215: Chapter 211: Moving Away 215: Chapter 211: Moving Away When Chen Hai looked toward him, Taoist Wang also opened his eyes and looked back at Chen Hai.
His expression was indifferent, showing no emotion, as if all the affairs of the world mattered not to him; in his heart, there was only ever his own Tao.
Tao Cultivators, detached from the worldly affairs, valued tranquility and inaction.
Taoist Wang, lacking in real skills, still managed to pull off a bit of an act.
It’s likely he had even hypnotized himself, believing he was one of those rare enlightened beings.
“Young friend, are you the owner of this suite?”
“Looking at the dark aura between your brows, if I’m not mistaken, the formidable entities occupying this villa must have been brought here by you.”
“You may not realize it yet, but you are in grave danger!”
Unflustered and unsurprised, Taoist Wang inspected Chen Hai from head to toe, then sighed long and sadly.
He had just finished speaking when Bai Xiaohang, who was beside Chen Hai, stepped forward and stood next to him.
“A great master?
Come on, let Master Bai see just how great you really are.”
In front of the towering Bai Xiaohang, who was well over six feet tall, the short and skinny Taoist Wang looked like a child.
With a big hand, Bai Xiaohang grabbed his neck and lifted him straight off the ground.
“Let go, let go quickly!”
“I have been cultivating for nearly fifty years, you better treat me with some respect.”
“Otherwise, without my help, the only thing you can do with this courtyard is abandon it.”
…
The previously composed Taoist Wang was now utterly disheveled in a moment.
His feet dangled helplessly, frantically kicking, but unable to even touch the ground, his efforts were entirely futile.
Thinking about kicking Bai Xiaohang?
He dared only entertain such thoughts in his head, not brave enough to turn them into reality.
“Snap…” Perhaps because he struggled too violently.
Various items hidden within his loose Taoist robe began to fall out one by one and hit the ground.
Tomato sauce, magnets, razor blades, a roll of clear string tied at one end to his Peach Wood Sword…
Even two small, bizarrely shaped, and fierce-looking cloth dolls dropped directly from Taoist Wang.
“Taoist Wang, you really do carry quite a few trinkets on you!”
“That spot of deep red on the ground over there—did that come from this stuff?”
With a weird look on his face, Chen Hai picked up the plastic bottle of bright red tomato sauce from the ground and glanced at the nearby ground, chuckling mockingly.
“Alright, Xiaohang, let him down!
This man is a great master, we can’t afford to offend him.”
After teasing Taoist Wang, Chen Hai smiled and instructed Bai Xiaohang again.
“Knowing I’m a great master, you dared to confront me without a second thought?”
“Back when I was in seclusion in the mountains, the number of demons and ghosts that died by my hand, if not a thousand, was at least eight hundred.”
“Now I’m older, and my killing intent isn’t as strong as before.
Considering that you’ve recognized your mistake and corrected it, I won’t hold it against you.”
Annoyed, he glared fiercely at Bai Xiaohang.
Having just found his footing on the ground, Taoist Wang straightened his robe and returned to his calm demeanor.
He shifted his gaze to Chen Hai, who, wearing a peculiar expression, was still examining the bottle of tomato sauce.
“Young friend, it’s not unusual for a Tao Cultivator to carry a bottle of tomato sauce.”
“After all, during the process of fasting, one cannot consume earthly food.”
“My current realm is just short of being able to ‘consume wind and drink dew’, so on regular days, I simply have to rely on a few sips of tomato sauce to stave off hunger.”
With all seriousness, Taoist Wang explained this issue to Chen Hai, revealing a trace of bitterness on his face.
“Is that so?
Living such a frugal life, Taoist Wang, you truly are an exemplar for Tao Cultivators!”
“Regarding these few fierce-looking cloth dolls you carry, what’s that about?
Can you explain that to me?”
Putting down the tomato sauce, with a meaningful expression, Chen Hai pointed to the dolls on the ground and asked again with a smile.
“You may not know, young friend, although Tao Cultivators value purity and few desires, having no children is the greatest regret of my life.”
“These two cloth dolls carry all my familial affection.”
“They may be lifeless, but in my eyes, they are no different from my own children.”
…
Finding someone in the Capital City who could lie as passionately as Taoist Wang would likely be a tall order.
Not far away, Aunt Liu and Butcher Zhang, who were discussing adding more money, had their attention drawn to this scene the moment Chen Hai walked into the villa.
Magnets, tomato sauce, and such…
The heap of sundry items that had come out of Taoist Wang’s possession was clearly visible to them, who were only a few steps away.
“Motherfucker, such a big scammer, daring to fool us, give back the money…”
Among the crowd, Butcher Zhang, who had the worst temper, even ran up to the spot where Taoist Wang spewed the not yet fully solidified pure yang blood, dipped a bit, and tasted it.
