Chapter 58: The County Magistrate Is Generous

Ten minutes later, Feng Xue stared at the three small yellow fish in his hand (each about 30g) and the property deeds, unsure what to say.

Even by Feng Xue's standards of wealth, this reward of nearly two hundred guan equaled about one-tenth of his entire fortune.

What else could you say? The county magistrate is generous!

But he knew full well inside—he suspected the magistrate, like those xuan cultivators, had overestimated his own strength; this money, though framed as a reward for slaying the corpse-dummies and compensation for his destroyed residence, was likely meant more to curry favor with him and whatever sect he might be backed by.

After all, in this world, xuan cultivators' floor rested on themselves, but their ceiling was propped up by countless ancestral masters.

He had not yet entered the Dao, yet he had unleashed a "terrifying" thunder art that still left detectable thunder qi across a hundred li just fifteen minutes prior—he was clearly mistaken for a powerful figure with immense backing.

Feng Xue knew better than anyone how little he truly had, so now he was already considering whether to just flee outright.

But then he thought again—it didn't make sense. The county had just experienced this incident; if he ran away, wouldn't that make him look guilty?

He was originally the hero who slew demons—yet if he fled now, wouldn't everyone assume he was the culprit?

This world wasn't the one he'd crossed over from; in a world where the Nether Court and Earthly Hells served as efficient communication channels, if Feng Xue was labeled a demonic cultivator this morning, by afternoon every neighboring county would already know.

Thinking this over, Feng Xue finally calmed down, returning home along the way; though the magistrate had granted him a new house complete with land and property deeds, he still planned to go back first and organize his belongings—

Never mind other things—in a world where spellcraft existed, his undergarments, mattresses, and bedding all needed to be cleaned.

As he reached his door, Feng Xue suddenly raised an eyebrow—a slightly familiar figure stood on his usual path home, glancing left and right intermittently, clearly waiting for someone; after pondering for a long while, he remembered: this was the agent who had rented him his original house when he first arrived in Lu City.

"Fine, if I owe, I'll pay." Feng Xue had no intention of skipping out; he walked right up, and as soon as the agent saw him return, he hurried forward and said:

"Young Master Feng, you're back! I heard you're moving, so I brought people to help you—only you went to the City God Temple, so we didn't dare show up at your door, and just waited here! If you have any heavy items, we guarantee they'll be moved intact!"

Feng Xue raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't put on airs; he said directly:

"Put moving aside for now. The problems with this house were indeed my fault—we'll settle the amount fairly, so we can keep cooperating in the future. After all, my food, clothing, shelter, and transport all go through you; following the rules makes me feel at ease."

As he spoke, Feng Xue reached into his wallet—but the agent immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, exclaiming:

"No no, you're too kind! The magistrate had someone settle the payment for that house this morning; I came not only to help you move, but also to return your deposit. To be honest, the mansion the magistrate rewarded you with for slaying demons was purchased through our agency—here's your deposit."

Watching the agent hand over both deposit and rent, Feng Xue waved his hand:

"One thing at a time. Since the magistrate paid, I'll take the deposit—but skip the rent. One day's stay is still a stay; I've never heard of someone getting a full refund after moving out the next day. As for the rest, keep it—we'll draft a new contract. From now on, my new house's utilities and groceries will go through you. Oh, and my refrigerator—"

Seeing Feng Xue so reasonable, the agent grinned and patted his chest in assurance: "Already arranged! Brand-new goods just arrived from Hongdu, but no trucks today—probably tomorrow's morning run. Either way, latest by the day after tomorrow, guaranteed!"

After finalizing the deal, the agent immediately called out the laborers from a roadside teahouse. Feng Xue had few items beyond what he'd stored directly in his Pot of Heaven Bag, but since he also wanted to familiarize himself with the new place, he accepted the agent's help. The group, carrying a few small packages, soon arrived at his new home.

Although it was also a Western-style villa, a single glance revealed clear differences: if his old house had exuded the feel of a rural self-built home from his pre-crossing world, this one looked straight out of a TV drama—a grand Western mansion.

Evergreen shrubs enclosed the courtyard, camphor trees framed the gate, and dried vines of climbing ivy clung to the walls—surely come spring, they'd burst into lush greenery.

The main villa stood three stories tall, and with front and back courtyards, it covered at least an acre; Feng Xue couldn't say how many rooms it had, but he didn't much care—he'd leave the cleaning to Liu Yunxi anyway, maybe just give her a Cleansing Artifact.

Smiling inwardly, Feng Xue directed the placement of his belongings, briefly inspected each room, listed the furniture and decor he planned to replace, and handed all procurement to the agent. Once the outsiders had left, he slumped onto the sofa with no dignity, tossing his ring—

"You look like a person!"

"Got it, got it, I'll cook right away! Is the Peiyuan recipe okay?" Liu Yunxi landed on the ground, smoothly smoothing down her fluttering skirt. She'd been watching closely while Feng Xue inspected the house, confirmed the directions, and now headed toward the kitchen.

Seeing this, Feng Xue patted the seat beside him: "Wait a moment—time's still early. I have something to ask you."

Compared to the xuan cultivators of Lu City County, Liu Yunxi clearly understood Feng Xue's true identity; though she suspected he was probably a Netherworld bigwig on vacation, since he refused to admit it, she humored him, sitting obediently where he'd patted, quietly awaiting his next words.

Feng Xue was slightly surprised Liu Yunxi hadn't argued today, but he wasn't some tsundere enthusiast—he was glad for the peace:

"What exactly is this town-stabilizing artifact? From what they said, it can sense danger across the entire county?"

Hearing Feng Xue ask a question the Fox Immortal Grandma had mentioned, Liu Yunxi felt somewhat relieved, and replied immediately:

"The town-stabilizing artifact is a talisman formed from the collective human willpower of a region, recognized officially by both the Yin and Yang realms; it detects local qi movements. If a demon or evil spirit commits violence, the victim's spirit triggers the artifact's warning."

"So it's just a murder alert system? I thought it'd notify whenever a demon entered the county!" Feng Xue sighed in disappointment. Liu Yunxi shrugged:

"Demons are hard to define. After all, county xuan cultivators also suppress demonic and evil things—didn't that Ninth Aunt suppress dozens or even hundreds? If you judged by blood煞 or resentment, not just those suppressed spirits, but even the vengeful ghosts of those who died violently would trigger the artifact, wouldn't they?"

Regarding the Five Thunder Orthodoxy, this isn't exclusive to Longhu Mountain. We won't even mention that historically, the Shenxiao Sect practiced it—the Tiger Power Great Immortal in Journey to the West used the Five Thunder Orthodoxy too. In the end, it's just a universal technique, not owned by any one sect. Speaking of this, I must mention the Yi Jing and Xi Sui texts—written by Daoists, yet falsely attributed to Bodhidharma, now everyone thinks they're Shaolin secrets.

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(End of Chapter)