Chapter 27: The Black Qi Rises Again (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  After returning from the county town, Fang Mingda gained a lot.

  Back at the land temple, a red light flashed, and Li Dazhuang came to his senses. He only remembered that the Land God had entrusted him with a dream last night, asking him to cooperate with the display of divine powers. This morning, he sincerely prayed in front of the god statue, and soon he felt dizzy, as if he had fallen asleep.

  Looking out now, it's almost evening, I suppose the noble god's affairs have been settled, so light some incense and pay respects.

  At this time, he was very hungry, so he took a dozen or so coins and went to buy wine and meat. He thought to himself, why not bring his wife over as well? After all, the countryside is better than the village, and it's also suitable for raising children. The land god said last night that half of the incense money was his wages, which was enough to support a family.

  Tending to the thin land at home, they can barely make ends meet all year round. It's not as good as being a temple manager. This Land Temple is indeed different from the village, and it has even set up a merit box to collect incense money, with some gains every day, which is much better than farming.

  But this, won't it offend the land god? Li Dazhuang was somewhat indecisive, and in the end didn't dare bring his wife back, instead preparing to take some food and money back. Anyway, that woman had gotten used to living in the village, so suddenly moving wasn't good either.

  All the way, villagers laughed and greeted "Li Miao is good!" "Haven't seen you for some days! When will you come to my house to sit?"

  Li Dazhuang smiled and answered one by one, feeling relieved in his heart.

  They arrived at the wine and meat shop, and the owner initially didn't want to accept money. In the end, Li Dazhuang forced it on him, and he finally accepted it. The owner carefully cut some good meat, added more wine, packaged it, and handed it to Li Dazhuang, who smiled so widely his mouth almost split open as he took it back.

  At this time, Li Dazhuang did not notice that in the shadow of the corner of the road, a black shadow had been staring at his every move. The black shadow was very vigilant, and Li Dazhuang didn't pay much attention, being followed all the way back to the Land Temple. The black shadow stared for a while, making sure Li Dazhuang hadn't come out again, before leaving.

  The black shadow turned seven or eight times, circling around several times before slipping into the back door of a large mansion. The gatekeeper seemed to recognize the person, looked around, made sure no one was there, and immediately opened a slit to let the black shadow in.

  The black shadow seemed quite familiar with this house. When they arrived at a certain place, an old man appeared and nodded his head, saying: "Not discovered yet?"

  "Hah! My craftsmanship, don't you trust it?" The black shadow said in a hoarse voice, coldly laughing.

  "This is also to be on the safe side, after all, that person is not easy to deal with, and there's a god behind him! It's good if we're not discovered, follow me!" Zhang Guan said calmly. He led the man to the study room.

  The black shadow didn't say a word, seemingly also somewhat apprehensive, followed him in, and saw a middle-aged woman with a pale face, wearing mourning clothes, involuntarily bowed and said: "Mrs. Zhang!"

  This woman was indeed Zhang's wife. She coughed and asked, "Did today's surveillance yield any results?"

  The light shone brightly, and the dark figure emerged, with a slender build, pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, wearing tight black clothes, this temperament is not like that of an honest person.

  He only heard the man say: "I followed him, and found that he left the village at dawn, with no one around, so I didn't dare to follow closely, but trailed behind from a distance. I saw him enter the county town, have a meal at the Welcome Pavilion, stroll around, then go to the White Water Temple, and return. Finally, he went to the Zhou family's shop to buy wine and meat, returned home to eat and drink, and didn't come out again."

  "White Waterfall!" came Zhang Guan's exclamation.

  Mr. Zhang nodded and said, "You've done a good job, go to the accounting room to collect three taels of silver as a reward... you can go now!"

  The man thanked him for the reward and left.

  "After a moment of silence, Zhang asked: 'Is this person reliable?'"

  Zhang Guan reported: "Although this person is used to doing some thieving and sneaky things, his reputation in private is still passable. When he was captured by the old master earlier, a handle was left in hand, so he can be trusted!"

  Zhang nodded and asked again: "Just now you mentioned Bai Shui Guan, why were you so shocked?"

  "Madam, on the day Master Zhang left, he was just about to write a letter for me to send to Bai Shui Guan!" He then told her in detail about how Zhang Huai Zheng had offended the Land God.

  Zhang's eyes widened as he said, "We spent a lot of money to invite the county coroner to examine Master's body. The coroner said that although it seemed like a sudden illness, there was internal damage to his heart, and it looked like a sharp object had been inserted, but there were no external wounds. It seems suspicious, but we can't figure out how it was done. We've been investigating in secret, and all the clues point to... Could it be that this wasn't a human act, but rather..." He stopped here, his heart filled with hatred, but he knew better than to speak further.

  Zhang Guan's face turned gloomy, and he said: "This matter is likely to have some connection. I am willing to go to the White Water Temple myself to explain the situation and invite Master Baihe to come and investigate!"

  Zhang realized the severity of the situation and thought that if things didn't go well, it could end up like the old master's "untreatable death". He thought that although Zhang the housekeeper was a bit greedy at ordinary times, he was loyal and trustworthy at critical moments, much better than those relatives before.

  "Ah, this... is all thanks to you! Your family's loyalty is clear in my eyes. From now on, the position of housekeeper will forever be yours... Time is of the essence, ride a fast horse and hurry into the city before the gates close!"

  "Madam, I'm going!" Zhang Guanjia hastily kowtowed and said, but in his heart he was bitterly smiling. It wasn't that he didn't want to hide, it's just that his family had long been tied to the Zhang family, sharing honor and loss together; they couldn't help but fight with all their might!

  He bid farewell and left, he was quite skilled in horse riding, so he rode a horse and headed towards the county town.

  Zhang looked towards the county town direction, clenching his fists tightly.

