Dimension Paradise, I am a summoning apostle

Chapter 693: Taking advantage of others
Upon entering the Fan residence, Chu Danqing looked around the place.

The person living here must be a wealthy merchant.

In other places, he would be at least one of the wealthiest people in the city.

But this is the Eastern Capital Prefecture, right under the emperor's nose, so it's not quite up to par.

Moreover, having money alone is useless; you still have to bow and scrape when you meet those in power.

Therefore, Chu Danqing guessed that this person had been scammed, otherwise he wouldn't have bought such a house.

"Greetings, distinguished guest." A middle-aged man walked over awkwardly and greeted Chu Danqing.

This gesture looks quite awkward.

"What's wrong with you?" Chu Danqing immediately noticed that something was off about the other person.

This trial world isn't without effeminate men, but the other person's appearance suggests that he's more than just an effeminate man.

"I...I..." The middle-aged man seemed overwhelmed and was almost in tears.

"Something has happened at home. If you don't have anything urgent to attend to, please come back in a few days." A woman's voice came from behind the screen.

The voice was steady and measured, and the speech was more organized.

This man and woman are the same as the reverse.

"It's important, it's important," Chu Danqing said. "Since you have something to say, you can tell me. I have some connections with the Prince Hui's residence."

"Perhaps this can solve one or two problems."

Chu Danqing first borrowed the tiger skin from Prince Hui's mansion.

The fact that no one has come to arrest him so far means that Lu Wanyi's side has succeeded.

If they really failed, how could the other side let Chu Danqing wander around outside at will? They would have taken them down long ago.

When the middle-aged man heard that Chu Danqing had a connection with the Prince Hui's mansion, his expression froze for a moment, and then his gaze turned to the back of the screen.

A woman emerged from behind the screen; her figure and posture were simply too rugged.

"You two... swapped souls???" Chu Danqing didn't even wait for the other person to explain before she understood what had happened.

"Indeed, so I wonder if our esteemed guest could ask a deity to restore our souls?" the woman said helplessly.

"So how did you manage to do that?" Chu Danqing was also speechless: "Logically speaking, only gods could do this."

The woman said, "That's right, it was indeed the work of a deity."

“Restoring the soul is not difficult,” Chu Danqing said. “However, merely restoring the soul is only a temporary solution, not a permanent cure.”

"It seems you've offended some important figure, which is why they resorted to such methods."

"If this fundamental problem cannot be solved, the next time it may not be as simple as just exchanging souls."

In response to Chu Danqing's words, the woman said with a bitter face, "What you say is very true, esteemed guest. Once we have exchanged our souls, we will immediately give this house to those people."

"Let's pack up our valuables and go back to our hometown to avoid trouble."

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "You mean, someone took a fancy to your house, and you were taught a lesson for refusing to sell?"

"So you don't even know who has their eye on your house, is that what you mean?"

"That's what they mean," the woman said. "They also told my husband and me to think it over carefully. If we still didn't want to sell, they would exchange the souls of my children for theirs."

"So arrogant? Doesn't anyone dare to do anything about it?" Chu Danqing gasped, then said, "Alright, I'll get your souls back first."

"It's really awkward talking to you like this."

As Chu Danqing spoke, he channeled his magic power and reached out to pull the souls of the two people out of their bodies.

After the two switched places, they became male and female again.

"This...this..." The man quickly touched his face, incredulous. "Thank you so much for saving me."

The woman responded with a greeting and bowed, then excused herself and went to arrange tea, wine, and food.

Chu Danqing also learned about the man's background; his name was Fan An.

They were not locals of Dongdu Prefecture, but merchants from elsewhere who later settled here.

“I also reported it to the authorities, but it seems those people had already spoken to me,” Fan An said. “Although I reported it to the authorities, it was suppressed and not discussed further.”

"The official's intention, both overt and covert, was to make me admit it."

"However, this huge house cost me most of my life savings. It's not easy to just give it up after accepting it."

Fan An said this with righteous indignation.

Chu Danqing knew that if she hadn't met him, being forced to leave would have been the best outcome.

In a more tragic scenario, the entire family could be wiped out.

"In other words, the people who did all the work from beginning to end were nothing but a bunch of lackeys."

"The person who really wants to take this house from you probably doesn't even know you exist, right?" Chu Danqing couldn't quite understand why such an important person would have to resort to trickery and force to seize this house.

“That’s right.” Fan An’s bitterness became even more obvious: “After reporting to the authorities today proved useless, I finally understood the crux of the matter.”

"Forget it, let's not talk about these things." Fan An changed the subject: "I wonder what brings you here, my benefactor, that you need my help?"

"If there's anything I can do to help, I will do my best."

