In the twilight, a stranger arrived at the blacksmith shop. The man appeared to be around thirty years old, tall and slender-browed, with fair skin and refined, almost feminine features. This delicate appearance, combined with his robust and masculine physique, gave him a unique charm.

Ruan Qiong, upon learning the man’s identity, didn’t receive him with the same casualness as he had with Cui Minghuang from Guanhai Academy. He only exchanged a few words at the entrance of the forging room. This time, however, he instructed Ruan Xiu to bring two bamboo chairs to the veranda and produced two flasks of fine wine. Each took a flask, and the man didn’t hesitate. He uncorked the flask, took a large gulp, and laughed, “Master Ruan, your actions this time have caused a stir throughout the court and the countryside. I don’t yet know the specific response from the imperial court, but as the newly appointed Director of Kiln Affairs and the first magistrate of Longquan County, I’ve been spared a lot of explaining. I should have brought good wine as a courtesy, but upon hearing about the change of events, I rushed here as quickly as possible. Let me owe you two large jars of apricot blossom wine from the Yasui shop on Qilong Lane.”

Master Ruan waved his hand. “There’s no need for such pleasantries. If we reach an agreement today, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to drink and chat in the future. If we don’t, there’s no need to waste effort on forced camaraderie.”

The man laughed heartily, appearing less like an official of the Great Li Dynasty holding two positions and more like a chivalrous wanderer. Wiping his mouth, he placed the wine flask on his knee, ceasing his drinking while speaking. “Mount Jia Liu, sealed during the Chunhui reign of the Great Li, or rather, Longji Mountain, according to local county records, has a large, naturally formed Dragon Slaying Platform halfway up its slopes. Before I took office here, I had an audience with the Emperor, who stated clearly that this platform would be jointly owned by your Fengxue Temple and Zhenwu Mountain. How you two major military powers choose to excavate, cut, and divide the Dragon Slaying Platform—whether you leave it untouched as an ancestral asset or move it back to your respective sects—the Great Li Dynasty will not interfere. It is entirely up to you. If you need the Great Li to contribute manpower, such as using the two young mountain-moving apes under our command to crack open Mount Jia Liu and expose the Dragon Slaying Platform, Master Ruan should not hesitate to ask.”

Master Ruan smiled. “The sincerity of the Great Li is substantial.”

The newly appointed Director was about to follow up with some polite words, but Master Ruan continued, “That Dragon Slaying Platform, before I came here, Fengxue Temple and Zhenwu Mountain had already reached an agreement. Ruan Qiong, Fengxue Temple, and Zhenwu Mountain will each take one-third. You should have heard some rumors from your Emperor. I plan to establish a sect here, so my father and daughter status have been transferred out of Fengxue Temple. I certainly won’t be able to formally establish the sect within the next sixty years, but if the Great Li pleases me, I will choose a suitable peak here as the future foundation of my sect when the sixty-year period ends.”

The man, who was both Director and local magistrate, couldn’t hide the joy on his face. It was as if he had been waiting for Ruan Qiong to say these words. He immediately seized the opportunity, “Master Ruan, rest assured. Aside from Píyún Mountain, there are currently sixty-one mountains within the territory that are roughly marked. Master Ruan can freely choose three of them as the foundation for establishing your sect in the future. If Master Ruan is not willing to make a decision hastily, this official can first show Master Ruan the new and old maps of the mountains in the Lízhū Grotto-Heaven, and then accompany Master Ruan to personally survey the area. Then, Master Ruan can make your decision. How does that sound?”

Any dynasty would consider it a great fortune to have a grand cultivator like Ruan Qiong to help guard its territory. Especially since Ruan Qiong’s words implied that he was choosing to take root here, rather than simply being affiliated with the Great Li as a guest elder, benefactor, or national master. This wasn’t a situation of joining if it suited him and leaving if it didn’t; Ruan Qiong was truly establishing roots in the Great Li territory, inextricably linked to the dynasty’s fate. Even the Great Li Emperor himself would be delighted to hear this, let alone a mere Director.

