Ghost Manor (2)

Yue Qianchou's three-person get-rich-quick group also came to 'Ghost Manor' out of curiosity. The so-called "intrigue" was just Yue Qianchou's way of fooling the other two; in reality, he knew this place was a melting pot of all sorts of people and a good place to gather information.

The other two had no objections. They'd been living the high life, enjoying themselves immensely with Yue Qianchou. And whenever they encountered minor trouble, their boss always resolved it easily. They felt it was good to continue like this; neither of them expected to actually strike Yue Qianchou. In short, life was much better than before. They no longer had to be timid because of their low cultivation level; their boss would handle everything, and they only needed to obey and run errands.

Nestled amidst verdant mountains and beside flowing streams, 'Ghost Manor' covers an area of no less than a hundred acres and boasts a grand layout. Such a livable place is rare even in the entire Jinshan Kingdom. It is evident that its original owner was indeed wealthy. However, its peeling whitewashed walls and moss-covered old marks indicate a lack of maintenance.

The three landed on their swords in the central garden of the Ghost Manor and looked around. Small groups of rogue Rogue Cultivator were boasting and joking. Upon seeing them, the Rogue Cultivator merely glanced at them briefly before continuing their boasting, ignoring them completely.

This was Yue Qianchou's first time here. He had expected the place to be dilapidated due to its age and lack of maintenance, but to his surprise, it was quite tidy. The nurseries and flowerbeds scattered around were lush and green, without a single weed in sight, clearly indicating that someone had been taking care of them.

"Boss, let's go see if there are any vacant rooms." The speaker was Qin Jiaxing, and the other henchman was named Fu Chun. Yue Qianchou looked around and waved his hand, indicating that they should go look for rooms, while he would just look around here.

The two were clearly not first-timers here. They greeted each other and then slipped out through the east and west gates of the garden, as if they knew the place well.

Yue Qianchou was no longer called Yue Qianchou, but Niu Youde. His face was also no longer the same; he was wearing another human skin mask. He had prepared several of them in advance when he was in Shi Wenguang's camp, as if he had a premonition that they would come in handy.

A one-armed old man in the garden caught Yue Qianchou's attention. His hair and beard were white, and he wore a grey robe with the left sleeve hanging loosely on his belt. The old man appeared frail, but his back was ramrod straight. He was wielding a flying sword with one hand, pruning the tangled branches of the flowers and seedlings in the garden. Judging by his manner, he seemed like a servant in this estate, but his ability to wield a flying sword clearly indicated he was not a servant.

Yue Qianchou paused for a moment, then looked around at the seedlings and flowerbeds. It seemed that the neat and tidy appearance here was all thanks to the old man.

"How could they not see through his cultivation level?" Yue Qianchou muttered to himself. He was already at the early Tribulation stage Rogue Cultivator he had met recently, there were very few with higher cultivation levels than him. He never expected that a seemingly insignificant disabled rogue Rogue Cultivator he encountered would have a higher cultivation level than him.

What puzzled him most was that this old man was at least at the mid Tribulation stage realm, yet he was doing this kind of rough work here... Yue Qianchou pinched his chin and frowned, then stepped behind the old man and cupped his hands, saying, "May I ask, sir, are you the master of this place?"

"Haha..." Yue Qianchou had just finished speaking when he heard a lot of laughter around him. He looked around and saw groups of two or three or four Rogue Cultivator staring at him and laughing, obviously mocking him.

Yue Qianchou looked himself over, then touched his face, but found nothing amiss. He was even more confused about what they were laughing at him for. So he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the surrounding crowd and said, "My name is Niu Youde. I'm new here, and I don't know what you're laughing at me for. Have I said or done something wrong?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the old man behind her with a questioning look. However, the old man seemed oblivious to her concerns, preoccupied with pruning his own branches.

"You don't need to say anything, we know you're new here." Someone coldly uttered a sentence, which was immediately followed by a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Yue Qianchou looked back and saw several people sitting haphazardly on the railing of a covered walkway across from him, under the eaves of a garden of "red-flowered branches." One of them, with a bamboo flute in his hand, glanced at him disdainfully, giving off a cool vibe.

Wow! Looks like you're so young, yet your cultivation has already reached the Nascent Soul Early Stage! No wonder you've learned to look at people askance! Yue Qianchou raised an eyebrow, wondering what he had done to offend him and why he was giving him such a hard time. So he pointed and asked, "You cool idiot, did you say that just now?"

"Haha..." Laughter erupted again from around them, but the expressions on the faces of the people opposite them darkened. They all stood up abruptly and shouted in unison, "Who are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you, this guy has several holes in his bamboo and he's trying to look cool, what a disgrace!" Yue Qianchou's tone and gestures were practically screaming, as if he were about to poke Yue Qianchou's forehead with his finger. If Nong Zhu heard this, he'd probably fight him to the death.

