Buying Off

"Wu Liang set out from Dong'e, and upon reaching Dingtao, he defeated the Xia army twice. Liu Yu then slew the Xia general Chen You, further underestimating the Xia forces and showing signs of arrogance.

Liu Yu advised Wu Liang, saying, 'When victory breeds arrogance in generals and laziness in soldiers, defeat is sure to follow. Our soldiers are growing lazy, and the Xia army is growing stronger by the day. I fear for you, my lord.' Wu Liang, however, did not listen. He then ordered Liu Yu to depart for Cai Land..."

Inside the City God Temple courtyard.

Shen Zhui walked around the courtyard, clutching a book and reciting its contents. Traces of golden light flowed around him, and golden characters floated up from the book like swimming fish, entering Shen Zhui's mind.

Shen Zhui wore a relaxed expression, completely immersed in reciting the deity's lore.

Suddenly, Shen Zhui's expression changed slightly, and his previously fluent recitation became halting and stuttered. No more golden light emanated from the book.

"The Dao encounters the envoy from Cai Land, the envoy..."

At the same time, a system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Enlightenment Time has ended."

Shen Zhui felt a stuffiness in his chest. He shook his head, closed the book, and returned to his room, letting out a long sigh.

"Is this third summon to Slay Evil Spirits really this difficult? Twenty days have passed, and I'm still stuck in the middle of the third story. And the County Magistrate is still refusing to let me leave the city..."

Since obtaining two treasures twenty days ago, Shen Zhui had returned to the temple. Every day, he used Merit Points to exchange for Enlightenment Time to memorize the deity's lore.

He had met the requirements for the second summon, Discern Right and Wrong, fifteen days ago.

Shen Zhui had originally planned to go to the Law Enforcement Hall to take on the murder case involving the Li Family, but unexpectedly, the County Magistrate had stopped him directly and strictly ordered everyone not to leave the city.

With no other choice, Shen Zhui had to continue his secluded cultivation in the City God Temple. After that, he began to attempt the third summon of a Deity!

Although Wang Long had said that the third summon of a Deity required at least Peak Houtian strength to withstand the Divine Power.

Shen Zhui felt that with the Yuanpin Pearl's help, it wouldn't take long to reach Peak Houtian.

So, he decided to use the Enlightenment Time to first elevate his Spiritual Sense to the level of the third summon.

When he reached the level of the third summon, Slay Evil Spirits, if he hadn't yet advanced to Peak Houtian, it wouldn't matter if he didn't use the Divine Power of the third summon.

But he never expected that Liu Yu's third story would consume almost all his Merit Points, yet he could only reach the middle part.

Furthermore, the County Magistrate's ban was still in effect.

"The third summon has hit a bottleneck, but on the other hand, the second move of my swordsmanship has already taken shape. I have a vague feeling that after a few real battles, I'll be able to completely create this second form."

With his Merit Points depleted and the progress of the third summon being slow, Shen Zhui shifted his focus to his swordsmanship. Now, this second move only needed the final validation through actual combat.

"But if I can't leave the city, without Enlightenment Time as a foundation, it will be difficult for my Spiritual Sense to reach the level of the third summon, and my swordsmanship won't be able to break through," Shen Zhui frowned.

"Brother Shen."

Just as Shen Zhui was feeling agitated, Zhao Hu emerged from the neighboring courtyard.

"Brother Hu," Shen Zhui greeted with a smile. "Brother Hu, have you reached the first summon yet?"

Zhao Hu nodded. "It's embarrassing to say, but it took me nearly a month to reach the level of the first summon."

"That's already good," Shen Zhui consoled him.

The most difficult part of summoning a Deity was the strength of one's Spiritual Sense.

Without the system's Enlightenment Time, he might not even have reached the second summon level by now.

Moreover, a Martial Artist's Spiritual Sense was inherently weaker than that of a Qi Cultivation True Person, so their progress naturally wouldn't be fast.

"Shen Zhui, have you received any news recently?" Zhao Hu asked. He had been diligently reciting the deity's lore and rarely went out, so he hadn't visited the County Yamen as often as Shen Zhui.

"It's not very optimistic," Shen Zhui replied with a frown. "In the past twenty-odd days, the number of new murder cases has increased dozens of times compared to before. At the same time, prices in the city have skyrocketed. A few days ago, refugees started pouring into the city one after another, gathering in front of the County Yamen and causing trouble."

"Initially, Steward Liu sent people to set up temporary shelters and distribute food free of charge to appease the refugees."

"But in twenty days, the number of refugees reached over a thousand and is still increasing!"

"Although a few ringleaders were arrested and imprisoned, most of them are innocent and do not bear any Sin Value, so they cannot be convicted."

Zhao Hu gritted his teeth. "It must be those powerful families at work!"

Shen Zhui fell silent. It was obvious to anyone that these refugees were being manipulated.

