A Small Matter

Qiusheng helplessly looked at Ren Wei, who was kneeling on the ground and clinging tightly to his thigh. He really didn't know what to do with him.

The man before him was practically rolling around on the ground.

"Enough, enough. It's not impossible for me to take you as a disciple. Here, master this first, then we'll talk."

Seeing how tenaciously Ren Wei was pestering him, Qiusheng casually pulled a booklet from inside his robe and tossed it into Ren Wei's arms.

Ren Wei immediately picked up the booklet. As soon as he looked at it, five large characters appeared before his eyes.

"Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar!"

That was right. It was the Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar. Wencai had returned it to Qiusheng after finishing reading it.

Today, Ren Wei had been pestering him so much that Qiusheng couldn't take it anymore, so he had no choice but to toss the item to him.

While Ren Wei was distracted by the Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar, Qiusheng promptly slipped away.

"My goodness, could this be the legendary cultivation manual?"

Ren Wei gazed at the ancient-looking book and murmured to himself.

But when he opened the book, the excitement on his face immediately vanished. Looking at the annotations before him, he felt as if he were about to break down.

"To practice this art, you must first purify yourself. Until you reach the highest level, you must not lose your virginity."

Ren Wei stared blankly at the Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar in his hands, sinking into deep thought.

Meanwhile, Qiusheng had already returned to the Public Mortuary.

He went back to his bedroom and saw Ren Tingting still fast asleep in his bed. He didn't disturb her, instead spending the night sharing a room with Wencai.

Early the next morning, Tingting emerged from Qiusheng's room, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Over the past few days, she had first lost her father, then been threatened by her grandfather. Although she had seemed calm on the surface, her heart had been tense the whole time.

It wasn't until the previous night, when everything had finally been resolved, that she felt herself relax. With the man she loved by her side, she had fallen into a deep sleep without even realizing it.

She didn't wake until the next morning, when daylight had already filled the sky. Waking up abruptly in Qiusheng's bed, she realized that she had spent the entire night in Brother Sheng's room. How could she not feel bashful?

Seeing Ren Tingting get up, Qiusheng, who had just finished his morning exercises, told her to wash up before she paid her respects to Uncle Nine. Then he officially introduced her as his girlfriend.

Afterward, Qiusheng took Tingting to Ren Family Town, where they met his aunt at the Rouge Shop and chatted.

As soon as they arrived at the Rouge Shop, Qiusheng became an outsider. He watched in a daze as the two women, one older and one younger, held hands and whispered to each other. He soon couldn't stand it anymore.

After greeting his aunt, Qiusheng left the Rouge Shop and wandered aimlessly around Ren Family Town.

After wandering for a while, Qiusheng suddenly raised his brows and turned to look at a large mansion.

The mansion was imposing, with a pair of stone lions standing majestically before its gate.

A small Bagua Mirror was even mounted above the gate.

Qiusheng's gaze had been drawn to that mirror.

An outsider might not have noticed, but as a cultivator, he could naturally tell what it was.

It was a magical artifact, and a fairly high-grade one at that. It was at least a little stronger than an ordinary century-old Peach Wood Sword. One glance was enough to tell that it was no ordinary mirror.

It was perfectly normal for a grand mansion like this to have one or two magical artifacts protecting it. After all, the rich could always get their hands on treasures that ordinary people would never have a chance to encounter.

What surprised Qiusheng, however, was that even with the artifact hanging above the mansion's gate, wisps of baleful energy were still rising from within, giving the place a gloomy air.

Fortunately, the baleful energy wasn't too strong yet, so it wouldn't have any adverse effects on the mansion's owner in the short term.

But as the energy slowly accumulated, who knew what terrifying evil creature might be drawn there when it finally erupted?

Qiusheng watched for a while, hesitated, then knocked on the mansion's gate.

A few moments after the knock, the gate opened.

A young servant stepped out from behind it. He looked Qiusheng up and down, then saw his rough, short jacket and immediately wore a haughty expression.

"Who are you, and what do you want with my household?"

Seeing the servant's arrogant expression, Qiusheng swallowed the warning he had been about to give.

Still, after some hesitation, Qiusheng decided he should at least try. The servant seemed arrogant, but perhaps he had misjudged him.

With that in mind, Qiusheng simply said, "Nothing in particular. I'd just like to pay a visit to your master. Would you be willing to pass along a message for me?"

"Hmph! Where did you crawl out from, you penniless brat? Open your eyes and take a good look! This is the mansion of Ren Family Town's richest merchant. A poor wretch like you actually wants to meet our master? Go piss on the ground and look at your reflection!"

Hearing Qiusheng's words, the servant immediately cursed him out.

Qiusheng shook his head, having expected the abuse, and said nothing more.

I'll just let this family face whatever calamity is coming their way. I won't meddle in other people's business. Besides, I'm leaving tonight. Even if something really is wrong with this family, I probably won't have time to help them fix it.

Thinking this, Qiusheng curled his lips into a smile and said, "Hey, kid, I'll remember what you said today."

"Someday, your master had better not come begging my master, Uncle Nine, for help. Otherwise..."

Qiusheng didn't finish what he was saying.

In his eyes, the servant was nothing more than an ant. If he really wanted to deal with him, he could kill him in an instant.

But there was one thing Qiusheng always kept firmly in mind: never misuse one's skills.

Unless someone crossed the line or behaved truly outrageously, he wouldn't use magic against ordinary people.

Otherwise, how would he be any different from those evil cultivators who attacked ordinary people at will?

If that happened, his master, Uncle Nine, would probably have to deal with him personally for his outrageous conduct.

With that thought in mind, Qiusheng turned and left without waiting for the servant to say anything else.

The young man kept cursing behind him, but Qiusheng didn't even look back or say another word.

"Xiao Liu, what are you grumbling about? If the master hears you, you might lose this hard-won job."

"Oh, if it isn't Steward Li!"

Seeing the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared behind him, Xiao Liu immediately bowed and greeted him obsequiously, then explained, "Master Li, some penniless nobody just knocked on the door and wanted to see our master. I said a couple of things to him, but then the brat threatened that our master had better not come begging his master, Uncle Nine, for help someday."

"Those words made me so angry that I started cursing without thinking. Please don't hold it against me, Steward Li."

After hearing Xiao Liu's explanation, Steward Li paused briefly. He didn't take it to heart; instead, he praised Xiao Liu.

"Mm, you did well. From now on, when you're watching the gate, turn away anyone you don't think needs to see the master. That'll save him from being bothered by strange people all day long."