Chapter 328 Master, I'm doing pretty well, right?
There has been a severe drought for more than 20 years.
The scorching sun burned the cracked earth. Suddenly, dark clouds covered the sun. It turned out to be a swarm of buzzing locusts flying across the sky, blocking out all the sunlight.
They couldn't find the crops, so they fell down one by one and lingered on the cloudy eyes of the corpses. These corpses had long been dried up, but their abdomens, thighs and other plump parts were covered with dark wounds, and the flesh and blood had long been cut away.
Did these wounds occur before or after death? Was it strangers or their relatives who took their flesh?
Even with meat, people in the drought could not find clean water. The wells and streams had dried up, and even the only intermittent river was filled with filth and corpses. But ordinary people just numbly scoop water from it and drink it. The dying child climbed to the shore and looked up, only to see another swollen face in the river.
That seemed to be her future.
Suddenly, raindrops began to fall from the sky, wetting her long, dry yellow hair first, and then her fallen eyelashes. A heavy rain came down. She used her last bit of strength to stretch out her tongue to catch the rain from the sky.
"How pitiful! You look beyond help. Even if I take action now, I can't save your body."
"I have observed you for many days. You can choose another way to live."
With these water sources and with the torrential rains that finally came, a more brutal epidemic broke out.
…
"The Crescent Moon Cult has saved us. Faith in the Crescent Moon has cured our illnesses, healed our wounds, and even the soil of the land can be used to satisfy our hunger."
"After the people in every city prayed earnestly, finally, each city received springs from the earth and rain from the sky."
“Those who died no longer suffered, but went to their heaven.”
At the reception banquet, Ning Mingmei listened to the ministers around him telling him the origin of the Crescent Moon Sect. The minister said: "Everyone wears white flowers at the door because of people's belief in the new moon. They believe that the white flowers will protect them from disasters and diseases."
Ning Mingmei said "so that's how it is", but in his heart he cared very much about the saint girl.
Seeing Ning Mingmei staring at the saint with her face covered in white veil, Lian Chengyue seemed to be thinking about something. Just now, he had come into contact with the saint lady as Qi Miancheng. There was something subtly unusual about her.
"There's something wrong with this woman. Do you want to take a closer look?"
Shi Ruzhuo's voice came to my ears. Recently, he never called Lian Chengyue "boy" again. Although Lian Chengyue had never told him about her life experience, Shi Ruzhuo had already noticed something unusual about this person, and even spoke a little more cautiously.
"What's wrong?" Lian Chengyue asked.
"Her soul seems like it shouldn't belong to this body..." Shi Ruzhuo said, frowning again, not quite understanding.
"Yes, her soul did not originally belong to this body. However, I did not see any signs of the former soul being squeezed out or possessed by another body in this body - it was as if it was originally an empty shell." Lian Chengyue said, "Not only that, the soul in this body seems to be being devoured by this body. According to my estimation, such a soul can only consume 30 years at most in this body."
"This sounds very strange." Shi Ruzhuo said, "I heard from others that the Saint of the Crescent Moon Cult has been active in the human world since two hundred years ago. She has saved people from danger and has a high reputation."
Lian Chengyue observed for a while and concluded: "Very strange."
It's strange indeed.
It is obvious that the Crescent Moon Cult wants to make the Saint a spiritual symbol that is admired by all people. Something illusory must have some real statue to make people more convinced. But they could clearly choose a long-lived monk to be the saint, or they could continue to choose new mortals to be the saint. Anyway, the saint always wears a veil, so as long as the figure is similar, anyone can be under the veil.
But now it seemed as if they were using a mortal soul to fill this strange, black hole-like shell as fuel for its actions. Wait for this mortal to die, and then replace him with another one. What's all this trouble for?
Why must we let this empty shell run?
Ning Mingmei was also observing and thinking. During the dinner, he left on the pretext of sobering up. There were pavilions dotted around outside the palace where they were hosted. Although he was followed closely by the palace servants, Ning Mingmei's sensitive ears, as a cultivator, still caught the information from the wind.
From the idle chatter of the ladies who were resting in the waterside pavilion.
"Why didn't anyone from the Zhaoguo Mansion come?"
"The one sitting on the Diaoyutai now is the Eighteenth Prince. The Zhao family has long sided with the Tenth Prince, and now they can only behave themselves, pretending to be dead so that everyone will forget about them. How dare they come to the palace to show off again?"
