Cai Ma's Secret

Becoming a renowned and highly respected figure in Chang'an City is a very difficult task.

It's easy to fool ordinary people, but it's much more difficult to fool high-ranking officials.

Li Shaojun hadn't even reached the Divine Ability Realm yet, so some of his tricks were easily seen through by those with higher cultivation levels.

Under such circumstances, it would be very difficult to gain favor with the imperial court.

"You are different from the other recruited monks; you need to maintain a high reputation so that others will come to you!"

Zhang Xuezhou's contact with the new emperor was neither frequent nor infrequent.

He pondered his interactions with the new emperor and the influence of those interactions, concluding that Li Shaojun needed to be in a similar situation to himself to remain safe and secure.

This new emperor has many virtues, but his age is his greatest flaw.

It would be very difficult for Li Shaojun to fool those high-ranking officials in their sixties and seventies, but the new emperor was only twenty years old. Even though he was well-read in the royal family, there was still a problem of books being out of touch with reality.

Most importantly, the new emperor has a lot to learn, so it's unlikely he'll learn the extremely complex Fate Technique that's difficult for ordinary people, and it's hard for him to see through Li Shaojun's Aging Technique.

As for Li Guang, who was by the new emperor's side, let's not even talk about him. He was struggling to improve even his close-combat martial arts and was busy analyzing the Jade Purity True Technique, so he probably didn't have enough energy to cultivate anything else.

"If he were young and naive, and all I needed to do was fool him, then it might be possible for me to succeed," Li Shaojun said in a low voice. "But where would I find the opportunity to have such a private conversation with him?"

"You've come at the perfect time!"

Zhang Xuezhou pursed his lips slightly.

He might actually create an opportunity for Li Shaojun to make contact with the new emperor.

This emperor liked to use the alias Marquis of Pingyang to travel outside the palace, riding in the Marquis of Pingyang's carriage to inspect various parts of Chang'an City. The other party also frequently visited Zhang Xuezhou's place.

Under these circumstances, with proper planning, the probability of Li Shaojun and the new emperor bumping into each other would be very high.

If the new emperor isn't particularly busy, the other party will likely leave the palace and come to the Zhang residence in the next couple of days.

"I didn't realize you and His Majesty had such a good relationship!"

Li Shaojun looked slightly surprised, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's relationship with the new emperor was a bit too close.

This Great Han emperor was unaware of the danger he was in. If the information were leaked and he were targeted by someone with ulterior motives, a single ambush of the new emperor would teach them a lesson they would regret for life.

Li Shaojun's eyes darted around, clearly thinking of an idea that he needed to use within the next couple of days.

"See you in a couple of days!"

He thought for a long time and completely overturned his plan to come to Chang'an City. Only when he had a vague idea of what was going on did Li Shaojun quickly stride out of Zhang's residence.

"This person is whispering and sneaking around with you; they don't seem like they're doing anything good!"

The things Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou discussed were serious enough to get them killed, and the two of them didn't gossip about it in public.

Only after Li Shaojun left did Zhang Xuezhou emerge from the makeshift study.

"That person just recommended several spacious and bright houses to me. I'm planning to go to the Prefectural Governor's residence to take a look and buy a couple more houses so we can live in them more easily!"

Looking at the chattering Cai Ma approaching, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Cai Ma was an unstable factor. If Cai Ma caused trouble with her incessant chatter, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he wouldn't even know how to cry.

He considered sending Cai Ma away, hoping to buy himself some peace.

Zhang Xuezhou casually remarked, and seeing Cai Ma's delighted expression, he quickly changed his tune, praising Li Shaojun for doing practical things.

"Cousin, cousin?"

Zhang Xuezhou called out twice, and Rong Tianding responded from next door.

"Why did you end up at Boss Di's house?" Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed. "Let's go to the Prefectural Governor's residence first and pick out a house!"

"Boss Di wants to sell his house!"

Rong Tianding responded from inside Di Rang's house, which surprised Zhang Xuezhou. He quickly went out, turned the corner, and entered Di's house.

"Why is Boss Di selling his house?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise and looked at Di Rang was drinking tea with Rong Tianding in the living room.

"Lord Dongfang, please take a seat," Di Rang invited.

Thank you!

"Please have a seat, young lady!"

Di Rang glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, then at Cai Ma behind Zhang Xuezhou, and very politely offered him a seat.

"His complexion was flushed, and he appeared weary and worn out. At sixty-five years old, his lifespan was cut short; he likely died from a sudden attack of internal heat!"

