Chapter 150: Brother, we are on the righteous path
Dong-dong-dong—
The morning bell rang, and the sun slowly emerged behind the mountains. After two days of recovery, Du Chun City regained its former vitality. Carts and horses filled the streets, and various shops had removed the wooden boards sealing their doors, reopening for business. The individuals pretending to be “Jiang Yu” in front of the Jiang Mansion still stood in a long queue. The only difference was that temporary measures had been implemented throughout Du Chun to guard against demon cultivators, and the city gate searches were stricter than usual.
Ye Anping, now clad in a black brocade robe, and his junior sister found two elegant seats on the second floor of a tea house in the city to sit, drink tea, and read books.
Snap—
Everyone was shocked. A young man dressed as a scholar slightly rolled up his sleeves and waved the folding fan in his hand:
“Today, I will reveal the inside story of the Chilong Rebellion from a few days ago. It is said that the Heavenly Demon Sect caused this chaos. The Heavenly Demon Sect had a Nascent Soul cultivator and three Core Formation cultivators who formed a blood spirit formation, attempting to turn the thousand-mile radius of our Chilong Mountain into a death zone.”
“Although Immortal Master Li has great magical powers, he is now old, and it is difficult to fight one against five. Ultimately, to protect Chilong Mountain, he broke his core to resist the enemy, ultimately burning the entire demon sect to ashes.”
The young master raised a cup of tea on the table and said, “This cup is dedicated to Immortal Li. Have a good trip!!”
When the audience hears this, they should shout, “Jing Li Xianshi.”
Then, the man closed the folding fan in his hand and said, “But what we are talking about today is not Master Li, but four people.”
Someone was confused, “Four people?”
“That’s a good question!” The storyteller clapped his hands and said, “It’s a pity I don’t know.”
The audience cheered: “Ahh~~.”
The storyteller quickly waved his hand and answered, “However, these four people also have great magical powers. It is said that a soaring golden dragon appeared in Chilong Mansion that day, and these four people summoned it. The golden dragon was full of immortal spirits, resembling the golden dragon that was the companion of the Holy Emperor back then. It may be the orphan of the Holy Emperor. In addition to the other three, I have another guess, please listen carefully.”
The young master glanced at the people in the audience. When he saw that he had aroused the audience’s curiosity, he immediately curled up the corners of his mouth and said, “I suspect that two of them are the young master and young lady of our Du Chun City’s Dragon Slaying Club!!!”
Hearing this, Ye Anping, who had just picked up the tea and was about to drink it, suddenly stopped and frowned slightly. At that time, another audience asked, “Where did you come from with this guess?”
“Everyone, please be patient. Please listen to what I am saying slowly. First of all, when the Demonic Cultivator Rebellion began that day, everyone in Duchun City should have seen the Dragon Slayer Congregation going from door to door to remind everyone to stay indoors to avoid danger. Isn’t that weird red snow?”
“Secondly, I heard from the servants of the Jiang Mansion that Young Master Jiang stayed behind closed doors after this incident. He seemed to have been seriously injured. After adjusting his breathing for two days, there was still no news…”
…
Ye Anping’s face momentarily displayed frustration. He set down his teacup and glanced at Pei Lianxue, who was dozing beside him. With a faint sigh, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out several spiritual stones, placing them on the table. It seemed he was preparing to adopt a “complete the task, brush off the dust, and hide accomplishments and fame” approach.
However, as he rose to his feet, he noticed Liang Zhu making his way up from the first floor of the tea house.
Liang Zhu surveyed the audience in the tea house, approached Ye Anping, and complained with a twitch at the corner of his eye, “Hey, Lao Liu, you’re quite leisurely, coming here to listen to a story?”
Ye Anping forced a smile. He knew the source of Liang Zhu’s current mood. The Dragon Slaying Club had been incredibly busy these past two days since demonic cultivators invaded. Nearly a hundred members had lost their lives in Chilong Mansion, and many shops in Duchun City were damaged. The stable supply channels were disrupted, leaving many miscellaneous tasks to handle.
Meanwhile, he and Pei Lianxue had been either basking in the sun and enjoying watermelon in the courtyard or engaging in intimate moments in their bedroom, practicing Qi cultivation. This left Liang Zhu, nursing his injuries, to handle the workload, and he hadn’t had much rest in the past few days.
“Liang Big Brother, I’ll send you some bonus later,” Ye Anping suggested.
“Huh!” Liang Zhu rolled his eyes and sat beside him, saying, “The Duchun City Chamber of Commerce situation is quite unstable now. During the meeting of the branch leaders just now, there was a heated argument over this matter. I want to hear your opinion.”
