57: A young man came to Jiangzhou Prefecture

"Hahaha, meeting you today, Fellow Daoist, is truly a great fortune of mine."

"Fellow Daoist, please go ahead. Once I have dismantled the camp, I will head to Jiangzhou Prefecture to find you."

Xiao Sheng spoke with a smile on his Face, waving his hand in farewell.

Zhou Yan could only force a smile and wave back in response.

"Sigh."

"How did things even end up like this?"

[Xiao Sheng]

[Rank: Foundation Establishment Late Stage]

[Health: 10,000/10,000]

[Mana: 4,786/5,000]

Looking at Xiao Sheng's detailed status panel, Zhou Yan only felt a headache coming on.

Just moments ago, when Xiao Sheng had shouted, "Fellow Daoist, please stay your step," Zhou Yan had subconsciously fired a quick-scope shot with his golden bow.

A Silver Bullet shot straight toward Xiao Sheng's Face.

Fortunately, the opponent's strength was not weak; he threw out a talisman paper that steadily blocked Zhou Yan's Silver Bullet.

Otherwise, the two of them would likely have been forced into a fight.

Luckily, the misunderstanding was resolved afterward. Xiao Sheng simply felt that since Zhou Yan could obtain so much Karma, there must be a reason for it.

Now that his plan had failed, he decided to stay by Zhou Yan's side and study him closely before coming up with a new plan, hoping he might see something.

Since Zhou Yan had been the one to strike first and was in the wrong, it was difficult to refuse such a request.

However, having an extra person around was often inconvenient.

Xiao Sheng also saw Zhou Yan's reluctance, so he showed a bit more sincerity.

Feeling the dozens of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones added to his pocket, Zhou Yan couldn't help but sigh.

But there was no way around it; he simply gave too much.

Just traveling together for a period of time was equivalent to thousands of taels of silver entering his pocket.

How was this damn Taoist so rich?

In terms of wealth alone, Zhou Yan also carried millions of Spirit Stones on this trip, plus what Yi Sanyi had given him.

He could have been as approachable through his wealth as Xiao Sheng, or even more lavish.

But having been an ordinary person all his life, he was afraid of poverty and hadn't dared to spend a single cent.

Now, Zhou Yan's cultivation relied on missions and killing monsters, so the Spirit Stones he could actually control were even more. But the thought of that comfortable-looking string of numbers slowly decreasing caused him immense heartache.

Forget it, just treat it as gaining a meal ticket.

The money he just received could only be considered the fee for agreeing to the accompaniment.

If cooperation was needed later, he would have to pay some additional compensation.

Jiangzhou Prefecture.

"Lord Qiao, our master received notice that that person is about to arrive in Jiangzhou Prefecture."

Qiao Wenze rubbed the armrest of his chair, his eyes full of gravity.

On the table beside him lay a letter with the following contents:

"Zhou Yan, Inner Sect Disciple of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven."

"According to the laws of Great Yu, Inner Sect Disciples of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven may enter the imperial court as officials without taking the imperial examinations. Thus, he was appointed as a local County Magistrate. Shortly after taking office, he cracked the Langqi Village case and a series of official corruption incidents."

"Consequently, he received a special promotion to the position of Registrar of the Censorate."

"During his tenure, Zhou Yan performed his duties excellently, showing outstanding performance in handling public affairs, unsealing documents, supervising negligence, and auditing records."

"With sufficient seniority and the recommendation of the Censor-in-Chief, he was exceptionally promoted to Supervising Censor, awarded the Rank of Secondary Seventh Grade."

Tap, tap, tap.

Qiao Wenze's fingers tapped rhythmically and lightly on the tabletop.

What exactly was the background of this young Lord Zhou?

His resume was practically shameless; he didn't even try to hide it, making it look like child's play.

Yet The Emperor had actually recognized such a ridiculous promotion history.

Among the few powerful families in the Kaifeng of Kaifeng, there were none with the surname Zhou. Could he be an illegitimate son secretly raised by someone, now being pushed to the forefront?

No, no, that doesn't seem right either.

Qiao Wenze had been restless for the past few days, so worried he was on the verge of developing a mental block.

As the Prefect of Jiangzhou, he had been in office for many years. Seeing that he could retire peacefully in a few more years, a Supervising Censor suddenly appeared out of thin air at this time, specifically requesting to come to Jiangzhou Prefecture.

At first, he didn't pay much attention, until his old superior specifically sent someone with a letter clearly detailing Zhou Yan's resume.