"But this is also... Who could have thought that during the epidemic, everyone..."
"It's been a while since I last heard about the whereabouts of the Tenth Prince. I wonder if he died..."
"How dare you bring that up?! Aren't you afraid your color will change…?"
color? change?
Ning Mingmei wanted to continue listening, but the palace servant next to him said, "Ning Xianzun, you have been outside for half a day. Are you sober now? Why don't you go back with me?"
"Please go away. I want to walk around alone." Ning Mingmei said.
The palace servant bowed his head, looked at him respectfully, but said something that would not be refused: "The steward said that Immortal Ning is a noble man and should not be neglected."
"It's up to the guest to follow the host's wishes. Why does it sound to me like you are spying on me?" Ning Mingmei said.
"Ning Xianzun, please don't make things difficult for me. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to take the responsibility..."
"You bastard, you are so brave! Who told you to talk back in front of the Immortal Lord?" someone scolded.
When the palace servant heard the voice, his face changed, he showed fear, and knelt down to salute: "Commander-in-chief."
Ning Mingmei also looked in that direction. He saw a group of people wearing lace-colored clothes. The man in the lead was a little fatter, but his face still had traces of his old age. He was originally scolding the palace servants, but when he saw Ning Mingmei looking at him, he smiled as if he had met an old friend in a foreign land.
"Master!" he said.
Ning Mingmei heard short gasps coming from different palace servants in different directions. Obviously, this is because this person is very important.
"Shi Shan." Ning Mingmei also called out Old Thirteen's name.
Old Thirteen looked at the palace servant at this time. He didn't say anything, but his arrogant expression made the palace servants retreat timidly.
Ning Mingmei's heart sank. On the one hand, this showed that Old Thirteen now had an extraordinary status. On the other hand, it also showed that in this treacherous and strange imperial city, Old Thirteen had already become a part of the game.
At this moment, he looked at the solemn and exquisite badge on the waist of the colored clothes.
Tiyiwei.
…
It was late at night and the dew was heavy, but Ning Mingmei did not return to the palace specially decorated for them to rest like the others. On the contrary, after the palace gates were locked, he and the Thirteenth Prince left the palace in a carriage.
There is also a white flower at the gate of the palace. Just like there is a white flower above the gate of every palace.
"Master, did you not eat well at the banquet? Banquets in the palace are like this, full of greasy fish and meat, which we cultivators are not used to." Old Thirteen said, "Besides, cultivators like quietness, and being stared at by so many people is really hard to swallow. It's just right, I will take Master to the restaurant I often go to."
Ning Mingmei said: "If it's delicacies from land and sea, forget it."
"Haha!" Old Thirteen narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Master, don't forget. Although I didn't go to Yaochuan City or the ghost world with you to do big things, I still went on business trips with you a few times later. I still remember your taste. The twenty-fifth is on duty tonight, but I asked someone to call him. Nothing is more important than our master coming. He will be here soon."
Two hundred years have passed, and Old Thirteen's face has become a little fatter and his personality has changed a little. Ning Mingmei looked at his profile and thought so.
More than two hundred years ago, Old Thirteen was from the Juanwang faction of Piaomiao Peak. He was born in the mortal world, was poor, hardworking, and cynical. In group meetings, he always had some thorns towards Lin Heting and other talented people from wealthy families, out of inferiority and jealousy. But he has a good heart and works seriously. He tries his best to complete all the tasks given by Ning Mingmei. Even before Ning Mingmei came, he was still practicing his sword skills in the back mountains, one sword at a time, without making any progress.
Ning Mingmei felt that people with this kind of personality were suitable for academic pursuits and were suitable to stay in the Qingji Sect. School is always a clean ivory tower. The extremism and inferiority in his character will be well tolerated by the simple environment and become the fuel for his academic efforts. But Old Thirteen wants to make progress, wants to become stronger, and wants to have a family background like Lin Heting where he will never have to worry about food and clothing.
So later on he didn't stay in Piaomiao Sect, nor did he do academic work. Instead, he became a secret realm hunter and traveled around the world. Later, he worked in several fairy cities.
Now, he is working in the palace of the human world, and it seems that he has been working there for a long time. He became wealthy and had the capital to look down on others. Apart from his fatter face, he spoke and acted more like a social person.
In fact, hasn’t every disciple changed after graduation? For example, when Ning Mingmei saw the calm Wen Siheng, he always felt a little uncomfortable. Not to mention Lin Heting who became a finance man, even those who stayed in Qingji Sect to do academic work have changed.
