Chapter Seventy-Seven: Surviving in the Underworld Comes Down to Three Words—Find a Powerful Ally

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"The first pile, three hundred and twenty-five strings; the second pile, three hundred and eighty-one strings; the third pile..."

In the grand courtyard of the Xu residence, a dozen heaps of copper coins lay scattered across the ground. These were but a small part of the profits Xu Wenshan had managed to extract from the county office—indeed, a rather meager portion, yet it was enough to startle Xu Changshui.

Xu Changshui picked up a string of coins and said, "Is the fur business really this lucrative? I never noticed when I went to Shaxian."

"Times have changed, Father," Xu Wenshan replied. "This time I did more than just dealings in furs; I also engaged in a few small businesses locally."

Xu Wenshan had another important purpose in returning home: to persuade Xu Changshui to dismiss some of their tenant farmers.

"Father, I think we have too many tenants. With only two hundred acres of land, we don't need so much labor. Why not let some of them go?" Xu Wenshan said.

Xu Changshui gave a bitter smile. "You don't understand."

If it were merely about farming, not eighty, but even forty households could handle the work. Yet the current situation was not born overnight. Most of the tenants had served the Xu family for generations. Whenever a son came of age and married, he would be allotted a piece of land, so the number of tenants kept growing.

Regardless of how many tenants there were, the Xu family always split the harvest evenly with them, so having more tenants made no difference to the family. If these tenants were dismissed, left without a livelihood, they would cause trouble, hence Xu Changshui’s remark that Xu Wenshan did not understand.

Xu Wenshan said, "I plan to build a canal from the mountains to the village. If you don’t let some tenants go, I’ll lack manpower."

Xu Changshui couldn’t help but retort, "Foolish child, do you know how much it costs to build irrigation?"

Xu Wenshan pointed at the money on the ground. "Isn’t this enough?"

Xu Changshui was at a loss for words, then said, "That’s the county official’s responsibility. Why would you take the initiative?"

Xu Wenshan replied, "The county officials don’t care. We must look after ourselves. Father, please trust me."

Looking at his son, Xu Changshui felt he had truly grown up.

He agreed to Xu Wenshan’s request, and soon the news of the Xu family dismissing tenants spread throughout the village. Nearly forty households were forced off the land, left homeless. The entire Deer-Crane Valley was plunged into unprecedented turmoil.

...

Wu Yi’s life in recent days had been a rollercoaster, soaring from the earth to the heavens, only to plummet back into the mud.

He had married Niu Huahua, the daughter of Niu Shuangxi from the village, hoping to win the five-string prize. He had even married into her family, but failing to win the contest, his new wife not only refused to share a room with him, she made a scene daily, demanding he leave and yet watching him closely to prevent his departure.

Later, Xu Wenshan unexpectedly established the Deer-Crane Valley Archery Club. Hunting daily brought generous wages. Though his wife was skeptical, she ceased her tantrums, demanding he produce real silver within half a month, or else she would divorce him.

The fortnight passed, and he did indeed bring home silver and coins. Seeing the heap of money, his wife nearly went mad with joy, but Wu Yi told her there would be no such windfall again.

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The Xu young master’s grain and oil company suddenly stopped purchasing game. Previously, the Guo family would still buy from hunters, but now they sourced their meat directly from Xu’s store, leaving the hunters without a livelihood.

There were many in Deer-Crane Valley like Wu Yi, who had lost their source of income. He sought out Li Dazhuang and Lei Laohu to discuss their future.

He soon discovered that Li Dazhuang wasn’t worried about money at all.

"My father became an instructor at the club. He earns more than a hundred coins a month," Li Dazhuang said.

"Instructor? Who goes to the club to learn archery?" Lei Laohu asked.

"Quite a few. Recently, villagers saw how much hunters were earning, so they sent their children to the club to learn archery, even paying the master’s fee. Some adults came to learn themselves."

