Beheading is not a joke. If you want to cut off this "opportunity for karma", you can't just use sleight of hand to fool people. After all, sleight of hand can only fool people, gods, demons, and sentient beings, but you can't fool the heavens, or more importantly, you can't fool yourself.
The old beggar said "not worth it" with a sigh, and subconsciously reached out and touched his neck.
"This is really a joke for Mr. Ji. With your level of Taoism and state of mind, you naturally understand the original intention of an old beggar like me. What do you call this? In common parlance, it is a thankless job."
Ji Yuan smiled, and with the guidance of his fingers, a moist word "Yuan" rose from the table.
"Why don't you just take the old emperor in despite your own efforts? Why do you have to directly provoke him to kill you?"
The old beggar looked at the young beggar who curiously reached out to touch the word "缘".
"Oh, Mr. Ji, you don't even want to give him a mooncake. That's just talk. Besides, even though I, an old beggar, want him to kill me, he doesn't have to kill me!"
Ji Yuan felt that he was somewhat wronged.
"It's not that I don't want to give this mooncake to someone, it's just that he really can't catch it."
The old beggar leisurely drank a sip of tea and glanced at Ji Yuan.
"Flowers in the mirror, moons in the water, how can one catch them..."
The little beggar's finger just happened to hit the word "缘" in the air, which turned into void water vapor and disappeared after being touched by his finger.
When Ji Yuan heard the old beggar's words of emotion, something suddenly moved in his heart, and he said another sentence in a joking tone.
"Oh, to be honest, I thought it was Mr. Lu who did something wrong. It seems that the old emperor is really unlucky."
“Uh… hehe… bad luck, it is indeed his bad luck!”
The old beggar smiled in a forced way, lowered his head and did not dare to look at Ji Yuan.
“Boom boom boom…”
There was a sudden knock on the door of the private room, easing the old beggar's embarrassment at the moment, and Dr. Tea's voice was heard outside.
"Dear guests, the shopkeeper, please send some refreshments to this table."
"come in."
The Tea Doctor pushed open the door holding the tray, walked carefully into the private room, closed the door, and then placed the snacks on the table.
"Mr. Lu, and Mr. Ji, the shopkeeper asked me to come and tell you that the people in the city are looking for a beggar named Lu, saying that the emperor wants to invite him to the palace..."
As Dr. Tea spoke, he looked carefully at the old beggar, especially at the old beggar's neck, and found that although there was a lot of mud, the skin and flesh were still connected.
"Oh, I see. If I find you, I'll do whatever I have to do!"
The old beggar said this indifferently, and Ji Yuan looked at Dr. Tea and asked with a smile.
"See that young man keeps looking at Mr. Lu's neck. Did he hear something?"
Dr. Tea was also a little itchy, so when he heard Ji Yuan ask this, he stopped pretending and spoke with great curiosity.
"We are only one block away from Yongning Street. Before noon, a guest was saying that the emperor sent the imperial guards to execute an old beggar on Yongning Street this morning, and then..."
Dr. Tea looked at the old beggar next to him, and then at Ji Yuan.
"Then the old beggar got his head chopped off, stood up again, pressed his head back down, and walked away chatting and laughing with a great gentleman. Old gentleman, is that you?"
"Yes, yes, is there another unlucky person like you in the world? The refreshments have been delivered, so you should go and do your own thing."
The old beggar replied unhappily, feeling that Mr. Ji had specifically found someone to tease him again.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'll be leaving first. Feel free to tell me if you have anything to say."
Dr. Tea opened the door and walked out, and said something inside when he closed the door.
"I'm at the stairs, just tell me if you need anything!"
"Okay, thank you very much..."
Ji Yuan nodded and waved his hands behind his back, and only then did the enthusiastic tea doctor close the door.
However, Dr. Tea did not leave immediately. Instead, he put his ear to the door and listened for a while. When he heard nothing, he tiptoed a few steps and left.
After Dr. Cha left, he used the previous topic to ask the old beggar some questions, and also told him about the previous capture of the ghost mother and the evil magic, which mentioned that the ghost mother could also be beheaded and resurrected.
However, Ji Yuan already understood by now that the method of breaking off ties was definitely different from the old beggar's.
Sometimes, cultivators don't always engage in mysterious witticisms when chatting. Most of the time, they chat like ordinary people, such as Ji Yuan and the old beggar.
He would be concerned about what happened to the evil spirits and monsters that were taken away before, and would also talk about what interesting things the two beggars encountered while begging for food along the way. He would also speculate on what kind of turmoil the old beggar's failure to recruit a disciple would cause in the court of Dazhen. At least the old emperor would definitely have a mental breakdown first.
It was not until the afternoon that Ji Yuan saw that it was almost time, so he stood up and bowed to the old beggar.
