Resident Compound

Huang Huai looked at the pearl the young man shoved into his hand, then at the young man, who was wearing a look of eager expectation waiting for his reply, and said instinctively, "My name is Huang Huai, little brother. I can't accept this pearl..."

Pity that before Huang Huai could step forward to return the pearl to the young man, the latter had already crossed several zhang in a single stride, reached the front of the carriage in a few agile movements, and, before climbing inside, turned back to wave at Huang Huai, shouting, "If you hear news of the Ji family in Great River City setting up their household, remember to come find me!"

Inside the carriage, a faint, lingering fragrance permeated the air, and a woman in a goose-yellow dress was looking at the young man with a hint of reproach.

"A single pearl may not amount to much, but it's still precious to an ordinary person. You just handed it to him like that—aren't you afraid someone would see and cause him trouble?"

Ji Yang leaned closer to the woman with a mysterious expression and said, "Jie, you've misjudged this time! The big brother I just made acquaintance with is no ordinary person!"

Seeing her little brother's mysterious look, the woman couldn't help rolling her eyes at him, reached out with a delicate finger to poke Ji Yang on the forehead, and said, "You love the hustle and bustle; whenever you see someone who catches your eye, you go up and befriend them. Just think about how many people you've made friends with along this trip!"

Ji Yang immediately defended himself, "But this time is different! That big brother is definitely not an ordinary person!"

The woman said nothing more, but the expression on her face clearly laid bare her inner thoughts.

Seeing this, Ji Yang said anxiously, "Jie, really! You don't know, but just now I saw an Incense and Fire Treasure Artifact on that big brother!"

Sure enough, a trace of surprise appeared on the woman's face, and the young man said excitedly, "It really was an Incense and Fire Treasure Artifact..."

The carriage gradually rolled away. Watching it leave, Huang Huai naturally could not catch up. Fingering the pearl in his hand and thinking of his brief time with the young man named Ji Yang, Huang Huai could not help laughing lightly and freely.

The Ji family of Great River City, Ji Yang!

He put the pearl away, tidied up his clothes which had been slightly rumpled by the crowded street, and looked at the somewhat deserted avenue. Shaking his head slightly, Huang Huai steadied his mind and headed straight for a certain destination.

Great River City was subordinate to Taian Prefecture. Although it fell within the sphere of influence of the Great River Sect, the city also housed the administrative organs of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The court of the Great Yan Dynasty was naturally not weak in strength. Facing numerous cultivators—especially when it involved the struggle for incense and fire, which related to the very foundation of cultivation—how could the Great Yan Dynasty possibly suppress so many forces relying solely on imperial power? Thus, an unwritten rule had formed.

The dynasty established administrative organs below, and various factions paid a certain amount of taxes to the court. Apart from that, real local authority completely fell into the hands of these major powers who had mastered extraordinary mighty power.

Based on the information Huang Huai had gathered, if one wanted to find a place to settle down in Great River City, the best choice was to purchase a residence.

The High Gods of Great River City didn't have the time or energy to manage matters involving real estate transactions, so they handed them over to the administrative organs established by the dynasty.

At the Market Supervision Department Yamen, Huang Huai watched as an enthusiastic petty official enthusiastically and endlessly introduced him to various real estate listings located all over the city.

With each introduction, the petty official looked at him with an expectant gaze, as if wanting him to make up his mind and buy it right away.

To be honest, that look made Huang Huai feel somewhat embarrassed in the face of the petty official's hard sell. He coughed lightly, pointed at a listed property on the map of Great River City, and said, "This residential compound is nice. If I want to buy it, how much silver will it cost, and how soon can I move in?"

The petty official followed the direction of Huang Huai's finger, and his eyes immediately lit up. "The young master truly has a good eye! Although this compound isn't large—just a single-courtyard dwelling—as long as the young master buys it, you can move in the very same day. The most important thing is that this courtyard is located in Anshun District!"

With that, the petty official looked at Huang Huai and asked, "The young master should know about Anshun District, right?"

Huang Huai had chosen this location at a glance simply because he saw that the courtyard was neither too close nor too far from the cluster of buildings where the Great River Sect was situated.

Being too close to the Great River Sect might provide a certain guarantee of safety; after all, even if there were any God, Demon, Malevolent Spirit disturbances, he imagined they would avoid the area where the Great River Sect resided.

If Huang Huai harbored no secrets, he would certainly have chosen to get as close to the Great River Sect as possible.

It was just a pity that Huang Huai harbored earth-shattering secrets. Under the noses of that group of High Gods with extraordinary might in the Great River Sect, even if he made foolproof preparations, Huang Huai truly didn't dare guarantee which crossing would lead to him being discovered by those High Gods.

After all, he truly didn't know what kind of abilities these High Gods possessed!

Judging from the petty official's tone just now, it seemed there was something significant about Shun'an Ward. Since this directly concerned his lodging and safety in Great River City, Huang Huai didn't dare pick a place to settle down at random.

Looking at the petty official, Huang Huai casually handed over a silver gourd seed and asked, "Are there any taboos regarding this Shun'an Ward?"

Having received the silver, the smiles on the petty official's face squeezed into wrinkles as he explained even more attentively to Huang Huai, "The young master probably doesn't know that the Peng family—belonging to that Peng Yu Peng High God who recently entered the Great River Sect—is located right in Shun'an Ward."

"Since this Shun'an Ward has produced a High God Peng Yu, it will certainly receive the High God's grace in the future! Leaving everything else aside, whenever High God Peng Yu manifests his holiness to bestow blessings, he will definitely choose the Shun'an Ward area as a priority! So the young master selecting this residential compound shows truly exceptional insight!"

Huang Huai couldn't help hesitating inwardly. He had originally wanted to avoid the area around the Great River Sect, but to his surprise, after choosing an extremely suitable location, it turned out to have yet another disciple of the Great River Sect.

Yet when he looked at the map, there was not a single place more suitable than the one in Shun'an Ward. After only a brief hesitation, Huang Huai made up his mind and said to the petty official, "We'll take this one!"

Huang Huai had already figured it out by now: so what if it was close to the Peng family? Even though Peng Yu had entered the Great River Sect, he had only just stepped onto the path of cultivation. Who knew how long it would take before he truly achieved success in his cultivation? Moreover, according to the news he heard earlier, Peng Yu would stay at home for at most half a month before moving into the Great River Sect, and no one was allowed to leave the Great River Sect's grounds until they entered the First Realm of cultivation.

Therefore, Huang Huai had no need to worry that choosing his foothold in this world within Shun'an Ward would pose any hidden dangers.

The small residential compound actually cost Huang Huai several dozen liang of silver. After paying the deposit, he agreed with the petty official to go and complete the handover in the afternoon, at which point the silver and property would be settled cleanly with money and property changing hands simultaneously.

Stepping out of the Market Supervision Department, Huang Huai felt his heart relax considerably. With his foothold settled, he could now safely consider how to embark upon the path of cultivation.

At Ping'an Inn, the restaurant waiter, having been severely reprimarded by his third uncle, remained listless and worried for the better part of the day, frequently casting his gaze toward the entrance of the inn.

Suddenly, the waiter gave a start and trotted up eagerly, while the innkeeper by the counter hurriedly stood up.

As Huang Huai walked into the inn's main hall, before he even figured out what was going on, he heard a thud as a figure dropped straight to its knees before him.

Recognizing the other person, Huang Huai's heart tightened. First stepping aside to avoid him, he looked at the waiter with a rather displeasure-filled expression, secretly guessing what the other's actions meant. Could it be that while he was out, the man had broken into his small courtyard without permission?