Wu Yi was skeptical. "Isn’t it the closed hunting season? Do they still think hunting will make money?"

Li Dazhuang replied, "The closed season only lasts two periods—spring and autumn. When hunting is allowed, there’s good money to be made. They aren’t relying on it for survival like we do; they just want to earn some extra cash."

Wu Yi and Lei Laohu exchanged bitter smiles. Who would have thought these farmers, usually busy with their fields, would now outpace them in hunting? The children learning archery weren’t skilled yet, but after one or two years of practice at the range, their abilities would surely improve. Meanwhile, Wu Yi still had to worry about basic sustenance.

"Dazhuang, what about you? Will you become an instructor at the archery range like your father?" Wu Yi asked.

Li Dazhuang said, "Young Master Xu did ask if I wanted to be an archery instructor, but I refused."

"Why?" Lei Laohu and Wu Yi asked in unison.

Li Dazhuang scratched his head. "I want to join the security team."

Xu Wenshan had indeed announced plans to form a Deer-Crane Security Team, urging everyone to sign up. Wu Yi, however, was reluctant. Wasn’t that the same as joining the army?

As the saying goes: 'Good men don’t become soldiers; good iron isn't made into nails.'

Why would a promising young man risk his life for someone else?

Wu Yi said, "Being an instructor is good. Why join the military?"

Lei Laohu patted Wu Yi, his face serious. "Dazhuang made the right choice. You probably haven’t heard: the Xu family dismissed more than thirty tenant households. With an average of three people per household, that’s a hundred mouths to feed! Young Master Xu has already said the security team is a good path, but there are only twenty-five spots. If you don’t compete now, you may never get the chance."

...

After talking with Lei Laohu and Li Dazhuang, Wu Yi felt even more anxious.

That night, lying in bed, he suddenly realized that ever since Young Master Xu had arrived, their peaceful village had been rocked by wave after wave of upheaval—and he always seemed to be at the heart of it.

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He suddenly thought that joining the security team might be a good path, a way to get closer to Young Master Xu and enjoy the shade of a mighty tree.

...

The headquarters of the Alliance of the Orthodox Immortal Path, at the Clearwind Monastery.

The headquarters changes every three hundred years; this cycle belonged to the Clearwind Monastery, but next time it could be elsewhere.

The female cultivator Ran Tinglan and the male cultivator Dan Tengzi had already been stranded here for ten days. Their original purpose was to investigate whether Lü Wujie had died, and if so, how. But the superiors sent only a message: "Please await our investigation," leaving them to linger for ten days.

Dan Tengzi was idle and unconcerned, but Ran Tinglan needed to break through in her cultivation, and the wasted time was wearing thin her patience.

"Maybe I’ll return first. You can wait here alone," Ran Tinglan said to Dan Tengzi.

Dan Tengzi shrugged. "I don’t mind."

Ran Tinglan summoned her flying sword, preparing to return to her sect when a messenger descended from the sky, riding his sword. He landed, shook out his robes, and bowed leisurely to them.

After they returned the gesture, he slowly said, "Both of you, the matter regarding your sect’s disciple Lü Wujie has been thoroughly investigated. I will now read the results to you."

"Lü Wujie's Shadow Linglong was shattered. Upon investigation, his corpse was found, and remnants of his golden core were recovered. It is confirmed that the disciple has indeed passed away."

The messenger licked his lips and continued, "Analysis indicates the cause of death was mutual destruction with a monster during demon-slaying. In accordance with alliance confidentiality rules, the body has been destroyed by alchemical fire. The matter is now concluded. This is the official report."

"That’s all?" Ran Tinglan asked.

"That’s all." The messenger handed a jade slip with the necessary information to Ran Tinglan.

Ran Tinglan breathed a sigh of relief, took the jade slip, bowed, and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Suddenly, Dan Tengzi raised his hand to stop her. "I have a question!"

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