bookrebus Chapter 76 Seeing plenty of grass eventually leads to encountering a sheep
Chapter 76 Seeing plenty of grass eventually leads to encountering a sheep
Ning Xiaoxi and Chang Qing did not rush back, but instead bypassed the swampy mudflats and headed in the opposite direction from Yin Biao and the others.
Two guards walked at a distance behind the two men, without getting close.
"Brother Chang, how are spiritual veins usually tested?"
“Each prefecture’s Celestial Master’s Pavilion has a testing tower, but getting into the testing tower is not easy. Ordinary people wait for the Celestial Master’s selection once every ten years. At that time, the Celestial Master of the prefecture will lead his subordinates to set up testing points throughout the towns and cities of the prefecture. Boys and girls aged ten to eighteen can go to take the test.” Chang Qing couldn’t help but smile as he recalled those days. “Back then, your brother Chang found out about my spiritual veins at the Celestial Master’s testing point, which gave me the opportunity to enter the Taoist Academy.”
"Brother Chang, are all Celestial Masters under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Master Pavilion? Are there any Celestial Masters who are not registered with the Celestial Master Pavilion?"
"According to the imperial decree and the decree of the Celestial Master Pavilion, the Celestial Master must be registered in the Celestial Master Pavilion. However, every decree has its limitations, or there are people who disregard the decree."
Chang Qing looked at the still mottled and uneven grass in front of him. If this were Bingzhou, the grass would be lush by now. "Those people hide in the shadows, neither breaking the law nor showing themselves in public. Some of them may never be discovered to have the ability of a Celestial Master in their entire lives. Therefore, neither the imperial court nor the Celestial Master Pavilion has any reason to take action against them. They are simply accepted as existing by everyone."
As the sun began to set, it shone like a burning golden orb, radiating a soft and mellow light, dyeing the surrounding clouds with vibrant colors. The grassland, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, also presented a unique beauty. The once tender green grass seemed to be covered with a layer of golden gauze, each blade of grass standing straight, its leaves shimmering with tiny golden rays.
Ning Xiaoxi was so captivated by the beautiful sunset that she couldn't even speak for a moment.
Behind a patch of slightly elevated grass, several wild goats appeared and disappeared. These goats were agile and their coats were varying shades of brown, which seemed to be edged with gold in the sunlight. Their horns were curved and powerful, like meticulously sculpted works of art, displaying their wild strength.
Ning Xiaoxi and Chang Qing exchanged a glance and realized that today was truly a good day!
Chang Qing slightly bent his body, trying to keep his steps light, and began to slowly approach the wild sheep. Ning Xiaoxi followed closely behind, imitating his movements, taking each step carefully, afraid of disturbing these alert creatures.
Seeing the two men's movements, the two guards in the distance also spotted the wild goat's shadow and lowered their bodies to slowly approach.
As they drew closer, the wild goats seemed to sense something amiss. One of the older goats raised its head, its ears twitching warily as it scanned its surroundings. Seeing this, Chang Qing quickly stopped and crouched down with Ning Xiaoxi in the grass, their hearts pounding, the tense atmosphere seemingly about to erupt. Fortunately, the wild goats hadn't pinpointed their exact location, and after a moment, they lowered their heads again to graze on the grass.
“Brother Chang, I’ll use an area-of-effect attack to weaken them so they can’t escape. Then you can use your dagger to slit their throats.”
Chang Qing nodded when he saw Ning Xiaoxi having fun. Actually, it would be easy for them to catch a few wild sheep with a single spell.
"go!"
Ning Xiaoxi rushed out quickly, unleashing the "Opening of Heaven and Earth" technique from the Opening Heaven Fist. The spiritual energy surged and caused three adult wild goats and one lamb to be affected, instantly falling into a state of "weakness" and "fear," and freezing in place.
Chang Qing swiftly drew his dagger and ended the fight.
Two guards quickly stepped forward. "You're amazing, young lady! You're amazing, sir!" In fact, the two of them could also see that Miss Ning was very interested in doing things herself and rarely used magic. She mostly solved problems with force.
By then, the sun had set and dusk was falling. The four men returned to their camp with relaxed expressions.
Before even reaching the campsite, we could hear a great commotion of voices.
In the camp under the cover of night, the flames of the campfire shone brightly. When Yin Biao saw the wild goats that the men had brought back, he laughed loudly, "We are truly blessed to have such a sumptuous dinner today, thanks to the young lady!" As he spoke, he called over several constables to help them clean up.
"You're too kind, Mr. Yin. Everyone has worked hard today. Just like Brother Chang said, get some rest today." Ning Xiaoxi said a few polite words to Yin Biao before returning to her own tent.
Ning Ziqing was roasting a duck, while Ning Shi and Ming Luoying sat by the fire, chatting with Ning Ziqing.
"Father, Mother, Brother, I'm going inside to rest for a bit."
"Go on, go on, your brother will roast the duck and Mom will call you later."
Ning Xiaoxi stepped into the tent, which her uncle had specially purchased in Muyun Mountain City. The tent was separated by a cloth curtain, with the mother and daughter living inside and the father and son living outside.
The thick felt was laid on the flat ground, which must have been specially cleared of pebbles, so it was very flat.
Now that they have horse-drawn carriages and can carry plenty of supplies, they no longer treat themselves so poorly.
Covered by a thick quilt, his exhaustion was impossible to hide. He took out the jade cabbage, held it in his hands, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Ning Xiaoxi woke up to the chirping of birds in the early morning. Opening her eyes, she found the tent quiet, with only the birdsong filling the air. After lazily staring at the tent ceiling for a while, Ning Xiaoxi reluctantly got out of bed.
Ning Xiaoxi paused for a moment as she stepped out of the tent.
"Xiaoxi, wake up." Ning Ziqing sat by the fire in front of the tent, poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to her. "Your parents and the team left first. Brother Chang said you worked hard yesterday, so he let you sleep a little longer. Once you wake up, you can catch up."
Ning Xiaoxi took the hot tea, took a sip, and felt much better. Seeing her brother bring her another basin of hot water, she smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, brother!"
After Ning Xiaoxi finished washing up, Ning Ziqing brought her a bowl of sorghum porridge and a duck egg. "Eat something first. I didn't wake you up to eat mutton yesterday because you were sound asleep. The mutton soup is still hot. Have another bowl later."
"Brother, how can you be so kind!" Ning Xiaoxi held the bowl and tilted her head to tap Ning Ziqing's shoulder.
After eating and drinking their fill, Ning Ziqing drove the car, and the two of them leisurely enjoyed the scenery of the grassland.
Just over thirty miles outside the city, one can still see undulating mountain ranges in the distance from time to time, but it is completely different from the hilly area in Bingzhou.
“Brother, let’s start practicing drawing talismans these next few days!” Ning Xiaoxi leaned back on the frame, one leg dangling. “Master, the most important thing is to use spiritual power and learn talismans. Martial arts are just an aid.”
“Okay,” Ning Ziqing said softly.
The carriage was much faster than walking, and they soon caught up with the exile caravan ahead.