The Blade-Wielding Legend-Chapter 1267 - 661: Wu Family’s Iron Lion

"Huh, how has the Sea Suppressing Roar moved its location?"

Wang Daoxuan was somewhat surprised upon seeing it, "I traveled here many years ago, wasn't the Sea Suppressing Roar on the other side of the old city?"

What he referred to was the famous Cangzhou Iron Lion.

This object, built in the third year of the Later Zhou Guangshun era, originally served as the mount of the Manjushri Bodhisattva of Kaiyuan Temple, embodying the purpose of suppressing sea disasters. Folks called it the "Sea Suppressing Roar." Though Kaiyuan Temple had long been destroyed by the "Huichang Persecution," the Iron Lion stood resiliently against nearly seven hundred years of harsh weather and wars.

Due to the frequent water disasters in Cangzhou, locals worshipped it yearly, and "Sea Suppressing Roar" also became a symbol of Cangzhou.

"Daoist, you may not know."

The Cao Gang disciple explained, "Just a few years ago, something strange happened within the Canal. Fog frequently rose at midnight, and in broad daylight massive waves would occasionally appear, destroying ships and causing casualties. This led to rumors that altering the Canal's waterway had disrupted Fengshui, provoking Water Demons in the river."

"I heard that the Taixuan Sect sent people to handle it, and quite a few died. Later, 'Sea Suppressing Roar' was moved to the shore, and only then could it suppress the things in the river."

"Ah, I see..."

Upon hearing, everyone felt unsurprised.

The Divine State is vast, with countless peculiar happenings from south to north. Due to inconvenient transportation and information blockade, often when a Mystical Sect event occurred somewhere, it took ages for the news to spread elsewhere.

The battle in Chengdu Prefecture spread quickly, because it involved the Nine Tripod and Vassal King's rebellion.

At that moment, in the morning light, the verdigris of the Iron Lion in the distance glinted coldly.

Li Yan stood at the ship's bow, with the humidity of the Grand Canal carrying a salty scent rushing at him.

He slightly closed his eyes, his hands forming a spell, Divine Skills rippling like water -- the shrimp-like bent backs of porters, the bloodstains pressed by salt sacks, the grooves carved by years on the dock's wooden piles, all vividly revealed...

Within Cangzhou, a region with many waterways, belonging to the Hai River basin and "Nine Rivers under one flow," it's also an important hub on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, thus very bustling.

Beside the dock, masts of salt boats and Cao Boats densely clustered like reeds, with porters' chants mingling with merchants' abacus sounds.

Li Yan saw a bare-chested Han carrying three bags of salt, stepping onto the plank to board the ship, bamboo tokens hanging from his waist clinking rhythmically with his steps. These were used by porters to calculate their payment.

One token was given for each bag carried, and finally, they were tallied up.

The more carried, the more earned.

In youth, they could rely on strength to get by, but often by middle age, they were afflicted by illness.

Suddenly, a muffled groan came from afar.

It was an old porter who staggered and fell to his knees, the salt sack rolling and splitting open, spilling grains into the muddy waves.

"You old coot!"

The overseer, with a face full of rough edges, angrily swung his whip.

However, before the whip could land, it suddenly snapped mid-air.

On the deck, Li Yan calmly discarded the remaining stone.

He had entered the Dan Strength level; he could injure people with flying flowers and plucking leaves, and with Divine Skills inspection, accomplishing this was not difficult.

The overseer, on the shore, stared dumbfoundedly at the broken whip in his hand.

Certainly, he couldn't afford to ponder it much.

The old porter lay on the ground thereafter, never to rise, gradually losing his breath.

The surrounding porters gathered around, not mourning but emotionless, wrapping the old porter in straw mats to carry away.

Death from exhaustion, they had witnessed it too often.

Perhaps for many, their end would be the same.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, and the dock returned to its busy state.

"Alas~"

Scholar Kong Shangzhao sighed, "It's hard to make a name. Rather than suffer here, why not return home to tend a small plot, at least not getting beaten."

"Sir, you may not know."

Beside him, a Cao Gang disciple couldn't help but speak: "If there's land at home, who would willingly endure this hardship? Cangzhou has many water disasters, farmlands often get flooded, and during disaster years there's no harvest. To survive, one has to sell their land to the landlord."

"By then, they can only work for landlords. With good masters, it's fine, but with those venomous ones, they might not even eat enough. Working at the dock, as long as one is willing to exert effort, they can at least occasionally enjoy a meal with meat."

"This..."

Kong Shangzhao heard this and fell silent.

He knew the person was right.

Buying lands in disaster years, saving grains in good years, these were almost all landlords' means to wealth.

Back in his hometown Qufu, all land had become Kong Family's property.

The Cao Gang disciple beside seemed unaware of his awkwardness and continued saying: "If it were before, problems would have arisen long ago, but now many locals head towards Jinmen and coastal regions. There are many workshops there, as long as one is willing to study and work hard, ultimately there's a livelihood."

Li Yan shook his head and said: "It probably isn't that good."

"That's certainly the case."

The Cao Gang disciple laughed, "There are many people there, and it's quite chaotic. They live like in dog houses, work every day can kill them with exhaustion, but at least there's food to eat."

Meanwhile, the Cao Boat was nearing the dock.

The Cao Gang disciple quickly cupped his hands and said: "Young Hero Li, your letter of introduction, our brothers have already sent ahead to the Wu Family, they should return by noon. How about you find a place to rest for now?"

"Alright."

Li Yan nodded and led the others ashore.

Cangzhou is famous as a Holy Land for Martial Arts.

The practice of martial arts is strong in each village, and there are many sects.

In such a place, the pugilistic world rules are very important, and visiting requires sending a letter of introduction first.

After all, their reputation is well known, and Wu Qu locally is a significant figure; ensuring the hosts were prepared would prevent any unpleasant situations which could make things difficult for Wu Qu.

Not far after getting ashore, they entered River Street.

The morning market was lively.

At the satin shop, doors were being unloaded, with clerks shouting about new shipments of Lu silk...

Outside the grain store, mules and horses puffed white air, with Jin merchants counting burlap sacks in their accents...

The steamers at the breakfast stalls opened, releasing the sweet aroma of Golden Thread dates mixed with the mellow of Cang wine, intertwined with the smell of chaff from the livestock market, forming the vibrant cityscape...