Chapter 17
In front of the screen, a tall figure was cut out. As the clothes were removed, the thin muscles on Shi Ye's arms were exposed.
He turned sideways and put all his hair to one side, then stepped into the bathtub. The steam stained the screen with a slightly misty color and splashed water out.
Wang Sheng wiped the tip of his nose and thought that this guy had a good figure.
He said somewhat unnaturally: "Well, I'll go out for a walk first, don't worry about me for dinner." After that, he pushed the door open and walked out with messy steps.
The sound of water in the tub stopped, and Tokiya glanced at the closed door, raised an eyebrow, and continued bathing.
.
After leaving the inn, Wang Sheng opened his eyes wide and rubbed his face. What happened? Was he hungry or something? He should go find something to eat.
He leisurely bought a bag of preserved fruits and walked forward, watching the excitement along the way.
There was an old man with a white beard standing on a large rock in front of him, holding a fan in his hand. Every time he said something, he would hit the fan hard into the palm of his other hand, spit flying. A group of people gathered below, listening with great interest, and occasionally discussing their own opinions. The atmosphere was very lively.
"It's said that the King of Huai'an in the northern border was locked in a fierce battle with the rebel Atlershi. In the early years, Atlershi pretended to be friendly with our country and was willing to submit. Who would have thought that this villain was actually trying to gather his strength, then deceive everyone and capture three of our cities without a single soldier. The emperor was furious and sent the King of Huai'an, a fellow countryman, to lead his troops north. They fought Atlershi for a full three hundred rounds, and the news of victory came back again and again."
The old man took a sip of tea and continued, "Do you know who the Huai'an King's men are?"
Someone asked, "Who is it?"
The old man stroked his beard and lowered his voice to sound mysterious, "That's the Black Feather Army, capable of defeating a hundred enemies at night with one! Legend has it that each of the Black Jade Army wears a black jade wolf pendant. Seeing this jade pendant is like seeing the emperor himself!"
There was a loud bang below, and everyone was talking in shock. This was an honor that no one else could get. The King of Huai'an was truly powerful.
Suddenly, someone popped up and said, "If the King of Huai'an is so powerful, then why do I hear that the north is still recruiting soldiers? Are you talking nonsense?"
"Hey!" the old man blew his beard and glared. "What do you know? Although Atleshi has suffered repeated defeats, you know that he is trapped in the Yellow Sand Land, but he has a constant supply of food and manpower. No matter how much of a war god you are, it's useless. However, I heard that the emperor sent the crown prince to lead the army to boost morale."
There was a quarrel between the stage and the audience, and the noisy chatter attracted many passers-by to watch.
Wang Sheng leaned against the tree, put a candied fruit into his mouth, and smiled at everyone he met.
Although Zhang County is far from the northern border, the people here care very much about the people, as if whoever wins the argument will win the war.
In a corner of the crowd, there was a half-blind fortune-teller, counting on his fingers, acting very magically.
Wang Sheng listened and was surprised. This half-blind man could actually summon spirits to possess him. It seemed that Zhangzhou was a place full of hidden talents.
He took another closer look, his mouth widening. Five taels each! He thought his appetite for one tael each was big enough, but this guy could ask for even more. The most important thing was that someone still believed in something as obvious as a scam, so he wanted to see how he did it.
Half-blind: "Heaven and earth, may the ancestors show their divine light, bless me with supernatural powers, open my mind, and show me divine power. Command!"
The half-blind man's head and hands dropped limply in an instant, scaring the guests.
Suddenly, he shuddered, looked up with a serious face and said, "My dear, love cannot be forced. If it is destined to happen, it will happen eventually. If it is not destined to happen, don't force it. A man should still focus on his career and broaden his horizons. I see a bright future ahead for you, and you have the power of an official by your side."
The young man stood up excitedly and said, "Really? Master! I told you that my imperial examination would not stop at the provincial examination. Fortunately, I didn't listen to my family and got married and had children. Thank you, Master."
There was a sound of silver and money on the table, but Banxia held it in until he had asked the "ancestor" to leave, then he put the silver and money away in a mysterious manner.
A shadow was cast down, and Ban Xia thought that another person who could be killed had appeared so soon, "Who is this guest?"
A few copper coins were thrown down, and a cheerful voice rang out: "Calculate for me when I can have money."
Ban Xia frowned and patted the board beside him, "Five taels each."
Wang Sheng plopped down in front of him, stared at him and said jokingly, "Five fen at most, just for your hard work." Before Ban Xia could send him away, Wang Sheng said, "Five taels is not bad either. I can also summon gods. So, if you can really summon the gods, I will give you five taels. If you can't, you give me five taels."
Banxia tried hard to look at Wang Sheng, and seeing that the man was wearing navy blue Taoist clothes, he knew that he was here to cause trouble.
"Get out of here, get out of here."
Wang Sheng took the money back and said, "You can't do that. How can you pray to the gods when you have committed verbal sins? Are you half-blind and are you trying to trick me?"
Banxia saw that someone had begun to notice this place, and was a little afraid of being heard. The person in front of him was still looking at him with a grin, as if he was going to smash his sign.
He gritted his teeth and whispered, "I have no grudge against you, why are you provoking me?"
Wang Sheng thought about it and realized that it was true. He said, "Then tell me what the storyteller just said: will the Black Feather Army conquer the northern border?"
After hearing this, Ban Xia sat up straight and said, "You can't do the math yourself? This kind of national calculation will shorten your life. I won't do it."
