69novels Chapter 214 Departure! Fools sometimes have all the luck!
Chapter 214 Departure! Fools sometimes have all the luck!
Qi Jiguang only stayed in the capital for one day before leaving, his visit was so brief that Chu Yang couldn't help but sigh that the other party was even busier than him, the emperor.
The ship full of machine tools will arrive in Jinling City in three to five days, and then they will begin to play their role. Once the firearms on the blueprints are mass-produced, it won't be long before they change the world.
The shift in power between the human and demon races is imminent.
The demon race is unaware that the true end is approaching. They revel in the small islands of Japan, turning them into a living hell and a paradise for demons, or they stand by and watch silently, waiting for the calamity of demons that will wreak havoc on the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons to appear on the land of the Ming Dynasty.
Compared to the demon race, Chu Yang was more worried about the strange demons, which were a kind of life that should not have appeared in the world.
Having nearly killed himself, Chu Yang had a deep impression of demons. The ominous aura flowing from their blood seemed to pollute the entire world, turning people into crazy, cold-blooded, or even irrational monsters.
Chu Yang was determined to go to the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons; he didn't care whether Zhuge Zhengwo or anyone else agreed.
Two or three days later, good news came from Lu Xiaofeng's side: he had successfully broken through to the Grandmaster realm and become one of the few martial arts Grandmasters in the Ming Dynasty. Although he had broken through to the next level, he still looked very unreliable, and his smugness was written all over his face.
Taking advantage of the free time, and also to celebrate Lu Xiaofeng's arrival, Chu Yang hosted a banquet at the Prince Xian's residence, with guests including Li Gexiao, Hua Manlou, Sikong Zhaixing, and Chai Hu, who came uninvited.
The Imperial Guards were scattered and went to the north and south respectively. Chai Hu also left the Imperial Guards at that time. He was kicked out by Zhuge Zhengwo and sent directly to Li Gexiao.
The two got along very well, as if they had known each other in a past life. Li Gexiao invited Chai Hu to join the team he was about to form, and Chai Hu agreed without hesitation, trusting Li Gexiao's character.
Lu Xiaofeng also received an invitation from the Six Doors, which was personally delivered by Guo Bujing. He admired Lu Xiaofeng's ability to solve cases and his intelligence, which could be put to good use at any time.
Unfortunately, Lu Xiaofeng politely declined Guo Bujing's suggestion.
The reason is simple.
He loves freedom.
Asking a prodigal son to give up his freedom is tantamount to sending him to his death. To be honest, he doesn't really enjoy solving cases; he only does it reluctantly when he's caught up in the situation.
If possible, Lu Xiaofeng hoped to live a quiet and ordinary life, doing nothing all day but drinking, gambling, and ideally having a few close female friends by his side.
The work intensity at the Six Doors is too high; there's never a moment of rest, which is seriously different from Lu Xiaofeng's life motto.
Seemingly sensing Lu Xiaofeng's sincerity, Guo Bujing never mentioned the matter again. He gave Lu Xiaofeng a Six Doors token, telling him to seek help from the local Six Doors if he ever encountered trouble.
Lu Xiaofeng happily accepted the waist token. No gift could be more suitable for him. At the same time, he understood Guo Bujing's intention: to wait for him to change his mind in a more subtle way.
After finishing the meal, Lu Xiaofeng planned to take his leave. He had been in the capital for a long time and was getting tired of it. Most importantly, he had been to all the brothels that had opened in the last two years, and there was nothing here that he would miss.
Li Gexiao also plans to go out for a stroll to strengthen his team; it is said that he already has someone he likes.
Chu Yang knew who he had chosen, but he was still very curious whether the plot would change. For example, the appearance of Chai Hu was completely different from the original plot.
"Once you've gathered everyone, we'll go to the Yihua Palace to ask Yaoyue for the Mingyu Gong."
"Oh? Your Majesty, you're really going!"
"You think I'm joking?"
"It's not good to offend Yihua Palace so easily. Just two days ago, Shenhou said he wanted to cooperate with the major sects."
"Why don't you just treat it as a collaboration?"
"Hmm... Your Majesty is right."
Mingyu Gong is necessary for Li Gexiao. The martial arts he knows are too fierce, and he also has the true essence of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill passed down to him by Yan Nantian. If he doesn't harmonize it, his yin and yang will become imbalanced in the long run, and sooner or later it will backfire on him.
"How is Lord Zheng doing lately?"
"Since that day, my master has never left the house. He stays alone in the mansion, and even I cannot go in to visit him."
"Well, give him some time. A person can't live in the past. If he doesn't take that step, he'll never have a chance to become a Grandmaster."
"That's what they say, but I'm still worried. I hope Master can overcome his own obstacles."
