Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 173 Joining Hands to Control the Flood

In the room, Xiaoqing turned into a snake tail and swam around the room again.

Bai Suzhen fell on the ground, holding a rosary in her hand, silently exhaling and adjusting her breath.

Hearing Xiaoqing's continuous movement, he couldn't help but said: "Xiaoqing, you don't want to practice all day long, and you climb the floor and jump across the beam.

Climb up and down all day, can you settle down? "

"I……"

Xiaoqing was about to defend herself when suddenly a pungent smell came over her, making her dizzy for a while, and her body lost control and fell off the beam in an instant.

"boom!"

"realgar……"

Xiaoqing drank weakly.

"Ok?"

Bai Suzhen frowned, jumped up and looked outside: "Someone opened the altar to practice."

"Sister, I can't take it anymore..."

Xiaoqing was writhing in pain, her head was covered in cold sweat, and her face was distorted.

Realgar has a restraining effect on snakes itself, and the blind Taoist specially used spells to refine it, and adding spells outside, it was even more difficult for Xiaoqing to resist.

However, it didn't affect Bai Suzhen at all.

After all, her Taoism is much higher than Xiaoqing's, and she is practicing pure Taoism, which has almost achieved a positive result.

Therefore, it is useless to deal with her with the means of dealing with the snake clan.

Bai Suzhen walked to the small table, picked up the jug and poured a glass of wine, then went to the courtyard and sprinkled it to the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the sky over the courtyard was covered with dark clouds, strong winds blew up, and bean-sized raindrops poured down.

"Master, it's not good..."

Seeing that the freshly sprinkled realgar was blown away by the wind and washed away by the rain, the two disciples shouted loudly.

"Hmph, you actually know how to call wind and rain to break my spell. This snake demon's skills are higher than I imagined..."

The blind old man snorted, then shouted loudly: "Apprentice, let's rush in!"

"Yes, Master!"

The two disciples rushed forward and kicked towards the gate of the courtyard.

"Wow!"

Unexpectedly, a huge current of water rushed towards him, like a water dragon, and directly swept the two disciples away.

"Master, help..."

These two disciples are useless at all, they are just doing odd jobs, and they are powerless to resist.

The blind old man hesitated for a while, but in the end, another wave came, the blind old man rushed to block it, but he still couldn't block it, and was hit by the water waves and rolled over.

It's ridiculous that this old guy is still trying to save face, and shouted: "Maybe the timing is unfavorable, apprentice, let's avoid it first..."

In the courtyard, Bai Suzhen counted her fingers and made sure that the other party had left, before accepting the spell.

"Sister, I feel so uncomfortable..."

In the room, Xiaoqing finally returned to normal, but after a lot of tossing just now, she looked a little tired.

Bai Suzhen said angrily: "I told you to practice hard and don't listen. If you cultivated a little higher, you wouldn't be in such a mess."

Xiaoqing muttered: "You have 1000 years, others only 500 years..."

"Are you embarrassed to say? It's just a few decades of cultivation."

"Then he is human..."

What Bai Suzhen wanted was Xiaoqing's words.

"Now, do you finally know the benefits of being a human being? I told you that human beings are the spirits of all things, and their cultivation speed far exceeds that of demons.

Now, you have finally turned into a human being, so you should cherish this hard-won opportunity. "

"I know... Huh, I can't swallow this breath, I want revenge."

"Xiaoqing..."

"Sister, leave me alone, I really can't swallow this breath."

Xiaoqing angrily chased after him.

On the street, the blind old man was rushing along with his two disciples. Suddenly, he seemed to have a sense, and he glanced towards He Xin and shouted: "Huh, I even chased him, okay, then let you taste my shaking demon flying bell!" It's amazing."

While speaking, he raised his hand and threw a handful of small copper bells.

Those little copper bells seemed to have eyes, and they fell onto a boat one after another.

And Xiaoqing was standing on this boat.

"Come again!"

The blind old man spilled another handful.

The copper bell fell to Xiaoqing's feet, she looked down, but didn't move, she wanted to see what kind of tricks this old man was playing.

In short, as long as realgar is not used, she is not afraid.

"Hmph, let me shake, shake, shake, shake until she shows her original shape."

The blind old man kept shaking a copper bell in his hand.

The two disciples followed suit as if playing tricks: "Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen..."

Following the trembling sound, the small copper bell beside Xiaoqing's feet really started to vibrate, making a series of crisp sounds, and kept jumping.

Xiaoqing snorted: "It's really annoying, I'll give it back to you!"

