When it comes to places where you can get all kinds of information without spending any money and without attracting attention, Chengdongfang City is the first place to go.
Chengdongfang City is a city, and it is also an excellent place for bored casual cultivators to chat and communicate.
If Chen Ping wanted to know the extent of yesterday's events, of course he had to go to Chengdongfang City.
The market is still very lively.
Chen Ping squatted on the side of the road, put the "Nine Breeze Swords" on the stall and pretended to sell it, and easily broke into a group of chatting monks.
In fact, there is no need to inquire deliberately, because most of the issues in the city focus on Qi Jianglun.
"Hey, you don't know that the fire was so intense that it burned down the two houses next to it."
"This monk has also heard about it. If two Taoist friends who know water magic hadn't arrived at the end, I'm afraid all the houses in that row would have been burned down."
"Is Qi Jianglun dead?"
"Who knows? The bodies that were fished out at the end were already charred and their faces were completely disfigured. How could they still be recognized?"
"I heard it's Qi Jianglun's body."
"It's your own fault. Qi Jianglun has tricked many people over the years. Do you remember Daoist Wang from last year? He was a good craftsman of talisman, but then he disappeared inexplicably. Many people privately rumored that it was Qi Jianglun who did it."
"If he hadn't lived next to Leader Zhou's house, I'm afraid someone would have attacked him long ago. This time he has encountered a serious problem."
"..."
"Lianyun City really never has a good day, even if things like this happen." Chen Ping sighed calmly.
If you want to break into the masses, the best way is to open your own wounds, accuse yourself of the hardships of life, and let others feel superior.
Sure enough, after he said this, a monk immediately answered.
"Who says it's not the case? I heard that the city defense lied and will not give up until the truth is found out this time. It is said that someone saw the arsonist last night."
"It is said that Qi Jianglun's apprentices, those with high cultivation levels, have all been questioned one by one this morning. The same is true for his gambling friends."
"This monk has a friend who is on duty in the city defense. I heard that the city defense actually wanted to reduce the big issue to a minor one, but it is said that the gambling house put a lot of pressure on the city defense and had to investigate."
"..."
Gambling house?
Chen Ping was stunned for a moment.
What does it have to do with gambling houses?
But he resisted and didn't ask. He focused on listening. Asking too many questions might lead to mistakes.
"What does it have to do with the gambling house?" A bald monk asked Chen Ping's doubts.
Thank you fellow Taoist for taking the trip... Chen Ping said silently.
"I don't know. It is said that Qi Jianglun still owes the gambling house a lot of spiritual stones. Maybe the gambling house is unwilling to collect the debt."
It shouldn't be.
In this case, the gambling house usually collects Qi Jianglun's property. Even if the murderer is found, there may not be enough spiritual stones to repay the gambling house's debt.
Can it actually put pressure on the city's defense?
Could it be that the power of the gambling house is so powerful that it can compete with the city defense?
Or is there something else hidden?
"How powerful is the gambling house?" the bald monk asked again.
Good brother... Chen Ping bowed his hands in his heart and thanked him.
"Who knows this? No one knows who the owner of the gambling den is. He is very hidden."
"Hey, I'm afraid Ansheng will no longer be able to survive in Lianyun City."
"It's better to stay in the house. I, a monk, gave birth to a daughter a few days ago. She has delicate features and fair skin. She is beautiful." A dark monk with a crooked mouth said.
"..."
Seeing that everyone's chat topics started to go off track, Chen Ping lost the enthusiasm to continue chatting.
I silently summarized what I just heard:
1. The city defense has started an investigation and will not stop until the truth is found.
2. Qi Jianglun’s identity is not simple.
3. Qi Jianglun’s apprentices and gambling friends became the first batch of suspects.
All three of these are very unkind to oneself.
It seems that we need to prepare as soon as possible.
certainly.
There are factors working in his favor, too.
1. Qi Jianglun's reputation is not very good, which means that there are many people who want to kill him, whether they dislike him or want to kill him for money.
2. My cultivation level is very low and has never been exposed. Qi Jianglun's cultivation level is very high and he is not easily suspected.
If the identity of the facially paralyzed monk is revealed, there will be no suspicion on him.
3. The caravan will arrive in five days, and you can leave then. After that, even if it is investigated again, it won't matter.
What's more, once the case is suspected of 'arson', those who know the fireball technique will bear the brunt of suspicion.
But I won't.
Within five days, most likely nothing will be found on my head.
'Five days, fleeting. What I need to do is to prepare to leave quietly within these five days. '
'This time of departure, we cannot inform anyone in advance, including He Xianxiang. Just leave silently. '
Chen Ping understood the current situation and what he had to do next, so he no longer felt nervous.
Just treat it with a normal attitude.
"Fellow Taoist, how do you sell the "Nine Breeze Swords"?" The voice of a monk asking to buy the ancient book rang in my ears.
Chen Ping came back to his senses:
"5 spiritual stones."
Buying monk:......
"You... are as expensive as those sold in shops? How can any fellow Taoist sell ancient books like this?" The monk who wanted to buy was obviously very knowledgeable and stood up dissatisfied.
"This one has annotations and is worth every penny." Chen Ping gave an explanation.
The purchasing monk left with a dark face.
Chen Ping gave a dumb laugh, closed the stall and left.
It doesn't matter whether he buys it or not. He's not really selling it. He hasn't finished practicing it yet.
...
Inside the city.
Bookstore.
"Shop, do you have books like geography?" After Chen Ping left Chengdongfang City, he went directly to the business in the city.
Chen Ping has been to this shop several times, and it was here that he bought the "Bone-Moving and Form-Changing Technique". It is considered the largest ancient book store in the city.
"Geography? Friends, please wait a moment." The store owner turned around and rummaged through the shelves, then shook his head and said, "No more, no more. We haven't had a customer buy a geography book for a long time, so I guess it's out of stock."
Chen Ping felt a little regretful.
Objectively speaking, there has never been any major crisis in Lianyung City over the past 100 years since its establishment.
Although many people lament the unsettled life in Lianyuncheng, life here is actually much better than in many places.
Over time, many monks have become accustomed to the life here and no longer have the energy to continue exploring the mysterious universe.
Gradually, there are fewer and fewer useless books like geography.
But just when Chen Ping was about to leave, the store owner said again:
"Oh, fellow Taoist, I'm so lucky. I found a copy. It's the last one in our store."
Chen Ping was so happy that he habitually inquired about the price first:
"How much?"
"This is the last one. It makes me a good friend. I'll sell it to you for 50 taels of gold."
this...
...This friend is made.
Chen Ping did not negotiate the price and decisively gave the gold, took the book and left.
When passing by a medicinal material shop, Chen Ping wanted to buy some medicinal materials and soak them for himself. This might help him recover from his internal injuries as soon as possible.
But at this time, buying these medicinal materials was too eye-catching, so I gave up.
It's better to play it safe and allow yourself to recover slowly.
Then I went to the butcher shop and bought ten kilograms of monster meat. Not surprisingly, I found that the price of monster meat had dropped again. Now one spirit stone can buy a full 15 kilograms of monster meat, which is ridiculously cheap.
At this price, I don’t need to eat spiritual rice anymore, I can stew monster meat every day.
It seems that there are more monsters in the forest.
But these have nothing to do with me. I will leave the nook and go to the big city soon.
Chen Ping was in a calm mood.
