Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

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As they reached the elevator, Cheng Mo asked, "Do we know each other?"

The man said, "Just call me Xiaolong. I work for Fourth Brother."

Cheng Mo suddenly realized, "Oh, the company noticed this place too."

He turned to Xia He and said, "Old Master Xia thought his investigation was progressing quickly. Look, they're already here."

Xia He suppressed a laugh and remained silent.

Xiao Long explained with a smile, "Actually, we didn't notice at first that this place was related to Qian Wanli."

Cheng Mo became interested: "Hmm?"

Xiao Long lowered his voice: "Another related case. Just pretend you two don't know about it."

Cheng Mo said seriously, "We didn't know in the first place."

Xia He nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right."

Xiao Long's lips twitched: "..."

The elevator doors opened, and three people went inside.

The second-floor hall was much more spacious than the first floor, with more than a dozen large round tables covered with red tablecloths. Each table had several bottles of drinks and a few plates of cold dishes. The hall was already more than half full, and it was noisy. Some people were bragging, some were discussing business, and some were exchanging business cards.

Cheng Mo spotted Xia Liuqing immediately—the old man was holding a cup of tea and chatting with a middle-aged man next to him.

Cheng Mo patted Xiao Long on the shoulder and pulled Xia He over.

There were two empty seats on the table, right next to Xia Liuqing and Tu Junfang.

Cheng Mo plopped down and started complaining, "Hey Grandpa, and Old Tu, didn't you check our invitations when you came in? Didn't you know we didn't have those? You didn't even come down to greet us."

Xia Liuqing put down her teacup, looking completely innocent: "Nobody checked our invitations."

Tu Junfang smiled and said, "Perhaps it's because Brother Cheng and his daughter aren't particularly eye-catching."

Xia He glared at him: "Strange old man, are you trying to say that I and the little Taoist priest are neither good-looking nor ugly enough?"

Tu Junfang said earnestly, "You said it yourself."

Xia He: "..."

Cheng Mo rolled up his sleeves: "Old Tu, I think your own cultivation might not be enough. How about I give you a hand?"

Tu Junfang chuckled twice and moved his chair to the side: "Slow down, slow down."

Actually, lunch was just an appetizer. The people who came to the gathering all had their own purposes—some wanted to build relationships, some wanted to discuss business, and some wanted to gather information.

After the dishes were served, most people chatted, rarely using their chopsticks, but frequently raising their wine glasses.

However, Cheng Mo and Xia He didn't care about all that.

The two ate heartily, one bite after another, enjoying braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, and cold black fungus salad—they accepted everything offered. The dishes on the table dwindled at a visible rate.

Erzhuang, that little girl, has become spoiled and eats less outside food, but Cheng Mo and Xia He are different.

Although these things don't taste as good as homemade, they're no different in terms of replenishing energy.

We can enjoy ourselves later; let's take care of our basic needs first.

So much so that many people at the table frequently cast curious glances at them—had these two young people been starving for days?

The two continued to do as they pleased, eating without even looking up.

Xia Liuqing and Tu Junfang didn't care at all about the attention they were receiving.

The old man, holding a wine glass, chatted with the person next to him, talking about everything from the international situation to the local economy, from attracting investment to the deep processing of agricultural products, and he had a whole range of topics to discuss.

The meal was quite peaceful, without any major incidents.

Xiao Long didn't do anything either. He sat at the table near the door, chatting casually with a few young people, occasionally glancing into the hall.

Cheng Mo noticed that Qian Wanli had not appeared at all.

The village chief left the table with a middle-aged man, while the tall, fat man followed behind them.

Cheng Mo wiped his mouth and patted Xia He: "Let's go."

Xia He was picking up a piece of pork rib when she heard this and paused for a moment: "Where are we going?"

Cheng Mo stood up: "Let's hear something fun."

Xia He wiped her hands and stood up.

As the two left their seats, someone at the next table glanced at them. After they had walked away, that person leaned close to Xia Liuqing and whispered, "Mr. Xia, who are those two people to you?"

Xia Liuqing, holding her teacup, said casually, "It's a friend's child."

