Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 213 Aftermath
Hanoi County is dozens of miles away from Baishui Village. Sun Ping's group consisted mostly of the elderly, weak, women and children. It took them more than an hour to reach Zhaozhuang Village. Sun Ping then negotiated with a wealthy family in the village to buy two donkey carts at a high price and also provided some dry food for everyone before they continued on their way.

As we walked, the moon rose high in the sky, and we could vaguely see the town of Hanoi in the distance.

Fortunately, Hanoi County had no city walls, and Xiao Kingdom had no curfew, so in the stillness of the night, the group finally entered the county.

Hanoi County is a large county not far from the Southern Chu Kingdom, and is considered one of the important places for north-south travel. It also has a branch of the Huiyou Escort Agency.

Around noon, Sun Ping had gone there to inquire about the White Dragon Gang and was deeply impressed. So, he led these twenty or so people to Huiyou Escort Agency in a grand procession.

Although the lights were still on at the security escort agency late at night, some people had already gone to bed.

When Sun Ping banged on the door, it startled Old Zhao, the head of the escort agency, who almost thought it was an enemy coming to the door.

When he opened the door, slipping on his shoes, and saw that it was Sun Ping who had come at noon, Manager Zhao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Ping had informed Huiyou Escort Agency beforehand and introduced himself. Huiyou Escort Agency had always dealt in grain with Baishi Immortal Sect. When they encountered disciples of Baishi Immortal Sect, they were treated with the same high honors and farewells as when they encountered members of the Ye family—these were all big spenders!

"Oh, is that Little Immortal Sun?" After exchanging greetings, Manager Zhao noticed the group of women, children, and other children behind Sun Ping and immediately guessed what was going on. However, he still smiled and pushed open the gate, leading everyone into the courtyard while asking, "Little Immortal Sun, why did you bring so many people with you?"

Sun Ping said, "These were all kidnapped by the White Dragon Gang. Tomorrow at dawn, please help them out. If they have somewhere to go, find a way to send them back. If they don't have anywhere to go, help them find a job. If they really can't find a job, they can stay with you for a while. These two donkey carts will be your payment. I plan to buy a courtyard here later, and then I'll have them do some odd jobs, sweep and clean, and provide them with food so they can make a living. Then there's no need to trouble you anymore."

This wasn't something Sun Ping did on a whim.

The incident at Xiantaoyuan made Sun Ping realize that if he simply entrusted his business to others, problems would inevitably arise in the long run.

So he originally planned to buy a courtyard in Hanoi County and spend spirit stones to ask his third senior sister to help him set up a teleportation array. In this way, it would be much more convenient to travel between the two places. At that time, not only the Immortal Peach Garden, but also other industries could be developed.

Although copper coins and gold and silver cannot be used in White Stone Mountain, they are not entirely useless elsewhere. If various spiritual materials are produced outside in the future as spiritual energy recovers, they can be sold back to the sect at low prices, which can be profitable.

Therefore, it would be somewhat reassuring to have these homeless people do things for them – after all, I had saved their lives, and they had seen my methods just now. With both kindness and severity, I would have to use them eventually.

"What you're saying, Little Immortal Sun, is just about twenty people, a few more mouths to feed. There's no need for any compensation!"

Manager Zhao repeatedly refused, insisting that he had no choice but to accept the two donkey carts.

Even if the two donkey carts weren't very valuable, they were still worth several dozen strings of cash, equivalent to half a year's expenses for a family. Of course, Manager Zhao wouldn't dare to take advantage of that.

Sun Ping insisted, "I have no use for these two donkeys. They might be of some use to your escort agency. If you don't need them, you can sell them at the horse market. I don't need them." Sun Ping wasn't just being polite; he genuinely didn't need them!

He originally came from a humble background, and after joining the White Stone Immortal Sect, he was considered the poorest. It was only because the sect used spirit stones that his poverty was not apparent.

But who could blame him for just massacring Baishui Village and pocketing all the wealth accumulated by the White Dragon Gang leader over the years, not even sparing the dozen or so leaders? The gold and silver items alone weighed at least a hundred pounds, making Sun Ping incredibly fat!

So much so that Sun Ping almost lost control in private—no wonder there's a saying that murder and arson bring wealth, and wiping out entire families is indeed a quick way to make money!
Upon hearing Sun Ping's words, Manager Zhao could only stammer in agreement, a look of joy appearing on his face.

The two donkey carts are quite valuable, but they're only enough to support these people for a while, which is a good deal. What's more, it's a chance to get in touch with the "immortals" of the White Stone Immortal Sect, a rare and precious opportunity!
Didn't you see that the female manager of Feihu County in the north, who was originally just a partner, managed to secure the "immortal grain" business from the Baishi Immortal Sect by first establishing a relationship with the White Stone Immortal? This led the old master of Huiyou Escort Agency to directly promote the female manager to the general manager of Baozhou, in charge of five escort agency branches in Baozhou. Even on our side, we now have to rely on that woman's whims!

Just as he was getting excited, Sun Ping said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing. This child said that his uncle is a bodyguard in your escort agency, nicknamed something like 'Big Beard Sun.' Do you know him?"

"Sun... 'Big Beard Sun'!?"

Manager Zhao frowned and recalled, "There seems to be such a person. He seems to travel frequently to Fengzhou and rarely passes through this area. I have only seen him two or three times."

Sun Ping nodded, picked up the boy and brought him to Steward Zhao, saying, "This child is his nephew. Try to contact that person and have him come and pick him up, or you can send him over."

Unexpectedly, the boy shouted, "I'm not going! I want to go to the Taiyue Sword Sect to learn skills!"

Sun Ping ignored the boy and forcefully pushed him into the courtyard before letting out a long sigh and saying, "These people are in your care. I have other matters to attend to and must leave now. I'll come back in a few days!"

Manager Zhao patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Little Immortal Sun, I'll take care of this!"

Seeing that Manager Zhao was so cooperative, Sun Ping was eager to get rid of these hot potatoes as soon as possible, so he turned around and was about to leave.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back to say, "Also, the White Dragon Gang has been wiped out, um... it was their enemies who wiped them out. I just set a fire, you understand?"

Manager Zhao stared wide-eyed, swallowed hard, and then replied with a fawning expression, "Understood, understood! The White Dragon Gang committed numerous evils and oppressed the local people, making at least eighty or a hundred enemies. Who knows who took the opportunity to wipe them out! I understand! Absolutely understand!"

Sun Ping nodded in satisfaction, turned around and took a few steps, each step covering several feet.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Sun Ping's figure disappeared into the thick night. Manager Zhao then wiped the sweat from his brow and beckoned everyone into the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)