Chapter 457: Two hundred forty-seven, Two-colored blessing, buy one get one free?

Two hundred forty-seven, Two-colored blessing, buy one get one free?

Within an open space surrounded by a vast, white expanse.

Ouyang Rong was looking up at a bronze ancient bell that was trembling incessantly.

The body of the bell could not stop overflowing with boiling purple mist.

The purple mist flowed down from the bronze ancient bell like water, resembling a waterfall.

In this pure white space wreathed in white clouds, it appeared somewhat eerie.

This new blessing had been triggered by some source temporarily unknown to him, not long after Ouyang Rong had just bid farewell to Rong Zhen.

He returned from the small path by the river to the residence in Huaiye Lane, went straight to the study, sent Ye Weilai away, and entered this Merit Pagoda to observe.

Closing his eyes to receive the message from the Blessing Bell, Ouyang Rong nodded slowly:

"Three thousand five hundred merit... That's alright, not too outrageous."

He let out a slight sigh of relief and turned his head to look at the small wooden fish not far away.

Above the small wooden fish was a row of cyan-gold characters: 【Merit: 8,272】

With grain in hand, one's heart is not flustered. Ouyang Rong turned his head back and continued to look up at the Blessing Bell, which was undergoing an unusual change.

He reached out to catch some of the viscous purple mist and examined it carefully, immediately discovering that the purple mist vaguely contained some pale pink and vermilion silk threads.

Two special colors!

Ouyang Rong's brows knit together, and he fell into thought.

This was actually based on some of his past experiences; new blessings would always cause the Blessing Bell to act up and emit purple mist. However, occasionally, for some special blessings, the emitted purple mist would contain silk threads of special colors, which could vaguely point to the category of the blessing.

Ouyang Rong had encountered this a few times before, which could be considered verified, and he had gained some experience.

For example, pale pink blessings, like peach blossoms, were highly likely related to women.

And reddish blessings were related to life-and-death danger, and the redder the color, the more dangerous it represented. Redeeming the blessing could relatively avoid this danger.

It was just that this time, two colors appeared at once.

This was something Ouyang Rong had not expected.

"Strange, what kind of blessing is this, popping out two colors at once, a double-yolk egg?"

Ouyang Rong's expression was suspicious, and he muttered for a while.

"Should I redeem it or not..."

It was no wonder he was hesitant; according to the principles established in the past, it was better to redeem fewer of these pale pink peach blossom blessings, such as the misunderstanding with Li Guoer last time.

Afterwards, it turned out to be very awkward, and he even owed Li Guoer a favor.

But for blessings containing blood-red thread-like mist, Ouyang Rong, considering his safety, redeemed them every single time, which was also a successful experience from the past.

Now, it was great—two colors came together, the principles were clashing, how was he supposed to handle this?

He was numb.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the small Blessing Bell bouncing in the air like a jumping egg, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

He didn't know what had triggered it; more than half the night had passed, and it still showed no signs of stopping or disappearing.

"What is this feeling of being scammed? Forget it, if it's bundled, then it's bundled, just in case..."

Ouyang Rong immediately closed his eyes.

Almost at the same time he closed his eyes, the row of dazzling cyan-gold characters above the small wooden fish behind him suddenly transformed into a cyan-gold light cluster with a vague shape like a dragon-carp, and with a "whoosh," it shot toward the Blessing Bell emitting purple energy in mid-air, striking it heavily.

Dang—!

A deafening, resonant bell sound rang out by Ouyang Rong's ears, leaving him temporarily deaf.

A moment later, the cyan-gold light cluster with a vague shape like a dragon-carp returned above the small wooden fish, transforming back into a line of characters: 【Merit: 4,772】

The bronze ancient bell that had been selling bundled blessings had its originally boiling purple mist disappear without a trace, hanging high in mid-air, motionless.

The space within the entire Merit Pagoda returned to silence.

"There are still over 4,700 merit points left; that should be enough to use that thing once... Actually, just keeping a reserve of no less than 4,000 merit points is fine..."

Only a murmuring sound of unknown meaning remained.

Ouyang Rong's figure disappeared within the Merit Pagoda...

He opened his eyes.

It was the dimly lit study.

Ouyang Rong was sitting at the desk, hands crossed, supporting his chin.

Having just left the Merit Pagoda, his eyes still held a trace of distraction.

"According to past experiences, this type of pale pink blessing is generally associated with a certain woman... So who is it this time? Xiao Shimei, Weilai, the little Princess, or... Rong Zhen, Qin Ying?"

"Wait, Rong Zhen."

Ouyang Rong raised his head, his gaze thoughtful.

"The blessing was triggered just now, not long after parting with her... Could it be related to her? And Qin Ying as well, but the one closest in time is still Rong Zhen."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt the possibility was not small. Ouyang Rong rubbed his chin and analyzed to himself:

"Today I returned the sachet, hmm, and there was also an IOU for a poem. It's possible these are the causal conditions for this blessing, triggering a subsequent blessing...

"Besides the pale pink mist, there was also some blood-red mist inside. Does that mean that besides involving a woman, it also involves some matters leaning toward a bloody disaster?

