Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 224 Stealing business from peers is a taboo in the underworld

The next morning, everyone walked down the Donglai Market, bowed to each other, and split into five groups to go their separate ways.

Song Shuqian was a lonely man, so he traveled with Meng Caiqin and Meng Yiyi, saying that they had someone to take care of them during the journey.

When traveling, it doesn’t matter who you travel with.
The Taoist boy he was escorting died and the mission had failed. He decided to leave later to keep his mind at peace.

I don’t want to travel alone, so I’d better go with Meng Caiqin. Maybe I can encounter the killer again?
The woman in green already knew that she had been deceived by her good friend. She discussed the map of the remaining battle formation with Meng Caiqin all night last night and gained a lot.

No matter how she threatened or bribed, her best friend refused to take out the copied manuscript of Xu Daoyou's solutions, not even to look at it. She was so stingy that she said it was without Xu Daoyou's permission, and "taking without permission is stealing." She was so angry that she threatened to break up with her.

Haven't they stolen enough from each other?

Furthermore, can the communication between formation masters be called "stealing"?

However, with the cracked map of the remaining formation in hand, she slowly worked her way back along the way. She still didn't believe that she couldn't figure it out?
After saying goodbye to Meng Caiqin, the woman in green spoke a few words to Xu Yuanchang alone, and agreed to meet at Dingxiantai Taoist Temple in the sacred place of Xiyuan. She waved her hand, and led a boy to the west in a graceful manner.

Xu Yuanchang took Zeng Shanlang and walked more than fifty miles to the southwest. He took out some half-worn clothes and asked Zeng Shanlang to change out of his conspicuous Taoist robe. He put the bamboo box into the storage bag, and he changed the color and style of his Taoist robe himself.

When they set out again, the two men were carrying bags and running in remote areas of the countryside, looking quite inconspicuous.

"Sir, no suspicious monks were found following us."

Liu Xianfeng walked out from a big tree trunk and hid in the red willow branches in his bag so that he could keep an eye on the movements within the surrounding area for several miles.

"I just received a message from Zhao Jun. He said Yuanbao and Xueli are safe and sound, and told us not to worry about our family."

Before leaving, she asked Zhao Jun to let Huabei visit Bailin Valley often.

If Bailin Valley encounters an emergency, Yuanbao and Xueli can activate the communication talisman she has arranged in advance and send it to Zhao Jun or Zhong Jin of Baijisi.

If one of the two men comes forward, basically all the issues, big or small, in Qingping County can be settled.

With Yuanbao's ability, few people below the third floor can get the upper hand.

In the following half month, Xu Yuanchang led Zeng Shanlang along the route he had carefully planned, walking two to three hundred miles a day. They stopped in towns along the way at night to learn about local customs and enjoy unique food. They did not just travel for the sake of traveling.

If you come across a lively market, stay a little longer and stroll around.

I saw many strange and peculiar things in the mountains.

Liu Xianfeng used her unique perception to buy several magical herbs such as Polygonatum sibiricum and ginseng at a bargain price.

The young man didn't understand, so he asked the Taoist priest in a low voice: "Aunt Liu is so rich, why doesn't she pay a few more copper coins to the mountain hunters?"

Xu Yuanchang smiled and said, "Trading requires good eyesight. You can't give too much just because you know the goods. That will easily encourage greed, and the other party may think that the goods are rare and worth the money, and regret not selling to you. If you feel bad about it, you can just buy a few more cheap goods from the mountain people's stalls and pay a slightly higher price as compensation."

The boy nodded in thought.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you give them too much, the villagers will feel like they are being cheated by selling too cheaply.

Looking again, Aunt Liu returned to the previous stall and bought a bunch of useless mountain products.

"You have a lot of money on you, so feel free to choose whatever you want to buy."

Xu Yuanchang encouraged young people to spend more money and dare to spend money.

Like Liu Xianfeng, what he enjoys is the process of haggling over prices and the joy of finding a great bargain.

Zeng Shanlang followed the Taoist priest's advice, squeezed into the crowd, and selected items as a customer, buying some mountain specialty dried vegetables and fruits. He did not spend much money, but focused on value.

