Sense of Superiority

"Eh? Why has this village become so quiet?"

Shen Shiying rode a cyan horse with a trace of demonic beast blood, moving slowly along the village path while his gaze swept across the surroundings.

Revisiting an old haunt, he felt no sense of nostalgia, but rather, something felt strange.

How should he put it?

It was too quiet!

For a village with a population of nearly two thousand, the roads were now sparsely populated. Back when he was in charge, while Dawan Village had never been particularly bustling, it had certainly never been this desolate!

"Could it be that our young master has played himself into a corner?"

"Look at the white funeral banners hanging in front of those houses; it seems someone in the family has died recently."

"Not long ago was the harvest time for the Spirit Grain. Perhaps they encountered an attack from demonic beasts in the mountains, leading to heavy casualties among the villagers, which is why they've fallen into such a state."

"Hmph, if you ask me, they deserve it!"

"To seize someone else's foundation without having the ability to hold it—I wonder how much of this year's Spirit Grain output was ruined by beasts, and how much out of his own pocket that young master will have to pay to cover the deficit?"

Behind Shen Shiying, Shen Shaochong, also riding a cyan horse, spoke with malicious glee. A sneer of disdain curled at the corners of his mouth. Clearly, Shen Shaochong was extremely unhappy with Shen Changchuan, who had "seized" their family foundation.

He couldn't help but be unhappy. Ever since his family lost their stake in Dawan Village and was forced to return to Tiannan City, the subsequent turn of events had been exactly as Shen Shaochong had feared. He had gone from being the "Young Master Shen" whom other cultivation family descendants in the vicinity of Dawan Village vied to flatter and curry favor with, to a mere lackey in Tiannan City who could only follow behind the true young lords and sell his smiles.

This disparity in status was almost impossible for Shen Shaochong to accept. It also made him harbor a secret, deep-seated hatred for Shen Changchuan, who had taken their "foundation." Now that he had returned, seeing the miserable state of the village, a sense of vengeful pleasure naturally welled up in his heart.

"Alright, you brat, speak less later on. He is the family head's son, after all; show some respect."

Shen Shiying, riding in front, turned his head and scolded Shen Shaochong in a low voice upon hearing this. Although Shen Shiying was scolding him on the surface, he was secretly gloating inside. After all, having guarded Dawan Village for many years, he knew exactly how lucrative it was. Being pushed out by Shen Changchuan had resulted in massive losses, and Shen Shiying had been unwilling from the very start. It was only the circumstances that had forced him to accept it.

Now, only half a year later, seeing Dawan Village so cold and desolate, with villagers draped in mourning clothes and scattered spirit money along the roadside, he didn't need to ask to guess what had happened. It was ten-to-one that something had gone wrong, likely resulting in heavy losses. Seeing his "enemy" suffer bad luck gave Shen Shiying a feeling of satisfaction, like drinking a bowl of iced plum juice on a sweltering summer day!

However, being middle-aged and having seen much of the world, even if he was secretly pleased, he was no longer the type to let his inner thoughts show on his face.

Before long, the entrance to the village hall came into view, and there, Shen Changchuan was already waiting to greet them.

"Haha, my nephew, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?"

Shen Shiying swung down from his horse, laughing heartily as he strode forward to greet him.

"Many thanks for your concern, Uncle. Everything is well enough."

Shen Changchuan clasped his hands in a formal salute and replied.

After a round of polite pleasantries, the group walked one after another into the main hall.

"Although this Dawan Village boasts twelve acres of Spirit Grain, it is situated in a desolate wilderness, far from the prosperity of the Tiannan Region. It must be difficult for you to endure life here, nephew?"

After sipping the clear tea served by a servant, Shen Shiying looked at Shen Changchuan and teased.

"Indeed. This place is, in all honesty, hardly fit for human habitation."

Speaking of this, Shen Changchuan nodded with deep feeling.

