The first year of Guangqi, early July.
The Central Plains was still in chaos, and the Nanzhao Kingdom in the southwest was also hit by a storm.
Shortly after the Wanshou Temple riot, the minister Yang Deng searched the entire country and carried out a bloody suppression of the people in Nanzhao who held primitive beliefs.
When Yang Deng's group attacked the headquarters of the Wushen Cult and the Moon Worship Cult, there were hidden figures of high monks participating in the attack. This fact also triggered a ruthless and endless conflict between Buddhist believers and primitive religious believers.
The situation in Nanzhao was already precarious and could not withstand such turmoil. Zheng Maisi, the representative of primitive religion, was forced to rise up in arms, and his target was the force represented by the minister Yang Deng.
As the two most powerful ministers of Nanzhao, Yang Deng and Zheng Maisi, went to war with each other, which led to the entire Nanzhao Kingdom falling into a tense confrontation. The forces controlled by the two were intertwined, and once they were in opposition, how could their subordinates not confront each other
Yang Deng and Zheng Maisi fought openly and secretly in Yangzhumie City, and fought a series of battles. For a while, the entire imperial city was filled with a strong bloody atmosphere.
Because the two main leaders of the primitive faith, Yang Liuye and Cha Shuchen, were seriously injured and had not yet recovered, Zheng Maisi's side was far inferior to Yang Deng's side in terms of the number of top masters and the strength of its appeal to believers. In the end, Zheng Maisi was defeated by Yang Deng and retreated to Yongchang.
At this time, Jiannan Jiedushi Shi Long, under the banner of protecting the royal family, led his troops into Yangzhumie City. The royalist faction and the loyal minister Yang Deng's faction in the city suddenly became nervous. The two sides were on the verge of a storm.
Just as Nanzhao was falling into chaos, in the important town of Huichuan, several figures emerged from a corner of the street.
Near the place where they appeared, there was a peddler selling jewelry and an old man who told fortunes.
The leader of the crowd that just emerged was a slim and pretty lady.
As soon as they arrived at the street, the lady was immediately attracted by the jewelry on the stalls.
She stopped instantly and started to pick and choose the jewelry on the stall. It seemed that she liked every piece so much that she found it difficult to make a choice for a moment.
At this moment, a figure like a wheel squeezed aside a tall and mighty man who was guarding the lady, licked her face, and came close to the lady.
This is a short young man with a round head on broad shoulders, skin color like the bottom of a pot, and eyes as big as rat droppings. He can leave an indelible impression on people instantly. This person is Zhou Ran.
The girl who was selecting the jewelry was Qi Miaoge. Today it was their turn to escort Zhu Li out for a walk. There was no other way. Since coming to Huichuan, Zhu Li seemed to have fallen in love with Huichuan's snacks and had to come out to eat some every day.
The people who came out today were Qi Miaoge, Guo Dalu, Lu Changyuan, Zhou Ran, Zhu Li, and Jing Ming who was inseparable from Zhu Li.
"Ge'er, do you like it? If you do, I, Xiao Zhou, will buy them all for you." Zhou Ran came close to Qi Miaoge, with his head almost touching Qi Miaoge's chest. He tilted his head, looked at Qi Miaoge with an obsessed look, and spoke very generously.
Seeing Zhou Ran's expression as if he was a rich man, a lord, and the father of the rich second generation, Guo Dalu, Lu Changyuan, and Jing Ming all rolled their eyes.
To this day, except for Dong Ningyang who has money, everyone else in their group seems to be penniless.
Although they lived in Huang Jing's house, Huang Jing did not dare to be disrespectful to them, but they had no money and there was nothing they could do. How could they not eat and take things from Huang Jing? Except for Zhou Ran, no one else could bear to do that.
The three men despised Zhou Ran because of this reason. This guy had no money, so he started to treat Huang Jing as his brother, and without saying a word, he started to cry poor.
It would have been fine if he had just cried about being poor, but he also complained about society while crying; complaining about society gave him a bad temper, and when he was angry he started throwing things around. Almost everything he touched he smashed, including Mr. Huang's urinal, which he smashed more than ten times without noticing.
How pitiful! An old man whose body was almost buried in the ground, had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night because he couldn't find a urinal and fell several times.
Now, Huang Jing has learned his lesson. Whenever Zhou Ran calls him brother, he will immediately run out with a smile on his face and obediently present some change to Zhou Ran. His expression is even more affectionate than when he is honoring his ancestors.
So, Zhou Ran is the only rich guy in the group except Dong Ningyang, so of course he is generous.
But after hearing Zhou Ran's words, Qi Miaoge's face was filled with happiness, and he said reluctantly, "I'm so sorry. I always make Brother Zhou spend money."
