Chapter 184

The eight-character advice given by the Dog-Meat Daoist, "Follow Heaven and obey fate, bow when you encounter a stream," at least indicated one thing: her business with the Jade Emperor had come to a temporary end, and she wouldn't need to worry about it for the next few years.

As for his later remark about the common people of Tianmen Town suffering, she thought about it carefully afterward and vaguely gained some enlightenment.

Undoubtedly, the reason she was able to manipulate the Heavenly Emperor this time was by using "Great Father-Destroyer" to exploit an information gap.

The Jade Emperor didn't know she had quietly purified a bit of yang energy from the blood-evil aura, nor did he know she had secretly cracked the Heavenly Court's divine array.

But he is the Heavenly Emperor, he is the Old Heaven!

If there is anything in this world that can be hidden from the Old Heaven, it must be abnormal.

Since it is abnormal, it must be investigated carefully.

Xiao Yu had prepared excuses long ago, but if the Heavenly Emperor sent talisman envoys or other deities skilled in surveillance to descend to the mortal realm,

she wouldn't be the only one being targeted.

The abilities of heavenly gods are too strong, and their range of vision and hearing is too wide.

Once they cast their gaze toward her, the residents of Tianmen Town around her would automatically enter their field of vision.

Then, the words, deeds, and past of the Tianmen Town residents would all fall into the eyes and ears of the angels.

How does that saying go? If you randomly grab ten officials retiring with honors and behead them one by one, there will definitely be wrongful killings, but if you really let them retire peacefully, there will only be more vengeful souls crying out in the underworld.

Xiao Yu admitted that law enforcement needs to be strict.

But if law enforcement is carried out strictly according to heavenly laws and regulations, the result would be the first season of "Saving Mother at Taoshan," the second season of "Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother," and "Not a drop of rain in Fengxian County for three years"...

"Even the Dog-Meat Daoist said it had nothing to do with me; everything is Heaven's will, it is fate.

Moreover, strict law enforcement is only aimed at evildoers; good people have no sins and might even have their hidden merits reach the ears of Heaven."

Xiao Yu sighed a few times and then left Tianmen Town with a clear conscience.

Upon returning to Roaring Shanzhuang, Granny Xie looked at her as if she had seen a ghost or god, respectful yet fearful, and dared not get close.

The other two burly guards were the same as usual: nowhere to be seen, hiding far away.

"Miss, why don't we go to the neighboring village and hire a maid to come and serve you?" Granny Xie said cautiously while delivering dinner.

She used to call her "Little Fengxian" directly, but now she had changed it to "Miss."

"I don't need anyone to serve me."

Xiao Yu was certainly happy to enjoy the service of others, but she didn't want to struggle in Roaring Shanzhuang.

If she found a little village girl to come over, her quality of life wouldn't improve much, but she would no longer be able to do as she pleased—going into the water whenever she wanted and lurking at the bottom for as long as she liked.

There would be a maid following her, hoping for her, waiting for her, asking her... With this on her mind, she naturally couldn't be carefree and unrestrained.

"At least she could help deliver meals," Granny Xie said.

Xiao Yu glanced at her, "Granny Xie, you only come to my courtyard twice a day, and you're not even happy about that?"

Granny Xie hurriedly smiled apologetically, "Of course I'm happy, it's just that Miss's divine power is peerless, and I'm a little afraid..."

"Heaven's will is with me, and the Ge Qing matter is completely over, what are you afraid of?"

Granny Xie struggled, "That time in the Dam Alley, it was also said to be over..."

"This time it's really over. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Leisure Cloud Temple in the city and find the Dog-Meat Daoist."

Granny Xie looked at Xiaoqiang and said, "Miss, the big yellow dog you raised is so spiritual! Every morning at dawn, with a bamboo basket around its neck, it walks through the mist and dew to the village entrance to help you buy tofu pudding, fried dough, and the like.

Why not trouble Doggy to run a few more times and have it deliver lunch and dinner in the basket?"

Ordinary villagers, of course, couldn't understand the dog's demon language.

But firstly, Xiao Yu had personally greeted the nearby villages and chatted with the old ladies and grandmothers in the village, so she was familiar with them.

Secondly, there were copper coins and notes in Xiaoqiang's basket.

Also, because it ran to the village every day, Xiaoqiang soon got to know a few female dogs and often snuck out in the middle of the night to fool around.

Just because Xiao Yu didn't say anything didn't mean she didn't know.

"Sigh, stop fussing. I might go back in two days," Xiao Yu sighed.