"Let's stop here today. I still need to go to the underworld. I have already paid for the tea. We will meet again some other day if we are lucky."
"Okay, see you another day!"
The old beggar also stood up and returned Ji Yuan's formal gift, muttering, "What a waste of that thousand gold coins, what a waste."
Ji Yuan stared at him with his pale eyes for a while, which made the old beggar feel a little embarrassed and even nervous. Then he smiled and turned away.
As soon as Ji Yuan left, the young beggar pulled a corner of the old beggar.
"Grandpa Lu, there are still a lot of cakes. Can I take them away?"
Including the first time, the people from Qingye Tower served tea and snacks three times in total, so there were still a lot of cakes, dried fruits and other snacks on the table.
The old beggar looked at the table and opened his mouth, but the young beggar spoke before he could.
"Whoever doesn't bring it is a fool, I understand!"
"You kid..."
. . .
Yan Chang was released from prison. Not only was his official position restored, but he also received some rewards from the emperor. However, Yan Chang's anxiety was not relieved much.
He was leading people to check Yongning Street in person, and saw a pool of blood that had dried up but was still shocking.
Seeing that the bloodstain was still bright red, Yan Chang looked at the officers accompanying him and asked.
"You say this blood can't be washed away?"
The officer beside him answered respectfully.
"That's right, sir. Normally, if a condemned prisoner was beheaded here, the blood would be washed away by washing with a few buckets of water. But today, the blood can't be washed away no matter how hard we try."
Another officer added.
"Some people used brushes to scrub it, but it didn't lighten it much, and the water left by the scrub turned bright red, which was a bit scary, so no one dared to continue scrubbing."
Yan Chang nodded seriously, thinking that if the emperor knew about this, he would probably feel very uncomfortable.
At this time, pedestrians were coming and going on Yongning Street, but most of them would avoid the center of the street, not only because of the presence of officials, but also because of the pool of blood.
When Yan Chang looked up and looked around, he suddenly found someone walking towards him not far away. After taking a closer look and confirming who it was, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
The visitor was dressed in a blue shirt, with a jade hairpin in his bun, and he walked briskly. His face looked normal with a pair of half-opened pale eyes. It was Ji Yuan, who had just come out of Qingye Tower. After leaving the teahouse, he heard the rumor that the "bloodstain would not go away", so he hurried over to take a look.
"What a coincidence, Master Yan is here too?"
"Mr. Ji!"
Yan Chang hurriedly bowed and saluted, and the servants nearby, who did not know what was going on, also bowed along with him.
Ji Yuan returned the greeting and approached them in a few steps.
"Mr. Ji, are you here to see me?"
Yan Chang asked with a hint of expectation, but Ji Yuan shook his head and pointed at the bloodstains on the ground.
“I came here for this.”
"Blood?"
Ji Yuan nodded. The old beggar had already died once, so it was impossible for him to create a pool of blood to scare people.
But the old beggar is, after all, a person who is close to being a true immortal, and his Taoism is unfathomable. Especially this time, he is involved in a big matter, and the cause and effect are not so simple. He killed him, but the old emperor was obsessed with it. This pool of blood belongs to both the old beggar and the old emperor.
"Although this blood was left by the Taoist master, it already carries evil. If it is not removed, there may be trouble in the future!"
After checking on the spot, Ji Yuanfa could see that the blood's energy was vaguely related to the imperial city.
Seeing Ji Yuan speaking seriously, Yan Chang was also frightened.
"What should we do then? Mr. Ji, do you have a solution?"
"Try it."
Ji Yuan replied, took a slight breath, and then opened his mouth and blew out.
“Huh~~~”
Yan Chang and the officers around him felt a hot current rushing through their bodies and could not help but take two steps back. When they looked at the ground again, the pool of blood had already turned into ashes.
He spoke so seriously, and then saw Ji Yuan blow away the bloodstains with a breath, Yan Chang felt it was a bit ridiculous.
But when he looked up again, he found that there was no one around. Several officers were looking around in astonishment. Looking at their expressions, Yan Chang could confirm that what he had just seen was not an illusion.
I wanted to ask a few more questions. From Yan Chang's perspective, there was an 80% chance that the old beggar would never go back after being beheaded by the emperor. But if Mr. Ji could be invited back, that would be the same. Not to mention a promotion, I would definitely be fine.
"Hey...Mr. Ji, you don't even give me a chance to speak!"
In a corner of the city, an old beggar and a young beggar had just left Qingye Tower, their ragged pockets stuffed with cakes and preserved fruits.
At the moment when Ji Yuan's breath of Samadhi True Fire melted the pool of blood, the old beggar's heart moved. He stretched out his hand and counted with his fingers, and immediately understood the cause and effect of the pool of blood.
"I was actually deceived by the fate of the dynasty and almost left a hidden danger... I owe you a favor now..."