novelraw Chapter 207 Too Innocent! They Collided!
Chapter 207 Too Innocent! They Collided!
Chapter 207 Too bad! They collided!
As the oxcart passed by the little beggar, the little beggar didn't flinch, but stared straight at Gu Tang with his big eyes.
Gu Tang looked back and saw that the little beggar had suddenly run away.
"That beggar is too timid. We didn't even say a word, and he ran away in fear!" Gu Lianshan glanced at the little beggar's back and sighed. He could tell at a glance that the boy must have been beaten and was afraid of being beaten.
timid?
Gu Tang didn't think so; a timid beggar wouldn't stare directly at her.
"Let's move forward, I reckon there should be some activity going on."
The oxcart arrived on the street and stopped in a secluded spot.
After waiting for a while, a commotion came from not far away, with a lot of people talking.
"They're here!" Gu Tang's face lit up with joy, and he quickly stood up on the oxcart.
On the street not far away, the sight of a dense crowd of people made Gu Tang extremely happy. Soon, Ma Er and A San, acting crazy and cursing at each other, ran towards Changshan Academy, followed by countless people.
At first, Gu Tang was happy, thinking that there were many people and the more people who followed, the better. But as the crowd kept coming, she became a little scared.
"Dad! This is incredibly effective! Look at this! There must be over a thousand people here!"
Gu Lianshan was also puzzled: "Yeah, there are way too many people. Your story about the Queen Mother of the West is complete nonsense! How can so many people believe it?"
Gu Tang didn't like hearing that: "What do you mean by nonsense? My story is much more realistic than alchemy and immortal cultivation! Maybe the people here love to hear myths."
Gu Lianshan didn't believe her nonsense. He found a teahouse on the street, spent a few copper coins to leave the oxcart outside, and led Gu Tang to follow the crowd.
……
At the foot of the western wall of the city, a little beggar boy, panting as he ran back, was calling out to his boss.
"Boss! Boss! We've found him!"
what?
Found it?!
A disheveled man appeared before the little beggar: "Where are you?"
"Over at Changshan Academy!"
The man from Changshan Academy knew about it, but he had never been there before and didn't know which way to go.
"Come on, you lead the way."
He grabbed the little beggar boy who had returned with the news and pushed him to lead the way.
The remaining little beggars, seeing their leader leave, quickly followed after him.
The man ignored them, thinking, "Let them follow if they want; they won't listen anyway."
Besides the little beggar, we encountered other beggars on the road. Among these beggars were those who had helped look for the person, and after learning that the person had been found, they all followed along.
Many others were from other neighborhoods. Suddenly seeing so many beggars of all ages gathered together, their curiosity piqued, they secretly followed behind.
Soon, the group of beggars grew larger and larger, heading towards Changshan Academy in a grand procession.
……
Gu Tang has already found out the whole story.
The reason why the three brothers were able to gather so many people in such a short time was not only due to the mythical story that was hard to distinguish from the truth, but also because of a divine intervention.
An old lady in the Cheng family in the east had a dream in which the Queen Mother of the West hosted a banquet for all the gods in heaven. In a few days, it would be the old lady's fiftieth birthday, and in the dream, the old lady asked the Queen Mother of the West for wine.
The Queen Mother of the West said that the old lady had done good deeds and accumulated merit, so she rewarded her with a pot of celestial wine. It was the first time the old lady had tasted celestial wine, and she drank too much and became drunk.
When I woke up, I realized it was all a dream.
When the old lady woke up, she felt that this was a reminder from heaven that the gods in heaven were watching her good deeds. So she decided to set up a soup kitchen and continue to do good deeds.
The place that Ma Da and his friends chose was the location where the Cheng family had set up a soup kitchen.
To ensure everyone remembered the old lady's kindness, the steward of the Cheng family recounted the story to the people receiving porridge.
When the people heard this, they naturally spread the story more and more exaggeratedly!
Therefore, after Ma Da and the others told them about the Queen Mother of the West losing her incense, the nearby people rushed over like madmen.
Everyone is saying this must be true!
The old lady in the Cheng family dreamed that the Queen Mother of the West was hosting a banquet for the celestial beings. These three ugly monsters, who came from who-knows-where, also saw the Queen Mother of the West hosting the banquet for the celestial beings.
What a coincidence that two groups of people say the same thing one after the other.
However, what happened next was somewhat unexpected.
The old lady of the Cheng family was begging for wine at the banquet of the Queen Mother of the West, but the three people who came later said that their ancestors had stolen the Queen Mother of the West's Reverse Incense.
The Queen Mother of the West was furious and punished the family by making them ugly and unable to walk properly.
Generation after generation, almost the entire family died out, leaving only three brothers.
The three brothers have endured countless hardships; two of them have gone insane, and the third is on the verge of madness.
