Chapter 229 - 226: Trouble Arrives
"What’s going on?"
"I heard some Shen Clan members from Qing City came over. They want to take control of Dawan Village..."
"That’s shameless, isn’t it? I remember a year ago, Dawan Village was just an ordinary, poor village with only twelve acres of Spirit Fields. Now that it’s developed, they’re just coming to reap the rewards? Doesn’t the current Dawan Village Guardian, Shen Changchuan, have a problem with this?"
"How could he not have a problem? But what can he do? In this region, Dawan Village is still under the jurisdiction of Qing City..."
"When benefits are at stake, even blood brothers can’t see eye to eye... Infighting is the norm in large clans..."
"Here’s a little rumor: I heard the Guardian of Dawan Village is a bastard son of the Shen Clan Leader..."
"Then how are these others so bold? Aren’t they afraid Clan Leader Shen will blame them?"
"Pfft. I heard the Shen Clan Leader has fifty or sixty children. How could he possibly care about all of them? Besides, the Guardian of Dawan Village is just a mere bastard son, not even worth mentioning."
"Exactly. When Shen Changchuan first arrived a year ago, Dawan Village was just a poor, remote backwater. It’s only because of the recent series of events that it’s taken off... Since he was exiled here, you just have to think for a second to know he must be an unfavored, marginalized figure in the clan. No wonder others are coming to reap the rewards now that they see the benefits..."
On this day,
the atmosphere in the village was tense.
The Shen Family members from Qing City, with an extremely aggressive and domineering attitude, had moved directly into Dawan Village’s commercial district. They forcibly took over the central administration hall, stationing their accompanying guards to seal it off and forbid any ’outsiders’ from entering or exiting.
This scene was, of course, witnessed by nearly everyone.
For a moment,
the Cultivators gathered there broke into a flurry of discussion.
Meanwhile,
Shen Shengliang, the leader of the arriving Shen Family members, sat swaggering in the center of the administration hall,
flipping through the old account books, his face filled with delight.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
"I originally thought this trip was going to be a chore, but I never expected such a windfall!"
"Judging by Dawan Village’s business operations, the annual income in Spirit Stones must be in the tens of thousands!"
He couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
His mission on this trip was an order from above: to lead a team and investigate the massive disturbance that occurred in the Border Desolate Forest a few days ago. He was specifically instructed to verify the truth behind the rumors of Divine Travel Realm experts clashing there.
This task was undoubtedly a chore.
’A clash between Divine Travel Realm level experts... Never mind a mere Ninth Layer Late Stage Cultivator like me, even a Soul Emergence Realm being would probably find it hard to withstand the aftershocks of their battle, right?!’
But under the orders of the Clan Elder garrisoned in Qing City, he had no choice but to risk coming.
Unexpectedly, he hadn’t encountered any danger on this trip.
Instead, he’d found a huge piece of gold on the side of the road!
"Congratulations, Brother Liang! Our heartiest congratulations!"
"With the income from this village, it’ll probably only take a few years for you to reach the Ninth Layer Peak, maybe even buy a Soul Emergence Pill and break through to the Soul Emergence Realm!"
"That’s right! When Brother Liang advances to the Soul Emergence Realm in the future, don’t forget about us!"
"Haha! You’re overthinking it. While this village’s annual income can reach tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, that’s due to the current circumstances. In a little while, once this whole affair is over and these outsider Cultivators leave, the income won’t be as high."
"Besides, we can’t pocket all the Spirit Stones. That kid guarding this place, Shen Changchuan, may not have deep roots, but to go through the proper channels, we’ll still need to grease some palms here and there, and we’ll have to offer up a portion as tribute. What we can actually get our hands on won’t be that much..."
"That said, this is still an absolute windfall..."
Inside the administration hall, Shen Shengliang and his companions were talking and laughing.
Between their words,
they already saw Dawan Village as something in their pocket.
After all,
who was Shen Changchuan but a worthless bastard son, with a cultivation merely at the Qi Introduction Fourth or Fifth Layer?
Weakness is the original sin.
You can’t blame others for devouring you.
....
Footsteps sounded from outside the door.
The people inside suppressed their laughter.
Their gazes all turned toward the entrance.
A young figure slowly walked in from outside.
His expression was calm, his eyes like a placid well, seemingly devoid of any emotion.
This person,
must be Shen Changchuan.
This thought flashed through the minds of Shen Shengliang and the other Shen Family members present.
But for some reason,
the aura he projected was entirely unremarkable. He had neither the noble air of a high-born family nor the transcendent "immortal-like" quality that Cultivators possessed over mortals. If placed among ordinary people, one might mistake him for a mere mortal.
And yet, it was this seemingly ordinary man,
who, for some unknown reason, seemed to exert an invisible pressure on them...
The expressions of everyone present changed slightly.
’One can’t establish themselves without being ruthless!’
’The prosperity of Dawan Village is a matter of immense wealth, tens of thousands of Spirit Stones! So what if he’s of the Clan Leader’s bloodline? He’s just an ant at the Qi Introduction Fourth or Fifth Layer. Worst case, I’ll report this to the First Madam. Hmph! "Committed suicide by stabbing himself in the back seven times"... I refuse to believe that First Madam wouldn’t...’
Shen Shengliang thought the flicker of fear that had risen in his heart was an instinctual reaction to Shen Changchuan’s status.
But the thought of the immense wealth, tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, made that trace of fear vanish.
In its place rose a vicious ruthlessness, his heart filled with greed.
A fortune of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones was something that many Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer might never accumulate in their entire lives!
It was definitely worth the risk!
"You’re Shen Changchuan?"
"You’ve done a good job managing Dawan Village, but this village is the Shen Family’s property. You can’t protect this wealth. I’ll give you three days to sort things out. After three days, you will complete the handover of Dawan Village."
Shen Shengliang spoke faintly,
not giving Shen Changchuan a shred of consideration, not even bothering to negotiate.
He directly issued his decision.
Shen Changchuan said nothing,
his gaze turning somewhat profound.
Shen Shengliang paid no mind to Shen Changchuan’s reaction.
Instead, as if remembering something, he added:
"Tally up how many Spirit Stones you’ve collected this past year from letting those merchant houses set up shop, and how much rent you’ve collected from the Workshop plaza... The village belongs to the clan, so the wealth generated from its operations should also belong to the clan. You will hand over eighty percent. As for the remaining twenty percent, I’ll make the decision to let you keep it as your reward..."
"So, after I developed Dawan Village, not only must I hand over the village, but I also have to spit out eighty percent of the past year’s earnings?"