Chapter 345 Luo Shanyu, Sending Potato Ghost
In the bedroom with the door closed.
Zhao Duan sat at the round table, groping and observing the jade-white leaf in his hand.
Just like what I saw in the "dream", the leaves are not big and the veins are clearly visible.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was not pure white, but "transparent", but inside the jade-textured leaves, there was a cloud-like thick white light slurry slowly flowing.
"bite!"
Zhao Duan snapped his fingers, and the leaves made a crisp and pleasant sound, accompanied by ripples of light on the surface, which was extremely magical.
"Master Guhuo said this thing could block a blow from the soul... How did he manage to take it into his body?"
Zhao Duan muttered.
In his mind, he recalled the treasure house in the ruined temple on the desolate mountain that he had witnessed when he read his memory.
"That's the treasure house of Guhuo, right? There should be a lot of treasures hidden in it. Unfortunately, in my memory, I only saw the general appearance of the temple and the surrounding mountains.
But relying solely on these memory points, we can’t find the treasure trove. Otherwise, we would have made a fortune.”
Zhao Duan recalled the dazzling array of treasures in the demon Taoist's memory, and his eyes became jealous.
Shaking his head to calm his distracting thoughts, Zhao Duan tried to exhale energy from his palms.
Then, the mysterious leaf actually began to "melt" and slowly seeped into the palm of my hand.
At the same time, he also caught a glimpse of the illusory white leaf veins between his eyebrows in the mirror in the room, which flashed by.
"Is it taken into the body now?"
Zhao Duan could sense that the leaf was still in his body, and as long as he moved the Qi, he should be able to force it out.
"Huh, it seems warriors can also use it." What he was most worried about was that this thing would only be effective if a sorcerer used "magic power" to activate it.
However, no matter how he played with it, he didn't find anything further.
Suddenly, an idea struck him:
"Since this thing can materialize in a dream, can I show it to the boss for his inspection?"
Zhao Duan did not hesitate. He immediately got up and went to the bed, sat cross-legged and tried to visualize the "Six Chapter Sutra".
…
In a trance, he appeared again in the familiar sparse woods in the suburbs.
“Woo woo—”
The cold wind blew my hair, and the dilapidated temple in front of me was clearly visible.
Zhao Duan did not rush into the temple, but first raised his palm and tried to give it the thought of "materialization". After a slight delay, light slurry flowed out from his palm and slowly condensed into the shape of a white jade leaf.
"It really works!" Zhao Duan was delighted, and at the same time felt that this treasure was more and more extraordinary.
With his palms clenched, Zhao Duan walked towards the dilapidated temple as if he knew the way. He stepped on the cracked and dilapidated steps and pushed open the half-open door with force.
In the courtyard, the weeds are still withered, the collapsed incense burner in the corner and the spider webs under the eaves of the main hall seem to be frozen in time.
"You're here." Pei Niannu, wearing a crimson wedding gown and a mysterious dark gold mask covering her face, stood on the eaves, looking at him coldly with a tasseled weighing rod beside her. "Begin."
Zhao Duan bowed, cleared his throat, and began to tell today's story.
The sorceress's calves, hanging from the eaves, also swayed slightly on her shoes.
He discovered that the people in the painting of the Six Chapter Sutra had no perception of time. In other words, even if Zhao Duan came in to visualize it again after a month, Pei Niannu would not notice anything.
This greatly alleviated his pain.
After Zhao Duan finished telling today's story, he said cautiously:
"Senior, I have a rare item. I would like to ask you to take a look and see if you know its origin."
He wasn't very sure. On the one hand, the Wedding Dress Sorceress had a hot and cold temper and was difficult to please.
Secondly, the other party was an ancient person who lived six hundred years ago, but the treasure collected by Guhuo Zhenren might not be six hundred years old...
"Bring it here...let me see..." Pei Niannu said.
Zhao Duan hurriedly picked up the jade leaf, but it slipped out of his palm, slowly floated into the air, and was held in Pei Niannu's hand.
At this moment, behind her visor, her originally lazy and indifferent eyes sharpened a little. She seemed surprised and looked at Zhao Duan again, saying:
"The Daluo Mountain Jade, stored in the heart, can nourish the mind and soul."
Perhaps because she was the "person in the painting", the sorceress did not speak fluently, but it was enough to convey the key information.
Did this sorceress really know what was good? Zhao Duan was delighted at first, but then he caught sight of the words "Daluo Mountain Jade" and was stunned.
