Wandering Gods of Day and Night-Chapter 72 - 69 Lady Lianhua
72: Chapter 69 Lady Lianhua
72 -69 Lady Lianhua
“Kids, don’t be timid, just be generous!”
Lao Huang shouted, and the yellow-skinned creatures in his stomach crawled out one after another.
Zhou Xuan estimated that there were not just seven or eight, but at least a dozen.
The yellow-skinned creatures, each shiny with fur and with large bellies, crawled up making clanking, metallic collision sounds.
“Mr.
storyteller, what a fine skill.”
The thinnest and smallest yellow-skinned creature crawled to the stage, stood on its hind legs, and straightened up.
It reached into its mouth with a front paw, kept reaching in until the whole forearm was inside, and then pulled out a jade ring.
“I am Huang Yaoer from the Huang Family, I’m financially tight, don’t have much spare wealth.
Even this small ring is a significant part of my stash, Mr.
storyteller, please don’t disdain it.”
Bang!
The jade ring was thrown in front of Zhou Xuan’s table.
People of Jing Country don’t love jadeite but adore white jade,
This white jade ring was generally creamy white, with a few spots of blood-red threads.
Xu Li’s eyes widened as he gazed at it, and he asked Yu Zhengyuan, “Lao Yu, do you think it’s too late for me to switch careers to be a storyteller now?”
Yu Zhengyuan: “…”
“Huang Liulang, I’ve seen Mr.
storyteller, a pair of bracelets, as a humble tribute.”
Huang Liulang, more generous than Huang Yaoer, reached into his stash and pulled out a pair of pure gold bracelets intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes, where the craftsmanship was more valuable than the material itself.
“A pair of Southern River inkstones, please accept them, Mr.”
The yellow-skinned creatures had their literati, not all were about flaunting gold and silver.
“Ten golden beads…”
“A pair of pearl hairpins…”
A line of yellow-skinned creatures, offering rich rewards.
Initially, the spectators at the storytelling, upon encountering these yellow-skinned creatures that could speak human language, were somewhat frightened, but as time passed, they began to covet the array of rewards on Zhou Xuan’s table, their mouths agape with envy…
Even some newcomers from outside looked suddenly fierce, but after a brief fight with their desires, reason cleared their eyes—this was Zhou Family’s Troupe, attempting robbery here would be foolishly risking their lives.
But there was one person, with a fierce glint persisting in his eyes.
He was momentarily distracted and inadvertently revealed himself, unable to escape the ears of Zhou Xuan who heard three low dog barks.
“Woof, woof, woof.”
However, Zhou Xuan was busy attending to distinguished guests at the moment, not in a hurry to deal with him, just casually checking with his peripheral vision if he had slipped away.
“Thank you, young men of the Huang Family for the support.”
Zhou Xuan gestured with his folded fan.
The oldest among the yellow-skinned creatures, smilingly said to Zhou Xuan, “These are all little kids of our Huang Family, descendants of Lady Lianhua.
I am Huang Tianfeng, the steward of the Huang Family, and I pay my respects to Mr.
storyteller.”
He put his hands together and bowed to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan opened his folded fan and nodded in return.
Huang Tianfeng turned boisterously, as if speaking both to the audience and to Zhou Xuan, “Three days from now is Lady Lianhua’s birthday.
Lady Lianhua loves storytelling.
A month ago, I started bringing the kids to various teahouses in Ping Shui Prefecture searching for a good storyteller,
Unfortunately, those storytellers were skilled, but the stories were outdated.
The kids couldn’t stay awake through a single session and fell asleep snoring, until we met this gentleman…
We listen for a day and long for more, unable to sleep after returning to the temple, begging me to come again the next day…
He’s a fantastic storyteller.”
Isn’t that the truth?
The audience unanimously agreed, nodding, feeling Huang Tianfeng was right.
Huang Tianfeng turned again towards Zhou Xuan, knelt on one knee, and spoke loudly, “Three days later, an eight-bearer sedan from the Huang Family will come to take Mr.
storyteller to the Lotus Temple for a storytelling session.
I wonder, sir, if you would be willing to go.”
The Huang Family respected the tradition of hospitality, and knowing the storyteller was from one of the nine ancient temples, they dared not force but only politely invite.
“Going to an unfamiliar place?”
Zhou Xuan was cautious, wondering whether he should go.
This was his first encounter with a supernatural being since arriving in Jing Country, unsure of what to expect from the opposite party.
He turned to look at Yuan Buyu, who was frantically nodding like a pecking chicken, fearing his talented apprentice might foolishly turn down this opportunity. freewēbnoveℓ.com
With affirmation from his master, Zhou Xuan closed his fan, “In three days, just send the sedan to pick me up.”
