The sun rises and the moon sets, and it's the fifth day of the Lunar New Year in a blink of an eye.
Before dawn, at the beginning of the morning, Councilor Zhou's servants used freshly tied bamboo brooms to clean the corner threshold of the house and put the dust and garbage into a huge cloth bag.
This thing is called "Five Poverty Bag".
The so-called "five poor" are Poverty of Wisdom, Poverty of Learning, Poverty of Fate, Poverty of Association, and Poverty of Ambition, which originated from Han Yu "Send Poor Wen" in the Tang Dynasty.
And this custom is "Breaking Five".
"Breaking Five" has two taboos.
"Five Poverty Bag" is also particular, because "it is forbidden to throw away in the first month of the year", so starting from the first day of the new year, all garbage will be stored in Five Poverty Bag.
Not long after, the servants of the Zhou family cleaned up, hung "Five Poverty Bag" on the paper mannequin, and worked together to carry it to the southwest corner of the street.
This corner corresponds to Kun Trigram Death Gate.
According to the rules, pottery must be burned and thrown into pieces, which means "Peace in Shatters", which means breaking the taboo of "no throwing away in the first month".
The guys in the Zhou family have been doing this every year and have long been used to it.
But this time, they were a little frightened, turning their heads from time to time and looking at the streets in the distance.
At the end of the street is First Prince Residence.
In the battle on the first day of the new year, First Prince Residence no one survived. The whole street was covered with dead bodies, the walls collapsed, and all the residents on both sides ran to relatives' homes for refuge. It is still in a mess.
It wasn't that they didn't want to go home, but in the second grade of junior high school, rumors spread that the old watchman saw something unclean here in the middle of the night, and was frightened to death.
Some people say that this is the dead soldier Yin Soul.
Some people say that this is the activity of the demon who killed First Prince.
In short, no one dares to take risks and come back.
Anyway, the people living around here are all dignitaries, and there are already people trying to buy houses elsewhere.
Councilor Zhou is famous for being stingy, but it's the servants like them who have to go out and burn "Five Poverty Bag" before dawn.
Several people were trembling and moving quickly.
Seeing that the flames were almost extinguished, he turned around and ran back, then closed the door with a bang.
"Okay, okay, nothing happened..."
"Look how scared you are."
"Laozi, the same goes for you."
"Let me see, it's probably those demons who are so ruthless. They killed so many people and even destroyed the Prince mansion."
"Shh, keep your voice down, be careful of the master being angry..."
The sound gradually faded away.
What they didn't notice was that at some point, two figures appeared on the dark roof of the uninhabited mansion opposite.
"Humph, waiting all night was in vain!"
"Come on, calm down, that Blood Nuo Master is really ruthless. If he doesn't do the job perfunctorily, he will definitely take action on us."
"If I had known this, I shouldn't have come to Chengdu..."
Both of them are evil cultivators that Lu Sheng borrowed Shu King Residence resources over the years. They don't have any moral principles, but they have been cursed by Blood Nuo Master, and now they can't even run away...
They galloped and jumped on the roof, and met many companions along the way, who were placed under surveillance everywhere, and they also exchanged secret signals with Black Feather Guard who was patrolling the streets.
A dragnet has been laid throughout Chengdu.
On the dark street corner, there were dots of bonfires burning "Five Poverty Bag". The people acted according to customs and did not notice at all that there were bursts of murderous intent hidden in the darkness...
Not long after, the sky became brighter.
It seems that the solar terms have changed. After the New Year, it has not snowed again. The cold wind is biting and the snow gradually disappears.
And Chengdu Prefecture gradually woke up.
For many merchants, this day is more important than the Chinese New Year.
Welcoming the God of Wealth, Breaking Five are poor. Opening the business is another year of hard work.
In the east of the city Old Well Water Street, firecrackers were crackling and smoke was filling the air, and every house was busy Welcoming the God of Wealth.
