Knife splashing

Chapter 626: Thousand Years of Dreams
There are some things about him that many people know.

But knowing this, you still talk nonsense.

There is only one.
My lover Shen Sanyou cries at night!

Li Yan was not angry. Shen Sanyou was just that kind of person. He would call a group of people to secretly live in other people's houses and commit adultery in broad daylight. He was shameless and proud of it.

But when there is a problem, they really help and are really reliable.

Therefore, Shen Sanyou has many friends.

The only thing that puzzled Li Yan was that didn’t Shen Sanyou return to Chang’an on the orders of his master to ask for information from him?

Of course, Li Yan didn't ask directly.

After all, they were in public, and there was a Earth Dragon next to them. If the Underworld Cult took any action, it would be a disaster.

Madam Pei's eyes moved as she looked at everyone and smiled sweetly, "Do you want to stay in the hotel?"

Di Longzi's face was already a little ugly, and he said in a deep voice: "No need, prepare some horses for us. If we leave now, we can stay in Luoyang tonight. Isn't it more comfortable than where you are?"

For no apparent reason, he felt something was wrong.

The original plan was to stay in Longmen Inn for two days, spread the word, attract some of his old enemies, and induce Li Yan to take action.

Regardless of whether he was the real murderer or not, he helped solve the problem.

Li Yan and his people are a group of wandering immortals. They travel everywhere and it is impossible for them to stay in one place. They have to leave eventually.

So it’s okay if he suffers some injustice.

But Shen Sanyou also came here. That was the Ming Cult. Although they seemed to have nothing to do with the affairs of the underworld, they had considerable power among the people in the market.

By then, his information might be worthless.

"Hahaha…"

Hearing Dilongzi's sarcasm, Madam Pei covered her mouth and smiled, "Senior is right, how can our little shop in the wilderness compare to the prosperity of Luoyang?"

"However, the wind in Luoyang City is strong, so I advise you to wait two days before leaving."

Dilongzi's eyes turned cold, "What do you mean?"

Madam Pei did not answer, but looked around and said, "There are too many people here, why not find a quiet place?"

"it is good!"

Li Yan nodded in agreement.

He knew that Madam Pei's mention of Shen Sanyou was not without purpose, and she might have something to tell him.

"Everyone please."

Madam Pei raised her hand and led the way upstairs.

She has a graceful figure and walks in a charming and graceful manner.

Although it is not some kind of charm, it is full of the charm of a mature woman, with the waist swaying and the outline of the buttocks showing.

Good guy…

Li Yan secretly thought that it was amazing, but his expression remained unchanged.

They have seen many storms and waves, so they still have some composure.

Several of Dilongzi's disciples stared with their eyes wide open, and as they were following behind him, their sight lines hardly changed and they almost bumped into Dilongzi.

"asshole!"

Di Longzi was so angry that he slapped the two disciples down the stairs and said coldly, "Get away from them. Go check the surrounding wind!"

He had figured out that these disciples could still act like bullies when facing ordinary people, but when they met powerful characters, they would be at a loss as to what to do and would be completely useless.

If those three direct disciples were here, it wouldn't be so embarrassing.

But then again, if they were asked to return to Yuzhou in advance to make arrangements, why haven't they contacted him yet?

Did something happen?
While Dilongzi was thinking, Madam Pei had already led them to the second floor and came to a spacious room deep in the corner.

This place is obviously used to entertain guests. Although it is also a mud house with old wooden window frames, the floor is paved with smooth blue bricks and is swept clean.

Through the window, you can see the Yi River Pier in the distance.

Snacks had already been prepared on the square table.

"Everyone, please!"

After Madam Pei asked everyone to sit down, she glanced at Di Longzi, who had a gloomy face, and explained with a smile: "It's not that I am nosy, but for the sake of our fellow martial artists, I am reminding you and also showing my hospitality as a host."

"Calculating the time, you all just came back from Shuzhong, so you may not know that the Paper Man case happened in Luoyang, and it has become a hot topic in the city."

