I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 174: Xie is in charge, how to obtain faith energy!

Dark clouds covered the moon and the sky was as black as ink.

Xie An walked out of Silang Mansion and saw Lin Yun and his four companions surrounded by a group of Demon-Suppressing Guards outside.

A demon-suppressing guard came up to report: "Master General, these five people claim to be your former subordinates..."

Without waiting for the demon-suppressing guard to finish speaking, Xie An nodded.

The Demon-Suppressing Guard who reported the incident was also a sensible man. He immediately signaled his men to release the man and took the initiative to apologize to Lin Yun and the others.

"Go and cooperate with Officer Zhao to complete the aftermath."

Xie An gave some instructions to the Demon Suppression Guards, then quickly walked over and greeted Lin Yun and the others enthusiastically, "I've kept you waiting for a long time."

However, after seeing the scene just now, no matter how enthusiastic Xie An was, Lin Yun and the others became a little hesitant and cautious in their words, no longer as free and easy as before in the restaurant.

They knew very well that their former leader was no longer just a small-time underworld leader, but had become a fifth-rank official, truly rising to prominence. This was something that these swordsmen in the martial arts world could never have imagined.

Xie An saw it all, but he also knew that this estrangement couldn't be eliminated overnight. Even if the relationship was good, it took some time to adjust. Some people might never adjust in their lifetime.

After some pleasantries, Xie An changed the subject: "Now that the Giant Whale Gang has been destroyed, the Blood Ridge Market is leaderless. You will continue to stay here. Help the Demon Suppression Division to restore order in the market. Show your strengths and perform well. Let the Demon Suppression Division and the market shopkeepers see your abilities.

By the way, that Zhao Chasi's words carry a lot of weight. He's an official, so he needs someone to take over."

After leaving a word, Xie An said goodbye and left.

He has helped wherever he can.

Everyone looked at Xie An's back as he left, their eyes reddened.

Although Xie An did not say anything passionate, the information he gave at the end was enough to show his affection for them.

Wang Xiang wiped away his tears and said, "The boss is so kind to us. I will go to the Demon Suppression Division to take the exam someday and serve the boss."

Zhang Lin sighed deeply, feeling gloomy and lowered his head.

Although he wanted to continue working for Xie An, he was very old and wanted to live a peaceful life for a few days, so he was in a dilemma.

Seeing that Zhang Lin did not express his opinion, Zhou Xing also lowered his head.

Liang Zhi stepped in to smooth things over: "Wang Xiang, don't be impulsive. The boss asked us to behave well because he wants us to take over the Xueling Market. Let's get through this first, and don't let the boss down."

Wang Xiang listened carefully to Liang Zhi's words and lowered his head: "Yes."

Liang Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Lin Yun, "Brother Lin, the Blood Ridge Black Market is the product of more than a decade of hard work by you and Wei Xiangzhu. Your roots are here, so you must perform well. If Zhao Chasi asks, Brother Lin should have no problem getting the status of a clerk.

By then, the Blood Ridge Market will belong directly to the government, not to any martial arts sect. Brother Lin will ensure the long-term prosperity of the Blood Ridge Market."

Lin Yun kept staring at Xie An's receding back, his eyes red.

He couldn't help but recall the scene of him and Xie An saying goodbye to Brother Wei in front of Abao's grave, and the image of Brother Wei riding his horse towards the sun...

In a flash, six or seven years passed.

Xie An always remembered the kindness that Brother Wei had shown him, and now he was giving it back to Lin Yun.

Brother Wei is a man of affection and righteousness.

The same is true for Xie An.

……

Xie An led the horse and slowly walked out of the Xueling Market.

Because the Demon Suppression Bureau had arrived, the streets outside the market were empty and there were no pedestrians.

It started to rain.

At first, it was a drizzle, but soon it turned into a downpour, soaking Xie An's official robes. However, Xie An seemed oblivious and continued to lead his horse forward in the rain.

Xie An didn't care about destroying the Giant Whale Gang.

He was very interested in the dog demon.

I've lived in Wuqiao Town for thirty-eight years and have never seen a demon. The corpses I've seen before were made by corpse refiners, so they couldn't be considered demons.

Where did the dog demon come from?
Could it be the little demon under the command of the five old demons in the depths of Dayin Mountain that the eldest princess mentioned?
But why didn’t you run away before?

A dog demon is comparable to a seventh-level martial artist. It's very scary.

If the princess hadn't upgraded the demon-suppressing room, with Qingwu County's previous configuration, a single dog demon would have been enough to wreak havoc on most of the county. Only Brother Tang could stand a chance against the dog demon.

