The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 252 Writing Another Calligraphy (4k)

By the morning of the next day, many of the people of Hexi Town had gathered at the ferry.

Everyone in sight was busy preparing their fishing boats for departure, and their movements were noticeably more hurried than usual.

Because early this morning, Li Laosan's wife, along with her child, called out one by one the neighbors she usually got along with, crying.

"Don't panic, Li family's daughter-in-law. My elder brother and my eldest nephew are both good at swimming. It's not the flood season. The boat must have broken down on the way, which is why we've been delayed until now."

"Yes, yes, just you wait. Once we get out of here, we'll find it back exactly as it was!"

It turned out that Li Laosan and his son had gone out crabbing all night and hadn't returned. Normally, they should have been back around midnight. So early this morning, Li Laosan's daughter-in-law came crying and gathered a large group of people.

She was terrified that her father-in-law and husband had both drowned.

The women around them were slowly trying to comfort him.

After hearing all this, Li's wife felt more at ease, and simply held her child while responding to her wives in a soft voice.

Just then, someone with sharp eyes suddenly shouted:

"Third Uncle and the others are back!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

Sure enough, Li Laosan and his son were running towards them, their faces pale and still in shock.

Several people who were nearby rushed forward to help, and after they had steadied the man, they asked in bewilderment, "Old Li, how did you get back from this side? Where's the boat? Did it capsize halfway there?"

As they were talking, they thought about seeing if they could fish him out.

Fishing boats are the lifeblood of these fishermen. Don't underestimate this small wooden boat. If you really want to buy a new one, you'll have to empty most of your savings. It'll make you vomit blood!

But before they could even catch their breath, the father and son hurriedly grabbed the person who was about to leave, waving their hands repeatedly: "No! No! You absolutely can't go!"

"What's going on?" This reaction made everyone even more puzzled.

Li Laosan and his companion, who had run back, wanted to answer, but they were too out of breath to do so. They had to be helped to sit down and catch their breath for a while before they could finally speak:
"There are monsters in the water! We really can't go out carelessly!"

"monster?!"

Upon hearing that it was a monster, the crowd erupted in uproar.

"What's going on, Lao Li? Don't try to fool us! We all rely on the water for a living!"

If there are monsters in the water, that could really be the death of fishermen.

Not only might the water be eaten, but more importantly, it would cut off their livelihood!

"There really is a monster!" Li Laosan hurriedly defended himself, then slapped his thigh, "Otherwise, why do you think we didn't even bother with the fishing boat and instead ran back around the back mountain?"

That makes sense. Fishermen wouldn't give up their fishing boats, which are their livelihood, unless it's something really serious.

In an instant, everyone's faces darkened, becoming extremely grim.

But some people wondered:

"Uncle, it's not that we wish you ill, we just want to ask, if you really encountered a monster, how did you manage to return safely? Please tell us, so that if we ever run into one in the future, we'll have a way to deal with it!"

Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes lit up instantly:
"Oh dear! I almost forgot about that! The wooden sign! Yes, the wooden sign! My son bought a wooden sign yesterday, and it was with that sign that we managed to push the monster back into the water!"

"A wooden plaque? Could it be this?"

As soon as he said that, several people around him started taking things out.

Some pulled out a thick wooden plaque, while others took out a neatly stacked calligraphy copybook, all of which prominently displayed the four large characters "禁扰津渡" (prohibit disturbance at the ferry crossing) written by Du Yuan.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's it! That's it!" Old Li nodded excitedly. "Last night, my son and I encountered that monster, and we were saved only by this!"

"It really works!" someone exclaimed, holding up a wooden sign with delight.

“I knew that young master was truly capable!” another person exclaimed.

A gasp of surprise came from the crowd:
"My goodness, could this be the God of Literature descending to earth?"

The ferry crossing was instantly filled with noise as more and more people rushed over, bombarding Li Laosan and his son with questions about what had happened to them the night before.

The father and son, who had been somewhat shaken, now felt like they were being fawned over by the crowd.

Her back straightened unconsciously, and most of her previous panic had dissipated. She then began to recount her experience from the previous night with great enthusiasm, gesturing and speaking as if afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

"Let me tell you, that monster was an armored fish almost half the size of our fishing boat."

