Chapter 551: The End of the Year in Jingguan City

The sky was gray, and fine snow was falling.

The distant Chengdu Prefecture seemed to be covered by a plain veil, with only black and white colors between heaven and earth, having a unique charm.

The official road outside the city was muddy.

Although it was approaching the end of the year, the official road leading to Chengdu Prefecture was still busy, with both nearby commoners and traveling merchants.

The wooden cart wheels creaked, occasionally falling into mud pits.

The cart body was covered in mud and didn't look like much, but it was actually high-end goods, costing quite a bit of silver.

The reason was simple: it was wrapped in iron hoops.

This kind of cart wheel would be built with huge iron hoops, heated until red, and then embedded into the wooden wheel, becoming completely fixed after cooling.

Even if the journey was long, there was no fear of the wheels falling apart halfway.

Even so, the iron hoops were also covered in rust; if they weren't replaced next year, they wouldn't last long.

The cart was loaded with sides of mutton.

People in Shu liked to eat mutton and must eat it in winter.

Ordinary families naturally didn't have this ability, but the huge Chengdu Prefecture was full of wealthy merchants and powerful officials, and a cart of mutton could easily be sold.

"Damn it, this ghostly weather..."

The cart driver took off his bamboo hat and shook off the accumulated snow, complaining to the person beside him: "How many years has it been? Shu hasn't had such heavy snow; won't there be problems next year?"

As he spoke, he glanced over calmly.

He was complaining, but also striking up a conversation.

Beside him, it was exactly Li Yan and his party.

He came from Wanchun County and met these people on the road; the winter road was difficult, fearing encountering wild beasts coming down the mountain from hunger, so they agreed to travel together.

These people, at a glance, were not ordinary people.

And the cart driver was an old man from the Huaiqing Car Rental Agency in Chengdu Prefecture, also considered a Jianghu guest, chatting casually to figure out their background.

Wang Daoxuan heard this, stroked his beard, looked at the sky, nodded with a solemn expression: "The climate has indeed changed; I discovered it last year; it was colder than previous years, but I didn't expect it to be even worse this year..."

Li Yan, who was beside him, was thoughtful when he heard this.

He vaguely remembered that in his previous life, during this time in history, there had been a Little Ice Age, causing dynastic turmoil and disasters.

Could it be that the human transformation was also related to this...

Ah oh~ ah oh~

A donkey head suddenly stretched out, one eye straight and one eye slanted; it was exactly the stupid donkey Li Yan had adopted.

This silly thing had nothing else to say, but its luck was good.

Before the team separated, it was taken to Guanxian by Sha Feifei and the others and boarded at a car and horse shop; perhaps because it was too ugly, no one paid attention to it after the incident.

After coming down from the mountain, Li Yan ran to Guanxian again and brought this stupid donkey out; after all, he had developed feelings for it and couldn't just leave it alone.

Patting the donkey head casually, Li Yan looked at the tea stall by the road in the distance, narrowed his eyes, turned to bow his hands and said: "Uncle Liu, we are going to drink hot tea, let's part ways here."

The cart driver was stunned, a bit strange.

It was not far from Chengdu Prefecture; there was plenty of food and drink after entering the city, and these few didn't look like poor ghosts... I'm afraid there was something going on.

Of course, he couldn't ask too much, so he could only bow his hands: "I am at the Huaiqing Car Rental Agency and am quite familiar with Chengdu Prefecture; if you need anything, you can find me at any time."

"We'll meet again."

"We'll meet again."

Watching the convoy leave, Li Yan gave a wink and took a few people to the tea stall.

The tea stall was not big, just supported by a piece of patched tattered cloth, with a few square wooden tables inside, and the teapot on the small fire stove was steaming.

The weather was cold, so naturally, there weren't many guests.

Only a middle-aged man sat in front of a square table, dressed in black, with a bamboo hat covering his face.

