My path to immortality was smooth sailing.

"Manager Xie is here, everyone make way!"

The crowd automatically parted to make way for him, and then Wei Jing saw a burly, pot-bellied man whose size was frightening.

It seems this is the Manager Xie that everyone has been talking about.

"What's going on? Who's causing trouble?"

"You dare cause trouble on my Qingfu Sect's territory? You're tired of living!" The fat steward squinted his small eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Wei Santong, Bai Tao, and the small vendor.

Yue Shi Market is a melting pot of all sorts of people, and outside the market lies a vast settlement for independent cultivators and ordinary people.

The Qingfu Sect will naturally arrange for people to keep a close watch on the market and prevent any trouble from happening.

However, as long as it doesn't cause any public outrage, the Qingfu Sect generally doesn't bother with it.

Wherever there are people, there will be a social dynamic, and the concept of human relationships and conflicts will never be outdated.

Where there are interests, there will be disputes and all sorts of intrigue.

"Boss Xie, you've finally arrived! You have to stand up for me!" The vendor immediately moved closer, a hint of joy flashing across his face.

Then he immediately picked up the bracelet from the stall and cried out:

"This is a family heirloom bracelet. I would not have put it out for sale if my nephews and nieces were not trying to become outer disciples of the Qingfu Sect."

"I never expected that this old man would break it so soon after I took it out."

"Oh my! My family heirloom bracelet is just one step away from becoming a true spiritual artifact."

Wei Santong's face was grim. He immediately bowed to Steward Xie and said:

"Please understand, Steward, our cultivation levels are low. How could we possibly have broken this precious bracelet, which was just a hair's breadth away from becoming a spiritual artifact, with such a light bump? This is completely unreasonable."

"In my opinion, this scoundrel is clearly trying to extort money from us."

Bai Tao looked bewildered, then nodded to himself, "Your Excellency is wise!"

At this moment, the vendor almost jumped up, as if he had been greatly wronged.

"Nonsense! I, Lin San, swear to God, this bracelet was perfectly fine this morning. It was the two of you who broke it."

"Gentlemen, please judge for yourselves. I, Lin San, have been in the market for many years and have always operated with integrity, earning an excellent reputation."

Upon hearing this, everyone around him tacitly took two steps back and remained silent.

Wei Jing raised an eyebrow, pulled over someone next to him, and asked:

"Why aren't you all testifying for him? Why are you all backing down instead!"

The man glanced at Lin San and Manager Xie in the middle of the arena, then leaned close to Wei Jing's ear and whispered:

"This Lin San is a repeat offender. Over the years, he has cheated at least eighty or ninety people, if not a hundred..."

Manager Xie patted his large belly, picked up two fragments from Lin San's hand, looked at them pretending to examine them, and then his expression turned cold.

He stared coldly at Xie Wei Santong and Bai Tao.

"It seems the matter is clear now. You two damaged the stall owner's goods, so there's no question about it; you'll have to pay for it at the original price!"

"Lin San, how much is your family heirloom bracelet worth?"

Lin San was overjoyed, but he forced himself to remain calm and suppressed the joy on his face.

"Reporting back to Steward Xie, my family's heirloom bracelet has the ability to stabilize the wind and break formations. It is only a step away from being a spiritual artifact and is worth two hundred spirit stones."

"What?" Wei Santong's face turned pale, and his voice became hoarse.

"It's over, it's over." Bai Tao paced anxiously in circles, muttering to himself.

"But it seems you two old guys don't have the money to pay me back. I'll give you a discount and just pay me 199 spirit stones."

"You, you've gone too far!" Wei Santong was furious and immediately pulled out his waist token.

"Manager Xie, we are both disciples of the Qingfu Sect. As fellow disciples, we hope you will handle this matter impartially."

"Neither of us acknowledges this matter. Even if you take it to the Enforcement Hall, this is still my version of events," Wei Santong said defiantly, his head held high and neck stiff.

