Above the Great Dao
Chapter 228 - 123: Stone Boat, Woman’s Head and Grandpa

Chapter 228: Chapter 123: Stone Boat, Woman’s Head and Grandpa

"Xinxiang governor?" Chen Shi’s voice was chilling as he suddenly remembered the rumor he had heard a few days ago at the market.

The rumor had it that Li Xiaozheng, the governor of Xinxiang, had gone to Qianyang Mountain to explore a stone ship, and as a result, everyone accompanying him, including Li Xiaozheng himself, was buried on that stone ship, with none surviving!

If the news was true, then who was this Li Xiaozheng claiming to be the governor of Xinxiang before him?

"Golden Cicada Shell Sheding!"

Chen Shi realized that Li Xiaozheng might still be Li Xiaozheng; his supposed death on the exploration might just be a false story he spread deliberately!

"His purpose is to lure others to explore the stone ship, so he can gain the advantage!"

The incident with the Evil Bodhisattva at the kiln factory had enveloped the area within a hundred li, creating a Demon Domain and forcing his grandfather to reluctantly kill the Evil Bodhisattva. His path was tainted and he had no choice but to retreat into the underworld for refuge.

Compared to the kiln factory, the dangers of the stone ship were far greater.

Chen Shi’s heart tightened; Li Xiaozheng’s feigned death was surely a secret matter, not something that outsiders would be privy to, perhaps not even his wife and children. So why would he appear here and reveal his identity to me as the governor of Xinxiang?

"Could he have come personally to seek revenge? In Xinxiang City, I killed his son Li Tianxiu and sent Mr. Zeng’s body back to the Li Mansion in the provincial city. Bearing a grudge, he has come to seek retribution himself!"

Thoughts flashed through Chen Shi’s mind like sparks, as he analyzed the situation.

"The Green-robed Scholar said he was hired to kill me, to force my grandfather’s hand and test whether my grandfather had truly died. Could the person who hired the killer be Li Xiaozheng?

"I just killed the Green-robed Scholar, and then he appeared. Could it be that he intends to take action himself?"

The vengeance for his son’s death was blood-deep, and it made sense for Li Xiaozheng to come personally to seek revenge!

This person being the governor of Xinxiang, able to hold such a position in this contentious place, must possess unimaginable strength. If action was taken against him, it was likely he wouldn’t escape unscathed!

Li Xiaozheng, dressed in a plain gray outfit with a white undershirt, looked very modest. He carried an old bookcase on his back, no different from a down-on-his-luck middle-aged scholar, as he approached Chen Shi, his demeanor gentle like a spring breeze.

His eyes, seemingly piercing into one’s soul, discerned Chen Shi’s thoughts and said, "Young Friend Chen, there’s no need to be so nervous. Although I don’t have many wives, I do have nine children. You killed my son Tianxiu, and while I wish for revenge, if the benefits are sufficient, I can let go of my desire for vengeance."

Chen Shi’s body relaxed, but his spirit remained highly tense, ready to lash out at any moment.

Seeing this, Li Xiaozheng shook his head and said, "We are very close; any precautions you take are ineffective, no need for such measures."

Chen Shi stayed ready to lash out at any moment, saying, "I am not taking precautions; I am ready to kill at any moment."

Li Xiaozheng laughed, his eyes crinkling pleasantly, deep wrinkles at the corners, "The gap between us is too big; you cannot get close."

With a mere thought, Chen Shi suddenly felt tightly bound, unable to move, even his Golden Core ceased to function!

"The gap between us is indeed vast!"

Realizing this, Chen Shi immediately relaxed his mind, abandoning his intention to attack unreasonably, and said amiably, "What brings Your Honor to seek out a humble commoner like me?"

Li Xiaozheng, sensing his lack of murderous intent, couldn’t help but be surprised and praised, "The widely known Child Scholar is truly no ordinary person. I never imagined that you could die and be reborn, to rise again like the East Mountain. My son Tianxiu was undisciplined, offended you, and I apologize to the Child Scholar!"

He bowed deeply to the ground, his demeanor respectful.

Chen Shi’s face slightly changed, and he sidestepped, shaking his head, "Why must you do this, Lord Li?"

Li Xiaozheng looked surprised, straightened his waist, and asked in confusion, "Why won’t young Chen accept my apology?"

Chen Shi said, "I killed your son because Shen Yusheng’s Divine Embryo was taken and implanted in his body. Shen Yusheng’s name didn’t even appear on the Scholar’s list; his identity was erased as if he didn’t exist, which saddened me greatly and stirred up my intent to kill."

