Knife splashing

Chapter 464 Living in the World
The Dragon Girl came to my dream again!

Li Yan was not panicked, he was even used to it.

For others, a dream sent by a deity or god is a rare opportunity.

But for him, it is commonplace.

Perhaps it was because of the certificate, or perhaps it was because of the Daluo Dharmakaya, he always had a deep connection with these things.

Coming back to his senses, he looked carefully.

Ever since I got the strange jade accessory left by Yin Changsheng, everything I saw became clearer, whether through divination or dreams.

The same is true now.

The Dragon Girl Temple in the dream was hidden deep under water. Looking at the surrounding terrain, the messy rubble was in the shape of a slope. It was very likely that it sank into the water due to an earth dragon turning over.

As the giant creature inside surged, it was finally visible that it was actually a python of astonishing size.

This body shape is most likely a monster!

There should be a large space behind the buried Dragon Girl Temple, which was used as a lair by this monster.

What did the Dragon Girl want to tell him?
Looking at the illusion in front of him, Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something.

Along the way, the Dragon Girl appeared in dreams several times, each time she touched something that made her sense something, and she told him about it in her dreams.

It should be the "Dragon Snake Brand"!
Could it be that the Dragon Snake brand came from this place?

Just as Li Yan was wondering, something suddenly sank slowly from the water surface. It was some offerings of fruits and vegetables, as well as some live pigs and cows.

The giant python inside also quickly turned its body, stuck its thick head out of the water tank, opened its fang-filled mouth, and swallowed the offering.

And these offerings are just appetizers.

When several boys and girls with their legs and feet tied fell to the bottom of the river and were swallowed by the giant python one by one, Li Yan finally understood.

This is a living human sacrifice to the river god!

Human sacrifice was gradually abolished during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but the custom continued. It was not until the Warring States period that it was completely banned at the national level.

However, bad habits among the people have not yet completely disappeared.

Unfortunately, when he wanted to see more clearly, the snake demon seemed to react, slowly turning its head with a faint blue light flashing in its eyes.

The dream came to an abrupt end.

Li Yan suddenly woke up and felt his back covered in sweat.

That snake demon is not simple.

The dragon girl's dream can be considered a kind of divination, called dream interpretation.

The other party can actually sense it!
This happened when I first saw the Temple of Xiansheng Zhenjun.

This snake demon must be very powerful!
Unfortunately, he only saw the underwater scene and didn't know where the exact location was...

It seems that we should also pay attention to collecting information in this area.

After thinking for a while, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

…………

The next day before dawn, Li Yan was awakened by some noises.

Not from Jinju Guildhall.

The servants here have obviously been strictly trained, and they are very careful in what they say and do, making the entire guild hall very quiet.

The sound came from the street outside.

There were sounds of firecrackers and gongs and drums.

Li Yan got up, washed up quickly, put on his clothes and went out.

When we arrived at the front yard, the owner of the place, Xie Zhengyuan, was practicing martial arts.

The "Dragon Shape" is domineering and winding, the "Tiger Pounce" is swift and explosive, the feet are stepping on a chain, the clothes are rustling in the wind, and each move is the result of thousands of tempers.

Li Yan immediately saw through his background.

The opponent's mind and intention are in harmony, intention and qi are in harmony, and qi and strength are in harmony. He has grasped the essence of the "inner three harmonies" of Xinyiquan.

Seeing Xie Zhengyuan looking at him, Li Yan quickly clasped his fists and said, "I didn't mean to peek, please forgive me, Mr. Xie."

"It doesn't matter."

Xie Zhengyuan smiled and said, "I practice boxing just for fun. My idea is very popular. The elders in my hometown know how to do it. I'm just exercising my body. Please forgive me for making fun of you, young man."

Li Yan nodded and said, "You are too polite, senior. I have heard that Xinyiquan has developed well in Jinzhou. I wonder which family you learned it from."

Xie Zhengyuan picked up a towel and wiped the sweat off his face.

"My ancestral home is in Jinzhong."

"Oh, no wonder."

After chatting casually for a few words, Xie Zhengyuan said, "Young Master Li was awakened by the noise outside, so he came with me to see what's going on."

Having said that, he turned around and walked to the door and asked someone to open it.

Li Yan followed closely behind and stood at the door watching.

But the morning mist on the street had not yet dissipated. From afar, there were flames flying up and down. It turned out to be a group of people dancing with incense sticks in their hands.

When you get closer, you can see more clearly.

Those people were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, just like in theatrical costumes. They were waving handfuls of incense in one hand and holding lanterns in the other.

Leading the way was an old man.

They were dressed gorgeously and were tall. When they arrived at the doors of some businesses, people immediately came forward to burn incense. The old man who was leading them also made a seal with his hands, as if giving blessings.

As soon as you see the Dharma seal, you will know it is a Buddhist ritual.

Behind it, there is an even larger team.