Since Chu Danqing came to our door, he must have something to discuss; he couldn't possibly have just come for a cup of tea.

"There is indeed something going on." Chu Danqing smiled. "Speaking of which, before your house was confiscated and sold by the government, it belonged to my family."

Upon hearing this, Fan An's expression also turned strange. So that's the reason. "Back then, when my father was dismissed from his post and investigated, he didn't have time to leave, so he left an ancestral item in the house."

"He later died of grief and never returned, so now I will take him back."

"But now that this house is yours, I can't very well force you to take it."

“This will be the reward I give you two for getting your souls back. What do you think?” Chu Danqing said.

Fan An felt a sense of relief upon hearing this.

He was worried that Chu Danqing would ask him to do something he couldn't accomplish, but this matter was actually quite simple.

After all, he couldn't even save this house, so being able to help Chu Danqing was a good thing.

"My benefactor is too kind," Fan An immediately replied. "This is an heirloom from my benefactor's family."

"Take what you're supposed to take, don't talk about compensation or anything like that."

"But after all these years, I still don't know what the ancestral heirloom my benefactor mentioned is, or where it is located."

He didn't even know what it was, so he could only get information from Chu Danqing.

“A small stone pagoda, which was placed in the shrine in the east courtyard back then.” Chu Danqing did not hide anything.

"So this is what it is," Fan An said. "I thought this pagoda was left by some revered deity and was still enshrined there."

"Fortunately, this thing is just a rough stone carving, otherwise it wouldn't have survived back then."

Before he took over, this mansion had been confiscated once, and every single valuable item was gone.

Most of the assets in the Fan residence today were acquired and renovated by him.

As for the stone pagoda, its workmanship was too rough, and it was obviously worthless, which is why it was left behind.

Although it is enshrined in a shrine, it may be related to the gods.

However, who would invite a strange deity to their home for worship?

They either worship their own household gods or raise powerful public gods.

"Thank you for your generous support, Mr. Fan. Please guide me along the way, as I wish to retrieve this stone pagoda myself," Chu Danqing said.

Chu Danqing knew that the East Courtyard was to the east of the mansion, but he didn't know its exact location.

When he was born, his father had been dismissed from his post and sent back to the countryside, so he certainly wouldn't have any relevant information in his memory.

Fan An had guessed that the stone tower might be some kind of treasure, but he had absolutely no desire for it at the moment.

Firstly, Chu Danqing is mysterious and unpredictable; secondly, it is a case of "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime," especially since he and his wife had swapped souls.

Now, anyone who dares to think beyond their status and position will likely face a gruesome death rather than a soul exchange.

"Of course, of course," Fan An said warmly, rising to his feet. "This way, my benefactor, please."

He got up and led the way himself, but before he even left the living room, the doorman rushed over in a panic.

"Master, master, something terrible has happened!" The doorman's voice was filled with anxiety and despair: "Those villains from yesterday have come to the door again."

"What?!" Fan An's expression was filled with horror: "Wasn't it said that you would come tomorrow? Why are you here today?"

The so-called villains should be those who forced Fan An to give up his mansion.

"Old dog, are you eating shit?" came a voice that was both arrogant and sinister.

A burly man led several men in, staring fiercely at the gatekeeper: "I am acting on the orders of the Grand Tutor, and you dare to slander me."

"Even if I kill you today, the authorities will only accuse you of obstructing official business."

After the man finished speaking, his gaze fell on Chu Danqing.

Upon first glance, he immediately dropped his arrogance and asked tentatively, "May I ask who you are?"

"The Grand Tutor you mentioned should be Grand Tutor Zhang Yaozuo in the court, right?" Chu Danqing put on airs, and an invisible pressure emanated from him.

The pressure on these people suddenly increased.

They didn't know Chu Danqing at all, but they could tell that Chu Danqing was definitely a big shot.

"Indeed, please do me the favor," the other party said respectfully.

Perhaps the other party's power in the court is not as great as Zhang Yaozuo's, but what does that have to do with them?
Although they served the Grand Tutor, their status and position were too low.

If something really happens, the Grand Tutor has no chance of protecting them.

They'll just deal with it to solve the problem.

"Heh, interesting," Chu Danqing said softly.

He immediately understood that Fan An was not being targeted at the house, but at the Pagoda.

The reason is simple: to strengthen the gods with the pagoda and then find the enemy who killed Zhang Shanfu.

Yang Qianyuan had previously told him to come and collect it as soon as possible, otherwise things might change.

That might be referring to this matter.

The command above was not only executed, but also doubled.

Someone like Zhang Yaozuo would definitely not care about such a house.

Therefore, it is highly likely that someone is using this incident to profit for themselves.

(End of this chapter)