"Infinite Heavenly Lord, may I ask some lay people what this means?"
Zhang Rongfang followed the standard Taoist etiquette and raised his hands to the man in front of him.
"Taoist Priest, I have something to ask you to come over." The man in the lead rubbed his nose and said with a smile.
"These... these guys haven't explained their purpose of coming, so I want Pindao to come with you. I'm afraid..."
Zhang Rongfang put down his hands and looked troubled.
"Your name is Zhang Rongfang, right?" the leading man asked.
"Exactly."
"That's right. Come on!" The leading man waved his hand violently.
Two groups of people, nearly ten people in total, rushed up at the same time.
For a time, Zhang Rongfang was surrounded from both sides.
Not far behind this group of people, there was another person standing by the wall, staring calmly.
This man's hands have thick joints, the backs of his hands are black, and his body shape is slightly inverted triangle. He is Chen He, one of the two masters of the Mi Gang.
Chen He is over thirty years old, with a dull face and slightly yellow eyes. He is one of the two fourth-level masters of the Mi Gang who are known to control the situation.
Mi Gang's Xuansha Palm is good at fighting, so the power of the fourth-grade Xuansha Palm is comparable to the fifth-grade Huichun Jingshi Fudian of Qinghe Palace.
At this time, he looked carefully at Zhang Rongfang who was under siege in front of him.
"This person has become Zhang Xuan's sect, and he deserves the respect of Zhang Xuan and his son. But we can start with this person and make some preparations."
Originally, according to the plan, they planned to wait until the wedding day to start everything, but it would be more appropriate if they could do some backup in advance.
Seeing that a group of people were about to rush towards Zhang Rongfang and start beating him.
Chen He stepped forward in one stride.
"Stop! How can you be so rude to Taoist Priest Qinghe Palace in broad daylight?"
As soon as his voice came out, as if they were cooperating, the men on both sides stopped at the same time.
"It turns out to be the Taoist Priest of Qinghe Palace. It seems we have recognized the wrong person!" the man in the lead said with a smile.
"Then why do you also call me Zhang Rongfang? I'm sorry, it's our fault that we almost caused a disaster by randomly identifying people!" the man on the other side said with a smile.
"That's right, luckily Mr. Chen happened to be passing by here, otherwise we would have shot the wrong person today."
The people on the two sides wrapped Zhang Rongfang in the middle, apologizing but showing no intention of moving away.
Zhang Rongfang's expression was calm, and he could see that the other party did it on purpose.
How can there be any coincidence in the world with the same name? Looking at the hypocritical posture of this group of people, it is obvious that they are deliberately showing off their strength in numbers.
Although the Qinghe Palace is weak in force, it has a good relationship with the government. In this Huaxin County area, even ordinary Taoists cannot be messed with by ordinary people.
The people in front of him who dared to mess with him obviously had some background.
However, since the other party wants to act, it doesn't hurt to cooperate with them and see what the other party's purpose is.
Zhang Rongfang has no fear in his heart. As long as he does not have sharp weapons such as knives, he is confident that he can outrun the people in front of him even if he cannot defeat them.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, please move out of the way." He handed over again.
"The Taoist Priest is joking. Since I have offended you, I naturally want to apologize to the Taoist Priest today to wash away the bad luck, right?" Chen He said with a smile.
"I, Chen He, am also a well-respected person in Huaxin County. If someone sees me and spreads the word that I am rude, wouldn't it make people laugh? It just so happens that today I saw the Taoist priest with a dignified appearance. We hit it off immediately, so we made a good friend."
Chen He smiled.
"Let's go, let's go. If the Taoist priest doesn't go today, then he won't give me face, Mr. Chen."
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people around him took a step forward, with a faint hint of threat on their faces.
The meaning of this is obvious.
'You have to go if you don't want to go today.'
Zhang Rongfang's eyes moved slightly, knowing that he couldn't escape.
If he was alone with these people, he might not be afraid and could run away.
But the person in front of me has a long breath, strong and strong legs, and his five fingers grip the ground while walking, with a hint of lightness in his stability.
This shows that the person in front of me has probably practiced leg kung fu.
His thoughts changed.
"Despite Mr. Chen's kindness, Pindao has just arrived in Huaxin County and has some important things to do. I can't accompany you today. I'll have to wait for another day."
A group of men around him suddenly showed dissatisfaction and moved forward one after another, their eyes showing fierceness.
Chen He stared at Zhang Rongfang for a few seconds. The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
At the same time, a trace of danger gradually emanated from him.
"It seems that the Taoist priest is determined not to give me face, Mr. Chen?"
Zhang Rong's face was tingling, and goosebumps appeared in the pores on his body.
The other party just changed his expression and suddenly put a lot of pressure on him.
This feeling is very mysterious, just like the sense of threat that ordinary people naturally feel when facing a fierce beast.
"Mr. Chen is joking, Pindao is just not free today, but he will still be free in the future." Zhang Rongfang said solemnly.
"Besides, face is not something that can only be given by others..."
Chen He narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly laughed.
"That makes sense... Indeed, no one will give face to you on their own initiative. Only when people have to give it is the right way..."
He clapped with both hands and looked at Zhang Rong's fearless eyes with a hint of appreciation.
Everyone is timid, but if they are in a weak situation, they can still stick to their true intentions and not be afraid of the powerful.
