Chapter 175: Destiny 21: Revisiting the Old Place
Winter passed in the blink of an eye, and the warm spring has arrived. The red paper spring couplets on the doors of every household in the town are still bright.
This is a small town near Linjiang City. The roads on both sides are narrow, but the waterway in the middle is bustling with ships coming and going.
As evening approached, all the shops on the street closed their doors unusually early. Only a few shops selling noodles were still open, but seeing that their signs had been taken down, it seemed that they would soon close as well.
The black-sailed boat slowly moved through the waterway. At the bow sat a middle-aged man wearing a green robe, a beard and a bamboo hat. Behind him followed a young and handsome man.
The boatman at the stern shouted to the two guests at the bow, "It's getting late. You'd better find an inn to stay in. Don't rush on your way."
The man in green with a bamboo hat raised his eyebrows and tickled the young man's hand with the dogtail grass in his hand.
"Did you hear me? Don't rush on your journey. Find an inn and rest up there—" He stretched out his voice, propped up his arm casually, and raised his eyebrows.
The young man seemed calmer than him. He reached out and grabbed the grass stem and patted his head: "Okay, take a rest. But I remind you, we don't have much money."
The man in green turned over and stood up. Despite his old age, his movements were not steady at all, and the boat was shaken by his footsteps.
"What's there to be afraid of? At worst I can set up a stall to tell fortunes. If that doesn't work I can go to the mountains to catch fish and sell them..."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and smiled heartlessly. Gu Fengze saw his reaction clearly, pulled him to stand firmly, and said casually: "With my senior brother here, you will never go hungry."
The boatman asked them curiously, "The young one is actually the older brother?"
The man in blue was in a playful mood. He leaned against the roof of the cabin and waved to the boatman. He raised his bamboo hat and smiled, his mustache twitching. He looked like an ordinary-looking middle-aged man who would not be recognized in a crowd.
The boatman walked a little closer, and the man in blue wiped his face, revealing a young and pretty face with a pair of upturned round eyes full of smiles.
The boatman was stunned and cried out, then Li Yanze wiped his face again and turned into the bearded middle-aged man.
Gu Fengze smiled and shook his head, but did not stop him.
The boatman was surprised and said, "I didn't recognize you two, you are immortals! I wonder if you two immortals can stay and help us to suppress the demons and exorcise the evil spirits?"
Li Yanze did this just to lead him to say this. As they walked along the way, they found that only in this small town every household was nervous. Many people did not put spring flowers on their windows but instead put a lot of talisman papers, although they seemed to be of no use.
Not to mention that this town is obviously close to the canal and should be very lively at night, but now everyone is in danger and is starting to prepare to close early.
"You speak first."
The boatman thought for a moment and then said to them, "You two will understand when night falls, since you plan to stay in town for a few days. I don't need to tell you anything."
After the boat stopped at the shore, the two found an inn to stay in. As they were walking upstairs, a group of people dressed in the clothes of the Imperial Observatory monks suddenly came in.
Li Yanze looked at their Taoist robes and recognized them at a glance. He muttered subconsciously, "Imperial Astronomical Observatory?"
Because of this sound, everyone below looked up at them.
This group of monks looked young, both men and women, and there was no arrogance on their faces. They just looked at the two of them calmly, as if they were confirming something, and turned their heads away without interest after a moment.
Gu Fengze's face turned cold, his brows furrowed, and he glanced at them calmly.
Li Yanze himself didn't care. He regarded recognizing their identities as his own talent and intelligence, and pulled Gu Fengze upstairs.
As soon as he closed the door, he saw the monks downstairs coming and filling the empty rooms on both sides.
When Li Yanze entered the room, he subconsciously prepared to take off his disguise, but Gu Fengze pinched his wrist and shook his head slightly.
"When you go out these days, don't show your true appearance. You have to be on guard against others."
Li Yanze didn't understand why, but he did as he was told.
In the middle of the night, Li Yanze, who was meditating, opened his eyes and saw the sound of a baby crying outside the window. The sound was small and sharp, and close to his ears.
Gu Fengze looked at him, restrained his aura and pretended to be an ordinary person.
The local residents are on guard and will not be easily fooled. If there are some intelligent monsters and evil spirits, they will probably target the merchants from other places. Since both sides are monks who do not restrain themselves, these monsters are likely to come to their doorstep.
Li Yanze thought about it, half-opened the window, pretended to be unaware, took a look, and then closed the window again.
"I'll be alone for a while, let me go and have some fun by myself." He was almost bored to death after so many days. It was not good to be with his senior brother. He could only serve as a decoration and applaud.
Gu Fengze smiled helplessly, casually drew two talismans, stuffed them into his arms, and nodded in agreement.
"Go ahead. If you can't handle it, burn this talisman."
The sound like a baby crying became clearer and clearer. Li Yanze was a spiritual being, so he could naturally sense the unusual aura of monsters.
The more the voice cried, the more Li Yanze felt vaguely familiar, especially the approaching aura, as if he had dealt with this thing somewhere before.
Li Yanze glanced at Gu Fengze, raised his eyebrows, opened the window, and showed a look of confusion on his face. He also pretended to say:
"Whose child is crying all the time? Can't I sleep?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes fixed on the sky, and he opened the window himself. He paused for a moment, looked back at Gu Fengze and blinked his right eye.
