When the old woman saw the extraordinary momentum of the people who got out of the car, her smile became even brighter. "That's what the adults said. I'm going to ask them what their difficulties are. Fushan, please tell this adult why your family has been in arrears with the land rent for four consecutive years?"
"
"This..." The speaker was the old farmer who had been beaten so hard that he could not speak. The old father seemed to have something to hide: "My son... is not in good health..."
"What a joke!" the old woman scolded, "Your son is not even 30 years old yet. He is still young and strong. Why is he in poor health? He is still ill for 4 years and is still alive? How dare he do it in front of all the adults?
You are hiding something, I think you are impatient. Someone come to me..."
"Wait a minute!" The rough weasel stopped the old woman and approached the farmer who was being beaten: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
"Rough Weasel." Qishu said from behind, "Give up. We may really be unable to do anything about this matter."
"What's the meaning?"
"Let me confirm first." Qian Shu took out a needle, a small medicine bottle, and a piece of white paper. She stepped forward and used the tip of the needle to pick a drop of the farmer's blood and put it on the paper, and then from the medicine bottle
Pour a drop out, and the two drops of liquid mix and turn into a strange gray-orange color.
"Is this?" "As expected, he was poisoned." "Poisoned?" "The poison is not an immediate fatal poison, but a chronic poison. This poison is almost impossible to break, at least I can't do anything about it."
"My lord," said the farmer's old mother, "can you tell the untouchables what kind of poison my son has been poisoned by?"
"This..." Qian Xia was a little embarrassed.
The rough weasel was puzzled: "Why, is there any secret?"
"Well, it's actually not a secret. The name of this poison is 'Xiruan', but this poison is generally used to refer to processed products. And its raw material is poppy shell."
"Poppy shells!" The old mother's eyes were shocked, "Sir, what a wonderful plan! In addition to food, every family in our village will plant a piece of poppy, but we never know what the use of this poppy is. We only use it when the old lady wants to harvest it.
Come to pay the ground rent."
The rough weasel was still puzzled: "Since it's not for eating, why is it poisoned?"
"That's not the case." Qian Shu lowered his head, "Although poppy shells are generally used to be processed into soft meat, they can also be eaten directly and be poisoned, but the poisonous effect is less effective."
"Isn't this poison effective enough? One poison lasted for 4 years?" "Of course it won't last for 4 years if you take it once, but the problem is, you will become addicted as long as you take it once." "Addicted?" "Yes.
This kind of poison is generally not used to kill people. On the contrary, most of the victims buy it and take it themselves... Once addicted, it is impossible for ordinary people to resist the onset of drug addiction.
It is painful for ants to eat their hearts. They will use any means to seek new excitement, exhaust their family wealth, and steal and rob when they have no money, while drug traffickers make huge profits from it... It can be said that although this kind of weakness does not cause death immediately, it makes people feel sad.
Life is worse than death. As long as one person is poisoned, the whole family can be destroyed."
Everyone present was horrified for a moment, and the old woman looked uncertain. Chang Ou couldn't help but exclaimed: "Lord, there is such a vicious thing in the world!"
The rough weasel sorted out his thoughts: "In other words, the farmer accidentally ate poppy shells and became addicted to drugs. Since then, he has been taking poison regularly and has been unable to extricate himself. He was so poisoned that he had no intention of farming, so he couldn't pay the land rent.
And not because of natural disasters.”
"That's right." Qian Shu whispered, "Once he becomes addicted to drugs, if he cannot take the drugs regularly, the victim may even commit suicide. So he is actually a disabled person and cannot be saved."
"There's no cure!" The old man wailed, "My son... no, it's all because of you that he became a crazy old thief!" The old man pointed at the landowner and old woman and cursed, "It's all you who made our whole village go crazy.
Planting poppies is what killed my son! I...I will fight with you!" The old man rushed forward, but was stopped by his servant and pushed to the ground.