One hundred spirit stones—he couldn't earn that many spirit stones even after two years of doing odd jobs.

"No, that's right, we disagree, we're going to appeal to the Enforcement Hall." Although Bai Tao was thin, he was surprisingly tough at this moment.

Upon seeing this, Wei Jing smiled slightly.

Manager Xie and Lin San exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that these two old men were still tough nuts to crack.

"Heh, so you two are saying you disagree with my verdict?"

"Good, it just so happens that one of my clan brothers is a steward of the Law Enforcement Hall. I will send word to him to come right away."

"However..." Steward Xie looked at the two of them with a sinister gaze.

Wei Santong felt a chill run through his body.

"However, as disciples of the Qingfu Sect, you two have disrupted the rules of the market, acted unreasonably, and refused to obey the judgment of the authorities. I am gentle by nature, but my cousin is not so lenient. I'm afraid you will both be expelled from the Qingfu Sect in the end."

"Heh, without your identities from the Qingfu Sect, you two old geezers would be left to rot in the wilderness and no one would even give you a second glance."

"Have you thought this through?"

"That's all I have to say." Steward Xie turned his head away, refusing to look at the two of them.

"Old Wei, let it go!" Bai Tao said in a low voice, tugging at Wei Santong's sleeve.

Wei Santong gritted his teeth, knowing full well that he had been set up, but there was nothing he could do.

The onlookers around also shook their heads.

Sigh! They've seen this kind of thing too many times. Who would stand up for two lowly handymen disciples?

"Alright, alright, seeing how pitiful you two are, give me a hundred spirit stones and let's call it even!" Lin San said, reducing the amount by a hundred spirit stones.

This directly broke down Wei Santong's psychological defenses.

Forget it! I'll just accept it and consider it a loss to avoid further trouble!

At worst, I'll work for free for two years. It's just as good as offending a manager and a steward, even though his words about being expelled from the Qingfu Sect and leaving his body to rot in the wilderness are mostly empty boasts.

Offending a manager is a very real offense.

Wei Santong sighed and took out all the spirit stones he had. Combined with Bai Tao's spirit stones, they only amounted to thirty-three spirit stones, which was still far from enough.

"Sir, please be lenient and give us two days to raise the money!" Bai Tao pleaded in a humble voice.

Manager Xie squinted and waved his hand generously, agreeing without hesitation.

Just then, a tall young man stepped out from the crowd and said:

"There's no need for a two-day grace period. I'll make up for the spirit stones they're missing."

"Xiao Jing!" Wei Santong looked at the boy in front of him in surprise. He was not much older than his grandson. He did not expect Wei Jing to appear here.

Bai Tao was also somewhat stunned. After not seeing her for several months, Xiao Jing seemed to have gained an invisible aura.

"Kid, who are you?" Lin San rolled up his sleeves and swaggered over to Wei Jing.

Manager Xie watched coldly from the side.

"Xiao Jing, what nonsense are you talking about? Get out of here! This isn't the place to play the hero!" Wei Santong was very anxious, thinking that Wei Jing was just hot-blooded and wanted to stand up for the two of them.

Wei Jing gave him a reassuring look, then took out his waist token and tossed it to Lin San.

"I told you I'd make up for the spirit stones they're missing, but I didn't bring any with me today. Take my token and find me at Little Bamboo Peak!"

Lin San was in a daze; he felt as if the waist token in his hand weighed more than a thousand pounds.

The waist tag was clearly engraved with the four large characters "Inner Gate Guard Jing".

The sky has fallen!

Manager Xie, who had been squinting, suddenly widened his eyes and snatched the waist token from Lin San's hand, then obsequiously handed it back to Wei Jing with both hands.

"It's a misunderstanding, Senior Brother Wei, it's all a misunderstanding."

"Lin San, you beast, get over here and apologize right now!"

"You dare to frame my Qingfu Sect disciple, and you almost fooled me! You deserve to die!"

Lin San felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his whole body trembled.