Chapter 168: Unexpected Changes Outside the Temple [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support

Several scions of noble families from the capital also wore expressions of surprise.

Because when they saw Jing Jing Biao Ge Jing and Xu Xu Zaijing locking eyes, they didn't see Xu Xu Zaijing make any move, yet the horse he sat upon walked toward Han Han Chengyun's cousin.

The cousin, with a fierce expression, nodded his chin at Han Han Chengyun, meaning: You all stay put; I'll teach him a lesson.

Then he widened his eyes in what he thought was a ferocious glare, looking at the smiling Xu Xu Zaijing who was approaching; he opened his mouth to speak,

and then—

suddenly he felt a loud bang in his chest, followed by pain and then tightness; a hand had appeared through his chest. Just as he wanted to struggle against Xu Xu Zaijing, who was grabbing him with his right hand, before he could react he felt his buttocks go light, and before his eyes everything turned into a kaleidoscope of bizarre lights.

When he came to his senses, 'Jing Jing Biao Ge Jing' found himself already on Xu Xu Zaijing's right side, while his horse was on Xu Xu Zaijing's left.

And he himself was being held aloft in the air by Xu Xu Zaijing with a single hand; looking down, he saw his feet were a full three chi above the ground.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at him with calm eyes and said, "What are you staring at?"

Han Han Wulang and the others wanted to rush over, but Xu Xu Zaijing swept a threatening glance their way, and for some reason, everyone stopped in their tracks.

Feeling the unshakeable force against his chest, Jing Jing Biao Ge Jing's eyes filled with panic; he didn't dare look at Xu Xu Zaijing and wanted to turn back for help, but he couldn't see Han Han Wulang or the others.

He could only stammer, "I-I... I wasn't looking, Brother Xu, I..."

"Just now I heard Han Han Wulang say you've seen blood?"

"... S-seen... seen some."

"Been in a fight?"

"Fought once? No... no, someone else did it; I was just watching from the side."

At this moment, Rong Rong Xian actually rode his horse over and said, "Brother Jing, this is the young master of the Marquis of Marquis Zhongshan's family; please show mercy."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Rong Rong Xian, and Rong Rong Xian squeezed out a ingratiating smile.

"Fine. Don't stare randomly, or next time I won't be lifting your collar." As Xu Xu Zaijing spoke, he glanced at the man's neck.

"Yes, yes, yes, Brother Xu is right," the cousin in mid-air nodded repeatedly.

Then this cousin from the Marquis of Marquis Zhongshan's family was placed back onto the saddle by Xu Xu Zaijing with a single hand, but his posture was different from before; like a young lady, he sat with his legs together on one side of the saddle.

Sitting on the horse's back this way was very unstable; he could only grip the saddle with both hands, looking quite like a timid quail.

Xu Xu Zaijing smoothed the clothes over his chest and then patted him.

Only after Xu Xu Zaijing returned on his horse to his own family's carriage did the cousin from the Marquis of Marquis Zhongshan's family dare to jump off; after remounting, he pulled the reins and galloped westward.

Han Han Wulang glanced at Xu Xu Zaijing and shouted, "Jing Jing Biao Ge, wait for me!"

Then the whole group whipped their horses and departed.

Rong Rong Xian, grateful for the favor, cupped his fists and followed them.

Seeing the crowd depart, Qing Yun loosened the whip in his hand, climbed onto the carriage shaft, and moved to Xu Xu Zaijing's side; at this moment, Xu Xu Anmei spoke from inside the carriage to Xu Xu Zaijing, "Little Five, well done."

With these words, the carriage and horse continued toward the Shenbao Temple.

Behind the Xu family's carriage and horses, inside a carriage bearing a plaque with the character 'Hai',

Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun's maid, Bao Xiu, stood outside the carriage witnessing Xu Xu Zaijing's actions before climbing aboard and entering the cabin.