Li Xiaozheng nodded gently, "Ten years ago, when Child Scholar made a shocking debut, someone stole his Divine Embryo and he died a wrongful death. Given such a situation, it’s natural for you to be filled with righteous indignation."

Chen Shi continued, "My feud with your Li Family is due to the fact that the examiner Tian Huaiyi, who protected Shen Yusheng, was murdered. Your family dominates Xinxiang County, twisting right and wrong. With the examiner Tian Huaiyi’s quiet death, nobody knows how it was handled afterward! To the Li Family, killing an examiner is like killing a cat or a dog."

Li Xiaozheng frowned slightly, "Although it was done by a servant of my family, I cannot shirk my responsibility. If it wasn’t for my position as governor of Xinxiang, my servants wouldn’t have had the authority to act thus..."

Before he could finish, Chen Shi interrupted him, "Exactly because an overseer, who is just a wet nurse in Lord Li’s backyard, can dominate, I cannot accept your apology."

Li Xiaozheng furrowed his brows deeply, beginning to understand his point.

Chen Shi said, "Lord Li, you are an official, and I am a civilian. You hold the power of life and death in your hands, even the cats and dogs in your household are esteemed above others, and your family’s wet nurse can turn the county upside down at will, while people like me, mere commoners, have only our lowly lives. Against injustice, my only recourse is to draw my sword."

He stated earnestly, "Lord Li, we are naturally opposed. How can you call me a friend?"

A tremor went through Li Xiaozheng’s heart, and he felt an urge to kill the young man immediately.

Because he understood all too well.

Such people are natural rebels.

But this murderous thought passed in a flash.

First, he didn’t know whether Chen Yindu was truly dead or just feigning death, and second, he indeed had a use for Chen Shi.

"Since we’re here to discuss interests, there’s indeed no need for beating around the bush."

Thinking this, Li Xiaozheng laughed heartily and said, "Chen Shi, I need your help to break through the Ghost God Domain on the Treasure Ship and seize the Great Ming Treasure Ship! As for the exchange of interests, you may take away anything from the Treasure Ship other than the ship itself! Plus, I can quash all charges against you in Xin Xiang Province, cleaning your record completely! You can take the provincial examination to become a Scholar without a worry in the world!"

He paused, then continued, "As for who hired the Evil Talisman Master Wei Yimin to kill you, I can help you investigate that as well."

Chen Shi was stunned and looked at the corpse of the Green-robed Scholar on the ground: "His name is Wei Yimin?"

Li Xiaozheng expressed surprise, "You didn’t know his name?"

Chen Shi was somewhat difficult to appease, "He still owes me twenty Silver Coins... but since he is dead and his employer is still alive, I can ask the employer for those twenty Silver Coins! Lord Li, with so many capable people at your disposal, why request my help?"

Li Xiaozheng smiled slightly and said, "Because Tianqing speaks highly of you, and you are the Child Scholar."

He had personally met with Li Tianqing.

Initially, he didn’t think highly of the boy, as Li Tianqing was a distant relative of the Li Family and had a weak connection with the branch in Quanzhou. Thus, when Li Tianqing obtained the Purple Jade Divine Embryo, someone suggested extracting his Divine Embryo for Li Tianxiu’s use.

However, after meeting Li Tianqing, he realized his greatest strength wasn’t the First Grade Purple Jade Divine Embryo, but Li Tianqing himself.

Li Tianqing was extraordinarily brilliant, unrivaled in his meticulousness, which left others in awe, feeling that none of their children could match him.

Even he himself couldn’t compare! frёewebnoѵēl.com

The reason Li Xiaozheng summoned Li Tianqing was because the Li Family was exploring a stone ship, and they wanted Li Tianqing to lead the way. The expedition consisted of more than ten people, including three experts from the Divinity Transformation Realm and seven masters from the Nascent Soul Realm.

Only Li Tianqing returned alive.

All the others, including Li Xiaozheng’s two sons and one daughter, perished on the stone ship.

This was the first time.

There was a second time.

Again, more than ten Li Family experts went, again with Li Tianqing leading them, and again there was someone from the Divinity Transformation Realm present.

Yet only Li Tianqing returned alive.

Then there was a third time.

Again, only Li Tianqing returned alive.

Originally, Li Xiaozheng thought Li Tianqing might have sabotaged them, causing the deaths of these Li Family experts, but after meeting Li Tianqing, he dismissed his suspicions.