When the old lady of the Cheng family found out, she wanted the servants to bring them into the mansion.
The three Ma brothers weren't stupid. Ma Er and Ma San immediately started chasing and playing around like madmen, and soon left the place.
Ma Da followed slowly behind, his eyes fixed, his steps unsteady, and he was still talking about the Queen Mother of the West.
In the winter, many idle people followed along, constantly attracting new people on the road.
The newly arrived villagers, unaware of what was happening, inquired around and soon learned the reason behind it.
Everyone was incredibly excited! They all said it was a divine intervention!
Knowing the reason behind the incident, the father and daughter looked at each other in bewilderment and stepped aside.
"This is too unlucky!" Gu Lianshan exclaimed. "No wonder it attracted so many people; it turns out it's because of the old lady of the Cheng family..."
"What? Is his family very rich?"
"They're not just rich! I heard their daughter is a concubine in the palace! They're rich and powerful!"
Gu Tang's eyes flickered slightly; this was indeed a potential buyer!
"Let's squeeze in." Gu Tang pulled her father along, pushing her way into the crowd.
Unfortunately, it was already too crowded inside, and the father and daughter not only failed to get in, but were instead pushed out one after the other.
Staggering a couple of steps to steady himself, Gu Tang noticed a group of ragged, disheveled beggars a few steps away from them!
"Holy crap!" Gu Tang exclaimed in surprise, quickly taking two steps back. The first two words that popped into her mind were: "The Beggars' Sect?"
"Oh my! So many beggars! Are you all here to join in the fun too?" Gu Lianshan exclaimed, pulling Gu Tang behind him. "Boss..."
The little beggar who was close to the man called out timidly, trying to pull the leader away.
But for some reason, the boss kept staring at him!
You can't just stare at people!
They are beggars; staring at them like that will get them beaten to death!
"Boss... Shall we go?"
The man remained silent, his right hand resting on his left chest, where a purple talisman pulsed, its intense heat almost scalding. He sighed softly; it was her. Her soul aura was both familiar and profound.
After the otherworldly soul took over his body, it mistakenly took many souls, but those mistakenly taken souls received compensation and happily reincarnated.
She alone first transformed into a vengeful ghost at the gates of the underworld, then caused such a disturbance that the underworld compromised, allowing her to choose a treasure from the underworld's treasury and take it with her, and finally even agreed to let her be reborn in another body.
I thought this would quell her resentment, but who would have thought that her resentment would only grow deeper!
In order to prevent her from causing trouble in the underworld again after her death, and also to eliminate the sins committed by the soul from another world through her hands, Houtu made her go through this ordeal.
He would serve this girl like a slave for the rest of his life, hoping that after her death, her resentment would be appeased and his own sins would be absolved.
Gu Tang didn't know why the beggar across from her, who was as thin as a bamboo pole, kept staring at her. Instinctively, she showed displeasure in the face of his gaze.
"Dad, let's not stay here, let's go over there." Gu Tang pointed to the alley next to them.
Gu Lianshan glanced at the alley, his eyes lit up, and he suddenly remembered a good place. He quickly pulled Gu Tang over there.
After entering the alley, we walked a short distance and turned east, which led to another alley.
At the end of the alley was a wall, and at the base of the wall were two large piles of bricks, as if someone was using the bricks to climb over the wall.
Gu Lianshan patted the wall: "Behind this wall is the 'Changqing Gate' of Changshan Academy. Many scholars who cannot enter the academy often lean on this wall, gazing at the gate with longing."
Gu Tang suddenly realized.
I understand! I understand! In her past life, she couldn't get into Tsinghua or Peking University, but every time she went to Beijing, she would still take photos at the gates of Tsinghua and Peking University.
Everyone felt the same way, and she understood perfectly!
"Can you climb walls?" Gu Lianshan asked Gu Tang, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
"Yes!" Gu Tang rolled up her sleeves and climbed up the blue bricks.
The wall wasn't very high, and with the half-person-high blue bricks as stepping stones, Gu Tang's little head popped out as soon as she stood on the blue bricks, and she could just see the scene outside Changqing Gate. She gasped, there were too many people!
In front of Changqing Gate is an extremely spacious open space. During market days, students from this academy, as well as students from other places, are allowed to set up stalls here to sell calligraphy and paintings, or to exchange and critique their work.
At this moment, the open space in front of us was completely crowded with people!
There were so many people there that you couldn't count them all!
Ma Da and the others were holding Changqing Gate tightly, still diligently tearing at each other, which made Gu Tang sigh. They were too dedicated!
The students of Changshan Academy also heard the commotion, and many of them came out to check.
Among a group of students in blue robes were many men and women dressed in fine clothes, some older and some younger. Gu Tang counted them carefully and there were more than a dozen of them.
"Father, does Changshan Academy have a back gate? Those richly dressed people probably entered through the back gate of Changshan Academy."
