Chapter Thirty-Two: The Unnamed Jade Pendant

  Nanyang is more than 200 kilometers north of Xin County. Nanyang is also known as Wan City, named for its location south of Funiu Mountain and north of the Han River. Nanyang belongs to present-day Henan Province.

  The vast land of China has had two places that have been fought over since ancient times. The first is the Central Plains, and the second is Jingxiang in central China.

  Jingzhou is connected to Sichuan in the west, adjacent to Guanzhong in the north, Jiangdong in the east, and borders on the two lakes in the south. Nanyang is located right between the two major battlegrounds.

  For a hundred years, the battle for Nanyang has been ongoing, with all sides suffering heavy losses. Fifty years ago, the Northern Wei, Western Qin and Song states signed a peace treaty, designating Nanyang as a mutual market. Each of the three countries stationed a branch of its army there but did not interfere in local affairs. A Monitoring Camp was set up to manage trade, and from then on, Nanyang enjoyed peace and became one of the four major trading cities in the world.

  The east gate was the south gate, at the moment when it was about to close, Liangshan entered the city.

  Entering the Virtue Victory Gate, passing by the Jar City is a major thoroughfare running north and south, wide enough for four horse carriages to pass through. Carriages and horses travel along the middle of the road, while commoners wearing green robes and flat hats walk alongside. Shops line both sides of the street, and before long, one can see an archway with stone pillars and beams.

  About two or three li long is a fang, each fang equivalent to a street in later cities, but the planning is much more uniform, mostly regular rectangles, with four gates on all sides, opening at dawn and closing at night, with a patrol officer inside.

  At that time, most of the cities were modeled after Chang'an and Luoyang in the north, with Nanyang being slightly special as a market town. The central area had fewer palaces and government offices, but instead, the four markets in the east, west, south, and north were more prominent.

  Soon, Liangshan saw all sorts of barbarians, at first he was a bit curious, but when he saw the Arabs with high noses and deep eyes wrapped in cloth on their heads, Liangshan was no longer surprised.

  Arrived in Nanyang, the Yupei map glowed again, streets naturally evolved, as if it were a GPS positioning system of later generations, and finally revealed the Autumn Water Pavilion.

  Liáng Shān turned around and headed east at a slow pace after inquiring about the situation from Ding Daibei.

  The black air rising from the dregs and toxins in Liangshan's internal organs, meridians, bones, qi, and blood coagulates into a black bead, which is used for the Black Zombie Technique, as recorded in the "Bai Gu Jing".

  Now Liangshan has developed another use, reversing the way, when not in use, the black pearl disperses into air, and the black air surrounds the body, sitting and walking as usual.

  This transformation makes Liangshan appear ordinary, but in reality it is an excellent disguise. Even if someone from the Golden Elixir realm were to look at him, they would only think that Liangshan was at the initial stage of cultivating his Qi.

  Liangshan arrived at Qiushui Pavilion after nearly an hour.

  Qiu Shui Ge is the reporting place. Sheng Jian Tang is one of the three halls under Zheng Qing Sect, and it has the closest relationship with the secular world.

  The Shengjian Hall is located inside the Funiu Mountain, with a clear mountain gate. Ordinary people know little about it, but many aristocratic families and royal nobles are familiar with it.

  The Holy Sword Temple opens its mountain gate once every ten years to recruit outer door disciples from outside.

  The 23rd year of Yuanjia, it was the time for Shengjian Hall to open its mountain gate again. Before December 24th, you must gather at Qiushui Pavilion in Nanyang and report for registration. On the second day of the first month of the new year, participate in the outer door disciple examination at the mountain gate, and those who pass will become outer door disciples.

  Qiu Shui Pavilion is located on the Qiu Shui River. The Qiu Shui River also originates from Funiu Mountain and flows through the city. Outside the pavilion is the Qiu Shui Wharf, where the river water flows out of the city and merges into the vast Han River.

  Qiu Shui Ge is the office of Shen Jian Tang in Nanyang, with a high-ranking elder in charge. Shen Jian Tang has many offices, and Qiu Shui Ge is closest to Lin Shan Men.

  Qiu Shui Ge imitates the format of the Royal Ancestral Temple, with three courtyards and towering palaces, covering an area of about 100 mu. Inside, there are ancient trees that stretch to the sky, and a glance reveals lush greenery everywhere.

  The outermost is a three-story building with a gate plaque bearing the three large characters "Autumn Water Pavilion", as if carved with a knife and axe, full of flavor. The vermilion gate, exquisitely carved beams and pillars, and in front of the gate are not stone lions, but two giant Qilin, majestic and awe-inspiring.

