Chapter 40 Yuan Yongcheng

"Since Daoist Master Guo is fine, let's head to the county yamen," Zhao Yuansong said with a smile.

Hearing this, Ji Yuan nodded. He glanced at his senior brother, suppressing his thoughts for the moment, intending to discuss them back at the Daoist temple.

After a brief pause, he took out several porcelain bottles from his sleeve and distributed them to everyone present, including the young man and woman who had just returned.

"These are medicinal pills refined by this humble Daoist. They nourish the roots, strengthen the foundation, and thicken the vital energy within the body."

Ji Yuan explained that taking one pill would not only make qi cultivation twice as effective within one to two days but also increase one's cultivation by an amount equivalent to half a month of arduous effort.

Most importantly, the medicinal properties of this pill were gentle, with almost no side effects. Furthermore, it would continuously benefit the cultivator for several days after consumption.

If it weren't for the great use the spherical object was to him, Ji Yuan would not have given out so many pills at once.

He knew that refining such pills was extremely difficult. With his alchemy skills, he could only succeed in one out of three to four furnaces. A single bottle of three pills was enough to be sold for thirty taels of gold at the Mingxin Pavilion.

After hearing the young Daoist's description, Zhao Yuansong immediately smiled. He bowed with his junior brothers and sisters and accepted the pills without refusal.

However, Huixin showed hesitation. Although he was very tempted by the pill, he shook his head and wanted to refuse.

In his opinion, if it weren't for his indecisiveness, this demon-slaying mission would have been successful. Not only would the materials from the demon be valuable, but they would have also received rewards from the county yamen.

The laws of the Great Yu Dynasty explicitly stated that cultivators who killed harmful demons would be rewarded by the imperial court based on the situation.

But now, because of his wavering, the demon-slaying mission had failed. Not only would they not receive the rewards they deserved, but more innocent people might suffer a tragic death at the hands of the demon in the future.

How could he have the face to accept this bottle of pills?

"You monk, why are you so rigid?" Ji Yuan rolled his eyes and said irritably, "If you don't accept this bottle of pills now, won't you be putting me in your debt, leaving a blemish on my state of mind?"

There were myriad Great Daos in the world. However, whether it was a qi cultivator or a martial artist, they all placed great importance on their state of mind, allowing no flaws or stains, as it related to the fundamental basis of their cultivation.

Hearing this, Huixin could only give a wry smile and withdrew his outstretched hand, tucking the porcelain bottle containing three pills into his sleeve.

"Little Daoist Master is indeed a renowned alchemist in Qianyu City. To carry such precious pills with you." Zhao Yuansong laughed heartily, smoothing over the situation so that Huixin wouldn't be too embarrassed.

However, Ji Yuan clearly saw a subtle flash of brilliance in his eyes.

He looked at the other man deeply. If he wasn't mistaken, this person had figured something out.

But the young Daoist didn't care. Since he had acted in such a way, he was naturally prepared. Even if others discovered something, it wouldn't matter.

After putting away the spherical object, he led the people beside him and headed quickly towards the county yamen.

Along the way, they encountered many panicked and uneasy commoners who had fled from the riverbanks due to the earlier battle with the demon.

However, most of these people had not witnessed the scene firsthand and therefore did not recognize Ji Yuan and his companions, even those who had just fought the demon.

About half an incense stick's worth of time later, Ji Yuan and his group arrived at the county yamen. Over twenty constables were already gathered outside the gate, led by Liu Hongsheng, the chief constable of Qianyu City, and Sun Youfang, the yamen's scribe.

The former was a burly middle-aged man with a stern face that exuded authority. His martial arts skills were enough to rank him among the top five in Qianyu City.

The latter was a small old man in his sixties or seventies, not tall, often slightly hunched over, with a small mustache. His eyes often flashed with a sharp glint.

These two were considered the county magistrate's right-hand men, and both were present at the entrance of the county yamen.

As Ji Yuan and his group approached the county yamen, two squads of city guards, totaling fifty men, arrived with large strides.

One squad consisted of thirty men, wearing leather armor, carrying spears, and with long sabers at their waists. The other squad, numbering twenty men, besides carrying crossbows, was also equipped with hand crossbows.

Ji Yuan took a glance. Among the arriving city guards and the constables belonging to the county yamen, there were many familiar faces. He had even met Chief Constable Liu Hongsheng and Scribe Sun Youfang several times.

As they neared, a constable stepped forward to stop them, preventing them from moving any further.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuansong roughly explained their purpose and expressed their hope that the two officials would inform the magistrate.

After hearing this, the two constables appeared solemn. One constable, surnamed Wang, who knew Ji Yuan, saw him in the group and did not dare to delay. He immediately ran over to the chief constable.

The group then saw the two men whispering to each other. Liu Hongsheng immediately led Scribe Sun Youfang to walk quickly towards them.

"You are the ones who intended to slay the demon on the Xiyu River?" Liu Hongsheng's gaze swept over the group, pausing on Ji Yuan for a moment.

