Chapter 302

Thirty-two, Fate Brings You Here

Merit: Two thousand and sixty-one

Above the little wooden fish, a line of blue-gold characters floated, displaying a number.

"The merit is enough, but should I exchange it or not..."

Inside the spacious Merit Tower standing in the clouds, Magistrate Ouyang Rong paced with his hands behind his back.

Before coming to Prince Xunyang City, he only had one or two hundred merit points left.

In the days since coming to Prince Xunyang City and settling down, Magistrate Ouyang Rong actually hadn't earned much merit.

Apart from that time with Miss Qin, it was the daily experience pack from the Xiao Shimei, and helping some colleagues in the Jiangzhou Hall who were in distress a few days ago,

accumulating eight hundred more merit points.

The extra thousand merit points right now were still eating the old capital of the Longcheng County's political achievements.

The construction of the Zhe Yi Channel, the new ferry, and other projects had gradually gotten on the right track, occasionally giving him some sporadic merit value feedback.

By the way, a few days ago, when Magistrate Ouyang Rong was taking a nap at noon, he was suddenly woken up by a series of crisp wooden fish sounds in his ears.

At first, he was confused and puzzled, but the next day he received a letter from a certain Magistrate Official Diao, full of envy, jealousy, and hatred, and only then did he know that the people of Longcheng had spontaneously erected a monument to him to praise his achievements.

After learning this, Magistrate Ouyang Rong remained silent for a long time and sighed gloomily.

He always felt that he had failed the elders and fellow villagers of Longcheng and was not worthy of their such longing and gratitude.

Inside the Merit Tower, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who had come back to his senses, took a look at the trembling bronze ancient bell above his head that was constantly gushing out purple mist mixed with peach-blossom color, and muttered:

"There are only two thousand merit points left now. If I spend them all, I will really be penniless in the short term. I have to find a new strategy to increase merit points.

"The most hopeful projects to accumulate a large amount of merit right now are the construction of the Double Peak Tip and the construction of the Prince Xunyang Grotto, which are about to be implemented.

"Especially the former, which can control the flooding of Prince Xunyang City and benefit the people of Xingzi Ward. Well, no matter what, it should increase some merit points, although it's just incidental to the implementation of this matter..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who had turned into a grain of heart-mind and entered the Merit Tower, floated and flew to the bronze ancient bell, reached out to slowly cover the bell body of purple mist, and muttered to himself calmly:

"I am of the Sword-Wielding lineage. Currently, as long as I hide myself well, set up the Xin Dingjian Sword, and use 'Return', I can behead a cultivator one rank higher than me.

"If I want to cross ranks again and set up a sword to behead a higher rank, that is, a seventh-rank cultivator like Wanwan, I need the supplement of merit purple mist and unyielding energy.

"Well, first exclude the unyielding energy that is suspected of having sequelae of coma, which cannot be used easily.

"And just the merit purple mist required, according to past experience, is roughly in units of a thousand. This is the 'price' for killing a seventh-rank cultivator."

At this moment, the cultivators of the world did not know that in Prince Xunyang City, Jiangzhou, thousands of miles away,

there was a novice Sword-Wielder who was determined to be a 'camper' and was well-hidden, calculating accounts like usual at a desk with dim lamplight, closing his eyes and frowning,

muttering to himself about the head prices corresponding to their cultivation bases.

All quantified into a string of light numbers in his eyes:

"As for a sixth-rank cultivator, calculated according to the speed at which merit points went crazy when killing Qiu Qiu Shenji...

"It should be in units of ten thousand. Of course, Qiu Qiu Shenji fell from a superior fifth-rank cultivator and was stronger, so it cannot be generalized.

"But it should also be guaranteed to need ten thousand merit points."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong pinched his fingers and calculated an account, his face suddenly bitter.

Looking at the trembling bell like a jumping egg, and the lazy little wooden fish that increased merit points slowly, he sighed at the ocean:

"There are only two thousand merit points left now, and I have to consider whether to exchange for this blessing that doesn't seem very serious. If I deduct another thousand... I'm really penniless."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong had a sudden inspiration:

"If I can be promoted from a ninth-rank Sword-Wielder to an eighth-rank Sword-Wielder, and behead sixth or seventh-rank cultivators, would I be able to save a large amount of merit points?"

