Chapter 852 Yunmeng
"Clang—clang—!"
In early autumn, the morning bells echoed.
The bells rang one after another, and dewdrops were shaken off the bells that had been silent all night, flowing down and forming streams that dripped onto the boots of the young monk in his robes who was ringing the bells.
Since a new bell ringer arrived at the clock tower in the south corner of the town, apart from the monotonous chimes that keep the clock on time, the morning and evening bells in Peach Blossom Town have been chiming 108 times in an incredibly regular pattern.
However, the persistent tolling of the bell could not dispel the white mist that perpetually shrouded Taoyuan Town.
The same is true today.
From the first crowing of the rooster downstairs, Ouyang Rong dutifully struck the bell 108 times, put down the striking wood, took a deep breath, and then picked up the towel hanging around his neck to wipe his forehead.
Standing on the clock tower and looking out, all I could see was a thick fog, and I could only vaguely make out the eaves of nearby buildings, which were so damp that they were covered with moss.
However, after he finished ringing the bell, the noise of the townspeople getting up early gradually grew louder in his ears.
It's a new day.
Today should be a sunny day, with the autumn sun rising.
However, when Ouyang Rong looked up, unsurprisingly, the autumn sun was blocked out by the white fog that enveloped the town. When he looked out from the high-rise building, he could only see a hazy, round outline, like the yolk of a fried egg.
Beside the large bell, the young monk in his robes touched his chin, and then habitually adjusted the bronze mask he was hiding.
His face was expressionless, and he seemed a little lost in thought.
Ouyang Rong has been in Taoyuan Town for twenty days. Unlike A Qing, who was taken away by Xue Zhongzhu, Ouyang Rong, as the "elder brother," was left behind by this blonde queen on her journey and placed in a clock tower in this town called Taoyuan.
Xue Zhongzhu was extremely sparing with words when addressing his new apprentice as "brother," leaving only one sentence before departing that night at dawn:
"Just wait patiently."
Ouyang Rong inexplicably ended up living in this town. He remembered that early that morning, an elder from the town took the initiative to find him, treated him to a meal of local specialties such as fish stew and lotus root, and then arranged for him to work as a bell ringer. He ate and slept in this bell tower.
Aside from the meager wages paid every ten days, there were no other instructions. When Ouyang Rong went to look for someone again, he didn't get a chance to see the busy village elder a second time.
For someone as energetic as Ouyang Rong, the job of ringing the bell wasn't too tiring. He was also someone who couldn't sit still, and being in a new environment, he was full of curiosity and a desire to explore. So Ouyang Rong went downstairs and found a new job.
It was an inn on the west side of the bell tower, right next to the gate. It had a rather vulgar name, Red Dust Inn, where Ouyang Rong found a job as a maid.
Commonly known as a handyman, he was responsible for buying groceries, running errands, settling guests into their carriages, basically doing whatever was available. All he needed was a little awareness. He was paid daily. Although the landlady had a sharp tongue and a long-faced, middle-aged appearance, she was no longer pretty, but she was a straightforward person.
Ouyang Rong just needed to maintain his persona of being taciturn and keeping quiet, and in the past ten days or so, he hadn't encountered anything particularly troublesome.
The proprietress seems to like hardworking people, well, provided they're strong young men... She even gives them a few extra coins and winks at them occasionally.
However, for Ouyang Rong, the wages and the flirting were secondary; the important thing was that restaurants and inns always had a high turnover of people, allowing him to quietly gather information...
I rested for a while on the rooftop railing, gazing at the surrounding scenery, and silently wiping away non-existent sweat with a handkerchief.
In fact, with Ouyang Rong's physique as a seventh-grade Qi cultivator, ringing the bell 108 times was a piece of cake, far from requiring him to catch his breath or rest.
But after each bell ring, he still looked tired and resting, just like an ordinary rough man.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the Red Dust Inn next door.
