bookrandom Chapter 353 Sect Competition 14
Chapter 353 Sect Competition 14
"I've said it before, every time a shop like yours opens, I'll smash it!" A burly cultivator kicked the dilapidated door with all his might!
Most of the goods in the shop were knocked over, the magical artifacts were broken, and the pill bottles tumbled to the ground, their contents vanished!
The low-level talismans were trampled on wantonly, and the hired waiters trembled and squatted behind the counter, leaving only the elderly shopkeeper to confront this group of thugs.
"You, you've gone too far!" The shopkeeper pointed a trembling finger at the troublemaking cultivators!
"Old man, what are you saying? If you hadn't sold fake pills and harmed my brother first, we would only be here to seek justice!"
The burly man's henchman stepped forward with a sharp eye, his triangular eyes revealing ill intent. As he spoke, he shoved the shopkeeper to the ground!
"You're spouting nonsense! My Qi Family Trading Company has been operating in Dingming City for a thousand years, and we've always been honest and trustworthy! How could there be fake pills? Is there any justice left?"
"Hmph! Honest and fair to all, young and old? Old man, listen to me! I say it's true, and that's what I mean! Your patriarch is dead! What I say about Dingming City is the law!"
The burly man shoved the trembling old man away, then swaggered off with his men!
"Such atrocities in broad daylight, is there no one in Dingling City to do anything about it?" Yingyue sipped her hot tea and leaned against the window, looking at the street.
After the alchemy competition, Yingyue and Wen Sishu, who had won the spots, suddenly found themselves with nothing to do!
When Cheng Jiu told them that he had been entrusted by his master to go to Dingming City on business, they had nothing else to do and accompanied him.
Dingming City is located in the north, bordering the polar regions, and is in extreme cold for three-quarters of the year!
It was so cold! We braved frost and snow all the way, dealing with the monsters that attacked us along the way!
Arriving in Dingming City was utterly exhausting!
When the master entrusted the task, he was not in a hurry and only said that he would look after things for a while.
Therefore, Cheng Jiu and the other two unanimously decided to rest in the city for a few days before visiting their master and old friends!
The inn they stayed in was the largest one on the main street in the city!
It's currently the dead of winter, and few outsiders are coming to the city! So the number of tourists is dwindling, and Cheng Jiu and his two companions have managed to stay in the best room in this inn!
Dingming City experiences extremely cold weather for most of the year, with a harsh environment and rampant monsters!
Not only could caravans not get in, but residents inside couldn't get out either!
Running a guesthouse alone won't be enough to survive here. Besides the guesthouse upstairs, there are also restaurants, storytelling venues, and various leisure facilities all in one place. There's even a unique glacial hot spring that's exclusive to this area, for people to choose from.
This is also the most bustling street in Dingming City, where every inch of land is incredibly valuable!
You need considerable strength to open a shop here!
Logically speaking, no one should be causing trouble here!
But nothing is absolute. Once the master behind it is gone, this treasure trove will definitely be a piece of fat meat that everyone wants to take a bite out of!
"This is the third time already!" someone nearby chatted. "It's only been half a month since news of Grandpa Qi's death broke, and the Wang family is already in such a hurry!"
"Who wouldn't want to take a bite out of an orphan and a widow!"
"That's what they say! Aren't these two families related by marriage? Such behavior is truly disheartening!"
"Did you know that Miss Wang is getting married?"
"Grandpa Qi has only been gone for less than half a month! Are you already in such a hurry?"
"Don't play dumb! It's Young Master Zhou!"
"I remember that this marriage was arranged by the old master of the Wang family before the spirit tablet of the old master Qi. How long has it been? He has already found someone else."
"Grandpa Qi has been of great help to the Wang family because of our marriage alliance!"
"Uncle Qi is such a good man! I remember the beast tide three years ago, it was thanks to Uncle Qi's help that we were able to get through it."
I remember you also received a lot of kindness from Uncle Qi, so why didn't you speak up for them when they were in trouble?
"It's precisely because Uncle Qi is a good person that I didn't kick him when he was down!"
"That's what the Wang family thinks too!"
"It wasn't the Wang family who made the move? I remember that Gou Er was a dog of the Wang family!"
"It's normal for a stray dog to have multiple owners! It's just that the owner who usually feeds it is more famous, but that doesn't mean the dog only listens to one person."
"If it's not the Wang family, then which family is it? The Zhou family? The He family?"
"Second Master Qi!"
"!"
"Are you crazy? My sister-in-law's eldest uncle's second cousin's wife works for the Qi family. I heard that Second Master Qi is planning to divorce his wife and marry someone else!"
"Whom should I marry?"
"Hey, who else could it be! His sister-in-law! An orphan and a widow, if he marries his sister-in-law, won't the Qi family fall into his hands? How could that good-for-nothing Young Master Qi possibly fight against him?"
"His brother's body is barely cold! If you ask me, it's because Old Master Qi tamed Master Qi too well!"
