Chapter 36: Yuzhou Laiqiang (VI) Knowledge changes destiny. ...

Yingzhou is located in the inland area, very close to various provincial capitals. Due to the abundant spiritual energy, the mountains are shrouded in fog all year round. Even at noon in the city, visibility is not high.

Yingzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side. The big mountain on the west is called the Ghost Mountain. Even if a ghost goes in, it is difficult to get out. There are countless monsters and swarms of evil spirits in it. Only mountain movers and mountain runners will pass through it and bring out some rare treasures to sell at a good price.

There are many fox spirits on the east mountain. It is said that there are more than ten fox nests. However, they are not powerful and have never come down the mountain to eat people. However, if a Taoist priest passes by the east mountain, he will usually never come back.

Nanshan is the road for people traveling back and forth, leading directly to the Gobi Desert. Zhang Deng and his friends came from the road of Nanshan.

Beishui heard that there were dragons. His martial soul had once practiced in the water and could ride a dragon to control the water. However, after he died, the dragon also disappeared.

Zhang Deng heard all these stories from Dong Yu. Although Dong Yu's speech was incoherent and illogical, and was entirely based on empiricism, he told stories very well. Along the way, Zhang Deng had already understood the customs and culture of Yingzhou.

But Dong Yu's words were indeed full of water. He said: "I practiced in Xishan back then. I sat on the cliffs to meditate and cultivate my Qi. I only needed to lean my back against the cliff to gain leverage. That way, even if a monster came, it couldn't reach me, let alone disturb me."

"One day," Dong Yu said, "I was practicing and comprehending the Great Dao when I suddenly felt the ground shaking. I looked up and saw the mountain-moving Taoists below carrying huge rocks. They moved among the mountains and rivers, moving as swiftly as monkeys, and were very agile. In a blink of an eye, they were right in front of me. I saw the rocks were about to hit me, so I shouted, 'There are people here!' Then they smiled at me, bowed and apologized, and continued on their way to Leizhou."

Dong Yu: "Do you know why they moved the rocks to another place?"

Zhang Deng shook his head. Dong Yu said, "Because some stones are not just stones. Some stones are nurtured by nature and, by chance, become spiritual stones. But even spiritual stones are still spirits. Some of them will transform into human form and go to the Taoist monks who move mountains, asking them to move them to a place where they can practice cultivation."

Zhang Deng was now bored. He said, "So that's why some stones can become spirits and some can't. It's inexplicable."

He asked Wei Yuanye, and Wei Yuanye said, "No life was born out of thin air. Someone in this world needed a stone to become a spirit, so this kind of thing happened."

Zhang Deng thought, maybe just like them.

They come into this world because someone needs them.

Zhang Deng always felt that what Wei Yuanye said was very interesting. Sometimes he especially liked listening to what Wei Yuanye said to him, but recently Wei Yuanye had said too little.

Zhang Deng had a lot of things he wanted to say to Wei Yuanye in private, but Dong Yu was like an evil ghost, haunting them both. Even after they had finished their meal and decided to discuss important matters together next time, Dong Yu followed them on the way back.

Dong Yu: "Brother, let me ask you, where are you two from?"

Zhang Deng: "That's too presumptuous."

Dong Yu was wearing work clothes and had a Taoist hairstyle. He was quite unique when walking on the street, and many people looked at them.

Dong Yu said, "I think you guys are important."

"So what if there is one?" Zhang Deng said truthfully, "It's not stealing or robbing anyway, it doesn't affect anyone."

Dong Yu: "That makes sense."

"Yingzhou is a small place," Dong Yu said, "and I'm afraid you've already attracted a lot of attention."

"Forget it," Dong Yu didn't force it. He said, "Everyone has their own karma. Why should I insist on it? Let's just be friends and forget about the past."

They talked as they walked and arrived at the hotel where they were staying. It seemed like something happened up ahead and the place was completely blocked.

Dong Yu said, "You guys live here."

Zhang Deng heard some stories from his tone, and he asked, "What's going on here?"

"This place is notoriously chaotic," Dong Yu said. "They don't check passes, so anyone can stay here. It's expensive, the crowds are mixed, and things happen almost every day."

Dong Yu: "If you two haven't killed anyone, you can ask Shi Hong to get you a pass and move out. He's a smart guy and will definitely help you."

Zhang Deng and Wei Yuanye looked ahead and didn't answer him for a moment, but Dong Yu misunderstood: "Have you killed anyone?"

"It's okay to open it even if you kill fewer people," Dong Yu said. "It doesn't matter if you open a red name pass for less than 100 people."

