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The business deal between the young man Chu Yuanxiao and the young girl Li Yuyao was not concluded until late at night, and then they went back to their respective residences.

Soon, one night passed and it was dawn.

The weather today is not very good. After a heavy rain on the night of the [-]th day of the first lunar month, today is the second spring rain since the beginning of the new year. However, today is not like the heavy rain on the Lantern Festival. It only rains when it is about to break. It just started to rain in wisps, and it rained continuously.

There was no sound from the chickens and dogs in the town. The animals, which had their own duties, were hiding in their homes to take shelter from the rain. In addition, it was drizzling and no one went out, so the town felt inexplicably quiet at dawn in the early morning.

It was eerily quiet.

When Chu Yuanxiao opened the door, he happened to see a group of people coming from the direction of the west of the town. The leader was a middle-aged man holding an umbrella. He was dressed in wealth, with a big body and a round waist, and a face full of flesh. He looked very fierce and difficult to deal with.

The oil-paper umbrella used to protect him from the rain seemed a little... thin even when it was held above his head.

Not far from the door, the leading middle-aged man looked at the young man who opened the door and sneered: "Hey, boy, you are quite good at getting things done. You knew we were coming so you went out in advance to greet us? Yes?" Do you think we won’t take back the yard behind you?”

"Collect the yard?" The young man chewed the middle-aged fat man's words carefully. He knew that the person who came was not good, but he still asked: "Butler Zhu San, I don't know what you mean by this? Why do you want to collect my yard?" "

"Your house?" The fat middle-aged man called the butler laughed ferociously, "Boy, you have to understand one thing. This yard was a deal between my father and that old drunkard who was eaten by dirt 20 years ago. And you can only be regarded as a bastard picked up by an old drunkard. The reason why you are named Chu is just to take the old drunkard’s surname. You cannot be regarded as a real Chu family member."

Zhu San sneered and said sarcastically: "Now that old ghost named Chu is probably rotten to his bones, so naturally this deal should be cancelled, and this yard must be returned to my Zhu family's name! So today, we I’m here to collect the bill!”

The young man who had been standing at the door of the yard since the beginning, maintaining his posture of opening the door, was stunned for a moment when he heard Zhu San speak like this. He looked at the fat Zhu San and frowned, and said: "Butler Zhu, business. How can there be a saying that it becomes invalid when one of the parties dies?"

"You haven't heard of it, have you?" Zhu San said with a sarcastic expression, "Then you can listen to it after today!"

"In addition, you, a lone evil star who has killed so many people, if you didn't have a little face from those two old immortals, you should have been driven out of our Yanguan Town long ago! Now it's just right, although I, the Zhu family, have accepted This yard can be very merciful and allow you to take away a dog-beating stick and a broken porcelain bowl, and then you will get out of Yanguan Town and will not come back again. Do you understand?"

Butler Zhu San did not look back as he spoke, but with a cruel smile on his face, he raised his hand and waved to the group of servants who were following him.

The few people following him looked at each other with different expressions when they saw this, some were indifferent, some were disdainful, and some were vaguely excited... But in the end, it was a young man with an intolerable expression who stood out first. .

He walked a few steps forward with his whistle stick in hand, passed the rich and muscular housekeeper Zhu, and arrived in front of the young man who was still standing at the door of the courtyard. After a slight hesitation, he looked at the young man and whispered: "Little brother, to be honest, I You just follow other people's instructions to work and earn a living. Although you came here this time, I don't know how you annoyed the master's family? May I advise you to be submissive if you can... We are here Humanoids have thin arms and legs that are impossible to break apart, so why bother?"

As soon as these words came out, Chu Yuanxiao, who was already on guard, was slightly startled, but before he could reply, the fat man Zhu San behind the young servant spoke up first, and said in a strange way: "Hey, Zhu Wusi, you are very considerate. How about you? How about you turn around and join him? And then turn against the master of the family who gave you the honor to give you the surname Zhu?"

The young servant known as Zhu Wusi changed his expression when he heard this, but he mumbled and said nothing. The hand holding the whistle stick tightened but still made no move. He just looked at the young man with an admonishing look.

