The male supporting character was actually myself.

The price is negotiable.

The Taoist priest's eyes immediately lit up. He stuffed the gold into his pocket, stroked his beard, and agreed, "Leave it to me!"

Chapter Twenty-One: Crisis!

After dinner, the Taoist priest sat in Master Xue's study and talked at length.

Having finished discussing the topic, he pretended to be profound and said, "I stayed at your residence for two days. Although I was able to protect you from being harmed by the demon, I was still unable to figure out where he was hiding."

Upon hearing this, Master Xue became frantic. "What...what should we do? Taoist priest, you must save my son! I will not have peace of mind until that evil spirit is eliminated!"

"Don't worry, sir. According to my calculations, that demon has cut off its own escape route and possessed a person to avoid it." The Taoist priest pretended to make calculations to comfort him. "Although I can't find its whereabouts because of this, the demon can no longer harm people at will."

You just need to be vigilant at all times.

That fiend wants to steal the auspicious energy of your esteemed residence during the Dragon Raising its Head festival, so naturally he will try every means to enter the residence and get close to you and your son.

Be wary of those sycophantic, flattering, and obsequious people.

By keeping any suspicious persons away, you and your son can rest easy.

In addition, I calculated and deduced information about that demon.

Only a painting reminded me that a large grove of trees was shrouded in a light white mist.

Forgive my ignorance, I am truly unable to comprehend the secrets of heaven.

Tell the wealthy man to remember this; it might serve as a reminder at a crucial moment.

Ever since the Taoist priest told him the conclusion of the deduction, Master Xue had been pondering its meaning.

Even at night, lying in bed, he tossed and turned for a long time without being able to fall asleep.

On the rooftop, Jiang Chen and the Taoist priest sat leisurely, drinking and chatting over a jar of wine, a roast chicken, and two plates of fruit.

"I said goodbye to the old man today, and I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning." The Taoist priest gnawed on a chicken wing, sneered, and said, "I couldn't help myself while chatting with him, so I did a calculation."

I know how the Xue family ended up in this state.

The old man looked respectable.

In reality, he's done quite a few unethical things.

This is incredibly immoral! It has ruined the accumulated virtue of our ancestors, and the century-old foundation is about to be destroyed.

If it weren't for the fact that you, Great Immortal, did good deeds and accumulated some good karma after taking over Young Master Xue's body, that evil spirit would have succeeded long ago.

As long as you, Great Immortal, continue to do good deeds and accumulate merit in the Xue family, there is still hope for a turnaround.

Only that old man, he brought this upon himself and can't escape it.

His later years are bleak! Just wait and see, his face is turning black; retribution is not far off!

The little white kitten yawned and nestled on its host's shoulder, dozing off.

Jiang Chen took a sip of wine and looked up at the bright yet unfamiliar starry sky under the bright moonlight. "You figured out what despicable things he's done?"

"They've swindled and cheated without hesitation!" the Taoist priest said bitterly. "They've done a lot of despicable things in pursuit of fame and fortune, which is bad enough. But what's even more hateful is..."

His face flushed slightly and his voice lowered a little, "You probably don't know what kind of patterns he likes."

Unfortunately, those who commit morally reprehensible acts specifically seek out this kind of business.

If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet sometimes. He inevitably went too far sometimes, and he has four or five lives on his hands!

Although cause and effect are cyclical and retribution is inevitable, these are all sins, and one must pay for one's own actions sooner or later!

"Four or five lives?" Jiang Chen stopped pouring wine abruptly. "That's four or five families destroyed. That old bastard deserves to die!"

The Taoist priest, who had drunk a bit too much, waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "The family won't necessarily be destroyed; they might even make a lot of money selling the children."

Sometimes, human life is as worthless as grass!

You see, the old Taoist priest is quite greedy, isn't he?

But I haven't really enjoyed much happiness either...

Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Cause and effect, karma, will be determined by Heaven.

"Great Immortal, I've done everything for you, could you teach me some magical arts or secret techniques?"

"Do you dare to learn if I dare to teach you?"

Speechless at a single sentence, the Taoist priest pondered for a while before shaking his head. "I really don't dare, after all, I don't know what your background is, Great Immortal... By the way, what is the purpose of that black oil you asked me to find?"

For alchemy or for medicinal use?

Jiang Chen was startled by his question, fearing that the Taoist priest was doing something wrong.

After all, they dared to put anything into their alchemy, which was essentially a rudimentary form of chemistry.

"We don't need too much black oil, just bring back a bucket." He hurriedly instructed, "That stuff can't be used for alchemy or medicine. I have a very important use for it, so don't try it on recklessly, it could easily kill someone!"