He shook his head again: "However, this returns to the old difficult problem before. Where can I find the sacrificial offerings required for the eighth-rank promotion ceremony? Identity is a problem, and there is also the occasion required for the ceremony to be the center of attention...

"The cultivation base of this sacrificial offering cannot be too high, and it's best if they don't know cultivation techniques, so I can hack them like melons and vegetables, clean and neat.

"Well, although it is a ceremony of evil warlocks killing and setting fires that Wanwan talks about, it's another matter whether it will deduct merit points. I definitely cannot kill good people lightly when I use it. Well, if a heinous villain sends himself to the door, that would be great...

"But where in the world are there so many things that are perfect in both ways."

The more conditions he said, the more demanding they were. Magistrate Ouyang Rong rubbed his face, pressed the matter for the time being, and continued to wait for the opportunity.

Dispersing his thoughts.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was floating in front of the bronze bell, lowered his head and looked at the quiet little wooden fish.

"Alright, since it's related to Wanwan."

As the words fell, the blue-gold color above the little wooden fish suddenly turned into a swimming carp.

It spiraled and wagged its tail in the air.

It slammed into the trembling bronze bell body that was gushing out purple mist mixed with peach-blossom color.

Clang—!

The sound of the great bell resonated in all directions.

Inside the lonely Merit Tower, a certain young figure disappeared.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong suspected that this thousand-merit peach-blossom blessing was highly related to the Xiao Shimei.

I don't know what kind of surprise it is.

Could it be another heavy rain that helps, and hiding from the rain in a temple?

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was a bit expectant.

"If there is another chance, I will definitely take this silly girl." A certain person nodded.

However, it was still a few days before Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang returned, so there was no rush.

He had no choice but to suppress the lake of his heart that was rippling, and continue with the life in front of him.

On this day, just past noon, another group of envoys from the Shenjing Luoyanggong arrived at the Prince Xunyang Ferry by a large ship.

Officials of the Jiangzhou Hall like Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin arrived as expected, following the main and deputy officials Wang Wang Lengran and Magistrate Ouyang Rong, and rode horses to the ferry to greet them.

As usual, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, in the envious and admiring eyes of Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin in the back, rode the "plump and graceful" jujube-red horse Dongmei, walking at the forefront of the team.

Wang Wang Lengran exceeded him by a body length and walked in front to lead the team.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who had just woken up from a nap, had drooping eyelids, and his face was a bit lazy, as if he hadn't come back to his senses yet.

Wang Wang Lengran ignored him.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong also had no interest in talking to him at all.

Between the two, the atmosphere was cold.

A moment later, they arrived at the Prince Xunyang Ferry pier, received the Shenjing Luoyang envoys, exchanged pleasantries, and the group turned around, taking the envoys to the Prince Xunyang Prince's Mansion in the Xiushui Ward with light cars and familiar roads.

Wang Wang Lengran chatted with the palace people, enthusiastic and familiar.

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin spurred his horse forward, found Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was silent, to talk, and the two chatted one after another. Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin occasionally stretched out a salty pig hand to touch Dongmei.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched.

Vaguely hearing some praise from the palace people for Wang Wang Lengran, Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin turned his head, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered:

"Brother Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, Magistrate Wang really loves to show off. He doesn't see a shadow of him in the Jiangzhou Hall on weekdays. When the palace people come, he is the first to dress neatly, but instead scolds us for being slow and lazy."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded and glanced casually at the back of Wang, the Magistrate, who was riding a tall horse and loved to show off.

How about slaughtering this old guy who is in the way?

Use him as a sacrificial offering for the ceremony to be promoted to the eighth rank!

A bold thought suddenly popped into his mind.

"Brother Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, what's wrong with you? Your eyes are so wide, did sand get in?"

"No, nothing."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head and withdrew his gaze nonchalantly from a certain back that was boasting in front.

Soon, they finished greeting and sending off the Shenjing Luoyang palace people.

Except for Wang Wang Lengran, who was preparing to set up a banquet to entertain the envoys, everyone dispersed.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was not interested in flattering the palace people, so he went off duty when the time came and returned to the residence in Huaiye Lane.

As soon as he returned home, he immediately found an excuse to deal with the clingy concern of Madam Zhen and Ye Ye Weilai, returned to the Yinbingzhai, and turned around to close the study door tightly.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong first walked to the bookshelf, took down a stack of books, and took out the long wooden box hidden behind this stack of books, as well as a sandalwood elixir box placed quietly inside.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong held the two items, returned to the desk, sat down, and placed them on the table.

