shrine was still being performed. People had been waiting outside the town for a long time. When they saw it, they were amazed. Some burned incense and prayed along the street, while others followed behind holding incense sticks.

When the team passed Anrenfang and arrived at Zhuque Street, there were already crowds of people behind them, with incense burning in the air, like a long dragon with no end in sight.

Li Yan followed the team and was secretly surprised.

The power of the incense on the two shrines became stronger and stronger, as if after decades of worship, the divine power had completely taken shape in just a short period of time.

Even more intense than the Lijiabao Land Temple.

He could also smell the scent of incense rising from the shrine and gathering towards the northwest.

And that is where the City God Temple is!
boom!
Entering Suzaku Street, the sea of ​​lights is overwhelming, with crowds of people, mountains of lights and a sea of ​​noise like waves.

Although Li Yan and his team were large, when they entered Zhuque Street, they were like fish swimming into a sea of ​​lights and could not cause any waves at all.

When they got here, each family showed off their unique skills.

On the north side of their street was the team from Ezhou.

This team really focused all their attention on the night.

Their Divine Tower is pretty good, but their real weapon is the Hundred-Section Light Dragon.

Around the shrine, wooden stakes of different heights have been erected. The men holding a piece of dragon body in their hands leap up one by one, jumping and jumping on the wooden stakes with agile movements. It is obvious that they are all people from the martial arts world.

And that wooden stake is obviously a plum blossom stake!
The dragon lanterns with hundreds of people were connected head to tail, and as the men leaped up and down, it looked like a fire dragon flying up and down around the shrine.

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

After all, it is better for outsiders to chant sutras.

The people of Chang'an had seen dragon and lion dances many times, but this kind of giant lantern dragon with hundreds of people was the first time they had seen it. Moreover, they were actually seeing a unique skill. They immediately cheered and crowds of people kept gathering.

Even the people behind Li Yan and his companions were attracted over.

On the south side of the street was the team from Hunan and Chu.

Their team was more lively. Not only was the style of the shrine building novel and very different from that in Guanzhong, but they also had dragons.

But there are two dragons.

One was made of straw and incense, and was danced up and down by people, passing through the fireworks, with extraordinary momentum.

Moreover, Li Yan could smell that the scent of incense actually turned into a dragon, dancing left and right, as if it was absorbing the incense, and then returned to the flag of the shrine.

The other one was a medicine-activated puppet dragon, which was held high up by someone, with fireworks flying all over its body, which was very eye-catching.

This team also attracted a lot of people.

Even a large number of the people behind Li Yan and his men were led away.

"That's the Chenzhou Road incense dragon and the Liuyang medicine puppet dragon!"

Shopkeeper Wan's forehead was covered with sweat. "How did we run into these two teams? Team Leader Zuo, hurry up and show us your special skills!"

"Good Le!"

The boss Zuo, who was hiding behind the curtain of the shrine, immediately opened the wooden box beside him and carefully took out something from it.

That thing looked a bit like a bronze mirror, but was much thicker and inlaid with crystals on both sides. There was an evil aura lingering around it, and no one knew what kind of magical weapon it was.

On the other side, his disciple also took out the same magical weapon.

Li Yan quickly widened his eyes.

He knew that this was the Zuo family's signature skill, the Eight-Direction Development Technique.

laugh!
A large amount of thick smoke suddenly appeared around the shrine.

This was prepared in advance by the Zuo family.

The thick smoke lingered, and as the Zuo family members chanted some magic spells and muttered something, the small shadow puppets in their hands were reflected in the smoke through the bronze mirror.

They were portraits of gods, each one was three people tall and huge in size. Although blurry, they appeared more mysterious and majestic.

From afar, it looks like the gods have descended and surrounded the temple.

Li Yan's eyes widened.

This is a kind of illusion, and I didn’t expect it to be used in shadow puppet performances.

Not only that, the singing style of the Zuo Family Troupe has also changed. They use their throats and ventriloquy to pronounce the words, like the whispers of gods.

"Look!"

"Master, Master has appeared!"

"I have never seen anything like it. That is the Eight Directions Appearance Technique, the unique skill of the Zuo Clan of Huayin. I didn't expect to see it today. It's a real treat for the eyes..."

As soon as this secret method was revealed, it immediately attracted a huge crowd of people.

Even the teams on both sides looked at him sideways.

In the Xiangchu team, an old man with a black cloth wrapped around his head immediately scolded his apprentice, "You bully, I told you to hold the weapon, but you complained it was too heavy. Now what can you use to fight with others?"

His apprentice was dark and thin. The old man slapped him on the head a few times. He said unconvincedly, "Master, if you weren't such a pushover and insisted on helping others get the quota, why would we have to do this?"

"You're still stubborn!"

The old man was about to fight again, but the apprentice quickly dodged and said, "Master, they have two flags. I'll go meet them and bring another flag back."

After saying that, he walked towards Manager Wan's team.

The old man snorted but did not stop him. It was obvious that he had great confidence in his disciple.

Li Yan had already noticed the young man. He ran up to Shopkeeper Wan and said with a grin, “I’m not going to do that anymore.”
"Uncle, do you dare to play a trick?"

(End of this chapter)