Blessed with Deep Fortune

If it had been constables and yamen runners who had come, Boss Hong might still have had the guts to put up some resistance. But Lu Yang was a different story. Who in Great Xia didn't know Lu Yang? Cultivators knew that while in the Golden Core stage, he had fought Young Cult Master Lu of the Heavenly Court Cult to a draw, while ordinary folk knew him as the protagonist of *The Legend of the Dao Seeking Sect: Lu Yang Chapter*. The Five Great Immortal Sects—what exalted powers they were! Mighty cultivators gathered there like clouds. Rumor had it the immortal sects didn't even bother subdividing the Qi Refinement stage into smaller tiers. Meanwhile, the most powerful old ancestor of their Bamboo Leaf Sect was only at the Nascent Soul stage—unfit even to carry shoes for an immortal sect! Not to mention Lu Yang of the Dao Seeking Sect. He was a peerless prodigy who, at such a young age, had already served as the Acting Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, and was practically guaranteed to become the future sect master. Even a city lord would have to treat Lu Yang with utmost courtesy, to say nothing of a mere Qi Refinement practitioner like him. Meng Jingzhou glanced at the slightly smug Lu Yang, filled with deep regret. He had been a step too slow in announcing his own name just now. Even if he gave his name now, it wouldn't have the same impact as Lu Yang's. The young woman who had stepped out with Boss Hong was also startled by Lu Yang's name. It was actually the legendary Paragon Lu! Compared to Paragon Lu, her sweetheart was nothing at all. Besides, this Paragon Lu was quite handsome. As for the two standing beside Paragon Lu, judging by their positions, they seemed to be of equal standing with him. Both were very handsome, and the monk was especially good-looking—the most handsome of the three. The young woman began to ponder which of the three she should choose. Lu Yang narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Boss Hong, turning yourself in isn't as simple as just surrendering. You also have to give a full and honest confession of everything you've done." "I'll talk! I'll confess everything!" Boss Hong hastily replied. "Where did you get the pendants you've been selling, and how many have you sold?" "I-It was over a month ago. Someone came looking for me, asking me to help sell a batch of pendants. Originally, I wasn't willing, but his cultivation was very high. If I refused, things would have ended terribly for me, so I had no choice but to agree to his demands." "That person had another requirement: he told me I could only sell the pendants to mortals, never to cultivators." Lu Yang frowned. "Who was that person? What did he look like? What was his cultivation level?" "I... I don't know what he was called. He was tall and skinny, like a bamboo pole." "A-And I don't know what his cultivation was either." The three frowned slightly. It seemed the person peddling the pendants harbored some scheme, though they couldn't fathom what his goal was. "Fairy, wake up. Stop cultivating." Lu Yang entered the Mahavira Hall in his spiritual space and gently shook awake the Immortal Fairy, who was practicing a dream-entering spell. "Ah? What is it? Has Girl Yun attacked?" Dazed and groggy, the Immortal Fairy sat up from the lotus pedestal, her eyes half-open. "I ran into something and need to borrow your knowledge." "*Yawn—* What is it?" "Take a look at the pendant in my hand." "Pendant?" Through Lu Yang's vision, the Immortal Fairy looked at the pendant dangling in his hand. "Who forged this thing?" "Is there something wrong with it?" "Nothing wrong with it, it's just that the crafting technique is utter garbage—far inferior to this immortal's Yellow Millet Pillow." Lu Yang: "..." "What about its target? Does it work on both mortals and cultivators?" "It's crafted too crudely, so it can only enter the dreams of mortals. The underlying design is sound, though. If it were refined more delicately, it could enter the dreams of cultivators too." "If I had to point out an issue, it would be that this pendant can record dreams." "Record dreams?" "That means whatever dream is created using the pendant, and whatever effect it has on the dreamer, gets recorded." For a moment, Lu Yang couldn't figure out what the culprit was trying to accomplish. *Forget it, no point overthinking it. Let the yamen deal with it.* "And who are you?" Lu Yang shifted his gaze to the pitiful-looking young woman. "I... I'm his junior sister. I just stopped by on my way to visit him." The young woman was intimidated by Lu Yang's gaze. "Oh? You're twenty years apart in age, visiting him late at night, a lone man and woman sharing a room?" "Y-Yes, that's right." Shi Chan took a step forward and chanted the True Word Incantation. A massive golden Buddhist character imprinted itself on her brow. "Benefactress, please speak the truth." Under the influence of the True Word Incantation, the young woman recounted her true purpose down to the finest detail: "I asked Senior Brother Hong to kill a business rival named Fu Ling..." Lu Yang: "..." Meng Jingzhou: "..." *Why is it Miss Fu Ling again?* Now that everything was clear, there was no need to stay. Lu Yang left Hong Manor and headed into the streets to find the constables on patrol. "Brother Constable, another case over here!" Lu Yang called out. It was the very same constable to whom he had handed over the assassin marauder cultivator the previous night. He hadn't expected them to run into each other again so soon. After Lu Yang explained what had happened at Hong Manor, the constable stared at him as if he had seen a ghost. *Last night you handed over an assassin who failed an attempted murder, and tonight you've caught a gang before they could even attempt one?* The constable almost wondered if Lu Yang was an out-of-town assassin expanding his business here, using the authorities to wipe out the local competition. The constable quickly contacted his superiors and summoned a large group of constables, who escorted everyone in Hong Manor to the yamen for overnight interrogation. The Zhong father and daughter also arrived at the yamen as witnesses and victims. "Master, is the matter resolved?" Zhong Ming asked excitedly. "Indeed. What happened to your esteemed daughter was caused by Kang Wei's use of a dharma artifact. The truth has now come to light; it remains only to see how the yamen handles the matter." "Thank you so much!" How could Zhong Ming not be excited? A problem that had troubled him for an entire week had been solved by the master in a single night. "Then, regarding the donation..." "Five hundred taels of silver." To Zhong Ming, five hundred taels of silver was a mere drop in the bucket. He immediately pulled out a one-thousand-tael banknote from his sleeve. "Master, please accept this token of my appreciation." "It is too much." Shi Chan insisted on taking only five hundred taels. Unable to persuade the master otherwise, Zhong Ming had no choice but to produce a five-hundred-tael banknote and respectfully offer it. With the matter concluded, Shi Chan returned to the inn without sparing Miss Zhong a single glance. "Going to Chunxiang Brothel tonight to temper your state of mind?" Lu Yang chuckled. Accompanying Shi Chan to conduct Buddhist rituals had certainly broadened his horizons. "Not so. Only a single night has passed; this poor monk's lust has not yet reached its peak, so it would not yield the optimal tempering effect. In this poor monk's view, waiting quietly for three days would be best." "Very particular." When the three returned to the inn, they happened to run into the Fu sisters, who had just returned as well. "Oh? Master, you've returned quite late." "The ritual took some time. This poor monk observes that you two benefactresses have not returned early either." Fu Ling smiled so broadly that her eyes narrowed to slits. "We had good luck today. A client we hadn't been able to win over finally agreed to terms. We discussed many details, and by the time I came back to my senses, I realized it had gotten this late." Shi Chan chanted an "Amitābha." "Benefactress Fu Ling is blessed with deep fortune." "Then I shall take your auspicious words to heart, Master! Still, what happened today was truly strange." "I don't know why, but yesterday that client was still demanding all sorts of excessive conditions. Today, he completely changed his tune, saying things like he'd treat it as accumulating merit and good deeds, and wanted to see if what the master said really worked."