With a stamp of her feet, all those small copper bells flew up, and then, Xiaoqing waved her sleeves, and the copper bells flew all over the sky, swishing back like a hidden weapon.

"No, the copper bell flew back."

"Master, hide quickly..."

"oops!"

The blind old man covered his head and screamed.

"Hmph, that's all, I won't play with you anymore."

Xiaoqing won a round, happy, jumped ashore and went home.

Then, it was quiet for a while.

That night, there was a sudden downpour, and the lake and river kept rising.

At dawn, the river lacked embankments, and the floods spread in all directions like wild horses, destroying many fertile fields and houses, and even rushed into the county town.

In some low-lying places, the flood water almost submerged the roof.

The small courtyard where Zhou Yu lived was near the lake and was also hit by the flood.Fortunately, the terrain is relatively high, and Zhou Yu and his wife cast spells in the courtyard to block the water from flowing into the courtyard.

Seeing the continuous rain, Bai Min'er couldn't help but said: "Husband, it seems that the flood will continue to rise, we have to find a way to save the people."

Zhou Yu looked up at the sky, then nodded: "Okay, let's go outside the city to see the situation first."

So, the husband and wife soared into the sky and flew out of the city following the trend of Hong Feng.

At the same time, on a hill in the south of the city, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing stood side by side, watching the torrential flood below.

"It seems that the rain won't stop for a while, Xiaoqing, let's help to control the flood."

Xiaoqing couldn't help asking: "Sister, will this violate the rules of nature? What if you are struck by lightning?"

Bai Suzhen: "..."

After a while, I just sighed: "Xiaoqing, we are doing good deeds to help the people tide over the difficulties. How can we violate the rules of heaven? On the contrary, it is a matter of doing good deeds and accumulating virtue."

"Okay, my sister said so, then we will cast the spell."

At this moment, Zhou Yu and his wife flew over from mid-air.

"Huh? Isn't that Miss Bai and Xiaoqing?" Bai Min'er pointed down.

"It's really the two of them, go, go down."

"Miss Bai, Miss Xiaoqing, I didn't expect you two to be one step ahead."

Zhou Yu smiled and said something when he was in mid-air.

"Huh? You guys are here too?" Xiao Qing was surprised.

Bai Min'er flew to Bai Suzhen's side, and nodded with a smile: "Yes, I just didn't expect you to come here first."

Bai Suzhen looked at the raging waves all around, and sighed: "If the rain doesn't stop, maybe the whole county will be flooded."

"Well, then we will join hands and lead the flood away first."

"it is good!"

Therefore, the four of them performed their own spells to divert the flood and lead it to the uninhabited land in the mountains as much as possible.

After a while, Fa Hai also came.

But he should have sensed it, and he didn't show any surprise when he saw Zhou Yu and his party, but he said to the four together: "Amitabha, you are so good."

Zhou Yu returned a salute with a smile, and then asked: "The master is also here to help control the water?"

Fahai nodded: "Natural disasters and calamities are inevitable for all people, but my Buddha is merciful, Amitabha."

After reciting the Buddha's name, Fa Hai glanced at Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing again.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu took the initiative to say: "Master, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing have already cultivated as human beings, and they only ask questions, and they care about the common people in the world.

When Min'er and I came, the two of them were already helping to control the water. "

"Amitabha!"

Fa Hai didn't respond directly, but just recited a Buddha's mantra, then sat down cross-legged, raised his hands and made a formula, chanting a mantra: "The spring of nectar cleanses away the evil, and the light sprinkling of poplar branches relieves all worries.

I am reciting the mantra now, clean and comprehensive, separate! "

With a loud shout, a huge crack suddenly appeared on the ground, as if a long whale was absorbing water, a huge vortex formed on the ground, and floods from all directions rushed madly and flowed into the vortex.

After about one stick of incense, the flood finally receded, the rain stopped slowly, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.

Xiaoqing couldn't help but marvel: "Oh my God, this monk's magic power is so high, how many years will we have to practice to reach this state?"

Zhou Yu interjected, "That depends on whether you cultivate with your heart."

"Hmph, why am I not paying attention?" Xiaoqing snorted unconvinced.

Bai Suzhen glanced at Xiaoqing: "Where did you put your heart into it?"

Xiaoqing blinked: "I... am I slowly getting used to it..."

After the flood receded, many people began to rebuild their homes.

However, at this time, various sequelae caused by the flood also slowly appeared.

Such as lack of food, lack of supplies, disease spread, etc.

Many unscrupulous merchants in the city began to take the opportunity to drive up prices, especially grain prices, which skyrocketed, and some even doubled several times.

Many pharmacies also took the opportunity to make a fortune.

