Wandering Gods of Day and Night

"Take good care of yourself. I have a strong feeling that the thing about the two Ancestor Dragons in Mingjiang Prefecture is probably true."

Yun Ziliang said.

"I'll try nurturing the Dragon Seeking Qi later. I really want to see how many scales I can cultivate."

Zhou Xuan said as well.

"Enough talk for now, I'm off to play cards."

Yun Ziliang hadn't played cards for several days, and his itch for it had been stirred by Miss Qiang, Human Brain, and their Monopoly games.

As his Divine Soul left Zhou Xuan's Secret Realm, he said to Peng Sheng, "Mr. Peng, let me take you to a fun place."

"What's the game?"

"Mahjong. It's free-spirited gameplay, but most importantly... we can get rich playing it and win money."

"..." Zhou Xuan was stunned.

He was surprised at how Yun Ziliang's shamelessness could hit such peaks when talking about playing cards.

Thanks to his earnings from tattooing, he was still afloat; for an average family though, this "money-burning old bachelor" would have been unbearable.

"Alright then, let's have a bit of fun."

Peng Sheng, having been reborn into this life, wanted to enjoy the world of three centuries in the future, not just focus on conflict and battles.

"Xuanzi, make sure you prepare well; in a few days, you'll be doing divinations."

Yun Ziliang said to Zhou Xuan.

"Divinations? Isn't Dragon Seeking what I do?"

"Dragon Seeking requires doing divinations, accumulating blessings. You change someone's fate through omens, and that's how you stockpile blessings."

"I study to be a storyteller and take the stage to tell tales. I study tattooing at the Tangkou and ink tattoos for people. Now I study Dragon Seeking and must start divining for others. If I go on to gather nine Tangkous in total, wouldn't I have mastered all 360 trades of Jing Country?

Am I competing to be a master of incense offerings or a model worker?"

Zhou Xuan even suspected that his long shirt might have a shining slogan on the back reading, "Labor is the most glorious."

"In Jing Country, cultivating incense offerings means traversing the Red Dust, experiencing every aspect of life's highs and lows. When you've tasted enough of it all, you naturally connect with gods and spirits.

Mo Tingsheng, that scoundrel, did get one thing right—gods and spirits live in the human world."

After he finished speaking, Yun Ziliang hurried off with Peng Sheng to the card table. His rushed demeanor left Zhou Xuan astounded... running this fast just to give away money?

"Landlord, I'm heading back to the Old Painting Pavilion."

"What are you going back for? Why not wander around the night market?"

"I need to organize my divination tools. For days I've been wanting to set up a stall, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Give me a few days, with you by my side, and I'll muster enough courage."

"Why's that?"

"Because your shamelessness rubs off on me."

"You brat, stop causing trouble."

Zhou Xuan grabbed a feather duster and prepared to chase after Zhao Wuya.

Ya Zi, quick as a deer, darted away and reached the door, stuck his head back inside, and said, "With divinations ringing true, gold flows like a river—how about using this slogan for our divination stall?"

"No way! Too exaggerated."

"Then what should we write?"

"Labor is glorious! We're not relying on divinations to make a living—we're serving the people."

"Uh... I'll think it over again."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Wuya turned around and dashed into the streets, blending into the bustling crowd of the night market.

"Just a while ago, it was so lively, and now everyone's dispersed."

Zhou Xuan gently dusted the counter with the feather duster, sweeping away the fine dust, then tossed the duster onto the counter and headed to the night market.

He wanted to take advantage of the crowd and accumulate more Dragon Seeking Qi.

...

By nine or ten o'clock at night, the night market was in full swing, the streets bustling with people squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder, chest-to-back.

After walking a few dozen meters, Zhou Xuan stopped at a sweet drinks stall and bought himself a cup of sour plum juice.

For cleanliness and hygiene, Zhou Xuan didn't go out empty-handed—he had brought his stainless steel cup and asked the stall owner to pour the drink into it.

He had barely taken two or three gulps when someone called out to him from behind.

"Brother Zhou."

Just hearing the address was enough for Zhou Xuan to recognize Sister Cui's voice.

He turned around and saw Sister Cui carrying several large bags, and asked, "Sister Cui, why such extravagance today? Buying all this good food?"

"I'm delivering it to Sister Xi and the others."

Huang Xi happens to be the manager of the Huang Family's affairs on East Market Street.

On South Mountain, Huang Xi had spotted Sister Cui, who had transformed into a Four-tailed Fox, and recognized her as a prominent figure from the Wild Immortal Hu Sect.

"Sister Xi has been so generous, sending quite a bit of valuable stuff to our shop, so I have to return the favor. Later, I'll send you a portion too."

"How's Hua Zi's mental state these days?"

"Much improved. He's been playing with Fuzi. Didn't Sister Xi gift us a radio? Fuzi's been fascinated by the storytellers on it. He's even imitating one, waving around a palm fan and narrating stories to Little Fuzi."

"That's a good thing—having a new hobby."

Zhou Xuan said with a cheerful smile.

"Anyway, I'll be off to the Huang Family now."

"Go ahead."

Zhou Xuan asked further, "By the way, Sister Cui, why's East Market Street so lively today?"

The East Market Street night market was well-known locally and usually crowded, but today it was teeming with life, people packed wall to wall. In the throng, you didn't even need to move your legs—just let the flow of visitors sweep you along.

"Today's a big fair. There'll be a Dragon Lantern procession later; everyone's here for the excitement."

"I'll have to check it out then."

Zhou Xuan said with a laugh.

"You should. It doesn't happen often—only a few times a year. I'll head off now."

Sister Cui delivered a package to the Zhou Family's Jingyi Shop before disappearing into the crowd, heading towards the Old Painting Pavilion.

Zhou Xuan strolled around the street on his own, releasing his Perception as he cultivated his Dragon Seeking Qi.

The number of scales continued to increase, quickly jumping from forty to over fifty...