Uninvited Guests

Leisurely days always flew by, like a white steed flashing past a crack. Before he knew it, more than half a month had gone by.

With no need to go to work and Sun Qin helping him manage things, the past half month or so had been peaceful, with no further mishaps.

The only thing worth mentioning was that Sun Qin had found someone to repair Yin Yunze's Fox Immortal Temple.

Although Yin Yunze felt it was a bit of a waste of money, it was Sun Qin and the villagers' own money they had spent, so he could hardly object.

After all, they had helped repair his house. Was he supposed to complain?

Besides, Yin Yunze couldn't very well ask Sun Qin and the others to give him the equivalent in gold instead, could he?

That would have been far too ugly a display of greed.

In fact, after more than half a month of trading, Yin Yunze was no longer short of gold.

As time passed, word spread that grain could be exchanged for at Yin Yunze's place. Coming to him for grain and then transporting it to the county seat to sell had become an unspoken way for Clear Creek Village's villagers to make their fortunes.

As the number of people grew, the warehouse where Yin Yunze stored his rice and flour had already been restocked several times.

Fortunately, Yin Yunze had enlisted Sun Qin's help early on and left all such dealings to her.

Otherwise, receiving a dozen groups of people throughout the day would probably have been more tiring than going to work.

With Sun Qin there, all Yin Yunze had to do was deliver the amount she reported when he made his customary water delivery at noon each day.

He only had to work an hour a day, and the gold reserves in his veritable little treasury would rise with the tide over time.

For safety's sake, Yin Yunze had also spent a great deal of money on a safe to store the gold.

As long as he found a way to sell it, Yin Yunze could live a life of financial freedom.

Although selling such a large quantity of gold was troublesome, it was a happy problem to have.

In return for the gold the villagers supplied, Yin Yunze was also trying to give them a surprise.

If the surprise succeeded, Yin Yunze's status as a fox immortal would be even more solid as Mount Tai.

As he imagined the good days ahead, Yin Yunze suddenly felt a stirring in his heart, as though something was about to happen in that world.

He turned his attention to the Fox Immortal Temple, which had been repaired and no longer looked as dilapidated as before.

As soon as he entered, Yin Yunze heard people talking outside the temple.

As they spoke, the group drew closer to the Fox Immortal Temple.

"Huh? Why is the ground a little wet here? You're wasting water on this?"

The speaker was an unfamiliar man.

"All the water in the village comes from Lord Yi Yun. How can you call it a waste?"

Sun Qin quickly answered him.

Hearing the exchange, Yin Yunze couldn't help frowning.

After leaving the main affairs to Sun Qin, Yin Yunze hardly entertained anyone's requests anymore, apart from those who came to offer incense.

Sun Qin gathered everyone else's requests and reported them all to Yin Yunze the following noon, when he supplied the water.

Sun Qin had already made a report at noon today.

And this time, Sun Qin hadn't come alone. She had brought strangers with her.

Clearly, Sun Qin had encountered something she couldn't easily handle.

As he pondered, Yin Yunze saw four people enter the Fox Immortal Temple.

Sun Qin needed no introduction. Another was a middle-aged man in his early forties named Song Ran, Song Zhao's son.

Ever since Sun Qin had made him lose face before everyone that day by borrowing the fox's might, Song Zhao had realized he could no longer keep people in line. Rather than fighting Sun Qin to the bitter end, he had wisely handed the position of Clear Creek Village's chief to his son.

Song Zhao himself had used his connections in the county seat to take over a shop at lightning speed and open a rice store.

His main business was selling the grain Clear Creek Village's villagers obtained from Yin Yunze.

Yin Yunze turned a blind eye to it.

After all, Song Zhao had already backed down, so there was no need to wipe him out, was there?

Besides, the county seat was more than ten li from Clear Creek Village. Even if Yin Yunze wanted to, he couldn't do it!

Song Zhao hadn't used his status as the old village chief to force down his purchase prices. Instead, he paid a few copper coins more than the other rice stores in the county seat. When the villagers needed supplies, Song Zhao could also help purchase them at below-market prices.

Thus, over the past half month or so, Song Zhao had regained quite a bit of his reputation by helping the villagers sell their goods and buy supplies.

At least in most people's eyes, Song Zhao's standing hadn't fallen much because he had backed down to Sun Qin. If any disputes really broke out among the neighbors, the first person they thought of was still the old village chief, Song Zhao, not the new immortal maiden, Sun Qin.

Many of the older villagers in particular would still rather travel more than ten li to the county seat to find Song Zhao than come to the Fox Immortal Temple to find Sun Qin.

It could only be said that capable people, even if they fell in one place, would find a chance to get back on their feet somewhere else.

Of course, Sun Qin had no intention of fighting to the bitter end either. Disputes among fellow villagers mostly amounted to trading a few barbs before letting the matter rest.

They were all connected by family ties. Could they really fight until blood was spilled?

So, aside from occasionally sending someone to keep an eye on Song Zhao, Sun Qin actually got along quite well with the new village chief, Song Ran.

Of course, this was mainly because Song Ran had taken the initiative to make friendly overtures. But without Song Zhao's approval, Song Ran probably wouldn't have been the first to bow his head.

According to Sun Qin, Song Zhao also seemed to have established a connection with the county magistrate recently and was now helping stabilize prices.

Song Zhao had objectively played a significant role in allowing Yin Yunze to sell warehouse after warehouse of rice over the past half month or so without anything going wrong.

It was precisely because of the nearly one hundred thousand jin of grain Yin Yunze had sent over during that time that Qingling County was doing considerably better than the surrounding counties.

Of course, Yin Yunze and Song Zhao weren't the only ones who benefited. The other villagers had also made a small fortune from it and were much better off than they had been a month ago.

As for the two people besides Sun Qin and Song Ran, Yin Yunze found them completely unfamiliar. They seemed to be outsiders he had never seen before.

One was a middle-aged man with a long beard, and the other was a young man with a fair, clean-shaven face. They were dressed like ordinary commoners, but what caught Yin Yunze's attention was that both had a saber at their waist. Each holding a handle on one side, the two carried a chest into the Fox Immortal Temple.

For some reason, Yin Yunze suddenly had an ominous premonition.

After coming to a stop, Sun Qin deliberately knelt to pray this time, perhaps to put on a show for the two outsiders.

"Lord Yi Yun, please show yourself."

"Sun Qin, why have you summoned me?"

Countless thoughts ran through Yin Yunze's mind, but whether it was a blessing or a calamity, if it was a calamity, he had nowhere to hide, did he?

"It's like this." Glancing at Song Ran and the other two, Sun Qin said respectfully, "Lord Fox Immortal, Song Ran would like to request some grain."

"Just for that?"

Hearing Sun Qin's words, Yin Yunze had only just breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed something was wrong. "Why bother me with something like that?"

"Well... it's because the amount of grain Song Ran is asking for is a little large..."

As she said this, Sun Qin was visibly a little off.

Yin Yunze noticed it too and asked tentatively, "How large?"

"Six thousand two hundred... Oh, right, I heard Lord Fox Immortal likes to count by the jin? That would be five hundred thousand jin of rice!"

The one who suddenly cut in was the younger of the two outsiders, and his tone was somewhat flippant.

The young man rather brazenly swept his gaze over Sun Qin's graceful figure before looking in Yin Yunze's direction. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "I hear you're a fox immortal with vast Divine Abilities... Tell me, Fox Immortal, can you swallow five hundred thousand jin of rice?"