mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 131 The Mysterious Peddler
Chapter 131 The Mysterious Peddler
Chapter 131 The Mysterious Peddler
At the signal of County Commandant Shi, Constable Zhao and the young constable brought the two bundles of candles to Li Jiuhe, gently placed them down, and then took two steps back.
"Isn't it necessary to set up an altar?" Constable Zhao asked with a half-smile.
It seems that his attitude towards Li Jiuhe is still mostly one of suspicion.
If there were such extraordinary people in Ye City, they should have stepped forward at the very beginning of the invasion by ghosts. How could they have waited until now to appear?
If Li Jiuhe's speech and behavior hadn't been a bit strange, making him suspect that this person might have an extraordinary status, he wouldn't have brought him to see the county magistrate.
Li Jiuhe shook his head.
County Magistrate Shi also looked at him with curiosity, his eyes wide open.
After waiting for a moment, Li Jiuhe remained standing in the same spot, but reached out and picked up the two bundles of candles, holding them in his hands.
He made no other movements, nor did he mutter any words, which puzzled everyone.
"Why don't you use your magic?" Officer Zhao couldn't help but urge.
"Can't you see?"
Li Jiuhe smiled and waved the two bundles of candles he was carrying.
Everyone was startled, only then realizing that Li Jiuhe not only had two bundles of candles at his feet, but also two identical bundles of candles in his hands.
"this----"
"Good heavens!"
County Magistrate Shi suddenly stood up, still clutching the stone he had used to scrape the mud, which he had forgotten to throw away.
He stared in surprise at the two bundles of candles in Li Jiuhe's hand, then finally reacted and pointed at the candles, saying, "Officer Zhao, check them!"
Constable Zhao and the young constable quickly stepped forward, and at this moment, Li Jiuhe also put down the candle in his hand.
There were already four bundles of candles in front of him, which is a total of 120 candles.
After a quick check, Officer Zhao turned to County Lieutenant Shi and nodded in alarm: "It's true—the number of exorcism candles has doubled!"
County Magistrate Shi strode over, picked up a candle to examine it carefully, then clasped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Jiuhe, saying, "Master Lin, how come I've never heard of such an extraordinary person as you in Yecheng?"
Li Jiuhe chuckled: "It's easy to say. Actually, I'm an outsider just like that old peddler. And—we're both trapped here, unable to leave Ye City."
"I see."
The three county magistrates, including Shi, opened their eyes wide and nodded.
"I'll take ten, is that too much to ask?" Li Jiuhe glanced at the candles on the ground.
"That's not excessive, Master Lin, please proceed." County Magistrate Shi nodded immediately.
Officer Zhao's eyes darted around: "Um—Master Lin, could you please continue your spell—"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Jiuhe shook his head: "Creating something from nothing, increasing something from something, consumes a lot of magical power. I need to rest for a few days before I can perform it a second time."
"No rush, no rush." County Magistrate Shi immediately waved his hand. "Where is Master Lin staying? He can move to the mansion to rest tonight; there are plenty of empty rooms here."
Li Jiuhe's heart stirred, and this time he did not refuse: "Alright, then I'll trouble you, County Commandant, to prepare two rooms for me. One room will be for me, and the other will be for my friend's family in Di'ao Street. Their tongues were cut off by the Tongue-Cutting Demon, and you even gave them two candles—"
"Oh, I remember, I remember." Officer Zhao nodded immediately. "It's the Li family of three. I was the one who gave them the candles. So you're friends."
Only then did Li Jiuhe learn the family's surname; unexpectedly, they were family members.
If this family hadn't opened the door at the crucial moment last night and let him inside to escape those eerie paper figures, he would have been in a very sorry state even if he hadn't reset the mission.
So he readily repaid this kindness.
As long as the Li family of three moves into the backyard of the county government office, there will be enough candles and torches there to ward off evil spirits, which will be enough for them to avoid danger.
County Magistrate Shi, with a smile on his face, instructed Constable Zhao, "Then hurry up and move the three members of the Li family into the mansion."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'll take two first, and you can put the remaining eight in my room."
As Li Jiuhe spoke, he pulled out two candles from one of the bundles of candles, wrapped them twice with the excess oil paper, and then put them in his bosom.
This candle is very important and must be kept on hand at all times, just in case.
Officer Zhao and his men quickly went to do as instructed.
Now, Li Jiuhe holds a higher position in their hearts than the old peddler, since he seems to be able to increase the number of candles indefinitely.
In this way, even if ghosts appear in the city and danger lurks everywhere, as long as there are enough candles, they will no longer be as panicked as before.
If there are enough candles, it can even ensure that the nearby people can get through each night safely.
