Yefutidaolu

Chapter 263 Settling down
Looking at the silk threads, Gao Jian already had a guess in his mind.

The power of the 'sacrifice' gathered from these silk threads will support the blue sky, completely blocking out the calamities brought by the year-end and the arrival of the evening beast.

But... is there a price to pay?
I'm not quite sure. At first glance, it seems like there's no damage, but these forces can't just appear out of thin air, can they?

I'll keep it in mind for now.

So, are Shu Jian and Dan Sha also celebrating New Year's Eve now?
They should be at the inn they stayed at before, right? Anyway, Dansha isn't short of money, and the others don't have a place to stay in Yangjing.

Gao Jian had always wanted to rent or buy a mansion in the capital, not necessarily in a location like Taiweiyuan, and not too big either, just an ordinary one would be more convenient, so he wouldn't have to stay in an inn all the time.

With the cost of staying at a guesthouse, a year's stay would be enough to buy a whole apartment, so it's more cost-effective to just buy one.

But he's only been in the capital for a few days, and he's been so busy with all sorts of things that he hasn't had much time to look for a house.

Now that Gao Jian has wiped out the Zuo family, he has some wealth, more than enough to buy a small house in the capital.

However, there is now a problem.

I don't know where Dansha and Shujian are, let's go check out the inn first.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw a horse flying in from the horizon.

The horse was extremely magnificent and had long since become monstrous. Its cultivation had reached a certain level, with fire burning beneath its feet and smoke billowing from its mouth. It rode on clouds, appearing remarkably harmonious amidst the smoke and fire.

The steed galloped all the way here, neighed, and landed with a thud in front of Gao Jian.

"Walking Dragon?" Gao Jian raised an eyebrow, walked up, and stroked the horse's mane.

Isn't Zou Long in the inn's stables? I've been riding Dan Sha these past few days, so I haven't seen Zou Long for a few days.

"Laughing, laughing, laughing!" The dragon then stood up, raised its head and cried out, then nuzzled against Gao Jian.

Gao Jian touched its fur; it was shiny and smooth, with a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, suggesting it had eaten quite a bit these past few days.

Fortunately, the bill was settled with cinnabar.

Come to think of it, ever since we arrived in the capital, it seems that Dan Sha has always been in charge of paying for everything we've done and everything we've eaten...

Thinking about it that way, I feel rather embarrassed.

However, this young heiress is much richer than Gao Jian, so this amount of money is probably nothing to her.

Thinking this, Gao Jian asked Zou Long, "You suddenly came to find me, so Dan Sha and the others must have let you out of the stable, right? If that's the case, she let you come to lead the way?"

The dragon did not become a demon, so it was not very intelligent. It belonged to the spirit type, but it was not stupid either. It understood human nature. It could not speak, but it could understand human speech and could also think in a simple way.

So it nodded decisively, shook its neck, and gestured for the wise man to mount his horse.

Gao Jian didn't hesitate and immediately mounted his horse: "Let's go then, I'll see where Dan Sha and the others went!"

The dragon then lifted its front hooves into the air, and with a sudden leap, set off with its high vision.

To be honest, this is how most people in the capital city travel. It's actually very rare to see someone always riding around in such an eye-catching vehicle as a real dragon.

Riding a horse, or some other spirit beast, is inconspicuous but not slow. This is the situation in the capital. A heavenly horse like the Dragon Walker, before it was transformed into a monster, could usually be bought for five or six hundred, or six or seven hundred gold coins. For cultivators in the capital, it was still worthwhile to save up money to buy one, since they needed a means of transportation.

Flying all the time is tiring; flying magic is no easy feat.

As Gao Jian thought this, Zou Long ran in the sky on his own, without needing Gao Jian's help to find his direction.

Before long, the dragon ran out of the Taiwei Enclosure and arrived at the Zhuque District.

Takashi looked around and realized that he was in Liuxiu, Suzaku District.

The eight stars of the Willow constellation are the celestial kitchen stewards, in charge of food, flavors, and also thunder and rain.

This place is where many restaurants and delicacies of the Divine Dynasty gather, and it is also where thunder and rain are arranged. Dan Sha's choice of this place is quite ingenious. It matches her temperament very well, and the location is also suitable for the true dragon to dwell.

However, Gao Jian felt that she might not understand the division of constellations, but subconsciously felt that this place was suitable for her, so she chose to spend New Year's Eve here.

That's good too. Dansha's brain isn't very sharp, and he doesn't like reading much, but his senses are exceptionally keen, and his intuition is very sharp, so even if he doesn't understand something, he won't make too many mistakes, which can be considered a kind of compensation.

After all, when you're out in the world, you have to have at least one thing you can be good at, right?
Thinking this, Takami passed by the street where the restaurant was located.

