Chapter 198: 205. First Glimpse of Myth? Trying to Trick Me Out of Merits Again!

205. First Glimpse of Myth? Trying to Trick Me Out of Merits Again!

Ouyang Rong guessed correctly; this was indeed a private family banquet. Su residence, inside a hall hidden in the garden.

Delicacies and fine wine, red candles and porcelain bowls. "Ding-a-ling~"

In the corridor outside the door, the sound of wind chimes came from time to time.

Ouyang Rong discovered that every time he came to a banquet, the hall of the banquet was different.

This Su residence was a bit too wealthy, with too many gardens built. The garden flower hall where the private family banquet was held tonight was even more exquisite and elegant than the previous few times.

He saw Su Bo dismiss the maids and servants.

During the banquet, only Ouyang Rong and the Su family of four remained.

Ouyang Rong took advantage of the gap between drinking and covering his face with his large sleeves to scan everyone at the banquet calmly.

He had to admit that the Su family's genes were quite good. Su Bo and Aunt Wei in front of him could be seen at a glance that they must have been handsome men and beautiful women when they were young. Now that they had children, they still had an extraordinary bearing—an old handsome man and a middle-aged woman who still had charm.

In addition, the pair of Su siblings born to them also looked extraordinary. Su Guoer was able to make Ouyang Rong notice her at a glance among the many young ladies, wives, and pilgrims who were sheltering from the rain on Mount Dagu, so it went without saying.

As for Su Dalang, he needed to shave...

He didn't know why the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty were so popular with growing beards, and he didn't know what was good-looking about it. Ouyang Rong couldn't appreciate it. However, someone felt that although he was facing such an outstanding-looking family,

his handsome face could barely hold his own, and sitting in his seat, he didn't fall behind...

In addition, the people present were not the whole Su family. Ouyang Rong had heard Su Dalang say before that he and the Su younger sister actually had a younger brother, but he was still in swaddling clothes and was not born of the same mother.

The biological mother of the Su younger sister and Su Dalang was Aunt Wei, who was enthusiastically serving Ouyang Rong dishes at the moment.

That younger brother was born to a concubine. Ouyang Rong was a bit surprised that Su Bo, who was afraid of his wife, actually had a concubine. However, it was said that she was a dowry maid beside Aunt Wei. Looking at it this way, it was reasonable.

Regardless, the few people present were considered the core members of the Su family, so it was a family banquet.

This made Ouyang Rong, an "outsider," mutter in his heart. "Aunt, you are too polite, let me do it."

He immediately got up, took a large bowl of steaming fish soup from Wei Mei with both hands, and gave a wry smile. Just as Ouyang Rong's butt touched the stool, he suddenly turned his head and asked:

"Su Bo, did your residence encounter any trouble?"

After speaking, he watched the expression of Su Bo opposite him without blinking. He saw the latter seem to be stunned, then shook his head:

"No such thing. As a county magistrate, my nephew should be impartial in public and private matters. This principle, I, your uncle, still understand. How could I make things difficult for you?"

Ouyang Rong smiled and nodded, lowering his eyes to blow on the milky white fish soup. His peripheral vision swept over the people at the table inadvertently.

The corners of Su Bo's wrinkled eyes had a circle of faint redness remaining. He used his left hand to pick up the soup bowl, and the positions of his right hand's ring finger and the web between his thumb and index finger had some cinnabar-like red color, like a kind of stamp pad.

It seemed that he was too hurried and forgot to wash it clean. Su Bo's right palm shrank into his sleeve, hiding the hand stained with the stamp pad.

However, although the head of the Su residence looked a bit haggard today, after the dinner party started, he smiled a lot, and talked to Ouyang Rong quite happily, laughing heartily from time to time.

Aunt Wei beside him was a bit too virtuous today. One moment she was personally scooping soup for Ouyang Rong, the guest, and the next she was serving dishes to Su Bo, and from time to time she changed the plate in front of Su Dalang to prevent him from burying his head and eating only one dish.

Although there was an outsider like Ouyang Rong present, in the previous few times Ouyang Rong came to eat, this Aunt Wei was quite polite and courteous, not so close and familiar.

And this Aunt Wei had somewhat slender eyebrows, which made her eyes look somewhat narrow, long, and cold. Su Guoer's cold and arrogant eyes and temperament seemed to be inherited from her.

