The Cicada Sheds Its Shell; An Unexpected Windfall!
"Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you, Your Excellency!"
Zhao Hongyuan knelt down repeatedly, tears streaming down his face, and staggered out of the room.
The courtyard was quiet.
Only after getting away from the side room did Zhao Hongyuan straighten his back. He looked at the head steward, Lin Guiyong, who was hiding in the shadows, and quietly raised an index finger.
"One?"
Lin Guiyong was overjoyed and quickly ran out to pack his valuables, preparing to flee.
The two jujube trees in the yard had all lost their leaves, and the setting sun shone through the gaps between the branches, creating dappled light.
He reached out and broke off a dry branch, then held it in his hand and rubbed it repeatedly.
Jujube trees are not easy to grow. This is the fifth year he has planted jujube trees, but unfortunately he has only eaten jujubes once and will not be able to wait for the second harvest next August.
Zhao Hongyuan stood in the courtyard and took a deep breath.
Five years ago, he was a small businessman who made a living by being clever. He was not rich, but he lived a much better life than ordinary people, and even had extra money to take a concubine.
It all started with that richly dressed, injured old man who collapsed by the roadside.
Driven by a desire to profit from a rare find, Zhao Hongyuan made up his mind within a few breaths after seeing the old man. He secretly placed him in a carriage and took him back to recuperate. Once the old man woke up and revealed his identity to Zhao Hongyuan, it was too late to undo the damage.
Damn it, those Water Blessing Sect heretics!
At the time, Zhao Hongyuan regretted it, but now, he not only doesn't regret it, but is actually very fortunate.
If you want to get rich, you'll go crazy.
From then on, the Water Blessing Sect secretly provided assistance so that he could openly develop and expand his business, while in reality, he would go to Ping Yang Town and the surrounding villages as a member of the Water Blessing Sect to raise Mountain Ghost and wait for the harvest.
Rather than saying that Ping Yang Town was chosen, it would be more accurate to say that the favorable environment of Ping Yang Town attracted the Water Blessing Sect.
Over two decades of development have resulted in a large population in Ping Yang Town, and since it is a town rather than a county, there are no government obstacles.
The second reason is that Martial Arts School have a large number of itinerant Martial Artist. If one or two are missing every month, no one will notice.
For example, Lu Shaohui was aloof and indifferent; no one cared even after he died.
In such an environment, the Mountain Ghost raised are extremely strong and healthy.
All Water Blessing Sect gave in return was a Treasure Plant that could be cultivated, and when he encountered competitors, they secretly used some underhanded tactics, benefiting him without costing him anything.
Zhao Hongyuan even felt that the Water Blessing Sect had cultivated many people like him in other places, like the branches of a jujube tree, densely packed yet completely separate.
Over the past five years, everything has gone very smoothly.
The number of Mountain Ghost is increasing and can be recycled. Once used up, they can be taken away and wait for the next breeding cycle.
Zhao Hongyuan's family business has also multiplied dozens of times, with assets spread from small towns to large counties!
The only problem is that Master Zhao doesn't believe in religion at all!
What kind of the Water Blessing Sect this? It sounds nice and seems righteous, but it actually worships the Yinsha Water Old Mother!
Disaster Water God!
They should be called the Ghost Mother Sect! They were brutally murdered decades ago; they're a sinking, rotten ship!
And what about Da Shun? It's at the Da Shun of its power!
It's easy for wicked mountain bandits to live; they can live comfortably by hiding their identities.
But if it's a rebel leader, no place is safe from him, he'll fight to the death!
If you really let him take the lead, he won't be able to escape afterwards.
Unless you spend the rest of your life hiding in the vast marshes with the Ghost Mother Sect, neither human nor ghost, eating raw fish every day, it will be difficult to even buy some soap to wash away the fishy smell.
The best course of action is to squeeze every last drop out of the three nails on this rotten ship that is the Ghost Mother Sect and then flee!
The opportunity to escape came quickly—it was this Blood Sacrifice! In the past half month, Lu Shaohui's death, the Mountain Ghost at the River God Sacrifice, and the hideout at Fahua Temple.
Zhao Hongyuan deliberately exposed everything! He did it so that he would "cause trouble" and make himself "stupid" so that he could entrust the Blood Sacrifice mission to the Ghost Mother Sect's envoy.
Huang Zejun did indeed agree, but Zhao Hongyuan had no intention of going to the headquarters.
