Xie An's deeds had long spread throughout the ten miles and eight villages near Wuchiao Town.
Everyone praised him and felt proud that Wuchiao Town had produced a Xie An. Even the villagers who initially had objections to Xie An, an outsider, settling in Wuchi, gradually let go of their prejudices.
"Greetings, Master Xie."
"Elder Master Xie, you've worked hard."
"With Master Xie presiding over Wuchi, it is truly a great honor for our Wuchiao Town."
"..."
One after another, the villagers in the queue bowed and greeted Xie An.
Xie An was unpretentious and responded to each of them.
However, seeing the endless stream of people coming to greet him, Xie An quickly found an excuse to walk away and then focused his mind.
Absorb.
Buzz!
As wisps of invisible power poured into his brain, the muscles and bones of his entire body slowly stretched and relaxed, giving him a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.
The whole process was very smooth.
Even absorbing four thousand strands of faith energy in one breath caused no discomfort.
It was much more comfortable than absorbing undead energy and fairy energy. It was as if this faith energy was his own.
After absorbing it all, the data on the panel also changed.
【Current available undead energy: 7200 strands.】
It surged by four thousand at once!
More than ten white silkworm stones.
He was getting closer and closer to the ten thousand strands needed to advance the Fetal Respiration Technique.
While Xie An was gratified, he couldn't help but curiously turn his head to look at the magnificent Wuchi in front of him, and the crowd of villagers queuing to enter the ancestral hall.
“Why do I feel a strange connection between this ancestral hall and me? This is a feeling I've never had before.”
Previously, whether he absorbed undead energy or fairy energy, the connection would be severed after absorption.
But this Wuchi was different.
After absorbing the faith energy this time, the bond was not broken and was still faintly perceptible.
“Can I repeatedly come here to absorb faith energy in the future?”
Thinking of this, Xie An felt very happy: If he could come and collect thousands of strands of faith energy every year during the annual festival... the benefits would be too great. Even if he did nothing, he could gather enough undead energy to advance the Fetal Respiration Technique by next year's annual festival.
Moreover, as Wuchiao Town develops better and better, and Wuchi's incense becomes more and more prosperous, the faith energy that can be absorbed will probably increase. Perhaps more than ten thousand strands can be absorbed during an annual festival...
Wuchi is a good thing.
Xie An made up his mind to take good care of this ancestral hall.
“Old Brother Xie, you've worked hard just now.” Chen Lei, who had just finished the closing work of the annual festival, came up, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and complimented.
Xie An cupped his hands: “Brother Chen has worked hard.”
Chen Lei laughed sheepishly: “Old Brother Xie, you're flattering me. The previous annual festivals were all presided over by Old Master Li. Now that Old Li has passed away, I was worried that there would be problems with Wuchi's annual festival. Now it seems that the effect is even better than when Old Li was here. It's all thanks to Old Brother Xie.”
These words were not false.
Everyone could clearly see whether the effect was good or not.
“Then I'll have to trouble Brother Chen. If you have anything, come to the county to find me at any time.”
After some pleasantries, it was time for the banquet.
According to Wuchi's custom, there is a banquet for the annual festival. Each family sends one person, contributes some small money, and then eats and drinks lively, chatting and drinking to get closer to each other.
Xie An naturally took the chief seat. During the banquet, countless villagers came to toast him, respecting Xie An extremely. Xie An was grateful for the faith energy given by the villagers, and he drank every toast.
The atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes.
A beautiful village woman suddenly walked up to Xie An, twisting and turning, wanting to speak several times but daring not to, causing many people to laugh.
“Huagu, you usually have a good mouth, why are you dumb in front of Master Xie?”
“Huagu is one of the few women in the town who has read books, and is considered half a scholarly family, don't be like this. Listen to what Huagu wants to say.”
“Hahaha.”
The villagers didn't have so many polite words, and spoke straightforwardly.
Xie An saw that Huagu was a little afraid of him, so he smiled and said: “Just say what you want to say.”
“Thank you, Master.” Huagu bowed, and then said: “I wanted the villagers to raise money to run a school before, but it hasn't been done. I want to ask Master Xie to take the lead and get everyone to raise money to run a school.
I have counted that there are hundreds of poor children in the town who are of reading age. But because of poor conditions, they have no chance to learn to read...”
Xie An immediately looked at the village woman with admiration.
In troubled times, it was really good for a woman to have such insights.
Xie An glanced around and found that the lively scene suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked at him.
Obviously, everyone was looking forward to the opening of the school, and some people who had no money lowered their heads.
Seeing that Xie An didn't speak, Huagu felt very disappointed, but didn't dare to express it, so she lowered her head and said, “I'm sorry to bother you, Master Xie.”