“Thank you, sir, for your straightforwardness.”
Huang Tianfeng reached into his belly and pulled out a palm-sized golden Buddha, respectfully placing it on the storyteller’s wooden table.
Then he turned around and shouted, “This little Buddha is the down payment for storytelling.
When you come to the Lotus Temple, Lady Lianhua has prepared a generous reward!
Boys…
shout out.”
About ten yellow-skins crawled back into the corpse’s belly, bowed to Zhou Xuan, and then walked towards the door of Zhou Family’s Troupe.
Faintly, one could still hear arguing voices from inside the corpse’s belly.
“Is the Golden Silk Big Ring Saber more formidable, or is the Bashful Moon Shy Flower Sword?”
“I think the sword is more formidable.”
“The saber!
The saber!
The saber!”
“Younger sister, I am your brother, you should listen to me, the sword is more formidable…”
Zhou Xuan almost laughed out loud hearing this.
As the yellow-skins controlled the corpse to leave and the other spectators began to disperse, a man in his early twenties brushed past Zhou Xuan, but Zhou Xuan called out to him.
“Friend, don’t leave just yet.”
Zhou Xuan stopped the man, who was the one who had kept a fierce look and barked like a dog when he saw the yellow-skins paying up.
“Storyteller, why are you stopping me?” Zhu Tingsheng asked with a waist-bend and a flattering smile.
“You played it quite well, I didn’t see any flaws in your act.
However, just now when you got distracted by the money, you broke character and I heard three dog barks.”
Zhou Xuan leaned in close to Zhu Tingsheng and sniffed, saying, “The scent on you is exactly the same as that dog which was holding three Copper Coins a few days ago!”
Zhu Tingsheng was shocked inside; he was one of the two dogs raised by the Kidnapper Dog King and was an ‘actor’.
These Ghosts, skilled in capturing souls, excel at hiding their own scent, remaining indistinguishable from ordinary people in the eyes of masters unless they perform their skills directly in front of them.
Thanks to this ability, Zhu Tingsheng had been trained by the Dog King as a stalking evil dog.
He was in charge of tracking people, while Yang Moxiang, who held the Copper Coins, was responsible for attacking them.
Ever since the Dog King decided to eliminate Zhou Xuan, Zhu Tingsheng had started shadowing Zhou Xuan.
However, Zhou Xuan had not left his home for several days and stayed at Zhou Family’s Troupe telling stories.
Zhu Tingsheng had wanted to find out exactly when Zhou Xuan would leave the house.
Unable to resist, and somewhat confident in his ability to disguise his scent, he blended in with the audience that had come today to listen to the storytelling, but Zhou Xuan’s Blood Well Spirit saw through his disguise.
But what he had never expected was not that he had failed in his acting skills, but rather that it was the dog skin used by the Dog King to confine him that made Zhou Xuan hear the three dog barks.
“I made a mistake…”
Zhu Tingsheng was just three incense, knowing that there were Divine People in Zhou Family’s Troupe, he surely couldn’t fight back, and had no thought of resisting.
He turned and ran towards the door.
He had barely run two steps when he heard the “snap” of a gavel, and then saw a flash of saber light flash beneath him,
He saw his body continue to run forward, running four or five meters away, but his two lower legs still standing in place.
“My feet!”
Zhu Tingsheng collapsed to the ground, covering his severed feet and screaming in pain, but what the people in the courtyard saw, and what he saw himself, were not the same scene.
The people in the courtyard saw Zhu Tingsheng attempt to flee, but for some reason, he suddenly pulled out a short dagger and chopped off both his feet cleanly.
“Lao Yuan, that move of yours, quite formidable!”
Zhou Xuan knew that Zhu Tingsheng had been pulled by Yuan Buyu into a daylight dream.
In the daylight dream, Zhu thought it was a saber light that had cut off his feet, but in reality, he was tricked by the illusion of the dream and had cut off his own feet.
Yuan Buyu said, “I told you a few days ago, bully my disciple?
Eat his mother’s bear heart and leopard guts!
And now still daring to come after us!”
Zhou Xuan picked up the short dagger from the ground, intending to kill Zhu Tingsheng.
The dog raised by the kidnapper, why keep him alive?
“Hey, no rush, this man is still useful!” Yuan Buyu shouted to stop Zhou Xuan.
“What use is he?”
“Use him to find Dog King, settle them all in one go, let the kidnapper know your master’s skills, to stop bothering us every now and then!”
Yuan Buyu motioned for Zhou Xuan to carry Zhu Tingsheng on his back…