It was noon, the sun hanging high overhead, gentle warm sunshine shining down on all directions.
Qin Mu's face was etched with worry as he squatted by the roadside like an old farmer.
After selling the house, he and the Steward Liu couple had originally planned to stay temporarily at the Zhuangyuan Bookstore, but who could have expected that Uncle Cang would actually sell off the sprawling Zhuangyuan Bookstore.
Now that was just great, they had nowhere to stay.
This was only possible because the owner of the two-story wooden building that housed the Zhuangyuan Bookstore wasn't in Guanhai City.
Otherwise, the man would have surely made a scene with him.
At this moment, while basking in the sunshine, he watched the crowds on the street ahead, all dragging their families and belongings along.
Many of these people were common people of Guanhai City.
From them, and from the cultivators who occasionally passed by, he had learned quite a lot.
For instance, it was because of the Ruyi Jingu Bang that cultivators from all over the realm had gathered here.
Although the Divine Weapon Compendium arranged by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion hadn't changed in decades, even a century, a single change wouldn't normally cause a scene like this.
After all, the Sky Monitoring Disk of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had always dominated the top rank.
But this time, the change hadn't just caused the top rank to shift—there was something even more important. Every Magic Treasure on the Divine Weapon Compendium would not only have its power recorded clearly, but its owner would also be listed.
And the Ruyi Jingu Bang, on the Divine Weapon Compendium, only had its power recorded, with no owner listed at all.
This was essentially telling the entire realm that this Supreme Treasure, capable of suppressing every other Magic Treasure and even causing the Sky Monitoring Disk to shift position, still had no master to this day!
What's more, the Divine Weapon Compendium also noted that the Ruyi Jingu Bang had currently lost its Spiritual Power, but it could devour metal to restore its Spirituality, and could grow without limit.
This was what caused the vast majority of cultivators from the Nine Provinces and Four Seas to converge on Guanhai City.
Aside from wanting to catch a glimpse of this Supreme Treasure that was "Number One Under Heaven," some of them had also begun to wonder in their hearts whether they themselves might be the destined person.
As for the sudden surge in house-buying, that was due to the long-standing authority of the Great Yu Dynasty Court, and the fact that five Earthly Immortals Residing in the World would be personally arriving.
These cultivators worried that once the five Earth Immortals of the Great Yu Dynasty Court arrived, they would be driven out, so their first choice upon reaching Guanhai City was to buy a house.
As they saw it, as long as they owned Real Estate, they would become common people of Guanhai City, and no matter how domineering the Imperial Court was, surely it couldn't drive out the common people of its own city?
Tens of thousands of taels of Silver was, to a Mortal, a fortune wealthy enough to sustain them for half a lifetime.
But to cultivators, this amount of Silver was nothing at all.
As a result, every last piece of Real Estate belonging to the common people of Guanhai City had been bought up.
Besides this, Qin Mu had also learned something else from the cultivators passing through.
On the very night the Divine Weapon Compendium was updated, the Great Yu Dynasty Court had already begun restricting the transaction of Metal, as well as restricting the various Great Sects from mining Metal ores near their territories.
All of this would be overseen by the Demon Suppression Division in each region.
……
Steward Liu, who had gone earlier to gather news, came jogging over from a distance.
After arriving beside the Zhuangyuan Bookstore, he panted heavily for a few breaths before finally speaking. "Young Master, I've found out what's going on. The neighbors are all preparing to move to Baizhou City."
Squatting beside Qin Mu, looking even more like an old farmer than Qin Mu himself, Uncle Cang perked up the instant he heard this, his previously listless expression suddenly filled with energy. He hurriedly asked, "Have they hired any Escorts from an Escort Agency?"
Steward Liu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Cang. Everyone's not foolish—Baizhou City is a good four hundred li from Guanhai City, and the road passes through the 'Demon Extermination Ridge.' The forests there are dense, and a group of bandits roams about."
As he said this, he suddenly remembered that Father and Mother Qin had lost their lives at the hands of those very bandits. As sorrow welled up in his heart, he subconsciously glanced at Qin Mu, who sat silently beside Uncle Cang.
After a soft sigh, he continued, "I found out that it's not just the neighbors—even the property deeds of all four Escort Agencies have been bought up by Immortals."
