The Scapegoat Appeared, Fleeing Overnight

Liang Qu knew that the earthen house was still there; he could see it hidden inside the main house's frame, like a room within a room.

He didn't care much; there wasn't anything good inside, just a mattress and a few coarse linen clothes.

The only valuable thing is probably the pair of Treasure Fish horns under the rice jar that can be used in medicine. Once we go in and remove them, the craftsmen can dismantle them all.

He hadn't expected his fellow villagers to bring him rice and flour, nor did he know how to use them, since he wasn't cooking at home.

"How about it, Master Liang? I expanded it according to the plan of a two-courtyard house, and there are two side rooms on both sides of the main house."

Separated by that crossroads, on the two open spaces in front of the main house, I don't plan to pave with stone bricks, but rather with Yellow Mud Ground, and plant two trees in them.

Usually, it's two jujube trees, or ginkgo, persimmon, Pomegranate Peak, or something similar, with auspicious meanings, and a cool place to relax in the yard Xia Tian. Of course, what you plant is entirely up to you, Master Liang.

"Uncle Fu, please don't call me Master Liang. You're older than me, so there's no way to address you like that. Just call me A Shui, like before."

Liang Qu recognized the craftsman leading the group; his name was Liu Quanfu, and he was over fifty years old. He was an excellent carpenter and a well-known figure in the town. He had built several Village Elder.

How could someone of his age dare to let the other party call him "Grandpa"? It wouldn't be appropriate.

This shows how much the River God Sacrifice affected the villagers.

When he was first accepted as a disciple, the villagers mostly admired him, but now they feel awe and fear. Some elderly people don't even dare to call him by his childhood nickname.

Liu Quanfu naturally dared not refuse, and after some initial refusal, he could only reluctantly change his mind under Liang Qu's insistence.

Liang Qu returned to the old house, took the Treasure Fish horn from under the rice jar, put the rice and flour in the jar, along with some other miscellaneous things, and planned to temporarily leave them at Uncle Chen's house. He decided to just demolish the old house.

Chen Zhaoan was notified at this time and rushed over upon hearing the news.

Liang Qu jumped down from the roof and greeted him, "Old Chen."

"How does the yard look?"

"It's built so well, I really don't deserve it. It must have taken several months to complete."

"Hey, you saved everyone's lives and even got Martial Master to help us. Why wouldn't you be willing to take a few days to repair the house? My grandsons will all come over sometime!"

Also, I heard you're back. I quickly brought you all the money I was going to raise for you, Tongmin.

Chen Tongmin, who was standing next to Chen Zhaoan, took out a large money bag, but Liang Qu pressed down on his forearm.

Chen Tongmin instinctively struggled for a moment, but surprisingly didn't move at all; instead, he took a step back.

"Old Chen, I didn't originally plan to have everyone help me build such a big courtyard. The timber and bricks must have cost a lot of money, right? Who paid for it?"

"The Village Elder each contributed a portion, and Lord Xue from the town and Lin Di from Fishing Wharf also sent a lot of things after hearing about it."

After a moment of silence, Liang Qu nodded. "Don't give them the money for now. Keep it for everyone as wages. We need to provide two meals a day, which must be dry food. We'll start with the rice and flour that the villagers give us, and then add ten coins a day. If there are elderly people in the family, we'll give them fifteen coins a day."

It's not much money, but it's a small token of my appreciation. If there's any left over after the house is built, you can pay me back.

The men moving Wooden Head inside the house couldn't help but swallow hard upon hearing this! "Is there rice to eat?"

When Liang Qu spoke with the Village Elder, they naturally dared not interrupt, but could only look forward to it in their hearts.

Chen Tongmin leaned closer and lowered his voice. "We can't do that. If they're paid by the day, they might just slack off and do nothing."

Liang Qu laughed and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Brother Tongmin to look after her for me, won't that be a lot of trouble?"

"Oh, this."

Chen Zhaoan was pleased that his grandson could interact more with Liang Qu, and urged, "If you insist, then Tongmin, you should help out more. You don't have anything else to do in the dead of winter, do you?"

