Chapter 591

The sun rose and the moon set, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fifth day.

Before dawn, just entering the hour of Mao, the servants of Squire Zhou's family used newly tied bamboo brooms to sweep the corners of the house and the thresholds, putting the dust and garbage into a massive cloth bag.

This thing is called the "Five Poverty Bag."

The so-called "Five Poverties" are poverty of wisdom, poverty of learning, poverty of fate, poverty of friendship, and poverty of ambition, originating from Han Yu's "Sending Away Poverty" of the Tang Dynasty.

And this custom is "Breaking the Fifth."

"Breaking the Fifth" has two taboos.

The "Five Poverty Bag" also has its rules, because "throwing away is forbidden in the first month," so from the first day, all garbage is saved in the Five Poverty Bag.

Before long, the Zhou family servants finished sweeping, hung paper dolls on the "Five Poverty Bag," and worked together to carry it toward the southwest corner of the street.

This corner corresponds to the Death Gate of the Kun hexagram.

According to the rules, one must burn it and smash pottery, taking the meaning of "peace in fragments," meaning breaking the taboo of "throwing away in the first month."

The Zhou family servants did this every year and were long used to it.

But this time, they were somewhat terrified, looking back from time to time toward the distant street.

At the end of the street was the Grand Commandery Prince's Mansion.

In the battle on the first day, no one in the Grand Commandery Prince's Mansion survived; the entire street was covered with corpses, walls collapsed, and residents on both sides had all fled to relatives' homes to avoid disaster, remaining a mess to this day.

It wasn't that they didn't want to go home, but from the second day, rumors spread that the old night watchman had seen something unclean here in the middle of the night and was scared to death.

Some said these were the vengeful spirits of the dead soldiers.

Some said these were the evil people who killed the Grand Commandery Prince acting out.

In short, no one dared to risk returning.

Anyway, those living in this vicinity were high-ranking officials and nobles, and some were already planning to buy houses elsewhere.

Squire Zhou was famously stingy, but it was hard on these servants; they had to go out to burn the "Five Poverty Bag" before dawn.

Several people were shivering, their movements lightning fast.

Seeing the fire almost extinguished, they turned and ran back, then slammed the main gate shut with a bang.

"Thank goodness, nothing happened..."

"Look at how scared you are."

"Damn it, aren't you the same."

"If you ask me, it's still those evil people; they're truly ruthless, killing so many people and even wiping out the Commandery Prince's mansion."

"Shh, keep your voice down, be careful the master gets angry..."

The voices gradually faded away.

What they didn't notice was that on the roof of the pitch-black abandoned mansion opposite, two figures had appeared at some point.

"Hmph, waited for nothing all night!"

"Forget it, calm down; that Blood Nuo Master is ruthless. If we slack off, he will definitely take it out on us."

"If I had known, I shouldn't have come to Chengdu..."

Both were evil cultivators recruited by Lu Sheng using the Prince of Shu's mansion resources over the years; they didn't care about any morality, but they had already been cursed by the Blood Nuo Master, and now they couldn't run even if they wanted to...

They galloped and leaped on the rooftops, encountering many companions along the way, distributed everywhere to monitor, and even signaled to the patrolling Black Feather Guards on the street.

The entire Chengdu had been cast into a net.

In the pitch-black street corner, the bonfire of the "Five Poverty Bag" flickered; the commoners followed the customs, not noticing the murderous intent hidden in the darkness at all......

Not long after, the sky brightened.

It seemed the solar terms had changed; after the New Year, there hadn't been another snowfall, the cold wind was biting, and the accumulated snow gradually melted.

And Chengdu Prefecture also gradually woke up.

For many merchants, this day was even more important than the New Year.

Welcoming the God of Wealth, breaking the five poverties, opening for business, another year of hard work.

On the old street of the well in the east of the city, firecrackers crackled incessantly, smoke filled the air, and every family was busy welcoming the God of Wealth.

