Chapter 30: Paying Money

Although Zhao Rui is the Emperor of the Great Song Kingdom and stands high above in the eyes of the mortal commoners, in the eyes of the Immortal Sects, he is nothing more than an obedient dog outside the Yuqing Hall. They might give him a modicum of face on ordinary days, but when it comes to matters concerning the Immortal World, they will absolutely not show any favoritism.

In the eyes of the many Immortal Sects, it does not matter who sits as the mortal emperor; the reason he has sat firmly for decades is simply because he is an outer disciple of the Yuqing Hall.

But that is all there is to it. This halo of status might be worth a bit of face in the eyes of a cultivator in the Kaiyuan Realm, but in front of a cultivator at or above the Zhenyuan Realm, it is worth nothing.

If they are in a good mood, they might offer a greeting and call him Daoist Friend; if they are in a bad mood, they will call him a "dog emperor" without the slightest bit of courtesy.

Seeing Zhao Rui's mind in turmoil, the old man could not bear to be too harsh, so he said: "Junior Brother, you are the Emperor of Great Song, while Zhao Wuji is merely a vassal king. Even if he holds hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, I think it would not be difficult for you, Junior Brother, to eradicate him. In such matters, one must be decisive and simply summon the army to suppress him; why be so cautious and act with such womanly hesitation?"

Zhao Rui sighed deeply and said: "I have thought of that too, but once the army is raised, it will surely bring disaster to the people, and I cannot bear it in my heart!"

"Heh!" The old man shook his head with a cold laugh, then stood up and said: "The Yuqing Hall will not interfere in mortal affairs; you know this yourself, Junior Brother. You had best find a way to handle this yourself. For the sake of our time as fellow disciples, this is all I can say. Farewell!"

Zhao Rui stood up, feeling utterly depressed, and saw him to the palace gate, sighing: "Immortals and mortals are different, separated like the sky and the sea. Back then, when I had no hope of cultivation, I descended the mountain with the ambition to pacify the world and protect the common people, but I never expected that trouble would arise from within my own house, and I would fail to maintain my integrity in my later years. Sigh, forget it. I will go and have a good talk with my younger brother; at worst, I will just yield this throne to him."

The old man stopped and looked back, saying: "Have you thought this through? Once you do this, your entire household may be wiped out to the last chicken and dog. Are you truly willing?"

Zhao Rui nodded with a desolate expression: "What else can I do? The world has finally known peace for decades; better that my family dies than tens of thousands of families."

The old man was finally moved, sighed, and shook his head: "Junior Brother, it is not that I want to lecture you, but your personality is truly unsuited for being an emperor. Very well, since the Eight Kings have colluded with the Ziyang Sect first, and the Ziyang Sect has already intervened, it would be unreasonable for our Song Kingdom's Immortal Sect to offer no help at all. However, it is impossible for the Yuqing Hall to intervene directly. Today, I will take it upon myself to sponsor you with some low-grade Spirit Pills and Magic Treasures. You must find people yourself to deal with the Ziyang Sect. Unless they have experts above the Danyuan Realm entering Great Song, the Elder Council will not show themselves."

Zhao Rui was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly cupped his hands: "Many thanks, Senior Brother! Pills and Magic Treasures are enough!"

The old man suddenly felt as if he had been tricked, and between laughter and tears, he said: "Since that is the case, draft a list of the pills and treasures you need and send it to the Treasure Pavilion. I am leaving; handle it yourself!"

Watching the old man leave the Imperial Palace by carriage, Zhao Rui entered the hall and began to secretly summon his officials and nobles for a meeting. Before long, post-riders were galloping out of Jingshi in all directions, heading straight for the prefectural cities where the Great Song kept its heavy garrisons.

For a time, the upper echelons of Jingshi were in a state of panic, like surging ocean tides.

But for the ordinary commoners of Jingshi, they were completely unaware. The entire capital remained decorated with lanterns and streamers, bustling with traffic, busily preparing to celebrate the Emperor's hundredth birthday.