Such a heavenly being was a blessing for the Li Family.

However, in Li Tianqing’s own words, he held Chen Shi in even higher esteem, believing that Chen Shi far surpassed him.

They discussed matters, and then he visited the stone ship before deciding to ask Chen Shi for assistance.

"The third reason is that the stone ship holds a talisman inscription left by your grandfather," Li Xiaozheng said gravely.

"My grandfather went to the stone ship?"

Chen Shi’s heart skipped a beat, and after a moment of thought, he declared, "Governor, when do you plan to explore the stone ship?"

Li Xiaozheng answered, "After the experts from the major aristocratic families have explored it. Once they suffer heavy casualties, we will make our move."

"Notify me," Chen Shi said.

At this moment, Dingding came over, apparently having dealt with the matter of the silver notes.

Li Xiaozheng didn’t want to meet with outsiders and turned to leave.

"Elder Li, have you been to the stone ship?"

Chen Shi suddenly asked, "Inside the stone ship, what exactly is creating this Ghost God Domain?"

Li Xiaozheng stopped in his tracks, hesitated, and answered hoarsely, "I’ve been to the stone ship, taking Li Tianqing and other Li Family experts with me. We ventured inside, floating off the ground, deeper into the ship. Everything was normal until we saw a stone being worshipped on the ship. Around this stone, your grandfather had laid out a talismanic formation. We attempted to enter it..."

He paused, then said, "Only Tianqing and I came out alive from the stone ship, the others died within the talismanic formation."

"A worshipped stone?" Chen Shi wondered.

"It’s a fragmented stone, carved with the head of an extraordinarily beautiful woman, as if it had fallen off a statue. Beside the stone head, there was a worship tablet with a few words written on it."

Li Xiaozheng’s expression turned strange, and he whispered softly, "Yue You Star Lord, Xuanhuang Stone, Stone Rock Lady. This stone is from between the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it must have been worshipped for a long time, the Incense Fire Qi is intense..."

His expression grew even stranger, he said no more and turned to leave.

"Yue You Star Lord, Stone Rock Lady? A stone from between the Shang and Zhou dynasties? How ancient is that?"

Chen Shi, not well-read, only knew that the Tang dynasty was referred to as Distant Tang, meaning the ancient Tang dynasty.

As for what eras the Shang and Zhou dynasties were, he didn’t know.

However, having been worshipped from that time till now, this stone must be incredibly remarkable!

"But the greatest evil presence on the stone ship must not be the Stone Rock Lady but rather the talismanic formation left by my grandfather."

Chen Shi sighed inwardly; his grandfather had passed away but still caused worry.

As Dingding came over, he said, "Master, all the silver coins are arranged. You’ve done a great deed, and the elders in town even said they didn’t need so much money for the repairs; they will use the leftover funds to build a shrine for you, erecting your statue for worship!"

Chen Shi’s eyes brightened just as several smiling elders from Zaojiao Town approached respectfully.

Chen Shi strode forward to meet them. Before one elder could speak, Chen Shi grabbed his collar and lifted him up.

"Elder, I’ve protected your town, are you grateful?"

The elder quickly nodded his head.

"Then shouldn’t you give me some silver in return for saving your lives?"

The elders were stunned.

Chen Shi extorted a hundred silver coins from them, leaving satisfied, while the elders from Zaojiao Town exchanged bewildered glances.

"Even if the Green-robed Scholar Wei Yimin were to return on the seventh day after his death, he wouldn’t come asking me for money."

Chen Shi felt delighted inside; once the silver note had changed hands, it was no longer the Green-robed Scholar’s money. If the Green-robed Scholar were to return for the money, he would have to seek it from the elders of Zaojiao Town.

Dingding, completely unaware of these nuances, whispered to Black Pot, "Is the Master acting this way because he doesn’t want the townspeople to erect a shrine in his honor? Erecting a shrine and offering incense would cost the townspeople quite a bit every year. He’s too kind; he must be purposefully misbehaving to prevent the townspeople from spending more money to worship him."

Black Pot stared dumbfounded, feeling the Chen Shi described by Dingding and the village bully Chen Shi from Huangpo Village were not the same person.

Chen Shi jumped onto the wooden cart, pulling up a lovestruck girl, and the cart leisurely headed towards Qianyang Mountain.

A cloud of dark clouds enshrouded Qianyang Mountain, the peaks dark as ink, with mountain rain on the horizon.

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