Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Xia He squeezed Cheng Mo's hand: "Little Taoist priest, why don't you think he fought back?"

Cheng Mo pointed over there: "Didn't they fight back?"

The man with glasses had his glasses knocked askew, there was a red mark on the bridge of his nose, and his mouth was cut and bleeding.

Xia He rolled her eyes at him: "That's not what I meant. I meant that he could have easily beaten that guy down."

Cheng Mo shrugged: "You'll have to ask that guy himself."

Tu Junfang chimed in from the side, "He possesses power yet maintains restraint; his mental cultivation is quite impressive."

At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties squeezed out of the crowd, wearing a dark blue jacket, with neatly combed hair and a slightly protruding belly.

He strode over to the two men who were wrestling, and separated them, one in each hand.

Judging from his movements, he must have practiced a few techniques, but he hasn't crossed the threshold of becoming an "extraordinary person." He's just an ordinary person with a foundation, though a bit stronger than the average person.

"What are you two doing!" The middle-aged man's voice was loud, drowning out the murmurs of the onlookers. "What kind of occasion is this! Aren't you ashamed?!"

The bespectacled man spoke first, pointing at the bearded man, his voice shrill: "Ask him!"

The bearded man glared at the bespectacled man, then turned to the middle-aged man: "Village chief, I just overheard this guy surnamed Shi and that Boss Cai—"

"Haishan!" the village chief immediately shouted, his voice even louder than before, "What are you saying all this for! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

He glanced at the onlookers around him and lowered his voice, "We'll talk about it when we get back." He pulled the bearded man with one hand and pushed the bespectacled man with the other, leading him into a nearby alley.

Once the onlookers realized there was no more excitement, they dispersed in twos and threes.

Cheng Mo was somewhat interested in these people, and turned to Xia Liuqing, saying, "Grandpa, you and Lao Tu go eat first, I want to hear what they have to say."

Xia Liuqing snorted: "Hey, brat, your mental cultivation is not good enough. You want to join in every kind of excitement."

Tu Junfang readily agreed: "Sure, I'll save seats for Brother Cheng and Miss Xia."

Cheng Mo waved his hand and pulled Xia He towards the alley.

The alley was narrow, only a little over two meters wide, with red brick walls on both sides, painted with white lime. In some places, the lime had peeled off, revealing the red bricks underneath. Scattered on the ground were broken bricks and withered leaves.

Cheng Mo found a corner at the alley entrance, stood sideways against the wall, and cast a concealment spell to cover the two of them.

In the alley, three people stood in a triangle.

The village chief stood in the middle, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at the man with the big beard: "Hu Haishan, have you lost your mind? Causing trouble in a place like this?"

Hu Haishan, the bearded man, stiffened his neck and his face flushed red: "Village chief, I'm not causing trouble! I heard it with my own ears! Shi Daquan and that Boss Cai are discussing selling off that orchard at the east end of our village at a bargain price!"

Shi Daquan, who wore glasses, pushed up his crooked glasses and sneered, "What did you hear? Are your ears on someone else's body? I was discussing a cooperation with Boss Cai, a legitimate business deal!"

"A legitimate business?" Hu Haishan took a step forward. "That orchard belongs to the village collective. What right do you, surnamed Shi, have to sell it?"

The village chief grabbed Hu Haishan's shoulder and pushed him back: "Haishan! Listen to me."

He softened his tone, as if coaxing a child: "Daquan and Boss Cai are discussing a long-term partnership, not a land sale. The contract hasn't been signed yet; they're still negotiating. What's the rush?"

Hu Haishan stared wide-eyed: "I heard that too, saying something about 'paying per acre' and 'paying in full at once'—what is this if not selling land?"

The village chief waved his hand: "That's land transfer! Do you understand land transfer? It's allowed by policy! The village next door did it last year, and they can get several hundred yuan a year per mu."

Shi Daquan chimed in, "That's right, Haishan, you're just toiling in the fields all day long. What do you know about the market outside? Boss Cai is a legitimate businessman. He has several shops in the county town. Would he cheat us?"

"That can't be allowed—" Hu Haishan said anxiously.

