Chapter 171

"Jianghu emergency, you know..."

Hearing Zhao Wanfang's sarcasm, Li Yan's expression remained unchanged.

After leaving the Li mansion, he thought about it, and found he had nowhere to go.

At present, Changancheng is in turmoil; Bai Ruoxu is a Maitreya Sect member, and it will inevitably implicate a large group of people.

And there is the matter of Feng Feiyan; the Jianghu five elements will inevitably be in chaos, and those inns are no longer safe.

The leather workshop of Hei Dan's uncle and nephew, and Shen Sanyou's house, could temporarily hide him, but the smell there is simply fatal.

Li Yan would rather fight someone than live there.

The brothel bed is big and comfortable, with wine and meat, so it is naturally the best choice; besides, news is well-informed here, and if there is any wind, he can know it at the first opportunity.

He knew why Zhao Wanfang spoke sarcastically.

The other party should still be unwilling to give up and wants to find someone to take revenge.

She sent people to invite him several times, but he avoided her by saying he was busy.

Seeing him respond, Zhao Wanfang came to the table and sat down, took a piece of paper from her bosom, and said in a low voice with a solemn expression: "I have been collecting news from various states during this period."

"A few days ago, there were many cases of flower sedan chairs in the middle of the night and ghost brides killing people in Ezhou, causing panic; I suspect it was that 'Red Woman' who couldn't hold back her killing intent and revealed her tracks..."

After hearing this, Li Yan put down his wine cup helplessly, "Those people are very powerful and are trouble even for the Great Xuan imperial court; with our strength, we simply cannot deal with them."

"I have already given up, what are you still clinging to?"

Zhao Wanfang was silent for a moment, "If I don't take revenge, what else can I do?"

Li Yan spread his hands, "There are many things you can do; for example, you can save some money, redeem yourself, or find someone to marry and live a peaceful life, isn't that good?"

"Marry?"

A trace of mockery appeared in Zhao Wanfang's eyes, "There is no free fruit in this world. I grew up in a brothel and have seen too many concubines sold, and too many housewives who want to live or die and come to the door to make trouble. They all rely on men to live; the brothel is instead free..."

"You see those famous courtesans who save up half a lifetime of wealth, thinking they have found a satisfactory husband, but which one of them had a good ending?"

"Some things have nothing to do with money..."

After hearing this, Li Yan was silent.

He already understood why Zhao Wanfang was so persistent.

Revenge?

Having grown up watching the warmth and coldness of human feelings and the state of the world, and having had no good childhood, how could she be entangled until now for the death of a mother whose real name she didn't even know?

Whether she can take revenge,

perhaps it is already unimportant.

Revenge is just the motivation for her to continue living.

This kind of thing is not strange.

Not everyone lives for money and power.

Being wanton and unrestrained, not seeking progress, is one way of living.

Placing one's feelings on a certain hobby is also a way of living.

A friend of his in his past life once said: My life has a limit, I came to this world for a walk, at a loss, having something to do, just finish this life...

Thinking of this point, Li Yan didn't try to persuade her anymore, his eyebrows raised slightly, and he picked up his wine cup and took a sip, "It's fine to take revenge, but with your current ability, it's really not enough."

"Do you know why Changancheng is in a state of panic?"

"It's all because a Maitreya leader nicknamed 'Grave Snake' was captured."

"That enemy of yours, Concubine Liu, is just a subordinate of the 'Red Woman'; the 'Red Woman' is a more powerful character than the 'Grave Snake', but she is just one of Zhao Changsheng's chess pieces."

"If you want revenge, relying on martial arts and sorcery is useless."

After hearing this, Zhao Wanfang was silent for a while, seemed to have made some determination, and said sternly: "Many thanks."

There was no frustration in her eyes, but instead, she was full of fighting spirit.

Li Yan drank his wine, "No need."

Zhao Wanfang nodded slightly, "What is your plan next? Just hide here and wait for the Lantern Festival to end?"

Li Yan looked out the window and said thoughtfully:

"First, I have to figure out what exactly happened..."

…………

The difficulty of obtaining information depends on the person.

Luo Mingzi is gone, Guan Wanche won't say a word, and the Chang'an Jianghu is in turmoil, so he can only find an outsider.

This person must also be capable and have wild connections.

"Yo!"

Night-Crying Lang Shen Sanyou entered the door and shouted: "You kid, you only sent some junk when you visited during the New Year. I thought that no matter what, we are drinking and eating friends, so I waited and waited, but didn't see you treat me."

"So you were hiding here having fun!"

Li Yan shook his head speechlessly, "Senior, I just drank and sang with you, and you called me an old brothel guest; I haven't said anything yet..."

Shen Sanyou looked around, "Isn't that so?"

Ptooey!

Zhao Wanfang covered her mouth and giggled.

Li Yan: "..."

Shen Sanyou didn't let him off, sat down, and said with interest: "This isn't just me spreading it; do you know what you did after you got drunk that night?"

Li Yan's heart rose with a bad premonition.

"What did I do?"

Shen Sanyou said with dancing eyebrows: "The girls came one by one, and you said they didn't understand the style, had no characteristics, and that only spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with its own charm, could be called a hundred flowers blooming..."