The man then asked, "You look quite young. Where do you work?"

Xia Liuqing glanced at him: "What, trying to introduce me to a job?"

The man chuckled, "No, no, I'm just curious. Young people need someone to guide them, otherwise they're prone to going astray."

Xia Liuqing put down her teacup: "Taking a detour? I think they took a much straighter path than you."

The man gave an awkward smile and didn't ask any more questions.

Another person approached Tu Junfang's room and inquired indirectly, "Mr. Tu, were you quite familiar with those two young men from earlier?"

Tu Junfang said indifferently, "It's alright."

The man then said, "Young people need someone to discipline them, otherwise—"

Tu Junfang glanced at him, and the man swallowed the rest of his words.

Discipline?

Don't end up lying on the ground being disciplined.

Meanwhile, Cheng Mo and Xia He went up to the third floor.

The third floor was much quieter than the second floor. The corridor was carpeted, and there was no sound when you stepped on it. Several oil paintings of landscapes hung on the walls, with gold frames that reflected the light under the wall lamps.

Cheng Mo walked silently down the corridor and stopped in front of a door.

There were three people in the room: the tall, fat man from before, Boss Cai in the suit, and the village chief.

Cheng Mo raised his hand, and a concealment spell enveloped the two of them.

Voices could be heard coming from inside the house.

Boss Cai spoke calmly and unhurriedly: "Village Chief Hu, there are plenty of villages selling apples in Liulin Town. Do you know why I chose your village specifically?"

Village Chief Hu certainly knew that he was giving up more benefits, but those benefits were for the village, and a lot of the money went into his own pocket.

Village Chief Hu replied with a smile, "That's because Boss Cai thinks highly of our village. He knows that our orchards have good varieties and high yields, producing good fruit every year. Besides, Boss Cai is fair in his dealings; who in this area doesn't know that? It's a blessing for our village to be able to cooperate with Boss Cai."

He phrased it tactfully, flattering Boss Cai without mentioning any concessions.

But Boss Cai wasn't so easily fooled: "But I've heard that some people in your village disagree. Is Village Chief Hu failing to manage his subordinates properly, or does he lack control over the village?"

His tone remained calm and unhurried, yet it carried immense pressure: "If you need my help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Village Chief Hu quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, I can handle Haishan, he is..."

Before he could finish speaking, another voice interrupted: "What is it?"

The tall, fat man walked up to Village Chief Hu and placed a hand on his shoulder: "You think my boss is discussing this with you?"

Village Chief Hu remained silent.

The tall, fat man patted him on the shoulder: "The contract will still be signed, and the orchard will still be sold. It's just that the price will have to be lowered."

Village Chief Hu's lips trembled slightly: "This..."

Boss Cai smiled, his voice gentle: "Don't worry, I'll give you an extra 20,000 for your share, reducing the total price by 400,000. Just say it was caused by that Hu Haishan. Understand?"

Village Chief Hu remained silent for a moment.

Four hundred thousand is a lot of money for the village, but twenty thousand of it was his own.

With an extra 20,000 yuan, he could buy ten more square meters in the county town!

He gritted his teeth and said, "I understand."

Boss Cai turned around, his smile becoming much more sincere: "Very good, Village Chief Hu is indeed trustworthy."

The tall, fat man stepped forward and opened the door.

Knowing it was time for him to leave, Village Chief Hu immediately said goodbye: "Well, Mr. Cai, Mr. Zhang, I'll be going now."

He turned and left, head down, his steps hurried.

As he stepped outside, he ran into Cheng Mo and Xia He.

The two people stood in the corridor, less than two meters from the door, staring straight at him.

But he acted as if he didn't see them and walked right past them.

The door closed behind him.

Xia He whispered in Cheng Mo's ear, "Little Taoist, you're getting better and better at using magic."

Cheng Mo raised an eyebrow: "That's called practice makes perfect."

"Aren't you afraid anymore?" Xia He was referring to the time when the sorcerer had tampered with her in the inner world.

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "It's okay if you don't do divination. I've noticed that these sorcerers like to tamper with divination. Actually, magic itself is quite interesting."