When the news arrived, Qing Yunzi was leading Qingfeng and Mingyue in chanting scriptures in the main hall. Qing Yunzi’s chanting paused for a moment upon hearing the news, then resumed its previous fluency.

At that time, Yi Chen was weeding in a vegetable garden near the Taoist temple.

Sometimes, evildoers are like weeds in a garden; when the wicked thrive, the righteous cannot live in peace.

And like weeds, evil can never be fully eradicated. Such is human nature, such is the environment. Today you may remove the weeds, but in a few days, they will grow back again.

Bai Yunzi saw weeds and thought of converting them, of disciplining them. He wouldn’t resort to killing unless absolutely necessary.

Yi Chen, however, saw it differently. His first reaction to the overgrown weeds was to pluck them out because even if new weeds would grow later, the vegetables in the garden could enjoy a few days of peace.

The Evil Tiger Gang was like the weeds entrenched in the nearby towns, and yesterday, Yi Chen had pulled them out. He was curious about how the shadowy backers would react to his drastic actions.

“Presumably, the surrounding gangs will think twice before targeting Hidden Dragon Temple again, weighing whether they can afford the repercussions of our retaliation.”

Yi Chen stroked his smooth chin, looking at the weed-free vegetable garden with a sense of satisfaction.

…

…

Time flies like a wild donkey, never stopping once it starts running.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. It seemed that the brutal method employed to eliminate the Evil Tiger Gang had a deterring effect, and Hidden Dragon Temple returned to its usual tranquility, with no other forces coming to cause trouble.

Even the stray dogs outside would go around the Taoist temple, daring not to bark.

Because barking too much would result in a tall Taoist coming out to slap them.

…

…

Bench press.

Squats with the barbell.

Deadlifts.

Standing barbell curls.

Rear delt rows.

After a session of intense exercise, Yi Chen, dripping with sweat, grabbed a white cloth to wipe his body and then fetched several buckets of water from the well for a wash, concluding his training for the day.

At this point, his origin points had finally accumulated to one.

He had thought it would happen two days earlier, but as time passed, the rate of accumulating origin points through mere physical stimulation slowed down.

While Yi Chen was pondering which of the four attributes—strength, stamina, spirit, agility—to invest the origin point in, Qingfeng and Mingyue, two adorable juniors, came over.

Qingfeng: “Big senior brother.”

Mingyue: “There’s only enough rice in the rice jar for five more days.”

“What? Only five days worth of rice left in the jar? Didn’t we just buy two loads of rice?” Yi Chen looked at Qingfeng and Mingyue in surprise.

The two junior Taoists glanced at their increasingly robust senior brother, their eyes clearly questioning if he really needed to ask why there was only enough rice for five days.

Yi Chen sheepishly touched his nose, realizing that he had been eating a bit…more than usual lately.

He had been relentless this past month, engaging in self-torture-like fitness regimes every day. As his strength slightly improved, it also added financial strain to the already not-so-rich Taoist temple.

The dilemma of being penny-wise but pound-foolish.

When he wiped out the Evil Tiger Gang, he had acted too quickly and ended the gang leader Black Tiger before finding out where most of their money was hidden. The rest, small fry with little to their names, valued their lives over their wealth. Considering it too troublesome to interrogate them one by one, Yi Chen simply killed them all.

Thus, he didn’t manage to loot much money.

After all, it was his first time undertaking such a task, and he was not yet proficient.

After sending Qingfeng and Mingyue away, Yi Chen began to ponder.

He couldn’t resort to robbing wealthy households to redistribute wealth. Although he had a flexible moral compass, he had promised his Master to follow the path of righteousness, and unjustified aggression was not an option for now.

Relying on ancient porcelain bowls to fish for money, selling Domineering King Roosters, kittens, and puppies was no longer viable, having been played out several times. The local wealthy patrons were almost sheared bald.

Facing this new situation, it was necessary to carve out new strategies that targeted the pain points of wealthy patrons, creating a new business model with viral potential, replicability, and both qualitative and quantitative impacts.

