Full-Time Magister: I Had No Intention of Reaching the Dimensional Throne

With a goal in mind, Bai Mo and his companions immediately returned to the village.

In a village, the person who knows the local area best is probably the village chief.

According to the old woman who gave them directions when they came in, the village chief's house is located in the east of Nanyue Village.

He runs a hotel.

The group arrived at the east side of the village and easily spotted the hotel by following the figures of some tourists dragging suitcases.

The hotel is called Youjian Hotel.

Upon entering, Mu Nujiao negotiated with the receptionist to check in.

Bai Mo and his companions did not go upstairs, but instead scanned the lobby.

"Sister, is the village chief here?"

Unable to find anyone by sight, Lingling ran to the front desk and began asking questions in her clear voice.

"Little sisters, is there anything I can help you with? This inn is run by the village chief. I'm his daughter. If you need anything, you can come to me."

The receptionist looked to be in her thirties. Upon seeing Lingling's adorable appearance, she immediately smiled and said...

Blinking, Lingling said, "It's nothing, I just like listening to stories, so I wanted to ask if you know the story of the Zhenshui Earthworm."

Upon hearing this, the receptionist's originally gentle expression immediately stiffened, and she gave an unnatural smile.

"Kids are so curious! I don't know anything about these random rumors and stories."

"Does the village chief know?" Mu Nujiao couldn't help but ask.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure either. You can ask the old man, no problem."

"Then, sister, where is the village chief?"

"They've gone out."

"When are you coming back?"

"Come back when you're back," the receptionist said expressionlessly, then waved her hand impatiently and said in a gruff voice:

"You guys who have finished your paperwork, hurry up and move aside. Don't keep asking questions and blocking the way for the people behind you!"

Seeing this, Lingling and Bai Mo exchanged glances and had no choice but to leave the front desk.

They booked a bungalow, which was similar to an apartment, right behind the hotel building.

After the group left the hall, Bai Mo said, "It seems that the village chief's daughter knows something, but is unwilling to mention the Zhenshui worm."

"Yes, after Lingling asked about the Zhenshui worm, her mental state became rapidly alert," Ding Yumin said.

"Where are we going? Are we really going to stay here?!" Lingling couldn't help but complain as she saw that they had entered a courtyard.

"No, let's pretend for a bit. Lingling, you go back to the lobby and wait for the village chief. Ask the receptionist about the situation. Yumian, you come with me."

It was only afternoon, so Bai Mo had no intention of resting; he was simply trying to find another way to gather information.

"Jiaojiao, come with me to visit some local people, especially the elderly, and see if we can find out anything."

The group immediately set to work; the elderly in the village were relatively easy to find.

Once they left the area around the hotel, the two of them asked almost everyone they met.

"Grandpa, do you know what a water worm is?"

"What kind of chant is this?"

"A water worm!"

"What's wrong with Zhen Sui?"

"It's a water worm!"

"Oh, earthworms in the water, there are lots of them in the ground, especially near the outhouse, I know."

Visiting elderly people is a rather difficult activity, and the above dialogue is typical for Bai Mo and most of the elderly.

Adding to the issue of dialect differences, the two split up, one traveling from east to west and the other from south to north.

In the end, they didn't get anything useful out of them.

"I heard an old man mention it once; he heard about the Zhenshui worm from the village chief," Mu Nujiao said.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo pondered for a moment and guessed:

"Could it be that the information about the Zhenshui worm wasn't known to the entire village, but was only passed down orally among one family or one person? It seems that many positions such as priests and shamans in ancient times were like that."

"I don't know. I'll go back and check on how Lingling and the others are doing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mu Nujiao saw four people in guard uniforms surrounding them.

"Handsome guy and beautiful lady, someone reported you for gossiping in the village and not acting like good people. Please cooperate with us to go back and make a statement."

"A young guard with a Nanyue village accent said, laughing as he spoke."

Bai Mo: ? ? ?

Mu Nujiao: ? ? ?

No, what kind of village is this?

As Bai Mo emerged from the guard post, he looked up at the setting sun and then glanced back at the guard post, which was about the size of a public toilet.

