Night was gradually falling.
Inside the small courtyard.
Zhong Bai looked at Four-Eyes across from him eating with great relish, unable to help the smile at the corners of his mouth.
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, now Junior Brother truly believes that you are indeed having a hard time."
Four-Eyes did not care about Zhong Bai's banter at all; lice do not bite when there are too many, and a thick-skinned person fears no mockery. At this moment Four-Eyes genuinely wished he could sweep the delicious food on the table straight into his belly.
Sending a piece of white-cut chicken leg, full of color, aroma, and flavor, into his mouth, Four-Eyes unhurriedly and leisurely brought the aged yellow wine in the cup before him to his lips to take a sip.
"Tsk tsk tsk!
A fairy's life, what a fairy's life, Junior Brother Qianhe. If I had known Junior Brother Qianhe was eating this well, this senior brother would have swapped with you before heading down the mountain.
Hmph, blame my master for saying that although Jiuquan Town is prosperous, it lies right in the Three Fiends Position where demons and malevolent Spirits covet this place, making it a place of great misfortune.
Now it seems it was all a misplaced trust after all."
Four-Eyes was clearly turning green with envy over Zhong Bai's current treatment. The courtyard servants provided, the food, drink, and silver supplied—all of these made Four-Eyes green with envy.
To these words from Four-Eyes, Zhong Bai merely smiled without responding.
These were just banters from Four-Eyes. If he really wanted to swap with Four-Eyes now, Four-Eyes might not necessarily choose to stay in Jiuquan Town...
After less than half an incense stick of time had passed, Four-Eyes, now fully wined and dined, finally turned serious.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, this senior brother never visits a temple without a cause. Coming to junior brother's place this time, I truly want to see if junior brother can help me out.
With this senior brother's abilities, it is truly rather difficult to establish a Daoist temple in a short period..."
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, with our relationship, what is this talk of helping or not? Whatever senior brother needs junior brother to do, just speak your mind plainly!"
Zhong Bai was also very straightforward; for Four-Eyes, he could provide appropriate support.
"Hahahaha, I knew it! Coming to you, Junior Brother Qianhe, junior brother certainly would not stand by idly.
Then... should senior brother bring it up?"
"Mn, senior brother, speak freely."
"This... Junior Brother Qianhe, establishing a Daoist temple requires silver. I'm afraid without eighty or a hundred taels of silver, the timber cannot be bought.
Plus finding workers and so on, senior brother estimates it will cost three or four hundred taels of silver."
After finishing about the money, seeing that Zhong Bai showed no emotional change, Four-Eyes had a flash of inspiration and continued, "Junior Brother Qianhe, you also know that senior brother comes from the Corpse Herding Hall. In the future, I will probably walk all directions among the common folk herding corpses.
A Daoist temple cannot be without someone to watch over it, right?
So if I could be equipped with a few servants..."
Seeing Four-Eyes getting more and more outrageous, Zhong Bai finally could not hold it together.
"Stop, stop, stop!
Senior Brother Four-Eyes, junior brother treats you as family, but are you treating senior brother like a fat sheep to be slaughtered?"
"Hehe, it's just that senior brother saw that junior brother had no reaction, so I thought junior brother was wealthy and wouldn't mind."
Zhong Bai was quite helpless, also understanding that Four-Eyes was simply this kind of person by nature.
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, spending money shouldn't be a problem for junior brother.
Some time ago, junior brother just returned to his hometown, slew a wolf demon, and by a fortuitous coincidence entered an ancient tomb..."
"What! Junior Brother Qianhe, a wolf demon? Of what strength? If it reached the Demon Soldier realm, that's worth a whole lot of money! But even if it didn't reach Demon Soldier, it's fine. Take its heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, wolf teeth, wolf phallus, and wolf treasure, and senior brother is confident he can sell them for a high price!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, Junior Brother Qianhe, you don't know, this wolf demon's entire body is a treasure. Of course, if junior brother had slain a tiger demon, that would truly be striking it rich!"
Seeing his senior brother's eyes sparkling with little stars, Zhong Bai finally spoke up to interrupt Four-Eyes' fantasy.
"Mn, the wolf demon had not entered the Demon Soldier realm, though it was close.
However... junior brother did not take away its demon corpse, instead leaving it behind in the hometown village."
"Ah?!!!"
Four-Eyes' mood at this moment was like a roller coaster. His original joyful mood vanished completely, and this basin of cold water from Zhong Bai made his whole body droop.
"What a pity..."