The Great Li produced many martial artists, led by the prince Song Changjing, and had the highest number of experts above the fifth realm in the Eastern Treasure Continent. However, they had very few celestial beings on the mountains, which didn’t match the Great Li’s great strength. This was a constant worry for the Great Li Emperor.

Ruan Qiong smiled. “There’s no rush to claim a mountain as king. To put it bluntly, aside from Píyún Mountain, which you’re unwilling to part with, no other mountain catches my eye.”

The young Director looked somewhat embarrassed. In fact, before coming here, not only him, but even the Great Li Emperor and his mentor felt that the possibility of Ruan Qiong establishing a sect in the Great Li was there, but it was definitely small, because the Great Li couldn’t offer enough sincerity. The Dragon Slaying Platform? If Ruan Qiong hadn’t managed to negotiate with Fengxue Temple and Zhenwu Mountain on his own and forcefully obtain a share, how could the Great Li dare to offend Fengxue Temple and Zhenwu Mountain for the sake of attracting Ruan Qiong? The cost would be too great, even for the Great Li Dynasty, which could swallow thousands of miles with the ferocity of a tiger.

Ruan Qiong suddenly said, “Although Fengxue Temple and Zhenwu Mountain have never proposed it, I personally hope that the Great Li can offer two sufficiently sharp divine weapons, whether swords or knives. As long as they are useful, I can help you deliver them to the two military cultivators who come here to divide the Dragon Slaying Platform. You can report this to the court first and await the Great Li Emperor’s reply. There’s no rush on this matter either.”

The young Director pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, “I can decide on this matter! I agree to Master Ruan’s request!”

Ruan Qiong nodded and took a sip of wine, satisfied with the man’s attitude and courage. After all, he would need to deal directly with this man named Wu Yuan for a long time. It would be exhausting if he were foolish. It would be even more exhausting if he were petty and timid.

Wu Yuan hesitated, took a sip of wine, as if to embolden himself, and said, “Master Ruan, firstly, the thirty or so large and small dragon kilns outside the town will reopen, but from now on, they will only be used to fire ordinary imperial ritual vessels. Secondly, the county office, newly built on the east side of the town, will post the laws of the Great Li upon completion and have literate clerks from the household affairs department explain them throughout the town, so that the ordinary people of the town truly understand their identity as citizens of the Great Li.”

Ruan Qiong’s expression turned cold. He glanced at Wu Yuan, the nominal magistrate of Longquan County, who explained with a smile, “This is just a superficial gesture for the sake of secular scholars. Within sixty years, Master Ruan’s rules will still be paramount in the town, followed closely by the rules of the four surnames and ten clans. The laws of the Great Li are the lowest priority. In case of conflict, this order will be strictly adhered to. The Great Li will not only not interfere with everything Master Ruan does within a thousand miles of the town but will also unequivocally stand on Master Ruan’s side. Just like how Master Ruan previously destroyed the physical body of the Ziyan River cultivator. That man, unrepentant, even tried to petition the Emperor, by leveraging connections in the capital. Upon learning of this, my mentor immediately dispatched someone to kill the cultivator’s primordial spirit.”

Ruan Qiong frowned slightly, somewhat impatiently. “Tell your teacher to stop doing such superfluous things in the future. What does face matter? I am just a crude blacksmith and not used to convoluted thinking. If the Great Li is truly sincere, just give me tangible benefits. Whether I accept them or not is another matter. As for trash like the Ziyan River cultivator, if I had really wanted to kill him at the time, could he have escaped? Not even if he had a hundred legs. If I really wanted to kill someone, how many people in the Great Li could stop me? Even if they could, would they be willing to?”

Wu Yuan’s face turned slightly pale, and his voice was a little hoarse. “Master Ruan, this official understands.”

