Celestial Official!

An hour later.

Several lines of causal information rippled out like water, and lines of tiny, tadpole-like characters came into view.

Yan Chen sat upright at the desk, glancing at each item one by one.

Finally, my gaze fell upon one line of text that stood out particularly—

This morning at 7:45 AM, Zhao Dengke was about to handle official business at Cui Shu Lou when he suddenly received a verbal message that there was an urgent matter at home and he was required to return home immediately…

After that, there was another long passage of cause and effect information. Yan Chen stared at it intently for about a quarter of an hour before finally letting out a long breath.

With a gentle lift of the sleeve, the information of cause and effect is dispersed.

Yan Chen tapped the table lightly with his fingers, pondered for a moment, and then revealed a smile.

"It went much more smoothly than I expected."

According to the cause-and-effect information, the reason why Zhao Dengke was hurriedly summoned back to the Zhao family was that Zhao Qingyun wanted to entrust him with a task.

Judging from his words, we can draw a general conclusion.

Three days later, a certain supervisor from Danlan Valley will arrive at Xuchun Workshop to oversee the procurement and sale of elixirs and spiritual medicines.

As expected, the Zhao and Huang families were indeed going to take advantage of this opportunity to fish in troubled waters and engage in embezzlement and other corrupt practices.

The reason for consulting with Zhao Dengke was that Zhao and Huang were wary of the mortal disciples of Danlan Valley and worried about unforeseen changes. Therefore, they hoped that Zhao Dengke could use his position to mediate and provide cover for them.

In this way, the ordinary servants of the remaining Zhao and Huang families could take this opportunity to filter out a small number of "good" pills and elixirs and reclassify them as "inferior".

Once loaded onto a carriage and transported outside the market to circulate among the common people, a substantial profit can be made in just one round trip!

"At that time, all the pills and elixirs will be circulating in the outside world. Who can say which is better or worse?"

"And the shopkeeper also has a 'miscellaneous donation' to maintain order, so even if something is discovered later, there's no way to prove it..."

"They've really got a good plan!"

Yan Chen's mind was clear, and he pondered for a moment.

He took out paper and pen and began writing something at his desk.

After a while, he circulated his inner energy to evaporate the ink, put it into an envelope, and carefully kept it close to his body.

He then suddenly stood up, walked out of the council hall, and strolled slowly down the corridor.

It was just past noon, and ordinary disciples were constantly walking through the corridor. When they saw Yan Chen, they all bowed and paid their respects, showing that they were polite and well-mannered.

"Both are mortal laborers, but the work in the Gold Melting Valley is arduous and exhausting, while that in the Crimson Mist Valley is much easier in comparison. The mental states they exhibit are completely different."

Yan Chen nodded in response, while thinking to himself:

"I wonder how Senior Brother Li is doing lately. Once things are settled here, it would be a good time to visit the Li family."

"Among the three major surnames, the Zhao and Huang families are unreliable, but with so many affairs in the market, we have no choice but to place our hopes on the Li family."

Lost in thought, Yan Chen gradually walked to the end of the corridor.

Following the winding wooden stairs, one can vaguely see rows of cabinets below, with jade-carved beams and several mortal disciples standing guard. Occasionally, "free spirits" dressed as martial artists come here to select elixirs or magical artifacts.

They actually got along quite well.

Yan Chen couldn't help but feel a bit of absurdity and amusement.

The Jade Sleeve Sect claims these people are "heretical insects," yet they open places like the Emerald Comb Pavilion to display and sell pills and magical artifacts. It's truly baffling what their intentions are.

Should we suppress "heretical doctrines" or promote them?

He shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the matter any longer.

As Yan Chen suddenly looked up, he saw a figure of a commoner hurriedly climbing the wooden stairs.

The man was rushing upstairs, trying to take two steps at a time. Noticing someone standing at the top of the stairs, he didn't even look to see who it was, but simply said impatiently:

"Make way, make way, don't block the way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man looked at the person in front of him, especially the string of green jade pendants around his waist, and his heart skipped a beat.

After slowly raising his head and clearly seeing the person's appearance, he immediately gave an embarrassed smile, hurriedly bowed, and said respectfully:

"Junior brother Cui Yong greets the shopkeeper."

