This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 57: Shi Jian's Visit, and the Eerie Atmosphere

Renjia Town.

It's only a few dozen miles from Jiuquan Town, where Zhong Bai lives.

Zhong Bai left Jiuquan Town in the morning and arrived in Renjia Town around noon.

Walking on the streets of Renjia Town, watching the passersby hawking their wares, Zhong Bai felt that it was still not easy.

The imperial court is now a mere shell of its former self, and I've heard that a revolution has begun in the Guangzhou area.

Although Zhong Bai had heard very little about these reports, he understood that the Qing dynasty wouldn't last long.

.........................................................

Yizhuang.

The first to arrive was Sugarcane Aunt.

She arrived in Renjia Town yesterday and stayed at the mortuary, saying that she couldn't let her senior brother Lin work alone, so she came early to help.

Lin Fengjiao felt somewhat helpless about her junior sister. She could understand some of what the other woman was thinking, but Lin Fengjiao already had someone she loved before she went up the mountain to become a disciple.

Even though seven or eight years have passed and everything has changed, Lin Fengjiao still cannot accept the special feelings that Zhe Gu has for her.

"Senior Brother Lin, I heard that Junior Brother Simu came to you for help a few days ago and was dragged along as a laborer for a few days. Tsk tsk tsk, that guy Simu is really something, he didn't even come to me, his junior sister."

It's quite a challenge for Junior Brother Four Eyes, really. That official road is deserted and desolate; he'll probably have to exert himself quite a bit on his own.

While tending to the seasonal vegetables in her hands, Aunt Zhe was chatting with Lin Fengjiao.

These days are so pleasant.

"Ahem, where did you get this information, junior sister?"

Speaking of this, Lin Fengjiao felt a little embarrassed, since it was not easy for her to say that she had recruited Simu as a laborer.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Lin, you don't know this, do you? This is what Junior Brother Simu said himself in the letter that Junior Sister received a few days ago."

By the way, after leaving Renjia Town, Junior Brother Simu went to Jiuquan Town, where Junior Brother Qianhe lived.

In the letter, Junior Brother Simu mentioned that Jiuquan Town, where Junior Brother Qianhe lived, was incredibly wealthy. The local rich merchants held Junior Brother Qianhe in high esteem, not only providing him with a courtyard but also sending him two girls to take care of his daily life.

Sigh, if I had known that Jiuquan Town offered such good benefits, my junior sister would have chosen Jiuquan Town as her garrison location from the start.

In this way, I can be closer to my senior brother, instead of being hundreds of miles apart and having to go through so much trouble to come to Renjia Town..."

Perhaps what Aunt Zhe was trying to express was still the last sentence, which Lin Fengjiao could understand.

He was unsure how to answer when, just then, there was a knock on the door of the mortuary.

"Is Senior Brother Lin here? Junior Brother has arrived!"

Upon hearing the voice of the person who had arrived, Lin Fengjiao felt as if it were heavenly music.

"Ahem, Wencai, what are you standing there for? Go open the door for your Uncle Simu. Remember, it's Uncle Simu, not Uncle Qianhe!"

"Okay, Master..."

Wencai immediately responded and ran to open the door.

Seeing this, Lin Fengjiao smiled brightly at Zhe Gu and said, "Junior sister, look, speak of the devil and he appears! Junior Brother Simu is here really fast!"

Aunt Zhe couldn't help but roll her eyes at this.

He thought to himself, "Four Eyes' timing is really perfect. Couldn't he have been a little later...?"

Really!

Although she sighed inwardly, Aunt Zhe did not show any disappointment.

The door opened, and the four people looked somewhat travel-worn, carrying some wild game from the mountains, mostly mushrooms and the like.

"Wencai greets Uncle Simu!"

Seeing Wen Cai's dazed look, Si Mu was somewhat surprised. He hadn't heard anything about his senior brother Lin taking on a disciple when he last came. How come he had already taken on a disciple so soon?
"Your name is Wencai? Hmm, you're a good boy. Here, this is a gift from your uncle to your master. It's just some cheap wild game from the forest."

You can take it and leave it there for now...

Wencai accepted it and then left excitedly with the gift from Simu.

