Chapter 173 Playing tricks

Xu Zhenying explained with a smile, "I sent a few people to the villages and towns upstream, where the grain ships must pass. Then I accidentally told them that our section of the river is not clean and it's easy to encounter dirty things. Then we can pretend to be mysterious and it will definitely be more effective!"

"City Lord, I have brought you what you wanted." Lu Fei put the things on his back heavily on the ground, then opened it and handed it to Xu Zhenying.

A loudspeaker, a strange thing, like a crutch, but not quite.

Wang Sanniang looked over curiously: "City Lord, what is this?"

Everyone looked at him curiously.

Xu Zhenying smiled, looking rather mysterious, "You'll know later."

At this moment, the river was calm and the view was panoramic. The water plants on both sides were lush and the distant mountains were dark, hidden in the darkness of the night.

Occasionally, the sound of oars breaking through the water can be heard on the river, soft and gentle, lulling one to sleep.

But at this moment, no one dared to sleep on the thirteen boats connected end to end on the river.

The soldiers in silver armor all clenched their weapons tightly at this moment. Without the command of the leading general, they had already opened their eyes wide and were all on alert.

The timid ones were so scared that their legs were trembling and their foreheads were covered in cold sweat.

As soon as their boat entered the legendary section of the river, ghost lights lit up at intervals on both sides of the river.

The will-o'-the-wisp fire was blue and white, rising into the sky and burning faintly on the water plants on the river bank. Some of it even moved, as if slowly chasing them.

Under the cold night sky, countless balls of dark blue flames, like evil spirits crawling out of hell, were staring at them with their bloody mouths wide open.

"General Zhang, this place is indeed as the villagers said, an ominous place! Look at the will-o'-the-wisps along the way, they've been following the direction of our ship. Could it be... could it be that some ghost has caught up with us?"

The mate stood on the deck of the ship with a wide view, looking at the ghost lights on both sides of the river, but he was terrified.

This made him think of the reminder given by the villagers before.

They said that many refugees died before approaching the border of Lan County, especially last winter, when the weather was extremely cold and heavy snow fell in November. Countless refugees were frozen to death or starved to death when they reached here.

Since then, this place has become eerie during the day, not to mention at night. It is said that there are even water ghosts dragging scapegoats!

General Zhang, the leader, frowned and said coldly, "What are you afraid of? Where there are corpses, there are ghost lights. Don't you have many graves in your hometown? Don't listen to those nonsense about evil spirits! Besides, this batch of food and fodder is more important than your life and mine. If anyone says this again and disrupts the morale of the army, don't blame me for military punishment! Brothers, be alert and report any situation immediately!"

But the will-o'-the-wisp never went out.

It seemed that every one or two miles, a ball of light would appear, as if illuminating the road on the river for them.

Everyone on the boat was terrified and didn't dare to speak loudly, fearing they might awaken some demon or evil spirit. Some even chanted "Amitabha" and prayed for the gods and Buddha's protection.

The river was as silent as a graveyard.

However, the great changes only happened in an instant!

Suddenly, the night sky seemed to light up, and the entire river surface was instantly as bright as day. The will-o'-the-wisp light suddenly became brighter, stretching for several kilometers, and even the reeds on the river bank could be seen clearly.

Everyone on the boat was horrified. Some people were so frightened that their legs and feet went limp and they fell to the ground, shouting, "There's a ghost!!!"

But General Zhang drew his sword and glared at the river on both sides, "Who is it? Who is playing tricks!!!"

In an instant, the soldiers on the thirteen ships were all scared out of their wits. Only a few brave ones could still pick up their weapons, but their hands were still shaking, not knowing whether they were facing a human or a ghost.

Soon, the will-o'-the-wisp slowly died out, and finally only a ball remained.

When everyone looked again, they saw a woman in white. She had disheveled hair, snow-white skin, bright red lips, and two faint dimples on the corners of her lips.

Faint ghostly lights gathered around her, emitting a faint glow that made her face appear shadowy and added to her celestial appearance.

The sudden appearance of a woman in a white dress in the middle of the night was scary enough.

But the most unexpected thing was that the man's feet were suspended in the air, with his legs crossed and sitting in mid-air!

If this isn’t a ghost, what is it?

Even if he is not a ghost, he is at least an enlightened Taoist!

She was seen resting her chin on one hand, seemingly in deep sleep. At this moment, she faintly opened her eyes, and her voice spread across the entire river, "Who is disturbing my quiet cultivation?!"

The sound was huge, like a mighty force, resounding in everyone's ears.