"The ceremony of sincere surrender, placed in the Xuan Altar, the golden wheel goes well. When the black tiger roars, all the demons in the world are frightened. Wherever the golden whip rises, all the evil spirits in the world are invisible..."
In a clothing store, there is an offering table on the southeast corner, filled with fruits, cakes, etc., as well as incense, candles, and precious wax.
Amidst the lingering smoke, Wang Dao Xuan was chanting <Scripture of the God of Wealth>.
He specially disguised himself, raised the corners of his eyes, and dyed his beard white, making him look even more immortal.
The action of opening the forum was even more precise.
Of course, all the breath is hidden.
This altar has no effect.
But in the eyes of the owner of the clothing store next to him, he looked more and more extraordinary. He praised him, "Jiang Gate is indeed a high-ranking person. If it weren't for this lantern festival, I really wouldn't be able to hire an expert like you."
"Shopkeeper Liu is welcome."
Wang Dao Xuan stroked his beard and smiled, and said calmly, "I am acting in a humble way, but I just want a word of fate. If I were not destined to be with Shopkeeper Liu, I would not make a move no matter how much money I have."
"I will definitely not treat the Daoist priest badly."
When Shopkeeper Liu heard this, his face burst into laughter. He turned to the waiter and said, "Quickly, bring the things here."
The two waiters took the order and left, and soon they brought a basket from the backyard.
The inside is densely packed with copper plates, with a layer of "God of Joy Coin" spread on the top, and flowers are tied with red silk ribbons on both sides of the basket.
Wang Dao Xuan frowned slightly, "What does Shopkeeper Liu mean by this?"
"Daoist priest, please don't misunderstand me."
The short and fat shopkeeper Liu quickly explained, "This is the rule of our business. When a store opens, the gong sounds three times and the door is unsealed, the first transaction must be settled with copper coins, which means 'Copper Heart Leads to Prosperity'."
Wang Dao Xuan shook his head and said, "Pindao helps people pray for blessings and ward off disasters. Naturally, we know this custom. What Pindao is talking about is these'God of Joy Coin'."
"Oh, this."
Shopkeeper Liu smiled and said, "This is from the royal palace. It is exquisitely forged and rare in my life. I originally wanted to collect some and keep them, but I didn't expect that there were suddenly a large number of them on the market."
"Daoist Priest, don't underestimate it. Although this thing only costs money, it is made of high-quality copper. Even if the craftsmanship is not mentioned, it can be exchanged for ten copper plates..."
"That's not what Pindao is talking about."
Wang Dao Xuan interrupted him and frowned, "Some people say that this thing has an ominous use. Isn't the shopkeeper worried?"
Shopkeeper Liu laughed and said, "The Daoist priest doesn't know. This is money spent for blessing. How could it be ominous? Some people have already inquired about it. They are all rumors spread by monsters hanging around Chengdu Prefecture."
"These monsters slaughtered the entire Prince family during the Chinese New Year, and now they are spreading rumors. They clearly have evil intentions. Daoist priests must not believe them."
"That's it..."
Wang Dao Xuan didn't argue, Fu Xu nodded and said, "Pindao is destined to shopkeeper Liu, how can he accept money?"
"This... how is this so embarrassing."
"It doesn't matter."
After leaving the clothing store, Wang Dao Xuan sighed slightly as he looked at the streets full of red firecrackers and the lively scene of dragon and lion dances in the distance.
After the First World War, they parted ways with Faceless Young Master.
The opponent was suffering a heavy blow. Even though he could not defeat Shu King Residence on the surface, he would not swallow his breath and mobilized his men to spread the horror of "God of Joy Coin" everywhere.
Now it seems that the effect is not very good.
The battle on the first day of junior high school seemed to have the opposite effect.
King of Shu has never caused any disturbance since he took charge of Chengdu, and he is highly respected. The people in the city obviously trust him more.
Prince's mansion was massacred, which made the people sympathize even more.
