Chapter 766: Salt Merchant Night Banquet

Seeing that he couldn't catch up, Li Yan didn't hesitate any longer.

Clatter-clatter~

The copper coins on the arm guard Qiannian rattled in unison.

Yin qi and black mist gathered around, and Li Yan's speed increased sharply.

"Zha!"

At the same time, the hawk Lidong in the air also let out a cry, indicating the direction.

Li Yan immediately understood, his left hand formed a seal, and his right hand pinched a sword seal and pointed forward, "Qingjia! Ascend to heaven to save people, strictly capture the North Feng. The Divine Duke receives the order, sweeping away all inauspiciousness, eight powers spit poison, fierce horses spread out..."

This was the "North Emperor's Technique to Eliminate Calamity," specialized in breaking all kinds of evil possession.

The cat demon kidnapped the pregnant woman and must have used a similar method. With his current cultivation, he could already cast spells remotely. Even if he couldn't break it, he could interfere.

"Quick!"

As the spell was completed, an invisible spell power shot out from his fingertips, following the direction indicated by the hawk, and merged into the dark night.

"Meow-woo——!"

A shrill cat cry like a night owl sounded.

In the darkness in the distance, those two strange "cat demon fires" instantly exploded and scattered.

Good opportunity!

Li Yan exerted force under his feet, his Dan energy circulated, and his speed increased again.

Soon, he saw the target.

But in the backyard of a dilapidated mansion, weeds were overgrown, and a black shadow lay beside a dry well.

Looking closely, it was a pregnant woman crawling on all fours like a wild beast.

The pregnant woman was wearing coarse cloth clothes of a servant and had long since fainted.

What was truly strange was an old yellow-spotted cat lying on her back.

This old cat was not as cute as the orange cat in his previous life, but its body was long, its joints were hideous, its fur was messy, and it was mixed with a lot of white hair, its eyes were blood-red, and two rows of fangs protruded.

At this moment, black smoke was rising from this cat demon.

It seemed to have been triggered by Li Yan's "North Emperor's Technique to Eliminate Calamity" and suffered a backlash. It shook its head, feeling dizzy, its limbs soft, and it rolled off the pregnant woman's back.

Swish!

Li Yan jumped high from the roof, his shadow reflected by the bright moon behind him.

Before landing, he estimated the distance and waved his left hand.

"Go!"

Accompanied by the crackling of electric light, two soul-severing flying knives whistled out.

These soul-severing flying knives had also been rebuilt at the Qiankun Academy, and the "Thunder Meteor Mysterious Gold" gifted by Crown Prince Xiao Jingheng had some scraps left, so they were added to them.

The biggest benefit was being able to be blessed with thunder magic.

Looking from afar, it was like two electric lights shooting out.

But at this critical moment, the "Jinhua Cat Demon" shivered, suddenly woke up, shook its body, and darted into the dry well beside it.

Li Yan landed just at this time, his mind moved, and the two soul-severing flying knives circled rapidly and shot into the dry well.

Boom-boom!

Two muffled sounds, dust and smoke rose.

Li Yan exerted force under his feet, and with a "shrinking the ground into an inch," he arrived in the dry well, reached out and beckoned, and the soul-severing flying knives circled up and were inserted into the leather bag at his waist.

But below, the demon's figure was long gone.

"Earth escape?"

Li Yan frowned, not expecting the demon to know this move.

He was about to leave, but sniffed and immediately looked at the pregnant woman beside him.

It was that the pregnant woman was frightened, and her amniotic fluid had already broken.

Not saving someone in danger was not his nature.

Li Yan was helpless, so he had to bend down to check the pregnant woman's breath, and took out a pill from his bosom and stuffed it into her mouth.

This was a top-grade pill refined by the Hundred Herb Garden of the Qiankun Academy.

Not to mention the breaking of amniotic fluid, even if it was a massive hemorrhage, it could hang on to a breath.

Afterward, he looked into the air and said loudly: "Go back and notify San'er, call someone to save her!"

A hawk cry sounded in the air, heading toward the Yu Estate.

After doing this, Li Yan looked around again, formed a seal, and sniffed deeply.

Saving the pregnant woman was just a matter of convenience; killing the cat demon would complete the task.

His current smell supernatural ability was already very brilliant. When exerted to the limit, he could smell the aura within a radius of several miles. Even if the opponent used earth escape, they would leave a smell.

