Sword of Coming

Near the City God's Temple, the streets are filled with devotees who come here to burn incense. There are many stalls selling specialty foods and children's toys on both sides of the street. Chen Pingan bought Li Baoping and Li Huai a bunch of candied haws, and then the two children started competing to see whose candied haws were bigger. It turned out that Li Huai had better luck, with a total of six candied haws, beating Li Bao. Bottle four times, then Li Huai started jumping happily, holding the string of candied haws high, and flew around Chen Pingan and Lin Shouyi.

Li Baoping ate the candied haws in silence, and then quietly stretched out a leg. Li Huai accidentally tripped and fell. The string of candied haws in his hand rolled far away. Fortunately, the green bamboo bookcase bound him Still strong, Li Huai sat on the ground and burst into tears.

The little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket raised her head and deliberately looked around. Chen Pingan, who was both angry and funny, rewarded her with a heavy chestnut. He helped Li Huai, who was dangling on his feet, and bought another chestnut for the child who was hurting his lungs. Li Huai burst into tears and laughed. He took the clean candied haws and picked up the mud-covered candied haws again, one in each hand. This time he hid further away from Li Baoping and shook the candied haws left and right.

Li Baoping rolled his eyes and said, "Childish!"

It's strange that no matter how much Li Huai was bullied by Li Baoping, he never resented this little girl who was studying with his classmate. He didn't even get angry. At most, he felt wronged and felt sad about himself.

Neither Chen Ping'an nor Lin Shouyi could figure this out. Lin Shouyi could only explain it as one thing descending from another, and Li Huai needed Li Baoping to take care of it.

The young man Cui Yi left the team a long time ago and stopped alone in front of a sundry stall. Yu Lu wanted to stop the car and wait. The boy in white did not appreciate it and did not raise his head. He waved to Yu Lu to follow Chen Pingan and the others. Then he picked left and right, felt a little disgusted, and planned to leave, without saying a word from beginning to end.

The stall owner is a young man with a lazy look. The customers who passed by the stall while burning incense asked about the price, but ignored them, so the business became more and more deserted. Now I saw the rich aura of the young man in white, like a son of a first-class wealthy family in the county. , especially when he saw that the young man showed no signs of being tempted, his expression immediately changed, he stood up from the stool in a panic, bowed his head and said that these dozens of old objects were all heirlooms left by the ancestors of the family, and there should be at least two of them. Three hundred years of history, but now the family is facing a disaster and is in urgent need of money, otherwise he would not come up with it even if he was killed.

The young man saw that his body had been drained by alcohol and sex. No matter how much he moved his lips and tongue, the young man did not speak. The young man sat back on the bench. How could he have the courage to buy or sell by force? The wealthy families in the county. Any old master or young master who is born can drown them with just a spit. What's more, I heard that in those houses, immortal masters from the mountains come and go almost every year. Every time, they have to open the ceremonial gate and the formation is huge. It's even more exaggerated than during a New Year's holiday. The firecrackers are set off so loudly that everyone in the county knows that they have welcomed a distinguished guest from the gods into their home.

Young Cui Chan suddenly asked: "Pack the items on the table together, will ten taels of silver be enough?"

The young man shook his head vigorously and said with a mournful face: "Young master, you are really not a small child. These ancestral treasures are really good things that have been passed down from generation to generation in my family. My family tree is clearly recorded, and my ancestors made the post-Shu Ji Qing Dynasty." Prince's Young Master, even if one piece of something left by our ancestors can be sold for seventy or eighty taels of silver, that's not too much, right?"

The young man's face turned red and he picked up a half-inch-long glazed figure. Unfortunately, the color was dull and the appearance was not good. The young vendor leaned forward and carefully handed it to the boy in white, "Sir, take a good look at this. If you have better eyesight, you can see clearly the eyebrows of this glazed beauty, as well as the folds of the skirt. It can be said that every detail is visible. Taking a step back, such a rare glazed object, even the glazed glass itself, can be seen clearly. The quality is indeed not high, but selling such a large glazed beauty for three or four silvers is not unconscionable, right? Together with other treasures, large and small, the young master’s asking price of ten taels is indeed low, young master, please do a good job. Will you raise the price again?”

The young Cui Shan thought for a moment with a straight face, "Then eleven taels?"

The young man almost choked to death from his own breath. He was dumbfounded and looked at the young man in white who was full of fairy spirit. Finally he sighed and said: "Sir, please stop teasing me."

Young Cui Chen laughed loudly and asked, "Do you know Snowflake Pattern Silver?"