Unfortunately, Yi Chen had yet to form a new methodology…

Just as Yi Chen was worrying about money, an urgent knocking sounded at the front yard.

“Taoist Master, Taoist Master, open up, there’s trouble!”

Yi Chen hurried to the front yard and opened the door.

It was a middle-aged constable.

With a beard and looking travel-worn.

Constable Zhang Long met Yi Chen’s gaze, then looked up at the signboard above, double-checking that he hadn’t come to the wrong place.

“Hello, is this Hidden Dragon Temple? You look unfamiliar, Taoist Master. I’m looking for Taoist Master Bai Yun.” Zhang Long, eyeing the man who looked more like a bandit than a Taoist, became very polite and cautious, ready to flee at any sign of trouble.

Since Yi Chen had just finished exercising, he was still wearing his tight workout clothes and not his Taoist robe, appearing more like a mountain bandit than a Taoist.

Yi Chen was speechless. Ever since he advanced the Minor Pure Yang Technique to an unprecedented fifth level, he became more robust by the day, surpassing the 1.9-meter mark until recently stabilizing.

“Master has passed away. I am now the head of Hidden Dragon Temple. Constable Zhang, you can speak to me.” Although Zhang Long didn’t recognize Yi Chen, Yi Chen remembered the constable from their encounter two years ago.

“Are you the little Taoist Master who used to be with Taoist Master Bai Yun?” Zhang Long, looking as if he had seen a ghost, stared at Yi Chen for a long time before finally matching him with the somewhat blurry face in his memory.

“Heh, Constable Zhang, you have a good memory. I’ve eaten more these past two years and developed quite a bit, making me unrecognizable to you.”

Yi Chen invited him into the backyard. After Qingfeng and Mingyue served tea and left, Constable Zhang Long began to explain his urgent visit.

It turned out that a bizarre incident had recently occurred in Qingyuan Town nearby.

Residents of the town discovered their livestock—pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and others—dying mysteriously, leaving behind corpses drained of blood. The Chief Constable of Fengyun County, along with seven or eight constables, personally investigated but never returned.

Those constables were also found drained of blood, turned into dried corpses.

After finishing his story in one breath, Constable Zhang took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, finding the tea bland and slightly stale, obviously not of high quality.

He frowned, swallowing the tea, and fixed his gaze on Yi Chen, asking, “Taoist Master Yi, what do you think?”

Yi Chen: “…..”

Yi Chen: “Constable Zhang, perhaps you could elaborate a bit more.”

Putting down his tea, Constable Zhang spoke earnestly:

“Let me be frank, the county magistrate hopes Hidden Dragon Temple can intervene in this matter. He does not wish to report this to the imperial peacekeeping force, as it would affect his evaluation by the higher-ups.”

“Everyone aspires to preserve life, and Taoist Master Bai Yun’s reputation is known to all in Fengyun County. I believe, as a prominent disciple of Taoist Master Bai Yun, you can handle this minor demon, Taoist Master.”

Constable Zhang casually placed a tall order on Yi Chen, as if confident that Yi Chen’s intervention would surely solve the problem.

Yi Chen internally scoffed at the notion.

Ten thoughts flashed through his mind:

“Don’t burn incense regularly, but turn to me when there’s trouble?”

Constable Zhang was treating him like a scapegoat, hoping to get a free service out of him to deal with the demon, which was out of the question.

Yi Chen hadn’t attained Master’s level of Pure Yang True Power, lacking any transcendent methods. Even though his Minor Pure Yang Technique had advanced to an unprecedented fifth level, providing him with the ability to ward off evil, he wasn’t willing to take the risk.

He might take on the risk, but it would come at a cost.

No free services.

He’d rather ponder over new strategies or improve his fishing methodologies, or even participate in a triathlon to earn more origin points.

After all, origin points could also enhance all four of his stats. Although not as rapid as deep red points, it was safer.

His moral standards were never high, to begin with. While he refrained from committing outright crimes or oppressing the innocent, he wasn’t about to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.

The visitor had to be sent away!