The tricky part was that even though they knew these people were being used, they couldn't be beaten or killed. They still had to allocate personnel and resources to pacify them, because these common people were indeed facing hardship.

Meanwhile, prices across the city were soaring, with merchants hoarding vast amounts of goods. The shops that were still open were all selling at exorbitant prices!

If they could leave the city, it would be fine. As long as the masterminds behind the scenes were apprehended, the public unrest would naturally subside.

However, the County Magistrate had strictly forbidden the Martial Arts Department from taking action at this time!

This led to more and more people following suit and hoarding goods, causing a massive influx of refugees into the city!

If this continued, not only would the situation outside the city be chaotic, but even the common people within the county town would be affected.

"If this goes on, people will be in a state of panic, and it won't be good," Zhao Hu said with a worried frown.

If dissent arose and persisted, it would turn the County Magistrate's three years of hard work to naught. Even within the County Yamen, people were unsettled.

"County Magistrate, how long do we have to wait..." Although Shen Zhui was angry at the shamelessness of the powerful families, he wasn't as pessimistic as Zhao Hu.

He suddenly recalled the story about weeding that Wei Wenhe had told him in prison.

"Although the methods of the major families are ruthless, if they could easily overthrow the County Magistrate, why would they have waited three years? They would have acted long ago," Shen Zhui thought to himself.

He was still confident in Wei Wenhe.

Just as he was about to comfort Zhao Hu, a young child suddenly knocked on the door from outside.

"Is anyone home?"

Shen Zhui was taken aback, then opened the courtyard gate.

Outside was a dark-skinned boy, about seven or eight years old, whom Shen Zhui didn't recognize.

"Excuse me, is this where Master Shen Zhui lives?" the boy asked in a clear, crisp voice.

"It is," Shen Zhui nodded.

"That's great," the boy smiled and took out a letter from his bosom, handing it to Shen Zhui.

"Huh?" Shen Zhui asked, confused. "Kid, who sent you with this letter?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't know the person. I was playing outside the city gate when someone asked me to deliver this letter, saying I'd get five taels of silver if I delivered it."

"What else did that person say?"

The boy frowned, trying to recall. "Oh, right. That person also said you might ask me to deliver the letter back after you read it. If that happens, I'll get another ten taels of silver."

The boy asked timidly, "Will... will you have me deliver it back?"

Shen Zhui didn't answer, instead opening the letter.

After reading its contents, Shen Zhui's expression immediately turned grim.

"Shen Zhui, what's wrong? What does the letter say?" Zhao Hu asked, seeing Shen Zhui's change in expression.

"Brother Hu, it's an offer of recruitment," Shen Zhui said, handing the letter to Zhao Hu.

"The Yang family is willing to gift me three hundred mu of fertile land outside the city and help me achieve Xiantian realm. As long as I send the letter back, it means I accept their terms, and I can move out of the city on an appointed day. I don't have to do anything evil."

"What if you don't agree?" Zhao Hu asked.

"They've marked down my family's residence and my adoptive father's whereabouts in the letter."

"Vile scoundrels!" Zhao Hu was instantly furious. This was clearly a threat. Although acting in the city would definitely lead to arrest, if the other party was determined, they could sacrifice a master and seek mutual destruction, though at a significant cost.

"Are you Lord Zhao Hu?" the boy suddenly looked at Zhao Hu.

"That's right," Zhao Hu nodded.

The boy took out another letter from his bosom and handed it over.

"This is your letter."

"I have one too?" Zhao Hu immediately opened his letter. After reading it for a while, he handed it to Shen Zhui.

"A hundred mu of fertile land, a house, a thousand taels of silver. I didn't expect Zhao Hu to be so valuable!" Zhao Hu laughed in anger.

"Eight years ago, when I started this line of work, I already put my life and death aside. Three years ago, my distant relatives cut ties with me. I have no fortune to enjoy the fine wine and grand houses of the Yang family."

With that, Zhao Hu tore the letter to shreds.

"As for you, Brother Shen," Zhao Hu suddenly teased. "Tsk tsk, the Yang family's offer to you is much higher than mine. If that old man Yang Ling could offer me this price, maybe I would have agreed. Haha~"

"Brother Hu," Shen Zhui said helplessly. "You don't need to provoke me. Naturally, I won't agree."

Tear The letter was torn into pieces by Shen Zhui.

"Haha, good brother, I knew you wouldn't be someone who fears death. At worst, we'll fight until our heads are bloody, kill one to break even, kill two and we profit!" Zhao Hu laughed heartily.

The boy was startled by Shen Zhui and Zhao Hu's actions and took a few steps back, turning to leave.

Shen Zhui suddenly stopped him.

"Wait, do you have any other envelopes on you?"

"I... I..." The boy seemed terrified and, with a crying voice, quickly took out seven or eight envelopes from his bosom, along with dozens of taels of silver.

"Don't hit me, don't hit me, it's all yours, it's all yours!"

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