Chapter 657 (1): Give Me Another Bowl of Yangchun Noodles

One after another, the disciples at the Yang Family's medicine shop left to embark on distant journeys. First it was Li Er, then it was Zheng Dafeng, Su Dian, and Shi Lingshan. Old Man Yang was also happy to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Yang Shu was still looking after the shop, and he was someone who only understood punishment instead of human words, so Old Man Yang couldn't be bothered to say a single extra word to him. Of course, Yang Shu was also unwilling to interact with that old geezer. After all, that old bastard actually viewed himself as a mighty figure by simply lazing around here?

If it weren't for the seniors of the Yang Clan cherishing their past relationship with the old geezer and helping him, just how much money could the deserted medicine shop make each year? If Yang Shu were the clan leader, he would have pulled the old geezer in line and had a stern word with him a long time ago.

Wei Bo and Ruan Qiong came to visit at almost the exact same moment.

Both the mountain god of the Northern Mountain and the sage overseeing the region arrived silently and secretly.

Ruan Qiong was relatively casual, and he sat on a bench under the eaves and started to drink wine. Xiuxiu had brought him some good wine when returning home this time, and he was usually quite reluctant to drink it.

Wei Bo stood beside the bench with a solemn expression.

Many different sages had sat on the bench beside him.

Old Man Yang was surrounded by drifting white smoke as he sat outside the main room on the steps opposite them.

Ruan Qiong put his pot of wine away and said frankly, "I wouldn't have come here if Xiuxiu hadn't gone to the private school."

Old Man Yang smiled and said, "I can't control her actions, so you can only blame yourself, Ruan Qiong."

Ruan Qiong nodded in understanding. He was simply looking for confirmation that this wasn't a scheme by Old Man Yang. This was already enough.

This caused Wei Bo to feel increasingly solemn. The pressure on him, a measly mountain god, would be far greater if he lost his natural ally in Ruan Qiong.

Truth be told, anyone would feel under pressure when interacting with this old senior.

Old Man Yang tapped his smoking pipe on a step and continued, "The city lord of White Emperor City is at the capital of the Great Li Empire and looking over here right now. Perhaps he'll visit us in the next instant."

Ruan Qiong furrowed his brows.

"And the imperial preceptor?" Wei Bo asked.

"Will things truly become easy for you in the future simply because you can predict the Embroidered Tiger's thoughts?" Old Man Yang asked with a smile. "I say not necessarily. Since that's the case, why overthink these matters?"

When the Jewel Small World had teetered on the brink of collapse back then, the various fated opportunities had swirled unpredictably and left with many different people.

They were like porcelain wares falling from a table and smashing into pieces on the floor, with countless shards of varying sizes shooting in all directions.

Of these fated opportunities of the Great Dao, five had been clear standouts.

One was obtained by Sage Ruan Qiong's only child, and it was the fiery dragon bracelet on Ruan Xiu's wrist.

Another was the small catfish that Gu Can had received from Chen Ping'an, which he had raised in a water vat at home. After leaving the small town with Liu Zhimao, the small catfish had voraciously eaten and grown at Bamboo Scroll Lake, eventually manifesting a human form and being named Tan Xue.

There was also the four-legged snake with horns on its head, which had chosen to follow Song Jixin and Zhi Gui.

Prince Gao Xuan of the Great Sui Nation had purchased the golden carp from Li Er, and in a buy one get one free deal, he had also received the extremely high-grade Dragon King Basket.

Of course, there was Zhao Yao, Mr. Qi's scholarly attendant, who had left the small town in an ox-drawn carriage very early on. Apart from the wooden dragon, Zhao Yao had also secretly taken with him a spring character seal that his teacher had gifted him during their farewell.

On the surface, it looked like only Zhao Yao was missing from this reunion in the small town.

However, Cui Chan naturally wouldn't have such oversights with his meticulous planning.

The alliance between the Great Sui Nation's Imperial Gao Clan and the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan was a game of Go, with Gao Xuan becoming a royal hostage and studying at Cloud Drape Mountain's Forest Deer Academy under the protection of the old ancestor of the Geyang Gao Clan.

The golden carp had been raised in a mountain stream over the past years, and it was clear that the imperial court of the Great Li Empire had secretly warned the Dragon Whisker River, the Iron Talisman River, and the three relevant mountain gods against revealing this matter to the outside.

Bamboo Scroll Lake was another Go board, one which had involved Gu Can. Ruan Xiu had traveled south with the sticky rod officials of the Great Li Empire, hunting down the young boy with abundant martial fortune but had been taken away from the empire. While doing so, Ruan Xiu had almost been dragged onto the Go board as well.

