I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 11 Cheating
The mountain god transformed into human form and sat on the ground before the blue stone table, one in front of the other, discussing the Dao with the earth god.

On a whim, he began to speak of the methods by which the Lord of Mountains and Rivers regulates the earth's veins. Behind the two gods, amidst a verdant bamboo forest, snakes, tigers, monkeys, and tree spirits appeared and disappeared, all listening attentively to his sermon.

Not far away were those inconspicuous ginseng leaves. The tiger heard this clearly and pressed its claws down on the leaves. Realizing what was happening, its whiskers trembled, and it tiptoed away.

"Mountains are the yang bones, and water is the yin blood. Once the earth's veins are out of balance, mountains will collapse and rivers will dry up, and epidemics will spread..."

The sermon has come to this point.

The old deer mountain god frowned, and suddenly heard a voice calling out in his ears.

The other person spoke calmly and composedly.

"Mountain God of Lumen, please come and meet me."

next moment.

The mountain god of Lumen Mountain has appeared at the Lu family's residence.

Before he could even reach out and calculate, upon seeing that it was the Lu family's courtyard, he instantly understood and was filled with admiration.

The old deer mountain god's white beard trembled.

salute.

"This humble one greets you, sir."

His hair and beard were completely white, his snow-white eyebrows extended past his earlobes, and he was very old. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, yet his expression was serene. He wore a loose crane-feather cloak and cloud-patterned shoes. His clothes were embroidered with pine and cypress trees and wild deer, without a single stitch, as if they were celestial garments.

The old immortals described in ancient books should have this appearance.

In contrast, the old man surrounded by the two boys and Lu Sheng, dressed in a bright blue robe, with a red beaded necklace and a white jade pendant at his waist, exuded an air of worldly extravagance.

The old deer, the mountain god, bowed his head in respect.

"Sir, what brings you to summon this humble deity?"

All the whispers suddenly stopped in an instant, as they witnessed the hermit who called himself Jiang She casually cup his hands and invite the mountain god of Lumen Mountain to come.

They hadn't even realized what was happening.

The next moment, the old mountain god suddenly appeared in the courtyard, with white eyebrows covering his eyes, dressed like an immortal, and addressed himself as a minor god.

His words and actions were exceptionally respectful.

Everyone was shocked; the courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the bubbling sound of the water boiling in the old urn.

The boy couldn't help but keep looking at the old man.

What should we do?

Who would have thought that they were just ordinary wealthy families from a small county?

They had planned this long ago. This family had been wealthy for generations, accumulating considerable wealth. Moreover, both parents had passed away, leaving only an elderly grandmother and a younger sister. Lu Pei was the only male heir of this generation, so even if Lu Sheng did something unusual, no one would investigate.

Who could possibly want that?

But here we met a true immortal!

They dare to bully people.

But they dared not deceive the immortals.

This……

The colorful clouds dispersed easily, the sunlight gradually dimmed, and the glow of the setting sun faded. Every household began to light their lamps, and scattered lights appeared on the houses at the foot of Lumen Mountain. Each family was cooking their evening meal on their stoves, and smoke drifted from every house.

The courtyard was pitch black; no one moved or made a sound.

The aroma of medicine wafted from the medicine stove, and the decoction had been boiled into a bowl. The young apprentice was curled up, guarding the medicine vat, greedily observing the figures in the courtyard.

This evening.

The encounter with immortals and Taoist magic, and the meeting with local mountain gods, was so wondrous and magnificent that the incredible legends of the immortals were imprinted in their hearts, making these mortals' hearts pound. The people in the courtyard stared intently, almost greedily, not wanting to blink, planning to go back and tell their wives and brothers about it, and then invite their relatives and friends to hear it together.

From then on, the tales of the immortals of today will be passed down through generations in Xiangzhou and the land at the foot of Mount Lumen.

"You are too kind, Mountain God."

Jiang She addressed the mountain god.

"The matter that the mountain god asked me to investigate has yielded some results." He pointed to the old man and said, "Lu Sheng's temperament has changed drastically. He sold his land for money because of these three people."

Direction of finger.

The boy was filled with fear and knelt down with a thud.

The previous sense of luck had all turned into unease and fear.

I often walk by the river, how can I not wet my shoes.

What would a deity do with himself?

"Qingyu, why are you kneeling down?" Lu Sheng asked in surprise.

The crowd around, still holding their breath and watching the divine event, saw the boy suddenly kneel down. Everyone immediately understood.

This "immortal master" and the two "attendants" accompanying him.

They were all a bunch of fraudsters who deceived the world and stole fame.

Let alone immortal masters. Not even the unorthodox and heretical sects within the immortal path count.

