Chapter 260 World Eleven (I)

At the Lingyun Inn, two bundles were thrown from the attic to the ground. One was a gray, shabby-looking bundle, devoid of any valuables. Even the bundle made a dull thud as it hit the ground, making no sound at all.

The other, wrapped in a silk furoshiki, was bulging with contents and tinged with a fragrant aroma. One glance revealed the owner of a wealthy family. It was likely their first time out, and they couldn't even tie the knot. The furoshiki, loose and undone as it touched the ground, revealed a golden hairpin, which drew the onlookers' attention, prompting them to move towards the furoshiki.

However, before anyone could approach the two bundles, a bright figure emerged from the crowd. She was dressed in a scarlet dress, her eyebrows furrowed tightly. Gu Xiaoxiao leaned over and gathered the scattered jewelry and clothing into her bundle, then gathered another dusty bundle in her hands. Gu Xiaoxiao raised her face and looked at the man who had just thrown away their bundles and walked out of the Lingyun Inn, her pretty face filled with anger.

Gu Xiaoxiao recognized this man; he was a servant to the wealthy merchant Wang. This morning, the servant had been walking down the street with a worried look on his face, worried about the wealthy merchant Wang's strange illness.

It was only because Gu Xiaoxiao felt sorry for him that she begged the young Taoist priest to go to Wang's house to find out what was going on.

Thanks to the Taoist priest's practice, the wealthy businessman Wang's health improved, and the servant also saved his master's life.

He naturally thanked Gu Xiaoxiao and the young Taoist priest profusely, and respectfully sent them out.

Unexpectedly, after only half a day, the boy's appearance changed completely.

From being filled with gratitude in the morning, he has now become arrogant.

He even threw Gu Xiaoxiao and the little Taoist priest's bags down from the attic.

Gu Xiaoxiao clenched her fists and asked in a cold voice, "You are so unreasonable. We are staying at the Lingyun Inn and have paid enough money to stay for three days.

Now, since you are not the innkeeper, why do you use our bags to drive us out of Lingyun Inn!

Besides, it was the young Taoist priest who cured the wealthy businessman Wang's strange illness. How can you repay kindness with enmity? How can you be so ungrateful?

The servant spat lightly, his eyes full of mockery, which made Gu Xiaoxiao furious.

The servant said in a leisurely tone, "What kind of favor do we have with each other? He's just a quack who knows a few tricks to deceive people. During the day, everyone in the palace was bewitched by the little Taoist priest. We looked at him eagerly, treating him as an enlightened master, offering him tea and flattering him.

Unexpectedly, these were just some tricks to fool people. After the little Taoist priest left, our master's illness not only did not recover, but became worse.

He was originally just sleeping for a long time and was unconscious, but now after being looked at by the mysterious little Taoist priest, he became dying.

It is my master's kindness to drive you out of Lingyun Inn.

If you continue to linger here and refuse to leave town, I will tie you and that young Taoist priest up with ropes and send you to the authorities."

After hearing the servant's words, the onlookers all felt dissatisfied with Gu Xiaoxiao.

This dynasty does not believe in gods and Buddhas, but worships alchemy and magic. The people also learn some of them, and they especially respect those who study Taoism.

However, among the Taoists, there are some truly talented and learned people, but there are also many who are just imposters and who cheat and deceive people.

The common people, originally suffering from acute illnesses, were exaggerated by the Taoist priests into being "possessed by evil spirits." A few doses of medicine would have cured them, but to exorcise the evil spirits, they had to pay a large sum of money to buy their own safety.

Therefore, the people in the town were particularly disgusted with the Taoist priests who had no knowledge of magic and only knew how to use tricks to defraud people of their money.

The onlookers couldn't help but point and talk at Gu Xiaoxiao.

Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes turned red with anger. Just as she was about to argue with the boy, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a corner of thick gray fog in the crowd.

Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up immediately, and she didn't bother to argue with the boy. She called out, "Little Taoist priest, come here quickly!"

Everyone's eyes followed Gu Xiaoxiao's gaze and fell on You Dongjun as he walked out of the crowd.

You Dongjun was wearing a gray-blue Taoist robe that had been washed to a pale color, and behind him was a long object wrapped in cloth of the same color.

He wore a black belt around his waist, but he did not wear any sachets or jade pendants. Instead, he wore a copper compass.

You Dongjun's hair was all combed up and tied with a smooth wooden hairpin.

Only two strands of hair were left on his forehead, which contrasted with his dark eyes and slightly pursed light-colored thin lips, making him look a bit like an immortal.

Everyone looked at You Dongjun. Although his Taoist robe was worn and gray, it was neatly and naturally maintained. His eyes were calm and peaceful. He was indeed not the "charlatan" that the servant had called him.

When Gu Xiaoxiao saw You Dongjun, she felt as if she had found support for a moment. She walked to You Dongjun with two bundles in her arms, and was about to tell him how the servant had turned right into wrong and slandered them as quacks who could only cheat and deceive people.

You Dongjun suddenly reached out, took his bag from Gu Xiaoxiao's hand, and put it on his arm.

Different from Gu Xiaoxiao's friendliness and warmth, You Dongjun looked extremely cold, as if he regarded Gu Xiaoxiao as a stranger.

You Dongjun's voice was calm, with a soothing warmth.

It seemed that being slandered and kicked out of Lingyun Inn was not a big deal for You Dongjun.

"No need to say more, I already know the whole story."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaoxiao didn't have time to worry about the Taoist priest's cold attitude towards her, and hurriedly looked at the servant with a smug look on her face.

