The Sichuan King’s residence had beco much quieter, as the Salt Gang’s Lu Jiu and the Captain Bureau’s Liu Qian, who had been causing them trouble, had all perished.
The Shu Prince Mansion was silent, not even caring to pursue the "Ruyi Treasure Pearl."
Even so, they remained cautious, continuing to disguise themselves as mbers of the "Yingxi" troupe while on the road.
No one dared to disturb them along the way.
As dusk approached, they finally reached their destination.
In the distance, the mountains beca steep, the sky darkened, rain and mist lingered, and an ancient town stood on the mountain ridge, brightly lit.
"That must be Zouma Town."
Sha Lifei held an umbrella and lifted his Nuo mask, shaking his head in awe: "Zouma Town, in the Divine State, there might be not a hundred, but surely dozens."
"I’ve seen a few, but I’ve never seen one this lively."
Li Yan, who had long morized the map, nodded in agreent: "This place used to be a post station, the entrance to the courier route from Chongqing to Chengdu, crossing three counties, and passing rchants often co through here."
"But what made it famous are other things."
"This Zouma Town has been a resting spot for traveling rchants since ancient tis, where they tell stories from various places and rural legends, gradually gaining fa."
"Later, people from the storytelling groups of the pugilistic world gathered here, so collecting stories from the folk, others performing shows, or setting up stages in inns, making the nights very lively..."
At this point, Li Yan suddenly rembered the mysterious old master of the Pear Garden and shook his head, saying, "There are many curious people in the marketplace, there might be hidden masters, let’s rest for a few days and gather information quietly, and avoid causing trouble."
As the sky grew dark, the group quickened their pace.
On the hillside path, they saw other rchant teams like them, appearing rushed.
"We’re late on the road again, I’m afraid the inns have no space left."
"Shopkeeper, why is it so lively today?"
"Sigh, this is Zouma Town for you, those idle minor nobility from around Yuzhou all co here to pass the ti, spending lavishly, driving up the prices of the inns."
"Let’s find a roadside inn and make do for the night..."
Hearing these discussions among the rchant teams, Li Yan and the others exchanged glances.
In the inns, the roadside inn is the lowest tier, mainly for the coachn of large carriages, sleeping on large shared bunks.
The conditions, not to ntion the sll, are hard to bear.
The ladies of the Bai Family love cleanliness, and since Li Yan awakened the Sll Superpower, his pickiness about eating, drinking, and lodging worsened.
Therefore, they would spend extra to stay at a good inn.
Given the ongoing rain, could they really pitch tents and camp out?
"Let’s go, let’s take a look first?"
Li Yan shook his head slightly, leading the group forward.
Perhaps due to its position on a trade route, nurous rchant teams ca and went, and it was well connected in all directions, making it hard for bandits to invade, so this ancient town of Zouma lacked city walls.
This ancient town has been around for quite so ti, occupying a large area, and one could see several giant ancient trees, their crowns lushly green, covering buildings below.
The streets were entirely paved with bluestone, which must have required great effort initially, but after centuries of traffic and weather, they were uneven, even bearing deep wheel ruts.
The autumn rain created various sized puddles.
Looking around, there were inns and tea houses everywhere, brightly lit, with the sound of clappers and opera blending together amidst frequent shouts.
On either side of the street, there were makeshift food stalls with tents, steam rising in the misty rain, crowded with diners.
"Innkeeper, do you have any rooms left?"
"I’m sorry, we are full."
"This place is full too?"
"You’ve co late, there won’t be any vacancies for three days. If you want a room, I can reserve one for you..."
As expected, Sha Lifei found all inns fully booked after asking around.
After querying another waiter, he couldn’t help but complain: "This is a courier route, how co there’s nowhere to stay?"
"Sir, you might not know."
The waiter wasn’t offended and nodded, saying respectfully, "These past two days, two storytelling factions have been dueling, displaying all their skills, bringing out their best performances."
"The passing rchants wouldn’t miss it, they’ll delay a couple of days just to hear them out, even so young gentlen from Chongqing Prefecture have pre-booked rooms."
"It’s just a storytelling session, is it really necessary?"
Sha Lifei was a bit speechless.
The waiter exclaid, "You don’t know, it’s ’Li Tiezui’ and ’Kuai Ban Liu’. These two each have their own strengths, even in Chengdu Prefecture, it’s hard to get a ticket."
