Chapter 114 Stealing a Home

Chapter 114 Stealing a Home

Chapter 114 Stealing a Home
If you say that the Ranshan Sect is declining, there are indeed no powerful figures after Zhao Kui. But if you say that it is not good, Zhao Qi created a god once before, and now Li Wuxiang is going to create a second time. He can be said to be the most courageous of the thirty-six sects.

The villages and towns that Zhao Qi had harassed when he was looking for Zhao Kui were all along the banks of the Jinshui River. Li Wuxiang followed the marks left by Pan Muyun and Helian Ji and pursued them while preaching in those villages and towns.

Unfortunately, once there is enough time and a good environment, things like separation from life and death will always ferment into long-lasting grief. Zhao Qi was not lying in Jinshui before. In those villages and towns, he did obtain the consent of the local town owner before setting up the array to invite the gods and seize the life. At that time, the people in the villages and towns thought that sacrificing the elderly and the weak to make life better was always acceptable. But when people really died and life eased a little, they would slowly remember the little kindness their old parents had shown them in the past, so the initial gratitude turned into resentment.

This is how Zeng Jianqiu got the bounties related to Zhao Qi, which is in line with the way people in this world turn their backs on people and destroy bridges after crossing them.

Therefore, when Li Wuxiang told a few people that they could worship a "blood god" to ward off disasters and evil spirits, no one dared to believe him. So he stayed in the villages and towns for a while, chatting with people with his good looks, and quickly found one or two people who were poor, weak, and not very smart, and gave them the talisman paper with Zhao Qi's appearance on it.

Then he reminded me not to let anyone else know about this!

So when he passed the last village or town that Zhao Qi passed by, some people really began to pray to Zhao Qi.

Eleven days after leaving Deyang, he returned to Jinshui.

But this time when he entered the town, Jinshui was already deserted. He led his horse along the street and found that almost all the tiles, door panels, and window frames on the roofs had been taken away, and all the items in the houses were gone. He knew that Jinshui's people had moved away, not that they had suffered a disaster.

From this point of view, Chen Xin's actions were quite fast. It had only been a month and a half since he left Jinshui, and all the families had left. They must have listened to Zeng Jianqiu's words - an evil spirit had really come here, and if they stayed here for a long time, they would attract many bad things.

Li Wuxiang continued walking towards Lijiawan. At dusk the next day, he saw his destination.

The scenery here is more beautiful than that of Jinshui. Looking far along the river, you can see a wide river bay. The flood has receded, but the mud and sand washed up on both sides of the river bay are still there, and it looks like a golden beach from a distance.

The town of Lijiawan faces the bay, and is surrounded by crescent-shaped green mountains. There are tracts of farmland between the town and the back hills. If you ignore the problem of floods, this place seems to be much better than Jinshui - the bay alone can provide a lot of fish.

When you get closer, you can see busy people in the fields and on the riverbank outside the town, who seem to be cleaning up the fields and rebuilding the docks. But at this time, the sun is gradually setting in the west, people are starting to walk into the town, and smoke is rising from the roofs of every household.

Li Wuxiang stopped his horse on a gentle slope covered with green grass and looked for a while, then he breathed a sigh of relief. Having seen Lingshan Mountain and Deyang City, he felt that this scene was like a paradise on earth. It would be great if it could always be so peaceful and tranquil.

He rode his horse slowly along the road into the town, and finally someone saw him.

Some people frowned when they saw him, looking a little scared. They were probably the people from Lijiawan who gathered later. But there was a young man in the crowd who looked to be about 24 or 25 years old. He stared at him for a while and asked cautiously, "Are you... Master Li?"

Li Wuxiang glanced at him - he had a slight impression of him. After dealing with Zhao Kui that day, a group of people crowded at the gate of the Chen family compound. This man stood close to Chen Xin. Because there was a tuft of gray hair on his forehead, he remembered it more clearly.

He nodded: "Well, what's your name?"

"Chen Jian! Chen Jian! Master, my name is Chen Jian!" Chen Jian smiled and immediately turned to the people around him and shouted, "This is the Master Li who exorcises evil spirits that we were talking about. Do you still remember my name?"

Then he quickly squeezed through the crowd and helped him get on the horse: "Master, are you going to the town master's house? Oh, the Xue family is right next to the town master's house. I'll take you there. Master, are you not leaving this time?"

Li Wuxiang let him lead the horse: "I'm back to have a meal."

"Okay, okay, that's great. Let's have a meal together, we all missed you!" Chen Jian shouted and cleared the way for him. On the way, some townspeople who were originally from Jinshui were immediately surprised when they saw him. They ran around shouting and telling others, and they shouted "That's great" just like Chen Jian did before.

