Chapter 576: The Fifteenth, Great Omen of Disaster

"Hey, old man, come over and get your things!"

The Salt Gang man took a bag of salt and a bulging cloth bag from the cart, trying his best to squeeze out a smile.

Unfortunately, his face was full of flesh, plus the tattoo exposed on his chest, making that smile look increasingly ferocious.

Bang!

The old man was startled and hurriedly closed the door.

"Old immortal..."

The Salt Gang man was furious, but didn't dare to flare up. He squeezed out a smile again, looked around, and shouted energetically: "Chengdu folks, don't be afraid. These are free, given for nothing. It's the kindness of the Prince of Shu, letting everyone have a good year!"

Unfortunately, no matter how he shouted, no one dared to come.

Chengdu Prefecture gathered people from all walks of life, and the commoners had also seen the world.

Not to mention these ruthless men of the Salt Gang, even those wind-horse-swallow-sparrow types mixing in the city, which one of them didn't have a belly full of bad ideas?

If you took the things, they would say they wanted a moving fee, which was more expensive than the thing itself. If you didn't want it, it would cost money to move it out of your house.

In the end, you could only pinch your nose and accept your fate.

There were even more ruthless methods that could even leave your family ruined and dead.

In short, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

The imperial court's salt and iron taxes were heavy. It was fine in remote places where you could secretly buy cheap private salt, but the commoners in Chengdu could only go to the salt merchants.

Therefore, a single bag of salt could save a lot of money.

But after shouting for a long time, still no one dared to come.

The Salt Gang man became anxious and directly tore open another package, shouting: "See that? Pastries, preserved fruits, needles and thread, don't take it for nothing!"

Finally, a greedy little monkey of a child ran over.

"Gouwa!"

The naughty child's grandmother was scared and followed closely behind.

The Salt Gang man was overjoyed. Seeing the child come over, he first stuffed the pastries to the child, then picked out a complete bag of salt and a cloth bag, and without a word, handed them to the child's grandmother.

"This... really no money?"

The child's grandmother looked at the things in the bag, hesitating.

"If I want money, cut off my head!"

The man glared, scaring the grandmother into dragging her grandson away, but she kept the things in her hand.

Seeing that it was fine, people gathered over one after another.

The Salt Gang man was overjoyed, hurriedly distributing the items, and also shouting loudly: "This is the kindness of the Prince of Shu. Folks, don't be afraid. Arresting the rebels has nothing to do with you; you should be on the street if you want to be."

Commoners are just like this; with the first, there will be a second.

"Don't snatch, everyone has a share, hahaha..."

This man finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In his life, he only knew how to snatch; this was the first time he had given things away.

There was no way around it; the Salt Gang leader Zhai had given a death order:

Must make the entire Chengdu Prefecture lively,

Restore the festive atmosphere tomorrow!

These things were for stabilizing people's hearts.

Their leader's words were right; commoners are actually very easy to fool. As long as they feel it has nothing to do with them and there are benefits, even if the sky falls, they will only follow along to watch the fun.

Sure enough, as the items were distributed, bold commoners came out to stroll and found that those garrison soldiers were not harassing them, and the flow of people on the street gradually increased.

This situation was more favorable for Li Yan's actions.

However, the smile on his face had disappeared, and he turned his head and said in a deep voice, "Send someone to lead a bag of things back for us to see."

Young Master Wuxiang understood and gave a look. Immediately, an old man went out, pretending to be trembling, and led a bag of salt and a bag of things back.

Clatter, clatter!

Everything was poured onto the table.

Li Yan formed the Yang seal and picked up a handful of salt to sniff carefully...

Wang Daoxuan wrapped the pastries with talisman paper, also broke off a little, put it in his mouth, and tasted it with supernatural powers...

The Pi Sect sorcerer used an egg to search for Gu poison...

Finally, several people all shook their heads.

"Perhaps we were overthinking it."

Sha Lifei then touched his bald head and laughed, "Alright, the Prince of Shu isn't a fool. Does he dare to attack all the commoners in the city? Isn't he afraid that we will spread the news and trigger a mutiny?"

