Chapter 3: The Missing Butler

Lu Xingzhou leisurely took a roasted sweet potato from the little Daoist boy's hand and ate it unhurriedly. "Originally, looking at everyone's fate, I wouldn't pursue the matter of you occupying the land privately. Living together wouldn't be an issue... Since various parties are so eager to drive me away, then I'm sorry, the exit is a left turn down the slope. That side is your place. Walk slowly and don't send me off."

Liu Yan'er said angrily, "Even if the land is yours, the house was built by us. By what right do you tell us to leave?"

"Oh?" Lu Xingzhou chuckled, "Occupying someone else's land privately to build a house, do you guess if this dynasty's law protects or not?"

Everyone looked at Sheng Yuan Yao, whose face was expressionless.

Looking at her appearance, it was likely that the law truly sided with Lu Xingzhou. Even demolishing their house would be pointless. Liu Qingcang's face alternated between green and pale. After a while, he finally stifled out a sentence, "I'll buy it from you. Name your price."

"Now you know why I stayed here?" Lu Xingzhou smiled. "Actually, I suggest Miss Liu change her name to Ru Yan. That character just needs a little lift. It will generally seem more normal."

Liu Yan'er didn't understand a word and was somewhat bewildered.

Lu Xingzhou finally spoke human words. "So, this is my home. It's not for sale."

"You!"

"Cough." Sheng Yuan Yao finally said a fair word. "Well, there's nothing good about demolishing the house either, but you also can't just occupy it as your home... Since this commander has encountered this matter, I will mediate. Let's all negotiate nicely."

Lu Xingzhou looked at Sheng Yuan Yao resentfully. Sheng Yuan Yao turned her head away.

No wonder they say even looking at a dog can feel affectionate.

That glance he gave me actually made me feel like our relationship was very close, and it felt wrong not to stand by his side. It made my heart thump... But what kind of relationship do we have? I came to investigate your case!

I don't know how it became like this. Good looks are truly unfair.

Liu Qingcang finally said, "Commander Sheng is still fair. Xingzhou, we will buy this land deed at double the market price. We won't let you suffer a loss. What do you think?"

Lu Xingzhou seemed to smile but not smile. "Five times. Moreover, I want the equivalent in spirit stones, not vulgar things like gold and silver."

Liu Qingcang was greatly angered. "Aren't you too excessive!"

Lu Xingzhou said faintly, "I hope Master Liu can understand one thing... You are the one demanding this place, not I demanding a house. If I didn't give Commander Sheng face, I could simply demolish this place and rebuild a Daoist temple. What is there to negotiate with you?"

The Liu family father and daughter were so angry their faces were purple and swollen.

Actually, five times the market price, the Danxia help could afford it. However, if they calculated carefully, it seemed that all the money Lu Xingzhou had earned for the Danxia help in the past six months would be recovered, not a single bit less.

One morning, it was back to the time without Lu Xingzhou.

Did he calculate this well? Including Sheng Yuan Yao inexplicably appearing here, was it all part of a chain?

A chill rose in Liu Qingcang's heart. He looked again at Bai Chi's ugly expression.

Now it's not like starting from scratch. The Danxia help's alchemist apprentices have already been trained by Lu Xingzhou. From gathering herbs to proportioning, refining, and quality inspection, the entire system is established and perfect. The alchemy recipes are all there, and they have Bai Chi, whose alchemy skills are stronger than Lu Xingzhou's. It would be very fast to earn the money back. It's better to truly bleed a little and buy the territory to avoid a lot of trouble.

Thinking of this, Liu Qingcang resolutely said, "Five times it is. Take the money and scram!"

"Not in a hurry." Lu Xingzhou said with a squinting smile, "There's still compensation I need to discuss with Master Liu."

This world didn't have anything like resignation compensation. Liu Qingcang was so angry his voice trembled. "What other trick do you have?"

Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, "Master Liu forcibly pushed down my Daoist temple without permission and used it to build the help's station... The wood used for that Daoist temple might all have been top-quality. There were also some old items within the temple that held emotional value and were priceless to me..."

Liu Qingcang's breath caught in his throat, and he almost couldn't speak. Everyone in the area knew that Daoist temple was already in a state of decay and worth nothing, but how could he prove it at this moment? Especially the so-called old items, it wasn't up to him to say what they were!

"Pfft..." Sheng Yuan Yao was still holding back, but her subordinate couldn't help but laugh aloud.

Crossing the bridge and tearing it down, this retribution is well-deserved. It looks quite refreshing.

They also forgot that they were here to investigate Lu Xingzhou as a murder suspect.

Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, "My demand is not high... Isn't your esteemed help already called the Danxia help even before you largely moved onto this mountain, because your original station was not far outside the mountain? Um... adjacent to the Huo family's old residence. That place isn't big, the spiritual energy is thin, and it's been in disrepair for years. It's not considered valuable, so how about exchanging it with me?"

It's the Huo family again... Sheng Yuan Yao's heart stirred. She suspiciously sized up Lu Xingzhou's face for a long time. Lu Xingzhou's expression was as usual, and she couldn't see anything special.