When Zheng Dongliu was mentioned, Li Gexiao became somewhat downcast. He was probably the one who understood Zheng Dongliu the most. He had lived a miserable life during the years when he was trapped by his inner demons. If Chu Yang hadn't been drinking with him, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on until today.
After a satisfying meal, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. The Prince Xian's residence became quiet again under the cover of night. Chu Yang did not return to the palace but slept in his old room.
Over the years, he rarely slept here because he couldn't sleep soundly, fearing that his elder brother might decide to kill him at any moment. So he tossed and turned every night.
Later, he frequented brothels. The more bustling the crowd, the more at ease he felt. Only in such an environment could he get a good night's sleep, though he didn't know if it was just psychological.
He slept soundly tonight, free from the torment he had felt before.
The next morning, Chu Yang had just stepped out of his room when he heard from the housekeeper that Lu Xiaofeng and Li Gexiao had left in a hurry, without even saying goodbye, perhaps because they were afraid that saying goodbye would make it more difficult for them to leave.
Staring blankly at the desolate Prince Xian's residence, Chu Yang was lost in thought.
Time passed slowly.
With the help of the Six Doors and the Divine Marquis's Mansion, the matter of the elixir gradually became common knowledge, causing an uproar throughout the martial arts world. Some people believed it, while others did not.
Some even say it's a conspiracy...
The imperial court offered no explanation, allowing rumors to circulate. Instead, it issued a bounty in major cities for the flesh and blood of demons, with a rather high price, promising a 50/50 split after the pill was completed.
Hunting monsters is an act of risking one's life, and taking half of it at once is hard to accept. But what they don't know is that this is the result of Zhuge Zhengwo's hard work. Chu Yang originally agreed to a 90/10 split.
Strangely enough, the higher the price was set, the more those people in the martial arts world believed it to be true, and many of them had the idea of giving it a try.
A few days later, the city was filled with martial artists carrying demonic creatures, all coming to alchemists to have pills made.
Most of the demons are not highly skilled; there are both demonic beasts and spirit demons, and some are even just ordinary wild animals.
The beast's carcass was dragged away by the city's butcher amidst the laughter of the crowd.
Subsequently, the city guards and constables dressed in black robes appeared, recorded the names of the martial artists present and the monsters they had hunted, and agreed on a time to retrieve the pills.
The martial artists dared not act rashly, for those were constables from the Divine Marquis's Mansion...
...........................
Zheng Dayou is twenty years old this year. He started practicing martial arts at the age of eight and has been practicing for twelve years. For twelve years, he has been stuck in the stage of honing his physical skills. While his peers have long since completed their physical transformation, he has not even undergone one. To say that he has mediocre talent is to give him too much credit.
He couldn't stay in his hometown any longer, so he decided to come out and broaden his horizons. However, he encountered a battle between monsters on the road, which almost scared Zheng Dayou half to death. Fortunately, there was a tree hole nearby, and he hid in the hole for a day before daring to climb out late at night.
After walking a few steps, I saw blood all over the ground and half a white fox's corpse. It seemed that the fox had lost the battle and become the enemy's food.
Having only eaten half, the winning beast didn't seem to have much of an appetite. Zheng Dayou mustered his courage and stepped forward to carefully examine the remaining half of the white fox's corpse.
Zheng Dayou, whose ancestors were hunters, could tell that the fur was of very high quality. He was sure he could sell it for a lot of money in the city, so he smiled.
What's this called?
If one survives, there will be future fortunes.
Before any wild animals came smelling the blood, Zheng Dayou quickly gathered up the half-snake carcass and happily headed towards the city.
It was still dark when the city gate guards were yawning. Then they saw Zheng Dayou carrying a fox corpse as he walked from a distance.
"Brother, are you here to refine pills too?" The guard looked curiously at the fox corpse on Zheng Dayou's shoulder.
"What kind of pill are you refining?" Zheng Dayi was taken aback, having no idea what the guard was talking about.
"You don't know?" Seeing the man looking at him with suspicion, the guard patiently explained about the pills, then laughed and said, "You were the first person to bring demon flesh and blood into the city. If you were to refine pills, you'd probably be the first martial artist to actually eat one."
"Am I the first one?" Zheng Dayou's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "Then I'll trouble the guard to let me into the city as soon as possible."
"Understood, understood." The guard chuckled, not finding anything strange on Zheng Dayou. After thinking for a moment, he let him into the city.
Zheng Dayou headed straight for the prefectural government office, his heart pounding like a drum. He had a premonition that this might be his chance.
At the entrance of the government office.
The guards and constables were on high alert, but all they got was a simple-looking man.
