Chapter 2675: Three Nine Three Three

In the summer of Dao Calendar 3933, the heat was more oppressive than in previous years.

Facing the incoming wind felt like being tossed around hundreds of times inside a steamer.

Sweat on his face left streaks of salt.

"Lao Quan" licked his dry lips, tasting the saltiness, and for a moment thought it was tears.

He pushed a single-wheeled cart, slowly walking along the official road. The sun used his shadow to spread a pathetic pancake.

A small girl with sheep-horn braids happened to step on this uneaten pancake.

On the left side of the single-wheeled cart were piled bundles, and on the right side lay a listless old yellow dog.

Fortunately, the official road was still flat. After wandering for several months, he had developed a certain tolerance for hardship.

"Look at this person, can't even walk straight himself, yet he's still pushing a dog. Treats the dog as more precious than a person." Passing pedestrians pointed.

Lao Quan habitually smiled when he met people: "This old dog is about to die of old age."

The pointing pedestrians had long since taken a small fork in the path and walked far away.

He still habitually added an explanation: "Let it rest its feet."

Living was too tiring!

The old yellow dog was already too lazy to roll its eyes.

"Ni Er. Are you tired?" Lao Quan turned his head again and asked, smiling: "Want to come up and rest your feet?"

Ni Er glanced at him and continued walking on his shadow.

Ni Er was probably a mute. Lao Quan didn't remember clearly either. His job was only to greet guests in the front hall. Teaching the girls was not his responsibility, and he didn't have many opportunities to interact with them.

In any case, he had never heard Ni Er speak, nor did he know Ni Er's name.

The small girls raised in the Sanfenxiang Building in Shangqiu City were only given names when they turned fifteen. Their previous names had lost their meaning from the daily grind. A pleasant-sounding flower name was good for business.

Every strand of hair on the girls in the building was a commodity. Their names, of course, were too.

Although he had adopted Ni Er, he hadn't given her a proper name, only calling her Ni Er.

Because he was a pimp, the name he gave would only seal her fate as a prostitute.

The Sanfenxiang Building in Shangqiu City was destroyed in a strange, large fire.

Including the Cheng Feng Xiang envoy, everyone disappeared.

Lao Quan was awakened from a dream by Da Huang's frantic barking. An inexplicable palpitation in his heart told him to walk towards Baihua Street. As he walked, he started running, and then he saw the large fire that stretched across half the street.

Not only the Sanfenxiang Building, but several famous brothels on Baihua Street, one after another, were swallowed by the sea of fire.

Although the cultivators from the Zhiwu Office quickly arrived and extinguished the fire, the fierce flames had burned away the karma. What was seen by people amidst the flames had already happened. So when the official personnel arrived, there was nothing left.

He was originally walking back, completely distraught, when Da Huang burrowed into the ruins of the fire and somehow bit out a small, sooty girl. Beasts have spirits, and since this little girl was originally raised in the Sanfenxiang Building, he adopted her – that is Ni Er.

Regarding the cause of this accident, there were various and uncertain explanations.

Some said it was because the young master of the Chen family spent his days on Baihua Street vying for attention and feeling jealous, and that group of old conservatives from the Chen family couldn't stand it, so they burned down the fragrance buildings.

Some said it was an outlet for the Yin family's anger – ever since Yin Wen Yong abandoned his name and left home, the Yin family had viewed domestic brothels and wh*rehouses with contempt and wanted to clean them up from time to time.

Some also said that the enemies of the Sanfenxiang Building had come looking for trouble...

But no matter which explanation, they all made Lao Quan's heart pound.

And life was always harsher than fear.

The fierce fire on Baihua Street one night burned away the bright lights and fine wine, and it also burned away his life.

This pimp, who was accustomed to pleasing everyone and had eight faces, lost his job and only then realized he had no real skills for making a living.

In the newly built Baihua Street, there was no place for him.

Even work that involved selling one's dignity required the world to provide an opportunity.

After living on his past savings for a while, he tried to flatter people and get a watchman job. Just as he was about to start a new life, he unexpectedly heard that someone was looking for survivors of the Sanfenxiang Building on Baihua Street...

So he packed his bundles overnight and fled with the old dog and Ni Er.

