Knife splashing

Chapter 591 Breaking the Fifth, Killing Disaster

The sun rose and the moon set, and in the blink of an eye it was the fifth day.

Before daybreak, just at the beginning of the morning, the servants of Mr. Zhou's family used newly tied bamboo brooms to sweep the thresholds of the corners of the house and put the dust and garbage into a large cloth bag.

This thing is called "Five Poor Bags".

The so-called "five poverty" are poverty of wisdom, poverty of learning, poverty of fate, poverty of friendship, and poverty of ambition, which originated from Han Yu's "Sending Away Poverty" in the Tang Dynasty.

And this custom is called "Po Wu".

There are two taboos in "Po Wu".

There are also some rules for the “Five Poor Bags”, because “throwing away garbage” is taboo in the first month of the lunar year, so starting from the first day of the lunar year, all garbage will be put into the “Five Poor Bags”.

Soon, the Zhou family servants cleaned up the place, hung the "Five Poor Bags" on paper figures, and carried them together to the southwest corner of the street.

This corner corresponds to the Death Gate of Kun Gua.

According to the rules, pottery should be burned and broken into pieces, which means "peace and good fortune", and means breaking the taboo of "not throwing things away in the first month of the year".

The Zhou guys do this every year and have long been accustomed to it.

But this time, they were a little frightened and turned their heads from time to time to look at the streets in the distance.

At the end of the street is the Grand Prince’s Mansion.

In the battle on the first day of the new year, no one in the Grand Prince's Mansion survived. The entire street was littered with corpses and the walls collapsed. Residents on both sides of the street all fled to their relatives' homes for refuge, and the place remains in ruins to this day.

It’s not that they don’t want to go home, but on the second day of the Chinese New Year, a rumor spread that the old night watchman saw something unclean here in the middle of the night and was scared to death.

Some people say that these are the ghosts of dead soldiers.

Some people say that this is the evil spirit that killed the Grand Duke.

In short, no one dared to take the risk and come back.

Anyway, those who live nearby are all dignitaries, and some of them are already trying to buy houses in other places.

Zhou Yuanwai was known for being stingy, which made life difficult for the servants. They had to go out and burn the "Five Poor Bags" before dawn.

Several people were trembling and moving very quickly.

Seeing that the fire was almost out, he turned around and ran back, then slammed the door shut.

"It's okay, nothing happened..."

"Look how scared you are."

"You are the same, too."

"Let me see, it's probably those evil people. They are so cruel. They killed so many people and even destroyed the Prince's Mansion."

"Shh, keep your voice down, or the master will get angry..."

The sound faded away.

What they didn't notice was that two figures had appeared on the dark roof of the deserted house opposite at some point.

"Humph, I waited all night for nothing!"

"Forget it, calm down. The Blood Nuo Master is very ruthless. If we deal with it perfunctorily, he will definitely attack us."

"If I had known this, I shouldn't have come to Chengdu..."

The two were evil cultivators recruited by Lu Sheng using the resources of the Shu Palace. They had no moral principles, but they had been cursed by the Blood Nuo Master and could not escape now...

They galloped and leaped on the rooftops, and met many companions along the way. They were stationed in various places for surveillance, and they also exchanged secret signals with the Black Feather Guards patrolling the streets.

A tight net has been laid across the entire Chengdu.

At the corner of the dark street, bonfires of burning "five poor bags" were dotted around. The people followed their custom and were unaware of the murderous intent hidden in the darkness...

Before long, the sky brightened.

It seems that the solar terms have changed. After the New Year, there has been no snow. The wind is cold and the accumulated snow is gradually melting.

And Chengdu Prefecture is gradually waking up.

For many businesses, this day is more important than the Chinese New Year.

Welcome the God of Wealth, break the five years of poverty, open for business, and it’s another year of hard work.

In Jingshui Old Street in the east of the city, firecrackers were crackling non-stop, the air was filled with smoke, and every family was busy welcoming the God of Wealth.

"I bow my head with all my heart, and am seated in the Xuantan, with the golden wheel as my wish. When the black tiger roars, all the demons in the world are frightened, and when the golden whip is raised, all the evil spirits in the world hide..."

In a garment shop, an offering table was placed on the southeast wealth position, filled with fruits, cakes, incense, candles and precious candles.

Amidst the curling green smoke, Wang Daoxuan recited the "Edict of the God of Wealth".

He changed his appearance on purpose, raised the corners of his eyes and dyed his beard white, making himself look more like an immortal.

The action of opening the altar is very methodical.

Of course, all the breath was hidden.

This altar is also useless.

But in the eyes of the owner of the clothing shop next door, he looked even more extraordinary, and praised: "As expected of a great Taoist from Jiangmen. If it weren't for this Lantern Festival, we really wouldn't be able to invite a great Taoist like you."

"Manager Liu is too polite."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and smiled, saying calmly: "When I do things, I only seek fate. If I am not destined to meet Shopkeeper Liu, I will not make a move no matter how much money I offer."

"I will definitely not treat the Taoist priest unfairly."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu smiled widely and turned to the waiter, saying, "Quick, bring the things over here."

