bookbashuk Chapter 188 Debt Collection
Chapter 188 Debt Collection
It's been almost two years since Yang and Wang last saw Long Yiyan.
To be honest, the two of them didn't have a very good impression of Long Yi at first, because the old man was greedy for money, addicted to alcohol and women, and at first glance he was completely worthless. Moreover, his teaching methods were simple and brutal, in short, he just beat people up!
You learn by getting beaten up a lot.
But later Yang Silang realized that someone like Long Yiyan, who clearly sets prices and is honest with everyone, is practically a saint. Once you pay him, he really does his job.
Later, he also became a temporary instructor. Following Long Yi's method, it was simple, quick, and profitable. The students were all nice-talking and paid generously. More importantly, they learned faster and more thoroughly than other instructors.
It seems that the old man's method was quite unique.
I've been in the capital for twenty days now, and everything is on track.
Seeing that the weather was fine and sunny, Yang Silang went shopping with Wang Daniu and, after finding out the way, headed straight for Caoxie Hutong.
The two also took the opportunity to tour the sights of the capital city.
Because of the good weather, the streets were packed with people, and the shops on both sides were wide open, with enthusiastic salespeople calling out their wares that could be heard halfway down the street.
They encountered demons who had transformed into humans and foreigners with blond hair, blue eyes, high noses, and deep-set eyes on the road, but the two were not surprised.
Yang Silang took the opportunity to visit the large merchant guild.
It truly lives up to its reputation as the capital city.
Even grandmaster-level martial arts techniques are openly displayed and sold in the store. Yang Silang suspects that the business may be hiding grandmaster-level martial arts techniques.
In addition, no Taoist cultivation methods were seen being sold publicly.
However, he saw many raw materials in the trading company that were clearly needed for Taoist cultivation and could be sold.
Therefore, if one knows the methods of alchemy and medicine making, a rogue cultivator can collect and buy all the materials to make medicine himself.
Doesn't this mean that there are far more independent cultivators in the capital than in other places?
Yang Silang keenly sensed something.
This imperial city is truly in the hands of the monarch, with the royal family holding absolute power. At least in terms of their attitude towards independent cultivators, they are not as harsh as the families in other provinces.
Come to think of it, after all, the founding emperor, Emperor Qitai, was a powerful ruler who once tried to promote Taoism throughout the world, although he ultimately failed.
But some remnants of the capital city remain, no matter what.
However, since the Nine Dragons Spirit-Binding Array exists here, it is easy for independent cultivators to obtain materials, but their cultivation speed would be greatly reduced if they were to cultivate in the capital. So it can be considered a kind of balance.
Yang Silang and Wang Daniu strolled slowly down the street, witnessing firsthand the prosperity of the capital.
On the road.
A group of female knights in cloaks rode ahead on horseback.
These women's cloaks were all woven with phoenixes, but the colors and the number of phoenixes varied.
Yang Silang noticed that some of them had a single bronze phoenix tail, while others had two or three silver phoenix tails. The woman in the center, surrounded by them, had a six-tailed golden phoenix on her cloak, which should indicate that she was the highest-ranking.
However, she wore a veiled hat with long, thin veils hanging down, obscuring her face.
The street was originally crowded, but when people saw this group of female knights, they immediately squeezed to both sides, actually managing to carve out a crooked but fairly wide temporary road.
The women giggled and slowly made way for each other through the crowd, their expressions unchanged as they continued chatting and laughing. They were clearly used to this and considered it a matter of course.
"Fourth Brother..." Wang Daniu leaned closer and whispered, "Look at the horses they're riding, they're all Yuteng horses, no, even bigger and of better and purer blood than the Yuteng horses from the General's Mansion."
Yang Silang nodded silently.
The horses ridden by these female knights no longer had fish scales on their legs, but rather that scales extended up to their shoulders and backs.