"Naive!"

Young Master Wuxiang sneered coldly, "These powerful people will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. What is human life worth?"

"When Huang Chao besieged Chenzhou and food ran out, the sorcerers accompanying the army offered the 'Five Plagues Child Formation,' refining the flesh and blood of living people into military rations..."

"The chaotic times at the end of Tang might be a bit far, let's just talk about the previous dynasty. The Great General Ashu of the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom invited the shamans of Mobei to torture three thousand captives of the Daxiang Army to death, stripping their bones to make 'human skin demon drums,' causing Jia Sidao's navy to flee at the sight of the wind..."

"In terms of ruthlessness, they are more like demons than any evil path!"

When Li Yan heard this, he also nodded in agreement.

For one thing, this was almost equivalent to treason.

For another, it was Lu Sheng's identity. The other party was a figure who even dared to deceive the First Emperor and triggered the "burning of books and burying of scholars"; how could he care about the lives of mortals?

"Senior, what do you think they are going to do?"

Thinking of this, Li Yan asked directly for advice.

Young Master Wuxiang sneered, "I'm not a roundworm in the Prince of Shu's belly; how would I know."

Just at this moment, a voice rang out from the side.

"This poor Daoist does have a guess."

The speaker was a Daoist, dressed in a dark black Daoist robe, unremarkable in appearance, with an iron abacus hanging from his waist.

Young Master Wuxiang introduced him: "This is Daoist Iron Zhu Suanpan of the Jin Sect, skilled in observing the wind and looking at qi, as well as strange gates and hidden weapons. He almost entered Mount Emei, but unfortunately, they judge people by their appearance and have eyes but don't recognize gold inlaid with jade."

"The leader praises me too much."

This Daoist stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "The Prince of Shu's mansion doing this is nothing more than wanting to make Chengdu Prefecture lively; it's mostly for popularity and incense. They are probably going to perform some kind of ritual."

Wang Daoxuan also nodded in praise, "Fellow Daoist's words are reasonable!"

Within the Jin Sect, there were many fake Daoists who swindled, but there was no lack of strange people and talented scholars.

Seeing everyone agree, the Daoist couldn't help but remove the iron abacus from his waist, put it on the table with a clatter, and began to fiddle with it pitter-patter.

"Fellow Daoist actually knows this strange technique?"

When Wang Daoxuan saw this, interest came into his eyes.

Seeing Li Yan was also curious, he explained: "This is the abacus divination. The beam and pillars of the abacus correspond to the 'three talents of heaven, earth, and man,' the beads correspond to the 'two qi of yin and yang,' moving the upper beads corresponds to the Eight Trigrams, and counting the lower beads corresponds to the Five Elements. It's hard to learn and hard to master; this poor Daoist has also heard a little about it."

When Li Yan heard this, his expression became solemn.

Even within the Mystic Sect, those proficient in divination and deduction were very rare; Wang Daoxuan pondered all day, but it wasn't as easy as spellcasting.

To calculate this thing accurately, it depended heavily on talent.

This old Daoist with the iron abacus also seemed to have entered a state, fiddling pitter-patter while muttering: "The Jia-Chen year has not passed, 'Wu does not receive fields,' the Yi-Si year 'Geng does not marry'..."

"Wu-Yin month, Geng-Shen day, Geng metal is restrained by Yin wood, the Shen day clashes with the Tai Sui Si fire, the first month and fifteenth day values the Danger Constellation, Yin and Si harm each other, leading the Bai Hu evil god into the Middle Palace..."

The more he calculated, the paler his face became.

Finally, he stopped with cold sweat all over his head.

Young Master Wuxiang frowned, "What did the Daoist calculate?"

Iron Zhu Suanpan slowly raised his head, swallowed a mouthful of saliva:

"The fifteenth day of the first month, great omen of disaster, avoid incense, the god is in danger..."

………………

"Candied haws, candied haws!"

"The door gods invited by Qingyang Palace, you can't snatch them if you go now..."