The two men took the order and left, and soon came carrying a basket from the backyard.

The basket was filled with copper coins and a layer of "money for the god of happiness" was spread on the top. The two sides of the basket were decorated with flowers with red silk ribbons.

Wang Daoxuan frowned slightly, "What does Shopkeeper Liu mean?"

"Master, please don't misunderstand."

The short and fat shopkeeper Liu quickly explained: "This is the rule of our business. When a shop opens, the gong will be sounded three times, the door will be unsealed, and the first transaction must be settled with copper coins, which means 'copper heart brings good luck'."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "I help people pray for blessings and ward off disasters, so I am naturally aware of this custom. I am talking about these 'happy god money'."

"Oh, this."

Shopkeeper Liu said with a smile, "These were sent by the palace. They are so exquisitely forged that I have rarely seen them in my life. I originally wanted to collect some and keep them, but I didn't expect that there would suddenly be a large number of them on the market."

"Master, don't underestimate it. Although this thing is just a flower, it is made of top-quality copper. Even without talking about the craftsmanship, it can be exchanged for ten copper coins..."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Wang Daoxuan interrupted him and frowned, "Some people say that this item is unlucky to use. Isn't the shopkeeper worried?"

Shopkeeper Liu laughed, "Master, you don't know, this is money for praying for blessings, how can it be unlucky? Someone has already inquired about it, and it's all the evil people in Chengdu who spread the rumor."

"These evil people slaughtered the entire Prince's Mansion during the New Year's Day, and now they are spreading rumors. It is clear that they have ill intentions. Taoist priest, please do not believe them."

"I see…"

Wang Daoxuan did not argue, stroked his beard and nodded, saying: "I have a connection with Manager Liu, why would I accept money?"

"This... this is so embarrassing."

"It doesn't matter."

After leaving the clothing shop, Wang Daoxuan sighed slightly as he looked at the streets filled with firecrackers and red scraps, as well as the lively scenes of dragon and lion dances in the distance.

After the first battle of the New Year, they parted ways with Master Wuxiang.

The other side suffered a heavy loss. Although they could not defeat the Shu Palace on paper, they would not swallow this humiliation. So they mobilized their men to spread the horror of "God of Happiness Money" everywhere.

It now seems that the effect is not very good.

The battle on the first day of the new year seemed to have had the opposite effect.

Since the King of Shu took control of Chengdu, he has never caused any disturbance and is highly respected. The people in the city obviously trust him more.

The massacre of the Prince's Mansion made the people sympathize with him even more.

If they were a little afraid of the situation in Chengdu before, now they feel a sense of solidarity against the enemy.

Wang Daoxuan also heard last night that some people were planning to use "money for the god of happiness" to wrap "yuanbao dumplings" for the festival.

This is also an old custom during the Po Wu Festival. It is said that anyone who bites a copper coin in the family will be favored by the God of Wealth in the coming year.

Thinking of this, Wang Daoxuan felt helpless.

He saw that many people had been infected with the aura of "Happy God Money". On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they were probably all targets and could not be saved. At this time, shouts were heard all around.

"Marshal Xuantan rides on a cloud of auspiciousness!"

"Black Tiger Golden Whip breaks the maze!"

"The fortune-bringing boy stands on both sides!"

"May you be blessed, may you be rich, may you be blessed--good luck!"

A strong Sichuan accent with a long melody.

This is the "Drinking the God of Wealth's Gatha", where people sing auspicious words to bring good luck, the waiters compete to shout, and the shopkeeper will also give a big red envelope.

With the arrival of the fifth day of the New Year, Chengdu becomes bustling again.

Wang Daoxuan raised the fortune-telling banner and walked into the crowd while singing Buxu Ci...

……

In order to deal with Lu Sheng's plan, Li Yan and his men split into two groups.

In the early morning of the second day of the first lunar month, Zhulin Liuxian had already left Chengdu Prefecture, carrying Li Yan's token, and found people from Qingcheng Mountain and the Cheng family outside the city, and headed for Dujiangyan.

These people are all experts. It is difficult for them to fight against the army in Chengdu Prefecture, but when they arrive at Dujiangyan, they can perform rituals, surprise attacks and assassinations.

If the root cause is eliminated, Lu Sheng’s plan will be useless.

As for Li Yan and others, they continued to hide in Chengdu Prefecture, sowing discord and creating chaos to attract Lu Sheng's attention.

They too have been broken down into pieces.

Wang Daoxuan disguised himself as a wandering Taoist priest and gathered information in the market, while at the same time looking for a strategy to deal with the "God of Happiness Money".

Because of the Lantern Festival, many gangsters gathered in the city, most of whom were swindlers from Kinmen. Walking on the street, you could see a blind fortune teller every ten steps and a halo sorcerer every hundred steps.

Wang Daoxuan had done this before, so he learned it so well that even the soldiers patrolling the garrison were too lazy to pay attention to him.

The Taoist wandered around and soon came to the Nine-Arch Bridge. He pretended to be strolling by, but a mouse had already caught the talisman paper and burrowed into the ground through a small hole in the weeds under the bridge...

