Chapter 58 The County Magistrate Is Generous

Ten minutes later, Feng Xue looked at the three small gold bars (each weighing about 30 grams) and the house and land deeds in his hand, momentarily at a loss for words.

Even given Feng Xue's deep pockets, this reward of nearly two hundred strings of copper coins was equivalent to a tenth of his entire net worth.

What else could he say? The county magistrate was certainly generous!

However, he was also well aware that the magistrate, much like those mystic cultivators, had likely overestimated his strength. While the money was ostensibly a reward for slaying the corpse puppet and compensation for his destroyed dwelling, it was more than likely intended to curry favor with him and the powerful sect he supposedly represented.

After all, in this world, while a mystic cultivator's lower limit depended on themselves, their upper limit was supported by numerous founding patriarchs.

Though he was not formally initiated into the Dao, he had been able to unleash that "terrifying" lightning technique—one whose residual thunder qi could still be clearly felt across a radius of a hundred miles a full quarter-hour later—leading them to naturally mistake him for a powerhouse with immense backing.

Feng Xue knew his own limitations, and at that moment, he even began to considering fleeing immediately.

Yet, upon second thought, he realized that would be wrong. If he ran away right after such an incident occurred in the county, wouldn't it make him look guilty?

He was supposed to be a demon-slaying hero, but if he bolted, wouldn't he instantly be branded as the mastermind behind the chaos?

This world was not like the bureaucratic societies of his previous life. In a world where the netherworld served as an efficient communication network, if Feng Xue was labeled a demonic cultivator in the morning, the surrounding counties would likely all know about it by afternoon.

With this thought, Feng Xue settled his mind and walked all the way back to his residence. Although the magistrate had approved a new house complete with land and property deeds for him, he still intended to go home first to sort out his belongings—

Putting everything else aside, in a world where curses existed, personal clothing, mattresses, and bedding were things that definitely needed to be packed up.

As he reached his front door, Feng Xue's brow suddenly twitched. A somewhat familiar figure appeared on the only path leading to his home. Judging by the way the person kept glancing left and right, it was obvious they were waiting for someone. After pondering for a moment, Feng Xue recalled that this was the real estate agent who had rented him the place when he first arrived in Lucheng.

"Oh well, whatever damages need to be paid, I'll pay them." Feng Xue had no intention of skipping out on what he owed, so he walked straight up. Seeing Feng Xue return, the agent immediately stepped forward and said:

"Young Master Feng, you're back! I heard you were moving, so I specifically brought people to help you out, but since you went to the City God Temple, it wouldn't have been appropriate for us to intrude, so we just waited here! If you have any heavy items, we guarantee to deliver them to your new place safe and sound!"

Feng Xue raised a brow slightly, but instead of putting on airs, he said directly:

"Let's put the moving matters aside for a moment. It really was my fault that the house suffered damage, so we should settle the account properly according to the rules, which will make future cooperation easier. After all, my food, clothing, housing, and transportation all go through your agency, and I feel more at ease following the proper rules."

As he spoke, Feng Xue reached into his pouch, but the agent shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum and repeatedly said:

"No, no, no, you're being far too polite! The county magistrate already had someone settle the rent for that house early this morning. My coming here today isn't just to help you move, but also to return your deposit. To be honest with you, the mansion the magistrate gifted you for slaying the demon was also arranged through our agency. Here is your deposit."

Watching the agent hand over both the deposit and the remaining rent, Feng Xue waved his hand and said:

"Business is business. Since the magistrate helped pay for it, I'll accept the deposit, but the rent is out of the question. A day lived is a day lived; I've never heard of renting a place for a day, moving out the next, and getting a full refund. As for the extra, keep it. Let's draw up a new contract. From now on, my new residence's utilities and groceries will still be handled by your firm. By the way, about that refrigerator of mine..."

Seeing that Feng Xue was so easy to deal with, a wide smile spread across the agent's face. He patted his chest and assured him:

"It's already been arranged! Brand new stock just unloaded from a ship in Hong Kong, though there are no carts available today, so it will probably catch tomorrow morning's transport. In any case, by the day after tomorrow at the latest, it will definitely arrive!"

Once the business was settled, the agent immediately called out the hired laborers waiting at the roadside teahouse. Aside from the personal items Feng Xue had directly stashed away in his Pot-Heaven Bag, he didn't actually have that many belongings. However, considering he needed to familiarize himself with the area anyway, he didn't refuse the agent's assistance. The group, carrying a few small packages, soon arrived at his new home.

Although it was also a Western-style villa, a single glance revealed distinct differences. If his original small building carried the rustic vibe of a rural self-built house from his previous life in the modern world, the building before him was a proper Western-style mansion straight out of a television drama.

Evergreen shrubs enclosed a small courtyard, camphor trees framed the entryway, and dried Boston ivy vines clung to the courtyard walls, which would undoubtedly burst into vibrant green when spring arrived.

The main villa was roughly three stories high, and counting the front and back yards, it covered at least an acre of land. Feng Xue wasn't sure how many rooms it contained, but he didn't really care either. After all, Liu Yunxi would be the one cleaning them—at most, he would equip her with a dust-clearing magical artifact.

Thinking about it with quiet satisfaction, Feng Xue directed the workers to place everything in order, then roughly inspected each room, tallied up the furniture and decorations he planned to replace, and handed all the purchasing lists over to the agent. Once the outsiders had all departed, he leaned against the sofa with zero posture and tossed his ring—

"I thought you were a proper person!"

"Understood, understood! I'll go make dinner right now! Eating the invigorating medicinal diet recipe is fine, right?" Liu Yunxi landed on the floor, habitually pressing down her fluttering skirt hem. She hadn't missed much while Feng Xue was inspecting the house, and having roughly oriented herself, she headed straight toward the kitchen.

Seeing this, Feng Xue reached out and patted the spot beside him, saying:

"Wait a minute, it's still early. I have a few things I want to ask you."

Compared to the mystic cultivators of Lucheng County, Liu Yunxi undoubtedly had a much clearer understanding of Feng Xue's true identity. Although she suspected he was most likely a bigwig from the netherworld taking a vacation, since the other party refused to admit it, Liu Yunxi could only play along and obediently sat down where Feng Xue had patted, quietly waiting for what came next.

Feng Xue was somewhat surprised that Liu Yunxi hadn't bickered with him today, but since he wasn't obsessed with tsunderes, he was naturally more than happy to see it:

"What is the deal with that suppression artifact anyway? From what I heard them say, that thing can sense danger across the entire county?"

Seeing that Feng Xue was asking a question that the Fox Granny had already explained before, Liu Yunxi relaxed a bit and immediately replied:

"The suppression artifact is a magical treasure condensed from the collective human willpower of a region, built upon the foundation of official recognition from both the Yin and Yang realms. It can monitor the movements of local qi. If evil spirits or demons commit atrocities, the deceased will trigger a reaction from the artifact, sending out a warning."

"So it's basically a murder early-warning system? I thought it would sound an alarm the moment any demon crossed the border!" Hearing Liu Yunxi's explanation, Feng Xue couldn't help feeling deeply disappointed. Liu Yunxi merely spread her hands and said:

"Demons are very difficult to define. After all, the mystic cultivators in the county also suppress demonic entities and evil spirits—didn't that Nine Aunt suppress dozens or even hundreds of them before? If it relied on bloodlust, deep grudges, or similar things to make judgments, let alone these suppressed ghosts, just the vengeful spirits of people who died unnatural deaths would be enough to trigger the suppression artifact, wouldn't they?"