Early in the morning, the restaurant was already open and bustling with activity. A new traveler impatiently shouted for the waiter to open the courtyard gate and stop the carriage. But the waiter, who also had a bad temper, smiled but cursed back in dialect, thankfully the traveler couldn't understand him...
Ouyang Rong wiped his face one last time, turned around, and slowly climbed down the stairs. It was time to go back to the inn to get back to work.
Speaking of which, Ouyang Rong has a natural sense of direction. He can usually find his way back to a place he has been to once. So, on that rainy night, on the way from Donglin Temple with Xue Zhongzhu, although most of the time they were walking through desolate mountains and wild fields, crossing bridges and taking boats, turning mountains and rivers, Ouyang Rong paid attention to the route along the way and memorized it, unlike the confused little Qing.
He was certain that this Peach Blossom Town was not within Jiangzhou's territory, but rather located southwest of Jiangzhou, near Lingnan Road, or perhaps even within Lingnan Road itself. He just didn't know which remote prefecture or county within Lingnan Road it belonged to.
But one thing is certain: Taoyuan Town is very deep in Yunmeng Marsh, in a very remote location. Further in, there are only sparsely populated swamps and lakes. It is probably the closest mountain market to Yunmeng within a hundred miles.
The mundane worldly affairs can only go so far.
The reach of imperial power in Luoyang was reduced to a mere "whiskers" of weak organization when it reached this place.
Anyway, Ouyang Rong stayed in the town for a while and didn't find any government officials. He didn't see any patrolling or night watchmen either. The watchmen were all arranged by a few wealthy families in the town and were only responsible for their respective neighborhoods.
Aside from the highly mobile visitors, the permanent residents of Taoyuan Town can be roughly divided into nine surnames. They have a strong sense of clan identity, and the restaurants and shops in the town are all run by clansmen of different surnames. Therefore, the words of the village elders and clan leaders are the most effective.
I don’t know if there is a town mayor appointed by the government. Maybe it’s just a township head from a big family who holds the position. But this title given by the government probably doesn’t have much of a presence in the hearts of the townspeople, just like the emperor.
Genuine village self-governance.
From this perspective, the town does indeed resemble a paradise.
As Ouyang Rong climbed down the stairs, he thought to himself silently.
He had no immediate intention of reporting back to Xunyang or mobilizing government resources.
First, sending messages back and forth would easily expose the secret; second, given the current situation, remaining calm and inactive is the best solution.
These days, Ouyang Rong carefully searched his memory and vaguely remembered the name "Taoyuan Town".
It must have been mentioned in one of the intelligence reports that Liu Lang presented when he ordered Liu Lang to mobilize the forces of the surrounding prefectures to investigate the Yunmeng Sword Marsh Mountain Gate. However, it was mentioned along with many other place names of prefectures and counties—all of which were located close to the Yunmeng Great Marsh on the map.
At the time, it blended in and went unnoticed.
Here I must mention Yunmeng Lake. It is not a swamp, but a collective name for a group of ancient lakes. The word "Meng" in the Wu-Yue dialect means "lake and marsh". There are swampy areas, but more of it is a vast expanse of water, with thousands of islands scattered like a maze.
Some fishermen who have strayed too far into the Yunmeng Marsh even say that some islands are as large as landmasses, stretching as far as the eye can see...
When Ouyang Rong was searching, he browsed local gazetteers and records, but he couldn't find a single map of Yunmengze; all he found were scattered records.
However, he roughly estimated that the Yunmeng Marsh now stretches for at least nine hundred miles.
However, some ancient books describe the Yunmeng Ancient Marsh as being much larger in the pre-Qin period. Ancient texts record that it was boundless, like a sea, and even exaggeratedly described as comparable to the North Sea, attracting pre-Qin sorcerers to enter in search of immortals... In any case, it must have been more than nine hundred li in the Spring and Autumn period.
Over time, the world has changed dramatically. Due to the changes in the Yangtze River system and the cumulative effects of the activities of the people in Jiangnan over thousands of years, the area of Yunmeng Marsh has shrunk considerably.
