Chapter 241: Gathering Immortal Mansion

"Eh? There's a boat?"

"Who is it?"

"Didn't they say no one dares to walk on the water during this time? Could it be a yaoguai?"

"Go ask Fan Tian Shi quickly!"

There were obviously many people on the boat, and many noises came.

An official-dressed person came to the middle-aged Daoist at the bow, respectfully bowing to him.

And the middle-aged Daoist put away the worry on his face the moment the official arrived, turning into an expression of being above worldly concerns, and turned his head to look at him.

"Report to Fan Tian Shi, there is a boat beside us!"

"The poor Daoist sees it."

"Dare I ask the Tian Shi, are we going to take a look?"

"Hmm..."

The middle-aged Daoist dragged the sound very long, still facing forward, but quickly used his peripheral vision to look around, seeing that there was only this boat on the river and no houses around, and pondered again before opening his mouth:

"Has this place already reached the place where the yaoguai king is causing trouble?"

"Reporting to the Tian Shi, several places suffered disasters and overturned boats some time ago, but even the closest one is still a bit ahead." The official answered respectfully.

"Where is the widest part of the river?"

"Following the water, it will take another half a day."

"Hmm..."

The middle-aged Daoist still dragged the long sound, neither saying that it might be a yaoguai nor saying that it was not a yaoguai, only saying: "Since that is the case, you go and take a look."

"Ah? Me?"

The official was shocked!

During this period, no boat dared to walk on the water.

Not to mention there were no boats, even the merchant ships and cargo ships that came and went stopped, the fishermen on both banks did not dare to go down to fish, and even if they walked on the shore, they did not dare to pass by the river.

And at this time, the sky light only had a pitiful thread left, yet there was a boat drifting quietly on the water, lighting a lamp; could this be an ordinary boat?

It even sounded like a scene in the yaoguai stories that some had heard since childhood.

"Hmm?"

Fan Tian Shi glanced over sideways.

"I..." The official trembled all over, but compared to it, he was more afraid of yaoguai and ghosts, so he hurriedly lowered his head, "The little person is stupid and cannot distinguish yaoguai and ghosts."

"You don't even have this bit of courage, how can you maintain your own integrity in this chaotic world?" Fan Tian Shi's voice became a bit stern, "How can you plead for the people?"

"The little person is not talented..."

The official, however, always kept his head down, looking like he would not go to check no matter what.

The middle-aged Daoist named Fan Tian Shi pondered for a moment, and a thought arose, so he said: "Very well, the poor Daoist will go and take a look himself."

"Hoo..."

The official immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, you must be with the poor Daoist."

"That is fine!" The official said, only then feeling that he had expressed his cowardice a bit too obviously, so he hurriedly tried to make up for it, but it was also the truth, "With Fan Tian Shi here, even if it is those yaoguai kings in the north, or that Corpse Tiger King from Huizhou before, the subordinate has absolutely no fear!"

"General Zeng!"

"The subordinate is here!"

A burly martial artist behind him answered.

"You hold the sword for me!" Fan Tian Shi exhorted again, "Without my order, do not act rashly!"

"Obey! The subordinate will go and put on armor first!"

"Go quickly!"

Not long after, a small melon-skin boat was lowered from the dragon boat, and three figures sat in the small boat, slowly approaching that boat and the lamp light.

"Splash..."

The Daoist with the bearing of an immortal stood at the bow, the general in black-gold armor stood behind holding the sword, and the official was responsible for rowing.

It was truly calm on the water, only the sound of rowing.

After getting closer, suddenly the lamp light on the boat went out for a moment, and several people couldn't help but be startled. However, just the next instant, the lamp light lit up again, reflecting a small fox lying at the bow, tilting its head and staring at them with a pair of ignorant and curious eyes.

The restless river surface, the lonely boat in the night, and an unusual little white fox made all three of them startled.

The official and the martial general soon recovered, turned their heads to look at the middle-aged Daoist again, and seeing that the Tian Shi was still calm, they continued to row over.

They got a bit closer.

They saw that on the boat were two young Daoists, a man and a woman. In the cabin were many cloth bags and four bamboo baskets. They were boiling water and making tea in the boat, roasting a large fish, and a fragrance came out.

"Tian Shi..."

The official looked at Fan Tian Shi.

"No rush! Say hello!"

The middle-aged Daoist saw that the two people on the boat were also looking at him, so he stood up, saluted, and said loudly:

"The poor Daoist is a Daoist registered in the Gathering Immortal Mansion, surnamed Fan, with the secular name Yuchen. Everyone in the world calls me Fan Tian Shi. Passing through this place, seeing the river empty, with only the Daoist's boat, out of curiosity, I specially came over to take a look and offer a few words of consolation."

The fox and the two people were all looking at them.

"The poor Daoist is Lin Fangjue."

