How could this be!
There were quite a few passengers waiting for the ferry, the smell of tobacco from an old man, the scent of perfume powder from women, the odor of sweat, the stench of fish, the decay of the dock's wood... they all rushed into my nostrils.
This combination of smells was oddly refreshing.
Li Yan nearly fell over from the overpowering scents.
He realized that his smell superpower had once again suddenly intensified.
Since that night he fought a deathmatch with the Cold Altar Rampant Soldier, this was the third explosive enhancement in a short period.
Besides these common scents, he could smell many unique odors.
Hundreds of meters from the dock, there was a gloomy and sticky scent, seemingly left by some kind of malevolent entity, resistant to the lapping water waves, lingering for ages...
On the big Cao Gang ship on the river, someone was burning incense and tying red cloth at the prow, also sprinkling paper money and pouring the blood of livestock, a blazing aura swirling around the prow…
Even more terrifying was the distant Xianyang City.
It was like a fierce beast, perched on the plains, exuding an ancient and bleak fragrance, with various incense odors within the city.
Any of these was dozens of times more intense than what the Land God Temple at the Li Family Castle emitted.
Is this the real world...
Li Yan was profoundly shaken.
Since awakening his smell superpower last year, he had not set foot in Chang'an City or even Lantian County, staying put in the Li Family Castle.
Now that he had arrived at Xianyang City, he immediately noticed the difference.
No wonder Widow Wang and the others chose to hide in the secluded rural area of the Li Family Castle; if they went to Chang'an, they would likely be immediately exposed and draw the attention of their enemies.
Just then, Li Yan's vision suddenly darkened.
Waves of dizziness washed over him, and the astonishing sense of smell disappeared.
Li Yan clutched at a willow tree beside him, taking a good while to recover his strength.
He looked unwell and cursed silently in his heart.
Clearly, this divine ability came at a price.
Widow Wang hadn't mentioned it, perhaps because she hadn't anticipated his smell superpower would undergo such explosive enhancements again and again.
Worse, his divine skill was now out of control.
Any loss of control was a big problem.
It must be resolved quickly!
"The boat is here—!"
The boatman's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Fortunately, his smell superpower had already turned off at this time. Despite his head spinning and breaking out in a cold sweat on his back, Li Yan still headed towards the ferry.
The ferry was not big, about seven or eight meters long, without any canopy for cover.
After paying the fare, Li Yan casually found a place to sit down.
The breeze over the river was refreshing, and the chatter from the surrounding commoners continuously entered his ears:
"Widow Wang, why aren't you in a hurry to harvest the wheat? Why are you going to the city?"
"I've hired wheat workers from Longyou this year. I need to go to the city to offer incense to pray that it won't rain these days. After that, I'll hurry back..."
"You have plenty of male laborers at home."
"Don't mention it, my second and third sons ran off to Jinmen, saying that the factories there pay well and won't be coming back for the New Year. I figure, we don't have much land at home; the eldest son is enough, and the second and third need a way to make their own living..."
Li Yan was already aware of their situations from the village.
The Great Xuan Dynasty had been established for a hundred years and was now at its peak.
But beneath the prosperous times, undercurrents were stirring.
Large-scale land annexation began to appear, and the number of displaced people increased. In the past decade, quite a few troubles arose.
But at the same time, the court announced the opening of seas for trade and many coastal cities built large-scale workshops, absorbing many displaced people.
At the court, it was said to be restless, with factions forming and attacking each other.
Of course, Li Yan had no interest in these matters.
He only wanted to solve his own predicament as soon as possible.
After crossing the Wei River, Li Yan's mind was noticeably clearer, and the divine sense of smell returned, but it was much weaker, about the same as before he fought "Blind Third".
Li Yan could not be concerned with that, he lowered his straw hat and entered the city.
After all, it was the ancient capital of the Pre-Qin era, described in the classics as "Imperial palaces and villas, pavilions and towers, stretching for more than three hundred miles, blocking out the sun and sky."
Although it had undergone several battles and reconstructions, resulting in a reduced city size, it was still bustling. As soon as he entered the city, the hustle and noise were overwhelming.
Unlike Chang'an City's one hundred and eight organized blocks, the layout of Xianyang City was irregular. Entering from the South Gate, close to the docks, Li Yan directly encountered the crisscrossing old-commercial street.
Stores lined the streets, various signboards and flags fluttered, calls of hawkers were incessant, and the mixing of mule carts from the docks and pedestrians made it appear prosperous and chaotic.
Of course, beggars were not absent.
Perhaps because of the knife Li Yan carried, no one bothered him, but other commerce travelers newly entering the city were immediately surrounded by a gang of beggar children.
Their clothes were torn, some were even missing limbs, surrounding people with their pleas, "Kind sir, may you profit a thousand in gold this year," "Gracious lady, may you be blessed with children and grandchildren"...
Li Yan glanced at them, turned his head, and walked away.
In the pugilistic world, the Beggar Gang was divided into the Eastward and Westward factions.
Eastbound begging involved soft begging, primarily through performing arts in the marketplace, with a variety of acts such as "Singing Ballads," "Martial and Literary Performance," "Worshiping the Divine Lord," and "Traveling the Five Lakes."
These beggars were mostly nomadic, wandering from the south to the north, following the tides of life.
Westbound begging, on the other hand, mostly consisted of stationary beggars who typically entrenched themselves in a city, led by a head beggar who would take a cut of the daily earnings from begging.
