Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Before the Hidden Dragon Temple courtyard.

Under the jujube tree.

Yi Chen sat sipping tea at a square table, while Chief Zhang perched on half a stool.

"Master, I've taken care of everything,"

"The incident at the Lingfeng Temple was attributed to a passing evil spirit, with heavy casualties. Some survivors couldn't bear the shock and chose to commit suicide."

"As for the bodies of the deceased, the government has provided the best 'sandalwood' coffins for burial, with the funds advanced by the government and later deducted from the assets such as the land and fields sold by Lingfeng Temple."

"About the proceeds from those sales, Master, what do you think should be done with the money?" Chief Zhang carefully asked.

With experience from handling the Wang family's assets, Chief Zhang had a replicable strategy and was adept at dealing with bad assets. However, when it came to the distribution of benefits, he dared not decide on his own and came to consult Yi Chen early in the morning.

Yi Chen sipped his tea, thought for a moment, and then, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, replied:

"Whoever buys those fields, the tenancy rent cannot exceed forty percent of what the tenant farmers earn for a hundred years. In exchange, the price of the fields can be a bit lower—that's the bottom line. Can it be done?"

"Master, by the rules, the tenancy rent usually takes up to sixty or seventy percent. If it's reduced to forty percent, it will greatly affect the sale price of the fields..." Chief Zhang hesitated, but before he could finish, under Yi Chen's sidelong glance, he decisively chose to keep quiet and then said, "No problem."

"That's good to hear," Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"My disciple, today your master will teach you another lesson."

"Money is something you can never fully earn, and one should never seek to pressure to the limit and take away the last copper coin; otherwise, unforeseen disasters may strike."

"Trust your master, you should ponder this yourself. What you realize on your own will truly be yours."

"As for the money earned from selling Lingfeng Temple's fields, give the county magistrate twenty percent, you and your men take ten percent, and make a trip to the town anzhen department in the county city. Say you are my disciple and meet with Lin Zhenbei, the Thousand Householder; give him thirty percent. The remaining forty percent is to be sent to me."

After swiftly arranging these matters in a few words, Yi Chen sent Chief Zhang on his way.

Five days later, Chief Zhang brought four thousand taels in silver notes.

….

….

At night, in the back courtyard of Hidden Dragon Temple.

"Brother, are you leaving tomorrow?" Qing Yunzi sat opposite Yi Chen and slanted his eyes as he spoke.

"Indeed, I've called you here today to give my instructions."

Yi Chen nodded, took out six silver notes of a thousand taels each from his bosom, and handed them to Qing Yunzi.

The cash acquired from Lingfeng Temple a few days earlier had already been converted into silver notes by him.

"Keep these silver notes safe, my junior brother, and remember to leave three thousand taels untouched as a reserve. Use the rest to recruit new disciples and expand the temple."

"You must also diligently oversee the training of Qing Feng and Ming Yue. Don't neglect your own cultivation either; you bear a heavy burden."

"Before your elder brother leaves, there is one last piece of advice I wish to share with you."

"Preserve man and lose land, both man and land are secured; preserve land and lose man, both man and land are lost."

"Although your elder brother has already established a good relationship with the town anzhen department, accidents can still happen. If faced with insurmountable risks and after receiving intelligence from the town anzhen department, when it's time to hide or withdraw, don't hesitate to leave behind what you have now."

"The three thousand taels I've told you to save are for dealing with such crises."

"Brother..." Qing Yunzi's expression was a mix of emotions.

Seeing the mood turning sentimental, Yi Chen smiled, stood up, and ruffled Qing Yunzi's hair like they were children again.

"What's the matter? Are you sad to see your big brother go on a long journey?"

"How about this? The moon is beautiful tonight, so why don't we brothers spar one more time for old time's sake, and let your brother see how much you've improved these days?"

"No sparring, no sparring." As soon as he heard Yi Chen's words, Qing Yunzi got scared and quickly took three steps back, shaking his head like a rattle drum, amusing Yi Chen immensely.

The next day, as dawn's light spread.

Yi Chen went to the ancestral hall to offer three sticks of incense to the tablets of the ancestral masters and to his master, Bai Yunzi.

"Venerated masters above, your disciple is about to embark on a journey. Please bless me with a smooth and safe trip."

"Rest assured, once your disciple makes his fortune, I'll surely craft for the Venerated Masters golden statues worth a hundred thousand taels, making our Hidden Dragon Temple famous across the land."

"If you remain silent, I'll take it as your consent. Thank you for your blessings, Venerated Masters."

After bowing deeply three times with respect, Yi Chen decided it was time to depart.

"Elder brother, take care on your journey."

"Big brother, go and come back soon; we'll miss you."

The two youngsters said their goodbyes to Yi Chen, one after the other, with Qing Yunzi standing to the side.

Early in the morning, Yi Chen got up and prepared to leave with his travelling bag on his back.

Apart from a few changes of clothes, his bag contained a portable tent he had custom designed.

Not fond of sentimental goodbyes, he had planned to sneak away early, but to his surprise, Qing Feng and Ming Yue were alert enough to wake up even earlier than him….

"Alright, no need for a send-off. Qing Feng, Ming Yue, listen to your second brother. It won't be long before I return."

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Yi Chen strode away and soon disappeared over the horizon.

Sword securely belted, stepping out the door was entering the jianghu.

Little Miao perched on Yi Chen's shoulder, while Yi Chen took out the official map he had prepared earlier, planning his route to Dragon Tiger Mountain. With a grand gesture, he pointed at a certain city on the map.

"Ready, Little Miao?"

"Our next stop is, Longjiang Prefecture."

"I've heard the alley cats in Longjiang Prefecture are plenty, sleek and well-groomed."