"I haven't asked you what you are doing now." Ning Mingmei said.
"Master, are you talking about my current position? Haha, let's talk about it when we get to the restaurant." Old Thirteen said with a smile.
The carriage passed by a brightly lit area. This is a city that never sleeps, and it looks like this is the prosperous area of the capital. Tall restaurants are lined up one after another. Ning Mingmei originally thought that Old Thirteen was going to treat everyone here. But his carriage passed here and arrived at another place.
It was a quiet old street with only a few small restaurants still open. Some sell wontons, and some sell noodles. There is a college near the old street. It seems that this old street was opened for students who stay up late to study.
Old Thirteen got off the carriage and consciously served as Ning Mingmei's armrest. As soon as he entered the shop, the owner said, "Hey, I knew you were coming, so I waited for the shop to open... Uncle Shi, why did you bring someone here today?"
"The guest who came today is an honored guest. Please make the cakes well." Old Thirteen said, "This is my most honored guest!"
The middle-aged boss responded and went to the back to get something while shouting. Ning Mingmei looked at the plain decoration around him, and Old Thirteen said, "Master, don't be fooled by the simple decoration here, but the snacks they make are really delicious and clean. There are not many restaurants in the Immortal City that can compare to theirs."
"How did you find this place?"
In the mist of the kitchen, Old Thirteen spoke: "This was when I first arrived in the capital. At that time, there was a wealthy family in the capital who wanted to do a big order and find the best cultivators to come to the Immortal City. I thought this was a great opportunity to make a name for myself, so I put down the secret realm I was digging and ran over. As a result, halfway through, the wealthy family who issued the task died, and the secret realm that I passed on to someone else produced good goods. It was really a loss. The opportunity to change my life was gone at that moment."
The boss came up with a basket of crystal tofu buns. Old Thirteen picked up a bun and took a bite. "It was raining at the time. There was nothing for me to do in the capital, but I was unwilling to go back. The road outside the gate, go straight along it, and it is the way out of the city. I walked along this road, stopped when I saw the academy, and thought of our master. At that time, I thought, what kind of life have I been living outside? I have endured for decades, but I can't stay anywhere and have accomplished nothing. If I had stayed in Qingji Sect, would I have had a better life? At that moment, I wanted to go back to the sect, but I felt it was shameful to do so. During that time, I didn't send any messages to anyone in the sect, not even Old Fifteen. I didn't want to send any messages because I was afraid of being embarrassed."
"I walked back and forth on this road with my sword on my back. As I walked, I got tired, so I leaned on the side of the road to rest for a while, and then I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already early in the morning, and all the stores were closed. I looked up and saw that only this dim sum shop was open." Old Thirteen said, "The owner at the door saw that I woke up, and told me that the shop was closed, and there were a few boxes of dim sum that could not be sold. It would be a pity to throw them away, and asked me if I was hungry and if I could help her solve the problem."
"At that time, I knew that she probably thought I was a wandering swordsman with no food to eat."
"This restaurant has been passed down for three generations. The original owner is also the grandmother of the current owner. After that, I made up my mind to stay in the capital, at least to make a name for myself before leaving. Otherwise, how can I live up to the name of Piao Miao Peak and how can I live up to my master!" Old Thirteen picked up another bun, "Then it happened that the royal family's Ti Yi Wei was recruiting, so I went. Since then, I have risen from a small soldier to a commander, and no one dared to look at me on the road. I have eaten in many good restaurants, but I always remember that the first meal I had in the capital was the dim sum here. I will remember it for the rest of my life. Every week, I come here to eat once."
"I see." Ning Mingmei said, "Thank you for taking me here."
Old Thirteen also chuckled. Perhaps because he was talking about the past, tears welled up in his eyes. “Master, you see, I am still doing well, right? Your graduates are doing well too.”
He glanced outside and muttered, "Why hasn't Twenty-Five come yet? Does it take a long time to get here from the west gate?"
Ning Mingmei looked at the profile of Old Thirteen, but had another idea in his mind.
——Old Thirteen brought him to this small restaurant instead of the luxurious Tianxianglou. This shows that he still has a lot of capital and can negotiate with Old Thirteen.
"I have never heard of the Ti Yi Wei before. What do you, the Ti Yi Wei, do?" Ning Mingmei asked.
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