Under One Person: Feng Shui Master, I Will Protect the Mountains and Rivers with My Own Body

Yan Que quickly stuffed the wad of banknotes that the village chief tremblingly handed over into his pocket, his movements as practiced as if he had done it a thousand times before.

He held the wings of two still-flapping hens in one hand, picked up a broken bowl from the ground with the other, whistled, and gestured with his chin toward Yan Sen, who had just exorcised the evil spirit from Granny Wang.

"Let's go, son, that's a wrap!"

Amidst the mixed gazes of respect and fear from a group of villagers, the father and son swaggered out of the village entrance.

The villagers wanted to stop them but dared not, and wanted to worship but were afraid of offending the gods. They could only watch helplessly as the two figures, one big and one small, like two victorious roosters, proudly disappeared into the dim mountain road.

Even after walking quite a distance, you can still hear suppressed murmurs behind you.

"A deity, truly a deity descended to earth..."

"That child... how old was he? He caught fire the moment he touched the ground..."

"We should burn more incense at the entrance of our village from now on, so we don't offend the beggars passing by again."

Yan Sen followed closely behind Yan Que, his short legs moving quickly. He rubbed his rumbling stomach, a little dissatisfied: "Dad, are we just leaving like this? We've already given that witch doctor a free exorcism! And she ruined my plan, making me waste so much effort, aren't we going to forgive her?"

"Count? How do you count?" Yan Que shook the hen in his hand without turning his head.

"Even if the evil energy is removed, she's already half-dead. The villagers will handle the rest. We're江湖江湖 (jianghu jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), not judges. We take the money, do the job, and leave without a trace, understand? Besides, if she hadn't broken your trap, how would you have had the chance to try 'Wildfire'? From this perspective, you should thank her for providing you with a real-world training opportunity."

Yan Sen curled his lip, thinking that his father's twisted logic was really something else.

However, he had to admit to himself that the last combo was indeed exhilarating.

Especially when you burn the monster until it's brittle and then smash it with a brick, the feeling is even more exhilarating than unleashing a powerful attack in a game in your past life.

After walking about ten miles of mountain road, it was completely dark. The moon was completely obscured by dark clouds, and it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only the occasional cry of an unknown wild animal could be heard from the forest.

Yan Que was clearly familiar with this environment. He led Yan Sen through many twists and turns until they found a dilapidated mountain god temple.

The temple roof had a large hole, and half of the statue had fallen over, but at least it could still provide shelter from the wind and rain.

"This is it." Yan Que threw the two old hens on the ground and began to skillfully search the temple. Before long, he found some dry firewood in a corner and lit it with a flint.

The firelight dispelled the surrounding darkness and chill.

Yan Que skillfully processed one of the hens, plucking its feathers, gutting it, and cleaning it all in one go.

He placed the chicken on the fire, and soon the oil dripped into the flames, making a sizzling sound, and the enticing aroma of meat began to fill the dilapidated temple.

Yan Sen squatted by the fire, staring longingly at the roast chicken that was gradually turning golden brown, his mouth practically watering.

He felt he had never been this hungry in his entire life.

"What should we do with that chicken?" Yan Sen pointed to another hen trembling in the corner.

"That one?" Yan Que chuckled. "That's for tomorrow's breakfast. Son, remember this from now on: in our line of work, we're all about taking what we can get. If there's money, take money; if there's something, take something. Never be polite. If you're polite, you'll go hungry."

Yan Sen nodded in deep agreement, silently memorizing this survival rule.

The chicken was roasted quickly, with a golden-brown, crispy skin and tender, juicy meat inside.

Yan Que tore off a large chicken leg and handed it to Yan Sen: "Eat up, you did a good job today, this is your reward."

Yan Sen didn't care that it was hot; he grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth. One bite filled his mouth with the aroma of meat, and he was so happy that his eyes narrowed.

While gnawing on a chicken leg, he mumbled, "Dad, in today's round, did I overestimate myself at the end? What if the 'light demon' hadn't been aimed accurately, or the 'ghost wall' hadn't trapped it? I could have really been done for."

Yan Que tore off a piece of chicken breast and chewed it slowly. When he heard his son's question, he unusually put away his slick face and his expression became more serious.

"You're not being arrogant, you know what you're doing." Yan Que looked at his son's little face, which was covered in oil, in the firelight.

"From the very beginning, you never intended to confront it head-on. Throwing the sweet potato was a test, crawling through the millstone was an observation, and setting up that 'dragon trap' wasn't really about trapping it. You just wanted to see how much power it had and whether there was something else behind it."

Yan Sen stopped gnawing on the chicken leg. His father was absolutely right; that was exactly what he was thinking.

"You're a natural-born man. Ruthless and steady." Yan Que took another sip of the cheap liquor he carried with him, smacked his lips, and said, "Your 'Wildfire' setup actually has a flaw. The lightning-struck wood chips you used to ignite the ground fire were scattered too far apart, causing the fire to ignite a beat too late. If that monster had reacted any faster and pounced before you could slam the ground, you'd be in trouble."

"And another thing," Yan Que pointed to Yan Sen's chest.

"Your last-minute brick-hitting was completely unnecessary. That was just venting your anger, not a killing move. The real killing move is silent and stealthy. You burn it until it's half-cooked, trap it in place, and then use 'sound aura' to shatter its core. It will fall apart on its own, without you having to lift a finger. If you jumped like that and it retaliates by grabbing your leg, you'll have nowhere to cry."

Yan Sen nodded repeatedly. Although his father was usually unreliable, when it came to professional matters, every word he said was spot on. This kind of experience couldn't be learned from books.

"However..." Yan Que changed the subject, a familiar smug smile returning to his face, "Overall, for handling the 'Group of Fiends' situation independently for the first time, you've done quite well. Better than your father was at six years old... well, a tiny bit better."

"Nonsense, if you include my past life, I'd be 28 this year," Yan Sen rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to Yan Que's self-praise, and focused on the chicken leg in his hand.

Neither the father nor the son spoke again; only the crackling of the flames and the sounds of gnawing on bones filled the dilapidated temple.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yan Sen felt all the fatigue wash over him, and he leaned against a pillar, wanting to sleep.

Yan Que cleaned up the mess and wrapped the remaining chicken in lotus leaves. He glanced at his sleepy-eyed son, thought for a moment, and then took something out of his pocket.

It was that palm-sized, dark green ancient jade piece taken from the core of the Earthly Fiend Beast.

He took the ancient jade to the firelight and examined it carefully by the flickering flames.