Of course, no one else knew that Li Jiuhe actually only had three chances to duplicate items. He had already used one, leaving him with two more.
These opportunities are valuable, and he doesn't want to keep using them.
Now that he had used it once, he had gained the government's recognition and assistance, and his goal had been achieved.
An hour later, accompanied by County Magistrate Shi, Li Jiuhe and his group headed to the old peddler's residence.
He now wants to meet this old peddler to learn more about the world and to plan how to kill the Guan family.
The old peddler lived in a house near the west gate of the city. The original owners of the house had been killed by ghosts.
There are many similar houses in the city. Currently, these houses are either empty or still contain corpses.
Originally, County Magistrate Shi asked the old peddler to live with them in the backyard of the county government office, so that they would have more security, but the old peddler insisted on living on the outskirts of the city.
His reason was that living here would make it easier to study how to break through the ghostly fog outside the city and see if there was a chance to leave.
On their way to the old peddler's house, Li Jiuhe and the others arrived.
An old, bald man sat in a chair, his eyelids drooping, but his eyes gleamed as he scanned the three people in front of him.
This bald old man was none other than the old peddler.
The three men in front of him were all men. The leader was older, and the two behind him were in their forties. They seemed to be a family, but their attire was completely different from that of the people in the city.
The old peddler had never seen such an outfit before.
These three people were Guan Chuandao and his two sons, Guan Jiqian and Guan Jikun.
The three of them gathered together early this morning, after all, Guan Jikun had strong mental power, and he could sense anything within a certain range of his area.
Besides, he was very familiar with his father's scent.
However, after searching for more than two hours, they still couldn't find Ahui and Xiaoyu, who had come in together, and felt that the two were probably already dead.
Moreover, through Guan Jikun's constant location tracking and mind control, they interrogated the residents who were still alive and hiding in the city, and learned that the source of the candle was the old peddler in front of them.
"Since you're here, you're guests. If you want some firecrackers to ward off evil spirits, I can give you one," the old peddler said in a soft tone. "However, most of the firecrackers have already been distributed by the county government, and I don't have any left."
Guan Chuandao glanced at a wooden box under the old peddler's chair, then withdrew his cold gaze.
"Since you were able to bring the exorcising candles into Ye City, you must know how to get out."
The old peddler shrugged: "If I had known, would I be sitting here waiting for you to come and cause trouble?"
"Who's being unreasonable?" Guan Jikun's eyes flashed sharply.
A burst of divine control power shot out and pierced the temple of the old peddler in front of him.
If it were an ordinary person, they would be controlled by him in an instant.
Even those who are part of the sequence, as long as their abilities do not belong to the development sequence of mental power, will be controlled instantly, just like Li Jiuhe before.
But as the mind control ability pierced into the other party's mind, Guan Jikun trembled violently, feeling that the mental power disappear instantly, like a fish entering the sea.
At the same time, he felt like he was losing control. His body swayed, but Guan Jiqian next to him steadied him.
"What are you doing?"
Guan Jikun finally came to his senses, his face filled with horror, a wave of fear washing over him. He stared intently at the old peddler: "He—"
He—is not under my control—”
Guan Chuanda raised his hand to interrupt him, looking expressionlessly at the old peddler: "Do you really not know how to leave, or do you have some other intention in staying here?"
The old peddler slightly raised his eyelids, seemingly too lazy to even speak, and simply gestured for them to leave.
"Dad, this guy has a strong will. Let me teach him a lesson," Guan Jiqian whispered.
He already knew that Guan Jikun had no way to deal with this old peddler.
The opponent's mental strength might be stronger than Guan Jikun's, but his physical attack and defense are another matter. Otherwise, he should have left Yecheng long ago instead of staying at the city's edge to figure out how to get out.
Seeing that Guan Chuandao did not speak, Guan Jiqian knew that he had obtained permission to act, and then tapped the air in front of him with both index fingers at the same time.
Two explosive sounds rang out in front of the old peddler, one on his forehead and the other on his chest.
Almost simultaneously, the old peddler's body had already shifted, his entire body, along with the chair, retreating to the corner of the wall. It appeared as if he had simply moved horizontally, without even changing his body posture.
The spot where he was sitting just now was not hit by anything after the two air bursts.
The next second, the old peddler flicked his fingers and pulled out a rattle drum from somewhere. He rubbed the small wooden stick of the rattle drum with his index finger and thumb, and the tinkling sound of the drum immediately came out.
The three members of the Guan family—father and sons—experienced tinnitus and body tremors simultaneously. Guan Jiqian, on the other hand, felt a sweet taste in his throat and swallowed a mouthful of blood.