Such people are talents and heroes.
Those who are not afraid of power are the most worthy of friendship.
Because if you have a true friendship with such a person, when you face a stronger opponent in the future, this kind of person will not shrink back because the opponent is strong.
"Daozhang Zhang, it was Chen who was abrupt. He did admit the wrong person before. The person we are looking for is also a person named Zhang Rongfang."
Immediately, Chen He took a step back, cupped his fists and saluted Zhang Rongfang.
"I have offended many people today. I will hold a banquet to apologize to Mr. Chen in the future. Please be sure to reward me."
Zhang Rongfang thought that a fight was about to start, but he didn't expect that the opponent would retreat in order to advance, being coquettish at first and respectful at the back.
After a moment of silence, he returned the greeting.
"There's no need to apologize. As long as Mr. Chen doesn't embarrass me anymore, that'll be fine."
"Since Chen has underestimated the Taoist priest, he should apologize. But since he has already offended today, I won't go into details." Chen He smiled slightly and waved his hand to let the others get out of the way.
The group of men immediately parted ways to let Zhang Rongfang leave.
Zhang Rongfang nodded, walked out from the gap, and disappeared around the corner of the intersection in a short time.
"Brother, is it necessary to be so polite to a little Taoist priest?" The previous leader didn't understand.
Chen He shook his head: "He is not a little Taoist priest, he also has skills. And... against such a person with a strong temper, being tough is of little use. Don't be in a hurry... there is still time to turn back."
He has many ways to let the little Taoist priest truly experience the benefits of the world.
After all, Qinghe Palace has a lot of official connections, so it's not a good idea to force it in the city.
On the other side, Zhang Rongfang walked halfway and turned a corner to go to a clothing store.
Not long after, he came out with a package containing clothes in his hand.
Returning to Qinghe Temple in the afternoon, the temple owner Li Heng did not come back at all. Only the three of them and two handymen had dinner together.
What we ate were various vegetable and meat flatbreads bought from the bakery next door. Paired with cold boiled water, it was a complete meal.
After dinner, there was no one under the supervision of the watcher, and the few of them were not even interested in doing evening classes. It was their first time in the city, so they simply left the watch alone to play on their own.
In the night, Qinghe Temple was empty.
The two servants were secretly looking at the small picture books in their hands by the light of the candles in the main hall.
This kind of small picture book is very popular in the city, and the content in it is all-encompassing. Of course, looking at the expressions on the faces of the two little Taoist priests, you know that what they are reading is definitely not serious stuff.
After Zhang Rongfang finished practicing, he passed by the main hall and didn't say anything when he saw this.
Although it was against the rules, even the temple owner Li Heng didn't care and he was too lazy to talk nonsense.
Walking to the deep well in the backyard, he creakingly used the reel rope to lift a few buckets of water.
Then he took off his clothes and took a shower in the open space in the backyard.
He reached out and grabbed a piece of soap that he bought at the clothing store today, and smeared it all over his hair.
Pancreas is ancient soap, made from crushed pig pancreas and added ingredients such as beans.
Some wealthy people would also add various spices. However, these were too expensive, and Zhang Rongfang was not yet ready to spend money freely.
Soon, after rinsing, rub it dry with a dry cloth and spread it out.
Zhang Rongfang put on a set of clean and close-fitting clothes and went back to the house.
Not long after, he walked out of the room with a small gray cloth bag in his hand. His long hair was tied into a bunch with a leather rope and hung behind him.
Returning to the front yard again, Zhang Rongfang took a futon from the temple, sat down by the incense burner, and rested cross-legged.
At the same time, he was also thinking about what happened during the day.
'I just went to my sister-in-law's house to deliver a message. Not far away, something happened. Those men definitely didn't pass by by chance. They probably stayed there on purpose.'
Thinking back to Chen He, Zhang Rongfang had more and more doubts in his mind.
'If it's really because I went to my sister-in-law's place, then...does it mean that my sister-in-law is in trouble now?'
'Maybe I should try again at night... to see if it's because of my sister-in-law...'
'Besides, there are soldiers patrolling the county town at night. How can I hide my face without being recognized?'
Zhang Rongfang thought of the method used in movies and TV series in his previous life.
‘Masked in black? Isn’t this clearly telling people that I am a bad guy? I’m probably going to be chased by the government on the way…’
There is a gap between reality and TV series after all...
‘Mask? Where can I buy a mask? I can buy a spare one in the future. And I can’t always walk that far wearing a mask, right?
It’s not a holiday event now. You’ll be questioned halfway through, so there’s no way to hide your identity.’
From Qinghe Temple to my sister-in-law's house, we have to cross the entire city. Wearing a mask the whole time would be more eye-catching.
Once spotted by patrolling officers and soldiers, they will be equipped with crossbows.
Zhang Rongfang doesn't think he can fight a crossbow now.
Generally, military crossbows, if nothing else, are more powerful at close range than a pistol.
'It seems that there is only one way...'
He sat cross-legged for a while and waited until his hair was almost dry before getting up.
At this time, the moonlight was thick in the night sky.
Zhang Rongfang tied up his hair, picked up his baggage, and walked out of the Taoist temple quickly.
He decided to go to the area near his sister-in-law's house again in the evening to see the situation. It would be best if he could arrest someone to inquire about the situation.