Li Wuxiang then realized that something might be wrong, because the expressions on these people's faces all looked like they were turning from worry to joy.

He tilted his head on his horse: "Is there any trouble in town?"

"Master, it's all easy now that you're back!" Chen Jian said cheerfully, "You'll know when you get to the town master's house. He hasn't left yet! That bastard has come here several times in the past few days! Now that you're back, we have someone to take charge of us!"

After hearing this, Li Wuxiang stopped asking questions. Since they said it was a small matter, it shouldn't be a big deal.

After walking a little further, passing a small square paved with bluestone, Li Wuxiang saw a large house - more imposing than Chen Xin's original house, and it looked like it had three courtyards. Next to this large house were two other houses with two courtyards, separated only by a narrow corridor. He guessed that this was Xue Baoping's residence.

But Chen Jian did not lead his horse to the big house, but to the east side of the building with two entrances: "Master, we're here, it's right in front!"

Li Wuxiang looked towards the door of the house and saw a dozen soldiers standing outside the door. There were also some people from the town who were dressed like wealthy people in the town. They looked worried and looked inside the closed door. Of course, he couldn't see anything, so he talked to the soldiers, as if he was asking about what was going on in the yard. The soldiers also looked a little indignant, shaking their heads and sighing, with a look of resentment.

Li Wuxiang raised his head towards the big house with three entrances: "What about that one?"

Chen Jian just stared at the entrance of the Chen family: "That's Master Xue's house. We are practicing martial arts with Master Xue over there - Immortal Master, I will help you down!"

Li Wuxiang jumped off his horse, threw the reins to him, and strode towards the door. A sharp-eyed soldier saw him, was slightly startled, and immediately used the short stick in his hand to separate the crowd and shouted: "Master! Master is back!"

Li Wuxiang nodded at him and pushed the door open before the group of people at the door started arguing again.

The courtyard of this house is much smaller, but very exquisite. Although not as beautiful as Feiyun Temple, it is clean and refreshing, with a flat ground, and it is also comfortable to look at.

But the scene in the yard made him uncomfortable—Chen Xin and a few others were standing in the yard, and Xue Baoping was also there, all facing the main hall. The eight doors in the main hall were all open, and in the room was a square table where the Chen family used to eat, with wine and food arranged on it. A man with a Taoist bun and a brocade robe, who looked to be about forty years old, was sitting at the table holding a small wine cup, and two young men stood behind him, like his servants...

No, it should be a disciple. This person looks like a practitioner.

What happened? I haven't been home for a month and a half. Was my house robbed?
Hearing the door slam, everyone standing in the yard turned to look.

When Chen Xin saw him, his eyes lit up: "Master!"

Xue Baoping also saw him, but stood there in a daze, as if wondering if he had seen it wrong.

Li Wuxiang smiled and nodded to Chen Xin, then walked towards Xue Baoping and found that she was holding a sword, but it was held behind her arm. He raised his eyebrows and said, "It seems that you have been practicing sword well these days. What is the sword set that Lao Zeng taught you?"

Xue Baoping still had his mouth slightly open. When he came to her, she leaned forward slightly, then paused, and just grabbed his hand and shook it: "You... why are you back?"

"I have to go out and do some work. I'll have dinner here when I come back. I have to leave in the evening." He turned to look at Chen Xin, "What's wrong? Are you going to use swords?"

His question made Chen Xin a little panicked, and he said quickly: "No, no, Immortal Master, it's... yes..."

"He asked me to dance with the sword." Xue Baoping said, "The town master didn't ask me to dance."

"Sword dance." Li Wuxiang frowned, glanced at Chen Xin, then looked at the man in the main hall, "Who told you to dance with a sword?"

The man glanced at him sideways, then returned his gaze to the wine cup in his hand: "Are you the immortal master they are talking about? You are so arrogant, have you become an immortal?" Li Wuxiang ignored him and looked at Chen Xin: "What's wrong?"

"The matter of Lijia Bay." Chen Xin sighed. "We came to Lijia Bay and just settled down these days, people from Qingjiang City came. This... Mr. Qiu came a few times and said he was going to pass on a message to the city lord, saying that either the annual tax paid to the city should be increased by 30%, or... that Lijia Bay is ownerless and should belong to Qingjiang City."

Qiu Gongfu in the hall frowned and put the wine cup on the table: "I am asking you a question."

Li Wuxiang nodded to Chen Xin: "Then what should we do?"

Chen Xin glanced at the priest and whispered, "In theory, in fact, for example, in some places, if two towns are fighting to the death and one of them occupies the land of the other, then as long as the taxes are the same as before, it doesn't matter--"

This is indeed the truth of this world.