When he was in the Wuqiu Mountain Area, he collected many monster skins, claws, teeth and other items. After he and Meng split them half and half, he still had a lot left. He planned to sell them when he passed by the market next time because they took up too much space.

They continued on their way through the market, and Liu Xianfeng transformed herself into a small invisible creature, staying on the young man's shoulder, chattering away to show off her eyesight.

In the ring space, Rabbit spent quite a while, using a second-level illusion stone purchased by Xu Yuanchang to carefully create a treasure. He said, "The materials are too rubbish, so I'll just make a 'illusion stone'. After you refine it, leave three strands of spiritual consciousness in it, which can be used in conjunction with your illusion technique to create three more figures."

Xu Yuanchang "looked" at the gray phantom stone floating in the ring space for a moment, but did not take it out immediately.

He was worried that the rabbit was doing something fishy. He and the rabbit were competing with each other, and he would not let up even a bit just because the rabbit had helped him a few times and put in some effort.

"Let's talk about it when we have some free time. We are busy on the road."

Xu Yuanchang dispelled the rabbit's enthusiasm with a few words.

He wanted to find something for the rabbit to do, otherwise it would be annoying to harass him every day.

The rabbit was so angry that he threw a tantrum, saying things like "being sincere to others but getting ignored" and "being passionate but getting extinguished by ice". All kinds of complaints, with thousands of years of stale and sour air, made Xu Yuanchang feel so sick that he got goose bumps all over his body.

Xu Yuanchang concentrated his energy and calmed his mind for a moment, then mobilized his calm energy to surround his left hand, wrapping the hidden ring layer by layer.

The rabbits' noise seemed like a world away, and finally everything became quiet.

He also tried many times and found a solution in recent days, but it consumes a lot of mana.

Perhaps when he has accumulated enough calm energy, he can further strengthen his connection with the ring and discover its other functions. Maybe he can separate the ring into an area and imprison the annoying rabbit alone without having to worry about it running out.

The huge space inside the ring will not be wasted, he can place other unimportant and bulky items.

Of course, when you want to use the rabbit, it is very convenient and you can use it whenever you need it.

He refused to admit that there was any exploitative relationship between him and the rabbit.

The rabbit doesn’t even have a bridge, how can it be demolished?
The rabbit lives in his house and eats his own food, and he occasionally chats with him. So he charges a small rent. Is that not too much?

"Young Master, you should practice martial arts."

"Just practice for fun, it won't interfere with our chat."

"Oh, where was I just talking about... By the way, last time at Qingli Mountain, the Mountain Goddess asked me what rare treasures I had eaten, and how my cultivation had improved so fast at such a young age? She said that Wanxiang, Hanying and the others who had been attached to Qingli Mountain were still stuck at the second level after two or three hundred years."

"You are gifted and have done good deeds. You can break through and advance even if you eat simple food. You don't need to consume natural treasures."

"Speaking of this, I am not sleepy anymore. I actually want to taste the treasures of heaven and earth. It's because our conditions in Bailin Valley are a bit difficult. If I make a lot of money in the future, I will be as rich as Sister Yu..."

The two chatted as Xu Yuanchang walked quickly. The little Liu Xianfeng was very excited and looked radiant.

Zeng Shanlang, who was following behind, worked silently, his hands moving like paddling in water and his feet wading through mud.

Climb mountains and cross rivers, and never let go of your fists.

It gets dark early in winter.

The north wind was howling and the branches of the trees were shaking. The weather was cold and it seemed like it was going to snow.

Liu Xianfeng escaped from a nearby tree trunk. She had just come back from exploring the road ahead and said, "Sir, this area of ​​mountains and wilderness is desolate and uninhabited. There is a 'Hou Shi Village' twenty miles away where you can stay for one night. Otherwise, you will have to sleep outdoors."

"Let's go to Houshi Village. It might snow tonight. We are going out for training, not seeking suffering."

Xu Yuanchang doesn't need to care about the cold weather or the snow, he wants Zeng Shanlang to experience life.

Dealing with different mortals is also a form of practice.

The two men rushed to Houshi Village in the mountains, and according to custom, Xu Yuanchang first inserted a red willow branch at the entrance of the village.

The dusk was dark and the wind was howling.

The small village winds from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, with sparse lights dotted around.