Wang Sheng: "Hey, you liar, why are you afraid of shortening your life? Just do the math, and I'll still count the five cents..."
The crowd suddenly began to push to the sides, and Wang Sheng managed to hold onto the corner of the table to avoid being dragged to the ground.
"Get out of here! Can't you see the carriage, you untouchables!"
A carriage in front was rushing towards the downtown area like crazy. A child in rich clothes was grabbing the door edge and yelling at the crowd, and several servants were desperately chasing the carriage from behind.
Someone didn't have time to dodge, and seeing that the carriage was about to hit him, the child hardened his heart and rushed to the reins to try to stop the carriage.
But the carriage was something that even an adult could hardly pull, let alone him. The child was thrown out and fell into the arms of a person on the side of the road.
Wang Sheng was the unlucky guy. He felt as if a huge rock was hitting him, knocking him to the ground and smashing his half-blind stall.
Wang Sheng: “I…” It hurts so much, I wonder if his ribs are broken!
"Get up... Do you still want to crush me to death?"
With a human flesh cushion, the child only suffered minor scratches. He was nearly stunned by the shock, tears welling up in his eyes. He climbed to his feet and yelled at Wang Sheng, "Didn't I tell you lowly people to get out of the way? You deserve this! Do you know I'm about to be chosen as a fairy child to serve the immortals? If anything happens to me, will your worthless life be enough to compensate me?"
Wang Sheng clutched his chest. Seeing this guy was turning the tables on him, he endured the pain, grabbed his collar, and dragged him to the side of the carriage that had crashed into the wall and fallen to the ground. He said, "If it weren't for your carriage running around in the busy city, would I have been hurt?"
Ouch, it hurts when I exert force.
The child burst into tears and struggled to keep his mouth shut. "It's not my fault, it's yours. Who told you to go out on the street? Believe it or not, I'll tell my dad."
"It's useless even if your ancestors come! Pay me for the medicine, or you won't be able to leave today."
His guards caught up with him, shouting, "Sir, are you okay?"
"Who are you? Have you had enough of life? How dare you grab our young master like this? Let him go!"
Wang Sheng saw that the child's face was covered with tears and thought that he hadn't even cried yet.
He shook the child and said, "Tell me how to solve this problem. Either you pay me money, or I'll report it to the police."
The child cried and said, "I can't report it to the authorities. If I do, the immortal will dislike me and won't choose me." He was somewhat reluctant. It seemed that he had been a bully in Zhang County for a long time and rarely bowed his head.
"You, give him money." The child instructed the guards, and the guards quickly took out a bag of money and handed it to Wang Sheng.
Wang Sheng didn't expect to get the money so quickly. He quickly left the child behind and took the money. It was heavy, so he opened it and checked it.
The child pushed away the guard who wanted to come over to check on his injuries, pointed at Wang Sheng angrily and said, "I'll remember you. Wait until I'm chosen to be the fairy boy, and I'll come back and make you suffer!"
After saying that, he ran away with his guards.
When the people around him saw that Wang Sheng received compensation, they were all envious.
The half-blind man beside him got up from the ground and brushed off the wood chips on his body. He quietly came behind Wang Sheng and looked at the money bag, and greed flashed in his eyes.
Wang Sheng grabbed the bag tightly, then turned to look at Ban Xia. The two of them laughed at each other, and Wang Sheng immediately retracted his smile, "What do you want to do?"
The half-blind man tutted his words and glanced at him sideways, "You said you should give me a copy of this."
Wang Sheng became alert: "Why?"
Half Blind: "Look at my stall for yourself, what a mess it has become. Pay me back."
Wang Sheng: "It wasn't me who broke it. Go find that kid."
Seeing Wang Sheng about to leave, Banxia hurriedly grabbed him and said, "Hey, hey, hey, how can you be so heartless? It's not easy for a half-blind man like me to make money. My stall was even smashed."
Wang Sheng pointed at the sign that said "Five taels" and said, "I see this is quite easy for you."
Mr. Wang is known for his hard-heartedness. If you want him to have compassion, you'll have to wait for the next life.
Seeing that he refused to listen, Banxia stamped his feet in frustration.
He thought for a moment and said, "You want me to calculate the military budget for the Northern Territory? I'll do it for you, and you pay me."
Wang Sheng tilted his head and said, "I don't want to forget it." Then he turned around and prepared to leave.
Half Blind: "Hey, I have some news. I bet you'll be interested!"
Wang Sheng stood up and said, "Oh? Tell me." He didn't know either of them. What else could interest this half-blind man?
At least the stingy grandson stopped and looked around with his half-blind eyes. After confirming that there was no one from the Cui family, he approached Wang Sheng and said, "Do you know who that child was just now? Cui Ziyao, the Cui family's only precious child."
"That's it?"
"...About fifty miles north, there's Fangjia Village. This village is a paradise, enshrining a statue of a deity ten times as tall as you or me. Every three years, they select a pair of young boys and girls, making bronze statues of them as offerings to the statue. These are the immortals and immortal children that Cui Ziyao mentioned."
The half-blind man said mysteriously, "I heard that if these boys and girls are chosen by the enshrined deity, they can directly ascend to heaven and become immortals. You can go to Fangjia Village and look for opportunities. Maybe you can find a way to ascend to heaven."
Wang Sheng's brows furrowed as he listened. Bronze statues of boys and girls? Ranked among the immortals? What the hell was this?
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