Seeing no pedestrians on the road, Li Yan directly placed the Dust-Severing Blade on the table, sat opposite him, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, how is the city?"

The man opposite raised his head; it was exactly Hou Xuan who had fled from Guanxian.

He was unshaven at this moment, his face full of exhaustion, and he said: "Young Master Li, don't worry, the tea stall belongs to my own brothers."

This person was a local Jianghu tycoon in Guanxian, first mixing in gangs, then doing business, and had accumulated quite a bit of property.

To be honest, Li Yan didn't really want to deal with these people.

Those who mix in the Jianghu and can rise from the local area are definitely not good people.

However, this Hou Xuan was very loyal; to help them, he was implicated and almost had his family ruined.

Li Yan was clear about gratitude and grudges, so naturally, he couldn't just leave him alone, so he promised to help this person find a new opportunity.

Although they encountered strong enemies in Guanxian, the clues to the Erlang Manifestation Erlang Zhenjun still had to be pursued, so Li Yan let Hou Xuan come to Chengdu first to inquire about news.

Unfortunately, their harvest was not great.

The reincarnation of Erlang Manifestation Erlang Zhenjun did not stay long in Guanxian; they only found out that the other party's name was Yang Chenghua, and after his foster mother passed away, he left completely.

The only person who knew the inside story, the Lu Sorcerer, had also died.

There was no other way, they could only head to Chengdu Prefecture.

"The wind in Chengdu Prefecture is not strong."

Hearing Li Yan's inquiry, Hou Xuan said in a deep voice: "Our matter in Guanxian seems to have been intentionally covered up and didn't cause a big stir."

"I went to the Shunyuan Escort Agency to find Brother Wang and asked him to send someone to inquire; whether it was the Chengdu Prefecture government office or the city guards, they didn't receive orders to want us..."

Li Yan was thoughtful: "How is the situation in the Prince of Shu's Mansion now?"

Hou Xuan looked around and said in a low voice: "Since his son was shot and killed on the street, the Prince of Shu made a big scene at the government office and then returned to the Prince of Shu's Mansion, not going out again."

"From the rumors in the Prince of Shu's Mansion, the Prince of Shu is already bedridden and has even vomited blood; I'm afraid he won't make it through this year."

"The Commandery Princes of the Prince of Shu's Mansion have all started to move, one after another sending people to curry favor with the imperial court's censors, wanting to pass news to the capital, so they are probably too busy to care about us..."

"So that's it."

Li Yan pondered for a moment: "Brother Hou, what plans do you have?"

He was asking, naturally, about the other party's future plans.

Hou Xuan sighed when he heard this, his eyes a bit confused: "Before I came out, I brought a group of brothers. I don't care, but they followed me through life and death, so I have to give them a home."

"Brother Wang's meaning is to let me go on escort missions with him, but these brothers of mine have average martial arts skills, so I'm afraid they can't eat this bowl of rice."

"Chengdu Prefecture is full of dragons and snakes; it's hard for an outsider like me to enter! Now they are all in the car and horse shop, worshiping a few piers, and temporarily no one is coming to find trouble."

This is the helplessness of mixing in the Jianghu.

Unable to take root, one can only drift everywhere.

Li Yan pondered for a moment and took out a silver note from his bosom.

"Young Master Li, what are you doing!"

Hou Xuan frowned and hurriedly stopped him: "I, Hou, don't have much ability, but I have never regretted practicing Jianghu loyalty, and I brought silver when I came out, so I don't worry about food and drink."

"Brother Hou, you misunderstood."

Li Yan smiled: "I want to build a temple near Chengdu next year, it needs to be by the river, but finding craftsmen is quite troublesome. Since Brother Hou is idle, why not help me prepare for this matter first."

"Easy to say, nothing to do anyway."

Hou Xuan nodded in agreement, but after taking the silver note, he was shocked: "Ten thousand taels!"