"With a sincere heart, I take refuge in the decree, ranked in the Profound Altar, golden wheel as you wish. When the Black Tiger roars, all demons in the world lose their courage, where the golden whip rises, all evil spirits in the world hide their forms..."

In a clothing store, an altar table was set up in the southeast wealth position, filled with fruits, pastries, etc., incense and candle offerings.

Amidst the curling blue smoke, Wang Daoxuan chanted the "God of Wealth Sutra Decree."

He had specially disguised himself, raising the corners of his eyes and dyeing his beard white, making him look even more like a Daoist immortal.

His actions in opening the altar were even more meticulous.

Of course, he hid all his aura.

This magic altar also had no effect.

But in the eyes of the clothing store owner beside him, he appeared even more extraordinary, clicking his tongue in praise: "As expected of a high Daoist from the Jiang region; if it weren't for this Lantern Festival, I really wouldn't have been able to invite such a master."

"Shopkeeper Liu is too polite."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and smiled, saying faintly: "My actions seek only a word of fate; if it weren't for fate with Shopkeeper Liu, I wouldn't have taken action for any amount of money."

"I definitely won't treat you poorly, Daoist."

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu's face bloomed with a smile, and he turned to the clerk and said: "Quick, bring the things."

Two clerks took the order and left, soon carrying a basket with a grunt.

Inside were dense copper coins, and on top was a layer of "Joyful God Coins," with red silk ribbons tied into flowers on both sides of the basket.

Wang Daoxuan frowned slightly, "What does Shopkeeper Liu mean by this?"

"Daoist, don't misunderstand."

The short and fat Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly explained: "This is the rule of our trade. Whenever a store opens for business, the gong sounds three times, the door panels are unsealed, and the first transaction must be settled with copper coins, taking the meaning of 'copper heart, smooth profit'."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head, "I help people pray for blessings and ward off disasters, so I naturally know this custom. What I'm talking about are these 'Joyful God Coins'."

"Oh, this."

Shopkeeper Liu smiled: "This was issued by the Prince's mansion; the exquisite forging is rare in my life. I originally wanted to collect some, but I didn't expect a large batch to suddenly appear on the market."

"Daoist, don't look down on it; although this thing is just a flower coin, it uses high-quality purple copper; even without mentioning the craftsmanship, it can be exchanged for ten copper coins..."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Wang Daoxuan interrupted him, frowning: "Some say this thing is inauspicious; aren't you worried, Shopkeeper?"

Shopkeeper Liu laughed, "Daoist, you don't know; this is a flower coin for praying for blessings, how could it be inauspicious? Some people have already inquired; they are all rumors spread by evil people mixed in Chengdu Prefecture."

"These evil people slaughtered the entire Commandery Prince's mansion during the New Year, and now they are spreading rumors, clearly harboring evil intentions. Daoist, you must not believe it."

"So that's how it is..."

Wang Daoxuan didn't argue, stroked his beard and nodded: "Since I have fate with Shopkeeper Liu, how could I collect money."

"This... how can I be so embarrassed."

"No matter."

After leaving the clothing store, looking at the red firecracker scraps all over the street and the lively scene of dragon and lion dances in the distance, Wang Daoxuan sighed slightly.

After the great battle on the first day, they parted ways with Young Master Wuxiang.

The other side was considered to have suffered heavy losses; although they couldn't fight the Prince of Shu's mansion on the surface, they wouldn't swallow this anger, so they mobilized their men to spread the horror of the "Joyful God Coin" everywhere.

Now it seems the effect is not very good.

The battle on the first day seemed to have had the opposite effect.

Since the Prince of Shu took charge of Chengdu, he had never harassed anyone and was virtuous and respected, so the commoners in the prefecture clearly trusted him more.

The slaughter of the Commandery Prince's mansion made the commoners sympathize even more.

If they were still somewhat afraid of the Chengdu situation before, now they had developed a sense of shared hatred.

Wang Daoxuan heard last night that some commoners were preparing to wrap "Joyful God Coins" into "Ingot Dumplings" for the festival.