The next moment, he didn’t care that Chen Hai, Bai Xiaohang, and others were present, he grabbed his butcher knife and charged straight at Taoist Wang.
“Old Man Li, what have you done?
You were supposed to invite a master, but damned, you brought back a big scammer.”
“Thankfully we were clever.
Hearing that the scammer wanted more money, we kept our wits about us and didn’t actually give him any more.”
“Right, it was you, Old Man Li, who suggested paying the scammer more, wasn’t it?
I’m seriously starting to think you’re in cahoots with him!”
…
Butcher Zhang and Aunt Liu’s husband, Fang, quickly brought Taoist Wang down, punching and kicking him until he cried out for his parents.
As for Aunt Liu, Butcher Zhang’s wife, and his mother-in-law, they grabbed Old Man Li, bombarding him with accusations and reprimands.
These past few days, the bizarre happenings in the courtyard had exhausted and frustrated these families.
In such a situation, a single spark could ignite their rage, causing their resentment to explode completely.
In the blink of an eye, the entire courtyard was in chaos, a complete mess.
This time, Chen Hai did a good deed by exposing Taoist Wang as a fraud, yet he asked for no reward and left quietly, keeping his contributions hidden.
He had come here believing that Taoist Wang had some genuine abilities and considered him a fellow practitioner, eager to learn from him.
Had it not been for Taoist Wang’s careless words—claiming that the presence in the courtyard would cling to Aunt Liu and Butcher Zhang, making it pointless for them to move elsewhere—
Chen Hai might not have intervened, and only soul departed near Taoist Wang to confirm his lack of abilities before leaving outright.
After Chen Hai and his group left, another ten minutes passed.
With a bruised face and his clothes torn to look like a beggar’s, Taoist Wang staggered out of the courtyard in utter disarray.
The next morning, Old Man Li and his family, who had an unpleasant encounter with Aunt Liu and Butcher Zhang’s families and nearly came to blows, started moving out of the courtyard with their belongings.
Aunt Liu and Butcher Zhang’s families didn’t last many days in the courtyard either.
Four days after the Taoist Wang incident, the tenants of the courtyard Chen Hai had purchased were all gone, leaving it completely empty.
Where these people had gone—whether they had temporarily moved in with relatives or rented elsewhere—was not Chen Hai’s concern.
At the first sign of the empty courtyard, Chen Hai, who had received the news, didn’t hesitate to demolish the four dilapidated houses inside.
Of course, he wouldn’t leave the little tricks he had set up in the courtyard.
After cleaning up the paper figures and iron nails, he also neatly used a Danghui Talisman, which he had drawn only a few days ago, in the courtyard.
Danghui Talisman, it cleanses all impurities from the world.
Under the effect of this talisman, even if there were any lingering impurities in the courtyard, they would be instantly eradicated.
This set of houses was actually what people in the Old Capital called a quadrangle courtyard.
The few severely dilapidated houses in the courtyard, once demolished and rebuilt, would certainly not be a quick task.
Of course, these chores were handled by Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong, who oversaw the work.
Chen Hai himself only occasionally visited.
In the living room of the West Mountain Villa, Chen Hai frowned, starting to think about raising funds.
Since the courtyard had already fallen into his hands, and he no longer owed the previous landlord, Wang Meili, the 150,000 yuan, he had promptly settled the debt in the presence of local officials.
The reconstruction of the quadrangle courtyard was intended to be low-key yet luxurious and meaningful, requiring a significant investment.
In this situation, he was really starting to feel that the money he had on hand was not quite sufficient.
“Ring, ring… ring, ring…” The phone beside the living room sofa rang crisply, reaching Chen Hai’s ears.
“Hello, who’s this?”
“Chen Hai, it’s me, Qingqing.
I just returned from Yang City and have some good news.
My parents are no longer opposing our relationship!”
“Really?
Then are you coming over here soon?”
“My mom said we should get engaged first and set our relationship status before the engagement; she won’t allow us to live together.”
…
After chatting with his girlfriend for nearly half an hour, Chen Hai finally hung up the phone.
He naturally had no objections to getting engaged.
Although he temporarily couldn’t live with his girlfriend regularly, it was only a minor regret.
Overall, Ye Qingqing’s call brought him what could really be considered fantastic news.
“An engagement is a major event, and necessary expenses must be met!”
“Qingqing comes from a distinguished family; I can’t let people think I’m living off her!”
“I need to raise funds.
With some time until the winter break, why don’t I skip classes and take a few subordinates to explore Gambling City?”
Frowning deeply, this thought unexpectedly crossed his mind.