Chapter 249: Young Master He Is Not a Serious Person

"You haven't known for these past few years, haven't you been living just fine?" The problem is, now he knows. Village Chief Liang felt like crying but had no tears; he also felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at him from outside, filled with resentment.

This was still in the middle of the day, so what would happen at night? "Just offer more sacrifices when you have nothing to do. Also, that child died in the water, so in the future, it can only appear from the water. Stay away from the water when you have nothing to do." He He Lingchuan was not an expert in this field either. "After Liang Zhanglao returns, you can ask him."

Village Chief Liang felt a boost in spirits; that's right, the village now had a master sitting in charge! He He Lingchuan ignored him, went outside to call for the Rock Wolf, Dan Shan Youjun, and the others, and prepared to mount his horse.

But just at this moment, several fine horses galloped in from outside the village. The riders' demeanor was vastly different from that of commoners, especially the man in the lead, who was in his early forties, wearing a high cap with narrow eyes; his features actually bore a slight resemblance to Village Chief Liang.

As soon as they entered the village, the nearby villagers gathered around with smiling faces to welcome them, and some even knelt down, calling out "Land Immortal."

This kind of treatment was worlds apart from what He He Lingchuan and his group received.

Who had arrived? Need it even be said? He He Lingchuan immediately thought of the guest at the Governor's Mansion, the visitor from the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion who had sponged a meal off his old man at noon—no, wait, had enjoyed a grand feast—Liang Zhanglao.

Village Chief Liang was also greatly invigorated upon seeing them and stepped forward quickly to greet them: "Fourth Brother, you've returned!"

Liang Zhanglao gave him a faint smile, then turned his gaze toward He He Lingchuan and the others, and the two sides exchanged glances.

Village Chief Liang then introduced the two parties.

He He Lingchuan was all smiles: "Long admired, long admired. Did Liang Zhanglao have a satisfying chat with Governor He at noon?"

In truth, he had taken advantage of He He Chunhua stalling Liang Zhanglao to run here and coerce Village Chief Liang, only to be caught red-handed by Liang Zhanglao in the end; it was truly a tiny bit awkward.

But what kind of person was He He Lingchuan? You couldn't tell at all from his face.

Liang Zhanglao nodded and smiled.

He He Lingchuan waited for a few breaths, but didn't wait for him to speak.

Huh? The old man didn't mention that the distinguished guest from the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion was a mute.

The disciple behind Liang Zhanglao stepped forward and said sternly: "Apologies, my Master is practicing the Silent Mantra and rarely speaks; I shall speak on his behalf."

He He Lingchuan gave a long "Oh," completely unbothered: "If you can't speak, then don't; it doesn't matter. I've finished my business, so you all go ahead and catch up on your brotherly ties; I'll be leaving first." Having said that, he smiled at everyone, mounted his horse with his subordinates, and galloped out of the village.

Once their backs disappeared from sight, Liang Zhanglao stretched out his hands and gestured; everyone understood this action, and the onlookers quickly dispersed, not daring to stay and disturb them.

They treated Liang Zhanglao with far more reverence than they did Village Chief Liang. Everyone knew that the reason Shuangyu Village could live so proudly was largely due to this Daoist Elder before them.

After entering the house, Liang Zhanglao made a few gestures to his older brother.

He had been practicing the Silent Mantra for twenty years, but rarely returned home; Village Chief Liang was not familiar with sign language and could only look to his disciple.

When there is work, the disciple serves; here, that meant translating and explaining:

"Master asks you, did the government send these people to handle that matter?"

Village Chief Liang's smile faltered slightly, and he sighed: "Yes, but don't be angry; what they said made a lot of sense, so I, I..."

He stammered twice, and seeing his fourth brother's piercing gaze, he had to continue: "I stamped it."

Liang Zhanglao gestured a few more times, and the disciple translated: "This is a village matter; you decide as you see fit."

He didn't return once every few years, nor did he take offerings from here, so what did the village's affairs have to do with him? If it weren't for the village elders using his reputation as a banner, and his brother begging him to plead with the new Governor, he wouldn't want to wade into these muddy waters either.

"Good, good." Village Chief Liang agreed repeatedly, piling on a smiling face again, "Then I'll go find the village elders now."

He had already made up his mind to say that the compromise with the government was also at Liang Zhanglao's instruction; the other village elders would naturally have nothing to say. Even if they had opinions, they wouldn't dare raise them to Liang Zhanglao's face.

Liang Zhanglao shook his head as he watched his brother's back; he actually knew very well what his brother was thinking.

"The newly appointed provincial official clearly promised you well at the banquet, yet secretly sent people into the village." The disciple seemed to harbor a sense of injustice.

Liang Zhanglao made a few gestures.

"Instead... respect?" Why was Master not angry? "This disciple does not understand."

Liang Zhanglao smiled and didn't explain further.

Over here, He He Lingchuan and the others traveled two or three hundred paces along the mountain road when Zhou Zhou Sefu couldn't help but say to He He Lingchuan: "Young Master He, that, that Liang Zhanglao just now, I'm afraid he already knows."

He He Lingchuan looked at his fawning smile from earlier: "You and I are on official business, and he is just a commoner here; what the hell are you afraid of?"

That was the logic, but reality was reality. Zhou Zhou Sefu was gradually figuring out this young master's temper and didn't argue further, instead asking about the doubt in his heart: "That water ghost in Shuangyu Village, did the Village Chief really kill it?"

"What water ghost?"

"Didn't you just say..."

He He Lingchuan cracked his whip: "I was bluffing him; you actually believed it?"

"..." He had believed it.

