Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 670 An era of widespread suffering! An attempt to tamper with the Book of Life and Death!
Only then did Old Chen breathe a sigh of relief, and he began to cook noodles for the night watchman as instructed by Luo Fu.

The shop door, which had just been closed by the night watchman, opened again in less than the time it takes to eat a bowl of noodles.

A woman who looked middle-aged, holding a handkerchief, came into the shop.

"Boss, a bowl of plain noodles."

At this moment, Old Chen finally sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn't put it into words. He could only mumble a reply and quickly began to cook noodles for the night watchman and the woman he had never met before.

The night watchman was completely unaware that something was wrong in the shop.

He sat alone at an empty table, looking rather timid and awkward, as if he were quite cold, and would occasionally breathe on his hands to warm them.

It's not hard to tell from their clothing.

The night watchman was definitely starving and freezing.

Being able to come to Old Chen's shop for a bowl of plain noodles is considered a treat for one's life.

Even Old Chen was wearing a cotton-padded coat for early winter, but the night watchman was still dressed in thin clothes.

It's definitely not that he's immune to heat and cold; rather, he can only rely on his physical constitution to tough it out, and he simply doesn't have the financial means to buy warm clothes.

In this era, a cotton-padded coat could be directly taken to a pawnshop and exchanged for money.

It seems that tonight's guests have all arrived.

Old Chen quickly served the night watchman and the middle-aged woman some plain noodles before heading to Luo Fu and Zhao Li's table.

Old Chen bowed slightly to Luo Fu and said, "Is there anything else you need? Would you like me to blanch some crisp and refreshing bok choy for you to enjoy with your drinks? I also have some peanuts here, would you like some?"

"No need, you should attend to the guests first," Luo Fu said with a smile.

"Yes," Old Chen nodded and bowed.

The middle-aged woman was also observing Zhao Li and Luo Fu at their table.

As fellow soul ferrymen, although this time she and Zhao Li needed to guide different people.

But she could also tell that there was only one ghost in the shop: the night watchman.

Old Chen is a living, breathing person, but she can't see through Luo Fu at all.

Compared to Zhao Li, a veteran ghost messenger who has been a soul ferryman for over a thousand years, she has been a soul ferryman for quite some time, otherwise Zhao Li wouldn't have called her "Big Sister."

Despite having witnessed many such events, she had never seen anything like Luo Fu.

It resembles a human but is not human, yet it is not a cultivator from the mortal realm.

In an instant, Sister Bai knew that Zhao Li's mission was definitely in trouble.

He quickened his pace and finished off his plain noodles before the night watchman could.

Sister Bai took the initiative to approach the table where Zhao Li and Luo Fu were sitting.

"It's too cold. I'm just a woman, and I can't stand the chill. I'd like to ask you two gentlemen for a cup of wine to warm myself up. Could you grant me one?" Sister Bai seemed to be smiling. But without making a sound, she had already stood with Zhao Li.

They adopted a posture of being ready to respond to any sudden attack from Luofu.

Zhao Li understood Sister Bai's good intentions. He picked up the wine pot and poured wine for her while saying, "Sister, it's getting late. Finish this cup of wine and go home early. It's cold, be careful not to catch a cold!"

What seemed like a simple expression of concern was actually a firm belief that Luo Fu had done something to ruin Zhao Li's mission.

Zhao Li's words were a reminder to her not to get involved in this trouble.

A moment of hesitation flashed across Sister Bai's face before she said, "Thank you, gentlemen. It's getting cold, and I don't want to come out, but I have no choice; I have to make a living."

While the others were talking, the night watchman also wolfed down his plain noodles.

Wiping his mouth, the night watchman said, "Old Chen, I heard your daughter is getting married tomorrow?"

Old Chen's expression stiffened, and after a dry laugh, he said, "You're well-informed. It's true, my daughter is indeed engaged, and they've agreed to get married tomorrow."

“This is a good thing! You look like you…” The watchman hesitated, but then seemed to realize something and exclaimed, “I know! You must be reluctant to let your daughter get married so early, right? Let me tell you, when a daughter grows up, she has to be betrothed. As the old saying goes, ‘A daughter can’t be kept at home forever. Keeping her around will only lead to resentment.’ You’ll definitely be unaccustomed to marrying her off at first. So, I’ll keep an eye out for you and find you a companion.”

Seeing that Old Chen was about to refuse, the night watchman said directly, "Don't be shy! Let me tell you, we're not looking for any seventeen or eighteen-year-olds, young and pretty. We're looking for someone who can settle down and live a good life. Don't worry, I'll definitely keep an eye out for you."

