I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 23 Are there immortals in the world?
Zhang Zhenmei lived in a small courtyard. In fact, it was a courtyard owned by the Lu family in the county. Lu Da had given him the deed, and it was the place where the three of them settled in Xiangyang County.

It was late afternoon, and he was sitting in a chair, basking in the sunlight from the courtyard.

He carried an account book recording the amounts each of the five families had given him. Some of it had already been spent, some had been used to purchase property, and all added up, he still had three or four thousand strings of cash on hand.

This is already an astonishing amount.

Some wealthy families in the county have accumulated wealth over decades of business, and even some county officials who have served for many years may not have this much money.

"Have you raised enough money?"

Zhang Zhenmei was suddenly awakened, and subconsciously raised her head, looked around, and looked toward the sound.

Just then, they saw three people standing in the shade of the trees outside the courtyard gate. One was dressed in an old blue robe and had a handsome face; another was dressed in white and looked wealthy; and the third was an old man in a wide-sleeved robe with white hair and beard.

These were the three people who had suddenly appeared at the Lu family's residence that day.

Jiang She pushed open the door, and the group walked into the courtyard, looking around at the villa.

Although it has a somewhat old feel, with moss covering the stone steps, you can tell that this courtyard was once well-maintained and carefully furnished.

The courtyard is lush and green, connected to the main house. In one corner of the courtyard, a trellis has been built, with grapevines climbing along it. You can also see that the yard used to house dogs, with a specially built doghouse covered in a thick layer of dust, with faint, crooked characters on it, showing a childlike charm.

This may be the place where the Lu family lived when they were young.

It was located in the county town, surrounded by the sounds of street vendors hawking their wares, making it even more lively than the Lu family's own residence. If there was any drawback, it was that it was somewhat small.

He looked at Zhang Zhenmei.

Leisurely, she asked, "When are you planning to send it back?"

Zhang Zhenmei's heart pounded like a drum.

A few breaths passed.

He suppressed his shock and realized that he was still sitting in a chair in front of the immortal master. He quickly stood up and bowed with his hands clasped.

"Greetings, Immortal Master!"

He then bowed to the mountain god and another man in white. Although Lu Sheng had told him that the man was a mortal, standing among the immortals and gods, this man, who was joking and laughing, was not someone to be trifled with.

You should know that it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings.

He maintained his bowing posture, slightly prostrating himself: "I will do my utmost to comply, and dare not overstep my bounds."

"How much money did Lu Daqiu send to you, the immortal?" Jiang She asked leisurely.

Zhang Zhenmei spends all day looking at the account books, knowing the answers without even having to flip through them.

"In reply to the Immortal Master, there are... six hundred and eighty strings of cash, which is not enough. Eight hundred coins are worth one string of cash."

"Count out the money."

"He should have 680 strings of cash, right? Taibai, go and call a few donkey carts for him."

Eight hundred coins were strung together to form a string of cash, and six hundred and eighty strings stacked together were a weight that no ordinary person could bear. The money could only be transported by horse-drawn cart or donkey cart, and it would take several trips.

Xiangyang was a small city, and people were reluctant to spend money, so many used donkey carts, and there were specialized cart and horse companies.

Li Bai agreed, got up, and went out to find a carriage and horse shop.

Only the immortal master and the master of the mountains and rivers remained in the courtyard; they were all immortals and gods.

Zhang Zhenmei's heart pounded like a drum. He swallowed hard, trying his best to calm himself down. He pushed open the door. The two boys, oblivious to the commotion outside, were squatting on the ground, slowly counting their coins. The chest in front of them was almost full. Several other chests were piled up beside them.

He said, "Count out six hundred and eighty strings."

Then he remembered to ask, "When you were making coins, was it 800 coins per string?"

Seeing the two boys nod, Zhang Zhenmei's expression softened somewhat.

The two squatted on the ground and started counting the money again. Zhang Zhenmei didn't want to go out and face the immortal and the god in the courtyard, so she found a chair, sat down, closed her eyes, and listened to the clinking of copper coins.