Seeing that Zhang Deng and Wei Yuanye were still silent, he continued, "For over a hundred people, we'll give you white-name passes. ...For over a thousand people, we'll give you black-name passes. Just pay a little more."

Zhang Deng: "...where are the collection cards?"

"I've been saying this all along, but you two aren't paying any attention to me," Dong Yu said, "There's nothing above that."

Zhang Deng said, "We didn't kill anyone. We were just watching the fun. It seems someone was injured."

The three of them moved forward and saw blood all over the ground. A man with animal hair growing on his head and wearing human clothes was lying on the ground with his eyes closed. The blood was flowing from the back of his head.

An extremely tall and strong man sat on the doorstep, his head lowered, his elbows resting on his knees, and something like a cigarette in his mouth.

Zhang Deng roughly understood what was said from the whispers of the people around him. It seemed that two people had some quarrels and conflicts, and someone was knocked down during the pushing and shoving.

Although the man was as tall as an ox, he looked cowardly standing on the threshold. The rat-like manager of the shop came out, dispersed the crowd, and said, "Go away, go away! Are you going to let us do business?"

"What kind of business is this place still in?" someone nearby jokingly said. "People die every month, so how can anyone dare to stay here?"

Zhang Deng felt something was wrong. Normally, even if someone had fainted, they shouldn't have been lying motionless on the ground like that. The man's chest wasn't even rising or falling. Zhang Deng boldly stepped forward and placed his hand under his nose. He was startled and said, "Dead."

The man finally raised his eyes and said, "I didn't touch him."

There was no movement, he was already dead. Zhang Deng said, "Call the police."

"Yes," said the mouse, "I just called, but it will take an hour for him to come."

Zhang Deng: "Then find a doctor."

Mouse: "Who's looking for it? You?"

Something would happen in the store every day, and Lao Shu was obviously used to it. He naturally wouldn't spend money to find a doctor for these people. In a hurry, Zhang Deng had forgotten the first aid knowledge he had learned. Dong Yu squatted down, felt the artery of the man underground, and said, "He's dead."

The man continued, "I didn't touch him. He bumped into me on his own."

Dong Yu pulled at the dead man's hair and said, "Tired and stupid."

"Why did this thing come out in winter?" he said casually, standing up and clapping his hands. "It's dead, so what if you did it?"

It seemed that in his eyes, the death of a monster was a very common thing.

Perhaps this was indeed the case in this world. However, this was the first time in Zhang Deng's life that he had seen someone die before his eyes. Death was a deeply impactful event for him, no matter what.

"Tired and foolish spirits need to hibernate for the winter," the mouse also said. "What are you doing here making trouble for? Stupid cow, you have to clean up the mess you made. I've told you many times that you can do whatever you want while you're here, but you can't kill anyone in my shop. You're really out of line."

Stupid cow? He turned on the light and looked at the man. He actually looked like a cow. His thick lips were draped at the bottom of his face, making his middle part look extremely long. His eyes were high and slightly bulging, shining blackly. Was he a bull spirit?

The man raised his eyes and said, "I really didn't hit him. He was blocking my way. I just pushed him lightly, and he fell down and died."

"You're a red-listed criminal, who would risk their life to frame you?" the mouse said. "This month you've beaten up no fewer than ten people in my shop alone. Everyone's come to me to complain about you. If you keep causing trouble like this, get out of here."

The mouse seemed to be very angry and its words were very harsh.

Wei Yuanye pulled Zhang Deng, and Zhang Deng turned around to look at him. At this moment, he felt a dark shadow pressing over. When he turned around, the man sitting on the doorstep stood up.

The man said, "I didn't kill him!"

But his state was completely different from before. He didn't know which words ignited him, but he was suddenly in a state of extreme anger. Wei Yuanye put his hand quietly in his sleeve, and with the other hand he grabbed Zhang Deng and pulled him behind him.

The mouse was frightened by his move and its fur stood on end. It said in a timid tone, "What are you going to do? How dare you hit me? Do you know who invited me here?"

"Niu Zhuang!" The mouse retreated further and further, and was finally forced to the door. He leaned against the door and said, "Stop going crazy."

Niu Zhuang stared at him with red eyes, fists clenched and roared: "I said I didn't kill him!"

Mouse: "Okay, okay, you didn't kill him, so I killed him, okay?"

Niu Zhuang said: "You all don't believe me!"

The mouse was clever after all. His eyes twitched slightly, and he knew there was room for easing the tension. He forced a smile and said, "Niu Zhuang, brother, you and I are both local immortals from Yingzhou. I just hate your impulsiveness, how can I really blame you? If that were the case, I would have stopped you from living here long ago."

