Chapter 154: Questioning the Guilt of Kan Yinwu

Xu Jia wanted to carry the Golden Toad Treasure Basin to Lan Shi Huo, but going in broad daylight would be far too conspicuous.

This golden toad, Qian Duobao, was currently carrying 7,200 gold coins on his back, embedded with 36,000 various gemstones; the bumps of all sizes covering his back were all extremely valuable jewels.

These were both wealth and debt, condensed from the evil wealth of the Yin demons within the intercepted Treasure Basin.

Building the Jin Chan Miao was precisely for the purpose of "money laundering," to wash evil wealth into righteous wealth.

After finishing dinner at home, Xu Mu pulled Xu Jia aside: "Can you really not wear decent clothes on your body anymore?"

"That is what the Wealth God says," Xu Jia replied helplessly.

"Then I shall personally beg for Hundred-Family Cloth for you once more; the last piece is already worn out."

"It doesn't matter if it's worn; hasn't it already been patched up now? Every time the Hundred-Family Robe tears and is patched again, it increases my immense Dharma Power. With your motherly heart, no amount of Divine Ability or magic can break it; wearing this one is enough."

Xu Mu sighed: "I know your father; he would never wrong himself. I don't care about him, I only care about you. I have always known you are not bad, but you must be extremely careful. Do not let good intentions lead to bad outcomes. There are many things in this world where one cannot clear their name; even if you aren't bad, you will be turned into someone bad."

"I cannot do much for you, only measure your body a bit more to see if you have grown taller or if your frame has broadened."

"Mother, rest assured. No matter how much of a God Immortal-like figure I am, I am still made of human heart and cultivated by human heart. The Buddhist school says to let go and seek the void, but I do not believe it for a second. No matter how far I go in the future, I will remember this place."

Xu Mu shed tears: "I do not mean to tie you down. A man's ambitions lie in the four corners of the world. I only mean that you are still young, and I am not yet too old; I can always do something for you."

Xu Jia wiped away Xu Mu's tears: "Tears are the blood of the Soul; you must not shed them anymore. Where could I go? I am governing this land of ours; if I cannot exercise my ambitions here, where else could I?"

Xu Mu also realized she had lost her composure and wiped away her tears: "It is mainly because your father is going out, and I thought of you. If you were to go out one day, who knows how many days you would be gone? It is all his fault, it has nothing to do with you!"

Xu Mu gritted her teeth and cursed Xu Zhiyuan a few more times, causing Xu Fu to sneeze several times in the study.

Xu Jia laughed: "It seems Mother is still thinking of Father. Mother, rest assured, those two little ghosts of mine may not be good for much, but they are first-class at supervision."

"Who cares about him?" Xu Mu said: "He is very timid and wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

Xu Jia comforted Xu Mu and personally escorted her back to her room.

Xu Mu suddenly asked: "You raised Xiao Hong's monthly allowance; are you planning to take her as a concubine? I have observed this maid; she is diligent and not talkative, only a bit gluttonous, which is not a flaw—I was gluttonous when I was a girl too. If you had her to take care of you, I would feel much more at ease."

Xu Jia hurriedly said: "Mother! Spare me, I am still growing!"

Xu Mu said: "You are not small anymore; at sixteen or seventeen, it is the age for sowing wild oats. If I arrange it for you, it will save you from going down a crooked path. Where could outsiders be better than someone from home?"

"Absolutely not. I raised Xiao Hong's wages because she learned how to make Five Elements Pills. We are the masters, and she is a maid. Mother, you believe in Buddha, how can you just arrange other people's lives like that?"

"Besides, why doesn't Father have a concubine? You are a wife yourself; do you really want me to marry a wife in the future, only for her to see a concubine who entered the house earlier and gained favor earlier pressing down on her? How much disharmony would that cause in the inner courtyard?"

Xu Mu still wanted to persuade him, but once Xu Jia brought this up, she had nothing more to say: "As you wish. Since you are unwilling, I will not play matchmaker."

Xu Jia was grateful he held the Cooling Bead in his hand, or he would have broken into a sweat.

Xu Jia went out the door, and Xiao Hong came out of Xu Mu's room with red eyes.

Xu Mu said: "Girl, you heard it, didn't you? I truly wanted to play matchmaker for you two, but he is not enlightened. I have cried and shed tears, but no amount of ability is of any use now."

"Mistress, it is my lack of fortune, not your fault. The young master is right; a girl should have some spirit. I am not the kind of maid who schemes to climb into a bed. I am a clean and respectable person, and in the future, I want to be clean and respectable, married through a proper match. How could I be someone without a name? If Mistress speaks of this again, I would be so ashamed I would rather hang myself!"

"Absolutely not!" Xu Mu said: "Since you think this way, that is for the best. It is just that I feel deeply guilty; I was the one who proposed this, and now you have suffered these grievances and sadness. It is because I like you so much that I made this suggestion, wanting to make our bond even closer. Since it cannot be, I will make another decision: I will adopt you as my goddaughter."

Xu Mu said: "Tomorrow, take twenty taels of silver and go back to your hometown. Ask your parents if they are willing. They are both people who cannot stay idle, and I have no one to talk to to relieve my boredom. You come with me, and we shall be mother and daughter. When the time comes, I will prepare a dowry for you and marry you off in style; that will not be bad either."

"How can this be! I am not greedy for money!" Xiao Hong was anxious.

Xu Mu made the final decision: "It is settled. If you refuse again, I will be angry. This is a good thing, what are you afraid of? I am not mistreating you; are you afraid I will marry you off to some old man?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong sighed: "Only my own parents would marry me off to an old man for money. Working here is far more respectable than being at home. How could the Mistress harm me? It is just my shallow fortune; I fear I cannot bear it."

