The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 312 I am Lu Miaozi, please give me some face

In a word, Shang Xiuxun was in a state of confusion. The other party came on behalf of the Song family. He didn't just want to buy war horses, but also had his eyes on the Pegasus Ranch and wanted them to take it over.

The reason why Pegasus Ranch can survive in this world is its neutrality, coupled with its strategic location and cooperation with all parties. It is a bit similar to the Dongming Sect. If it is a prosperous era, it is still good, but in troubled times, Pegasus Ranch will become a battleground.

Su Ming stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and said, "If Miss Shang were a man, she might be able to build a business with Pegasus Ranch. What a pity, what a pity."

Shang Xiuxun frowned slightly, thinking that Su Ming was trying to win her over, so she declined politely, "Senior, you are joking. I am just a woman and I don't have any ambitions. I just want to guard this place and pass on the foundation of my ancestors. Only in this way can I live up to our ancestors."

However, hearing this, Su Ming just shook his head. Pegasus Ranch was an alliance of various families, but for several generations, the merchants had become the dominant ones. But in recent decades, Pegasus Ranch seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit, with the yin being stronger than the yang. The most outstanding people in each generation of the merchants were actually women, whose martial arts and wisdom far surpassed those of men. The previous generation was Shang Xiuxun's mother Shang Qingya, and this generation was herself.

In this era, a force led by a woman can only maintain the status quo but lacks aggressiveness. Pegasus Ranch is blessed with all kinds of war horses. As long as they accumulate strength in secret, it will be easy for them to form a force and occupy a place. This is much better than being a refugee.

Afterwards, Shang Xiuxun took Su Ming to play in the castle for a while. After dinner, she personally prepared a few beautiful maids for Su Ming and arranged a guest room for him to rest.

It was not until the servant informed her that Su Ming had rested that she suddenly collapsed on the chair in the study, her pretty face full of fatigue, "Go and invite the chief deacon and the second deacon to come and discuss matters."

Not long after, Pegasus Ranch's Chief Deacon Shang Zhen and Second Deacon Liu Zongdao came to the study. They looked at each other, confused.

"Meet the owner."

"No need to be polite. Xiuxun asked you two to come here to discuss something important. This matter concerns the future of my Pegasus Ranch and the thousands of lives in the castle."

Shang Zhen and Liu Zongdao were shocked and said in a deep voice, "Please tell me clearly, host."

Shang Xiuxun looked at Liu Zongdao and said, "Deacon Liu, do you know who the guest who came to the ranch today is?"

Liu Zongdao shook his head and said, "Master, I came back from grazing with my brothers and met this man by the river. I don't know his identity. Is there something wrong with his identity? I also want to ask him to help deal with the four bandits."

Shang Xiuxun smiled bitterly, and her delicate eyebrows and eyes showed distress. "He is the Jade Taoist."

Shang Zhen and Liu Zongdao were stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in unison, "Is he the Jade Taoist?"

The two thought of Su Ming's handsome face, which was rare in the world, and his elegant temperament, and suddenly realized that only such a person could be called Jade Taoist.

Shang Zhen asked again, "Owner, Master Yu Dao came to our Pegasus Ranch not to buy horses, what exactly do you want to do?"

Shang Xiuxun sighed slightly, "He came to cooperate with us on behalf of the Song family. Although he didn't say it explicitly, I guess he wants to swallow up Pegasus Ranch."

Liu Zongdao said without hesitation, "It's difficult. The Song clan is in its heyday in the south, far more powerful than the four major bandits. I heard that they have cooperated with the Taoist sect. The Taoist priests of the Tianshi Mansion in Longhu Mountain have already come down the mountain, and with this Taoist Jade..."

Then he reacted, with a look of difficulty on his face, "Master, I..."

Shang Xiuxun waved his hands and said, "Second Deacon, I know what you mean. Facing a behemoth like the Song Clan, Pegasus Ranch is absolutely unable to resist. We can only outsmart them. I hope the Song Clan can leave us some room."

Shang Zhen thought for a while, then continued, "Master, after the Song clan took control of Bashu, they did not kill people wantonly. Instead, they continuously sent people to eliminate bandits, build water conservancy projects, and restore commerce. This is enough to show the ambitions of the Song clan. In my opinion, we can still talk."

As he spoke, he glanced at Shang Xiuxun in front of him, and then exchanged a glance with Liu Zongdao. Both of them showed a hint of excitement in their eyes.

If the current person in charge of Pegasus Ranch was a man, they would definitely not have any rebellious thoughts. However, Pegasus Ranch has been run by women for two consecutive generations, and there are no outstanding people among the family members. This has led to the fact that they can only guard the precious land behind closed doors and are unable to expand to the outside world.