Daluo Mountain is the mountain where gods are said to reside. It is also the "Xuandu" worshipped by sorcerers and does not exist in this world.
It is said that the trees on Mount Daluo are all made of jade with different colors, and they emit colorful light even at night.
This statement is too mysterious, even close to a myth, but in some special and remote places, there are indeed plants with jade texture growing.
Therefore, the so-called "Daluo Mountain Jade" in the world also refers to this category.
The sorceress's words gave a clear message:
This thing is not a man-made talisman at all, but a "natural treasure" grown in nature. It can nourish the soul and resist attacks from the soul... It is consistent with what Master Guhuo said.
Zhao Duan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. What he was most worried about was that this thing belonged to the "evil god" faction and there would be hidden dangers if it was left behind.
But since it is a treasure from heaven and earth, there is no problem.
He was about to thank her when he heard the sorceress playing with it for a moment and suddenly sighing, "The bottom of the lake is locked in smoke, and the Black Turtle Seal is hidden. This is the key."
Zhao Duan suddenly looked up, only to see the sorceress flick her wrist and throw the white jade leaf back, and the surrounding scenery faded and disappeared.
It seems too lazy to pay attention to him anymore.
…
In the room.
Zhao Duan suddenly woke up, the sorceress's last words still echoing in his mind.
He suddenly stood up and started rummaging through the bookshelf. Last time he collected a large number of Emperor Taizu's notes, and there was a section that mentioned the "Black Turtle Seal".
Soon, Zhao Duan took out the ancient book called "Yingchuan Miscellaneous Notes" and found that article in it.
The general content is that in the past, Emperor Taizu tried to find a talisman called "Black Turtle Seal", but he could never find its hiding place. Once when he was talking with a friend, he was drunk and slammed the table and sighed:
As the old saying goes, treasures belong to the virtuous. I, with my great virtue, cannot even obtain any of them. This shows that the ancients' words are like farts.
"What does Pei Niannu mean? The Black Turtle Seal is hidden in Yansuo Lake? This leaf is the key to obtaining the treasure?" Zhao Duan was breathing rapidly.
I didn't expect there would be such a pleasant surprise.
He didn't think the sorceress would lie to him out of idleness, and considering her status back then, it wasn't surprising that she had such information.
As for the Yansuo Lake... he happened to know that it was at the junction of Linfeng and Huai River, where the "Lake Pavilion" chosen by the court for opening a market was located.
Zhao Duan put down the ancient book, clutched the candy leaves, and remembered Zhenbao's joke, asking him to go to Huting to participate in the opening of the market.
With a strange expression, he murmured, "Could this be God's will?"
…
…
On that day, news about the execution of the Grand Master of Dayu and the eradication of the rebel faction of the Kuangfu Society began to spread wildly in the officialdom.
All the officials in the court were confused and stunned. They had only received an urgent notice the day before and were asked to be careful and cautious.
As a result, the danger was resolved after only one day, which surprised people and made them look down upon the rebels even more.
Especially when Zhao Duan established a branch in the capital, the attitude of the officials in the capital towards the Kuangfu Society changed dramatically.
After all, three branch leaders have died in succession in half a year, and now they have been completely wiped out. This is undoubtedly a positive signal.
The name Zhao Duan once again became the center of discussion, but the focus of people's attention was not on his achievements, but on...
"Did you hear that during the morning court session, Lord Zhao came out of His Majesty's bedroom? It's said that his body was covered in scratches, his steps were weak, and his face was pale. He had to hold on to the palace wall when he left."
"I also heard that there were bursts of screams in His Majesty's bedroom in the middle of the night..."
"Your Majesty?"
"How is that possible? Of course it was Master Zhao who called..."
So, during the banquet, a group of officials clinked their glasses in tacit agreement, keeping the secrets secret, and letting everything sink in:
“It’s great to be young…”
And in a place unknown to everyone, a prisoner quietly disappeared from the imperial prison, and all related records were sealed.
Wu Ling quietly escaped from the capital, contacted the Kuangfu Society on the outskirts of the city using the emergency contact method he knew, and then left urgently.
As for the disappearance of the young actor from the Bafang Theater, the government's external explanation was that he was killed by a rebel evildoer.
The prisoner exchange plan planned by Zhao Duan also began to be quietly laid out, but in the eyes of most people, this was only an inside story known to a small number of people.
For most people, they had no idea what had happened. Only Wu Ling's "death" became a brief topic of conversation among the people after dinner, and also made some noble ladies sad for a while.
…
…
The temperature difference between day and night in the capital is getting bigger and bigger.
