In Wangjiacun, houses were constantly built only to collapse, and collapsed again and again. Eventually, when the villagers truly had no money left and could no longer afford to rebuild, they elected a village head who tactfully dropped a hint to a Heavenly Blade Sect elder, saying that their village genuinely had no money left.
As a result, the Heavenly Blade Sect elder—whose backside had just been bitten by the Heavenly Tiger King and was still lingeringly sore—flew into a rage. "For several years, my Heavenly Blade Sect has fought dozens of bloody battles for your Wangjiacun! We protected you so well even during the most ferocious beast tides, and the number of Heavenly Blade Sect disciples who died exceeds the entire population of your village! During all that time, the most we did was drink a few mouthfuls of your village water. Do you actually have the nerve to ask me for money?"
The villagers of Wangjiacun could only weep without tears. What the other party said was true, but what could they do? Even if they wanted to move, they had no money left; sooner or later, the entire village would starve to death on the road. With no other choice, they selected two quick-witted villagers and headed to the commandery seat to ask the Commandery Governor to uphold justice, as the Commandery Governor was, after all, a good official.
Upon receiving the news, Qin Anbang was somewhat speechless. He hurriedly took Sima Nan with him to Guju Ridge to play the peacemaker, getting the Heavenly Blade Sect and the beast king to each make a concession and withdraw at the same time. Then he walked over to the gap, and Sima Nan casually set up a maze array to prevent low-tier spirit beasts and fierce beasts from coming out. With that, the matter came to an end.
Something that could have been resolved with a single maze array had instead caused heavy casualties for the Arrest Bureau and the Heavenly Blade Sect, leaving Wangjiacun without peace for six years. Qin Anbang's heart was filled with reflection.
The matter was over, and Wangjiacun was rebuilt once more. The honest and simple villagers never quite found the heart to bring up house repairs to Qin Anbang again. Fortunately, as long as people were alive, there was still a way forward. A year passed; although they were a bit poor, as long as the people worked hard enough, it would not take long for Wangjiacun to return to its original appearance.
Mi Lan also had many mixed emotions. Because of the fight started by Nana's master, so many things had happened, and since he would soon become Nana's husband, Nana's master could be considered half a master to him as well. Since the trouble had been stirred up by his half-master, he would help clean up the mess.
Mi Lan fished two gold coins from his Storage Bag, handed them to the middle-aged villager, and said, "Uncle, the woman who fought that day was my fiancée's master. These two gold coins are compensation that should be given to the village. I only now realize the harm this matter caused you. If you don't take them, my conscience won't rest easy."
At this moment, the villagers of Wangjiacun who had suffered for six years, Mi Lan, and the spirited woman in men's attire across from him, all had eyes brimming with tears.
Early in the morning, the morning sun slowly rose, its golden rays shining down upon this land. The three of them bid farewell to the villagers, but before they knew it, the old man and the woman in men's attire had also walked over to stand beside them. Seeing the woman looking at him, Mi Lan politely nodded and smiled at her, then mounted his horse, gently patted its rump, and headed toward the commandery seat.
"Fatty!"
Mi Lan had just mounted his horse and ridden a few steps when he heard a familiar address from behind. He turned his head abruptly to see the woman in moon-white men's robes smiling at him as she called out, "Fatty, see you again if we're fated!"
With a look of surprise, Mi Lan watched the woman as she walked further and further away.
When the three of them were completely out of sight on the post road, the woman in moon-white robes also bid farewell to the villagers of Wangjiacun and headed in the direction of the commandery seat.
The old man was stunned. "Are we not going to the East Sea?"
"We're not going."
"Why?"
"Because I've already seen the person I wanted to see."
The three of them arrived at the Commandery Governor's Mansion at noon and were warmly received by Qin Feilong, the second young master of the Qin family. Qin Feilong was sixteen years old with the cultivation of the Seventh Layer of Minor Accomplishment. Commandery Tutor Sima Nan had taken the initiative to impart a cultivation technique to Qin Feilong to draw closer to Qin Anbang, but after practicing it for over a decade, he hadn't made much progress—whether due to mediocre talent or Sima Nan's limited teaching skills was hard to say.
Mi Lan timely handed over a red envelope, which Qin Feilong accepted happily. On the way to the commandery mansion's hall, he very earnestly invited Mi Lan to go bar-hopping at Drunken Fragrance Pavilion together that evening, drink the commandery's most famous "Red Dust Intoxication," and embrace the prettiest girls in the commandery...
