The array of the Listening to the Waves Pavilion slowly opened, and Zhuang Wen, who was guarding the Daoist temple, immediately sensed it and hurriedly came to greet it.
Before even entering the courtyard, the stout Daoist priest sensed an aura far stronger than before, realizing that his senior uncle from the upper sect had made progress in his cultivation. His smile deepened.
"Congratulations, Martial Uncle! You have made progress in your cultivation and are one step closer to achieving the Great Dao."
Chen Shuangbai waved her hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities.
Behind Zhuang Wen were two little tails.
A man and a woman, both dressed as students of a Daoist academy.
This female student... Chen Shuangbai recognized her; she was Meng Fu, whom he had seen before.
As for the male student, Chen Shuangbai had met him a few times in the past few months. He was another relatively outstanding student in the academy, and came from a small, declining Lineage in Wind Howling County. His name was Fei Liyan.
The Fei Household is not Lineage of cultivators, but a mortal Aristocratic Clan.
His ancestors also served in the imperial court, but no one from his family ever became a scholar again, leading to their decline.
By the time of Fei Liyan's generation, his family had fallen into dire straits, so they sought another way out and sent him to the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy to study.
" Meng Fu and Fei Liyan pay their respects to their Grandmaster Uncle."
The two students bowed deeply, uttering several auspicious words.
Chen Shuangbai made the two of them stand aside and began to consider their cultivation paths.
Supporting local legal systems is also one of the performance evaluation objectives for the garrison commander.
Therefore, Chen Shuangbai selected two outstanding students with Spirit Root from among these dozen or so students, and occasionally taught them after leaving seclusion. Now is the time to assess them.
In addition to various basic Daoist scriptures, Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy's daily classes also teach business, accounting, literacy, and martial arts.
After all, the students of the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy are mostly from poor families in Wind Howling County, and not everyone has Spirit Root, so it is necessary to teach them survival skills.
"Don't be shy, take turns."
Chen Shuangbai watched them demonstrate what she had learned in her cultivation with a gentle expression, and patiently resolved their doubts before letting the two excited people leave.
"Nephew Zhuang, how has the situation been in the county lately? Have there been any unusual developments?"
Zhuang Wen truthfully stated.
"Since you, Uncle-Master, gave the four families a warning, they have been very well-behaved and have cooperated with the county government and our Daoist academy in promoting various changes. There have been no unusual movements."
Chen Shuangbai was not surprised by this.
Among the four powers in Wind Howling County, the local clans are the weakest.
Although their relationship with the Zhao Kingdom was ambiguous, this place was still within the territory of the Jing Kingdom.
Even if there were people in the Zhao Kingdom supporting them, it would be from afar; how dare they personally come to the Jing Kingdom to act arrogantly and domineeringly?
"How are things going with the other three companies?"
Chen Shuangbai asked again.
The other three refer to the Azure Flood Dragon Society, the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance, and the Compassionate Light Temple.
On the surface, the Azure Flood Dragon Society is a local folk group gathered by boatmen for the collective benefit. In reality, it has some connection with a demon king of the Zhao Kingdom and secretly collects so-called "river crossing fees" from passing fleets, also known as the Dragon King Levy.
Those boatmen who were unwilling to join the Azure Flood Dragon Society but wanted to earn money at the ferry had to hand over most of their daily wages to the Azure Flood Dragon Society.
It had already annoyed people long ago.
Zhuang Wen said, "The river crossing tax is ostensibly for raising funds to renovate the old facilities at the ferry crossing, but it's been collected again and again, more than a dozen times, until finally it's being collected every day... It has long since aroused the dissatisfaction of the lower-level boatmen."
What about the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance?
Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance is a small group of local Rogue Cultivator who spontaneously gathered together. They are considered the most honest and do not get involved in the struggles between the various forces in Wind Howling Ford. They are focused on governing the Sha Province outside Wind Howling Ford.
"Speaking of which, how many Rogue Cultivator have joined the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance? What kind of businesses do they do on that Sha Province to make a living?"
Zhuang Wen said, "That Sha Province itself is barren, but they have a secret technique to extract Ling Water Crystal from the water, and with a few capable people, they can raise the famous Silver Light Fish of Wind Howling Ford on a small scale, so they live a rather comfortable life."
"Only..."
"Just what?"
Zhuang Wen then revealed another matter.
"However, in recent months, the Azure Flood Dragon Society and the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance seem to have had some unpleasantness."
"Oh?"
How exactly was it unpleasant?
Chen Shuangbai became interested.
Zhuang Wen then told the truth.
" The Azure Flood Dragon Society also wanted to raise the Silver Light Fish, so they approached the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance for cooperation. However, the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance refused, so they tried to contact the trainer who controlled the raising of the Silver Light Fish and poach him."
"But when Lady Yun and Han Shouke, the leaders of the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance, found out about this, things didn't go very well."
That's interesting.
Silver Light Fish are a relatively rare spiritual fish that live near the Wind Howling Ford Crossing. They have no cultivation, but because their flesh is delicious and has an excellent taste, and because their flesh contains a special Spiritual Qi, they are very popular in many restaurants and eateries in the market.
No wonder Azure Flood Dragon Society interested in this business.
Chen Shuangbai squinted, pondering how she could get involved.
" Compassionate Light Temple... I didn't come last time, what's the meaning of their abbot's attitude?"
Chen Shuangbai inquired about the last remaining power in the area, which was backed by the Great Buddha Temple, one of the five major sects of the Jing Kingdom.
At the garrison commander's inauguration ceremony before May, representatives from several local factions were present to watch.
This was both to give face to the Jade Spring Sect and to see Chen Shuangbai, the newly appointed garrison commander, and to test his temperament and cultivation level.
No one came to Compassionate Light Temple.
This is quite intriguing.
That is why Chen Shuangbai attaches great importance to Compassionate Light Temple.
This May.
He asked Zhuang Wen to secretly investigate Compassionate Light Temple, and the result was somewhat surprising.
Compassionate Light Temple is a popular place of worship, attracting locals, wealthy merchants, and traveling businessmen alike who wish to pay homage to the golden Buddha statue in the main hall and seek peace of mind.
I thought that beneath such a lavish display of flowers, there must be some hidden secrets.
Zhuang Wen sent people to investigate from various angles, but still couldn't find anything that could be considered a weakness.
"I think it might be hidden even deeper; we haven't found a breakthrough."
Zhuang Wen stated his judgment.
Chen Shuangbai didn't dwell on Compassionate Light Temple for too long, because he planned to deal with the Azure Flood Dragon Society first.
Wind Howling Ford, a natural ferry crossing, was a place where specialties from the Jing Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom states converged, which could have brought substantial trade benefits to both countries and greatly promoted the development of the local people's livelihood in Wind Howling County.
However, the Azure Flood Dragon Society's donation across the river is undoubtedly a thorn in the side of Wind Howling Ford's path to wealth.
It benefited the Azure Flood Dragon Society but harmed the local people of Wind Howling County.
Chen Shuangbai walked to the window, gently tapping her fingers on the window frame, gazing at the lush green bamboo forest outside, and quietly pondering.
Zhuang Wen was behind him.
Not long after.
Chen Shuangbai said this.
"Nephew Zhuang, go and do two things for me."
"Please speak, Uncle-Master."