Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

Chapter 124 The Zhu Family's Request (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After everyone was seated and exchanged pleasantries for a while, Zhu clapped his hands lightly again.

In an instant, the sound of string and wind instruments filled the air, and a group of beautiful maids dressed in thin gauze slowly entered the hall.

The banquet has officially begun!

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the revelry, Zhu Lai and Zhu Zai exchanged a glance, and then Zhu Ran waved her hand, signaling all the maids and servants in the hall to leave.

In an instant, only Zhao Xian and his two brothers, the Zhu brothers, and two guests remained in the hall.

"Lord Zhu, what brings you here today, Bozhang? What brings you here?"

Seeing this, Zhao Xian put down his wine cup, looked up at Zhu Lai in the head seat, and asked with a calm smile.

"To be honest, the reason I invited Bozhang here is that I have a favor to ask!"

Seeing Zhao Xian's bluntness, Zhu Lai's expression remained unchanged, and she immediately smiled and said.

"Great Zhu Jun, the truth is here!"

"Bo Zhang, although my family is known for its scholarly traditions, we also engage in some commercial activities to support our clansmen." After a moment of contemplation, Zhu Lai sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, even with the utmost caution, there is always a slip-up!"

"Our caravan was ambushed by bandits a few days ago at the foot of Duiying Mountain, on the border of Rongtai County and Ronghuai County. All the goods and dozens of people in the caravan were robbed by the bandits!"

"Is this really true?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately showed a look of surprise, then solemnly said, "Lord Zhu must immediately send a message to the county government, requesting the county magistrate to wipe out the bandits!"

"This~"

Upon hearing Zhao Xian's words, Zhu Lai's expression froze, and he hesitated.

Seeing this, Zhao Xian understood that the goods being sold by this caravan were no ordinary goods and could not be known to the county.

"Mr. Zhao, you may not know this, but the goods being transported on this cart are spirit rice, and the Yunlan Sect has decreed that spirit rice must not be bought or sold privately!"

Zhu Lai gave a wry smile and spoke directly.

"Alas! It's all my fault. If I hadn't been greedy and allowed the caravan to take a shortcut, we wouldn't have met with this disaster!"

Zhu Zai, who was standing to the side, also sighed at this moment.

"Spirit rice?"

Zhao Xian hesitated for a moment, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhu Ran and Zhu Lai.

Spirit rice cannot be bought or sold privately. Yunlan Sect does have this prohibition, but after hundreds of years, it is now just a prohibition on paper.

Before that, Zhao Xian had purchased Lingmi rice at the local market on several occasions.

Those selling spirit rice were all ordinary vendors.

The Zhu family's buying and selling of spirit rice was not considered a big deal by Zhao Xian, a minor official in the countryside, let alone by a county magistrate.

"There must be more to this than meets the eye!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Xian looked at Zhu Lai, gave a bitter smile, and said, "If the bandits dare to attack a caravan of only a few dozen people, there must be over a hundred of them. How could a mere village official like Zhao Xian possibly handle such a situation!"

Upon hearing Zhao Xian's polite refusal, Zhu Zai's expression turned anxious, and he said urgently, "We have all heard that Lord Zhao led his men to victory at the Battle of Dajingkou, defeating over a hundred bandits!"

"This matter urgently requires Zhao Jun's assistance!"

"In the Battle of Dajingkou, most of the bandits died in infighting; we merely defended ourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately explained with a wry smile.

Zhu Ran tried to persuade him a few more times, but Zhao Xian still refused to agree to the matter.

Seeing this, Zhu Lai could only cough lightly to interrupt Zhu Zai's words, then looked at Zhao Xian and said solemnly, "Twenty-four carts of spirit rice, twenty of which are loaded with crescent-shaped rice, and the remaining four are loaded with jade pearl rice!"

"Among them, a full four thousand catties of Yuzhu rice!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian exclaimed in surprise, his face filled with shock!

"Four thousand catties of Jade Pearl Rice, that's worth over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!" Zhao Xian muttered to himself, then looked at Zhu Lai, "Zhao Xian is blind; I've been in Shahe Township for several months, and I never realized the Zhu family's fortune was so vast!"

"Bo Zhang is joking!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Lai immediately waved his hands and said with a wry smile, "My family's caravan is actually the Shahe Township caravan, which was built with funds raised by wealthy households in the township."

"My family only accounts for about 30% of it!"

"This is why we dare not seek assistance from the county government. If other families find out about this, we fear we will be in trouble!" With that, Zhu Lai stood up and bowed deeply to Zhao Xian. "We beg you, Bozhang, to lend a helping hand!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian sighed and fell into deep thought.

Zhao Xian had also heard that bandits roamed Mount Duiying.

However, the strength of this band of bandits was unknown, but it seemed that there were at least a hundred of them.

After all, the caravan of dozens of people included quite a few guards, and with their generous treatment, their strength was certainly considerable.

This band of bandits is truly formidable, capable of defeating the caravan's guards and capturing all the caravan members!

"Lord Zhu, Bo Zhang has thought this through carefully, but I am still powerless to help!"

After a moment of silence, Zhao Xian returned Zhu Lai's greeting and sighed.

It wasn't that Zhao Xian intended to manipulate Zhu Lai; he was simply powerless to do anything about it.

With no soldiers or generals under his command, how can he possibly wipe out the mountain bandits?

Moreover, in Zhao Xian's view, that band of mountain bandits had probably already broken up into smaller groups and disappeared into the vast wilderness.

"Bozhang, alas!"

With a long sigh, Zhu Lai had no choice but to get up and sit down, a look of despair on her face.