Cai Ma's habit of muttering to herself was giving Zhang Xuezhou a headache.

Of course, he also knew that this was Cai Ma's cultivation. Just like his cultivation of the Person-Fixing Technique required him to observe many people, the more people he observed, the better the effect would be.

Zhang Xuezhou used to think that one needed to meet countless people to master the Person-Fixing Technique and to set up various formations to master the Acupoint-Fixing Technique. However, after taking the advanced route, Zhang Xuezhou rarely did such diligent cultivation anymore, let alone develop occupational diseases from it.

"Don't worry about her, Boss Di. She's still thinking about having her fortune told and is resentful about the result!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed at Cai Ma, and seeing that the other party was about to open his mouth to argue, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but reach out and tap him slightly.

"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll go back to Kunlun and tell the Emperor and Empress that you ate a dancing little mannequin in the Sacred Land!"

A strange look flashed in Zhang Xuezhou's eyes.

His cultivation level was at the Body Transformation Realm, and Cai Ma was also at the Body Transformation Realm. Zhang Xuezhou didn't try to see through Cai Ma with his One- Person-Fixing Technique. He just repeated Cai Ma's actions to make the other party understand the troubles brought about by the occupational hazard of cultivation.

But Zhang Xuezhou didn't expect that he would actually glimpse some fragments of Cai Ma's memories.

This made him look Cai Ma up and down several times, and he felt that he had figured out why Cai Ma had been taken into the Kunlun Sacred Land to cultivate Fate Technique.

If his guess was correct, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Cai Ma's talent for cultivation was likely not due to his own abilities, but rather to the influence of that peculiar little man, just like how Leizhenzi, the predecessor of "Technique Within the Clouds," changed his fate with a single fruit.

He whispered something to Cai Ma, which made Cai Ma's eyes widen, a look of fear flashing across them.

This is Cai Ma's biggest secret. She has the aptitude for cultivation, but not the top aptitude. She was able to be taken into the Kunlun Sacred Land to cultivate Fate Technique by accident. Cai Ma feels that the reason for this is inextricably linked to the fruit.

When Zhang Xuezhou suddenly whispered the anxiety that had never left her heart, her pupils contracted sharply, and she felt a surge of fear. For a moment, she dared not say another word.

"Why is Mr. Di thinking of selling the house?!"

With Cai Ma eliminated as a destabilizing factor, Zhang Xuezhou finally began to formally inquire about Di Rang.

"This... sigh..."

Di Rang took a sip of tea, sighing repeatedly.

"Old Di's in trouble," Rong Tianding said. "Someone wants to take over his inn!"

"Such a thing exists?"

Zhang Xuezhou originally thought that Rong Li and others' use of violence to seize the pig slaughtering stall was an extremely primitive and lawless act, but he did not expect that the same thing would happen in Chang'an City.

"That Gu Lao Er has connections with officials and a bunch of men under his command. These men do nothing all day but cause trouble and make a scene outside my inn. Not a single person can get in," Di Rang said. "I found out after some investigation that someone has their eye on the land where the inn is located and wants me to sell it legally!"

"Isn't this forcing someone to make a deal?" Zhang Xuezhou frowned and asked, "Didn't Boss Di report it to the authorities?"

"The government can't control those hooligans loitering outside the inn," Di Rang said helplessly. "In Chang'an City, anyone who makes money in business is easily targeted. I have no powerful backers, so it's not surprising that they bully me. It's just that it happened sooner than I expected!"

"His business has reached its limit there," Rong Tianding said. "Continuing like this is inconvenient for him to prepare ingredients at the inn. It's a waste of time going back and forth, and Old Di is losing money every day!"

"So what made you think about selling the house? Can selling the house solve the problem?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"I'm thinking of selling the house to raise some money for bribes," Di Rang nodded. "If I can get my son transferred back to Chang'an City as an official, that will smooth things over, and they'll behave themselves!"

"When Old Di heard that we were thinking of buying a house recently, he had this idea of pooling money to give as a gift," Rong Tianding said. "I sympathize with Old Di's situation, but he's asking for 180 taels of silver to sell the house. That's practically the highest price he can get! Who can sell a house for that price!"

Rong Tianding spoke for a while, Zhang Xuezhou finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

He was initially very sympathetic to Di Rang's troubles, but he felt uncomfortable having to pay a high price for the house himself.

This made him quickly abandon any sympathy he had and join the bargaining party.