“Wait.”
Xie An stopped Huagu. Huagu realized that things might turn around, and immediately turned her head, looking at Xie An with anticipation.
Xie An said: “It is not easy for everyone to live their lives. The only way for children to get ahead is to learn martial arts and read books. Compared with reading, practicing martial arts is much more expensive. Running a school is indeed a good thing to benefit one side, at least let everyone have a goal.”
As soon as these words came out, countless people turned their heads and looked at Xie An with fiery eyes.
Xie An slowly stood up, “It is indeed difficult to raise money according to the number of people. Some families live in poverty, and their own lives are difficult. It is not appropriate to let them raise money. In this way, the funds for running the school will all depend on voluntary contributions. Those who have money will contribute money, and those who have no money will contribute more effort. I will take the lead in donating ten thousand taels.”
Hiss!
The audience gasped.
Ten thousand taels!
Too extravagant!
Many people in the audience have never seen so much money in their lives.
But for Xie An, who has 120,000 taels of huge money, it is really just a drop in the bucket. He thought about drinking water and thinking about the source, and couldn't just absorb everyone's faith energy and ignore everyone's development.
Besides, his roots are here. Maybe Wuchiao Town will develop well, and he can absorb more faith energy.
This investment is worth it both publicly and privately.
“I am indebted to Madam Li, and Old Li has just passed away. The name of the school will be Li's School. This matter will be handled by Chen Lei, and Huagu, you can read and write, so help Chen Lei to handle it.” Xie An immediately took out a thick stack of silver notes and stuffed it to Chen Lei.
Huagu was overjoyed and knelt on the ground to thank him, “Thank you, Master Xie!”
Countless people followed suit and bowed.
“With Master Xie here, our Wuchi will have a future.”
“Our Wuchi has produced a clear sky official.”
“...”
Xie An felt the Dao Talisman in his mind vibrate slightly again.
Although no more faith energy was detected, Xie An knew... his decision was right.
It was like planting a small sapling here, which might grow into a towering tree in the future, bringing him great benefits.
……
On New Year's Eve, there was a heavy snowstorm.
Xie An drove his carriage away from Wuchiao Town and headed towards the county town.
The carriage was full of jars and cans, all of which were bacon and pickled vegetables sent by the villagers, as well as some homemade old wine.
Xie An really didn't lack these, but he couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the villagers. If he refused, the villagers would inevitably say that he was snobbish, so he had to accept them all.
The white fox curled up in Xie An's arms, yawning repeatedly.
There are many wild game in the town. Although it is not as delicious as lemmings, it is good to change the taste. Therefore, the white fox has been living very comfortably in the countryside with Xie An during this time. It often runs to the mountains to hunt small animals.
“It's been a while since I've been back. Tonight is New Year's Eve, according to the usual rules, I have to rush back to stay up late with everyone.”
Xie An raised his whip and slapped it on the horse's back.
Not far out of Wuchiao Town, he heard the sound of rapid hooves in the distance.
“The Demon Suppression Division is handling a case, irrelevant people should make way!”
“The Demon Suppression Division is handling a case, make way quickly.”
Although the sky was dark, the voice sounded familiar.
“Liu Chun?”
Xie An called out.
Hiss!
Neigh!
Liu Chun, who was leading the team, reined in his horse, got off his horse and came to Xie An's side, “Chief Xie, I finally found you.”
Xie An had asked for leave before, so something must have happened for Liu Chun to come looking for him.
“Captain Liu, what's the matter?”
Liu Chun was out of breath and extremely anxious, “Something big has happened. A large water monster appeared in the Hongze Lake area, which was responsible by Chief Zhao, and just slaughtered a village. After the news spread, Deputy Chief Zhou Xuan and the patrolling envoy were furious. They demanded that the Demon Suppression Division deal with it immediately, otherwise, they will be severely punished.”
Xie An was stunned. He hadn't seen Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er for a long time before, and Xie An felt that something was wrong at the time, but he didn't expect... something really happened.
“Where are Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er?”
“They were seriously injured! They are currently being treated in Daze Township. Deputy Chief Chen has rushed to Daze Township overnight and asked me to inform Chief.”
Xie An was shocked to hear this.
Wei Haoran was at the level of a seventh-level martial artist a long time ago, and Zhao Qing'er was about to break through to an eighth-level martial artist. They were both seriously injured?
This water monster seems to be extraordinary.
Moreover, Li Hao's public rebuke made the matter troublesome. If this matter was not handled properly, it was very likely to break the balance of the two major factions within the Demon Suppression Division. If Chen Tie, Wei Haoran, and Zhao Qing'er were all dismissed and investigated by Li Hao, the entire Demon Suppression Division would become Li Hao's sole domain.
