Chapter Forty: An Unexpected Encounter with an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land

  Yue Fei originally wanted to ask about Wang Ziyu's whereabouts, but didn't expect that Master Zhishan suddenly couldn't speak and left the world in an instant.

  "Master Zhishan has passed away, he was the benefactor who saved my brother's life, I cannot abandon him. Brothers, we must bury Master Zhishan as soon as possible," said Yue Fei.

  "Big brother's words are extremely right, Master Zhishan meeting us here is fate, his saving of Wang Ziyu is a good cause, and his death among us is the reaping of good fortune." Zhang Xian said.

  "Shopkeeper, I'd like to ask if you have any high-quality coffins? One of my friends has reached the age of 100 and suddenly passed away. I want to hold a funeral for him and find a good environment outside the city to bury him," said Yue Fei.

  The shopkeeper saw that the great master had died in his store and thought it was unlucky. "Fortunately, I met a few of his acquaintances nearby, otherwise my store would have suffered greatly." The shopkeeper thought to himself.

  "Everyone, there is no good coffin here, only the coffin shop not far in front may have it. If you have money, go and choose wherever you want." The store owner said.

  "Niu Gao, Wang Gui, you two stay here, I'll go with Zhang Xian and Tang Huai to take a look at the coffin shop," said Yue Fei.

  Niu Gao and Wang Guixin were displeased, but they still agreed.

  Yue Fei, Zhang Xian and Tang Huai walked out of the inn, following the direction pointed by the shopkeeper, and soon they saw a signboard of a coffin shop in the distance.

  Three people walked into the coffin shop, and the owner of the coffin shop saw three young men dressed in a dignified manner walking over, enthusiastically came forward to greet them: "Three distinguished guests, I don't know what brings you here?"

  The boss asked tentatively, fearing that he would say something wrong and bring unnecessary trouble.

  "Excuse me, sir," Yue Fei asked politely, "does your shop have any high-quality coffins?"

  "Yes, yes, yes! Follow me, gentlemen." The boss said repeatedly, and then led Yue Fei and the other two to the backyard.

  "Sir, these are all high-quality nanmu coffins. You can choose one yourself, and we'll discuss the price after you've made your selection," said the owner.

  Yue Fei carefully selected a coffin according to the physique and status of Master Zhishan, and after selecting it repeatedly, he finally chose a wooden coffin with good material and workmanship.

  "This sturdy gentleman indeed has a good eye for things, this coffin is our store's best-selling item. Since the customer has taken a liking to it, we must satisfy the customer's request, after all, the customer is God! This coffin is worth 40 taels of silver, but I can see that you gentlemen have an air of prosperity about you and will surely become rich and wealthy in the future. How about this, I'll give you a discount of 20%, making it 32 taels of silver? What do you think, gentlemen?" The boss is indeed a natural-born businessman, speaking with such eloquence that his words flow like a river.

  "Sir, my brothers and I have just arrived in your esteemed place. We happened to meet an old acquaintance who suddenly fell ill and died. The silver we brought with us is not much, only twenty taels. If you are willing to sell, we will buy it from you. If not, we can only go elsewhere to seek it." Yue Fei said.

  "Yes! We were originally going to Beijing for the exam, but unexpectedly met an old monk who was nearly a hundred years old and suddenly passed away in the restaurant. My brothers and I were also doing good deeds. Boss, whether or not you sell depends on your word." Zhang Xian said.

  "Boss, we're doing good deeds, you should do some too. Old Master said - what you sow is what you reap, karma doesn't miss its mark. I don't quite understand the mystery behind it either." Tang Huai said with a hint of realization.

  The coffin shop owner saw the three customers say so, hesitated for a moment, and said with a painful expression: "Since the three of you are also doing good deeds, I will also do one good deed. Twenty taels is twenty taels, it's a deal!"

