I want to embrace the moon for nine days

Chapter 134 Shengmian Ancient City, Golden Eagle and Silver Wolf

When Zen Master Guangming, Su Hanshan, and Lei Yuzhu set off from the county government office, they all rode the best horses.

But seven days later, the horses were fostered in another county and started walking on foot.

There are too many uninhabited places within the territory of Da Chu. Some places are because the land is too barren to support people, and some places are because the nearby population is sparse and there is no need to open up.

But in more places, it is because of the harsh terrain and dangerous environment that ordinary people cannot enter at all.

For example, the vast swamp area that stretches for thousands of miles looks like a large grassland with some lakes and mire mixed in between.

But in fact, those grasslands can't bear the weight of a person at all. Once you step on it, you will be swallowed up by the mire immediately.

It's okay in winter. Although the mire will not be frozen due to the surge of geothermal heat, the temperature in the upper layer of the swamp will drop a lot due to the cold wind, ice and snow, and not much miasma will evaporate. Many evil spirits in the swamp will Most animals will also fall into hibernation.

If it's summer, it's even more terrifying. The sky is filled with poisonous miasma. Endless poisonous insects, large and small, multiply like black clouds and sandstorms, patrolling back and forth. Wherever they pass, the vegetation withers, the beasts wither, and the fresh branches and leaves are filled with blood. , all will be sucked up.

There is also a bottomless Grand Canyon, which cuts across the road ahead. At the bottom of the canyon, there is a dangerous existence that no one can explain.

At least you need to be a ladder master to find the narrowest place, step in the air, and cross the canyon in one go.

There are countless dangerous places like these. If we had to go around them all on horseback, we might not be able to reach the northern border from Xueling County in half a year.

Therefore, most people who want to attend the Shenwei Banquet have no choice but to abandon their horses, rely on their own martial arts to cross these dangerous areas, wait until they are close to the border town, and then buy horses, carts, and outfits.

The three of them, Su Hanshan, didn't care about the enjoyment of carriages and horses, so they didn't buy any more carriages or horses. After approaching the border town area, they still walked.

The sun and moon alternate, things change and scenery changes, but the cold wind remains the same.

On this day, the three people who climbed the mountains once again reached the top of a large mountain. They passed through the dense jungle and were about to descend from the other side of the mountain when they suddenly stopped in unison.

The mountain topography in front seems to have suddenly become much lower and flatter, giving people a sense of sudden clarity when looking forward on this mountain.

Between the mountains, there are roads, like the roots of trees, tracing back from all directions, leading together to the majestic and ancient city in front.

The black city wall is like a giant beast sleeping and cultivating in the sky of ice and snow. The wall is the same height as the nearby hills, but the surrounding peaks all look extremely thin compared with the city, like Here and there, heaps of loose rubble.

But there are actually many buildings in the city, which are far higher than the city wall, allowing people outside the city to see them at a glance.

At the corners of the city wall, there are stone pillars of unknown purpose, reaching into the sky. The tops of the stone pillars are entangled in the clouds and mist, and it is unclear how high they are.

"There is the city where the Shenwei Mansion is located. Legend has it that construction began in the three ancient dynasties, during the period of the Great Sage Zhou Gong. There are even rumors that in his later years, the Duke of Zhou wanted to live in seclusion here, so it was called Shengmian City!"

Seeing such a magnificent city gate, Zen Master Guangming couldn't help but clasped his palms together.

"During the Five Dynasties in the Middle Ages, Shengmian City was damaged due to wars. The Northern Governor's Palace set up by Emperor Qin was not in Shengmian City, so it showed a state of decline until General Shenwei established his government here. , so that this ancient city can prosper again."

While he was talking about ancient times, Lei Yuzhu squinted one eye, stretched out his finger, and gestured to several nearby mountains, and then to the city in the distance.

"We are probably thirty or forty miles away from that city, but we can already see it so clearly."

Lei Yuzhu sighed, "Even the county seat of Xueling County is incomparable to this city. The painting my father painted when he went back was really not enough to show one ten thousandth of its beauty. "

Su Hanshan threw a candied plum into his mouth, chewed it twice, and walked down the mountain first.

When the three of them got really close to the city, they became more and more aware of the splendor of this ancient city.