This was like a set of dominoes; if one link collapsed, the grand plan set up by the Eldest Princess would collapse. And his own anticipated second-rank official position and Duke title would probably be gone.
This won't do… …
Xie An jumped out of the carriage and instructed a Demon Suppression Guard behind Liu Chun, "You send the things in this carriage to the Xie Mansion."
"Yes, Chief Supervisor."
Xie An took the reins of the horse from the Demon Suppression Guard, flipped onto the horse, and said, "Head Constable Liu, set off for Daze Township immediately. Tell me the specific details on the way."
Giddy up!
Giddy up!!
… …
Daze Township.
This place was close to Black Marsh County and adjacent to Hongze Lake. The Dahua River also began to slow its flow here, with deep waters and wide rivers, and fertile fields for hundreds of miles.
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A small sampan boat was sailing on the surface of the Huai River.
The snow was white, and the water surface was sparkling.
Xie An stood at the bow of the boat, inserting a slender nan bamboo pole into the water, rowing the boat all the way south. The white fox stood at the bow, vigilantly looking around, acting as a pilot.
Xie An opened his five senses early and steered the boat towards a small island on the edge of Hongze Lake.
According to Liu Chun, the village was massacred by a large four-legged snake, and the island in front was the four-legged snake's lair. After the massacre, Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran took fifteen Demon Suppression Guards to the island by boat, trying to kill the four-legged snake, but all fifteen Demon Suppression Guards died, and Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er also escaped with serious injuries.
However, according to Liu Chun, Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er fought with the four-legged snake for dozens of rounds before being defeated.
Xie An estimated that the four-legged snake should be equivalent to the strength of an eighth-level martial artist.
He could handle it.
Besides, as the Chief Supervisor of the Demon Suppression Division, he should express an attitude when something happened. If he really couldn't beat it, he could just run… … Even if people knew, he could say he had tried his best.
Otherwise, it would be uncomfortable if Li Hao pinned a label of dereliction of duty on him.
Gaa gaa.
The white fox suddenly cried excitedly, raising its paw and pointing forward.
Xie An looked up and saw a small island appearing in his field of vision.
"I see it, don't shout. Go ashore immediately, and you come to my shoulder." Xie An scolded the white fox, and the white fox nimbly ran to Xie An's shoulder.
Ashore, tied the rope, Xie An jumped onto the island.
He squeezed the Demon Suppression Blade, circulated the Bright Jade Skill, and plunged into the forest.
The white fox only felt the sound of wind and cranes in its ears, and the strong wind blew up the fur all over its body.
Fast!
Unbelievably fast!
Xie An opened his five senses and did not see any large beasts along the way. For the sake of safety, he first went to the highest point of the island and looked at the entire island.
The island was very small, with a radius of only two miles, and the highest point of the island was only one hundred meters above the water. There was a small depression on the east side of the island.
Xie An slowly approached the depression and saw a huge four-legged snake in the depression.
Similar to a lizard, but very large.
It was more than ten meters long and extremely powerful. At this moment, it was resting under the mountain wall, making low roars from time to time.
The Komodo dragon in his previous life was only a little over three meters at most. This big guy was five times that size. It also had scales on its body, no wonder even Zhao Qing'er couldn't deal with it.
Xie An circulated the Fetal Breathing Technique, concealing his aura and came to twenty meters away from the four-legged snake, hiding behind a stone to observe carefully. At the same time, he opened his five senses to observe the four-legged snake.
Twenty meters was exactly the peak distance of the five senses.
Xie An clearly saw that there was a conspicuous wound on the abdomen of the four-legged snake, but it was not fatal, and there were also many shallow wounds on its limbs.
It should have been caused by Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er.
The weapons of the two seventh-level martial artists failed to kill this big guy, which showed that its defense was very amazing.
And the wound on its abdomen was obviously very deep, which showed that its abdomen was its weakness.
If he wanted to do it, he would attack the big guy's abdomen.
Unfortunately, Xie An didn't have time to bring a heavy bow. Otherwise, he could have shot the opponent's eyes directly.
After repeatedly using his Qi sense to determine the opponent's aura, it was roughly the level of an eighth-level martial artist, Xie An was relieved. But he didn't dare to be careless, this kind of beast, even if it was comparable to the level of a human eighth-level martial artist, might be able to exert the combat power comparable to a human ninth-level martial artist.
For the sake of safety, Xie An still didn't rush to do it, but first searched the island all over, determined that this big guy had no companions, and then returned to the original place.
Xie An said to the white fox, "You go be the bait. Lure it over, and I'll secretly split open its abdomen with a knife."
The white fox shook its head frantically, indicating that it was too dangerous.
