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

Chapter 255 Going to the Immortal Fate Assembly
Pei Zhao, who had finally managed to send a group of people over and was now returning to the Chang'an City passenger transport station, was so exhausted that he was numb.

After making more than a dozen trips a day, his face no longer showed any desire for advancement, only the exhaustion of being a beast of burden.

There was no other way; there was simply not enough manpower. In the entire Chang'an City passenger transport station, only Pei Zhao was in charge of transporting passengers—and the constables at the gate were borrowed from the government office!

As the sun set, Pei Zhao, having finally ended his day of hard work, dragged his weary steps home.

With a creak, the heavy wooden door was pushed open, and the aroma of food wafting from the courtyard invigorated Pei Zhao.

"Ada!"

Pei Xiaoman came running out, shoved herself onto Pei Zhao's lap, looked up at him, and said, "Big Brother! Mother said she wants to go to the Immortal Fate Gathering!"

Pei Zhao looked at Madam Yang, who was coming out to greet him, in astonishment: "Madam, you..."

Madam Yang waved her hand impatiently and said, "It was just a casual remark. Xiaoman is still young and can't be separated from me."

"I can go with my mother!"

Completely unaware of what her parents were talking about, Pei Xiaoman eagerly volunteered.

Madam Yang chuckled and patted Pei Xiaoman's fluffy head: "You're still young!"

An old servant stepped forward at the opportune moment and said, "Master, please have your meal first."

However, Pei Zhao didn't taste the food at all during the meal. After the old servant cleared away the dishes, he gritted his teeth and said, "Xiao Man is under my care and Grandma is looking after her. You can give it a try... If you really make it through, you can use the teleportation array to travel back and forth in the future, and we might not be separated by distance!"

Madam Yang resolutely refused, saying, "I just used the 'immortal medicine' to restore my true qi meridians and greatly increase my cultivation. If I were to abandon martial arts and cultivate immortality now, wouldn't I feel heartbroken?"

Pei Zhao shook his head and sighed, "We've known each other for twenty years, how could I not know you? These are just excuses! Although Xiaoman is young, I feel that she should also walk the path of immortality in the future. Our previous idea of ​​sending her to the Taiyue Sword Sect to learn martial arts is outdated. In today's world, the path of immortality is the true path. Even if in the future, for Xiaoman's sake, you and I, husband and wife, both cultivate the path of immortality, it is far better than me cultivating the path of immortality alone!"

These words were spoken sincerely, which made Madam Yang fall silent.

She did want to attend the Immortal Alliance Gathering, but she was also genuinely worried that her only daughter might be mistreated.

Besides, Pei Zhao is currently in charge of the teleportation station and is extremely busy. If she were to go to the Immortal Fate Conference, she would have to ask him to take care of her and Xiaoman, which she really couldn't bear to do.

With years of affection between them, Pei Zhao could easily see through his wife's thoughts, and quickly pressed on, saying, "Madam, putting everything else aside, just going there to broaden your horizons would be good. Although the Immortal Fate Gathering is said to be a matter of life and death, I've already inquired and found out that as long as you don't fight for it, don't be greedy, and don't do things you can't do, you won't be in any danger!"

"When have I ever been afraid of death?" Madam Yang sighed softly, looking at Pei Xiaoman, whose big eyes were blinking incessantly, like a bewildered kitten, and frowned, "But Xiaoman is still so young..."

Seeing that his wife was really reluctant to leave their daughter, Pei Zhao blurted out a shocking statement: "Otherwise, you can take Xiaoman with you!"

What kind of joke is this?!

Madam Yang scolded angrily, "How old is Xiaoman? What if something happens to her?"

Pei Zhao had only said it casually, but after being refuted, he thought it was more and more feasible and argued, "I have already inquired that the more innocent one's heart is, the less danger one will be in. Xiaoman is always polite and you are looking after her, so she will be fine. Besides, it would be good for her to see the demeanor of immortals as soon as possible and broaden her horizons."

Madam Yang agreed with Pei Zhao's reasoning, but as a loving mother, she couldn't bear to see her daughter in danger, even if there was only a sliver of a chance. She shook her head vigorously and said, "No, no, no, there's still danger no matter what. How can we let Xiaoman go!"

Although Pei Xiaoman couldn't understand what her parents were arguing about, she did understand that there was a place her mother could go but she couldn't. Immediately, her little mouth pouted, and she asked with tears in her eyes, "Mother, why can you go but I can't?"

Madam Yang squatted down, looked Pei Xiaoman in the eye, and patiently replied, "Because Xiaoman is still young!"

Pei Zhao, standing nearby, instinctively interrupted, "Actually, the Immortal Fate Conference specifically stated that there was no age limit..."

Madam Yang glared fiercely at Pei Zhao, then, feeling somewhat guilty, avoided meeting Pei Xiaoman's gaze.

Pei Xiaoman persisted, saying, "Then I can go too! I want to go, I want to go!"

Madam Yang was somewhat helpless. Pei Xiaoman was only six years old and had no concept of death. She couldn't understand at all that there might be danger or that she might die.

After thinking it over, Madam Yang could only persuade Pei Xiaoman in a way that she could understand: "No, you are too young. If you get hurt, it will hurt a lot, just like when you fell last time!"

Pei Xiaoman insisted, "Then I'll be in a lot of pain, and Mother will be in a lot of pain too, right? Mother is in a lot of pain but she still has to go, so I want to go too!"

