"Gentlemen, it's right in front of us, at the gate with the lantern hanging. Please come in!"
While leading the way, Gai Ruling would talk to Ji Yuan and Yan Fei whenever he had the chance. This was to bring the clients closer and prevent alienation. Even if they wanted to go back on their word, it would provide an extra layer of protection.
Since Pomegranate Lane is called an alley, it naturally cannot be too spacious. It can barely accommodate a regular horse-drawn carriage. However, the house where Taoist Gai Ruling lives is not small. At least the yard is spacious enough.
"Gentlemen, here we are!"
While Gai Ruling was still introducing himself to Ji Yuan and Yan Fei, a chubby man inside called out to them in a friendly manner.
"Brother, you are back? Are these two masters here to ask Master to perform a ritual?"
"Yes, yes, yes, help me hold my things. Is Master here? Mr. Ji, Mr. Yan, this is my junior fellow apprentice Li Bo."
Gai Ruling handed the things he had carried along the way to his junior brother, who first saluted Ji Yuan and Yan Fei, then pointed in the direction of the house.
"Master is in there, Master~~~Master~~~Senior Brother has brought back two masters and wants you to perform a ritual~~"
"Master, I'm back. Guests are coming! The two gentlemen should go to the courtyard to rest first. I'll go and ask Master and Junior Brother to serve the two gentlemen some tea!"
"okay!"
Ji Yuan and Yan Fei looked at each other, nodded, and entered the courtyard. The fat Taoist named Li Bo diligently brought two benches, warmly invited the two to sit down, and then busied himself preparing tea.
Just by looking at this Taoist's body shape, you can tell that life in this courtyard is pretty good, otherwise it would be difficult for an ordinary family to raise a fat person.
Apart from scanning those rooms, Ji Yuan and Yan Fei were focusing their attention on observing the situation in the yard.
"Master Yan, what are the main furnishings in the courtyard?"
Hearing this question, Yan Fei suddenly realized that Mr. Ji's eyesight was not very good. However, he had always felt that Mr. Ji had no obstacles in doing anything with him before, so it was easy for him to overlook this point. Now that Ji Yuan asked the question, Yan Fei of course tried to answer as carefully as possible.
"The venue is open, with two wooden men, a sandbag array and plum blossom piles. Some dried vegetables are dried in a sieve, and the rest is the house. Oh, and there are some gossip flags hanging in front of the main house."
"Um."
During their brief conversation, Li Bo's tea was served. While the cold tea was being drunk, a Taoist who looked a little sloppy came out of the main house, stretching lazily.
"Wow... I slept so comfortably!"
The Taoist walked out of the house scratching the itch on his neck. Gai Ruling followed behind him. After he went out, he quickly introduced him.
"Mr. Ji, Mr. Yan, this is my master, Zou Yuanxian, also known as the Double Flower Master."
"Hello, both of you!"
The Taoist's gray hair was a little messy, and his clothes were not very neat. He saluted towards Ji Yuan and Yan Fei, and the latter two stood up and politely returned the salute.
"Hello, Taoist Priest Zou!"
"Hey, let's not beat around the bush. Tell me what you want me to do. Do you want me to perform a ritual or exorcise evil spirits? I'll charge you based on the difficulty of the task, and I'm honest with you!"
Ji Yuan was about to speak when he suddenly noticed that the fat Taoist priest Li Bo came out from the main house with a piece of folded black cloth and shouted at his master.
"Master, the sun is shining brightly today. Since you are up, I would like to let the flags dry in the sun..."
Before he could finish his words, Ji Yuan's figure disappeared from the spot. He took a step forward in an instant and appeared in front of the fat Taoist priest Li Bo as if teleporting, which gave the latter a big fright.
"Oh, Mr. Ji, you scared me to death!"
Gai Ruling on the other side was also surprised and immediately praised.
"Sir, your body movements and lightness skills are truly amazing!"
Ji Yuan ignored the two of them and spoke in a more serious tone.
"Master Li, what are you holding? Unfold it and show it to me!"
"Ah? This?"
Li Bo took a look at what he was holding.
"This is the banner that Master usually uses as a sleeping cover. It is a banner that has been passed down in the sect. Master, er, Master?"
Li Bo originally wanted to ask his master for his opinion, but he found that Zou Yuanxian was standing there stupidly looking at Ji Yuan. Gai Ruling on the side also felt that something was wrong.
"Master, what's wrong with you? Master?"
"No, it's not... it's not..."
"Nothing, Master?"
Zou Yuanxian's mouth trembled slightly, then he quickly straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly to Ji Yuan.
"It's not Qinggong! Sir, no, Zou Yuanxian didn't recognize you, I hope you will forgive me."
Ji Yuan glanced at Zou Yuanxian, but his eyes were mainly focused on the bewildered Li Bo, or rather the black cloth in Li Bo's hand. He could smell a distinctly sour and rotten smell on it. It seemed that Zou Yuanxian did use it to cover himself when he slept.
"Can Ji open it up and take a look?"
Ji Yuan repeated it again.
"It was originally meant to be exposed, first" "Just look at it, sir, just look at it, Li Bo, as ordered, unfold it for you!"
"No need, I'll do it myself!"
Ji Yuan no longer concealed anything and waved his sleeves. Li Bo felt a strange force coming from his hands, forcing him to let go. Then the black cloth floated up by itself, slowly opened up while flying upwards, and finally revealed itself as a flag with a black background inlaid with gold and silver threads.
"Star Banner!"
It is normal for Taoists to worship the stars, but the style of this star flag and the feeling it gave him were so familiar to Ji Yuan that he could almost conclude that this star flag had the same origin as the star flag in Yunshan Temple.