"Even the proprietress of the Hua'e Tower, who rarely shows her face, was alarmed and came to toast you."

"You told her that this Hua'e Tower was just average and could be completely renovated, for example, making a Jiangnan water town pavilion, with soft Wu dialect, and then some frontier style, silk road resentment..."

"Touring the Divine Land in one day, the Hua'e Tower would definitely become famous!"

Li Yan was stunned, "She believed it?"

"Of course she believed it!"

Shen Sanyou said happily: "The proprietress thought it was very reasonable and praised your family's profound learning. I heard that the Hua'e Tower has already hired skilled craftsmen and will start construction after the beginning of spring..."

Li Yan gritted his teeth, "Then why did you charge me a thousand taels?"

Shen Sanyou spread his hands, "The other party originally wanted to treat us, but you weren't happy, saying you hated white-loading the most..."

"Wasn't it you who insisted on spending all my money?"

"Joke, I, Night-Crying Lang, love white-loading the most in my life!"

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Wanfang was already laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up.

"Alright, alright."

Li Yan didn't expect that the first time he got drunk in this life, he would make such a big fool of himself, so he hurriedly changed the subject, "Senior, I have to ask you to find out something. The wind is strong in Chang'an, and now I can only rely on you..."

"Easy to say!"

Although Night-Crying Lang's personality was unreliable, he had no problems doing things. By the time he came again the next day, he had already figured out the cause and effect clearly.

After Li Yan heard it, he only felt it was somewhat absurd.

"You mean, the cause was the internal struggle of the Commandant's Office, Battalion Commander Guo Yuhua deliberately leaked the news, and also intercepted and killed Feng Feiyan, splashing the shit on Chang Xuan?"

"Hmm, his plan was good, but he didn't expect Feng Feiyan to have a backup plan, carrying the hidden weapon Thunderbolt Fire, blowing up the interceptors to death, and running away without a trace."

"Right now everyone knows what's going on, but in officialdom, it's just like this; if the handle disappears, it doesn't exist."

"Chang Xuan lost the firearms and was looking everywhere like a mad dog; Guo Yuhua also sent people to look for Feng Feiyan, it just depends on who finds them first..."

"The Maitreya Sect is also infighting?" "Hmm, that Bai Ruoxu summoned all the Maitreya Sect members in Shanzhou and fought with Chang Xuan's people, suffering heavy casualties. They grabbed a firearm, but turned around and poisoned their companions, taking the firearm and running away."

"The Maitreya Sect people are almost all dead, leaving only Fire Ghost, who was also captured by Chang Xuan and locked up with Grave Snake, his cultivation and martial arts abolished, preparing to be escorted to the capital; I estimate he wants to clear himself of guilt..."

"Anyway, this matter is a mess. To find Feng Feiyan and Bai Ruoxu, the two factions of people are looking for trouble with Jianghu sects everywhere in Changancheng."

"You have some relationship with Bai Ruoxu and Feng Feiyan, and you also know Guan Wanche; to avoid being implicated, it's better to honestly avoid the wind."

"This..."

Li Yan drank his wine, "I don't even know what to say."

"Hahaha!"

Shen Sanyou said happily: "Many things are like this; you can calculate everything, but you can't calculate the human heart. Now those three battalion commanders of the Commandant's Office are the ones with scorched heads."

"What does it have to do with the other battalion commander?"

"He is close to the Li family. Although the Li family controls the power of Shanzhou, not everyone is convinced, such as the Regional Military Commissioner's Office. Tang Yang, the Regional Military Commissioner, relied on the Li family to rise to power, and the other few are not convinced in their hearts."

!.

"Someone moved secretly, and also led the fire to the other battalion commander. After all, the Li family just rose to power and their foundation is unstable."

"If you get the quota during the Lantern Festival, leave early. This chaotic situation in Changancheng is estimated to last for a long time."

"Senior, aren't you leaving?"

"Hehe, having lived in Chang'an for a long time, I've seen too much of this kind of thing; I'm too lazy to even watch the excitement. The fierce wind and rain will always have a time to subside."

"Who lives and who dies is determined by heaven, and it has nothing to do with me..."

……

Shen Sanyou was right; Chang'an was indeed in chaos.

The tooth-brokerage was cleaned up once, and many people were thrown into prison; perhaps some were wronged, but there were many wronged people, and there was no way.

Zhao Jiu, the tooth-broker who led them to Guodu Town, was killed in a dark alley even though he was disguised.

The ones who took action were Jianghu people.

Some people took advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters, killing to settle old scores.

Tie Shigu, the president of the foot-porters' guild, stepped down, and his son Tie Feng was thrown into prison because he was good friends with Bai Ruoxu; it took a huge effort to get him out.

Years of savings turned into fly ash in one morning, and the father and son left Chang'an overnight, disappearing without a trace since then...

Li Yan also secretly went to find Red Yecha.

Although she had a close relationship with Feng Feiyan, she didn't know what to do when encountering this kind of situation.

Even she herself, because she had to guard the Corpse-Suppressing Coffin and had the protection of the Profound Heaven Sect, was not troubled.