Fortunately, the hall wasn't far, and they reached it in just a few steps. Mi Lan hurriedly quickened his pace to enter and pay his respects to Commandery Governor Qin Anbang and his wife.
Seeing his old man, Qin Feilong immediately turned well-behaved, cutting off his words and respectfully withdrawing to wait at the end of the garden for Mi Lan. In his heart, he thought that he must get this "brother-in-law" famous for his wealth to take him to Drunken Fragrance Pavilion—the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion he had longed for for so very long, yet could never afford to visit.
The meeting between the "prospective father-in-law and son-in-law" was quite harmonious, especially since they already knew each other's backgrounds inside and out. Qin Anbang's feelings toward Mi Lan were very complicated. To say he was satisfied—well, he was satisfied: Mi Lan was wealthy, honest, polite, kind, and filial; his daughter would definitely not suffer by marrying him. To say he wasn't satisfied—there was that too: ordinary looks, ordinary cultivation, content with the status quo, and lacking any real drive. Still, as long as he was good to his daughter, that was enough, Qin Anbang thought to himself.
The midday banquet was lavish. Afterward, Qin Anbang had Qin Feilong and Qin Luoluo take Mi Lan for a good walk around the commandery seat to get acquainted with the prominent aristocratic families of the commandery.
In their hearts, Qin Anbang and his wife had fully accepted this son-in-law.
The first thing Qin Feilong did upon leaving the commandery mansion was summon a maidservant to forcibly carry away Qin Luoluo, who was stubbornly insisting on playing the third wheel. Then he coaxed Mi Lan into Drunken Fragrance Pavilion. At first, Mi Lan stubbornly refused to go—what kind of son-in-law visits his prospective father-in-law and goes to a brothel on the very first day? But in the end, floating amidst a chorus of flattery, he snapped out of it only to realize he was already at the entrance of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, where he was forcibly dragged inside by a beauty summoned over by Qin Feilong.
"Today, no one can stop me from living it up in Drunken Fragrance Pavilion! I, Qin Feilong, said so!" With his head tilted, his chest puffed out, and wearing a swagger that showed utter disregard for everyone under heaven, he strode into the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion of his dreams.
Drunken Fragrance Pavilion was the premier pleasure house in Dongshan Prefecture. Its behind-the-scenes boss was Zhou Yukong, the seventh son of the East Domain King—an open secret throughout the entire East Domain. The "Drunkenness" referred to *Red Dust Intoxication*, produced by an imperial capital winemaking family; throughout the entire East Domain, it could only be tasted at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion in Yuwang City and Dongshan Prefecture. The "Fragrance" referred to the fragrance of beauties; most of the songstresses and dancers inside Drunken Fragrance Pavilion were cultivators, and every single one of them was a first-class beauty. Moreover, the pavilion boasted four top courtesans whose cultivation had reached the Polar Transformation and Heavenly Vein Realm, and whose appearances were of breathtaking national beauty. As long as you had enough gold coins, even a mortal could enjoy the thrill of taming immortals.
Holding a jar of *Red Dust Intoxication* in one hand and embracing beauties with both arms, sipping the wine while occasionally eating a spirit orange peeled by a stunning beauty whose cultivation far exceeded his own, Qin Feilong and Mi Lan felt as though they had reached the pinnacle of their lives.
As the second young master of the Commandery Governor's family, Qin Feilong held a top-tier status among the young people of the entire Dongshan circle. Naturally, various aristocratic youths who came out to play stepped forward to pay their respects. Qin Feilong, lost in a drunken dream amid the mortal dust, loudly introduced them one by one to the second-generation heirs of the commandery: "This! My brother-in-law!" Mi Lan, whose eyes were hazy with drink, also shouted back in response: "Yeah, my brother-in-law!" Then the two of them insisted on dragging those second-generation heirs along to sing and dance, shaking their heads and twisting their hips...
An hour later, the two of them were dragged out by men sent by Qin Anbang. Originally, Qin Anbang had only wanted to quietly spirit the two of them away, but the pair, having gotten completely high on the fun, even tried to drag Qin Anbang along to shake a leg.
In the end, this pair of hapless brothers-in-arms was hung up in the garden for the entire night.
Early the next morning, Mi Chongshan—who had originally wanted to stay for a few days to get acquainted with the commandery's elite families and expand the Mi Family's business in the commandery—found he simply couldn't save face anymore. At the crack of dawn, he bid farewell to Qin Anbang and his wife, and left the Commandery Governor's Mansion with Mi Lan. As they departed, that "flying dragon" was still performing his "flying dragon in the sky."