However, today, Aunt Wei seemed quite satisfied with the dinner party or the guest, and was no longer as polite as she was to her husband's or son's fox friends.

The middle-aged woman in a long skirt, whose nickname was Meiniang, drifted her gaze to Ouyang Rong from time to time, nodding slightly imperceptibly. As for Su Dalang, he was the most active in eating during the banquet, burying his head in his food, very seriously. He was like this before, nothing special.

However, before, when Ouyang Rong saw him in the evening, the look Su Dalang gave him seemed a bit complicated. For some reason, it seemed to be mixed with some admiration.

But when Ouyang Rong asked him with a wink if inviting him to the residence for a banquet tonight was to help his uncle out of a jam, the two grinned, and the atmosphere returned to normal.

Ouyang Rong watched these small details and abnormalities of today silently.

By the way, the Su younger sister sitting opposite him didn't seem to cast many glances at him. During the banquet, she had been immersed in petting the cat.

Su Guoer placed the white cat with a black corner of its mouth like a butterfly in her arms on the edge of her skirt. The cat was lame but exceptionally well-behaved, rubbing against her purple-pink embroidered shoes, and from time to time it would let out a milky "meow." Su Guoer picked fish bones and fed it.

Su Guoer, who was lowering her head to feed the cat, smiled shallowly at one moment. This smile was really shallow, only the corners of her lips curled up, and her nose wrinkled slightly. Her narrow eyes were still quite cold. If she wore a veil to cover the lower half of her face, people wouldn't be able to see the smile at all.

I don't know if she was happy petting the cat, or enjoying the feeling of someone rubbing against her skirt corner obediently.

Ouyang Rong could be considered to have seen this Su younger sister smile for the first time. Previously, when the two chatted in the Plum Forest, most of the time, the latter wore a thin veil. Now that she was eating, the thin veil naturally faded, making people feel much closer.

Ouyang Rong looked around and withdrew his gaze silently, but the next second, he suddenly met a pair of cold eyes.

Su Guoer, who had been lowering her head to tease the cat the whole time, suddenly looked at Ouyang Rong. "I heard that Young Master Ouyang has been reading books by Daoist hermits recently." Ouyang Rong asked: "Who did you hear that from?"

Su Guoer said softly: "Sister Xie."

Ouyang Rong nodded. It seemed that he did mention it to the junior sister today.

Actually, it was to pave the way for the "returning home" matter he had started preparing for the past two days, guiding the junior sister to be mentally prepared in advance.

After all, if he, a living person, suddenly disappeared, what would the junior sister and the others do if they mistakenly thought something had happened to him?

Ouyang Rong had already planned to leave quietly in an appropriate way, trying his best not to affect anyone.

"There is such a thing."

Facing the curious gazes of everyone, Ouyang Rong nodded and suddenly said:

"A few days ago, I caught a cold while saving the gate and was in a coma for a few days. When I woke up and looked at the orchids on the windowsill, I suddenly had an insight..."

Ouyang Rong paused, turned his face to Su Guoer and said: "Wealth and honor are not my wish, the imperial hometown cannot be expected."

Hearing these familiar verses, Su Guoer's pretty face was stunned. She only saw the young man opposite finish reciting the poem, look up and drink wine, and laugh heartily.

Su Guoer asked calmly:

"I like the 'Ode to Returning Home' that Young Master Ouyang gave me very much and read it often at night. Young Master Ouyang seems to like it too. Could it be... that you have also thought about resigning and returning to seclusion? Just like Tao Qian, the famous Eastern Jin scholar who only served as a county magistrate for 81 days 400 years ago?"

Ouyang Rong smiled on the surface and didn't answer, but frowned slightly in his heart. Why is this Su younger sister so sharp?

Wei Mei gently patted the back of Su Guoer's clenched hand on her lap:

"What nonsense are you talking about? Young Master Lianghan is already a county magistrate at a young age and is famous all over the world. His future is limitless. Why talk about resigning and returning to seclusion? You are just talking nonsense."

Wei Mei interrupted, and Ouyang Rong smiled and skipped this topic, gesturing to Su Guoer with his cup and toasting her.