  Neither Zhang nor Zhang Guan knew that Fang Ming was just beside them, listening to their conversation and seeing off Zhang Guan as he rode his horse away.

  "This calamity is indeed not so easy to avoid!" Fang Ming looked up at the Zhang family's residence, muttering to himself.

  He is the god of land, connected with the aura of the earth, and has a sense of resonance. The small movements of the Zhang family have been seen by him long ago, but he has other plans and does not take action.

  In his eyes, a dark grey gas gathered above Zhang's house and pounced on him.

  It's just this breath, compared to last time, it's about half smaller. In my heart, I know that this is the reason for my own strength increase.

  The trouble is still the same as last time, but it has a different impact on different people.

  This matter, for the former eighth-rank him, can be considered a great disaster. But now, he occupies Qingxi Township, and his divine position has risen to the actual eighth rank. This dark energy is now half smaller, to the extent that it can be barely resisted.

  If he rises a few more ranks, it will probably be like a gentle breeze on his face, with no impact at all.

  At the same time, it is also known that this disaster cannot be avoided just by thinking about avoiding it. Even if we take action now and kill Zhang Shi and Zhang Guan Jia, it will only temporarily suppress the problem. After a period of time, the aura will entangle again, and it will erupt together with other disasters, causing even greater chaos.

  Why not let it erupt now and wait for yourself to withstand this calamity, and the dark energy will dissipate naturally.

  "Turn back and instruct," said: "Xie Jin, you dispatch two yinbing, day and night guarding here, as soon as there is a situation, immediately report, no mistakes are allowed!"

  Xie Jin stood behind Fang Ming, accepted the order and went down to make arrangements.

  Fang Ming returned to the Land Law Domain and summoned various officials in his study.

  He Dong and others were all there, they first paid their respects, He Dong handed over the account, Fang Ming checked it one by one, seeing that everything was correct, then said: "Very good, it can be seen that you have been careful!"

  In his heart, he was secretly delighted. The previous pattern, after being honed by time, had basically been operating smoothly. Every day, He Dong calculated the accounts, while Guo Sheng, Zheng Kuan, and Wang Liu Lang took turns receiving divine power to help believers fulfill their wishes. Fang Ming only needed to spend divine power and occasionally check on things, which could guarantee the smooth operation of the incense fire, saving a lot of time. Only then could he go into town today.

  He glanced at the four men below and knew that he couldn't just use them for free, or else they would harbor resentment. So he said, "You four are working very hard on this task. I'll give you a salary every month... let's set it at 30 taels of silver per month!"

  He Dong led the crowd to kneel down and said: "The master saved us from danger, spared us from a tragic end, we are grateful and tearful, and only ask to do our best for the master, without seeking salary!"

  Fang Ming waved his hand and smiled, saying: "Even so, we can't let you wait in vain. This is not in line with the system. Let's settle it for now. As for others, the commander will be rewarded with a cut-off head, and the remaining officials and miscellaneous workers will not be paid their salaries for the time being, and will be rewarded according to their merits!" It has to be said that Fang Ming is still very stingy when it comes to divine power.

  He Dong led everyone in thanking him.

  Fang Ming looked at his subordinates with a pleased expression, knowing that this matter would surely motivate them to strive for excellence and fight for his great cause. In their daily work, because they had something to look forward to, they would also have more enthusiasm.

  He waved his hand, letting his subordinates retreat. Fang Ming, however, was deep in thought. The Zhang family's affair, although he could now forcibly resist it, would still cause some damage and affect the foundation. It would be better to increase his strength and reduce losses. Having understood the situation in the county this time, he already had some ideas.

  But for now, let's not talk about it. I went to a small courtyard, which was specially reserved for He Yuqing, and it was very elegant.

  Knock on the door, it opened, and a young man came out. He was previously appointed as a servant to serve He Yaqing. The young man saw Fang Ming, bowed deeply, and said: "Sir, are you here to see Master? I'll go and report!" He slightly bent his body and ran forward to deliver the message.

  Fang Ming smiled, because of ignorance, so fearless. These two young men stayed for a period of time and knew the fate of ordinary ghosts after that, they gradually became respectful to him. However, he didn't even remember the names of these two young men, which was due to their different status.

  Before long, He Yuqing came out and after exchanging greetings, said: "Your Excellency has arrived, is it to taste tea and play chess?"

  Fang Ming smiled and nodded, the two entered the courtyard, came to a small pavilion, two servants had already set up tea sets, chessboard. This was of course requested by He Yuqing, Fang Ming used his divine power to conjure it.

  He Yuqing brewed the tea, and Fang Ming picked up a cup. The aroma was indeed refreshing, but that's about it. He still didn't quite understand the art of tea, but He Yuqing's technique in brewing tea was truly impressive, worthy of being called a master.

  Two people finished their tea and started playing chess. This chess was Go, which existed in this world too, but there was no Xiangqi. Fang Ming wondered if it would be invented later on.

  It's said that previously, Fang Ming was always entangled in the affairs of Xiang Huo, but now that he's been demoted and has some free time. There are few forms of entertainment in this world; for scholars, it's just appreciating tea, playing chess, reciting poetry, or listening to music and dance, and admiring beautiful women.

  Fang Ming's side, to mention Mei Ji, only the pearl is barely counted as one, and it won't even sing or dance. He can't do such a thing that he considers extravagant and wasteful. After all, divine power is precious, how can it be wasted like this?

  He could only come to Mr. He's place to drink tea and play Go, but he was not good at Go at all. However, after being taught by He Yuqing, he can now barely play guided Go, with He Yuqing guiding him. But Fang Ming has a bit of talent for Go, and gradually came to like it, getting used to thinking while playing.

  PS: Thanks for the suggestion from Da Bai Cao, which made the article quite rewarding