The rough weasel turned around: "Mrs. Chengkuang, tell me, what are you collecting these poppies for? Judging from your rosy complexion, you shouldn't have taken the poison yourself, right?"
"That's what the adults are saying." Cheng Kuang said with a smile, "These poppies were harvested by someone else. I don't know where they came from, but they offered a very high purchase price, so I mobilized the whole village to plant them together.
The common people are just doing business to make profits, and they have no intention of harming anyone!"
Chang Ou interjected: "But if these poppies are sold, they will eventually be made into drugs and harm people, right? If you still plant them knowing this, you are an accomplice."
"My lord, you are unjust! How could I know how powerful this thing is..." "Then you know now, right?" "I know, I know..." "You know what to do?"
"This..." Cheng Kuang hesitated for a few seconds, but still showed his tenacious desire to survive: "Come here, inform every household that after the poppies are harvested this year, we will no longer plant them..."
"Do you want to collect the goods for another year?" "My lord, you are trying to force the common people to death! Those people are not easy to mess with. They have already paid for the goods in advance. If they cannot hand over the goods when they come to collect the goods this year, the consequences...
..." "So we just let these things flow out and harm people?"
"Okay!" Bei Pi finally spoke, "Let her keep it for another year. Chang Ou, rough weasel, this matter ends here."
Gambling Summer also echoed: "That's it, rough weasel, there are some things that we can't change casually."
Cheng Kuang Ru Meng Amnesty said: "Thank you all for your kindness! Don't worry, I will take care of Fushan's family and I won't force them to pay rent in the future." Ruo Weasel wanted to say something else, but in the end he didn't say it.
Bei Bi continued: "Well, Madam Cheng Kuang, we are tired from the journey. I wonder if you have room in your house for us to stay overnight?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Cheng Feng was eager to change the subject, "My lords, please follow me!"
The houses of landlords and wealthy people are always much larger than those of ordinary people. Although they are not as luxurious as the wealthy families in the city, they still have a farmhouse atmosphere. Cheng Feng did not dare to neglect and spared the two largest rooms for the members to live in. However,
It was still not enough for 9 people. "I won't live there anymore. Let's spend the night in the car with the coachmen." Blind Ying suggested, "Lirou still needs someone to look after him."
Youluo also stood up: "Let me accompany Blind Ying." Blind Ying glanced at him and said nothing.
So there were seven people left, and there was a double bed in each of the two rooms. Chang Ou smiled and pulled Fou Hong to occupy a bed. Fou Hong blushed: "Is it really okay for the two of us to sleep together?"
"Stop pretending to be young for me. An old boy who is more than a hundred years old is still shy." Chang Ou pinched Fou Hong's soft face that was not like a boy, "Sure enough, I, an old aunt, still like cute boys~"
It's okay to share a bed with a rough weasel. The two newcomers, A'ao and Shangying, can only sleep on the floor, but there's nothing to complain about. The leader of the group, Mr. Beibi, also sleeps on the floor!
Cheng Kuang entertained everyone for dinner. There was no need to worry about poisoning due to gambling. However, we couldn’t expect the farm food to taste good, and of course everyone was not picky about food.
"Huh? There are so many guests." A red-haired woman walked in at the door. Her dark strapless robe was open, and the shirt underneath was only buttoned to the last button. A thick black belt hung around her waist. If there was any
Ruowu is wearing a black leather skirt and long black stockings that are slightly damaged. She holds a torch staff in her left hand and a pink fur four-tailed demon fox resting on her right shoulder. Her smile is as passionate and confident as fire.
"Oh, my good daughter, you are back." Cheng Feng was overjoyed, but he did not forget the adventurers: "Sir, this is my daughter Cheng Jiao. Jiao Jiao, come and meet some adventurers.
grown ups."
"Mom, I've grown up, don't call me by my nickname. Now I am the powerful scorching fire envoy - Lord Sita! A genius girl who has reached the late stage of motherhood at the age of 102!" Cheng Jiao felt quite proud,
"I wonder how powerful these 'adventurers' are?"