"Paper Figure Case?"

Hearing this, Di Longzi frowned and said, "The Paper Figure Technique is not considered a top-notch technique. Even some folk witches and shamans know it. Why is there such a big fuss?"

Madam Pei's lips curled up slightly, "This time it's different."

She leaned against the counter, her fingertips gently drawing circles on the wooden table, and turned her head to look at Li Yan, "Young Master Li may not know, Luoyang is the old capital of 13 dynasties, and there are many strange things. The most famous ones recently are 'Paper Horse Crossing the Ghost Soldiers, Mangshan Night Crying at the Grave'..."

"Since half a month ago, the paper-making shops in South City have been acting strangely. The paper figures they made during the day stand up on their own at midnight."

"He can kill people and run around carrying a coffin, but whenever a sorcerer comes to track him, he disappears without a trace..."

"Carrying a coffin?"

Li Yan was startled and his brows became serious.

Ordinary paper figurine techniques rely on the evil energy on them to drive them. At most, they can be used to scare people and gather intelligence, just like when he first used the Straw Spirit Technique.

The more powerful ones can control evil spirits and ghosts to attach themselves to them, and kill people or possess people. They appear and disappear mysteriously and are hard to guard against.

But this method has a disadvantage.

Paper is thin, so even if a ghost is attached to it, it cannot withstand any force. The only way to attack is by means of bewitching, possession, or illusion.

It's hard enough to lift a knife, let alone carry a coffin.

He was considered an expert in this art, but even if he summoned the most powerful of the Eight Generals of the Inner Altar, "Giant Sky Warrior to Pursue and Execute Marshal Meng", he could only attack with a sword or possess other people to exert his tremendous strength.

It was impossible to lift the coffin.

Thinking of this, Li Yan shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this is not just a simple paper figurine technique. What does the Law Enforcement Hall of the City God Temple say?"

"Haha~"

The earth dragon next to him suddenly sneered, "Young Master Li may not know the situation of Luoyang Xuanmen, but it is very complicated."

"The orthodox Xuanmen here is headed by the White Horse Temple, Longmen Grottoes and Xiangshan Temple."

"Twenty years ago, the imperial court ordered the renovation of the White Horse Temple, and the construction of the Pilu Pavilion and Shemoteng Hall, making it an important Zen center in the north. There are also monks from Fuso who come to pay homage. They are very arrogant and do not get along with the Taoist Shangqing Palace."

"Xiangshan Temple was busy repairing the Longmen Grottoes, which was a huge expense, so they tried every way to make money."

"They set up a Buddhist shrine in Yique, where men and women came to pray for children. They threw copper coins into the Buddha's palm, and the one who got hit would have an heir. They also used a peony garden to attract pilgrims, but the literati in Luoyang ridiculed them as "monks' robes stained with copper smell"..."

"The White Horse Temple was the same, and other Buddhist temples followed suit and set up many 'Changshengku'..."

Li Yan's heart trembled, "What is the 'Changshengku'?"

"It's a pawn shop."

Madam Pei beside her laughed and said, "It's similar to the Xiangji Kitchen in the Tang Dynasty. They also do the business of lending money. Many foxes and rats in Luoyang City work for them."

Wang Daoxuan snorted after hearing this, "Didn't the imperial court ban it? Why do these monks always like to do this?"

"The Taoist sect is not much better!" Di Longzi sneered, "The Taoist sect in Luoyang is headed by Shangqing Palace and Lu Zu Temple. Shangqing Palace was rebuilt when Daxuan came to power. Now there are 500 Taoists who spend all day thinking about refining the 'Nine-turn Golden Pill' and presenting it to the court."

"As for the Lu Zu Temple, it took over the work of the Pi Men, combining divination with medication. The 'medicine sticks' in the temple contain hundreds of prescriptions. When you are sick, you go to get a divination to see what medicine to take."

"It's just nonsense!"

Wang Daoxuan's face flushed. "Medicine is medicine, and mystery is mystery. Even Taoist doctors cannot do without observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. This is playing with human life!"