Gu Can's mother had been terrified following the commotion at Bamboo Scroll Lake, so she had chosen to return home to the small town before eventually settling down in the provincial city, once again enjoying a life of riches. There were three main reasons behind her decision. The first reason was Chen Ping'an's suggestion, Gu Can's support of Chen Ping'an's suggestion, and her own feeling of lingering apprehension. She was now very afraid of Bamboo Scroll Lake's environment and atmosphere.

The second reason was Gu Can's father becoming a deity following his death. He had first accumulated merit at the residence of the female ghost in a wedding, after which he had been promoted to a mountain god of one of the Great Li Empire's former Five Mountains. Things would become much more stable after he returned home.

And finally, Gu Can hoped that his mother could distance herself from that region of conflict and chaos. He didn't trust his master, Liu Zhimao, from the bottom of his heart, and he also couldn't trust Liu Laocheng, the chief guest elder of the True Realm Sect.

As for Song Jixin, had he ever left the Go board from the beginning to the end? Had he ever broken free from his status as a Go stone?

And how could Zhao Yao possibly become an exception and truly flee from Cui Chan's meticulous plans?

Ruan Qiong took his leave.

However, Wei Bo was unwilling to return to Cloud Drape Mountain just like that.

This reunion had taken place far too suddenly and eerily, especially with the young mountain master far away at the Sword Qi Great Wall and Zheng Dafeng also absent from Downtrodden Mountain. Wei Bo was afraid that Zheng Dafeng's change in plan and decision not to visit the Lotus Root Blessed Land was purposely arranged by this old senior.

Only one person remained of Downtrodden Mountain's backbone: Zhu Lian. Wei Bo could only ever be a guest in the ancestral hall atop Sky Blue Peak, and he didn't have a proper seat.

Old Man Yang smiled and asked, "Mountain God Wei, is this any way to repay the debt of gratitude from before?"

Wei Bo smiled wryly and replied, "Please tell me the truth, Senior. Is this matter targeting Downtrodden Mountain? If not, then I definitely won't disturb your peace and quiet any longer."

Old Man Yang thought for a moment before replying, "There are some ties, but the main target isn't Downtrodden Mountain. There's no need for Cui Chan to target Downtrodden Mountain. In any case, you should be able to trust Cui Dongshan even if you can't trust Cui Chan."

There was a look of helplessness on Wei Bo's face. He genuinely couldn't trust that young boy in white with bizarre speech and strange actions.

In the end, Old Man Yang added, "Then you should at least trust the third portrait hung on the wall of Sky Blue Peak's ancestral hall, right?"

It was as if Wei Bo had suddenly eaten a calming pill at this moment, feeling a sense of clarity as he bowed in gratitude.

"Residing in the mountains and clouds for a long time, appearing like an unrestrained and carefree immortal. Yet the clouds and mists are all illusions, matters that Mountain God Wei must investigate," Old Man Yang remarked.

Wei Bo cupped his fists in respect again, smiling and replying, "The beautiful sceneries in the mortal world are all illusions, but are also able to please the eye. One shouldn't push their luck."

Old Man Yang smiled and said, "Such a praiseworthy temperament, Mountain God Wei. How carefree of you."

Wei Bo felt slightly more at ease as he bid farewell and took his leave.

"Returning what he borrows, so it's not difficult to borrow again in the future. Not bad," Old Man Yang murmured to himself.

Everything that happened according to Cui Chan's plan was for the sake of helping Zhi Gui obtain a complete share of True Dragon fortune in a so-called righteous manner that didn't overstep any boundaries. This needed to be a process of which the sages of the Three Teachings and One Sect couldn't find a single fault.

Song Jixin had deep-rooted feelings for his maidservant, and he was definitely willing to sacrifice the fated opportunity relating to the four-legged snake. In fact, he was potentially willing to sacrifice far more than that.

Ruan Xiu wouldn't care about the loss of a fiery dragon. Indeed, she wouldn't hesitate to do something beneficial for the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.

After rapidly growing up and maturing at Bamboo Scroll Lake, Gu Can had fully recognized the true power of rules and regulations, naturally allowing him to learn the skill of performing transactions. In any case, the life and death of his parents in the future was ultimately a weak spot for Gu Can.

Prince Gao Xuan had studied at the Great Li Empire's Forest Deer Academy for many years, and even if giving up the golden carp would be like taking brutal cuts to his heart, he would still resolutely choose to do so for the sake of the Gao Clan's rule.