The young man nodded blankly and said with a wry smile: "Of course I recognize it. My father's generation is considered a wealthy and prosperous family. There are more than a dozen shops on the street next to Chenghuang Temple Street that were once the property of small families."

Cui Han took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and slapped it on the table, "Twenty taels of Liguan silver, converted into the low-quality silver from your Huang Tingguo, there should be twenty-five taels anyway. It's more than enough. Is it enough to make a round?" A table of junk?”

The young man stole these belongings from home, and the psychological value was about twenty taels of silver. He immediately beamed with joy, quickly picked up the silver ingot, held it tightly in his hand, weighed it quietly, and then lightly carved it with his fingernails. Yes, that's right, it was real gold and silver of excellent quality. I was afraid that the boy would regret it. After hiding the silver ingot, he picked up the corner of the cloth under the edge of the table with both hands. He suddenly lifted it and rolled it into a package in two or two strokes. The objects collided with each other and made a crackling sound. After they were fastened, they were pushed in front of the boy in white. He smiled from ear to ear and said, "This young master is all yours."

Young Cui Han was holding the package and jokingly said: "If you sell me fake goods, I will trouble you later and let you eat them one by one."

The young man smiled apologetically and said: "The villain is a well-known honest man in our county. He has always been honest when doing business. You just have to be careful. This transaction guarantees that you will only make a profit and not lose any money."

Cui Han, a young man, held a package in one hand and chased Chen Pingan and others towards the City God's Temple. He accelerated his pace all the way. After approaching the carriage, he threw the package to thank him. Then he came to Chen Pingan, pointed to the eye-catching roof of the City God's Temple not far away, and introduced Said: "This is the largest City God Temple in the Huangting Kingdom. It is said that in the late Western Shu Dynasty, the City Gods of several states were under the jurisdiction of the city gods. Therefore, the eaves are covered with green glazed tiles, which are of extremely high specifications. Ordinary City God Pavilion temples would not dare to cover such precious tiles. The original site It is not here. After the change of dynasties, the Hong family took charge of the country and moved to the current location. In fact, the original site of the Chenghuang Pavilion is a good place. There is an old well, which is a spiritual spring. Now it has been transformed into an inn by a mountain gate in Huang Tingguo. , specializes in receiving practitioners and wealthy people from both the government and the public. The spiritual energy emanating from the spiritual spring is helpful for spiritual practice. This kind of place is rare in the secular world at the foot of the mountain. "

Chen Pingan asked: "Is it expensive?"

Cui Han thought for a while, "For you, death is expensive."

Chen Ping'an glanced at Lin Shouyi, who was staring at the eaves-ridged beast of the City God's Temple, and asked softly: "Why is it so expensive?"

Cui Chan said with a smile: "One person per night, at least a hundred taels of silver. For the courtyard room closest to the well, it is estimated to be more than double."

As the Imperial Advisor of Da Li, Cui Han originally controlled part of the dynasty's intelligence system, specifically targeting the mountain forces in Da Li and surrounding countries. The inside story of the county and city of Huang Tingguo and the history of the changes in the City God's Temple are among the must-see espionage contents. 1. As for why he knew the specific price of the inn at the original location, it was just a pastime that Cui Chan used to relieve his boredom in his spare time. And maybe when he went to the palace to see His Majesty the Emperor, it could also be used as an interesting conversation piece during the chess game between the emperor and his ministers. .

Chen Pingan lowered his voice and asked: "If I have a gold coin in my hand, how many taels would it be converted into silver?"

The boy in white pointed at the City God's Temple, which was getting closer and closer, without saying anything.

Chen Ping'an asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"

Cui Chan smiled and said: "I mean it's worth such a big silver mountain."

Chen Ping'an opened his mouth slightly, glanced at the vast City God's Temple with endless buildings, and secretly held the basket behind him.

When the boy in straw sandals realized that he was carrying a mountain of silver on his back, he suddenly felt a little heavy.

Cui Zhang saw this detail in his eyes, but remained calm.

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a long time, and before entering the City God's Temple, he stopped and asked, "Cui Dongshan, can I borrow money from you?"

The young man in white seemed to have been waiting for Chen Pingan's words. He put his hands in his sleeves and nodded with a smile: "Of course, you can think of me as a treasure boy. If you want money, you can have money. If you want magic weapon, you can have magic weapon. There’s nothing you can’t think of, nothing you can’t ask for.”

Chen Ping'an made up his mind and said slowly: "Then we will stay in that inn tonight. No matter how long we stay, you will pay for all expenses for the time being. You will report an amount to me afterwards and you will decide the interest. When you return to Longquan County, I will return the principal to you with interest. Can that be okay?"

