Chapter 77: Lantern Festival (Thanks to the alliance leader

Arriving at Yixian County before dusk, there were still a few soldiers holding guns guarding the city gate, but this time, seeing the three people leading a donkey and carrying a fox, the guards suddenly felt a bit of respect, and without waiting for the Seventh Shixiong to show his degree, they let them in.

"Daoist priest, please come in."

The city is more lively than ever before.

Even before the sky was completely dark, the streets were covered with lanterns, of various shapes and colors, everything. Many people who were far outside the city also came to the city today. Many rich ladies who were often in the boudoir also came out to walk in full makeup, and many scholars and sons walked leisurely along the street, hoping to meet them by chance and have a romantic fate.

"Lantern Festival, at this time, even if there are monsters mixed in the city, I'm afraid they are here to enjoy the lanterns, right?" The Seventh Shixiong is a playful person, and he has a bit of romantic playfulness in his heart. "Let's go to the county office first!"

"Okay."

Lin Jue walked all the way, looking left and right, only feeling that he had walked into the lantern festival scene described in the poems of scholars. The acquaintances of scholars and the encounters of talented men and beautiful women seemed to come from here.

Among them, someone cast their gaze at him.

Or some commoner walking on the street, or a merchant in a shop by the road.

Or saluting him from afar, or greeting him actively.

"Daoist priest, are you here to see the lantern festival too?"

"Lin Daoist priest! Greetings!"

Lin Jue generally responded with equal salutes.

Some were just surprised at the fox following him, and surprised at his reputation in the city.

"When did Shidi have such popularity in the city?" The Seventh Shixiong couldn't help but ask in surprise.

The Little Xiao Shimei also looked at him curiously.

"It wasn't because I was entrusted by the merchants in the city last time, and came to the city to eliminate monsters with the Third Shixiong. The next morning, I fought with a sorcerer. It was lively on the street, and many commoners saw it." Lin Jue said shamefully.

"If you count carefully, a few months have passed, and they still remember Shidi. It seems that Shidi left a deep impression on them."

"It's all because of the Third Shixiong." Lin Jue said, looking down at the curious little fox beside him, "And they don't remember me, they just remember a Daoist priest with a fox."

"No matter what, in this way, our affairs are much easier to handle."

"That's best..."

The three soon arrived at the Yixian County office.

To perform magic in the city, one often has to get the permission of the county official.

Today the county official must be on holiday, and even if he is not on holiday, it should have been closed by now. However, the county magistrate generally lives in the county office. Lin Jue and his party came for the matter of building a temple for the Fourth Aunt of Scissors Peak. The Fourth Aunt has been recognized by the Nine Heavens True Gods. It is not for their own private interests, and it involves gods, so they also plan to ask.

Before walking to the door, the big door suddenly opened.

A constable walked out from inside, carrying a sword, seemingly going to patrol the city. He looked up and was suddenly stunned.

"True Person!"

It was the constable who came up the mountain to deliver the letter that day.

Looking at them, he was obviously deeply impressed by both Lin Jue and the fox at Lin Jue's feet. Even when he walked quickly toward them, the Daoist temple on the wind and snow mountain that day seemed to be surging in front of him, and the taste of that hot tea and that pot of rice wine was also re-emerging in his heart.

When he walked to the side of the three, he was already respectful.

There was a bit of worry in the respect:

"What are the three True Persons here for? Is there any monster and ghost matter in the city again?"

"True Person dare not..."

Lin Jue told them the reason.

Only then did the constable breathe a sigh of relief and immediately said:

"Exactly! Just now the county magistrate explained things to us, and he should not have gone out now! A few days ago, he was still talking about visiting the True Persons on the mountain with the state official after the spring and the snow melted. If he knew the True Persons were here, he would be very happy."

The constable took them inside.

Just happened to bump into the county magistrate who was about to go out to enjoy the lanterns.

"Chen County!"

"Pan Yi? This is?"

"Greetings to Chen County, these three are Daoist priest True Persons from Fuqiu Temple on Fuqiu Peak of Mount Yishan."