Qingyu asked, "Master, which family should we give to first?"

"Lu Da."

After a while.

Li Bai has already returned with several donkey carts. There wasn't enough room outside the courtyard, so he borrowed some space from the neighbors.

Because it was a request, I also brought two old-fashioned buns to the neighbor's house to eat. They were flatbreads sandwiched with mutton and roasted together until they were a little dry and charred, with mutton fat dripping down and the aroma filling the air.

"He who eats another's food is bound to him," so the neighbor readily agreed.

They knew nothing about the Lu family, only that the courtyard had recently changed owners to an old Taoist priest with two young disciples. He was elusive and rarely seen, though occasionally carriages would come in to move things. They didn't have any particular relationship with him. They then saw Jiang She and his group.

The neighbors, observing the donkey carts inside and out, asked, "Are you relatives of this family? Are you going on a long journey?"

He swallowed hard, smelling the fragrant, slightly charred aroma of the roasted ancient building. He turned and told his son to take it to the kitchen so the whole family could eat together that evening.

Feeling a little embarrassed to have taken things from them for free, and unwilling to give anything back, the man washed some fruit that the younger generation had picked in the mountains and handed it to the three of them.

Jiang She smiled.

He accepted the fruit offered by his neighbor.

I took a bite, and it was sweet and sour.

It was quite palatable.

People are strange creatures. Sometimes, if you're kind to them and do them a favor, they'll be willing to treat you better in return and give you gifts.

Sometimes, they would argue endlessly over a few feet of wall, determined to get back the advantage, and even write letters to their relatives who were officials to pressure them.

The people here are all simple and honest.

While Zhang Zhenmei and the others were counting the money, Jiang She and his two companions were chatting with their neighbors under the tree at the door.

He said business was good this year; his son had dug up some poria cocos from the mountains, and the wealthy families in the county loved to buy it. He also mentioned that his third brother worked in the county government, was a lowly official, and had even been summoned for questioning by the magistrate, so he had some influence. He said that if anyone encountered thieves or petty thieves, they could go to him.

Jiang She smiled and agreed.

He would say a few words every now and then, but Li Bai, who was standing next to him, said even more.

The neighbors chatted with them for a while and learned that these people were visiting the old Taoist priest and the two junior Taoist priests. They seemed to know them somewhat from their conversation.

He asked curiously.

"Young Master Jiang, everyone says that Taoist priests are ghost catchers. Do you know that old Taoist priest? Has he ever encountered a ghost?"

Jiang She looked at Li Bai.

Li Bai smiled and said, "I have met you."

The neighbor was startled. "Oh dear! That was dangerous! Did that ghost hurt anyone?"

"No injury."

The ghosts that Li Bai saw were all in a daze, confused and ignorant, with few thoughts. If a person had strong blood and yang energy, and was young and strong, they could actually dissipate the ghosts' forms.

If it can harm people, then it must be a ghost with powerful abilities.

The neighbor asked again:

"Do gods really exist in this world? My third brother came back and told everyone he met that some of his colleagues had encountered gods."

"They told it like it was the truth, even my wife believed it. She went back to her family today to tell them, and we couldn't stop her. In my opinion, it's all nonsense. How easy is it to meet a god?"

Jiang She finished eating the fruit and carefully put away the pits. He then listened to the other person speak.

No words were spoken.

Li Bai, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle. He lowered his head and ate some fruit.

The neighbors paid him no attention, preoccupied with the rumors they'd heard over the past few days. Such a rare story had happened in Xiangyang; they'd encountered a celestial being, as if everyone around them had heard of his exploits.

It's rare to find something I haven't heard of before, so I'd like to talk about it more.

"They also say there's an old immortal on Mount Lumen outside the city, with a lot of white hair and beard, just like... just like this old man."

"I almost forgot to ask."

"How old are you this year, sir?"

"He must be eighty or ninety years old, his beard is all white, but he looks so healthy. He's really blessed."

The Deer Gate Mountain God laughed and thought for a moment.

Road.

"There are too many to count..."

　I received so many monthly passes, thank you everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)