"Hahaha, Young Master Changchuan, you've come all this way. I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you. Please don't take offense."
When Shen Changchuan and his group, along with the convoy of carriages, entered Dawan Village,
Shen Shiying, the middle-aged man who had been stationed there, came out with a beaming smile and warmly stepped forward to greet them.
At the same time,
he turned around,
facing the dozen or so young men gathered at the village entrance, each holding a weapon. They had looked hostile from the moment Shen Changchuan's group entered the village, as if they were ready to pick a fight. Their faces tightened as he shouted,
"Shao Chong, get your ass down here!"
"This is Young Master Shen, who's come to take over our post. Have you got rocks in your eyes?"
As Shen Shiying berated him,
the young man leading the group, Shen Shaochong, gaped, looking bewildered.
What?
Hadn't you told me yesterday to give that brat a show of force?
What happened?
Why wasn't this going as planned?!
His father had turned on him without warning, and Shen Shaochong was momentarily too stunned to react.
But after years of living under his father's authority,
he didn't dare act up. He could only clasp his hands toward Shen Changchuan and mutter an apology before obediently retreating.
Shen Shiying turned around,
his face once again spreading into a broad smile as he faced Shen Changchuan.
"Alas, I can only blame myself for failing to raise my son properly. He's spent all these years hanging around with the wrong sort of people and even started some so-called Village Guard Squad. He nearly offended you, Young Master. I hope you won't hold it against him."
Shen Shiying clasped his hands toward Shen Changchuan and apologized.
"Not at all, not at all!"
"You're my elder, sir. You're making me feel unworthy of such courtesy."
"Besides, I come from humble beginnings and hardly deserve to be called Young Master. Please just call me Changchuan."
Although Shen Changchuan also sensed that something felt off, he had no idea what the other man was scheming.
Still, one didn't hit a smiling face.
Since the other man was being courteous,
he naturally responded with courtesy and humility.
After a round of pleasantries,
the two were soon chatting together in a rather friendly atmosphere.
Shen Changchuan addressed the other man as Uncle, given his age and superior strength. The other man, in turn, said he would presume to call Shen Changchuan his nephew.
"Nephew Changchuan, that wild boar..."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries,
Shen Shiying looked toward the enormous boar carcass nearby, which was as big as a small hill and so heavy that it would take two carriages hitched together just to haul it. He asked,
"Oh, this beast? I killed it on the road here."
"It suddenly burst out of the forest and attacked our convoy about ten li from the village, killing one of the attendants who was leading the way."
"Fortunately, after some effort, I managed to kill it."
"Why, Uncle, did you notice something?"
Shen Changchuan walked over to the carriage carrying the giant boar's carcass and patted the mound of flesh. After briefly explaining where it had come from, he asked in confusion,
"It's nothing much."
"It's just that this beast has long been a scourge of Dawan Village. Whenever the Spirit Grain in the fields is about to be harvested, it sneaks down the mountain under cover of night and wreaks havoc on the Spirit Fields."
"We've laid ambushes for it several times and fought it on and off over the years, but its hide is so tough that we could do nothing but drive it away."
"Nephew Changchuan, your Divine Ability is truly astonishing. At such a young age, you've already managed to slay this beast. Before you've even taken up your post, you've rid Dawan Village of a great menace."
Shen Shiying said with a sigh.
Out of the corner of his eye, he carefully examined the giant boar's corpse.
There were no obvious wounds on it,
which meant it hadn't been through a fierce battle,
but had instead been killed with a single blow.
Shen Shiying's heart sank even further when he realized this.
The other man's strength
far surpassed what the intelligence had suggested!
Damn it!
Shen Shiying cursed inwardly.
At the same time, countless thoughts raced through his mind, and he quickly settled on a decision.
"Nephew Changchuan, you're young and promising. With you in charge of Dawan Village, your uncle can rest easy."
"But there's one thing I should tell you first. The village treasury originally held some Spirit Grain and some gold and silver for the village's operating expenses."
"The order for me to leave came suddenly. Since I was preparing to return to Tiannan City, I wanted to bring back some local specialties for my friends and family, so I simply took all of it with me."
"Of course, so I don't take advantage of you, nephew, how about I compensate you with five Spirit Stones and an ordinary Spirit Eye Technique I happened to come across?"
As he spoke, Shen Shiying took a small pouch of Spirit Stones from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Changchuan.
But even as he did so, a flicker of pain passed through his eyes.
The price was clearly no small matter.
But there was no choice.
Bad intelligence could get a man killed.
He couldn't afford to take advantage of this situation!
If he didn't hurry to make amends while the misunderstanding was still small, was he just going to wait around to die?
That Demon Boar had been at the peak of the fourth layer of the Qi Induction Realm, strong enough to withstand attacks from Shen Shiying himself, who was at the fifth layer. They had fought several times, yet he'd never managed to gain the upper hand.
But now,
it had been killed with a single blow, becoming the spoils of the man standing before him!
Whether Shen Changchuan had personally done it, or had hidden help backing him,
either way, it was beyond anything Shen Shiying had expected!
"Whether or not this boy really is a nobody in the Shen Family Estate, his strength is already beyond what I can handle."
"Besides, someone this young and this strong must have more going on behind him than meets the eye."
"Even if I'm overthinking it and he truly has no backing, with strength like his, he's bound to rise sooner or later!"
"I'd better avoid offending someone like him if I can."
"Sure enough, he comes from the main branch of the family. Someone like that is more than my little frame can withstand!"
In an instant,
countless thoughts raced through Shen Shiying's mind.
That
was exactly why, when he saw the group entering the village, his expression changed and he hurried out to stop his second son, Shen Shaochong, from trying to intimidate Shen Changchuan, then went to greet him and curry favor.
"Oh, then I'll accept it, though I'm hardly worthy."
Shen Changchuan's eyes lit up at this.
Although the other man's excessive warmth made him vaguely suspect something was amiss,
there was no point in turning down a good deal.
Five Spirit Stones were already equal to his annual stipend from the Shen Family Estate.
And a spell would give him another means of defending himself.
There was no reason to refuse such a good offer.
Seeing Shen Changchuan accept the Spirit Stones without hesitation, Shen Shiying's eyelid twitched.
But he still forced a smile and said,
"Hahaha, there's no question of deserving or not. It's just a normal transaction."
Shen Shiying's heart bled.
For low-level cultivators like them, five Spirit Stones were no small amount.
But there was no choice.
He'd acted before investigating properly.
All he could do now was make amends as best he could.
After a brief further conversation, Shen Shiying introduced Shen Changchuan to some of the people in Dawan Village and handed over the various duties.
Then, citing the urgency of his departure, he packed up, said goodbye to Shen Changchuan with his family, and left Dawan Village.
Before you continue