Lu Sheng was stunned and speechless for a moment. He wasn't completely stupid; the boy's kneeling was like a bucket of cold water poured over his back, instantly bringing him to his senses.

He had been scammed...

Old Deer Mountain God felt a faint power and was helped up by Jiang She.

Then look at the old man in blue, with the three boys beside him.

He said, "So it is the three of you?"

At this moment, the old mountain god's expression became extremely dignified, looking at everyone with indifference, exuding an imposing aura without anger. This was quite different from his demeanor when he had just met Mr. Jiang.

Meeting that kind of gaze.

The old man felt uneasy, as if he had thorns in his back. He swayed and fell to the ground, his confidence vanishing instantly.

Mountain gods and earth deities are all legendary figures.

How could he be involved with that Jiang She in front of him?
His attitude remained respectful.

If he had known this would happen, he would have admitted his mistake earlier, or not bothered with the 150 strings of cash from the Lu family and had asked for it elsewhere. He wouldn't have ended up like this, captured by immortals and mountain gods, with no idea what punishment awaits him...

The old man's face was ashen, and sweat soaked his back.

"...Yes, it was me. I was momentarily blinded by greed. Please forgive me, Mountain God."

Jiang She counted on his fingers.

He said from the side, "You are supposed to live to be forty-seven, but you are only thirty years old now. Why are you dressing like an old man?"

The fake immortal master never expected that the immortal could see through a person's lifespan at a glance. He was first startled when he heard that the lifespan was forty-seven, and then he was even more frightened when the immortal's age was revealed.

He stammered for a long time, not daring not to answer, for fear that the immortal and the mountain god would lose patience.

He said tremblingly, "I...I am thirty, but these days it's more appealing to pretend to be older, and people trust me more. That's why I made a paste with glutinous rice and pretended to have wrinkles...I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."

"I had already planned that once Lu Da started cultivating immortality with us, I would teach him some skills and tricks, which would be a fair reward for him... I know I was wrong to cheat people out of their money, but this time it wasn't entirely cheating him..."

He was terrified, but he still remembered to try to exonerate himself.

The Old Deer Mountain God looked at Jiang She.

Jiang She asked, "What are your names? How many families have you scammed so far?"

The "old man" lay prostrate on the ground, stammering, "My name is Zhang Quan, also known as Zhenmei. I am indeed thirty years old this year. I have deceived five families."

The other two children, their faces deathly pale, suppressed their fear before the gods and deities, and stammered as they offered their prayers:

"My name is Wang Shan, and I am fourteen years old."

“I…I am Song Baike, fifteen years old (by Chinese reckoning).”

Jiang She looked at the three of them, then at Lu Sheng's dazed expression, and asked, "Only five households, yet they are dressed so luxuriously? How many copper coins did each household swindle?"

"Old man" Zhang Zhenmei said, lying on the ground.

"This dress didn't cost much; it was only five strings of cash to have it custom-made at a shop. The white jade was bought from a pawnshop, and this string of beads was... it was made from a basket of rose quartz, a material commonly used for seal carving. The stones only cost one string of cash, and I added fifty coins to have the person carefully select them."

He tried his best to excuse himself, saying that he was just wearing clothes for show and didn't need to spend so much money.

"Stringing them together doesn't cost much; the beads were ground by ourselves..."

Yuan Danqiu listened to his confession, and her doubts were immediately dispelled.

He said the man's clothes looked strange and unusual, unlike what Taoists usually wore, and completely different from the "immortal masters" described in books.

It turns out that he put together the whole outfit himself.

The extent of their fraud was quite ingenious and painstaking.

The fake immortal master, Zhang Zhenmei, with his head down, recounted the amount of money he had swindled, making the guests in the courtyard shudder with fear and glare angrily.

They had accumulated their wealth over most of their lives, yet it wasn't even as much as a single fraudulent sorcerer.

He swindled nearly seven hundred strings of cash from the Lu family alone.

If this person continues to deceive us, the day when we become incredibly wealthy is not far off.

The only saving grace was that this group had only scammed Lu Da, not any of them. Otherwise, if they were in their shoes, they probably would have been swindled out of their fortunes by this person and would have really gone to learn immortality from a swindler.

Once everyone confesses everything, everything will become clear.

Jiang She looked at the Old Deer Mountain God.

That's the whole story.

"The mountain god shall decide how to deal with him."

Mr. Jiang discovered the person, and Mr. Jiang also brought up the deception. Old Deer Mountain God knows what he's doing.

He said, "It was you who discovered this, sir. If it weren't for you, I would have thought it was some kind of evil spirit, and my exorcism was ineffective. It's really laughable."

"Please make the decision, sir."

Jiang She pondered.

(End of this chapter)