"Don't be unconvinced."

Dilongzi curled his lips and said, "They have really cured a lot of people, and the price is cheaper than the city's clinic, so they have a lot of customers every day."

"They all say it was Lu Zu's spirit appearing, but in my opinion, there must be something fishy going on. However, he is so powerful that those who know the business dare not expose him."

After hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The Law Enforcement Hall of the City God Temple is staffed by monks from the nearby orthodox Xuanmen sect. It is obvious that they will not take it seriously since the Luoyang Xuanmen sect has become so corrupt.

Li Yan shook his head slightly, "Are there any clues now?"

"There are no clues."

Madam Pei also sneered: "At least they don't have this ability, but they have the ability to make money by investigating cases, and it's huge."

"They use the excuse of 'evil cultivators causing trouble in Luoyang' to cause trouble for the cultivators from other places. Even if they have a Taoist certificate, they will be arrested and thrown into jail. They will not be cleared of all charges until they pay enough money."

"Right now, Luoyang is in a state of chaos. I have received news that this matter has even alarmed the governor of Yuzhou, and he is preparing to report this matter. I believe that they will calm down in two days."

"I see…"

Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and then asked, "What about 'Mangshan Night Crying at the Grave'?"

Madam Pei replied, "This is nothing. The first rumor came from the Jingling Mausoleum of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Mangshan. The old guard of the mausoleum said that he got drunk at night and heard the beating of gongs and drums and the singing of Nuo opera in the underground palace."

"He was so frightened that he ran back to Luoyang like a madman and spread the news everywhere. Everyone knew about it. Later, someone went to investigate, but found nothing. It must be that the old man was hysterical."

"The reason why this matter spread so widely is because there are many people who are dissatisfied. They say that Luoyang is in decline, and the emperors of all dynasties in Mangshan can no longer stand it and want to take those people away..."

Then, he gave a brief introduction to the situation in Luoyang.

As it is said, Luoyang is now somewhat dilapidated.

After the turmoil at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the An-Shi Rebellion, and the invasion of the Golden Horde, Luoyang City was almost half destroyed, and many official roads have not been repaired to this day...

After the imperial court lifted the ban on sea transportation, coastal ports prospered due to the convenience of sea transportation, while Luoyang's waterway docks became increasingly deserted. Coupled with the corruption of officials, many merchants and craftsmen fled to the coastal areas...

As the economy declines, there will naturally be more chaos among the people.

The tomb robbery in Mangshan became rampant. Even the common people in Luoyang City and masters of Xuanmen like Dilongzi could not help but join in. There were also bandits in Funiushan Mountain and bandits in the Yellow River...

In short, there are no more peaceful days.

Li Yan and the others couldn't help but sigh as they listened.

They saw a lot along the way. In today's great era, things seem to be booming, but not every place will benefit.

While we were chatting, the waiter had already brought in plates of dishes.

"You have come from afar, why not try some Luoyang cuisine?"

Madam Pei raised her red sleeves, her phoenix eyes swept across the table, and she picked up the peony-shaped shredded radish on the plate with the tip of her chopsticks, "This is 'fake bird's nest'. When Wu Zhao became emperor, three-foot-long white radishes appeared on Mount Mang. The Sinong Temple presented them as a good omen, and the imperial chef made bird's nest soup with vegetarian dishes imitating meat. The emperor named it 'righteous dish'——"

Wang Daoxuan picked up a piece with chopsticks and took a bite, and asked in surprise: "This radish actually tastes like seafood?"

"This is the bone soup of Yihe carp."

Madam Pei chuckled, the silver bracelet on her wrist clinking against the porcelain bowl, "There are twenty-four dishes at the Luoyang Water Feast, and the top dish is this heaven-defying vegetarian dish."

After saying that, he pointed to another dish. In the celadon lotus bowl, there was emerald-colored jelly with a few red wolfberries floating on it.