Chen Tongmin had no choice but to agree.

Today, Liang Qu holds a very special position in Yi Xing City, and can be considered to be on equal footing with the Village Elder, which is extremely rare within a radius of thousands of miles.

Before the River God Sacrifice, Liang Qu held a higher status than the villagers, but he was still inferior to the Village Elder.

Regardless of status, identity, or strength, there is only one reason—morality.

The elderly, especially those with power and influence, naturally occupy the moral high ground.

Every year, the king would go to the school to host a banquet for the Three Old Ones, and personally cut meat, dip it in sauce, and hand it to them as a sign of respect.

Unless Liang Qu becomes powerful enough to overthrow the entire Da Shun Dynasty, or becomes a savage, he can only operate within the framework of social rules.

This set of behaviors has both advantages and disadvantages.

The benefits are obvious; Liang Qu being accepted as a disciple is proof of this, and his equipment, which allows him to fight beyond his level, is entirely a result of this action.

The downsides are also obvious: if Village Elder want to suppress others, they can simply say that Human Dao; it's that easy.

But after the River God Sacrifice, Liang Qu, who had saved everyone's lives, suddenly found himself on the moral high ground! The Village Elder, who wanted to frame him without cause, would have to consider who was more qualified!

It's awesome! There are benefits to doing this.

Putting everything else aside, if any bandits were to attack in the future, Liang Qu could gather the crowd and the villagers would absolutely listen to him.

Or, like today, even without a single penny of payment, there are still plenty of people willing to help him build a house.

After a quick look at the house, Liang Qu left amidst the compliments of the crowd and rowed back to Ping Yang Town.

Two hours have passed since I left. I wonder if my two senior brothers have found any additional clues.

He needs to hurry up and make up the numbers; maybe, like Mountain Search and Demon Subjugation, he can reap a huge benefit without doing anything.

The Zhao Residence.

"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened! My hideout in Ping Yang Town where I raise Mountain Ghost has been raided! What should I do?"

Outside, the scenery was magnificent, and rumors spread that Master Zhao, who was fond of men, barged into the house and crawled on the ground to hug the legs of the men in the room.

Zhao Hongyuan was over sixty years old, but he was extremely fat and had no wrinkles. His face was rosy like a baby's. At this moment, he was crying to a man in black.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? Your nose is snotty!" Huang Zejun retreated in disgust, kicking Zhao Hongyuan aside and asking, "What hideout was raided? Explain yourself! You're over sixty years old, how can you be so unsteady?!"

Zhao Hongyuan sobbed as he recounted, in fits and starts, how the disciples of the Yang Martial Hall stormed the Fahua Temple and killed more than a hundred Mountain Ghost.

Huang Zejun was stunned. "We were about to pick the fruit, and you've caused this mess?"

"I didn't expect this either," Zhao Hongyuan said anxiously. "That's why we invited the envoy. Shall we start earlier?"

Influenced by Zhao Hongyuan, Huang Zejun was also very anxious.

"This is different from the previously scheduled time."

"The longer we drag this out, the more of our hideouts will be exposed. Will we still be able to get enough embryos to refine the pills then?"

Huang Zejun was extremely anxious, and with Zhao Hongyuan constantly instigating him, he felt guilty and restless, and inexplicably agreed.

Zhao Hongyuan was secretly delighted, but tears streamed down his face as he said, "It's all my fault. I didn't handle things properly, causing a huge disaster and delaying important matters for the sect."

"Now that things have come to this, there's no point in holding anyone accountable. You've worked so hard for the church for so many years. Even if you haven't made any great contributions, you've certainly put in the effort. At least the work has already been done, and the impact of the two days in the morning shouldn't be too significant."

"Now that my old and frail body has no use, with you here, everything will be safe. I truly wish to see my Old Mother's divine form as soon as possible and serve her day and night. Is that alright?"

"Yes, I know you are devout. I will make arrangements for a boat so that you can return to my religion as soon as possible."