They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 100 To untie the bell, one must tie it

Faced with Chen Guangrui's question, Yuan Shoucheng, like a slippery eel, tried to brush it off with a laugh.
"Hehe, Scholar Chen, that's a question... Heavenly secrets are unpredictable, and cannot be revealed. It's not that I don't want to talk about some things, it's just that getting involved in karma is too troublesome, and a slight mishap..."

He exaggeratedly shrank his neck, winked, and lowered his voice even further, almost squeezing it out between his teeth.

"That's a death sentence! Kid, you wouldn't be trying to harm this old Taoist priest like me, would you?"

Chen Guangrui didn't speak, but gave a meaningful glance to the two boys who were demolishing the foundation not far away. Jin Lu had a stern face, but his movements were unusually firm. With one slap, soil and stones flew everywhere, and the foundation that was just beginning to take shape collapsed in an instant.

Yinlu, clutching the bottle, pouted and looked unwilling, but his feet were busy kicking the remaining wood and bricks everywhere, resolutely carrying out the order to "destroy the manor".

Once the village was almost completely destroyed, the two children found many odd jobs nearby and began demolishing it with great enthusiasm.

Although reluctant to leave, Yinlu still directed the people to work.

Yuan Shoucheng followed his gaze, his small eyes darting around. He leaned closer, pointed in the direction of the two boys, and whispered a worried reminder.
“Scholar Chen, look at the way they’re tearing down the house. They’re probably not leaving any way out. Is your method really going to work? If the dirty business in Gao Village doesn’t cause a stir in a couple of days, and Pigsy is still living comfortably, and Old Man Gao doesn’t make a move, won’t those two little devils turn against you? I bet that little silver boy’s face is as stiff as iron!”

Chen Guangrui finally spoke, his tone calm and even, with a hint of unwavering certainty, "Aren't you supposed to be good at divination? Let's see if Gao Taigong will turn against Zhu Ganglie?"

Yuan Shoucheng didn't even bother to calculate it. Instead, he clicked his tongue and said, "It's bound to happen... but not necessarily now. This kind of thing can happen anytime, anywhere. It'll happen in a day, a year, or even ten or eight years. The real show will only come when Pigsy's true colors are revealed little by little, and Old Man Gao can't hold back his anger any longer! If you let them destroy your family's wealth now, and then there's no further movement in Gao Village, how are you going to explain this to those two?"

"Isn't that what we need, Master Yuan, to do a little favor and shorten this period of time a bit?"

Chen Guangrui's lips curled into a very faint smile as he looked at Yuan Shoucheng.

Yuan Shoucheng's chubby face twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything, sensing that something was amiss.

Inside Gao Village. The unease caused by the minor commotion a few days ago had long since dissipated. Old Master Gao, dressed in a brand-new robe, strolled through the newly renovated courtyard with his hands behind his back. Koi carp swayed their tails in the pond, swallows chirped under the eaves, the autumn harvest report from the farm showed promising growth, and the servants were busy yet orderly—a scene of thriving prosperity.

Although the cat demon that suddenly appeared and caused trouble a few days ago was annoying, his own "son-in-law" Zhu Ganglie chased it away with a rake, and afterwards he won praise from the whole village.

This matter, far from being seen as a hidden danger by Gao Taigong, made him feel even more that choosing this capable "son-in-law" to protect the estate was a wise decision, saving him a lot of money on guards! His mood was naturally as cheerful and pleasant as the autumn weather.

Just then, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. When Gao Taigong looked from a distance, he was surprised to find a large crowd gathered at the newly built manor not far away. It seemed as if they were going to demolish the manor.
Just as Old Master Gao was about to call someone to see what was going on, a servant came running over and said urgently,
"Grandpa, the foundation of that new farm next door... I don't know why, it was smashed this morning! Lots of day laborers are demolishing it!"

Grandpa Gao's smile froze, and he frowned. "It's smashed? Who smashed it? What happened?"

"It seems... I heard that a wandering old Taoist priest came, with an air of otherworldly wisdom, and cast a divination in front of that foundation!"

The servant caught his breath and continued, "The old Taoist priest said something like... this place has excellent feng shui, a treasure basin, but it's plagued by two evil spirits, which will surely bring disaster to the area. One has fled, but the other is still lurking here. If it's not eliminated soon, it will become a major threat and bring harm to the village. So he advised the manor owner to stop the construction immediately and demolish the foundation to dissipate the evil energy..."

Grandpa Gao didn't react at first, stroking his beard and pondering, "Two evil spirits? One of the cat demons escaped, what other demons are there..."

He was halfway through his sentence when his slender eyelids suddenly twitched. Another one... could it be...?

