I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Zheng Yifei thought about it all night but couldn't come up with a way to persuade his father to move.

As dawn broke, he came up with seven or eight excuses, but he rejected them all.

When the gate was knocked on, Zheng Yifei was squatting by the spring washing his face.

Zhao Ling'er stood outside the door, next to a middle-aged man in his early thirties. The man wore a dark blue robe, had a kind face, a short beard, and his features bore a six or seven-point resemblance to Zhao Ling'er.

"Brother Zheng, this is my father."

Zhao Ling'er said in a low voice.

Zhao Yuan cupped his hands to Zheng Yifei, adopting a very humble posture: "Young Brother Zheng, I am Zhao Yuan. Wen Yuan and Ling'er are very grateful for your care. The Zhao family will remember this kindness."

Zheng Yifei wiped the water off his face: "Uncle Zhao, you're too kind. Ling'er passed the exam to become a first-level alchemist through her own abilities."

Zhao Yuan shook his head: "I know everything about what happened in Su Family Market. Without your help in saving my good-for-nothing brother, and without the two hundred spirit stones you provided, Ling'er wouldn't even have a foothold in Su Family Market, let alone be able to take the alchemist exam."

He took out a neatly folded contract from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

"This is the share deed for Zhao's Restaurant in Heishanfang Market. It's a 20% dry share, and Zheng Dashan's name is on it."

Zheng Yifei did not answer.

Zhao Yuan placed the contract on the stone table: "Brother Zheng, don't misunderstand, this is not about repaying a debt of gratitude, but about cooperation."

Ling'er is going to Qingyun Sect with you soon. Although I am only a branch of the Zhao family in Heishan Market, the restaurant business has always been good. Your parents will move into the market and help out at the restaurant. They will have work to do and income, not just freeloading.

"Ling'er is under your care at the Qingyun Sect, and I'll take care of your family in the Black Mountain Market. Our two families can rely on each other."

Zheng Yifei glanced at Zhao Yuan.

These words were perfectly worded. They didn't mention gratitude, only the exchange of benefits, giving Zheng Dashan ample face—it wasn't charity, but rather work for money.

Zhao Ling'er secretly watched Zheng Yifei's expression from the side, and her fingers began to twist her cuffs again.

"Uncle Zhao, wait for me."

Zheng Yifei turned and went into the house.

Zheng Dashan had already gotten up and was sitting on the edge of the bed putting on his shoes.

"Father, someone is looking for you outside."

"Who?"

"A member of the Zhao family, Ling'er's father."

Zheng Dashan followed him out the door and was stunned when he saw Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan stepped forward, bowed, and repeated his purpose, his words even more polite than when he spoke to Zheng Yifei.

After listening, Zheng Dashan remained silent for a long time.

He picked up the contract on the stone table and read it over and over again.

"What kind of work do you do at the restaurant?"

Zheng Dashan asked.

"Purchase spirit rice and manage the kitchen."

Zhao Yuan answered readily, "Brother, you've been growing spirit rice your whole life, so you know the market best. I'll leave the purchase of spirit rice to you. It'll cost you ten spirit stones a month, and meals are included. My sister-in-law can also help with the cooking; she'll get five spirit stones a month."

Fifteen spirit stones a month is much more profitable than cultivating three acres of spirit fields.

Moreover, they get paid for doing the work, not for taking their son for free.

Zheng Dashan tightened his grip on the contract and looked at Zheng Yifei.

Zheng Yifei didn't say anything, he just leaned against the door frame with a calm expression.

"OK."

Zheng Dashan folded the contract and put it in his pocket.

It was just one word, but Zheng Yifei understood the weight behind it. The old man had been stubborn his whole life, and this was the limit he could go to.

That morning, Zheng Yifei, with three hundred spirit stones and introduced by Zhao Yuan, bought a two-courtyard brick house on South Street of Heishanfang Market.

The yard wasn't big, but it was sturdy. There was a locust tree in the front yard and a shallow well in the back yard, making it more than ten times better than the mud-brick houses in the shantytown.

When Wang carried her bedding into the new courtyard, tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away, and they fell again and again. She never imagined she would live in such a nice house in her lifetime.

Zheng Yan and Zheng Chongtian ran all over the yard, as excited as two rabbits released from their cage.

Zheng Dashan stood at the gate of the courtyard without saying a word, but he reached out and touched the bricks on the door frame for a long time.

The move wasn't finished until the afternoon.

Zheng Yifei took out another hundred spirit stones, and this time Zheng Dashan did not refuse.

In the evening, Zheng Yifei changed into some old clothes, called Zhang Biao, and went out.

"Where to?"

Zhang Biao asked.

"Find someone."

Zhao Family Gambling House in Heishanfang Market.

As Zheng Yifei walked in, he saw Haozi sitting at the door.

Mouse lifted his eyelids and saw two unfamiliar faces. His professional instincts kicked in, and he immediately put on a smile: "Gentlemen, is this your first time here? Let me introduce you—"

He was halfway through his sentence when he finally saw Zheng Yifei's face clearly.

