The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 12 Sit down, take the seat of honor. Tea, serve tea!
The surrounding villagers remained silent, their initial excitement at meeting a master gradually turning into sighs.

With the death of Zhou Dalang, the Zhou family was already half ruined. They then squandered their last remaining fortune in order to send Zhou Dalang off.

They really didn't know how Aunt Zhou was going to raise Xiao Wu.

They wanted to help, but ultimately, they themselves were people who were tightening their belts to make ends meet.

How much help can we really offer?
So, in silence, the villagers all quietly did what they could.

For example, tidying up the messy house, handling Zhou Da's remains, and arranging his burial.

Du Yuan saw all of this.

However, after looking around, Du Yuan felt a little strange.

Was that the well-dressed man from the very beginning?
-
Going back a little bit, it was Du Yuan who summoned Buddhist light to suppress Zhou Dashi.

The man was so shocked that his mouth dropped open.

The child next to him, upon seeing this, immediately thought that this person's mouth could probably fit two or three goose eggs right now.

The man, with his mouth agape, pointed at Du Yuan, excitedly rambling incoherently.

A moment later, the man hurriedly slapped himself, and after barely calming down, he rushed south towards the village.

Qiaoshui Town is divided into north and south parts by a small river.

To the north is where Du Yuan is now. This area is full of poor people, with the most people but the least money and land.

The south was Du Yuan's destination, a place filled with wealthy families, especially the Zhuang family, the richest in Qiaoshui Town, who were well-known local gentry throughout Qing County.

They could almost be considered a prominent family.

Moreover, Master Zhuang had three sons, all of whom were considered by renowned teachers to be promising candidates for the imperial examinations.

Therefore, Old Master Zhuang put a lot of effort into cultivating his three sons, hoping that they could enter officialdom and thus truly join the ranks of prominent families.

Even if it's just a minor post, it's still a prestigious family!
The distinction between social status and family lineage, and the difference between high and low social standing, all depend on this word "望" (wang, meaning prestige/esteem).

Inside the Zhuang family's residence.

Grandpa Zhuang stood with his hands behind his back in the square courtyard, gazing at the blue sky with a slightly melancholy expression.

His eldest and second sons have already gone to Beijing to prepare for the imperial examinations.

Her youngest son was also about to take the provincial examination.

Although many people say that the emperor's opening of the imperial examination system was futile, and that the Nine-Rank System was the true national policy, this statement was made more than a decade ago and is still being made today.

Clearly, the powerful families and rumors could not deter the emperor's determination.

The imperial examination system was the only way for people like themselves to rise to the upper class.

Otherwise, in this peaceful world, where would they find a way to ascend to power?

But dotting the top and bottom is also essential.

Therefore, he was very happy when he first learned that the Zhou family was in trouble, because it meant that he could take over the Zhou family's land without having to wait for a natural disaster.

This remained unchanged until he learned that Zhou Jia Dalang had truly become a zombie.

Because he knew Master Ziyun!
That's a famous expert, what's a zombie who can't even leave the room?
But when he heard that all the masters he had sought out, including Master Ziyun, had fled in terror, he was shocked.

Only then did he belatedly realize that those so-called experts were all bastards who cheated people out of food, drink, money, and sex!

He had once witnessed Master Ziyun's palm strike, which moved the bamboo forest across the mountains.

But now that I think about it, that guy must have hidden something in the bamboo forest beforehand. That's why he fooled me. Now that he's encountered a real zombie, he's naturally been exposed and made a fool of himself.

After figuring out what had happened, the old man from the Zhuang family was so angry he was practically fuming.

Because over the years he has spent several hundred taels of silver on Master Ziyun!
But thinking about these things now is useless. The real problem is how to deal with that zombie.

Moreover, his two children are about to take the imperial examinations. But a zombie has appeared in his hometown. Is this some kind of bad omen?

Will his dealer suffer as a result?

Problems kept piling up.

It's driving him crazy.

Just then, a servant suddenly came to report:

"Master, those newly hired good-for-nothings have been scared away again!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhuang immediately burst into a tirade: "A bunch of beasts! They have no skills whatsoever, yet they dare to accept our offerings. They're scoundrels, utterly scoundrels!"

But soon, another servant came running over and said:
"Master, master, I just heard that another young man has come to the front of town to take on this matter. He's going to the Zhou family to subdue Zhou Da!"

"Here we go again, what good is he anyway!"

Grandpa Zhuang was furious. They were all incompetent, yet they still dared to show up!
But then I heard the servant say:
"Sir, this one might really be different. I took a look from afar and found this young man to be very composed. He might actually be quite capable?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhuang said with some skepticism:

"In that case, let's call him over first. By the way, there's no need to prepare tea or chairs; I'll just ask him here."

The servants immediately made preparations.

But before they could go downstairs, the well-dressed man ran in, wiping his sweat.

"Master, master, something terrible has happened!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhuang's expression changed drastically:

"Could it be that Zhou Da ran away? Daring to come out in broad daylight? Quick, close the gate and bring out the glutinous rice and kerosene!"

"Huh? No, not that one, Zhou Da didn't come out."

Seeing that it wasn't Zhou Da who had run out, Old Master Zhuang's expression turned unfriendly as he said:

"What's that?"

The man stepped forward and pointed behind him, saying:
"A new young gentleman has arrived and claims he can subdue Zhou Da."

"I know that."

Grandpa Zhuang was very impatient.

But immediately the man said excitedly:
"But this guy is really skilled! He made a move with a burst of golden light and subdued Zhou Da!"

"Wow?! You're really skilled!"

Old Master Zhuang was greatly alarmed, and then said to the two servants who had not yet left, who also looked alarmed:

"Quickly, clean the main hall, prepare tea, serve tea! I want to entertain this gentleman in front of the ancestral tablets!"

The servants hurriedly went to do it.

The man couldn't even get a sip of water; he was immediately kicked by Old Master Zhuang, who said:

"Go to the accounting office and withdraw fifty taels of silver as a gift for this gentleman."

Lately, money is needed everywhere, and even wealthy families don't have much savings.

The man had no choice but to nod and leave.

But no sooner had they taken a step than another of their tenants rushed in, looking excited.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, the Living Buddha, the Living Buddha has arrived!"

"A Living Buddha?!"

Master Zhuang looked at him in confusion. Why was the Living Buddha here again?
After glancing at the well-dressed man, the tenant immediately knew that he was talking about Du Yuan.

Therefore, it is added that:

"Grandpa, you don't know, that little living Buddha has boundless power and amazing supernatural abilities. He not only subdued Zhou Da's zombie form, but also used a little magic to bring Zhou Da's soul back from the brink of death."

"Now we've even fulfilled Zhou Da's last wish, allowing him to rest in peace!"

"Oh my God!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhuang immediately kicked the man again, saying:
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!"

The man hurriedly said:
"Alright, I'll go to the accounting office and get fifty taels of silver right away."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhuang flew into a rage and said:

"You dare to say fifty taels? Two hundred taels! Give me two hundred taels of silver, and bring me that Ganoderma lucidum. I want to offer it to the Living Buddha!"

Then, Old Master Zhuang addressed the servants and tenants around him:
"Also, hurry up and clean the room. I might have the honor of inviting the Living Buddha to my farm for a visit. This would be a great thing to receive the Buddha's blessings."

"If anything goes wrong, I won't show any mercy!"

Master Zhuang exuded an imposing aura without being angry, and everyone around him nodded in awe.

(End of this chapter)