Li Tiezui...
Li Yan heard this and fell into thought.
When he was in Wanzhou, Cui Song had ntioned to him that the "Gray Robe Mad Monk", a peculiar figure in Shu, entrusted in a dream to eradicate Evil Spirits.
The "Gray Robe Mad Monk" was a peculiar figure during the Tang Dynasty and a disciple of Xing HePu.
Even Xing HePu himself admitted that the "Gray Robe Mad Monk" had more formidable divination skills that must never be provoked.
Xing HePu obtained the Scripture Storage Forest from the Zen Ancestor Wang Chan, knowing so hidden secrets about the Daluo Law Realm, and the "Gray Robe Mad Monk" should also be aware.
Li Yan ca to Zouma Town not only because it’s a thoroughfare to Chengdu but also to gather so information.
According to Dianyi Sect’s Cui Song, it was at Zouma Town that he learned about the "Gray Robe Mad Monk" from Li Tiezui.
This "Li Tiezui" was one of Li Yan’s targets.
Thinking of this, Li Yan picked up the conversation, saying, "Indeed, shouldn’t be missed. May I ask which inns we can stay in?"
The waiter, though polite, was obviously a bit annoyed being asked, smiled and said, "There’s certainly a place, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to get in, not even with money."
Sha Lifei laughed, "Why don’t you tell , let see where we can’t stay even if we’re willing to pay!"
The waiter pointed north, "In the north of the city is Zouma Inn. Although the court wants to reform and rchants can help, Zouma Inn isn’t short of money unless you have an official docunt from the court."
Li Yan and his companions’ attire clearly revealed them as a traveling Jianghu opera troupe, naturally without official docunts.
Sha Lifei impatiently asked, "What else?"
The waiter suddenly felt uneasy, knowing his tone wasn’t good, hurriedly nodded, "Apologies, the remaining two are also not easy to stay at."
"One is the Sun Family Courtyard in the east of the city, both a wealthy Salt Gang rchant and a renowned figure in the pugilistic world, generous and hospitable, if you’re soone with status in the Jianghu, your food and lodgings are covered, and they even provide so traveling expenses..."
"The other one is the Guild Hall in the south of the city, not only a Xie family ancestral hall but also the Jinzhou Guild Hall, only receiving rchants traveling to and from Jinzhou."
"Hey, how fortunate!"
Sha Lifei chuckled, "We actually can stay there!"
...
The Jinzhou Guild Hall wasn’t very large, seemingly just a three-entry, three-courtyard setup, and typical Jinzhou architecture.
High walls, large courtyards, small windows, once the large gate closes, with earth and stones piled up, it becos a fortress able to withstand bandit invasions.
At this mont, the gate of the Jinzhou Guild Hall was half-open, under two large red lanterns stood two n, dressed in black with red waistbands, sturdy with sharp eyes.
Li Yan and his group all wore Nuo Masks and wide robes.
Seeing them coming from the dark, rainy mist, anyone would be intimidated, and the two n imdiately grabbed their sword handles, speaking in a deep voice, "Please stop, what business brings you here?"
Li Yan took out a copper plate from his bosom, speaking calmly, "Daoist friend Hu Ming from the Jade Emperor Temple gave this plaque, saying it can be used to lodge at Jinzhou Guild Halls across various places."
While in Wuchang, they commissioned master craftsn from Jinzhou to make firearms and helped connect the Jade Emperor Temple with the Wuchang Prince Mansion for purchasing treasures.
The plaque was given to him, yet he didn’t know if it would be useful.
"Oh?"
The man cautiously took the plaque, nodded respectfully, "Please wait a mont, I’ll be right back."
He said this and entered the courtyard with the plaque.
About half an incense stick’s ti passed before he hurriedly returned, followed by an elderly man with a kind face and luxurious clothing.
The old man seed not to care about Li Yan and his group’s attire, smiling and cupping his hands, "I am Xie Zhengyuan, unaware of distinguished guests arriving, apologies for not welcoming you from afar, I beg your forgiveness."
He raised his hand, "Please co in, the rooms have been prepared, luckily it’s a bit quiet these days."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Even Li Yan was a bit surprised, leading the group inside.
Sha Lifei curiously asked, "Boss Xie, aren’t you afraid we’re bad people?"
The old man stopped, turned around with a slight smile, "How could the young hero Li, fad in Ezhou, be bad people?"
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