Niu Zhuang didn't seem very smart. He paused to understand the meaning of his gentle words. Lao Shu stepped forward to comfort him, standing on tiptoe to pat his chest and said, "You hate noise, so I arranged for the quietest guest to stay next to you. Who among those who have lived in this shop for a long time doesn't know that I love you the most? You really hurt my heart this time."

The mouse wiped his eyes and tears were about to fall. Although his acting was fake, his words were still quite touching.

Niu Zhuang mumbled something vaguely and took a step back. The mouse then smiled and said, "Good brother, that's right."

People were watching the fun, and the mouse, not afraid of being embarrassed by his appearance, walked forward to chase them away, saying, "Go away, go away, stop watching the fun, and don't work anymore?"

Zhang Deng also thought that the matter was about to end. At this moment, he caught a glimpse of something in his peripheral vision - Niu Zhuang stepped forward and stood behind the mouse. He was four or five times bigger than the mouse. He lifted the mouse up by the head with one hand and grabbed the mouse's lower body with the other hand. He twisted his hands and heard the sound of broken bones.

Niu Zhuang actually twisted the mouse's body in front of everyone!

The mouse's eyes were wide open as he died. Not a drop of blood had come out of his body. Niu Zhuang threw it aside like a rag. Niu Zhuang's eyes swept across everyone in front of him. He said, "I didn't kill anyone!"

"Kill him now." Dong Yu said.

Everyone scattered like wildfire, their shoes practically flying off them. Zhang Deng couldn't describe how he felt at the moment. He had always considered himself a person with good verbal skills, but now he realized that he had too little experience.

Seeing that the three of them were not leaving, Niu Zhuang said, "Aren't you going to run?"

Wei Yuanye said, "We live here."

"It's the quiet neighbor next to you," Zhang Deng said with mixed feelings. "Oh my God! Why didn't you run away?"

"Are you all crazy?" Zhang Deng said, "Why is this happening? I just want to go back and take a nap!"

Niu Zhuang returned to his dejected look, squatting on the ground, holding his head and saying, "But I really didn't kill anyone."

Zhang Deng: "Does this still matter now?"

There were footsteps on the street, and several men in yellow vests walked over and asked, "Are you the ones who called the police?"

Zhang Deng looked at the two bodies on the ground and asked, "Isn't it obvious?"

The leading police officer asked, "Who killed him? Niu Zhuang, it's you again?"

"He killed one," Zhang Deng said, "but he didn't kill the other one."

Niu Zhuang looked up at Zhang Deng, who said to the others, puzzled, "It's obvious. He obviously didn't kill the Tired and Foolish Spirit, and he doesn't really care about killing people."

Police: "Really? What's the emergency? Come with me. You guys can clean up the body. Niu Zhuang, the fee for collecting the body is 200 yuan. Take your wallet."

Niu Zhuang was dejected and said, "Wait until I get it back."

Having said that, he just left.

Dong Yu asked, "How much does it cost to kill a monster now?"

"One thousand," the policeman asked, "did you kill?"

Dong Yu quickly waved his hands: "No, no."

Zhang Deng pricked up his ears and listened, and got some information. It turned out that killing a person didn't cost money, only two hundred for collecting the body, but killing monsters did cost one thousand each.

Zhang Deng asked why, and Dong Yu treated him like a fool, saying, "Ordinary people have parents. When someone dies, their parents ask for money, or at least they can sell the meat to make some money. Monsters are born and raised, and they can't be eaten. So when they die, of course they have to work for money."

This is too scary. Zhang Deng realized that in this world, killing is actually a cost-free thing.

No wonder those people ran so fast just now, it turns out that life is really cheap.

Niu Zhuang went in for a while and then came out. No one was worried that he would run away, so several people followed him to the police station. The so-called police station was actually an inconspicuous square across the street. The roof was painted white, which seemed to be the symbol of this place.

The policeman came in and unbuckled his belt before the interrogation. Zhang Deng instantly thought of the torture scenes in many police and gangster movies. As a result, he loosened his belt, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I ate too much at noon."

He briefly asked about what happened, didn't seem to care much, and then started chatting.

"Where are you two from?" the policeman said. "New faces, I haven't seen you before. Show me your passes."

Wei Yuanye said: "No, let's get a replacement."

The policeman said in a familiar tone, "Just came through."

"Yes." Zhang Deng suppressed the urge to light a cigarette. The key point was that he really didn't have any cigarettes. He said, "I wonder if it would be convenient to apply for a pass?"

The policeman scoffed: "What's so convenient about this? Just do it if you want to."

