ebookland Chapter 28 A Calamity Descends from the Sky
Chapter 28 A Calamity Descends from the Sky
In San Gu Fang, Ding Yi followed Miao Buzhen through the streets, heading towards Zui Xian Lou.
At this moment, various stalls had been set up on both sides of the road, offering steaming hot rice porridge and fragrant fried dough, wontons wrapped in thin dough wrappers, and white noodles sprinkled with scallions, which broadened Ding Yi's horizons.
I had thought this world was as poor as Xiaotan Village, but now it seems that the standard of living in this county town is far superior to that of Xiaotan Village.
"Haven't had breakfast yet?"
Miao Buzhen smiled as she looked at Ding Yi, who was staring intently at the breakfast stall.
"Ah."
Ding Yi nodded.
"Let's go to Zuixianlou and have some while we're there. Their osmanthus cake is the most famous; you'll never forget it once you try it."
Miao Buzhen chuckled.
"Brother Miao, why do most of the people here seem to be in poor spirits?"
Ding Yi suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Miao Buzhen suddenly stopped in her tracks, then asked with some surprise:
"You've come to the Yin-Yang Palace's territory, yet you don't know about Yin-Yang Sha?"
Ding Yi was startled by these words, but he pretended to be clueless and said:
"I'm really not sure."
"Shh, this isn't the place to talk. Come with me."
Miao Buzhen glanced around warily, then led Ding Yi through a maze of turns into a small alley.
"Brother Ding, you don't even know about Yin Yang Sha? Did you come here purely to experience that feeling?"
Miao Buzhen nudged Ding Yi with his elbow, a mocking expression on his face.
"There was indeed something unusual last night. Is this what they call the Yin-Yang Curse?"
Ding Yi asked.
"It seems you've already experienced the power of Yin-Yang Fiends."
“Every day at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Yin and Yang evil spirits will flood into the outer city. Hearing this will arouse desires and deplete one’s essence and vitality.”
"However, you can also go to the Yin-Yang Palace outpost to buy Tranquilizing Pills, which can protect you from the torment of Yin-Yang Evil. Of course, these things are not cheap, otherwise I wouldn't be working so hard every day to earn copper coins!"
Miao Buzhen sighed.
Upon hearing this, Ding Yi finally understood. It turned out that all the residents of this city were being attacked by Yin-Yang evil spirits every night, and they could also buy some kind of calming pills to immunize themselves against the damage. Wasn't this exactly the same as what the Blood and Flesh Temple in Xiaotan Village did?
"Brother Ding, Brother Ding!"
Seeing Ding Yi deep in thought, Miao Buzhen thought he was frightened by the Yin-Yang Fiend, so she quickly patted Ding Yi on the shoulder.
"Brother Ding, there's no need to panic too much. All the divine palaces and immortal temples in the world are like this. The Yin-Yang Palace uses the desires of Yin and Yang as its guide, so it's not bad."
"At least for the time being, there is no danger to their lives, and quite a few people are even immersed in it."
Miao Buzhen opened the folding fan in his hand, fanning himself while shaking his head and speaking.
Hearing this, Ding Yi finally understood.
The Blood and Flesh Temple is an organization purely for collecting blood and flesh vengeful spirits, striving to sacrifice the entire village in a short time in order to obtain something. The Yin-Yang Palace here, on the other hand, is using a strategy of slowly boiling the frog.
Although Yin-Yang Fiends appear here every night, fortunately, they don't last long. In addition, people can exchange money for calming pills, which not only gives the residents of the city something to look forward to, but also means that even if they don't have money to buy medicine, the residents won't blame the Yin-Yang Palace. Instead, they will blame themselves for not working hard enough.
The opportunity has been given to you. Everyone is working hard to make money, so why don't you have money to buy medicine?
Have you ever asked yourself if you're trying your best?
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant..."
Ding Yi muttered to himself.
"Brother Ding, take my advice. It may feel good, but it's bad for your health. You're still so young. You should buy some calming pills instead."
With that, Miao Buzhen walked out of the alley, fanning herself with her folding fan. Ding Yi, seeing this, didn't say anything and silently followed her out.
As Ding Yi walked back down the street, he noticed that the vendors around him seemed to have changed.