The Prince of Shu's mansion's plan had already succeeded, and the street was clearly starting to get lively. In fact, the ones most anxious about this chaos were the merchants, who had hoarded a large batch of goods for the new year, just waiting to have a fat year.

Especially many small peddlers, who relied entirely on this time to earn money every year, because even frugal commoners would be much more generous during the new year.

Therefore, they took the lead in coming out and occupying the street.

Commoners saw that the patrolling soldiers were not harassing anyone, and even those city foxes and social rats who swindled and fought were hiding, so they also dragged their families onto the street.

There were still a few days until the new year, and they hadn't gotten enough things yet.

Li Yan changed his outfit, wrapped in a rustic big cotton-padded jacket, wearing a dog-skin hat, and his face had also been disguised, full of sideburns.

Anyone who saw him would think he was an ordinary commoner.

Coupled with the Dragon Snake Token covering him, he was even more secretive.

He put both hands in his sleeves, stepping on the accumulated snow with a crunch, looking left and right from time to time, taking all of this into his eyes.

Iron Zhu Suanpan's deduction was not wrong.

(Content omitted)

Wang Daoxuan used tortoise shells and copper coins to divine, and the result was the same.

This matter made everyone somewhat surprised.

Generally speaking, the fifteenth day of the first month is a very auspicious day; who could have thought that there would be problems this year.

Moreover, ordinary sorcerers were not proficient in divination and deduction and could only see the surface, which was why this matter hadn't spread.

There are taboos on the fifteenth day of the first month this year, avoid incense and offering to gods.

According to Iron Zhu Suanpan's statement, the Bai Hu evil god enters the palace on the fifteenth day of the first month this year; if not handled properly, the incense will turn into fierce evil qi.

Ordinary people can't feel it.

But for vulgar gods, it is a big trouble.

Qingyang Palace and the Prince of Shu's mansion both have grand sacrificial ceremonies on the fifteenth day of the first month and will also hold martial arts competitions.

Anyone could see that something was wrong.

Young Master Wuxiang's people have already started to release wind to the outside, starting to spread from the martial world, striving to have fewer people that day.

But to solve this matter, one can only remove the root.

Lu Sheng, who is parasitizing the Prince of Shu, must die!

Regaining military power is the top priority...

King Yu Temple is in the North City, Chengdu Prefecture Yamen is in the West City, and the Prince of Shu's mansion is located in the central part of Chengdu Prefecture, so it is inevitable to pass by.

Li Yan walked forward all the way, and when he was close to the Prince of Shu's mansion, his heart sank instantly, and he turned and left.

There were no passersby on the street ahead; garrison soldiers had set up checkpoints to intercept, all merchants had closed their doors, and even on the roof, there were fire-gunners in ambush.

After walking through several streets, it was all like this.

Li Yan was helpless and had to take a detour.

It seems the Prince of Shu's mansion is planning something. If he wants to figure it out, he still has to go back and let Lu San's falcon scout.

When he arrived at the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen, it was already approaching noon.

Today was a long-lost sunny day, the wind and snow had stopped, and with the reflection of the accumulated snow on the ground, the visibility was very good.

Compared to the East City, the West City was clearly much quieter.

Many yamen of Chengdu Prefecture were distributed here, and there were more and more garrison soldiers setting up checkpoints. Occasionally, commoners passed by, all shrinking their necks and walking around the walls trembling.

Li Yan looked at the figures on the roof in the distance, frowned, and flashed quickly into a dark alley.

Whoosh~

A sinister wind rolled up, and the person had already disappeared without a trace.

On top of the courtyard wall, a faint footprint appeared...

Using an escape technique didn't mean flying; even if Li Yan was almost invisible, it was hard to avoid leaving footprints in the accumulated snow.

Others might ignore it, but it couldn't be hidden from a sorcerer.

Fortunately, in the homes of nearby commoners, the accumulated snow had been swept to the side. Li Yan kept flipping over walls and finally approached the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen.

Looking from afar, Li Yan lowered his head.

The Chengdu Prefecture Yamen had also been surrounded.

A garrison army of several hundred people was scattered at every key point, surrounding the entire Prefecture Yamen tightly.