He crossed his hands, supported his chin with the back of his hands, and a trace of thought appeared in his lowered eyes.

Beheading Wang Wang Lengran and using him as a sacrificial offering for the ceremony is not impossible.

On the contrary, it is quite suitable, removing a scourge.

And looking at Wang Wang Lengran now, he has no cultivation of spiritual energy, and as for whether there are cultivators from the Wei clan protecting him, no clues have been found yet.

Wang Wang Lengran is also a Prefectural Jiangzhou Cishi, and I heard he is from a good-looking clan in the north, of course, not at the level of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans.

In short, the status is appropriate.

The success rate of the promotion ceremony is not small.

Anyway, Magistrate Ouyang Rong's conscience is 100% passable.

There is only one problem.

Will it startle the snake, and is the risk too great?

Because of the ceremony, Magistrate Ouyang Rong must set up a sword in public and behead the sacrificial offering.

Beheading the head of a Prefectural Jiangzhou Cishi of the imperial court in public.

It's a bit too blatant.

Involving the face of the imperial court, it will definitely be investigated to the end.

Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang once warned him casually not to underestimate the power of the imperial court's cultivators.

In Magistrate Ouyang Rong's former memories, inside the Zhu Dali Temple in the Divine Capital, there was a department specifically for handling cultivator incidents, gathering the top case-solving experts in the world, and able to borrow the assistance of Yin-Yang masters from the palace.

In a peaceful era, those who dare to kill the imperial court's Prefectural Jiangzhou Cishi must weigh it carefully, whether they are cultivators inside or outside the world.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong raised his brows slightly.

So, do you have to go and have a few moves with them?

Besides, Wang Wang Lengran is a person of the Wei clan. If he is killed by him, will it anger the Wei clan and replace him with someone even harder to deal with?

For a time, he had a thousand thoughts.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's gaze fell on the table, the Mo clan sword box containing the Xin Dingjian Sword, and the sandalwood box containing the "Mo Jiao" elixir.

Setting up a sword to behead Wang Wang Lengran is simple.

Even if he has cultivators protecting him, as long as they don't exceed the sixth rank, they cannot stop the sharp edge of the "Craftsman".

After all, where is the principle of guarding against thieves for a thousand days... guarding against Sword-Wielders?

But once this old thief dies, the stakes are too high.

Even the Wei clan Empress Dowager might investigate personally.

Even if Master Di helps, it's hard to suppress this matter.

In addition, there is one more point to consider. After beheading Wang Wang Lengran in public, the Xin Dingjian Sword has to appear, right?

Isn't that announcing to the whole world that inside Prince Xunyang City, there is a Xin Dingjian Sword and a Sword-Wielder?

In fact, the difficulty of this matter lies in the fact that the ceremony requires "being the center of attention".

If I could kill someone quietly, a certain person who often watched social and legal channels from small to large would have many ways to destroy the body and erase the traces...

Do I have to be like the matter of Wei Wei Shaoxuan, vaguely shifting the blame to the Lady Yunmeng Sword Swamp?

After all, only such a hidden upper sect that has stood for thousands of years can take such a big pot.

But... would it be not so good?

Without any grudges, continuously doing such things that harm others to benefit oneself is a bit immoral.

Although the little wooden fish doesn't move, it probably won't deduct merit points, but Magistrate Ouyang Rong's conscience will condemn himself a little bit.

Besides, back then, the old sword-casting master originally wanted to send the "Craftsman" and Saving Aqing together to the Lady Yunmeng Sword Swamp, following the Alliance of the Lotus Tower.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's appearance disrupted the plan by mistake, which can be considered intercepting the loot.

And speaking of which, that Great Lady named Xue Xue Zhongzhu, who descended from the sky on Mount Mount Dagu back then and created chaos, can be considered as indirectly saving his life.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong frowned slightly.

"Set it aside first. The plan must be meticulous, don't act rashly, find a retreat first.

"And it's best not to provoke those Lady Yunmeng female cultivators. If I shift too many pots, what if I get caught by them? Wouldn't they chase me to the ends of the earth and cut me into a thousand pieces?