The latter glanced at him sideways and said no more. Ouyang Rong's toast was indeed sincere.

Actually, leaving a lead like this is quite good. He would take action in these few days and probably wouldn't be able to wait for the junior sister to return from Longhu Mountain.

By then, when the junior sister learns of his whereabouts from others, she won't be too surprised, right? After all, there were signs, warning about court politics, and longing for Daoist hermits.

The subsequent dinner party was flatter than Ouyang Rong imagined.

Nothing happened that he had been worried about, like matchmaking or recruiting a son-in-law. Of course, maybe it was because this Su younger sister was arrogant and didn't like anyone.

Su Bo and the others didn't ask him for anything until the banquet ended.

It was just that he drank his fill of fish soup, and Aunt Wei kept serving him soup. Ouyang Rong felt a bit embarrassed.

In addition, perhaps because he remembered that he was about to bid farewell to this place, Ouyang Rong toasted frequently and drank quite a bit of wine with Su Bo and Su Dalang.

Although the alcohol content of the wine in this era was not high, when the dinner party ended and Ouyang Rong got up to leave, his body swayed slightly, like the red candle lit all night not far away.

Until he went out, the evening breeze shaking the crisp wind chimes in the corridor made Ouyang Rong's slightly tipsy wine intent dissipate a bit.

"Dalang, where are the things the junior sister left for me?"

Ouyang Rong walked a few steps forward, turned around with a tipsy smile, and returned the same way to ask.

Su Dalang patted his forehead, almost forgetting, and hurriedly took Ouyang Rong to Yilan Pavilion.

Not long after, at the narrow corridor at the entrance of Yilan Pavilion, Ouyang Rong took the two items wrapped in red cloth from the hands of the maid guarding the courtyard.

Taking advantage of the hazy light of the lanterns hanging at the door, Ouyang Rong discovered that it was the moonlight long sword and an oval-shaped hard object.

Ouyang Rong touched the latter through the red cloth; it had corners and edges.

His expression was curious, until the next instant, his palm trembled.

"Lianghan, what's wrong? Why did your face change?" Su Dalang asked curiously. "Nothing... nothing."

In the deepest part of Ouyang Rong's eyes, purple mist floated faintly, and the ancient bell appeared and disappeared.

He immediately flipped his hand, put the two items away, didn't have time to ask more, thanked him, parted ways with Su Dalang, buried his head and left the Su residence, and returned to the Plum Forest Courtyard.

Inside the study, facing Ye Weilai who came up with a concerned look, Ouyang Rong explained a few words, mentioned Xie Lingjiang going out, and then found an excuse to send away the white-haired maid.

The study was locked. Ouyang Rong sat down with a frown, took a lantern, put the moonlight long sword aside, opened the red cloth, and revealed a bronze beast face inside.

He was no stranger to this object; it was exactly the one worn by the Jade Chalice Female Immortal, which was seized by the junior sister at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Ouyang Rong's brows tightened, sometimes touching the bronze beast face with his hand, sometimes moving his hand away. After repeating this several times, in the depths of his eyes, an ancient bell surrounded by purple mist appeared faintly, appearing and disappearing.

"What kind of blessing is this again? How come it's the same as the blessing in the Pure Land Underground Palace? It triggers as soon as I touch it. Strange." Ouyang Rong thought for a while and didn't act immediately. He turned his head to look at the other bamboo slip inside the red cloth, which was wrapped together with the bronze mask.

Opening it, it was indeed the junior sister's handwriting. Ouyang Rong scanned it quickly.

The junior sister said that when she went to Mount Gezao, she happened to inquire about this bronze mask outside.

This object might be a mythical artifact called "Mirage Beast Mask" in legends, possessed by some immortal alchemists, capable of transforming into the appearance of others.

The junior sister suspected that the reason why the Jade Chalice Female Immortal could disguise herself as Ouyang Rong and disrupt the ribbon-cutting ceremony was by relying on the transformation function of this object.

However, the junior sister had tried injecting spiritual energy, but there was no change. She didn't know if it was broken or bound to a specific person, requiring a special Qi-refining Daoist pulse to use.

Besides that, this object shouldn't have any harm, so the junior sister felt relieved and handed it to Ouyang Rong to deal with.