If he still refuses to listen to the advice, he has done his best to be kind and righteous. After all, you have to be loyal to others to eat their food. This is the duty of a human being. If you have to take action, don't blame him for being cruel!

Although Chu Yuanxiao felt cold inside at this time, he could still tell the difference between good and bad. He nodded towards the young man facing him with a kind expression but did not speak.

Then, he looked over Zhu Wusi's shoulder and looked at Fatty Zhu San behind him, whose expression turned cold again, and said in a cold voice: "Butler Zhu, you are so unreasonable, aren't you afraid that I will file a complaint against you at the Salt Official's Office? "

The salt official office in the boy's mouth is located next to Wufang Pavilion in the center of the town. Although it is still open, it has not been engaged in the business of purchasing official salt for many years.

According to imperial law, selling illegal salt is a serious crime of beheading. Therefore, the residents of the small town can only secretly exchange some well salt from the salt wells for their own use. None of the villagers have the courage to do so. They were taken out for private sales, so although the deep and shallow salt wells under dozens of shacks around the town have not been filled in, they have been almost abandoned over the years.

Therefore, even though the salt officials, salt fields, and salt wells are still there, the saltsmiths in the town who originally relied on collecting salt for a living have all, without exception, changed their livelihood to some other way of life.

Now, the Yanguan Office, which has become a bare-bones lord, is more like a place where the county government handles common people's affairs. In addition, the imperial court has never taken back the title of "Queen Official Salt Production" in Yanguan Town, so Although Yanguan Town is still nominally under the jurisdiction of Guzang, the first county in Liangzhou, in fact, it is the Mr. Yanguan in the Yanguan Office who has the final say.

Therefore, what the young man said was actually a threat to the Zhu family's third housekeeper in the name of the government.

Zhu San's face felt unnatural for a moment when he heard this, but it only passed for a moment, and then he sneered again: "Boy, I finally understand why you offended those immortal families! What do you mean by going to the salt official's office to file a complaint? You Are you afraid that your brain is not working well? We are both the four major surnames in Yanguan Town, do you think the Li family behind the Yangguan Office will take care of my Zhu family’s affairs? "

Chu Yuanxiao was silent after hearing this, and then said: "The Yanguan Office belongs to the government, so it will naturally make decisions for the people!"

"Hahaha...!" Zhu San seemed to have heard some extremely funny joke when he heard this. He was overjoyed and pointed at the young man and mocked: "It's useless, accept your fate, kid! In today's world, only people of the same level can talk to each other. !Government? Hahaha, you are a bastard with mud legs and you still want to reason with me, Mr. Zhu? To tell you the truth, even though the salt official office is under the control of Mr. Li, you still have to give face to me, Mr. Zhu! Want to sue us? You him? Mother is dreaming!"

……

The two were still talking, and Zhu San was followed by a group of Zhu family servants who came with them, but no one noticed that from the beginning of their conversation, the door of the thatched hut across the long street was opened from the inside. The man also appeared at the door, smiling as he watched the confrontation between the two groups opposite.

When Hou Junchen, the watchman, heard what the fat man Zhu San said with a mocking look on his face, he smiled and shook his head. He didn't know whether it was a mockery or a sigh and said in a low voice: "Sure enough, a dog who relies on human power is often better than holding a dog leash. My master is still fierce and tries his best to bite people, but in the end it’s just for a bone.”

His voice was so low that no one could hear him. After he finished speaking, he glanced towards the west side of the long street intentionally or unintentionally, and the smile on his face couldn't help but become more playful.

……

"Oh? The Yanguan Office in charge of the Li family still has to give you the Zhu family face? That's a good way to say it. Then why don't you call Li Chunchou, the head of the Li family, to ask if he has to give you the Zhu family face?"

In Hou Junchen's playful eyes, a clear and cold figure of a girl in white appeared not far away from Chu Yuanxiao, housekeeper Zhu San and others. She looked at Zhu San expressionlessly and asked a question. .