There are more and more people selling persimmons on the streets.
Early that morning, the Zhao family became lively.
Zhao Duan got up early and practiced martial arts as usual.
When I returned to the courtyard, drenched in sweat, I saw Zhao Pan'er in the yard, with her hands on her hips, loudly directing her servants to dismantle the tower.
Today is "Frost Descent". According to the customs of Dayu, every household will use tiles or earth blocks to build a "tower" shape on the ground, and then light branches inside, letting the flames burn the tiles red hot.
Then push it down again, use the red-hot tiles inside to cook the sweet potatoes, and eat them.
It's called "Fat Burger".
Afterwards, these tiles will be thrown to the entrance of the village and sent out of the house.
It's called "Sending Potato Ghost".
“Big Brother!”
Zhao Pan was wearing a thicker jacket today, with her hair loose behind her head, and her slightly rounder cheeks were slightly flushed.
It seemed that she had been standing by the fire tower for too long, and her whole tender skin was roasted red. Beads of sweat were on the tip of her nose, making her look like a human-shaped sweet potato.
She called out sweetly, then pointed to the servants who were throwing a basket of sweet potatoes into the red-hot tiles to bury them, and said:
"They'll definitely be ripe before you go to the outer city. Eating sweet potatoes will keep you warm all winter long."
Zhao Duan smiled, raised his hand to tidy up the fringe of hair on her forehead, and said with a smile:
"Then you guys eat more, big brother is not afraid of the cold."
Behind him, Eugene Hua, also wrapped in a dark green jacket, called his stepson and daughter to eat.
This morning's meals were all very nourishing.
After the Frost Descent, winter comes and the weather has been getting colder recently.
"When will the troops be withdrawn? Will there be any delays?"
Eugene Hua stood by the table, twisting her body, and personally served porridge to her children.
"No rush, I'm a military attaché on secondment. I'll just show up when the time comes. I don't need to participate in the front."
Zhao Duan changed into the official robe of the deputy commander of the Shenji Camp today, and there was a shiny soft armor lying on the ground.
According to Dayu tradition, Frost Descent marks the end of autumn, and officers and soldiers from all over the country hold a "withdrawal" ceremony, and the Shenji Camp naturally has to participate.
According to tradition, people also use firearms to set off cannons into the sky, commonly known as "beating the frost", which means to drive away the god in charge of frost between heaven and earth, and ensure that crops and all things are not disturbed by frost.
As a military officer, Zhao Duan also needs to attend.
But he doubted whether the gods could defeat this matter with artillery...
Well, if you have time, you can talk to Jin Jian sister...
Eugene nodded, then took out several invitations and handed them to him for review:
"I sent this last night. Seeing you were practicing, I didn't disturb you."
In late autumn, various gatherings began to increase in the city. Scholars went hiking together, and warriors organized autumn hunts. Zhao Duan was now extremely famous in the capital. Various invitations came in like snowflakes, and there was an endless stream of visitors every day.
But most of them were stopped outside by the steward.
Only those who have been screened and have a certain status will be handed to You Jinhua and then to Zhao Duan for review.
"Brother, is there any literary gathering attended by Mr. Zhengyang? I recently heard from the female relatives that the literary world in the city is very lively." Zhao Pan asked curiously.
Zhao Duan pursed his lips.
Mr. Zhengyang entered the city the day before yesterday, followed by hundreds of disciples. After he settled down in the city, he attracted scholars from all over the capital to come and visit him.
The inn where he lived was suddenly packed with people.
The biggest topic in the city these days is the arrival of Dayu’s number one hermit.
Zhao Duan did not go to pay a visit, but he also sent people to monitor it through various channels. The result he got was four words:
"He comes with bad intentions!"
Compared to the Zhengyang School that caused a sensation after entering the city, there was another team that entered the city at almost the same time but only attracted great attention in a small range, which made him more concerned.
However, these turbulent events in the upper class are difficult to tell my family about, as it makes them worry.
Therefore, Zhao Duan just smiled and muddled through the conversation. After dinner, he put on his armor and prepared to leave the house. Zhao Pan stuffed two red hot sweet potatoes into his mouth.
…
On the streets of the capital, Zhao Duan was wearing armor and riding a horse, feeling the warmth of the sweet potato in his arms.
Seeing that every household in the streets and alleys dumped their tiles outside, the people who were "sending potato ghosts" gradually became serious and muttered:
"Send ghosts? Ha, the Eighth Prince sent two ghosts to the doorstep of Zhenbao's house."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
