Chapter 28: Re-entering the County Town

  The chess game was halfway through, Fang Ming took a sip of tea and asked: "I wonder how much Mr. He knows about the White Cloud Temple?"

  He Yuqing smiled and made another move, saying: "After the chess art has been refined, the mind is patient and sees progress, it's a joy to congratulate, in the past, it was often asked at the beginning of the game!"

  "Alas... previously I really had no leisure time, recently I've got some free time, why don't you all come here to ask Mr. for advice!"

  "I see that the respected god is not young, already middle-aged, why not take a wife to take care of daily life? Even if there isn't a suitable candidate, can first take in a few beautiful concubines, enjoy the pleasure within the harem, and avoid always coming to accompany this old man, making me feel uneasy!" He Yaqing had been with him for a long time, knew that the respected god didn't have any taboos in this aspect, and was also relatively easy-going, so he joked.

  Just finished speaking, his eyes blinked again, saying: "If the respected god has no one to choose from, I can introduce a few people. They are all talented and beautiful women, with dignified appearance, suitable for giving birth to sons or daughters, guaranteed not to disappoint you!"

  In this world, when a man reaches fifteen and is capped, it means he has become an adult, can marry and have children, and carry on the family lineage.

  "Hehe... Sir, please don't tease me. My current foundation, although not in imminent danger, can still be blown away by the wind and rain at any moment. Who has the heart to think about this matter?" Fang Ming said with a bitter smile.

  "Now that we're on the subject, He Yuqing's expression turned serious and he said: 'Is it about the matter of the White Cloud Temple?'"

  Fang Ming nodded and said: "What's meant to come will always come. If you want to develop in Wu State, you can't get past the White Cloud Temple!"

  "Baiyun Temple is a Taoist temple in Wu Prefecture, also received imperial edict, there are two true men in the temple, divided into different places, many of the ghostly officials in various prefectures and counties of Wu Prefecture are disciples of Baiyun Temple." He Yaqing said after thinking for a moment.

  "I've mentioned this before, but only superficially. According to my investigation in the He family, Baiyun Temple currently has about 200 formal disciples ranked under the four characters Qing, Yu, Ling, and Zheng. The rest are outer sect disciples who do not enter the four-character ranking but have also been taught some skills, mostly managing the temple's secular affairs. Adding to that the servants, warriors, etc., the total number of people in Baiyun Temple is around a thousand."

  "Hmm!" Fang Ming nodded his head. The number of people at the White Cloud Temple was not as many as he had expected. He asked again, "Sir, do you know where the treasure is hidden?"

  "Oh? It seems that the revered deity has already been informed!" He Yaqing's expression changed, and after a moment, he continued, "The Qi operation is precious, I've heard it's between heaven and earth, the spiritual pulse evolves, or there's a great Qi operation, born out of thin air, can suppress the Qi operation. Ordinary people who obtain it will have a promising future, aristocratic families who obtain it will be able to preserve their good fortune for generations."

  "However, this object has always been the lifeline of Taoism, used to suppress the number of breaths and maintain the unity of Tao. Moreover, it is extremely rare, my family has spent a huge amount of money on rewards, but to no avail. I heard that even the imperial family doesn't have many pieces."

  Fang Ming took a sip of tea and said: "The White Cloud Sword of the White Cloud Temple should be considered a treasured heirloom, I wonder how many are there?"

  He Yuqing shook his head and said, "Such a precious treasure is not something that can be seen in ordinary times. Even for a large sect, there would only be one such item, which serves as the foundation of the sect and is deeply hidden away. It will not be used until a matter of life and death arises. As far as I know, the White Cloud Sect also has only one White Cloud Sword. This alone is enough to maintain the White Cloud Sect's dominant position in Wu State."

  "So, within Wu State, only Baiyun Temple can take charge of ghost and god affairs. Unless it's a matter of utmost urgency, they won't let external Taoist sects intervene!" Fang Ming heard this and his eyes flashed as he grasped something, saying...

