The journey from the capital city to the capital was a long one. Pei Zi Yun had planned to wear an official's uniform on the carriage to show off his status. However, he did not want to draw attention to himself. Hence, he wore a cotton scarf and said, "It's warm and doesn't stand out."
Liao Ge listened to him. They were all dressed in normal clothes. The two soldiers were the ox-drivers and carried knives. The carriage passed through Ying Shan County, and the journey was difficult. Pei Zi Yun put down the book in his hands, deep in thought.
This document was the result of Liao Ge's hard work. He was very meticulous. He knew when the previous dynasty would confer the title upon the Patriarch of Green Cloud Monastery, and the contents of the decree. The officials would send people to offer sacrifices to the Patriarch during the festival.
This Liao Ge was indeed talented. It was a pity that he was of low birth, and was only a ninth ranked official. Pei Zi Yun did not know what would happen on this long journey.
Thinking up to this point, Pei Zi Yun touched the soft armor he was wearing. He remembered that Yu Yun Jun had brought a magical weapon over to him this morning. He took it and realized that it was a sword. Coupled with the soft armor, it was undoubtedly a powerful weapon.
The guard pulled on the reins and shouted. The mule stopped in front of them. The guard who was driving the mule opened the curtain, "Your excellency, we've arrived at the relay station. It's getting late, and I'm afraid we won't be able to cross the river. We'll have to rest here for the night.
Liao Ge opened the curtain and saw snowflakes falling from the sky. It was getting dark. He then asked, "Master Top Scorer, what do you think?"
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he laughed, "I'll follow your excellency's wishes."
Liao Ge got off the carriage and the two of them walked together. They saw a relay station in front of them. The courier asked, "How many of you are looking for lodgings? Do you have any official documents? "
Liao Ge then whispered to Pei Zi Yun, "Master Top Scorer, most of these relay stations are for retired soldiers. The imperial court has decreed that the officials are allowed to stay at these relay stations for free. Ordinary people have to pay a fee."
"I understand."
Seeing that Pei Zi Yun understood, Liao Ge then handed the documents over. The courier received the documents and bowed, "So it's your excellency, please enter."
Liao Ge led Pei Zi Yun into the relay station. The interior of the relay station was rather decent. The courier smiled, "Your excellency, I'll feed the mule for you."
When the four of them entered the hall, they saw a group of tourists. There were seven or eight of them, and they were drinking happily. They were a bit tipsy, and didn't pay any attention to them.
The Great Xu had just settled down, so there were few inns along the way. There were only relay stations along the way, and with the protection of the relay soldiers, it was actually quite safe.
The courier led the way for them to register their names, before arranging their rooms. The courier then smiled, "Your excellencies, you can have your meal in the main hall below. Feel free to go. If there's anything you need, feel free to call me."
When Liao Ge heard this, he couldn't help but nod his head in approval. This man knew how to conduct himself. However, he was just a small official, and didn't want to reward him. Pei Zi Yun then laughed, "Feed my mule well, and serve me some good dishes."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver and threw it over to the courier. When the courier caught it, he realized that it was a piece of fine silver. It was white and deep, and weighed about three taels. He smiled and bowed, "Yes, your excellency!"
Speaking of which, it was true that public servants and officials had free meals, but the quota wasn't much. Furthermore, it was troublesome. After throwing a few taels of silver over, they would immediately become friendly again.
The few of them walked down the stairs and sat at a table on the left of the relay station. There was a burly man and a young lady there. Pei Zi Yun swept his gaze across them and saw that the two of them were enjoying free tea and eating buns.
The young lady had bright eyes and white teeth, but seemed to be malnourished. She was very skinny and weak. Pei Zi Yun felt that she looked familiar, but couldn't recall where he had seen her before.
Sweeping his gaze across the hall, he saw another young lady. This young lady was dressed in a dark red outfit, with a green skirt. She looked extremely beautiful.
Pei Zi Yun and Liao Ge sat down as the young lady stood up and greeted, "So it's master Top Scorer. How do you do?"
Everyone in the relay station turned to look at him. Liao Ge stroked his beard and smiled, "Master Top Scorer is indeed a gentleman. To be able to meet someone who admires you in this relay station, I'm so envious."
"Your excellency must be joking. My name is Luo Gu Qiu. Master Top Scorer is famous for his wine and water songs. Everyone in the prefecture admires him. Master Top Scorer, may I have a word with you?"
Pei Zi Yun felt that something was amiss. Since his identity had been exposed, he was extremely suspicious. However, this was a relay station, and he had his own Dao arts and martial arts. He wasn't afraid. He hesitated for a moment before Liao Ge laughed, "Master Top Scorer, a beautiful lady has invited you, why don't you go?"
Pei Zi Yun laughed and followed Luo Gu Qiu. Luo Gu Qiu served him tea. Pei Zi Yun looked at her and asked, "Who are you? You're alone in this wilderness, in this relay station. I don't believe that you admire me. You look more like a demon than a ghost."
The lady wasn't angered, but laughed softly, "Thank you master Top Scorer for your compliment. I am indeed a demonic woman. I wonder if master Top Scorer would like to give it a try?"
Pei Zi Yun looked at her and asked coldly, "Why have you come looking for me?"
The demonic woman giggled and said, "Master Top Scorer can't help but tease me. I'm here to look for Master Top Scorer because I have something important to tell you. Does Master Top Scorer know that there's a reward for your head?"
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly, "You're trying to play tricks on me. I'm a High Scholar, who would dare to do so?"