The village chief interrupted him: "Alright, alright, I'll talk to Boss Cai about this again and try to get more. You go back first, don't cause trouble here and make a fool of yourself."

Hu Haishan opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

The village chief turned to the bespectacled man: "Daquan, you too, you're asleep and don't think about anything. The world you create is all in 'Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain.' Can you say something like that in the street? What kind of talk would that be if people heard!"

Shi Daquan lowered his head and adjusted his crooked glasses: "I understand, I'll be more careful next time."

The village chief patted Hu Haishan on the shoulder again: "Alright, you go back first. I'll discuss it with Daquan again and see how we can get more."

Hu Haishan remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Then I'll go back first."

He turned and walked out of the alley, his steps heavy, making a crunching sound on the gravel.

Once Hu Haishan's footsteps faded into the distance, the village chief's expression immediately changed.

He turned around, glaring at Shi Daquan, every word dripping with anger: "How could you be so careless! Haishan actually heard you!"

Shi Daquan waved his hand dismissively: "So what if he heard it? He's just a brute, what can he do? Anyway, we're signing the contract soon."

The village chief glanced at the alley entrance to make sure no one was there before continuing, "Don't let anything happen at this crucial moment. Here's what we'll do: you go back first, find a few gossipy people, and tell them that Hu Haishan is causing trouble, and that Boss Cai is trying to lower the price, otherwise he won't sign the contract."

He pulled a car key from his pocket and handed it to him: "Ride my motorcycle back, and be quick."

Shi Daquan took the keys, a smile spreading across his face: "That's why you're the village chief, always so thoughtful. I'll get right on it."

He turned and jogged out of the alley, disappearing around the corner.

Xia He said to Cheng Mo, "So these two guys were in cahoots. That big-bearded guy is in big trouble."

Just as Cheng Mo was about to speak, he suddenly heard a sneer from not far away.

He turned his head to look at the other end of the alley.

At the other end of the alley, a tall, fat man was leaning against the wall. He was very tall, at least 1.9 meters, and his shoulders were wide enough to fit two ordinary people.

He was wearing a gray jacket with the top two buttons undone, revealing a white vest underneath. He had a fleshy face and a broad chin, making him look like a butcher.

He walked up to the village chief, looking down at him: "Village Chief Hu, what a coincidence."

The village chief's lips twitched.

It's just a dead end, what a coincidence!

But he still managed a smile: "Mr. Zhang is joking, I—"

The man surnamed Zhang waved his hand: "My boss said that if Village Chief Hu can't handle it, I can help."

The village chief quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, I can handle this little thing, Mr. Zhang, don't trouble yourself."

The man surnamed Zhang chuckled and patted the village chief on the shoulder, causing the village chief to shrank by half an inch.

"That's good." The man surnamed Zhang turned and left, taking large steps but landing lightly.

The village chief took a few deep breaths, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and quickly followed.

Xia He asked in a low voice, "Little Taoist priest, was that guy also an extraordinary person?"

Cheng Mo nodded: "Yes, their strength is not weak."

Xia He frowned: "This matter seems to be more complicated than it appears."

Extraordinary people aren't just any ordinary bunch; this one is quite powerful, and apparently, he's one of Boss Cai's subordinates. And someone like that, all for a mere orchard?

Cheng Mo didn't think so.

In addition, the time and the place—

Could this be Qian Wanli's arrangement?

"Let's go back and eat."

The two emerged from the alley and headed towards Hongyun Restaurant.

The same young man was still guarding the entrance, wearing a small red flower on his chest and holding a list in his hand.

As Cheng Mo and Xia He approached, he reached out to stop them: "Gentlemen, please show your invitations."

Cheng Mo paused in his steps.

Just as he was about to take out his phone to call Xia Liuqing, a hand reached out from the side, holding a red invitation card.

"This is my friend."

Cheng Mo turned his head to look—a young man, in his early twenties, with a buzz cut, wearing a dark jacket, standing ramrod straight.

The person receiving the invitation took it, looked at it, confirmed it was in order, returned it, and made way for the person.

The young man smiled and said to Cheng Mo and the other person, "Let's go, it's time to eat."

Cheng Mo and Xia He exchanged a glance and followed.