While the rewards from managing Dawan Village were immense, the standard of living compared to the mature, bustling areas like Tiannan City was truly worlds apart.

"Not to mention the distant past, just look at the rainy season a few months ago. It rained for two full months; I felt as though I were molding away inside the house."

"And what was even more terrifying was the army of mountain leeches that emerged from who knows what dark corners of the mountains during that season—it was simply unbearable!"

"They were dense and swarming, covering the mountains and plains, crawling over trees and grass. The dense forests outside seemed to come alive; branches and leaves were covered in tentacles that stretched and groped in mid-air. With the slightest movement, they would snap and shoot over. Any beast in the wild that wasn't careful would find itself covered in those wriggling things, and within moments, they would be drained of blood and turned into dried husks. It was like a forbidden demonic lair!"

Speaking of this, and recalling those horrific scenes, goosebumps broke out all over Shen Changchuan's body, and every hair on his skin stood on end.

Even though a month or two had passed, it still left a deep, lingering shadow in his heart.

"Not only that, but the demonic beasts outside this place are also quite numerous."

"When I first arrived, I killed a pig demon not far from the village. Not long after, a Crocodile Demon emerged from the Dawan River. It took several lives to finally deal with it, and just a few days ago, during the Spirit Grain harvest, a Gale Falcon descended from the sky."

Mentioning this, Shen Changchuan couldn't help but complain.

These successive battles and slaughters didn't even include the ambush by the Four Evils of He Mountain!

For the past half-year, he had been walking on the edge of a knife at every step!

Back when he was in Tiannan City, even in the remote mountainous areas far from the city, it was never this dangerous!

In such a wretched place, it was no wonder that despite having twelve acres of Spirit Grain, no other Shen Clan disciples of any standing had fought over it.

Hearing this, Shen Shiying was left somewhat dumbfounded by the three demonic beast incidents Shen Changchuan had encountered in just half a year.

The mountain leech plague during the rainy season was nothing to speak of; he had experienced it once every year when he was at Dawan Village.

But as for demonic beasts, during his years in office, only the Giant Demon Pig that appeared in his final years had caused any significant trouble.

It wasn't as exaggerated as Shen Changchuan's situation!

Did this kid possess a special constitution that attracted demonic beasts, or was he simply cursed with bad luck?

This made Shen Shiying look at Shen Changchuan with a hint of pity.

However, while feeling pity, a sense of superiority also welled up within him.

With so many disasters and hardships, this kid was surely destined to lose money on the management of Dawan Village!

Setting aside the Crocodile Demon, he had heard of the infamous Gale Falcon; it was a creature that even a cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refinement would find difficult to handle!

Facing such a Gale Falcon, this kid likely had no power to fight back at all.

Thinking back to what he saw when he entered the village—the entire place cold and desolate, with paper money scattered on the roads and white mourning banners hanging in front of many households—the reason was likely that this kid, in order to save as much Spirit Grain as possible from the Gale Falcon, had been forced to drive the villagers to harvest under the threat of the beast, resulting in heavy casualties!

Even if he used human lives to fill the gap, he would be lucky to save even thirty percent of the Spirit Grain from the Gale Falcon's maw!

This kid was going to suffer a massive loss!

Reflecting on this, a sneer flashed through Shen Shiying's heart.

Such a young man, Seeing others make money, they relied on their connections to barge in and forcibly seize someone else's foundation, only to make a complete mess of things when they tried to run it themselves.

They deserved to lose every penny!

Shen Shiying sneered inwardly.

To everyone who is following this story, please keep up with the latest chapters as much as possible. If you prefer to stockpile, please wait until after the book is officially launched; keeping up during the new book phase is crucial. With so many top-tier authors releasing books this month, if the follow-up numbers are too poor, it's game over without any recommendations.

The third round of recommendations starts tomorrow. I don't dare dream of Sanjiang, but if the follow-up data is decent, it would be quite good to snag a few more rounds of recommendations.