"That's right! After all, Uncle Qi is a good man."
"Haha! That's right, what can we do when Uncle Qi is such a good man? Come on! Let's have a drink!"
The two people at the next table were chatting and then started drinking back and forth!
"Junior sister, is the Master Qi they're talking about a friend of the Immortal Lord?" Yingyue asked in a low voice.
"Yes!" Cheng Jiu nodded.
"I always felt that the way they talked about Grandpa Qi was really strange!" Wen Sishu stroked his chin.
They kept saying that Grandpa Qi was a good man and had been kind to the people of the city!
But there was no gratitude in his tone; instead, it was filled with sarcasm!
And the evaluation of Grandpa Qi and his son: "tamed" is not a good word!
"My master also said that his friend is a good person!" Cheng Jiu recalled his master's evaluation of his friend!
What a good person! But Cheng Jiu could sense that his master disapproved of this friend!
For their master to remember them, their relationship must have been quite close back then!
We're clearly friends, but we haven't been in touch for so many years!
"Even the Immortal Lord says so?" Yingyue's eyes widened. If even the Immortal Lord Qingxu says so, then this Master Qi must be a good person!
It's truly thought-provoking that a good person's family has fallen into such a state after their death!
After all, according to the people at the next table, Grandpa Qi was a good man, and everyone in the city had benefited from his kindness.
But when the Qi family's shop was vandalized, not a single person stood up. Could it be that those who received his favors were all ungrateful wretches?
The attitude of the City Lord's Mansion is also very intriguing! You must understand that the City Lord's Mansion has the responsibility of maintaining the city's security!
Such acts of violence in broad daylight in the city would have been stopped long ago by the city lord's mansion in other cities, as maintaining basic stability is the responsibility of these city lords!
But despite the huge uproar and numerous incidents, the City Lord's Mansion has yet to intervene, clearly indicating their tacit approval! This is quite intriguing!
"We'll go to the Qi residence tomorrow and see, then we'll know, won't we?" Wen Sishu covered her head, feeling an itch in her brain, as if something was about to grow out!
"Okay!" Cheng Jiu and Yingyue didn't think much of it.
Without a visiting card, you can't get in!
Standing outside the mansion gate, watching one guest after another enter to pay their respects, the three of them were dumbfounded!
As disciples of the Guiyuan Sect, they are always honored guests wherever they go, and they never need formal invitations!
The gatekeeper was stubborn and insisted that without a visiting card, one was not a proper guest, and therefore not allowed to enter!
Even disciples of the Guiyuan Sect are not allowed!
Cheng Jiu was speechless!
It's rather impolite, but the lady of the Qi family invited her master, and only sent a message through someone else. There was nothing else besides that letter!
As a result, people started asking for visiting cards at the Qi residence!
She can't possibly go back to the sect to get that letter from her master, can she?
For a moment, Cheng Jiu actually had the urge to turn around and leave!
Thinking that this was his master's request, Cheng Jiu took a deep breath, and hastily chose a small stall on the street to write a letter of invitation!
"Wait for our notification tomorrow!" The servant casually tossed Cheng Jiu's exquisite visiting card into the mailbox, mixing it with the many other visiting cards there, showing no regard whatsoever!
"You!" Senior Sister Yingyue glared angrily. Wherever they were, they were always honored guests. When had they ever been treated with such contempt?
"What? What? Don't think that just because you've found out about the decline of the Qi family, you can try to curry favor with them."
Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who want to visit my Qi family. Don't think that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come in!
Disciples of the Guiyuan Sect? Ha! It's the dead of winter now! There are countless dangers outside, who would come?
"Even if you're looking for a name, don't choose a good one! Get out! Get out! Get out!"
"Your father! This family!" Yingyue's face flushed red!
The servant was overwhelmed by the oppressive aura emanating from Yingyue, but still glared at the three of them: "Do you want to cause trouble in the Qi family?"
The visiting guests also noticed the commotion and their gazes, filled with confusion, curiosity, and even mockery, fell upon the three of them.
Some of the guests were quite knowledgeable. Accompanied by his younger brother, Grandpa Zhou also noticed the commotion and asked, "What happened over there?"
His gaze swept over Cheng Jiudian and the other two, his heart pounding. The three of them had clearly come to attend Grandpa Qi's funeral!
When did the Qi family become acquainted with such a distinguished guest?
"I heard from that servant that three brats came up to curry favor! They didn't even have formal invitations, yet they're claiming to be disciples of the Guiyuan Sect!" Master Zhou said sarcastically. "These three are quite capable! It's a pity they have poor judgment. They're on the verge of decline, how can they compare to the rising sun of our Zhou family!"
They couldn't even choose a good title; the leading woman's cultivation level is quite good.
But Dingming City is currently in the dead of winter, and even with your strength, brother, you dare not easily venture outside the city. These three actually claim to be from the Guiyuan Sect…!
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense!" Old Master Zhou shouted!
"Brother! You won't believe me..."