Yan Chen looked at the person before him, pondered for a moment, and then smiled and shook his head, saying:

"Calling me 'shopkeeper' is too formal; next time, just call me 'senior brother'."

"Yes, Senior Brother Yan!"

Cui Yong felt a surge of joy and couldn't help but feel a little elated.

He looked up at the other person and met their eyes, which were calm and still, yet seemed like a deep, dark pool.

For no apparent reason, a strange emotion arose in my heart, as if a surge of hot blood was rising, and my heart was surging.

All those things I had thought about but never tried in the past; even the lofty ambitions I had made in my heart since joining the Jade Sleeve Sect.

They all uncontrollably surfaced in my mind and wouldn't leave.

"That's right, the reason I joined the Jade Sleeve Sect is not to be some minor manager in this Emerald Comb Pavilion."

"I want to improve myself, I want to attain enlightenment, I want to become a useful person!"

"Third Uncle, please help me!"

Cui Yong's thoughts grew increasingly complex and powerful, almost affecting his mental thinking.

After what seemed like an eternity, he suddenly came to his senses and looked around with a slightly bewildered expression.

Only then did they realize that Senior Brother Yan had already left.

"Huh? What's this?"

He bent down, picked up a letter, and casually opened it.

After reading the above content, I was deeply shocked and it took me a long time to come back to my senses.

A strange, delighted smile immediately spread across his face.

An opportunity to advance your career is here!

……

Danlan Valley, Baicaoyuan.

Cui Yuan, around forty years old, with fair skin and a slightly plump figure, was comfortably reclining in a bamboo rattan chair set up in the courtyard.

A pair of squinting, upturned eyes swept around, taking in all the forms of ordinary laborers.

He especially took special care of several female servants who were particularly beautiful.

A pair of eyes fell on the fair skin at the collar and cuffs of the garment, staring intently as if trying to penetrate it.

But he just stared at it.

Whenever these servants made any move, he would seem guilty and quickly look away.

After a few breaths, he continued watching, repeatedly pulling and tugging at the screen, thoroughly enjoying himself.

It's as if you can gain some advantage by doing this.

This continued until the end of the workday at dusk.

Cui Yuan then put away the rattan chair and leisurely returned to the warm and fragrant house with measured steps.

Sitting on the bed was a middle-aged woman. She was not beautiful, but she had a dignified demeanor and was clearly from a well-educated family.

Upon noticing someone enter the room, he didn't turn around, but simply said irritably:

"You've been coming back so punctually these past few days, haven't you been entangled with those little sluts?"

Cui Yuan chuckled:

"Madam, what are you saying? Even if I had the desire, I wouldn't have the guts!"

The woman turned to look at him, frowning, and said:

"So what have you been busy with these past few days?"

Cui Yuan sat down at the tea table, poured himself a cup of tea, and sighed wistfully:

"I have been a disciple of the Jade Sleeve Sect for over twenty years! I have been stuck at the bottleneck of the second level of Qi Refining for nearly ten years. If I cannot break through this obstacle, Wang Guian of the 'Heroic Talent Academy' at the foot of the mountain will be my future."

"So, I thought I'd make one last effort, so I made a connection with Lü Mao of the Melting Gold Valley, hoping to earn 20,000 magic coins to buy some cultivation supplies."

"Unexpectedly, in the end, for some reason, it just fizzled out."

"I also pin my hopes on my nephew. If he can win Zheng's favor and learn one or two alchemical skills, it can also improve my chances of breaking through."

"But unexpectedly, it also came to nothing."

Cui Yuan remained silent for a moment, then said bitterly:

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue. Wang Gui'an is doing just fine, living a comfortable and carefree life every day!"

Seeing his appearance, the woman took out a torn letter from under the bed and handed it to Cui Yuan.

He sighed helplessly.

"Take a look at the letter from your cheap nephew."

"This is……"

Cui Yuan opened and examined the letter with some skepticism.

After a while, the expression on his face suddenly became fascinating.

"Ha ha!"

……

Before we knew it, three days had passed.

A land-based vessel, laden with elixirs, medicinal pills, and various magical artifacts, is heading down the flat mountain road towards Xuchunfang.