Twenty thousand catties of crescent-shaped rice and four thousand catties of jade pearl rice, worth a full sixteen thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Let alone the Zhu family, even the Yan family of Wohu Township would probably have difficulty gathering enough in such a hurry!

Seeing the despair on Zhu Lai's face, Zhao Xian suddenly had a flash of inspiration and immediately whispered, "Why don't you go and visit Lord Chen of Wohu Township, Lord Zhu?"

"Mr. Chen comes from a prominent family in the county; perhaps he has a solution!"

"Chen Jun~"

After a moment of contemplation, a glimmer of light gradually gathered in Zhu Lai's eyes, and a look of excitement appeared on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Chen is resourceful and intelligent; he must have a good plan!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Zhao!"

Excitedly, Zhu Laifu came to his senses, looked at Zhao Xian, and said gratefully.

"It's alright. If Lord Chen has a good plan, Zhao Xian will come to your aid!" Zhao Xian smiled, waved his hand, and then said seriously, "Before this matter is resolved, Zhao Xian will absolutely not divulge it!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ran also bowed respectfully from the side.

The night was deep, the bright moon hung high, and the banquet ended. Zhu Zai led several guests to see Zhao Xian and his two companions out the gate.

After watching Zhao Xian and the other two leave, Zhu Zai hurried back to his residence.

"Brother, should we really tell Chen Yuancheng what Zhao Xian said?"

Zhu Ran hurriedly returned to the main hall and saw Zhu Lai sitting in the main seat. She immediately asked in a solemn voice.

"Otherwise what?" Julai retorted, giving a bitter laugh. "What other way out do we have?"

"However, if Chen Yuancheng discovers even the slightest clue about this matter, then disaster will truly befall us!"

With no one else around, Zhu immediately spoke in a low voice.

"Heh~"

With a soft laugh, Zhu Lai slowly rose and walked towards the back of the hall.

Seeing his elder brother leave, Zhu Zai gave a bitter smile, wondering how he had managed to provoke such a being!

Meanwhile, Zhao Xian and the others had already returned to their home in Shahe Township.

After telling Zhao Hong and Huang Zhong to go and rest, Zhao Xian sat alone in the main hall, pondering what Zhu Lai had said that day.

"Twenty-four cartloads of spirit rice, more than 20,000 catties, especially the 4,000 catties of jade pearl rice, which is far beyond what the Zhu family could possibly purchase!"

"You should know that even with Chen Yuancheng's current status and cultivation level, he only receives three catties of Jade Pearl Rice per month within the Chen clan!"

"And the entire Chen clan's annual production of Jade Pearl Rice is only five thousand catties!"

"It will never be put up for sale!"

"These four thousand catties of jade pearl rice were definitely not purchased by the Zhu family!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Xian couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension.

"Four thousand catties of Jade Pearl Rice—who on earth has such a huge appetite!"

After returning from the Zhu family that day, Zhao Xian stayed in the country house.

Every day, one hones their swordsmanship and archery skills. With the help of an internal cheat system, every bit of progress is visible, naturally immersing one in the joy of cultivation.

"Bang!"

An arrow traversed over a hundred paces and struck the bullseye directly. The arrow fletched violently, causing the target to sway slightly as well.

"call!"

With a long sigh, Zhao Xian put away the Thunder Pattern Gold Thread Bow in his hand, and Mu Chun immediately handed him a piece of linen.

Zhao Xian took the burlap and wiped the sweat from his head.

"Zhao Jun's archery skills are probably not far from reaching the level of hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces!"

After glancing at the target in the distance, Mu Chun immediately smiled and said.

"Haha, it's not that simple. It's just that I've gained a little more strength!"

As he humbly remarked, a glint of golden light appeared in Zhao Xian's eyes, and a golden light screen slowly appeared before him.

Owner of the cauldron: Zhao Xian

[Qi Yun: Thick White]

[Spiritual Root: Fire Root (丙中火)]

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 6]

[Lucky Golden Pearl: 0]

[Skills]: Six Yang Techniques (Mastery: 9918/100000), Basic Archery (Mastery:

31167/100000), Pine Crane Nourishing Yuan Fist (Mastery: 2767/100000), Wind Chasing Spirit Slaying Blade (Proficiency:

8893/10000)

More than half a year has passed, and through daily, unwavering practice, the Pine Crane Nourishing Essence Fist has reached a high level of mastery.

As his boxing skills reached a high level, his martial arts cultivation gradually surpassed the skin-refining stage and unknowingly entered the tendon-refining stage.

With his strength greatly increased, he can naturally wield even a low-grade weapon-level war bow.

Of all my skills, only my knife technique is still at the level of mastery. However, in another two months, I should be able to reach the level of mastery.

At that time, with his own combat strength, he might be able to rival a first-class martial artist!

Thinking of this, Zhao Xian couldn't help but smile slightly.

Suddenly, a shout came from afar, followed by a figure rushing towards them.

As the figure drew closer, Zhao Xian and Mu Chun recognized him as Zhao Hong.

"Ah Hong, when did you become so flustered?"

Zhao Xian looked at Zhao Hong, who was panting heavily, and asked with a smile.

"Elder brother, Mr. Chen has arrived at the village house!"

Zhao Hong immediately said urgently.

"Walk!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian didn't have time to say anything more and immediately started walking towards Shahe Township.

Zhao Hong followed closely behind, while Mu Chun turned back to tidy up the things at the shooting range.

A short while later, the three of them returned to Shahe Township.

Several riders stood side by side on the official road in front of the country house.

"Ah Xian!"

One of them saw Zhao Xian walking briskly towards them and immediately called out to him!

Upon hearing the voice, Zhao Xian turned around and saw Zhao Ji.

"Brother Zhong!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Xian hurriedly headed towards the country house without exchanging pleasantries.