"Aunt Liu said so?" Granny Xie asked, full of suspicion.

—After causing such a big scene, does Red Sleeve Workshop still want you?

Xiao Yu said impatiently, "I said, the Ge Qing matter is completely over."

Granny Xie still didn't believe it, but she didn't dare to provoke her again and retreated timidly.

After dinner, Xiao Yu planned to go to Wind Roar Bay to cultivate as usual.

But once she entered the water, she didn't see a single demon descendant.

After swimming around quickly, the water mansion was completely empty; Black Jin Gang and all 88 demon descendants had disappeared.

"Are they out on official business, or were they summoned by the River God?"

Although Xiao Yu was a little surprised, she didn't take it to heart.

She continued to cultivate internal qi and improve the "Male Dragon Art."

But the next day, the third day, for several days and nights in a row, she didn't see a single demon descendant.

It wasn't until the fifth day that she received a piece of news from Tianmen Town via Granny Xie.

"Aunt Liu is coming to see you tomorrow, so at least tomorrow, don't run around, don't go into the water. If you go down, I won't be able to hear you even if I shout from the top of the cliff."

"Aunt Liu alone?" Xiao Yu felt that her days in Roaring Shanzhuang were coming to an end... Even if Aunt Liu didn't take her back, she couldn't stay here any longer.

Because the "Method of Killing the Foster Father" currently in her Purple Mansion either needed to be completely deduced or had encountered a bottleneck, requiring more relevant data (Immortal Martial Wisdom).

In short, her Purple Mansion had become idle, freeing up a large amount of "computing power" that needed more "fresh foster fathers" to nourish it, allowing it to continue operating at high speed and letting her make rapid progress.

Foster fathers not only needed to be "fresh" but preferably of higher quality.

She didn't even bother to acknowledge those foster fathers who had no special skills; there was no oil to be squeezed out of them.

Fresh, high-quality, and in large supply—to satisfy all three requirements, she could only return to Red Sleeve Workshop.

Staying in Roaring Shanzhuang, she couldn't find a single foster father, but instead found a group of god-children and god-grandchildren.

"I don't know either, Lu Da who delivered the letter didn't say... Sigh, he even wanted to see you, waited for you all afternoon, but didn't see anyone," Granny Xie said.

"Alright, I understand. I'll try to stay in the courtyard as much as possible tomorrow."

Granny Xie frowned, "Aunt Liu might bring a noble person to see you, and you still want to go into the water?"

Xiao Yu was also helpless, saying, "You know me. Usually, I go into the water in the evening and spend the afternoon reading and writing in my room. The situation is special these past few days; I dropped a treasure into the water and am looking for it!"

"What treasure?" Granny Xie's eyes were suspicious.

Xiao Yu waved her hand to dismiss her.

She wasn't actually brushing Granny Xie off.

She was looking for the river demons and waiting for news from Black Jin Gang.

Now that the divine arrays of Ge Qing and Zhu Tong had long been broken by her, she no longer needed them to practice arrays.

It was just that her "Lobster Armor" hadn't been forged yet, and the main body was still at the River God Mansion's blacksmith shop.

Well, under Xiao Yu's guidance, Black Jin Gang had actually successfully bribed the old turtle blacksmith of the River God Mansion with thirty taels of gold.

Uh, the black fish son was poor, and all thirty taels of gold came from Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu also gave an extra three mace of silver to her black son as travel expenses.

Seeing that his mother was indeed a wealthy person, Black Jin Gang, who fantasized about inheriting his mother's business, was very excited and also very proactive.

In short, the old turtle blacksmith agreed to help forge the shrimp shells of the shrimp soldiers into the style she wanted.

First, forge a heart-protecting vest.

The style was a bit like a modern posture corrector, mainly protecting Xiao Yu's chest and back.

The remaining shells could also make a complete set of armor, but Xiao Yu only wanted arm guards and boots.

The arm guards could be hidden in her sleeves for blocking and defense, while the boots were for convenience when swimming in the water.

When she swam at high speed using the force of the water waves, her two feet needed to kick the water at high speed; ordinary embroidered shoes were very inconvenient, and after a few kicks, the shoes would fall off her feet, and she wouldn't know where they had been swept away by the waves.

The shrimp shell boots, however, were made from shrimp tail shells, which were not only tough and wear-resistant but could also assist in treading water.

It was equivalent to a small enchantment effect.

To cope with the crisis of heavenly punishment, Xiao Yu instructed Black Jin Gang to have the old turtle blacksmith forge the heart-protecting armor first.

