246: What happened to Mr. Chen? (asking for monthly ticket)

Qingshan County.

Located eighteen hundred miles outside Baidi City Pass, in the northeastern corner of Shu Land, it was a remote area.

This morning, as night was fading and the sky was dark blue, the cold mountain mist drifted down, enveloping the entire county, making it appear tranquil.

In the distance, to the east, as a ray of golden light broke through the dawn, the mountains were dyed with its glow.

“Cluck cluck cluck”

A rooster’s crow rang out loudly.

At that moment, the entire Qingshan County immediately became bustling and vibrant.

At the pier outside the city, countless small boats were docked, and people were bustling, rushing into the city.

Inside the city, peddlers carrying poles swayed, their rough voices hawking along the alleys,

“Steamed buns for sale! Freshly made steamed buns, one copper coin each.”

On both sides of the alley, doors opened with a series of clattering sounds.

Some people emerged, their eyes still sleepy, gargling with tooth powder dipped in willow branches.

When some opened their doors, there was immediate chaos, with women’s curses echoing, scolding some heartless dog for splashing water in front of her house, and then a fat woman from the opposite door immediately rushed out, hands on her hips, to retort, starting a shouting match.

Others called out to the peddler, chatted for a few moments, threw out a few copper coins, and bought some steamed buns.

The peddler greeted them warmly, collected the money, and then continued to sway, passing through this alley and arriving at the main street.

Upon entering the main street, a noisy clamor immediately assaulted them.

The shouts of shops opening and the crowds surging through the street made this slightly cool morning in the county incredibly lively.

This vivid and lively scene seemed like just an ordinary morning in a county, nothing out of the ordinary.

But who could have imagined that just a month ago, demonic disasters were rampant here, people’s livelihoods were devastated, and the common folk suffered greatly, living in fear day and night?

Now, it had transformed into this bustling scene, all because of one name.

This name ensured that demons dared not appear on the eight-hundred-mile Langdang Mountain.

Some had tried it; if they encountered a demon in the wilderness and uttered this name, the demon would flee in terror.

Now, almost every household in Qingshan County, besides offering sacrifices to ancestral tablets, would also enshrine a birth tablet with the words “Chen Yuan” written on it; some would also add “Patrolling Mountain Commandant,” with minor variations.

However, it was said that Chen Yuan had already become some kind of General!

The common people didn't understand, they would only say that Chen Yuan was amazing!

After marveling at the hard-won peace, they often prayed, hoping that Chen Yuan would become a high-ranking official and grow increasingly powerful, thanking him for all he had done for Qingshan County. Everyone in Qingshan County owed Chen Yuan a debt of gratitude.

Since the human-demon calamity was eliminated, Qingshan County also became increasingly bustling because of Chen Yuan. Several neighboring counties had heard of Chen Yuan’s name with great reverence, and many chose to move to Qingshan County to live, feeling safe. Qingshan County had accepted refugees from several counties, which also formed deep bonds.

And the “sacred place” in the hearts of all the people of Qingshan County was a small bamboo grove courtyard in Jiazi Alley.

That was where that Patrolling Mountain Commandant once lived!

And in the lively and peaceful morning of this small county, outside the pass, on the river, shouts and galloping sounds rapidly approached.

“Hiyah!”

“Hiyah!”

“Hiyah!”

On the river, a small team of Black Armored Soldiers, with double sabers at their waists, galloped through the river water, splashing loudly.

From far to near, they quickly came ashore, startling the people entering the city with cries of alarm, moving like the wind, and rapidly arriving at the gate of Qingshan County.

The few guards at the city gate, wearing light armor, were not unfamiliar with this type of Black Armored Soldiers. Their expressions changed in surprise, and they quickly knelt on one knee.

Leading the Black Armored Soldiers, a Hunter stopped his horse, looked at the city gate, his expression somber, and said in a low voice:

“Dismount!”

Upon dismounting, the Hunter actually faced the city gate and bowed. The other Black Armored Soldiers, seeing this, also saluted with solemn expressions.

The common people at the city gate, not knowing what was happening, discussed in low voices.

“I recognize this armor; these are the Sky Patrol Division’s people. When those demons caused trouble, these people suffered heavy losses.”

“Strange, why are these people bowing to the city gate?”

“Could it be that something big is happening in Qingshan County again?”

“……”

At this moment, after saluting, these Sky Patrol Division soldiers mounted their horses again and galloped into the county, shouting as they went.

The clatter of hooves, urgent as a sudden downpour, completely disrupted the morning’s clamor.

The common people watched as this team of Sky Patrol Division soldiers rushed into Jiazi Alley. A clamor arose, and many people stopped what they were doing and quickly followed them.

In an alley adjacent to Jiazi Alley, at the end of the lane shrouded in morning mist, there was a small tavern with a faint yellow light.

In the hearth of the stove, a hunched old man was busy.

At the counter, there were regular customers who had risen early for work, drinking small cups of wine with some pickles.

At this moment, a Hunter who had finished his night watch complained, “Old Wu, the wine you’ve been brewing lately, why does it taste more and more off? It’s sour, ptooey, and there are dregs. What’s going on?”

The old man turned his head, the wrinkles on his face crinkling into a smile, “This old man is old, his eyes are blurry. Please forgive me. I won’t charge you for this table.”

