Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 33: The Scapegoat, Everyone Knows the Old Heavenly Master!_1
"Daoist Priest Fan... is that really you?"
When Fan Wu heard those words, he knew... he had been recognized.
Even though Bai He County and Qiulong County both fall under the jurisdiction of Yinghe Prefecture, and it is normal for the two counties to interact with each other,
he had been in this place for less than half an hour and had already been recognized...
Wasn’t that a bit too outrageous?
But he had no choice.
He could hardly gouge out the eyes of everyone who recognized him, could he?
He wasn’t that crazy!
Helpless.
He nodded his head slightly.
"Hiss!" That seemed to be the sound of a gasp from the son of a wealthy family from Qiulong County, who immediately took a sharp breath upon seeing him.
The frivolity on his face quickly faded, replaced by a look of respect, "Daoist Priest Fan...you may not recognize me, but you should recognize my father."
"My father is Huang Dasheng from the Huang family’s money shop in Qiulong County. I am his son, and... you can call me by my name—Huang Ruizhi!"
Huang Dasheng.
Fan Wu heard a name that was somewhat familiar to him; he remembered this man as one of the victims swindled by his con artist master.
When the Qiulong Temple was first built, this Huang Dasheng had donated a whopping one thousand taels of silver! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
As far as Fan Wu knew.
Of those one thousand taels of silver, his con artist master had only used half to build the Taoist Temple, stuffing the other half into his own purse.
And the only thing his master had given in return was a few worthless amulets!
That poor sap probably held those pieces of paper, obtained in exchange for one thousand taels, gleefully unaware for many a year.
Nice going!
So, this Huang Ruizhi standing before him... was he the son of that dupe?
Fan Wu wiped the slight trace of grease at the corner of his mouth, maintaining a high-minded, aloof expression on his face.
To Huang Ruizhi’s self-introduction, he responded coolly and indifferently, "So, you are the son of Merchant Huang. I am aware of Merchant Huang."
"Hehehe..." Huang Ruizhi chuckled and scratched his head, showing none of the arrogant defiance he might have in the presence of Fan Wu.
Even though the two were of similar age, their respective demeanors...
Made Fan Wu seem like an elder.
And Huang Ruizhi like a junior.
The sons of the Bai He County gentry standing next to Huang Ruizhi were utterly bewildered at this point.
Following Huang Ruizhi’s gaze, they saw an extremely burly man, sitting there.
The unique aura emanating from this man nearly caused their breath to catch.
One of them quietly nudged Huang Ruizhi, asking in a low voice filled with curiosity, "Brother Huang... who is this man?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Ruizhi straightened his back and puffed out his chest.
Proudly, he introduced, "Brother Hu, Brother Bai, Brother Li, this is Daoist Priest Fan from our Qiulong County! You might not have heard his name, but he truly is a remarkable figure! Even the Magistrate of Qiulong County holds Daoist Priest Fan in high regard!"
Hiss!
The Bai He County gentry sons took a sharp breath, their faces a picture of sudden realization.
To these gentry sons...
A Magistrate was definitely a major figure, the equivalent of a local parent official!
And a person highly respected even by such a major figure... surely must be an even more important figure, right?
However...
They took a covert look at Fan Wu, doubts emerging in their minds.
How come this Daoist Priest at first glance didn’t seem like a Taoist?
Shouldn’t Taoists have an air of transcendent grace?
This Daoist Priest Fan looked... perhaps a bit too strong, didn’t he?
Those muscular arms...
Were even thicker than their legs!
"Daoist Priest Fan, how come you’re in Bai He County?" Huang Ruizhi, having proudly introduced the distinguished ’Daoist Priest Fan’ of Qiulong County to his group of friends, couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer and asked.
Fan Wu just intended to rest in Bai He County for a day before continuing his journey to Nanjun.
He certainly didn’t want to become well-known to everyone in Bai He County.
He’d have been delighted if no one in Bai He County knew his identity.