How could Zhou Ran not hear such reserved and evasive words? Last time, because of a polite remark from the other party, Zhou Ran did not buy the comb that Qi Miaoge liked, which caused Qi Miaoge to ignore him for three or four days. How could he not learn his lesson
Zhou Ran, who has already mastered the skill of "understanding the elegant meaning of music by listening to it", immediately patted his chest and said, "As long as my Ge'er likes it, let alone jewelry, even lightning, I can get you two."
When he said that, Lu Changyuan pouted again and jumped out. The key point was that he couldn't stand Zhou Ran, who took advantage of Qi Miaoge intentionally or unintentionally, so he couldn't help but criticize him: "Look at what you can do, you can even make two lightning bolts, why don't you do it."
There is a saying that goes, 'When you are with a good friend, a thousand cups are not enough; when you are with a stranger, even a single word is too much'. If you have someone around you who doesn't get along with you, even if you fart, you will feel like your heels are hurting.
It was obvious that Lu Changyuan and Zhou Ran just didn't like each other. Zhou Ran just said this, "If you want to pursue a girl, there are some things that you can't do, but you have to show your attitude, otherwise there will be no hope."
After being confronted by Lu Changyuan, his already dark face instantly became even darker. He turned his head slowly and rolled his eyes fiercely at Lu Changyuan.
But in the blink of an eye, Zhou Ran saw Zhu Li, the mentally retarded general, from the corner of his eye.
At this time, Zhu Li was seen squatting in front of the fortune teller's stall, listening to the fortune teller talking nonsense in a serious manner and with great interest.
Seeing Zhu Li listening with great interest, Zhou Ran couldn't help but prick up his ears and listened a few more sentences. This fortune teller was really weird. He only heard the old man say to Zhu Li: "Young man, I can tell at a glance that you are not born like this. You must have suffered a serious injury recently, which caused your mental problems. It's pitiful. You are so young, but your mental problems are really a sin."
"Young man, are you willing to listen to what I have to say?" After sighing, the fortune teller began to ask Zhu Li seriously.
Zhu Li was a good listener, so how could he not be reluctant? He nodded obediently.
When the fortune teller saw Zhu Li nod in agreement, he shook his head and continued, "Young man, you must take care of yourself. It's not easy to be a human. You come to the world naked, and you can't live for more than a few tens of thousands of days. Why bother to work so hard to make money and then kick your legs to heaven?"
"You are so young, but you have already developed mental problems. This is not good. If you believe in me, I have a piece of elixir. As long as..."
Hearing this, Zhou Ran suddenly felt that the fortune teller's tone was not right. He saw him suddenly stand up, scaring the people who were paying attention to him, and they were stunned.
Zhou Ran took off his purse and stuffed it into Qi Miaoge's hand, saying, "Ge'er, buy whatever you want. I, Xiao Zhou, don't lack money."
After explaining, without waiting for Qi Miaoge to refuse, he rushed to the fortune teller like a whirlwind, grabbed the other's collar, and pulled the other's head in front of him, saying fiercely: "You old man, my... my husband, do you think you can cheat him? Tell me, do you want to cheat me of money?"
This sudden scene made everyone stunned. They didn't know what was going on. But they knew Zhou Ran. Although this guy liked to make trouble, he was not the kind of troublemaker. Following Zhou Ran's direction, several people changed their expressions almost at the same time, and all looked at the fortune teller with unfriendly faces.
The fortune teller who was grabbed by the collar by Zhou Ran looked terrified and kept asking Zhou Ran: "What's wrong, brave man? When did I cheat you out of money?"
Zhou Ran narrowed his eyes, but his eyes were small to begin with, and when he narrowed his eyes, they became two short lines. He looked cute and not threatened at all. When the fortune teller saw his expression, he couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But Zhou Ran's tone was very cruel, and he shouted angrily: "Old man, you still don't admit it, did you mention Wanlingjiao just now?"
The fortune teller was a little confused, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, I do have a treasure called Wanlingjiao. Could it be that the warrior wants it?"
Zhou Ran sneered when he heard this, pointed at Zhu Li, and shouted at the fortune teller, "Who wants your broken thing? Let me ask you, what was your purpose in showing my husband your Wanlingjiao just now?"
"Are you trying to sell your broken thing to my husband? If you are too attentive, you are either a traitor or a thief. You old man, you are so attentive to a fool... uh, bah, bah, you are introducing the Wanlingjiao to my husband. Aren't you trying to cheat him out of money?"
Hearing this, everyone understood what was going on. The fortune teller also understood why Zhou Ran was angry. He suddenly looked serious, slapped Zhou Ran's fat hand away, and said calmly: "I have lived an upright life. You little black man, don't use your dirty heart to measure my gentlemanly heart."
"I showed this young man the All-Spirit Glue, not to sell it to him. It is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, and it is known to those who are destined to know it. If this young man can answer one of my questions, I will give him the All-Spirit Glue for free."
Before he could finish his words, the old man gave Zhou Ran a cold look and said arrogantly, "Otherwise, even if you offer mountains of gold and seas of silver, you can never get this treasure from me."