Divine Tang Era

"Little magpie, how does it taste?"

Last night, Xu Dan cooked beef hooves and soaked them in braising liquid overnight, making them incredibly flavorful. This morning, he asked Yun Niang to cook porridge. The savory and fragrant braised beef hooves paired with the slightly sweet rice porridge were a match made in heaven.

"tasty."

The little magpie, amidst her busy work, raised her head, her delicate face, smeared with braising sauce and rice grains, looking so adorable.

"Yunniang, you eat too."

Seeing that she was only scooping broth to eat with rice, Xu Dan picked up a large piece of beef hoof and placed it in her bowl. Only then did Yun Niang pick up the beef hoof and slowly bite into it. The golden yak is the lowest-ranking ninth-grade demon beast, and the essence contained in its body is only slightly more than that of ordinary beasts.

Therefore, only Yun Niang and Xiao Que'er can eat these special cow hooves.

If the meat contains a lot of essence and blood, there should only be a few slices at most. Too much would be too much and the body couldn't handle it.

After finishing his meal, Xu Dan opened the front door, took out three sticks of incense from the altar, lit them, and went outside to pray to the Jade Emperor, then went inside to pray to the Xuanwu Emperor before placing them in the incense burner. Every morning and evening, if he was home, Xu Dan would offer incense and prayers. On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, he would also follow the customs of his hometown by cooking dishes and burning paper money as offerings.

Gold refers to gold paper.

In Fujian, it is customary to burn gold for deities and silver for the deceased.

Worship brings protection; without worship, there's no incense to protect you. Everything originates from yourself, and ultimately, it must be used for your own benefit.

In today's society, Xu Dan certainly wouldn't believe in these things. But in the realm of Shentang, the gods worshipped there truly do what they preach and will genuinely protect you.

After finishing his prayers, he took the little magpie out the door, lest the little fellow become dull-witted from staying cooped up at home all day. The black bear followed closely behind, occasionally running to the roadside to urinate as a mark, looking rather dim-witted and silly.

Passing by Ke Niang's clothing shop, Xu Dan went in to tell her not to rush and to wait until the leather was made before calling him to take her measurements.

Anyway, winter is still a long way off, so there's no point in using it now.

The maiden naturally agreed.

This street was probably the liveliest place in Jingning City, with a multitude of stalls selling food and fruit. After walking only a few steps from the clothing store, Xu Dan suddenly noticed that Xiao Que'er's pace seemed to slow down. Looking down, he saw that she was staring straight ahead.

There was a vendor selling candied hawthorns; all sorts of fresh fruits were coated in a thick layer of syrup, glistening in the sunlight.

Several children stood around, swallowing hard.

Xu Dan hadn't had this in so long that he'd almost forgotten what it tasted like. He went over and bought three skewers: one for Xiao Que'er, one for himself, and one to take back to Yun Niang. Xiao Que'er held the gourd skewer, stuck out her tongue, and licked it; it was so sweet it almost melted her heart.

The two, one big and one small, held hands and ate as they walked, soon arriving at Mingfeng Tower.

The young woman at the door saw him and went to greet him.

Xu Dan threw away the candied hawthorn he had finished eating, and led Xiao Que'er upstairs with her.

"Oh my, isn't this young master Xu? What brings you to our Mingfeng Tower today?" Li Zhu appeared at the top of the stairs, holding a silk fan, her voice wistful. She had been looking forward to hearing the story of Fan Lihua, who supposedly moved mountains and overturned seas, but the little guy had vanished without a trace. She hadn't been able to send anyone to look for him, but thankfully he had appeared today.

Xu Dan was momentarily stunned by her attire.

She was dressed in a palace gown embroidered with a hundred birds, with a long cloak trailing on the ground. As she moved, she exuded charm and grace, yet also carried a hint of the majesty of a ruler. She possessed an indescribable, breathtaking beauty.

"Silly little brother, what are you looking at?"

Li Zhu lightly tapped his head with her fan, but secretly she was delighted.

Women dress up for those who appreciate them; who can be an exception?

Xu Dan came to his senses and sighed, "Of all the women I've ever seen, you are the most beautiful." Putting everything else aside, her clothes and her unpretentious expression alone surpassed the countless ancient beauties he had seen before.

"Ha, you've only met a few people, yet you're spouting nonsense. Be careful you don't get beaten up."

Li Zhu glanced at him, turned around, and said, "Come with me." Instantly, her steps became much lighter.

Little Magpie didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but she felt that this older sister seemed to be very happy.

