No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 906 Double Blessing Arrives Again
The rain in Yunmengze comes suddenly.

Ouyang Rong woke up from a nap with a slight headache.

I opened my eyes and looked up.

It was pitch black outside the window.

He looked around and realized he seemed to be sitting by a pile of firewood in the corner of the dining hall.

I was a little drowsy from sleep, and for a moment, I couldn't tell whether it was day or night.

The dining hall was dimly lit.

Rain pattered on the windowsill; it was hard to tell whether it was night rain or the dark clouds that had blocked out the sun during the day.

Ouyang Rong gazed quietly out the window, lost in thought for a moment.

He only came to his senses when he saw Wu Cui preparing ingredients by the stove in the distance, and Aunt Zhu preparing to tie on her apron to cook.

It should be around dusk, the time when dinner is being prepared.

My brain, which was still booting up, slowly remembered the reason.

After the busiest lunchtime of the day, he found a spot by the woodpile, took a short nap, and ended up falling asleep...

The dining hall gradually became noisy. The older and younger women each performed their duties, occasionally bickering and joking, but no one paid attention to him dozing off in the corner.

No one came to wake him up all afternoon, as if they had completely forgotten about him.

Or perhaps, his taciturn nature made him unremarkable to begin with.

Ouyang Rong turned his head and looked out the window. Raindrops were falling obliquely, and he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loneliness.

However, it came quickly and went quickly.

Ouyang Rong took a deep breath and rubbed his temples.

This has been a habit of his for a long time; if he takes too much of a nap, he easily gets a headache.

To be honest, although the woodpile was in a corner, it was near the door and people were coming and going. Yet he slept very soundly, and the footsteps did not wake him. Instead, they made him sleep even more peacefully.

Perhaps because he had become familiar with the new environment of the dining hall, he was not as vigilant and wary of his surroundings as when he first arrived, and there was no risk of being exposed for the time being, so he subconsciously relaxed.

Like a taut string, when it is suddenly released, there will naturally be a rebound. For example, the fatigue accumulated from the tension of the past few days suddenly surged into my mind, so I slept so "relaxed and careless" this time.

Ouyang Rong rubbed his face vigorously.

He stood up and went to help.

"Ah Liang? Where were you? Hurry up and fill the water tank, we'll need it later. We're having an extra meal tonight, the same as lunch. The head cook said everyone stays to work overtime, understand?"

Aunt Zhu, who was too busy to wipe her sweat, noticed the dull-looking young man walking behind her and greeted him.

"Uh-huh."

Ouyang Rong joined in, becoming Wu Cui's assistant.

Wu Cui waved her hand and said softly:

"I'll fetch the water. You go and move the firewood. We need to have a good meal tonight. I heard that many fairies have come to Qingliang Valley with the two goddesses. I wonder why they want to stay for dinner."

Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then nodded.

"it is good."

He paid some attention to Wu Cui's words.

The second lady should be Yu Nianyuan. Ouyang Rong was quite familiar with her. It was this second senior sister of the embroiderer who came to find her and asked the embroiderer to pass on a message to her husband.

Ouyang Rong lowered the brim of his hat and silently went to move firewood.

At the same time, he noticed that the dishes on the stove today seemed to be much more plentiful, with Grandma Sun personally cooking some vegetable soup over a low flame.

At the entrance of the dining hall, figures moved about, with women dressed in Wu and Yue clothing coming from time to time to check on the progress of the evening meal.

Among them were many unfamiliar Yue women, whose nameplates and Wu-style clothing were things Ouyang Rong had never seen before. He didn't know which branch they came from, but they were definitely not Qiutang or Taotang.

I don't know what event or festival it is today, but so many unfamiliar Yue women have come, along with the two ladies, all gathered here in Qingliang Valley.

Ouyang Rong silently carried the firewood past the doorway, taking in the details of his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. Just then, he suddenly felt a slight pain in his thigh, as if he had been bumped by something soft.

In his first glance, he only saw a dark shadow flash past below.

Yes, someone was hit.

"Excuse me……"

He turned around instinctively, his tone apologetic.

"Hmmmm..."

The small dark figure seemed to wave its hand, then passed by Ouyang Rong without looking back and continued running into the dining hall.

Ouyang Rong took a closer look and found that it was a little girl with two pigtails, chubby baby face, wearing a grayish Wu-style dress, and only as tall as his waist, about two-thirds the size of Lady Historian.

Ouyang Rong belatedly realized that the Wu robe was not gray at all; it was clearly stained.

It was supposed to be as white as Aqing's Wu-style dress, but on this little girl, it looked dirty and filthy. It lacked any of the pristine elegance of the Yue women, making her look like she was rolling around in mud every day...