This time it’s a dog demon, what if a bigger one comes next time?

This put a lot of pressure on Xie An, who had just taken office as a fifth-rank general.

But after thinking about it for a while, he felt relieved.

Daqian wasn't his own home, so why think so much? If the Five Old Demons really did escape, the eldest princess would naturally be there to hold them back, so he could just wait for the opportunity to help.

"Generally speaking, this demonic energy is a good thing. If there were two or three more dog demons like this... my Mingyu Gong might directly reach the nineteenth level. The fusion degree might also be close to 1."

"I wonder what will happen after the longevity level reaches 1. Will it upgrade the first level longevity level to the second level?"

What will the second-level longevity character look like?

Xie An was full of anticipation.

"Wait until Zhao Qing'er and the others have interrogated Huang Silang, and see if they can follow the clues and dig out a few other dog demons or something..." Xie An's eyes became much brighter.

Thinking of this, Xie An jumped on his horse.

drive!
With a light shout, the horse galloped away in the night rain.

When we arrived at Wuqiao Town, it was already late at night.

Wuqiao Town wasn't as bustling as Loi Khotan. Most of the shops along the street had closed, leaving only a few restaurants and gambling houses still open. The gambling houses were doing brisk business, but the restaurants were deserted.

When Xie An passed by the Wu Temple, he was shocked by its scale.

Compared to its dilapidated appearance six or seven years ago, the Wu Temple is now more than twice as large. Even late at night, the lanterns hanging on the door are still lit, and the corridor lights on both sides are also lit.

There is a huge square at the entrance of the ancestral hall. In the center of the square stands a ten-meter-high cubic stone tablet, which is quite magnificent.

Wuqiao Town wasn't considered prosperous, so building such a large ancestral hall would be extremely costly. It must have been a hardship for the villagers.

Moreover, Xie An felt that there was no need to build such a ancestral hall.

However, Xie An was a member of the Wu Temple after all, and seeing that he had a share in such a magnificent temple, he felt a little relieved. He rode his horse slowly towards the stone tablet in the center of the square.

Relying on his extraordinary eyesight, Xie An could clearly see the words engraved on the stone tablet.

There are words engraved on all four sides of the stone tablet.

The west side is engraved with the year the ancestral hall was first built, the year it was renovated, as well as the reasons and process of the renovation, the social background at the time, and the purpose. It is very detailed.

On the north side are engraved the names of the person who initially built the ancestral hall and the person in charge, as well as the person who repaired it and the person in charge.

On the south side, the donation amounts of the most recent renovation were inscribed, listed in descending order of donations. The largest amount went to Li Hongming, five hundred taels!

He is worthy of being the greatest local celebrity at the level of uncle in Wuqiao Town.

Chen Lei donated four hundred and ninety-nine taels.

Xie An finally understood that Chen Lei was richer than Li Hongming, but he could not surpass him, so he donated one or two taels less as a sign of respect.

Later, Li Ru of the Li Mansion donated 400 taels. This was something Xie An had not expected.

Subsequent donors ranged from three to two hundred taels. A dozen or so donated over a hundred taels. Even more donated tens or even a few taels. In total, there were thousands of people on the list.

At the end, Xie An was shocked to find that his two disciples also donated money, not much, only five taels of silver.

Chunlan actually donated money, one or two taels.

Xie An couldn't help but feel a little touched.

In order to build such a large ancestral hall, it can be seen that the 30,000 villagers in Wuqiao Town worked together, tightened their belts and contributed their labor and money.

Perhaps Wuqiao Town is not as prosperous as Shuideng Town, but the villagers here are more simple, united, and pay more attention to ancestral inheritance.

You have to know that, whether in this world or in the past, the construction of ancestral halls was not a government project. It was purely a matter of local villagers raising money and contributing their own efforts. In the past, many villagers went to big cities to work. Regardless of their situation, whenever the village needed to build an ancestral hall, they would take the initiative to raise funds.

The reason behind this is the respect and recognition of ancestors by later generations.

Wuqiao Town has a very strong atmosphere in this regard.

Thinking of this, Xie An couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

At the beginning, Li Hongming and Chen Lei overcame all objections and included the Xie family in the Wu Temple, and it became a major family alongside the Chen and Li families.

Everyone is tightening their belts to donate money, but I, the only child of the Xie family... haven't donated any money yet.

How about going back and making up for it?
Xie An slowly walked around to the east side of the stone tablet and was immediately shocked by the words engraved on it.