Ruan Qiong didn’t want to make things too awkward, as it was their first meeting. He couldn’t expect others to always conform to his wishes; that would be demanding the impossible. So he took the initiative to ask, “In secular dynasties, building Wenchang Pavilions and Martial Saint Temples, bestowing titles upon mountain and river deities, and banning local obscene shrines are all the duties of a court. What are your plans for this town?”

Having just learned his lesson, Wu Yuan carefully phrased his reply, “Regarding the Wenchang Pavilion and Martial Saint Temple, the two locations that our Great Li’s Qintianjian geomancer has selected are Cishan Mountain, to the north of the town, and the Shenxian Tomb, to the southeast. The people to be worshipped are the two who left the town in the past, one civil and one military, and have made great contributions to the Great Li. What does Master Ruan think of this?”

Ruan Qiong’s tone wasn’t relaxed. “The two enjoying civil and military incense offerings are suitable, but are you sure about the locations? Have you asked old Mr. Yang’s opinion?”

Wu Yuan was stunned. He asked cautiously, “Master Ruan, may I ask who old Mr. Yang is?”

Ruan Qiong was also taken aback. He joked, “Your Embroidered Tiger teacher didn’t even tell you this? And you’re being sent here as the director and magistrate? Wu Yuan, tell me honestly, are you like Qi Jingchun, someone who was frustrated in the officialdom, became a discarded pawn, and was exiled here? If that’s the case, then the agreements we made earlier, I’m afraid I’ll have to retract.”

Wu Yuan was at a loss for words. Not only did he not know how to explain, but he was completely bewildered.

Far away, next to a well, three people of the same age were squatting on the ground. Ruan Xiu was teaching Chen Ping’an the names, functions, and cultivation significance of various acupoints. The extra teenager had shamelessly joined them. Initially, Ruan Xiu and Chen Ping’an erased the words and remained silent. They stared at him, and the teenager had delicate features and a vermilion mark between his eyebrows, he was like a finishing touch, making him quite pleasing and festive. But Chen Ping’an and Ruan Xiu had underestimated his patience and brazenness. Smiling, he looked left at the straw sandal boy and right at the girl in green. After a half incense stick of time, the teenager seemed to feel that he had also underestimated the two people beside him, and he finally took the initiative to speak, saying in fluent local dialect that he was from the capital and had come here with the Director to see the scenery, especially to see Cishan Mountain.

“Continue chatting about your acupoints and meridians. Don’t be so stingy. What if I listen? After hearing it, will I suddenly become an earthly immortal?”

After that, Chen Ping’an and Ruan Xiu did their own things and ignored this strange person’s attempts to strike up a conversation.

“Your handwriting isn’t very good. It’s obvious that you haven’t put in the hard work. It’s too flamboyant, like scum floating on the water.”

“Girl, your explanation here isn’t complete enough. The so-called ‘Half the pot is used to cook the Jiangshan’, and ‘Painting a picture without knowing the key acupoints makes the ghosts and gods laugh’ is actually like this…Ah, you’re skipping this acupoint already?”

“Hehehe, girl, why aren’t you explaining where the Tanzhong acupoint is? Is it difficult to point it out to him? Alas, if you’re embarrassed, I can help…Girl, there’s murderous intent in your eyes. Girl, you must have misunderstood. I mean, I’ll point out where the Tanzhong acupoint is on my body. It’s hard for even the gods to find the Tanzhong acupoint on your body, why would I look for trouble… ”

“Eh? Girl, why are you hitting people? Again? Girl, I was wrong!”

“Girl, you also missed the three passes on the back, the Tailbone, the Spine and the Jade Pillow. The ancients said that opening the rear pass is half the work, contracting Gen and opening Qian is the real work. It can be seen that it’s very important…”

In the end, it was the appearance of the Director, Wu Yuan, that helped Chen Ping’an and Ruan Xiu escape from their predicament. The loquacious teenager with a mole between his eyebrows and the silent young official of the Great Li left the blacksmith shop side by side.

