Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 195 I am indeed not as good as Zhou Ping

Qianzhou City.

Zhou Ping stayed in Qianzhou City for three days.

During these three days, Zhou Ping was not idle. He was always looking for Zhao Tiancheng's whereabouts.

Zhao Tiancheng is the son of Magistrate Zhao. He once arranged for someone to kill Zhou Ping because Zhou Ping did not enter the secret realm to die, but was killed by Zhou Ping instead.

Later, by chance, Zhou Ping entered the Jile Tower.

Ji Le Lou is a devil's den run by Zhao Tiancheng, selling things that go beyond the bottom line of human beings.

Zhou Ping almost killed Zhao Tiancheng with the Demon Hunting Bow, but Zhao Tiancheng escaped.

After Zhao Tiancheng survived, he thought that the rabbit demon wanted to kill him, so he killed all the rabbits in Qianzhou City.

Not only that, Zhao Tiancheng also kept a low profile and rarely showed up in public. Zhou Ping had given him such a big shock!

Therefore, Zhou Ping did not have much news about Zhao Tiancheng, and he did not dare to go to Zhao Mansion to look for Zhao Tiancheng rashly.

Zhao Tiancheng has a fourth-grade monster by his side, and I wonder if there are any other masters.

"It's time to go back." Zhou Ping flashed into an alley.

The next moment, Zhou Ping returned to Qinghe County.

Zhou Ping could feel that Qinghe County at this time was a little different from usual. It seemed to have become more lively.

There were little girls playing around on the street.

This would have been unimaginable a few days ago.

When Lu Chang was still alive, the little girl didn't dare to go out.

"Zhou Ping is back."

"Master Zhou has returned from Qingyuan County."

People from Qinghe County, including the yamen runners, greeted Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping's status in Qinghe County is different now than before. His cultivation and his poems have made Zhou Ping a unique figure.

"Well, I just came back from Qingyuan County." Zhou Ping responded to everyone's kindness.

Zhou Ping returned to the house and met Yuan Gong.

Engineer Yuan was guarding the gate of the inner courtyard, brandishing his sword. There was light in his eyes.

"Zhou Ping, you're back." Engineer Yuan knew that Zhou Ping would be back in these two days.

Zhou Ping nodded: "Brother Yuan, what happened recently?"

Mr. Yuan hesitated for a moment, then told the story of Lu Chang's death.

Zhou Ping pretended to hear about this for the first time. He said, "It is true that evildoers will be punished by God!"

Foreman Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had let it go: "Yes, the wicked will be punished by God!"

"Meow meow." Xiaobai also smelled Zhou Ping's scent. She jumped out from the inner courtyard, then turned into a human form and pressed on Zhou Ping.

"Zhou Ping, Zhou Ping." Xiaobai's body seemed to be heavier.

Zhou Ping held Xiaobai in his arms, feeling the softness of her body and her faint fragrance.

This fragrance is very similar to the smell on Liu Ruyan's body.

Zhou Ping wanted Xiao Bai to get off him, but she refused to do so. Instead, Xiao Bai went around behind Zhou Ping and asked him to carry her on his back.

Zhou Ping had no choice but to carry Xiao Bai's hips into the inner courtyard. Fortunately, Xiao Bai was not heavy, so Zhou Ping had no difficulty carrying her.

"Zhou Ping is back." Liu Ruyan smiled as she stood guard at the door. She was wearing a one-piece blue and white cheongsam with the lower legs slit above the knees, revealing her beautiful white legs.

Zhou Ping felt warm in his heart: "I'm back."

It feels good to have someone looking after your home.

He Yunqing and Yan Yi also came out of the room, and Liu Ruyan asked the kitchen to cook some food. The three knew that Zhou Ping would probably return today, so they had been waiting for a long time.

The three of them sat down, Zhou Ping told them the interesting things that happened along the way, and Yan Yi told Zhou Ping what happened in the county government office.

"I can't believe that Lu Chang died like this." Yan Yi sighed. She also heard another version of the story. Someone intervened and forced the county magistrate to kill his son Lu Chang.

He Yunqing said: "If it is true as others say, that the people of the Demon Cult plotted against County Magistrate Lu, then the depth of this person's scheming is really hard to imagine."

Yan Yi also said: "Yes, Qinghe County is not peaceful. First it was this person from the Demon Sect, then it was the Buddhist disciple Baiyun, and there is also Zhiqiu Yiye who claims to be the number one of the younger generation of Taoism. There are too many masters in Qinghe County."

Zhou Ping nodded: "Qinghe County is becoming more and more chaotic. From now on, you three should go out less often to avoid unnecessary trouble."

He Yunqing nodded: "I seldom go out now. Erdan is in charge of the business of the medicine shop on weekdays. He comes to me to discuss the business of the medicine shop. As for mother, she basically never goes out."