Guan Jikun kept his eyes tightly shut, desperately holding on.
With a loud shout, Guan Chuandao vanished from his spot and reappeared beside the old peddler, his right hand seemingly grasping a ball of fluctuating air, which he then slammed down on the old peddler's head.
The old peddler tossed the rattle drum into the air, and the air enveloped it, causing it to explode with a loud bang.
Then, as if by magic, the old peddler produced a small black tube for blowing sugar figures, put one end in his mouth, and blew the other end at Guan Chuandao.
Guan Chuanda disappeared again.
The roof above the spot where he had just been standing was suddenly blown open by the force of the breath, creating a hole and even blowing off the roof section.
"You all leave first!"
The voice of the preacher rang in the ears of his two sons.
Their bodies vanished involuntarily, and when they reappeared, they were already on the side of the street next door.
Guan Chuandao then vanished in a flash, delivering them here before returning.
They heard a rumbling sound coming from the direction of the old peddler's house, followed by the collapse of the walls, which terrified the two brothers.
They hadn't expected the old peddler to be so strong; even with their father's personal intervention, they couldn't subdue him for a while.
It's not even certain who will win or lose.
A moment later, the air in front of the two rippled, and Guan Chuandao suddenly appeared, dragging the two away and disappearing quickly.
Just as they disappeared, a fireball was hurled from the direction of the old peddler's house, landing with a loud thud on the side of the street and creating a crater.
Flames were still burning in the pit, but they disappeared as quickly as if by magic, leaving only a dark pit.
A few minutes later.
Li Jiuhe, accompanied by County Magistrate Shi and several yamen runners, stood in front of the old peddler's house.
Everyone was completely bewildered.
"This house—is it habitable?" Li Jiuhe pointed to the dilapidated house that was emitting thick smoke.
Just as County Magistrate Shi was about to order someone to go and check, he saw the old peddler calmly walk out of the house.
He was unharmed, and even his clothes were clean. Somehow, he had lit a large pipe and was puffing away.
His gaze swept over County Magistrate Shi and his companions before settling on Li Jiuhe.
"You're in cahoots with them?"
Before anyone else could ask, the old peddler was the first to raise a question.
It's unclear how he sensed it, but he clearly discovered that Li Jiuhe possessed the same traits as the others from before.
Li Jiuhe was taken aback, then clasped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Did you see anyone else just now, sir?"
Seeing the commotion, County Magistrate Shi knew the old peddler had likely had a conflict with the men from earlier, and quickly explained, "Old Master, you misunderstand. This Master Lin, like you, came from outside the city and couldn't get out before. He's a good man who helped our Ye City; his merits are as immeasurable as yours!"
The old peddler gave Li Jiuhe a meaningful look and asked no more questions.
County Magistrate Shi pointed to the house behind him: "Old Master, your residence is in such a dilapidated state that it's uninhabitable. How about I provide you with a clean room in the county government office?"
The old peddler waved his hand: "No need."
He then pointed to the houses across the street, "There are still empty rooms there, I can move across the street."
Taking the opportunity, Li Jiuhe asked, "Excuse me, sir, after studying here for so long, have you found a way to leave Ye City?"
"No," the old peddler answered crisply.
"Sir, you are truly righteous!" Li Jiuhe clasped his hands and said, "Knowing that Ye City was in danger, you still came in to help the people in the city. Not only that, you have been studying ways to leave the city from the outskirts."
The old peddler smiled: "You too, I wonder how you helped Ye City?"
County Magistrate Shi hesitated, because on the way here, Li Jiuhe had told him not to tell anyone about his ability to "turn less into more".
Li Jiuhe smiled and said, "Why don't you come back to the county government office with us, sir, and stay in the backyard so we can talk in detail?"
The old peddler shook his head, then looked at County Lieutenant Shi: "I'll be right here. I'll inform you as soon as I find a way out."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble!" County Magistrate Shi immediately bowed and clasped his hands in thanks.
Li Jiuhe was worried that the Guan family was still nearby, so he did not linger. Instead, he carefully examined the old peddler, the house behind him, and the goods placed under the eaves before leaving.
At that moment, he suddenly had a feeling that the old peddler might have some unknown reason for choosing to enter Ye City at this time.
Moreover, this person seems to be very powerful, and if I want to find out the truth, I can still use the method of advancing the plot.
He still has plenty of reset points, which is enough for now, even if he uses them on two quest lines at the same time.
At the same time.
In a corner of the northern part of Ye City, inside an abandoned house.
Guan Chuandao and his two sons were hiding here.
Guan Jiqian and Guan Jikun were shocked. They hadn't expected the old peddler to be so powerful that even their father was no match for him and could only flee with them.
