Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the sky was as black as ink.
Xie An walked out of the Fourth Master's residence and saw Lin Yun and his four companions surrounded by a group of Demon Suppression Guards.
A Demon Suppression Guard came forward to report: "Chief Commander, these five claim to be your former subordinates..."
Before the Demon Suppression Guard could finish, Xie An nodded.
The reporting Demon Suppression Guard was also sensible, immediately signaling his men to release them and proactively apologized to Lin Yun and the others.
"Go and cooperate with Supervisor Zhao to complete the aftermath work."
Xie An instructed the Demon Suppression Guards, then quickly walked over to greet Lin Yun and the others warmly, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
However, having witnessed the scene just now, no matter how warm Xie An was, Lin Yun and the others were a little timid, and their words were much more cautious, no longer as unrestrained as they had been in the restaurant.
They knew very well that their former boss... was no longer the small gang leader he once was, but had leaped to become a fifth-rank official, a true meteoric rise. It was something these Jianghu swordsmen could never have imagined in their lives.
Xie An saw it all, but he also knew that this estrangement could not be eliminated all at once. No matter how good the relationship was, it would take some time to adjust. And some people may never adjust.
After some small talk, Xie An changed the subject: "Now that the Giant Whale Gang has been destroyed, and the Blood Ridge Market is without a leader, you will continue to stay here. Help the Demon Suppression Division sort out the order of the market. Make the most of your strengths and perform well. Let the Demon Suppression Division and the market shopkeepers see your abilities.
"By the way, that Supervisor Zhao has a lot of influence. He is a member of the gentry and needs someone to step up."
Leaving these words, Xie An bid farewell and left.
He had helped as much as he could.
The crowd watched Xie An's departing figure, their eyes a little red.
Although Xie An didn't say anything heroic, the information he hinted at the end was enough to show Xie An's affection for them.
Wang Xiang wiped away tears, "The boss is too good to us. I'll go to the Demon Suppression Division for the examination another day to serve the boss."
Zhang Lin sighed, listless and depressed, and lowered his head.
Although he wanted to continue to work for Xie An, he was getting old and wanted to live a few peaceful days, and was caught in a dilemma.
Seeing that Zhang Lin didn't express his position, Zhou Xing also lowered his head.
Liang Zhi came out to smooth things over: "Wang Xiang, don't be impulsive. The boss wants us to perform well so that everyone can take over the Blood Ridge Market. Let's get through this matter first, and don't let the boss's good intentions down."
Wang Xiang listened to Liang Zhi very much and lowered his head: "Yes."
Liang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and said to Lin Yun, "Brother Lin, the Blood Ridge Black Market is the result of your and Master Wei Xiang's decades of hard work, your roots are here, so you must perform well. If Supervisor Zhao speaks, Brother Lin should have no problem getting a gentry status.
"At that time, the Blood Ridge Market will directly belong to the government and will not belong to any Jianghu sect. Brother Lin can make this Blood Ridge Market last for a long time."
Lin Yun stared at Xie An's departing figure, his eyes red.
He couldn't help but recall the scene when he and Xie An bid farewell to Brother Wei in front of Ah Bao's grave, and remembered Brother Wei's figure riding his horse towards the sun...
In a blink of an eye, six or seven years had passed.
And Xie An's kindness to Brother Wei was always remembered in his heart, and now it was being repaid to him, Lin Yun.
Brother Wei was a man of affection and righteousness.
Xie An, is also like that.
...
Xie An led his horse and slowly walked out of the Blood Ridge Market.
Because of the arrival of the Demon Suppression Division, the road outside the market was empty, with no pedestrians.
It started to rain.
At first, it was a drizzle, but soon it turned into a torrential downpour, soaking Xie An's official robe. But Xie An seemed unaware and continued to lead his horse forward in the rain.
Destroying a Giant Whale Gang was nothing to Xie An.
He was very interested in the dog demon.
Having lived in the Black Tortoise Town area for thirty-eight years, he had never seen a demon. The previous corpses were refined by corpse refiners and did not count as demons.
Where did the dog demon come from?
Could it be the little demon under the command of the Five Old Demons in the depths of the Great Yin Mountain that the Eldest Princess mentioned?
But after thinking about it, he was relieved.
This Great Qian is not his own, so why think so much. If the Five Old Demons really run out, the Eldest Princess will naturally be at the front, and he can take the opportunity to contribute.
"In general, this demon essence is a good thing. If two or three more dog demons like this come... my Bright Jade Skill may directly enter the nineteenth level. The fusion degree may also approach 1."