"Is it related to this woman? For example, if it's Rong Zhen, then what could it be..."

Ouyang Rong's expression changed slightly.

He remembered the words that a certain little ink spirit had used to condemn him while pointing at his nose that evening.

"It wouldn't be related to the owed poem, would it... If I return a poem to Rong Zhen later, does she have a way to bypass the blinding technique, lock onto my true literary Qi, and then turn against me and fight to the death?"

Ouyang Rong's eyelids suddenly jumped: "Then what should I do? The IOU is already written. Should I go back on my word halfway? Why does it feel like I'll be stabbed faster that way..."

After pondering for a long time, he rubbed his face fiercely:

"Forget it, the blessing has already been redeemed anyway. By logic, it should be able to avoid some of this; this Blessing Bell is still reliable.

"Besides, what if it's not Rong Zhen's side, but involves the safety of Xiao Shimei, Weilai, and the others? That would be even worse... In short, if it's buy one get one free, then so be it. Redeeming this blessing is not a loss."

Ouyang Rong nodded to himself, and at the same time tilted his head slightly, looking toward the direction of Xingzi Ward:

"However, to be on the safe side, I'd better not mention returning the poem to Rong Zhen recently. It's best to pretend to forget it. If she asks... then I'll just laugh it off... At this critical juncture, it's better not to create extra complications."

He let out a long sigh.

At this moment, he could faintly hear the steady breathing of the white-haired little girl in the inner room, and the slight movement of the little one in the wardrobe turning over from time to time.

Ouyang Rong leaned back, lying on the back of the chair. Since being demoted, he had become accustomed to getting up in the dead of night when everything was silent, sitting in a daze like this. Sometimes he would also go out under the stars and moon to find Yuan Huai-min, for a "Huai-min was also not asleep" moment.

It was mainly because of that strange sword-ringing sound like cicadas.

It was always lingering in his ears during the day. For example, when he was counseling the depressed Rong Zhen at the Inspectorate earlier, the buzzing sword-ringing sound in his ears was once very loud, much noisier than the wooden fish sound he had long been accustomed to.

Only when everything was silent like now could Ouyang Rong rest a little and catch his breath.

The night wind outside the window suddenly whistled.

Ouyang Rong immediately heard a rustling sound, the sound of fine little objects hitting the window.

He subconsciously walked over and pushed open the window.

He stretched out his palm.

A gust of night wind carried grains of "water droplets," slightly stinging the skin of his palm.

It was icy cold, and as sharp as needles.

Ouyang Rong was slightly stunned.

It was sleet.

"It's snowing..."

A cold wave struck, and it snowed in Jiangzhou.

What a transition from autumn to winter.

Although it was only sleet similar to ice grains, it melted like raindrops upon hitting the ground, unlike the heavy snow in the north.

But it still surprised many people.

Why did the start of winter this year feel a bit early?

Hmm, perhaps it was related to the fact that most people in Xunyang City were very busy this year, and there were still many things left undone.

For example, the Great Buddha that was the focus of everyone's attention near the former site of Chengtian Temple in Xingzi Ward.

On the morning of this day, the construction site of the Great Buddha by Xingzi Lake was bustling with activity.

Huang Feihong had a sweat towel hanging around his neck and was carrying two large buckets of hot water, with a wooden ladle floating on the water surface in the swaying buckets. He was walking inside the Donglin Great Buddha, in the temporarily constructed wooden frame passage.

The laborers busy hammering nails around him would stop their work from time to time, take the water ladle handed over by Huang Feihong, and look up to drink water.

There were also laborers who were so cold they couldn't stand it and used the hot water to rub their palms that were about to freeze. They were scolded a few times by Huang Feihong.

Although the cold wave marking the start of winter had arrived, the busyness at the statue construction site did not stop, and even under the instructions of that Deputy Inspector Lin, the progress had been accelerated in the past few days.

This naturally stirred up some noise, but it was quickly suppressed by the smooth combination of sweet dates and big sticks.

Perhaps because of the Wang Clan incident last time, Deputy Inspector Lin seemed to have broken the pot and was no longer afraid of bearing a bad reputation. He ignored some private discussions and focused on building the statue, strictly grasping the progress.

Since entering the site to build the statue, Huang Feihong had been very low-key and had not raised any objections to this day. In the eyes of other colleagues, he belonged to the honest person who buried his head in work.

At the moment, while delivering hot water inside the Great Buddha, every time he stopped, Huang Feihong would turn his head calmly and examine the situation inside the Great Buddha.

However, soon, the two large buckets of water in his hands were drunk up, reaching the bottom.

Not far away, a supervisor with an impatient expression waved his hand. Huang Feihong had no choice but to nod with a silly smile, pick up the empty buckets, and hurry out of the Great Buddha.

The further this statue construction site went, the closer it was to completion, and the stricter the management became.

He didn't know what they were worried about; that Deputy Inspector Lin had set up a pile of cumbersome regulations.

The construction site also began to be under martial law. Not only did they have to be searched every day when coming to the site, but they were only allowed in after being checked.