On top of the roof, there were also many martial world men squatting.

These people were unfamiliar, and among them, there were only a few sorcerers; one look and they were martial world men who had just entered the city, hired by the Salt Gang.

The main gate of the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen was tightly closed, and there were traces of being rammed by battering rams on it. Several disciples of the Eight Trigrams Sect from the capital were guarding the entrance with hands cupped, looking coldly at the opposite side.

Seeing this situation, Li Yan had a count in his heart.

The Prince of Shu's mansion had already made a move on the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen, but they weren't in a hurry to kill the Imperial Censor, and he didn't know what the plan was.

Looking at the Prefecture Yamen close at hand, Li Yan felt troubled.

The accumulated snow on the street hadn't been cleared. Although there were some messy footprints, if he passed by, he would definitely be discovered.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

"Anything today?"

"Back to the elder, nothing for now."

"Hmm..."

He saw an old man leading a few people walking over, removing the tobacco pipe from his waist, squatting in the corner of the wall spraying clouds and puffing mist, his eyes full of worry.

This old man was the village head of Bai Xi Town, named Feng Peng Laohai.

He was originally an elder of the Salt Gang and the guide for the current Salt Gang leader, but later their philosophies didn't match, so he led the villagers to live in seclusion.

Li Yan had also destroyed the secret hall of the Bai Long Sect with his help.

Didn't this old man want to regain the position of Salt Gang leader?

How did he get mixed up with the evildoers again...

Li Yan was suspicious in his heart, looked at the old man's eyes, and then looked at the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen in the distance, finally approaching slowly.

Feng Peng Laohai was frowning and smoking.

Suddenly, his pupils shrank.

He saw a line of words suddenly appear on the snow in front of him:

Outside Bai Xi Town, can the oath be taken as true?

Feng Peng Laohai hurriedly stood up, took the opportunity to wipe away the handwriting on the ground with his foot, knocked off the cigarette ash, and said with an unchanged expression: "You guys watch, this old man is going to the latrine."

After saying this, he drilled into a nearby civilian house.

The others had guarded for a day, and the people in the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen were very stable, so they didn't care and started chatting with each other.

"Brother, do you think the Prince of Shu wants to be king?"

"Who knows."

"If you ask me, just rebel. The Salt Transport Commissioner is always looking for trouble, and the imperial court is probably going to make a move, so it's better to rebel. Maybe you can be enfeoffed as a marquis or prime minister..."

"Forget it, just based on you..."

They laughed and talked to each other, but the atmosphere in the room was tense.

After Feng Peng Laohai entered the door and closed it, he turned to look around and said urgently: "Is it Daoist Mobile Corps Commander, or Young Hero Li?"

"It's me."

Li Yan still hadn't broken his escape technique and replied coldly: "We agreed to break with the Salt Gang, how did you get mixed up together again?"

"This old man couldn't find an opportunity..."

Feng Peng Laohai gave a bitter laugh and explained the reason.

It turned out that as soon as he contacted a few old brothers, he discovered they had already been bought with heavy money, so he had to pretend to comply and return.

His status was extraordinary, and the Salt Gang leader didn't dare to make a move, so he was arranged to do many odd jobs.

"What's going on with the Chengdu Prefecture Yamen?"

Li Yan continued to ask.

Feng Peng Laohai looked out the window and said in a low voice: "That Imperial Censor Wang is a ruthless man. He is guarding the gunpowder warehouse with a torch, saying that if the Prince of Shu forces him, he will burn everything together."

"The Prince of Shu wants this batch of gunpowder, so he is deadlocked here."

"This old man heard that there will be experts breaking into the Prefecture Yamen tonight..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 577 =====

Feng Peng Laohai looked out the window and whispered, "That Wang Yushi is a ruthless man; he's guarding the gunpowder warehouse with a torch, saying that if the Prince of Shu forces him, he'll burn everything to the ground."

"Since the Prince of Shu wants this batch of gunpowder, he's reached a stalemate here."

"I heard that tonight, experts will break the deadlock and storm the prefectural office..."

(End of chapter)