Cui Han took out his sleeve with one hand and waved his hand: "Forget it about the interest, just pay me back the capital when the time comes. It's convenient for others. It's convenient for you."

At this moment, Li Huai, holding half a bunch of candied haws in his hand, suddenly squatted down and stared at the boots of the boy in white with wide eyes.

It turned out that there was a small snow-white grasshopper standing on top of Cui Han's boots. After being stared at by Li Huai, the strange grasshopper who originally wanted to climb up along the robe immediately became stiff and motionless. Li Huai looked at the gadget. When curiosity aroused, I reached out to catch it. The silver-white grasshopper was frightened and did not dare to pretend to be dead anymore. It immediately jumped up quickly, hooked its front paws on the fine silk threads of Cui Cheng's robe, and ran quickly. It quickly came to Cui Han's waist, and the last one bounced, hanging under the cuffs, swaying slightly.

The young man in white had a smile as usual. He twisted his right wrist, grabbed the grasshopper with two fingers, held it gently in his hand, and stuffed it into his left cuff.

An even more surprising scene appeared. The snow-white grasshopper, which was alive and kicking, melted like ice and snow in the young man's hand, and instantly turned into a silver ingot, but the silver ingot could still squirm.

Hiding silver ingots or grasshoppers in his sleeves, the boy in white looked around. Yu Lu and Xie, two young girls from the Lu Dynasty, had dull expressions, while Chen Ping'an, a group of little bumpkins from Lizhu Cave Sky, had a dull expression. More than a shock.

Cui Han obviously didn't want to say anything more, so he turned to Lu and said, "You and Miss Xie go and buy some incense. It will be needed when we enter the City God's Temple later. It's best to buy an incense stick by the way. Of course, don't forget to buy a style." Something more elegant, otherwise I won’t pay for the incense stick.”

The tall boy took the dark-skinned girl to invite the incense.

Chen Pingan revealed the secret in one word, "Cui Dongshan, is this silver ingot the money you paid for the bag of items earlier? How come it turned into a grasshopper and ran back?"

The young man in white had an innocent look on his face, "I have clearly paid the money, and the money is clear, but the money has its own way. If you have to come back to me, I will be very embarrassed."

Li Huai was still squatting on the ground, with an envious look on his face, and said: "What a good thing. If I have such a silver ingot, it will not be difficult to travel all over the world."

The young man in white lowered his head and asked with a smile: "Do you like it? Do you want it? This little guy is called Chongyin. He is of no use, just for fun. The reason for the birth of this kind of spirit is unknown. Anyway, many dynasties have large-scale silver treasury. It's unlikely that a single insect silver will appear, and even if it does, it won't be big. The transformed silver will look like larger pieces of broken silver at most. One as big as the one in my sleeve is very rare. That’s why I’m willing to take it with me, and it’s invulnerable to water and fire. Even if it withstands a huge force, it won’t be damaged at all. You can cut it into dozens of pieces. As long as you stack them together, it can quickly restore its complete appearance. Li Huai , if you want it, can I give it to you?"

Li Huai stood up and replied seriously: "I only have one sister, named Li Liu, but she is still A Liang's wife for the time being."

The boy in white knew the little brat's speaking style, "Do you want it for free? I have no idea about your sister."

Li Huai asked: "Then I will pay for meals from now on, and take Chen Ping'an and the others to enjoy spicy food. Will it be able to run back by itself every time?"

Cui Chan nodded with a smile, shook his sleeves, shook the silver ingot out of his sleeves, and handed it to Li Huai.

Li Huai wanted to take the silver ingot, paused slightly, and turned to look at Chen Pingan aside.

Chen Ping'an said: "Of course you have to pay for meals, and you can't default on your bills in any way. I can't control what happens to Cui Dongshan, but you, Li Huai, are Mr. Qi's disciples..."

Li Huai immediately put his hands behind his back and pressed them tightly against his buttocks. He shook his head at the boy in white and said, "Oh, let's forget it."

Chen Pingan continued: "Li Huai, I haven't finished speaking yet, but the Chongyin can be put away. People have given you good things with good intentions. You can accept them first. As for how to use them in the future, we will follow the rules in the future." ,"

Li Huai's eyes lit up, and he snatched the silver ingot from the young man in white and stuffed it into his arms. After thinking about it, he quickly turned around, turned his back to everyone, opened the small book box, and threw the silver ingot inside.

The young man Cui Chan retracted his hand angrily and said helplessly: "It's true that I have been hunting eagles all year round, and the eagle pecked my eyes."