"I wonder what kind of changes will occur after the fusion degree of the Longevity Fate reaches 1. Will it upgrade the first-level Longevity Fate to the second level?"
What would a second-level Longevity Fate be like?
Xie An was full of anticipation.
"After Zhao Qing'er and the others interrogate Huang Silang, let's see if they can follow the clues and dig out other dog demons..." Xie An's eyes became much brighter.
With this in mind, Xie An jumped on his horse.
Giddy up!
With a soft shout, the horse galloped in the night rain.
By the time he arrived at Black Tortoise Town, it was already late at night, Hai hour.
Black Tortoise Town was not as prosperous as Water Lantern Town, and most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, leaving only a few restaurants and gambling houses open. The gambling house business was good, but the restaurants were deserted.
When Xie An passed by the Black Tortoise Temple, he was shocked by the scale of the temple.
Compared to the dilapidated appearance six or seven years ago, the current Black Tortoise Temple is more than twice as large, and even at night, the lanterns hanging on the door are still lit, and the corridor lights on both sides are also lit.
A huge square was set up at the entrance of the ancestral hall, and a ten-meter-high cubic stone tablet stood in the center of the square, which was quite magnificent.
Logically speaking, Black Tortoise Town is not considered prosperous or wealthy, and building such a large ancestral hall would cost a lot. I'm afraid the local villagers have suffered.
Moreover, Xie An felt that building such an ancestral hall was unnecessary.
However, Xie An was also a member of the Black Tortoise Temple, and seeing such a magnificent ancestral hall with his share, he felt a little relieved. He rode his horse slowly closer to the stone tablet in the center of the square.
With his excellent eyesight, Xie An could see the inscriptions on the stone tablet clearly.
The stone tablet was inscribed on all four sides.
The west side was inscribed with the year the ancestral hall was first built, the year it was repaired, and the reasons, process, social background, and intentions of the repair. It was very detailed.
The north side was inscribed with the personnel who first built the ancestral hall, the person in charge, the personnel who repaired it, and the person in charge.
The south side was inscribed with the amount of donations from the personnel who recently repaired it, arranged from highest to lowest according to the amount of money donated. The largest amount was Li Hongming, five hundred taels!
As expected of the largest local squire at the uncle level in Black Tortoise Town.
Chen Lei donated four hundred and ninety-nine taels.
Xie An understood that Chen Lei was richer than Li Hongming, but he couldn't overstep him, so he donated one tael less to show his respect.
After that, there was Li Ru of the Li family, who donated four hundred taels. This was something Xie An didn't expect.
Subsequent donors donated three hundred taels, two hundred taels, etc. There were more than a dozen people who donated more than one hundred taels. More were tens of taels, a few taels. In total, there were thousands of people on the list.
Seeing the end, Xie An was shocked to find that his two disciples had also donated money, not much, five taels of silver.
Chunlan also donated money, one tael.
Xie An couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
In order to build such a large ancestral hall, it can be seen that the 30,000 villagers of Black Tortoise Town united as one, tightening their belts to contribute money and effort.
Perhaps Black Tortoise Town is not as prosperous as Water Lantern Town, but the villagers here are more simple, united, and pay more attention to ancestral inheritance.
You know, whether in this world or in the previous world, repairing ancestral halls is not a government project, but is purely funded and built by local villagers themselves.
In the previous world, many villagers went to work in big cities. No matter how well they were doing, whenever the village wanted to repair the ancestral hall, they would take the initiative to raise money.
The reason behind this is the respect and recognition of the descendants for their ancestors.
The atmosphere in Black Tortoise Town in this regard is very strong.
Thinking of this, Xie An couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
At the beginning, Li Hongming and Chen Lei overcame all objections and included the Xie family in the Black Tortoise Temple, and even became a large surname alongside the Chen and Li families.
Everyone tightened their belts to donate money, but he, the only descendant of the Xie family... had not donated money yet.
Should I go back and make up for it?
Xie An slowly went around to the east side of the stone tablet and was immediately shocked by the inscriptions above.
The east faces the sun, representing the hope of the Black Tortoise Temple. Inscribed on it are the surnames of the Black Tortoise Temple and the representatives of the major surnames. From top to bottom, the inscriptions are getting smaller and smaller, and the surnames at the top are larger and the fonts are larger.
It's a bit similar to the vision test chart in the previous world.
Xie An thought that the first line would be Chen, Li, Xie.
As a result—
The newest novel is first published on 69shu8!