Xie An said: "When I came, I felt that this water area was not quite right. If the battle makes too much noise, other water beasts might be attracted. It must be fatal with one knife, so that it can't make a cry for help. That's the safest."
"It's big, so its speed will definitely not be fast, it can't possibly catch up with you."
The white fox still shook its head like a rattle drum, gesturing that the opponent was too big.
Xie An said: "Ten lemmings."
The white fox hesitated, and finally couldn't resist the deliciousness of the lemmings, and finally wrote a number on the ground: 15.
"Deal!"
Fifteen lemmings, only a dozen taels of silver, it's too cheap.
In order to appease the white fox, Xie An also stroked its head, "Don't worry, if you are in danger, I will take action. Even if it causes a commotion, I won't let anything happen to you."
The white fox pointed to Xie An's mouth, and then pointed to Xie An's heart, gesturing that you must keep your word.
Xie An was speechless.
He was already very afraid of death.
Unexpectedly, this white fox was even more afraid of death.
"Okay. I keep my word."
The white fox was relieved, and then rushed out, baring its teeth at the four-legged snake.
The four-legged snake heard the sound, glanced at the white fox, and then chose to ignore the white fox directly, and continued to lie down and rest its head.
The white fox bared its teeth for a while, all of which were ignored. Finally, it returned to Xie An angrily, spread out its paws to show that it had tried its best.
Xie An was "艹" in his heart.
This helper is too unkind.
It might expose me.
Xie An patiently said: "You throw stones at it, constantly harassing it. It always has a limit to its patience."
Encouraged by Xie An, the white fox walked out again, picked up small stones and kept throwing them at the four-legged snake. The scales on the four-legged snake's skin were particularly hard, and some small stones couldn't even scratch an itch.
The four-legged snake ignored the white fox and lay on the ground to rest.
This time, the white fox endured its temper and kept throwing stones, mud, and grass at it.
Endlessly.
The four-legged snake was finally annoyed by this little guy, suddenly raised its head, glared at the white fox, trying to scare the white fox away. The white fox retreated slightly and continued to throw.
A lump of mud hit the eye of the four-legged snake.
Hee hee ~
The white fox also danced at the four-legged snake, twisting its butt.
Extremely smug and provocative.
After a full hour.
The four-legged snake finally couldn't bear it anymore, suddenly roared, its body jumped up and crawled quickly towards the white fox, and at the same time opened its bloody mouth, about to bite the white fox to death.
The white fox was frightened and scattered, running away.
But… … it ran in the wrong direction, not towards Xie An.
Xie An: "… …"
I really want to strangle this foodie.
Fortunately, the little white fox knew how to return, or maybe it was thinking about the deliciousness of the fifteen lemmings, it quickly adjusted its direction and ran wildly towards Xie An.
Good!
Xie An squeezed the Demon Suppression Blade.
The Bright Jade Skill was running to the nineteenth section, Beginning of Winter!
The seventh-level internal strength was also running to the limit under the urging of the Water Drop Internal Strength Method.
Just waiting for that knife!
This island made Xie An feel uncomfortable, there might be other water beasts, ending it with one knife was the safest way.
Boom boom boom!
The four feet of the four-legged snake kept stomping on the ground, causing the ground to tremble, flying sand and rocks. A huge shadow covered Xie An, and its power was amazing. It was getting closer and closer.
Finally, when the four-legged snake passed two meters beside Xie An, Xie An suddenly opened the hidden effect of the Fetal Breathing Skill, and the Demon Suppression Blade in his hand suddenly struck out, with a peerless sharpness, and suddenly slashed at the abdomen of the four-legged snake.
Puchi!
The first knife pierced into the original wound in the abdomen of the four-legged snake, and the four-foot long knife completely penetrated its body. Xie An pulled the knife forward with all his strength, and the four-legged snake ran back, and the two potential energies were transformed into the power of the knife cutting flesh and blood.
Wu!
The four-legged snake let out a shrill scream, its body slowly slid down, and when it finally fell on the ground, its entire abdomen was cut in half. A large amount of internal organs and intestines fell to the ground.
One knife, fatal!
Apart from a hoarse scream, it did not cause other movements.
Everything was within Xie An's calculations.
Clang!
Xie An sheathed his long knife and went to call the white fox, but found that the white fox jumped into the internal organs, pulled out a large snake gall, and then ate it in big mouthfuls.
Xie An was shocked, and immediately went over to pick up the white fox, "Hey, this thing is of unknown origin, it might be poisonous. How can you eat it directly… … Spit it out quickly."
The white fox refused to spit it out, so Xie An opened its mouth, just about to scold, but heard the white fox say: "Big brother."
I'm good… …
Xie An was taken aback.
The white fox can talk?