The mouse moved very quickly and soon entered the secret passage.

In the dark passage, candlelight was dim.

Lu San sat cross-legged and marked on a map of Chengdu with the help of the faint light.

squeak~
Mice came running out of the darkness, chirped along the direction of his pen, and then disappeared into the darkness again.

As the rats continued to move back and forth, the marked routes became more and more complicated.

The condition that Master Wuxiang could exchange with them was the secret passage of Chengdu Prefecture, but he did not expect that Lu San's magic was enough to summon rats from half of the city to help crack it.

Seeing the letter from Wang Daoxuan, Lu San thought for a moment, added another paragraph, and stuffed the talisman paper into the mouse's mouth.

Soon, the rats quickly burrowed into the tunnel.

After walking in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, the rat finally climbed up the narrow hole and reappeared in a dark alley in the east of the city.

In the east of Chengdu, ordinary people live there. With all kinds of people coming together, a strange phenomenon has emerged:
The street outside was very busy, with all kinds of teahouses and taverns. It was relatively clean because the merchants often asked their waiters to clean the doorway.

But if you go deeper into the alley, you will see dilapidated houses everywhere.

Most of the buildings built by the common people are similar to the Tujia stilt houses, with livestock raised on the first floor, mainly chickens, pigs and sheep.

As soon as you enter the alley, you're greeted by a foul stench.

The mouse ran very quickly and came to a large courtyard. Although it was not a stilt house, it also raised many chickens.

The yard was full of strong men.

It was a very cold day, but some people were planing wood, some were carving stones, all of them holding various carpentry tools, working very hard.

In the main hall, besides Sha Lifei, there were Hou Xuan and an old man.

"That's just the way it is."

Hou Xuan shook his head and said, "There is a group of craftsmen in Chengdu Prefecture who know the Lu Ban method, but they have been working for the King of Shu for many years, so I dare not trust them."

"This Senior Wen is also a Xuanmen craftsman, but because he offended the officials of the Shu Palace, he was forced to fall into this place."

"That's a good feeling."

Sharifei laughed and clasped his fists, saying, "I'll leave our business to you, Senior. Money is easy to talk about, and I will definitely satisfy you."

The old man opposite him was smoking a pipe and said in a muffled voice: "Building a temple is easy. I have built more than ten temples with my disciples and there has never been any problem. We are not afraid of making enemies with the Shu Palace."

"The problem is, we can't leave Chengdu..."

This old man was also smart. He had already noticed that something was amiss and took his disciples to hide here to avoid any trouble.

Hou Xuan helped Li Yan find someone and finally got in touch with him after much effort.

squeak~
At this moment, the mouse rushed out from the corner of the wall and jumped onto Shalifei's legs in a few jumps.

After Sharifei took it, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, senior. There will be an opportunity the day after tomorrow."

"On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people visit Caotang on Renri day. Some people in Chengdu Prefecture want to take this opportunity to leave Chengdu, so they use some connections."

"There will definitely be trouble that day, so I'll just send you away..."

Several people were busy in secret, but Chengdu Prefecture was no longer peaceful.

……

At the Baixiang Teahouse in the east of the city, the storyteller was talking about how Jiang Ziya slew his generals and was deified when the Tea Master passed by holding a bronze kettle.

Suddenly he stumbled and boiling water gushed out.

Before an officer could react, he was splashed with boiling water. He screamed and a sharp spike pierced the back of his neck.

"it is good!"

The old man at the next table clapped his hands and applauded.

The chili oil rolled down, mixed with the blood...

……

Inside the brothel on the old street, the revolving lantern rotates slowly.

Several gangsters were drinking and flirting with the girl.

Bang!
The door was kicked open, and several Black Feather Guards, along with a group of sub-garrison soldiers, rushed in and pinned several people to the ground.

"My Lord, it's unfair..."

"Stop talking nonsense. Where are the people who spread rumors?"

"This... I haven't seen it either. I just got a commission from the White Horse Casino, and the middleman said the less we know, the better."

"go!"

The group of people from the Shu Palace left immediately.

Soon, the nearby White Horse Casino caught fire...

…………

Without the instigation of Li Yan and others, the Shu Palace took the lead in taking action against Master Wuxiang, striving to eliminate all troublemakers.

People like Wuxiang Gongzi naturally don't want to suffer losses.

Then, a strange scene appeared in the city:
The streets gradually became lively, people were walking around, and everything seemed to have returned to normal.

But in those hidden corners, there are battles of life and death.

As for Li Yan, he left Chengdu Prefecture again, found Yang Chenghua at the Fuhe Wharf, and brought him to Qingyang Palace.

The original Qingyang Palace would be very lively at this time, with various "Nuo Dances of the God of Wealth" combining witchcraft and Taoism, attracting people to come.

But now, it is frighteningly deserted.

"Senior, is this possible?"

Li Yan asked while staring at Qingyang Palace.

Now, there was only one thing he didn't understand.

What will these old Taoists gain after their mission is accomplished that could cause all these old martial arts masters to fall into depravity?

He had a hunch that it might be related to the Nine Cauldrons...

(End of this chapter)