I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 17 is not something to be told to outsiders.

The group held their breath, lying on the ground and not daring to raise their heads. After a while, they heard the soft sound of a teacup being placed on the table.

They heard the mysterious and extraordinary immortal speak.

"That's it."

"Besides returning the money, you must repay the amount you swindled, and continue until all the property has been returned to each family, only then will you be considered atone for your crimes. Is this even possible?"

The two young Taoist boys looked distressed and remained silent. Zhang Zhenmei also felt the pinch, but quickly spoke up.

"Yes, yes."

"As for using Taoist magic to deceive people..."

Cold sweat dripped onto the ground as Zhang Zhenmei lay prone, instinctively holding his breath. He awaited orders, his back bowing even lower.

Jiang She paused for a moment.

"He then chanted the Tao here for ten years, enlightening the spirits of birds and beasts, for two hours every day without stopping."

"how?"

Zhang Quan and Zhang Zhenmei knelt on the ground. In that instant, he thought of the words he had said when this gentleman asked his age, and how this gentleman said he would live to be forty-seven.

My heart suddenly clenched.

To receive ordination in Xiangyang and have to recite scriptures for ten years for the birds and beasts of the mountains—no one in the world has ever heard of such a thing; it's simply a waste of time. How much of his life will he have left after ten years?
Think about it this way.

In this world, the beauty of nature, the pleasures of tea and music, all become fleeting in the blink of an eye.

The midday sun shone brightly, and birds sang incessantly in the spring air. Behind him, in the courtyard, several goldfish were kept in a jar, and one could hear them splashing and blowing bubbles. The smell of wine from the recent meal still lingered in the air, and the leftover cups, plates, and bowls were being cleared away by the Lu family's servants, making a soft clinking sound from time to time.

He could hear the guests and servants whispering and murmuring among themselves. Behind them, the constables brought by the magistrate stood at the door, leaning on their swords, shifting their weight from one foot to the other, and muttering to themselves.

Under the gaze of everyone around.

Zhang Zhenmei straightened his back, bowed again, and kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground, saying—

"I am willing to accept this punishment and dare not refuse it."

"We should follow it."

Jiang She looked at the mountain god.

"Then we'll ask the mountain god to oversee them."

The mountain god bowed and said, "Rest assured, sir, I will certainly supervise and investigate, and will not fail in my duty."

Jiang She raised his hand, and the three con artists were helped to their feet by a force. They were somewhat bewildered, but then they realized something.

Their hearts tightened.

Is this the method of immortals?
In this way... Zhang Zhenmei couldn't quite put his finger on it. In order to make his deception more convincing and leave no room for doubt, he still put in the effort to read many Taoist scriptures and recite Xuan Songs.

However, there is no such method or principle among them.

Seeing that things had gone wrong, the magistrate abandoned his cousin-in-law Wang Erlang, squeezed out of the crowd, and took a few quick steps forward.

Magistrate Cheng Zhi already knew how formidable this person was, so he couldn't put on airs. As an official appointed by the imperial court, he also couldn't address the person with a humble title.

So he said...

“The magistrate of Xiangyang County, Cheng Zhi, also known as Cheng Yuanze.”

"The Lu family is a respectable family in my Xiangyang County, and they have always done good deeds. I never expected that they would be tricked by these three people and have a lot of their wealth taken away. If it weren't for you, sir, I'm afraid the Lu family would have had to sell their last few acres of poor land."

He stroked his beard and glanced at the three men.

He added, "These three have fooled the Lu family; who knows how many more households they'll fool. Look at their appearance and their claims of having supernatural powers and skills—they're quite intimidating. Surely many people will believe them!"

"On behalf of the people of Xiangyang, I, Cheng, thank you, sir!"

The county magistrate bowed in greeting.

Jiang She stood up from the table and stepped aside to avoid him.

He said, "Your Excellency is too polite."

"My name is Jiang She. I am just passing through your esteemed place on a trip. I apologize for disturbing you."

He laughed and said, "These people use Taoist magic to deceive people. If they only tricked people out of incense money, that would be one thing, but they even tricked people into selling their possessions. Even if it wasn't me, Jiang, someone else would have dealt with them sooner or later. Isn't that why the magistrate has come?"