However, after the supernatural ability was exerted, Li Yan frowned.

Countless weak, or normal, or auspicious auras of cats, like a pot of boiling mixed soup, erupted in the entire street, houses, walls, and roofs.

It was like breaking into a dead end of smell, and it was impossible to distinguish the cat demon's position at all.

At the same time, he also heard the sounds of cats coming one after another in the surrounding alleys. There were lazy yawns, vigilant low growls, and milk whimpers of cubs, but more of it was an inexplicable restlessness and confusion with collective will.

In the night wind, it seemed to be filled with the smell of cat fur.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and stopped abruptly.

The last trace of the cat demon's clear aura was like a drop of water into the sea, instantly drowned in this vast ocean-like aura of thousands of cats.

He tried to distinguish, but the auras blended, interfered, and covered each other, forming a chaotic vortex that made people dizzy, and precise tracking was already impossible.

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

Li Yan jumped onto the wall, looking at the ubiquitous cat shadows around him, and recalled the "fairy aunt's spiritual cat exterminating the rat plague" mentioned by the old boatman and the fact that there were more and more cats in the city.

"Hmph! What a cunning evil beast!"

Li Yan gave a cold snort, but was not in a hurry.

He remembered that the old boatman said that this fairy aunt was invited by the big salt merchant Wang Squire in the city to be a worshiper.

Now the Yangzhou salt merchants were all gathered together, discussing how to deal with the Japanese pirates.

The other party must be hiding among them at this time.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan jumped up onto the roof beam and disappeared into the night...

………………

The wealth of Yangzhou salt merchants was the best in the world.

The pavilions on both sides of the canal were all built by salt merchants, leading the water of the canal into the garden, piling strange stones into ten-thousand-fathom mountains, and chiseling white jade into nine-curved pools, which was very luxurious.

Among them, the Jiyu Garden was the most prominent.

This garden was originally built by salt merchants of the previous dynasty. The stone-piling technique was ingenious, leading living water from the canal, with winding corridors hiding smoke and rain, and painting boats reflecting neon lights on the waves.

When salt merchants entertained guests, a banquet cost thousands of gold, with the eight treasures of Huaiyang and the strange delicacies of the four seas listed on the table, all using official kiln blue and white porcelain cups, pouring famous Jiangnan Yunye wine, and the singing and dancing never stopped all night.

In the past, a literary giant once inscribed "The water palace wind brings full fragrance" on the painting wall in the garden, which was famous far and near.

At this time, the Jiyu Garden was as bright as day.

The main hall of the water-side pavilion was called "Zhuojin Hall," and at this moment, the four-sided partition doors were all open.

The canal water waves reflected the glazed palace lanterns under the eaves, supporting the entire building into a crystal palace.

The white jade steps in front of the hall led directly to the lotus pond, where koi fish in the pond held light and played with shadows, and the Taihu stones piled up into immortal peaks by the pond hid living water, with falling stones clanging like jade pendants.

The owner of the garden today was Wang Maode, the largest salt merchant in Yangzhou.

The banquet tonight was to gather all the wealthy merchants in the city to discuss the grand plan of resisting the Japanese.

A hundred sandalwood eight-immortal tables were spread with Shu embroidery, each table set with cloisonné hot pots boiling river delicacies, official kiln pastel plates filled with crab powder lion's head, three-set ducks, Wensi tofu, and other Huaiyang fine snacks, and the waiters were all dressed in Hangzhou silk blue clothes, holding silver pots and pouring wine silently.

But this grand banquet had no elegance or leisure.

Those sitting high in the hall were either rich or expensive.

Liu Tonghai, the Yangzhou helm of the Grain Transport Gang, buckled his gold-inlaid jade pipe and lowered his head without speaking.

Several luxuriously dressed salt merchants exchanged glances.

Xu Zhenshan, the elder of the Law Enforcement Hall of the City God Temple and a Daoist of the Gou Rong Maoshan Sect, played with a jade ruyi, his eyes closed slightly, and his white eyebrows hanging long.

"Hahaha~"

Wang Maode raised his glass and laughed loudly, looking at everyone and saying: "The Japanese pirates invading the border is a calamity that Yangzhou city has not seen in a hundred years! Tonight, I invite you all to gather to set a charter."

One of the merchants said: "I don't know what charter Master Wang is talking about?" ===== CHAPTER 767 =====