Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

"...Yes, I did it."

Lei Yuan laughed in anger: "Oh, you burned someone's boat, and you think you're in the right?"

The man lowered his head and remained silent.

Ding Lai wasn't in a hurry. She looked at him quietly for two seconds before asking again:

"There has to be a reason for burning the ships, right? We can't just do it for no reason."

She speaks softly and steadily, not fiercely, but her voice is so gentle that it's impossible to take it lying down.

The man glanced at her, his eyes flickering between light and shadow.

Lei Yuan was about to press him further when Ding Lai gently shook her head, telling him not to scare him.

The man stared at the ground for a long time before finally speaking, his voice hoarse as sandpaper scraping against wood:

"Because...those five boats were carrying human traffickers."

This person is named Jin Yan, and he follows the path of metal-based cultivation.

He himself said that he was the one who first set up the framework and established the rules for the spiritual stone power system on Huang Rujiao's ship.

But the initial cooperation agreement was clearly written down in black and white:

Huang Rujiao and his group used this technology to run their business, and they had to give Jin Deng spirit stones according to a certain ratio. To put it bluntly, it was a technology dividend.

Without the foundation laid by Jin Han, the five spirit stone ships of "947" would never have been able to launch.

Surprisingly, things were quite well-behaved at the beginning:

Huang Rujiao always delivered the spirit stones on time, without missing a single one.

Just before the Lunar New Year, someone suddenly sent word that "the profit-sharing rules are abolished."

Jin Yao was furious upon hearing this and immediately set his sights on Huang Rujiao's fleet.

Huang Rujiao's reason was that "the boats can't be rented out, and we're losing money, so we can't continue operating."

But then he received a big order, and before he even started working on it, he had already collected almost all the deposits!

Zhao Jinxuan quickly calculated: even if he only earns half of what he earns on this trip, he will still be guaranteed three thousand spirit stones.

In reality, Huang Rujiao and his colleagues should be incredibly grateful if they could earn that much in a year!

In short, Jin Yao felt she had been made a fool of and was furious, so she wanted to get her revenge.

After hearing this, Ding Lai and Lei Yuan looked at each other, their lips twitching.

Just then, Liu Dong, Wei Duo, Qiao Yuanmu, Zhang Yukuo, Wang Yonggui, and Ting'er all arrived.

After hearing the whole story, they all frowned.

"So they weren't here for us, they were just fighting amongst themselves?"

Vido waved her hand dismissively: "I really thought there were hostile forces trying to cut off our route to the sea!"

"Since it's just a private matter, let's take Jin Tang to Captain Huang and let them talk things out face to face!"

"We can't control what they say, but there's no room for negotiation about burning the ship. Liu Dong just said that the arsonists must be arrested."

Upon hearing this, Jin Ying's face turned deathly pale: "Even if you chop me up, don't send me to Huang Rujiao!"

"He'll definitely humiliate me in public, trample on me, and make me feel ashamed! I'd rather just kill myself!"

The voice just fell.

"Snapped!"

Ting'er darted forward and with a crisp backhand strike, the palm wind slammed directly into the back of his neck!

No one had time to react!

Jin Yue had just uttered a "no" when her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the spot.

Qiao Yuanmu glanced at him and frowned: "Ting'er, you...you really killed him?"

The boatman shook his wrist and grinned.

"Don't worry, I know my limits. I just made her dizzy, so she won't break any bones or tendons."

"Isn't this more convenient? We can carry him to Captain Huang, saving him from crying and wailing and wasting time."

"As for how things will end after the meeting? That's not my problem~"

Liu Dong sighed, rubbing his forehead: "Although it's a bit reckless, this method is indeed less troublesome..."

"Lei Yuan, Wang Yonggui, lift him up, we're going to find Captain Huang!"

If someone is dizzy, carrying them away is naturally not difficult.

But as soon as he turned to leave, a large group of villagers swarmed around him, chattering and blocking his way:

"Immortals, wait! Don't take the golden dishes with you!"

"He's our village's savior! Without him, we would all have starved to death long ago!"

Liu Dong and Ding Lai were stunned, completely unexpected.

Ding Lai quickly asked, "Isn't he just a Taoist practitioner? What exactly did he do?"

The villagers, one after another, revealed everything that had happened in the past two years.

At that time, there was a once-in-a-century flood. The river overflowed its banks, and all the crops were ruined. To make matters worse, it happened for two consecutive years! There was no harvest at all.

"Living off the land and water? If the water floods and half the mountain collapses, where will we find food?"

Each household can only store enough grain to last for six months at most; who can save enough for three years' worth of food?

In those days, farming yielded meager harvests, and when famine struck, the entire village would huddle against the walls, waiting to die.

Without saying a word, Jin Yan took out all the spirit stones she had saved and ran to a town dozens of miles away to exchange them for food.

They managed to pull the entire village back from the brink of death by delivering loads of rice and flour.

So everyone in the village, young and old, insisted that Jin Yan was a living bodhisattva and a savior!

After hearing this, Liu Dong and the others were all stunned.

On one hand, there are the rules: burning a ship means accepting punishment and having to hand it over to Huang Rujiao for a reasoned discussion;

On the other hand, the truth is: this person saved the lives of the entire village and is definitely not a bad person.

Ding Lai pondered for a moment, then leaned closer to Liu Dong and whispered:

"My lord, we still need to take him with us, but we must make it clear to the villagers that we are not arresting him to punish him."

"Let's make this clear: we're only here to get an explanation for Captain Huang. Once this is over, we'll send him back immediately."

Liu Dong nodded and immediately turned to the villagers:

"Don't worry, folks! We have no grudge against Jin Dong and will never harm a hair on his head."

"His relationship with Captain Huang was a business deal, not a blood feud involving murder and arson."

"Once we've talked things out, we'll definitely send him back to your village safe and sound!"

The villagers looked at each other and finally relented and let them pass.

In fact, if Liu Dong and his group really wanted to force their way in, the villagers wouldn't be able to stop them at all.

But these people have a kind heart; they'd rather use their words than bully ordinary people with their abilities.

Seeing that the villagers had made way, the group took off without saying a word and headed straight for Huang Rujiao's fishing village.

They flew past in the blink of an eye;

If you were to walk, it would take most of the day to make the round trip.

When they landed, Huang Rujiao was already standing at the mouth of the bay, looking up expectantly. As soon as he saw them land, he immediately went to greet them.

"Immortals! Have you found out who set the fire?"

Wang Yonggui shoved the gold-plated dish forward: "Look, he's right here. He's the one who burned your boat. Do you recognize him?"

Huang Rujiao stared intently, then froze, "...It's him?!"

Ding Lai calmly replied, "He confessed himself; he set the fire."

"As for why, I think you have some idea in your heart, don't you?"

Huang Rujiao was taken aback, then smiled wryly: "Oh dear... he must think our business is booming, so he's deliberately cutting his share of the profits."

"But what he didn't know was that they hadn't made a single sale that year! If it weren't for the immortals chartering the ship, half a year would have been wasted."

"Your spirit stone ships are so amazing, how come you're worried about not having enough passengers?" someone couldn't help but interject.

Huang Rujiao spread his hands: "You all don't know this, but..."

"It looks glamorous, but it's actually quite rare!"

Liu Dong then interjected, "The reason is simple: ordinary people can't afford spirit stones, let alone maintain a boat."