Chapter 1 Trade on the Canal

Jining Prefecture, Jiaxiang County. The Grand Canal of Jinghang promotes trade prosperity here, and this is also a relatively prosperous ferry in the Yanzhou Prefecture.

The boatmen went to buy goods, leaving people here to look after the boat. Ji Xiang gave the people who were left behind free talismans. The boatmen on the boat knew that Ji Xiang was a great figure with real skills. After receiving these talismans, they treasured them as if they had found gold.

Who knows when they might save their lives! Having these talismans in hand is like having an extra life.

As for the incense Ji Xiang consumed, it was not worth mentioning.

"This humble Daoist is going to wander around the streets to see if there are any good deeds I can do."

Good deeds? The boatmen looked at each other. Is this great official going to help old grannies cross the road?

Wouldn't it be better if you didn't scare them into twitching on the ground?

"Of course, I won't be helping normal people. This humble Daoist is going to find some monsters and evil gods to give special assistance to."

To perform a thousand three hundred good deeds, the fastest way is to destroy temples on mountains!

Catching an evil god who kills people, and hammering them to death with two punches, wouldn't that be at least a hundred good deeds for saving the people, eliminating harm, and acting on behalf of Heaven?

Of course, if the local custom of believing in evil gods is strong, then perhaps the good deeds gained by destroying the temple of the evil god will be offset by the resentment of the people... After all, customs are different in each place. Although destroying temples on mountains is quick, it must be adapted to local conditions.

Now that the Nine Tribulations have not been overcome, it is better to take the initiative to meet difficulties and solve them as soon as possible.

So Ji Xiang is going to wander around the local area. If he really can't find any demons or ghosts, he can fight the White Lotus Sect, which should also earn a lot of good deeds.

However, since the punches have not yet hit anything real, and good deeds are even more out of the question, everything is just Ji Xiang's personal idea.

"Ah, this...."

The boatmen were a little stunned when they heard Ji Xiang's words, and then they all said that you go, we will wait for you here, and we will not set sail without you. You are a great figure, finding demons to chat with, that is indeed how you roll.

If you say one wrong word, you will be killed on the spot.

Ji Xiang took his firearms and equipment, and left the boat carrying the little fox. At the same time, Ji Xiang looked, seemingly unintentionally, at the young scholar who came down from another boat.

Just now, this scholar had been staring at Ji Xiang several times. How could he not feel such gazes?

But what made Ji Xiang interested in this scholar was that he actually had a very strong sense of will, and the ballad just now seemed to be a folk mountain song.

It seems that this is another down-to-earth scholar. You should know that some bookworms turn a deaf ear to what is happening outside the window, and only read the books of sages. When they open their mouths, they talk about governing the country, and when they close their mouths, they talk about how they are not appreciated. They act as if they can govern the country with the Six Classics, and even if they are poor, they would rather sell calligraphy on the streets than write novels.

A literati with a strong sense of will must be related to writing books, and what he writes must not be anything serious.

After all, where can you get the will of the people from serious articles? There is no three-year college entrance examination and five-year simulation in this era... Just imagine, if that "Three-Five" could really come to this world, I am afraid that when fighting with others, a set of college entrance examination composition reading comprehension could make the opponent's ascended master mentally disordered...

After all, the "Three-Five" contains not only the will of the people, but hundreds of millions of them... Isn't this more exciting than the Qing Tian Demon King's exam?

"What are you looking at?"

Ji Xiang shouted at the scholar in the distance.

Feng Menglong's eyes were still twitching, but in the blink of an eye, Ji Xiang suddenly disappeared from a distance and stood in front of him, scaring him so much that he screamed on the spot, and the book in his hand almost didn't hold steady, and he fell to the ground.

But then his face became surprised: "Hey! You really have skills, what kind of magic is this, that you arrived in front of me in an instant?"

Of course, looking at the firearms on Ji Xiang's body, he still swallowed hard.

Civilians should be prohibited from owning firearms. Even if they do, they are some backward weapons, such as the broken firecrackers from the early Ming Dynasty... But the person in front of him is carrying so many firearms, and some of them look quite new. This means that either their background is astonishingly large, or their skills are surprisingly high.

After all, if they are officials, it is different. It is normal for the Jinyiwei to carry firearms when they travel.

"Magic? It's just a step away, is it necessary to use magic?"

Ji Xiang patted Feng Menglong, who stood up, but because the force was too great, he slapped him to the ground again.

"Writing a book about ghosts and gods?"

Feng Menglong touched his shoulder and then his butt. He was in pain everywhere, and he cried out twice, responding: "I have some knowledge... Why is this Daoist so heavy-handed, you almost killed me."

Ji Xiang: "I'm helping you relax your muscles and collaterals."

"Are you leaving from here?"

Feeling that Feng Menglong had a strong sense of will, Ji Xiang intentionally made friends with him. Feng Menglong told Ji Xiang that he had repeatedly failed the provincial examinations, so he was extensively collecting folk literary works such as folk songs, ballads, riddles, and folk tales on the Grand Canal from north to south.

"It's easy to pass the xiucai exam, but it's difficult to become a juren! Alas! But there are many strange stories among the people that are amazing... I'm not leaving, I just arrived here one day ago. Staying on the boat is cheaper than staying in a shop. I'm just looking for some ghost stories, ballads, riddles, and the like..."

Ji Xiang's heart moved, and he told him that he was here to find some demon and ghost affairs. If you, a scholar, know anything, why not tell me, and we can go together?

Feng Menglong also wanted to gather material, and knew that Ji Xiang had skills, so he was naturally willing to follow along, so he formally introduced himself:

"This little one, Feng Menglong."

As soon as this name came out, Ji Xiang was stunned, and after a while, he muttered twice and asked, "You're from Gusu, right?"

"Hey! You even know this? Could it be that you've heard of this little one? Could it be that this little one is often known when gathering material? So his name has spread? This is really embarrassing for this little one!"

The little fox blinked: "Big brother, where do you usually gather material?"

"Brothels."

Feng Menglong smiled slightly: "The women in the Gusu brothels and painted boats are like smoke and water..."

The little fox's face suddenly turned red and smoky.

Feng Menglong laughed and teased the little fox: "What's your name, kid?"

"Hu Xiaoshi!"

"Oh, so your surname is Hu... You look really delicate. I'll take you to the Gusu brothels when you have time. The girls there are proficient in everything from the zither to chess, calligraphy, and painting. They like cute kids like you..."

Ji Xiang coughed twice and said to the little fox:

"Go to the local Daoist office first and buy some talisman paper for you. You're running out of talisman paper for practice. The Golden Light Protection Spell can be considered to have some power now. Just keep copying it like this. I think it's very effective."

"Let them send someone to deliver the talisman paper here, and then we'll go see if there are any White Lotus Sect members or demons and ghosts."

Ji Xiang made friends with Feng Menglong and said this to the little fox. The little fox looked sad, held a pile of magical artifacts, and followed Ji Xiang obediently, daring not to refute the master's decision in the slightest.

The incense here is very strong. When Ji Xiang arrived here, his spirits lifted. On the road, he could see many people holding incense sticks. The gap between rich and poor in the market was too large, and beggars in ragged clothes or idle social idlers could be seen everywhere.

Ji Xiang asked for directions and came to the local "Daoist Association Office."

The Daolu Si is the highest institution in charge of Daoists, under the Ministry of Rites, responsible for issuing Daoist diplomas, which are issued every three years, and is in charge of all Daoists in the world; and there are also various Daoist official yamen in the localities, namely the Daoji Si in each prefecture, the Daozheng Si in each state, and the Daohui Si in each county.