The woman wearing a six-tailed golden phoenix cloak rode a fish-shaped horse whose entire body was covered in fish scales, dark gold in color, and exceptionally handsome. Its demonic aura was condensed and did not dissipate, just like the old camel and the one-horned red snake he had seen in the secret realm before.
In other words, the horse demon that this woman rides is equivalent to a Grandmaster of Golden Marrow!
At that moment, the woman casually glanced at the street, and a gust of wind blew by, lifting a corner of her veiled hat.
Yang Silang caught a glimpse of the woman; only half her face was visible beneath the thin veil, her entire appearance obscured.
First, her lips were slightly visible, then her nose was high and her eyes were deep, her skin was snow-white, and she clearly had foreign ancestry.
Even just half of her face was impressive. She seemed to possess the heroic spirit of Fu Hongying, as well as the noble air of Mo Xinlian who had long held a high position. One glance was enough to leave a lasting impression.
The wind passed without a trace, and the thin veil fell, completely covering her face once again.
Upon seeing Yang Silang and his group, they seemed to pause for a few moments before slowly passing by on horseback with the women.
"Fourth Brother, he seemed to be looking at me just now..." Wang Daniu exclaimed, secretly pleased.
"No..." Daqing suddenly spoke up from the side, "She's clearly looking at me."
"She must have been attracted to my tall and imposing appearance, and was eyeing the mare beneath her..."
Even demons can walk openly in the capital city when they transform into human form, so it dares to speak in a low voice.
"Look at you..." Wang Daniu retorted angrily, "What makes you, a donkey, worthy of their attention?"
Daqing was getting angry.
"At least I'm a talking demon, so what if I'm a demon donkey?"
"You're just a mere Iron-Bone Martial Artist; you wouldn't even qualify to be a stable boy!"
"The human and the demon are about to argue," Yang Silang waved his hand.
"Stop arguing, she was looking at me just now..."
This feeling was strange. Actually, when that woman glanced over here just now, no matter when or where, ( ) was always your most loyal reading companion. Her eyes seemed ethereal and not fixed on anyone, but Yang Silang's intuition told him that the woman was looking at him.
"Hiss," Yang Silang recalled, "I don't think I've ever been involved in such a high-end gathering before."
These women wear cloaks embroidered with phoenixes, which, according to the regulations of the Great Shun Dynasty, suggests they have close ties with the royal family.
When Yang Silang spoke, Wang Daniu and Daqing both snorted coldly and stopped their verbal sparring.
After the group of women left, people on the street resumed their usual routine.
Wang Daniu was curious about their identities, so he asked a passerby on the street.
It turns out that this group of women are members of the imperial family. The bronze phoenix is a county princess, the silver phoenix is a county princess, and if she has nine tails, she is a princess. The golden phoenix is the eldest princess, and of course, she could also be a concubine.
I don't know the identity of the woman who is surrounded today, but she is certainly not an ordinary member of the royal family.
Everyone in the capital knows this.
Emperor Yongchang is 95 years old this year, in good health, and has a large harem. He has many children, reportedly more than 100.
However, this emperor was extremely strict with his sons, and he was very cautious even when bestowing titles of kings. Currently, only a few older princes have received the honor of the throne, while countless other princes are still waiting in line, hoping for the best.
However, he doted on his daughters and bestowed upon them generously, making them all princesses, with the most favored being named the eldest princess.
The treatment was generous, and even for marriage, they couldn't bear to send their children abroad. They almost always looked for suitable partners among the noble families in the capital, so that it would be convenient for him to meet them regularly.
Since Da Shun has always been known for its open-mindedness, it is not unusual for a group of royal women to go out together for a stroll.
Regardless of how other parts of the Great Shun Kingdom viewed the royal family, it was clear that people in the capital still held the imperial authority in great awe, and thus made way for the emperor.
The group of women drove their horses slowly through the middle, without recklessly galloping or worrying about hitting pedestrians. They did not disturb each other, and their cooperation was very skilled.
"No wonder they say you don't know how insignificant an official is until you come to the capital..." Wang Daniu sighed. "If our county magistrate came here, he would really be a nobody."