Zhang Zhenmei's face turned pale.

The shadows of the trees swayed gently in the wind.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the man in blue in the courtyard, watching him from afar, too afraid to approach, and whispering amongst themselves.

The magistrate pondered the strange disappearance of the group. After careful consideration, he asked, "These nineteen people from the county have been missing for seven days. We've searched everywhere but haven't found a single hair on their heads. I just overheard something in this courtyard; they apparently slept for a long time."

"Is it true?"

Jiang She: "It's true."

County Magistrate Cheng Zhi's eyes widened slightly, and after a few breaths, he spoke again.

"When they were dreaming, I heard Wang Er say that forty years had passed in a dream, and the people and things in it were all as real as they were..." "When they woke up from the dream, they realized that seven days had passed in the world."

Jiang She looked at Magistrate Cheng, who seemed hesitant yet filled with longing and admiration.

I chuckled to myself.

Yes, that's true.

The magistrate was itching to ask again, but there were too many people in the courtyard, and an old man with strange manners was standing to the side. He already knew that this was the mountain god of Lumen Mountain, the master of the mountains and rivers of this place.

Even though the mountain god is of a very high status.

Their demeanor showed great respect for the gentleman.

Cheng Zhi became even more cautious and dared not act rashly.

He said, "I will not bother you any longer today. I will visit you again another day. I hope you will not stop me at the door."

"Of course you'd be welcome."

"The magistrate shall determine the subsequent matters in accordance with the law." Jiang She raised his teacup and took a sip of tea.

This was not the time for conversation. Magistrate Cheng could only watch helplessly as he led his men away.

Before leaving the hospital.

He heard a voice coming from the tea drinker at the table.

"correct."

County Magistrate Cheng Zhi turned back with high hopes.

Then the gentleman leisurely put down his teacup, glanced around at everyone in the courtyard, smiled, and said gently:
"What happened today is not something to be told to outsiders."

……

……

After giving that instruction, Jiang She looked down at his stomach.

The guests and servants who were dreaming had all eaten, and Lu Da and Madam Lu had also eaten quite a bit, but he had not yet eaten.

Come to think of it, the last meal I had was a free meal at a temple.

Walking under the locust tree, Jiang She picked up the bamboo basket and shook the mountain delicacies inside. The tea buds and tender leaves were a bit dry, but that didn't matter. He didn't know what kind of fruit the wild berries were, but they were still edible.

He stared at the dried-up fish, its eyes blank.

The fish were also facing him.

Jiang She sighed and presented it with both hands.

I bent down and gently placed it in front of the ant hole under the tree, watching the insects crawling around below.

The voice was very soft: "Thank you all for taking me in for seven days."

"Thank you for your leniency."

The dust and filth on the dried fish seemed to automatically swirl away when it touched his hand, as if some force was repelling the impurities. From beginning to end, it remained untouched by dust.

Jiang She stood up and looked at Li Bai and the mountain god.

Behind the two were Yuan Danqiu and Meng Haoran, who shamelessly stayed behind.

He smiled.

"Let's go."

"They were full and didn't realize that there were still people who hadn't eaten."

"Mountain God, could you please give me another fish?"

at the same time.

Several dozen feet away, Zhang Zhenmei, the swindler, and his two boys, having been punished, were also dejectedly preparing to leave the Lu family, packing their belongings.

A boy, his head buried in miscellaneous items, was carefully counting the copper coins, reluctant to part with them. Suddenly, he exclaimed in surprise.

"How come there are twenty extra coins?"

The boy next to him glanced at it and said, "Could it be that I remembered it wrong?"

"I count three times every day, how could I be wrong?" the boy said, unconvinced. He carefully put the twenty copper coins into his pocket and continued packing his bundle.

As I flipped through the pages...

"Alas?"

"This umbrella was here before. You said you couldn't find it, but it's right here down there."

The two of them simply squatted down together to pack their things, put them into several stacked baskets, and counted them on the bamboo strips with Qingyu's fingers, somewhat puzzled.

"One of our bamboo baskets is missing. Where did it go?"

(End of this chapter)