"When Village Chief Liang was fooling around by the river with his third daughter-in-law, there was more than one spectator in the small woods," He He Lingchuan said leisurely. "He drowned the child in the yellow clothes in the water, thinking that killing the eyewitness would end the trouble. But he didn't expect that the child's little companion was hiding in the tall grass just a few yards away, not daring to move, and not only saw Village Chief Liang's affair but also witnessed the entire process of him committing the crime."

"After Village Chief Liang left, the companion ran home and told his parents everything." He He Lingchuan paused, "The parents, fearing the Village Chief's power, naturally made him keep his mouth shut, so not many people knew about this."

Zhou Zhou Sefu suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Then, how did you know?"

"The parents of this little eyewitness are among the seven households who sold their fields to the Field Office Aide. Since they were leaving anyway and the buyer was the government, they simply wrote down this testimony and tucked it into the land deed transaction." He He Lingchuan chuckled, "They had been holding it in for many years; they had to let it out."

It seems the villagers have quite a few opinions about the Village Chief in private.

The Field Office Aide saw this petition and submitted it to He He Chunhua. After the latter finished reading it, he had a plan in mind, which was why he sent He He Lingchuan to handle the matter.

Zhou Zhou Sefu laughed: "Then Village Chief Liang won't even dare to take a bath easily from now on." For Village Chief Liang, wherever there was water, there might be a water ghost.

"That depends on whether Liang Zhanglao is powerful enough to drive away the Village Chief's inner demons." Young Master He had originally wanted to collect more evidence. With so many eyes in the village, Village Chief Liang's affair couldn't be completely airtight, but Liang Zhanglao had headed straight to the provincial capital today to ask for a favor for Shuangyu Village, and He He Chunhua had ordered his eldest son to handle this matter quickly, so He He Lingchuan had to arrive early.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Xin Township, Zhou Zhou Sefu took the few precious land deeds and parted ways with He He Lingchuan.

This Young Master He's style of doing things was truly...

Unconstrained by trifles.

￥￥￥￥￥

When He He Lingchuan returned to Dunyu, the sun was already slanting to the west.

Just as he entered the house, Old Mo led him to the reception hall. A new guest had arrived here, and even He He Chunhua and his wife had to accompany her personally—

The Master of Songyang Prefecture, Li Li Qingge.

There was a small pile of fruit shells on the table; clearly, the Marquis of Songyang had been sitting here for a while.

When He He Lingchuan saw her, he was startled for a moment, then pointed directly at He He Chunhua: "Marquis of Songyang, don't blame me; it was Governor He who dispatched me on a mission at the last minute!"

Li Li Qingge had long ago made an appointment with him to view the broken blade today. In fact, this appointment had already been postponed twice because Li Li Qingge was extremely busy.

As it turned out, He He Chunhua had assigned an urgent task to his eldest son, and He He Lingchuan had left with his monkeys and wolves and subordinates, forgetting for a moment to notify Li Li Qingge that today's appointment was postponed.

The Marquis of Songyang arrived as scheduled, only to find no one there, and had to chat with He He Chunhua, who had returned to the mansion, for a long time.

As for why Lady Ying was also present, He He Lingchuan understood with his knees.

He He Chunhua laughed and scolded: "What a good son I have!" Pushing his old man out to take the blame at the first opportunity.

Li Li Qingge smiled, showing no sign of impatience: "It's fine, Young Master He's official business is more important. The Governor and I have also reached agreements on several exchanges."

He He Chunhua explained: "Xiazhou Prefecture will hire seven disciples from Songyang Prefecture to serve in the government and the military."

Li Li Qingge nodded: "Can't let the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion get the upper hand."

He He Chunhua asked his eldest son again: "How did the matter in Shuangyu Village go?"

"It's settled. The village seal has been stamped on the land deeds, and Zhou Zhou Sefu has returned happily." He He Lingchuan laughed, "I met someone just as I left the village, wearing a high hat with his eyes turned toward the sky; could that be Liang Zhanglao?"

"After I accompanied Liang Zhanglao for lunch, he returned to Shuangyu Village." He He Chunhua took a sip of tea, "He came this time to represent the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion and pay a visit, and by the way, recommended a dozen or so excellent disciples to me."

Understood, he was just here to pay his respects to the local power.

Then why send someone who couldn't open their mouth? But the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion had a great reputation in the north, and He He Chunhua was a newly appointed official, so he had to give Liang Zhanglao some face regardless. In He He Lingchuan's view, the relationship between the Daoist sects and the government was somewhat similar to that between universities and the government. Most of the talents cultivated by the Daoist sects aspired to official careers.

Both sides had needs, so He He Chunhua was quite polite and courteous to both Liang Zhanglao and the Marquis of Songyang.

He He Lingchuan looked at Li Li Qingge. She was too young, which always made people forget that she was the master of a sect, on equal footing with the master of the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion.

"By the way, after Sun Sun Fuping was brought to justice, the position of Imperial Preceptor became vacant." Li Li Qingge added, "I heard news from the capital that the list of candidates is out, and there are three people. I hope that this time, my King can choose a good Imperial Preceptor."

He He Chunhua's gaze flickered: "Your Lordship is very well-informed. Among the candidates, which one do you favor more?"

"These three are all outstanding people, and all have connections." Li Li Qingge pondered, "Relatively speaking, I favor Fan Ke and Yan Yan Lixin more; the final Imperial Preceptor should be decided between them."

"Our country originally had three Imperial Preceptors; even without Sun Sun Fuping, there are still two." He He Chunhua laughed, "The environment in the capital is a hundred times more complex than here in Dunyu; whoever can climb to the position of Imperial Preceptor in the end must have both power and influence."

(End of chapter)