Gu Fengze knew that he was pretending to be controlled, so he waved at him and poured tea leisurely.
Li Yanze turned his head blankly, and showed an expression of struggle when he jumped out of the window, and then jumped down to the first floor without hesitation.
Li Yanze walked forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow, secretly observing the monster hiding in the corner in front of him. In the slanting moonlight, he saw half a human face, crouching in the corner, with black hair.
Li Yanze flashed something, very similar to——Yayu
Li Yanze was in a trance for a moment, and he felt that this was not the first time he had seen this Yali.
Just as he was about to reach the thing, a bright sword light flashed before his eyes, and he felt someone suddenly slap a talisman on his shoulder.
The thing had a snake body and horse hooves, and was moving very fast. Li Yanze knew that he could not hit it with that attack, so he immediately shouted a warning: "It's going to run away!"
The young monk obviously thought he was meddling in other people's business, so he frowned and told him to go back by himself.
Li Yanze clicked his tongue, and while running forward he made hand gestures, and several chains of golden light overflowed and flew towards it.
He was obviously even more dissatisfied. He reached out and took out the rope and threw it at it. The two attacks collided and the Yali disappeared.
The monk swung the sword in his hand irritably and looked at Li Yanze dissatisfiedly: "Where are you from? Don't you know how the Imperial Observatory works? Are you here to cause trouble?"
Li Yanze had no time to explain. He immediately concentrated and made a gesture, using his spiritual power to draw a talisman in the air. The spiritual light dissipated, and the golden light particles jumped and turned into a long golden thread of spiritual power.
One end of it was tickling Li Yanze's fingers affectionately, while the other end was quickly following the scent to find the breath and whereabouts of Yali.
The impatience on the monk's face turned into shock. How many monks in this world can draw out spiritual power at will and transform it into a physical entity and use it freely?
Li Yanze was not unhappy because of his initial contempt. The spiritual power in his hand jumped, and he immediately turned around and asked him: "I found it, do you want to come with me?"
The monk himself was a little embarrassed. He nodded and extended his hand to him and shook it: "Qi Zihong."
Li Yanze flew forward with him. Following the guidance of the spiritual power, Li Yanze heard the name and subconsciously repeated a word: "...Qi?"
Qi Zihong coughed lightly: "It's the royal surname you thought of, but I'm just an ordinary cultivator now, so don't make a fuss..."
Li Yanze covered his mouth with his hand. Qi Zihong's eyes widened. This person knew that he was a royal relative, but he still dared to offend him like this.
"Is your last name Qi or Huang? It doesn't matter anyway. Let's not talk now." Li Yanze raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice.
If they walked further, they would reach the deserted suburbs outside the city. In front of them, it was dark and they could barely make out a hilltop. Yayu didn't notice that someone was following him, so he slipped into the mountain.
"It's night time now, why are you still chasing me?" Qi Zihong was a little scared and pulled him in a low voice.
Li Yanze clicked his tongue and just asked him, "Are you coming?"
After a while, the two concealed their breath and followed the trail of Yali all the way up the mountain. In the spring, the vegetation in the mountain was lush, and Li Yanze could now communicate with the plants and creatures freely, as if walking on flat ground.
Qi Zihong followed him and whispered to him, "This is Taoxi Mountain, but we should be in the back mountain now. There is also a Taoxi Village at the foot of Taoxi Mountain, but a master has set up an exorcism formation here before, so it shouldn't harass Taoxi Village."
Li Yanze paused and a scene flashed through his mind.
The valley was full of pink peach blossoms, and the wind blowing through the petals was charming, but he didn't look at them. He was only looking at the two dogtail grasses in his hands, which were circling to make something. He seemed to see a corner of purple clothes in the corner of his sight.
Li Yanze hit his head twice, and the scene disappeared. Qi Zihong swallowed hard, but Li Yanze himself was fine, and continued his words in a low voice: "That's good, there is a formation here, and the monsters will not be able to do anything."
The trace of Yali was not difficult for Li Yanze to find. They followed it to a valley where there was a cave and a clear lake.
Li Yanze was stepping on the green grass, and for a moment he was dazed. Immediately, he was pulled by the spiritual power in his hand, and he went to the cave with the sword in hand.
Li Yanze didn't need to say much this time. The compass in Qi Zihong's hand was also spinning wildly. The one inside was the real evil spirit.
As expected, there was a big snake coiled inside, but half of its body was locked by powerful spiritual power. Some stone slabs could still be vaguely seen at the entrance of the cave, but at this moment it was in a mess.
Li Yanze was furious for no reason. Without saying a word, he rushed forward with his sword in hand, and did not forget to tie up Yali, who was helping the tyrant.
Qi Zihong hastily drew his sword and recited the formula in a panic, but he made mistakes and made two mistakes in the hand seals. Li Yanze dodged his accidental injury, holding him with a smile, and pierced the snake's gallbladder with his sword.
The demonic energy rose into the sky and dissipated, and a golden formation suddenly lit up into the sky. Li Yanze felt that this power was very familiar, and the mysterious operation everywhere was quite in his style.
Qi Zihong stood with him and looked up to admire it, then turned around and grabbed the Yali that was about to run away.
The Yali struggled for a while, and its triangular eyes spun around and fixed on Li Yanze.
"My Lord, I didn't expect you to come back...Aren't you supposed to be in the Imperial Capital?"
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