"should be."
"It's worth it to have attracted so many wealthy people."
"We should thank Old Madam Cheng. If it weren't for the fact that we ran into them, this event wouldn't have attracted any wealthy gentlemen and ladies today. We would have had to wait for word to spread before selling the incense at a high price. But things are different now. Maybe we can sell them all today!"
Gu Tang smiled and nodded, his gaze falling on the towering Changqing Gate. Suddenly, an idea came to him: "The Changqing Gate is built so tall and big. If we put the backflow incense up there and let the smoke fall down, wouldn't that be just like the 'ladder to immortality'?"
"What nonsense are you thinking? Look how high that door is. How are Ma Da and the others supposed to get up there? Fly up?"
That's true, Ma Da and the others really can't get up there.
Gu Tang looked regretful.
The father and daughter, engrossed in watching the show and chatting, did not notice a person standing on the roof behind them.
The man was dressed in tattered clothes and had unkempt hair.
He listened quietly to Gu Tang speak, his gaze fixed on the Changqing Gate.
It seems like she orchestrated this whole farce today, all for... selling incense?
……
The arrival of Old Madam Cheng at the back gate of Changshan Academy drew the attention of the entire academy.
They followed the old lady through the academy to Changqing Gate.
When the crowd arrived, Ma Er and Ma San were still tearing at each other. The old lady had someone tear them apart, and the onlookers immediately quieted down.
The three brothers panicked, but fortunately, their hair was all disheveled, making it impossible to see their facial expressions, and for a moment no one noticed their panic.
The old lady probably really thought Ma Er and Ma San were crazy. After having them pulled apart, she didn't ask them any questions, but instead directly interrogated Ma Da.
"Who gave you this idea? Do you think you lowly people can fabricate stories about the Queen Mother of the West?!"
The old lady believed in Taoism and had unwavering faith in the many gods in heaven. She couldn't stand anyone using the gods as a tool for their own purposes.
Upon learning of this, she was so angry that she smashed her favorite teacup and, disregarding the objections of the younger generation in her family, personally chased after them.
As soon as the old lady spoke, many people from wealthy backgrounds around her secretly curled their lips and glanced at the old lady of the Cheng family with disdain.
They knew this old lady would come and cause trouble. If it weren't for wanting to see her make a fool of herself, they wouldn't have come all this way in the freezing cold to join in the fun.
In Bei'an City, every family with any standing knows that Old Madam Cheng is a Taoist and practices Taoism!
Over the years, because of his cultivation, he has offended many families. If it weren't for the fact that the eldest daughter of the Cheng family is a concubine in the palace, they would have divided the Cheng family up long ago!
The ladies, who had originally intended to remain neutral, suddenly began to "reprimand" Ma Da.
"You've really stumbled upon a true deity today, lad! Old Madam Cheng is a genuine Taoist believer!"
"That's right, you can't talk about the Queen Mother of the West! Only Old Madam Cheng can talk about her!"
"It's not just that you can't talk about it. This kind of thing, like the Queen Mother of the West hosting a banquet for all the immortals, can only be seen by Old Madam Cheng. You can't see it. If you do, it'll be considered fraud, and Old Madam Cheng might beat you to death on the spot!"
The younger generation of the Cheng family were displeased with this: "Madam Han's words are likely an attempt to frame us. This person is clearly using the name of a deity to swindle others. The authorities will handle the matter, and our Cheng family will never kill someone arbitrarily!"
Madam Han's face darkened for a moment, but she quickly sneered, "What a fine 'would never kill someone arbitrarily'! Are all the animals buried on Nanshan Mountain cats, dogs, chickens, and sheep?"
The Cheng family members' faces stiffened, and they glared at them with vicious eyes.
Madam Han wasn't afraid of them at all. She looked at them with a smile on her face, which made them so angry that their hearts ached.
Especially the old lady of the Cheng family, she dared not scold Madam Han, for fear that Madam Han would say something else, so she could only direct her anger at Ma Da.
"Speak quickly! I've already sent someone to report this to the authorities. If you don't speak, you'll definitely be in jail!"
Ma Da trembled twice in fright, but remembering the promise the girl had made to them, he gritted his teeth and knelt down on the ground to kowtow three times to the old lady of the Cheng family.
"We have heard that you, Madam, are able to see the Queen Mother of the West. We beg you to plead with her on our behalf! Our ancestors committed the crime of stealing incense, and we have already accepted the punishment, but when will this punishment end?"
Our entire family is now down to just the three of us brothers! Please, I beg you, plead for our lives! I'll kowtow to you!
After saying this, Ma Da began to kowtow repeatedly, truly and earnestly!
The area in front of Changqing Gate was paved with bluestone slabs. Ma Da kowtowed heavily, and after more than a dozen kowtows, the bluestone slabs were covered in crimson!