The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 347 - 218 Yichang City_2

Chapter 347: Chapter 218 Yichang City_2

"Fast Ship Zhang" fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly, "That’s fine, this old man isn’t afraid at this age, but these disciples have families with the old and young to provide for, my apologies."

Li Yan chuckled wryly, "Elder, what are you saying."

Old Man Zhang then turned his head to Wang Daoxuan, bowing deeply with clasped hands, "Master Wang, your noble righteousness deserves my deepest respect."

The ship workers on the boat also turned around in unison, bowing respectfully in gratitude.

Throughout the journey, although Li Yan was the leader, it was Wang Daoxuan they respected the most.

Wang Daoxuan was magnanimous and treated everyone as if they were bathed in the warmth of spring. More importantly, he never kept secrets to himself, sharing all the taboos for warding off evil spirits.

"Fast Ship Zhang" took it upon himself to keep a record, filling up a large volume.

He knew that this could be a family treasure!

With this, though they could not compare with the people of the Mystical Sect, they didn’t rely on exorcism for a living. When they traveled to different places and encountered odd phenomena, they now had methods to protect themselves.

As they spoke, the wooden boat gradually approached the dock.

The riverbank here was broad, with several docks for mooring ships. Some were designated only for official ships, some were for large commercial ships to unload goods.

The docks for small passenger ships, on the other hand, were relatively narrow.

"Gentlemen, I take my leave!"

"Take care on your journey!"

Having disembarked and bid their farewells to "Fast Ship Zhang," Li Yan and his three companions turned and walked towards Yichang City.

From a distance, the city walls of Yichang were markedly different from those in Guanzhong, constructed with red sandstone as the foundation and blue bricks for the walls, and they were elliptical in shape.

Around the city walls, there were moats as wide as four zhang, overflowing with water from the river, relying on the danger of the Yangtze River as a natural moat.

The city gates were already open by then. Although busy, it was quite fluid, and no queuing was necessary to enter the city. However, there were a large number of soldiers patrolling and inspecting at the entrance.

As the group continued on their way, they soon noticed something odd.

These soldiers were extremely strict in their inspection of people dressed in the attire of various ethnic minorities, as well as travelers from the pugilistic world who carried weapons.

The group exchanged glances, already guessing the reason.

Although they had been hurrying on their journey, when they passed through Jingzhou, Sha Lifei had entered the city and purchased the latest intelligence report.

Over in Yunyang, the war situation had entered a tense state.

The mountain people, after seizing control of Zhushan County, had begun to gather a large number of troops, intending to continue their conquest of cities and lands, even aiming to take down Yunyang City.

However, the current state of Yunyang City was vastly different.

The governor Yuan Qun, who had been convalescing at home, had appeared in ill health.

He was a truly capable official who had defended Yunyang Prefecture for many years, cleared land for farming, attracted mountain people, and had already improved the situation.

Because he was so competent, even among the mountain people he had a good reputation. By steadily progressing, he had forced the Heavenly Saint Sect to take desperate actions.

Once he took action, he immediately took control of the situation.

The impetuous Commander was directly arrested, and solid and stable leaders were temporarily promoted to defend the key water passages.

With defenses prepared, the effectiveness of gunpowder diminished.

The rebellious mountain people attempted to draw their enemies out again, but instead fell into an ambush arranged by Yuan Qun, achieving their first victory since the start of the war.

However, Yuan Qun did not act rashly.

The Heavenly Saint Sect’s troops were too numerous. In a short amount of time, they had gathered an army of two hundred thousand.

Thanks to the emergency support from the garrison of Shan State, they barely managed to hold their position.

Yuan Qun’s strategy was simple, just to hold steadfast.

This uprising was a slap in the face of the Emperor. The Great Xuan Dynasty had mobilized troops from all sides and rushed to Ezhou to suppress the rebellion.

Yuan Qun just needed to keep the war within a certain scope. Once the main forces arrived, they could sweep through the mountains of Jing Chu and completely exterminate the Heavenly Saint Sect.

Of course, they had an even greater enemy.

That was those rebellious Tusi.

The court of the Great Xuan Dynasty had resolved that this time they would deal with the mountain people of Jing Chu and the matter of changing the Tusi system once and for all, stabilizing the situation in the Divine State.

Yichang, on the other hand, was somewhat special.

On one side, it bordered the territories of various Tusi in the Southwest, and on the other side, it connected to Ba Shu and was guarded by heavy troops.

If the conflict in the Jing Chu Mountain area was quelled, this would be the front line for suppressing the four directions and eradicating the rebellious Tusi.

Prior to this, the court did not wish to exert too much pressure.