Old Chen could only laugh awkwardly. He was already prepared to leave with his daughter as soon as it was light.

As for finding a partner, let alone the fact that he doesn't have that thought right now, even if he did, it would have to wait until later, after he leaves this place and settles down again, and after he finds another good match for his daughter.

The night watchman, however, thought that Old Chen was just embarrassed and had tacitly agreed.

After making a couple of jokes to Old Chen, he left the noodle shop.

Seeing this, Sister Bai, who had been waiting for a long time, exchanged a glance with Zhao Li without making a sound, and then followed the night watchman and left the noodle shop.

In the blink of an eye, only Luo Fu, Zhao Li, and Lao Chen remained in the noodle shop.

Zhao Li looked at Luo Fu meaningfully and asked, "How shall I address you, sir?"

"Rove."

"Does Your Excellency know that what you've done today has disrupted the rules of the underworld?" Zhao Li said bluntly.

Luo Fu didn't react yet, but Old Chen was startled and his heart skipped a beat.

He should have been beheaded and his head displayed to the public today, but thanks to the intervention of Luo Fu, this carefree immortal, he narrowly escaped death.

But Zhao Li's words are clearly about his own business.

Just as Lao Chen was about to speak up and take the initiative to exonerate Luo Fu.

A ringing bell suddenly came from afar and grew louder.

Old Chen had to swallow back the words he was about to say.

Just hearing the approaching sound of wheels, Old Chen knew that his noodle shop's regular customer, the girl who played the zither, had arrived.

"Boss, your shop is doing good business." Zhao Li looked at Old Chen with a half-smile. "Go and serve the guests first. We can talk about our business later."

With a heavy heart, Old Chen could only nod reluctantly.

Sure enough, the new customer was the girl playing the harp who arrived in a rickshaw.

Wanqin was not surprised that there were customers in the noodle shop.

After all, the plain noodles that Old Chen makes taste excellent.

The number of repeat customers alone is enormous. The only odd thing is that there are still customers in the shop so late.

Yes, despite Luo Fu and Lao Chen's presence, it was only just after dark when they arrived at the shop.

However, in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, ordinary people did not have much of a nightlife. Even famous courtesans like Wanqin, who sold their art but not their bodies, would only stay out until 11:30 at most.

Although it is currently the coldest period of winter, the weather is already starting to feel chilly.

With Wanqin added to the mix, they have now found their benefactor.

One man was willing to redeem her from her servitude, and he was not even married yet.

Today was also the last time the elegy was performed.

Of course, she would leave that place that caused her so much pain as soon as possible.

Before leaving, Wanqin chose to eat a bowl of plain noodles cooked by Old Chen.

This is understandable. Compared to the brothels where people entertain each other with their looks, only Old Chen's simple and elegant bowl of noodles suited Wanqin's taste the best.

Before completely leaving the world of prostitution, eating a bowl of plain noodles can be considered as ending the first half of one's life.

Luo Fu knew that Zhao Li and Wan Qin's first encounter would determine that he would soon sell the Tai Sui meat in his possession to Wan Qin and her lover.

But who knows if Zhao Li will still be in the mood to buy that expensive Tai Sui meat now that he has disrupted the ghost messenger's mission.

After serving Wanqin a bowl of plain noodles, Old Chen thoughtfully explained how to cook them and even gave her a bottle of soy sauce.

This soy sauce, although it comes from Old Chen's family near the bridge, really has nothing to do with Old Chen who cooks noodles.

At most, they just share the same surname.

Let alone the fact that he was about to leave the city, it was impossible to pack up soy sauce to take with him. Even if he didn't leave, Old Chen wouldn't mind giving Wanqin, a long-time customer, a mere bottle of soy sauce as a gift.

In this era, although the lives of ordinary people were miserable and they were almost always struggling on the brink of death, when the great way was abandoned, there was benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom emerged, there was great hypocrisy; when family members were not in harmony, there was filial piety and kindness; when the country was in chaos, there were loyal ministers.

It was precisely in this chaotic era, when people were suffering terribly, that many shining examples of humanity emerged.

Wanqin didn't linger. She didn't even finish her bowl of plain noodles before being urged by her young lover who had come to greet her. She left the noodle shop with the soy sauce that Old Chen had given her.

The man who redeemed Wanqin was definitely love-struck. He even embezzled public funds to do so, money that was supposed to be raised for the revolution.

As Wanqin left, only Luo Fu, Zhao Li, and Lao Chen remained in the noodle shop.