When gambling on Heaven's will at the government office entrance, the heart-protecting armor was already worn on her body; it was softer than cowhide armor and very thin, yet its defense hadn't decreased.

The effect was so good that she was looking forward to the "Dragon Pattern Arm Guards" and "Water-Avoiding Boots" even more.

"Could that group of river demons have been pressed into service by the River God and are now performing corvée labor?"

That guy Black Jin Gang had said before that the gorgeous water mansion where the River God and the Grand Guardian lived was all built by them.

If they were really performing corvée labor or had been arranged to guard the border, she probably wouldn't see her demon descendants in the short term.

And since she might leave tomorrow, Xiao Yu couldn't give up on the "fresh foster fathers," so she kept waiting here and could only carve a line of text on the stone wall of the cave mansion.

The next morning, at the Si hour (9-11 AM).

"Aunt Liu, why are you the only one?"

Aunt Liu had indeed come, but she was alone.

She was still sitting in a wheelchair, pushed over by Lu Lao.

Uh, she had been struck by lightning a few days ago.

"If it were just me, would I not be able to invite you?" Aunt Liu's expression was calm, without the fear of avoiding a plague god from that day.

"Hey, with our friendship, do we need to be so formal?" Xiao Yu poured her a cup of tea and smiled: "If it were just you, Aunt, looking for me, arranging for Lu Lao to pass a message would be enough; why be so solemn?

Since it's already so solemn, there must be an outsider who wants to see me."

Aunt Liu sighed, "You're right. I should have come to Roaring Shanzhuang to find you with Chief Clerk Li, but unfortunately..."

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly stopped.

Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Don't just say half of what you mean. Unfortunately what? Where is Chief Clerk Li?"

"Chief Clerk Li is dead."

"Uh, Chief Clerk Li Dan is dead? How did he die?" Xiao Yu asked in surprise.

Aunt Liu struggled for a moment and said, "It's not easy to say... The one who made an appointment to see you tomorrow is 'Heir Xianzhi,' which is Li Xianzhi, the eldest son of the Prince of Qinghe."

"The Heir wants to see me personally, because of the Ge Qing matter?"

Aunt Liu nodded and looked at her, asking, "Ge Qing also died on the way to Luodu, did you know?"

"I didn't know." Of course, Xiao Yu knew.

Not only did she know that "Heavenly God Ge Qing" had completely kicked the bucket on the night of the gamble on Heaven's will, but she was also certain he was dead through and through—the Purple Mansion had deleted his "account" once again, and he probably wouldn't have a chance to restart it in the future.

The one who took his life this time wasn't her, but the Heavenly Court!

When she killed him, the Heavenly Court could still recast his three souls and seven spirits.

When the Heavenly Court wanted to kill him, who could save him, and who would be willing to save him?

So "Killing Ge Qing Three Times" was the grand finale.

"Has Prefect Wen settled my case?" Xiao Yu asked.

Aunt Liu rolled her eyes at her, "Do you think Prefect Wen is stupider than Zhu Yitao?

Just as Zhu Yitao left the county office with Ge Qing, Prefect Wen, over ten miles away, received the news.

He signed an official document immediately, telling Zhu Yitao not to come to the prefectural office but to go directly to Luodu.

Zhu Yitao still went to the prefectural office, only to learn that Prefect Wen had already whipped his horse and headed to Luodu ahead of time.

Zhu Yitao was helpless and could only rush to Luodu with Ge Qing... Then Ge Qing died."

"What about my teacher, Divine Physician Min? Was he at the scene, and was he implicated?" Xiao Yu asked.

Aunt Liu's eyes flickered, and she said, "Divine Physician Min encountered a patient in Yingxiang Mansion who needed an emergency visit, so he left the convoy for two hours, and then Ge Qing died... Everyone says his time was up, Heaven wanted to take him, and it had nothing to do with anyone.

Now Prefect Wen, Zhu Yitao, and Divine Physician Min have all returned home, so it's considered over."

Xiao Yu sighed, "What about my case?"

"No one is handling it, it can't be handled, so it's not being handled."

Xiao Yu asked again: "Even if the Heir wants to see me, he could just come over directly; why did you have to make a trip first? Counting Lu Da yesterday, that's three trips."

Aunt Liu hesitated for a long time before saying, "If it were Chief Clerk Li, he probably would have come directly, but Chief Clerk Li is dead, and the Prince of Qinghe is seriously injured and unconscious... The Heir is not convenient to leave Tianmen Town right now."