After leaving the cave abode housing the island-protecting formation, the old town mayor had barely stepped into the main room when he heard footsteps from the inner room.
He looked up and saw his daughter, Chen Zhu'er, standing by the threshold. Her moon-white cloth dress had picked up a little sea mist, and the ends of her hair were still damp. Clearly, she had been waiting for quite some time.
"Daddy, how did your negotiations with that man go?" Chen Zhu'er came over and asked. She was twenty that year, with delicate, pretty features.
The old town mayor sighed and settled into a wicker chair before speaking with a frown. "I did manage to persuade him, but that fellow was utterly greedy.
"At first, I offered two spirit stones in exchange, but he wasn't moved in the slightest. In the end, I had to raise the offer to five spirit stones before he reluctantly nodded and agreed."
"Five?!"
Chen Zhu'er's voice suddenly rose, and she stamped her foot in anger. "What? Five spirit stones! Daddy, how could you give him so many!
"You might as well have let me deal with them. Just a few casts of the Fire Flame Art would have easily taken care of those mortals. Why spend so much!"
The old town mayor's face darkened in a flash, and he warned her sternly, "Don't act recklessly! The fact that you possess cultivation is a secret we must guard strictly.
"And not a whisper about your spiritual root must ever leak out! We cannot take even the slightest risk!"
As he spoke, his eyes widened, and he pointed at the doors and windows, afraid that the walls might have ears.
Chen Zhu'er knew her father's decision could not be changed. She could only nod helplessly and reply, "All right, Daddy. I'll be careful and won't let the secret get out."
Only when the old town mayor saw her yield did his expression soften a little. He picked up the cold tea on the table and took a sip, then remembered something else and asked:
"By the way, Zhu'er, weren't you supposed to be serving the Xu Household's young master on Sea Prosperity Island? Why did you suddenly return a few days ago? Was the Xu Household's young master dissatisfied with you?"
"No, Daddy." Chen Zhu'er hurriedly shook her head and reached out to touch the little porcelain bottle at her waist, a hint of pride appearing on her face.
"The young master treated me very well. He bestowed quite a few Qi Accumulation Pills on me, along with precious [Spirit Awakening Pills]. I've already reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, and my cultivation has been progressing on a solid foundation."
"Then why did the young master let you come back?" The old town mayor frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. "Were you falling short in some way while serving him?"
"Really, that's not it."
Chen Zhu'er denied it again. "The young master gave me some Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talismans to send encrypted messages, and told me to report certain movements of the Condensed Jade Sect. For instance, when they replace the cultivator stationed on the island, and which cultivators come to stay on Yellow Bamboo Island.
"Besides that, any news related to cultivators must be reported immediately. After all, Yellow Bamboo Island is one of the islands relatively close to the Condensed Jade Sect's mountain gate."
The old town mayor's brows drew even tighter as he listened, and unease stirred faintly in his heart. "Isn't the Xu Household just a Foundation Establishment lineage affiliated with the Condensed Jade Sect? Why are they probing the sect's movements? This is no small matter."
"Daddy, don't ask any more."
Chen Zhu'er's expression suddenly grew grave. "Knowing too much would only be dangerous. If the young master hadn't thought well of me, how could someone with a low-grade spiritual root like mine have had any path to immortality? I belong to the young master now. I just need to do my work properly."
The old town mayor looked at the light in his daughter's eyes and sighed inwardly. This child had been bewitched by the "path to immortality."
He fell silent for a while, then said, "Alas, once a daughter grows up, there's no keeping her at home. Never mind. Just focus on your cultivation. I'll handle gathering information. You absolutely must not act lightly. Normally, you should simply cultivate in peace in our household's underground secret chamber.
"According to the previous immortal, the new one who arrived this time is a callow boy at the Qi Refining Second Layer. He was sent here as soon as he joined the sect. He'll be easy to fool."
He paused, then added, "Besides giving him five spirit stones, I also sent over the wife your elder brother just married, to serve as the immortal's maid. With that, he probably won't make things difficult for us."
"Dad, why do you keep making my elder brother marry? Counting them up, you've already had him marry several times," Chen Zhu'er asked, somewhat puzzled.
"You don't understand. Although those people cultivate immortality, they're still men. Giving them your own wife or daughter-in-law makes them feel something different, and they'll take the bait. Once they've finished playing with them, those women have no value left. They're no longer untouched.
"When the immortal leaves, they have to be silenced. Then having your elder brother marry another woman gives us someone who's both a married woman and still untouched. Even an immortal finds that flavor hard to resist. This is for our household's safety. Do you understand?" the old town mayor explained.
"Those people devote themselves entirely to cultivation. How could they understand all these twists and turns? Once they've accepted our favors, they'll look after us to some extent."
A gleam of shrewdness flashed in the old town mayor's eyes.
Chen Zhu'er fell silent for a while, then remembered something else. She took a voice transmission talisman from inside her clothes and held it out to the old town mayor.
"By the way, Daddy, I keep feeling there's something strange about the voice transmission talismans the young master gave me. The runes on them aren't like the ones I saw on [Sea Prosperity Island]. But when I asked him, he only told me to do as instructed."
The old town mayor took the voice transmission talisman. Its runes were crooked and twisted, and he couldn't understand them either. "Who cares? As long as it lets you cultivate properly. Don't go out ordinarily, and whatever you do, don't let anyone discover that you possess cultivation. Just stay in our household's underground secret chamber."
"I understand, Daddy," Chen Zhu'er answered, then went into the inner room with light steps.
Her mind was filled with her goal of reaching the third layer of Qi Refining, and she was intent on completing her master's task.
Only after his daughter had left did the old town mayor walk over to the window and lift a corner of the curtain to look outside.
Night had already deepened, and he felt somewhat unsettled. Five spirit stones, along with a daughter-in-law-these were all part of the Chen Household's assets. But if they could buy his daughter a path to immortality, it was worth it.
Yet he did not know that the Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talismans in Chen Zhu'er's hands did not send messages to Sea Prosperity Island at all.
Xu Jincheng, the Xu Household's young master, had long since grown tired of Chen Zhu'er. He had only sent her back because he wanted to use Yellow Bamboo Island's location to keep watch on the Condensed Jade Sect's movements.
The destination of those voice transmission talismans was an island belonging to another Foundation Establishment lineage, where the Xu Household had set up a secret contact point.
Even if Chen Zhu'er were exposed one day, an investigation would only lead to that contact point. It would have nothing whatsoever to do with the Xu Household.
As for whether Chen Zhu'er lived or died, Xu Jincheng did not care at all. He had far too many maids around him.
If he lost a maid with a low-grade spiritual root, he could simply find another. There were plenty of female rogue cultivators who wanted to walk the path to immortality anyway.
The old town mayor leaned by the window and yawned.
He thought, After a few days, I'll send the immortal guarding the island some more things. Once we've built a good relationship, gathering information will be easier too.
But he had utterly failed to anticipate that Qing Chen was no "easy-to-fool callow boy" at all.
Instead, he was a man-eating snake.