Tao Mian dragged his disciple forward to join the crowd.

In front of a dilapidated mansion, blue-robed cultivators were coming and going in pairs, each carrying a large brown wooden box filled with clothes and old books.

A haughty young cultivator stood at the entrance, dressed more finely than the young men doing the moving, suggesting his higher status.

He held a booklet in one hand and a pen in the other, seemingly taking inventory.

Curious, Tao Mian looked around, not understanding the situation, and decided to randomly pick a lucky passerby to inquire about it.

"Excuse me, is the owner of this mansion moving?"

Beside him stood a young woman in a dark purple dress, with willow-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, giving her a somewhat heroic look.

Hearing Tao Mian's low inquiry, she covered her face with her hand and replied in a similar volume.

"No, they're not moving. The old owner of this house lost a duel to an elder from the Tongshan Sect. According to the bet, they have to pay a large sum of money.

Their family is dirt poor, with nothing left. Without money, they have to use their belongings as compensation."

The woman's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

"Ah?" Tao Mian was surprised. He didn't often mingle in the mortal world and didn't understand the rules and customs between these cultivation sects, so he found it a bit excessive at first.

"Just because they lost a duel, there's no need to confiscate everything from their home, right?"

The young woman heard the surprise in his tone and glanced at him curiously.

"Are you from Beilu Prefecture? In Beilu, the Tongshan Sect is the biggest, and their word is law. Who would dare oppose them?"

So, they were the local tyrants.

Seeing Tao Mian still looking confused, the woman pondered.

"Could it be you're from another prefecture?"

Tao Mian immediately adjusted his expression to appear serious.

Not knowing whether the locals were hostile to outsiders, he decided to play it safe and act.

"Who said that? I'm from this prefecture."

"Say a few words in Beilu dialect?"

"…You can't just test me like that."

The woman didn't mind and was instead amused by him.

"Hey, it's fine. You're from another prefecture, so it's okay to chat freely with you. We won't meet again anyway."

"I'm most afraid of people jinxing things like that. You can't speak so definitively."

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The woman waved her hand, not dwelling on the topic.

"By the way, which prefecture are you from? Dongsheng? Xiniu?"

"I'm from Penglai."

"…Penglai?" The woman was surprised. "Are there living people there?"

"Do I look dead to you…"

"Sorry, sorry," the woman laughed. "I've heard from my elders that in Penglai, there's a minor deity every three steps and a great immortal every five. It's so hard to become an immortal in this world. The head of the Tongshan Sect has been struggling for nearly a hundred years without success, and now he can barely walk without his bones falling apart."

"…"

From the way she spoke, it seemed she had some grudge against the Tongshan Sect.

Just moments ago, Tao Mian had been boasting with his disciple, not expecting his immortal status to be so valuable.

He exchanged a glance with Liu Chuan on his left, who drew a line across his lips with his finger.

—I won't say a word.

With his disciple's assurance, Tao Mian turned back to continue his inquiry with the woman.

"What about the owner of this house? Are they just going to let the Tongshan Sect take everything? They should at least leave something."

The woman curled her lip, showing disdain.

"The owner is an old man who couldn't bear the humiliation after losing the duel. He didn't sleep for three days and died."

"…A good mindset determines a cultivator's life."

"But what you said makes sense." The woman suddenly agreed with Tao Mian.

"Which part makes sense?"

"Just the last thing you said."

"?"

The woman turned her head and suddenly shouted at the cultivators moving in and out.

"Leave a bed for me! And a quilt! Or do you want me to sleep on the street or at your sect's gate?"

Tao Mian: ???

The "passerby" he had been chatting with turned out to be the owner of the mansion, likely the old owner's daughter.

By now, some real passersby had recognized the woman's identity.

"Isn't this Old Li's daughter?"

"Li Fengchan? Didn't she run away from home?"

"I heard she eloped."

"Why did she suddenly come back? To avenge Old Li?"

