I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

This painting is excellent in both its artistic conception and brushwork, but it remained relatively unknown because the artist was anonymous. He stumbled upon it and bought it from a penniless man. The man said it was a family heirloom passed down through his ancestors, and he would rather die than lose it unless he desperately needed the money.

Now it seems... he really hit the jackpot.

When the young man mentioned the name of the painting, Lei Zhongli could clearly see the joy on his face.

It seems this painting is indeed very important to him.

Or rather, the person who paints is very important to him.

Since that's the case... there's no use for this painting if it stays with him, so it's better to give it away as a favor.

The visitor might be from the imperial family; once this favor is established, any minor troubles in future business dealings will be easily resolved.

"In response to your question, my lord."

Having figured it out, Lei Zhongli no longer hesitated. He cupped his hands in greeting to the young man and then revealed all the information he knew.

"I just remembered that this painting of a hundred birds in the forest is in my possession."

"Oh? That's excellent, excellent. I, Bai, am willing to offer a large sum of money to exchange for it. I wonder if Master Lei would be willing to part with it?"

"I am just a rough man, ignorant of both refined and vulgar tastes. Collecting paintings is merely a pretense of elegance. This painting is a treasure gathering dust in my hands. It would be better to exchange it for someone who understands it, so that it can be put to good use."

Upon hearing this, the young man nodded in satisfaction.

"Rest assured, Master Lei. As long as you do not commit any illegal acts, seek personal gain, or bully the villagers, I, Bai, can guarantee you will become the richest man in the region."

"You flatter me, sir. Even if I had ten lives, I wouldn't dare to do such a wicked thing."

Lei Zhongli clasped his hands in a fist salute, stood up, and took his leave from the two men.

"Please wait a moment, my lord. I will go and fetch the painting for you."

"Take care, Master Lei."

After leaving the private room, Lei Zhongli leaned against the wall and gasped for breath before regaining his strength.

"Don't ask, don't look. Let's go."

Lei Zhongli woke the guard with a strange expression and hurriedly led him downstairs.

"Dragon Lord... is this promise still valid...?"

Is that going too far?

Just by finding a painting, one could become incredibly wealthy. Liu Yingdou didn't know whether to be envious or grateful.

"Do you remember what conditions I mentioned?"

Turning his gaze away, Bai Zhou picked up his teacup, which had been refilled, and took a small sip.

"One must not bend the law for personal gain, nor bully the villagers."

Liu Yingdou responded to each point.

"Then do you think... he has violated any of these?"

"This……"

Liu Yingdou pondered for a moment, carefully considering Lei Zhongli's actions over the years.

"Lei Zhongli was originally lucky to start his business. Even after becoming successful over the years, he never forgot his original intentions. Although his wealth has increased, he dares not overstep the bounds. He also does good deeds and accumulates virtues in his daily life, selling porridge and rice, paving roads and repairing bridges. He also often helps those in need in the surrounding villages. He is a well-known philanthropist in Yulin County."

Liu Yingdou had been an official for many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen a businessman with such a clean and honest life.

"Since he is a law-abiding and good person, what's wrong with making good people even better?"

Before Liu Yingdou could even laugh, Bai Zhou's next words struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Although some officials often use their positions to collect antiques for entertainment, he also works diligently to ensure the safety and prosperity of the local people and effectively combats the local crime rate."

"Governor Liu, do you think this kind of official is good or bad?"

"This...this...this humble official...this humble official..."

After waiting for several minutes without hearing anything, Bai Zhou didn't say much and just sipped his tea.

"It's certainly a good thing to have achievements. It's only natural to seek some advantages based on one's status. Every family has a few relatives who need help. No one is perfect. As long as one doesn't turn a neutral matter into something bad, what's wrong with having a few minor flaws in one's character?"

"Isn't Bai also using his superior position to take advantage of himself?"

"Yes, yes. Hearing your words is worth more than reading books for ten years. I understand now."

Liu Yingdou breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear anything about his punishment from Bai Zhou, and his anxious heart finally calmed down.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Liu Yingdou picked up his teacup and took several large gulps.