Inside the cabin,

Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun sat at the very back,

while Bao Xiu in the middle chattered away; first she grabbed the clothes over Zhu Zhu Jian's chest to mimic Xu Xu Zaijing, then pointed to her own right telling Zhu Zhu Jian to move over, and then seriously asked a question;

next she had Zhu Zhu Jian grab her own chest clothes to play the role of the cousin.

Finally, she grabbed her own clothes, sat on the bench inside the cabin, mimicking the timid, twisting posture of a quail, glanced at Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun, and patted her own chest a few times with her hand.

Suppressed laughter immediately erupted within the cabin.

Laughing and talking, the carriage arrived outside the Imperially Bestowed Shenbao Temple; Bao Xiu took a veiled hat from the cabin, placed it on Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun, and then the mistress and her two servants exited together, strolling around accompanied by the Hai family servants.

On the other side,

Xu Xu Zaijing bought many delicious treats for his older sister and also saw many interesting puppets and such, purchasing them to take home for his unborn niece or nephew.

They strolled for half an hour.

At this moment, Xu Xu Zaijing was following behind his older sister; Xu Anmei, also wearing a veiled hat, stood behind a group of people, watching the performance on the stage.

Along the way, Xu Xu Zaijing realized that many of these acrobatic performances could be found in later generations, such as contortionism, magic tricks that use visual illusions to make people disappear, kicking jars, and shooting arrows with one's feet.

There were also puppet shows performed using different control methods; at every performance spot, there were crowds of onlookers or people passing by.

Of course, the most spectacular sight and performance had to be the two extremely tall banner poles, or flagpoles, at the main entrance of the Imperially Bestowed Shenbao Temple.

These flagpoles resembled a super-slimmed version of the Burj Khalifa, thick at the bottom and thin at the top, secured by ropes on all sides; Xu Xu Zaijing roughly estimated them to be over ten zhang tall, with a horizontal wooden beam near the top.

On this horizontal beam, someone was performing.

Now that they were closer, Xu Xu Anmei lifted her veiled hat to look up and said with a smile, "Little Five, indeed someone is breathing fire up there—Ah!!!"

Xu Xu Anmei suddenly screamed, and many of the young ladies and misses looking up had the same reaction.

The men let out cries of shock.

Xu Xu Zaijing was also watching, and in his heart he sweated for the performer, because the person performing had nearly fallen and could only lie prone on the horizontal beam, kicking his legs incessantly in an attempt to climb back up.

After struggling for over ten breaths, the performer barely managed to climb back onto the horizontal beam.

The people below stared even more intently at the performance above.

But relying on his superior vision, Xu Xu Zaijing saw that the performer actually had a leather rope tied around his waist; just now, he had deliberately performed that action to attract everyone's attention.

Xu Xu Zaijing lowered his head, and while inadvertently scanning the surroundings, his gaze froze; he plucked a walnut from his hand, applied slight force, and flicked it out, striking a hand squarely, causing its owner to cry out in pain.

This cry of pain caught Zhu Zhu Jian's attention; she swept her gaze over and shouted, "Little thief, don't run!"

The Hai family servants who had been looking up at the fire-breathing performance also reacted, but with so many people around, the short little thief still managed to escape.

Bao Xiu picked up the purse from the ground and said, "Miss, isn't this ours?"

Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun nodded, looked around, and spotted Xu Xu Anmei, who was currently holding walnut kernels in Xu Xu Zaijing's hand and eating them.

After walking a few more steps,

Xu Xu Zaijing, along with his elder sister and Brother Qingyun and the others, also arrived beneath the banner pole, only then noticing someone below begging for tips, their tone exceedingly sincere.

Many young ladies and married women, regardless of age, who like Xu Xu Anmei had witnessed the scene just now, all threw down copper coins and fragments of silver.

"So dangerous."

"Not easy."

"They deserve a reward."

Such voices came frequently, from both men and women, causing commoners and nobles alike to offer even more tips, falling like a rain of money.

After walking a few more steps forward, Xu Xu Zaijing and his companions finally entered the courtyard of the Imperially Bestowed Shenbao Temple.