"Don't be rude!" Cheng Kuang scolded, but his tone was obviously gentle, "My lords, my little girl went to heaven after learning some magic. Please forgive me!"
"Mom!" Cheng Jiao curled her lips, "You don't know how powerful Zin Mu is in the later stage, do you? How can these disgraced adventurers be my opponents! There is no need for you to be so coquettish..."
Youluo frowned, "You guys are well-educated, but I can't stand this bitch who doesn't know what the world is like."
He stood up but was pulled back by the blind man: "What you did is not serious. Let's use this place to kill people to increase the trouble. You go ahead at noon. You have been assisting from the rear. You still need to accumulate some experience in frontal combat."
"Ah? Me? Okay." Shangying stood up and faced Cheng Jiao, smiling and said: "Hello, my name is Shangying, and I am also a late mother. Let's discuss it, shall we?"
"Ah? Are you pregnant with your parents too?" Cheng Jiao's smile suddenly stiffened, but at this time it was no longer possible to back down!
"Bang!" Within a few rounds, Cheng Jiao was knocked over in the corner, "It hurts...are you really a late mother? How can you be so powerful!"
Shangying stuck out her tongue: "No, actually I am the weakest in the group. Cheng Jiao, you just lack practical experience, your fire spell is quite powerful!"
"Really?" "Yeah!"
So Shangying helped Cheng Jiao to the dining table, and the two girls began to exchange their experiences on training and fighting. They seemed to have a very friendly relationship. Cheng Feng smiled happily and said: "This child has become a little weird after studying with the great magician in the city.
If you listen to the discipline, you should be able to calm down a bit in the future. I would also like to thank you all." Everyone started chatting happily.
Beibi suddenly asked Gambling: "Are you studying corpses recently?"
"Yes, Captain, when you were away, we encountered someone who could control dead corpses. Well, he couldn't actually control them, but he could at least turn those corpses into zombies and attack people on sight. So I suddenly wanted to try it, but it didn't seem possible.
Seems that simple?”
"Of course it's not simple. It's unlikely that you will get any results if you continue your own research like this." Bei Pi paused, "I think you need some reference. Our Bei family's family history books record two corpse reincarnation techniques.
, one is called Reincarnation in the Dirty Land, and the other is Born in Samsara. Born in Samsara is a real resurrection technique, which can resurrect the recently deceased whose corpses are not seriously damaged. However, the caster needs extremely high cultivation, pays a huge price, and cannot control it.
The behavior of the resurrected person. So I think the art of reincarnation from the dirty soil may be more suitable for you. Although it requires some special materials, it does not require high cultivation. Moreover, it is not a real reincarnation. It is still a corpse, but some memories and intelligence of life will be retained.
,The most important thing is to obey your orders."
"There are actually ready-made spells!" Qian Xia was delighted, "But this kind of family secret..."
"Indeed, these two secret techniques are important secrets of the family. They cannot be read without the permission of the family head or elders, so I don't know how to do it. But now there is an opportunity within our family to give every secret to the younger generation under 300 years old.
A competition has been prepared every 100 years, and the top three will get the opportunity to enter the secret volume building to read. The competition will start in February this year, and the specific date is to be determined. Today is January 28th." "So you want me to help you?"
"It's not just you. After this mission is over, I will invite the whole group to go together. Now I just want to inform you in advance because of this matter." "I see. But we are not the Bei Clan. Can we still invite foreign aid for this competition?
"The competition has three events, the arena, the battle of wits and the field battle. Except for the arena, which must be entered by yourself, the other two events can lead a team. You are a dual member of the Magicians and Pharmacists Guild, and you like to study. I
I think you can be of great help at least in the wits project." "Interesting, that's okay with me. But I also have a small task after this mission, which should be completed within a week, okay?" "No problem.
, it won’t affect.” “Then let’s settle it.”
January 29th. After replenishing supplies and leaving the small village, the group members continued to march towards the First Belly Theocracy. Leaving the river valley, they once again entered the desolate and silent desert. Because they were worried about the deterioration of Lierou's condition, they made few stops along the way and worked hard.