"She had a strained relationship with her father, right? I heard from Zhang San next door that when Old Li kicked her out, he was furious and said he wanted to sever their father-daughter relationship."

"But blood ties can't be severed just like that, can they? Now that her father is dead, she still has to come back for the funeral."

"You're all wrong. What I say is the truth."

Finally, a tall, thin young man joined the gossiping group.

"My grandfather's brother's son's wife's nephew is an odd jobs disciple at the Tongshan Sect. He said Li Fengchan has a marriage contract with the Tongshan Sect's senior brother, Huang Lianyu. A childhood betrothal! Li Fengchan refused to marry back then, and now Brother Huang might not even be interested in her."

"Ah? Li Fengchan definitely wouldn't marry now. Her father was driven to death."

"Who knows, maybe she's thought it through. That's a marriage alliance with the Tongshan Sect! If her father hadn't acted early and arranged the childhood betrothal, there'd be a line of noble ladies wanting to marry Brother Huang by now, and it wouldn't be her turn!"

While the people around gossiped, they didn't notice a blue figure blending in, ears perked up, listening intently without saying a word.

Shen Bozhou walked over helplessly and patted the shoulder of the person in blue.

"Immor… Little Taoist Tao, did you find out anything?"

Outside, Tao Mian didn't allow Shen Bozhou to reveal his identity. He couldn't call him Immortal Master, but Little Taoist Tao was fine.

Taoist Tao wouldn't do; it had to be Little Tao, to make him seem younger.

Interrupted by his disciple, Tao Mian reluctantly left the gossiping crowd and shared the gossip he had heard with his disciple.

"Li Fengchan has a childhood betrothal with the Tongshan Sect's senior brother, Huang Lianyu, but now the Tongshan Sect has driven her father to death. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, such worthless melodrama is rampant! This Taoist truly…"

"Can't listen anymore?"

"Bring on more!"

"…"

Tao Mian was enjoying the spectacle, but he'd have his troubles soon enough.

Li Fengchan was confronting the Tongshan Sect's cultivators.

The arrogant cultivator with his nose in the air finally lowered his head slightly and cupped his hands to Li Fengchan.

Though he performed the gesture, it was half-hearted, looking insolent and infuriating.

"Oh, Senior Sister Li! Long time no see, and you're as charming as ever!"

"Junior Brother Xun," Li Fengchan frowned, "did a chicken claw scratch your throat? You sound so sinister."

"…" Xun San was at a loss for words, his face turning blue and purple.

The key was that Li Fengchan's face showed no intention of insulting him; she was genuinely asking.

Xun San felt even more hurt.

He dropped his fake polite demeanor and stopped pretending.

"Li Fengchan, have you not figured out your situation yet? Your father made a bold bet and lost. What he owes our Tongshan Sect can't be covered by your family's worthless junk."

"So what," Li Fengchan seemed indifferent, "tell me, what else do you want? If it comes to it, you can tear down the walls, dismantle the house, and take the land too."

"…" Xun San was pushed to the edge by her attitude, losing his composure. "The Tongshan Sect wants not only your family's belongings but also you as compensation!"

Li Fengchan's phoenix eyes widened slightly.

"Really? Huang Lianyu isn't married yet? He better hurry up; it's harder to find someone as he gets older."

"You think Brother Huang still wants you?!" Xun San snorted disdainfully. "Seeing that you still have some looks, I might lower myself to become your Dao companion, so you, a fatherless girl, have someone to rely on."

Li Fengchan realized his roundabout intentions and got goosebumps.

She rubbed her arm with one hand.

"Xun San, you don't have to force yourself. I have someone I love."

"Stop making excuses. You just returned to Beilu Prefecture; where would you find someone you love?"

"I brought him back with me, right there."

"Who?"

Li Fengchan pointed to a spot in the crowd, and everyone's eyes followed her finger.

They saw Tao Mian, grinning foolishly at the spectacle, teeth still showing.

Little Tao: …?

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