On the other side, several shops that had seized the opportunity to print and sell calligraphy yesterday had just opened their doors when a large crowd of people surged toward their shops.

The shopkeeper and his staff were startled, thinking they had somehow offended someone and gotten into trouble. They frantically tried to stop them, until they heard shouts from the crowd:
"Are there any calligraphy practice books left to sell!?"

"Give me two!"

The staff in the shop breathed a sigh of relief, their faces instantly breaking into smiles, and they hurriedly ran out from behind the counter to greet the customer.
"Don't worry, everyone! Even if we're out of stock right now, we'll work overtime to get it done so that it won't delay you!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the fishermen hurriedly waved their hands, their faces changing:

"We wouldn't dare ask you to work overtime to rush this! We can wait, but you have to make it carefully for us! Don't worry, it's a bit pricey, but this is a life-saving item, so we can't be careless!"

The shopkeeper was taken aback by these words, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly grabbed a fisherman and pressed him for an answer:
"What do you mean? Could it be that someone really encountered something in the water?"

"That's right!" The fisherman was also gesturing excitedly, even more so than Li Laosan. "It was Li Laosan and his son who went out to sea to catch crabs last night and really ran into a monster! I heard them say that the monster was a copper-skinned fish that was several times bigger than their fishing boat, and it was very fierce!"

"Guess what?"

The fisherman paused deliberately, but seeing only the shopkeeper's curious expression, he deflated and continued:

"That ferocious thing was actually intimidated by the calligraphy copybook that Li Laosan had! Otherwise, how could they have made it back alive?"

"Wow, that's amazing?"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. While busy wrapping calligraphy practice sheets for customers, he secretly pulled aside his assistant and whispered instructions:
"I remember those original woodblocks we acquired were directly rubbings from that young gentleman's calligraphy copybook, right? I'm not mistaken, am I?"

The waiter nodded quickly, a hint of smugness in his voice:

"No mistake! Shopkeeper, I fought tooth and nail to snatch this one back then. I reckon it was one of the first twenty or thirty, much earlier than the ones that were later acquired!"

"Then quickly find a safe place to store it, don't lose it!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Let's keep this treasure for ourselves, to suppress our shop's fortune, so it doesn't fall apart!"

The waiter looked completely bewildered, scratched his head, and asked in confusion:

"Shopkeeper, isn't this for fighting monsters? How can you use it like this?" The shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him, his tone full of disdain.
"You idiot! Those calligraphy copybooks that have been rubbed several times are so effective, how could ours, which are directly copied from the original woodblocks, be any less useful? Haven't you heard what they say in those storybooks?"

"The magical treasures of immortals are always incredibly useful; who knows how precious ours might be!"

Upon hearing this, the waiter agreed with the manager's words and quickly responded.

He turned around and hurriedly found a safe place to hide the original boards carefully, afraid that they might get bumped or damaged.
-
When Du Yuan came down from the restaurant, she saw a crowd gathered on the street in front of the restaurant, making a ruckus.

In the center of the crowd, a sharp-looking man stood on a long bench and spoke vividly to the audience:

"Do you know just how big the monster that Li Laosan dealt with last night using that calligraphy book from the young master was?"

He paused deliberately, causing the people surrounding him to shake their heads:

Stop keeping me in suspense! Just tell me how big it is!

"Exactly! I'm so impatient! Please continue!"

Seeing everyone's enthusiastic support, the man's face immediately lit up with a smug look. He cleared his throat and raised his voice:

"It's so big it could completely block half the river! And it's not just any big fish, it's a steel-armored fish covered in steel scales!"

"Wow! So fierce and so big?" Everyone exclaimed in unison, their faces full of disbelief.

"Of course it's real!" the man slapped his thigh, speaking with absolute certainty. "It's that fierce, that big!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a man who had just squeezed in from outside frowned and whispered something in his ear:

"That's not right, that's not what I heard."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic flashed across the man standing on the bench—he hadn't actually seen a monster; he'd only heard some embellishments from gossip.

But the words had already been spoken, so all he could do was stubbornly insist:

"What's wrong with that? I heard it from Li Laosan himself! How could it be false?"