But as a result...
This guy named Huang Ruizhi had just blown his cover!
Fan Wu really wanted to wring his neck.
All the thoughts swirling in his mind ultimately morphed into a stiff smile on his face.
With a forced aura of an accomplished Immortal Master, Fan Wu replied with "patience," "Before my mentor passed away, he entrusted me with a letter to be delivered to his kin in the mundane world. My journey this time is to fulfill my mentor’s dying wish."
Of course, he couldn’t admit that he wanted to make a run for Nanjun Prefecture, seek refuge with his never-before-met sworn sister, and live the good life in his next life... That kind of thoughts, in this context, definitely couldn’t be spoken out loud.
Fan Wu had no choice but to go against his conscience and utter the nauseating lie of "fulfilling a mentor’s last wish."
Hmm.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely false.
After all, if he was going to seek out his sworn sister, he was indeed planning to deliver the letter to her as well.
That could be considered reluctantly fulfilling the con artist mentor’s last wish, right?
"I see!"
Huang Ruizhi bought it, his expression one of sudden realization.
After sighing, he even thought to comfort Fan Wu, "Daoist Priest Fan, please accept my condolences. I also met the old Heavenly Master of Qiulong Temple when I was a child. The old Heavenly Master even patted my head back then!"
Nonsense!
Your dad, that gullible fool, gave him a thousand taels of silver!
Forget just patting your head, that scam artist mentor probably wished he could have acknowledged you as his godson on the spot and flicked your little noggin every single day!
Fan Wu rolled his eyes internally.
"The old Heavenly Master of Qiulong Temple?" Suddenly, a voice, slightly crisp and clear, interjected, "This fellow Daoist, could it be that you are a disciple of the old Heavenly Master of Qiulong Temple?"
The person speaking now...
was Shen Ji Yue!
Fan Wu: "?"
It was already bad enough that Huang Ruizhi recognized him, considering Huang Ruizhi was also from Qiulong County.
But why would a Chief Flag Officer from Bai He County know about the old Heavenly Master of Qiulong Temple?
Even though both counties belonged to the same prefecture, the distance between the two county towns was significant!
It would take several days of non-stop travel!
That Xie Jiu I encountered earlier was also from the Office of Heaven’s Will, a Little Banner Officer at that, and even he didn’t know about Qiulong Temple, right?
So why did this Chief Flag Officer from the Office of Heaven’s Will... happen to know about Qiulong Temple?
And also about my scam artist mentor?
Ah, this!
"Just now, when I saw the Daoist friend enter the inn, I instinctively felt that you were no ordinary person. Now that I have unexpectedly learned of your identity, I’m surprised to find that you are indeed a disciple of the old Heavenly Master," Shen Ji Yue said, her face relaxing a bit due to the revelation of Fan Wu’s identity, the wariness in her heart easing.
She gave a respectful bow in Fan Wu’s direction, "I am Shen Ji Yue, Chief Flag Officer of the Office of Heaven’s Will, and I’m pleased to meet you, Daoist friend! Just now, I heard you discussing with these young masters, and they mentioned the old Heavenly Master has... passed away? Is that true?"
Fan Wu’s mouth twitched slightly; who knew his fake mentor had such a big reputation!
What did that scam artist mentor actually do to shock the world?
Fan Wu could only reply, "It’s true."
Shen Ji Yue paused, her expression revealing a touch of complexity, and with a deep breath, she lamented, "I did not expect... even such a powerful Heavenly Master could not escape the torment of time."
"Although I’ve never met the old Heavenly Master in person, I’ve heard a few of his stories. Many officials in Qiulong County hold him in high regard," she added.
Hearing this...
Fan Wu understood.
It turns out that the Magistrate and his fellow officials from Qiulong County have been exaggerating some tales about the fake mentor, blowing his deeds out of proportion.
And when those stories spread, they probably got a bit of artistic enhancement.
****!
Too real!
