The Virgin Mary in the Book: I Decide My Life with Two Swords

Cangyue Kingdom - Nanlai - Shunchang County

The county town in May is full of spring and picturesque.

Ye Ling arrived at noon on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Leading his horse, he walked slowly into the city. The streets were very busy, similar to Nanlai. The only difference was that there were more farmers carrying vegetable baskets to buy things, and hunters also had no stalls. They squatted on both sides of the street to sell pheasants, rabbits and other things they hunted in the mountains.

A man and a horse were strolling on the street, and the people passing by looked at Ye Ling curiously.

Just as Ye Ling was about to find an inn, an unpleasant figure appeared. Xue Jingchuan was standing not far away, holding a sword and smiling.

Ye Ling rolled her eyes and walked closer before speaking unhappily, "You were following me? And I didn't notice?"

"How is that possible? I arrived yesterday," Xue Jingchuan said.

"yesterday?"

"That's right! When we saw Prince Beichen and the others off that day, we walked with Lord Zhao for a while as we were returning to the city gate. He casually mentioned that you asked him for the latest bounty notice from the government, so I naturally asked for one as well. After a quick investigation, I found out your target."

"Really? Then tell me about it."

"As we walked, I told you, I've opened the inn. The list includes quite a few people, but most of them are petty thieves that you, Lady Night, would disdain. There are only five notorious criminals personally selected by the Dali Temple. Then, I asked the Anzhuang of the Beichen Palace to make some inquiries, and they found out that Ge Ba had been active in Shunchang County recently. I guess you won't be idle, and besides, I need to make some extra money."

"Your guess is quite accurate. I don't understand why the imperial court can easily find a criminal like this. Why don't they just arrest him quickly instead of offering a reward?"

"You don't understand this. This kind of criminal's whereabouts are unpredictable. He may be here today and move to another place tomorrow. The government is very busy and has no time and energy to chase him every day. Besides, these people are all good at fighting and basically have a special skill. Think about it, how many of the yamen runners and constables are powerful? The Dali Temple has masters, but there are only a few of them. They can't run away, so they can only offer a reward and seek help from bounty hunters." Xue Jingchuan explained patiently.

Ye Ling nodded slightly: "That makes sense. I heard that Ge Ba killed several bounty hunters. Do you know his special skills?"

"I know. Ge Ba has a nickname, the Iron Bell."

"Iron Bell Cover, so he's really practicing hard skills?"

"Yes, you've read his profile. He's big and strong, and he's a hard worker."

"He should be fat and have big ears."

"Okay, you decide. Three years ago, he committed three rapes, murders, burglaries, and robberies in Yunhao. The court ordered the Dali Temple to send people to arrest him, but over thirty people failed to apprehend him. Over a dozen people died, and a Shaoqing was also killed. Seeing that they had no way to stop him, the Dali Temple increased the bounty. Over the past three years, many bounty hunters have tried, but they were all killed by Ge Ba in the end."

"That only means the Dali Temple is a waste," Ye Ling sneered mercilessly.

Xue Jingchuan smiled and said, "We're here, Yueyun Inn, upstairs. Waiter, take the horse to the backyard."

"Hello, sir!" the waiter ran out.

Xue Jingchuan glanced at Ye Ling's horse and said, "There's a Mr. Qi here. He's a bit of a horse dealer and has some good horses. I'll buy you a new mount someday. This horse is too ordinary. It's not convenient for traveling, right?"

"Indeed," Ye Ling agreed. Although she had space, she couldn't move, so she would have to rely on a horse in the future. Her horse was really too cheap, and she had to walk to rest after running for a while.

The two of them returned to their guest rooms. Ye Ling went into the space first to change her clothes because she was covered in horse stench.

"Master, that annoying Xue Jingchuan is here again. How could you agree to live with him?" Meng Meng asked.

"Jiuyou was right yesterday. I have never been to the martial arts world, so I don't know anything about the rules and how to find people to ask questions. Although Xue Jingchuan is annoying, he is indeed a veteran in the martial arts world. Everything needs someone to lead the way at the beginning," Ye Ling explained.

"I see. Once the master has learned enough, we can ignore him."

"Of course, and don't forget, our main quest may require this guy's help."

"Yes, Mengmeng forgot about this."

When Ye Ling went out, Xue Jingchuan had been waiting for a long time. He had also changed into lavender clothes.

Ye Ling looked at the people downstairs and cursed inwardly: Showoff.

"Hey! So soon? Let's go. I'll treat you to a place where I can stay, but you have to treat me to a meal, right?" Xue Jingchuan asked with a smile.

"Sure! Where are we going to eat?"

"Juxiang Pavilion, there is a branch of theirs here"

"Isn't it cheap?"

"Ms. Ye, look, I've been treating you to a superior room. Shouldn't you treat me to the best food too? Besides, that place is the best place to get information!"

Ye Ling smiled and said, "This is the original Xue Jingchuan, stingy and money-loving."

"I am just like this!" The reason why Xue Jingchuan returned to his previous personality was because he found that Ye Ling didn't like others giving her gifts for no reason.

The two chatted and laughed along the way, seemingly in harmony, but in fact, they each had their own thoughts. Ye Ling wanted to learn about the ways of the martial arts world from Xue Jingchuan, and also find a way to complete her main mission. Xue Jingchuan was thinking about how to complete Nangong Chen's mission, which was to find out the cause of Ye Tingxun's death as soon as possible and give the deceased justice.

