Seeking Immortality 022

Fang Zhiyi pursed his lips and tore open the folded talisman. The next moment, he grinned.

Xiaoxiaohei leaned over to take a look. The edges were filled with auspicious words, but right in the middle was written the name "Fang Zhiyi" in bold characters.

"Well, looks like I have no choice but to accept this favor."

Xiaoxiaohei said nothing. It had already given up on this host—he kept meddling in the affairs of this world over and over. There was no use arguing now, so it might as well let him go.

Unable to contact its main body, Xiaoxiaohei’s simple mind couldn’t figure things out, so it decided to conserve its energy. It would only intervene when Fang Zhiyi was about to lose his life, forcibly giving him another chance. But if that happened, its energy would probably be spent for good.

Fang Zhiyi pulled a long, well-wrapped cloth bundle from under the bed and unfurled it, revealing the black sword that belonged to Xuan Jizi.

"This thing is way better than the banner... Keeping those things cultivated inside my own body always feels strange," Fang Zhiyi muttered to himself. He tapped the blade, and the black sword shuddered violently, as if something was colliding inside it. "Hungry, are you? I'll take you to get some good food."

He slung the sword over his back and leaped out through the window.

Xu Xiaoya lay in bed, chattering away cheerfully. She felt a little excited, thinking that her life was getting better and better. Xu Xiaocao lay beside her, clutching the edge of her own clothes.

Xu Xiaoya suddenly fell silent. Xu Xiaocao turned to look at her and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Xu Xiaocao’s gaze was complicated. That day, Xu Xiaoya had told her many things—how she too had been sold by her parents, and how fortunate she was to have met that "Gousheng." Thinking back to how Gousheng could casually pull out silver from his pocket, her heart grew even more bitter.

Why was it that, though both of them had been abandoned by their families, Xu Xiaoya was now living so well? She kept calling her "little sister," but in truth, Xu Xiaocao was just someone she had bought with money. Over and over, she kept saying "Gousheng this, Gousheng that"—just because Gousheng treated her well, she had gotten cocky.

Remembering Gousheng’s cold face, Xu Xiaocao’s heart trembled. If she could win his favor... wouldn't that change everything?

She slowly drifted off to sleep. In her dream, Xu Xiaoya was the one being pitied and looked down upon, while she herself clung affectionately to Fang Zhiyi’s arm as he lavished silver on her.

Xu Xiaoya was jolted awake by the noise outside. Groggily, she sat up and saw Xu Xiaocao standing by the window.

"What's going on?"

Xu Xiaocao turned back and looked at her, thinking of last night’s dream. Her expression was strange, but she still answered, "A lot of government officers just passed by. I heard someone died in the city last night."

"Is the city that dangerous too?" Xu Xiaoya was a bit startled. She had thought only places like Xuan Jizi's compound had such incidents.

Xu Xiaocao muttered under her breath, "So what if it's the city? People die here every day just the same."

"What did you say, Xiaocao?"

"Nothing. I’m just saying it looks like the person who died must have been someone important—otherwise they wouldn't have sent so many officers out searching..."

Xu Xiaoya suddenly froze. She got up and rushed out, knocking on the neighboring door. "Gousheng? Gousheng?"

After just a few knocks, Fang Zhiyi opened the door.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were here." Xu Xiaoya unconsciously patted her chest. "I heard something happened outside. Should we hurry up and leave..."

Fang Zhiyi frowned. "Leave? It’s not like you did it. What are you afraid of?"

"I’m not afraid for myself. It’s just..." Xu Xiaoya glanced at him but didn’t finish her sentence.

Fang Zhiyi ignored her and calmly finished washing up. "Get ready and come with me today. I’m going to buy you a small courtyard."

"Huh? Buy a courtyard?" Xu Xiaoya was stunned. "But we don’t have household registration..." She remembered that her household registration was still held by Widow Li.

Fang Zhiyi pulled a small booklet from his chest and tossed it to her. Xu Xiaoya caught it reflexively and looked it over.

"A household registration? Where did you get..."

"We have money. What can’t we get done?" Fang Zhiyi let out a sneer.

In the end, Xu Xiaoya still followed Fang Zhiyi out the door. Xu Xiaocao trailed behind. Compared to the day before, she seemed less timid. She even offered to carry Fang Zhiyi’s bundle, but he turned her down.

Even after being refused, she said nothing and simply followed behind him in small steps.

Xu Xiaoya didn’t pay much attention to that. She was more focused on frowning. "Buying a courtyard will cost a lot of money, Gousheng. Maybe we should just go back to the village and buy a few acres of land instead?"

Fang Zhiyi didn’t answer. He stopped in front of the tavern from the day before, turned around, and stuffed some coins into Xu Xiaoya’s hand. "Here. Go get yourself something to eat. I’ll come find you later."

Seeing him go inside, Xu Xiaoya said nothing and just pulled Xu Xiaocao along as they left.

"Back again, young Daoist?" The tavern waiter had a good memory. His face lit up when he saw Fang Zhiyi.

Fang Zhiyi nodded and headed straight for the corner seat. From that spot, he wouldn't have his back exposed, and he could keep an eye on the whole tavern.

"The Cao family got wiped out? Which Cao family?"

"Keep your voice down! Haven’t you seen all the searches going on today? It’s the Cao family we were talking about yesterday."

"Oh, oh, I remember now." The gossipy drinker nodded repeatedly. "The Cao great philanthropist and his whole family?"

At the next table, an old man suddenly cursed, "Serves them right!"

The nearby drinkers all turned to look at him.

"Back when Yangshui County had a disaster, the refugees came to Huaijiang. The Cao family said the refugees ruined their luck, so they had their guard dogs drive them away in the middle of the night—killed quite a few people too. What vigilante finally did something about it?"

"Old man, watch your words," the tavern waiter said, trying to calm him down.

Another drinker, already tipsy, chimed in, "They’re a court-recognized great philanthropist. What they really can’t stand is the poor. Soon as they see a poor person, they have to drive them off—you expect them to let them eat?"

Sporadic laughter rippled through the tavern.

"This rotten world! As long as you have money, you're the boss!"

Fang Zhiyi drank his rice wine with an expressionless face. The brewing techniques these days weren’t great, but the stuff was good enough to quench his thirst.

Then a girl ran in. She scanned the room and made a beeline for Fang Zhiyi. "Brother Fang, it’s bad! It’s terrible!"

Fang Zhiyi glanced at the nosy drinkers and frowned. "What’s wrong?"

Xu Xiaocao took a deep breath. "Big Sister saw a beggar who looked pitiful, so she gave him some alms. But instead of leaving, that beggar latched onto her." She studied Fang Zhiyi’s expression carefully. "I told her there are too many beggars on the streets, and she can’t help them all, but she wouldn’t listen. Then a bunch of beggars surrounded her, and they snatched away all her money!"

"And?" Fang Zhiyi pressed.

"And, and she went after them. I—I was scared she’d get into trouble, so I came to tell you right away."

"Beggars in Huaijiang are everywhere. You can’t help them all," someone nearby sighed.