Just kidding. What kind of people does Yue Qianchou usually associate with, and what kind of things does he do? He could randomly pick someone he knows who would make these guys look up to him in awe. He could casually boast about one of his accomplishments and leave them speechless.

Even his reputation was earned through real hard work, not just boasting. Just revealing his name was enough to terrify these guys. Currently, he has a resounding title in the Cultivation World ... the Butcher of the Cultivation World!

The two were on completely different levels, and he had no intention of arguing with these lowly people, so he tried to be as polite as possible when speaking to them. Who knew that this world was full of scum who looked down on the weak and bullied the strong? He had worked so hard, risking his life, to climb to this point; it was already a favor that he didn't bully others, let alone allow himself to be humiliated. What kind of life would that be!

The cultivator with the bamboo flute began to scrutinize Yue Qianchou, but his expression changed slightly when he realized he couldn't see through the other's cultivation level. He gestured to those around him and whispered, "His cultivation is higher than mine." He then bowed to Yue Qianchou with an apologetic smile. The others also changed their expressions, dared not say anything more, and quietly sat down.

In the Cultivation World, those who can't stand being wronged or suffer losses usually have short lives, especially those Rogue Cultivator without any background. There's always someone stronger. To be domineering, you have to bully the weak; to be submissive, you have to play the subservient – this is the universal Principle of the Cultivation World. Even those Spirit Transformation stage experts have to be extremely careful and fawning before Bi Changchun. Some things and some people are not to be trifled with.

"Haha..." The onlookers burst into laughter again. Yue Qianchou glared at the group and snorted coldly. If it weren't for the presence of an old man of unknown background nearby, and his reluctance to expose himself further, given his temper, he would have at least given these guys a beating, if not killed them. He hated those incompetent but pretentious idiots; keeping them around was just disgusting, better to kill them all.

At this moment, Qin Jiaxing and Fu Chun returned almost simultaneously. Both of them were slightly taken aback when they saw their eldest brother standing next to the old man. Yue Qianchou poked the back of his shoulder with his thumb and said, "Who is this old guy? He won't even answer when we ask him questions."

Fu Chun walked over in a few steps, dragged him along, and said with a wry smile, "Boss, this senior is deaf and mute. He can't hear you when you ask him questions. How can he talk to you?"

Qin Jiaxing chuckled slyly. He already had a shifty, weasel-like appearance, and this laugh made him look even more filthy. Yue Qianchou was stunned for a moment. Now he understood why everyone was laughing at him. He had been foolishly talking to a deaf-mute person; it would be strange if people didn't laugh.

"Have you found an empty room?" Qin Jiaxing scratched his head at Fu Chun and said, "The rooms on the east side are all occupied. After Yue Qianchou's commotion, it seems everyone has come to the Jinshan Kingdom to join in the fun."

"Hmm! The weather is bad, it might rain at any time, so it's understandable that there are a lot of people." Fu Chun glanced at the sky and frowned. "There are a few rooms on the west side, but unfortunately they've been taken over by a few women. I tried to talk to them and asked if they could squeeze in, but they refused."

"A woman?" Qin Jiaxing asked with interest, "Is she pretty or not?"

"You're interested?" Fu Chun said disdainfully, "You can give the six disciples of Qinghu Yanyu Tower a try!"

"Qinghu Yanyu Tower?" Qin Jiaxing shrank back and chuckled awkwardly, "Then forget it, we Rogue Cultivator can't afford to offend them."

"The Qinghu Yanyu Tower in the Liunan Kingdom?" Yue Qianchou asked, turning around. Seeing the two nod in agreement, he paused and asked, "How many rooms did they occupy?"

Fu Chun shook his head and said, "They're putting on airs; six people took up six rooms." Qin Jiaxing immediately muttered, "Disciples of big families are really something." You could hear the helplessness in his tone.

Yue Qianchou looked up at the sky. It might really rain. Although cultivators weren't afraid of rain, having nowhere to stay on a rainy night was truly unpleasant. Staying at an inn in Zhujin City would be comfortable, but he wanted to gather some information. So he raised his hand and said, "Take me there. I'll go talk to them."

Qin Jiaxing winked and grinned, "With the boss on the case, one man can do the work of two. He'll definitely handle it." He then led the way with Fu Chun.

Yue Qianchou had only taken a few steps when he stopped again, turned around and walked to the old man's side. Although he knew the old man couldn't hear, he still bowed and said, "I was unaware of what was happening earlier. Please forgive me if I offended you."

The old man turned his back to him, continuing with his own work, presumably not having heard. Yue Qianchou wasn't surprised, and walked up to him, waving his hand. The old man stopped, turning his head to stare coldly at him. A group of people around stared at them, wondering what this guy, who had just been so cocky, was up to!

Yue Qianchou smiled at the old man, indicating that he meant no harm, casually took out a jar of fine wine from his Storage Bag, stuffed it into the old man's arms, and turned to leave...

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