Strictly speaking, the route taken by the traveling merchants was very different from the destination that Yin Qing and his companions had originally planned. They were not able to cross most of the Datong Mountain diagonally, so they took a shortcut and crossed it in a short distance.
But once we reached this side of the mountain, things became much simpler, especially since there were carriages and horses for hire near this large post station.
Although Yin Qing and his fellow foot merchants had only known each other for a few days, they still had a very good impression of each other. However, they had to go their separate ways here.
Although there were newly found herbs to stabilize the injuries, the traveling merchants still had to see a doctor. Yin Qing and others also needed to hire a carriage to rush to Lishun City. After saying goodbye, they left separately, but what happened in the past few days would definitely be unforgettable.
Sitting in the carriage and moving along the relatively smooth official road, the four scholars finally felt at ease.
"Huh... If I go back to the academy and tell the teacher and other classmates about what happened in the past few days, do you think they will believe it?"
Lin Xinjie, who talks the most and cares the most, also expressed his emotion in his words.
"It should be... just a story at most, right?"
Lei Yusheng was not quite sure, while Mo Xiu looked at them and then at Yin Qing.
"There are fox spirits in Datong Mountain. What should other travelers do if they encounter them? Some people at the post station have heard about it before, but it seems that no one intends to do anything..."
Before, they came out and told the people at the official post station about their experiences in the mountains. The people there did not sneer at them. They said that some people had also told similar stories of being seduced by women in the mountains. After coming out, they had been listless and some even found that some people in the team were missing. The people at the post station said that they had already reported it to the local authorities.
But looking at the situation it seems to be of no use.
Yin Qing looked at Mo Xiu.
"Well, of course the local county government will go and take a look, but there is still a huge difference between monsters and human crimes, so it may not be easy to deal with. Instead, we should send official documents to the villages on the mountainside and let those experienced hunters take mountain dogs to hunt foxes in the mountains. Who knows, it might work."
This was the result Yin Qing deduced himself. After seeing those fox spirits and combining it with Hu Yun's situation, he thought that, as Old Turtle once said, Dazhen was peaceful after all, and powerful monsters were still rare. The old hunter and the mountain dog should be able to deal with monsters like these fox spirits.
Speaking of this, Yin Qing also said something to comfort her.
"Don't think too much. Those foxes might have already been killed. Didn't you see the bloody fox leg and the signs of fighting? There were quite a few wolves the night before..."
"Oh, that's right..." "Well, Brother Yin is right, and I also think that there may really be a mountain god in Datong Mountain."
"Yes, this time we really... Oh, and Yin Qing's letter, it really glowed that night, am I dazzled?"
"Yeah! And the handwriting is really good!" "Yes, it must be the work of a famous artist."
Seeing that the three people were talking about the letter again, Yin Qing replied in an unpleasant tone.
"It is often said that scholars should cultivate a righteous spirit, and faith should be something similar. As long as we have righteousness in our hearts, sooner or later we will be able to protect ourselves."
Regardless of whether others believe it or not, although Yin Qing knows that the letter does not reflect this situation, he believes in the righteousness of the people.
. . .
Ji Yuan did not go directly to Lishun Prefecture. He rushed to Wanzhou before calculating Yin Qing's approximate location. When he arrived above Datong Mountain, he happened to sense the energy of the letter. Ji Yuan knew that Yin Qing was in trouble.
However, when they arrived at the place, the three foxes were chased and hacked by a group of traveling merchants and escaped from the deserted inn, which made Ji Yuan find it funny.
To be honest, these three fox spirits are indeed insignificant, but they are still monsters that have refined the horizontal bone after all. Being chased out like this, even Ji Yuan feels ashamed for them.
Sure enough, the three fox demons were still standing on the hilltop, watching with hatred and threatening to harm people.
Ji Yuan immediately tried his lightning control skill, which he had not even mastered. He could not gather clouds to produce lightning, but he did succeed in drawing down a bolt of lightning during the thunderstorm. Unfortunately, it was completely uncontrollable.
I wanted to capture the three foxes directly, but along the way, I felt that Wanzhou, which should have been a prosperous place, seemed a little sick. Datong Mountain, a not-so-big mountain, could directly breed three fox spirits with extremely evil thoughts. It was obviously unlikely that the local spirit could give rise to normal animals' intelligence.
As a mountain, Datong Mountain gathers thick and heavy energy that attracts all directions, and it must have also gathered evil energy from a large area of the surrounding area. If the fundamental problem is not solved, Datong Mountain may continue to breed evil spirits.
Every profession has its specialties. If we want to solve the fundamental problem, we still have to look to the government and the people's livelihood. However, Ji Yuan believes that as a cultivator, he can still solve the symptoms. As long as Datong Mountain is under care, at least the people around will be less threatened by evil spirits.
At that time, Ji Yuan was patrolling in the mountains, but he failed to find any spiritual energy, so he landed in the mountains and tried to use the spirit-binding technique. Unexpectedly, there really was a spirit that began to connect with the mountain's terrain and veins.
