Chapter 382: Mortal World

Fang Rui traveled by crane in search of the Yuanzhou Flood Dragon. Along the way, he leisurely enjoyed the sights, using his Divine Technique, Emperor’s Gaze, to scout for talented individuals.

Indeed, he wasn’t on edge, rushing from one task to the next until he was overwhelmed. He was quite good at giving himself breaks.

During this process, he dispersed his five thousand-plus Tribulation Demon Black Eagles, assigning forty to fifty birds to each location and ordering them to recruit their own followers.

By breaking up the whole flock, they scattered like sparks, which kept them from becoming too large a target and also solved their food problem.

…

「One month later.」

「Xijiang Prefecture, Nanzhuo County.」

‘Back then, the Celestial Determined Flood Dragon of Yunzhou was Li Xuantong. Who could the Flood Dragon of Yuanzhou be?’

‘Unfortunately, my karmic connection to this person isn’t strong enough, and they are protected by immense Qi Fortune. The interference with my Divination is too strong; I could only narrow the location down to Xijiang Prefecture.’

‘By now, I’ve investigated nearly every county under the jurisdiction of Xijiang Prefecture. Only Nanzhuo County remains. It’s very likely they are here.’

Over the past few days, Fang Rui had taken on the moniker “Celestial Secret Daoist.” He performed three divinations a day for the public, revealing that Landlord Shi’s three sons were not his biological children and curing Lu the Butcher’s decade-long infertility. His fame skyrocketed.

Some sought him out; others hid from him. Some hoped to have their chronic illnesses cured; others, hating him for revealing their secrets, gnashed their teeth and resorted to underhanded tactics. But those people soon vanished without a trace, and only Fang Rui remained active.

“Sugar-roasted chestnuts from Zhuoxian County! Don’t miss ’em, folks!”

“Get your roasted stone melons here!”

“Candied fruit skewers! Candied fruit skewers!”

…

‘The great drought in the Southwest only began recently, so its impact is still limited. Even so, an economic depression is already setting in.’

Fang Rui was dressed in a simple Daoist robe, without any jade pendants or fragrant sachets. Despite his plain attire, he possessed an otherworldly air that was hard to forget.

He didn’t put on airs; if he saw a snack he liked, he bought some to try, and if he came across an interesting trinket, he wouldn’t hesitate to purchase it.

A short while later, Fang Rui stopped in front of a small stall.

On the stall were pairs of small clay figurines: grandfather-grandson, mother-son, husband-wife, brother-sister… All were endearingly simple and quite adorable.

The stall owner was a small, elderly man. His skin was as dark and rough as old tree bark, and his face was etched with wrinkles so deep they looked as though they’d been carved with a blade.

Beside him were what seemed to be his grandchildren, a boy of eleven or twelve and a girl of five or six. Both were small and thin, their hair a pale, yellowish color from malnutrition.

RUMBLE!

The little girl’s stomach was growling.

Her older brother dug through his pockets, finally managing to find a single soybean. He handed it to his sister. “Here, Xiaoya. Gnaw on this.”

‘Something to gnaw on…’

Watching this, Fang Rui’s gaze softened. He was reminded of the time right after he’d first transmigrated…

“These clay figurines look nice. How much are they?”

“One large coin for a pair,” the old man replied enthusiastically.

Perhaps it was because the sight of them reminded him of people he knew; as Fang Rui looked at the figurines, he seemed to find a hint of familiar faces in their eyes and brows.

“I’ll take them all!”

“You have a kind heart, Daoist! Thank you! I’ll wrap them up for you right away.”

The old man thanked him profusely, his voice filled with gratitude.

In times like these, life was hard, and business for clay figurines was naturally slow. A sale like this meant he could buy grain to survive.

“It’s just business. What’s there to thank me for?”

Fang Rui shook his head, then suddenly frowned and glanced to the side. “Hm?!”

Not far away, a few local thugs were huddled together, whispering.

“Looks like Old Man Sun found himself a fat sheep today!”

“More than ten… almost twenty large coins. That’s not a small sum.”

“In a little while, let’s go ‘borrow’ some from him…”

…

“Hmph!”

Fang Rui’s cold snort boomed like a clap of thunder in the thugs’ ears, causing them to go limp and weak-kneed.

“Have you never heard that deities watch over this Mortal World? You all… had best behave yourselves!”

His voice was resonant and powerful, striking at their very souls.

For a moment, the thugs even found themselves reflecting on whether they were truly so despicable.

But how could people like them ever truly repent? A dog can’t be taught not to eat its own shit.

Of course, while it was true they couldn’t change their nature, it was also true that small-time crooks like them knew when to back down.

“We wouldn’t dare! We wouldn’t dare! Sorry for disturbing you, Daoist. We’ll leave right now…”

The thugs scrambled to their feet with obsequious smiles and scurried away like dogs with their tails between their legs.

They probably wouldn’t dare bully Old Man Sun ever again.

After all, who knew if Fang Rui might take an interest in Old Man Sun again? What a waste it would be to lose their lives over bullying some poor wretch with nothing to his name!

“Thank you, Daoist… Huh? Where did he go?”

When Old Man Sun turned back, Fang Rui was gone. All that remained were some large coins and a skewer of candied fruit.

“What a good man!”

He sighed, then instructed his grandchildren, “We must remember…”

Old Man Sun gave the candied fruit skewer to his grandson, but the young boy passed it to his sister. “You eat it. I don’t like sweets!”

“Go on, brother, you have some too.”

“You’re so silly, little sister!”

The young boy patted his sister’s head. “Mother said that since I’m the big brother, I was born to look after you…”

…

‘I’ve never been some paragon of virtue, out to punish the wicked and promote the good. I help people simply because I feel like it.’

‘To act on a whim without having to endlessly weigh the consequences or worry about the backlash—as long as I don’t cross my own lines. This is the true freedom that cultivation brings!’

“How liberating! How liberating!”

Fang Rui untied the gourd from his waist, took a swig of wine, and walked faster and faster.

Until—

He saw a bustling crowd gathered around something. On a whim, he stopped and squeezed his way closer.

And heard:

“What a fine Treasure Saber! It’s sharp enough to slice a floating hair!” someone exclaimed.

“To think he’s willing to part with such a Treasure Saber… Selling it to pay for his mother’s treatment. Now that’s a true man!” another person admired.