As they entered the courtyard, Si Mu saw Aunt Zhe and Lin Fengjiao, who were busy at work.

"Oh my!"

Sister Zhe Gu arrived really quickly; Ping'an County is a full hundred miles away from Renjia Town.

Junior brother, I really didn't expect Senior Sister Zhe Gu to be the first to arrive, but... well, it makes sense, since it was Senior Brother Lin who invited her."

After saying that, Si Mu winked at Lin Fengjiao, his playful expression making Lin Fengjiao feel somewhat exhausted.

"Tsk, it's still Junior Brother Four Eyes who understands Senior Sister. Sigh, unlike some people who don't know how lucky they are. They can have it easily, but they still want those illusory things."

"Yes, yes, Senior Sister Zhe Gu truly understands it perfectly!"

The two were exchanging pleasantries, and at this moment Lin Fengjiao felt that she had been a bit too hasty in saying that Si Mu had arrived just in time. She thought that if she had cooperated with Zhe Gu like this, it would have been better if she had arrived later!
Although Si Mu's words contained a hint of revenge against Lin Fengjiao, he still understood the limits of his words. He only made Lin Fengjiao feel uncomfortable but did not tear down the veil of secrecy.

Yes, that's called the art of language...

When Zhong Bai arrived at the entrance of the mortuary, he could hear Aunt Zhe's laughter and Si Mu's voice coming from the courtyard from a great distance.

With a faint smile on his lips, Zhong Bai knocked on the courtyard gate.

dong dong dong...

Upon hearing the knock, Wen Cai, who had been waiting, quickly opened the courtyard gate to greet Zhong Bai. "Disciple Wen Cai greets Uncle Qianhe!"

Zhong Bai was visibly stunned when he saw Wen Cai, who was only seven or eight years old. He hadn't expected that Lin Fengjiao would already have Wen Cai as her disciple.

Zhong Bai quickly withdrew his gaze from Wen Cai, and then smiled and said, "Nephew, there's no need for such formalities."

As he spoke, Zhong Bai handed his gift to Wen Cai.

"This is a gift from your master to your new home. It can't be done casually."

Wencai accepted the gift. Although he couldn't tell what was inside from the packaging, he knew that his master would be happy as long as it was a gift from his martial uncle.

Passing Wencai, Zhong Bai quickly spotted Si Mu chatting with Zhe Gu.

And there was Lin Fengjiao, whose expression was somewhat frozen...

"Ahem, Qianhe greets Senior Brother Simu, Senior Sister Zhegu, and Senior Brother Lin."

"Hey, Junior Brother Qianhe is here!"

Upon hearing Zhong Bai's voice, Si Mu turned around instantly and couldn't suppress his joy when he saw that it really was Zhong Bai.

Heaven knows how comfortable he's been these past two weeks. If he were willing to spend money, building a temple would be a piece of cake.
In just over ten days, his dojo was basically completed, and the cost was only a few dozen taels of silver.

Originally, Simu wanted to follow Zhong Bai's example and hire a few maids to take care of her, but in the end, she gave up the idea.

In the deep mountains and forests, not to mention whether he could suppress his evil thoughts, he was going to travel the world and transport corpses in the future, so he couldn't let ordinary people stay in the Taoist temple.

Furthermore, if Zhong Bai finds out later, Simu will lose face. It turns out that building the temple didn't cost much money, but hiring maids took up the majority of the expenses. Simu can't bear to lose face like that.

Zhong Bai could understand Si Mu's enthusiasm at this moment, after all, he had helped Si Mu, hadn't he?
"Senior Brother Four Eyes, I'm a bit late. Senior Brother Four Eyes and Senior Sister Sugar Cane arrived much faster!"

"Oh, Junior Brother Qianhe is joking. Actually, I just arrived myself. If we're talking about who arrived earlier, it has to be Senior Sister Zhegu!"
"Senior Sister Zhe Gu arrived in Renjia Town early yesterday morning!"

As he spoke, Si Mu raised an eyebrow at Zhong Bai, clearly with a teasing tone.

"oh……!
"I see. It seems Senior Sister Zhe Gu values ​​this opportunity to reunite with her fellow disciples very much."

Zhong Bai's smile remained unchanged. Although his tone didn't reveal anything, Zhe Gu found his words pleasing to the ear.