Mu Nujiao, standing to the side, was also speechless. However, along with her speechlessness, there was also some doubt in her eyes, and she looked at the guards with a strange gaze.

"Let's go, hopefully we'll have good news when we get back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Mo looked up and saw Mu Nujiao scrutinizing the guards.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's not right, this guard unit."

Mu Nujiao pointed at the building in front of her and asked with a curious expression.

"I had been observing this place while I was giving my statement. Although the decor and layout are similar to those of a normal security detail, there are some differences, especially the uniforms of the security guards."

"When I first saw them, I felt that their clothes looked fake, but after they brought us here, I dismissed my concerns. However, the interior layout and the interrogation procedures were a bit off."

Shaking his head slightly, Bai Mo felt it probably wasn't that mysterious.

"The uniform is substandard; it might have been bought online. It's possible that the authorities don't issue uniforms in smaller towns, and regulations aren't as strict there. Surely no one would dare impersonate the Guard Division? There's a branch of the Magic Association right next door."

"So I also felt something was wrong, let's go."

Mu Nujiao shook her head and headed east of the village, but Bai Mo had a sudden idea and grabbed her.

"Don't rush back. Let's go to the SparkNet outpost and see if they've gathered any intelligence about this place."

Upon hearing this, Mu Nujiao's eyes lit up; how could she have forgotten about this before?

Whenever Xinghuo.com sets up a branch office in a new location, the first thing it does is to understand the local situation.

The two had already circled this tiny area several times, so they were naturally familiar with the location of Xinghuo.com's outpost.

This is a single-story building with the Spark.net logo and name simply displayed on it.

Because of their frugal habits, rural people don't light lamps even when it's getting late; instead, they rely on the last rays of the sun for light.

This made the small bungalow appear somewhat dim.

Two staff members were sitting behind their desks inside the room. Seeing someone enter, they asked:

"Tourist? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"These two don't recognize me!"

This was Bai Mo's first reaction, and then he took out his Starfire Network certificate.

"I am the presiding judge of Xinghuo.com. I am here to find some information about Nanyue Village."

"ah?!"

"ah!!"

Two surprised voices rang out. The two staff members glanced at Bai Mo and then checked the documents he had placed on the table.

I don't know if the test results showed anything, but I'm getting nervous.

One of the older women immediately straightened her back and said:

"We are from Nanyue Village. If you need any information, sir, you can ask us. We know everything."

"Are you from Nanyue Village?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bai Mo also sensed something was amiss this time. Why were they both from Nanyue Village?

Are the people in this village really that outstanding?

"Yes! My name is Xiao Congmin, and I am a native of Nanyue Village."

"Alright!" Finding the totem was the priority, so Bai Mo temporarily suppressed his doubts.

"Then tell me, does your village have any legends about the Zhenshui worm?"

"I don't know." The older woman's face fell visibly.

It was as if a chance to rise rapidly in one's career had vanished before one's eyes.

"Every Xinghuo.com staff member stationed at a location needs to have detailed knowledge of the area. Why don't you know that?"

"Oh, do we have to do all this? The webmaster didn't say anything?" said the young staff member who had been silent until now.

In an instant, Bai Mo and Mu Nujiao simultaneously realized that something was wrong.

What kind of webmaster?

The basic grid setup of Xinghuo.com is a team leader, and the team leader has members under them. Generally, a team has a maximum of seven people and a minimum of four people.

When they first came in, they didn't think anything of it since there were only two people there; perhaps the others had gone out.

But as soon as the netizen's manager appeared, the two of them immediately realized something was wrong.

"Where did the webmaster of Xinghuo.com come from? Show us your identification and the contact information of your superiors."

The two were immediately stunned, feeling as if the young man in front of them had turned into a Mount Tai that shook their very souls.

He stammered out the information.

Upon receiving the information, Mu Nujiao immediately launched an investigation and ultimately discovered that no branch office had ever been registered in Nanyue Village.

This seemingly legitimate Xinghuo.com outpost on the main street, supposedly handling matters for Nanyue Village, is fake!