It would be fine if the world was at peace now, but it is in a time of chaos. Even the Song clan is eyeing them. There will surely be more forces eyeing them in the future. Not to mention those far away, there are four major bandits causing chaos nearby, disrupting their trade routes.

The people at Pegasus Ranch also knew that the force supporting the four major bandits behind the scenes was Wagangzhai. They wanted to use this to force Pegasus Ranch to submit, but it was just a temporary stalemate and no one could do anything to anyone else.

Wagangzhai was not the first, and the Song clan was not the last.

However, the two of them could only keep these thoughts in their hearts for the time being and not speak them out. It would not be too late to speak out when the time came.

Shang Xiuxun also knew that they couldn't give any good advice. She only came to them to get some psychological comfort. At this moment, she had calmed down. "Forget it, you guys go down first. I'll think of other ways."

Then, the two left.

Shang Xiuxun sat on the chair, and a figure she hated so much emerged in her mind. She gritted her teeth and tried not to think about it, but she could not change the situation before her. She hesitated again and again, and finally took a step and walked towards the back mountain.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

As soon as Su Ming finished washing up, Shang Xiuxun sent someone to invite him over.

"Senior, did you have a good rest last night?"

"The room arranged by the owner is very quiet, very good."

Then, a servant brought breakfast, and Shang Zhen and Liu Zongdao accompanied him. They were extremely respectful and obviously knew his identity.

After the meal, the two of them took their leave, and Shang Xiuxun said, "Senior, I would like to ask you to meet someone." As if she was afraid that Su Ming would misunderstand, she added, "That person has difficulty in moving, and he is one of my elders. Please don't be offended, senior."

Elder? My biological father, right?

Su Ming knew it was Lu Miaozi right away. There were no masters at Pegasus Ranch, and Lu Miaozi was the only one who could be considered a top figure. He came here on a detour just to meet him. Without him, the Evil Emperor's relics would be nowhere to be found.

He revealed his identity yesterday in order to "force" this person out. "No problem, lead the way."

Shang Xiuxun bowed to Su Ming, walked out of the hall and headed towards the back mountain.

Half an hour later, the two walked through the quiet corridor and entered the moon-shaped gate. There was a garden here. The most wonderful thing was that there was a winding corridor that extended into the garden, expanding the depth of view and creating a corridor that passed through the beautiful scenery of the garden. There was also a lotus pond on the left. A hexagonal pavilion was built in the middle of the pond, connected to the shore by a small bridge.

Su Ming's eyes showed surprise. The essence of heaven and earth here was much richer than outside, almost as rich as famous Taoist mountains like Longhu Mountain and Zhongnan Mountain.

Passing through a winding corridor with endless beautiful scenery on both sides, after passing a bamboo forest, you can hear the sound of rushing water. It turns out that at the end is a square pavilion, with a hundred-meter-high cliff in front and a waterfall cascading down from the opposite cliff, which is very imposing. If it were not for the bamboo forest, you would be able to hear the thundering sound of the waterfall in the courtyard.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What a great weather and scenery."

He had seen many mountains, rivers and waterfalls, but this was the first time he had seen such unique and ingenious architecture. Every flower and grass, every mountain and stone here were very particular, following certain rules, gathering the essence of heaven and earth, making it suitable for practicing martial arts.

There is a gravel path on the left, connected to the square pavilion, extending along the edge of the cliff into the depths of the forest, which makes people want to explore the secluded and beautiful places. Walking along the way, turning left and right, the view suddenly opens up. On the terrace facing the cliff, there is a two-story building, which is in a dangerous situation.

Along the way, Shang Xiuxun didn't say a word and was in a very heavy mood. She didn't want to come, but Pegasus Ranch was facing such a dilemma, so she could only bow her head.

Soon they arrived at the door of the small building. Su Ming noticed that there was someone inside. Then an old male voice came from upstairs, "Since our distinguished guest has arrived, please come upstairs and see him."

The real owner has shown up.

Su Ming smiled faintly, "That's what I want, but I dare not ask for it!"

Shang Xiuxun looked at Su Ming's departing figure, feeling very nervous. She was expecting a good result.

A room does not need to be big to be elegant, flowers do not need to be numerous to be fragrant, a mountain does not need to be high to be famous, if immortals live there, the water does not need to be deep, if dragons live there, the water will be magical.

Su Ming walked up the stairs step by step and came to the main entrance. He saw a plaque hanging on the door with the words "Comfortable Wo" written on it. Facing the two beams at the entrance hung a couplet written on a wooden plaque, "In the morning it is good to tune the zither, and in the evening it is good to play the harp; the old rain has just arrived, and the new rain has just come." The handwriting was elegant, vigorous and powerful.

Peace and happiness? I'm afraid not.