Upon hearing this, Little Miao's eyes gleamed brightly, and she responded to Yi Chen's words with cheerful meowing, urging him to set off quickly.

"Meow meow meow! (Charge charge charge!)"

"You little pervert," Yi Chen cursed with a laugh before turning away and stepping onto the official road leading to Longjiang Prefecture.

Behind him, once Hidden Dragon Temple became a tiny speck in his field of vision and the great Falling Dragon Mountain shrank to the size of a soybean, Yi Chen couldn't suppress a tinge of sadness welling up in his heart.

"Let's hope everything goes smoothly on this trip."

Yi Chen looked back one last time at Falling Dragon Mountain, shook his head to dispel the strange emotions in his mind, then continued on his journey without further hesitation.

Thus, one man and one cat gradually left Fengyun County and Falling Dragon Mountain farther and farther behind.

After walking for three or four hours, the sun began to tilt westward, and the sky slowly dimmed.

Just then, a large grey rabbit darted across the road; seeing it, Yi Chen's eyes lit up. He had only eaten some dry food at noon and was about to grow tired of its blandness.

As it turned out, he hadn't come across any game along the way that he could feast on, thwarting his plans for a nice meal.

Now that a wild rabbit had finally made an appearance, he couldn't let it escape.

He immediately began to give orders.

"Little Miao, go get it!"

"Little Miao, cut off its middle path, attack its undercarriage."

With the journey growing dull, Yi Chen became a fountain of commands, directing Little Miao to catch the rabbit.

Having raised a cat for many days, it was time to put it to use; such a minor thing shouldn't require his personal intervention.

Before long, Little Miao, with graceful cat steps, came over holding the large grey rabbit in its mouth.

"Well done, a verbal reward for you."

With Little Miao by his side, Yi Chen's journey had become much easier.

Yi Chen smiled and patted Little Miao on the head as a sign of appreciation, which made Little Miao hold its head even higher.

A young cat had never experienced the harsh beatings of society and knew nothing about empty promises and verbal praise.

As a spiritual beast, Little Miao grew rapidly; now fully capable of overpowering those beasts without awakened intelligence, it was like Tyson fighting children—with a mere pinch, Yi Chen could easily reap the benefits.

Being from a poor household at Hidden Dragon Temple, a young cat like Little Miao had to take on responsibilities early, so it made sense for it to work more.

Looking around, Yi Chen found a place with a spring, where he skinned and cleaned the rabbit before shaking it with his Pure Yang Inner Qi to start roasting it. He then took out the spices he had prepared from his bundle and sprinkled them on the meat. Soon, the aroma of roasted rabbit filled the air.

Although roasted rabbit cooked this way, without the use of charcoal, lacked a certain soul, it was not bad when enhanced with a secret sauce.

Sharing fairly, Yi Chen tore off a rabbit leg for Little Miao, then, under its astonished gaze, he alone devoured the rest of the roast rabbit.

"It's getting late, and we still have a ways to go before reaching Wooden Forest Post. Little Miao, we need to hurry, otherwise we'll have to sleep outdoors tonight."

Yi Chen glanced at the map given to him by the county magistrate and then at the fading daylight before setting off on the road again with Little Miao.

...

...

"Stay sharp, everyone; night is nearly upon us. We need to hurry to Wooden Forest Post; traveling at night is difficult, brothers."

"The brothers watching our back also need to keep their eyes peeled—we're in the wilderness, and danger doesn't come just from evil spirits."

"Sometimes, people can be more terrifying than evil spirits. If you encounter any suspicious activity, report it immediately."

"This is an important business trip, so we absolutely cannot tarnish the reputation of our Wei Yuan Escort Agency."

After some rallying cries, Zhang Bukai, seeing his subordinates perk up with renewed spirit, rode his big horse to the front of a carriage and respectfully said to the compartment,

"Miss Jun, the post is not far ahead. We'll stay there for the night and continue traveling tomorrow."

At that moment, the curtains of the carriage were parted, revealing the bewitching face of a fox spirit.

"Then I shall trouble you, Escort Head Zhang."

"My great-grandfather's remains aren't in any trouble, right?" she asked, her voice soft and alluring enough to make one's heart flutter.

The young escorts around her stood even prouder at her words, as proud as peacocks displaying their feathers.

"Miss, rest assured, your great-grandfather's remains are in the middle of the convoy, encased in a copper-horned golden coffin, guarded by Daoist Baihe and his four disciples. Absolutely nothing will go wrong."

Just then, an escort in charge of watching the rear suddenly cried out,

"Escort Head, Escort Head, a mighty figure is approaching from behind—tall and big, with the build of a bear and carrying weapons, emanating a deadly aura. This doesn't bode well."

Upon hearing this, Escort Head Zhang drew the saber from his waist and turned to shout,

"Who dares to target the cargo of Wei Yuan Escort Agency? Show yourselves if you want to fight! Do you think I, Zhang Bukai of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Saber, am dead?"

"Shit, that mighty figure even has a strange black cat perched on his shoulder. It looks terrifying."

Zhang Bukai sheathed his saber and the roar that was about to burst from his lips was swallowed back down.

He rode forward, and under the astonished gaze of the other escorts, his face blossomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile, even a bit ingratiating, changing so quickly it was astonishing.

"Daoist, we truly are fated to meet again!"

Yi Chen: "....." Who wants to be fated with a brute like you, scram.

Yi Chen grumbled inwardly, but he still politely clasped his hands and said,

"Escort Head Zhang of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Saber, we meet again."

The person before him was none other than the same Escort Head Zhang he had encountered previously at Clear Water River.

On this night, there was no wind, no moon, and the pitch-black sky hung like an iron curtain overhead.

In the courtyard of Wooden Forest Post, several bonfires had been lit; the charcoal crackled and hissed while the red sparks drifted into the sky and vanished.