Sure enough, as soon as the county magistrate heard that they were the Daoist priests of Fuqiu Temple who had fought with the sorcerer in the city and were entrusted by the Daoist priests of Profound Heaven Temple on Qiyun Mountain to send a letter, his expression immediately became polite.

"What are the Daoist priests here for..."

Like the constable, the county magistrate first thought of the bad side, and worry appeared in his brows.

"County magistrate, don't worry."

The Seventh Shixiong told the reason again.

The county magistrate's brows gradually relaxed.

"Oh my!"

The county magistrate was surprised when he heard it, and opened his eyes wide: "Since it is really a god who has achieved success and merits are complete and wants to build a temple, how can the Daoist priests raise money in the city? The county will allocate funds."

"That's fine, but it's not that good."

The Seventh Shixiong said with a smile, which was a tactful refusal.

Lin Jue probably knew the reason—

The fellow Daoists of Scissors Peak are monsters. If monsters want to become gods, even if they are just local deities in the mountain, they must be harsh, so they must be careful.

If it is a temple built by the people's fundraising, it naturally needs more "shelter from wind and rain" skills.

"Please calculate, county magistrate, how much silver is needed to get permission if we perform Daoist arts in the city to raise funds for building a temple for the Fourth Aunt."

"Hiss..."

The county magistrate thought carefully for a while, and then said: "The Daoist priests are all famous mountain true Daoists, with real skills. If they demonstrate Daoist arts in the city, wouldn't it add some fun to the lantern festival tonight, and deter the monsters, ghosts, evil doors, and bad people hidden in the city? Moreover, it is to raise funds for building a temple for gods, which counts as a righteous act. Why need money?"

As he spoke, his tone was already very firm:

"The Daoist priests can pick any place in the city, let Pan Yi follow you."

The county magistrate had already made up his mind in his heart.

He also wanted to go and see.

"Then thank you, county magistrate." The Seventh Senior Brother saluted the county magistrate, paused, and added with a smile, "By the way, I forgot to tell the county magistrate that last time my Junior Brother and Senior Brother went down the mountain to eliminate monsters together, those mouse monsters hiding in the cave were all eliminated by the descendants of this Fourth Aunt. Later, when the fellow practitioners of Qiyun Mountain eliminated monsters, they also invited them to help."

When the county magistrate heard it, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

It was actually that one!

Several people turned and went out.

The night of winter really came very fast. Just from entering and leaving the county office, the sky was dark.

The colorful lanterns on the road were all lit up.

Almost every household had lanterns lit at the door, and pedestrians mostly carried lanterns, but they were different in size, color, and shape. These lanterns illuminated the night, but they were far from being as bright as day, so they built an extremely classical and dreamy and charming atmosphere.

"The three True Persons, please come this way." The constable named Pan Yi said, "It's the most lively here."

"Many thanks."

So he entered the depths of the colorful lanterns.

People are also more dense.

This kind of annual grand event has a huge attraction for commoners who lack entertainment. Dignitaries, peddlers, and pawns all came here, shuttling in the shadows of the lantern light.

Walking in it, the feeling is that the lanterns are highlighted, while the darkness is ignored. What is highlighted is the joyful mood of the people carrying lanterns. As for the embarrassment, defects, and previous implicitness of people, they are hidden in the darkness.

Lin Jue walked while feeling this moment.

? ￠o

A glance at the side—

But seeing the Little Xiao Shimei's eyes opened wider than his, but her face was small, so it looked even bigger.

I don't know what her experience is.

"Magic is an embellishment belonging to the prosperous age. The Third Shixiong often brags in front of you, saying how bad the alchemy you learned is, saying how interesting his Bean Soldiers are. If you ask me, hahaha..."

The Seventh Shixiong laughed and went forward:

"Cultivating the Dao doesn't necessarily have to be used for fighting, and spells don't necessarily have to be set up for eliminating monsters and demons. It's also good to be able to win a joy for the people!"

