A master of comedy!

Chapter 98 The Black Steed

A treasure bestowed by the city lord?

Zhou Sheng was taken aback. The moment he touched the painting, he did indeed feel a fluctuation of some kind of magical power.

This painting is not simple.

“Mr. Hai Ruo, this is too precious, I cannot accept it.”

He hadn't even opened it before preparing to return the painting, but then he saw Tang Weng's expression turn serious, and he let out a cold snort.

“Boss Long, there is no reason for me to take back what I have given away. If you don’t want it, you can throw it away or burn it. It’s all up to you.”

Yao Taifeng also quickly gave Zhou Sheng a look, signaling him to accept it.

Zhou Sheng already knew the other party's temperament and understood that if he refused to accept it, it would be disrespectful to Tang Weng.

"In that case, I thank Mr. Hairuo."

Only then did Old Man Tang beam with joy.

"That's right. Also, if Boss Long doesn't mind, you can call me Old Tang from now on, just like Xiao Feng."

"Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Tang!"

"Haha, come on, come on, let's have another good chat!"

……

And so, the three of them sat down and chatted.

Yao Taifeng took the initiative to recount Zhou Sheng's rampage in Qinggu County, which greatly excited Tang Weng, who clapped his hands in praise.

The conversation then turned to traditional Chinese opera, including works such as *The Legend of the White Snake*, *The Romance of the Western Chamber*, *The Butterfly Lovers*, and *The Peony Pavilion*.

Especially with "The Peony Pavilion," opportunities to ask the author in person are rare. Zhou Sheng talked about it for a long time and felt he gained a lot.

He also learned that Tang Weng had lived in the city for nearly two hundred years, and that the mysterious city lord had personally brought him here and made some kind of agreement with him.

Ghosts are generally not immortal. Even vengeful ghosts will dissipate within a hundred or two hundred years at most, unless they can go further and become a ghost king.

Ghosts that wish to achieve immortality must cultivate themselves into ghost immortals.

Old Man Tang was just an ordinary ghost, and the reason he could not dissipate for two hundred years was all because of the city lord's supernatural powers.

As for what his agreement with the city lord was, Tang Weng simply shook his head, saying that he had promised the city lord not to reveal it.

"Old Tang, you've been in this Little Fengdu for a long time, do you know the true identity of that great general?"

Zhou Sheng thought that since Tang Weng had been in the ghost city longer than the general, he might know the secrets of that year, so he asked him.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Tang shook his head and said, "I don't know either. After all, I spend most of my time buried in my study and rarely go out. However, there is one thing that left a deep impression on me back then."

"what's up?"

Tang Weng's eyes showed a look of reminiscence. After a long while, he said, "At that time, the general had just wiped out the four ghost kings and established his reputation. He should have stopped fighting and rested his strength, but for some reason, he suddenly led his troops to attack the City God Temple in Xunyang."

City God Temple?
Zhou Sheng was taken aback, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"I heard that the General fought with the City God of Xunyang, which eventually alarmed the City Lord who was in seclusion. The City Lord intervened and punished the General."

"Oh, right, it seems that Xiaofeng and the others came to the ghost town around that time."

In an instant, Zhou Sheng and Yao Taifeng exchanged a glance, their eyes swirling with emotion.

The fire at Juxianlou was no ordinary fire. According to my master, it was not just any fire, but the fire of an extremely ferocious ghost king.

Furthermore, the general suddenly led his troops to attack the City God Temple, and these two events happened to occur at the same time...

He already smelled a conspiracy.

Could it be that the Ghost King's Fire at Juxianlou back then was also related to the Great General?
"I don't know much more about this, young friend Long. If you encounter any trouble, you can always come to my place. Even a great general can't do anything to me."

Tang Weng's words warmed Zhou Sheng's heart.

He recalled Tang Xianzu's life experiences: during the imperial examinations, he refused to curry favor with the powerful; after becoming an official, he was honest and upright, unafraid of the powerful and wealthy; when he was dismissed from office and returned to Linchuan, the people along the way even spontaneously came to see him off.

Both his character and talent are admirable.

Even after death, this kind and upright elder remained true to his principles, extending a helping hand to him after only one meeting.