Walk into the ancient archway in the east of the village, go up along the stone road, and pass by more than a dozen dilapidated courtyards, none of which belong to wealthy families.

The dogs in the village seemed to not welcome the two uninvited guests and barked loudly. A few other dogs followed behind them, baring their teeth to express their dissatisfaction.

I knocked on a door and an old man with a sloping figure opened it. He looked at the stranger who wanted to stay overnight and felt a little embarrassed. He refused in a thick dialect.

There were only the elderly, children and daughter-in-law at home. The son had gone out hunting with some villagers and had not returned yet, so it was not convenient to host strangers.

He walked through a few more courtyards and knocked on the door again.

The young woman on the other side of the door refused to stay overnight on the grounds that she was a widow and her status was unknown.

Xu Yuanchang was rejected twice in a row, but he didn't take it seriously.

Liu Xianfeng, who had just returned from a walk around the village, fell on his shoulder and laughed so hard that he fell backwards, making fun of the young man for knocking on a widow's door at dark night. If this got out, he would be laughed at by people like Lao Shi, which would damage his demeanor as a god.

Xu Yuanchang gave a familiar brain-crash and said with a smile: "Next time you knock on the door."

Liu Xianfeng rubbed his forehead and said, "There is a wealthy family in front of us. They have been haunted these days and their house is restless. They have invited a Taoist priest to perform a spell tonight. Young master, you can go there as a wandering Taoist priest to ask for a place to stay, and you can even get a sumptuous meal."

Xu Yuanchang asked, "Have you found out what is causing the trouble?"

"There is a dark and evil spirit in the backyard. I looked around but couldn't find the evil thing. I wonder where it is hiding?"

Liu Xianfeng spent a lot of time looking for ghosts, but she was a little depressed because she was not very skilled. She continued, "That country Taoist priest in a Taoist robe, who was drunk and had a greasy face, lied that the rich man Xiong's ancestral tomb was not buried properly, causing the 'house spirit to disturb the house', and that he had to perform a three-day ritual before digging the ancestral tomb. That person was not very capable and could not even find such an obvious strangeness in the backyard. He was so wicked, and he was just trying to cheat people for money and food."

Xu Yuanchang walked forward and said, "It is a taboo in the underworld to steal business from your peers."

"He is a charlatan. Why bother talking to him about the rules of the underworld? Stealing his business is a good deed."

Liu Xianfeng curled her lips in dissatisfaction. Seeing the young master stop in front of the high-ranking mansion illuminated by hanging lanterns and signal Zeng Shanlang to go forward and knock on the door, Xiao Shumei was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She sent a message to despise the young master's behavior of saying one thing and doing another.

The security guard who opened the door held his sword at his waist and heard the young man in front of him claiming to be a wandering Taoist priest who wanted to stay overnight.

The guards did not dare to be negligent as there had been some disturbances in the mansion these days, so they hurriedly asked the guest to wait.

Soon, the housekeeper and the security guard came out.

After a polite conversation, the butler looked at the Taoist certificate of the stranger, which was issued by Donglai County, two thousand miles away from here. He must have walked a long way, and he was immediately in awe. This was a truly capable wandering Taoist priest.

He enthusiastically invited Xu Yuanchang and the young man to the side hall in the front yard.

Xu Yuanchang drank tea leisurely. He used some magic to deceive the housekeeper and the guards.

The monk travels around the secular world without being fussy about details, and he has no guilt about lying.

A middle-aged man shouted from outside: "Since Mr. Xiong trusts me and asks me to preside over the ritual, I want to test the abilities of this outsider. Swindlers are rampant these days. Do you know the rules? You came to me just because you smelled something. What do you want? Do you want to fight me?"

Liu Xianfeng does not have the young master's good temper and patience. She does not indulge the Taoist priest and vents her anger to the outside world.

The sturdy Taoist priest rolled up his sleeves, rubbed his hands, and led his apprentice to teach the ignorant outsider a lesson.

A cold wind suddenly blew across his neck, making him feel creepy. Faint sounds of ghosts howling and wolves howling rang in his ears, scaring the Taoist so much that the wine he had drunk turned into cold sweat.

The sturdy Taoist priest quickly drew out the peach wood sword from his waist, made a sword gesture, and shouted to boost his courage: "Hey, who are you, little devil? Come out and die!"