This time, no one could hold back any longer. The cabin was in chaos, and everyone was shouting "ghost" and running to hide inside. General Zhang, sweating profusely, knelt on the deck with a plop. "Immortal, please calm down! Immortal, please calm down! We are just passing through your precious place. We didn't know you were practicing in seclusion here. Please forgive us for disturbing you! We will leave immediately, immediately!"

"How dare you! Do you think I'm a place where I can come and go as I please?"

The people in the cabin were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy. Some of them even fainted from fear.

General Zhang had a few wits about him at first, but when he saw the immortal soaring into the air, manipulating will-o'-the-wisp, and the trumpet-like instrument in her hand, whose purpose he had no idea, he was terrified, like the others. He thought he had truly encountered a monster and kowtowed quickly, "Please spare us, Immortal! We are merely soldiers transporting food and fodder to Qianzhou. We have no intention of sparing you. Please spare us."

"It's not impossible to spare your life," the immortal said coldly. "I've cultivated here for a long time, and my stomach is empty. I'm leaving the food and grass in your boat as a tribute. I give you one hour to leave this immortal's temple! Otherwise, I will use the Three Flavors True Fire in my hand to burn all of you mortal bodies to ashes!"

General Zhang banged his head on the ground and shouted, "My Immortal, this is not allowed. This batch of food and grass is sent to the front line. If we lose the food and grass, our lives will be in danger--"

"How dare you! This immortal is showing respect to you by giving your tribute, yet you dare to bargain with me!" The immortal waved his hand, seeming to be extremely angry. Everyone only felt a gust of wind blowing, the mountains and forests rustled, and the reeds by the river all trembled.

"Please calm down, Immortal, please calm down! We are so lucky to be able to leave this food and grass with you! Please forgive us for a moment and let us disembark and leave——"

"Never mind. This Immortal is not a heartless person. In that case, I'll leave you a boat. You can leave quickly! As for the military reports from the front line, this Immortal has already calculated them. Don't worry, once this Immortal breathes, heavenly soldiers and generals will come to your aid!"

After saying that, the immortal really blew a breath, and this time it seemed as if the wind was blowing between the mountains and forests. The branches swayed, and figures moved around, as if countless dark shadows were walking in the woods.

Soon, the mountains and forests returned to peace again.

"Alright, the heavenly soldiers and generals have arrived at the front line. Please leave immediately and don't disturb my quiet cultivation!"

Not only did everyone in the cabin believe it without a doubt, but they were also overjoyed. They all knelt down with tears of gratitude on their faces.

General Zhang waved his hand and said, "Hurry, hurry, get on the first boat! Everyone must leave before dawn. Don't disturb the Immortal Lord's tranquility!"

The river was bustling with activity.

They were frightened tonight and moved incredibly quickly. In less than an incense stick of time, they abandoned their boats and quickly left the river in one boat.

After leaving that section of the river, General Zhang looked out from the deck in shock, but found that the man had disappeared.

He clutched his chest and said, “I never thought I would meet a god in this life!”

The deputy was also terrified. "Yes, that immortal can use the Three Flames of Fire and can soar into the sky. I think his Taoism must be quite advanced. He may have practiced for a thousand years. Alas, that immortal is so easy to talk to. I should have asked for a peace talisman earlier!"

General Zhang scolded, "You wish! We've angered the immortal, and we're lucky to be alive!"

"General Zhang, are we really seeing heavenly soldiers and generals helping us on the front lines? If that were the case, wouldn't we be sure to win the battle against the Tusi?"

"Since the Immortal Lord has already released his divine energy, the situation on the front lines must have changed. I sincerely hope that by the time we arrive, we'll have already won. Otherwise, we won't be able to save our lives from the loss of military rations!"

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When Xu Zhenying jumped down from the wooden frame, he looked at the heads crawling on the ground and frowned, saying, "What are you standing there for? Let the brothers move the food!"

To avoid being discovered, these people had been crawling and hiding in the grass. Now, with their heads raised, they asked uncertainly, "City Lord... did they really... just leave the food and run away like this?"

"The boat is docked at the shore. Let's get started quickly, brothers. If we delay, something might happen. If they realize something's wrong and turn back, we'll be completely exposed!"

Zhou Bo knew the seriousness of the matter and suppressed his doubts. "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and move the food. We can talk about other things on the way!"

Lu Fei was really convinced this time, and called on all the brothers hiding upstream to go to the boat to move the food and grass. Fortunately, they had prepared small carts and other things according to Xu Zhenying's instructions before they came. At their speed, they could put the food and grass into the warehouse tomorrow night!