Chen Ping’an and Ruan Xiu sat on the edge of the well. Ruan Xiu glanced at the backs of the two and said softly, “The older one is an official. The one who was just with us, I’m not sure. I can’t feel anything unusual. Maybe he’s a young man’s page. Many large families outside have such companions.”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

Ruan Qiong walked over to the well with a straight face, left a sentence, and turned around, “Chen Ping’an, come with me.”

Chen Ping’an got up blankly. Ruan Xiu had said that her father had agreed to lend him money, but he would have to wait about ten days. Could it be that he had gone back on his word?

The girl in green followed behind Chen Ping’an with some guilt.

Ruan Qiong sat on a bamboo chair and had Chen Ping’an sit on the chair that Wu Yuan had sat on before.

Ruan Xiu coughed and smiled. “Dad, these two chairs were made by Chen Ping’an. They’re not bad, are they?”

Ruan Qiong said with a dark face, “I’m talking business with Chen Ping’an, Xiu Xiu, don’t interrupt.”

Chen Ping’an quickly sat up straight. “Master Ruan, go ahead.”

Ruan Qiong took out a handful of silver from his sleeve, about three or four taels worth. “Go to Qilong Lane in the town and buy me a pot of top-quality Peach Blossom Spring wine. Use the remaining change to buy yourself some pastries.”

Ruan Xiu was a little unwilling.

Ruan Qiong pretended to put away the silver. “Then you can watch the fire in the forging room. Finish in an hour.”

Ruan Xiu snatched the money and ran off.

After his daughter had run far away, Ruan Qiong went straight to the point, “Chen Ping’an, do you have three bags of Golden Essence Copper Coins?”

Chen Ping’an’s expression remained the same, and he nodded. “I do.”

Ruan Qiong seemed to be more approving of the boy’s honesty, and his expression improved a little. “There’s no second person in town like you who has three bags of Golden Essence Copper Coins. Even the four surnames and ten clans on Fulujie Taoye Lane, the most is the Song family with two bags, more often they only have one bag. Besides, eight small households in the town each used their treasures to exchange for a bag of Golden Essence Copper Coins. Basically, the valuable old objects in the town have been lost. Now there are only about seven or eight left, and the quality is still decent.”

“There will be more and more outsiders in the town. Of course, you will definitely be safe. The reason why I’m being frank with you is that I hope you make good use of the three bags of Golden Essence Copper Coins in your hand, neither hoarding them until they rot nor spending them casually. The town will get opened up like any other regular Great Li town so your three bags of Golden Essence Copper Coins will be especially conspicuous, and will eventually bring you a lot of unnecessary trouble. I’m afraid of trouble, and then I’ll have to stand up for you, but I, Ruan Qiong, don’t want to be fighting with a bunch of kids every other day. It is embarrassing. So I’ll give you a suggestion. Whether you listen to it or not, you decide after you hear it.”

“Before I give you the suggestion, let me make it clear beforehand that Golden Essence Copper Coins are the most valuable right now, but not everyone can spend them, except for the four surnames. Probably not even the top ten clans, because the Great Li Emperor plans to unseal all sixty-one of the forbidden mountains outside of Píyún Mountain and sell them to the major powers and sects that are on good terms with the Great Li. The price of these sixty-one mountains varies depending on their size. The outside world is flocking to them because the Lízhū Grotto-Heaven array is now broken, reduced to a blessed land on earth, and the spiritual energy has decreased sharply. But compared to ordinary mountains, it is still much higher, not inferior to mountains with orthodox mountain gods sitting in them. Moreover, the Great Li Emperor promised that a mountain and river deity, three mountain gods, and a river god would be conferred in the future. Such a dense concentration of mountain and river gods would make the area within a thousand miles still be prosperous and full of spiritual energy for sixty years to come. So, the ‘buying a mountain’ deal right now is a surefire win.”