He had never thought of leaving Shangqiu, let alone leaving Song Country. But after choosing to flee, in the confusion of having nowhere to go, he suddenly remembered the dream he had in his youth—

At that time, he wanted to enter Longmen Academy, he wanted to travel to the Central Domain and see Tianjing City, the center of the world where the great sun was said to hang forever.

He yearned for Longmen Academy, not because he enjoyed reading, but because he wanted to leap over the dragon gate, undergo a transformation in life, and become a dragon and phoenix among people. He also planned to win the sword debate at Guanhe Tai, and he hesitated for a long time between the inner mansion field and the outer building field—

The reality was that he could only be a pimp.

Approaching fifty years old, he had long since recognized his mediocrity and knew he didn't have the qualifications to approach the dragon gate. But there was still a trace of fanciful thought in his mind; he still wanted to go to the Central Domain and see, to walk around, to know what true prosperity was like.

Thus, he pushed the single-wheeled cart and set off on the biggest adventure of his life.

His destination for this trip was the Central Domain. It would be best if he could go to Jing Country, but settling elsewhere in the Central Domain was also acceptable. The Central Domain was a rich world; he didn't think they would lack food there.

From Song Country to the Central Domain, he chose to walk in the direction of Longmen Academy, passing Baxia Bridge and crossing the Long River.

Thank the great Lie Shan Human Emperor, who built such a solid bridge and charged no fees. After that, the common people could cross the Long River on both banks.

Gulu lulu, gulu lulu.

The single-wheeled cart rolled on the road, and his voice also rolled in the ears of the little girl and the old yellow dog. When there were no other people around, Lao Quan would chatter.

"Ever since Qiong Zhi girl went up to the main building, saying she was going to do some fragrance beauty thing, I've always felt something bad was going to happen."

"Just a feeling... do you all know?"

There was a woods by the roadside. He quickly pushed the single-wheeled cart into it and leaned it against a tree to stop it.

He simply used his feet to rake up some leaves, then he lifted the Da Huang dog from the cart and placed it on the pile of leaves.

He then took out a sealed bamboo tube from his baggage, opened the lid, and with a smile, handed it to the little girl: "Ni Er, drink some water."

The small girl with twisted braids had a dirty face, making it difficult to see her appearance.

It wasn't that Lao Quan was lazy and didn't wash her face, but the journey was long, and it was safer to keep her appearance unremarkable.

Ni Er looked at him, still took the bamboo tube, and gulped down two mouthfuls.

Lao Quan took back the bamboo tube, poured some water into the bamboo lid, took a sip himself, and then handed it to the old yellow dog: "Want some?"

The old dog closed its eyes, too lazy to pay attention.

Lao Quan looked at it happily, eagerly holding it out again: "Good, drink some water, whose dog is this so obedient? Let me see, whose dog is this so fond of drinking water?"

Ni Er rolled her eyes. She turned her head away, afraid she couldn't help but laugh.

The old yellow dog gritted its teeth, didn't open its eyes, but with a single flick of its tongue, it drank the bit of water.

Lao Quan licked his dry, cracked lips and covered the bamboo tube.

They weren't short of water to drink; relying on the Long River, they wouldn't die of thirst. But they only had a few water bags on the cart. It wouldn't be good for Ni Er to be thirsty, she was too small. Nor would it be good for the old dog to be thirsty, it was too old.

"I just feel that Qiong Zhi girl was our blessing. When she left, our blessing was gone. At that time, I was still very uncomfortable because no flower queen was as kind-hearted as her and cared about us."

He started chattering again.

Ni Er was already squatting there playing with ants. She would remove the ants' legs one by one and watch their bodies shake hard.

The old dog started snoring.

"Qiong Zhi girl also saved you, you heartless old dog. When she left, I didn't even see you bark twice or be a little sad."

Lao Quan scolded the old yellow dog, made a gesture to hit it, but ultimately didn't swing his hand down. He only said hatefully: "Old dog!"

No one reasoned with him.

The dogs didn't reason with him.

He lowered his head to look at his own hands, the hands that used to be well-maintained. Now they were cracked in many places, covered in calluses.