Since Zhao Rui ascended the throne, rectified the government, and pacified the world, the Great Song had enjoyed peace for decades. Today, the world is at peace, the people live and work in contentment, and industry and commerce are flourishing. It is truly a golden age of peace, a world of harmony year after year.

But in any dynasty, once peace lasts too long, turmoil is bound to occur.

Because wealth dazzles the eyes, and power corrupts the heart.

Everyone wants to sit on the throne of the Emperor, let alone the Emperor's own younger brother, who holds military power.

The reason the Great Song can enjoy its current prosperity is both because Zhao Rui's status as a disciple of the Yuqing Hall intimidates the world, and because the Eight Kings have achieved unparalleled military merit, having spent decades charging into battle and guarding the western frontier, preventing the Great Ming, which has been eyeing the northwest like a tiger, from crossing the border by even a single step.

But now, just as he is about to retire and pass on the throne, this prince, who has performed such meritorious service and holds heavy military power, can finally no longer suppress the tiger in his heart and wants to vie for the throne.

In reality, the Eight Kings originally had no chance at all.

But the Ancient Tomb of an Immortal unearthed by the Marquis of Xilu gave him the resources and courage to collude with the Ziyang Sect of the Ming Kingdom to help him oppose the Yuqing Hall.

Because as long as the Yuqing Hall is afraid of damaging the jade and does not support Zhao Rui, he has at least a fifty percent chance of success.

Fifty percent may not be high, but at their level of status and position, even a ten percent chance is worth a try.

And fifty percent is already a massive opportunity.

After all, one has never heard of any rebellion having a hundred percent chance of success.

Because the person sitting on the throne will never give you the chance to accumulate ten percent of the strength.

In fact, usually, as soon as the first signs appear, long before there is even a one percent chance, one would be wiped out.

The movements in Jingshi naturally reached the ears of Pingxi King Zhao Wuji, who is currently at the western frontier, and his hundreds of thousands of troops immediately began to assemble.

Thus, the mutual suspicion and precaution of countless years finally tore off the mask, and a great mortal war officially began due to the excavation of an Immortal Ancient Tomb.

However, this matter did not affect Xu Chen and the others in the slightest.

Even if they knew, they would not care at all.

Because to them, no matter how much the mortals fight and kill until they bash each other's brains out, it will absolutely not affect their cultivation, and no matter how bold the mortal armies are, they would never dare to touch a single hair on an Immortal.

Of course, unless someone is tired of living.

They do not yet know that the Princess of Xiyun has already met with Emperor Zhao Rui, and that Zhao Rui has actually long been dissatisfied with the Eight Kings, and both sides have already begun to mobilize troops and generals.

Right now, their main concern is that Ziyang Sect cultivator who has yet to appear.

Xu Chen lay in the inn alone, recuperating for over an hour; it was already the afternoon.

Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister Zhao Xuan had not yet returned.

Xiao Huli was nuzzling against his chest, looking for milk. Xu Chen had no choice but to stop his cultivation, tuck Xiao Huli into his robes, and go downstairs to ask the innkeeper if he could help get some goat or horse milk. However, the innkeeper had gone out, leaving only an old servant who was somewhat deaf and dim-sighted sweeping the courtyard.

Xu Chen asked several times, but the old servant could not explain clearly, so he had to go out to find it himself.

Jingshi is very large, more than ten times larger than Nanyang City, with a population of hundreds of thousands, so the level of bustle is naturally different. Xu Chen asked around on the streets, walked through several streets, and finally found a shop selling dairy products. He went up to ask for some goat milk to feed Xiao Huli, but after taking a cup of milk and feeding it to Xiao Huli until it was finished, he felt all over his body and realized he had not brought any money.

On this trip, the Lord of Nanyang City had given them plenty of silver, but Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister, the two old veterans, were responsible for arranging lodging and food. Xu Chen had always been a follower responsible for sleeping and eating, and he never managed money on ordinary days.

