Return to the People

Late at night.

Qin Jianghe was alone in his room, keeping accounts.

The account books Lin Xiao brought today, along with the money and provisions they had seized from the bandit stronghold, needed to be recorded. They had taken a small portion of it for the sect's income, and all of this had to be entered into the ledger.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu had not returned; they were both staying the night here.

A gentle knock came from outside the door.

Without looking up, he called out, "Come in."

Gu Yuxiao walked in from outside carrying a bowl of chicken soup and said,

"Boss, it's so late. Stop working on these things, drink this chicken soup, and get some rest early."

"Mhm," Qin Jianghe replied, but his hands showed no sign of stopping.

Seeing this, Gu Yuxiao placed the chicken soup on the table, sat to the side, and looked at this young man who was more than a year younger than her, saying,

"Boss, you've changed so much compared to when I first met you."

After thinking for a moment, she added,

"But just now, when I saw you with the Sect Master, it seemed like you hadn't changed at all."

Hearing this, Qin Jianghe finally took a moment to look up at her.

"Is there a problem?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he pushed the ledger in his hands toward her and said,

"Since you look so free and you know how to read, come over here and learn how to keep accounts."

"Huh?" Gu Yuxiao looked astonished.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Hurry up. Now that your father's murder has been avenged, you should learn something useful instead of wandering around aimlessly all day."

With that, Qin Jianghe picked up the chicken soup beside him and gulped it down in one breath.

This chicken soup was made by Jiang Youfu tonight. Because he had made a massive pot, everyone was too full to finish it, so Jiang Youfu planned to save it for cooking noodles tomorrow.

Gu Yuxiao had just scooped a small bowl from the kitchen, heated it up, and brought it over.

Qin Jianghe also wanted to return to the sect sooner.

Even if not for the sect's dense spiritual energy, just for Fuzi's delicious cooking, he wanted to quickly train someone who could take his place, allowing him to free himself and return to the sect for a while.

Looking at it now, he felt Gu Yuxiao was a great candidate. If she could handle all these matters, big and small, with the assistance of his two older cousins, he would surely be able to return to the sect to relax without any worries.

Being stared at by Qin Jianghe with an inexplicable look, Gu Yuxiao felt a bit creeped out.

Could it be that Boss Qin had killed too many people today and become a psychopath?

She hastily took the ledger.

"I'll learn right now, right now!"

Early the next morning.

Lin Xiao left Jiang Youfu at the escort agency to hang out with Qin Jianghe and the others, while he himself took a trip to Liaoju Prefecture.

He brought along the majority of the money and provisions they had seized from the bandit stronghold.

On his way back yesterday, he had discussed it with Jianghe and the others. The bandits' money and provisions were illicit gains, all extorted from the common people. In just over two months, the bandits' profits had been extremely high.

Although they had only taken a small portion of it, it was actually quite a lot.

As for the remaining large portion, they had agreed to return it to the people.

While they couldn't possibly investigate and verify each case to return the funds directly into the hands of the victims harmed by the bandits, he thought of someone who could.

That was Tong Shuzheng.

Although he hadn't interacted directly with this prefect, from a few indirect encounters, his impression of the man was quite good. He seemed to be a good official who genuinely served the people.

Therefore, he planned to deliver the majority of these illicit gains to Liaoju Prefecture and leave them for Prefect Tong to handle.

Thus, as noon approached.

In the examination hall of Liaoju Prefecture, Prefect Tong, who had just finished grading this year's academy exam papers alongside the education intendant and other officials, was rubbing his sore neck as he walked out. He stepped onto his carriage, preparing to head home.

He saw Advisor Xue follow him onto the carriage from the side, then lean in close to his ear and whisper,

"My Lord, the Immortal has come."

"Who?" Prefect Tong, whose head was throbbing slightly, didn't catch what he said at first.

Xue Chengfeng repeated,

"The Immortal has come, My Lord!"

"What?!" Prefect Tong's eyes instantly widened. He immediately grabbed his advisor's arm and asked urgently,

"The Immortal has come? Where? Take me there at once!"

Xue Chengfeng hurriedly reassured him,

"Don't be anxious, My Lord, don't be anxious. The Immortal did not show his face. He merely dropped off some items quietly and left a letter."

With that, he took out the letter Lin Xiao had left from his sleeve.

Prefect Tong hastily took the letter from the envelope and unfolded it to read.

He noticed the ink marks on the letter paper were somewhat strange, unlike ordinary ink, but Prefect Tong paid it no mind. He rapidly read through the contents of the letter, pondered for a moment, and then turned to ask Xue Chengfeng,

"Did the Immortal deliver a lot of things?"

Xue Chengfeng nodded, then pulled a very small, plain-looking pouch from his sleeve.

"My Lord will know once you open it and take a look."

Confused, Prefect Tong reached out, took the pouch, and opened it.

Then, his eyes widened even further.

This... this was actually an immortal artifact!

Such a tiny pouch, yet who would have thought it held a massive space inside!

Piled inside was a massive mountain of money, grain, and various other goods!

Thinking of what the Immortal had said in the letter just now, Prefect Tong immediately said to Advisor Xue,

"Chengfeng, once we get back, give the order to compile a list of the commoners from various prefectures and counties who perished on the official road from Songyang County to Quhuai Prefecture. We will use a portion of the wealth in this pouch to provide them with compensation."

"As for the rest, add it to this year's relief funds for the people severely affected by the floods in various regions. Remember to balance the account books perfectly so those corrupt officials don't catch a whiff of it."

"Yes," Xue Chengfeng quickly agreed.

Having finished giving his orders, Prefect Tong relaxed his entire body and leaned lazily against the carriage wall. He picked up the letter in his hand again, wanting to read it carefully one more time.

However, he suddenly realized that the writing on the letter was disappearing, character by character!

He watched as the words on the letter paper seemed to detach themselves, floating up into the air, where they gradually became transparent, blurred, and vanished entirely.

It wasn't long before the entire letter turned into a blank sheet of paper with nothing but fold marks.

Even though they knew the other party was an Immortal and any methods he used were completely normal, seeing this scene with their own eyes left Tong Shuzheng and Xue Chengfeng utterly amazed.

Prefect Tong lifted the carriage curtain and urged the driver outside,

"Return to the manor at once!"

He had to hurry back to complete the task the Immortal had entrusted to him!

Because there were still many matters to attend to in the sect, and if Jiang Youfu didn't leave soon, the old woman hired to cook at the Lingxiao Escort Agency would be out of a job. Moreover, Lin Xiao wanted to focus on his cultivation recently, so the two of them only stayed in Songyang County for two days before returning to Xiushui Village.

Before parting, Qin Jianghe prepared some things for Lin Xiao and the others to take back to his parents.

After the two returned to the sect, Lin Xiao began to cultivate with deep concentration.