After a day's journey, we left the war-torn Aimu Federation at noon and entered the Yansuo Empire. With a huge area of 1.6M and a population of 81M, it became a super power in the central region of Tongjie Continent, second only to the Xianfu Theocracy.
Compared with the raging wars in the Aimu Federation, the people of the Yansuo Empire can be said to live and work in peace and contentment. Because they are only separated from the Xianfu Theocracy by a 200km wide Zanmao Bay, the Xianfu Cult has already been deeply rooted here: in fact
This is basically an empire that combines politics and religion. The emperor himself is a devout believer in the First Belly Cult and is inextricably linked to the First Belly Theocracy. The inspections at the border checkpoints are very strict, and the First Belly Cult will definitely not be tolerated.
Although Lierou had degenerated into a big moth, a foreigner who entered the country illegally was still held on. In the end, Beibi took out the gold bars to settle the matter. After entering the country, they also trekked all the way and arrived at Zangfu City at night.
"Ah, I never thought I would come back one day." Chang Ou looked extremely excited, "This is the place where I was born, Zangfu City!"
Fu Hong looked at the bustling streets and alleys: "Sister Chang Ou was born here. What about your relatives?"
"It doesn't exist." Chang Ou calmed down and fell into memories: "I have been an orphan since I was a child. From the beginning I can remember, my mother Kun took care of me. She was a mysterious magician who seemed to be studying some strange spells, but she never
Let me enter her secret room. But she was very kind to me, and she taught me all my martial arts skills. When I was 38 years old, I reached the middle stage of my cultivation. She probably thought that I could live alone, so she left quietly.
, and I haven’t seen her again until now.”
"Okay, don't talk about these boring topics." Shangying interrupted her, "Since Sister Chang Ou is the host, why don't you find a good place for us to spend the night?"
"Well, we have three large boxes of gold bars. We need to find a safe place. We can't part with the money. If it is stolen, the loss will be even greater. In this case, I recommend the Hyatt Regency Hotel. As far as I know, all the dignitaries who come to Zangfu City
I like this hotel, the security service is quite good.”
"Two guest suites." Beibi said solemnly.
The waiter looked at the dozen or so people behind him and said, "Sir, the Grand Suite is a double room..."
"I know, we can lay the floor, you don't need to worry."
"Okay then." The waiter was speechless in his heart. He could afford to stay in the Grand Hotel for more than 4,000 yuan a night. He was obviously not short of money. Even if he wanted to save some money, he could book more low-end rooms! He had to book the most luxurious one.
Then a group of people laid the floor for the suite...I'm afraid he's not a nouveau riche. Of course, he wouldn't say that, after all, no one would have trouble with money. "The total is ￥9353, would you like to pay the deposit first?" Bei said.
Without saying much, he handed over a 30g gold bar. The waiter looked solemnly: "We also accept gold bars, but we need to identify the fineness and weight, please wait." After a while, a girl who was younger than the waiter came, dressed in
Professional and intellectual, wearing a pair of special glasses and a pair of water-colored gel gloves. "This is Miss Chlorine, our hotel's gold appraiser. If you are not sure, you can ask around. She is definitely a qualified and authoritative appraiser." The waiter introduced.
Tao, with a touch of admiration in his eyes, it is obvious that his status is not comparable to his.
After nodding to Beibi, Chlorine skillfully took out a small bottle, touched it somewhere, and a flame burst out from the mouth of the bottle. He placed the gold bar in the flame and burned it, and the burned part suddenly became bright and dazzling.
As for Tong Tong, Chlor Xie observed carefully through her glasses. "Well, it looks fine on the surface. Let's weigh it later." She took out an exquisite pocket hanging scale and put the gold bars on the tray and weighed them: "
It is indeed 30g. According to the current market price, the 30g gold bar is worth about 8,000 yuan, so just pay another 1,000 yuan."