He said to himself: "A fighter with eight old knives died, the god-like Cheng Feng Xiang envoy died, so many beautiful girls are all gone."

"Only I, this useless waste, have survived. Heaven let me live down, surely there's a reason?"

He looked at Ni Er, then at the old dog.

He thought this was probably the reason.

If he wasn't here, how would this mute girl and old dog live?

"There must be a way to cure Ni Er in the Central Domain, right? I just don't know how much money I need to save."

"Da Huang, when we reach the Central Domain, you can live a few more years too. But you're already this old, so it won't be sad when you die. I'll bury you, so people don't eat your meat."

What was the difference between being eaten by people and being buried in the mud and eaten by insects?

The old yellow dog couldn't understand people the most in its life. Before it was Yan Chun Hui, now it was this old pimp. How could people be so inexplicable?

"Ah, when we reach the Central Domain, I want to eat rich and noble cakes..." Lao Quan was still chattering.

Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound. He immediately stitched his mouth shut and squatted down, honestly leaning behind the tree.

The rumbling wasn't thunder, but the sound of horse hooves as thick as bowls galloping on the Chidao.

Two teams of knights in magnificent armor clearing the way, riding the wind and pulling the lightning, passed by. Immediately after was a luxurious carriage like a moving palace. Qi steamed ten thousand li, and the sea of clouds was like a dream. A dense motorcade, clustered around the Shen Xiao Phoenix flag, passed by like a long dragon.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it was as if a brilliant and beautiful human dream had blossomed.

A long time later, Lao Quan slowly closed his mouth, which he had unconsciously opened.

"Ah... Oh!" He woke up as if from a dream: "I said why is this official road so easy to walk on. I remembered, this is the Chidao going towards Guanhe Tai!"

"This year's Yellow River Meeting... has started!"

Guanhe Tai was of course closer to Song Country, but Song Country didn't have the qualification to send such a long ceremonial guard team to Guanhe Tai. Only the six great overlord countries under heaven were allowed to display a thousand-person ceremonial guard at Guanhe Tai.

Below that were all hundred-person specifications.

Back when the Sanfenxiang Building in Shangqiu was still around, Lao Quan listened to those cheerful guests talk, saying that Li Country seemed to be causing trouble over the ceremonial guard specifications, going to Xingyue Yuan to make trouble several times. But Cabinet Elder Jiang found it inconvenient to make a decision on this matter. How could he, an outsider to the country's system, tear open the status of the overlord countries under heaven? This was truly a grievance...

"How are the Chu Country people so rich? Do they wear all their money on their bodies? So rich, yet they don't sprinkle some along the way."

"Yellow River Meeting... do you all know about the Yellow River Meeting?" Lao Quan only had such a strong desire to express himself in front of the old dog and the mute Ni, as if he wanted to finish saying all the words for this one person and one dog who couldn't speak.

"The Zhen River True Monarch became famous right here."

"I heard that year... he chopped all the judges flying with one sword. That was fierce! The Long River Dragon Monarch was injured because of this, ah, accidental injury! Later, he was ambushed by the sea clan and died so miserably, the dragon blood dyed Cabinet Elder Dou's clothes red."

What in the world was all this... The old yellow dog rolled over and shook off the leaves on its body.

Lao Quan's face was surprised: "Da Huang, are you better?"

The old dog wasn't sick, just lazy to walk the road.

Towards the direction of Guanhe Tai, the old yellow dog barked once. It showed a dog's interest.

Lao Quan was silent. But his heart pounded like a drum again.

In such a brilliant world, in an era of heavenly pride and glory. An ordinary person's Yellow River Meeting...

That absolute scenery, even just one glance, would be enough for this life.

"Guanhe Tai, ah... the number one stage under heaven... Want to go see, Ni Er?" he asked.

Ni Er held her braids and thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"But we definitely can't go up, oh, we can only wander nearby and look at the various good people participating..." As he said this, an idea struck Lao Quan: "Can't we sell some dried fruits and tea water near Guanhe Tai!"

"So many people are participating, if each person takes care of a little business, we'll get rich! Later, we'll go to the Central Domain and eat well and drink spicy!"

He knew, of course, that more lucrative businesses wouldn't fall to him. It seemed one country specifically did this... But the happiness in his mouth was also very happy.

