This celestial master cultivates both physical and magical arts; why did you provoke him?

That evening, at Qingheju Restaurant.

Xia En sat at the table with an account book open in front of him.

Fang Zijian leaned over for a look, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

The ledger is filled with detailed records of every single income transaction:

Money is plentiful, two million;

Cousin Liu Ruyan, 100,000;

Su Wanqing, 50,000 (Liu Ruyan paid for it, and Su Wanqing paid it back later);

The special funding applied for by Chen Guodong for the western suburban cemetery is 500,000 yuan.

The Qingshan Lake Monster, the scenic area management office, 300,000 yuan;

At the East Suburbs Chemical Plant, Chen Guodong applied for special funding again, this time for 800,000 yuan.

The eerie atmosphere in the wells of the old town; the street office; 80,000;

The ghouls on the back hill of Jiangzhou University, the school's security department, 30,000.

There were dozens more, big and small, and when Fang Zijian roughly calculated it, he gasped in shock.

"Five million three hundred and seventy thousand?"

Xia En nodded.

"Just these two months?"

"Um."

Fang Zijian felt his understanding of the world had been completely shattered once again. "You... how did you do that?"

"What? How did you do that?"

"So many jobs! How do you manage to get so many jobs?"

Xia En glanced at him. "That's what you call reputation."

Fang Zijian was stunned. Reputation?

A Taoist priest who catches ghosts relies on his reputation to get business.

This sounds a lot like... opening a shop?

"Can you calculate for me how much it will cost in total for these two months?" Shane asked.

Fang Zijian picked up the calculator and started pressing the keys rapidly.

"Five million three hundred and seventy thousand. After deducting costs such as talisman paper, cinnabar, transportation expenses, rent for Qingheju Restaurant, and compensation to Chen Guodong for wall repairs, the net profit is approximately five million."

Xia En nodded in satisfaction and wrote a line in the ledger:

This month's income: 5.37 million.

This month's expenses: 370,000.

The balance is five million yuan.

Ugh! That's too little! I've lost so much money this month!

Then he wrote another line: "A total of twelve million has been turned over to the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Fang Zijian was stunned when he saw this line of text.

"You...you handed over all the money to the Celestial Master's Mansion?"

"Um."

Xia En closed the ledger. "I am a member of the Celestial Master's Mansion, so of course I have to hand over the money I earn."

"all?"

"Keep a portion for yourself, and hand over the majority."

Xia En said, "The Celestial Master's Mansion needs maintenance, repairs, incense, candles, and paper money; it also needs to support the old Taoist priests. All of these things cost money."

Fang Zijian fell silent.

Looking at Xia En, he suddenly realized that this person was much more complex than he had imagined.

He's usually carefree and irresponsible, always asking for more money, and seems incredibly greedy.

But he gave most of his earnings to the Celestial Master's Mansion.

"What are you after?"

He couldn't help but ask.

Xia En thought for a moment and said, "Just to put my mind at ease."

"Feeling at ease?"

"The Celestial Master's Mansion raised me, and I must repay them."

Xia En stood up, put the ledger away, and said, "It's that simple."

As Fang Zijian watched his retreating figure, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

This person, while saying "Remember to pay," was thinking about the Taoist temple on Longhu Mountain, and the old Taoist priests and masters who raised him.

The next day, at the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain.

Zhang Jingxuan sat on the grand chair in the back hall, with the account book and the transfer voucher for ten million yuan sent back by Xia En spread out in front of her.

He stared at the numbers and remained silent for a long time.

Senior Brother Zhang Jingqing stood to the side, peeked out, and his eyes widened.

"Ten million? In just these two months?"

"Um."

Zhang Jingqing swallowed.

"Junior brother...is he cheating?"

Zhang Jingxuan remained silent.

He looked at the line in the ledger: "A total of twelve million has been turned over to the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Suddenly he laughed.

"This kid," he shook his head, "makes more money than I imagined."

Zhang Jingqing sighed from the side. "Master, do you remember the financial situation of our Celestial Master's Mansion last year?"

Zhang Jingxuan's smile froze.

Of course he remembers.

Last year, the Celestial Master's Mansion had less than 500,000 yuan left in its accounts, not even enough to repair the leaky roof.

