Chapter 28: Displaying Miracles in Public (Begging for Monthly Passes, Begging for Follows)

In a small mountain of Jinhua City.

The forest was lush and green, with night frost and dew hanging on the leaves, shimmering under the moonlight.

Squirrels, reptiles, and rabbits wandered within, licking the dew from the leaves.

Gulu gulu!

The sudden sound scared away a large number of animals; a ghostly carriage passed by, carrying a trace of flowing light, and vanished in an instant.

Jiang Yan opened his eyes, looking at the crowd packed inside; he had thought it was a private shuttle, but unexpectedly...

It was an overcrowded ride-share!

Fortunately, the space inside was spacious enough not to be cramped.

Rustling discussion sounds arose; among them, some people were not customers but vendors preparing to set up stalls, and as soon as they boarded the carriage, they began introducing their products.

People of Jiangnan who spend their whole lives competing and doing business anywhere!

Yet inside were a face-patterned carp that could cure sores, a spiritual snake that twisted its body to dance, and red embroidered shoes that, once worn, allowed one to travel a thousand li at night even while sleeping, or called "Shoe Spirits."

Good heavens, they only introduced how far one could walk, saying absolutely nothing about the user's meniscus injury!

All sorts of strange and bizarre props were present, and even clothes worn by the Shadow of the Homeless appeared.

Hard to imagine this is something humans did?

Are you sure they aren't locusts scraping the ground bare?

Among these, one thing caught Jiang Yan's attention.

The vendor was a fat man wearing a tight-fitting suit and a mask, looking like a jade-faced fat mantis, not very old, pushing a pile of black "stones."

They were called Mountain Pills.

Ordinary people might not have heard of them, because they belong to a type of Pill for Avoiding Grain.

Recorded in the Qing Dynasty's "Record of Ears and Food" as a magical item, it is rumored that a Taoist could use a Bamboo Chain to open a cave secret realm, and kept Mountain Pills in his sleeve, made by a special method; after eating them, they would get stuck in the throat, but one could go for months without eating.

The prototype of the Soldier's Ration Pills in Japanese manga should also have been partly influenced by this.

'Speaking of which, Japanese history originates from the Tianxia cultural sphere; after being adapted locally, it became even more twisted and bizarre; who knows what state it is in now?'

Jiang Yan felt somewhat schadenfreude.

As for the Mountain Pills, he felt somewhat tempted.

After all, he was about to enter a new Sickness Domain; if there were no human food inside and he got trapped for a long time, such a tool would come in very handy.

He waited patiently for a while, listening to the fat man state the price.

Ten thousand per pill.

Heh, it wasn't that he had no money; Jiang Yan simply didn't like this kind of choking junk food.

It would be better to swipe some military rations from the unit; then just stuff them into the Coffin Spirit's body.

What?

Is this a coffin?

Isn't it good for storing food?

Joke on you; Jiang Yan regarded it as his dearest friend and family, the most excellent...

Lunchbox!

Anyway, the appearance is about the same.

Human corpses can be put in coffins; why can't the corpses of food be?

"It's just that this guy lacks too much social experience..."

Jiang Yan looked at the fat man who was still earnestly and enthusiastically promoting the Mountain Pills, shook his head, and completely failed to notice that many people nearby had added a bit of malice to their gazes.

The legend of the Mountain Pills is not obscure, and their ability is not rare, but the key is that the Mountain Pills are merely a supporting character in the story; what truly matters is the Bamboo Chain, this storage-space prop,

and the mysterious cave secret realm!

So...

Jiang Yan suddenly spoke: "I reserve five Mountain Pills; give them to me when we get off the carriage later."

As his words fell, some cast dissatisfied glances.

It seemed they were annoyed that Jiang Yan came to snatch their prey.

'Want to test my strength?'

Jiang Yan sneered inwardly; although the disguise was done well, unfortunately, the Life Lamp had already sold out your strength.

You don't even have a Dao Foundation!

"Hmph!"

Jiang Yan let out a cold snort.

He directly released the killing aura originating from the Zen Sword Buddha Armor, accumulated from hundreds of battles by General Lu.

Boom!

The killing intent swept through, making the air in the entire carriage subtly become viscous.

As if placed on a battlefield covered with corpses.

In an instant,

silence fell like a crow; even a needle dropping could be heard.

"G-good!" The little fat man, scared into a quail, said in a trembling voice.

Many malicious glances retreated resentfully, carrying regret and mockery.

The regret was that they hadn't acted early enough.

The mockery was...

That fat man had been targeted by a ruthless person.

Without several hundred dead souls on one's hands, one cannot condense this killing intent.