Ten thousand taels might not buy many spiritual materials in the Mystic Sect, but if used among the people, even if prices rise, it can do many things.

Building a small temple is more than enough.

"This is just the initial deposit."

Li Yan nodded: "I still have some things to do after entering the city; Brother Hou can help find people first, the price is easy to talk about, but the craftsmanship cannot be poor; you can ask Brother Wang to help find Mystic Sect craftsmen."

"One thousand taels of it is your remuneration."

Seeing Hou Xuan preparing to decline, Li Yan shook his head again: "If Brother Hou doesn't accept it, I'm afraid people will point at my back, and there will be no shortage of trouble in the future."

"Fine."

Hou Xuan hesitated for a moment and put the silver note into his bosom.

He could already see that Li Yan was preparing to help him. After putting away the silver note, Hou Xuan asked again: "Young Master Li, what plans do you have after entering the city?"

"Prince of Shu's Mansion, Ghost Opera Troupe..."

Li Yan said casually, then said in a deep voice: "The things we do will inevitably involve blood and rain; Brother Hou, don't get involved, lest you be implicated, and tell Brother Wang as well."

"After it's safe, I will naturally find you."

Hou Xuan was shocked, a chill rose on his back, and he didn't say anything more, stood up, bowed his hands and said: "Fine, you must be careful."

After saying that, he nodded to the old man setting up the stall, put on his bamboo hat, stood up, and walked away with large strides.

He knew that Li Yan would definitely not let him know where they were going.

"Let's go too."

After he left, Li Yan also took the people and left the tea stall.

They came from the west and arrived at the West Gate of Chengdu Prefecture after noon; there were not many people queuing at the city gate.

But seeing the city gate towering, the gate lintel above was carved with beams and painted with rafters, and although it had suffered the erosion of time, it still showed its former glory.

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After all, it was a big city, and the soldiers at the city gate were also full of energy, all wearing armor and holding spears, with fire guns on their backs.

Facing the wind and snow, it was like a rock in front of the gate.

The appearance of Li Yan and the others was too eye-catching; before they even got close, these city-guarding soldiers stared at them.

Li Yan and the others remained calm.

Li Yan had already explained this matter on the way.

On Mount Qingcheng, he accepted a task from the Cheng family to go to Chengdu Prefecture to protect the Fifth Commandery Prince favored by the Cheng family, so that he could successfully take over.

This matter could be open or secret.

Li Yan knew in his heart that the one planning this was the Cheng family, and they were just the facade.

If they were stopped, it wouldn't matter if they revealed their identities.

However, strangely, the city-guarding soldiers saw them, just full of vigilance, but didn't come forward to stop and question them.

Li Yan and the others were a bit strange, but they understood instantly after entering the city.

Because of the trampling of pedestrians, the accumulated snow melted, and the streets of Chengdu Prefecture appeared a bit muddy, but not deserted, and the noise came rushing toward them.

But seeing shops lined up on both sides, cloth shops, grain and oil shops, teahouses, and restaurants were all available.

Approaching the end of the year, the business was even more booming.

Commoners on the street were in a hurry, either stopping to buy New Year goods, or pulling charcoal and wild goods preparing to sell, and the Shu accent was noisy.

What made everyone pay more attention was that there were quite a few Jianghu people.

Outside teahouses and wine shops, ragged beggars from the East were playing gold money boards and singing lotus flowers.

Through the windows, one could see the grandfather and grandson singing fishing drum books.

Chengdu Prefecture was very lively every New Year, and the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was even more famous throughout the world.

Every time this time came, Jianghu artists from all over gathered, which was not strange.

But among them, quite a few sorcerers were mixed in.

There was an old man with a monkey on his shoulder...

There was a burly monk holding a convenience shovel...

And even a man in black carrying a fire gun...

Li Yan and Sha Feifei looked at each other.

Although the imperial court had issued gun licenses, not many had the opportunity to get them, and most would hide them.