I thought the dragon would stop here, but to my surprise, it continued forward, passing the restaurant, then sped up, turned a corner, and arrived at the residential area.

"Residential houses?" Gao Jian asked, puzzled.

But as soon as he landed, he saw Shu Jian sitting on the roof, watching the dragon, and then leap over and land precisely on Gao Jian's head.

This place had become his personal throne, yet he lay casually atop Gao Jian's head: "You've arrived?"

"We're here. Where is this? Why are we meeting here? When did you arrive?" Gao Jian looked around at the buildings with some confusion.

This is a typical building in the style of the capital city.

Everything was provided, and the decorations were arranged according to the New Year's Eve theme, with lamps, candles, and a two-zhang-high (approximately 6.6 meters) pillar of fireworks, dazzling and spectacular.

The doors and windows are exquisitely carved, and there are two stone statues of lions and mythical beasts at the entrance, which are obviously magical treasures used to ward off evil spirits and guard the house.

Embroidered windows and curtains, lightly drawn silk curtains.

Musk fragrance and purple smoke, plum blossoms by the spring pond.

Thresholds and beams, complemented by orchids and magnolias.

The trees and artificial hills are lush and verdant.

Although it's not particularly grand or luxurious, it's a refreshing courtyard, quite valuable, and it's clear at a glance that the people living here are definitely not short of money.

The mansion has three courtyards and four floors, covering an area of ​​a little over one acre. Although it is not in the Three Walls or the most expensive place in the capital, such a house in this location would probably cost 100,000 gold coins.

Prices are very high in the capital city.

"It was all sorted out yesterday. You were so engrossed in reading in the scripture pavilion that I didn't want to disturb you. I was even thinking of going to look for you myself since I couldn't find you through the dragon-walking technique. Luckily, you came." Rat Rat said, "This was bought with cinnabar. This dragon is really extravagant. Sigh, I need to find a chance to let her have her."

"Bought it with cinnabar? Oh, you live in the capital, right?" Gao Jian nodded: "This house is quite big, it's pretty nice."

It's really quite good, but Gao Jian himself definitely can't afford it. After the Zuo family was wiped out, he did have a profit of several hundred thousand gold, but in reality, he left all of that money in Cangzhou and distributed it to many people in the outer city of Cangzhou in the form of properties, which were then handed over to Li Jun and the others to manage. So, in reality, Gao Jian only has a few thousand gold in his mustard seed bag.

Shu Jian nodded: "Well, since you're already here, you can stay here by yourself for a while. I need to go to the formation area."

"What kind of formation?" Gao Jian asked curiously.

Shu Jian said, "The communication array is too expensive. It's New Year's Eve. We should send a message to Rat Mountain. It's a million miles away, and it costs more than a hundred gold coins per quarter of an hour. We usually can't bear to use it, but it's New Year's Eve. We should at least see the mountain lord and the others, right?"

“I see, then we should go.” Gao Jian nodded.

"Then I'll be going first. Dansha is in there. She has her own communication magic item, so she doesn't need to go to the formation. Sigh, it's so good to be rich." Shu Jian sighed at the difference between a rat and a dragon, then got on all fours, flapping his four legs, and headed towards the distant street corner.

The capital city certainly has global communication capabilities, and some high-level cultivators even possess the ability to teleport instantly within its borders, but naturally, the price won't be cheap.

A quarter of an hour costs over a hundred gold coins, and a minute costs over ten gold coins. For many low-level cultivators in the capital, just wanting to talk to their hometown people would require using up a large portion of their savings.

Therefore, only someone of the seventh realm demon level like Shu Jian has enough confidence to use this kind of remote communication.

Living in the capital is no easy feat.

Thinking this, Gao Jian walked into the courtyard and happened to hear Dan Sha's voice coming from the covered bridge.

"Uncle! Yes, yes, do you see how powerful I've become? Let me tell you, I've already entered the Imperial Academy's Scripture Pavilion, and there's even the Haolong Scripture in there! It even has the cultivation method for true dragons, and the grade isn't low either. Luckily, I didn't see the Heavenly Evolution Record, otherwise I would have suspected that the Ao family had a spy."

"Mmm, don't worry. Look, there are so many things in the capital. I recently got a new makeup look. Can you tell the colors are different? Can't you tell? Hey! Uncle!"

Gao Jian looked at the cinnabar in the distance, laughing and joking in front of a water mirror, looking lively and cute. Although the water mirror seemed to have some kind of anti-peeping screen mechanism, preventing Gao Jian from seeing what was inside, judging from the voices, it was probably Jingjiang Jun on the other side.

That's fine too. Dansha lost her parents at a young age and was raised by Lord Jingjiang. It's normal for her to talk to this uncle on New Year's Eve.