"The poor Daoist is Liu Fangyao."

"Ying-woo~"

"So it is two Daoist friends." The middle-aged Daoist was above worldly concerns, but he did not relax his vigilance in his heart, laughing, "Why are the two Daoist friends alone here at night?"

"Rowing here, it's all to blame for the sky getting dark early, so I had to stop the boat at this ferry and rest for the night."

"Why bring a white fox?"

"Raised from small." Lin Jue answered truthfully, but also said to him, "Since the Daoist friend dares to sit on a boat and come over, why ask this and that?"

Hearing these words, before the middle-aged Daoist could speak, the official beside him spoke first:

"Bold!"

The official scolded, pointing at the middle-aged Daoist and saying:

"Do you know that this is Fan Tian Shi from the Gathering Immortal Mansion in the capital? If it were north of Qin Zhou or the capital, just mentioning the name Fan Tian Shi could scare away demons! Answer if you are asked; the Tian Shi has his own deep meaning, and you must not speculate arbitrarily!"

"Do not be rude!" The middle-aged Daoist was shocked, hurriedly turning his head to reprimand him, and a thought arose, taking the opportunity to say to him, "Daoist people talking and discussing should be as clear as water; where do those things come from?"

"Yes, yes..."

The official immediately admitted defeat.

At this time, the middle-aged Daoist also saw that these two were probably not demons, so he opened his mouth: "I don't know if the Daoist friends can let the poor Daoist and the three of us board the boat for a meeting?"

Lin Jue also looked at Xiao Shimei.

For a time, he couldn't see the details of this person, only feeling that the pomp was quite large, but no matter what, there was no reason to refuse.

Meeting is fate.

"Why not?"

The melon-skin boat then approached the boat.

The first to board the boat was a fat and strong general in armor. After boarding, the melon-skin boat floated up a section, and then he turned around and pulled the middle-aged Daoist and the official up.

Both seemed a bit weak.

"Daoist friend is compassionate."

"Daoist friend is compassionate."

The three Daoists saluted each other.

But during this period, the middle-aged Daoist quickly looked over the two people and one fox in the cabin.

In the cabin were several cloth bags, not knowing what was inside, and four bamboo baskets, with a horsetail whisk that looked extraordinary and a long sword placed beside them.

Both wore gray-white Daoist robes, very simple, and even a bit old and faded, but Daoist people had their own bearing, reflected in their faces, hair, eyebrows, skin color, every smile, every move, every detail.

Even the fox beside them looked at him with an unusual gaze, as if it had spirituality like a human, and even showed signs of thinking.

These two people and one fox were absolutely extraordinary!

They were mostly not here by accident, but knew that there were yaoguai here, but they were not afraid.

The middle-aged Daoist made a judgment quickly.

But he was still above worldly concerns on the surface, laughing, "Where did the two Daoist friends come from? And where are they going?"

"Coming from Huizhou, going toward the capital."

"Huizhou?" The middle-aged Daoist's eyes lit up, "Could it be Daoist friends from Qiyun Mountain?"

"Yishan."

"Yishan? Fuqiu? Xianyuan?"

"The Daoist friend actually knows Fuqiu?" Lin Jue was a bit surprised.

"Ah! Is it really Fuqiu?"

"It is." Lin Jue smiled and poured them three cups of tea, "Not many people know about Yishan, and even fewer know about Fuqiu Peak."

"The poor Daoist counts as one."

"The Daoist friend knows a lot." Lin Jue complimented him casually, but looked at him and asked back, "I heard the Daoist friend is from the Gathering Immortal Mansion?"

"Exactly."

"It sounds like the Daoist friend is very famous in the Gathering Immortal Mansion?"

"Just a little bit of fame."

"It's more than just very famous!" The official beside the middle-aged Daoist couldn't help but speak again, "Fan Tian Shi is the most famous in the entire Gathering Immortal Mansion. If the Daoist goes to the capital or north of Qin Zhou in the future, no matter what yaoguai or demons you meet, just report the name Fan Tian Shi, and the demons will retreat on their own!"

"Oh?"

Lin Jue remembered the monk he met in Langfeng County, called Yun Chan Fa Shi.

Compared to him, Yun Chan Fa Shi's pomp was much worse, only having one martial artist who admired him following him as his protector. Obviously, he was not as famous as this Fan Tian Shi in the Gathering Immortal Mansion.

However, Lin Jue didn't ask if he knew Yun Chan Fa Shi, only holding the teacup and quietly observing this middle-aged Daoist.

"This official, our Daoist talk was originally as light as water, but you have to say these things!" The middle-aged man said to the official beside him with displeasure, and a thought arose, taking the opportunity to say to him, "It just so happens that I have some fate with the two Daoist friends. I see that you staying here makes our talk unpleasant, so please avoid it with General Zeng and walk further away, so that we can talk about things between Daoist people."