  Yue Fei paid the silver and hired a horse-drawn carriage to send the coffin to the Jianghu Traveler's Inn annex, where he held a funeral for Master Zhishan and invited two monks to chant sutras for the deceased throughout the night.

  Yue Fei and his four brothers temporarily acted as family members to mourn and offer wine to Master Zishan.

  After a sleepless night, on the next morning, the five brothers bid farewell to the inn and hired a horse-drawn carriage to carry the coffin out of the city.

  Arrived at a forest outside the city, here is beautiful scenery and pleasant landscape.

  "My brothers, I see that the environment here is elegant and quiet, it's a good place for Master Zishan to purify his mind. Why not bury the master here? To the east, we can see Wangjing County, and to the west, we can see Bianjing." said Yue Fei.

  "It's really nice here, with clear mountains and water, a place where cows sleep, it can be made into an ideal city for all eternity." Zhang Xian said.

  "It's settled then, let's not waste words, everyone get to work and dig a hole to bury the coffin. Burying the old monk will allow us to enter the capital sooner. Otherwise, if it gets dark and the city gate closes, what are we going to do?" Cow皋 said anxiously.

  "Niu brother is right, everyone hurry up and bury Master Zhishan, so we can also set off early," said Yue Fei.

  The brothers listened and used the weapons in their hands to dig a hole together. They soon dug a pit, then buried the coffin in the pit and covered it with soil. After the burial, several brothers bowed three times in front of the tomb. Yue Fei wrote on a large tree next to him with a dripping spring gun: "The tomb of Master Enshi Zhishan, disciple Wang Zipeng." The words were deeply engraved in the wood.

  "Brothers, let's set out!" Yue Fei leaped onto White Dragon Horseback, and the rest of his brothers also mounted their horses.

  Everyone whipped their horses and sped up, and by dusk, the brothers entered the South Xuanmen Gate of the capital, chatting and laughing.

  "Everyone dismounts, holds the reins and walks slowly. Whatever you do, don't provoke trouble." Yue Fei whispered.

  "Brother, don't worry! We will definitely be able to bear it and take a step back. The sea is vast and the sky is wide." Wang Gui said.

  Everyone got off their horses and walked, having gone less than half a mile when they saw someone panting and puffing as he caught up with them from behind.

  That man came before Yue Fei's horse, grabbed the reins and shouted: "General Yue, why didn't you inform me before leaving? You've really made things difficult for me."

  Yue Fei took a closer look and was surprised: "Boss Jiang, aren't you running an inn in Xiangzhou? How did you end up in the capital? You keep saying I've wronged you, what exactly happened?"

  "Alas... it's a long story, listen and I'll tell you slowly." Jiang Zhen sighed and began to speak.

  Originally, Yue Fei defeated Hong Zhong's army in Xiangzhou, and Hong Zhong was dismissed by Liu Du. He resented Yue Fei and brought many people to settle accounts with him. When he heard that Yue Fei and others were staying at Jiang Zhenzi Inn, he led his men to the inn to ask about Yue Fei's whereabouts.

  It's said that Yue Fei had already left, but Hong Xian blamed the bill on Jiang Zhenzi. He led his henchmen to smash up the inn and gave Jiang a good beating, threatening him not to report to the authorities before leaving.

  "The Xiao family's business in Xiangzhou was gone, so they brought their family to the capital and reopened a new inn inside Nanxun Gate with the help of a cousin. Just now, I saw several uncles leading horses passing by, so I chased after them. Uncle Yue, why don't you brothers go back to our store to rest?" Jiang Zhenzi said.

  "Good! A long drought has finally met a sweet rain, and I've encountered old friends in a foreign land - it's truly wonderful! Brothers, let's head back, tonight we'll still be lodging at the Jiang Zhenzi Inn." Yue Fei said with excitement.

  All brothers turned their horses' heads and saw that Jiang Zhenzi, the boss of Xiangzhou, had opened an inn in the capital, so they were naturally delighted.