Chapter 223 Arrival in Yangzhou

"Young master, our boatman invites you to come over for dinner." The one who came was a woman, dressed in heavy makeup and powder.

She stretched out her hand and smiled at Li Daoxuan, and the white powder on her face fell down.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan got goose bumps and felt his scalp tingling, but he still accepted the boatman's invitation.

He knew that this was inevitable. Since he had taken action, he would naturally be targeted by all kinds of people.

After all, there are so few true Taoists in this world.

He asked the woman to prepare food for the Xue sisters in the small room, and then he turned around to take out a yellow talisman from his bag. Then he followed her to a cabin at the stern of the ship.

This is where the boatman lives. It is much more spacious than his small room. The decoration is not exquisite, but it is already a luxury for most people.

The boatman Niu sat in front of a table filled with wine and food, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, and even a plate of cakes.

Li Daoxuan secretly thought that this boatman really knew how to enjoy himself. He stepped into the door and saluted the boatman: "Thank you, Brother Niu, for your kindness and hospitality."

"Well, how can you say that? It's only right that we treat you well. Come and try this treasure of the river - puffer fish." Niu Chuanjia stood up to greet and invited Li Daoxuan to sit down.

Then the old boatman came in, bowed to Li Daoxuan and Niu Chuanjia, and then sat at a corner of the table.

The three of them were chatting and laughing, and under the chatterbox of Niu Chuanjia, they slowly opened up.

From them, Li Daoxuan learned that Niu Chuanjia's real name was Niu Daming. It was said that his mother had a difficult labor when he was born. After a night of tossing and turning, she was lucky enough to give birth to the child. Both mother and child were safe, so they named Niu Chuanjia Niu Daming, hoping that he would be blessed with good fortune.

Niu Daming was a descendant of a Yangzhou salt merchant. His ancestors had once been wealthy, but later the Yangzhou salt industry declined and the Niu family also fell into decline.

By the time of Niu Daming's generation, only two or three of the ten houses were left. Finally, Niu Daming used his family savings to build a big ship and started doing transportation work on the Yangtze River. Although he was not rich, he could still have some surplus food.

As for the old boatman, he was an elderly widower who had been wandering on the water for many years. Later, Niu Daming took a fancy to his experience and hired him as a boatman on his boat. The two of them became good friends despite the age difference.

While eating the food and wine on the table, Niu Daming flattered Li Daoxuan endlessly, praising him for his young talent and the outstanding people and beautiful scenery of Maoshan. Anyway, he said all the necessary words at once, and Li Daoxuan was a little embarrassed by the boasting.

After taking a sip of wine, Niu Daming held the chopsticks and whispered to Li Daoxuan: "We are talking about the Taoist priest. We travel on the water all year round. What should we do if we encounter such a thing again? We can't always meet a master like the Taoist priest, right? The world is in chaos now. We are afraid of encountering any accidents. What should we do then?"

When Li Daoxuan heard what Niu Daming said, he knew that he had something to ask for help, but since the boatman asked about something, he naturally would not fool around. So he told the boatman a solution and asked him to pay attention to some things in his daily life.

"You can find a skilled craftsman to carve a dragon head on the bow of the boat, and then stick this talisman in the dragon head. Every day before setting out on the boat, light three sticks of incense and chant: 'The yin and yang are magnificent, the sun rises in the east, I command you to collect this talisman and sweep away all the bad luck.' Kneel down three times and chant three times, and it will be enough to bless you to travel safely on the river."

As he spoke, Li Daoxuan took out a yellow talisman.

This was the yellow talisman he had just taken out of the bag. After all, judging from the woman's flattering attitude, the boatman must have wanted to ask him for a favor. He knew without asking that it was related to what happened yesterday, so he chose a method.

When Niu Daming heard this, his face was filled with joy. He respectfully took the yellow talisman with both hands and put it carefully in the box. This was a gift from a truly powerful Maoshan wizard, so how could he not cherish it?
People like them have been sailing for more than ten years, and have seen countless people coming and going, whether they were wandering around or performing acrobatics. In short, no matter who passed by them, they could tell one or two things about them at a glance. Of course, they have also seen many swindlers who pretended to be Taoists and monks to defraud people, but it is rare to meet one or two truly capable Taoists and monks like now, not to mention that these capable real people will pay attention to them. That is something that only high-ranking officials can enjoy, and people like them can forget about it.