After some further questioning, it was discovered that these two people had no idea what Xinghuo.com actually did; they were just following the instructions of the network administrator.

"Who is that website administrator? Take me to him!"

The two villagers, who had just learned they were fake officials, looked at each other in bewilderment. The older woman said:

"We don't know either, that stinky woman Fang Linghua introduced us. I'll take you there!"

She rolled up her sleeves rather fiercely, adopting a fighting stance.

Following her, Bai Mo and the other person unexpectedly arrived at a hotel.

"Fang Linghua! Fang Linghua! You dare to cheat your great-aunt? Come out here!"

The older woman was cursing fiercely; her voice could already be heard at the west end of the village before she even entered the inn.

"Hey, Third Aunt, what brings you here? Keep your voice down, there are people in the shop."

A person came out to greet him. Bai Mo looked closely and saw that it was the village chief's daughter, the hotel receptionist.

"That job you introduced me to, that Xinghuo.com thing, it's fake! Their superiors have come looking for us! Whoever ran this fake place, if you don't want your grandma going to jail, bring that person out here!"

Upon hearing this, the receptionist named Fang Linghua was slightly taken aback, and then she noticed Bai Mo and the other person following behind.

Her eyes lowered, her expression quickened, and she took her aunt's hand, pulling her to the side as she walked, whispering as she went:

"Oh my, this is such a big deal, why didn't you tell me quietly? The shop owner disappeared a long time ago, and I haven't been able to contact him, but he's still running the business as usual and hasn't shortchanged you on your wages, so I didn't tell you about it."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Linghua's expression changed several times. She led her to a bench in the lobby, gave her a plate of snacks, and finally said...

"Third Aunt, wait a moment, eat something to calm your nerves, I'll go talk to that official from Xinghuo.com."

On the other side of the lobby, Bai Mo told Lingling twice about discovering the fake Xinghuo.com outpost.

She watched with amusement as the receptionist calmed her aunt down and walked over.

"Are you really official members of Spark.net?"

Taking a deep breath, Fang Linghua stepped forward and asked Lingling.

"His name is Bai Mo, sister. He looks quite fashionable. You can easily find his information online. We're not bad people."

That afternoon, the village chief's daughter kept her mouth shut, and even the incredibly cute Lingling couldn't get her to open up, so they got nothing.

In fact, Ding Yumin could have used a single spell to force her to reveal everything they wanted to know.

However, Fang Linghua has a strong tendency to keep the secrets about the Zhenshui worms, which is a very strong psychological defense.

It's not that Ding Yumin can't break through; Fang Linghua is just an ordinary person.

However, if Ding Yumin forcibly hypnotizes and controls the soul, forcing her to say things she doesn't want to say against her own will, it will cause irreversible damage to her soul.

This is something Lingling doesn't want to do, and at the same time, she can't.

After all, the receptionist wasn't a criminal.

Whether or not someone knows the information is their freedom and right to speak out.

"Okay, I'll check it out."

Upon hearing this, Fang Linghua actually checked Bai Mo's information.

After a short while, she looked up and said, "I can answer your three questions about the Zhenshui worm, but you can't cause trouble for my third aunt and her colleagues."

"What's going on with this fake Xinghuo.com outpost here?"

"I don't know!" Fang Linghua's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, but she said firmly.

"Why can't you tell us all about the Zhenshui worms?"

"Because I don't know much either; only my father knows the details, but you can't possibly find out from him."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo and the others exchanged glances, and Lingling said:

"Don't worry, sister, we won't do anything to your third aunt. Ignorance is no excuse."

She blinked her flawless eyes, but Fang Linghua avoided her gaze upon hearing the last sentence.

"We need to think carefully about the problem of the water worms. Before that, we need to take care of some official business."

Bai Mo picked up the conversation, "Now it seems that the official agencies in this village need to be investigated. They didn't even notice that a fake Xinghuo outpost had appeared, which is unacceptable."

Seeing this, Mu Nujiao and Ding Yumin looked at him with suspicion.

After all, he hadn't paid much attention to the strange behavior here before.

Bai Mo shook his head. He hadn't cared before because the villagers had a good opinion of the authorities.