If I was a little afraid of the situation in Chengdu before, now I feel the same hatred and hatred.
Wang Dao Xuan I also heard last night that some people were planning to use "God of Joy Coin" to wrap it up with "Ingot Dumplings" for the holidays.
This is also an old custom of Breaking Five. It is said that whoever bites a copper coin in his family will be favored by the God of Wealth in the coming year.
Thinking of this, Wang Dao Xuan felt a little helpless.
Many people he saw were already infected with the "God of Joy Coin" aura. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they were probably all targets and could not be saved.
At this moment, shouts rang out from around him.
"Marshal Xuan Tan drives the auspicious clouds!"
"Black Tiger Golden Whip solved the puzzle!"
"Wealth Beckoning Boy Stand on both sides!"
"Blessings, wealth, good luck, and good fortune!"
The thick Sichuan sound carries a long tone.
This is "Chanting the God of Wealth Verse", which means you can sing auspicious words to get luck. The shopkeepers will also give you a big red envelope.
As the day of Breaking Five arrives, Chengdu Prefecture becomes lively again.
Wang Dao Xuan raised the long fortune-telling flag and walked into the crowd while singing Pacing the Void Lyrics...
In order to cope with Lu Sheng's layout, Li Yan and the others divided their forces into two groups.
In the early morning of the second day of the first lunar month, Six Idlers of the Bamboo Grove had left Chengdu Prefecture. Holding Li Yan's token, he found Qingcheng Mountain and the Cheng family outside the city and went to Dujiangyan.
These people are all masters. It is difficult to force the army in Chengdu Prefecture, but in Dujiangyan, they can do everything from starting a forum to raiding and assassinating.
If the root cause is eliminated, Lu Sheng's plan will be useless.
As for Li Yan and others, they continue to hide in Chengdu Prefecture, sow discord, create chaos, and attract the attention of Lu Sheng.
They have also been reduced to parts.
Wang Dao Xuan pretends to be a wandering Daoist priest, snooping around in the market, and looking for countermeasures for "God of Joy Coin".
Because of the 15th Lantern Festival, there are many people from the world gathered in the city, and most of them are Gold Gate scammers. Walking on the street, you can see a fortune-telling blind man in ten steps, and Yuan Guang Taoist in a hundred steps.
Wang Dao Xuan has done this before, so he naturally learned it so well that even the soldiers patrolling the guard station didn't bother to pay attention to him.
The Daoist wandered around and soon came to the Nine-hole Bridge, pretending to be casually strolling by, but a mouse had already held the talisman in its mouth, passed through the small hole in the grass at the bottom of the bridge, and burrowed into the ground...
The mouse was very fast and soon entered the dark passage.
In the dark passage, the candlelight is dim.
Lu San sat cross-legged and marked on a map of Chengdu with the help of faint light.
Zhizhi~
Rats came running out of the darkness one after another. They followed his pen and called for a while before disappearing into the darkness again.
As rats continue to come and go, marking routes becomes more and more complex.
The condition that Faceless Young Master could exchange with them was Chengdu Prefecture's secret channel. However, he didn't expect that Lu San's spell could already summon rats from half the city to help crack it.
Seeing the letter from Wang Dao Xuan, Lu San thought thoughtfully, added another paragraph, and stuffed the talisman into the mouse's mouth.
Soon, the mouse quickly got into the tunnel.
After walking in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, the mouse climbed up along the narrow hole and reappeared in a dark alley in the east of the city.
In the east of Chengdu Prefecture city, ordinary people live. In addition, Three Religions and Nine Schools gather together, resulting in a strange phenomenon:
The street outside is very lively, with all kinds of teahouses and restaurants. Because the merchants often ask the waiters to clean the door, it is relatively clean.
But when you go deep into the alley, you will see all dilapidated houses.
Common people's buildings are mostly similar to Tujia stilted houses, with livestock raised on the first floor, mainly chickens, pigs and sheep.