Old Chen seemed to have thought of something. After gritting his teeth, he made up his mind and went straight to the shop door. As he closed the door, he even went so far as to close the door frame from the inside.

Seeing this, Zhao Li sneered and said, "Are you planning to keep me here? Are you planning to make enemies of the Underworld?"

As an ordinary person struggling to survive at the bottom of society, Old Chen, though he revered ghosts and gods, did not lack the courage to fight to the death when faced with a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, he would not have been able to kill Old Wu's entire family during the day, who was a loan shark. After being rescued by Luo Fu, he was able to act as if nothing had happened, cooking noodles for Sister Bai, the night watchman, Wanqin, and others, so that no one would suspect that he was a vicious man who would kill entire families at the drop of a hat.

Zhao Li kept talking about the underworld, and considering that he had just killed Old Wu's entire family during the day and had only managed to escape with the help of Luo Fu, a living deity who roamed the mortal realm.

The story scenes in the mythology were strikingly similar to my own experiences.

Old Chen was absolutely certain that Zhao Li was targeting him, the one who deserved to die but hadn't.

But since Luofu still exists, Old Chen still has a glimmer of hope.

If he were alone now, he would fight Zhao Li to the death, and he would never give up and wait to die.

He was determined to fight for his daughter, Fengdie.

"Does the underworld really care about a person's soul?" Luo Fu asked rhetorically.

Zhao Li looked at Luo Fu meaningfully.

Those who dare to disrupt the laws of the underworld, even after serving as a ghost messenger for so long, Zhao Li had only seen them once back then.

That time, a cultivator in the mortal realm set a trap for Meng Po, attempting to alter the Book of Life and Death. It was that incident that led to the current situation where Meng Po is no longer in the Underworld, and the Book of Life and Death is no longer divided into Yin and Yang volumes.

It's unbelievable that after such a long time, someone would still attempt to challenge the strict laws of the underworld.

"The underworld certainly doesn't care about the soul of a mere person, but for those who dare to violate the laws of the underworld, I can assure you that even if you have extraordinary cultivation, you will not have a good end." Zhao Li looked very confident.

"Is that so? Then take another look?" Luo Fu smiled slightly, and without making a sound, released a wisp of the aura unique to Chi You.

The moment this aura appeared, Zhao Li's expression changed drastically.

She looked at Luo Fu in shock, her eyes filled with terror, and said, "You..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Li seemed to be in fear of something, so he quickly shut his mouth, stood up, and changed the subject, saying, "Excuse me, farewell."

Luo Fu hadn't expected that merely emitting a trace of Chi You's aura would cause Zhao Li's expression to change drastically, to the point that he wanted to avoid it at all costs.

Zhao Li didn't even care about the issue of Old Chen's soul anymore.

He bypassed Old Chen, opened the shop door, and left in a hurry.

“This…” Old Chen looked at Luo Fu in astonishment.

"This is none of your business," Luo Fu said with a smile. "Pack your things and leave before dawn with your daughter. Go to a strange place and start a new life."

As he spoke, Luo Fu casually tossed a wad of silver dollars onto the table.

A packet of silver dollars, exactly one hundred, no more, no less.

Not only that, Luo Fu also thoughtfully gave Old Chen a pill.

Even Murong, a ghost messenger from the underworld, could use the souls of the dead as materials to refine pills that could give ghost messengers new souls. Before dealing with the Fifth Prince, Luo Fu had been in the Bottle World, but before dealing with the Fifth Prince, he had cleaned up countless souls and evil spirits in the Bottle World.

Through these lost souls, Luo Fu also developed many elixirs with different effects.

This one has a simple effect: it replenishes deficiencies in one's innate soul.

This will be just in time to help Old Chen's daughter, Fengdie, recover her eyesight.

The swallowtail butterfly was born blind, not because of a physiological problem, but because of a congenital deficiency in its soul.

That's why Zhao Li was able to make up for Feng Die's congenital defect by giving his eyes to her, but he himself became blind from then on, and only regained his sight after meeting A Jin and seeing A Jin's eyes.

For Zhao Li, this almost irreparable congenital soul defect could only be remedied through transplantation, but for Luo Fu, a single pill would suffice.

Luo Fu placed the small bottle containing the pill on the table and said, "This pill is for your daughter. It can make up for her congenital deficiency and allow her to see the light. You should take good care of yourself in the future!"

Old Chen really didn't expect that Luo Fu would give him such a big gift when he didn't even know how to repay Luo Fu's life-saving grace.

(End of this chapter)