newbobooks Chapter 121 Letter, First Visit to the Market
Chapter 121 Letter, First Visit to the Market
"Here is one hundred taels of silver, please accept it, senior."
Zhang Zhen handed a bag of silver to Chen Baoan.
"What does this mean, benefactor?!"
Chen Baoan declined with a little excitement, saying that as a monk, he would not accept any reward without any merit.
"I came here just to see an old friend, you don't have to do this."
Chen Baoan handed the bag back to Zhang Zhen, clasped his hands together and bowed.
"Well...never mind."
The elder spoke, and he had no intention of refusing.
"But, Senior, please give me a chance to help you."
Zhang Zhen saluted.
"Amitabha, I want to go to Shenhuoshan Manor next. Please prepare a horse for me."
Chen Baoan did not accept the huge sum of money, but made a small request.
As it happened, his next destination was Shenhuoshan Villa, and the junior in front of him wanted to show off, so why not do him a favor?
"Yes! I'll get ready right now."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhen immediately went to prepare.
Chen Baoan found a chair and sat down, holding the Buddhist beads in his hand and fiddling with them one by one.
Now everything has changed. The souls of the old friends have returned to the earth, and some of the former family members cannot be seen, and some cannot be seen at all.
Buried in this old tavern is not only Zhao Hong's past, but also Chen Baoan's past.
It’s a pity that the strong-willed girl disappeared at the city gate without leaving any body behind.
All Chen Baoan felt towards Lu Wan was deep guilt.
"Senior, the carriage is ready."
Zhang Zhen was quick and efficient. He had already prepared the carriage and was waiting for Chen Baoan to get on.
"Amitabha, thank you so much, donor."
"Senior, here are some letters that I have never opened. Since the elder is dead, I think they are for you."
"Also! Bon voyage!"
Zhang Zhen held Chen Baoan's hand and said with burning eyes.
"understand!"
Chen Baoan smiled, put on his hat, put away the letter, turned over and jumped into the carriage.
The journey is long and would probably take several months if we walked, but taking a carriage could save a lot of time.
He had a strong premonition based on what those guys said, and he needed to get to Shenhuoshan Villa as quickly as possible to avoid any accidents.
Thinking of this, Chen Baoan reached into his pocket and touched the bag of silver.
That was given to him by Dongfang Huaizhu before he left many years ago.
Silver is cold by nature, but when Chen Baoan held it in his hand, he felt very warm.
"Huaizhu, wait for me, I'll be there soon!"
Chen Baoan muttered to himself.
There were more than a dozen soldiers guarding the city gate, and they lined up in a row to guard the gate.
Chen Baoan drove the carriage alone and passed through the city gate without any resistance.
The crisp and loud sound of horse hooves echoed across the vast land, as if it was an exciting symphony played by nature.
Every step is carried with heavy power and firm determination, stirring the heartstrings like a war drum.
Chen Baoan's eyes were firm, his heartbeat rose and fell with the sound of horse hooves, a gust of wind blew up, the leaves fluttered, and it was gone in a flash.
. . . . . .
In the bustling and noisy market, small houses stand in an orderly manner, adjacent to each other, forming a unique scene.
Although these houses are small, they are full of life, and each has its own story and characteristics. Some houses have bright signs hanging on their doors, with the names of various commodities written on them; some houses have their doors open, with a wide variety of goods on display.
People shuttled between these short houses, selecting the items they liked and arguing fiercely with the shop owners. The whole market was filled with a strong atmosphere of life.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
There was a sound of horse hooves, and then they stopped a little further away.
Chen Baoan couldn't bear to destroy the lively atmosphere of the market. If compared with the capital, this small market was obviously not good enough.
But the smiles on people's faces are not mixed with any falsehood, it is a kind of joy and satisfaction that comes from the heart.
If the capital city is compared to a person who is warm on the outside but cold on the inside, then this small market is a person with a truly warm heart.
"Now, we shouldn't alert the enemy."
Chen Baoan was indeed very nervous, but not to the point where he needed to use his own IQ to relieve it.
According to those guys, something unexpected will happen in Shenhuoshan Villa and Dongfang Huaizhu is in danger.
However, in this northwestern area which is not as important as the central area, there is a lack of deterrence from the Taoist Alliance and intervention from the Demon Alliance. Apart from its own strength, the above are also the foundation of Shenhuo Mountain Villa.
Since there is no force in the northwest that can threaten Shenhuoshan Villa, the so-called change can only be its internal disintegration.
Just like what happened with Wudang before, even if it was not announced to the public, no matter how well it was hidden, it could not completely cover up the chaos inside.
The decline of a force often begins from within.
No matter what, since Shenhuoshan Villa is internally divided, that person must still be among it. If he makes too much noise, it will definitely alert the enemy.
This was not a good idea, so he chose to find out the news first!
We came to a teahouse. It was now the hour of Wei and there were not many people in the teahouse, which formed a sharp contrast with the lively atmosphere outside.