Some people held prayer flags, some held flower baskets, behind them there was a gong and drum band beating, and some people set off firecrackers along the way.

And in the center of the team, there is always a dancing team.

It was filled with children aged seven or eight, wearing flower crowns, lotus skirts, and colorful shawls, holding flower pots and fans, dancing to the rhythm of drums with solemn and pious expressions.

Further behind are nine kinds of incense and candles, shrines, and a large number of believers holding Buddhist beads, chanting Buddhist scriptures, and following closely.

The team arrived in front of Jinzhou Guild Hall.

Xie Zhengyuan quickly asked someone to take the red envelope and handed it over.

"Thank you, sir. Best wishes."

"May the Buddha bless us, and may the weather be favorable and the crops be safe and sound."

The two men obviously knew each other. After they said a word to each other, the music team immediately stepped forward and circled around the entrance of Jinzhou Guild Hall.

Then the whole team continued to move forward.

After they left, Xie Zhengyuan spoke up, "This is the 'Incense-Bearing Boy Dance', also known as the Boy Worshipping Guanyin. It's originally meant to pray for good weather and good harvests, and it's held every season."

"Didn't something happen in Chongqing Prefecture? Among them were several children from Zouma Town. The one just now was from the Sun family of the salt gang in the city. They are kind people and believe in Buddhism and Taoism, so they organized this ritual. One is to drive away the evil spirits and pray for blessings, and the other is to help those children perform rituals to appease the dead souls..."

"I see."

Li Yan shook his head slightly after hearing this.

They participated in it, killed the monsters, and were more concerned about the changes in the power structure of the underworld caused by this incident.

But for the people of Chongqing, those murdered children are an indelible nightmare, and it is unknown how much time it will take for the pain to heal.

Thinking of the human sacrifice he dreamt about last night, Li Yan felt an inexplicable anger rising in his heart, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

In this world, some people just turn a blind eye to things that have nothing to do with them.

But one must also have a sharp knife in one's heart and step on any injustice one sees.

"Young Master Li..."

Feeling the murderous intent, Xie Zhengyuan became somewhat alert.

"sorry."

Li Yan quickly calmed down, clasped his hands and said, "We are unfamiliar with this place, and we would like to ask for your help with something."

"Oh? Let's talk about this in another place. Please follow me, young man." Xie Zhengyuan invited him into the study and ordered someone to bring some morning tea and cakes. Then he asked, "What can I do for you, young man?"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "There are three things I would like to ask for your help."

"First, I want to meet the senior Li Tiezui from Pingmen. I want to hear his stories. I hope the host can help introduce him to me."

"Second, I want to find a reliable treasure collector."

"Third, I want to know if there are any places around here that are still offering living sacrifices to the river gods."

This is why he stayed in Zouma Town.

There are many caravans traveling between the north and the south, and some intelligence and stories are circulated secretly, sometimes more than the news from Chongqing Prefecture.

The "gray-robed crazy monk" is likely to know the secrets of the Daluo Dharma Realm, and he also appeared in Cui Sug's dream, which means he still exists.

Like Yin Changsheng, he is the target he is looking for.

The purpose of looking for the treasure hunter is to take the several treasures told by Qingniu Temple, plus the secret collection of Bai family, to exchange at Qingcheng Mountain.

As for human sacrifice, it is related to last night's dream.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Oh?"

Xie Zhengyuan stroked his long beard, his eyes full of doubts, "Although Shu has a strong witch culture, the cultural heritage has flourished for thousands of years, and Confucianism has been passed down. The custom of sacrificing living people is very rare."

"I've never heard of this Zouma Town or the area around Chongqing."

"Perhaps someone is doing it secretly. I can send someone to find out."

"As for the treasure-hoarder, I actually know one. He often disguises himself as a peddler and wanders around Sichuan and Shu to collect treasures. He then sells them to my Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce. I can send someone to notify him."

"And that 'Li Tiezui'."

At this point, Xie Zhengyuan smiled, "This person has a good relationship with our Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce. He usually stays in the teahouse opened by the guild hall with his disciples."

"I have been fighting with another family these days. If you are interested, you can follow me to the teahouse to listen to the story."

Li Yan also became interested. "When I came here, I heard that the family was also a master of appraisal. Could it be that they were fighting for territory?"

"Hahaha…"

Xie Zhengyuan said with a smile: "Artists in the martial arts world travel all over the country, talking about the little things in human relationships and how harmony brings wealth. There are not so many life-and-death conflicts."

"It's called a duel, but in fact they are just supporting each other. They are old friends and are already old. They made this fuss to help their disciples show off and make a name for themselves."

“Oh, so it’s just hype.”

Li Yan couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

Most of the conflicts in the underworld that he encountered were struggles over interests, with knives, magic, and ruthless actions.

I almost forgot that ordinary people in the world play a different game.

"Hype?"

Xie Zhengyuan asked curiously: "What does this mean?"

Li Yan smiled and said, "It's just to make a bigger noise..."

