Eternal madness

Chapter 26 The Pillar of the Court (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Who are these uninvited guests?" Zhang Laifu looked around and suddenly noticed two men in the crowd.

The two men were asking questions next to the pastry stall, and Zhang Laifu recognized one of them.

That's right, it's him, driver Lao Yu.

A chill ran down Zhang Laifu’s spine, and he quickly looked away. This man was different from Lao Zheng; he wasn’t as cautious and might even kill someone in the street.

Li Yunsheng said, "Those two people came to see you, right?"

Zhang Laifu nodded slightly: "They came to see me."

Li Yunsheng waved his fan, and a cloud of smoke enveloped Zhang Laifu, preventing Lao Yu from noticing him for the time being.

“Brother Laifu, if it were just the two of them, I could handle them, but I also have a guest here.”

"You go first. As long as the incense doesn't go out within a hundred paces, they won't notice you."

He then gave Zhang Laifu a talisman and recited a spell:

"With a single stroke, the talisman soars through the nine heavens; dust flies, smoke rises, and waves surge."

The paper falls on the person, the wind enters the horse, smoke rises from the soles of their feet, without carrying any sand.

The wind obeys my command, and the clouds swirl before me like flowers.

One step across the river, passing beneath the willows; two steps up the mountain, the horizon disappears.

After hearing this incantation, Zhang Laifu felt his blood rushing to his head again.

Li Yunsheng's rhyme was so vivid that Zhang Laifu seemed to see smoke rising from beneath his feet, as if he could run dozens of miles away with a single stride.

"Brother Laifu, once you're a hundred paces away from this stall, the smoke on your body will dissipate. Hold onto this talisman, and if you think about running fast, you'll be able to run very fast. They definitely won't be able to catch you. Get out of here as soon as possible!"

Li Yunsheng handed the talisman to Zhang Laifu and instructed him, "Remember this: if the talisman is completely ruined, it can't be used. You have to get rid of them as soon as possible."

Zhang Laifu thanked him, got up and left. He had only taken about thirty steps when the smoke on his body suddenly dissipated.

That's not even a hundred steps!

Zhang Laifu quickly squeezed into the crowd, unaware of what was going on. All he wanted now was to leave Zhuzi Street as soon as possible.

The problem didn't lie with Zhang Laifu, but with Li Yunsheng, whose uninvited guest had arrived.

A man came to Li Yunsheng's table and, by some unknown means, extinguished all three incense sticks on the table.

Li Yunsheng looked up at the man, about to ask him about his origins, when the man unfolded his folding fan and placed it on Li Yunsheng's talisman.

He was a practitioner of the Zhuyouke (a type of folk healing technique).

But his action was very unfriendly.

He confiscated Li Yunsheng's talisman, indicating that Li Yunsheng was not allowed to do business there.

Li Yunsheng glanced at the man but didn't say anything.

The man first commented on Li Yunsheng's talisman: "The painting on yellow paper is indeed clean and neat, but I wonder if it was written from an old scroll or copied from a later copy?"

This is asking Li Yunsheng whether he has a teacher or apprentice.

Li Yunsheng replied, "Whether it's an old scroll or a copy, my master taught me how to exorcise evil spirits and cure diseases, and it was all real and effective."

The man then asked, "It's easy to expel illness, but difficult to drive away evil. May I ask, sir, whose teachings do you follow?"

Li Yunsheng stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Some people respect the Old Man of the Mountain Grass, while others worship the Yellow Emperor. Master instructed us that we are all of the same bloodline and should not distinguish between each other."

This statement explains the origin and schools of Zhuyouke. Within the Zhuyouke lineage, there are two interpretations of the identity of its founder.

One theory is that he was the ancient divine physician Miao Fu, also known as the Old Man of the Mountain Herbs mentioned by Li Yunsheng. Another theory is that he was the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, also known as the Xuanyuan Emperor mentioned earlier.

Li Yunsheng was able to clearly state his lineage and even indicated that he had studied both schools, which matched Chun Dian's description.

If the other party is serious, they might continue to ask about Li Yunsheng's master's name, but if they do, things will get difficult between them.

The man was a man of principle. He picked up his fan, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am Lan Chunming, the leader of the Black Sand Pass Hall. I have offended you just now. Please forgive me."

Li Yunsheng had heard of this hall master's name, but he didn't know what this hall master was here for.

"How did I, a mere registration clerk, manage to alarm the head of the department?"

Lan Chunming waved his folding fan and said, "Sir, you are too modest. The talisman must be opened in an orderly manner to open the Yin orifices, and the incantation must be applied to the heart to form layers. I think your level should be that of a pillar of the hall, right?"

The phrase "sitting in the hall like a beam and pillar" refers to the three levels of craftsmen.

“Master, you overestimate me. I really am just a registration clerk.” Li Yunsheng took out a silver dollar and gave it to the master. “This is today’s donation.”

The hall master waved his hand at the silver dollars: "We don't need that many."