Bullshit, once you go there you won't come back, you'll be a stray dog for life.
He had already made arrangements with everyone involved, and then took a boat that turned around and headed to Huang Province!
The saying goes, "It's beyond one's reach."
Huang Province was far from the Jianghuai Marshlands, located in the Central Plains, and the Ghost Mother Sect, barely clinging to life, was utterly powerless to help.
Although he still had many shops that he couldn't liquidate in time, two Galloping Horse Realm Fetus Pearl Pill and four thousand-tael Silver Note were enough for him to make a comeback!
Fortunately, the people of the Ghost Mother Sect are stupid enough.
Martial Artist in the Hunting Tiger Realm can live to be 120 years old, and those in the True Image can live even longer, but now it has been 60 years since the Great Qian was destroyed.
The older generation is alright; they really do live on. But the middle generation has all died out, and the old generals of True Image are too embarrassed to run errands.
The newborns born after the fall of the Great Qian Dynasty became the "backbone," such as the envoy Huang Zejun.
They have the strength; even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.
He had been hiding on the island since childhood, never venturing out or experiencing the vastness of the world. He was constantly taught by the elders about past glories, yet he had to accept the present hardships.
They imagine their Old Ancestor enjoying a life of luxury, while they themselves are eating raw fish and need regular deworming.
Living like that for a long time will cause the person to become deformed.
Impulsive, arrogant, and incompetent—they're nothing but a bunch of overgrown children! Zhao Hongyuan been through so much in his life; dealing with him is a piece of cake. Huang Zejun has only been here for two days, and he's already praising him.
Zhao Hongyuan casually stuck the branch in his hand into the soil, called Zheng Xiang, and handed him a stack of papers. "Give this to that Liang kid."
Zheng Xiang looked terrified.
"What are you thinking? If I wanted to abandon you, would I have told you about it a few days ago? Didn't you offend him before? You could have secretly given it to him under the guise of making amends. It would have been perfectly reasonable."
That kid should go to Pingyang Wharf around dark. Before he goes, remember to smear some Mountain Ghost blood on yourself so he can smell it.
"Once it's done, go to Yun Jiang Wharf. I've arranged a small boat for you to go to Hua Hong County. Don't move when you get there; I'll come find you. From now on, you'll come with me to Huang Province and live a life of luxury!"
"Master!"
Zheng Xiang deeply moved. If Zhao Hongyuan told him, he might have foolishly stayed at the mansion and been punished.
Zhao Hongyuan wasn't lying; he needed manpower to make a comeback.
The reason I didn't tell Zheng Xiang before was that too much talk leads to mistakes, and too much action leads to errors. Now that I'm leaving, of course I'll take my trusted confidants with me.
Zheng Xiang was a capable man, and many strong and muscular men were "earned" by him through hard work. For a long time, he believed that his master really had a thing for men.
As for the note, it was Zhao Hongyuan's last preparation.
To avoid being purged by the Da Shun, minimizing the potential disaster is the safest course of action.
The only option is to endure the suffering of the Ghost Mother Sect.
As night falls, pedestrians walk home in twos and threes on the streets.
Liang Qu rested quietly between the fishing boats, their bows colliding with each other with a dull thud.
He saw Zheng Xiang running towards him from the dock, carrying large and small bags, as if he knew in advance when he would return and was waiting there.
"Young Master Liang, it's been a long time."
Liang Qu didn't Shang An. Holding the oar, he straightened his back, squinted, and smiled, "Steward Zheng, what are you up to?"
"Young Master Liang is too kind. I'm just here to apologize."
"Oh, what's there to apologize for? We're not..." Liang Qu was about to say something sarcastic when he saw Zheng Xiang winking and handing over the package.
The package wasn't the key issue; the key issue was that he smelled something.
A stench unique to the Mountain Ghost.
Liang Qu changed the subject, accepted the gift, and said, "What conflicts could we possibly have? Let bygones be bygones."
"Very good, very good. Young Master Young Master Liang is very generous. He is truly a talented man from Pingyang, with a handsome appearance."
Zheng Xiang covered in sweat. The matter concerned life and death, and all his previous shrewdness and resourcefulness had vanished. He uttered a few dry, polite words and quickly left.
That's strange.
It's like an underground party meeting.
Liang Qu frowned and quietly took the things back to the Martial Arts School.