Seeing Ji Yuan's familiar attitude, the young man became a little restrained. After all, the man in front of him looked well-educated and even had a jade hairpin on his head.
"Well, then sir, please come with me. Actually, there is no need to worry about anything. Although life is not easy these days, the nearby fishing villages are still quite hospitable, especially since you are a scholar, right?"
Ji Yuan walked forward with the young man and nodded in response.
"Of course I am educated. I feel relieved when you say that. By the way, I haven't asked for your name yet, little brother?"
The young man was not used to Ji Yuan's way of asking questions, so he scratched his head and answered.
"Sir, please don't say that. I don't have a famous surname. My name is Liang Pingle."
"Oh, little brother Liang, be safe and happy. Your elders have given you a good name with a good meaning!"
Ji Yuan said this with a smile, which also made Liang Pingle smile. This name was given by his grandfather. It was very worthy of joy to be recognized by a learned scholar.
After a brief exchange, Ji Yuan had some understanding of Liang Pingle, and at this moment his eyes were looking at the village in the distance.
"Brother Liang, can you tell me what evil spirits you are trying to exorcise? I have traveled to many places and I really like to hear these anecdotes."
Liang Pingle was now walking and talking with Ji Yuan, and he gradually relaxed. He even felt a sense of honor to talk to a scholar. When he heard Ji Yuan's questions, he answered them all, as there was no taboo anyway.
"Sir, you don't know that the villages near the sea are all fishermen, especially those who fish along the coast. One of the advantages is that the tax is not as heavy as that of farmland cultivation, so our coastal fishermen have a decent life. However, since the end of last year, it has been difficult to get good fish near the coast."
"What do you mean? Have all the fish been caught?"
Ji Yuan just asked casually.
"The sea is boundless, and there are countless fish, shrimps and crabs in it. How can we catch them all? At most, there will be fewer fish due to the wrong tide, but there is no way we can never catch any fish."
"Too."
Ji Yuan agreed, saying that with the technology and number of people in these fishing villages, it was impossible to exhaust all the fishery resources in the sea.
"So you suspect evil?"
"Sir, you hit the nail on the head. Folks in the coastal villages all think so. They have long thought of inviting a magician to take a look, but several magicians have come, but none of them have found anything. Offering sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, and the ghosts and gods is also useless."
Ji Yuan didn't stop walking, but turned his head to look at Liang Pingle.
"Since knowing that it's useless, why did you bother to mobilize so many troops this time?"
"This problem has not been solved yet, and the government doesn't care. The elders of several villages discussed it and wondered if the wizard they hired wasn't powerful enough. Even with Dingfeng Island, they still have to travel a long way. Now it's the end of the year, and everyone gritted their teeth. Every household in many villages pooled their money and hired a powerful wizard. His magic power is definitely not comparable to the previous ones!"
Ji Yuan nodded with a slightly surprised look on his face.
"Oh, I see. This wizard is really good at gathering people's energy to boost their popularity."
"Hey, sir, you understand this too?"
"I've been to many places and seen many similar scenes. The most lively one was when there were hundreds or even thousands of mages jumping around together. It was really a beautiful sight."
Ji Yuan thought about the water and land ceremony at that time and answered casually.
"Oh, that's how it is!"
Liang Pingle imagined the scene that Ji Yuan described and felt that it was indeed very lively. Just as he was thinking about it, he heard footsteps approaching quickly. A few men also turned out from the side road and greeted Liang Pingle when they saw him.
"Hey, Xiao Liang, you're here too. Who's that person over there? I've never seen him before!"
"Brother-in-law! Isn't it true that every household in the village has to send a male member to come? I want to come and see, too. My father will be here soon. Oh, by the way, this is the great gentleman I just met. He is a learned man who came from far away and has seen similar scenes."
Ji Yuan bowed to the people who came.
"I have come here by chance, hoping to watch the rituals here."
The identity of a scholar is still very useful, especially for someone like Ji Yuan who has a clear mind and extraordinary bearing. You can't tell his age from his appearance, but he is definitely not young.
The people around did not dare to be negligent and quickly returned the gift, inviting Ji Yuan to go together again.
This is not something shameful, and the wizard also said that it would be better if there was help from officials and scholars.
The man who greeted Liang Pingle was named Zhang Fu. He was much more talkative than Liang Pingle. Before, Ji Yuan asked questions and Liang Pingle answered them, but when it was Zhang Fu's turn, he started talking nonstop without Ji Yuan saying anything.
Even the Dingfeng Island that Ji Yuan wanted to ask about was clearly explained. As he thought, it was the island where he had practiced before. It was originally called Shanjianzi Island, but now the fishermen around it call it Dingfeng Island.
The rest of the journey was not long, and the group soon entered Pianwan Village together. A large area had been cleared on the sand field in front of the village. There were loud gongs and drums, and several piles of firewood. They should be going to light a big bonfire in the evening.
Ji Yuan looked from afar, and although his vision was blurry, he could still see that there were many people milling around on the battlefield, and from time to time they would follow the leader and shout a few words. Whenever this happened, the sound of gongs and drums would become louder.
"People from all over the country gather here to raise the Yang energy."
"It raises the Yang energy~~~"
"It raises the Yang energy~~~"
…
Ji Yuan stared blankly for a while, then turned around and found that Liang Pingle and Zhang Fu had also received a few red cloth strips from the village women nearby.
"Uh, what's the point of their move?"
Zhang Fu handed a red cloth to Ji Yuan who looked puzzled.