After offering incense before the statue of the Divine Lord, Xu Xu Anmei scattered some oil-money before heading outward.

The crowd moving outward was clearly much faster, after all, they did not need to queue to offer incense, nor wait inside for a Daoist priest of the temple to interpret drawn lots.

Soon, Xu Xu Zaijing, shielding Xu Xu Anmei, reached the temple gate, preparing to return to their family carriage.

The entrance of Shenbao Temple was significantly higher than the ground outside; as Xu Xu Zaijing accompanied his sister downward, he discovered that beside the thick ropes securing the banner pole, quite a few horses and carriages were parked.

Some families, to save trouble, had even directly tethered their oxen and horses to the ropes fixing the great banner pole.

Seeing this scene, Xu Xu Zaijing hurriedly pointed it out to Brother Qingyun, who remarked upon seeing it: "Young Master, I will go find the Street Office immediately."

"This is already outside the city walls; they will not manage it. Come, let us find a Daoist priest of this temple."

Speaking thus, Xu Xu Zaijing returned to the Daoist temple with his sister; after explaining the situation clearly, the Daoist priest within the Divine Temple was quite respectful, hurriedly following Xu Xu Zaijing out to take a look, then, after bowing in thanks, headed outside the temple.

His elder sister Xu Xu Anmei said from the side: "Little Five, aren't you overthinking this? There are too many people here; there is simply no place to park carriages and horses."

Walking alongside his sister, Xu Xu Zaijing replied: "We must guard against trouble before it happens; otherwise, if something truly goes wrong, it will be impossible to remedy."

While speaking, the brother and sister walked outward.

In the market outside the Imperially Bestowed Shenbao Temple, Han Han Wulang and his group were accompanying the sisters of their household; Han Han Wulang, the Young Master of Marquis Zhongshan who had been so high-spirited before leaving the city, now showed little interest.

"Fireworks! Fireworks! Fireworks made by the Daoist Priest of Yunxia Temple!"

"Fireworks!!"

"Fireworks!!"

Hearing the hawking cries, someone among Han Han Wulang's companions, Han Han Chengyun, laughed.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable with each sound, the Young Master grew irritable; he walked up to the vendor's stall and looked at the table full of fireworks.

At that moment, a customer was asking the price, and the vendor hurriedly said:

"Honored Guest, take a look; these are fireworks from Yunxia Temple; when set off at night, they resemble silk gauze in the sky!"

The customer asked: "What is it called?"

"Silk Gauze!"

"Set one off so I can see," the customer said.

"Honored Guest, that will be two hundred cash," the vendor hurriedly replied.

The customer tossed a string of copper coins; the vendor hurriedly lit a firework nearby, smiling as he said: "Honored Guest, watch closely; does it not look like silk gauze?"

"You worthless thing!"

The Young Master of Marquis Zhongshan kicked away the firework the vendor held in his hand, ready to ignite.

That firework tube spun through the air.

"You!" The vendor shouted just one word, but seeing such a group of lavishly dressed people, along with servants whose eyes gleamed with ferocity, he dared not say more.

"Whoosh~~~~" The firework projectile flew out.

"Bang!!!!" An explosive roar.

"Neigh~~~~~" The startled shriek of horses rang out.

At the spot Xu Xu Zaijing had seen earlier, over a dozen horses, startled, struggled wildly, then directly dragged out the ropes securing the banner pole.

Because the front was crowded with people and bamboo fences, the dozen-plus horses ran sideways.

The tremendous force directly pulled the banner pole askew.

For the performer on the banner pole, this was no longer part of the show; the sudden incident knocked him senseless, and were it not for the rope around his waist, he might have already fallen to his death.

The soldiers who had just come under the guidance of the Shenbao Temple Daoist priest to eliminate this hidden danger were also startled; they hurriedly dodged aside to avoid being trampled by the horses.

Once the horses ran aside, that Daoist priest shouted: "Don't let the person who kicked away the fireworks escape!"