The servant cautiously added, "Grandpa, do you think that Taoist priest might be talking about...the son-in-law?"

The ease on Gao Taigong's face vanished instantly, and the slight smugness in his heart was jolted by the words "evil spirit" and "a scourge to the region".

"Nonsense, you believe this person's nonsense?"

Although he scolded him, he was thinking to himself:
Is the Taoist priest referring to Zhu Ganglie?

But Zhu Ganglie clearly… He subconsciously wanted to refute, Zhu Ganglie had just protected the manor! But then the thought popped into his head was that his appetite was truly astonishing… One meal was equivalent to ten or so strong laborers. After protecting the manor and fighting the cat demon that day, the kitchen was so busy that even with extra staff, they couldn't keep up with the demand.

Just as I was feeling troubled, a clear and melodious bell rang out from outside the manor, "Ding-a-ling... ding-a-ling..."

Old Master Gao was startled and hurriedly asked, "Is the bell ringing outside? Is it that fortune-telling Taoist priest we were talking about earlier?"

"Sounds like it, would you like to go and take a look, Grandfather?"

After a slight hesitation, Gao Taigong suppressed the surging suspicion in his heart and said to his servant, "Go and invite that Taoist priest to the mansion. Tell him... I would like to invite him for a cup of tea!"

Before long, an elderly man dressed in a faded but exceptionally clean Taoist robe was led into the flower hall; it was Yuan Shoucheng.

At this moment, his face no longer bore the shrewdness and cunning he displayed when arguing with Chen Guangrui. His hair and beard were meticulously combed, his expression was dignified, and his eyes were half-open, giving him the air of a wise and enlightened sage who had seen through the secrets of heaven and remained untouched by worldly dust.

Old Master Gao rose to greet him, his face beaming with a forced warmth. "It is an honor for our humble abode to have you grace us with your presence, Immortal Master. Please take a seat."

Yuan Shoucheng didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he hadn't heard his polite words. He just concentrated and did some calculations, then suddenly his expression changed slightly. He exclaimed "Oh dear!" and turned to leave, his tone becoming urgent, "Oh no! My mother is about to give birth. I have to rush back. Farewell!"

As soon as he left, Old Master Gao's heart jumped into his throat. He was already full of suspicion, and seeing the Taoist's behavior, he felt even more that the Taoist had seen through his deadly scheme and was unwilling to let him go.
"Immortal Master, please wait! Immortal Master, please wait!" Old Man Gao hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, disregarding all decorum, tightly gripping Yuan Shoucheng's sleeve, his face filled with utmost pleading.

"Why did you leave in such a hurry, Immortal Master? I have some tea and snacks at my manor. Please sit for a moment and enlighten me." As he spoke, Old Master Gao gritted his teeth and gave the steward beside him a wink. The steward was taken aback at first, but seeing the certainty in Old Master Gao's eyes, he walked for a while and then took out some silver.

Yuan Shoucheng seemed to have touched a taboo, waving his hands repeatedly as if to break free.

“It’s not that I’m being disrespectful to you, sir, but your estate… alas! The matter of that evil spirit from a few days ago is still unresolved, and now an even more ferocious entity is lurking and entangled in the shadows, invading your home and suppressing your fortune. This is a very ominous sign. My cultivation is too shallow to interfere without permission, lest I bring trouble upon myself. Sir, you should… let go!”

The more he refused, and the more he pointed out the words "evil spirits" and "secretly entangled," the more certain Gao Taigong became that the old Taoist had truly seen something, and that letting go was definitely not an option.

The words "a very bad omen" were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, completely washing away any smugness he had felt from Zhu Ganglie protecting the manor.

"Since the Immortal Master has seen the crux of the problem at a glance, please have mercy!" Old Master Gao almost pleaded, giving the steward beside him a wink. The steward understood immediately and brought over an exquisite wooden tray with two heavy silver ingots on it.

When Yuan Shoucheng saw the silver, his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and his movements slowed, but his face remained dignified and disdainful of such a thing. He said in a deep voice,
"What are you doing, sir? How can such malevolent energy be neutralized by mere white objects?"

Hmm? White isn't good enough?
"Immortal Master, please see the truth! This is just a small token of my respect for the tea; I beg you, Immortal Master, to save my life!"

Knowing that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, Gao Taigong gritted his teeth and added some silver and a small gold ingot, personally stuffing them into Yuan Shoucheng's hand. They were heavy and weighty.

Yuan Shoucheng weighed the cold food in his hand, his face contorted in struggle for a long time, as if he were enduring immense inner torment.

Finally, he sighed heavily, reluctantly accepted the money, and his voice softened.
“Alas…so be it. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Since you are so sincere, I will make an exception and cast another divination for your estate…alas, for you personally, to show you a way out.”