"What should we say this time..." Chen Xin looked at Li Wuxiang's face, "Xiu Xiu, Master, you also know about what happened before. She is old now. She was with Li Jiye from the Li family in Lijiawan. This..."

"You have feelings for me and I have feelings for you?"

"Hey, yes, yes."

Chen Xin said this and rubbed his hands. Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "That's good."

He knew that Chen Xiu was different from Xue Baoping. She was an ordinary girl in this world, who was in love for the first time. Her feelings came and went quickly. She liked one person, then another, and perhaps she didn't even know what she liked.

Or maybe she knew that he was a cultivator and felt that he was "out of her league", or after what happened more than a month ago, she realized that all she wanted was a peaceful life in a remote corner. But she was a good match for the young master of Lijiawan, and it was a good destination.

Seeing him like this, Chen Xin immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "So this is what happened. This place should belong to our two families. Besides, the people from the two towns have been gathered together, and we have also divided the food..."

"So we should just pay the same taxes as before?"

"Yep."

"What's with the sword dance?"

Chen Xin's expression suddenly became serious. "Ah, this, this worshiper has come here three times. He knows that Master Xue is teaching the people in the town martial arts. This time he ran into me again, so he insisted on... helping out."

He lowered his voice: "Master, I am trying to stop you. But before my master left, he told me not to talk about the swordsman. I don't know if your story will cause you any trouble. I really..."

Qiu Gongsheng pushed the table aside, stood up and walked to the door, his face as gloomy as water: "Where did you come from, you wild thing? Do you have a sect? I heard that you got rid of an evil spirit in the town? And it was an evil spirit that wanted to become an immortal or a god? You are so capable——"

Li Wuxiang glanced at him and asked Chen Xin: "Did he kill or injure anyone during his three visits to town?"

"Wild thing! I'm telling you—"

A flash of sword suddenly emerged from Li Wuxiang's sleeves and began to hum in front of him. Qiu Gongfeng stopped talking and took a step back, then sat back on the stool.

Chen Xin said hurriedly: "Ah, that's not the case..."

"Otherwise, nothing bad or evil?"

“Not really.”

"What a pity." Li Wuxiang sighed and turned to look at Qiu Gongfeng, "You want to see the sword dance? Is this sword dance beautiful?"

Qiu Gongsheng opened his eyes and stared at Xiao Jian for a long time: "You...you...Your Excellency you...Master you..."

The sword light hummed and stopped, revealing a light red blade. Li Wuxiang asked him to take a closer look before retracting the flying sword: "Do you recognize this thing?"

"Yes, I recognize it..."

Li Wuxiang stared at him for a while, and when his face turned pale, he suddenly laughed, "Sword dance. Town Master, this man has not behaved badly here, but what about other times and other places? What about in the past? Haven't you heard of him?"

Just as Chen Xin was about to speak, the stool creaked and Qiu Gongsheng fell to his knees. The two disciples behind him seemed to have not figured out the situation yet, but they also knelt down quickly: "Sword Immortal, Sword Immortal, really not! I practice carefully and don't do anything that harms the world. I am afraid of cause and effect. I have been a priest in Qingjiang City for more than ten years. There is no need to do those things!"

Chen Xin tugged at his sleeve from behind. Li Wuxiang then turned to look at Xue Baoping: "What do you think?"

Xue Baoping frowned: "I want to see him dance with the sword."

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "Okay, you heard it, she wants to see you dance with the sword."

Qiu Gongfeng immediately jumped up from the ground and walked quickly to the yard. He didn't have a sword with him, so he looked around hurriedly, found a broom, and danced with it smoothly: "Sword Immortal, this is a set of sword techniques, which can also be used as sword techniques..."

Li Wuxiang turned to look at Xue Baoping - she stared at Qiu Gongfeng, and after a long while her brows gradually relaxed, and she curled her lips: "It doesn't look good, forget it."

"Yeah. It's very stupid. Mr. Qiu——"

"In the!"

"Go back and tell your city lord that I often walk around here. Last time I was exorcising evil spirits in Jinshui, I felt that the people in Jinshui lived quite well. If extra taxes are imposed, they may not live so well, which will make me confused and ruin my practice. So if he asks you to come here again, I will go to his place. Stop it."

Mr. Qiu stopped immediately, put the broom back far away, backed away, bowed repeatedly, and ran out the door.

When his two disciples followed him out at a trot, Li Wuxiang heard cheers from outside the courtyard. He closed his eyes slightly and felt a subtle warmth flowing through his body.

He opened his eyes and exhaled, "Town Lord, we should build a Taiyi Temple in this town. I will leave tomorrow and draw a picture for you."

　Two chapters in one. I worked hard on 9000 words today and finally adjusted the update time back...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)