"Junior Brother Qianhe speaks so sweetly. It's only Junior Brother Qianhe and Junior Brother Simu who understand what Senior Sister is thinking. Some people are just pretending to be confused even when they know the truth."

Lin Fengjiao couldn't listen to this any longer and quickly stopped what she was doing.

"Junior Brother Qianhe has come from afar and hasn't even had a cup of tea yet. Don't just stand there, come and sit down in the pavilion. I'll go and brew you a pot of tea."

With that, Lin Fengjiao quickly left the courtyard and went inside.

Zhong Bai understood that it was best for him and Simu not to interfere in the affairs between Lin Fengjiao and Zhe Gu, and to let them resolve it themselves.

We arrived at the pavilion and sat down facing each other.

"Junior Brother Qianhe, you have no idea how much I sold the demon core of that Crimson Serpent Demon for last time!"
From now on, I won't lack money, but Junior Brother Qianhe's demon core is even more valuable. Speaking of which, Junior Brother Qianhe, you are now the richest among us!
at the same time……"

Seemingly realizing something, Si Mu decisively shut his mouth.

He wanted to say that Zhong Bai was also the strongest among them, but that would expose Zhong Bai's situation. There were some things that Si Mu could say, and some things that Si Mu could not say. At least regarding Zhong Bai's situation, his master, Chang Sheng Zhenren, had clearly told him not to talk about it carelessly!
Zhong Bai smiled and said, "Senior Brother Simu is joking. As long as the gold and silver in the mortal world can meet my daily needs, that's enough for me."

Then, Zhong Bai changed the subject.

"Senior Brother Four Eyes, it seems that Senior Brother Lin did not choose to invite Senior Brother Shi Jian, the sect leader's personal disciple, this time."

"Harmful!"

Si Mu couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Why call that guy Shi Jian? He's so cold and aloof, always acting like he's the most important person in the world. It's just annoying. So what if he's a little more powerful?"

I really don't understand..."

Zhong Bai seemed to be deep in thought. Although Shi Jian was indeed somewhat unlikable and easily offended people with his words, he couldn't be considered a bad person at the moment.

"By the way, I heard that Shi Jian recently broke through his bottleneck and entered the fifth level of Qi Refining after coming down the mountain."

If we were to actually invite him over, wouldn't we have to act like we look down on everyone?
"Well, I don't know the specifics either, and Senior Brother Lin didn't say either. We'll just have to leave it to fate."

Zhong Bai felt the same way about Si Mu's indifferent attitude. They were fellow disciples, so they could get along if they wanted and leave if they didn't. Who would want to be humiliated?
Just as Zhong Bai and Simu were having a pleasant conversation, a loud knocking sound suddenly rang out outside the mortuary!
Is Junior Brother Lin here?

Upon hearing this thunderous question, the four eyes, which had been smiling and sharing amusing anecdotes, suddenly stopped.

"broken!
"Junior Brother Qianhe, Shi Jian has arrived!"

Zhong Bai could still recognize Shi Jian's voice, and sure enough, the moment Wen Cai opened the courtyard gate, Shi Jian appeared, dressed in a yin-yang Taoist robe, with his long hair tied up in a crown and holding a whisk. Even from a distance, Zhong Bai could sense the confidence between his brows.

"you are?"

Wen Cai was a little confused. Hadn't everything that was supposed to come already arrived?
His master said that only three people would arrive, but the person in front of him clearly knew his master.

Wen Cai was still in a daze, while Shi Jian frowned slightly.

"This humble Taoist priest is Shi Jian. Is your master Lin Fengjiao?"

"That's right, you know my master?"

Wen Cai asked a silly question.

"I am your master's senior brother!"

Boom! When the words "Senior Brother" were uttered, Wen Cai was completely disoriented; he had never heard his master mention it before...

Waaaaah, around 22,000 words in seven chapters, I'm completely out of steam. Tomorrow I'll probably update around midnight again, maybe four chapters for 12,000 words? Or five chapters for 15,000 words? Hehe, I don't know either. Your subscriptions and monthly tickets are my inexhaustible motivation to keep updating!

Thank you so much to all my readers for your subscriptions and monthly votes!
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(End of this chapter)