Volume One, Chapter 11: Requesting Li Hanzhou to Take Action

“This is my father’s invitation.”
Ye Ziying took a small cloth pouch from her waist, then gently swiped her palm over it, and an invitation appeared in her hand.

“A storage pouch?” Li Hanzhou’s eyes lit up.
This device was incredibly convenient, a type of postnatal spiritual treasure that could store items within a spatial space.
Li Hanzhou desired one as well and resolved to gather the materials to craft one himself in the future.

“Very well, since Lord Ye has extended the invitation, I shall respectfully accept,” Li Hanzhou said with a smile as he took the invitation.
After all, Ye had just helped him settle his gambling debt, and it would be improper not to attend.
Besides, Li Hanzhou was curious about why this lord had summoned him; perhaps there might be some benefit to gain.

“Please, elder, get in the carriage,” Ye Yun and Ye Ziying invited Li Hanzhou aboard, and they headed toward the Lord of the City’s mansion.

“I wonder which sect you hail from, elder?” Ye Ziying asked respectfully inside the carriage. “Perhaps you have some connection with our Shangqing Sect’s elders.”
Li Hanzhou was unfamiliar with anyone from the Shangqing Sect but knew it was a prominent sect.

“I come from the Changsheng Temple,” Li Hanzhou answered honestly.
Ye Ziying recalled no such place from memory.
Changsheng Temple was too small, ranking at the bottom among third-tier sects; she had never heard of it.

“You are truly low-key, with such cultivation yet neither showing off nor revealing your sect,” Ye Ziying thought to herself.
“Ah, so you are from Changsheng Temple, it’s an honor,” she said politely.

The carriage soon arrived at the Lord’s mansion.
Li Hanzhou lifted the curtain to look outside; the mansion’s opulence was dazzling. Compared to it, his Changsheng Temple was not even fit to be called a dog’s den.
He vowed to earn money and renovate the temple properly.

“Father, the elder has arrived!” Ye Yun hurriedly called out.
“You’re an adult, yet still so noisy. You’re making the elder laugh!” Ye Qingbei came out, scolding Ye Yun before respectfully bowing to Li Hanzhou. “Lord Ye Qingbei pays his respects to the elder.”

“Lord Ye, you are too courteous,” Li Hanzhou replied, stepping out and sizing up Ye Qingbei. He sensed no formidable aura from him.
To be a city lord in Baiyun City, and thus a regional lord in the Divine Que Kingdom, yet the mansion held no experts.
This was strange.
A city lord with not a single expert in his residence?

No wonder the bloodthirsty aura was so strong earlier.

“Please come in, elder.”
“Someone, bring tea.”
Ye Qingbei warmly welcomed Li Hanzhou.

“Thank you for saving my life. Without the divine talisman you gave me yesterday, I, Ye Qingbei, would have surely perished here,” Ye Qingbei said with a smile.

“No need for thanks,” Li Hanzhou nodded but didn’t inquire further.
He knew that anything threatening a city lord’s life must involve complex matters, and he preferred to stay uninvolved. He merely gave a perfunctory reply and began savoring the tea.

The tea was excellent, much better than what was available at Changsheng Temple.

“I’ve heard that the Taoist sects rarely interfere in Jianghu affairs nowadays,” Ye Qingbei asked seriously. “Even the missions published in the Jianghu are seldom accepted. Is that true?”

“Ah, yes,” Li Hanzhou nodded.
It wasn’t just that Taoist sects rarely intervened; their disciples simply lacked the qualifications.
Other sects could receive commission tasks to earn money, but the Changsheng Temple’s incense offering was almost extinct. Who would pay them to handle matters?

“Elder Li’s purity and detachment from worldly desires, focusing solely on cultivation, is truly admirable,” Ye Qingbei said, clasping his fist.

“Heh,” Li Hanzhou forced a smile, sensing that Ye Qingbei had some matter but was reluctant to speak of it openly, thus wasting time in idle chat.

“The tea is quite good,” Li Hanzhou set down his cup and said, “Thank you, Lord Ye, for your help today. It’s getting late; if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Seeing him about to leave, Ye Qingbei grew anxious.

“Please wait, elder,” Ye Qingbei urged.

“More to discuss?” Li Hanzhou looked at him.

Ye Qingbei gestured for the servants and maids to leave.

“Yun’er, you may step outside,” Ye Qingbei told Ye Yun.

“Ah?”
Ye Yun was taken aback and reluctant but had no choice but to leave upon seeing Ye Qingbei’s stern gaze.
Ye Ziying stayed behind.

“Elder, I have a matter I wish to request your help with,” Ye Qingbei said gravely.

“Please speak. If I can assist, I naturally have no objection,” Li Hanzhou nodded.
But if danger was involved, he would have to decline.

“I know your divine skills are unrivaled and your cultivation profound, so I’d like to ask you to escort someone out of the city,” Ye Qingbei said.

Unrivaled divine skills?
Profound cultivation?
Li Hanzhou was stunned—where had this rumor come from?

“It’s only about an hour’s distance to the city gate. Would Lord Ye need to be so secretive about escorting someone out?” Li Hanzhou smiled. “Besides, your daughter’s cultivation seems quite good; wouldn’t she suffice as an escort?”

“Please don’t joke, elder. My cultivation is nothing compared to yours,” Ye Ziying said with a wry smile.

Ye Qingbei sighed helplessly.
“You may wonder why, as Baiyun City’s lord, I have no experts by my side. Actually, half a year ago, we had several ninth-rank experts and even transcendent-level warriors in the city. But they all perished in a battle six months ago. I thought peace would last, but trouble has returned. Now, Baiyun City has no one capable. I can only beseech you to help.”

“Our Baiyun City has long been targeted. To send someone away unnoticed requires a master like you,” Ye Qingbei said, then stood to bow respectfully to Li Hanzhou.

“Lord Ye greatly overestimates me. I have no such ability,” Li Hanzhou quickly declined.
Joking aside, if your people have all perished and you’re being targeted, the person you need to escort must be extremely dangerous.
With my skills, escorting them would be courting death.
Li Hanzhou firmly refused.

“If you agree, I’m willing to offer twenty thousand taels of silver as a reward,” Ye Ziying interjected.

Li Hanzhou was in debt and wore tattered Taoist robes, so Ye Ziying surmised he must be short of money. Yet such a formidable man wouldn’t be corrupt and was trustworthy.
Still, Ye Ziying was gambling on Li Hanzhou’s willingness to act for money.
Otherwise, Baiyun City could offer nothing else.

“Who exactly needs escorting?” Li Hanzhou’s interest was piqued.
Twenty thousand taels!
That was enough to renovate the Changsheng Temple properly.

Seeing Li Hanzhou relent, Ye Qingbei and Ye Ziying brightened.

“A young man,” Ye Qingbei quickly said. “Just escort him to the pine forest thirty miles outside the city.”

Li Hanzhou pondered, “Did my talisman truly kill that demon beast?”

“Yes,” Ye Ziying replied, puzzled by his question. “The eighth-rank dream demon was instantly reduced to ashes by your talisman, utterly powerless.”

“Alright, I agree,” Li Hanzhou nodded.

“Thank you, elder. When shall we proceed?” Ye Qingbei asked excitedly.

“No rush,” Li Hanzhou said, stretching out his hand and beginning to calculate.
Though his strength was limited, he knew the Taoist arts he learned in his previous life could now be employed. Since his talismans worked, he intended to use special methods to send the person out of the city.
But the timing had to be right.

After a moment of calculation, Li Hanzhou said, “I will escort the person out three days from now.”