  "That's natural, each sect has its own territorial division. Normally, when disciples go out to practice, they can't interfere with the affairs of other states at will, otherwise they will be dealt with by the sect rules. In theory, as long as the White Cloud Sect hasn't been destroyed, this ghost affair in Wu State is their business, and other Taoist sects cannot intervene, otherwise it would be considered a declaration of war." He Yaqing thought for a moment before saying.

  "Haha...... Alright, so I have a few more points of confidence!" Fang Ming was overjoyed and immediately stopped asking questions, instead focusing on making his next move.

  He Yuqing had the heart to ask, but he wasn't considered a subordinate of Fang Ming yet, so he had to be reserved. Moreover, even if he was a subordinate, he couldn't casually inquire about his master's great plan, and could only smile wryly, accompanying Fang Ming in drinking tea and playing chess.

  This time Fang Ming had a plan, he started playing chess without hesitation, making moves quickly, and soon finished the game. Fang Ming smiled, stood up and said: "Mr. He's chess skills are profound, admirable! I'll come again another day to ask for advice!" And then took his leave.

  He Yuqing saw him off at the door, and silently sighed: "Looking at this child's chess path, he has a determined plan in his heart, not avoiding killing and fighting, his mind is made up, it's not something that an outsider can persuade... Something big is going to happen, alas... What should I do now?"

  Fang Ming didn't know that He Yuqing had already seen something from the chess game, he got the details of Baiyun Temple from He Yuqing and used it to his advantage. He returned to the study room to revise his plan. Zhenzhu served tea and brought some pastries, then retreated.

  Before long, it was already the afternoon of the second day.

  Fang Ming came to the county town of Anchang again, this time still using the divine power of dividing gods and attaching thoughts, but changed people, attached to Li Qing, the temple fair in Qingshan Village, and entered the city.

  After paying the money and entering the city gate, the guarding soldier thought he saw a red light flash in the corner of his eye, blinked again, but found nothing, thinking it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. He didn't notice that a red light had flashed by in Fang Ming's bundle.

  After entering the city, Fang Ming didn't wander around and headed straight north.

  The northern part of the city can be considered a poor district. As Fang Ming walked further north, there were fewer pedestrians, and most of them had dry hair and pale faces. He sighed at the stark contrast everywhere, but didn't look closely, and after searching carefully, he finally saw an inn at the corner.

  On the dilapidated signboard, the words "Zhao's Old Shop" could be faintly seen, with most of the gold paint peeled off, looking very shabby.

  Fang Ming entered the door, and the shopkeeper was dozing off in a daze. Fang Ming coughed to wake him up, and when he saw Fang Ming, he immediately put on a smile and asked: "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay at the inn?"

  "Book a room, just one single room, and have some more dishes sent over."

  The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed with a smile and said "Alright, please come in!" He personally led Fang Ming away, it seemed that even the apprentices didn't have enough money to hire.

  Arrived at the single room, it was old and worn out, but still clean, with no dust. Fang Ming nodded slightly.

  The shopkeeper politely poured hot water, asking Fang Ming to wash his feet and chatted with him, inquiring about Fang Ming's background. Fang Ming smiled and said he was from Qingxi Village, had come on business and needed to stay overnight.

  Before long, a woman brought up the wine and dishes, emitting a fragrance, and Fang Ming said with satisfaction: "This dish is not bad, it smells really good!"

  The shopkeeper smiled proudly and said: "My wife was a great cook when she was young, she even used to be the head chef at the Welcome Inn, now she's also the living signboard of my small shop!"

  Fang Ming smiled and took out five large coins, saying: "Leave the food here, I'll settle it tomorrow. You can go down first! Don't come to serve me tonight, I want to sleep quietly!"

