6: Chapter 6 Banditry

The smile on Daoist Xuanli's face froze.

He looked at Chen Fan, as if looking at a stranger.

"Nephew, you... what nonsense are you spouting?"

"The path of martial arts is like rowing a boat against the current; if you do not advance, you retreat. How can you..."

Chen Fan waved his hand, interrupting him.

"Uncle-Master Liu, I am not cut out for this."

His words were calm, without a trace of self-deprecation or frustration.

"I know better than anyone what this body is capable of. Forcing myself to train further would only be self-inflicted suffering."

"My father sent me up the mountain to temper my temperament, not to risk my life."

Daoist Xuanli opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him further.

But when he met Chen Fan's calm eyes, all his words became stuck in his throat.

What kind of look was that?

It was not the arrogance of a playboy, nor the self-abandonment of a loser, but a kind of... calmness that saw through everything.

Daoist Xuanli deflated.

What else could he say?

This Young Master was here for "quiet cultivation," not to apprentice and learn skills.

If he wanted to train, he would support him.

If he didn't want to train, could he really force him?

If this Young Master got unhappy and went back to say a few bad words in front of the Magistrate, he couldn't afford the consequences.

"Sigh, since you have made up your mind, Nephew, then... then so be it."

Daoist Xuanli sighed and placed the snacks from the food box on the table one by one.

"It is just that, these daily lessons..."

"Rest assured." Chen Fan picked up a lotus pastry, "I will still go through the motions so as not to make things difficult for you, Uncle-Master."

Daoist Xuanli was completely speechless.

This Young Master Zhao had everything arranged clearly.

It wasn't that he didn't understand, he just didn't want to understand.

"Then... Nephew, you rest first, I will not disturb you further."

Daoist Xuanli bowed and retreated from the courtyard.

Chen Fan ate the snacks leisurely.

Sweet but not cloying, melting in the mouth.

This is what life should be.

In his past life as a woodcarver, let alone lotus pastries, even eating a piece of malt candy was considered a holiday.

Becoming Zhao Long, although a martial arts failure, meant possessing immense wealth.

With the Substitution Reincarnation System as a safety net, why would he suffer while training?

If he suffered from Qi Deviation while training and killed himself, that would be truly unjust.

He didn't know if he could still reincarnate if he trained himself to death.

When he accidentally gets killed by someone one day, he can just change into a new identity and experience a new life.

There are countless sceneries waiting for him ahead.

Why hang himself on this crooked tree?

Having figured this out, Chen Fan relaxed completely.

He finished the snacks and clapped his hands.

Then, he saw an orange cat in the corner of the wall.

The cat was chubby, lazily basking in the sun, and when it saw Chen Fan looking over, it vigilantly pricked up its ears.

Chen Fan smiled.

He returned to the room, broke off a small piece of dried fish from the food box sent by Xuanli, walked to the corner, and gently placed it down.

The orange cat looked at him hesitantly, then looked at the dried fish on the ground.

In the end, it couldn't resist the temptation, cautiously crept over, grabbed the dried fish, and ran away quickly.

Chen Fan didn't mind.

He returned to the courtyard, leaned on the stone bench, closed his eyes, and began to enjoy this rare leisure.

From then on, Qingyang Taoist Temple had an additional unique scene.

The Young Master Zhao who once treated the classics of the Scripture Pavilion like firewood had completely changed.

He no longer practiced fist techniques frantically, nor did he torment those Outer Sect Disciples.

He slept until late in the morning every day.

After getting up, he would feed the cat, read books, drink tea, and daydream in the courtyard.

Occasionally, when Ming Feng, Mingzheng, and others "inadvertently" passed by, he would perform a soft set of "Stone-Crushing Fist," just to exercise his bones and muscles, and also as an explanation to Xuanli.

Xuanli came to see him several times, each time wanting to say something but stopping, and finally could only sigh and let him be.

Anyway, as long as this plague god didn't cause trouble and stayed quietly until he went down the mountain, it was a piece of Karma.

Ming Feng and Mingzheng, the two young Taoists who had been scared out of their wits, also gradually set their minds at ease.

This Young Master Zhao, apart from giving them a huge show of force on the first day, was unexpectedly easy to serve afterwards.

He didn't hit or scold them, nor did he make any excessive demands.

As long as the food delivered daily was exquisite and tasty, he never complained.

They even felt that this Young Master seemed easier to get along with than those arrogant Inner Sect Senior Brothers in the temple.

Of course, the premise was that you didn't provoke him.

A month passed quietly in this leisurely, and even decadent, time.

The muscle lines on Chen Fan's body became rounded again.

The face that had been tanned by the sun also restored the fairness that a rich Young Master should have.

He looked like the Young Master Zhao who was gilded on the outside but rotten on the inside again.