"Sir, the wizard said that if you tie this red cloth on your arm, you can prevent evil spirits. Everyone over there has it tied up, as well as on the battlefield. They are now experiencing yang fire."
"Raging Yang Fire? Did that mage say that as well?"
It’s a new word, Ji Yuan has never heard of it before.
"Yes, the Yang fire has been raging these past two days. Tomorrow, after the banquet for a thousand people, we will start lighting torches in the evening. A long line of dragons will be formed along the coast to drive away the evil spirits. We can drive away the evil spirits that scared the fish! The fish will be back in a month or so!"
Zhang Fu's face showed some excitement when he spoke.
Ji Yuan looked suddenly enlightened and nodded in agreement with others' excitement.
"Oh... I've learned something new. So that's how it is!"
"Hehe, although you are a scholar, you certainly don't know much about this kind of thing. The one we invited is a famous and powerful wizard in the eastern part of Dongtao Dao. There is no evil spirit that he cannot subdue!"
Ji Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
"This is something we need to get to know!"
"No more talking, sir, tie the red rope quickly and follow us to fight the Yang Fire! The more people, the better!"
Ji Yuan looked at the red cloth in his hand, and then looked at Zhang Fu, Liang Pingle and others whose arms were already tied.
"Do I have to tie it too? Since it's a red cloth to protect against bad luck, it should be okay for me to hold it in my hand, right?"
"This, the wizard never said that."
"If it doesn't say no, then it's fine. Just take it. By the way, the wizard is over there too, right?"
Ji Yuan spoke quickly and directly settled the matter.
"Of course."
"Then let's go!"
If Ji Yuan wanted to attend the banquet for a thousand people, he had to follow the local customs. Besides, this was actually quite interesting, so he just treated it as a pastime. So he went to the battlefield with Zhang Fu and others and soon walked into the crowd.
However, Ji Yuan just followed them for a cursory look and did not shout along. As the team approached the firewood pile, he saw the famous wizard.
He was wearing a wide red and yellow robe with Yin-Yang fish and the Bagua pattern painted on it, as well as various cloud patterns. He wore a tall crown on his head decorated with pearls. He carried a sword on his back and a whisk in his hand, which he swung back and forth. He looked very realistic.
What was slightly beyond Ji Yuan's expectations was that this wizard actually had spiritual energy and magic power flowing in his body, although it was the so-called "mixed magic power", which meant that he did not follow the right method and used meditation and visualization of the heart fire to refine spiritual energy and magic power.
Ji Yuan's demeanor and clothing were very eye-catching among the fishermen. Many fishermen were looking at him, and even the monk saw Ji Yuan.
Seeing Ji Yuan smiling and nodding at him, the mage was stunned for a moment. Although he was whisking in his hand, he nodded at Ji Yuan in response.
The raging fire lasted until nightfall. Fortunately, Ji Yuan didn't have to leave all the time. He just walked around a few times and then came out with Zhang Fu and others.
A bonfire has been lit on the beach, and people from other villages who came to participate in the "Zhaoyang Fire" have gone back, waiting for the banquet for a thousand people and the torch array tomorrow evening.
However, Zhang Fu, Liang Pingle and later Liang's father did not leave. Zhang Fu was originally from Pianwan Village and had gone to visit people from other villages before. The Liang family and the Zhang family are relatives, so he did not go back today, and naturally Ji Yuan also stayed at the Zhang family.
The treat was taro rice and steamed salted fish, plus a vegetable soup. The two families were afraid that Ji Yuan, a scholar, would not be able to get used to the food, so they asked him several times about his dietary restrictions while cooking. They were relieved only when they saw Ji Yuan eating with relish at the dinner table.
In the surrounding fishing villages like Pianwan Village, there has not been a single educated person for more than ten or twenty years. Now the village chief can barely read, but he is far worse than Ji Yuanlai. Both families treated Ji Yuan as a distinguished guest.
In the middle of the night, Ji Yuan left the fishing village alone and came to the seaside. He scanned the tide and did not see any evil spirits, at least near Pianwan Village. However, the sea was too secretive and it was difficult to say accurately. He planned to wait until this farce was over and then find a way to investigate thoroughly. Of course, it would be best if he could avoid entering the water.
The banquet for a thousand people on the second day was extremely lively. People from all the villages brought some things to Pianwan Village. This was not a matter of just one village, so everyone worked together to set up the banquet. It was also New Year's Day, so there was a festive feeling.
While eating, Ji Yuan discovered that the people in Pianwan Village were becoming more and more angry, and it reached its peak especially when nearly a thousand men lined up to receive torches.
This made Ji Yuan suddenly realize that the invited wizard was indeed quite skilled. This change was naturally not due to the other party's magic power, but a kind of psychological suggestion.
After so many ritualistic processes, and with the thousands of men well fed and watered to build up their courage, and with the long dragon of torches raised, the crowd felt aroused from the bottom of their hearts, which was similar to the fierce military spirit.
Ji Yuan also led the team with a torch, and the wizard also held a torch at the front. At this moment, his voice was like thunder, making a loud noise.
"Everyone get ready to follow, set up the formation~~~~ Walk in a long line~~~~~~"
The next moment, the wizard took the lead and began to walk with a torch in hand, starting from Pianwan Village and moving forward along the sea. A long dragon of torches, wrapped in rolling human energy, swam along the beach.
Ji Yuan was in the middle of the team watching this scene and muttering to himself.
"Interesting! You really can't underestimate the world!"