As for the Dharma Assembly prohibiting guests from killing each other?

Rules are rules, but... there are many ways to bypass them.

Hiss-hiss!

Accompanied by the screech of wheels braking sharply against the ground, the carriage shook and then came to a halt.

The coachman's voice came from outside:

"Honored guests, we have arrived at the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly."

The guests in the carriage disembarked in an orderly fashion, while Jiang Yan remained seated, eyes closed, resting his spirit.

As for Fatty, he sat as if on pins and needles nearby, able to feel many people casting gazes of pity upon him.

After everyone had left, Jiang Yan opened his eyes and said coldly:

"Forget it; I don't want the Mountain Pills anymore."

Having spoken, he stood up, lifted the curtain, and stepped down from the carriage.

What met his eyes was a bustling street.

"Is this the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly?"

Like a festival scene from a television drama, houses stood row upon row, peddlers hawking their wares were visible everywhere, and the atmosphere was extraordinarily lively.

It made Jiang Yan feel as though he had returned to his childhood days of going to the market with his maternal grandfather; he would always demand to buy this and that, then return home with arms full...

Only to be scolded thoroughly by his mother.

At such times, his grandfather would only shield him; though clearly thin and small, in the eyes of young Jiang Yan, he appeared taller than a mountain.

"Beware of fire and candles!"

"Fighting is prohibited!"

"If there are disputes over transactions, please go to the center of the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly to seek arbitration!"

However, this memory was quickly interrupted by an owl-faced creature flying through the sky clutching a lantern, constantly shouting these announcements.

Jiang Yan snapped back to reality; through the perspective of the Ashen Lamp, he saw many mutated creatures hidden within the crowd.

There was even a fellow who was a gecko turned spirit, selling his own severed tail, his face red and ears burning as he shouted that his goods were absolutely genuine.

It was not because the Ashen Lamp pierced through illusions, but because the creature itself had failed to hide its tail, which was a segment too short.

Clearly, the customer had also noticed this and was deliberately trying to drive down the price.

"Truly... a mix of fish and dragons!"

Jiang Yan stroked his chin; although he had expected this, seeing it with his own eyes still felt somewhat incongruous.

Then again, considering how complex and varied folk legends are, not all mutated creatures enjoy slaughter and destruction.

Among them, many herbivorous spirits precisely prefer a stable environment and order.

For such fellows, the authorities also turn a blind eye.

This had nothing to do with Jiang Yan; he was merely here to buy things.

"Wait!"

Just as he was preparing to set off, a voice suddenly came from behind.

Turning around, he saw it was precisely the Fatty from the carriage earlier.

He came trotting over, panting heavily as he said:

"... Thank you, fierce brother, for helping me out of that predicament; please accept these ten Mountain Pills as my gift to you."

He was merely stunned and lacked social experience, but he was not stupid; now he had finally figured it out.

Back on the carriage, he must have been targeted by someone, and this fierce fellow had helped him dodge disaster.

"Mm."

Jiang Yan nodded, made no attempt to decline, and naturally accepted the other's gesture of gratitude.

Good people receive good rewards; this is quite reasonable.

What if the other party had not offered a gift?

That would mean the current black-hearted villains had even begun disguising themselves as victims.

Seeing the other accept the item, Fatty was overjoyed in his heart; lowering his head, he stammered:

"Um... may I invite fierce brother to stroll through the market together? I wish to ask you to protect me and show me the world; of course, I will pay..."

His father had told him that the sign of growing up was learning to be independent.

When associating with excellent people, one must even more demonstrate sincerity.

What is sincerity?

Naturally, it is money!

Therefore, he had secretly taken the invitation letter to come alone to the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly to do business, and now he was even actively spending money to befriend heroes.

He was also a grown man now!

A long time passed, yet he received no reply.

Fatty thought perhaps he had not made clear how much money he was offering, leaving the other dissatisfied; he lifted his head, about to speak, only to discover...

Jiang Yan had already vanished without a trace.

On the other side,

Jiang Yan paid no attention to this little interlude; strolling along the street, he looked around curiously.

The reason he had intervened in another's karma was simply because he found the other somewhat pleasing to the eye and likely not a bad person, so he helped merely because he wanted to.

But that did not mean... he would enjoy getting entangled with people.

The choices people make are nothing more than an interweaving of karmic threads time and again.

Since Fatty came to the Five Fierce Spirits Ritual alone, he must bear the consequences.

He has no interest in being someone's nanny.

Begging for monthly tickets! Begging for recommendation votes, begging for continued reading! Jiang Yan is about to get back on track; let this world taste the sharpness of the sword!

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(End of this chapter)