"The Escort chiefs of the four Escort Agencies have agreed to go seek their livelihood in White Cloud City, and Baizhou City happens to be right on the way there."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Cang immediately relaxed and broke into a smile.
Being childless and already advanced in years, he had long ago sold himself into service of the Qin Family.
All he asked was that, once he passed away, the Qin Family would see to his funeral rites, so he refused to accept any wages.
The two hundred coins he received each month were forced upon him by the Qin couple.
This was why, when the Zhao Family Bookstore tried to poach him, Uncle Cang hadn't left.
And now, having heard that the road ahead would be safe, he immediately said with a smile, "That's good then. With Escorts to protect us, we're sure to arrive safely in Baizhou City."
As he spoke, he stood up and proactively hoisted onto his back the bundle containing the Zhuangyuan Bookstore's account books, then picked up in his hands the bundle Qin Mu had brought, which held the Spirit Tablet and the backup account books.
The Steward Liu couple used a shoulder pole to carry the wooden crate containing the Silver Bricks.
Seeing this, Qin Mu had no choice but to stand up as well, taking the bundle with the Spirit Tablet back from Uncle Cang's hands.
After that, they merged into the crowd of families dragging their belongings, moving along with them toward the South City Gate.
By the time they reached the South City Gate, a full Shichen had already passed.
Squeezed within the crowd, Qin Mu could see men from the Demon Suppression Division at the city gate inspecting the common people's bags.
Faced with men who could slay even demons with ease, the common people all trembled, not daring to utter a word, standing obediently aside while their bags were rifled through without complaint.
Before long, it was finally Qin Mu's turn.
As Steward Liu and his wife set down the shoulder pole and allowed the men of the Demon Suppression Division to inspect it, Qin Mu handed over his own bundle to a Captain of the Demon Suppression Division with a Full Beard and a fierce-looking face.
The man took the bundle with an expressionless face, but the moment he opened it, he saw the Spirit Tablets of Father and Mother Qin.
"Qin Jia? Qin-Zhao clan?"
After seeing the surname and Name inscribed on the Spirit Tablet, he immediately narrowed his eyes at Qin Mu and asked in a cold voice, "Are you Qin Mu?"
Hearing the coldness in the man's voice, Qin Mu's expression froze for a moment.
The Original body had never done anything wrong, and ever since he'd transmigrated here, he'd rarely even left the house.
How could this man from the Demon Suppression Division possibly know him?
Just as he was caught in that moment of stunned confusion, the Captain before him turned a cold gaze on Steward Liu, his wife, and Uncle Cang, and asked, "Are you his family?"
Whether it was Uncle Cang or the Steward Liu couple, all of them caught the coldness in the man's voice.
But they steeled themselves and nodded anyway.
The Captain immediately sneered and waved a hand. "Perfect. Take them all away."
In the next instant, four young men wearing the uniform of the Demon Suppression Division stepped forward and surrounded Qin Mu, Uncle Cang, and the Steward Liu couple.
The common people behind them, seeing this, all recoiled several steps in terror, terrified of being implicated.
Steward Liu suddenly dropped to his knees at that moment. Even trembling all over with fear, he kept kowtowing rapidly, pleading in a shaking voice, "My lord, if our Young Master has done something wrong, I'm willing to die in his place. I beg you, spare our Young Master's life—the Qin Family has only this one male heir left."
As he spoke, his wife also dropped to her knees without hesitation, saying gruffly, "If you're going to kill my husband, take me too!"
Uncle Cang also knelt down, trembling, bowing deeply.
"Th-this old man is also willing to die in our Young Master's place."
Seeing this, Qin Mu's heart suddenly clenched, his eyes widening subconsciously.
He couldn't understand the depth of feeling the Steward Liu couple and Uncle Cang held for Father and Mother Qin, let alone why they were now willing to die in his place.
Amid the shock, a deep wave of emotion surged up within him.
The Captain with the Full Beard standing nearby sneered coldly at the sight and said, "Whether you live or die isn't for you to decide."
With that, he waved his hand.
The men of the Demon Suppression Division surrounding Qin Mu and the others immediately clapped them in shackles, gathered up all their belongings, and marched them all away together.
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