Yu Lu had already bought a well-made boxwood incense tube and filled it with a full tube of incense sticks, which was enough for everyone to burn incense in the temple many times.

In addition to thanking them for looking after the carriage on the roadside, the rest of the group walked into the Chenghuang Temple. After each of them offered incense, they saw a couplet in the main hall.

On the verge of death, he was left alone, and went to the underworld to inquire about the welfare of his descendants; in the end, he only left an eternal infamy, and only when he came to the underworld did he know that everything was over.

The City God occupies a high position in the middle, and there are subordinates on both sides, lined up in order, with a huge momentum. There are as many as eight clay statues with the title of general, including the Onmyoji, Subao, and Sushi. Chief of Staff. The young Cui Chan also said that the highest-level City God's Temple in Aquarius Continent only stops here, but the largest City God's Pavilion in the world has as many as twenty-four departments, including the Book Inspection Department, the Epidemic Prevention Department, and the Academic Affairs Department. There are all of them, almost comparable to the court of a small country.

Lin Shou watched it with great interest, but Li Baoping was not so interested. Li Huai was the timidest, so he only dared to follow Chen Pingan closely.

After carefully looking at the famous mural "Eighteen Levels of Hell" on the wall inside the main hall, I felt that the trip was worthwhile. After that, I walked out of the main hall. The back hall is a lobby similar to the county government's trial court. The city god sits behind the big case. , there are civil and military judges standing on the left and right, but there is only half of the couplet outside the hall, "Sincerity is the spirit, there is no need for you to kowtow, retreat quickly", but the second couplet is blank.

Li Baoping suddenly became interested and began to ponder the content of the second line by himself, but he was not satisfied at all. He frowned and refused to admit defeat.

Young men Cui Chan and Yu Lu also stood under the blank couplets.

Chen Ping'an took Lin Shouyi and Li Huai at the door and looked into the lobby. There were clay statues prostrate and kowtow, some were wearing shackles, and some were bowing their heads and kneeling.

An old man in a green shirt who did not bring his family with him saw the eye-catching green bamboo bookcase of Li Baoping and his group. He smiled knowingly and came to the vicinity of the young Cui Zhang. Together they looked up at the blank couplets and asked with a smile: "You gentlemen, have you ever thought of a good second couplet?"

Cui Chan turned a deaf ear.

Once Li Baoping thinks about something seriously, he will concentrate on it and really doesn't hear anything.

Only Yu Lu smiled and replied: "I thought of a few things, but I'm not satisfied with them. It's just too much, so I won't show off to the old gentleman."

The old man laughed heartily, raised his finger and pointed at the couplet, "About this couplet, there has been an unwritten rule circulating in the county. No matter whether it is a person or a ghost, a spirit or a weird one, as long as anyone can write a second couplet that convinces the public, You can become a distinguished guest of this old city god."

Yu Lu asked doubtfully: "Old sir, how can we convince the public?"

Young Cui Chan said lazily: "Ask yourself."

Li Baoping just happened to think of a question and killed a blockage in his thoughts. After hearing the question and answer, the little girl subconsciously added: "In the dead of night, when people are quiet and their conscience is clear, they can ask themselves questions and blurt out."

The white-haired old man in green shirt nodded slowly.

Although the little girl in the red cotton jacket failed to come up with a suitable second line in the end, the old man still insisted on sending them all out of the Chenghuang Temple, stood at the threshold, and said goodbye to everyone with a smile.

After leaving the ancient City God's Temple, Chen Ping'an asked people about the location of the inn. As a result, everyone was at a loss, as if the place in the county did not exist at all, so they could only look at the young man in white.

The young man Cui Han asked with a smile: "Otherwise, let's forget it? I also heard some gossip, but I may not take it seriously. Besides, if there really wasn't such a place where you can eat gold and silver, you wouldn't have to borrow money from me."

Chen Pingan glanced at Lin Shouyi, who was confused. Chen Pingan said persistently: "You go around the market slowly first, and I will ask again."

The straw-shoe boy carrying a backpack trotted forward alone, asking one person after another in the distance of the group.

The young Cui Zhang walked towards the carriage, his expression vaguely displeased, and he couldn't help but curse, "Chen Ping'an, even if you carry a mountain of gold and silver on your back, this is a waste of money, and in the end you still make wedding clothes for others. Are you so attentive?"

When the young man in white bent down to lift the car curtain, he turned his head and glanced at Lin Shouyi, who was in the dark. The young man with gloomy eyes suddenly felt jealous at this moment.