Master Mingfeng led them to a reception room, where maids served fragrant tea and pastries. Little Magpie ate a candied hawthorn while her eyes were fixed on the pastries, looking very pleased. Black Bear lay obediently beside her, his dark eyes taking in everything in the room.

"Tell me! What brings you here to see your sister this time?"

Li Zhu leaned against the soft fur cushion on the couch, fanning herself with a silk fan as she asked.

Xu Dan didn't stand on ceremony and directly took out the spiritual herbs he had dug up on this trip from his storage bag.

"Wow, quite a lot of stuff." After glancing at it, Li Zhu said to the maid beside her, "Go and call Pharmacist Ruo over."

"Don't rush, there's more." Xu Dan took out the wine cup he had obtained earlier from his storage bag. He originally wanted to keep it for himself, but then he thought that since it was dug out of the ground, it might be something from a dead person, and using it would be bad luck. It might even carry a virus, and using it for too long might kill him.

He was a man who valued his life and dared not act recklessly.

When Lizhu saw the wine cup, her eyes lit up, and she reached out to pick it up and examine it.

"What, is this thing valuable?" Xu Dan asked curiously.

"I don't know what you're thinking about all day long, money, money, money, how vulgar." Li Zhu rolled her eyes at him and said, "Many useless things in this world rise in value just because they have the right master, and this thing is no exception. Do you know the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal?"

"Of course I know, so what?" Having just finished watching The Legend of the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, how could Xu Dan not know?

"You already know, why are you asking?" Li Zhu said irritably.

I asked what I did, and Xu Dan looked completely bewildered.

"It's obvious you haven't been studying properly." Li Zhu shook her head and said, "Didn't the most famous poem by the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal say, 'When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest; don't let the golden goblet face the moon empty'? There's also, 'A golden goblet of fine wine costs ten thousand coins, and a jade plate of delicacies is worth ten thousand coins.' Doesn't that explain the origin of the wine cup? Have you even studied properly? You don't even know the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's poems."

Xu Dan was speechless that they could even connect these things.

Seeing his disbelief, Li Zhu continued, "These objects originally belonged to the royal family. They are ancient artifacts from the previous dynasty, consisting of twelve pieces that reflect the star palaces in the heavens, possessing unparalleled mystery. During the Kaiyuan era, they were bestowed upon sword immortals by Emperor Xuanzong. Afterwards, they were scattered in all directions during the wars, their whereabouts unknown, with only a few words recorded in ancient texts. I never expected to be fortunate enough to encounter them today."

"Is it valuable?" Xu Dan asked again.

"You!"

Li Zhu Wan Shan pointed at Xu Dan and said, "This item is valuable in some ways and worthless in others, it all depends on the buyer's wishes. But here, I certainly won't let you suffer a loss."

"OP."

The maid led the apothecary in.

Li Zhu had her identify the medicinal herbs, and in the end, she gave Xu Dan over three hundred spirit stones, making him rich overnight. Of course, the wine jug wasn't included in that. Clearly, Li Zhu liked it very much and wanted to buy it herself.

This is also one of the perks of being the host.

After the apothecary took the elixir, Li Zhu said, "I really like the golden goblet. I'll give you two choices: one is to give you spirit stones, and the other is to barter. You mentioned wanting to buy a bow and arrow last time, and I just happened to get a good one recently. Do you like it?"

With a flick of his sleeve, a large bow made of some unknown material appeared in the room.

The bow is jet black, with subtle patterns and a jade-like sheen. In the center are the two large seal characters "却月" (que yue, meaning "crescent moon").

Xu Dan stepped forward and grabbed it. It was heavy in his hand, and when he tried to pull it open, he couldn't. He tried again, but only managed to pull it open a little. Ever since he drank the earth milk and the blood of the dragon vein, his strength had become frighteningly great. Apart from the Crimson Flame Shield he bought from Yin Xu, there was nothing that made him feel the need to exert force. He hadn't expected this bow to be so powerful; not only was it heavy, but he also couldn't draw it.

Despite this, he was quite satisfied and liked it very much, so he decided to change it.

Li Zhu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was willing to make the exchange.

He waved his hand to put away the golden goblet, then gave him several flasks of arrows before explaining, "This bow is called Crescent Moon. It wasn't originally called that; it was called 'Missing Moon.' It got its name because its owner shot off a corner of the moon palace, but later disliked the name and changed it to 'Cursed Moon.'"

Xu Dan felt that her words sounded like she was bragging.

Who can shoot a corner of the moon? Isn't that just bragging?