Guan Chuanda remained silent, seemingly having figured something out from his recent experience.
After a moment, he raised his head slightly and said to his two sons, "Have you noticed that this old peddler has many secrets? He should be a key figure in this world. And after our fight just now, I feel that he is invincible among humans in Ye City, if not among the vengeful ghosts."
Guan Jiqian was taken aback and asked, "Dad, do you mean this peddler is the key to finding our way out?"
"It must be him," Guan Chuandao nodded.
"But we still need to kill Li Jiuhe first, otherwise all plans—" This was still Guan Jikun's biggest concern.
"Kill him, definitely kill him!" Guan Chuandao looked at his second son. "We'll split into two groups. I'll meet with that old peddler again, and you two continue searching for Li Jiuhe. If you find him, kill him immediately. Once I find an exit here, you two can leave first."
He now guessed that the "land of nine deaths" that Guan Yu mentioned back then must have referred to Ye City.
Their biggest enemy now is not Li Jiuhe, but this city.
As long as he can activate the black box after killing Li Jiuhe, his two sons can leave the city smoothly, especially Guan Jikun. Even if Guan Chuandao and that old peddler perish together, it will be worth it to die here.
However, his two sons believed that Guan Chuandao would not die so easily.
His sequence ability is related to space, which is an extremely powerful ability. Although the utilization and operation of space are limited, Guan Jiqian and the others believe that their father's ability is enough to survive anywhere.
Just then, Guan Jikun suddenly paused slightly, as if sensing something. He quickly said, "Dad, brother, I think I've detected Xiao Wei's presence nearby."
He then pointed in a certain direction outside the house: "It's over there, on our side of the street, a house diagonally to the right."
""
Without saying another word, the three of them set off immediately.
Minutes later, they stared in disbelief at a hanging corpse on the roof beam; the corpse was none other than Guan Guangwei.
Guan Guangwei's head was almost completely severed, his flesh torn apart, with only his cervical vertebrae still hanging intact. His death was gruesome. And what was hanging around his neck was not a rope, but his hair, a large amount of long hair wrapped around the roof beam.
The other end of these long hairs grew out of the wooden beams of the house. They were so tough that they couldn't be pulled out, and the hair strands were so strong that even a knife couldn't cut them. They could only be carefully and slowly untangled.
Guan Jiqian did not make a move; instead, his whole body went limp, his expression one of grief, and he was speechless for a moment.
Guan Chuandao and Guan Jikun then untied the long hair from Guan Guangwei's neck before slowly lowering his body. Both of them looked like they were in great pain.
They didn't know what kind of vengeful ghost Guan Guangwei had encountered, but they felt that there was something wrong with the whole room.
Since entering Ye City, they have not seen Ahui and Xiaoyu again.
It's likely that these two are also in grave danger; their bodies will probably never be found.
It's getting dark!
Inside the county government office, Constable Zhao looked up at the sky.
Despite saying this, he appeared relaxed, showing none of his usual sense of urgency.
Now that there are plenty of exorcising candles, and Master Lin, who is skilled in magic, is in the mansion, they no longer need to worry about ghosts appearing at night.
-
Just now, as instructed by County Commandant Shi, they distributed forty more candles to the people outside and asked them to gather together as much as possible, as there should be many survivors tonight.
Li Jiuhe walked out of the house next door belonging to the three mute men. The family of three had been so grateful to him that they had knelt down and kowtowed to him, and he couldn't stop them.
As she was leaving, the little girl, who was about the same age as Li Yi, slipped Li Jiuhe a crumpled candy.
As night was falling, Li Jiuhe delivered another delicious meal, brought by a constable, to the neighbor next door.
Although the amount of food was not much, it was enough to improve the meals for this family of three.
It was late at night, and the candles in the house had already been lit.
The candle was placed on the beam between the two houses, so lighting just one was enough to cover most of the area inside both houses.
There were other rooms in the mansion with candles lit, so the probability of ghosts appearing in this area was relatively low.
Li Jiuhe went to bed early because he hadn't slept all night. So he ate dinner and lay down, waking up once during the night to reset his current task.
I woke up in the middle of the night, just in time to reset my survival tasks.
I set up the task with ease, and then I heard a faint crackling sound from the candles on the roof beam, caused by uneven burning.
Li Jiuhe suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation, and his sleepiness vanished.
He sat up and looked around by the candlelight.
The moon was bright and clear tonight, and the house was quiet inside and out. Suddenly, Li Jiuhe was startled and saw a figure standing outside his room, motionless, with a clear outline reflected through the thin paper pasted on the door.
"An old peddler?" Li Jiuhe quickly recognized the man.
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