Su Ming shook his head and chuckled, then stepped into the lobby. This hall was a four-sided hall. Through the four-sided windows, the steep cliffs covered with plants in the back and the swaying bamboos around were faintly visible into the hall, making the mahogany furniture displayed there look thick, plain, leisurely and natural. There was a nanmu staircase in the corner of the house, leading to the upper floor.

Lu Miaozi's voice sounded again, "Fellow Daoist, you have come from afar. I was unable to greet you from afar. Please forgive me for my sin. Why don't you try the Six Fruits Liquid I brewed as an apology?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure came down from upstairs carrying a tray.

Su Ming finally met the founder of Yang Gong's treasure house. He had a very special face, simple and quaint. His thick black eyebrows extended all the way to his spotted temples, but the other end was connected to his ears, forming a sharp contrast with his deep eagle eyes. There were lines of melancholy wrinkles at the corners of his mouth and under his eyes, making him look unwilling to care about the world, tired and sad.

The bridge of his nose was as straight and powerful as his waist. With his tightly closed lips that naturally revealed an air of arrogance and his slender and clean face, he looked like a royal noble who had once enjoyed all the wealth and glory in the world but was now heartbroken.

There are wine glasses, wine jugs and other wine utensils on the tray in hand, and you can smell the aroma of wine from a long distance away.

He walked up to Su Ming, handed the tray to him, bowed his head and nodded, "Please have a drink, fellow Taoist."

Seeing his action, Su Ming couldn't help but feel emotional: How pitiful are the parents in the world.

With his spiritual perception, it was not difficult for him to notice the stiffness in the other party's movements. It was obvious that he had not acted like this for a long time. Lu Miaozi was a very capable person, but for Shang Xiuxun, he still bowed his head.

"Okay, I'll try your six-fruit wine."

Su Ming picked up the wine pot and poured himself a glass. As the fruit wine went down his throat, the mellow taste of the wine bloomed between his lips, soft and refreshing. The most rare thing was that the aroma was rich and harmonious, leaving a long aftertaste. At the same time, the wine contained a pure vitality. Drinking it for a long time could help to strengthen the body and prolong life.

"Good wine. I haven't had such good wine for a long time. It's a relief. This trip was not in vain." Su Ming savored the remaining strength and looked at him. Lu Miaozi was the best all-rounder in the world. He was proficient in martial arts, medicine, gardening, architecture, military tactics, disguise, astronomy, calendar, mechanisms, etc. The Yanggong Treasure House with many mechanisms in Chang'an City was created by him. He had a very high talent in martial arts, not inferior to Zhu Yuyan, but his knowledge was more diverse and involved in various industries, so he could not concentrate on martial arts.

In a sense, he is a low-end version of Huang Yaoshi. Although Huang Yaoshi was also distracted, he was one of the Five Great Masters after all, not to mention that he later retired to the mountains, entered the imperial court, was appointed prime minister, and was listed in history.

Lu Miaozi smiled and introduced, "Friend Su, this wine is made from six kinds of fresh fruits: pomegranate, grape, orange, mountain dregs, green plum, and pineapple. After the process of fruit selection, water washing, water bleaching, crushing, pitting, soaking, juice extraction, fermentation, adjustment, filtering, and alcoholization, it is then put into wooden barrels and buried in the ground for three years. It tastes good, right?"

"Yes, it is a rare fine wine, plus the vitality of this place is flowing. If not for this, fellow Daoist's injuries would have exploded long ago."

For a moment, Lu Miaozi's face froze, and then he smiled bitterly, "As expected of a Grandmaster, you can tell at a glance." Then, he bowed to Su Ming, raised his hands above his head, "I am Lu Miaozi, please give me a favor and let Pegasus Ranch go."

Su Ming pretended not to know and asked in surprise, "Oh? Are you the Lu Miaozi that Zhu Yuyan has been looking for all over the world?"

Lu Miaozi stood up straight, his face more bitter, "Alas, to be honest, the injuries on my body were caused by Zhu Yuyan. If I had put more effort into martial arts, she might not have been able to hurt me."

"I know what the Song family wants, and I want to make a deal with you. As long as you let Pegasus Ranch go, I am willing to give you something more valuable."

"what?"

"Yang Gong's Treasure House. I was responsible for building Yang Gong's Treasure House. I can tell you the mechanisms inside and how to open them. How about this deal?"

Su Ming came to the window, looked at the waterfall outside, and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist, aren't you afraid that I will turn my back on you?"

Lu Miaozi felt relieved and his tone softened. "Although I am not talented, I have experienced so many things and will not make the wrong choice. It is not unbelievable that Daoyou can cooperate with the leader of the Song clan."

"If the person coming here today was a great Buddhist master, I would never meet him." Obviously, he had a lot of resentment towards those people in Buddhism.

(End of this chapter)