After saying that, he pointed to the crowded crowd ahead.

"Go there!"

The Seventh Shixiong's eyes were shining.

Several scholars walked at the lantern festival, enjoying this lively and festive feast that only happens once a year, their eyes scanning everywhere, not knowing whether they were looking at lanterns or people.

"Didn't they say that there was a monster in the city some time ago, which would steal people's silver and money, and it was panic-stricken at that time? I thought the lantern festival this year would be deserted, but I didn't expect there to be so many people." One of them said.

"Tang brother just returned to Yixian County, so you don't know. The True Persons of Profound Heaven Temple have long invited gods to wash away the monsters in the city." This person said.

"Yeah, it thundered that night, it was fierce, it was the twelfth lunar month of winter, some bold people opened the windows to look outside, and even saw the True Lord at night through the windows. Moreover, the local deity temple in the city was moved away by Liu Gong and replaced with Lord Yili Shenjun, probably to reassure the people. Lord Yili Shenjun has also manifested several times during this period." Another person smiled. "Who is still afraid of monsters and ghosts?"

"Does the Shenjun really manifest?"

"Anyway, others say they saw the miracle, but the little brother hasn't seen it with his own eyes, so I don't know. Anyway, walking in this lantern festival, with so many people, let alone monsters and ghosts, even if they come, what can they do?"

"That's also true."

The lantern light is dim, the crowd is like weaving, who knows whether the people walking by are human or ghost, monster or god?

"The little brother only hopes to meet that congenial lady tonight. If I can leave a good story in the city, tsk, then it would be free to die!"

"Hmm..."

"What about Tang brother? Among the few ladies I know in the city, there are those who admire scholars of poetry and literature, and they even hold poetry meetings in private."

The scholar surnamed Tang looked left and right, and said in a low voice: "I don't know if anyone is performing magic in the city tonight..."

"Isn't it Tang brother you..."

"Tang brother is still as interested in these strange things as ever!"

"Aren't you guys interested? I saw a high-level person performing magic in the capital before. He could cut off his head, put it on a plate, and present it to all the viewers. The head could still speak and drink even with bones and broken meat. It was truly an eye-opener! A feast for the eyes! Very interesting!" The scholar surnamed Tang said, "I don't know if our Yixian County has it!"

"This... it is indeed interesting."

"However, those strange people, I am afraid they can already be called high-level people. There are many in the capital, but if it is here, I am afraid it is not easy to see."

"Yeah..."

"However, a few months ago, the silver and money of the merchants in the city were stolen by monsters and ghosts. Someone invited a high-level person from Mount Yishan to eliminate monsters. That high-level person had real skills, actually fighting magic on the street, with knife blades flying in the sky, and that Daoist priest could actually carry a knife through the locked wooden door..."

"That is a real skill..."

Just as everyone was talking, they suddenly saw the crowd ahead was unusually crowded, and someone exclaimed loudly.

"What's wrong there?"

"Someone is performing magic!"

"It's Tang brother's wish!"

"Go and see!"

Several people all walked over.

Before getting close, they heard the sound first.

"Viewers, don't scatter money, don't scatter money, look at the flag, we are Daoist priests from the mountain, not performers, and this time we are not here to ask for reward money..."

A group of people heard it, but didn't care.

Most of the performers in the world are like this. Besides the tricks on their hands and bodies, there are also some tricks in their words, but it is also a way to circle more money.

Especially that scholar surnamed Tang.

Since he came back from the capital and is used to watching magic and looking for strange people, he naturally sees too many of these.

Even if he gradually approached and saw several people in the crowd wearing Daoist robes, he didn't feel anything. Without him, there are too many such "magic".

It's just that he didn't notice that several friends who had been in Yixian County were stunned when they saw these three Daoist priests and the donkey and fox beside them, looking at each other.

Suddenly heard the Daoist priest in the crowd chanting a poem:

"Sometimes in a dream, the body becomes a crane;"

"There are countless grasses in the world that become fireflies."

This line of poetry caught his attention. ===== CHAPTER 78 =====