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, junior brother hasn't finished speaking yet. After entering the ancient tomb, junior brother slew a Six-winged Centipede at the Demon Soldier realm!"
????
"Six-winged Centipede? Demon Soldier realm?
Junior brother, what about the demon core? The demon core of a Six-winged Centipede is so valuable, some fellow cultivators are even willing to offer a thousand taels of silver! Junior brother is truly blessed with great luck!"
Four-Eyes' previously depressed mood surged again, and his blazing gaze looked as if he would devour Zhong Bai whole in the very next second...
"Ahem, senior brother, I'm very sorry, that demon core was fed by junior brother to the Furious Rooster..."
With a loud boom, Four-Eyes felt as though the heavens had collapsed.
"Such a waste of heaven's precious gifts!
Junior Brother Qianhe, what use is it for your Furious Rooster to eat the demon core? Even if it steps into the Demon Soldier realm, without an awakened divine ability, it's worth shit.
How could you bear to do it..."
Four-Eyes did not understand, feeling only blind heartache and regret as his little heart thumped wildly without stop.
Seeing his senior brother's emotions jump up and down with such sudden shocks and drops, Zhong Bai simply decided not to keep him dangling in suspense anymore.
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, look and see what this is!"
With that, Zhong Bai took out a vase about a foot tall from the Cosmic Ring on his hand.
The cyan patterns were clearly visible, and the exquisiteness of the vase made Four-Eyes first freeze, then carefully hold it in the palm of his hand, looking at the seal engraved on the bottom.
Sniffing it with his nose once more, in an instant, Four-Eyes' entire body boiled with hot blood.
"This is... an authentic Yuan dynasty blue and white plum vase, and an imperial kiln one at that! Junior brother, don't tell me you found this blue and white porcelain in the tomb..."
"Tsk, Senior Brother Four-Eyes guessed really accurately!"
Hearing this, Four-Eyes felt it grating on his ears.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, senior brother doesn't bow down to anyone, but I bow to you. Your luck is simply defying the heavens!"
Taking a deep breath, Four-Eyes carefully placed the blue and white plum vase back on the table before turning solemn in expression.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, although we orthodox Mount Mao cultivators disdain grave-robbing, junior brother's original intent in entering the tomb was to slay demons and exorcise evil. Bringing this plum vase out is also to let it see the light of day once more.
So, Junior Brother Qianhe, we'll sell it. Junior brother shouldn't have any objections, right?"
At this moment, Four-Eyes was terrified of hearing Zhong Bai say something like orthodox cultivators disdaining such items.
"No problem!"
Zhong Bai smiled as he looked at Four-Eyes, understanding the thoughts in the other's heart. Selling it to improve their lifestyle, what was wrong with that?
"Good! As expected of Junior Brother Qianhe, this flexibility is much stronger than Senior Brother Lin!"
When Four-Eyes said this, he seemed to have already seen Lin Fengjiao's utterly calm composure upon entering a tomb and seeing this blue and white plum vase.
Four-Eyes considered himself incapable of that; he was a worldly person—well, a hopelessly worldly Daoist priest.
Zhong Bai was the same, a worldly person...
After settling Four-Eyes in, Zhong Bai had Chunhua and Xiahe clean up the mess, while he himself entered his room to sit cross-legged on a futon and practice cultivation as always.
The next day at dawn.
Before Zhong Bai had finished his cultivation, his room door was knocked on by Four-Eyes.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, the weather is quite nice today, so you and I can just take this opportunity to sell that plum vase and exchange it for silver taels.
Senior brother is of an impatient nature and truly cannot wait another moment!"
Opening his twin pupils, Zhong Bai was helpless.
Pushing open the door and seeing that his senior brother Four-Eyes was already packed and ready to set off immediately, Zhong Bai still couldn't help shaking his head, between laughter and tears.
"Senior Brother Four-Eyes, there's no need for such trouble. The Yang Family of Jiuquan Town has businesses in all the surrounding counties.
Rather than us running around looking for buyers, it's better to hand it over to the Yang Family to sell.
Given the relationship between junior brother and the Yang Family, the price shouldn't be too low..."
"Right, right, right! Look at me, senior brother was also muddle-headed. The Yang Family is a powerful local dragon; in this aspect, they are definitely stronger than our fellow apprentices!
Junior brother is still the smart one, no wonder junior brother's luck is so strong..."
latching onto Zhong Bai, Four-Eyes showered him with all sorts of praises, and Zhong Bai also very much enjoyed the emotional value coming from his senior brother Four-Eyes. Tsk, completely full!
Before you continue