Yang Silang continued.
"I wonder how Coach Long is doing."
"As a fifth-rank instructor, he probably doesn't live as comfortably in the capital as he does in Gongzhou Prefecture."
The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly burst into laughter, quickening their pace as they eagerly awaited seeing Long Yiyan.
They wandered through the streets. The capital was too big and there were too many people on the streets. They asked for directions as they walked, and it took them an hour to find Caoxie Hutong.
The two had assumed that Caoxie Hutong was a shabby and dilapidated place.
Unexpectedly, the alley was surrounded by grand and wealthy houses, clearly not the residence of ordinary citizens.
Wang Daniu poked Yang Silang's waist and whispered.
"Fourth Brother, Instructor Long lives in a place like this? That can't be right!"
"Could he be someone's housekeeper?"
Yang Silang scratched his head, also somewhat unsure.
"He's a fifth-rank official in the imperial court, surely he wouldn't go that far?"
The two entered Caoxie Hutong, where a group of hooligans were banging on the door of a house at the end of the alley.
"One-Eyed Dragon, if you've got the guts, then stay inside and don't come out!"
"Paying back debts is a matter of course, so pay me back right now!"
"Hey, you surnamed Long, I respect you because you're a member of the imperial family, don't push your luck!"
"We'll give you three days to raise the money. If you fail to do so, we'll take your case to the Imperial Clan Court and have you skinned alive!"
The group kicked the door a few times before leaving, cursing and swearing.
Several wealthy households in the alley had servants standing at their doors, smiling as if watching a spectacle, some even cracking melon seeds.
Wang Daniu was somewhat unsure.
"Fourth Brother, One-Eyed Dragon, are you talking about our instructor? But isn't he some kind of member of the royal family? Could there be a mistake?"
Yang Silang pointed ahead.
"Yes, you'll see when you get to the main gate."
The two men led Daqing into the alley. They saw that the door was quite grand, with a plaque hanging above it that read "Imperial Bestowed Fengguo General's Mansion". Outside, there were stone lions guarding the door and a row of hitching posts.
Upon closer inspection, the plaque was faded, the paint on the gate was peeling, the lion's teeth were missing, and there was a pungent stench of urine emanating from the hitching post. A dog leisurely finished watering the area and then walked away, seemingly carefree. Clearly, this household was all show and no substance and had long since fallen into decline.
Yang Silang tried knocking on the door.
"Coach? Coach?"
"An old friend from Jiangdong Province has come to visit!"
There was no sound inside, but Yang Silang had already sensed a fluctuation of qi and blood with his spiritual sense. It was not very strong, probably only at the level of an Iron Bone Martial Master, and it was also wrapped with a trace of poisonous smell.
This tastes just right; it can only be from Longyan.
He was once a steel-dirty martial arts master, but after being poisoned by a demon and not completely eradicated, his blood and qi deteriorated, turning him into an iron-bone martial arts master. In critical moments, he can use secret techniques to briefly restore his peak strength, but he cannot fight for long.
Seeing no movement inside, Yang Silang grew impatient, turned his head, winked at Wang Daniu, and deliberately spoke loudly.
"Da Niu, you know, Instructor Long is really something. He gave me a fake address, and I even brought a thousand taels of silver as a thank you gift."
Wang Daniu immediately understood and said loudly.
"Fourth Brother, that's a pity. It's just that Instructor Long doesn't have that kind of luck with windfall gains."
"Let's go, a thousand taels of silver could buy so many lavish meals with courtesans. Only we brothers can enjoy this."
Before he could finish speaking...
boom!
The door opened, and a fat old man rushed out, raising his hand and shouting urgently.
"Don't go..."
"How can you go drinking with courtesans without inviting me?"
"I'm here, I'm here..." The person who came was none other than Instructor Long. It had been two years since they last met, and the old man's belly seemed to have grown even bigger, and his hair had turned quite a bit whiter.