The dining hall was crowded, and everyone was busy with their own things. The smell of cooking oil was pungent and acrid.

The little girl with her hair in a topknot slipped in unnoticed.

Ouyang Rong looked on with curiosity, and while working, he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, observing her the whole time.

The little girl, with her hair tied in a topknot, walked around the stoves in the dining hall with her hands behind her back like a little adult, turning her head frequently and looking around.

She would occasionally stop by a stove, put her hands on the edge of the counter, and try to peek at the stir-fried vegetables bubbling in the pot, while biting her fingers from time to time...

Whether it was just his imagination or not, Ouyang Rong felt that the little girl's chubby face looked somewhat familiar.

It seems like I've seen it somewhere.

I can't remember it right now.

Ouyang Rong has an excellent memory; for him to have such a feeling, it must be correct.

But where exactly have I seen it before?

Furthermore, how come there's such a young girl in this Sword Marsh? Judging from her Wu attire, she's a Yue woman. I wonder what her specific identity is.

Ouyang Rong's eyes were thoughtful.

Soon, the busy work at hand left him no time to take care of the little girl with her hair in pigtails.

About half an hour later, dinner was ready, and a group of Yue women came to collect the food.

Ouyang Rong, Aunt Zhu, Wu Cui, and other canteen staff were finally able to rest.

Ouyang Rong looked around, but could no longer find the little girl.

As his colleagues finished their shifts one after another, Ouyang Rong, who was all alone, took the opportunity to remove the towel hanging around his neck, grabbed an umbrella, and walked out of the dining hall, preparing to go home.

Because of the exceptionally lavish dinner being prepared, the dining hall's closing time tonight has been delayed by more than an hour.

It was now completely dark, and rain was pouring down from the eaves outside.

It has been raining all day, and it is still drizzling.

Under the same roof, as they prepared to open their umbrellas and step into the rain, Aunt Zhu teased Ouyang Rong, pointing to his monk's robes:

"Hey, why are you dressed so warmly today?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head without saying a word and was about to open the umbrella.

"what happened to you?"

Aunt Zhu had already walked down the steps with her umbrella, intending to wait for Ouyang Rong to return to their residence on the small island together, but she noticed that the young man in monk's robes behind her suddenly stopped.

He had only raised his umbrella halfway when he froze, completely still, as if frozen in place by a celestial being. A moment later...

The taciturn young man took action.

He shook his head: "It's okay, this umbrella is leaking, I'll go get a new one, Sister Zhu, you can go back first."

After saying this, Ouyang Rong turned and walked back to the dining hall without waiting for a response from Aunt Zhu and the others.

Aunt Zhu and the others looked at each other, but didn't think much of it and left first.

Back in the dining hall, Ouyang Rong went to the woodpile, his back to his colleagues passing by the door, his usually calm brows now tightly furrowed.

He couldn't help but look around.

I checked again, and it was indeed the sound of the Blessing Bell vibrating.

At this very moment, inside the Pagoda of Merit, the bronze bell is trembling violently, continuously emitting purple mist, as if reminding someone of something...

Ouyang Rong simply sat down by the woodpile where he usually took a nap, demonstrating the advantages of being a nobody in the dining hall.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, he closed his eyes as if he were dozing off, but in reality he entered the Pagoda of Merit.

Inside the Pagoda of Merit, there is a pure white space.

The blessing clock, which had been silent for a long time, was now trembling violently.

Ouyang Rong observed that the purple mist emerging from the Blessing Bell contained fine threads of two colors, which was a rather rare two-colored blessing.

Moreover, one is blood red, and the other is peach pink.

It is easy to confuse them if you do not look closely.

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly.

The blood-red color gave him a bad feeling.

I vaguely remember encountering this kind of two-colored blessing once before, and I was lucky to have redeemed it back then, which helped me avoid danger.

Ouyang Rong flew directly to the Blessing Bell, reached out to touch it, and closed his eyes to receive that familiar message.

About ten breaths later, he opened his eyes.

It requires 1,500 merits.

Ouyang Rong subconsciously turned around and looked at the quiet little wooden fish below, where a row of cyan-gold characters came into view:

[Merit: 1,857]

After a moment's thought, Ouyang Rong closed his eyes without much hesitation.

In the next instant, the small wooden fish burst into light, and the cyan-gold characters transformed into a dazzling shooting star, crashing into the Blessing Bell.

"clang--!"

The resounding sound of a great bell echoed throughout the Pagoda of Merit, dispersing all the purple mist on the bell. The fallen purple mist, like a fine rain, sprinkled into the pure white space around it.

