However, some practitioners, feeling hopeless about their future, come to the secular dynasties to serve the royal family and enjoy the riches and power of royalty.
Su Kangnian was aware of the establishment of the Qingxu Temple branch in Qiantang County and had visited the abbot several times, but was always turned away.
Later, Su Kangnian refused to give up and inquired about Qingxu Temple everywhere. However, the result shocked him.
Qingxu Temple is a first-class power in the world, ranking among the top three in the cultivation world of Song Kingdom. It has many powerful members, but they are not known to the world.
This branch temple in Qiantang must have been built by the disciples of the main temple. If we can curry favor with them, how can we not have a smooth official career?
It's a pity that we can't even see the abbot!
Now, to find a young Taoist priest from the temple displaying remarkable skills right before his eyes, Su Kangnian was overjoyed.
Xu Xian, unaware of his thoughts, glanced at the magistrate with a respectful expression and said, "It seems you know quite a bit!"
Su Kangnian smiled ingratiatingly: "I dare not accept such praise from the Immortal Master!"
Xu Xian, however, knew when to stop while he was ahead, so he waved his hand and said, "Alright, I was just helping my brother-in-law out. You guys continue!"
After saying that, he took a step back and landed beside Li Gongfu.
At this moment, Li Gongfu felt a little dizzy, as if he had just woken up from a dream.
After his brother-in-law displayed his unfathomable martial arts skills, Guo Laosi was so frightened that he dared not utter a sound. Even the county magistrate treated him with utmost respect, bowing and scraping.
"That kid has really made something of himself! Sending him to the Taoist temple back then was definitely the right decision!"
At this moment, Li Gongfu was overwhelmed with emotions!
Regardless of Li Gongfu's changing thoughts, everyone present changed their expressions upon seeing the magistrate's transformation.
Then I thought about the content of their conversation.
Qingxu Temple... Brother-in-law...
Could this person be Xu Hanwen, the Taoist acolyte from the Taoist temple on the outskirts of the county three years ago, who is also the brother-in-law of Constable Li Gongfu?
Although none of them had ever heard of the existence of cultivators, they knew that someone who could command such reverence from the county magistrate, even to the point of bowing and scraping, must be someone of great importance.
Most importantly, they are people we can't afford to offend!
Just as the county magistrate and the county constable were trying to curry favor, someone beat them to it—Guo Laosi, who was also incredibly shrewd and resourceful.
With a "plop!" he knelt down in front of Li Gongfu, waving his hands and slapping himself in the face. Soon, there were two bright red handprints on either side.
As he fanned himself, he cried and said, "Officer Li, you are very magnanimous. Please forgive my past offenses. I was blind to your greatness. Please let me off the hook."
"Officer Guo, what you've done..."
Although Li Gongfu was also a constable in the county, he had never experienced such a scene before, so he looked at his brother-in-law!
Xu Xian smiled slightly at him and said, "Brother-in-law, you can do whatever you want with him, do as you please!"
"Okay then!"
Li Gongfu understood the situation and quickly said, "Officer Guo, there's no need for that. We have no grudges between us. Please rise."
"Thank you, Officer Li. From now on, I will definitely serve Officer Lin wholeheartedly and will never have any other intentions."
Guo Laosi said with a grateful expression, as if he had been reborn and turned over a new leaf.
But only he knows what he's really thinking.
Distracted like this, the county magistrate and the county constable naturally couldn't fawn over Xu Xian anymore. Fortunately, they both knew Xu Xian's identity, and there would be plenty of time in the future.
"Cough cough!"
At this moment, Magistrate Su Kangnian cleared his throat twice and said loudly, "I have summoned you here today to do something important. The notorious pirate Yizhi Mei will be holding a gathering in Binggui tonight. I will lead you to capture the pirate. Whoever kills a pirate will be rewarded with ten taels of silver, and whoever kills the pirate leader will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver!"
Ten taels? Fifty taels?
These words drew gasps from the crowd below. Five taels of silver was enough for a family of four to eat for a year, and they could have three meals a day and meat every two days. It could be considered a comfortable life.
Now, the reward is ten taels for killing one enemy and fifty taels for killing the bandit leader. It seems that this county magistrate has staked his entire fortune on this!
At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "Ten or fifty taels of silver is a lot, but how can we deal with Yizhi Mei so easily? They kill people without hesitation, and we probably don't have enough men to handle them."
"Yes, yes, we can't go. If we get killed, forget about the money, even our wives will go to someone else!"
"Even if you have money, you still need to be alive to spend it!"
The crowd began to shout, and the important county government office was instantly transformed into a noisy and chaotic marketplace.
There were only about twenty official constables in Qiantang County; the rest were temporary workers. If they were determined not to go, there was nothing anyone could do about it.
If we're relying on just those twenty or so official constables, we might as well just wash up and go to bed. What kind of bandits are we going to be able to quell?
"Silence! Silence!"
Magistrate Su shouted, but no one paid him any attention; he continued to yell that he wouldn't go.
"snort!"
Xu Xian, with his sword at his chest, let out a cold snort, and unleashed the aura of a master of the Acquired Realm, enveloping the entire area.
He has achieved mastery of the acquired realm and is just one step away from advancing to the innate realm.
In the world of fantasy and martial arts, they are nothing more than ants.