After all, some Tusi were loyal to the court and willing to cooperate with the reformation, while others were watching and had not participated in the rebellion.

If they could win over these people, the war could end more swiftly.

At the same time, the rebelling Tusi were also active, firstly trying to infiltrate Yichang City in preparation for war and secondly striving to gain the support of various forces.

Yichang City today is simply a gathering place for all kinds of strange and mysterious figures...

"Stop!"

Sure enough, as the group arrived at the entrance, they were stopped by soldiers.

They simply did not look like benign citizens at a glance.

Unperturbed, Li Yan took out a black Daoist certificate, "We are Magicians from Shan State who have accepted a task from the Yunyang Prefecture City God Temple and have come to the Southwest to investigate a few cases."

The effect of the black Daoist certificate became apparent.

Upon seeing it, the leading soldier’s expression softened considerably, and he respectfully clasped his hands, "Please wait a moment, sirs. There is someone here from the Yichang City God Temple who can perform the verification."

After speaking, he quickly turned and ordered, "Quickly go invite Master Yu Lingzi!"

There was a guardhouse near the city gate where a white-haired Daoist was meditating, slightly overweight, nodding off with snores echoing.

"Master! Master!"

The soldier hurriedly woke him up, "Some Magicians from Yunyang Prefecture have arrived, claiming they have a task from the City God Temple."

"Right, they claim to be from Shan State. My commander ordered me to ask you to verify."

"Oh."

The chubby Daoist opened his eyes in a daze, then suddenly jolted awake and, pulling the soldier along, asked, "Did you say they are from Shan State?"

"Is their leader a young man?"

"Um, does the Master know them?"

Before the soldier could even finish asking, the chubby Daoist hurriedly put on his shoes and scurried out in a flurry.

Upon reaching the city gate and seeing Li Yan and his companions, his face bloomed with a smile, and he stepped forward to perform a Daoist salute, "Are you the fellow Daoist Li from Guanzhong?"

Li Yan was taken aback and said with some suspicion, "Does the Master know us?"

With a gentle flick of his horsetail whisk, the chubby Daoist beamed, "I am Yu Lingzi. Nephew Gu Hanzi wrote to me, mentioning that you would be visiting, and I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"I have already arranged accommodations for you, please, this way!"

Li Yan and his companions exchanged puzzled looks.

Although they had gained some reputation, compared to the massive Taixuan Orthodox Sect, they were not even ants.

Such warmth and enthusiasm, there likely was a problem.

But at this point, they had no choice but to follow the lead.

"Thank you, Master."

Li Yan signaled with his eyes and led his group to follow the chubby Daoist into the city.

Upon entering through the city gates, a long main street appeared with shops lining both sides, bustling with people. Despite the looming clouds of war, it still looked extremely vibrant.

"Cool shrimp, cool shrimp, refreshingly thirst-quenching!"

"Radish dumplings, come and get them!"

On both sides of the street, there were many eateries and the calls of vendors were endless.

Having traveled for days and nights without stopping, mostly staying on a ship where they couldn’t make fire, Li Yan and his companions had been largely subsisting on dry rations.

Hearing the cries of the vendors, they immediately felt their stomachs rumble.

Unable to restrain himself, Sha Lifei licked his lips, "Indeed, customs vary greatly from place to place; I have never heard of shrimp being refreshing and thirst-quenching."

Laughing, the chubby Daoist Yu Lingzi explained, "What you don’t know is that this ’cool shrimp’ isn’t actually shrimp, but a kind of food made by steaming rice batter and then dropping it into a basin of cool water using a colander, which creates a shape with a big head and thin tail, hence the name. When eaten, it is paired with sugar water for a distinctive flavor. Ahead is Peng’s place which makes the best, let’s go have a taste."

"Yichang brings together delicacies from both lands and says within the city where there is good food, this poor Daoist knows it all too well..."

Seeing his self-satisfied look, Li Yan immediately understood.

Gu Hanzi had said that in response to the conflict, the elite forces of Taixuan Orthodox Sect from Ezhou had all been redirected to Yunyang Prefecture.

The influence of the Magic Veins was stronger on this side, and Taixuan Orthodox Sect only occupied the City God Temple, and this Yu Lingzi, although senior, was clearly not one of the elite...

Seemingly oblivious to Li Yan’s skepticism, Yu Lingzi continued down the road, endlessly speaking and introducing the sights and sounds of Yichang City.

Of course, what he discussed the most were the various delicacies.

Unwittingly, the group had crossed Central City and arrived at a street to the right; directly opposite, startlingly, was the City God Temple.

What they saw left them dumbfounded.

The front facade of the City God Temple had collapsed by half, with numerous workers repairing it in the rain...