The width of the city wall is so large that when people step into the city gate, it feels like they have entered a long tunnel.

Lanterns were even hung inside the city gate to illuminate the passing caravans and the mules, horses and camels.

In winter, many dangerous areas like large swamps in the north of Dachu become less dangerous than in other seasons.

Thousands of caravans, all adhering to the idea of ​​gaining wealth through danger, would take a detour to the northern border towns between September and April of each year to sell and restock goods.

Then they have to live in various border towns for half a year, wait until the next winter, and then transport goods back to their hometown.

It takes two years to complete a round trip. Of course, the benefits are so huge that these people are so busy.

Su Hanshan and the others did not have a caravan guide issued by the county, so when entering the city, they had to directly take out the invitation to the Shenwei Banquet.

The soldiers guarding the city gate were neither humble nor overbearing, and there was almost no difference in their attitude towards ordinary caravans and guests at the Shenwei Banquet. They just knocked on the bronze gong covered with gluttonous patterns after handing back the invitation.

Therefore, as soon as Su Hanshan and others passed through the city gate and entered the city, a group of maids came immediately. The leader was a woman wearing a gold hairpin, a flower pattern between her eyebrows, and a purple skirt.

In this weather, she was wearing a long skirt, her complexion was still rosy, showing her considerable skills, and there seemed to be a faint fragrance lingering around her.

"Ling Qi, the manager of Shenwei Mansion, has met three distinguished guests."

Ling Qi bowed and smiled before saying anything, "Are the three of you here to attend the Shenwei Banquet?"

Zen Master Guangming returned the favor and said, "Amitabha, the poor monk is just accompanying me."

Ling Qi glanced back and saw three maids, each carrying a tray.

"According to our local custom, when distinguished guests come from afar and have to travel a long way, they are given a golden ticket first to wash away the frosty air."

Ling Qi smiled and said, "Although it's just a little gold, it's a good omen. Please don't refuse."

"Although Master is not invited, since he is here with a guest, he is also a guest in our house. Please accept this white jade ring, Master."

Among the three trays, there were indeed two golden tickets and a jade pendant. In each tray, there was a token representing a private room in the restaurant, which was obviously the accommodation arranged for them.

Su Hanshan and the others did not refuse, and after thanking each other, they accepted it.

That gold ticket represents the denomination of one hundred taels of gold.

Prices in the Chu Dynasty were stable, and most of the people's daily expenses were copper coins. One copper coin in the countryside was enough to buy a large bowl of hot noodle soup.

Even in those prosperous cities, food at roadside stalls often only costs three to five copper coins.

Although the so-called one hundred taels of gold does not refer to pure gold, but refers to the gold ingots that are commonly produced under the supervision of the government, they are also valuable and can be exchanged for about 600,000 copper coins.

All the new ladder masters who are invited will get such a generous gift first as long as they show up, which shows the strength of Shenwei Mansion.

"I have to wait for other guests here, and the three of us can have some fun in the city first."

Ling Qi smiled and said, "Although our Shengmian City is not as prosperous as the Imperial Capital, it can still be said to be prosperous. The local style and many unique features will definitely not disappoint the three of you."

As she spoke, she led many maids and retreated.

"I have heard of the reputation of Qingyun Tower. Most of the guests of the Divine Power Banquet have always lived here."

Lei Yuzhu turned over the token in his hand and said, "As long as we go there, we can see many opponents we will meet at the Shenwei Banquet in advance. Do you want to go and see them first?"

During the time the three of them traveled together, they got to know each other a lot.

In particular, Songhe Martial Arts School and Fenglei Martial Arts School have completely formed an alliance. Su Hanshan and Lei Yuzhu already know that the other party has ambitions to be in the top three, so naturally they have many common topics.

"We are only two days early in total. No matter what happens to others, we will all know the outcome when the banquet officially starts in two days."

Su Hanshan looked around and said, "I still want to stroll around this city now."

Lei Yuzhu chuckled: "Do you know why these golds were given when we first met, instead of waiting until the Shenwei Banquet was over?"

Su Hanshan: "Huh?"

"If you give it after the banquet, most of the people will take it with them and take it back to their hometowns." Lei Yuzhu said leisurely, "And if you give it as soon as we meet, you can easily see things that interest you when you wander around the city. , when the time comes, most of this gold will still be left in Shengmian City."