"Tian Shi!"

The official immediately showed fear, thinking he had said the wrong thing and angered the famous Fan Tian Shi.

"Tian Shi!"

The general beside him also shouted.

But there was some worry in his words.

The general was a middle-rank general from the capital who followed Fan Tian Shi to exterminate yaoguai, so he naturally knew—

Although this Tian Shi had the ability of an immortal, it could only be used to subdue yaoguai and demons, and was ineffective against ordinary people. Therefore, even if the yaoguai and ghosts in the capital and north of Qin Zhou were afraid of him and afraid when they heard his name, if ordinary martial artists were malicious toward him, he would still be in danger.

Especially since these two Daoists also brought a long sword.

"No matter, although the poor Daoist is weak, I have my own luck, so how could I be in danger so easily? Moreover, the poor Daoist has the ability to recognize people, so I can naturally see that the two Daoist friends are interesting people who met by chance."

Fan Tian Shi waved his hand, ordering them to leave, and exhorted again to walk further away.

One civil and one martial person had no choice but to board the small boat and row away, watching the three people and the lamp light in the boat from afar.

Only then did Fan Tian Shi look at Lin Jue and the other.

He didn't lie just now; he had indeed practiced a skill of recognizing people since he was young.

A shallow conversation, although he didn't ask anything about yaoguai and abilities, he not only saw that the two were not yaoguai, but also saw that they should be true high-level Daoist experts.

Moreover, he had indeed heard of the name Fuqiu Temple.

It was recorded in the books of the Gathering Immortal Mansion—

It is said that nearly a hundred years ago, a Daoist from a remote place in Huizhou called Yishan, from a Daoist temple called Fuqiu Temple, was like an immortal in the legend, waving his hand to summon celestial soldiers and generals, surrounding the Daoist temple on Yushan outside the capital for seven days and seven nights. And that Daoist temple on Yushan was the most famous one among all the Daoist temples in Qin Zhou that practiced spells.

Poor high-level Daoist experts on Yushan were immortal cultivators, but they were almost starved to death on the mountain.

The two sides fought for several days before the Fuqiu Daoist retreated.

And he had unspeakable difficulties at this time.

It had to start from a few days ago—

Ten days ago, the capital heard about the yaoguai causing trouble here and the water transport of the Wei River being cut off.

People in the capital didn't know what kind of yaoguai this was, but the Gathering Immortal Mansion had records that this place would have this kind of thing every ten years, and every time someone from the Gathering Immortal Mansion would come to check. Every time they arrived here, the yaoguai causing trouble would disappear without a trace.

Externally, it was said that the yaoguai had been exterminated.

The flowing county officials were relieved, and the water traffic and cargo transport would also be restored, and even the commoners living nearby had to believe it.

For the next ten years, the water was calm.

And except for the age of ignorance, how many ten years do ordinary commoners have?

Until ten years later, the yaoguai committed crimes again.

Smart people could see that it wasn't the Gathering Immortal Mansion that exterminated the yaoguai; it was clearly the yaoguai's rule: causing trouble with great fanfare, every ten years for just these few days.

A few days ago, drinking and having fun in the Gathering Immortal Mansion, there was a group of people flattering him, saying that Fan Tian Shi had the ability to reach the heavens, and it happened that yaoguai and ghosts were causing trouble again. For a time, the entire Gathering Immortal Mansion couldn't find anyone willing to go. Why didn't Fan Tian Shi go and clean up these yaoguai and ghosts?

The wine was strong, and he agreed to it for a time.

He thought he could be like his predecessors, come for a walk, do a ritual, use some bluffing means, and say the yaoguai had been exterminated, and by the time the next ten years came, he would have gone to other places to be happy.

Moreover, he didn't see that the imperial court could last for ten years; who would remember this thing by then?

He didn't want to bring a middle-rank general and some imperial guards to ensure his own safety, saying they were helping him protect the law, and this middle-rank general really thought he had heaven-shaking ability. He was usually very afraid of yaoguai and ghosts, but he borrowed his momentum and was bold once, bringing soldiers to catch a yaoguai and interrogate it.

That yaoguai was also timid; hearing the Gathering Immortal Mansion and Fan Tian Shi, it said everything immediately.

This was great—

They knew who the yaoguai king was, and they knew where the cave was, and they also learned from that yaoguai that this was the yaoguai king revered by all yaoguai in the entire southeast corner of Qin Zhou!

The accompanying soldiers and officials were all excited, thinking they were going to borrow Fan Tian Shi's ability to make a great contribution, only Fan Tian Shi himself felt terrified in his heart.

Could it be that he really had to go?

Fan Tian Shi thought about countermeasures all the way, until he met these two Daoist friends from Yishan. ===== CHAPTER 242 =====