"How can you say you have shallow fortune? Fortune is accumulated by oneself. From now on, just follow me, so those servants won't gossip."

... Over here, Xu Jia was about to leave with the Golden Toad Treasure Basin. The Golden Toad sighed: "I was born here and grew up here. Now that I am really leaving, I am reluctant. Great Immortal, let me leave a small golden toad here; it can occupy the position on my original roof beam and circulate wealth energy."

"These small golden toads are all hollow; they only eat and do not spit out. Even if they do, they spit into the Treasure Basin. How can I let them stay here?"

Qian Duobao sighed: "That is true. As for this position, I will wait until I return to sit in command myself. Great Immortal, after I leave, do not transform a second golden toad!"

"Rest assured, having you is more than enough!"

Xu Jia carried the basin and set out into the night. Before long, Kan Yinwu was caught by Hu Jinhua and Huang Pipo working together: "Great Immortal, this ungrateful villain has been caught. It followed the evil god for so long and clearly knew the Treasure Basin was not a good thing, yet it still came to deceive us. It is a good thing we even put it on the roster!"

Kan Yinwu screamed: "I am wronged! I am wronged! I am truly wronged!"

Xu Jia said: "You say you are wronged, and I should believe you? If rewards and punishments are unclear, how can I manage you Immortals in the future? Although this matter started because of my inner demons, it is inseparable from you. Hu Jinhua, peel its skin, then feed it a Curse Date. It is a hundred-year-old rat spirit; as long as it does not die, it is just losing a layer of skin, and it will grow back on its own."

"I am wronged! I am wronged! Great Immortal, without my skin, I will die of pain!" Kan Yinwu struggled.

"This little demon was also bewitched by the Yin demon! If you don't believe me, ask Great Immortal Jin Chan; I also have Greed Poison in my body!"

The Golden Toad said: "Why peel its skin? I will just swallow it into my stomach; that is the most straightforward way."

Kan Yinwu was so frightened that it fainted on the spot.

Xu Jia saw that it did not look like it was acting: "Peeling the skin is fine, but while the death penalty is waived, the living punishment is unavoidable."

Hu Jinhua slapped Kan Yinwu: "The Great Immortal is talking to you! Still playing dead? Do you believe I will make you truly die!"

Kan Yinwu was slapped into a concussion and begged for mercy in a daze: "Great Immortal, please speak. As long as you spare me, I will do anything!"

Xu Jia said: "You must go and dream-visit those petty thieves, idlers, and beggars, and tell them there is a Wealth God at Lan Shi Huo who can grant any wish. Tell them to bring incense and candles to pay respects."

"Ah?"

Xu Jia said: "I am just about to develop Lan Shi Mountain. These people are not afraid of dirt or stench; supervising them to be diligent will also allow them to make a fortune."

Kan Yinwu had not expected Xu Jia to "lure them in to kill them" in such a way.

If these idlers, petty thieves, and beggars could be diligent, they would not have become idlers, petty thieves, and beggars in the first place.

Xu Jia added: "You are on my roster; no matter where you flee in the future, I will know. Even if you destroy the roster, it is useless. If you still want to pull some tricks, next time I will not spare you so easily. By the way, since you have hundreds of thousands of rat descendants, give them the role of inspectors. If any evil things happen anywhere, notify the hall immediately. If you discover traces of the Longevity Sect, do the same. If you do well, there will be no shortage of benefits for you. If you do poorly, it will not be too late to peel your skin then!"

Kan Yinwu heard it could live and hurriedly nodded: "This is what I should do. Great Immortal, rest assured. If I offend again, not only can you peel my skin, but even if you feed me to a cat, I will have nothing to say!"

Xu Jia nodded upon hearing this: "Hu Jinhua, from now on, you continue to be the General Manager. Leave the Wealth God matters to the Golden Toad."

Hu Jinhua sighed: "I knew it!"

She immediately took out the Pressing Money. The Golden Toad was very happy to see this old partner, but it still did not accept it: "The wealth energy of these copper coins is not even one-ten-millionth of what I have now. You keep it. You specialize in managing the wealth of the poor, and I specialize in extracting money from the rich."

"This money is a token for borrowing life and also an object for forming connections. Just take it," Xu Jia laughed. "I am not stripping you of your position. You should cultivate well; cultivation is the most important thing!"

Hu Jinhua was moved, took back the Pressing Money, and let Kan Yinwu go: "Master Xu has spared you once this time, but I will not spare you. I will be watching you!"

Huang Pipo said, "True Person, I have already moved the statue of Ancestor Huang Muchun to the side hall. Now we are enshrining our Huang family Hall Genealogy, and we have mended relations with the surrounding commoners, promising to assist them with weddings and funerals and lending them bowls and chopsticks. The Incense Fire has recovered somewhat, but we lack manpower; only Silang and Huang Jiuniang have achieved any real Daoist Practice."

"There is no rush for this. Once the Earth Temple is built, there will be a private school inside. While the students are in class, I will allow you all to listen to the lessons within the Dharma Realm; I will set things up there."

"Furthermore, you do not need to distinguish so clearly between Yellow Immortal and Fox Immortal. You are all working for me; if there is troublesome business, it is normal for everyone to help one another."

Hu Jinhua said, "That's right! Although my Daoist Practice is not great, I am the best at teaching little foxes. If you cannot teach them well, you can send them to me to teach!"

Huang Pipo was furious: "You ugly thing, as if only you know how to teach! Am I incapable of it?"

Xu Jia was also speechless: "Arguing over such a small matter, you two are truly rivals. Let's go, do not delay, to Lan Shi Huo!"

(End of chapter)