Chapter 413: Our pawnshop doesn't keep idle people

"A child is supposed to be sent into the pawnshop as soon as they're born"……

Such a minor matter had already happened once before, but it was simply refused.

But this also reflects a fact—the standing of Wufu Town Pawnshop in people's hearts is rising.

Everyone trusts the pawnshop.

It is also trust in each member who makes an effort for the pawnshop.

I can refuse others' requests and make other arrangements, but Shi Rou cannot.

I promised her.

If she becomes pregnant again and insists on sending the newborn baby into the pawnshop, I can only grit my teeth and accept.

Jin Wuya and I talked about these things; his mood grew even more gloomy, and afterward he took his leave and departed.

He had just left when Li Qingying appeared, unable to help sighing: "What a pair of ill-fated lovebirds."

I couldn't help teasing: "Sister Li Qingying, you might need to study childcare in advance—when a real baby is sent into the pawnshop, you'll have to help look after it."

Li Qingying's expression instantly became wonderfully expressive.

But soon she adjusted her mood and said without reservation: "Why would I need to study specially? Back at home I had loads of younger siblings, and I personally raised about half of them."

Mentioning those things is another sorrowful matter.

I couldn't help reaching out to hug her.

Li Qingying touched my slightly bulging belly, then grew excited: "Soon I'll be an aunt…… no, an ayi……"

She got stuck.

She scratched her head, torn.

Finally she settled it: "Xiao Jiu, after the baby is born, just call me auntie; I'll raise him white and chubby. As for Shi Rou's child…… their fates are each tougher than the last—who knows when we'll have another, so we'll decide later."

"By then they might not even dare to send their child into our pawnshop."

After all, the pawnshop has undergone another change.

I hold a certain reverence for the Chenghuang Temple's Yin Dang Hang; its sudden appearance will surely disrupt our current life.

There's nothing else to do but watch and wait.

A trip to Songshan yielded us much useful information.

We seem to have gained a clear understanding of the Zàng Qū Buddhist system and our own burdens, making it appear we can tackle them from many angles, one by one.

But when we truly returned to Wufu Town, situations kept cropping up.

In the dark it seems as if an invisible pair of big hands is controlling all of this.

Unseen, untouchable, yet it can throw our lives into utter chaos.

Around nine o'clock, I took the Soul-guiding Lamp to the hill opposite.

I merely wanted to test it, to see whether that cinnabar spirit bone would react with the Soul-guiding Lamp.

But I didn't expect that when the Soul-guiding Lamp approached the cinnabar spirit bone, its Merit Light would suddenly flash wildly, the ghostly faces on the lamp wailing and howling, and instantly the sky over the hill was overcast with dark clouds, the temperature dropping several degrees in an instant.

Zhao Zixun and Huang Fan immediately went on alert.

At that very moment, the roots of the Cangwu Ming Yin stretched out, continually wrapping themselves around the cinnabar spirit bone in a gluttonous fashion.

Not long after, that cinnabar spirit bone was wrapped up into a big egg.

The poison of the cinnabar could not corrode those roots.

Until we pulled the 'egg' out of the pit, it remained intact.

The Big Family couldn't help sighing, "Things in this world really restrain one another—I never expected such a thorny problem to be resolved so accidentally."

Only I noticed that the Merit inside the Soul-guiding Lamp had diminished a little.

It's obvious that it's not that these roots aren't afraid of the cinnabar spirit bone; rather, the appearance of the Soul-guiding Lamp made the bone sense something, causing it to restrain its own toxicity.

Jin Wuya and Jiang Si Que both said the cinnabar spirit bone is alive, possessing spirituality.

In the end, that egg was also placed in the refrigerator's fresh-keeping compartment.

Liu Junyan returned only in the evening, his face very weary.

While eating, he chatted with me about what happened today.

"I went to Yin Mountain this morning and met Hu Yulin; this time he was relatively fortunate—his tribulation point lay within Yin Mountain, Hu Sanmei gave him the best shelter, he passed the tribulation smoothly and has already successfully cultivated his eighth tail, though he's still quite weak and needs to rest for a while."

Saying this, he paused, stared at me somewhat solemnly: "He is now an Eight-Tailed Spirit Fox, growing ever more bewitching and better at bewildering hearts; Xiao Jiu, next time we meet, you……"

"Yeah, his filter broke on me ages ago." I knew what Liu Junyan was worried about, felt a bit amused, and asked him: "He's your childhood friend; this is great news—did you give him a gift?"

Liu Junyan nodded: "Of course, I gave him a bit of Dragon Qi to help his body recover sooner."

Li Qingying covered her mouth and chuckled on the side.

Liu Junyan glared at her: "What are you laughing at?"

"Laughing at Seventh Lord's abacus clinking away." Li Qingying didn't hold back, teasing: "You've done the favor, Hu Yulin will rest up, then surely be summoned right away to work—Nine Flames District is desperately short-staffed."

Yeah, Hui Moqiong is stationed there all the time, only able to return once every many days.

Liu Junyan wasn't annoyed either, declaring righteously: "Our pawnshop doesn't keep idle people."

Indeed, each and every one of us is about to be worked to death.

Even outsiders like Zhao Zixun and Jin Wuya have no idle time.

Moreover, the Big Family actually each have their own backgrounds and talents; they care not about money but about Merit.

Every matter the pawnshop resolves accumulates corresponding Merit, which will later be distributed according to each person's contribution.

At year-end summary, when rewards are doled out according to merit, the bonuses sent by the netherworld officials are also plentiful.

Once the hall construction in the Nine Flames District is complete and the Five Great Immortal Clans each establish their branch halls, we can recruit troops, take on contracts, and the future looks promising.

The reason Hui Moqiong is so devoted to that place, insisting on handling everything personally, is that he has seen the grand scale of the Changshi Gray Immortal Hall and is envious.

What's more, there's also support from above.

I heard Fang Chuanzong say that the first batch of funds from above has already been released, and they were very generous.

This sum of money is mainly used to build the residential area; the expenses on our hall's side have already been arranged by Liu Junyan.

Li Qingying quietly told me that Liu Junyan took out some hard currency.

I don't inquire about Liu Junyan's net worth; I can support myself.

As for having children later… probably we won't need to support them ourselves.

He is a Buddhist practitioner, bringing his own rations.

If it weren't for these messy troubles at present, life would still be fine.

Thinking that, I asked Liu Junyan: "What does the Fox Immortal Lord say about Yin Dang Hang?"

Liu Junyan said: "He said he had seen the Heaven and Earth Dang Pu in Gui Shi." She added: "But only once, it was in the southwest corner of Gui Shi, next to the Chenghuang Temple; there is a barrier there that ordinary people can't detect or enter; he inadvertently stumbled in, from afar saw the shop's signboard, before getting close, he was driven away by a strange person..."