The burly man who had just entered didn't dare argue with him. He just scratched the back of his head and muttered uncertainly:
"But... but I just heard people at the ferry crossing say that the monster is much bigger than this, big enough to block the entire river!"

The first man was taken aback, but he immediately slapped his forehead and said:

"Yes, it's the one that blocked the entire river channel. I misremembered!"

The moment these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, then erupted into chaos again.

"So exaggerated?"

"really?"

"That's not necessarily true. I saw that beggar eat the food of dozens of people yesterday. If humans can be this powerful, it's not surprising that monsters are just as powerful, is it?"

"Didn't you say you ate for more than a hundred people?"

As everyone was chattering away, someone with sharp eyes suddenly shouted:
"The young master is coming down!"

Upon hearing this, everyone swarmed around Du Yuan again.

"Young master, please tell us some ways to deal with monsters!"

"Yes, yes, we are just ordinary people. If you don't give us some pointers, we'll be completely helpless when we encounter problems in the future!"

Such a commotion surprised even Du Yuan.

No, I caught it last night?
Startled, Du Yuan couldn't help but turn around and glance at the calligraphy scroll that had always hung in the main hall of the restaurant.

After Du Yuan withdrew his gaze, he turned to the crowd and said:

"Everyone, everyone, please be quiet. Can someone tell me what's going on? I just got up and I don't even know what happened yet!"

These words did not calm the atmosphere down; instead, they made everyone even more excited as they talked about what happened to Li Laosan last night.

When all the calamities came, even Du Yuan felt her ears ringing.

However, Du Yuan also figured out the situation.

Furthermore, he deduced more from this point—that many people have their eyes on that sword, and most of them have already become impatient and started causing trouble!

Du Yuan wasn't quite sure why the monster was released into the water, but he was certain that such a coincidence must be related to the sword.

After all, Du Yuan had seen enough similar cases in the Southwest!

Thinking of this, Du Yuan couldn't help but sigh:

'Once again, for personal gain, they are performing demonic acts.'

Du Yuan did want the sword, not that she didn't. After all, her friend had said that the sword was a perfect match for her, and thinking about it that way, it was indeed a rare and excellent sword.

But if someone else were to get there first, he would never commit murder or robbery, nor would he harbor any resentment. At most, he would just sigh "what a pity" in his heart.

But these people insist on using demonic matters to disturb the people and harm their lives. Then they can't blame me for showing no mercy and taking their lives!
Although he had not yet carefully examined the changes in his cultivation level, Du Yuan could already clearly sense them.

After this night, or rather, this morning's experiences, his Confucian cultivation has risen significantly.

Of course, such progress may not be enough to directly compete with those unassuming "old hands".

But if you really push him too far, the one coming to your door won't be this gentle and refined scholar, but your Taoist master!
Furthermore, if it comes to the point where even a Taoist identity is useless, Du Yuan becomes somewhat curious—in such a situation, does the other party still have the strength to break through his Buddhist cultivation?

He didn't know if anyone could really push him to such a desperate situation, but he had a faint expectation: if he really encountered it, how would the other party react?
That scene must have been incredibly spectacular!

Thinking of this, Du Yuan couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly and chuckle softly.

Just then, a thin man pushed through the crowd and quickly walked to Du Yuan. He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, his tone somewhat hesitant yet full of pleading:
"Young sir, I am not a fisherman who makes a living by the water, but a woodcutter who goes up the mountain to chop wood every day. Since you have given the villagers who make a living by the water a calligraphy scroll to avoid disaster, could you also give something to us who live in the mountains?"

The man paused, then quickly added, "After all, monsters can come from the water, and who knows, there might be some in the mountains too! If we really encounter one, we won't even have anywhere to hide."

These words instantly reminded Du Yuan. Yes, since the other party had already tampered with things in the water, how could they easily let go of the mountains? She might as well write another piece of calligraphy!

In this way, he can both help these poor villagers avoid risks and improve his own character by gaining the gratitude of the people, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Du Yuan always enjoyed doing things that helped others and herself, and her heart immediately felt lighter.

He immediately nodded and addressed the surrounding crowd in a loud voice:

"Yes, you're right! Come, come, folks, please step aside and give me some space. I'll write another piece of calligraphy for you all right away!"

(End of this chapter)