Yang Corporeal Soul in Pursuit

Li Shaojun stayed at Palace of Peace and Happiness for five days.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't just wait at home.

In fact, Zhang Xuezhou has quite a lot going on.

One task was to locate Kong Anguo's whereabouts, which required him to occasionally stroll around the Sage Kong to see if any Confucian School scholars knew anything about it.

Another issue is that many people in Zhang Household Village are banding together and unwilling to separate. Although most of them are residents of Chang'an City, they still live in the suburbs of Chang'an.

This has led Zhang Xuezhou to wander around Old Tree Alley these days, pondering the idea of buying property to connect the many residential areas together.

They recently did something despicable: they slaughtered and cooked pigs every day.

This porky smell is pleasant to those with a low-fat diet, but it's unbearable for the wealthy; some even feel nauseous from the stench.

However, a higher-ranking official can have a significant influence, and even though Zhang Xuezhou was a low-ranking official, he was not someone that the small businessmen in Old Tree Alley dared to offend.

Rong Li and the Lady Yourong family never stopped cooking pork. Some wealthy merchants, unable to afford to offend them, sought refuge elsewhere, and also listed their properties with the Jingzhao Yin Mansion.

"Isn't our place a bit like a thug targeting Di Rang's guesthouse?"

"The scoundrels' actions were intentional, while ours were unintentional. They won't die from breathing in the pungent, pork-smelling air, but if we don't supply meat to those outside the city, our people will truly starve!"

Rong Tianding still felt somewhat guilty, while Zhang Xuezhou analyzed the active and passive aspects of the situation.

Cooking outside the city is simple. This is not because it is impossible to cook outside the city, but because the distance to gather firewood is extremely far. They can only collect dry grass, vines, thorns and other things to burn for cooking.

It was almost impossible to get the people of Zhang Household Village to spend money on firewood, so the task was ultimately carried out in the city. Meat that was already half-cooked only needed to be simply heated and boiled to become a decent meal.

This is also one of the reasons why many people from Zhang Household Village are unwilling to live in Chang'an City. Everything from food and lodging to transportation costs money. Even the wood used for starting a fire needs to be purchased. It is difficult to adapt to such a situation where money is spent everywhere. Even Zhang Zhong sighed every day that things that were completely worthless in Zhang Household Village could be sold for money in Chang'an City.

People's spending habits cannot be changed overnight, so Zhang Xuezhou is not in a hurry. As long as everyone has a good catch from hunting and sells it for money, they will naturally feel more confident once they have money in hand.

At this point, he was only focused on getting the basics in the city sorted out, hoping to make it possible for over a hundred people to live in a cluster.

"Cousin, you're right. I've been wandering around the area lately, trying to see if I can negotiate a lower price. If I find a suitable house, I'll go through the formalities at the Prefectural Governor's Office," Rong Tianding nodded.

"This smell is the result of our family's troubles. They'll be furious when they see us and demand a higher price. You should instruct Zhang Changgong to handle this," Zhang Xuezhou said. "They don't know Changgong, but he's quick-witted and should be able to get this done."

Having acquired high-priced properties from Di Rang, Zhang Xuezhou didn't mind acquiring some lower-priced ones, since he wasn't buying just one or two properties, but at least ten or eight.

"The longbow is still a bit too clumsy. Hasn't the Cigong come out yet?" Rong Tianding asked.

"Cigong..." Zhang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment before replying, "We need to investigate this matter to find out!"

For nearly half a year, Zhang Cigong did not reunite with the others.

The other party sought help from the King of Huainan's Household, but he has likely gotten himself into trouble.

However, Zhang Cigong would not reveal the escape of the people from Zhang Household Village, otherwise the people of Zhang Household Village would be in a difficult situation now. Zhang Cigong's troubles are most likely related to the loss of his horse and other such incidents.

This disaster was due to Zhang Cigong's dereliction of duty, but it didn't warrant the loss of his head.

Zhang Xuezhou remained calm and did not act rashly.

He nodded, indicating that he would do this at a more appropriate time to see if there was any possibility that Zhang Cigong would be released.

"Hey, you two, stop talking about buying a house and start talking about my business!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding chattering away incessantly, Li Shaojun couldn't help but feel a little impatient.