The common people have already suffered heavy losses, but now the price of goods is soaring, and the disease is also underestimated, which undoubtedly makes the situation worse.

However, not everyone is so indifferent.

A scholar named Qin Song was the first to step forward, built a shed, set up several large pots to cook porridge, and let the people eat for free.

The Qin family can be considered a wealthy family in the city, and this time it was also affected by the disaster.

It's just that if you have a family background, you can bear it.

Qin Song's parents were opposed to Qin Song's charitable deeds at first. After all, although their family has a little money, they are not very rich.

Even if the family base is emptied and used to help the people, it is still a drop in the bucket.

After all, this flood has affected people in a radius of hundreds of miles, at least hundreds of thousands of people have been affected, how can they be rescued by themselves?

Unless the imperial court comes forward to provide disaster relief.

However, Qin Song insisted on his own opinion, saying that he could save one person, and maybe he could bring others along.

There is only such a precious son in the family. In the end, the couple obeyed the son's wishes and cooked several large pots of porridge every day to help the people.

When Ying Ning heard about this, he pestered Zhou Yu, saying that he would also build a shed at the door to distribute food.

In the end, Zhou Yu shook his head.

"Ying Ning, it's not that I'm reluctant to spend money, so many people have been affected by the disaster, even if all our money is used to distribute food, it's far from enough.

Therefore, we have to find a way to solve the problem fundamentally. "

"What way?"

"Right now, many refugees are pouring into the city, not only lack of food, but also many people are infected with diseases.

If this continues to develop like this, it is very likely that it will evolve into a plague..."

What Zhou Yu said was not alarmist. After the flood ebbed, it would easily lead to the plague.

"Ah? What should I do then?"

"Well, go find Miss Bai and Miss Xiaoqing..."

Next, the group proceeded as planned.

Bai Suzhen, Xiaoqing, Bai Min'er, Ying Ning, and Mo Chou split up to collect medicinal materials.

Zhou Yu then went to find Qin Song, and after some communication, he could be sure that Qin Song's act of kindness came from the heart, rather than just pretending to be greedy for fame.

Such a person deserves enlightenment.

So, Zhou Yu asked: "You can't help many people by doing this, and you can't solve the problem fundamentally.

I have a way, not only can help more people, but also punish those profiteers who drive up the price of food, so that they lose everything..."

"Oh? I don't know what good strategy brother has?"

"So so..."

Zhou Yu confessed in a low voice.

After listening, Qin Song looked puzzled: "It's a good way, but where can I get such cheap food?"

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have my own way..."

Isn't it cheap food?

This was not a problem for Zhou Yu at all.

If we blindly distribute grain to the people, it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, and it will easily cause a kind of inertia among the people.

Therefore, Zhou Yu's ultimate goal is to let the price of grain fall to a normal level, and at the same time punish those profiteers who make a fortune.

The next day, Qin Song approached the largest grain merchant in the city and told him that he had a large amount of grain.

The grain merchant couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard that, because the store's grain stock was running out, and the grain purchased from other places could not be shipped back in a short time.

In the end, grain merchants bought tens of thousands of catties of grain at double the normal market price.

Even if the purchase price is doubled, he can still make a lot of money by changing hands, because now the major grain stores are running low on grain, and the price of grain is rising day by day.

Next, Qin Song did the same thing, found many grain shops one after another, and sold a lot of grain at double the price.

Unexpectedly, when these grain stores were about to raise prices again, a grain merchant appeared out of nowhere. Not only did the grain prices not increase, they were even lower than the prices before the flood.

As soon as the news spread, the people in the whole city boiled and rushed to buy food.

The shopkeepers of all the food stores in the city couldn't help being dumbfounded.Especially the few grain merchants who bought grain at double the price were so angry that they wanted to vomit blood.

The colleagues were originally enemies, but at this special moment, a group of grain merchants in the city spontaneously got together and discussed a strategy.

Since the other party supplied food at a low price, they joined hands to buy all the food.

In short, we must firmly hold food in our own hands.

It's a pity that this wishful thinking was wrong.

A group of grain merchants sent out their buddies one after another to pull carts and small carts to snap up grain.

As a result, there was a notice posted outside the door: queuing up to buy food, each person is limited to [-] catties.

In addition, there is an Anmin notice, saying that a large amount of food has been mobilized from other places, and it will arrive in a few days, so everyone does not have to worry about food shortages.

Now, all the grain merchants couldn't help being dumbfounded.

Even if they send out all their buddies and can only buy fifty catties at a time, what problem can they solve?
(End of this chapter)