"Although Bai promised Lei Zhongli a rich and powerful position, people are always fickle. Governor Liu still needs to keep a close eye on him and not let a good person turn into a bad one."

“What the Dragon Lord says is very true. This humble official will certainly live up to the Dragon Lord’s trust.”

After waiting for about half an hour, Lei Zhongli hurriedly returned.

"As you have entrusted me, I have retrieved the painting. You may examine it and determine its authenticity."

Lei Zhongli placed the painting, which was in a box, in front of Bai Zhou, and stood nervously to the side watching him.

"Um……"

As soon as the scroll was taken out, Bai Zhou's brows furrowed, and so did the hearts of the other two.

"It is the ink and brushwork of the master that make the painting authentic. It was worth all the effort I made to finally obtain this painting."

After Bai Zhou finished speaking, Liu and Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you both."

During the day, he took out two tickets and handed them to Liu Yingdou and Lei Zhongli respectively.

"This receipt from Governor Liu is for the cost of renting this building, and the receipt from Master Lei is for the cost of purchasing this painting. You two can use these receipts to withdraw money from the bank."

During the day, the painting was rolled up and put back into the box.

"I have already spent quite a bit of time and have other important matters to attend to, so I will not stay any longer. There is no need for you two to see me off. Farewell."

"Please take care, my lord."

Only after daylight had passed did the two of them slump into their chairs.

"Prefect Liu, what is the identity of this young man?"

Clutching the receipts in his hand, Lei Zhongli asked Liu Yingdou a question.

"Who else could it be..."

Liu Yingdou carefully put away the receipts and pointed to the sky at Lei Zhongli.

"Dragon Lord".

"hiss--!"

The coldness in this world has been reduced by one breath.

While the two were still contributing to the resurgence of evil in the far north, Bai Zhou had already left the small town and continued along the road.

But the weather is unpredictable; one hour ago the sky was clear and blue, but the next hour the wind and clouds gathered, and dark clouds loomed overhead.

During the day, they were lucky enough to find a good place to take shelter from the rain before it started.

It was a dilapidated temple, the statues inside were covered in dust, and it was impossible to tell which deity was being worshipped.

A gentle breeze is stirred to sweep away the dust on the ground; during the day, one sits cross-legged on the ground, quietly waiting for the wind and rain to pass.

Thunder rumbled outside the temple, while inside, shadows loomed, as if some sinister creature was stirring.

"Ok?"

Bai Tian, ​​who was roasting a lucky pigeon that had flown into the temple, turned around and saw only a fierce-looking statue.

Frowning, Bai Zhou turned around and brushed sauce onto the roasted pigeon, preparing to enjoy it slowly.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder illuminated the dark temple.

"..."

Silently, Bai Zhou lifted the empty skewer and threw them at the base of the broken idol.

"Hey! Let's talk this out, don't resort to violence!"

An incoherent sound rang out, followed by the crunching sound of bones being chewed, and the poor pigeon was left with only its head on the ground.

The white and red immortal licked his lips, which were still smeared with oil, and lazily stretched his body.

"Hey, hey, I'm really curious."

She rested her chin on her hand, sitting cross-legged on the pedestal where the statue should have been, gazing at the daylight.

"Why do you smell like Eleven?"

The next moment, purple lightning appeared in the temple.

The confused immortal and the easily fooled dragon.

"Hey! Why did you suddenly start fighting?!"

As the lightning dissipated, discontented shouts rang out from behind the massive shield.

"Are all young men these days so hot-tempered?"

The immortal looked at the young man wielding lightning with his lilac-colored eyes and scratched his head in distress.

"Hey, it's just that I ate one of your pigeons, I'll give it back to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a lifelike dove idol rose from the immortal's hand and flew towards the young man.

As the immortal watched Bai Zhou reach out to catch the pigeon, a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

"We've been tricked!"

The pigeon suddenly exploded into a pile of dust. An ordinary person would have been startled by this sudden change and ended up covered in dust.

The immortals thought so too.

So when the pigeons exploded, she laughed as happily as a fox that had tricked a rooster.

But soon, as the smoke and dust cleared, and Bai Zhou saw that his clothes and face were still spotless, the immortal's smile slowly faded.