…………

Liu Qingcang agreed to this compensation.

The Danxia help was originally a small help. The original station could only accommodate several hundred people. Moreover, it had been in disrepair for years, the roof beams were all worm-eaten, and it looked like it would collapse at any time. They had originally planned to just deal with it. Since they could use this to get rid of Lu Xingzhou, he also saved a lot of nagging, and the exchange was immediately established.

Putting the spirit stones and the new land deed into the ring, the little Daoist boy pushed the wheelchair. The master and disciple smiled and squinted as they left the Danxia help under the murderous gaze of the Liu family father and daughter, leaving only a ground of sweet potato peels.

Looking back at the expressions of the Liu family father and daughter, both looked like they were about to explode, smoke practically coming out of their heads.

Liu Qingcang's voice transmission came into Lu Xingzhou's ear: "Don't think Sheng Yuan Yao can protect you forever! This seat will soon let you know the consequences of today's actions!"

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly. "Wait and see."

The little Daoist boy also turned his head and happily smiled, making a face at them before pushing the wheelchair and swaggering away, completely unconcerned.

From beginning to end, Lu Xingzhou didn't even look at Bai Chi once.

Sheng Yuan Yao was full of curiosity towards this master and disciple. She even felt that Lu Xingzhou's fundamental goal was that so-called old residence that had been in disrepair for years. She really wanted to follow up and ask a few questions, but for now, she had to restrain herself and investigate the case.

There was really nothing to investigate about the case. Lu Xingzhou had indeed returned to the mountain by noon yesterday. Along the way, countless Danxia help disciples personally witnessed it. The Liu family father and daughter were unable to pre-arrange anything; they couldn't even frame him a little.

Sheng Yuan Yao felt a bit stifled, feeling like she had purely come to support Lu Xingzhou, completely being used to his advantage... If she hadn't been standing here, what use would Lu Xingzhou's land deed be? He would have already been buried in the mountain. In the cultivation world, help associations fight; who would talk about law with you?

But no matter how you look at it, this seems like just a coincidence. It couldn't possibly be planned by him... Heaven knows when the Liu family father and daughter would come to drive him away. How could the timing possibly be so precise?

But she still subconsciously felt something was wrong, especially since Lu Xingzhou demanded the help's old residence, which was also adjacent to the Huo family. She always felt that something was very fishy here. Sheng Yuan Yao was too lazy to investigate further or ask more questions at the Danxia help. She instructed her two subordinates to continue collecting evidence while she herself hurriedly rushed down the mountain to chase Lu Xingzhou.

She chased all the way to the foot of the mountain but didn't see anyone. Could a little Daoist boy pushing a wheelchair be so fast?

Sheng Yuan Yao was puzzled and tried to chase towards the direction of the Danxia help's original station.

Soon, she reached the road junction of the Huo family's old residence. Sheng Yuan Yao's heart suddenly thumped, and her eyes widened.

The so-called "missing" Huo old steward staggered at the road junction, his whole body tattered, full of wounds, and covered in dried bloodstains, looking fierce and terrifying.

He shouted madly, "It's him, he's back, coming to claim a life!"

Immediately, subordinates from the Town Demon Division guarding here surrounded him and controlled him. "Who are you saying has returned?"

Huo old steward looked bewildered for a while, but he seemed to not remember anything. He then painfully covered his forehead and struggled hard, "Not me, I didn't kill you that year! Go find the Grand Tutor!"

He was completely mad.

The Town Demon Division subordinates headache-ily raised their heads and looked towards Sheng Yuan Yao, who was frowning at the road junction, seeking help.

Sheng Yuan Yao turned into a house, took paper and pen, and drew on the spot. Brush, brush, she drew a lifelike portrait of Lu Xingzhou. "Are you saying the person who returned is him?"

Huo old steward looked bewildered for half a while, but only muttered to himself, "Not me, not me..."

If the murderer was truly Lu Xingzhou, this portrait would definitely stimulate Huo old steward more, but this performance really didn't seem like it. Sheng Yuan Yao was deathly headache-y. She could only instruct her left and right, "Guard him properly first and find someone to treat him. Send people to ask the nearby elders about what big event happened to the Huo family in the early years and who they offended?"

Before, she thought it was an ordinary murder case, which was still manageable. But now it seemed to involve the Huo family's past, and this was troublesome.

The Huo family might not be an ordinary family. The old Huo Grand Tutor was the Grand Tutor in the court, and the current family head was a first-rank marquis. Can the old matters of such a prominent family be investigated casually?

She had originally planned to solve the case and then write a letter to inform the capital, but that wouldn't work now. Sheng Yuan Yao picked up her pen, wrote a letter, and instructed someone to send it to the Huo family in the capital. She looked up at the gradually slanting setting sun outside, and Lu Xingzhou's figure still floated in her heart.

She always felt that the clue to this matter could still be found on him... Even if not, couldn't she ask him to cure Huo old steward's madness?