Li Yunsheng insisted on offering it, saying, "It's our first meeting, please accept this as a small token of my appreciation." Lan Chunming refused to accept it, saying, "I'll waive the donation for today, it's still a small token of my appreciation. Sir, our temple is short of people right now. Since we are all pillars of the temple, let's go back to the temple and have a drink together. We can discuss things together in the future."

This is to invite Li Yunsheng to join the gang.

Li Yunsheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "The hall master has really misjudged me. If I were a pillar of the hall, would I need to be setting up a stall on the street?"

Lan Chunming laughed and said, "Sir, you still have a stall, but I don't even have a stall. I just carry a bell and go around practicing medicine."

"We don't run clinics; this is just how we make a living. We don't care how skilled you are, but I'll invite you to our shop for a cup of tea. You should at least give me that much face, right?"

Li Yunsheng really didn't want to get too involved with the gangs, but some things are unavoidable.

He glanced into the crowd; the two men who had been staring at Zhang Laifu were gone. He wondered if this big tree could survive this ordeal.

Zhang Laifu walked out of Zhuzi Street and along the Heisha River for half an hour. He looked around and saw no one behind him, so Lao Yu and the others must have been left behind.

He felt panicked and his legs went weak. He was really hungry. Not only had he not eaten breakfast, but he had also been tormented by the evil energy. Now, Zhang Laifu could only see stars.

There were steamed buns for sale on the street, and he wanted to buy one to fill his stomach.

The steamed buns weren't expensive, seven coins a piece. Two coins could buy three pieces. Zhang Laifu took out a silver dollar, and the stall owner hesitated, saying, "These are hard to find."

Zhang Laifu was taking out loose change from his pocket when he suddenly saw Lao Yu following up with a helper.

This helper was named Xiaozhuzi. He was Huodaozi from Hunlong Village and Zhao Yingde's follower. He often stitched up Zhao Yingde's wounds.

Huo Daozi was the most skilled fighter in the mountain stronghold and also the highest-ranking bandit.

Xiao Zhuzi pointed at Zhang Laifu and said, "Boss Yu, is this the man?"

Lao Yu was the torchbearer of Hunlong Village, with more than a dozen fire knives under his command. He brought Xiao Zhuzi with him this time to find out about Lin Shao Cong and Zhang Laifu, but he did not expect to run into Zhang Laifu on Zhuzi Street.

"This is the person. Get ready to make your move!"

Xiao Zhuzi took a thimble out of his pocket and put it on his middle finger: "As the boss ordered, we have to capture them alive."

Old Yu shook his head and said, "This kid is not simple. There's no need to capture him alive. Just kill him and bring his head back; it's the same."

Xiao Zhuzi stopped arguing about whether he lived or died: "Boss Yu, you wait here, I'll go around to the front of him..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Laifu took off running.

Xiao Zhu was startled; he hadn't expected Zhang Laifu to be so vigilant.

"Hurry and chase!" Old Yu chased after them with all his might, with Xiao Zhuzi following closely behind.

Zhang Laifu was only twenty or thirty steps away from them. Lao Yu and Xiao Zhuzi were both craftsmen, and with the physique of craftsmen, they could catch up with an ordinary person in the blink of an eye at this distance.

They chased for about ten minutes, but were still twenty or thirty steps away from Zhang Laifu.

Didn't catch up at all?

It shouldn’t be!

How can Zhang Laifu run so fast?

Zhang Laifu clutched the talisman given to him by Li Yunsheng, his face turning pale.

Running like this isn't a solution. Zhang Laifu is very tired now, but Lao Yu and Xiao Zhuzi aren't working that hard.

That talisman also has a limited lifespan. Now that it's in Zhang Laifu's hands, it's become a bit sticky. If it breaks, the talisman will become ineffective.

What should we do now? Where can we run to shake off Lao Yu?

If they ran towards the police station, the bandits would definitely have to avoid the police.

The key issue is that Zhang Laifu also has to evade the police.

Heading towards the Lin family mansion?
That would be even worse. The Lin family originally wanted to silence him, and now that they've taken the bandits with them, the most logical thing for the Lin family to do is kill Zhang Laifu and then pin the blame on him.

Should we go back and find Li Yunsheng again?

Zhang Laifu immediately dismissed the idea.

Li Yunsheng has given so much help, and now he himself is in trouble. Zhang Laifu certainly can't drag him down with him.

Having reached the outskirts of the city and with nowhere else to go, Zhang Laifu decided to take the plunge.

He ran all the way to the old house.

There's an old ghost in the house who wants to kill him, and two bandits behind him who also want to kill him. Who will succeed depends on their luck.

No matter which of them dies, Zhang Laifu won't feel sorry for them!
PS: I updated 10,000 words this time. I know this will affect the new book period, but I want to live up to the expectations of the readers who have been following my work. Thank you all for supporting me all the way. Please give my monthly votes to Laifu.

(End of this chapter)