“Argument?”
“Li Feng’s death news has spread. Various chambers of commerce in the city prepare to leave Duchun City and find new homes. Everyone needs more confidence in Miss Li and believes Chilong Mansion will disappear within a few months. The branch leaders of the Dragon Slaying Club also proposed preparing in advance to seek new patrons.”
Ye Anping listened and pursed his lips. He had anticipated these developments. For business people, whether cultivators or ordinary individuals, profit took precedence. Their foresight surpassed that of regular people. While others were still relieved as the dust settled, they were already considering future implications.
To them, Chilong Mansion was like a gamble. Should they bet on Li Longling to sustain Chilong Mansion or switch allegiances to find a new path? No one would risk placing their bets on Li Longling, a young girl with impaired vision and only a foundation-building cultivation.
Chilong Mansion currently had Xiao Yunluo, the young master of the Xuanxing Sect, holding the fort. They didn’t dare make significant moves at the moment. However, once Xiao Yunluo left, Li Longling alone needed help to retain the various business chambers within Chilong Mansion. Without the chambers, there would be no circulation, and Chilong Mansion’s financial resources would be cut off. A chain reaction could lead to internal strife, with ordinary guards without monthly stipends joining forces to force their way into the palace and seize valuables.
Li Longling had faced a similar situation in the game. Though she survived with her father’s guards, it came at a considerable cost. Chilong Mansion struggled until she reached the Nascent Soul stage, and conditions only improved afterward.
Ye Anping sighed and looked at Liang Zhu, asking, “Brother Liang, would you place your bet on Miss Li?”
Liang Zhu remained silent for a while before shaking his head slightly. “She is unquestionable in managing affairs and internal matters. However, her cultivation is only at the Foundation Building stage, incapable of intimidating others, let alone being blind. From a gambling perspective, her odds are one to a hundred.”
“That’s true,” Ye Anping shrugged slightly, saying, “Brother Liang, can you help me find some visually impaired cultivators?”
“Visually impaired cultivators?” Liang Zhu frowned slightly, asking, “Do you have a way to heal her eyes?”
“As Brother Liang just mentioned, with odds of one to a hundred, winning would mean multiplying it a hundredfold,” Ye Anping smiled, pondering with his chin resting on his hand, and continued, “By the way, spread the news for me.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s say a hidden cultivator resides in Chilong Valley outside Chilong Mansion. This person can cure Miss Li’s eye ailment.”
“…You want to use this news to stabilize the city’s chambers of commerce first?”
“Yes.”
Liang Zhu thought momentarily and did not question Ye Anping’s ability to cure her eyes. He then got up to take care of the matter. However, as he took a few steps, Ye Anping suddenly said, “By the way, there is one more thing I want to trouble you with.”
Liang Zhu turned to look, asking, “What?”
“I checked yesterday. Apart from the spirit stone tickets and some miscellaneous items, there are about 300,000 spirit stones in the Jiang Mansion’s warehouse. Do you understand?”
Liang Zhu raised his eyebrows, five forehead lines appearing as he nodded, “Do you want to leave traces?”
“Yes, I want to leave traces. I was thinking that a group of robbers could attack the Jiang Mansion at night, use incense to stun the entire household, and then burn the back bedroom. Young Master Jiang and his wife could peacefully pass away in their sleep. Brother Liang, you are skilled in these matters. What do you think?”
“Hmm…” Liang Zhu considered it for a while, finding it feasible. He nodded, “The details need adjustment. Cultivators in the foundation-building stage aren’t easily burned to death, but it can be done. I will go to the mass graves outside the city to bring back the corpses of two Foundation Building cultivators in the next two days.”
“Find someone handsome and someone pretty.”
“?”
Liang Zhu frowned, giving him a look, “They’ll turn black when burned.”
Ye Anping smiled slightly and added, “Don’t harm the Jiang Mansion’s servants, and don’t empty the house. Leave some for Young Master Jiang. We are on the righteous path; leave a thin line in our actions to meet again in the future.”
“The righteous path? Does the righteous path have triplets with different fathers and mothers?”
“?”
Ye Anping was momentarily bewildered before understanding the joke. He immediately rolled his eyes at Liang Zhu, “We saved Young Master Jiang and the Dragon-Slaying Society. Now we’re just seeking the reward we deserve. That’s it.”
Liang Zhu was silent for a while, said nothing, and then turned to go downstairs to handle the matter.
…