But the vast expanse of Yunmeng, stretching for nine hundred miles, still deters many from venturing there.
Jiangzhou is just one of the dozen or so prefectures bordering it. This marshland spans across the Jiangnan and Lingnan regions, making it a no-man's-land that naturally breeds chivalrous thieves and reclusive heroes...
Returning to the point, previously, the governments of various prefectures and counties bordering Yunmengze had responded to the call of the Jiangzhou government and sent people to investigate, but all of them found nothing.
Looking back now, this Peach Blossom Town was actually the breakthrough point. It was very close to the secret mountain gate of Yunmeng Sword Marsh, which allowed us to pinpoint the approximate area.
However, things are still a bit tricky at this point.
Xuezhongzhu was much more wary than he had imagined; he left him there and only took Aqing with him.
With such heavy precautions, it's no wonder that previous attempts to find them through various channels, including Longhu Mountain, the Jiangzhou government, and merchants in Jiangnan, had yielded no results.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips and looked south at the vast, misty lake.
He took some time the day before yesterday to visit the south of the town. Taoyuan Town faces the water to the south, and there is a small dock for fishermen and tourists to go deep into Yunmeng. However, white mist is always swirling above the vast waters.
According to the fishermen, the white fog has always been there, acting as a barrier to separate the islands on the water. In particular, the water is not calm, with many undercurrents and whirlpools that can affect the boatmen's judgment.
Therefore, even the most experienced fishermen in town dare not stray too far from land; being able to return by the same route is considered quite an achievement.
Some adventurous travelers or江湖人士 (jianghu figures) who came because of its reputation often got lost and never returned. Gradually, no boatman dared to take on this kind of job anymore; they only rented boats but didn't take people deep into the area...
The white mist that hangs over Taoyuan Town all day long also comes from the water.
During the twenty days that Ouyang Rong had been there, he had hardly seen the sun. Only at noon, when the yang energy was at its peak, would a little pale yellow sunlight fall on the eaves of the bell tower.
Ouyang Rong suddenly thought of a poem.
The mist rises from the Yunmeng Marsh.
Could this white mist be emitted from the sun?
The work at the Red Dust Inn was rather tedious and boring, and Ouyang Rong didn't want to be like the other servants who would flirt with the young maids and the burly landlady in their spare time.
To outsiders, he was like a silent, unassuming man, working diligently all day, collecting his wages, and then going to the clock tower in the evening to ring the bell. He ate a simple steamed bun and went to bed early.
Late at night, a series of rapid, short, strange noises suddenly came from outside.
Ouyang Rong suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed the scroll under his pillow.
The air was still.
He waited a moment, but the strange noises stopped, giving him no chance to listen carefully.
It sounded like an auditory hallucination.
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes, but did not let go, still holding the Peach Blossom Spring Map.
This isn't the first time.
On several previous nights, Ouyang Rong, who was a light sleeper, was also awakened by strange noises.
Having heard it many times, I've come to realize that the sound is like the clash of swords or the screams of people, but it's always very brief. Every time I try to listen closely, it disappears, and silence returns...
However, one day, Ouyang Rong got up early to ring the bell. Standing on the top of the bell tower, he noticed a faint red mark on the bluestone slabs of the street in the distance, but it was quickly cleaned up by the diligent street cleaners.
As if nothing had happened, the town welcomed a new day.
Ouyang Rong remembered that on his first day, the village elder who treated him to breakfast seemed to have told him to try not to go out at night and to go to bed early and get up early.
At first, Ouyang Rong thought it was because of poor security, but when night fell, he found that it was quiet outside and seemed very peaceful.
Later, I inquired with my colleagues at the Red Dust Inn and learned that not going out at night seemed to be an unwritten rule in the town.
It wasn't until later, when Ouyang Rong heard strange noises in the middle of the night and saw the usual street cleaners, that he began to understand what was going on...
