A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

The City God Temple in Lingzhou is brightly lit tonight.

On the stage set up at the City God Temple, dozens of lanterns managed to create the effect of spotlights.

Zhang Zhengdao was very satisfied with this bustling city.

I ate a bowl of wontons at a stall and bought a pancake. As I ate, I followed the flow of people and saw the streets filled with lanterns, listening to the sounds of vendors calling out their wares.

There were also many江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people from the martial arts world) and constables on the street.

After wandering around the City God Temple, Zhang Zhengdao finally managed to squeeze onto the stage.

The place was already packed with people.

Someone is singing on stage.

It was a bit far away, and there were too many people in front. A burly man wearing a headscarf tried to push his way forward, relying on his strength. As a result, he was held down by several people who were asked to maintain order and was given a good beating.

Then it was easily thrown off the field.

Just as they were carrying people past Zhang Zhengdao, they felt that these four people looked somewhat familiar.

It's not just that it looks familiar, it's that it looks very familiar.

"puff"

The person was left aside, groaning in pain on the ground.

The four of them didn't even glance at him, and together they bowed to Zhang Zhengdao, saying, "Greetings, Daoist Master."

The Four Heroes of Kunshan seem to have become quite wealthy now.

The clothes he was wearing were no longer the thin, short-sleeved jackets. Not only were they long gowns, but the fabric was also quite nice, a very flashy bright yellow.

"This is?"

Zhang Zhengdao asked.

The one-eyed leader immediately said, "When we left Linbin Town, we vowed to find a good job and make something of ourselves. When we went to the government office, even though we were said to be innate masters, the county officials were scoundrels. They said we were disabled and refused to hire us. Now we are employed by the Lingzhou Prefecture government office and have become fast hands. We were specially sent here today to maintain order."

"Please come in, Taoist priest!"

The lame second brother invited Zhang Zhengdao to the front of the stage to watch the opera.

The hunchbacked third brother and the crooked-mouthed fourth brother immediately set to work, separating the crowd on both sides and calmly welcoming Zhang Zhengdao inside. They even brought out a chair for Zhang Zhengdao to sit on at the front desk.

The one-eyed leader even bought a pound of peanuts from a vendor.

"Go ahead and get busy, do a good job, you have a bright future!"

Zhang Zhengdao felt that these four people standing next to him were like his bodyguards. They were working for the government, so it wouldn't be right for them to do private work.

"Yes, Taoist Priest!"

Having received Zhang Zhengdao's praise, the four of them felt full of energy.

On stage, it was still an old woman singing in a childish, incoherent way.

But no matter what he sings, the audience just blindly cheers.

Even though Zhang Zhengdao was sitting at the front desk, the noise was so loud that it was hard for him to hear what the old woman was singing.

The old woman sang for quite a while before two martial arts actors came out and performed a bunch of fancy but ineffective moves. I was getting sleepy watching them, but I forced myself to stay awake until Qin Fangguan appeared.

In an inn in Lingzhou City, a monk sat in a room with the window open.

His gaze was fixed on the City God Temple, the prayer beads in his hand turning incessantly, his lips moving as he made faint sounds. The monk was chanting sutras.

He was extremely unsettled, because he didn't know whether what he was doing was a good thing or a bad thing.

Further afield, at Qiufu Mountain in Lingzhou, an old monk stood at the temple gate, gazing into the distance towards Qiufu Mountain in Lingzhou, chanting Buddhist mantras incessantly.

An old man with white hair stood beside him, his hands behind his back, watching the old monk's demeanor and couldn't help but chuckle.

"The monks don't chant scriptures properly, but instead go and harm people."

"The Buddha is mindful of the suffering of all beings. What I am doing now is simply to save all beings in the world."

The old monk chanted a Buddhist prayer.

"Saving all living beings? Heh..." The white-haired old man couldn't help but laugh again. "Old monk, if you're not honest with me, there's no point in you saving me."

The old monk smiled and said, "The world needs a Buddha."

The old man laughed heartily: "Finally, you're telling the truth. The world needs a Buddha, a Buddha who can depose and install emperors, is that it? Is it the Buddha who needs it, or you?"

"That's not important." The old monk looked up in the direction of Lingzhou City and could see faint lights illuminating the area.

The old man sighed, "I would have been better off dead back then."

The monk chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha, there is no longer a Grand Secretary Zeng in this world. There is only a Senior Brother Zeng."

The old man remained silent, his face calm, lost in thought.

The City God Temple, the stage.