But the night watchman was displeased, “Old Wu, you’re insulting me. I’ve come here eight hundred times; when have I ever been after a free meal? You’re a good old man, and I know better.”

As he spoke, he finished the last sip of wine, stood up, picked up the clapper and gong from the table, walked to the stove, counted out five copper coins, and placed them down, sighing, “Old Wu, you have no children, no daughters, and you’re old, still working so hard. I still want to drink your wine, so please take care of your health.”

“Every time I finish work and come here, I see you looking out the door, not knowing who you’re waiting for.”

Saying this, he shook his head and was about to leave.

Just then, a commotion came from the alley. A crowd rushed past, and the night watchman quickly grabbed someone, his face filled with surprise:

“What’s going on? What happened?”

The man who was grabbed, wearing a shop assistant’s square hat, clapped his hand and said, “The Sky Patrol Division’s people have arrived! They rushed into Jiazi Alley, heading for that Patrolling Mountain Commandant’s small courtyard. Everyone wants to see what happened.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the old man by the stove, his cloudy eyes trembling, immediately dropped his stall and quickly walked towards the door. Although his steps were somewhat unsteady, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

“Hey, Old Wu…” The night watchman saw this and felt that the old man was risking his life to watch the excitement. With that physique, running so fast, he wasn’t afraid of being knocked down and losing his life.

However, he was also curious about what had brought the Sky Patrol Division, so he quickly followed them.

…

At the end of Jiazi Alley, in front of a small courtyard, the team of Black Armored Soldiers stopped at the courtyard gate.

On both sides of the courtyard gate, lush green bamboo leaves emerged from within the courtyard.

This team of soldiers dismounted in front of the gate. One of them stepped forward to push open the door, but after applying force, he was violently repelled by a powerful force on it. A faint white light vaguely appeared, instantly sending the soldier flying.

The leading soldier quickly raised his hand and slapped towards the Void Realm, catching the soldier. However, he slid back seven or eight steps, only stabilizing himself after that, and then it was clearly visible that he had left deep footprints on the bluestone slab.

“Patrolling Mountain Commandant, there’s a Restriction on this door,” the soldier who was repelled said, feeling a tightness in his chest.

The leading Patrolling Mountain Commandant felt a lingering fear, “Fortunately, the Restriction left by Chen Yuan had no intention of harming people, otherwise it would have been troublesome.”

“Move aside, the matter is urgent, I can only offend you.”

Saying this, the Patrolling Mountain Commandant’s Peak Body Profound Qi surged out, his knuckles bulged, and his body swayed, growing to three zhang in height.

His fists surged with scorching True Qi, and his muscles swelled, preparing to forcibly break the Restriction.

Just then,

An old voice rang out.

“Wait, what do you want to do?”

The old man, who, in the eyes of familiar common people, was constantly busy at the stove in the tavern in the adjacent alley, stepped forward from the noisy crowd of onlookers.

The Patrolling Mountain Commandant, who had transformed into a three-zhang giant, glared down at the frail old man and sternly ordered:

“The Sky Patrol Division is on official business, all irrelevant people step aside!”

“This is Chen Yuan’s residence. This old man cannot allow it,” the old man said, shaking his head, facing the “giant” before him.

“Who are you?” the Patrolling Mountain Commandant angrily demanded, surprised to hear the old man refer to Chen Yuan as “Little Chen Yuan.”

“This old man served Little Chen Yuan before. Before Chen Yuan left, he entrusted me to take good care of this courtyard,” Old Wu slowly said.

As soon as these words were spoken, the Patrolling Mountain Commandant, who had been glaring angrily, immediately showed a surprised expression. Then, his enormous body rapidly shrank like a deflated balloon, returning to its normal size.

Then, he cupped his hands towards the old man before him and spoke quickly.

“I have urgent military matters. I apologize for offending you, Senior. Please open the courtyard gate. We need to retrieve some personal belongings of Chen Yuan to give to my General. Since you served Chen Yuan, you can help.”

Old Wu did not dwell on the strangeness of being called “Senior.” His aged face seemed to have heard something amiss, and he felt a sense of unease in his heart. His voice trembled slightly, “What happened to Little Chen Yuan?”

Old Wu only knew that Little Chen Yuan had gone out to lead soldiers to fight demons, but in this small, remote county, his information was severely delayed, and he had no idea what was happening in the outside world.

The Patrolling Mountain Commandant’s expression darkened, and he hesitated to speak.

Old Wu saw his expression and tremblingly took out a jade pendant from his Arms. However, his hand was unsteady, and it slipped, falling to the ground with a crisp sound. He bent down to pick it up, almost stumbling.

“Senior.”

The Patrolling Mountain Commandant quickly supported the old man, whose vitality seemed to be rapidly draining away.

“Come in!” Old Wu threw the picked-up jade pendant towards the door. The green jade pendant shot out, and a faint white light screen appeared on the main door. Then, the light screen dispersed like ripples.

The courtyard door creaked open without any wind.

At this moment, not far away, a red, fiery light streaked towards them.

Within the light, was a beautiful woman with an heroic appearance, dressed in a red robe.

It was Lian Nishang, who had succeeded Chen Yuan as the Patrolling Mountain Commandant of Qingshan County after he left!