In addition, Ouyang Rong also discovered that it seemed he was not the only one who wanted to find Yunmeng Sword Marsh. Every day, the town would welcome many unfamiliar guests, dressed in strange clothes and speaking in various accents... all of whom were subtly inquiring about Yunmeng Marsh, as if they were looking for something.
Temporarily isolated from the main hall of Jiangzhou, Ouyang Rong was unsure whether any of them were sent by the imperial court; his priority was to ensure his own safety...
Ouyang Rong gradually understood why Xue Zhongzhu had left him in the town.
In the darkness of night, Taoyuan Town was quiet and peaceful, with no one venturing out.
Taoyuan Town remains bustling during the day, welcoming and seeing off visitors as the last stop before entering the Yunmeng Great Swamp...
The residents of the town and the strangers seemed to tacitly follow a certain rule.
Therefore, for the past twenty days, even when Ouyang Rong went to sleep at night, he wore a bronze mask to maintain the guise of a dull young man, and slept with a scroll as his pillow.
In addition, when out and about during the day, I try my best to act like a normal person.
He didn't even allow the white sturgeon, which had been following him from afar, to show itself and look for him.
Although Ouyang Rong managed to slip through Xue Zhongzhu's inspection with the help of the "Emperor Wen's" supernatural powers, the Empress's vigilance remained undiminished... and it wasn't just directed at him alone.
This town is like a filter...
In the town, many pairs of eyes, hidden in the shadows, were watching these visitors.
Ouyang Rong just didn't know how long this surveillance would last.
Or, to put it another way, how long will the test last?
In the small dark room, unable to fall back asleep, Ouyang Rong simply closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and reviewed the arrangements once more.
Back in Longcheng, Aqing's family's identity had already been changed to that of an ordinary family, and even their household registration had been changed.
This was something Ouyang Rong had arranged for Magistrate Diao to do long ago. Before he went to Xunyang to take up his post, he had considered that someone might target his weaknesses.
So they helped Aqing's family change their appearance early on, and even assigned him, the "elder brother," a new identity.
His name is A Liang, the Liang from Lianghan. It's not a lie, it makes perfect sense.
Therefore, apart from Master Shandao and a few other monks such as Xiufa, the people of Longcheng had no idea where the widow of the martyr "Ashan" had gone.
Ouyang Rong waited patiently. As expected, after Xue Zhongzhu took A Qing back, he would definitely send someone to Longcheng to conduct a second examination.
Leaving him in the idyllic town was probably partly due to the need to await the results of the follow-up examination...
Another hour passed, and it was almost dawn.
This was just as the townspeople were about to wake up, and also the moment when the night watchmen, who had been on edge all night, were most subconsciously relaxed.
Ouyang Rong, who was on the couch, suddenly opened his eyes.
He looked around the dark room, took out a tinderbox from under his pillow, lit it, and then carefully opened the Peach Blossom Spring map, from which he took out a letter written in blood.
It was left behind by Cui Hao.
By the dim light of the fire, Ouyang Rong began to browse, and gradually frowned.
In the blood-written letter, Cui Hao mentioned three ways to find his related relics: one was to go to Luoyang in the north to find his descendants, the Cui family of Qinghe; another was to go to the north and find a few specific ancient temples, where relics could be found behind the murals in the halls.
The last, somewhat reliable method is to find a solitary grave in the south, specifically within the Yunmeng Marsh.
Ouyang Rong carefully studied the approximate location he was given, and gradually frowned.
Was it a coincidence or intentional that Cui Hao was in the Yunmeng Marsh? But thinking about it carefully, Cui Hao overheard Tao Yuanming telling him about the whereabouts of the "Longevity Elixir" sword manual, so he should have known that he would come to the Yunmeng Marsh.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the blood-written letter again. According to Cui Hao, the owner of this tomb was a scholar surnamed Lu from the Northern and Southern Dynasties...
(End of this chapter)
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