Yi Chen casually lifted his teacup:

“Qingfeng, Mingyue.”

At that moment, Constable Zhang pulled out a two hundred taels silver note from his chest and continued, “Taoist Master, the county magistrate said the emperor doesn’t skimp on feeding his soldiers. Hidden Dragon Temple has always been a pillar of Fengyun County in combating evil spirits.

These two hundred taels are for your travel expenses.

This matter is of great importance to the county magistrate, who even sought the help of Master Lianhua from the nearby Moon Wheel Temple.

However, given the severe impact this incident has had, the county magistrate believes it’s more appropriate for Hidden Dragon Temple to also investigate.

If the issue is resolved, there will be an additional three hundred taels of reward after the fact.

Even if the problem isn’t solved, as long as Taoist Master makes the trip, these two hundred taels are yours.”

Upon hearing this, Yi Chen stood up, his demeanor changing as swiftly as a certain ice cream-selling company’s employee facing a breeze, snatching the silver note and pocketing it:

“The county magistrate truly has a keen eye!”

“Indeed, Hidden Dragon Temple has always upheld righteousness, exorcising demons and purifying sources of evil. This kind of disturbance by evil spirits, as a pillar of Fengyun County, it’s our unavoidable duty.”

“Qingfeng, Mingyue, why is the tea you served Constable Zhang so bland? Quickly change it, serve better tea, and add more tea leaves!”

With the silver note securely in his possession, Yi Chen said with a beaming smile:

“My apologies for any oversight, Constable Zhang.”

“I’ll set out for Qingyuan Town first thing tomorrow.”

…

…

…

That night, Yi Chen and Qing Yunzi sat opposite each other.

“Why take such risks, senior brother?”

“For the sake of the common people, of course.” Yi Chen posed as if he were deeply compassionate.

Qing Yunzi, skeptical to the point of not even believing punctuation marks, said, “Senior brother, be serious. Matters involving evil spirits can be minor or major; if you’re not careful, you could easily fall into danger. You should think twice about this.”

“I’ve read all of Master’s books, discussions, and notes. The strength of these evil spirits typically ranges from wanderers, grudges, fierce, murderous, deadly, assassins, to disasters.”

“Master encountered two fierce-level ghosts and used a forbidden technique to kill them, which injured his vital energy and led to his premature death.”

“Senior brother, Master said that even if the Minor Pure Yang Technique is cultivated to the fourth level, it can at best bully lower-level grudge spirits, at most tie with mid-level grudge spirits, and if you encounter a high-level one, you’d be lucky to escape.”

Yi Chen: “When did Master say these things? I didn’t know about it.”

Qing Yunzi: “It seems you, senior brother, hated morning classes the most, always finding an excuse to ‘relieve yourself’ and then going to the mountains to catch wild chickens, saying they could be worth a lot of money.”

Yi Chen: “……”

Qing Yunzi: “……”

Yi Chen solemnly pulled out a two hundred taels silver note and a hiring document, sighing, “Junior brother, you’re too late. I’ve already taken the deposit and signed the contract. I have to leave tomorrow.”

“Deserting now would ruin the reputation of the Taoist temple, and we’d have to pay double the deposit back. Where would the temple find the money for that now?”

“But.” Qing Yunzi looked anxious, wanting to say more but was interrupted by Yi Chen.

“I know you’re worried, junior brother, but don’t panic. Isn’t Master Lianhua from Moon Wheel Temple also involved?”

“You know me, junior brother. If there’s real danger, I’ll definitely run faster than anyone.”

“The silver note can’t be returned. If there’s real danger, we’ll just have to make Master Lianhua suffer a bit more. I’ll take the blame.” Yi Chen shamelessly said.

Qing Yunzi: “……” Master really knew people well.

At this moment, Qing Yunzi understood what Master meant when he said the senior brother was heavy-handed and dark-hearted.

“Blessings be as boundless as the heavens.” Qing Yunzi uttered a Taoist salute, seeing that Yi Chen had made up his mind, he then left the room.

(End of the chapter)