Carrying half a fox corpse, he looked eagerly at the group of somewhat "fierce" imperial henchmen and stammered, "I heard from the guards at the city gate that we can exchange demon flesh and blood for pills to improve our martial arts cultivation, is that right?"
"Yes," said "Leng Leng," the person in charge of this prefecture. "But let me make it clear first, 50% of the pills produced must be handed over."
Zheng Dayou grinned. "No problem."
The flesh and blood of the demon race were originally useless, and we couldn't even eat them. It's already a profit that we can use them to refine pills. As for handing over 50%... what's there to feel sorry about when you find something?
"Come and write your name." Leng Leng patiently helped Zheng Dayou fill in the information. The other party was illiterate, so the process was inevitably a bit difficult, but the girl's face showed no impatience and her expression remained calm.
As the youngest of the four great constables of the Six Doors, Leng Leng often had to take care of his senior brothers like an adult, especially his third senior brother, Zhui Feng. When he didn't speak, he was quite handsome, but when he did speak, he was like an idiot, with his brains practically spilling out of his mouth.
Unfortunately, Master always preferred to team up with his third senior brother on missions. He was incredibly annoying on the road, and Leng Leng had lost count of how many times she'd wanted to tear him to pieces.
It is precisely because she has spent so much time with annoying people that Leng Leng has developed a high tolerance for them. As long as the person doesn't call her by her real name in person, she can sit down and talk about even the biggest issues.
After filling in his identity information, Zheng Dayou stood silently at the entrance of the yamen, like a statue. Anyone who didn't know him would think he was one of the constables.
Leng Leng couldn't stand it anymore, so she pulled him aside and asked, "It'll be a while before the pill is finished. Don't you have anywhere to go? Don't just wait here idly."
Zheng Dayou scratched his head and said, "No."
He came to the city to find work, to make a living, and to continue his martial arts training, hoping to reach the Blood Transformation realm.
"Let's go for a stroll in the streets."
"There's no one on the street."
"Who said that? The breakfast vendors should be out and about by now."
Upon hearing about breakfast, Zheng Dayou's eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded, saying, "Then I'll go take a look."
He let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand, saying, "Go on, the pills will be almost ready by the time you finish eating."
Zheng Da nodded, smiled, and turned to walk towards the street, thinking about what he would eat later.
A young constable leaned over and asked, "Senior sister, why are you telling him so much?"
"This guy is a fool. Standing with us is bad for our image." He said coldly, "If we don't get rid of him, people will think that all the Six Doors are like this. How can we let our master lose face when we're out in the world?"
The young constable wholeheartedly agreed, "What my senior sister said makes sense."
Before long, more and more people appeared at the government office, all of them having heard the news and coming to refine elixirs.
With so many people, the entrance became very crowded, and the constables began to complain in hushed tones.
"This place was only temporarily requisitioned. If you want a comfortable place to work, wait until the alchemy workshop is built. Now, get your act together."
She coldly adopted the airs of a senior sister, and her cold shout immediately jolted the constables awake.
Someone in the crowd recognized her and shouted, "It's Leng, one of the four great constables of the Six Doors!"
Upon hearing the name "Captain Leng," the crowd immediately erupted in excitement, pushing forward to catch a glimpse of the legendary Four Great Constables.
The Six Doors enjoy a high reputation among the people, not only because of the fame of "Guo the Great Hero," but also because of their duties, which allow them to have a closer connection with the people.
Demons and great demons are rare, but people who commit evil deeds by force are everywhere. Especially in the first few years after the great changes in the world, the crime rate rose sharply, and the security situation in various parts of the Ming Dynasty was very poor.
It is thanks to the continuous efforts of the Six Doors over the years that ordinary people can live and work in peace and contentment.
In the narrow gate of the government office, the excited crowd gradually lost control, giving Leng Leng a whiff of danger.
"Draw your sword."
He coldly and without hesitation issued the order.
Without saying a word, the guards and constables drew their weapons!
The guards held broadswords, while the constables from the Six Doors carried out various weapons.
Some people are swords, some are knives, some are flails, some are iron rulers—all sorts of strange weapons are available.
As soon as the gleaming weapons were revealed, the restless crowd immediately quieted down, and the people at the front desperately hid behind, afraid of being the first to be shot.
"The Six Doors isn't your backyard, so watch out!"
His cold gaze swept over the crowd.
Once the crowd regained order, the constables proceeded with the registration in an orderly manner.
Just then, a man walked out of the yamen, carrying a wooden box, and headed towards Leng Leng.
An unusual medicinal fragrance wafted from the box. The martial artist who was closest to it only needed to smell it once, and his blood and energy suddenly became stronger.
"It's a medicinal pill!"
(End of this chapter)