There was also that moonlight long sword, which the junior sister kept and let Ouyang Rong use for self-defense. Besides that, at the end of the bamboo slip, there were some words urging him to pay attention to safety.

A warm current flowed in Ouyang Rong's heart. Not long after, he put down the bamboo slip, his face became solemn, he picked up this ancient and weird Mirage Beast Mask, closed his eyes, and muttered:

"1,500 merits? Just a fart-sized mask, 1.5 Weilai?"

"But it doesn't seem to have any special color. There is only purple mist on the blessing bell, and I can't see any characteristics... Should I redeem it? Forget it, anyway, I have 20,000, what am I afraid of? Can it suck me dry?"

Ouyang Rong repeatedly confirmed the merit value required for this blessing.

Under the reflection of the lamp light, a phantom of the trembling purple mist ancient bell appeared in his eyes. Ouyang Rong closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them, and the phantom in his eyes disappeared.

Blessing redeemed.

"Why is there no movement..." Ouyang Rong's brows just frowned, and the next instant, his face changed drastically.

In the dimly lit study, weird purple mist surged out from Ouyang Rong's forehead, followed his shoulders and arms, and surged all the way into the Mirage Beast Mask held in his palm!

Ouyang Rong's eyes widened, "Why is the movement so big this time!"

He was startled and let go, the Mirage Beast Mask fell onto the table, making a "clanging" sound. However, the purple mist surging from his forehead still connected Ouyang Rong's palm and the mask.

The purple mist seemed to be intangible, but it made the Mirage Beast Mask tremble slightly. Ouyang Rong didn't know how long it had passed.

The purple mist disappeared.

Inside the merit tower in Ouyang Rong's heart lake, the blessing bell returned to silence. Outside on the desk, a bronze beast face lay quietly on the table.

Ouyang Rong opened his mouth slightly, bent down, and leaned his eyes close to look carefully.

The eyes of the lifelike beast face carved on it flashed with purple light faintly, and then restrained and disappeared.

Ouyang Rong suddenly felt a flash of inspiration, only feeling that his mind and spirit had established an indescribable special connection with this Mirage Beast Mask.

It seemed... as if this object was a part of his body. "Is this... similar to recognizing a master? Is it mine?"

Ouyang Rong thought thoughtfully, stretched out his palm, but then stopped in mid-air, his brows gradually gathering:

"What is the origin of this merit tower and blessing bell? I only thought it was some kind of causality law golden finger, not even belonging to this world."

"But this time it actually surged out some weird purple mist and exerted influence on this Qi cultivator's mythical artifact. Could it be that this tower and this bell are related to Qi cultivators?"

In front of the desk, after a long silence, the young man grabbed the mask and lowered his head to put it on.

The moon climbed onto the branches, and the night grew deeper.

Not far from Luming Street, at a government office.

A courtyard was being strictly guarded, with patrolling shadows appearing endlessly.

Yan Liulang followed Xie Lingjiang's arrangement from a few days ago and came to this room where the Jade Chalice Female Immortal was imprisoned to patrol at night.

He walked around the room: "Strange, clearly she took the last detox pill last night, why hasn't she woken up yet? Secretary Xie went on a long trip this afternoon. Eh, let's wait another day and see."

Yan Liulang checked and found that the demoness entangled by iron chains on the bed seemed to be still in a coma, her breathing was faint. He shook his head, turned, and prepared to leave.

Behind him, the Jade Chalice Female Immortal opened her eyes slightly, then closed them, waiting for something, sneering in her heart while thinking.

But the next second, her face changed drastically, "Who is it!" "Hmph, I knew you were playing dead!"

Yan Liulang, who was holding his knife, didn't have time to turn around. Using the backup plan arranged by Xie Lingjiang, the Jade Chalice Female Immortal screamed in fear, stopped abruptly, spat out a mouthful of blood, rolled her eyes, tilted her neck, and fell into a coma again. Yan Liulang:

I'm about to write the climax. These two days are transitional paving, a bit short, sorry brothers... (orz 4th day of abstaining from lust) Works recommendation: "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife" > ===== CHAPTER 199 =====

The climax is about to be written. These past two days have been transitional foreshadowing, so it's a bit short. My apologies, brothers... (orz Day 4 of abstaining from lust) Work recommendation: "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife" >