"This is called Cold Toad Soup. When Emperor Yang of Sui was digging the Tongji Canal, a strange phenomenon of an ice toad appeared in the cold pond of Mang Mountain..."

As Madam Pei spoke, she tapped the edge of the bowl lightly, and ripples appeared on the jelly. "It's actually agar-agar and donkey bone glue. Back then, the canal craftsmen used this soup to ward off miasma."

"This dish, 'stewed three fresh vegetables in glutinous rice', also has a history. When Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang, the Xianbei nobles were not used to drinking goat milk, so the imperial chef fermented the glutinous rice water to remove the smell, which became a testimony to the 'Hu-Han joint banquet'..."

Snow-white goat milk foam floats in the coarse earthenware basin, and you can vaguely see Yellow River shrimps, Yique silverfish and Mangshan pine mushrooms floating up and down.

Li Yan scooped up a spoonful, and the sour aroma went straight to his head, but there was also a faint earthy smell. He frowned slightly and lifted the bowl, only to see "Made in the third year of Zhengshi" engraved on the bottom.

Madam Pei chuckled, "Don't blame me, Young Master Li. Previously, a group of local scholars got into a fight and died here, leaving behind a room full of bottles and jars."

"This is Northern Wei pottery. It's quite exquisite. It's used a lot in Longmen Inn. If you're not used to it, I'll give you another one?"

"No, it's okay."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, but did not touch the dish again.

Madam Pei continued to introduce them to everyone.

What is "golden carp"? It is a dish of thin Yellow River carp slices on a sandalwood chopping board, with yellow mustard, water chestnuts, tangerine shreds, etc. It comes from Cao Zhi's "Famous Capitals" "Slices of carp and roe"...

What is "Scorched Peony Pastry"? The petals are stacked like real ones, but when you bite them open, the core is burnt. This implies that when Emperor Wu of Han banished the peony to Luoyang, it still refused to surrender even when its branches were burned by fire.

The peony tastes bitter yet sweet, which is in line with the spirit of the gods.

Wang Daoxuan couldn't help but praise: "It's worthy of being the thousand-year-old divine capital. Let's not talk about the taste of these dishes, but the depth of their cuisine is second to none."

"Hahaha…"

Madam Pei covered her mouth and laughed, "Master, you are really good at talking, but I am not afraid of being laughed at by you. Most of these famous dishes are vegetarian imitations of meat. Firstly, the Northern Wei Dynasty worshipped Buddhism and banned slaughtering. Luoyang had experienced wars and supplies were scarce, so these dishes that used ingenuity instead of richness were created."

"If you say it's heritage, isn't it the remnant of a thousand-year dream?"

…………

"Please enjoy your meal, I still have some chores to do."

After Madam Pei explained, she stood up and left.

Li Yan didn't waste any words and asked everyone to continue eating and drinking.

He had just sensed that there were a few other people in the room that Madam Pei had come out of, and they were experts who had set up some concealing magic.

They only noticed it the moment the door opened.

Because of this, Dilongzi only dared to ridicule and did not take any action.

This Miss Pei may look coquettish, but in fact she is knowledgeable and has a strong memory, which ordinary scholars cannot match. No wonder she can become the leader of the Heluo Ma Gang.

It is called a caravan, but in fact it is a chamber of commerce.

It must be not easy for so many experts to gather together.

After eating and drinking, everyone was tired from the journey, so they went back to their rooms to rest before continuing to gather information.

After returning to the room, Li Yan put down his luggage and sat cross-legged in meditation. After a while, he heard footsteps fading away outside the door.

The corners of his mouth curled up in a sneer.

The one that left was the earth dragon.

This old guy was trying to play tricks on him, but he was not thinking about the consequences. He sent his disciples out, but they haven't returned yet. I guess they went out to look for him.

As soon as Dilongzi left, light footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by a graceful figure who quickly pushed the door open and closed it tightly.

It was Mrs. Pei, the owner of Longmen Inn.

Li Yan had anticipated this, and stood up and said in a deep voice:

"What did Brother Shen leave me?"

(End of this chapter)