Beibi nodded: "I believe in the reputation of your hotel." It's easy to get a thousand yuan in cash, but no one cares about the fraction of the price of gold. "We also have a fleet of trucks..."
"We provide free parking, and professional security personnel ensure absolute safety." "Yes, but our items are relatively expensive, so we will still arrange for two people to keep watch. I hope you understand." "Of course there is no problem."
Of course, Beibi would not say that the main cargo shipped was gold bars. That would be nothing but trouble. Beibi estimated that the weight of three large boxes of gold bars would be no less than a ton and could easily be worth hundreds of millions. If he told the truth, there would be no guarantee that someone would not take the risk because of his cleverness.
"I'll keep watch." Blind Ying raised his hand and looked at Youluo again.
Youluo nodded: "Then I'll come too."
"Hey, why do you two like to keep vigil so much? I remember the same thing last time." Shangying couldn't help but be curious.
But no one answered her. Instead, Chang Ou held her back and said, "Okay, don't worry about so much. Now that everything has been arranged, let's go to the streets and enjoy the nightlife! After finally returning to my hometown, I want to take a walk.
.A'ao Fouhong, you two don't even think about running away! Follow us, leader?"
"I'm not interested." "Oh, that's a pity. Betting on a rough weasel?"
The rough weasel said hurriedly: "We have worked hard for so long and it's time to relax, right?"
"Okay, I'll just listen to you for once." Qian Shu had a reluctant expression, but the corners of his mouth were raised.
The six of them went out to hang out, and Beibi took the blind man Youluo to guide the convoy to the underground parking lot. The blind man whispered: "Captain, this is a big city. There should be an outlet of the Coconut Chamber of Commerce. Let's go directly to exchange the money."
Wouldn’t it be much more convenient to have a ticket?”
"It doesn't exist." Before Bei Pi could open his mouth, You Luo took over the topic, "You can tell from the first glance that you lack social experience. So many gold bars are not something that a small outlet can handle. You have to make a reservation at least a week in advance. We
How can you have time to wait for a week if you are in a hurry? This is all we can do now."
"All right."
When they arrived at the place, Beibi announced to the coachmen: "We have reserved two rooms, one of which is for you. I will leave the vigil to them tonight, and you can stay in the hotel."
"Really?" "There is such treatment!" "I remember that room cost more than 4,000 yuan... and it was given to servants like us!"
The coachmen swept away the complaints and fatigue from the journey and became excited.
"Sir Beibi is really... a good man!" "Sir, don't worry, we will definitely work hard to drive the car in the future, and we will never delay your important event!"
So Beibi calmly won a wave of hearts.
"When you go out to hang out, the first thing you do is of course eat!" Chang Ou is like a tour guide. "The most upscale restaurant in Zoufu City is this 'Sushi Jiu'!" Chang Ou took six people to an old alley.
By the river, we entered a hidden entrance without any signs. "Hey, this store has a good reputation, but it's not easy to find if you're not a local in Zoufu City." The interior of the house is an elegant environment that is completely different from the front door, and the decoration seems to have its own filter.
The mirror and tableware are all made of blue and white porcelain.
The shop owner is an authentic girl from Zangfu City. Although she wears the traditional scarf and veil of the Xianfu Cult, her eyes that speak can still make people think. "Six?"
"Yes." There weren't many people in the store, and I don't know whether it was because of the hidden location or the prohibitive prices, but it also kept the owner from being overwhelmed. Six people sat on a big table on a wooden board on the wall.
List the dishes served today.
"Isn't there a price?" Ao was confused.
The shop owner enthusiastically said: "Our store charges per head. It costs ¥2,000 per person to order and eat whatever you want, but it must be finished and no leftovers are left. Leftovers will be charged an additional ¥2,000/kg! Please save food!"