The first line has only one name: Xie (Xie An).
The Xie family leads the Wu Ancestral Hall and its hundred families.
The second line contains the Li family (Li Hongming) and the Chen family (Chen Lei).
Xie An's pupils dilated. He hadn't expected Li Hongming and Chen Lei to be so considerate. They had not only included the Xie family, a family with a different surname, into Wu Ancestral Hall, but also placed the Xie family at the forefront, leading all the families.
Even the Chen and Li families, with over two hundred years of heritage, were placed behind the Xie family.
This was a great honor.
One that money couldn't buy.
Especially for an old man like Xie An, who harbored the idea of returning to his roots, this gesture warmed his heart, and he was deeply touched.
He had just been talking about donating a little money...
It seemed a little wasn't enough.
Should it be four hundred and ninety-nine at least?
For Xie An, this was a considerable sum of money. However, Xie An felt it was worth spending... He could always sell another Inner Strength Pill.
Wait...
Yuhe seems to be surnamed Xie as well?
He should ask Yuhe to donate some money and join the Wu Ancestral Hall. It's better than having nowhere to settle down when she gets old.
Both Xie An and Yuhe were wanderers without a home. That's why they yearned for a place to settle down and where their souls could return.
Just as Xie An was lost in thought, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching, along with a familiar voice.
Hey, this is the Wu Ancestral Hall stele. It can't be damaged.
Xie An turned around and saw Chen He walking over in a straw raincoat, carrying a lantern, offering a friendly reminder, as if he was afraid Xie An would damage the stele.
Seeing an old friend again, Xie An was very happy, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that Chen He had aged a lot. He walked with a shaky gait, which filled Xie An with many emotions.
Xie An adjusted his emotions, dismounted, and said with a smile, "Brother Chen He, it's me, Xie An."
Chen He raised the lantern, approached Xie An, and examined him. He couldn't believe that the young man before him was once the old appraiser, "You, are you really Brother Xie?"
Xie An said, "You were the one who took me to the county town to find antiques, and we even encountered bandits from the Giant Whale Gang."
Hearing Xie An mention this secret, Chen He finally believed him. The tight frown on his face slowly relaxed, turning into a smile, "It really is Brother Xie!"
He stepped forward and gave Xie An a hug, then said, "Brother Xie, how have you become so much younger? If you hadn't mentioned this secret, I wouldn't have recognized you."
Xie An said, "I've made some progress in cultivating a health preservation technique, so I've become a little younger."
Chen He muttered to himself, 'I've also been diligently practicing health preservation techniques all these years. Why don't I have such effects?'
Clearing the doubts in his mind, Chen He said happily, "I went to the Li residence the day before yesterday and saw Han Li. He said you weren't dead. My elder brother and Old Li were very excited and were thinking of looking for you."
"Is Old Li still healthy?"
Chen He shook his head and sighed, "Old Li was busy with the reconstruction of the ancestral hall and overworked himself. Now he's fallen ill. The doctor says he probably doesn't have two years left."
Xie An looked back at the magnificent ancestral hall and felt that it was all Li Hongming's hard work. "Why is the Xie family at the head of this Wu Ancestral Hall stele?"
Chen He said, "This was Old Li's decision, overriding all opposition. Many villagers have objections, especially those from the Li and Chen families, who are resentful of being overshadowed by the Xie family. But they couldn't resist Old Li's authority. After the ancestral hall was built, the surrounding area became unsafe. So we arranged for the villagers to take turns guarding it at night. It's my turn tonight. I just went to see Old Li, and he was still talking about Brother Xie."
Li Hongming's residence was less than two miles away, so Xie An said, "Please lead the way, Brother Chen. I'll go see Old Li."
When Xie An saw Li Hongming again, he was already lying on the bed, his son Li Han serving him medicine.
Seeing Xie An, Li Hongming was very excited and insisted that Li Han help him up. He cupped his fist at Xie An, "It's a great joy for our Wuchiao Town that Master Xie has returned safely. Please sit down.
Han'er, make tea and bring some fruit."
Xie An helped Li Hongming to sit down and gently patted his back to help him breathe, "Old Li, there's no need to be so polite. I wanted to visit Old Li a long time ago, but I encountered something in the Dayin Mountains and was trapped for four years. I only came out recently."
Cough, cough, cough.