This is also an old custom of Breaking the Fifth, saying that those who bite into a copper coin in the family can be favored by the God of Wealth in the coming year.

Thinking of this, Wang Daoxuan felt somewhat helpless.

He saw many commoners who had already been infected by the aura of the "Joyful God Coin"; on the fifteenth of the first month, they would all be targets, and he couldn't save them all. Just at this moment, shouts rang out all around.

"The Profound Altar Marshal drives the auspicious clouds!"

"The Black Tiger and Golden Whip break the maze!"

"The Wealth-Attracting Boy stands on both sides!"

"Bestowing blessings, wealth, and—auspiciousness!"

A thick Sichuan accent, carrying a long tone.

This is "Drinking the God of Wealth Verse," singing auspicious words to ask for luck; the clerks vied to shout, and the shopkeepers would also seal a large red envelope.

With the arrival of the day of Breaking the Fifth, Chengdu Prefecture became lively again.

Wang Daoxuan raised his long fortune-telling banner, singing the Bu Xu Verse while walking into the crowd...

……

To deal with Lu Sheng's layout, Li Yan and the others split into two paths.

!

Just at dawn on the second day of the first lunar month, the Six Hermits of the Bamboo Forest had already set off to leave Chengdu Prefecture, holding Li Yan's token, and found the people of Mount Qingcheng and the Cheng family outside the city, heading to Dujiangyan.

This group of people were all experts; it was hard to fight the army head-on in Chengdu Prefecture, but once they reached Dujiangyan, setting up altars, casting spells, and launching surprise assassinations were all feasible.

Eliminating the root cause would make Lu Sheng's plan useless.

As for Li Yan and the others, they continued to hide in Chengdu Prefecture, sowing discord, creating chaos, and attracting Lu Sheng's attention.

They had also broken into pieces.

Wang Daoxuan disguised himself as a traveling Daoist, inquiring about the wind in the marketplace while looking for a way to deal with the "Joyful God Coin."

Because of the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth, many Jianghu people gathered in the city; the swindlers of the Golden Sect were the most numerous, and walking on the street, one could see a blind fortune-teller in ten steps and a circular-light sorcerer in a hundred steps.

Wang Daoxuan had also done this, naturally learning it vividly, and even the patrolling garrison soldiers couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him.

The Daoist wandered around and soon arrived near the Nine-Hole Bridge, pretending to stroll casually, but a mouse had already bitten a talisman paper, passed through a small hole in the weeds under the bridge, and drilled into the ground......

The mouse was lightning fast, and before long, it entered the secret passage.

In the secret passage, the candlelight was dim.

Lu San sat cross-legged, using the faint light to mark on a map of Chengdu.

Squeak, squeak~

Mice ran out from the darkness one after another, and after squeaking along his pen tip for a while, they disappeared into the darkness again.

As the mice kept coming and going, the marked lines became increasingly complex.

The condition for Young Master Wuxiang to exchange with them was the secret passages of Chengdu Prefecture, but he didn't expect that Lu San's sorcery could already summon mice from half the city to help crack it.

Seeing the letter sent by Wang Daoxuan, Lu San was lost in thought, added a paragraph, and stuffed the talisman paper into the mouse's mouth.

Soon, the mouse drilled rapidly into the tunnel.

It didn't know how long it traveled in the darkness before this mouse climbed up along a narrow tunnel, and when it appeared again, it had arrived in a dark alley in the east of the city.

In the east of Chengdu Prefecture, commoners lived there, and with the gathering of all kinds of people, a strange phenomenon formed:

The main street outside was very lively, with teahouses and wine shops, and because merchants often had clerks sweep the entrance, it was considered clean.

But deep in the alleys, it was all dilapidated residential houses.

Commoner buildings were mostly similar to Tujia stilt houses, with the first floor raising livestock, mainly chickens, pigs, and sheep.

Once entering the alley, it was a foul stench.

The mouse was lightning fast, arriving at a large courtyard; although it wasn't a stilt house, it also raised many chickens.