Su Hanshan laughed and said: "Shenwei Mansion looks very grand, do you still care about such details?"

"It's really hard to say."

Zen Master Guangming said from the side, "Every year before and after the Shenwei Banquet, it also happens to be the time when Shengmian City holds the Ten Thousand Shang Festival. During these two months, all transactions completed in the city will have a 30% reduction in taxes collected by the General's Office."

"Not to mention the gold they sent. Many times, people from various counties who come to the banquet can't help but spend their own money to facilitate a few more businesses."

In addition to the counties of Xueling, Hanjiang, and Nushuang that are extremely close to the northern border, the counties in the North also include Loufan, Lishi, Hedong, Daijun, Shangdang, Yunzhong, Dingxiang, etc.

Generally speaking, there are fifty or sixty new ladder masters who meet the invitation criteria.

Among the fifty or sixty people, seventy percent came from the administrative areas of various counties. The families and sects from which they came would send many people to accompany them.

There are older people in the team to protect the young talents, but also to allow some younger disciples to follow them and open their eyes.

But now that their horizons have been opened, many people can’t help but buy big.

In addition, there are many forces that have not received invitations but want to come and join in the fun, or they want to take advantage of this opportunity to win over young ladder masters with weak backgrounds.

All in all, even a city as huge as Shengmian City is obviously much more lively than usual during the Shenwei Banquet held once every ten years.

The three of Su Hanshan were wandering around the city, and they did see some novel gadgets, but before they were really excited to pay, something else attracted their attention.

Those were several giant silver-white wolves!

Their fur is like silver satin, shiny, and they look to be eight feet tall at the shoulders. They are on all fours. When they lower their heads, the tip of their black nose is as high as a human face. Their body length is about sixteen feet, and their tail is another Calculate.

With that big fluffy tail, even if an adult is hidden inside, outsiders probably won't be able to see it.

But these six giant wolves were only used to pull a palace-like carriage, slowly walking through the street. Six large black-gold wheels made of an unknown material crushed the ground and made a rumbling sound.

"That must be someone from the Wolf Yu King's tribe."

"To be able to use six pure-blooded silver wolves to pull a cart, I am afraid that they are the true royal family members of the Wolf Remaining King's tribe. Are they also coming to witness this divine feast?"

"It's possible. Not long ago, people from the two royal tribes, Laiqiu and Feiyi, also came. This time's Shenwei Banquet was really lively."

Su Hanshan heard that the people watching on the street were talking about it, but they didn't seem too panicked.

The northern border, although nominally speaking, was specifically designed to resist the invasion of the Northern Wilderness tribes.

However, the Northern Wilderness is vast and there are thousands of tribes, large and small, but not all of them dare to be enemies with Da Chu. Even during the founding years of Da Chu, thousands of tribes in the north and hundreds of countries in the western regions were all obedient and pious. The appearance of offering.

Over the past five hundred years, hundreds of small and medium-sized tribes have been completely diluted by the border people and have moved to live in the border towns, becoming part of the people of Da Chu.

Although in the past hundred years or so, the eight largest royal tribes in the Northern Wilderness, namely Yuanfu, Xiutu, Huandu, and Muye, have ceased to be vassals and have repeatedly attacked the border.

But there are also four royal tribes, Langyu, Laiqiu, Feiyi, and Qiongqi. They adhere to the tradition of opening markets and have long-term trade relations with the border town. For this reason, they do not hesitate to assist the army of the border town and suppress the other four royal tribes.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, when King Liang and the Destiny Sect launched a rebellion, the senior leaders of the Qiongqi tribe actually revealed their identities as members of the Destiny Sect, contacted Yuanfu and other four major tribes, and attacked the border in response to King Liang's rebellion.

Nowadays, there are only three royal tribes left, and they still maintain friendly relations with Shenwei Mansion.

"Ow!!"

Suddenly, the six giant silver-white wolves were stimulated by some unknown source. The long hairs on their bodies stood up and they looked up to the sky and howled.

The people onlookers were so frightened that they ran away. The silver wolf on the far left turned around and crashed into the restaurant next to it.

There were many ordinary people in the restaurant. Su Hanshan was shocked. Just as he was about to take action, he saw a chopstick flying out of the restaurant.

when! ! !