Mr. Xiong, his housekeeper and others were shocked.

Taoist Luo was seen shouting and waving his peach wood sword around, as if he was fighting with some invisible evil creature.

Everyone was terrified. The guards quickly drew their swords to protect the master and retreated to the corridor to hide.

That thing became more and more rampant and dared to fight with the invited Taoist priest.

The young apprentice who followed Taoist Luo listened carefully for a moment, and a chill rose from his coccyx and rushed to the top of his head. He often walked by the river, and tonight he really encountered a ghost. His master was haunted by an evil ghost, and he was not putting on a show for his boss.

He quickly took out the bell instrument given by his master, and shook it vigorously while reciting mantras silently.

"Don't look for me, don't look for me."

"Bang", Taoist Luo fell down and the peach wood sword in his hand was thrown far away.

The Taoist priest quickly got up, his face pale, and ran to the door without even bothering to straighten his crooked Taoist hat. He was very agile and knew that ghosts had their own territory, so he would be fine if he ran out of the village.

The barking of dogs in the village became more and more intense, and became a loud noise.

Seeing that his master was completely defeated, the young disciple dared not stay and rushed out of the door and disappeared.

He didn't even bother to take away the equipment and magical tools he brought with him. The most important thing was to escape first.

With a creaky sound, the door opened and Xu Yuanchang stepped over the threshold and walked out of the side hall. He was bathed in light, and his newly transformed green Taoist robe was shining brightly. He stood in the corridor, as steady as a mountain.

Mr. Xiong, his housekeeper and others, who were at a loss as to what to do, suddenly felt relieved and hurried over to greet him.

It seemed that the invisible ghosts that were causing trouble in the yard were suppressed without a trace with the appearance of the wandering Taoist priest.

They actually hoped that the dirty thing would chase Taoist Luo out of the house and never come back.

But he also knew that it was impossible, because the haunted ghost that couldn't be driven away would cause trouble every winter.

This is already the third year, and fortunately no one has been killed.

Rich Man Xiong felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw. He respectfully invited Taoist Master Xu and the young Taoist boy who was not wearing a Taoist robe to the main hall in the courtyard, cleared away the remaining food, and served a new table of good wine and delicious food.

Xu Yuanchang only tasted a little, he was savoring the flavor of everyday life.

Zeng Shanlang saw that the Taoist priest signaled him not to worry, so he ate to his heart's content. The body cultivator had an amazing appetite. The autumn wind swept away the fallen leaves, and all the meat on the table was gone. He felt comfortable.

Rich Man Xiong praised with envy: "It is a blessing to be able to eat."

He hadn't had a good night's sleep these days, so even the most delicious food tasted like chewing wax.

The mansion had been haunted by evil spirits for three years. Famous sorcerers, wizards, and Taoists from fifty or sixty miles around were invited to come in. Each of them was quite famous, but each time they performed a ritual that could only last for a period of time and could not completely drive away the haunting spirits.

I once used my connections to hire a fire-breathing expert at a high price.

However, it was of no use. Less than ten days after the master performed the ritual and took the money and left, sighing sounds and the faint crying of a baby could still be heard in the house in the dead of night.

After three years of hard work and spending a huge amount of money, the family's fortunes were already on the decline.

Mr. Xiong was extremely anxious and tried every possible means to cure his illness.

After listening to the detailed description of the dirty things in the mansion by Mr. Xiong and the housekeeper, Xu Yuanchang pondered and gave orders: "Prepare all the necessary items such as incense, candles, money and paper. I will walk around the house and cast a spell to find out what happened."

Mr. Xiong was surprised and said, "They are all ready. Taoist priest, don't you need to build an altar?"

"No need."

Xu Yuanchang stood up and walked out the door.

He was quite curious. What kind of ghost could have stayed in the mansion for three years?
Don’t you believe that among the many famous local wizards and Taoist priests, none of them has the real ability to catch ghosts, and they all rely on street tricks to make a living?
Country people may be short-sighted, but they can become wealthy because they are smart and shrewd.

Then there is only one possibility, the ghost haunting the house is very unusual.

Could it really be that the house god is causing trouble?

……

(End of this chapter)