"Currently, as the leader of the world's sword path, Xue Xue Zhongzhu's talent and cultivation base are too outrageous. If she stands still and lets me set up a sword at will, even if I exhaust all my unyielding energy, I might not be able to touch the hem of her skirt..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong muttered and nodded.

Outside the window by the table, the night was deep.

Inside the house, it was pitch black.

Suddenly, clear blue sword light poured out wantonly from the gap in the wooden box.

In front of the table, the handsome young man stared straight ahead.

An "arc" was floating on the table.

One man and one sword, silent.

The next day, night.

Inside the main room of the Yinbingzhai, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, in pure white inner clothes and looking like he was about to go to bed, turned his head and glanced at Ye Ye Weilai, who was sleeping peacefully.

He walked over, took out a bamboo umbrella he had just finished making recently, and unfolded it.

The umbrella surface was fiery red, and there was ink that had just dried, which was a mushy sentence that made his old face blush slightly.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong coughed lightly, changed into a black-gray casual outfit, carried a carefully crafted red paper umbrella, and went out.

Tonight is the scheduled day for the gathering and discussion at the Prince Xunyang Prince's Mansion.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong climbed over the wall nimbly, avoided the curfew, crossed several wards, and arrived at the Xiushui Ward.

On the way, looking at the misty night scenery on the Prince Xunyang River and the ships shining remotely like stars, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

If I really use the "Craftsman" to take off Wang Wang Lengran's head, would it be telling the Wei clan that the Xin Dingjian Sword has an owner and Wei Wei Shaoxuan has had an accident?

In this way, it would be beneficial to the Prince Xunyang Prince's Mansion.

After all, it shattered the Wei clan's fantasy of a comeback.

The Wei clan has not moved until now and has not integrated internal voices. There is a high possibility that some people are still holding expectations and fantasies about Wei Wei Shaoxuan and Qiu Qiu Shenji's Xin Dingjian trip, waiting for them to return.

The camouflage set by Magistrate Ouyang Rong has not been punctured.

Of course, the premise of exposing the "Craftsman" is still to get through the investigation of various forces, including the Wei clan.

This returns to the problem of a retreat.

After all, he is in the position of Jiangzhou Registrar and cannot leave Prince Xunyang City.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong locked his brows in confusion.

But no matter what, it can be considered a benefit that can be brought after killing Wang Wang Lengran.

Half an hour later, Magistrate Ouyang Rong arrived at the study in advance.

Not long after, Li Wang Lixian, Wei Mei, and Li Su Dalang arrived, except for a certain shadow.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong frowned and asked: "Su Dalang, where is your Little Sister?"

Li Su Dalang's face was embarrassed:

"The poetry society has another gathering tonight, but this time it's in our Xiushui Ward. The Little Sister said she would come back, but Tanlang seems to have come a bit early tonight, and she hasn't returned yet."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong pursed his lips and said directly:

"Don't wait for her. Let's discuss it first. When the time comes, you can convey it to her."

"That's fine." Li Wang Lixian and Li Su Dalang laughed dryly.

Wei Mei tightened her face, patted the table, and panted: "This girl is becoming more and more outrageous. And making Tanlang wait for so long. Let's see if I don't break her legs when she comes back!"

The noble lady in a long dress paid attention to Magistrate Ouyang Rong's expression with her peripheral vision while scolding her beloved daughter.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong had no choice but to persuade her helplessly: "Aunt, don't be like this, it's not that serious."

Wei Mei immediately handed tea to Magistrate Ouyang Rong: "Guo'er is ignorant, Tanlang, don't be angry."

Half an hour later, the routine discussion ended, and everyone dispersed with thoughtful expressions.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong grabbed the red umbrella, walked out of the study, didn't immediately climb the wall to return, turned his head, and called out to Li Su Dalang, asking:

"Where is the Xiao Shimei's courtyard?"

Li Su Dalang immediately pointed the way: "Near the back garden in the southeast corner, Tanlang, first walk along the main corridor, then turn left, and walk south..."

As he spoke, Li Su Dalang glanced at the exquisite red umbrella in his friend's hand:

"Tanlang, what are you going there for? Didn't Miss Chenjun Xie reply that it would take two more days to rush back?"

"Ahem, a little private matter. It's nothing. Su Dalang, goodbye, rest early."

Under Li Su Dalang's teasing smile, Magistrate Ouyang Rong waved his hands quickly and walked toward Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang's boudoir without looking back...

(End of chapter)