In the courtyard, there were all sturdy men.

In the cold weather, some were planing wood, some were carving stone, holding all kinds of carpentry tools, working vigorously.

In the main room, besides Sha Lifei, there were also Hou Xuan and an old man.

"That's how it is."

Hou Xuan shook his head and said: "In Chengdu Prefecture, there is a carpenter gang that knows Lu Ban techniques, but they have worked for the Prince of Shu for years, so they cannot be trusted."

"This Senior Wen is also a Mystic Sect craftsman, but because he offended an official of the Prince of Shu's mansion, he was forced to fall into this place."

"That's great."

Sha Lifei laughed, cupped his hands and said: "We entrust our affairs to you, Senior; money is easy to talk about, I will definitely make you satisfied."

The old man opposite smoked a dry tobacco pipe and said in a muffled voice: "Building a temple is easy; I have led disciples to build ten or eight of them, and there has never been any trouble, nor am I afraid of forming a feud with the Prince of Shu's mansion."

"The problem is, you can't get out of this Chengdu Prefecture..."

This old man was also shrewd, having long seen that the wind was not right, hiding here with his disciples, not causing trouble.

Hou Xuan spent a lot of effort to find people for Li Yan before he finally made contact.

Squeak, squeak~

At this moment, the mouse scurried from the corner of the wall and jumped onto Sha Lifei's leg in three or two hops.

After Sha Lifei took it, he showed a smile, "Rest assured, Senior, there will be an opportunity the day after tomorrow."

"On the seventh day of the first month, people visit the Thatched Cottage; some people in Chengdu Prefecture want to take this opportunity to leave Chengdu, so they used some connections."

"There will inevitably be chaos that day, just right to send you away..."

Several people were busy in secret, but Chengdu Prefecture was no longer peaceful.

……

In the Hundred Fragrance Teahouse in the east of the city, the storyteller was telling the story of Jiang Ziya beheading generals and conferring gods, and the tea doctor passed by with a copper pot.

Suddenly he stumbled, and boiling water gushed out.

An official runner hadn't had time to react before he was splashed by the boiling water, screams rang out, and a sharp awl was stabbed into the back of his neck.

"Good!"

The old man at the neighboring table slapped the table and cheered.

The spilled chili oil mixed with bloodstains into a mass...

……

In the brothel on the old street, the revolving lantern turned slowly.

Several Jianghu guests were hugging girls, drinking and joking.

Bang!

The main gate was kicked open, and several Black Feather Guards led a group of garrison soldiers, swarming in and pinning several people to the ground.

"Sir, I'm wronged..."

"Stop talking nonsense, where are the people who let you spread rumors?"

"This... the little one hasn't seen them either; I only received the commission from the White Horse Gambling House side, and the middleman said the less I know, the better."

"Go!"

A group from the Prince of Shu's mansion left immediately.

Before long, the nearby White Horse Gambling House caught fire...

…………

Li Yan and the others didn't need to sow discord; the Prince of Shu's mansion took the initiative to act against Young Master Wuxiang, striving to eliminate all troublemakers.

Young Master Wuxiang's people were naturally unhappy about suffering losses.

Thus, a strange scene appeared in the city:

The main street gradually became lively, commoners came and went, looking as if they had returned to normal.

But in those hidden corners, it was a scene of life-and-death struggles.

As for Li Yan, he left Chengdu Prefecture again, found Yang Chenghua at the Fu River wharf, and brought him to the Daoist Qingyang Temple.

The original Daoist Qingyang Temple would be very lively at this time, with all kinds of "God of Wealth Nuo Dances" combining shamanism and Daoism, attracting commoners to come one after another.

But now, it was chillingly deserted.

"Senior, can it be done?"

Li Yan asked while staring fixedly at the Daoist Qingyang Temple.

Now, there was only one thing he couldn't figure out.

What would these old Daoists get after success, actually attracting these Jianghu old seniors to all willingly degenerate?

He had a premonition that it might be related to the Nine Cauldrons......

(End of chapter)