Chang Ou skillfully placed the order: "Sushi, sesame tofu, Miyazaki Wagyu beef, black abalone cooked in sake, sea urchin ice cream, tamagoyaki, soft boiled octopus, charcoal grilled black throat fish, sashimi platter, live arctic clams, large prawns, lobster sea urchin soup
Pura…”
"Okay, okay," Oshio interrupted her quickly, "I told you that if you can't eat it, you will have to pay extra, so please order less."
"That's fine."
Everyone ate the sky-high price of ￥2,000 for a meal, and tasted it carefully. Unfortunately, none of the people here were gourmets, and the high-end food was nothing special. "Sister Chang Ou, I have always wanted to ask you something.
You?" Shangying chewed the sushi carefully, "I remember that the Xianfu Cult rejected foreign races, right? Now everyone knows that Sister Lierou is a Zerg. Sister Changou, do you really have no idea?"
This question is a bit sensitive, but it is also something that everyone has always wanted to know but was too embarrassed to ask, so they unconsciously fell silent.
"Haha, what a careful child." Chang Ou flipped the sesame tofu indifferently, "Actually, the internal beliefs of the Xianfu Sect are not completely unified."
"Divided into sects?" Rough Weasel said subconsciously.
"Yes. Although the separation has not been officially announced to the outside world, and there is no official sect name, in fact, our believer circle is divided into the so-called 'liberal sect' and the 'pilgrim sect'. Both sects recognize Huang Ken as the sole god. , consider "Chanting Tuan" as the oracle holy book. The difference is the attitude towards the saint Gie You: Pilgrims regard Gie You as the Lord's only messenger in the world, and his orders are second only to the oracles. He is the supreme one. The compiled "Tiao Ge" is also the highest action program second only to "Song Tuan". However, we liberals only regard Sheng Zhen as a learned prophet, the leader of human religious organizations, and the chief minister of the Great Jiaogu Temple. Imam. "Tiao Ge" is an important document, but it is not an absolute imperial edict. You can have your own opinions. For example, there is no doubt that the Pilgrim sect is resolutely hostile to the attitude of foreigners, but a considerable number of us liberal believers are not so Extreme. Speaking of which, I would also like to remind you that although the Yansuo Empire uses the Xianfu religion as the state religion, the royal family, most nobles, and civilians are liberal believers, so you can feel that the atmosphere here is relatively open and lively. We You can freely discuss issues of religious belief here. But when we arrive at the Theocracy tomorrow, the head of state is the Holy Grate Concubine. It is a typical theocratic country where the pilgrims dominate. We must be careful when we go there and not discuss our beliefs indiscriminately. Doctrinal issues. You'd better wear the clothes of the followers of the First Belly Cult, which can reduce a lot of trouble. In this way, I will take you shopping as soon as we finish eating. According to the teachings, there are certain restrictions on clothing styles, and you cannot buy and wear them randomly. .By the way, there are also teaching rituals, we will talk about this after we get back. Ah, it seems that we can’t spend a lot of time today.”
At this time, a mysterious man wearing a bamboo hat and a dark orange cloak came into the store. The store owner stepped forward to pick up the customer, and saw that the man seemed to be showing something, so he was taken to the backstage by the store owner. Fu Hong looked at it thoughtfully. Nothing was said about all this, and others seemed to turn a blind eye.
"...Although we liberals mainly live in the Yansuo Empire, we usually go to the Great Jiaogu Temple in the capital city of the Xianfu Theocracy on pilgrimage day every year. Although the two factions usually have conflicts, on the pilgrimage day It is not allowed to use weapons. This is an act of great disrespect to Huangken. Violators will naturally be severely punished in public. Wait, today is January 29th, and Pilgrimage Day is the last day of January... which is the day after tomorrow? See We have to make plans in advance when we come. Although the safety of the pilgrimage day is relatively safe, the requirements of various canons and teachings must also be strict, especially since we have to go to Dajiugu Temple to see the saint. How can the saint ignore thousands of people? Thousands of pilgrims met us alone, and they also wanted to help us save a hostile alien race... God, this task is so difficult." The pleasant meal ended with Chang Ou eloquently describing various things about the First Belly Theocracy.