The east side faces the sun, representing the hope of the Wu Temple. Carved on it are the surnames of the Wu Temple and representatives of each of these surnames. From top to bottom, the engravings become smaller, with the surnames at the top becoming larger and the font also larger.

It’s a bit like the vision test chart in the previous life.

Xie An thought that the first row would be Chen, Li, and Xie.

result--

There is only one family in the first row: Xie (Xie An)
The Xie family takes the lead and guides hundreds of families in Wuci.

The second row is Li (Li Hongming) and Chen (Chen Lei).

Xie An's pupils widened considerably. He had not expected Li Hongming and Chen Lei to be so thoughtful. Not only did they accept the Xie family, a foreign family, into the Wu Temple, but they also made the Xie family the leader, guiding the hundreds of families in the Wu Temple.

Even the Chen and Li families, which have been passed down for more than two hundred years, are placed behind the Xie family.

It's a great honor.

Money can't buy it.

Especially for an old man like Xie An, who had always wanted to return to his roots, this move was exactly what he wanted, and Xie An was moved.

I just said I would donate some money...

It seems that it is not enough.

The total is four hundred and ninety-nine?
For Xie An, this was a lot of money. However, Xie An thought it was worth spending...at worst, he could just sell another Neijing Pill.

and many more……

Yuhe seems to also have the surname Xie?
I'll ask Yuhe to donate some money and enshrine her in the Wu Temple. It's better than being without a place to stay when you're old.

Xie An and Yuhe are both homeless people. The more homeless they are, the more they want to find a place to settle down and return home.

Just when Xie An was stunned, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching and a familiar voice.

"Hey, this is the Wu Temple stele, it can't be damaged."

Xie An looked back and saw Chen He walking towards him wearing a straw raincoat and holding a lantern. He kindly reminded Xie An that he might destroy the Wu Temple stele.

Xie An was very happy to see his old friend again, but upon closer inspection, he found that Chen He had aged a lot. He even walked with a shaky gait, which made him feel very emotional.

Xie An adjusted his mood, dismounted, and said with a smile, "Brother Chen He, it's me, Xie An."

Chen He raised the lantern and approached Xie An to examine him. He couldn't believe that this young man was the old and frail Master Chao Feng. "Are you really Brother Xie?"

Xie An said, "It was you who took me to the county town to look for antiques and treasures, and we even encountered the bandits from the Giant Whale Gang."

After hearing Xie An's secret, Chen He finally believed it. The frown on his face slowly relaxed and turned into a smile, "It's really Brother Xie!"

He walked forward and hugged Xie An, then said, "Brother Xie, you seem to be getting younger and younger. If you hadn't told me this secret, I wouldn't have dared to recognize you."

Xie An said: "I have made some progress in practicing the health-preserving exercises, and I have become younger."

Chen He muttered to himself: I have been diligently practicing health-preserving exercises over the years, why don’t they have such effects?

Clearing away his doubts, Chen He said happily, "I went to the Li Mansion to see Han Li the day before yesterday. He said you are not dead. My eldest brother and Mr. Li are very excited and want to go look for you."

"Is Mr. Li still in good health?"

Chen He shook his head and sighed, "When we were rebuilding the ancestral hall, Mr. Li was so busy and overworked that he's now fallen ill. The doctor said he might not live for more than two years."

Xie An looked back at the magnificent ancestral halls around him and felt that they were all created with great effort by Li Hongming. "Why is Xie the first name on the stele of the Wu Temple?"

Chen Hedao said, "This was Elder Li's decision, despite all objections. Many villagers had their objections, especially those from the Li and Chen families, who resented being outshined by the Xie family. However, they couldn't resist Elder Li's authority. After the ancestral hall was built, the surrounding area became uneasy. He arranged for the villagers to take turns on night watch, and today happened to be my turn. I just went to see Elder Li, and he was still talking about Brother Xie."

Li Hongming's residence was less than two miles away, so Xie An said, "Brother Chen, please lead the way. I'm going to see Mr. Li."

When I saw Li Hongming again, he was lying on the bed, with his son Li Han helping him take medicine.

Li Hongming was very excited to see Xie An. He forced Li Han to help him up and bowed to Xie An. "Master Xie's safe return is a great joy for our Wuqiao Town. Come and sit down."

Han'er, go make some tea and bring some fruits."

Xie An helped Li Hongming to a seat and gently stroked his back to help him calm down. "There's no need to be so polite, Mr. Li. I've wanted to come visit you for a long time, but I encountered something in Dayin Mountain before and was trapped there for four years. I only got out a while ago."

cough cough cough.