Like purple cherry blossoms falling, they eventually blended into the surrounding white mist and disappeared without a trace...

Blessing redemption successful.

The cyan-gold light was bounced back, returning to the small wooden fish and transforming back into the row of characters:
[Merit: 357]

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly.

It's best to exchange this blessing containing the color of blood. Although it's not yet certain whether it's related to the embroiderer he's been looking for, based on his past experience, it can avert a bloody disaster without much trouble.

As for the pinkish-red wisps mixed in with the purple mist... they must be related to women.

However, looking around, the Yunmeng Sword Marsh they were in was full of women, so it was normal for them to have such a color.

However, according to the pattern summarized by Ouyang Rong, the more merit points are needed for this kind of blessing, the more dangerous the bloodshed disaster will be.

Currently, the 1,500 merit points consumed represent a moderate amount of good fortune, not a particularly dangerous bloodshed.

Another possibility is that what he encounters might be dangerous, but it's unlikely to harm him or be fatal. However, after receiving this blessing, he can completely avoid it, turning danger into safety, and it might even be transformed into a significant opportunity and blessing...

Having experienced so many blessings, Ouyang Rong had a thorough understanding of the mechanism of the Blessing Bell, though he mostly deduced and summarized it afterward.

Occasionally, the blessings you receive will unfold in unexpected ways.

He was somewhat prepared and always looked forward to it.

When I opened my eyes, most of the people in the dining hall had left, and it was already dark outside. The rain seemed to have stopped.

Beside the woodpile, the taciturn young man seemed to wake up from a nap. He stood up, yawned, pulled his hat brim down, and strode out the door under the curious gaze of the old ladies on duty.

Return to the thatched courtyard where we stayed.

The courtyard was empty and deserted.

Ouyang Rong suddenly realized that he hadn't told A Qing that he had moved to a new place.

The last time we met was on that original little island.

But then I thought, if Aqing asked around, she would definitely be able to find it.

Ouyang Rong went back to his room to rest. Before entering, he glanced at the neighboring yard, where the lights were already off.

Li Wan should have gone to bed early.

Lu Jinghong returned for one night two days ago and left early the next morning.

At that time, Ouyang Rong encountered him when he went out early in the morning, but this young master Lu was walking in a hurry.

Before Ouyang Rong could ask a few questions about Er Gou, he hurriedly took his leave, his back already eagerly heading back to Zhutang.

Judging from this young master Lu's competitive nature, Ouyang Rong guessed that he was at least a minor figure in the thatched cottage.

They left in such a hurry, probably because they were busy getting back to cultivate.

According to Li Wan, he had become an apprentice of one of the top sword masters in the Bamboo Hall, which was not unexpected.

When Ouyang Rong first heard about it, he was prepared to listen to Lu Jinghong's understated boasting.

This time when they met, Lu Jinghong was unusually solemn and reserved, as if he had matured a lot after his trip to Zhutang.

Perhaps they genuinely looked down on the Bamboo Hall, or perhaps they saw the gap between the Bamboo Hall sword cultivators and the orthodox Yue women in the Sword Swamp, and thus took the new Yue women from the Autumn Hall and Peach Hall as their targets to catch up with, especially Song Zhi'an...

From this perspective, Lu Jinghong is indeed quite ambitious.

I just don't know how Er Gou is doing, or if he's having a good time.

This kid even schedules his time to slack off during the daytime while studying, making it easier to do so. He's the complete opposite of the proud and diligent Lu Jinghong. I wonder if he's gotten into any trouble doing this.

Don't let yourself be made an example of and expelled from the thatched cottage.

Ouyang Rong sighed.

Although everyone has their own destiny and we shouldn't interfere too easily, after knowing each other for so long, I can't help but feel a little worried.

However, Ouyang Rong did not forget why he came here. He was concerned, but if this separation could sever their relationship and prevent him from being implicated in future events, it would be a good thing.

Silent all night.

The following day, Ouyang Rong came to the dining hall to work as usual.

Ouyang Rong was not in a hurry for the newly exchanged blessings. This was based on past experience. Looking around was useless; it was best to let things take their natural course.

Soon, the morning passed and lunchtime arrived, and the atmosphere in the dining hall became lively as expected.

Ouyang Rong was working with ease when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark figure dragging something, jogging all the way into the gate.

He turned his head and saw that the little girl with her hair in pigtails from yesterday had come again.

This time, however, she held a thin thread in her little hand, and at the other end of the thread was a large, lively fish, which she had caught from who-knows-where. It had been dragging along the way, splashing and jumping all the way...

(End of this chapter)