In this case, when Ji Yuan observed with his Dharma Eye that the other party was not an evil creature, he explained the interests involved to the other party, and also explained that this was also an opportunity for the mountain god himself to practice.
As a monster who wanted to become a mountain god, he might not really care about matters of right and wrong, but it was certain that the immortal in front of him had unfathomable spiritual power, so naturally he dared not disobey him, which led to what happened to Yin Qing and the others afterwards.
After explaining the situation, Ji Yuan did not stay for long, but instead walked around the area. Apart from seeing a large number of mulberry trees in the sky, he certainly did not see anything that would anger God or people.
As for divination, one can try to calculate the fate of a single person or event when having some information media, but it is not possible when it comes to the general human energy. He doesn't know whether others can do it, but Ji Yuan himself does not think he has that ability. If he wants to understand it clearly, he can only ask people in the industry. His good friend Yin Zhaoxian, who has been an official in Wanzhou for several years, is definitely one of them.
Although Lishun Prefecture is not the capital of Wanzhou, it is definitely one of the top three prefectures in Wanzhou's silk weaving industry or the top three in terms of economy.
Walking through the air, you can see mulberry fields everywhere in the prefecture along the way, next to many silkworm factories, silk workshops and dyeing factories, it looks quite prosperous.
The city of Lishun Prefecture was not small. After Ji Yuan landed and entered the city, he did not wander around the city. Instead, he asked questions along the way and went directly to the government office of the prefecture.
When meeting someone he knows, Ji Yuan will naturally stop using tricks to deceive himself.
Although in fact his eyelids were half open and few people could see his eyes clearly without paying attention, the officers would still look carefully when he wanted to see the prefect. When they heard that the visitor was invited from Jizhou to Lishun Prefecture, the officers did not dare to delay and immediately went to inform their master.
. . .
"The person who came here calls himself Ji Yuan?"
Yin Zhaoxian went out in the morning to inspect the implementation of the latest government decrees in several surrounding villages. At this moment, he was in the bedroom with his wife, and was surprised to hear that the messenger had come.
"Yes, sir. He looks gentle and polite, but he has a pair of strange eyes, which are gray and white."
"Yes, yes, it's Mr. Ji! Mr. Ji came alone?"
Yin Zhaoxian and his wife naturally hoped that Yin Qing would come with them, but the officer shook his head.
"only one person."
"Husband, please go see Mr. Ji. Don't keep him waiting!"
Yin Zhaoxian shook his wife's hand and nodded.
"Okay, Madam, have a good rest. I'm going to meet Mr. Ji. I guess Qing'er will be here soon. There's no way Mr. Ji won't bring him with him."
"Um!"
Mrs. Yin was pregnant. She sat on the bed, covered with a quilt, and nodded with a smile on her face.
We haven't seen Yin Qing for a long time, and as parents we miss him very much.
In the reception room at the back of the mansion, Ji Yuan had been waiting here for a long time for tea. Before he had finished his cup of tea, he heard hurried footsteps coming from outside. The key point was that a sense of righteousness could not be ignored in his eyes, and it was almost visible through the wall and the door.
Talented people bow and greet as soon as they enter the door.
"Mr. Ji! You finally came to Wanzhou. I must have been waiting for you for a long time! Well, all of you can go down."
"yes."
The two servants beside him bowed and walked away after hearing what was said. Ji Yuan also put down his teacup, stood up with a smile and bowed teasingly.
"Master Yin, oh no, hello, Prefect Yin!"
"Hey, Mr. Ji, please stop laughing at me. It's really not easy to be an official! By the way, where's Qing'er? Didn't she come with you?"
Ji Yuan pointed to the seat at the table, picked up the teapot and poured hot tea for Yin Zhaoxian, as if this was his own home. Of course, the latter was not polite and sat down beside him.
"Yin Qing and three classmates are traveling together. We estimate that they will arrive in three to five days."
"Oh, that's good, that's good."
Yin Zhaoxian stroked his beard and nodded.
Ji Yuan looked at this good friend. After only a few years, he already had some white hair on his face. It seemed that he had indeed worked hard.
"You, the great prefect Yin, are the second great talent in Dazhen who has passed the imperial examinations. You are a popular figure in the government and the public. In your hometown, you are even compared to the reincarnation of the Star of Composer. How can there be anything that can stump you?"
Yin Zhaoxian shook his hands awkwardly. Even though he had long been accustomed to his current official position, these identities felt very strange in front of Ji Yuan.
"Mr. Ji, please stop joking. I have a lot of troubles. Although Wanzhou is prosperous, it is actually very deformed... Well, let me tell you this. Before I took office, especially in the past seven or eight years, more than 70% of the farmland has become mulberry fields, and 90% of the profits are concentrated in the hands of the children of the rich. How can the common people live with the little that is left? I am a parent official... Oh, I am so angry!"
"Pah~"
As Yin Zhaoxiang spoke, he slammed the coffee table hard. This was the first time in Ji Yuan's memory that he saw Master Yin so angry.