As evening approached, there were already many diners in Juxiang Pavilion. They sat around a table in groups of three or four, eating and chatting. It was obvious that they were all wealthy and leisurely people.

Ye Ling chose a square table on the second floor. The two of them sat down and ordered six dishes and two pots of wine. The reason why they ordered so much was that Ye Ling wanted to secretly put two dishes for Jiu You so that he could eat something hot.

The waiter first brought a pot of tea. As Ye Ling poured the tea, he asked, "I wanted to ask since entering the city today, why are there so many people in Shunyang County?"

"Of course there aren't so many on ordinary days. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is the Beast Taming Festival. There is a Beast Taming Temple in Shunyang County, which is also the first Beast Taming Temple in Cangyue Country. Naturally, many merchants come from far and wide to worship and pray for good luck," Xue Jingchuan explained.

"Beast Taming Festival? Isn't it May 5th, the Dragon Boat Festival? Why is it the Beast Taming Festival?" Ye Ling was a little curious about the mythological stories in the book.

"What is the Dragon Boat Festival? I've never heard of it." Xue Jingchuan was curious.

"Master, except for the New Year's Day, the other festivals in the book are different from those in the 21st century!" Mengmeng explained quickly.

Ye Ling smirked: "I... read about it in a book, but I forgot what it was. Sorry, what is this Beast Taming Festival?"

"Brother Xue?" A young man of about sixteen or seventeen suddenly appeared. He was wearing expensive clothes and holding a silver-white sword in his hand. He was obviously a young man from a wealthy family and was very happy to see Xue Jingchuan.

"Young Master Jin, what a coincidence!" Xue Jingchuan said with a smile.

"What a coincidence! I said we were destined to meet. Look, we meet again." The young man was very excited and sat down in a familiar manner.

Xue Jingchuan quickly introduced: "Master Jin, this lady..."

"You don't have to say anything," the young man interrupted Xue Jingchuan and looked at Ye Ling: "I know who you are. You are the newly appointed princess, the daughter of General Ye Tingzhan, Ye Ling, right? I've heard about you. You are very skilled in martial arts."

"Thank you," Ye Ling replied perfunctorily.

"Ye Ling, he is the young master of Feiyun Villa. He is the son of the richest man on the Langya List!" Xue Jingchuan said.

"So you are the son of the richest man. I'm so sorry." Ye Ling bowed slightly.

"I don't deserve it. It all belongs to my father. I want to carve out a name for myself and become a great hero," Jin Rui said, patting his chest.

"You escaped again?" Xue Jingchuan asked.

Jin Rui smiled awkwardly: "Maybe, anyway, I will definitely not be caught this time. This place is far away from Feiyun Villa, they won't find me. I want to let the old man know that I can live well without him."

Ye Ling and Xue Jingchuan smiled at each other. This was the life of a rich young master. They could be as willful as they wanted.

Jin Rui then said, "Lady Ye, you were just asking about the Beast Taming Festival, right? This is our Cang Yue's grand festival, how could you not know about it?"

"Because I have no one to educate me since I was a child and I was not allowed to go out, I can't even recognize a few words, let alone any festivals," Ye Ling said without hesitation.

Jin Rui said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say you didn't understand."

"Master Jin, don't worry about it. I never care about these things."

"Thank you, Miss Ye. Let me tell you about the Beast Taming Festival. Legend has it that many, many years ago, the country of Cang Yue was full of werewolves who ate human flesh and blood. At this time of dire straits, the Beast Tamer descended from the sky. He was able to control everything, including wolves, insects, tigers and leopards. He subdued the werewolves and saved the people. Everyone regarded him as a true god, because he was born in Shunchang County and ascended to heaven here. So people built the first Beast Taming Temple here and set up the fifth day of the fifth month, the day of his ascension, as the Beast Taming Festival to commemorate him," Jin Rui explained seriously.

Ye Ling smiled slightly: "Mythological stories are very ordinary."

"That's because I didn't explain it that way. By the way," Jin Rui suddenly lowered his voice. "Did you know there's a sequel to this story? I heard my father tell a few friends about it. This beastmaster placed his treasure, the Rhinoceros Banner, which he used to control all beasts, in his coffin and took it underground. That's why countless tomb robbers have been coming to Shunyang County looking for it over the years."

"I've heard of this too. It's said that whoever gets this thing will rule the world," said Xue Jingchuan.

"Why shouldn't I believe it? Is it that weird?" Ye Ling didn't believe it.

"Lady Ye, don't disbelieve it. This thing really exists. Think about it. If you get it, you can control all the beasts in the world. Wouldn't that mean you can conquer the world?" Jin Rui believed it without a doubt.

"Ye Ling, this is not groundless. Behind every myth, there is a true story. It is said that the beastman put it in a mechanism box. This box is made of divine iron. Except for the key, brute force cannot open it, nor can it be destroyed," Xue Jingchuan added.

"You still need a key? That's so troublesome?"

"Legend has it that the key is in the temple in Shunyang County, and the orc tamer's tomb is also in the mountains of Shunyang County, so this place is very lively all year round. I also want to come and join in the fun and see if this story is true," said Jin Rui.