I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 224 Dead for Four Years
In his dream, Cheng Zhi had no doubt as to why he was addressed as Chief Secretary.

He paused for a moment, then raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

laughed:

"I never expected to dream of an immortal today. I suppose it's because I've been thinking about him during the day that I dream about him at night. The immortal's demeanor is still the same, exactly as it was when we met a few years ago."

Cheng Zhi then began to talk about his own situation.

"Everything is fine now. Last year, I was promoted to Chief Clerk, so I no longer have to travel between counties. Although I am an assistant official, I have been able to take up a post in the prefecture."

"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to that encounter with the immortals back then..."

Jiang She listened for a while.

The former magistrate Cheng is now doing quite well. His daily worries, aside from official duties, are the difficulties of raising his children. Aside from that, he enjoys a harmonious marriage, his elders are still alive, and his career has been promoted—good fortune that many people could only dream of.

I waited until Cheng Zhi finished telling me about the past four years.

Jiang She then spoke, asking:

"Does the magistrate remember Zhang Zhenmei and his two companions who committed fraud in Xiangyang back then?"

Cheng Zhi naturally remembered.

He visited the Lu family several times, staring blankly at the nest of ants, but couldn't figure out how there could be an ant kingdom inside.

"The three of them have repaid most of their money."

"I hear that he still reads Taoist scriptures at the foot of Mount Lumen every day. I roughly calculated before that I would have to pay back another six or seven thousand strings of cash, and it would take another twenty or thirty years to pay it back."

Cheng Zhi simply took it as a dream and wasn't so afraid of the immortals.

He said with relish:

“Cheng’s brother-in-law said that one day the wind and rain were so strong that they had to stop and find a place to take shelter from the rain. But they saw the three people still coming to the mountainside to chant scriptures, which they found strange.”

"Only after asking did I learn that the three people hadn't originally intended to come because of the strong wind and heavy rain. But as soon as the thought of not wanting to go and chant scriptures crossed their minds, they became frightened and paranoid, saying they could still hear thunder in their ears..."

This is most likely just hearsay.

Jiang She did not recall ever scaring the three men with thunder.

He smiled, stroking the cat in his hand.

In a leisurely tone: "Back then, Chief Secretary Cheng entrusted me with finding their sect. Now I have found it and punished them thoroughly. Chief Secretary Cheng no longer needs to worry."

In recent years, Xiangyang has been peaceful, and Cheng Zhi has almost forgotten about this matter.

He thought about it carefully, but still couldn't remember the name of his sect, and felt a little embarrassed.

Archway.

"Thank you, Immortal."

Jiang She could tell that Cheng Zhi didn't remember very well. He smiled slightly and flicked his finger on Cheng Zhi's forehead.

Cheng Zhi was puzzled.

The next moment, he fainted in his dream.

……

……

"Old Cheng, Old Cheng..."

"Brother-in-law, wake up! It's already evening, why are you sleeping so soundly? Get up and wake up."

Madam Zhao put down her fan and gently patted her husband, who was still breathing evenly and sleeping like a log. The servant called for the chief steward to come for dinner, but after calling him several times without him waking up, he had no choice but to report to Madam Zhao.

No matter how they called, he wouldn't wake up.

Madam Zhao was a little anxious and reached out to pinch his waist.

"hiss……"

Cheng Zhi felt a slight pain in his lower back in his dream.

He opened his eyes groggily, took a moment to catch his breath, and found that it was already dark. Servants were lighting lamps in the room. His wife, his cousin's husband, his cousin, and several servants were all staring at him.

Cheng Zhi propped himself up and rubbed his head.

He remembered that dream.

Thinking of the towering flames in my dream, the strange and unusual technique of Cheng Qiao, the collapsing mountains, the incense burning before the incense burners, and the lingering sounds of worship...

All of these things come together.

Cheng Zhi was somewhat lost in thought, listening to his brother-in-law's words while his mind kept wandering to the great fire he had dreamed of.

It was so real that he could hardly believe it was really a dream.

When she saw her husband wake up, Madam Zhao glared at him in annoyance.

He complained, "You're always busy with official duties day and night, look at the state you've become! You dared to hide your discomfort from me. You should have told me earlier. Even if it were something as important as the play, you should have put it aside and rested properly."

As his wife continued her nagging, Cheng Zhi gradually came to his senses.

He smiled and was helped to his feet by his servant.

He put the dream of the immortal back into his heart.

"Madam, you have wronged me. I just had a dream and slept for a while."

They had simply slept a little too long during their midday nap, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Cheng Zhi wake up. No one pressed him to tell them what he had dreamt about.

While Wang Erlang was eating, he felt his brother-in-law looking him up and down several times.

After the meal, his brother-in-law stopped him. His brother-in-law's tone sounded a bit strange, and he spoke with unusual respect, not like someone casually going out for a picnic.

"Erlang, next time you go to the temple to worship the immortals, let me know in advance so I can go and worship with you."

……

……

By this time, Jiang She had gradually walked to the houses of the nearby residents.

According to the map Cheng Zhi had given him, Yuezhou was located in the Jiangnan East Circuit, with a dense network of waterways, and its administrative center was in Kuaiji County.

The mountains and rivers were beautiful, and the lake was like a mirror, reflecting the greenery of the mountains above and below, full of vitality. Jiang She looked into the distance and saw the fishing boatmen. They went over, asked about the fare, and paid to cross the river.

The water rippled slightly.

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu found some dry rations and dried meat. The flatbread was made by the same cook on the boat, and his skills were quite good.

Jiang She wasn't very hungry, so he didn't eat anything yet. The kettle was bubbling and steaming, and he planned to use the boatman's tea set to brew himself a bowl of light tea later.

The boatman noticed that the group of people were unfamiliar faces, carrying little luggage, and dressed as scholars and Taoist priests.

He used his long pole to ask:

"Are you gentlemen students from the county school? Are you here for an outing today?"

Jiang She also remained calm.

"It's to find friends."

"I wonder if the boatman has heard of Yan Xuelin and Zeng Yuze? I heard they are also from Kuaiji. It's been four years since I last saw them. They still owe me a good drink from back then."

The boatman pondered.

"But Yan Si and Zeng Qi?"

Jiang She had only met them once, and did not know their birth order in their families, only that they had returned to their hometown after failing to complete their studies.

He said:

"They didn't mention their birth order in the family, and we only met briefly. They were thirty-eight or thirty-nine years old then, and four years have passed; they should be over forty by now."

The boatman nodded.

"That's right!"

The boatman sighed.

He looked at the person in front of him with a pitiful expression, pondered for a moment, and didn't know how to comfort him.

To be straightforward and direct.

"My lord, you have no idea that these two people have been dead for four years!"

Li Bai, who was drinking from his water pouch, was immediately choked.

Half a sac of water spilled on him, and he coughed violently.

Beside him, Yuan Danqiu helplessly handed over a handkerchief. Taibai hurriedly helped up the water bag, shook the water off his clothes, and casually wiped himself with the handkerchief.

Li Bai raised his head, looked at the boatman strangely, and asked.

"died?"

The boatman looked at them with a pitying expression.

"That's right, they've been dead for four years. Luckily, the fare was paid in full, and the boatman was kind enough to take them all the way to Kuaiji, where both of them died."

"For four years, he has remained motionless and in a coma."

"We consulted many doctors, and they all advised us to bury him in the ground for peace."

“But the Zeng family couldn’t bear to part with it and kept it quietly in the room. In my opinion, it should have been buried sooner.”

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)