However, the commotion caused by the old lady's cursing in the street has led to a lively scene throughout the entire village.

Bai Mo happened to listen to a few sentences using her sound system and discovered that all the official organizations here belonged to Nanyue Village.

Many of them even had some connection with that third aunt.

This forced Bai Mo to start paying attention to the strange phenomena of the official organizations here.

With Lingling by their side, the four immediately set out to investigate the local government agencies.

Knock knock knock!

A knock sounded at the door, and Fang Ling'an opened it to find her daughter looking anxious.

"What brings you to my place? Weren't you too embarrassed to see me?"

He said with a cold face.

"Dad, a big shot from Xinghuo.com came to the village today."

"Come on in, what's the big deal!"

Fang Ling'an twitched her eyebrows and said nonchalantly.

"They are inquiring about the Zhenshui worm."

"What!?" Fang Ling'an's eyebrows shot up instantly. "You didn't tell them, did you? Don't make another mistake!"

"No, but the magic associations and such in the village have noticed something's wrong."

Fang Linghua glanced at her father and couldn't help but ask, "What are we going to do?"

Instantly, the old face hidden in the shadows by the door twitched.

"What's the rush! I'll be seventy next year! It's time for me to retire."

"But what about Auntie and the others..."

"What did you say they came here for?" Fang Ling'an didn't answer, but asked again to confirm.

"Looking for the water worm."

"I'll go to the hotel with you, and I'll explain the rest to them!" The old man strode out confidently.

Outside the Magic Association's headquarters

Looking at the seventeen people with their heads down in front of him, Bai Mo let out a long sigh of relief.

"Fellow villagers, didn't you think about this before you joined the company? None of you are magicians. Why would the Magic Association recruit you all and entrust this place to your management?"

In the silence, a simple, honest voice said:

"Anyway, the money wasn't lost. These days, the job market is tough, and we finally found this job. The guild leader is a mage, so we're not really in a bad position."

Bai Mo sighed helplessly. Through his investigation, he had basically figured it out.

In the entire village, only the village committee is a legitimate entity.

As for other things like magic associations, the Inquisition, and the Hunter's Alliance...

To put it nicely, it's a private enterprise.

To put it bluntly, they are all counterfeit and substandard products.

Ironically, this group of imposters managed to make the village thrive.

There was no need to communicate with Ding Yumin in person; through the sound system, he always knew the progress of their investigation.

It's exactly the same as what happened on my side!

All these so-called official institutions are fake.

The president, the leader, the director, the bank manager, etc., are mostly the same person named Fang Ling'an.

A small portion of them were Fang Ling'an's relatives.

Through a friendly and insightful exchange, he also understood who Fang Ling'an was.

He's the village chief of Nanyue Village!

He is also the only mage in Nanyue Village, and a mid-level one at that.

Bai Mo really couldn't understand why the village chief was doing this.

rebel?

It doesn't seem like it.

"Anyway, everyone go back first. I will handle this matter with your village chief."

After calming the group down, Bai Mo, carrying the evidence, used telepathy to notify Ding Yumin and the others, and they returned to the hotel together.

As soon as you enter, you see an old man with a face like old tree bark, a straight posture, and dressed in hemp clothes sitting facing the door.

"Young people, you've returned."

Seeing this, Bai Mo glanced at Fang Linghua, who looked worried, in the corner, and said:

"Village Chief Fang."

"It is indeed I. It seems you already know quite a bit about what I have done."

Fang Ling'an glanced at the transparent bag he was carrying and let out a long sigh.

"The truth will out eventually~ You guessed right. All the official institutions in Nanyue Village, whether magical or non-magical, except for the village committee, were established under my supervision."

Although I had already guessed it in my heart, it was still surprising to hear it from the person who had done the whole thing.

Bai Mo, Lingling, Ding Yumin, and Mu Nujiao all felt an indescribable shock, bewilderment, and deep incomprehension.

"Can I know why?"

Putting the evidence aside, Bai Mo walked over, sat down, and asked.