Moreover, in their eyes, they already regretted having misjudged Li Daoxuan. No one had ever thought that this well-dressed young man was actually a capable young Taoist priest. Their misjudgment made them look up to Li Daoxuan even more.

Now that he has met an approachable wizard, Niu Daming naturally wants to hold him close.

This is both a toast and a dish.

Li Daoxuan really couldn't stand this man's enthusiasm. After eating and drinking, he got up and left without staying for long.

After Li Daoxuan left, the woman cleaned up the leftovers on the table. Niu Daming took out the yellow talisman from the box and touched it gently as if it were a treasure.

"It's worth a ton of money, it's worth a ton of money!" Niu Daming said with a smile.

"Boss, you've finally met a noble person this time!" exclaimed the old boatman.

"Yes, I have been sailing for more than ten years, and this time I finally met a noble man!" Niu Daming sighed. "Do you know Yangzhou Daming Temple?"

"I've heard of it." The old boatman nodded.

"Abbot Mingcheng of Daming Temple is said to be an accomplished monk. It is extremely difficult for ordinary people to meet the abbot. Even if wealthy businessmen spend thousands of taels of gold, he may not come out to meet them. The abbot's blessed instruments are priceless treasures, and all the families in Yangzhou are scrambling to collect them. I was fortunate enough to see him once, and I was so envious at that time." Niu Daming sighed.

"I have been sailing for many years and have encountered many strange things. I am afraid that something will happen one day and I will die on the river. Now that I have the talisman given by the Taoist priest, I can rest assured."

"The boss should build a relationship with the young Taoist priest so that if anything happens in the future, he will have someone to turn to." The old boatman pondered for a moment and persuaded Niu Daming.

Niu Daming nodded, thinking it made a lot of sense.

"Tell me, how should we thank the young Taoist priest?"

"Doesn't the boss have an idle villa in Yangzhou? Why not give it to the young Taoist priest?" said the old boatman.

"Are you talking about our Xiushui Villa? But..." Niu Daming was a little hesitant after listening to the old boatman's words. He was still reluctant to leave Xiushui Villa. It was not left by his ancestors, but he bought it at a high price with his savings from years of sailing.

"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb. If the boss is not willing to give up even this little thing, how can he get closer to the young Taoist priest? I see that the young Taoist priest is dressed differently from ordinary people, and at such a young age, his future must be limitless. The boss is giving him a courtyard now, isn't it just the right time to get closer to him? When the young Taoist priest becomes a real person in the future, it will be harder for the boss to marry him than to ascend to heaven."

"Laoyuan, you are right. We really have to sacrifice this huge sum of money!" Niu Daming listened to the old boatman's words and made up his mind. Although Xiushui Villa was very important to him, it was not as important as Li Daoxuan's.

After weighing the pros and cons, Niu Daming decided to give Li Daoxuan a courtyard.

The ship weighed anchor and headed towards the mouth of the Grand Canal. Heading north, the two banks were already the scenery outside Yangzhou city, and more and more ships were coming and going.

The Xue sisters and Li Daoxuan gradually became more familiar with each other, and the younger sister Xue Yuyan even dared to talk to him.

The little girl lay by the window, looking at the scenery outside.

At this moment, Yangzhou is bathed in the morning light of the warm spring sun. Willow trees are green on both sides of the river, and boats are like fish crossing the river. There are many people coming and going, some carrying goods, some selling goods, and it is a bustling scene.

Li Daoxuan stroked Gong Youwei, she had worked hard today.

After all, there were outsiders around, so she couldn't transform into a human. She could only transform into a rabbit and sleep soundly in his arms.

When they arrived at Yangzhou, Li Daoxuan planned to take Gong Youwei around. He had never been to Yangzhou before, but he had only heard of a poem in a book:

The singing and dancing in the brothels are better than those in Hangzhou and Suzhou.
Flowers, moon and fairies are all the same.

Riding on a crane and wearing a belt, they compete for envy.
No one understands Dong Jiangdu.

It was also at this time that the boatman's shouting was heard outside.

"Yangzhou, we're here!"

(End of this chapter)