[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-99":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310484,4514,"Chapter 99: Lao Ya Kou (Second Update)","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-99",99,"\u003Cp>The next morning, as dawn broke, Bai Lao’s eyes woke up and urged everyone: “Hurry up and move out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu pulled out a miniature yellow almanac from his sleeve and flipped through it: today’s prohibitions:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night travel, bathing, marriage, felling trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan leaned over to look and felt even more envious: “A celestial observatory almanac, and a miniature one too—wow, sons of great families really are rich.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu stared at him in silence: “Xu brother, are you deliberately putting on this resentful-rich-guy act to needle me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan burst out laughing: “Exactly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu merely said, “Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d only asked for an answer, leaving Xu Yuan speechless: “You’re such a boring fellow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Observatory was responsible for verifying and printing the annual yellow almanacs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, private reprinting by civilians was forbidden, but that sparked widespread public outrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each almanac from the Celestial Observatory cost two taels of silver—how could an ordinary family afford it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, they relented: civilian publishers and printing shops could reprint them, but had to pay the Celestial Observatory a fee based on quantity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, civilians began calling the Celestial Observatory’s printed almanacs “Great Almanacs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prices rose to ten taels per copy, and even fifty taels for some.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a fifty-tael almanac was already considered a “lucky charm”—it was said that hanging one in your home would ensure a year of household safety and protect the master from sudden misfortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Jiaozhi, everyone used privately reprinted almanacs from “Jicheng Hall”; Xu Yuan’s family hung one too—ten cash per copy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu tucked the almanac away again. The group emerged from their shelter and suddenly felt something was off—they looked up and saw the Drifting Master hanging from a tall tree just outside the shelter, swaying gently in the morning breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So we just walked right under his feet…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s faces darkened. Bai Lao’s eyes roared: “Get down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Drifting Master slid down swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To reach Guanghuo Street, we must pass through Lao Ya Kou,” Bai Lao’s eyes said. “We’ll deal with them on the riverbank just before Lao Ya Kou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes tightened his leg bindings: “We still have a hundred and twenty li of mountain path ahead—we must reach it within an hour and a half, or we’ll be too late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Lao looked uneasy—he was a Fa Xiu, specializing in calculation, and his physical strength was weak; none of them had ridden horses into the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhengyan said: “I can carry one person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes turned to Xu Yuan and Fu Jingyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu pulled out a pair of Jia Ma: “I can keep up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he only had one pair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan summoned Jiang Dan, stepped onto the wheel, and ignited the fire in his dantian: “I’m fine too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes nodded: “Good. Let’s go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they started running, Bai Lao’s eyes was surprised to find Xu Yuan was the fastest!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His stepmother’s craft object was incredibly powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Drifting Master, floating in midair, was slower than Xu Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhengyan, carrying Yan Lao, fell to the very back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire team now had Bai Lao’s eyes at the front—he was the guide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan lagged only half a body’s length behind, moving effortlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third was the Drifting Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fourth was… Da Fu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white goose had originally been held in Xu Yuan’s arms, but it clearly disliked being carried; after a short distance, it wriggled free, ran a bit, then flapped its wings—taking flight!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It glided half a li, landed, ran again, then took flight once more. While others struggled, Da Fu was having a blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu, despite the Jia Ma on his feet, still had to run—and was already gasping for breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu stared at Xu Yuan, who was stepping on fire-wheels ahead, panting heavily: “The most extravagant ones are clearly you craft Xius!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How dare you mock me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan wasn’t a craft Xiu, but he came from a family of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes couldn’t help but feel competitive—he sped up even more, yet Xu Yuan still lagged exactly half a body’s length behind, no more, no less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was brutal for Fu Jingyu and Lu Zhengyan behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original plan was an hour and a half—but they arrived at Lao Ya Kou in just over an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan retracted his wheels and extinguished the fire in his dantian, silently thinking: close call—if we’d gone much farther, my dantian fire would’ve run out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes’ feather cloak was soaked through with sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt a pang of regret—why did he have to show off against these young whelps? His old bones and joints ached like a grandchild’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu gasped for air, tongue hanging out—he could’ve competed with the Drifting Master for longest tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swallowed several medicinal pills to quickly restore his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he distributed the pills to everyone—there’d be a tough fight ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan took three pills, his eyes brightening—excellent stuff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His nearly depleted dantian fire surged back to full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes waved his hand: “I can’t take these.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had his own method—he pulled out a dark, root-like object, likely a wild he shou wu or huang qi from the mountains, bit off a small piece, and his pale, bluish face turned back to a dull yellow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan began scanning the surrounding terrain, searching for ambush spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he looked, his gaze locked onto a massive eye on the distant cliff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Ya Kou was a canyon dozens of zhang wide, with a river seven or eight zhang across flowing through it; steep cliffs rose a hundred zhang high on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rocks were as black as crow feathers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They seemed to drip ink, staining the riverbank below—roughly a hundred zhang wide—pitch black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At fifty to sixty zhang up the cliff, a single eye, three zhang wide, suddenly opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its pupil was pitch black, cold and emotionless, stiffly turning as it slowly swept over every person on the riverbank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, everyone—including Lao Pao Shan—understood that the “disguise” imposed by the Mountain Lord Stele could not fool this crow’s eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes said: “See the blackened area beneath the cliff? Don’t cross that boundary!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Ya Kou is the gateway to Guanghuo Street, and that eye is the gatekeeper—if you cross that line, the gatekeeper will inspect you. None of us—not even a hanging ghost—can survive inspection!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu asked: “What happens if you can’t pass inspection?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The gatekeeper keeps ‘dogs.’ They hide in the river. If you can’t pass inspection, it calls the dogs out—they drag you into the river and drown you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes pointed to the cliff base: “See those chains? They’re for the dogs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan looked closely—indeed, seven chains were driven into the cliff’s base, each as thick as an adult’s thigh, the other ends sinking into the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Lao gasped: “What kind of monstrous beast needs chains this thick to be chained?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes shook his head: “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first rule of Pao Shan people is to follow the rules—one of which is never crossing that boundary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan pointed to a patch of trees on one side of the riverbank: “Ambush there. When they arrive, we surge out and cut off their path to Lao Ya Kou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Lao, calculating as he worked, stuck his counting rods into the riverbank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu also hurried to set up his Maoshan techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Lao’s eyes used Pao Shan methods to lay several traps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1267,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","71cd8ebd405605cf0da18aa565ae6726e849e2de70ca368f3e6a433650596ae1","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-100","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-98",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]