It was just that occasionally, while teasing the orange cat that had become familiar with him, his calm face would reveal a hint of indifference that did not belong to his age.

This day, the day to go down the mountain arrived.

Daoist Xuanli brought a group of Disciples and sent Chen Fan to the mountain gate.

"Nephew, this time going down the mountain, I hope you will conduct yourself well, and do not fail the painstaking efforts of the Magistrate."

Daoist Xuanli spoke earnestly, like a teacher who truly cared for his Junior.

"Thank you for your instruction, Uncle-Master."

Chen Fan cupped his hands, his attitude polite but not close.

He turned around and walked down the stone steps without looking back.

Zhang San and Li Si had already been waiting at the foot of the mountain, and seeing their Young Master, they hurried to greet him.

"Young Master!"

Chen Fan nodded and got into the spacious carriage.

The carriage started slowly and drove in the direction of Qinghe County.

Daoist Xuanli stood in front of the mountain gate, watching the carriage go, and let out a long breath.

Finally, the great god was sent away.

The carriage was traveling on the mountain road, a bit bumpy.

Chen Fan leaned on the soft cushion, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and watched the scenery receding rapidly outside the window.

The month on the mountain was like an unreal dream.

Now, the dream was over.

He was back in the world that belonged to "Zhao Long."

He wondered if that woman Lin Waner had been doing any better since he left.

And Liu Ruyan and Su Qingyu.

Thinking of those three warm bodies, a trace of heat rose in Chen Fan's body.

Food and sex are human nature.

A life of lying flat naturally cannot do without these embellishments.

The carriage drove out of the mountain road and onto the main road, becoming much smoother.

Just as Chen Fan was drowsy, the carriage suddenly braked sharply and stopped.

"What happened?"

Chen Fan frowned.

"Young Master, in front... it seems something happened in front."

The driver's voice carried a hint of tension.

Chen Fan pushed open the carriage door and walked down.

He saw more than a dozen people sitting or lying scattered on the main road ahead.

They were ragged, all wounded, their faces full of terror and despair.

Several old carts were overturned on the ground, and goods were scattered all over the place, mostly cloth and miscellaneous items.

This looked like a caravan that had just been robbed.

Zhang San and Li Si immediately drew their waist sabers and protected Chen Fan.

"Who goes there!" Zhang San shouted sternly.

The group of people was startled, seeing the attire and Aura of Chen Fan and his party, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader came crawling over.

"Spare us, masters! Spare us!"

He knelt on the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

"We are just small merchants passing by, we don't have a single copper coin left on us!"

"We are not bandits." Chen Fan said indifferently, "What did you encounter?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, looked up, and saw Chen Fan's appearance clearly.

Immediately, he seemed to recognize something, a flash of fear crossed his face, but more of it was the ecstasy of grabbing a straw for his life.

"You... are you Young Master Zhao?"

Chen Fan did not admit it, nor did he deny it.

The middle-aged man took it as his tacit consent and cried out: "Young Master Zhao! Please uphold justice for us!"

"We bought some cloth from the prefecture city and wanted to make a living in Qinghe County, who knew... who knew that in the Black Wind Mountain ahead, we encountered a group of damn bandits!"

"They robbed all our goods and slashed and wounded several of us!"

"Black Wind Mountain?" Chen Fan repeated the name of the place.

"Yes!" The middle-aged man sobbed, "It is that group from Black Wind Mountain! They have become more and more rampant recently, we passersby have no way to survive at all!"

Chen Fan noted the name.

Black Wind Mountain.

Bandits.

He did not ask any more questions and turned back to the carriage.

"Let's go."

His words were without a ripple.

Zhang San and Li Si were stunned.

Just leaving like this?

The group of merchants was also stunned, the hope in their eyes instantly turned into despair.

The middle-aged man scrambled up unwillingly, chasing the carriage and shouting: "Young Master Zhao! Your father is the Magistrate! You cannot stand by and watch us die!"

The carriage did not stop.

The carriage wheels rolled over the main road, kicking up a burst of dust, leaving those cries and pleas far behind.

Inside the carriage.

Zhang San couldn't help but speak: "Young Master, are we just..."

"Otherwise what?" Chen Fan leaned on the cushion and closed his eyes, "Should I go to suppress the bandits, or should I go to give them money?"

Just kidding, with his current strength, should he go to die?

He hadn't even properly accompanied his three wives yet, he couldn't easily die.

Zhang San was speechless.

Yes, what kind of person was their Young Master?

Not bullying these people in the street was already considered him being in a good mood today.

How could he possibly bother with such meddlesome business.

The carriage fell into silence again.

Only the "rumbling" sound of the wheels rolling.

The carriage continued forward.