Dong Yu didn't want them to beat around the bush and said bluntly, "They are rich."

The policeman held up two fingers, lit up the lights, and said, "Two hundred?"

He shook his head.

Zhang Deng: "Two thousand?"

That's a bit expensive.

The policeman shook his head again.

Zhang Deng: "Twenty thousand?!"

"No," Zhang Deng almost slammed the table and stood up, "It's too expensive."

The policeman closed his eyes silently, then opened them again: "Light a cigarette, it's easy."

Oh, Zhang Deng finally understood. He really needed to light a cigarette, but there was none. Zhang Deng and Wei Yuanye didn't smoke. He glanced at Dong Yu, who also shook his head. Thinking about it, Dong Yu was so poor that of course he couldn't afford to smoke.

At this moment, Niu Zhuang raised his head and said blankly: "I have it."

As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. These cigarettes were different from the ones in Zhang Deng's world. They were wrapped in yellow paper, and the stuff inside had a very strange spicy smell.

"Jinyan." Dong Yu said simply, "Can I smoke at work?"

"That's all right," the policeman said, finally finding a cigarette between his fingers. Zhang Deng used his own stick to light the cigarette, and the policeman said in the smoke, "Let Xiaowu take you to the counter to get one later. You haven't killed anyone, right? If you haven't killed anyone, we can approve it on the spot."

Zhang Deng said, "That's great, thank you for your hard work, brother."

"After you get your permits, let's move out quickly," Dong Yu said. "Hey, why don't the three of us rent together? I've actually always wanted to move."

Zhang Deng was a little surprised: "Do you have a place to live?"

"What else?" Dong Yu asked, "Do I wander around?"

Zhang Deng: “Aren’t you?!”

Dong Yu: "It's not funny, okay."

"Where do you live then?" Zhang Deng asked.

Dong Yu: “…”

Zhang Deng stared at Dong Yu closely, questioning his soul: "Do you know that a bridge hole is not considered a home?"

Niu Zhuang asked, "Where are you going?"

Several people looked at each other, and finally realized that Niu Zhuang was asking about Zhang Deng.

Zhang Deng pointed at himself and said, "Me?"

Niu Zhuang: "You're not staying in the hotel anymore?"

Zhang Deng went to ask Wei Yuanye: "Are we still staying here?"

"It's up to you," Wei Yuanye said, not caring about these things. "You can change it."

Zhang Deng was a little conflicted. He was actually a person who was afraid of trouble, but he really didn't want to live in such a messy place. But if he really moved, Dong Yu would have to live with them again, and Zhang Deng didn't want to live with Dong Yu.

Zhang Deng was extremely confused. Niu Zhuang asked, "Where are you moving to?"

Zhang Deng asked, "What are you doing? Are you in love with me?"

He said it casually, but Niu Zhuang suddenly blushed.

Everyone: “…”

"Love, love?!" The policeman cursed in embarrassment, "Niu Zhuang, are you sick?"

The policeman said, "Your father doesn't even know how much he weighs."

"Don't say that," Zhang Deng said, feeling uncomfortable. "I don't weigh that much either."

Dong Yu: "Do you love him too?"

Niu Zhuang's big eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhang Deng: "Are you an idiot?"

This was the first time in Zhang Deng's life that he cursed. Zhang Deng cursed without hesitation, breaking down his defenses.

Niu Zhuang's temper did not flare up at this time. He sat on the narrow bench with his huge body, and looked a little embarrassed with his head down.

Zhang Deng was horrified. He grabbed Wei Yuanye, trying to gain some courage to face the situation. Wei Yuanye said, "I don't like this kind of joke."

Everyone looked at him, and Wei Yuanye's face turned cold. He said to Dong Yu again, asking him to listen carefully: "I don't like this kind of joke."

Dong Yu was stunned for a moment and said, "I'm sorry."

Zhang Deng said, "It's okay."

Zhang Deng did feel a little more comfortable, and he didn't like such jokes.

Dong Yu was quiet for a moment, but couldn't help saying, "You two talked."

Zhang Deng: “!”

Zhang Deng's face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, "Shut up!"

"Let's go." Wei Yuanye only said this one word, and without paying attention to anyone, he turned around and left.

Zhang Deng hurriedly caught up. Wei Yuanye didn't speak to him all the way. They returned to the hotel and closed the door. Zhang Deng said, "Why are you angry?"

In front of him, he saw Wei Yuanye's face getting closer and closer, a pair of hands covered the back of his head, and Wei Yuanye's mouth hit his mouth heavily.

Zhang Deng: “!!!”