Madam Yang was completely at a loss and coaxed, "Then if Mother doesn't go, Xiaoman won't go either, okay?"

Pei Xiaoman's stubbornness kicked in, and she shook her head, saying, "No! Mother is going! Xiaoman is going too!"

Pei Zhao chuckled to himself, finding his daughter incredibly adorable, and said, "Go ahead, go ahead! Madam, you can focus on the trial formation. I'll take care of Xiaoman!" Pei Zhao's suggestion did pique Madam Yang's interest.

After all, Pei Zhao is now a true "cultivator" and Xiao Man's father. With him taking care of Xiao Man, I can rest assured.

but……

Madam Yang asked, "You are an official appointed by the imperial court. Can you really attend the Immortal Affinity Conference? Besides, there will probably be a lot of people traveling back and forth using teleportation stations. How will you manage to get away?"

Pei Zhao replied, "Don't worry, I haven't had a day off for several months. I originally planned to save it up to take you guys to the temple fair later, but now I'm thinking, I can use it to participate in the Immortal Destiny Conference!"

After the Celestial Court reformed the welfare benefits of officials and increased their salaries, the system of rest days was also changed to five days on duty followed by two days off.

However, despite this, some positions that are understaffed still require overtime work.

The overtime pay was very generous, so many junior officials not only did not dislike working overtime, but also actively requested to work overtime.

However, in order to prevent officials from slacking off and taking advantage of others, the positions that offer high subsidies for overtime work are mostly those that require guarding and rely on time, such as the watchtower and the prison. Overtime work is mostly night shifts, or like Pei Zhao, the fake stationmaster, who has to work on many consecutive days off because he is in charge of the Chang'an City teleportation station.

Besides, the biggest advantage of working overtime on holidays is that you can accumulate your original holidays and submit them all at once for use. Once approved, you can enjoy up to 30 consecutive days of holidays – such a long time is enough to take a trip to the Southern Chu Kingdom or the Northern Xiao Kingdom!

However, there is no compensation for working overtime on rest days; instead, the daily salary is calculated and paid normally.

Of course, Pei Zhao didn't have a day off for several months in a row, not because he deliberately tried to save up his days off, but because he was really short-handed!

These matters, after all, involved vested interests, and Madam Yang knew more or less about them, but...

"I'm afraid it's hard to find someone to replace you in this position, right? Are you really able to take leave and have a day off?"

Madam Yang looked worried.

Pei Zhao patted his chest and assured him, "Yes, yes, I know a student from Baishi Immortal Dao University. He used to study martial arts under General Shi before taking the imperial examinations and getting into Baishi Immortal Dao University. In fact, he's General Shi's nephew. He recently took the teleportation array usage exam at Baishi Mountain. I'll recommend him to fill in for a few days. Baishi Immortal Dao University will be closed for less than half a month, so it'll definitely be fine!"

After listening, Madam Yang thought about it carefully and found no further oversights. Finally, she nodded and said, "In that case, let's go and try it together, just as you said."

Pei Zhao immediately beamed and said, "That's right! Anyway, it's free!"

In the future, there might be three cultivators leaving from this very courtyard!
For a moment, Pei Zhao felt a surge of joy.

……

Meanwhile, a few hours earlier, Shi Yizhi and the others had just been driven out of the teleportation array. Before they could even react, the teleportation array flashed, and the man in blue who had brought them there disappeared.

The group was left staring at the dusty, muddy ground mixed with melted snow, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Hey, another batch is coming!"

Just as they were lost in thought, a small vendor with a bamboo basket slung over his shoulder scurried over, squinting. He waved a yellow paper in his hand and shouted, "Would you be interested in buying a map? We've drawn the routes from Ye Family Town to White Stone Mountain, Flying Fox County, and Sword Casting Manor! We'll make sure you don't take a single wrong turn!"

"Maps?" Shi Yizhi's eyes widened. "These things can be sold? Isn't that illegal?!"

A map is a very precious thing in ancient times. Many government offices did not even have maps. If they did have one, it would be kept as a treasure!
As for the general public, it's even more impossible for them to have such things. Even if someone were to possess them, it would be a serious crime, a crime that could cost them their head!
"Hey, under the rule of our White Stone Immortal Sect, the rule against buying and selling maps was abolished a long time ago. These things are worthless now. They cost twenty-five coins a piece on the mountain, but I'm just making a small profit by running errands. Thirty coins isn't unreasonable, is it?"

The peddler enthusiastically shoved the yellow paper into Shi Yizhi's hands, saying, "Honorable sir, take a look. Is it worth it? This map is incredibly detailed!"

Shi Yizhi took the yellow paper and examined it carefully. It was indeed very detailed. However, this map was completely different from the maps he had seen at the Shi family's house before. The mountains and rivers were just marked hastily, but the map of Ye Family Town had everything, including general stores, inns, restaurants, cloth shops, pharmacies, blacksmith shops, etc. It was so detailed that even the tea stalls on the street corners were marked, as if they were afraid that people would not be able to find a place to eat and drink.

and……

"How come there are twelve inns alone?"

Jiang Wanli, who was peeking over to look at the map, immediately noticed something was wrong and asked in surprise, "This town doesn't look very big, yet it has twelve inns?"

Gao Wencai glanced over as well and exclaimed in surprise, "The Huiyou Escort Agency has a shop here? What's the background of this Ye Family Town? I've never heard of it before?"

Anderding was also puzzled: "Shouldn't we have been teleported to White Stone Mountain? How did we end up in Ye Family Town?"

(End of this chapter)