Zhu San, the housekeeper of the Zhu family who was yelling at Chu Yuanxiao just a moment ago, heard the girl's words and his face suddenly became too ugly. He turned around angrily without hesitation, and was about to curse the girl when he saw the girl. He was forced to hold it in his voice and couldn't curse.

He didn't know this young girl, but her indifferent aura really made him wary. She was obviously not from Yanguan Town, so her origin was already obvious.

After all, he was a housekeeper with a big surname, so Zhu San felt that he still had some discernment.The immortal families from Shuixiu Lake need the careful attention of their master Zhu family, so this is something that he, the third housekeeper, cannot afford to offend.

The scene was awkward for a while.

The girl glanced at Fatty Zhu San who turned around but his face turned red, and said coldly: "I don't care what your status is in the Zhu family, but now I tell you to take your people and get out! If you are not convinced, you can Let your master Zhu Jiantang go to the Li family to find Li Chunchou!"

Having said that, Li Yuyao, who was carrying a long sword and covering her body with a cloak, walked directly past the crowd and walked to the door of Chu Yuanxiao. She didn't take another look at the Zhu family visitors with different faces.

She first looked at Chu Yuanxiao and said softly: "These people are just here to keep you here. If my guess is correct, Ke Yuzhi and the others may have gone to the foot of Zhelongbei Mountain, so you'd better hurry up now." Bring your things and follow me right now!”

Seeing the young man with a frightened expression turning back to the yard to get something, Li Yuyao turned back to look at Zhu San who looked a little hesitant and said lightly: "Go back and tell Zhu Jiantang who he wants to accept as his master. It doesn’t matter much, and there are saints and rules here. I really won’t do anything to him now, but that doesn’t mean no one can control him! Let him think about the consequences before doing anything, Yanguan Town is now It is still the territory of the Chengyun Empire, governed by royal law, and the so-called four surnames here do not necessarily include his Zhu family!"

After saying that, the girl turned her head and looked in the direction of the yard, no longer looking at Zhu San and his group.

Fatty Zhu San, who had been approaching fiercely and arrogantly just a moment ago, looked very gloomy and ugly at the moment, but after looking at the girl's seemingly defenseless back, he still didn't dare to make a move after considering it for a long time. In the end, he had no choice but to lead the others away in anger.

……

Chu Yuanxiao came out of the yard quickly, holding a sheathed straight-edged long knife in his left hand, and an ordinary hatchet with some rust in his right hand.

According to the terms of sale negotiated last night, the three-foot-long knife was naturally given to the girl Li Yuyao as a reward for helping him survive this disaster, while the rusty hatchet was casually pinned to his waist. After a while, he lifted his legs and ran to the foot of Zhelongbei Mountain in the east of the town. There were two tombs there, both of which he filled with soil.

Before leaving the town, the young man took the time to say hello to the sloppy man who was still leaning at the door of the hut while running: "Old monkey, look at the door for me, and I'll give you ten meals!"

The young man spoke in a hurry, and without caring whether the sloppy man Hou Junchen agreed or not, he left the town and ran eastward quickly along the official road.

The girl following him was not as anxious as the young man. With her cultivation level in hand, she walked calmly. Not even a drop of the drizzle that kept falling fell on her body. When she passed by the door of the hut, she nodded to Hou Junchen, He just said hello, then passed by and followed the young man as he headed eastward.

Hou Junchen watched the two young men galloping away, then looked back at the copper bell hanging on the old locust tree on the other side of the road. After a moment, he chuckled, shook his head and walked towards the entrance of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. Go and murmur in a low voice: "This boy's ten meals are quite chewy. If you just look at the business...it's worth it."

……

Zhendong is on the back of the dragon.

For Chu Yuanxiao, this place is really like his own yard. In the past few years, he has almost lived on the mountains and rivers around the town. He has traveled all over the land within dozens of miles. Very familiar.

Later, after two graves were buried at the foot of the mountain in the east of the town, the young man had another purpose for entering the mountain.