His words were filled with killing intent. Luo Gu Qiu paused for a moment before picking up the cup on the table and playing with it. She then laughed coldly and looked at Pei Zi Yun, "What's a High Scholar? Dong Tang County Magistrate Chen Yun Zhi offended someone and died of illness on his way home. A High Scholar from the prefecture, Song Han, wrote a memorial to the imperial court. However, on his way to the capital city, he met with bandits and his entire family of 12 were killed.
Pei Zi Yun's heart sank when he heard this. He hadn't heard anything about what this woman was talking about, and thus didn't know if it was true or not. He then replied coldly, "Are you threatening me? You have to know that there are still deities above us. "
Luo Gu Qiu laughed, "The City God cannot patrol the land constantly. More importantly, the Yin and Yang are separated. The mortals can communicate with the gods, but the higher the level, the harder it is to communicate with them. If not, the ancestors of the previous dynasty could guide the future Emperors. Who would be able to change fate?"
Pei Zi Yun was taken aback. He then heard her continue, "Even if it's a small matter that can be communicated with, as long as it's far away from the prefecture, in the wilderness, using mortal methods, the deities won't be able to detect it. Chen Yun Zhi is the best example. However, if master Top Scorer is willing to help me kill someone, I can secretly help you kill the person who tried to assassinate you."
Pei Zi Yun looked at the man and spoke plainly, "You're driving the tiger to swallow the wolf. You're waiting for both sides to be injured before you reap the benefits. What a good plan. Since there are people who want to kill me, I shall kill them. If you're really sincere, why don't you kill those people who want to kill me first before we talk?"
"You!" Luo Gu Qiu glared fiercely at Pei Zi Yun before turning around to leave. Pei Zi Yun laughed twice before returning to his seat. Liao Ge then asked, "Master Top Scorer, you managed to meet someone you admire even in a place like this. What did you talk about?"
The two soldiers sitting at the table nearby all had smiles on their faces as well.
Pei Zi Yun looked at the expressions on the three of them and did not speak further. He then laughed, "Nothing much. She only came to ask for a literary talent. I refused and she left in a huff."
Hearing Pei Zi Yun's words, Liao Ge nodded his head, "Yes, master Top Scorer's name shakes the entire prefecture. Every word you speak is worth a thousand taels of gold. How could you give him a literary talent so easily? It was right of you not to give it to him."
With money and status, the four of them ate and drank to their heart's content before heading upstairs to rest.
Late at night, the sky was filled with dark clouds. Pei Zi Yun was in his room, lighting two candles and reading a book. All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew open the window, causing the candles to sway.
Pei Zi Yun creased his eyebrows and was about to close the window when he felt a chill in the room. The air was heavy and oppressive. All of a sudden, he saw a pair of white hands with sharp nails sticking out from the ground. Pei Zi Yun was shocked, "Dao arts? Demons and ghosts? "
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly as he unsheathed his sword. Just as he was about to attack, he heard the sound of metal clanging against each other. A strange shriek rang out in the room.
Pei Zi Yun's blood boiled as he lunged forward. The left side of his back was in pain, and there were two of them. He pointed a finger, and a ball of light appeared.
This ball of light was pale white, and caused the two ghosts to retreat two steps. Pei Zi Yun then saw clearly that one of the two ghosts was wielding a huge hammer, and the other was a woman.
Pei Zi Yun raised his sword and stabbed it towards the monster. The hammer and sword clashed, and a loud 'peng' sound rang out. Sparks flew from the sword, and the hammer had a hole in it.
The monster then said, "No, it's a magical weapon."
Pei Zi Yun froze. What? This monster could speak, react, and even had its own consciousness. Why would it attack for no reason? It should be a Grass God.
The so-called Grass God was a god that had not been ordained by the Emperor. In actual fact, it was a monster that was worshipped by the commoners. Pei Zi Yun squinted his eyes as he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Child's play." Pei Zi Yun grunted coldly. At first, he had been caught off guard. But now, with a flash of his sword, the woman with the sharp claws was about to attack him from behind. She wanted to dodge, but with a loud cry, she was sliced in half and turned into smoke.
Following this, the wind and lightning around the sword started to swirl around the hammer wielding monster.
A few rooms away from the relay station, Luo Gu Qiu had a blood-red painting painted on the wall. She was chanting to herself when she spat out a mouthful of blood, "Not good, this person can counter my Spirit Augmentation Technique. Senior brother, bring me away."
Luo Gu Qiu was sitting in front of a man. When he heard his junior sister say this, he was startled and hurriedly chanted, "Retreat!"
Within the room, Pei Zi Yun felt a gust of cold wind near his ear. He dodged it, and saw the Grass God turn into a ball of Yin Qi, and escape.
Pei Zi Yun cleared his throat and pointed his finger. A ray of white light shot out and struck the Yin Qi. "Boom!" The Yin Qi cried out in pain as it flew out and disappeared into the night sky.
"Could it be that Luo Gu Qiu is here to assassinate me?" Pei Zi Yun thought to himself as he grabbed his sword and leapt out of the window. His eyes swept across the room as he ran towards the next room.
"Pa!" He lit up the room, and saw that there was no one in the room. There was a pool of blood on the floor. He then grunted, "So it's this woman!"
Seeing that it was getting dark, Pei Zi Yun wanted to chase after her. However, he stopped himself, "This is a relay station, and there are retired soldiers here. They wouldn't dare to attack me openly."
"If I were to chase after her, it would be hard to say."
"Although that's the case, the news has spread so quickly. I have to be on my guard." Pei Zi Yun thought to himself. Seeing some movement, someone asked, "Who is it?"
He then turned around and returned to his own room.
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