Li Hongming coughed as he said, "I know Master Xie encountered difficulties. Han Li and He Chunli came to me many times for help, but I'm just an old man with limited ability and couldn't help. I could only put some effort into the ancestral hall. Now that Master Xie is back, that's great. The villagers of the entire Wuchiao Town are looking forward to it. Everyone is counting on Master Xie to return and lead everyone in holding an ancestral祭祀."
Xie An was embarrassed by what he heard, "I'm not a local of Wuchiao Town. It's already an honor for Old Li to include me in the Wu Ancestral Hall. Leading everyone in the ancestral祭祀 is something only Old Li can do."
Li Hongming shook his head, "I'm old and don't have two years left to live. In addition, the Giant Whale Gang is acting as a scourge in the surrounding area, oppressing the people, making life difficult for them. I'm powerless and can only watch the villagers suffer. The affairs of the Wu Ancestral Hall can only be handled by you and Chen Lei. Chen Lei has enough prestige in the Wu Ancestral Hall, but he's not as good as Master Xie outside. You have to take the lead."
Hearing this, Xie An understood Old Li's good intentions in putting the Xie family at the forefront.
The Li family used to be a prominent family. The reason why they could take the lead was because Li Hongming was of high moral character and had lived a long life. Everyone gave him face. But the Li family had no successors. Once Li Hongming passed away, the younger generation wouldn't be able to shoulder the responsibility.
The affairs of the Wu Ancestral Hall could only be handled by Chen Lei and Xie An.
This old man was breaking his heart for this land.
The government of the Great Qian doesn't reach the countryside. The order, interpersonal relationships, and conflict mediation in the villages all depend on the village elders. The villagers don't have a high sense of belonging to the Great Qian and trust the village elders more.
Xie An couldn't bear it and said, "Old Li, please rest assured. The Giant Whale Gang has been wiped out."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room was stunned and looked puzzled, obviously not believing it.
Xie An said, "Just now, the Town Suppression Division wiped out everyone in the Giant Whale Gang, killing more than six hundred bandits. I just came from the Blood Ridge Market."
Chen He asked, "How does Brother Xie know?"
Xie An straightened his body, brushed the rain off his official robe, and then took out the token to show Li Hongming, "I dare not hide it from Old Li. I am now the fifth-rank Chief of the Qingwu Town Suppression Division. The operation to wipe out the Giant Whale Gang was led by me. Tomorrow morning, the news of the Giant Whale Gang's destruction will spread."
The room suddenly became silent.
Li Hongming took the token and looked at it, then noticed the official robe on Xie An's body. Finally, he returned the token and made a gesture to kneel down to Xie An, "Heaven bless us. Master Xie of our Wuchiao Town has become a fifth-rank official. Commoner Li Hongming greets Chief Xie."
Xie An quickly helped Li Hongming up, "Old Li, you mustn't. Speaking of which, I'm still a junior."
Li Hongming was in tears, holding Xie An's hand tightly, "In that case, Chief Xie must lead this year's year-end ancestral祭祀. The two or three hundred years of heritage of the Wu Ancestral Hall, the three thousand villagers in this area, all depend on Chief Xie."
Feeling Li Hongming's enthusiasm, Xie An didn't refuse, "Since Old Li has entrusted me, An dares not refuse."
Li Hongming finally breathed a sigh of relief, a rare smile appearing on his face, "Good, good. Han'er, Chen He, you two go and inform the villagers of Chief Xie's official position and that Chief Xie will preside over this year's ancestral祭祀. The villagers will definitely agree. This is the last thing I can do for the villagers."
Xie An and Li Hongming exchanged a few more pleasantries and told Old Li to rest more before leaving.
Xie An led his horse, walking towards the Li residence in the rain.
"Old Li is already running out of time. It's a question of whether he can last until the year-end ancestral祭祀. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all impermanent..."
If he didn't have a long life destiny, he would probably follow in Old Li's footsteps, even if he didn't die of a stroke.
This further strengthened Xie An's belief in pursuing longevity.
He didn't want to be like Old Li in the future.
Hmm?
Xie An suddenly had a flash of inspiration: He had killed Li Xiaoting at the execution ground at Water Lantern Wharf before and received two hundred faith Qi. The form of this ancestral祭祀 is very similar to that one. Could he harvest a large wave of faith Qi?
Last time, when he killed Li Xiaoting at the execution ground, there were probably only a few hundred onlookers.
The Wu Ancestral Hall's year-end ancestral祭祀 will have at least a few thousand people in attendance.
Could he harvest thousands of strands of faith Qi?
Hiss!
Thinking of this, Xie An felt a chill run down his spine.
Could this be the method of obtaining faith Qi?