As soon as we entered the alley, the smell was overwhelming.
The mouse was very fast and came to a large courtyard. Although it was not a stilted building, it also had a lot of chickens.
The yard was full of strong men.
On a cold day, some people were planing wood and carving stones. Their hands were full of various carpentry tools, and they were busy working.
In the main room, in addition to Sha LiFei, there were also Hou Xuan and an old man.
"That's just the way it is."
Hou Xuan shook his head and said, "In Chengdu Prefecture, there is a Artisan Gang who knows Lu Ban Method, but they work for King of Shu all the year round, so I don't dare to trust them."
"This Senior Wen is also a Daoist craftsman, but he was forced to end up here because he offended Shu King Residence officials."
"That's a good feeling."
Sha LiFei laughed, clasped his fists and said, "We'll leave it to senior to handle our affairs. The money is easy to negotiate, and senior will definitely be satisfied."
The old man opposite was smoking a dry cigarette and said in a low voice, "Building a temple is easy. I have built about ten or eight of them with my disciples. I have never had any problems and I am not afraid of making enemies with Shu King Residence."
"The problem is, this Chengdu Prefecture can't get out..."
This old man is also shrewd and has already noticed that something is wrong with the rumors, so he hides here with his disciples to avoid causing trouble.
Hou Xuan helped Li Yan find someone, and it took a lot of effort to get in touch with him.
Zhizhi~
At this moment, the mouse came from the corner and jumped onto Sha LiFei's lap.
Sha LiFei took it and smiled, "Senior, don't worry, there will be a chance the day after tomorrow."
"Some people from Chu Qi, Human Day Visit to Thatched Cottage, and Chengdu Prefecture wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to leave Chengdu, so they made some contacts."
"There must be trouble that day, and I'll send you off just in time..."
Several people were busy secretly, but Chengdu Prefecture was no longer calm.
In the east of the city Hundred Fragrance Tea House, the storyteller was talking about Jiang Ziya killing a general and becoming a god, and Dr. Tea passed by carrying a copper pot.
Suddenly, there was a stumble and boiling water gushes out.
Before an official could react, he was splashed with boiling water, screams were heard, and a sharp cone was stabbed into the back of his neck.
"Okay!"
The old man at the next table applauded.
The rolling chili oil mixed with the blood...
In the old street brothel, the revolving lantern slowly rotates.
Several charlatans were holding the girl in their arms, drinking and teasing her.
Bang!
The door was kicked open, and several Black Feather Guard and a group of sub-guard soldiers rushed in and pushed several people to the ground.
"Sir, what an injustice..."
"Stop talking nonsense, where are the people who asked you to spread rumors?"
"I've never seen this... I just got the commission from White Horse Gambling House. The middleman said the less we know, the better."
"Let's go!"
Shu King Residence and the others left immediately.
After a while, the nearby White Horse Gambling House caught fire...
Li Yan didn't need to provoke them, Shu King Residence took the lead in attacking Faceless Young Master, trying to get rid of all the troublemakers.
Faceless Young Master people are naturally not happy to suffer losses.
Then, a strange scene appeared in the city:
The streets gradually became lively, people were walking around, and it seemed like things were back to normal.
But in those hidden corners, there are life-and-death fights.
As for Li Yan, he left Chengdu Prefecture again, found Yang Chenghua from Fu River Wharf, and brought him to the Qingyang Palace.
The original Qingyang Palace will be very lively at this time, and there is also the "God of Wealth Nuo Dance" who combines various witchcraft and Daoism, attracting people to come one after another.
But now, it is frighteningly deserted.
"Senior, can this be done?"
Li Yan asked while staring at the Qingyang Palace.
Now, there was only one thing he couldn't figure out.
What will these Old Taoist get when they are done, so that all these old-timers in the world will fall to their own devices?
He had a hunch that it might be related to Nine Cauldrons...