Originally, Huixin, as a local, or Ji Yuan should have explained the situation. However, one was preoccupied with his thoughts, and the other intentionally remained silent. Thus, Zhao Yuansong repeated what he had said earlier.

Compared to the previous account, this one undoubtedly included more details and the reason why they had not informed the county yamen beforehand.

As for the reason he mentioned, neither Liu Hongsheng nor the scribe beside him, nor even the several captains behind them, felt that they were being underestimated.

After all, not every constable was a cultivator; most were ordinary mortals who only knew some martial arts, primarily excelling in solving cases.

If the county yamen had been notified and dispatched them to participate in the encirclement, few would have been able to retreat unharmed from that explosion.

Most of them, even if they didn't die on the spot, would at least be permanently disabled. Losing an arm or a leg would be considered fortunate.

"I cannot make the decision on this matter. Please, all of you, accompany me into the county yamen to see the Lord." Liu Hongsheng said solemnly.

Then, he gave a look to the captains behind him, and together with Scribe Sun Youfang, he led the group into the county yamen.

The captains, on the other hand, led the remaining twenty constables and fifty city guards to the scene of the incident.

It was clearly impossible for them to simply dismiss the matter based on Ji Yuan's few words and return to rest. They still had to investigate and confirm the truth of the matter.

Moreover, there were still many troublesome matters waiting for them to handle at the scene, including collapsed and damaged houses, as well as affected civilians.

As the constables and guards departed, Ji Yuan and his group followed Liu Hongsheng into the county yamen.

However, as soon as they stepped into the yamen, Sun Youfang, under the pretext of reporting in advance, quickly headed towards the back courtyard of the yamen.

Since it was not a court session, Liu Hongsheng did not take them to the main hall but led them to a side hall. As soon as they sat down, a maidservant brought tea.

However, apart from Huixin and Guo Tao, no one touched the tea, which was considered excellent by mortals.

Cultivators, in addition to relying on spiritual energy from heaven and earth and wondrous spiritual items, also paid great attention to their food and drink. Not everything could be put into their mouths. At best, it would pollute their Dao bodies with impure qi; at worst, it could cause their cultivation to regress and their foundation to be damaged.

This was why, after embarking on the path of cultivation, Ji Yuan, despite the expenditure of a large amount of money, insisted on replacing all the food and drink in the Daoist temple with spiritual rice and tea cultivated by cultivators themselves.

Not long after, footsteps could be heard from outside. The group immediately turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man, accompanied by Scribe Sun Youfang, entering the room.

"This official, Yuan Yongcheng, greets all the chivalrous guests. I was occupied with official duties earlier. Please forgive any oversight," the middle-aged man said, cupping his hands in greeting. He exuded no official airs.

This county magistrate was of ordinary build and unremarkable appearance, dressed in common clothes, without any gold, silver, or jade adornments. However, his demeanor carried a scholar's refined aura.

The group stood up and returned the greeting. Even as cultivators, they did not exhibit any arrogance at this moment, nor did they look down on this "mortal."

"I have heard Master Sun recount what you have said. On behalf of the citizens of this city, I offer this gift!" Yuan Yongcheng said with a serious expression, bowing to them again.

However, this bow was different from the previous one; it was a deep bow. He clasped his hands and bowed to the ground, bending his waist more than halfway.

Seeing this, the group naturally exclaimed, "We dare not!" and quickly dodged to the side, truly not daring to accept such a profound bow.

Let alone the fact that they had not succeeded in slaying the demon and had allowed it to escape, even if they had successfully killed it, they would not have dared to accept this bow so readily.

"This is a small token of my sincerity. I hope you will not refuse." Yuan Yongcheng smiled slightly. As soon as he finished speaking, several servants entered the room, placing wooden trays in front of them. Before leaving, they did not forget to lift the red cloth covering them.

"This is absolutely not permissible!" Zhao Yuansong's expression turned serious upon seeing this, and he immediately spoke out to refuse.

On each wooden tray were neatly arranged ingots of silver yuanbao, all cast by the imperial court as snowflake-patterned silver.

This official silver was worth significantly more than ordinary civilian silver ingots. Typically, one tael of snowflake-patterned silver could be exchanged for four to five taels of ordinary silver.

"We did not succeed in slaying the demon, and we even caused losses to the nearby residents," Zhao Yuansong said, shaking his head. "It is already a great fortune that Your Lordship is not holding us accountable, so how can we accept such a generous gift!"

If they were to strictly adhere to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, their failure to slay the demon, coupled with the destruction of surrounding residential buildings and casualties among the populace, would be sufficient grounds for the local yamen to hold them responsible.

However, in general, no one would actually do this. Firstly, it would easily discourage people and cause other cultivators to turn a blind eye to similar situations.

The second reason was simple: those involved in such matters were either cultivators or martial artists with considerable prowess. The local yamen would not rashly offend such individuals.