Dark Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 100 Borrowing Grain

Life in the countryside was peaceful but boring.

Although Shiqiao Village is far from the outer city, it is also far from the Black Mist Zone and is almost unaffected by the Black Tide. There is not much Yin and evil energy in the surrounding space, and large ferocious beasts generally do not appear. It can be said to be quite safe.

But the villagers work from sunrise to sunset, and after nightfall, apart from a few households, there are no lights to be seen.

There is absolutely no entertainment to speak of.

The only things that could bring a little surprise were probably the itinerant peddlers who sold needles, thread, salt, oil, soy sauce, and vinegar.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Qing has been stationed in Shiqiao Village for half a month.

He would go out to patrol once a day, and then go home to cultivate himself in seclusion.

This cycle repeats itself endlessly, making life quite monotonous.

However, Zhang Qing, having lived two lives, does not possess the true spirit of a young man.

He can endure loneliness.

Over time, I've come to realize that this kind of life isn't so bad.

At least at night, there's no need to worry about evil spirits suddenly breaking in; you have to be on guard even when you're sleeping.

To Zhang Qing's surprise, even though he remained steadfast in guarding Shiqiao Village, trouble and disputes still came knocking on his door.

boom! boom! boom!

At noon that day, Zhang Qing had just returned home after completing his inspection and hadn't even had a sip of tea when someone started banging on the gate.

Ok?

Zhang Qing frowned slightly.

The people in Shiqiao Village, including the old village chief, would never be so rude.

When they saw Zhang Qing, they practically wanted to kowtow to him three times and bow nine times.

The person knocking must be an outsider.

Or rather, an unfriendly guest!

After a moment's thought, he went over and opened the courtyard gate.

Two cultivators dressed in gray-blue robes stood prominently in front of the gate, each with a cloud pattern tattooed on their chest.

Zhang Qing asked in a deep voice, "What brings you two fellow Daoists here?"

While asking the questions, he secretly became more vigilant, preparing to strike at any moment.

Although the other party may not be an enemy, it is always better to be safe than sorry, and being cautious is never a bad thing.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burly cultivator asked in a deep voice, "May I ask if you are a fellow Daoist from the Xuanming Lower Academy?"

""

Zhang Qing's eyes flashed: "My name is Zhang Qing."

"It's you, that's all that matters."

The burly cultivator said proudly, "I am Yuan Chongshan, a disciple of the lower academy of the Yunlan Sect. This is my junior brother, Fu Qing. We have something to discuss with you."

He said he wanted to "discuss" it, but he put on an air that Zhang Qing couldn't refuse!

Zhang Qing originally wanted to invite the other party in for a seat, since they were both cultivators and guests, and he couldn't be impolite.

But the other party's attitude made Zhang Qing lose all interest in playing along, and he coldly said, "Just say what you want to say!"

"What kind of attitude is that?"

Fu Qing was young and hot-blooded. When he saw that Zhang Qing was very rude to the two of them, he immediately turned on his temper.

Yuan Chongshan stopped him, then looked at Zhang Qing and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, my junior brother Fu and I are stationed in Xiahe Village. Recently, the harvest season has been tough, and many farmers in the village are short of food. I hope you can lend us some grain temporarily. I would be extremely grateful!"

Borrowing grain?

Zhang Qing suspected there was something wrong with his ears.

He knew about Xiahe Village, which was adjacent to Shiqiao Village and not far from it.

However, Xiahe Village has a much larger population and more farmland than Shiqiao Village, and is relatively more prosperous.

However, Xiahe Village is not a tenant village of Xuanming Lower Courtyard.

It is the territory of the Yunlan Sect's lower academy.

The Yunlan Sect is not some small sect, not comparable to a major immortal sect like the Dongqian Sect, but it is in no way inferior to the Xuanming Palace.

Zhang Qing was told all of this information by Village Chief Fan.

Because there has always been friction between Shiqiao Village and Xiahe Village, over water, land, and people, which once escalated to a point of no return.

According to Village Chief Fan, Shiqiao Village did not suffer any losses.

But they never gained the upper hand.

After all, Xiahe Village has a larger presence, with two cultivators stationed there.

However, the two lower houses later resolved their dispute through consultation and basically went their separate ways.

Zhang Qing never expected that only half a month after he took over the garrison in Shiqiao Village, cultivators from Xiahe Village would come to his door to borrow grain.

It's impossible to say there's nothing fishy about this!

Zhang Qing's suspicions grew, but he remained outwardly calm: "How much do you wish to borrow, fellow Daoist?"

Yuan Chongshan and Fu Qing exchanged a glance, and the latter raised his right hand and spread his five fingers: "Not much, five thousand catties of rice."

Five thousand catties and you still say it's not much?

Zhang Qing laughed in extreme anger.

That's outrageous!

It should be noted that even with years of meticulous cultivation, the fertile fields of Shiqiao Village only yield a little over two hundred jin per mu.

Most importantly, the rice produced must be handed over to the Xuanming Lower Academy in fixed quantities, so unless the year is exceptionally good and there is a bumper harvest, the villagers will not have many kilograms of rice.

However, as resident cultivators, they were entitled to some rice as a benefit.

Yuan Chongshan and Fu Qing couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet they still dared to ask Zhang Qing to borrow five thousand catties of rice.

They're treating him like a complete traitor!

Since the other party was so arrogant, Zhang Qing no longer held back and immediately hardened his expression: "Fellow Daoist, are you joking? This is no joke!"

Yuan Chongshan, seemingly oblivious to his expression, continued, "Is five thousand jin a lot? Fellow Daoist, you're being far too stingy. Are you not going to give my fellow disciples any face?"

Zhang Qing coldly replied, "Your reputation is worth at most five catties of rice!"

"How dare you!"

Fu Qing flew into a rage: "Zhang Qing, don't push your luck!"

"Junior brother!"

Yuan Chongshan raised his hand to block him, his sharp gaze fixed on Zhang Qing: "Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you saying you're not lending it to me?"

Zhang Qing retorted without backing down: "Borrow? Of course I'll lend you five jin! I already said I'd lend you five jin."

"very good!"

Yuan Chongshan gave a cold laugh: "Since that's the case, then forget it. Fellow Daoist Zhang, we'll meet again."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Very decisive and efficient.

Fu Qing glared fiercely at Zhang Qing before leaving with his senior brother.

It's amazing!

As Zhang Qing watched the two cultivators disappear at the intersection, an uncontrollable killing intent surged within him.

If it weren't in the village, in front of his own house, but in the middle of nowhere, he would definitely have taken drastic action and nipped the threat in the bud.

Because Yuan Chongshan and Fu Qing were clearly there to cause trouble.

The so-called "borrowing grain" is just an excuse.

They were certain that Zhang Qing would not agree, and that there would be further targeted actions to follow.

The problem is that Zhang Qing has no idea what kind of schemes or tricks the other party might have, or what they are plotting.

This is very troublesome!

You can't guard against thieves forever; you can only be a thief for a thousand days.

Without any attack from the other side, Zhang Qing cannot ask the Xuanming Lower Academy for help.

What should I do?

A thousand thoughts raced through Zhang Qing's mind in an instant.

He couldn't help but clench his fists.

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