"This Star Banner is an heirloom from your sect?"
"Yes! Sir, you are right. It has been handed down from generation to generation. My master told me when he was still alive that this banner has at least thousands of years of history!"
Zou Yuanxian took a step closer and answered with a little excitement. In fact, he thought it was pure nonsense before, even his deceased master thought it was nonsense. It was very simple. This broken banner was not a treasure. No matter how tough a piece of cloth banner was, it could not be preserved for so long. But now this idea was slightly shaken.
"Master, may I ask you two why you are here?"
Yan Fei grinned, thinking that the old Taoist priest also regarded him as a god, but this was not the right time, so he did not say anything to explain.
Originally, Ji Yuan wanted to chat with these Taoists and get to know them better, but now that they have seen the Star Banner, he decided not to hide it anymore.
"Zou Yuanxian, Ji wants to ask you: 'The evil star appears in the black wasteland, the sky cracks, the earth collapses, the ten realms rise from the ancient times, and the sun cries and disperses the sun in the sky', do you know what this means?"
"This, this is something passed down from our ancestors. It's a way to make a living. I just kept using it because it sounded easy to say... Could it really have a deeper meaning?!"
Zou Yuanxian was hesitant in speaking the first half of his sentence, thinking that Ji Yuan was blaming him, but then he suddenly realized that a true immortal would not care about such a trivial matter.
"But Lord Gaohu told me that you know what the Black Wasteland is."
Ji Yuan withdrew his gaze from the floating star flag and turned to look at Zou Yuanxian.
"Lord Gao Hu?"
"He is a dragon that governs Tianshui Lake. I heard what you said by chance. This time when I passed by Tianshui Lake, he told me this specifically."
"Jiaolong... It's him! It turns out that old man is the Jiaolong of Tianshui Lake!"
Zou Yuanxian suddenly realized and couldn't help but get goose bumps all over his body. This was the fear of knowing that he had to meet a powerful monster like a dragon. Then he realized that he had to answer Ji Yuan's question.
"In reply to your question, sir, I do know what Hei Huang said, but this is also passed down from our ancestors. It is also said that the sun is in the middle of the sky, there is a moon in the moon, the sun cries and the moon rises..."
"The sun is in the sky, the moon is in the moon, the sun cries and the moon rises..."
Ji Yuan frowned, muttered to himself what Zou Yuanxian had said, then looked up at the sun in the sky.
"Golden Crow, Silver Toad?"
"Ah? What did you say, sir?"
Ji Yuan shook his head and swung his left hand to the side. A gentle force slowly swept towards the old star flag on the side.
"boom… "
The gentle sound was accompanied by a slight echo. The Star Banner shook violently for a moment, and then immediately returned to normal. All visible and invisible stains such as dust, sweat, saliva, etc. on the black base cloth were shaken out.
The next moment, the entire star flag suspended in the air looked brand new, with a deep black background and bright gold and silver colors, exuding a strange sense of mystery.
"Although the stars on them are slightly different, they are indeed from the same origin. Zou Yuanxian, a few generations ago, did your ancestors or fellow disciples continue to migrate south?"
Although he was good at talking nonsense when taking on business, Zou Yuanxian dared not speak nonsense when it came to Ji Yuan's question and could only answer honestly.
"I don't know much about this little secret either. I've never heard my master mention it. I only know that our ancestors stopped at Zuyue Country. Whether anyone continued to migrate south is something only our master knows."
"I think so too. You haven't worshipped this Star Banner at all. It will be dark soon. Close the front and back doors and meditate with me in the courtyard!"
Zou Yuanxian was slightly stunned, then immediately called out to his two disciples.
"Li Bo, Ru Ling, go and close the front and back doors!"
"Yes!" "Okay!"
The two disciples were also slightly excited. It seemed that Mr. Ji's magical powers were much stronger than their master's. Could he be a senior master in the sect who had already become an immortal? Their master always said that one could become an immortal if one practiced to the highest level. It seemed to be true.
After the two young Taoists came back, Ji Yuan glanced at Yan Fei and nodded to indicate that there was no need to be nervous. Then he took out four human-shaped Hercules talismans from his sleeve at once and threw them forward.
"Where is the Rex?"
Brush~brush~brush~brush~
Four golden lights flashed, and four strong men with golden armor, red faces and extremely burly figures appeared in the yard. They bowed to Ji Yuan together and called out to him in unison.
"Your Majesty!"
"You are the ones who control the four directions."
"Accept the order!"
Including the strong man who had been baptized by the thunder of heaven, four strong men in golden armor slowly walked towards the four directions of the courtyard, and the former was right at the main entrance.
Then Ji Yuan took out the sword intention card and unfolded it. In an instant, the lively and noisy voices of the little characters came out, and everyone shouted words like "Master" and "Greetings", but this time Ji Yuan had something serious for them to do.
"Today is not the day for you to play around. I told you about the Milky Way Formation at Yunshan Temple before. Help me set up the formation according to its appearance. I don't ask for a complete restoration, as long as you have some charm. I can use the four strong men to carry the earth's power and isolate this area of land."
The small characters on the flying sword notes all responded solemnly in unison.
"Accept the Master's order!"
As these clear or childish voices rang out, the small characters flew to all directions in the courtyard, blending into everywhere under the ink light, and some of them were even attached to the four golden-armored warriors.
The next moment, even Yan Fei felt a hazy feeling in the courtyard, but he couldn't feel it. Ji Yuan felt it most obviously, as if he was closer to the sky.