The more he talked, the more energetic he became. He quickly pushed the single-wheeled cart out and pointed ahead with spirit, as if he was also a person pointing his sword towards Guanhe Tai: "Get on the cart! Let's go! Guanhe Tai!"

In the end, both Ni Er and the old yellow dog walked on their own.

One habitually flattering smile, an old head looking more weathered than his actual age, one gray little girl, one listless old dog, one single-wheeled cart that looked like it could fall apart at any moment... and a completely unremarkable patch of woods.

This was just an ordinary glance in the scenery along the way, embedded in Wu Sheng's bloodshot eyes.

It passed in a flash.

"Don't overuse your pupil technique, it consumes your divine soul." Qu Shun Hua's voice rang out in front.

The carriage, which looked very luxurious and vast from the outside, had an even grander hall inside.

Wu Sheng was actually sitting in a corner, slightly peering out the window.

The Qu family beauty who spoke was sitting on a larger viewing platform, looking at an open map—

Wu Sheng didn't need to look to know that it contained all his cultivation materials.

The exquisite and magnificent armor decorated with phoenix feathers explained Qu Shun Hua's identity this time – she was the leader of Chu Country's team for this Yellow River Meeting.

The position of Yellow River team leader was usually given to experienced and older True People.

Qu Shun Hua was still very young and hadn't been a True Person for long. She wasn't really suitable for this position...

But who made the judge hosting this Yellow River Meeting, True Monarch Jiang!

The god-like male, wearing a magnificent water-blue robe, was sitting in front of General Qu, boiling a pot of jade spring water, elegantly making tea.

He, who was twenty-nine years old this year, was just under the thirty-year-old unlimited threshold and was Chu Country's undisputed final player.

The reason for specifically emphasizing "undisputed."

Was because Wu Sheng was not like that.

The blood threads in his pupils trembled and trembled, pulling at his hidden pain.

He didn't actually possess the kind of suppressive strength that Zhao displayed in the previous outer building field fight.

To represent Chu Country in the outer building field, he was of course excellent enough, but there were others in the country similar to him who were selected... The selection before setting off was actually a tie.

He completely relied on the Wu family's foundation, slightly occupying an advantage in terms of blood energy, which just barely saved him.

But this slight advantage, as long as the other side entered the Yellow River Meeting's preparation list, the Chu Country officials could compensate for it that day.

He was very clear that this spot ultimately fell to him. His Majesty didn't reason about the "rematch" controversy; it was entirely based on the fate of the deceased Wu Ling, using this "leap dragon gate" opportunity to give the Wu family some compensation.

He, this branch of the family, could enter the family head's genealogy only because of Wu Ling's death.

And after obtaining all this, he had to prove that he was worth all of it.

So he worked so hard, rushing along the way, cultivating desperately, even to the extent of some damage to his divine soul.

"It doesn't matter." He explained: "This small problem can be fixed by taking a Huang Dan."

Huang Dan was another name for "Holy Soul Pill."

The development of the Yuan Shi Dan Alliance was changing with each passing day, especially in the last two years, they had made great breakthroughs in nourishing the spirit and benefiting the soul. Chu Country, which held a large share in the Yuan Shi Dan Alliance, naturally shared in this fruit.

"Your current task is not to cultivate." Qu Shun Hua glanced over faintly, her voice pleasant to the ear, but allowing no disobedience: "It is to rest."

On the window platform opposite, Zhuge Zuo quietly sat reading a book, immersed in his own world, not moving.

Wu Sheng had his own ideas and opened his mouth.

Then he heard Zuo Guang Shu say: "Drink tea, drink tea."

This noble young master, with a warm voice and smile, said: "The summer is hot, everyone drink a cup of clear heart tea."

The remaining two cups flew like firecrackers towards Zhuge Zuo and Wu Sheng.

His hands then extremely gently pushed the teacup forward slightly and called out: "General Qu."

Wu Sheng caught the hidden weapon with one hand, closed his mouth, and turned his head away.

What kind of Yellow River Meeting was this.

The team leader was Qu Shun Hua.

The finale was Zuo Guang Shu.

There was nothing to see.

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