Because someone was following him, Xu Feng did not linger in the market town, but leisurely led Yinglong to the entrance of the small alley where he lived.
Along the way, he had racked his brains, terrified that Yinglong would insist on following him to the wooden house to take a look and pay respects to his Master before going back to report. If that happened, the whole charade would fall apart.
Right now, his Master was not there at all, and there was no way he could cover up this lie.
If he went back and the shopkeeper of the Gathered Talisman Pavilion asked about it, he would realize he had been deceived. Perhaps tomorrow—no, it wouldn't even wait until tomorrow—this afternoon they might bring people over to deal with him.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, since we've arrived here, I presume there's no danger ahead. The shopkeeper gave me other tasks to attend to, so I won't go in. Farewell!"
Yinglong hadn't noticed anything unusual about him; he was simply a rather stubborn and literal-minded fellow.
The task the shopkeeper had given him was to accompany Xu Feng to pay his rent and safely escort him home. Now that both matters were completed, he directly proposed leaving.
Hearing Yinglong say this, Xu Feng was secretly overjoyed, but he feigned hospitality on the surface and urged:
"Oh, how could I do that? Fellow Daoist Ying, you've been busy running around with me for the better part of today. You really must come into my humble abode to rest for a while, otherwise when my Master returns, he will surely scold me for lacking manners."
A stiff smile was forced onto Yinglong's rigid face, and he cupped his fists in a solemn salute:
"Since the shopkeeper sent me with you to pay the rent, it means you will have plenty of dealings with our Gathered Talisman Pavilion in the future, so there's no need to be overly courteous.
If you truly wish to express your gratitude, there will be plenty of opportunities later. Today, there's no need for such formalities. Besides, I really do have business to attend to. I shall take my leave."
"Very well. Since that's the case, I won't see you out. Safe travels, Fellow Daoist."
Not until Yinglong's figure vanished from his sight did he pat his chest with a sense of relief, then turned and walked into the alley.
By now it was afternoon. The cultivators living here had either gone out to set up their stalls or gone out to work.
Thus, along the way, he did not encounter many familiar faces in the small lane.
However, as he turned the final corner and approached his original wooden house, he was so angry at the sight before him that he nearly lost his temper.
Standing in front of his wooden house were four or five people around his age. One of them had a sharp mouth, monkey cheeks, and triangular eyes, looking utterly wretched—it was his next-door neighbor, Wang Kou.
In his memory, their relationship didn't seem very good. At this moment, Wang Kou was gesturing toward his wooden house while introducing it to a nearby cultivator:
"Fellow Daoist Liang, aren't you planning to settle down here with your father? Then I suggest you live right here.
Look, your father knows how to make alchemical pills, and my father specifically sets up a stall in the rogue cultivator market to sell spiritual medicine. If your father needs spiritual medicine in the future, he can just tell my father directly—quality and fair prices are guaranteed.
Moreover, quite a few cultivators living in our area make a living specifically by gathering spiritual medicine, and they often travel into the mountains together to harvest herbs.
If your father needs any rare medicinal ingredients that cannot be found in the market town for the moment, he can also ask them to help look for them. Wouldn't that be very convenient?"
That cultivator had her back to Xu Feng earlier, so he couldn't see her appearance clearly. But when she finished listening to Wang Kou's introduction and began walking around the wooden house to inspect it from all sides, he finally saw her clearly.
As it turned out, this was a female cultivator. Her features were quite delicate, and her cultivation level was the same as his—both at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer. However, her clothing and accessories were far superior to those of the young cultivators surrounding her.
She wore a brand-new dharma robe and custom-made dharma boots on her feet. It was said that wearing them allowed one to travel about twenty percent faster than others—the standard equipment of wealthy cultivators.
Such a cultivator, no matter how one looked at it, seemed completely out of place in this outer district environment. He wondered why on earth she had come here to look at a house—and moreover, his house, Xu Feng thought to himself.