Their faces still showed some fatigue, but more than that, they showed helplessness and bewilderment.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, the chaotic flow of people and the cacophony of shouts gave Ding Yi the illusion of being back on Earth, but the weary faces brought him back to his senses.
"Live on."
The thought inexplicably popped into Ding Yi's mind, and his gaze turned cold.
The two chatted as they walked, one in front of the other, and finally arrived at the so-called Drunken Immortal Pavilion half an hour later.
This is a two-story pavilion, which seems to be quite famous. When Ding Yi and his group arrived, there were already quite a few people sitting inside eating tea and snacks.
"Mr. Miao has arrived!"
"Mr. Miao, you've kept us waiting so long!!"
"Hurry, hurry!"
Miao Buzhen seemed to be a celebrity here. His appearance caused a stir among the people in the restaurant. Some even got up and came over to pull Miao Buzhen, urging him to come in quickly.
"Don't panic, everyone! Don't panic, we're here!"
Miao Buzhen laughed heartily, then walked to the front of the small square table on the first floor and sat down.
Tea and pastries were already prepared on the square table. After Miao Buzhen sat down, she first picked up her teacup, took a sip, then opened her folding fan and began to speak:
"Yesterday we talked about the celestial anomaly that caused the Great Liang Dynasty to be in turmoil. Today, let's talk about the life of Jin Wuhuan, the Martial God of Great Liang!"
Below the stage, Ding Yi casually found a table and listened to Miao Buzhen's biographical recitation on stage. His expression immediately became quite interesting.
From Miao Buzhen's words, Ding Yi learned that the country he had traveled to was called Liang, and the current emperor was Emperor Zhou Yuanjing of Liang.
For hundreds of years, the Great Liang Dynasty ruled over twelve prefectures, producing a great number of talented individuals, among whom the Tianwu Division was the most outstanding.
In the twelfth year of the Xuanzhao, a calamity star descended from the heavens, and demons and monsters appeared out of nowhere in various states, causing the century-old foundation of the Great Liang Dynasty to crumble overnight.
The source of the disaster claimed to be a god, and that it belonged to the four palaces and one hundred and eight constellations in the heavens...
Ding Yi listened to Miao Buzhen's storytelling and was so stunned that he even forgot to eat the osmanthus cake on the table. He never expected that the world he had transmigrated to would be so complicated and bizarre. He wondered if Miao Buzhen was exaggerating.
However, the audience members below the stage were all very interested and nodded from time to time, which made Ding Yi feel that even if Miao Buzhen's words were somewhat exaggerated, they were not far off.
"It turns out that the Yin-Yang Palace is also one of the calamities, belonging to the Tianwei Star. It is the actual controlling institution of Qingzhou, but on the surface it is called the Upper Sect or the Divine Palace."
After listening to the discussions of the people around him all morning, Ding Yi finally learned some information about the Yin-Yang Palace, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Qingzhou comprises thirty-nine prefectures, each with dozens of counties, so it can be said that no matter where you go, you cannot escape the invasion of Yin and Yang evil.
The people of other states fared even worse; if they encountered a particularly ruthless calamity, the destruction of entire cities was not uncommon.
The Great Liang Dynasty is now defunct in name only. Although the imperial family still holds sway over the Central Plains, the royal families of the other eleven states are powerless to intervene and can only send personnel to the Central Plains symbolically, which is of little practical use.
The world today is in an era where celestial palaces stand side by side, each ruling its own territory. It can be said that Ding Yi's transmigration here coincided with the most insane time.
Around noon, Miao Buzhen finished her storytelling, said goodbye to everyone, and prepared to go home.
Upon seeing this, Ding Yi quickly stood up and called out to Miao Buzhen.
"Brother Miao, I'm going to check out the Yin-Yang Palace's outpost, so I won't be going back with you."
Ding Yi said to Miao Buzhen.
"Oh? It seems Brother Ding has already made his decision. Then I'll take my leave."
Miao Buzhen seemed to have anticipated this. He cupped his hands in greeting to Ding Yi, then waved his fan and left Zuixianlou.
Ding Yi watched Miao Buzhen's retreating figure, then called over the waiter, took out some silver coins to pay the bill, and inquired about the location of the Yin Yang Palace's outpost before leaving the restaurant.