"Although I can't tell the age of the woman in the lead, the two beside her are definitely no more than a hundred years old!"
They were far from it; barely a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators. Aside from being carefully nurtured by a major sect, where else could they find such talent? "The clothes and jewelry on the three of them were all high-grade spiritual artifacts!"
The head of the Zhou family, who monopolizes most of the magical artifact business in Dingming City, has quite a keen eye!
"When did the Qi family ever have such a distinguished person?"
"Master Qi has traveled far and wide and made countless friends. Even a centipede with a hundred legs will not fall down after it dies, let alone Master Qi who has been dead for less than half a month!" Master Zhou's face was cold and solemn. He thought of that peer, whose talent was unique in Dingming City.
He should have gone to Guiyuan Sect to cultivate diligently and study the Great Dao, but his father forced him to stay, and his mother knelt down and begged, so he was trapped at home!
However, he still broke through to the Nascent Soul stage at the age of one hundred, to the Divine Transformation stage at the age of three hundred, and then to the Dao Integration stage at the age of eight hundred, becoming the patriarch of his family at a very young age.
He had fallen in love with the Xiao family girl early on, but because Old Master Qi disagreed, he had to delay the Xiao family girl's youth for three hundred years. If it weren't for Old Master Qi's rare moment of compassion before he died, he would have agreed!
It almost drained the lifespan of the Xiao family girl, who was only at the Golden Core stage!
The peaceful days lasted no more than two hundred years before the Xiao family girl became a widow, and her son was ruined by Old Master Qi's bad influence. It was truly a sad and lamentable situation!
As Grandpa Zhou looked at Cheng Jiu, he wondered if it was time to stop the actions against the Qi family.
The Zhou family, including Guiyuan Sect, is not someone they can afford to offend.
"What should we do? Sixth Brother is madly in love with that Miss Wang! Should we..."
"No!" Grandpa Zhou shook his head: "Don't forget that the spirit mine in the polar region was discovered by us and the Wang family together!"
The Wang family wanted to forgo Qi Panzhou and agreed to give the remaining share as their daughter's dowry!
I've met the Qi family's son; he has an extremely strong sense of self-esteem, and even the Wang family's daughter might not be interested in him!
If the Qi family truly manages to curry favor with the Guiyuan Sect, we will offer them the mineral vein near the Extreme Sea as compensation! As long as our attitude is sincere.
The Qi family, a widow and her son, can't do anything to the Zhou family if they want to continue living in Dingming City!
The grudges between us are nothing more than a matter of our children's marriage; a forced marriage will never be happy.
"The immortal envoy from Guiyuan Sect wants to stand up for the Qi family, but there's no reasoning with them. The Wang family betrayed us first; what business is it of ours, Zhou family?"
"Indeed! Elder brother is indeed cunning!" As he spoke, the Second Master Zhou let out a hurried, gloating laugh, looking at Cheng Jiu's group: "With the Qi family like this, I wonder if they can handle this high-ranking position!"
Grandpa Zhou glanced speechlessly at his younger brother. These three were clearly visiting on behalf of their master, and as long as they weren't offended to the point of death, the Qi family would definitely receive their protection!
How much they can help is another matter, but it will definitely solve the Qi family's current urgent problem!
What a brainless person!
However, when Grandpa Zhou thought of Grandpa Qi's troublesome younger brothers, he suddenly felt much happier. Although his brothers were not very bright, at least they were obedient and very loyal to their older brother!
What else is there to ask for? Maybe if they're smart, they'll start thinking about rebellion?
Being a bit slow is reassuring, at least it's not like Uncle Qi's brothers who are both stupid and wicked!
Old Master Qi has really tamed Master Qi well!
As the guards from the City Lord's Mansion who had disappeared from the streets yesterday gradually surrounded him, Cheng Jiu realized that he had come to pay respects to the spirits on behalf of his master, not to cause trouble.
Although she was extremely unhappy, she still grabbed Yingyue's hand and said, "Senior sister, senior sister, forget it! Let's go!"
Seeing Cheng Jiu shake her head in disapproval, Senior Sister Yingyue calmed herself down, suppressing her anger, not wanting to put her junior sister in a difficult position: "Alright!"
"Guards, guards, why aren't you apprehending them? Don't think that just because the Qi family has fallen on hard times, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can cause trouble here!"
The fact that the gatekeeper was able to open the gate at this time shows that he was highly valued by the master. Out of respect for the Qi family and for Master Qi, everyone in the city would give him some leeway.
When have I ever suffered such humiliation! I hurriedly summoned the city lord's guards who had surrounded us!
Today he is determined to teach these three arrogant fools a lesson!
"Get out!" Yingyue erupted, her powerful aura causing the surrounding guards to scatter in fear.
The squad leader, who was also at the Nascent Soul stage, wanted to come over, but was frightened away by Cheng Jiu's terrifying gaze!
Yingyue took a deep breath and grabbed Cheng Jiu's hand: "Junior sister, let's go!"