After another woman sang for a while, it was finally Qin Fangguan's turn to appear.

Wearing a crown with two ribbons tied on it, the costume was not a loose robe, but a silk dress that accentuated the figure, with a belt cinching the waist.

This bunch is truly so small, it fits perfectly in your hand!

In addition, the silk trousers clung to her legs from time to time in the wind, instantly revealing the shape of her two long legs. With a "whoosh," she did a somersault.

When she did a somersault, her silk trousers tumbled down.

"Wow--"

The men in the audience shouted in unison.

Unfortunately, they were wearing another pair underneath, which were tied to the shoe with silk thread, so they didn't see the scene they had imagined, and they couldn't help but sigh in unison.

Zhang Zhengdao's eyes widened.

Putting aside how beautiful Qin Fangguan is, just this one move alone left the LSPs who had surrounded the stage completely mesmerized.

Whether in ancient or modern times, skirting the edge is a powerful weapon for attracting traffic!

Zhang Zhengdao suddenly realized something.

As Qin Fangguan's movements became increasingly exaggerated, the changing lines on the stage created a sensory stimulation that drove the men, young and old, in the audience almost to madness.

Even the Four Heroes of Kunshan, who had been roaming the martial arts world for many years, forgot to maintain order and stared speechlessly at the dancing woman on the stage in front of them.

At that moment, the men all felt a sense of bliss, and even the air seemed to smell of flowers.

Zhang Zhengdao was also staring intently at the woman on the stage.

Suddenly he stood up, turned around and walked out, taking the bag of sunflower seeds with him.

As he passed by the Four Heroes of Kunshan, he patted them on the shoulder and said, "Let's go, she's not pretty. She's just a woman."

The Four Heroes of Kunshan immediately snapped out of their trance.

"Damn it!"

As soon as the one-eyed boss regained consciousness, he immediately realized that he had been tricked, after all, he was an old hand in the game.

The fragrance of datura flowers.

"Dog thief!"

The one-eyed leader leaped into the air and attacked Qin Fangguan on the stage. As soon as the leader moved, the second, third, and fourth leaders immediately followed suit.

The tacit understanding we've built together over the years.

Four palm strikes from innate masters crashed down on Qin Fangguan on the stage.

"Oh!"

With a loud bang, the stage, unable to withstand the combined attack of four top-notch masters, collapsed instantly.

With that loud bang and the collapse of the stage, everyone's frenzied state suddenly came to a halt. Many were still dazed, unaware of what had just happened.

The sudden turn of events threw the scene into chaos.

Screams, cries, and angry shouts from the Four Heroes of Kunshan were mixed together.

As the stage collapsed, the Four Heroes of Kunshan rushed to the arena, but while searching through the ruins, they found that Qin Fangguan had vanished. The Four Heroes of Kunshan were all innate masters; a combined attack from the four of them would be a serious threat even to a grandmaster.

But Qin Fangguan has disappeared.

In a short time, dodge the fatal blow, then hide yourself and slip away.

This woman is not simple.

The City God Temple area was in complete chaos.

To prevent a larger stampede and death, the garrison even deployed the city's garrison troops.

In a deserted, dark alley, a person slowly walked, leaning against the wall. As he walked, he clutched his chest with one hand, occasionally spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Damn disability!"

The sound was somewhat crisp, with a slightly burnt smell.

"Where are you going, sister?"

A voice suddenly appeared behind her.

The woman slowly turned around and saw two people she knew, people she was on good terms with. One was named Qin Honglian, and the other was named Qin Fangguan.

"You... how is it you?" Qin Fangguan spat out a mouthful of blood, cautiously staring at Qin Honglian who was slowly walking over.

"Sister, come with me!"

Qin Honglian said.

"Do you think we can leave?" Qin Fangguan said angrily. "That bald monk used tricks. If we leave, we'll just die."

"Isn't my sister dying soon too?"

Qin Honglian approached, stopped, and looked at Qin Fangguan.

"Haha, yeah, I'm dying soon too, so what difference does it make whether I go or not?"

She smiled, and then a mouthful of blood gushed out as if it were free.

“The bald monk’s plan has been thwarted by others, and he probably won’t let it go so easily…” Qin Fangguan gasped for breath, “You and I can’t escape.”

"No, you can escape, if you want to, because you're going to die anyway..."

Qin Honglian's eyes shone.

Qin Fangguan: ...

I don't want to die, I'm forced to. If I can live by escaping, I will definitely escape; if I can live by not escaping, I definitely won't escape.

I'll choose whichever side lets me live.