Shu Jian went back to find the mountain lord of Rat Mountain.

Dansha is chatting with Jingjiang Jun.

Looking at it this way, Gao Jian suddenly seemed to realize... for the time being, he was alone, along with Zou Long.

So he led the dragon.

Since coming into this world, I have been constantly busy.

I arrived in autumn, and now it's already New Year's Eve and the beginning of spring.

This period of time, whether it's a lot or a little, is still about half a year, roughly... five or six months.

Along the way, many things happened every day, and Gao Jian dared not slack off for a moment. The only time he could relax was when he had just destroyed the Dragon Palace and returned to the Demon Suppression Division camp, where he was taking a bath.

That bath honed his skills and sharpened his edge.

Besides, he devoted himself to his studies every night, and the first thing he did every morning was to practice his skills, fearing that his strength would not keep up and that his strategies would be flawed.

This kind of life is exhausting, but I can't let go of my lofty ideals, so I get used to it as I get tired.

He really can't let go.

Whether it's affectation or good intentions, he just can't stand many things that happen in the Divine Dynasty.

If you can't stand it, then you should do something about it.

To get involved in these matters, you have to offend people.

If you offend someone, you have to find a way to resolve it. So Gao Jian has been constantly on the verge of life and death, fighting against the Dragon Palace, the Zuo family, and the Taotie tribe in the capital. Now he has offended the Youming Land of the Yellow Springs lineage, which is a top immortal sect of the Divine Dynasty, on par with the Zhenjing Dao Palace and Tiangong Mountain.

Every step was a matter of life and death, so Gao Jian had to do his best and rack his brains, making every day incredibly fulfilling, to the point that he had no time to appreciate the passage of time or indulge in sentimentality.

However, at this time, it was New Year's Eve, and seeing that Dansha and Shujian were both contacting their families, Gaojian, who originally wanted to continue practicing, couldn't help but stop.

At this point, taking a short break for half an hour shouldn't be a big deal, right? Sit down for a bit before continuing your practice.

New Year's Eve.

To be honest, his original world also had a Lunar New Year's Eve, but there was no 'Xi Beast' that would descend on that Lunar New Year, and the New Year was not a 'New Year's hurdle'.

To be honest, it was a safer world, a more peaceful world, as peaceful as it is right now.

So Gao Jian sat down by the door.

The courtyard inside the house was relatively quiet, while the area outside the door was quite lively.

This is Liusu, a place with many restaurants. Today, many people cook at home and also come out to eat. You can see some families from the capital strolling and playing here. There are also many street performers and food vendors on the road. Families stroll together, holding snacks in their hands, watching the various street performers.

The most common practice is animal taming. Common examples include fish leaping through knife gates, bees and butterflies being commanded, bears somersaulting, and donkeys dancing on branches, all of which resemble taming monsters to perform various acts.

Some more advanced forms include illusions, dramas, and crafts such as sword dances, knife dances, and handicrafts. These are not ordinary performances but incorporate magical techniques. From the outside, one sees billowing clouds, countless strange formations, towers and cities, figures and bridges, exotic flowers and rare herbs, and exotic birds and animals—truly a fairyland. Suddenly, it transforms into a wondrous fairyland, then into a vast army, and then into a jade mountain and a silver sea, a mesmerizing and intoxicating spectacle.

Knowing it's an illusion, yet feeling as if it's real.

There were also some contestants, such as two wrestlers who were covered in oil and swaggered around on the stage. But when they met, they set up a stage, gathered a crowd, and fought together. There were many scoundrels and ignorant young men, each with money to gamble on the match, and set up a counter to take a cut. The crowd was no less than several thousand people, and the noise shook the neighborhood.

As the aroma of many delicious foods wafted over, even the gods concealed their man-eating teeth and revealed their magnificent and beautiful side.

Gao Jian didn't participate in any of this; he just watched.

I once heard a saying that is quite insightful.

The saying goes: "The word 'loneliness' can be broken down into children, fruits, puppies, and flies, enough to fill a summer evening alleyway with warmth and human touch. Children hold melons under willow branches, puppies chase butterflies in the deep alley. The world is bustling with laughter, but I am left with only the wind in my hair. Children, fruits, cats, dogs, and flies are certainly lively, but they have nothing to do with you. That is loneliness."

On New Year's Eve in the Divine Dynasty, fireworks were in full bloom outside, but Gao Jian was silent.

However, just then, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"Brilliant idea! Oh dear, what are you doing hiding here? Come in quickly. Look, the house I bought for you, you can finally settle down in the capital. What do you think?"

The sound made Gao Jian turn his head, and he happened to see Dan Sha spinning around in place, showing off.

(End of this chapter)