He didn't want to hear about these trivial matters like buying a house; what he wanted were great medicinal plants, miraculous pills, and even the realms of the Divine Ability Realm and Sole Self Realm.

With three generations of their family working together, Li Shaojun believes they will bring about a continuously improving future, becoming a great cultivation Aristocratic Clan and even occupying a peaceful secret place to become the master of a Sacred Land.

This was almost their lifelong dream, Li Shaojun felt that this was far more important than the paltry sums Zhang Xuezhou and the others made from buying houses in Chang'an City.

"What's there to ramble about?" Zhang Xuezhou replied without looking up, "Your safe return proves that you've been treated with respect by the Empress Dowager and become her honored guest. I can't introduce you to anything more right now!"

"That's right, your cousin has already done everything he could for you, you can't keep relying on our family forever," Rong Tianding nodded.

"You two are being incredibly unfriendly!"

Li Shaojun cursed, then his heart tightened, and he quickly changed his tune.

"You don't even cherish me, one of the only two successors of Daoist School. When I become a high-ranking official in the Great Han Dynasty, you will definitely regret not treating me well," Li Shaojun rebuked.

"You were acting like you were going to die before you went to Palace of Peace and Happiness, but now you're all smug after just a few breaths. I regret recruiting you in the Northern Border, because I'm afraid you'll cause trouble when you become an official and drag me into it," Zhang Xuezhou said regretfully.

"In all my years, this is the first time I've seen such stubborn and incorrigible people as you," Li Shaojun said. "When this old Daoist ascends to immortality and enjoys ultimate bliss, you won't even be qualified to be my attendants!"

"I don't want to be a virgin!"

"What's so good about being a virgin!"

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding both snorted and snorted, clearly looking down on Li Shaojun's status as a pageboy.

"Old Daoist... Old Daoist... Once I rely on the Great Han Dynasty to refine the Life-Creating Fortune Pill and the Eight-Step Ascension Pill, and then refine the Blissful Golden Pill and the Longevity Pill, I will become a Xiaoyao immortal. Don't regret it then!"

Li Shaojun pointed repeatedly at the two men's heads, uttering a string of words.

His angry expression and furious demeanor drew ridicule from Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding.

"You're trying to fool us with this nonsense again," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "How many times have you told us this? You haven't even produced a few miracle pills to help us!"

"That's it," Rong Tianding said, "Always talking nonsense!"

"Your cultivation was all thanks to my help," Li Shaojun said, dissatisfied. "If it weren't for my help, how could you have cultivated to this level? I've done my duty to you all!"

"That's because I have talent. You just gave me a little pointer. Don't take this as your achievement," Zhang Xuezhou said indignantly.

"Which sect leader of other schools doesn't give people miraculous pills? You've been fooling us all this time, you haven't given us a single one!"

Rong Tianding also faced repeated pressure.

Upon returning home with Zhang Xuezhou, the first thing they should have done after meeting Li Shaojun was to discuss matters such as her entry into Palace of Peace and Happiness. However, Zhang Xuezhou did not stop communicating with Rong Tianding about the property.

When Li Shaojun repeatedly spoke up, and Zhang Xuezhou distanced himself from the matter, Rong Tianding was well aware that there was a possibility of a fourth party eavesdropping among the three of them.

This prompted Rong Tianding to chime in with his cooperation.

He had experienced countless things over the years following Zhang Xuezhou. Although his cultivation was weaker, he was not much less agile than Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou, and could even join forces to fight a three-on-one situation.

The verbal attack continued until Li Shaojun was so enraged that he had to lie down under a blanket, and only then did the verbal abuse incident come to an end.

She's gone!

Zhang Xuezhou whispered something when Rong Tianding went out to serve the food.

This gave Li Shaojun a huge sigh of relief.

"Can her Yang Corporeal Soul travel so far?"

Li Shaojun glanced in the direction of Palace of Peace and Happiness, his eyes clearly filled with apprehension.

The Empress Dowager possesses the ability to travel with her Yang Corporeal Soul, and he has caught her eye; he will likely need to be extremely careful about his words and actions in the future.