The Taoist waved his hand and laughed, "I was just asking."

Don't worry, that stuff is ridiculously expensive; I wouldn't dare try it out.

When it comes to money, Jiang Chen felt there was no problem.

The two chatted until midnight before parting ways.

Early in the morning, Jiang Chen felt furry paws rubbing his face. "Host, look! The script has suddenly started updating!"

Damn it!

What happened?

Jiang Chen hurriedly sat up and opened the script, which was indeed being updated again.

And it seems like there won't be any new plot developments anytime soon.

"It's definitely not our problem, otherwise they wouldn't have suddenly updated at this time." His first thought was whether Lin Mubai was up to something.

It was already getting light outside, so he summoned his head maid to wash up, comb her hair, and change her clothes.

He then summoned Han Hong and asked him to check what Lin Mubai was doing.

"Master, I've checked." A moment later, the page boy strode in and reported, "Mu Bai still has to study the rules today, just like usual."

I just got up and was about to have breakfast before practicing my standing posture in the backyard.

After all, she'll be the one accompanying the master on outings in the future, so her manners and appearance cannot be flawed in the slightest.

If it's not the main character who caused the script update, then where exactly did the problem lie?

Jiang Chen was completely baffled.

After all, scripts involve many people and things, and sometimes a small, unplanned change can cause a butterfly effect.

If you want to have the protagonist firmly under your control in the story, you must know what changes have occurred as early as possible.

Otherwise, if Lin Mubai takes advantage of the gap in the script updates, we might lose everything!

This mission world seems to focus on traveling to get rich, but what actually plays a role is the elusive element of luck.

Now, both he and the protagonist are trying to compete for the Xue family's fortune, which is too big a gamble for him.

If the protagonist fails, he will only fail to complete the beginner's task and will not receive the reward; there will be no loss.

However, he himself would have to pay the price one-to-one, and the moment Lin Mubai obtained the Xue family's fortune would be the moment he lost his life.

"Han Hong, have the steward keep a close eye on Lin Mubai. He must inform me immediately if he leaves the backyard and contacts anyone." After a moment's thought, Jiang Chen realized his greatest crisis stemmed from Master Xue.

The script can't control itself, but it can control the fate of others.

What if the old man secretly bypassed him through some kind of transaction and gave the inheritance rights to Lin Mubai...

"Also, you will personally keep an eye on what's happening in the master's courtyard. I need to know all the information when I need it!"

Although the pageboy Han Hong didn't understand why his young master was keeping a close eye on his master's actions, his years of loyalty compelled him to obey his master's orders. "Don't worry, sir, I will keep a close eye on things for you!"

A day passed quickly.

The new storyline still hadn't finished updating, and the little white cat slowly licked its paws, puzzled, and asked, "Why is the host frowning the whole time? Even after unlocking so many inventory resources, you're still not happy. What's wrong?"

"A strong sense of crisis." Jiang Chen frowned, tapping his fingers incessantly on the table. "No, I can't wait any longer. I have to take the initiative!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Something terrible has happened!

"Huh? What kind of attack?" The little white cat looked puzzled.

I always feel like my brainwaves are not on the same channel as the host's. This rich young master is living such a happy life, why would he feel a sense of crisis?

Script updates are common, so where does that mean there's a crisis?

"Mo Hua, I'm going to see the master. Make some tea for me when I get back."

"Go ahead, and when you come back, I guarantee it will be just right for you to drink!" Mo Hua lifted the curtain and watched the young master leave, then returned to the room to begin selecting tea-making utensils.

They hurried to Master Xue's courtyard.

There was still some time before dinner, so there weren't many servants around. At first glance, there were only two young maids feeding birds and a servant squatting in the corner playing with a cat.

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Chen noticed that the old man was muttering to himself, but he couldn't understand what he was saying.

When asked, he only gave an impatient and perfunctory answer.

After sitting for a short while, Master Xue said irritably, "Chen'er, is there anything else? If not, go home early. I won't keep you for dinner today."

"Isn't Father very interested in the soap recipe I made?" Jiang Chen probed while carefully observing the other party's reaction.

The old man muttered to himself for a moment, then said absentmindedly, "In the end, it's nothing important."

Go run your own business.

I knew what you were up to the moment you refused to tell me the recipe.

Previously, you were unwell and devised a prescription but kept it to yourself, probably thinking that if one day I abandoned you, you would have a way out.

Now that you're better, you're all grown up and ready to take off.

Of course, they want to fly higher!

Since that's the case, I'll make things clear today.