At the same time, they also screened and investigated the laborers on the site, selecting people to enter the Great Buddha to work, and the rotation of people was also very frequent. From time to time, one shift of people would be withdrawn and replaced by another shift...

Because being able to enter the Great Buddha to work meant better treatment and wages, and they could avoid the wind and snow outside, naturally many people hoped to be selected.

Huang Feihong's luck was not very good; he had never had the opportunity to enter the Great Buddha to work, and at the moment, he was even assigned to work in the water room.

The water room was specifically responsible for transporting domestic water for the laborers on the site, which could be considered a relatively marginalized institution on the construction site.

After delivering this batch of hot water on time, Huang Feihong and his colleagues returned to the water room one after another.

While passing by several brand-new wooden high-rise buildings, he wiped his face with the sweat towel and took the opportunity to glance a few more times.

Several wooden high-rise buildings were similar to watchtowers, with a few figures on them, appearing to be patrolling and keeping watch.

However, its name was the Fire-Watching Tower.

It was equipped with various exclusive tools, such as buckets, sprinklers, hemp ropes, fire forks, water bags, pumps, and other fire-extinguishing equipment.

It was something that Deputy Inspector Lin had suddenly ordered the workers to work overtime to build recently.

This kind of Fire-Watching Tower was actually not a rare item; it was relatively common in large cities like Luoyang and Chang'an, and every ward had one.

Because most buildings were made of wood and were prone to catching fire, the consequences would be very serious once a fire started.

Therefore, some urban areas established Fire-Watching Towers, where there would be special people on the towers to look out, overlooking from a high position, patrolling day and night to check for fire situations. Once there was a fire situation, the fire-fighting soldiers would immediately take action to extinguish the fire...

It was just that on the Donglin Great Buddha construction site, the number of Fire-Watching Towers erected this time was a bit too many.

That Deputy Inspector Lin seemed very worried about "fire situations."

At the moment, these Fire-Watching Towers were nominally managed by the water room, because if a fire situation was detected, it would also require the staff of the water room, including Huang Feihong, to move water together to extinguish the fire.

Therefore, the Fire-Watching Tower and the water room were built together, but they were two teams of people, who did not affect each other on weekdays and were not allowed to visit each other at will.

On the Fire-Watching Tower, the main personnel responsible for checking "fire situations" were people from the Inspectorate, as well as some strange and cold Xianbei guards, who looked like they were not to be trifled with.

Huang Feihong had delivered hot water to them a few times and could be considered to have seen them.

Besides this, Deputy Inspector Lin also ordered the people in the water room to dig a channel, introduce the lake water from the nearby Xingzi Lake into the construction site, and build several large water storage tanks... and so on.

This series of measures by Deputy Inspector Lin recently made people a bit unable to understand.

Huang Feihong silently withdrew his gaze, kept what he had just seen in his heart, turned around, entered the water room, and continued to work.

After Pei Pei Shisan Niang finished her daily report, she left the hall where Wei Shaoqi, Lin Cheng, Wang Lengran, and others were, and retreated.

After going out, this noble lady with a purple-gold sash carried her servants and attendants, passing through the Donglin Great Buddha construction site.

The servants around her were like bodyguards, using their bodies to form a human wall to shield her.

Pei Pei Shisan Niang frowned slightly, covering her nose and mouth with a pale purple fragrant handkerchief.

On the way, she squinted and looked at the newly built Fire-Watching Towers, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes.

This Donglin Great Buddha construction site was all flat land, level as a plain, and the nearby crowded and messy residential houses had all been demolished, leaving only a solitary prototype of the Great Buddha... Why build Fire-Watching Towers for no reason?

Just before Pei Pei Shisan Niang left, she had curiously asked Lin Cheng, and the latter only replied indifferently that it was to prevent fire situations and be prepared for danger.

The noble lady with the purple-gold sash turned her head to look.

On the nearest Fire-Watching Tower, several eagle-eyed guards were observing the sky above the construction site with solemn expressions.

It seemed they were not just watching for fire situations, but also watching for something else.

What could suddenly appear in the sky above the Great Buddha construction site? Could it be flying birds?

Pei Pei Shisan Niang's expression was thoughtful.

A moment later, really unable to figure it out, she shook her head.

She pondered again about the matter she had asked Lin Cheng during the discussion just now.

"Will it be completed within this month? Looking at this progress, it is indeed fast. But rushing the work like this, with so much criticism and dissatisfaction, Lin Cheng is truly bold. He is not even afraid of the backlash from the people below... Is he really going to bear all the bad reputation himself?

"Forget it, never mind him. Since someone is willing to bear the bad reputation, then I should annex more residential land in Xingzi Ward, which can be considered not wasting the opportunity in vain.

"But speaking of which, when will the remaining Buddha head arrive..."

As Pei Pei Shisan Niang's gaze flowed, she had already passed the Great Buddha construction site with her head held high and a cold face, carelessly ignoring the rough men who were stealing glances at her plump figure behind her.

The headless Great Buddha that was about to be completed behind her silently watched the lady's back as she walked further and further away.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 458 =====