This chopstick hit one of the fangs of the giant silver wolf, and a strange sound like a gong and drum was heard.

The bamboo chopsticks were shot back.

The entire giant wolf's body suddenly froze, as if it had turned into a sculpture, and fell to the ground hard.

The remaining five giant wolves showed their ferocious looks, bared their teeth and leaped about.

"presumptuous!!"

A young figure flashed out of the palace-like carriage, swinging a long whip in his hand. The tip of the whip exploded in the air, frightening the five giant wolves and causing them to all bend down.

This person looks to be only about 20 years old, with handsome features and eyes as cold as stars, but his skin is brown and black. His thick long hair is decorated with many colorful pearls and jade. He has five or six layers of clothing and accessories, showing luxury amidst the tediousness. solemn.

"This king is Prince Darren of the Wolf Yu Kingdom. These silver wolves have always been obedient. I don't know why they became ferocious today. Fortunately, they did not hurt the people of Shenwei Mansion."

There was some apology in his tone, and he looked into the restaurant, "Everyone in the restaurant, if you are frightened, you can go to our Langyu Inn to seek compensation."

As he spoke, he shook the long whip in his hand, and struck the stiff silver wolf with the tip.

The silver wolf's legs were still stiff and motionless.

Prince Darren's eyes moved slightly, he retracted his long whip, rolled it in his hand, and looked at the restaurant.

Su Hanshan also saw the reason.

Although the chopstick just hit the silver wolf's fangs, after the force spread, it properly sealed many acupuncture points all over the silver wolf's body.

Prince Darren tried to open the acupuncture points with his whip. Unexpectedly, after the force of his whip hit him, the energy and blood in Silver Wolf's body twisted accidentally. The original acupuncture points were opened, and new ones were opened. The acupuncture points are sealed.

That was obviously not a coincidence, but the way the people in the restaurant used bamboo chopsticks to tap the acupuncture points was extremely clever and ingenious, and they calculated the methods that others might use to extract the acupuncture points.

Su Hanshan thought about his Seven Emotions Destroying God Style. In terms of the effect of blocking Qi and blood acupuncture points alone, it was really not as good as the method of tapping the acupuncture points with bamboo chopsticks.

Inside the restaurant, a young man with white clothes and black hair walked out, with rosary beads wrapped around his hand, and a chopstick in his hand.

"Amitabha, little monk Zhijie, I have met all the donors!"

Unexpectedly, this young man seemed to be very shy. With a gentle wave of his bamboo chopsticks, he untied the silver wolf's hole and then lowered his head and said, "The silver wolf donor went crazy probably because of the rosary beads on the young monk's body." , almost caused harm to all the donors, it is the young monk who should apologize."

Prince Darren looked at the string of rosary beads that looked like they were carved from topaz, and suddenly said: "It is rumored that our silver wolves in the Langyu Kingdom have a natural enemy, which is the golden eagle of the God's Cave in Jingang Cliff. If this kind of golden eagle survives more than five years, In ten years, the claws can fall off and grow again.”

"Your rosary beads are polished from the old claws of golden eagles?"

The White Horse Temple on Jingang Cliff is a large sect that is not inferior to the governors of the northern counties.

The young monk with flowing long hair said apologetically: "This rosary can scare away many poisonous insects and monsters, which is quite convenient on weekdays. The young monk did not expect that he would encounter a rare pure-blood silver wolf here. Now the smell of the rosary has been sealed. "

"Hahahaha, both of you are respectable people. Since nothing big happened, why are you standing on this long street?"

In another restaurant not far away, there was a young man in a yellow shirt, standing by the window, gently shaking his folding fan, and said with a smile, "At Situ's house in Xiaxueling, Situ Tingyun is having a small Danyuan party with several friends from aristocratic families. "

"Prince Darren, Zen Master Zhijie, why don't you come and sit here with me, let's talk freely, resolve this little misunderstanding, and build a better friendship. The golden eagle and silver wolf can turn the war into jade. Isn't it a beautiful talk?"

Situ?

Su Hanshan looked at the young man in yellow shirt.

While Situ Tingyun was looking around, he saw Zen Master Guangming in the crowd and narrowed his eyes slightly.

(End of this chapter)