"Of course." The village chief chuckled twice, his tone leisurely as he recounted the matter in detail:

"At first, I just opened a police station. The police station in Qingshan Town nearby was too slow. By the time they came to investigate, everyone had already left."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo was slightly speechless. Don't make opening a police station sound so natural.

He doesn't have that ability right now, which makes him seem unlike a big shot.

"Later, some important things were lost in our village. In order to find them, I opened a bank because I couldn't afford the hunter detective's fees for a long time on my own."

After three years of searching without finding anything, I gave up. However, the employment problem for young people in the village became a challenge, so I started thinking about how to enrich the village.

I expanded the police station into a guard unit and added the Hunter Alliance, which temporarily solved the village's employment problem.

Then I discovered that with these official institutions, some rich fools were happy to come here for vacations and investments, and so gradually, the place you see now began to take shape.

At first, the villagers were skeptical, but seeing so many organizations emerge one after another, they gradually came to believe it after I persuaded them.”

After summarizing everything he had done over the years in one breath, Fang Ling'an seemed to have finally put down his burden.

"I haven't lost a single penny of the villagers' money; it's all in my bank account."

He pulled out a bank card with the PIN recorded on it and continued:

"Anyway, I'm almost seventy, I won't be in jail for long. Young man, can you help me pay back all the money?"

Taking the card, Bai Mo felt as if he were listening to a fantasy story and remained silent for a moment.

His silence seemed to mislead the village chief, who then lowered his gaze slightly and said in a deep voice:

"However, I know I'm not the only one who's wrong, but young man, please let others go. I'm willing to exchange information about the Zhenshui worm for it."

"Can."

Coming to his senses, Bai Mo nodded immediately upon hearing these words.

"Was Nanyue Village founded by the guardians of the Zhenshui Earthworm?"

"That's right, the story of the God of Zhenshui has been passed down here from generation to generation, passed down from one son to the next." The old village chief looked at him with surprise.

Where is it?

"It hasn't appeared for a long time. According to the legend my grandfather told me, it lies dormant beneath the altar on the back mountain."

"An altar? Is there a way to go down to it? Do you have a way to awaken it?"

Upon hearing this, the village chief narrowed his eyes, gave Bai Mo a deep look, and suddenly sneered, saying:

"The altar is the passage, but the key is lost!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo was immediately startled and, like Lingling beside him, looked at Ding Yumin at the first opportunity.

When they saw Ding Yumin shake her head, their hearts sank.

Bai Mo hurriedly asked, "How did you lose it? Where did you lose it?"

At the same time, he remembered that the village chief had said that something important in the village was lost and that he had hired hunters and detectives to search for it.

In an instant, Lingling thought of something else: Zhen Shuixian was something she had bought at the auction.

It seems that the order given by Xiang Xuewu was also purchased.

So she immediately said, "White ink, token, bowstring!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo immediately understood and made no attempt to hide anything.

Under the wide-eyed stares of Village Chief Fang and the receptionist who was standing nearby, he took out the Zhenling and Zhenshuixian.

"Are these the two things that are the keys?"

"How did you get these?!"

Compared to his daughter's outburst, Village Chief Fang was much more composed. After his initial surprise, he shook his head.

"The key was a circular jade talisman with the mark of the God of Zhen. These two items were stolen together."

After listening, Bai Mo sighed, "You should be a totem guardian family, right? How did you lose the totem's legacy? I don't understand."

"Their children are unfilial, and they have married the wrong people."

Village Chief Fang glanced indifferently at his daughter, who had her head bowed behind him, and gave a faint snort.

Finally, he glanced at Bai Mo.

"Especially those who are good-looking."

"Can the space beneath the altar be forcibly opened?" Mu Nujiao suddenly asked.

"No, the protective barriers placed on the altar will self-destruct if attacked by external forces!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Nujiao shook her head and continued to ponder.

Meanwhile, Lingling, who had just turned on her computer, looked up and said:

"Bai Mo, the person who auctioned the Zhen Shui Xian and the person who sold the Zhen Ling should be the same person. Although that guy is dead, his estate was inherited by his family, and the key should be in his estate."

His family recently went bankrupt and sold off all their belongings; the auction hasn't started yet. (End of Chapter)