"Hmm, not bad. This place is much better than the few we looked at before. I will speak with my father when I get back, and if there are no problems, we'll settle on this one.""At the same time, I also want to thank Fellow Daoist Wang. If it weren't for you today, I probably would have had to run to many places just to find a satisfactory residence. I really appreciate it.
However, Fellow Daoist Wang, are you certain that the cultivator who originally lived here won't be renewing the lease? What if they do renew, and I go back and tell my father we are renting this place? That might lead to a misunderstanding."
Hearing her question, Wang Kou nodded and bowed, explaining with a flattering expression:
"You can rest assured, Fellow Daoist Liang. The original occupants here were a master and his apprentice. Speaking of this apprentice, every cultivator here knows him—he's simply good for nothing, incapable of learning anything and useless at everything he does.
On top of that, he was always stirring up trouble and eventually brought disaster upon himself, nearly getting killed. To get medicine to treat his injuries, his Master went deep into the mountains alone to search for spiritual medicine, and there has been no news of him for months now. He's most likely done for!"
Hearing Wang Kou slander him, Xu Feng was angry, but he managed to endure it. However, when he heard this man say that his beloved Master was already dead, a sudden surge of rage erupted within him, and he shouted fiercely:
"Wang, you bastard, what did you just say? Who is dead? Even if your entire family drops dead, my Master won't die! What are you doing blocking my door? Get out of here, all of you, get lost!"
His roar startled the people who were viewing the house, and they hurriedly spun around. When they saw it was him, Wang Kou sneered and mocked:
"I was wondering who it was. So the great Talisman Master Xu has returned. What's wrong? Did you walk halfway and forget something you left behind here, so you came back to look for it?
Do you need our help? Just say the word if you do. The few of us grew up together, so we'll still help you with a little thing like this."
Without waiting for Xu Feng to reply, he turned his face toward the female cultivator and said with a ingratiating smile:
"Fellow Daoist Liang, don't lower yourself to this person's level. Ever since he was attacked, he's lost his mind and often spouts nonsense.
Sometimes he even hurls malicious abuse. It just so happens that his illness might be acting up today, which is why he spoke such vulgar words. I hope you won't take it to heart.
How about this? Let's go to my place first to continue discussing the matter of renting a house, so we aren't disturbed by idle people. What do you think?"
He directly ignored Xu Feng, raising his hand to invite the female cultivator to his place, while Wang Kou's sycophantic lackeys nodded and bowed like pug dogs, preparing to escort the female cultivator away.
"Rent a house? Whose house are you renting? Is your wooden cabin no longer being rented out? Are you subletting it? That's wonderful! Finally, I won't have to look at your disgusting face anymore," Xu Feng said with a smile.
Unexpectedly, this action provoked a cultivator standing beside Wang Kou, who immediately piped up:
"Xu, what we're discussing is the wooden cabin you used to live in. Brother Wang's wooden cabin was renewed last month by Uncle Wang for a full five years at once.
That's seven hundred and fifty spirit stones! You couldn't sell yourself for that many spirit stones."
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I went out today precisely to renew my rent. I will continue living right here until forever."
Hearing his words, Wang Kou assumed he was putting on a brave front and immediately scoffed derisively:
"Ha! That's hilarious. Where would you even get the spirit stones to pay the rent? Besides, if you really had spirit stones, why would you wait until the very last day to pay?"
Watching Wang Kou laugh wildly, Xu Feng straightened his clothes and slowly walked up to his own wooden cabin.
Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he took out the new token issued to him by the housing rental office and gently swiped it across the door.
"Creak!"
The door opened.
Without sparing Wang Kou and the others even a glance, he walked gracefully and calmly into the room, turned around, and slammed the door shut.
As he stepped inside, the triumphant expression on Wang Kou's face instantly turned the color of a purple eggplant. Even his laughter vanished entirely, leaving only a rattling, wheezing sound coming from deep in his throat.