The mountain gate was leaning, so they propped it up with wood.

The pillars in the main hall were eaten by termites, and there was no money to replace them;

They even had to be careful with the money they spent on incense and candles.

He paid for the medical expenses of those old Taoist priests out of his own pocket.

At that time, he wondered if the Celestial Master's Mansion, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, would have failed in his generation.

Then Shane went down the mountain.

Two months, twelve million.

This amount is enough for the Celestial Master's Mansion to live comfortably for three years.

"Master,"

Zhang Jingqing suddenly said, "Isn't my junior brother... pushing himself too hard?"

Zhang Jingxuan looked at him.

"He took on over thirty orders in two months, running around almost every day. Last time he came back, his hands were wrapped in bandages, and he was so exhausted that he couldn't even draw talismans. He..." Zhang Jingqing paused, "Was he pushing himself too hard?"

Zhang Jingxuan remained silent for a long time.

Then he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Feed? Master?"

Xia En's voice came from the other end of the phone, slightly out of breath.

"What are you doing?"

"Just finished one case. Something else happened in the old town. An evil spirit possessed an old building, and I just used lightning magic to blast it out."

Zhang Jingxuan paused for a moment. "How many orders have you taken recently?"

"It's alright, one or two orders a day."

"Is the injury on your hand healed?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "Okay."

"That's a lie."

Zhang Jingxuan's voice suddenly turned stern, "You've never been able to lie since you were little. Your voice changes whenever you lie."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Shane,"

Zhang Jingxuan's voice softened, "The Celestial Master's Mansion isn't short of money. You don't need to work so hard."

"Master, I know."

"You knew that, yet you still worked so hard?"

"Because it's not just about money."

Xia En's voice was calm. "Those things are harming people. If I don't go, people will get hurt, people will die. Since I have the ability, I can't just stand by and do nothing."

Zhang Jingxuan's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

He wanted to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"Master, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Xia En's voice returned to its usual nonchalant tone, "Besides, who would complain about having too much money? With the economy downturn, money is hard to earn, and our Celestial Master's Mansion has to keep up with the times."

Zhang Jingxuan was amused by his antics. "Stop talking nonsense."

"I'm not kidding, I'm serious. Master, I've calculated it. If we maintain the current order volume, we can generate around 30 million in revenue for the Celestial Master's Mansion this year."

"That's enough to renovate the main hall and rebuild the mountain gate. The training ground on the back mountain also needs repairing; the ground is cracked, making it easy for the junior brothers to get injured while practicing."

Zhang Jingxuan fell silent.

He suddenly realized that this little apprentice was more sensible than he had imagined.

"Alright," he said, "take care of yourself."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jingxuan sat in the armchair and looked out the window at Longhu Mountain.

The mountain is still the same mountain, the Taoist temple is still the same Taoist temple, but everything is slowly getting better.

Because of that little apprentice.

"Master,"

Zhang Jingqing whispered from the side, "Junior Brother... he's the top salesman in the Celestial Master's Mansion now, right?"

Zhang Jingxuan paused for a moment, then smiled.

Top seller?

Using this word to describe a Taoist priest sounds incredibly awkward.

Indeed, in the hundreds of years since the Celestial Master's Mansion was established, no Celestial Master has ever been able to make as much money as Xia En.

"I guess so," he said.

"Shouldn't we give him an award for our Celestial Master's Mansion's annual performance review?"

Zhang Jingxuan glanced at him. "What kind of award?"

"Best Performance Award?"

Zhang Jingxuan's lips twitched. "We are a Taoist temple, not a company."

"How about we give out... a 'Great Merit Award'?"

Zhang Jingxuan thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Okay, prepare an award certificate for him."

Zhang Jingqing's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"real."

"Then what should I write?"

Zhang Jingxuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's write it as—The top seller in the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Zhang Jingqing was stunned. "Master, are you serious?"

Zhang Jingxuan didn't answer, but just smiled, stood up, and walked towards the door.

He stopped at the door and looked back at Zhang Jingqing.

"Your junior brother is not only the top salesman in the Celestial Master's Mansion."

He said, "He is the most outstanding Celestial Master in the Celestial Master's Mansion in hundreds of years."