Chen Ping’an asked, “If I buy a mountain today and then die tomorrow, what happens?”

That question hit the nail on the head.

Ruan Qiong showed a smile for the first time. “Firstly, as long as you do things honestly in town and be a good person, you definitely won’t die suddenly for no reason. For example, if there’s another mountain-moving ape causing you trouble, now that the town is no longer concerned about breaking or not breaking, what Qi Jingchun was worried about, I don’t need to. What Qi Jingchun wanted to abide by, I don’t need to either. So I can help you deal with it, because it’s the reasonable thing to do. Secondly, the Great Li court’s discounted sale of mountains is to earn good karma outside the Great Li, It is losing money to gain popularity. After agreeing to buy any mountain, even if the buyer dies within three hundred years, or even if there are no descendants to inherit, the Great Li will not take back the mountain without authorization within three hundred years and will let it be abandoned. Finally, I will be the first to get three mountains this time, and the Fengshui will definitely be the best. If you can also get a few mountains later, we can be adjacent to each other. If you are unable to develop the mountain for profit, even if you just rent the mountain to me for three hundred years, you can share the profits every year and sit back and enjoy the benefits. Your descendants will be like that too.”

That was a long-term source of wealth that many aristocratic families dreamed of.

Ruan Qiong didn’t bother to boast, so he didn’t say it.

Chen Ping’an asked curiously, “Master Ruan, what’s the approximate price of those mountains?”

Ruan Qiong said casually, “The smallest mountain, just a lone peak, is named Zhenzhu Mountain by the Great Li court, and the asking price is one Golden Essence Copper Coin, but it must be a New Year’s Coin.”

Chen Ping’an said in surprise, “Only one?”

Ruan Qiong laughed. “It’s such a small place, called a mountain for the sake of it, but it’s not even worthy of the name peak. It’s just a small hill. One New Year’s Coin is not worth it. This is because the Great Li can’t ask for half a Golden Essence Copper Coin.”

Chen Ping’an muttered, “It’s just one copper coin. No matter how small the mountain is, it’s yours for five hundred years, a full three hundred years. It’s worth it no matter how you think about it.”

Ruan Qiong continued, “Medium-sized mountains such as Xuan Li Mountain, Dayan Mountain, and Liandeng Peak are estimated by the Great Li to be worth ten to fifteen Golden Essence Copper Coins. The largest small mountain range and the other two mountains, Kuquan Mountain Range and Xianghuo Mountain, Shenxiu Mountain, all cost twenty-five to thirty Golden Essence Copper Coins. It is still because there is no bidding. In the final analysis, what the Great Li wants to keep is not those bags of gold, but the four surnames and ten clans, and their connections in Dongbaoping Continent. It is hoped that the real backers behind them can come forward and take the initiative to contact the Great Li.”

Chen Ping’an frowned. “Master Ruan, then if I take advantage of this too much, wouldn’t I be in the limelight? Won’t I be hated?”

Ruan Qiong laughed. “You also have a backer, far away in the sky, but right in front of you.”

Chen Ping’an scratched his head and didn’t agree immediately.

Ruan Qiong wasn’t annoyed at the straw-sandaled boy’s unwillingness to appreciate his kindness. Instead, he said with satisfaction, “You are not carried away, which is not bad. After you go back to Nibing Lane, think about it carefully and try to give me an answer tomorrow. Things will change if you wait too long. I’m not bluffing you. That’s the way it is.”

After Chen Ping’an left the blacksmith shop, he didn’t wake up from his shock until he reached the stone arch bridge.

The boy had imagined what his life would be like when he had money.

For example, being able to eat meat buns and candied haws every now and then, having Spring Festival couplets, door gods, and auspicious characters on his own yard door, repairing the ancestral house to look like a house, bringing a pot of good wine and a pack of pastries when paying respects to his parents’ graves, etc.

Chen Ping’an would never have thought that one day he would own one or even several large mountains.