Li Hongming coughed and said, "I know that Master Xie is in trouble. Han Li and He Chunli have come to me for help many times before, but my ability is too low to help. I can only work on the ancestral hall. Now that Master Xie is back, it's good to have him back. The villagers of Wuqiao Town are all looking forward to it. Everyone is counting on Master Xie's return to lead everyone in a ceremony to worship their ancestors."

Xie An felt a little embarrassed by what he said. "I am not a native of Wuqiao Town. It is a great honor for Elder Li to have me accepted into the Wu Temple. Leading everyone in the ancestor worship is the responsibility of Elder Li."

Li Hongming shook his head. "I'm old, and I don't have more than two years left to live. Plus, the Giant Whale Gang is bullying the people in the surrounding area, making their lives miserable. I can do nothing but watch them suffer. You and Chen Lei have to take care of the affairs of Wu Temple. Chen Lei has enough reputation in Wu Temple, but he can't compare to you, Master Xie, outside. You have to take the lead."

After hearing this, Xie An finally understood Mr. Li's good intention of letting Xie take charge.

The Li family was once a prominent family, and they were able to take the lead because Li Hongming had high moral character and lived a long life. Everyone gave him face. However, the Li family had no successor, and when Li Hongming passed away, the younger generation would be unable to carry on the burden.

The matter of Wu Temple can only be handled by Chen Lei and Xie An.

This old man has been working hard for this piece of land.

The Daqian government did not go to the countryside, and the village's order, interpersonal relationships, and conflict resolution all depended on the village elders. Villagers had little sense of belonging to Daqian and placed greater trust in the village elders.

Xie An couldn't bear it, so he said, "Don't worry, Mr. Li, the Giant Whale Gang has been wiped out."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned, their faces full of confusion, and obviously they didn't quite believe it.

Xie An said, "Just now, the Demon Suppression Division wiped out all the members of the Giant Whale Gang. They killed more than 600 bandits. I just came from the Blood Ridge Market."

Chen He asked, "How did Brother Xie know this?"

Xie An stood up straight, brushed the rain off his official robe, and then took out the token to show Li Hongming, "I dare not hide it from you, Mr. Li. I am now the fifth-rank general of the Qingwu Town Demon Bureau. The operation to wipe out the Giant Whale Gang was led by me. Tomorrow morning, the news of the Giant Whale Gang's destruction will spread."

The room suddenly became silent.

Li Hongming took the token and looked at it, then noticed the official robes on Xie An. Finally, he returned the token and pretended to kneel before Xie An. "Thank God, Master Xie from Wuqiao Town has become a fifth-rank official. I, Li Hongming, am honored to meet General Xie."

Xie An hurriedly helped Li Hongming up, "Mr. Li, you can't do that. I'm still a junior after all."

Li Hongming burst into tears and held Xie An's hand tightly. "In this case, this year's end-of-year ancestor worship will have to be led by General Xie. The Wu Temple has been passed down for two or three hundred years, and the thirty thousand villagers here all rely on General Xie."

Feeling Li Hongming's eagerness, Xie An did not refuse. "Since Mr. Li has entrusted me with this, I dare not refuse."

Li Hongming finally breathed a sigh of relief, a rare smile breaking across his face. "Okay, okay. Han'er, Chen He. Go immediately and inform the villagers of General Xie's position, and have him preside over this year's ancestral worship. The villagers will surely agree. This is the last thing I can do for them."

Xie An and Li Hongming continued to exchange a few words, and asked Mr. Li to rest more before leaving.

Xie An led the horse and walked towards Li's mansion in the rain.

"Old Li is almost at the end of his life. It's even a question whether he can make it to the ancestral worship at the end of the year. Birth, old age, sickness, and death—fate is unpredictable..."

If I didn't have a long life, even if I didn't have a stroke, I would probably have followed in Mr. Li's footsteps.

This further strengthened Xie An's belief in pursuing immortality.

He didn't want to be like Mr. Li in the future.

Ok?
Xie An suddenly had an idea: He'd previously killed Li Xiaoting on the guillotine at the Water Lantern Pier and gained 200 Faith Qi. This ancestor worship ceremony was very similar to that one. Would he be able to gain a large wave of Faith Qi?
The last time Li Xiaoting was executed by guillotine, there were only a few hundred onlookers.

Thousands of people attend the annual ancestral worship ceremony at Wu Temple.

Will I be able to harvest thousands of strands of faith energy?
hiss!
Thinking of this, Xie An felt his scalp tingling.

Is this the way to obtain faith energy?
(End of this chapter)