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Chapter 99: Lao Yakou (Part )
The next morning, at daybreak, Bai Laoyan got up and urged everyone, "Hurry up and get going!"

Fu Jingyu took out a pocket almanac from his arms and flipped through it. Today's ban:
Night travel, bathing, marriage, and woodcutting.

Xu Yuan leaned over to take a look and was even more envious: "The Dali calendar published by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory is a pocket-sized edition. Wow, the young masters of wealthy families are really rich."

Fu Jingyu looked at him speechlessly: "Brother Xu, are you deliberately making such a face that hates the rich? Are you trying to squeeze me?"

Xu Yuan laughed: "Exactly!"

Fu Jingyu just said "oh".

He really just asked for an answer, leaving Xu Yuan speechless: "You guy, you are so boring."

The Imperial Astronomical Observatory was responsible for checking and publishing the annual almanac.

Initially, private reprinting was not allowed, which resulted in public outrage.

A copy of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's almanac costs two taels of silver. How could ordinary people afford it?

Later, the rule was relaxed, allowing private bookstores and printing houses to reprint the works, but they had to pay a sum of money to the Imperial Observatory based on the quantity.

After that, people got used to calling the almanac published by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory "Dali".

The price also rose to ten taels of silver per book, and there were even fifty taels per book.

But the one worth fifty taels can be considered a "lucky item". It is said that if you buy one and hang it at home, it can ensure peace in the house throughout the year and protect the owner from unexpected disasters.

In Jiaozhi, they all used the private calendar reprinted by "Jichengtang". The one hanging in Xu Yuan's house was one of them, and it cost ten cents a copy.

Fu Jingyu put the almanac back into his pocket. Everyone came out of the shack and suddenly felt something was wrong. They looked up and saw Mr. Piaodang hanging on a tall tree at the door of the shack, swaying in the morning breeze.

So I just passed by him...

Everyone's face was not looking good. Bai Laoyan roared, "Get down!"

Mr. Piaodang came down quickly.

"To get to Guanghuo Street, we have to pass through Laoyakou." Bai Laoyan said, "Let's get rid of them on the riverbank in front of Laoyakou!"

Bai Laoyan tied his leg wraps and said, "There are still 120 miles of mountain road ahead. We have to get there within an hour and a half, otherwise we might be late."

Old Yan looked embarrassed. He was a practitioner of magic, and he practiced algorithms. He was not physically strong, and no one rode horses when entering the mountains this time.

Lu Zhengyan said: “I can bring one person.”

Old Bai looked at Xu Yuan and Fu Jingyu again.

Fu Jingyu took out a set of armor and said, "I can keep up."

But he only had one set of armor and horse.

Xu Yuan released the craftsman pill, stepped on the wheel and urged the fire in his belly: "I have no problem either."

Bai Laoyan nodded and said, "Okay, let's go!"

As they started running, Bai Laoyan unexpectedly discovered that the fastest one was Xu Yuan!
The stepmother's craftsmanship is very impressive.

Even though Mr. Piaodang was floating in the air, his speed was a little slower than Xu Yuan.

Lu Zhengyan carried Mr. Yan on his back and fell to the back.

Bai Laoyan is now at the front of the whole team because he is leading the way.

Xu Yuan was only half a body behind and seemed to be at ease.

The third one is Mr. Piaodang.

The fourth one is actually... Daifuku!
The big white goose was originally held in Xu Yuan's arms, but it seemed that it didn't like being held. It broke free by itself not long after running for a while, and then flapped its wings - and took off!
After gliding for half a mile, he landed, ran for a while, and took off again! While others were running hard, Dafu was having a blast.

Although Fu Jingyu had a horse armor on him, he still had to run hard and started to breathe heavily.

Fu Jingyu looked at Xu Yuan who was riding the fire wheel in front of him, and gasped: "It's obviously you craftsmen who are the most extravagant!"

How dare you bully me? Xu Yuan isn't a craftsman, but he can be considered a craftsman from a long lineage.

Bai Laoyan couldn't help but feel competitive, and his feet became faster and faster. Xu Yuan was still only half a body length behind him, no more, no less.

This made things difficult for Fu Jingyu and Lu Zhengyan who were behind.

The original plan was to take an hour and a half, but in the end, they arrived at Lao Yakou in just over an hour.

Xu Yuan retracted the wheel, extinguished the anger in his heart, and said to himself that it was a close call. If it was any further, his anger would not be enough.

Bai Laoyan's feather cloak was wet and soaked with sweat.

I also feel a little regretful. What's the point of competing with young kids? My old arms and legs are as tired as a grandson.

Fu Jingyu was breathing heavily with his tongue sticking out, and he could compete with Mr. Piaodang.

He took several medicinal pills in a row to replenish his strength as quickly as possible.

The medicinal pills were then distributed to everyone, and a fierce battle was about to begin.

Xu Yuan got three of them, his eyes lit up, what a good stuff.

The fire in my stomach, which was about to dry up, was quickly replenished.

Bai Laoyan shook his hand: "I can't eat these."

He also had his own method. He took out a black rhizome, which was probably some kind of Polygonum multiflorum or Astragalus membranaceus grown in the mountains. He took a small bite, and his pale face turned back to a sallow color.

Xu Yuan began to observe the surrounding terrain, looking for a place to ambush.

During this observation, his eyes met those of a huge eyeball on a distant cliff.

Laoyakou is a gorge several dozen feet wide, with a river seven or eight feet wide flowing through it. The cliffs on both sides are steep and towering hundreds of feet high.

The stone was as black as a raven's feathers.

It was as if ink could be dripped down, dyeing the river beach within a hundred feet below the cliff black.

At a height of fifty or sixty feet on the cliff, an eye as big as three feet suddenly opened.

His eyes were equally dark, cold and ruthless, turning stiffly as he slowly scanned every person on the riverbank below.

At this moment, everyone, including the old mountain runner, understood that the "disguise" imposed by the Mountain Monument on itself could not be hidden from the crow's eye at all.

Bai Laoyan said, "See that black area below the cliff? Don't cross that line!"
Lao Ya Kou is one of the two gates of Guanghuo Street. The eye is the gatekeeper. Once you cross that line, the gatekeeper will check you. Except for the hanged ghost, none of us can withstand the inspection! "

Fu Jingyu asked, "What will happen if you can't withstand the investigation?"

"Every gatekeeper has a 'dog,' and their 'dog' hides in the river. If they can't stand being checked, they'll call the 'dog out,' and drag anyone who tries to sneak in into the river and drown them!"

Bai Laoyan pointed down the cliff and said, "See those chains? They're for tying up dogs."

Xu Yuan took a closer look and found that there were indeed seven chains nailed to the bottom of the cliff. Each chain was as thick as an adult's thigh, and the other end was submerged in the river.

Old Yan was stunned: "What kind of giant monster needs to be tied up with such a thick iron chain?"

Bai Laoyan shook his head: "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

The first principle of mountain runners is to follow the rules, and one of them is never to cross the line.

Xu Yuan pointed to a patch of woods on one side of the riverbank and said, "We'll ambush them there. When they come, we'll rush out and cut off their path to Lao Ya Kou."

While calculating, Mr. Yan inserted his counting chips into the riverbank.

Fu Jingyu also seized the opportunity and made some arrangements using his own Maoshan method.

Bai Laoyan also used the mountain man's method to set up several traps.

(End of this chapter)