He sat down again in the flower hall, and took out a smooth tortoise shell and three polished copper coins from his pocket. He closed his eyes, muttered incantations, his voice indistinct, like ancient incantations, full of mystery.

He tossed the copper coins into the tortoise shell and solemnly shook it, making a clattering sound. His expression changed with each shake, sometimes frowning, sometimes sighing, while he muttered something in a serious tone.

"The way of Heaven is to take from what is in excess and give to what is lacking... Good fortune, misfortune, regret, and shame arise from movement..."

After the divination was performed three times in a row, Grandpa Gao and the steward beside him held their breath and dared not utter a sound.

Finally, Yuan Shoucheng slammed the tortoise shell upside down on the table, slammed the three copper coins onto the table with a "thud," and then stared intently at the arrangement of the coins.

He stared for a long time, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. He then calculated with his fingers for a long while before finally exhaling slowly. He looked at Old Master Gao with eyes so sharp they seemed to see right through people.
“Sir, the fortunes of your estate… tsk tsk, let me be frank.”

He picked up a copper coin and tapped it on the table.

"Your initial fortune was exceptionally good, like a spring breeze bringing forth abundant wealth and provisions..."

He picked up another copper coin and tapped it in another spot, saying, "Just like waves rising on a pond, helping you sail! This is an extremely auspicious situation!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Taigong couldn't help but show a smug look on his face, as if his thoughts had been exposed. Indeed, with Zhu Ganglie as their "good son-in-law," things had become much smoother in the village.

However, Yuan Shoucheng abruptly changed the subject, picked up the third copper coin, and pressed it down heavily.
"That's where it's bad! While it helps you rise to prominence, it also attracts the lurking monsters beneath the surface,"

Yuan Shoucheng pointed to the sky, then to his feet, "At first, this thing may only be greedy for the small things in the trough, but over time it will gradually reveal its ferocious nature, its appetite will increase greatly, like a gluttonous beast reborn. If this evil thing is not eliminated, not only will your vast wealth be exhausted, but because it is 'demonic,' it will sooner or later incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of men, and then... there may be a disaster that wipes out your entire family."

These words were like hammer blows to Gao Taigong's heart, especially the phrases "delicate treasures," "a reincarnation of a glutton," "squandering the family fortune," and "the calamity of exterminating the family."

The smugness on his face had vanished, and cold sweat was streaming down his temples.

Zhu Ganglie's enormous mouth, his terrifying appetite, and his monster identity... Yuan Shoucheng ruthlessly tore open these worries and fears, laying them bare before his eyes.

Gao Village has become rich, but if a monster were to squander all its wealth, what if one day it were to suddenly unleash its pig-like nature... He dared not think about it!
But Old Master Gao was, after all, a cunning old fox. Despite his fear, he still harbored a last shred of hope and a tentative attempt. He forced a smile and said...
"What the immortal master said makes sense... but my son-in-law... uh... is quite capable, able to ward off evil spirits..."

Yuan Shoucheng sneered and interrupted him without any politeness.
"Skills? Ha! You're so foolish, sir. Is his skill some kind of mortal martial arts or some kind of demonic magic? If it were truly a good match, why would it hide its origins and act so cowardly? If it were truly an auspicious creature, why would it attract the wrath of that cat demon? Now even an outsider like me can see through the secrets of heaven, which shows that this creature is already showing signs of misfortune and its fate is sealed. If it is not dealt with soon, it will be too late to regret it when its demonic nature is unleashed and it turns on its master!"

He turned and stood up, making another move to leave.

Old Master Gao was horrified by his words, his face turning ashen. The last bit of hope in his heart was completely shattered. The thought of "the demonic nature being unleashed" and "turning against its master," coupled with the other party's resolute departure, left him completely bewildered.

He no longer cared that Zhu Bajie might be somewhere in the manor at that moment. He hurriedly grabbed Yuan Shoucheng again, his voice trembling, "Immortal Master, Immortal Master! Please enlighten me, what... what should I do? How can I get rid of this... this wicked creature?"

Yuan Shoucheng was pulled back, stopped in his tracks, and glanced back at Gao Taigong. His gaze was complex, carrying a hint of pity and a sense of "heavenly secrets cannot be fully revealed." He left behind only seven words, his voice low but resounding.

The one who tied the knot must untie it!

After saying this, he ignored Gao Taigong's attempts to stop him, flicked his whisk, and strode away without looking back, leaving Gao Taigong, who was in a state of utter confusion and whose mind was filled with "the one who tied the bell... the one who tied the bell...", alone in the flower hall, his face pale, trapped in deep fear and struggle.

(End of this chapter)