He silently kept this feeling of being moved in his heart. After chatting for a while, he saw that Mr. Tang was getting tired before taking his leave.

Before closing the door, seeing the elderly figure still hunched over, bent over his desk with a candle, Zhou Sheng was deeply moved. ...

After leaving the Four Dreams Studio, Yao Taifeng sighed softly.

"Old Tang is too old. Although he has the city lord's divine protection, such a long life has taken too much to bear, and he is already exhausted."

Zhou Sheng nodded silently. During their earlier conversation, he could also feel the kind of exhaustion that permeated his soul.

"Tang Weng said he would write the Fifth Dream, but over the years, he has always torn it up and rewritten it, and rewritten it and torn it up again. Some of the works that I think are very outstanding were directly discarded by him, and he wouldn't even let me publish them."

"Right, let's not talk about that anymore. Quickly open this painting and let me see what the city lord's treasure is!"

Seeing her curiosity, Zhou Sheng simply handed her the painting and asked her to open it.

Yao Taifeng didn't stand on ceremony and immediately untied the ropes and unfolded the scroll.

The ancient painting is slightly yellowed, yet its beauty endures.

Beside the mighty river, a magnificent black horse stands tall and neighs, its pupils seemingly reflecting a towering figure as majestic as a mountain.

Its entire body was as if it had been splashed with ink in the night, except for its four hooves which were snow-white, and the mane on its neck was as stiff as a halberd, each hair of which seemed to be dipped in flames.

Whether it was his imagination or not, looking at the painting, Zhou Sheng seemed to hear the roaring waves and the neighing of horses.

Especially that horse, its imposing and valiant aura almost gave Zhou Sheng the subconscious feeling that he was about to be hit by it.

Beside it was a short poem. Yao Tai Feng stroked the characters, her eyes sparkling, and softly read it aloud.

"The cold waves of Gaixia congealed into azure blood, the heroic bones of Jiangdong turned into phosphorus."

"Even now at midnight, the Wujiang River still echoes with the sounds of marching in battle from back then."

Just as Yao Taifeng was reciting poetry, Zhou Sheng's pupils suddenly constricted, because he seemed to have just seen the horse in the painting... blink?

His ears twitched, activating his auditory supernatural abilities.

The next moment, he heard the crisp sound of horses' hooves, like the sound of hammering iron, as if they had shattered a thousand miles of icy river and were rushing towards him.

"Boss Long, this painting depicts Xiang Yu's black horse, Wuzhui! It's a truly wonderful painting!"

Before Yao Taifeng could finish speaking, a loud shout suddenly rang out.

"careful!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Sheng tackled her to the ground, while the painting fell to the ground in the wind.

hiss! ! !
A powerful, thunderous neighing sound rang out, and then a divine steed, its body as black as ink and its hooves as white as snow, leaped out of the painting.

It raised its front hooves high, stirring up a howling wind, and slammed down towards Zhou Sheng and his companion with a neigh.

Boom!

The ground shook, and dirt and gravel flew everywhere.

However, he missed a step.

Zhou Sheng and Yao Taifeng both possessed remarkable martial arts skills. They simultaneously rose from the Wulong Jiaozhu, followed by a spinning somersault to dodge, their movements almost identical.

"This painting... has come to life?"

"Did the black horse actually run out of the painting?"

Yao Tai Feng landed and stood still, her eyes filled with shock.

The next moment, the black horse neighed and actually took off into the air. Faint clouds rose from its four snow-white hooves, and it was able to move forward by stepping on the void.

Like a qilin, it soars through the air, walking on the mist.

"Oh no, is the horse about to run away?"

Before Yao Taifeng could finish speaking, a figure soared into the sky, grabbed the horse's tail, and with a slight effort, landed lightly on the horse's back.

He suddenly pulled on the reins, his eyes shining brightly like stars.

Feeling the terrifying force of the shaking and trembling, Zhou Sheng was not surprised but delighted, and laughed heartily in praise.

"What a spirited horse!"

　Thank you Donggela and Wangyue Fengmian for the generous donation of 100 yuan! Sending love!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)