Hearing the shout, the surrounding soldiers all ran over.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Xu Anmei, who were nearly at their family carriage, were drawn to turn their heads by the cries of alarm from behind; seeing the panicked herd of horses not far away, Xu Xu Zaijing shouted: "Brother Qingyun, protect my elder sister."

"Little Five, what are you going to do!"

Xu Xu Zaijing did not answer Xu Xu Anmei; scanning the area, he picked up a firewood knife from the surface of a blacksmith's stall nearby, then quickly strode toward the herd of horses dragging the ropes and running wildly.

"Young brother! Don't go! When horses are startled, they recognize no one!" the blacksmith hurriedly shouted.

Hearing the blacksmith's cry, Xu Xu Zaijing turned back.

The blacksmith was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Xu Xu Zaijing take a wrist-thick stick used as a farm tool from his stall; holding the knife in one hand and the stick in the other, he ran toward the panicked herd.

By this time, the banner pole at the entrance of Shenbao Temple had been pulled somewhat askew.

The crowd began to stir; Xu Xu Zaijing knew that if this matter was not stopped quickly, although the falling banner pole might not crush many to death, the panic-induced stampede would certainly claim many lives.

Thinking this, Xu Xu Zaijing accelerated his run toward the startled horses; by now, many people behind him also seemed to realize the danger and followed, yet dared not approach too close, intimidated by the panicked horses.

They watched as Xu Xu Zaijing, with steady precision and ruthlessness, used the stick to drive away or stun the horses, swiftly rushing toward the ropes.

Then, with a single slash, he severed the banner pole rope tethering the horses; the startled horses quickly ran toward the forest opposite the crowd, and the somewhat tilted banner pole had its tipping trend halted.

"Move quickly, get away from here!" Xu Xu Zaijing shouted, looking in the direction the banner pole was tilting.

However, it seemed the panicked horses had already loosened several other securing ropes; driven by the banner pole's own weight, it began to slowly topple over.

Though it sounds like much, all these events occurred within merely a few dozen breaths.

Soon, the direction of the fall for the tall, unevenly stressed banner pole was determined; as it did not fall toward the crowd, the people breathed a sigh of relief.

A rope fixed to the ground had not entirely lost its function; with a single pull, the direction of the banner pole shifted again.

It swept straight toward one side of the dazed crowd, where Hai Da Niangzi Chaoyun and her household's servants and maids stood.

Xu Xu Zaijing had begun moving the moment the banner pole started to fall, and upon realizing something was wrong, he immediately rushed toward that spot.

Relying on his sharp reaction speed, Xu Xu Zaijing charged at the bamboo pole—thick as an adult's calf, mounted atop the banner pole with colorful flags attached—just before it struck the crowd.

"Crack!"

Crash.

The sound of the bamboo shattering rang out; everyone panicked and covered their eyes, and when they opened them again, they saw Xu Xu Zaijing, visibly in pain, throwing the wooden stick in his hand onto the ground—the staff, thick as a wrist, was already somewhat deformed from the whipping and impact.

Moreover, Xu Xu Zaijing's collision also slowed the falling speed of the horizontal beam beneath that massive bamboo pole, which was being used for the performance.

The performer at the pole's tip, who had been breathing fire, trembled as he climbed up from the ground, still somewhat dazed and unable to believe he had survived.

Only then did the common people surrounding the scene react.

"Bravo!"

"Hero!"

"This is truly divine strength!"

"Has the True Lord manifested his spirit?"

Daoist Shenbao Guan, having witnessed the entire event, shouted, "Quick! Fetch a Physician!!!!"

That's all,

If there are any parts that read awkwardly, readers are kindly requested to point them out.

The "Record of the Eastern Capital's Splendor" states that on the birthday of the Shenbao Guan deity, crowds were immense; the banner poles at the entrance stood dozens of zhang tall. Since one zhang in the Song Dynasty exceeded three meters, twenty zhang would equal over sixty meters (the height of a twenty-story building).

I have reduced the scale slightly here.

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(End of Chapter)