As he spoke, he described some of the hype techniques.

This thing was too common in the previous life.

However, after hearing this, Xie Zhengyuan fell into deep thought, and then clapped his hands and sighed, "Wonderful! Great! Adding fuel to the flames, starting a fire out of thin air, is somewhat similar to the Confucian art of prophecy and divination. Falsehood can be true, and truth can also be false..."

After that, he bowed and said, "Thank you, Young Master Li, for teaching me this technique. This technique is worth ten thousand gold coins. After I compile it into a book, my Xie family will definitely reward you handsomely."

He was talking about the Xie family, who obviously wanted to make this art a family tradition.

Li Yan was a little speechless, and shook his head and said, "Boss, you are too polite, I was just chatting casually."

Xie Zhengyuan said sternly, "Young man, you can have your meal first. I will take you to the teahouse after I have made some arrangements."

"it is good."

Li Yan bowed and said goodbye and left.

Xie Zhengyuan hurriedly took out a booklet, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote down the cases he had mentioned before. Finally, he frowned and thought about it, and expanded on it...

…………

After breakfast, I rested for another half an hour.

Xie Zhengyuan sent someone to invite him. Li Yan asked a few questions and when he saw that others were not interested, he put on his hat and left the guild hall with Xie Zhengyuan.

squeak~
After they left, a door slowly opened.

Long Yaner walked out from inside.

Her condition became worse and worse along the way. Her life force was damaged, her soul was injured, and not only did her cultivation level begin to decline, but her body also became weak.

The slightest movement would cause me to pant and sweat.

Perhaps because she had a good rest last night, her complexion had improved, but she was still pale and stared at the flying eaves and brackets of the guild hall in a daze.

Sharifei was just going out. After seeing this, he hesitated for a moment and walked up to ask, "Miss Long, are you okay?"

Long Yan'er glanced at him, lowered her head and said nothing.

Sharifei touched the big bald head and wanted to turn around and leave, but he felt something was wrong, so he opened his mouth to comfort him: "I heard about your story."

"Don't worry. The imperial army is unstoppable. The Yang family of Bozhou won't be able to survive for many days. When the time comes, I will beg Brother Yan to help you find your master to perform salvation."

"Thank you."

Long Yaner nodded slightly, "My master hid some herbs, all of which are heavenly treasures. I hid them in some places, and I will use them as a reward when the time comes."

Sharifei laughed and said, "Why worry about that? Even if we can't take care of it, we can always ask others for help."

Long Yan'er ignored him and looked at her hands, her eyes a little absent-minded. "I lost my life Gu, and my soul is damaged. I'm afraid I won't be able to use magic anymore. What's the difference between me and a waste?"

Sharifei's face darkened. "Old Sha, I don't know any magic either. Do you mean that I am also a waste?"

Long Yan'er was slightly stunned, and quickly shook her head, "That's not what I meant, it's just that I can't use magic in the future, I don't know what to do..."

“There’s so much more that can be done!”

Sharifei glared and said, "There are only a few sorcerers in this world. Don't ordinary people have a chance to survive?"

"Do what you need to do. Don't make things difficult for yourself while you're alive."

Seeing him like this, Long Yaner got angry for no reason and sneered, "You are really a hypocrite, talking nonsense. You are obviously unwilling to give in, so why are you pretending to be so heartless?"

Sharifei was confused, "Did you figure it out?"

Long Yaner snorted, "Anyone in this team can see that they are all accommodating you. When you fired randomly, Lu San and Wu Ba were protecting you, so you couldn't move freely."

After hearing this, Sharifei also fell silent.

After a while, they both sighed.

"Be a waste, be a waste. Everyone in this world is a waste."

Sha Lifei cursed, "Old Sha, I've come to terms with it. Everything is determined by fate. We have no control over it. Whatever happens, happens. I'll follow Brother Yan and the others. When I can't walk anymore, I'll find a place to settle down."

"We should have fun. We finally got here. It would be a shame if we didn't listen to music and drink tea. Do you want to go?"

Long Yaner hesitated, "This..."

Shari glared at him, "I'm a loser, and you're a loser too. It's okay to go out for a walk. What are you afraid of?"

"it is good!"

Long Yaner's face was pale, but she had a smile on her face.

The two men seemed to suddenly become interested. They changed their clothes, covered their faces with hats, said hello, and left the guild hall.

After they left, Lu Sancai appeared from the corner and whispered to the room: "Master, I will follow them to avoid any accidents."

After saying that, he quickly left the guild hall.

In the room, Wang Daoxuan sat in front of the desk, smiled slightly, and continued to read the book in his hand.

On a street not far away, Li Yan followed Xie Zhengyuan into a large teahouse.

Snapped!
As soon as I entered the door, I heard the sound of the wake-up stick.

"Dear guests, today we are talking about the story of the Sage Master splitting the mountain to save his mother..."

(End of this chapter)