The shopkeeper saw Xu Chen fumbling all over himself and knew something was wrong.

Sure enough, Xu Chen held Xiao Huli and said with a dry laugh: "Shopkeeper, I am sorry, I did not bring money when I went out today. How about I bring Xiao Huli back tomorrow to drink milk and pay you then?"

The shopkeeper almost swung his milk ladle at his head, shouting angrily: "You look like a decent person, and your clothes are proper, why are you so stingy? It is only two wen, and you have the nerve to say you will pay tomorrow."

Xu Chen:...

If he were to shake his tiger-like body right now and release some Divine Sense pressure to reveal his identity as an Immortal Master, let alone this mere cup of goat milk, he would likely have no problem even if he asked the shopkeeper to give him the dairy shop.

But Xu Chen did not want to reveal his identity. After all, many cultivators have been coming and going in Jingshi recently, and it is unclear who is a friend or foe. Furthermore, when Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister left the inn, they warned him that it was best not to go out, and even more so not to reveal his identity as a cultivator, lest he be ambushed by Ziyang Sect cultivators.

In fact, Xu Chen had always been very careful. If it were not for Xiao Huli being hungry and needing milk, he would never have come out. After all, he was also afraid that a moment of carelessness would cost him his life.

Although it is said that immortals and mortals are different and immortals cannot fight in mortal cities, who can say for sure?

"Shopkeeper, don't be anxious, don't be anxious. I will trade you something for it. I guarantee you won't lose out, I guarantee you won't be cheated..."

In order to get away as quickly as possible, Xu Chen took out a pile of trinkets from his leather bag, but they were all messy things like animal bones, animal teeth, and Paper Talismans, and they were all things that mortal commoners had never seen before. They did not look like anything decent, and the shopkeeper's face turned green. He pointed his milk ladle at Xu Chen's nose and shouted: "What kind of ghost things are these? Don't try to fool me!"

Xu Chen was helpless and had to place Xiao Huli on the counter, saying: "Then I will leave Xiao Huli here, and I will come back with money to get it later, is that alright?"

The shopkeeper shook his head like a rattle-drum and said angrily: "You wish! I am busy as can be, where would I have time to watch this little thing? As soon as you turn around, it will run away in the blink of an eye, and wouldn't I have given you a cup of milk for nothing?"

Xu Chen could only sigh and say: "Then what do you suggest?"

"Give me the money!" the shopkeeper said decisively.

Xu Chen:...

To think that I, a dignified Immortal who can fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, am actually being stumped by two wen.

Xu Chen wished he could grit his teeth and pull out a pill to pay the bill, but thinking about it, it really pained his heart.

At this moment, he only had Small Yuan Pills and Great Origin Pills on him; the Qingshui Pills that were not worth much and could be used for tips were all with Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister.

"Could you not be like this? Believe it or not, I'll run off without paying!"

When Xu Chen was small, he was originally a cowherd who picked up dung; he was not a child from a wealthy, scholarly family, and he naturally possessed a wild streak. Seeing that the shopkeeper was impervious to reason, he became somewhat agitated.

"Someone come! Someone is drinking milk without paying! Neighbors, come and judge this!"

Before Xu Chen's voice had even faded, the shopkeeper opened his throat and began to shout loudly.

Xu Chen's face instantly turned as black as if ink could drip from it.

He had really made a fool of himself today.

Sure enough, a large crowd soon gathered all around, pointing at Xu Chen and mocking him for looking like a human in his new clothes while actually drinking milk without paying.

Just as Xu Chen was being condemned by everyone under the shopkeeper's smug expression, a crisp and resonant female voice suddenly rang out:

"I have heard that the people of the Great Song Kingdom are refined and courteous, valuing righteousness over wealth. I never expected that in the magnificent Jingshi, there would actually be such an unreasonable person, framing others over a mere two wen."

The crowd turned their heads and saw a young woman wearing a colorful dress with her hair in a high bun, looking just like a fairy, walking gracefully into the circle of people.