Early this morning, before the rain stopped, two groups of people came to the foot of the mountain. The first wave was led by Zhu Er, the second housekeeper of the town's surnamed Zhu. They were accompanied by about a dozen of Zhu's servants, each holding a shovel. Digging tools such as hoes didn't waste any time at the foot of the mountain. They divided into two groups and started digging graves, not sparing either grave.

By the time the poor boy arrived, the tombstones in front of the two graves had already been knocked down by the group. The two bulging graves on the ground had also been leveled. If they dug further, they would probably see the graves. Those two dead bones had been buried for many years.

To be precise, there were only two people in the second group, a rich young man in rich clothes, followed by an old and gloomy old woman. The old woman also held a paper umbrella in her hand to protect her son from the rain. The two of them took their time. He walked up the hill between the two tombs.

When Ke Yuzhi arrived at the place, he squatted on the hill, looking left and right, watching with interest the Zhu family servants on both sides digging graves, while waiting in a good mood for the mud-legged man to get rid of Zhu San and lead him to block the door. The group of people came here to fight him desperately.

The old woman stood behind her young master, holding an umbrella for him, her face expressionless and silent.

Standing outside the umbrella in the rain was the respectful second housekeeper of the Zhu family, with a flattering fat smile on his face that was already a little stiff.

Ke Yuzhi looked curiously at the stone tombstones that had been toppled down in front of the two graves. He turned to look at Zhu Er and said with a curious smile: "Butler Zhu Er, I see that mud-legged man living a shabby and shabby life. It’s not like someone who has the money to erect a monument, so why do these two tombs have such exquisitely crafted stone monuments erected in front of them?”

Zhu Er, who was being questioned, was murmuring in his heart at this time. Although he had been laughing with him since he came here, he was actually very scared in his heart.

After all, although they came here to dig up people's ancestral graves under the orders of the family master, anyone who has lived in the town for a long time knows that the two old ghosts buried in these two graves were famous during their lifetimes. Difficult ghost!Now that I am waiting for others to dig their graves, I am not sure whether it will cause disaster!
Hearing Ke Yuzhi's question, Zhu Er was in a daze and did not react immediately. It was not until the elderly woman who had been silent turned her head and glanced at him tepidly that he woke up and hurriedly answered the reason.

It is said that there was a stonemason in Yanguan Town. Most people in the town only knew that the lonely old bachelor stonemason was named Shi, but they did not know his name, so most of the neighbors called him Master Shi.

The stonemason spent most of his life carving stone, and his craftsmanship was superb. Most of the stoneware in the homes of all the wealthy families in the town were made by this stone master, such as the pair in front of Zhao Jicheng's house. Stone lions, and the taunting mythical beasts squatting on the roof corners of each of the four major surnames, as well as the stone tablet with the four characters "Tao follows nature" at the entrance of the North Spiritual Temple in the south of the town, and the carrying tablet under the stone tablet The overlord mythical beasts, all of them are lifelike and spiritual.

Anyway, basically all the stone tools that can be named in the town are the work of this stonemason.

If the craftsmanship is good, there will naturally be more business coming to the door. In addition, the stone master always smiles and is kind to everyone. He is a master craftsman who is very good at doing business, so the business of the stone mason's shop has always been very good.

But this Master Shi has always had an interesting rule, which is that no matter whose family in the town has someone riding a crane to the west, he will send a stone tablet to the grave if there is one. It doesn't matter whether he pays or not. He doesn't force it.

This is probably one of the reasons why the stonemason was so popular. Although most people would have given a pile of copper plates as monuments as long as they had the spare energy, it still does not prevent everyone from recognizing that the stonemason was a good person. The deceased is the most important person. It is a good thing for people to be respected.

It was because of the kindheartedness of this master craftsman that the two graves at the foot of Zhelongbei Mountain each had a tombstone. As for whether the poor young man gave money, the Zhu family's housekeeper was not sure.

"Mason..." Ke Yuzhi frowned and chewed on these two words, then raised his head and glanced in the direction of the town as if feeling something. He didn't say anything more, just looked at the two peers who ran over with a smile. He smiled playfully and said, "Here he comes!"

……