Xu Zhenying also instructed, "Go around the boat and take anything valuable! Oh, and I remember a lot of their soldiers were so scared they dropped their weapons. Pick them all up!"

Xu Zhenying simply took Wang Sanniang and several other girls on board.

Her crutch had been taken away by Gu Guihua for research. After several girls took turns sitting on it, they immediately discovered the secret of their bodies floating in the air.

Wang Sanniang suddenly realized: "This is not some kind of levitation magic, it's clearly an illusion!"

Gu Guihua also said, "That's right, especially from a distance, you can't tell! The city lord is too clever to have come up with this trick. Not only was the leading general terrified, I was scared too! Imagine the scene, in the middle of the night, with will-o'-the-wisp fires on both sides of the river, and a person in a white dress soaring into the air—"

Someone immediately said, "Speaking of clothes, I think the City Lord's outfit... you have to say... she really looks like a girl!"

Wang Sanniang immediately rebuked him, "Don't talk nonsense! The city lord is already wronged enough by disguising himself as a woman for our food supplies. How can we criticize him behind his back?"

Everyone had to suppress their curiosity.

Xu Zhenying had already walked around the cabin, and then excitedly picked up a dustpan from the bottom of the cabin. On the dustpan were several fist-sized objects with red and purple skins.

Wang Sanniang and the others rarely saw Xu Zhenying lose his composure like this, so they stepped forward in panic, "City Lord, what happened?"

"Sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes!!" Xu Zhenying excitedly held a few sweet potatoes in his hand. His excitement was no less than Columbus's discovery of the New World. With sweet potatoes, would Lan County still worry about food problems?

Sweet potatoes are easy to grow, have low land requirements, and have high yields. If sweet potato planting can be fully promoted in Lan County now, we can eat the freshest first batch of sweet potatoes in the summer, which can just alleviate the food crisis in Lan County!

Unlike Xu Zhenying's excitement, Sanniang and the others were indifferent. "City Lord, this is just ordinary red medicine. It's poisonous and can't be eaten."

Xu Zhenying was stunned. "What do you call this?"

"Red medicine, I don't know where it came from. It used to grow in fields, but people were said to have died after eating it. Later, everyone said it was poisonous. It also grows very fast and absorbs fertilizer from the ground. So anyone who has it growing in their field must clean it up immediately."

Xu Zhenying was shocked. "Such a good thing, and you actually cleared it out? Do you know that this thing is very filling, nutritious, and does not require much land? If Lan County can grow this, I wonder how many people it can feed!"

Zhang Wanjun had no choice but to remind him: "City Lord, this grows fast, but it is poisonous and cannot be eaten!"

"What a waste of natural resources!" Xu Zhenying clutched her chest, heartbroken. She had worried herself to death about food, and had asked Feng'er to look for sweet potatoes and potatoes everywhere. Unexpectedly, these things grew right in front of her house, and were even cleared away by the locals as invasive plants.

She patted her forehead and spoke word by word, "If this isn't cooked thoroughly, it might give you diarrhea, but it's not poisonous. It's best to cook it until it's soft and mushy. A perfectly cooked sweet potato—no, red medicine—is completely non-toxic and delicious, and it can satisfy your hunger! This thing is more precious than rice, and you're wasting it like this!"

Wang Sanniang was intrigued by what she said. She stared at the sweet potato in Xu Zhenying's hand with burning eyes, "Is this thing really edible?"

Gu Guihua said, "Could it be that what the City Lord said is true? City Lord, how much of this stuff is left? Let's take it all back!"

"Go look in the cabin and bring me all the plants you can find. I'll see if there are any that have slipped through the net!"

"What should we do with the boat? It would be a shame to abandon it here!"

"Don't worry about it. There's no waterway in Lan County. Even if we retrieve it, we'll have nowhere to put it, and it will easily attract attention. Let's just throw it here, and the local people will come and collect it."

Xu Zhenying gained a lot from this trip.

Not only did they harvest nearly 200,000 shi of grain and grass, but most importantly, they also discovered sweet potatoes!

A group of a hundred people, some carrying things on their shoulders and some pulling them on carts, were in high spirits along the way.

Seeing Xu Zhenying still in that white dress, Wang Sanniang was quite anxious. She wanted to remind him several times but held back. Finally, when no one was around, she stepped forward and quietly reminded him, "City Lord, please change out of this women's clothing as soon as possible!"

Xu Zhenying was puzzled, "Isn't this dress inappropriate?"