Raising a bunch of children, she could only hope Feng Feiyan escaped far away.

Li Yan naturally wouldn't look for trouble for himself.

He knew that even he himself was trouble.

Therefore, he didn't look for the Li mansion or Hei Dan's uncle and nephew.

He hid in Qingyuan Tower every day, drinking, eating meat, and listening to music when idle, and for the rest of the time, he practiced martial arts and stored his spirit, waiting for the Lantern Festival.

Zhao Wanfang would sometimes accompany him on the side, and sometimes leave mysteriously; the large private room he was in also seemed to be deliberately ignored by Qingyuan Tower, and very few guests would approach.

Li Yan had a guess in his heart.

Zhao Wanfang had likely joined some Golden Swallow organization, using its power to gradually gain the ability to take revenge.

Li Yan neither paid attention nor asked more.

People come and go in the Jianghu; not everyone lives just to make a simple living, as long as there is a reason to live...

…………

Time passed slowly and quickly, and before he knew it, it was the Lantern Festival.

Just two days ago, facing the chaos in the city, Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Siyuan and the Chang'an Prince couldn't stand it anymore and directly called the Commandant's Office and people from various government offices to scold them.

After all, this year's Lantern Festival Drum King Assembly gathered Mystic Sect people from all over, and although they were all side-door, if it was made a mess, Chang'an's bad reputation would also spread to other states.

The two spoke, and Changancheng naturally returned to peace.

Subsequently, the order from the Commandant's Office in the capital also arrived.

Chang Xuan had previously offered a training method for new-style firearms and wiped out the Maitreya Sect members in Shanzhou, but he lost a Divine Fire Gun; he was punished with ten strokes of the cane, and subsequently responsible for investigating the missing firearms to make up for his faults...

Battalion Commander Guo Yuhua received a reprimand and was deprived of the power to hold the seal; although he cleared himself, those above were not fools and were already dissatisfied...

The other battalion commander was directly transferred away and sent to a place where birds don't shit; this was a warning to the Li family for meddling in the Commandant's Office...

Overall, those above in the Commandant's Office valued Chang Xuan's ability; it seemed like a whipping, but in reality, they were protecting him, and to stabilize the Shanzhou garrison, they would also parachute a battalion commander from the capital to suppress the situation.

No one was a winner in this internal struggle...

Of course, the common people couldn't see the things in the imperial court and didn't care; what really attracted them was the Drum King Assembly.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival.

Although the real excitement was at night, before dawn, the street was already busy.

Especially Zhu Que Avenue.

This turmoil did not affect the Changchun Association.

They are mainly an organization of Jianghu performers, receiving performers who come to pay respects from various places, arranging performances and selling territories for the Lantern Festival, which had kept everyone in the Changchun Association so busy that their feet didn't touch the ground.

The 5,000-meter-long Zhu Que Avenue had been marked with white ash by the disciples of the Changchun Association since last night.

Where who performs, where who sells things, they had to take care of the face of fellow travelers from other states, and also take care of the local fellow travelers.

Besides this, they couldn't interfere with the patrol routes of the government soldiers, and couldn't crowd the viewing areas of the common people.

In short, every aspect had to be considered thoroughly.

Jianghu performers were waiting for this day.

They wore their cleanest outfits, and as soon as the Changchun Association's territory was marked, they carried their equipment and entered it.

Before, when Chang'an was in turmoil, they were also watching the show.

Now, this was their battlefield.

Whether they will drink and eat meat or eat chaff and vegetables in the next few months depends on whose ability is greater today.

Among the Golden Gate, there are trades like mute gold, gnawing gold, inlaid gold, bag gold, old Zhou, etc.; fortune-tellers, character-measurers, and physiognomists could be seen every few steps...

Among the Skin Gate, there are those who set up four-flat, push packages, play green-picture, sell wolf-packages, pull teeth and pick tooth-worms; every section of the road was different...

The Theater Color Gate naturally goes without saying; juggling troupes, ancient color magic, all have to show their skills today...

Those who play tricks and sell arts, those who sing drums and tell stories, are the same.

The entire Zhu Que Avenue had become a park fair.

As soon as the Chen hour (07:00 to 09:00) arrived, Zhu Que Avenue was already somewhat crowded, as if all the people of Chang'an had come out.

"Good heavens, it's crowded enough today."

"Tsk tsk, I heard it's different this year; many good hands have come from other states, and our Shanzhou is also gathering famous people; there will definitely be a dragon-fighting-tiger-struggle."

"Touring Zhu Que Avenue during the day, and there is a god-touring meeting for evil-suppression and prayer at night, which will be dispersed to various places in the city. If you miss it during the day, you won't see some of them at night..."

"When does it start?"

"Si hour..."

In the crowd, Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan were also squeezing to watch the excitement.

Changancheng was temporarily calm, so Li Yan notified them to come for the Lantern Festival today and leave after the Lantern Festival passed.

And near the Mingde Gate outside the city, god-tower teams had already gathered. The god-towers were all different, and even the drum teams following them were vastly different.

They kept their distance, looking at each other, their eyes full of scrutiny...

(End of chapter)