For example, the Divine Fire Gun was placed in the luggage.

Being so blatant, they must be disciples of major sects.

Whether practicing martial arts or sorcerers, although there were quite a few, when placed in a big city like Chengdu Prefecture, they appeared thin.

Just entered the city, and encountered so many...

Something must have happened in the city.

"Go to the Commandery Prince's Mansion first."

Li Yan was thoughtful and took the crowd into a small alley.

In the small alley, there were significantly fewer people.

This was the West City, where ordinary commoners lived, almost every household was busy, cleaning houses, making cured meat.

Mischievous children played in the alley, burying cheap firecrackers in the snow, exploding with a ping-pong sound, snow splattering everywhere.

It wasn't New Year yet, but it already had the flavor of the New Year.

Li Yan and the others lowered their bamboo hats, shuttled rapidly in the alley, asked a few vigilant commoners along the way, and quickly headed south of the city...

…………

The layout of Chengdu Prefecture was overall an oval shape.

When the Great Xuan destroyed the Great Xing, Chengdu Prefecture was also a battlefield; it was renovated a hundred years ago, the city walls were expanded, four city gates were opened in the east, west, north, and south, and all were built with urn cities.

The famous Prince of Shu's Mansion occupied the central position.

Its circumference was five miles, four zhang high, surrounded by Xiao walls, nine miles in circumference, which could be said to be magnificent. Thus, inside Chengdu Prefecture, a triple-layered city structure of inner, middle, and outer was formed.

In the south of Chengdu, there were many temples and monasteries.

Not only were there Wenjing Palace, Ma Wang Temple, City God Temple, and even the Chengdu Prefecture School were here, and outside the city, there was the famous Qingyang Palace.

Naturally, this place was also where wealthy and powerful people gathered.

Deep in an alley in the south of the city, a large residence was surrounded by bamboo forests, set off by accumulated snow, the gate tower was towering, and red lanterns were hanging.

This place was exactly the Fifth Commandery Prince's Mansion.

For the specifications of the Commandery Prince's Mansion, the imperial court had strict requirements.

For example, the front gate tower was three rooms and five frames, the middle gate tower was one room and five frames, the front hall room was five rooms and seven frames...

From height to specification, they could not be exceeded.

Speaking of which, the area was not large.

Especially in recent years, as the imperial court raised the status of merchants and broke some restrictions, many people spent huge sums of money to build luxury houses.

Compared with them, the Commandery Prince's Mansion appeared much more shabby.

No way, this is the rule of the imperial court.

One can turn a blind eye to merchants, but imperial family members are watched by many people; if they are slightly out of line, someone will impeach them.

After all, among the censors, there are many who are willing to be beaten to get promoted.

Even so, this treatment is not something everyone can have.

The Fifth Commandery Prince was studious when he was young, and because his mother came from the Cheng family, he had nothing to say to others; it was only because of the Cheng family's face that the Fifth Commandery Prince was able to leave the Prince of Shu's Mansion.

Living in this quiet place, he was very low-key on weekdays.

"Who is it?!"

Before Li Yan and his party even got close, a man drilled out of the bamboo forest, dressed in green, with slightly bulging temples, his face pitch black and cold.

At a glance, he was a martial arts practitioner.

Li Yan took out the Cheng family token given by Ming Shanzi from his bosom, his expression calm: "Trouble, hand this item to the Fifth Commandery Prince, he will naturally know."

"Oh?"

Seeing the word "Cheng" on the token, the man narrowed his eyes, a flash of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say much, just nodded: "Okay, everyone wait a moment, don't run around."

After saying that, he turned and entered the Commandery Prince's Mansion.

"Brother Li, something is not right."

Sha Feifei leaned closer and said in a low voice.

Li Yan also nodded, the corner of his mouth curled: "The Cheng family is not authentic, I'm afraid someone wants to snatch the business..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 552 =====