"Cultivation?"

In the backyard of the Qingshan County government office, a refined-looking man in a blue robe listened to the report from the head constable before him. After a moment of contemplation, he smiled and asked,

"Officer Xing, what do you think?"

"It is entirely up to you, sir, to decide!"

Constable Xing lowered his eyes and bowed his head, his attitude respectful.

"Didn't I tell you before to pay more attention to this person? I don't know him as well as you do, so just tell me your opinion."

“Your Excellency, I believe we can agree to his request for now and then observe him further. Judging from his current behavior, even if we don’t know the details of his past life, he is not a demon.”

"What if he's deliberately hiding or pretending?"

"He'll slip up sooner or later, then it won't be too late to make a move."

"That's what Constable Xing replied."

"But what if it leads to tragedy by then?"

The county magistrate asked with a smile.

"If the magistrate believes this boy is a great demon, he may order his execution. I will obey his orders."

Officer Xing made his stance clear. He had said everything he needed to say, and he would never utter a word he shouldn't. Did they think he was stupid enough to use him as a scapegoat?

"That won't be necessary."

The magistrate's smile vanished, his face becoming solemn, displaying the majesty of a county official. However, even as the head of the county, he could not kill without a legal basis.

As the highest ruler of a county, he disliked people like Feng Bingwen who were beyond his control. If it were just an ordinary person who had luckily retained the wisdom of their past life, that would be fine; they would only have a few decades more of memories than ordinary people and wouldn't cause any trouble.

However, Feng Bingwen happened to be a wise person who had cultivated in his previous life, which made him extremely wary. Heaven knows what kind of existence the other party was in his previous life.

Based on their current behavior, it seems the opponent is a virtuous cultivator from the Good Deeds Sect. However, this is only what they can see. What if it's some great demon who can massacre entire cities at will?

He had to consider the worst-case scenario, but he was powerless to deal with such a dire possibility.

"Then please advise, Your Excellency, on how this matter should be handled?"

"If he wants it, then let him have it. It's not a big deal anyway. Even if we don't give it to him, he can find it if he really wants to, it'll just be a little later."

The magistrate pondered for a moment, then waved his hand somewhat helplessly; he had just suddenly thought of something.

So, does that person really need those hooligans to accumulate any cultivation, and must they go through the government office to find him? Going to the government office is just more convenient, not the fundamental reason. It's probably for other reasons, such as testing the attitude of this county magistrate. If he has any ill intentions, hehe.

"Yes, Your Highness, I'll go and tidy up now."

Go!

...

Fengjia Village

Feng Bingwen had just made his request to Constable Xing when he noticed something was amiss. A robust yellow ox was tied up in front of his house, chewing grass with its head down, and it was hard to ignore.

Where did this cow come from?

Feng Bingwen stared at the yellow ox, which was as tall as him, for a couple of seconds, and then went into the room. As soon as he entered, he noticed the difference in the atmosphere inside. The reason for this was, of course, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe who was having tea in the main hall.

"Finally, Young Master Feng is back!"

Upon seeing Feng Bingwen enter, the middle-aged man who had been sitting to one side of the main seat talking with the old man immediately stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed to Feng Bingwen, who looked on with slight surprise.

"My name is Hu Ande. I am very grateful to Young Master Feng for his guidance to my son, Hu Xianyu, these past few days. I returned home today and only then did I realize the extent of Young Master Feng's kindness. Therefore, I have prepared a small gift to express my gratitude."

"Are you Hu Er's father?"

After listening to the middle-aged man in the brocade robe introduce himself, Feng Bingwen understood.

This is the father of Hu Er, who works as a steward in a wealthy family, as that Sister Wen mentioned. But this sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard.

"It is indeed my humble son who has troubled Young Master Feng these past few days!"

The steward, Mr. Hu, spoke very humbly, showing no disdain for Feng Bingwen's youth.

"It's just a small favor, it doesn't cost anything."

Feng Bingwen was momentarily embarrassed by his father's behavior.

"Bingwen, you've accomplished quite a lot in the county these past few days."

However, compared to the solemn-looking housekeeper Hu, the old man accompanying him looked at his grandson with a rather unfriendly gaze.

"I didn't actually do anything."

Feng Bingwen smiled shyly. He hadn't actually told his father about his daily beatings in the county town, mainly because he was afraid the old man would nag him. But now it seemed that the secret had been revealed.

"Mr. Feng, Young Master Feng, I am currently very busy and have many things to finish, so I will take my leave now. I hope you will understand."

Butler Hu spoke at the opportune moment, cupped his hands and was about to leave when the old man next to him saw this and quickly stood up, picked up a piece of paper on the table. Feng Bingwen saw it from afar; there were several red marks on the paper.

"Butler Hu, please wait. You can take these back with you."

"Sir, now that I've taken the item, there's no reason for me to take it back."

Upon hearing this, Butler Hu quickened his pace, taking three steps at a time, and walked out of the house. The old man, whose legs were weak, sighed and sat back down.

"Grandpa, what's that? And what's with that cow outside the door?"

"This is the land deed, along with the yellow ox outside the door. They were all sent by Steward Hu as a reward for you."

The old man said irritably that if someone hadn't come to the door today, he would never have known that his grandson had done so many things while he was bedridden.

"How many land deeds are there?"

Feng Bingwen's eyes lit up immediately. Although he was now extraordinary, he still had an instinctive love for the land, which was ingrained in his bones.

"Ten acres of prime farmland!"

The old man sighed.

"Wow, that Butler Hu is really generous!"

Feng Bingwen couldn't help but sigh. As far as he knew, his family's land totaled less than three mu. This was mainly because his family didn't rely on farming for a living, and also because his grandmother, the only person who farmed, was getting old and couldn't manage it anymore. They sold or rented out the extra land.

"That's very generous, but these are too valuable. We can't accept them. Please send them back first thing tomorrow morning."

"There's no need for that."

Feng Bingwen muttered to himself, "They gave me a cow and ten acres of fertile land. I might be surprised, but I absolutely deserve it. I helped them bring their son back to the right path. They're rich, so what's wrong with thanking them?"

"Unnecessary? Do you know how much these are worth?"

The old man was furious. A bull that could breed soon, plus ten acres of fertile land—with such assets, even a poor family could rise to a middle-class status, at least ensuring they would have enough to eat and wear.

"He's happy to give it to me, it's not like I forced him to!"