Yan Yi asked curiously, "Why do the three of us rarely go out?"

"Xiaoyanzi, the world is so chaotic now. If some expert out there takes a fancy to you, won't that bring trouble to yourself? You are so beautiful, especially your long legs are so alluring." He Yunqing said as he actually started touching Yanyi's legs.

Yan Yi and He Yunqing are best friends, so it is normal for them to do this.

However, He Yunqing suddenly realized that Zhou Ping was also there, so he quickly withdrew his hand.

Yan Yi laughed and said, "We have Zhou Ping here, he is a seventh-rank master, so it won't be a problem for him to deal with a sixth-rank master. If we join forces, it won't be a problem for us to deal with a fifth-rank master!"

Zhou Ping didn't say anything, just smiled bitterly.

Liu Ruyan didn't say anything. Xiaobai had already jumped off Zhou Ping. She squeezed against Liu Ruyan's chest, revealing a cat head.

This scene made Liu Ruyan's chest bulge even more, and Zhou Ping couldn't help but take a few glances at it.

"Zhou Ping, there is something." Yan Yi suddenly said seriously.

Zhou Ping: "What's the matter?"

Yan Yi thought for a moment and said.

"You know, Magistrate Lu's son died, and he wanted his son to return to his hometown, so he found a corpse driver."

"The corpse driver has taken care of the corpse, which can ensure that the corpse will not decay in a short period of time."

"But the corpse driver has other things to do and is unwilling to go to Qianzhou City in the short term. I am thinking about your friend."

Yan Yi wanted to take on County Magistrate Lu's task. Money was secondary, but the main reason was that County Magistrate Lu came to talk about this matter in person.

"Sure." Zhou Ping took the bowl of porridge handed over by Liu Ruyan and inadvertently touched the other's smooth hand.

Yan Yi said, "Why don't you ask your friend? Is that enough?"

Zhou Ping thought for a moment and said, "For my friend, money is secondary. He mainly owes me a favor and is just helping me out. Besides, he happens to be on the way. He often travels between Qianzhou City and Qinghe County."

Zhou Ping made friends out of nothing and opened up a road from Qinghe County to Qianzhou City. This round trip, apart from the lifespan consumed in the journey to Tianya Zhichi, he still had eight years of life left!
Very profitable!

Yan Yi nodded: "Okay, then I will go to County Magistrate Lu to talk about this matter. When can we set off?"

Zhou Ping: "Any time."

half a month later.

In the past half month, there have been no missions passing through the tunnel.

Zhou Ping had already put Lu Chang's body into the storage jade.

For half a month, Zhou Ping hardly left the house. He practiced martial arts with Yan Yi and Yuan Gong.

However, in the past half month, two seventh-rank warriors came into Zhou Ping's house to cause trouble. They knew that the He family needed money, so they wanted to get some money to spend.

It's just that the two of them came at the wrong time. If they came during the day, they would only meet Yuan Gong, but when they came at night, they met the ghost bride.

The ghost bride rested during the day and protected Zhou Ping at night. Therefore, Zhou Ping's house was safer at night than during the day.

Zhou Ping showed no mercy and directly ordered the ghost bride to kill the two men.

The two warriors were wanted criminals by the government, and they had dozens of lives to their credit.

The bounty on each of them was 300 taels, which made Zhou Ping earn 600 taels. In addition, the two of them had 700 to 800 taels of cash.

In addition to the silver, there is also the martial arts of the two.

In the two men's memories, there were two or three sets of knife and sword techniques, as well as some boxing and kicking techniques.

Zhou Ping also practiced these skills in secret.

A few days later, Zhou Ping got another tunnel mission and set off for Qingyuan County.

Qianzhou City.

There are two most lively places in Qianzhou City.

One is the Examination Yuan, the other is the Star-Picking Tower.

The scholar examination was about to begin, and scholars from hundreds of counties in Qianzhou City had already arrived at the examination hall.

Another place is the Zhaixing Tower.

Because the Demon Lord was besieged by extremely powerful masters and his magic weapon fell in Qianzhou City, many cultivators came to Qianzhou City.

Furthermore, Fan Shiyi, the first of the younger generation of Confucianists, is also here.

Many talented people from the other eight states and counties also rushed to Qianzhou City.

The governor of Qianzhou City also set up a "Star Picking Banquet". During the days of the Confucian exam, the governor of Zhao set up a buffet, and any scholar above the level of Xiucai could come to the Star Picking Tower as a guest and eat for free.

This also attracted many scholars, especially some of the most talented scholars, who also wanted to compete with Fan Shiyi.

In Qianzhou City, there is a scholar every ten steps and a Jinshi every hundred steps.

At this time, the hotel in Zhaixing Tower was already full.

The Zhaixing Tower has three floors and is not very high. It can only be regarded as a platform. Under the platform there are thousands of eight-immortal tables, on which sit scholars from all over the world.