As for Zhao Yao, he had failed to even protect that spring seal in the past, so could he possibly protect that wooden dragon now? It would be very difficult.

Of the younger generation in the small town, only a single person had genuinely managed to leave and distance himself from the Go board, that being Chen Ping'an. Moreover, it wasn't as simple as traveling far away to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Even so, Cui Chan still had the ability to drag Chen Ping'an back onto the Go board. Of course, the condition was that he still had the opportunity to return to the small town.

At that time, it was difficult to say whether Chen Ping'an would be a Go stone or a Go player.

Or perhaps he might directly replace Cui Chan?

Over at the front of the medicine shop, Yang Shu saw an old Confucian scholar walking in. He smiled and asked, "Are you here to see a doctor, or are you here to purchase medicinal ingredients, Old Mister? Do you have a prescription?"

How could the Yang Family's medicine shop possibly enjoy good business with how bluntly this shop attendant was speaking?

The old man didn't mind this, and he answered with a smile, "I can treat my own ailments, so I'm simply here to take a look."

Yang Shu was quite displeased to hear this, so he said in a casual manner, "Medicinal ingredients are expensive to begin with, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to enter the mountains to gather these ingredients, so feel free to take a look, but remember not to rifle through them."

The old scholar nodded in response.

He looked around for a while before walking toward the backyard.

Yang Shu felt slightly panicked, not expecting the old geezer to feel so at home.

To his surprise, the old Confucian scholar only needed a very brief moment to push aside the curtain and walk into the backyard. Yang Shu hesitated for a moment before grumbling in his mind. It would be best if this old geezer got into a fight with Old Man Yang. One old bastard was unable to make money, while the other old bastard was unwilling to spend money. It would be best if they hurt their old limbs and became bedridden for many months.

"What a rare customer," Old Man Yang said with a smile.

Cui Chan stood near the bench and didn't sit down, saying with a smile, "Since I've transformed from the customer to the owner, the least I can do is refrain from coming here to be an eyesore."

"You're certain that Chen Ping'an won't be able to return to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent in the short term, so he won't be able to draw the eyes of the dragon for that woman. That being the case, the Great Li Empire can only take a step back and use its backup plan?" Old Man Yang asked.

"This is only a small matter," Cui Chan replied with a nod.

The contract signed between Wang Zhu and Chen Ping'an in the past was extremely unreliable, and if Chen Ping'an suffered misfortune and died early, then Wang Zhu would lose the restriction on her and be free to sign a new contract with Song Jixin. However, she would lose a significant amount of fortune by doing this.

Thus, over these past years, Wang Zhu's many decisions and actions regarding Chen Ping'an's life and death were clearly in conflict with each other, especially since her mind was yet to completely mature. For the sake of the overall situation, she hoped that Chen Ping'an could thrive and grow, allowing both of them to enjoy shared glory.

Interacting with each other as neighbors in Clay Vase Alley, however, her innate temperament as a flood dragon meant that she hoped Chen Ping'an would suffer an early death, allowing her to resolutely make up her mind and focus on absorbing the dragon veins and fortune of the Great Li Empire.

She had awkwardly struggled through many years like this, not daring to act recklessly and break the rules by killing Chen Ping'an, afraid that she would be suppressed by the sages. At the same time, however, she hadn't been willing to waste her time by accompanying a pitiful insect whose bonded porcelain had already been shattered. She had been even less willing to beg heaven and earth for mercy.

Because of this, the relationship between Song Jixin and Chen Ping'an had also become a chaotically tangled web, unable to be sorted through clearly. When Chen Ping'an's bridge of immortality was shattered, Wang Zhu had actually developed killing intent toward him, with the transaction between Song Jixin and Fu Nanhua therefore containing a wisp of hidden killing intent.

Afterward, the great trend had swept over like an unstoppable torrent, and this had caused Wang Zhu to immediately restrain herself, not daring to act recklessly anymore.

Asking a True Dragon to show compassion and feel pity for other people was like asking the emperor of the Great Li Empire to become a perfectly moral and virtuous person.

However, be it Ruan Qiong or Wei Bo, neither of the two people who had visited the medicine shop just then had looked or thought very far ahead.

The great trend had already arrived, and this was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. This was an opportunity that wouldn't come again. Thus, Cui Chan needed to have Wang Zhu accumulate the True Dragon fortune in advance, allowing her to recover as close to her peak strength as possible.

Of course, Cui Chan's purpose for gathering everyone at the private school in the small town was certainly broader than just this.

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