The straw skewer fell out of his mouth.

"Zheng... Zheng Yifei?"

"Good memory, Brother Mouse."

The mouse's eyes darted around twice, then it chuckled dryly, "Yifei, long time no see! You've struck it rich?"

He glanced at Zheng Yifei's clothes and Zhang Biao behind him, and instinctively shrank back half an inch.

"Hey, Mouse, wanna go outside and chat for a bit?"

Mouse scratched his head: "Let's not talk anymore. I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow."

"Should I do it here?"

Zhang Biao's aura, emanating from his ninth-level Qi Refining stage, startled everyone in the casino.

The three patriarchs of the Zhao, Wang, and Liu families are the most powerful cultivators in the entire market, and they are all at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Zhang Biao is considered a top expert here. If he wants to make a move, who would dare to stop him?

"Yifei, I was confused before."

Zheng Yifei raised his hand.

The mouse's words were stuck in its throat.

"Come out with me."

Zheng Yifei's voice wasn't loud, but the gambling den suddenly fell silent, and several gamblers who were placing bets turned to look at him in unison.

Cold sweat beaded on the rat's forehead, and he had no choice but to follow them out of the gambling den.

The three arrived at the spirit field outside the market.

Zhang Biao stepped forward and placed one hand on Haozi's shoulder.

With the force of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, the rat's shoulder bone made a crisp "crack" sound.

"ah--"

The mouse screamed and was forced to its knees.

Zheng Yifei stood up and looked down at him.

"Your hands are no longer allowed to touch the gambling table."

Zhang Biao raised his hunting knife and slammed the back of the blade hard into Haozi's right wrist.

The sound of bone cracking was clearly audible.

The mouse let out a miserable howl, its left hand instinctively reaching out to protect its right.

The back of the knife struck again, shattering his left wrist as well.

The mouse curled up on the ground, its wrists bent at an abnormal angle, tears and snot streaming down its face.

Zheng Yifei squatted down, pulled the money bag from the rat's waist, poured it out and counted it. There were dozens of spirit coins, but not a single spirit stone.

"They've withdrawn."

Zheng Yifei did not make another move.

Zhang Biao flicked the blood off his knife: "Wouldn't it be cleaner to just cripple this kind of trash's cultivation?"

"Once his cultivation is destroyed, he's a useless person, and no one will care if he dies."

Zheng Yifei didn't turn his head: "He can still live with a broken hand, but he'll never be able to lead people into gambling dens again. Every time he sees his wrist, he'll remember this day."

Zhang Biao smacked his lips and said nothing more.

The next morning, Zheng Yifei went to the escort agency.

Zhou, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was instructing his bodyguards in boxing in the backyard when he saw Zheng Yifei enter. He was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter and slapped Zheng on the shoulder, almost knocking him over.

"You little brat, you've reached the seventh level of Qi Refining? Impressive!"

The two sat down in the small hall of the escort agency. Zheng Yifei told Zhang Biao to wait outside and personally poured a bowl of wine for Chief Escort Zhou.

"Uncle Zhou, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow to go to the Qingyun Sect."

Chief镖师 Zhou picked up his wine bowl, but didn't drink. He looked at him for a while and asked, "Where are your parents?"

"We're all settled in. We've moved into the market town. The Zhao family's restaurant gave us a 20% share, so we have something to do and money to earn."

Chief镖师 Zhou nodded: "Is that girl from the Zhao family going with you?"

"Yes, she's following the path of the Pill Hall."

"And what about your home area...?"

"That's why I came to find Uncle Zhou."

Zheng Yifei put down the wine pot and said seriously, "If anything happens at home while I'm away, please ask Uncle Zhou for help. Spirit stones are no problem; I'll have them sent back regularly."

Chief镖周 took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and said, "I agree to this."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou."

"Stop talking nonsense and eat."

Zhou Biao yelled into the kitchen, "Kill the chicken! We'll have a few more drinks with Xiao Zheng today!"

At the dinner table, Zhou Dazhuang drank two extra bowls of wine and became more talkative.

"Yifei, Qingyun Sect is not like Black Mountain Market. That place is very murky. There are many factions within the sect. Outer disciples are just the lowest of the low. Those with backgrounds can easily manipulate you, while those without will fight you to the death for a single spirit stone."

Zheng Yifei poured him more wine: "Did Uncle Zhou go?"

"I've never been there, but I've been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for twenty years and have seen quite a few people who came from the Qingyun Sect."

Zhou, the head镖师, put down his wine bowl, a serious look flashing in his cloudy eyes: "Those people will turn their backs on their own family for cultivation resources, and will use any underhanded means. So the sect is not paradise, you have to be mentally prepared."

Zheng Yifei wholeheartedly agreed. Wherever there are people, there is a world of martial arts. Moreover, in this lawless world of cultivation, the law of the jungle is the basic rule, and he had long since adapted to it.