"Manager, bring me a pot of mountain spring green tea."
Chen Baoan took out a few copper coins and placed them on the table.
"Okay, sir, wait a moment."
The manager is old, already in his prime, but he is nimble and nimble. Judging from the looks of it, he must have been working here for a long time.
Chen Baoan chose a relatively remote location and placed his bag aside.
In order not to cause a commotion, he wrapped his Zen stick and Buddhist beads with cloth.
Then he took out the stack of letters and began to read.
Come to think of it, he was quite stupid. It was true that the letters he sent out would indeed be delivered to Shenhuoshan Villa.
After all, it is world famous.
But since he left the tavern, all the replies should have been left in the tavern. No wonder, he did not receive a reply from Dongfang Huaizhu.
As he carefully read those familiar words, a sense of resentment crept up on his body.
Come to think of it, I sent him a farewell poem without saying a word, it would be strange if he wasn't angry.
"Sir, please enjoy your meal. They are all grown at home."
The tea that Chen Baoan ordered has been served. The steward made a cup for him and bowed.
In the bustling market, this is a quiet place, which is one of the reasons why Chen Baoan came here.
"Manager, let me ask you something. Do you know Shenhuoshan Manor?"
"That's right! Who here doesn't know about Shenhuoshan Villa?"
The steward said this in a rather proud tone.
Chen Baoan's words opened the shop owner's mouth, and he talked incessantly about the entire history of Shenhuoshan Villa.
Generally speaking, it is not much different from the outside world. It is just that the old patriarch Dongfang Guyue has made a name for himself in the outside world with his own strength and made the pure Yangyan known as the demon-killing divine fire.
He protected this world, established Shenhuoshan Villa, and recruited many disciples.
Chen Baoan nodded as he listened. It seemed that the so-called unexpected change had not yet occurred.
My choice was correct. I tried to find out more information first to avoid alerting the enemy.
Now, all we have to do is wait and see.
He drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, took out the last letter, and caught a glimpse of the last line of words as soon as he looked at it.
"I am waiting for you to come back here. I firmly believe that you can come back, because the person I love is a hero!"
In response to the farewell poem he wrote to Huaizhu, in silence, the two of them tacitly acknowledged their feelings for each other that went beyond friendship.
"Is that so..."
Chen Baoan closed the letter, brewed another pot of tea, slowly picked up the cup and started drinking.
He actually drank the tea and it tasted like fine wine. If he had not quit drinking for many years, he might have drunk it heavily today.
After drinking tea, Chen Baoan left the teahouse and wandered aimlessly in the bustling market.
The hustle and bustle around him seemed to have nothing to do with him. He walked and stood among the crowd, but he seemed to be in another world.
People's laughter, noise and busy figures were passing by him, but his eyes seemed cold and distant, as if he was indifferent to everything around him.
There was no expression on his face, as if he was covered by an invisible mask, making it impossible to see his true thoughts.
He stared quietly into the distance, his eyes passing through the crowd and penetrating the walls.
His thoughts also drifted away, as if he had left the market, and a beautiful woman with a hairpin in her hair, wearing a white shirt and a green skirt, with deep eyes and a cold temperament came into his sight.
"Ok?"
After years of practice and experience, Dongfang Huaizhu's cultivation has become very powerful. She seemed to have sensed the gaze from far away and slowly put down the brush in her hand.
I stood up, opened the door, and looked into the distance, which was the direction of the market.
She frowned slightly, and she felt for some reason that an old friend was waiting for her there.
But after coming out, this feeling disappeared soon, without any trace left.
Dongfang Huaizhu couldn't help revealing a hint of loss in her beautiful eyes. She went back to the room again, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink and started writing.
It’s not that she couldn’t feel it, but that Chen Baoan withdrew his gaze.
Yes, there will be such a day. The day of reunion is just around the corner. Now we just have to wait for the person behind the scenes to reveal himself!
Chen Baoan was thinking about what kind of hidden identity he should live under here.
The market is definitely the perfect place to hide your identity.
As for the Northwest, it has a larger population and is more prosperous. Most importantly, it is not far from Shenhuoshan Villa.
For ordinary people, it may take several hours to climb the mountain.
But Chen Baoan is obviously not an ordinary person. He has been running back and forth in the mountains with his senior brother Zhiming for six years.
Thinking of this, Chen Baoan couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Ahem, sir, I see that your forehead is black, which is definitely a bad omen and means you will be plagued by bad luck."
"Here is a method to break the impasse, which can help you find a way out among thousands of dead ends!"
Just as Chen Baoan was sighing, a voice suddenly sounded from the side.
He was a crazy old man wearing a Taoist robe.
Because the influence of that great man two hundred years ago was so strong, so many imitators appeared.
Others might be bored when seeing it, but Chen Baoan felt refreshed.
Isn't this the identity?