  Liang Shan's heart was racing with excitement, and he was just about to step forward when a young boy suddenly appeared from the side and blocked his path, saying: "Are you Liangshan Bo?"

  The child's breathing was long and drawn out, his footsteps heavy, and he actually possessed the strength of the peak of the Bone Refining stage. The three Wu brothers huddled together were no match for him. Liang Shan's eyes narrowed, saying: "Indeed, it is beneath me."

  "The master of our house is inviting you!"

  "Who is your master?"

  "Nanyang Wang." The child said coldly.

  Nanyang Wang? Could it be the royal family of Nanyang?

  The Wang family is the richest in Nanyang, monopolizing many businesses and is considered the most powerful force within the city of Nanyang outside of the Three Kingdoms.

  Qiu Shui Ge was greeted by envoy Feng Kun, who stood with his hands clasped and eyes slanted.

  His identity is like a shop boy in a hotel, the difference is that Qiushui Pavilion is a big store. This shop boy doesn't need to nod and bow, he just needs to stand at the door, knock on the door, and all examinees must give him some money.

  Feng Kun spent a bottle of Qi Xue Dan to get this "good job".

  The fellow disciples laughed at Feng Kun's foolishness, thinking that no matter how hard the examinees tried, it was just a worldly game, and it couldn't compare to a bottle of Qi Blood Dan. It was simply a losing business. However, Feng Kun had other thoughts in mind. Every time he opened the mountain gate, there would be several stunningly talented individuals, and if he formed good karma with them, he would reap great rewards.

  The young boy blocked the young scholar, and Feng Kun saw that the scholar's face turned pale, his feet moved to try to cross over the boy. Immediately, three masters of the Xiantian sect jumped out. The young scholar's face turned red with anger, wanting to force his way through, but somehow his brow furrowed and he restrained himself.

  Will the book be the genius he's been looking for? Feng Kun thought he could make it through, but he didn't move.

  Congenital Grandmaster, hum, Liangshan is not afraid of him. His White Bone Flowing Light Step has been upgraded to White Bone Flowing Light Cloud. He can rush through the Autumn Water Pavilion and hand over the jade pendant to settle everything. But just as he was about to move, Liangshan's internal energy suddenly became disordered, as if it had jumped from summer to winter in an instant. Damn, it's coming again!

  After a month or more of weakness, Liangshan occasionally relapsed, but the duration of weakness became shorter and shorter, and the interval between episodes also became longer. However, once an episode occurred, Liangshan would become completely stiff and weak like a child.

  It's just a prelude to the outbreak, what to do? Liangshan is not willing, his mind is strongly moved, and his breathing is more chaotic. It hurts, like scraping bones.

  The night before the departure from Liangshan, Lao Xin suddenly woke up with a strange expression. He smiled at him, his eyes shining like flashlights, and his eyebrows twisted into two knots. "Every time the Sacred Sword Hall opens its mountain gate, there will be 108 reference quotas, all of whom are excellent young men from noble families. Five jade pendants will be issued, and those who receive them do not need to take the exam and can be directly admitted as outer door disciples. You got a jade pendant, congratulations, but the jade pendant is anonymous." After finishing speaking, Lao Xin's eyebrows drooped again, returning to his foolish state, no matter how hard Liangshan shook him, he didn't wake up.

  No one recognized him? This was too delightful. Therefore, from Liang's village onwards, on the road to Mount Liang, he could be said to have been lurking in secret, extremely cautious.

  Arrived in Nanyang, nothing happened all the way, and Liangshan's courage grew again. He thought to himself that the jade pendant was sent out by Shengjian Hall, but it didn't leave a name, which means that no one knew who had the jade pendant, and no one should have found him. Unexpectedly, he was blocked in front of the Autumn Water Pavilion, obviously someone had been watching nearby day and night, and it's very likely that he had been watched since he asked about the Autumn Water Pavilion.

  "What if I don't go?" Liang Shan said calmly.

  "Then you can't go anywhere." Tongzi sneered coldly.

  "Let me put my luggage in Qiushui Pavilion first, and then I'll go with you, how's that?"

  The child smiled slightly and made a polite gesture with his hand, but the three congenital masters did not move. However, their internal energy surged and pressed down, which even a blind person could sense.

  Liáng Shān stared at the young monk for a moment, then burst out laughing and said: "I'd like to meet this King of Nanyang!"

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