  The shopkeeper was overjoyed, and as soon as he touched it, five big coins fell out of his pocket. He endured the white eyes from the woman next door, but didn't mind, laughing and saying: "Good, good, we'll leave now, and definitely won't disturb you tonight!"

  Went out with his wife, and there were still sounds of argument on the road, apparently because of the money before.

  Fang Ming smiled and closed the doors and windows, ate and drank at will for a while, then put down his cup and plate, opened his package, and revealed a wooden carving, which was indeed an image of the land god.

  Fang Ming made a stroke on the statue, and saw red and white glows flashing, with divine power surging out from within the statue.

  Having checked everything and found nothing wrong, he let out a sigh of relief.

  He is now just a separated spirit, with no divine power of his own, but with this statue, he can store the divine power inside and bring it into the city, where he can use the divine power to perform magic.

  Of course, it also can't carry much divine power, and the divine power is naturally not strong. Moreover, these means are basically useless for county officials and wealthy families.

  Here is the translation:

  But here in the north of the city, mostly poor people and artisans live. Only then did I understand that the residents were mostly thin and weak, with a faint aura. The laws are weakest in the north of the city, and the aura is thinnest, making it suitable for spiritual powers to be displayed. With these two sides working together, quite a few things can be accomplished.

  At night, the bright moon is high in the sky, and its clear light shines down. The county town also gradually falls into silence.

  The residents of the north city also fell into a deep sleep.

  The shopkeeper and his wife had just fallen asleep when their bodies seemed to fly up, arriving at a grand hall with golden decorations, where there were tables set with roasted chicken and duck, accompanied by fine wine, emitting waves of fragrance. Even if the shopkeeper's family ran an inn, business couldn't be that good, how could they eat like this every day? He couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

  Take a look around, there are still some people, all wearing tattered clothes, several of them seem to be good-looking, they appear to be residents of the northern part of the city, I've seen them a few times.

  At this time, someone finally couldn't bear it anymore, rushed up and grabbed a roasted chicken to gnaw on, saying: "No matter what, even if I die, I want to be a full ghost!"

  The shopkeeper took one look and saw that the man's clothes were tattered, originally a beggar. The beggar pounced on it, took a bite, was stunned for a moment, and then wolfed it down.

  Everyone couldn't help but go forward to eat and drink, the shopkeeper rubbed his eyes and said: "Isn't this a dream? It's really strange! Wife, pinch me!"

  The woman next to him heard this and pinched him hard, with quite a bit of force, the shopkeeper cried out in pain, but was even more puzzled. He then walked forward, picked up a cup of wine, took a sip, and found it to be rich and fragrant, much better than the watered-down stuff he sold at his own place. His thirst for wine was stirred up, and he didn't care about the strangeness anymore, so he invited the woman to eat and drink together.

  As everyone was full and sated, sighing in admiration of the beautiful dream, a golden light flashed above the great hall, and a young official appeared, wearing an eighth-rank official uniform, with a dignified and solemn demeanor, causing everyone to involuntarily bow down.

  At this time, Fang Ming was his original self. The shopkeeper had only seen Li Qing before and couldn't recognize him, but thought the young man was very majestic and dignified. Then he heard the young man say: "I am the god of the land, I can keep people safe and prosperous, the land fertile, and grant children to those who seek them. You just need to recite my name silently every day, pray sincerely, and you will have this dream every night, living a carefree life!" This voice echoed three times, deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone present.

  At this moment, suddenly bright in front of his eyes, the shopkeeper was shocked and got up to find himself sleeping in his own bed, with his wife beside him. However, last night's events were still vivid in his mind, and he even remembered the taste of the fine wine, so he couldn't help but exclaim: "What a wonderful dream!"

  The woman also woke up and said: "I had a dream last night, I dreamed that you and many others were in a big hall, eating and drinking very happily!"

  The shopkeeper was shocked and checked the details with his wife, but they were exactly the same, leaving them staring at each other in dismay.