The more he read, the more alarmed he became.

Although he knew Zhou Yan came from Qingxu Grotto-Heaven, Grotto-Heaven Disciples usually lived in seclusion. Unless they were out for experience, they generally did not interfere in mundane worldly affairs.

With his status, being able to learn even a small detail about them was no different from catching a glimpse of the celestial palace; he didn't even know where to begin investigating the title of a Grotto-Heaven Disciple.

The person before him seemed both like an illegitimate son secretly supported by some big shot and like a newly accepted True Disciple of some Elder.

Regardless of which identity it was, it wasn't something an old Prefect about to retire could easily deal with.

Furthermore, although Langqi Village was in a remote location, it still fell under the jurisdiction of Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Having been in officialdom for many years, Qiao Wenze had long since become a shrewd fox. He knew full well that aside from the Langqi Village case where Zhou Yan might have actually intervened, the rest of the so-called 'achievements' were likely all results of interest exchanges.

And now, Zhou Yan, who had embarked on his official career starting from Langqi Village, suddenly requested to visit Jiangzhou in person.

His intention was all too obvious.

"Sigh, why did it have to be at this time..."

The term of office for Great Yu officials usually did not exceed a hundred years. And the mess at Langqi Village was something even his predecessor had failed to solve.

When he first took office, he had also thought about investigating it thoroughly, but after seeing the entanglements involved, he had no choice but to let go.

He had planned to wait a few more years and then pass this hot potato to the next person. He only needed to accumulate enough resources during his final term so that after retiring, he could use those resources to improve his cultivation and enjoy his later years.

"Lord Qiao, you should make your plans early."

"My master explained that he will not intervene in this matter, and others will not ask questions."

"The reasons are not convenient to state clearly; you need to figure them out yourself. Whether you guess right or wrong, it has nothing to do with my master."

"Although these words are somewhat cold, your current situation is, to some extent, precarious. For my master to send a letter explaining these few sentences is already the height of kindness."

Having finished speaking, the visitor bowed and took his leave.

In the empty hall, only Qiao Wenze remained, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.

"Ha... haha."

He gave a few helpless, bitter laughs and murmured to himself.

"It really is... a gathering storm."

In the silent hall, only the old man's long and heavy sigh remained.

And our little Lord Zhou at this time did not yet know that before even arriving at Jiangzhou Prefecture, he had already triggered a significant commotion.

At this moment, he had just remembered the gacha draw attempts he had intentionally forgotten.

The use of this gacha wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either.

Since obtaining them no longer relied on spending real money, Zhou Yan had originally planned to save them up to draw a bunch at once for the thrill, or to save them for a critical moment to try his luck.

But while idling on the road, it was fine if he didn't remember, but suddenly thinking of the two chances lying quietly in his inventory made his whole body feel uncomfortable.

Those two damn gacha chances were like little vixens clad in thin veils, constantly teasing Zhou Yan's already restless heart, as if saying:

"Master, come and draw me~"

"You weren't this gutless in the past~"

Zhou Yan walked a bit further under this suppressed emotion before finally coming to a stop.

He gritted his teeth, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

"Damn it, I can't hold back anymore!"

"I have to draw this time!"

Zhou Yan finally couldn't restrain himself; he opened his inventory and made a grand gesture.

Click!

Whoosh—

The massive gacha wheel emerged once again, still with the familiar and reassuring light-pollution special effects. In his eyes, this was a symbol of wealth and, more importantly, where all of Zhou Yan's hope lay.

"Master Developer!"

"It's me, little Zhou!"

"I beg of you, give me some Face! In the future, I will definitely spend heavily and show you great respect!"

As the draw button was pressed, the wheel spun rapidly, and the light on the wheel became increasingly dazzling.

Zhou Yan's heart also rose into his throat.

Ding.

Accompanied by a crisp notification sound, the wheel slowly came to a stop.

Although he couldn't directly see what he had obtained from the wheel, Zhou Yan still instinctively stared at the position the pointer was aimed at.

"Congratulations, Player has drawn: LV.5..."

"LV.5?"

"That's a sub-endgame level good item!"

"What is it? A skill or a Cultivation Technique?!"

"Congratulations, Player has drawn: LV5 Cooking."

Zhou Yan's Face froze.

However, the result of the next draw was:

"Congratulations, Player has drawn: Sound Settings."

"Seeking the Dao developers, you... (The following content centers on the developers and conducts an in-depth cross-generational academic discussion regarding the emotional experiences and health status of their Family members.)"