He walked out of the back hall, leaving Zhang Jingqing standing there alone, clutching the blank certificate in her hand, speechless for a long time.

A few days later, at Qingheju.

Fang Zijian was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Xia En asked.

"Look," Fang Zijian said, handing over his phone.

There is a photograph on the screen.

At the entrance of the main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain, a red banner hangs with several large characters written on it:

"Warmly congratulate our Master Xia En on winning the title of annual sales champion."

The comments section has exploded.

"Top Salesperson? The Celestial Master's Mansion has a top salesperson? What do they sell? Talismans?"

"It's not about selling talismans, it's about exorcising ghosts. Master Xia En took on more than 30 cases in two months, generating ten million in revenue."

"Ten million?! Ghost hunting is that profitable?!"

"It's not ghost-catching that makes money, it's Xia En who makes money. Other exorcists earn a few thousand yuan per ghost-catching job. Xia En earns hundreds of thousands of yuan per job. Because only he can handle those big guys."

"Holy crap... this is the top figure in the Celestial Master world!"

"It seems that the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain will have to rely on Xia En to support it all."

Xia En stared at the banner in silence for a long time. Then he handed the phone back to Fang Zijian. "What's my master up to?"

"Are you unhappy?"

"It's not that I'm unhappy."

Xia En rubbed his temples. "I just feel... a little embarrassed."

Fang Zijian burst into laughter.

Liu Ruyan laughed so hard she almost fell over. "Your master is so funny."

Xia En sighed, lay back in the wicker chair, and looked at the sky. "Let him be."

He closed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. .

That night, Shane had a dream.

In his dream, he returned to Longhu Mountain, stood at the entrance of the main hall, and looked at the banner.

"Warmly congratulate our Master Xia En on winning the title of annual sales champion."

He felt ashamed and wanted to take the banner down.

Zhang Jingxuan's voice came from behind. "Don't take it off."

Xia En turned around and saw his master standing at the entrance of the hall, smiling at him.

"Master, this is so embarrassing."

"What's so embarrassing about it?"

Zhang Jingxuan walked over and stood beside him, looking at the banner. "Do you know when the Celestial Master's Mansion was last this glorious?"

Xia En shook his head.

Thirty years ago.

Zhang Jingxuan said, "When your grandmaster was still alive, the Celestial Master's Mansion was very prosperous, with many disciples, and people from all around came to offer incense. After your grandmaster passed away, the Celestial Master's Mansion gradually declined."

He looked at Xia En, his eyes holding something indescribable.

"After you came, everything changed. You took the Celestial Master's Mansion out into the world and let people know that there is still a Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain, and a Celestial Master who can fight."

Xia En didn't say anything.

"This banner isn't meant to embarrass you."

Zhang Jingxuan patted his shoulder, "It's to make you proud."

Xia En woke up. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

The moonlight outside the window was very bright, shining on the floor and making it appear silvery white.

He turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

The moonlight outside the window was very bright, shining on the floor and making it appear silvery white.

He turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

"My master is..." he said sullenly, "really."

But the corners of his mouth were turned up really high.

The next morning, Xia En received a WeChat message.

It was posted by Zhang Jingxuan, and it only contained one sentence: "The annual goal for the Celestial Master's Mansion this year is 30 million. Keep it up."

Xia En stared at the message for a long time, then replied with a single word: "Oh."

He tossed his phone onto the bed, turned over, and went back to sleep. Fang Zijian poked his head out from outside the door. "Xia En, business's in! Chen Guodong called to say there's trouble again in the east!!!"

"Let him wait."

"I'm sleeping," came a muffled voice from under the covers.

"But……?"

"Let him pay more."

Fang Zijian was both amused and exasperated.

He closed the door, stood in the hallway, and took out his phone to reply to Chen Guodong's message.

"Shane said it would cost more."

Chen Guodong replied instantly: "How much more?"

Fang Zijian thought for a moment and replied with a number: "Five hundred thousand."

"Okay! Deal."

Fang Zijian looked at the deal.

Suddenly, I realized that Xia En truly deserved the title of "Top Salesperson of the Celestial Master's Mansion".

Wow! This young Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain has achieved tens of millions in sales!

…………

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