Beggars from the eastbound pugilistic world who arrived in a city would certainly need to first pay respects to the local westbound beggars' den to obtain permission to perform and also get their earnings skimmed.
If they did not understand the rules, they would end up a dead body before the night's end.
Among the westbound head beggars, there were also many "pseudo-beggars," with their roles passed down through generations, controlling the beggars' dens in towns. By day they were clad in rags, but at night they would wear brocade and wander the pleasure quarters.
What's more despicable, some even engaged in the business of trafficking and human trade, maintaining close relationships with the city's brokers.
What they were skilled at was aggressive begging; although those child beggars looked pitiful, they were indeed ruthless and not someone ordinary people could afford to offend.
Indeed, as soon as they saw that the unfamiliar merchant was not giving them money, the beggars immediately changed their countenance, banging on their broken bowls and singing curses of the falling lotus.
"If you don't give money, I won't come, and you can use the leftover money to buy your coffin!"
"If you don't give, I won't beg, let's see if this grandson gets anxious!"
The merchant, furious, chased after the beggar, not realizing his money pouch had already been stolen…
Of course, there were also many eastbound beggars who wandered the pugilistic world.
Li Yan passed through the streets, where a blind old beggar was storytelling on the street corner.
His eyes were cloudy, his tone carried the weight of the ages, exuding an ancient charm.
"Glory, wealth, and rank pursue each day, fleeting are riches and splendor vast,"
"The mortal world churns like tides, few become immortals…"
"Obtained the Dao!"
......
"Excuse me, is Daoist Wang Daoxuan present in this place?"
Outside a small shop, Li Yan inquired of the shopkeeper.
Near the City God Temple in Xianyang City, aside from small eateries and breakfast stands, most of the establishments were places like Paper Mache Shops, Incense and Candle Shops, Coffin Shops, and Funeral Clothing Shops. Not to mention, there were many establishments for fortune telling and divination.
The shop Li Yan was asking about, for instance, was an Incense and Candle Shop, where one could find everything from ordinary clay incense to arm-thick long incense sticks, from regular red and white candles to magnificent dragon and phoenix shaped candles, and all sorts of paper money and gold ingots—everything one might need.
Upon arriving here, Li Yan felt the rich aroma of temple incense making him feel dizzy and overwhelming, so he did not approach closely, and instead directly searched for the address given to him by Sha Lifei.
According to Sha Lifei, Wang Daoxuan had also opened a shop where he did divination, selected fengshui sites, handled festive and funeral events, and caught demons—all sorts of jobs.
However, the shop at the given address had changed owners.
Left with no choice, Li Yan had to ask around.
"Wang Daoxuan?"
The owner of the Incense and Candle Shop was a squint-eyed fat man who first looked confused upon hearing the name, then as if suddenly realizing something, he exclaimed with a sudden understanding, "You must be talking about Old Wang the Slacker!"
After saying this, his eyes held a smile as he continued, "He owed a buttload of debt and has already sold his shop to me. Now, he is running his business from home."
Wang... Old Slacker?!
Li Yan's face stiffened, feeling a surge of anger welling up.
Sha Lifei was indeed unreliable.
Although it had been mentioned earlier that Wang Daoxuan would take on any job, mostly as a charlatan, at the very least he was a member of the Mystical Sect, and one could still inquire about certain matters.
But from what the owner was saying, it was probably worse than Li Yan had imagined.
Owing debts, not even able to keep his shop...
The name Wang Daoxuan, he estimated, was much like Sha Lifei's—a stage name boasted outwardly!
Li Yan was already having trouble with uncontrollable divine skills, and at that moment, his indignation flared up even more.
Seeing his reaction, the shop owner already had calculations in mind and took a step forward with a smile on his forehead, "Do you wish to have your fortune told or arrange a festive or funeral event? Just say the word— I'm well acquainted with all the shops on this street, and I can get you a discount…"
"Thank you, I'll talk about it later."
Li Yan spoke politely, but he had no intention to trust the owner.
He had seen plenty of such people, capable of tearing each other down within the same trade. Facing customers, wouldn't they be even more ruthless?
Moreover, the items in this Incense and Candle Shop—he could tell from one whiff—were all common goods, even the divine statues for worship lacked the scent of incense; the owner was clearly an amateur.
As expected, seeing Li Yan show no interest, the shop owner's attitude immediately turned cold.
Li Yan had an idea and his face showed a trace of anger as he bowed with his hands clasped, "I have some accounts to settle with that Old Wang the Slacker, please inform me."
With a sideways glance, the shop owner saw the knife strapped to Li Yan's waist and revealed a hint of schadenfreude as he raised his hand to point, "Sure, do you see that alley over there? Walk down three hundred meters and you'll find Wendao Temple on your right!"
......
The shopkeeper pointed to an old residential alleyway.
Li Yan entered, and as far as the eye could see, all were quaint old houses. Although they were separate households, it was clear from their secluded and narrow layout that they were ordinary people's dwellings.
Many of the courtyard walls were indeed constructed with ancient Qin bricks scavenged from olden times in Xianyang, coupled with the mottled bluestone slabs on the ground, creating quite the ancient ambiance.
Upon advancing three hundred meters, he quickly found the place.
A pair of plaques hung above the door of an old house.
Made of ordinary jujube wood, merely coated with some paint, not even comparable to a restaurant's sign, yet the three characters for "Wendao Temple" were rustic and powerful, quite exceptional.
A bit of Li Yan's anger inexplicably faded away.
Then, he took a sniff.
Inside the small courtyard, there was indeed an array of special scents…