Chen Chao squeezed through the crowd and found a place to sit down with the two scholars from Qinghe County.

"I didn't expect that this scholar examination would be so lively." said one person.

Chen Chao nodded, and he seemed much more humble at this moment. If it were in the past, he would think that besides Fan Shiyi, he was the only one with talent.

But Zhou Ping's Moonlit Night on the Spring River made Chen Chao realize that he was really far behind.

Especially listening to the scholars around him talking loudly, especially their attire, made Chen Chao realize that it is better to keep a low profile.

"Where are you from, brother?"

"I'm from Kyoto, and I'm a seventh-rank Confucian."

"I am from Qingzhou County, and I am a Confucian sixth rank."

"I am from Jizhou County, and I am a seventh-rank Confucian scholar..."

The three scholars looked at Chen Chao and the others again.

Chen Chao said: "The three of us are from Qinghe County, Qianzhou, and I am a seventh-rank official."

After Chen Chao said that he was from Qinghe County, the three scholars from other places looked at him with disdain. But when he said that he was of the seventh rank, the disdain in their eyes immediately disappeared.

"I can't believe that such a small county town can have a Confucian scholar of the seventh rank." said the scholar from Kyoto.

Chen Chao just said: "It was just luck."

Chen Chao was very glad at this time, because he went to see Zhou Ping before leaving. Zhou Ping's poem made him enter the seventh rank, otherwise the eighth rank would not be good enough.

"What county did you say you are from? I have never heard of it. Are there any famous places or historical sites there?" asked the scholar from Jizhou.

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "We have a Yaowang Mountain, which produces medicinal herbs."

The scholars from Kyoto, Jizhou, and Qingzhou looked at each other.

"Producing medicinal materials? Yaowang Mountain?"

"I have heard the name Yaowang Mountain several times. I think any place that can produce medicinal herbs is called this name."

The three scholars laughed, with a sarcastic tone in their voices, as if they were mocking the fact that Qinghe County had nothing famous.

"Spring River Moon Night" comes from Qinghe County." There was a hint of coldness in Chen Chao's voice.

The three scholars' faces changed when they heard Spring River Moon Night.

This poem is so famous! Anyone who has read books knows it.

The Kyoto scholar's tone was humble: "Which one of you wrote this poem?"

Chen Chao shook his head: "That person is not here. He is an escort and is going to escort someone."

"Escort?" The three foreign scholars looked at each other. They only knew that Spring River Moon Night was very famous, but knew nothing about the author.

The Jizhou scholar said, "Please feel free to give me some advice."

Chen Chao looked at the humble attitude of the three foreign scholars and felt secretly pleased, so he told them the whole story.

As Chen Chao talked about the origin of "Spring River Flower Rain Night", the scholars at the tables nearby gathered around him. They also wanted to know where this poem came from.

"That's how it all happened." Chen Chao finished speaking, then thought for a moment and said, "He also wrote "Quiet Night Thoughts."

The scholars around were all silent.

"Quiet Night Thoughts is a clever poem, nothing special, but Spring River Moonlit Night is really amazing!"

"Yes, I never thought that this poem was written by a bodyguard."

"Brother Chen, where did this person learn from? Are there any great scholars in Qinghe County?"

The scholars still didn't believe that Zhou Ping, a bodyguard, could write such a shocking poem.

Chen Chao smiled and said, "Zhou Ping has never learned poetry, and he has no teacher. I know the situation in Qinghe County well, and among all the teachers, Chen is the best."

The scholars were completely speechless; they still didn't believe what Chen Chao said.

"This is too unbelievable. Is he a genius? Without a teacher, how could he write such a good poem?"

Chen Chao said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Master Fan Shiyi. He was very close to Zhou Ping in Qinghe County. They even lived together and talked all night long. Brother Fan once said that he was not as good as Zhou Ping."

The Shusheng Gate became lively again.

"Did Fan Shiyi really say that?"

"Fan Shiyi is the most accomplished person among the younger generation of Confucianism. She has reached the fourth rank of Confucianism at a young age, and the third rank is within reach. Not only has she written a lot of poems, but she has also written them well."

"Does Fan Shiyi feel that he is not as good as Zhou Ping?"

"I think this is fake. These scholars from Qinghe County must have stepped on Fan Shiyi to improve Zhou Ping's status."

"Yes, yes, I think so too."

"You guys from Qinghe County, Spring River Moonlit Night is indeed a good poem, but you said that Fan Shiyi admitted that he is not as good as Zhou Ping, which is a bit too much!"

The scholars started discussing again, and they still didn't believe it. They thought Chen Chao was deliberately suppressing Fan Shiyi in order to highlight the power of Qinghe County.

Chen Chao wanted to argue, but he heard a voice saying:
"This is true. I am indeed not as good as Zhou Ping."

(End of this chapter)