Gu Xiaoxiao was looking forward to You Dongjun showing his true ability and throwing the boy's face to the ground and stepping on it.

The servant's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly and his body tensed slightly.

But You Dongjun just turned around and said to Gu Xiaoxiao: "Let's go, we still have to hurry."

Gu Xiaoxiao was reluctant. She kicked the ground lightly and complained about her dissatisfaction: "Why do we have to leave? We agreed to stay in town for three days to rest."

After saying that, Gu Xiaoxiao lowered her voice, looked straight at You Dongjun and said, "You clearly agreed."

Gu Xiaoxiao had a beautiful face and was full of energy. You Dongjun must have been moved by the fact that this bright and charming beauty softened her tone in front of him.

But You Dongjun seemed to be a blockhead who couldn't understand the woman's soft words. He raised his eyebrows slightly and stated a fact in a light tone.

"But now, Lingyun Inn won't let you stay. How are you going to stay in town?"

Not only Lingyun Inn, but also the servants of the wealthy merchant Wang are causing trouble. Which inn would dare to take in You Dongjun and Gu Xiaoxiao?

You Dongjun didn't feel the slightest bit of emotion when the bag was thrown out.

As for the fact that the two of them could not stay in the town, You Dongjun felt even calmer.

After all, You Dongjun was able to travel with Gu Xiaoxiao because of his master's orders.

Gu Xiaoxiao's father and Master You Dongjun are old friends.

Gu Xiaoxiao was alone and ran away from home secretly, so her father was naturally worried.

He learned that Gu Xiaoxiao was not far from Maoshan, so he wrote a letter asking his friends to escort Gu Xiaoxiao home.

It happened that You Dongjun was going down the mountain to gain experience, so he came to see him off.

But Gu Xiaoxiao intended to stop on the way, and You Dongjun did not want to argue with her, so he agreed to Gu Xiaoxiao's plan to stay in the town for three days.

But now, it’s not that You Dongjun doesn’t want to stay, but that the two of them have nowhere to go.

Could it be that in order to stay in the town, the two of them found a leaky and dilapidated temple to rest.

Seeing that You Dongjun did not argue, the servant relaxed slightly and became more unscrupulous in his words.

"Get out of here quickly, or else you insist on staying in town, hoping to continue to cheat people out of money."

After saying that, the servant reached out and touched the long cloth behind You Dongjun.

During the day, he was curious about what You Dongjun was carrying behind him.

"If you're short of money, why not trade the things behind you? You can get a few copper coins and some porridge instead of starving to death."

Before the servant's palm touched the cloth wrapped around the long object, a yellow paper talisman appeared out of thin air. There was no fire, but it was burning fiercely and heading straight towards the servant's wrist.

The flames devoured the servant's clothes, burning his whole body. He rolled on the ground before the fire was finally extinguished.

But after the fire, only the wrists of the servant had burn marks, and the rest of his body was intact.

You Dongjun didn't want to expose the boy's plan. After all, everyone has their own destiny and it is natural. He followed his master's orders and would not interfere.

But at this moment, You Dongjun was unhappy with the servant's humiliation of carrying a sword on his back. He opened his eyes with clear black and white, as if he could see through all the calculations.

“I feel comfortable spending the money I got from poisoning the wealthy businessman Wang.

It's a pity that you coveted wealth and thought you could win the heart of a beautiful woman, but in the end, you only ended up with nothing left."

The servant was immediately panicked. He pretended to be shocked and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

You Dongjun said nothing more, carrying his gray cloth bag and slowly left.

Gu Xiaoxiao also hurried to catch up, without saying anything about what happened in the town.

Everyone present was skeptical about what You Dongjun said, but Gu Xiaoxiao believed it without a doubt.

After all, Gu Xiaoxiao had seen with her own eyes the scene of You Dongjun using Maoshan magic to capture monsters and ghosts.

Gu Xiaoxiao walked beside You Dongjun and asked, "Isn't that wealthy businessman Wang haunted by a ghost? How come he was poisoned again?"

You Dongjun explained the whole story in a calm voice.

The wealthy businessman Wang had been ill for a long time and was indeed haunted by a ghost. The ghost was not provoked by the wealthy businessman, but was specially invited by his twenty-eighth concubine.

You Dongjun eliminated the evil spirit, but the concubine soon became friendly with her lover and came up with another plan.

She used beauty and money to seduce the servant and poisoned the wealthy businessman Wang.

No one would have guessed that the servant who invited the Taoist priest to treat the wealthy businessman Wang would secretly commit murder.

People just thought that the Taoist priest did not get rid of the ghost completely, so the ghost came back.

The servants and concubines also took advantage of the situation and blamed the death of the wealthy businessman Wang on You Dongjun, a young Taoist priest who was "not well-trained".

But the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The servant thought he could enjoy the wealth and beauties of the wealthy businessman Wang.

But he didn't know that his fate was to be poisoned in the same way and his body was never found.

Gu Xiaoxiao was puzzled. She thought that You Dongjun had only been to Wang Fu Shang's house for half a day, so how could he know so much inside information.

You Dongjun said calmly, "The soul of the wealthy businessman Wang is resting on the boy's shoulder."

Gu Xiaoxiao suddenly felt cold.

The two walked on foot and soon arrived at a village.

There were drums and gongs beating here, and preparations were underway for a wedding. Gu Xiaoxiao was delighted by the lively atmosphere, so she asked the villagers for a glass of wedding wine and inquired, "Which family is having a wedding?"

Before he could finish his words, he heard the noisy voices of children.

"The bride, the precious fan, go and see the precious fan bride!"