Chapter 70 Paid Work

Although Yu'an is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, it is still a newly developed area and cannot compare with other bustling cities in terms of variety. People come here for novelty, but eventually they gradually leave.

Recently, however, the road to Yu'an has been crowded with people. Those who didn't know what was going on approached and asked:

"Are you all going to Yu'an? Wasn't there a disturbance at Yu'an Restaurant a few days ago, and it almost closed down? What brings you all to Yu'an?"

"Brother, are you unaware of the imperial tomb treasure in Heishan, Yu'an?"

"...But wasn't Black Mountain sealed off by several major sects long ago?"

"Brother, you must not have seen the recent Yu'an tabloid. If an anonymous writer wrote: Yu'an has opened a new Black Mountain tourism project, and everyone is going there to see what's inside Black Mountain."

"...Tourism projects," the young man shook his head. "If there were treasures in the Black Mountain, the major sects would have swallowed them up long ago. There would be no chance for us. Brother, be careful, this is a new type of scam."

The man laughed and said, "I guess everyone's just following along to see what's going on. Do you really believe that?"

He asked the person next to him.

"I don't believe it. Anyone with a brain would believe such a thing; it's stupid."

*

Liu Yidao, who came to this desolate mountain to earn extra money, immediately felt that he had been scammed based on the letter left behind.

Is this some remote, insignificant place really the Yu'an Nature and Ecological Tourism Base? How can they afford to pay 3,000 taels of silver a month for labor?

The letter he left said:

A high-paying job where you can slack off! The job is easy; you only need to guard the base. Your colleagues are friendly, and you can eat snacks and slack off whenever you want.

Sure enough, this kind of job is mostly a trap!

He must have lost his mind; he actually came.

At the foot of the mountain, a young man lay on a chair with his eyes closed, fanning himself with a fan. Next to him stood a sign that was tilted to one side, just like him: Yu'an Black Mountain Tourist Base.

Liu Yidao initially wanted to turn around and leave, but then he thought about it again and felt angry. In the end, he still stepped forward and asked, "Is this where they're hiring? Are you the boss here?"

The fan stopped waving, and Xu Cangyu opened his squinting eyes and sat up: "Hello, I am the manager of the Black Mountain Tourist Base."

Liu Yidao: "..." Ha, such a trivial place, yet it has such a grand presence.

Liu Yidao was convinced that he had been scammed.

"You can't even fake it properly. You think you can fool me into working for you for free for a month?"

Xu Zangyu said lazily, "If you don't believe me, you can pay me daily."

Wasting a day isn't necessarily a bad thing. Liu Yidao was genuinely curious: where did this kid get his confidence?

He looked at Black Mountain and exclaimed in surprise, "You actually activated the formation here, but let me tell you honestly, there's nothing here at all, let alone any imperial tomb treasures."

Back then, their Tianyi Sect had already thoroughly searched Black Mountain, but they couldn't even find his missing junior brother. They sealed off this place, fearing there might be something strange about it.

This kid isn't afraid of death, but there aren't that many brainless people in the world who would come here to join in the fun.

Xu Cangyu smiled with clear eyes, "That's why I said this is a tourist base, but there's no guarantee that there will definitely be treasures here."

Liu Yidao: "No one would fall for your tricks."

Before long, a huge crowd arrived, and Xu Cangyu clapped his hands and stood up: "We've got work to do."

How do I get into your Montenegro tourist base?

Why would anyone go to all this trouble if they didn't have some ulterior motive?

Xu Zangyu opened his fan and said, "The entrance fee is one hundred taels per hour."

"One hundred taels! One hour! Why don't you just rob me!"

Many people laughed, finding it truly ridiculous; who would actually spend a hundred taels of silver to take a stroll in the mountains?

Xu Zangyu's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't seem to care at all. It was a business that was extremely profitable, so he wasn't afraid of losing money or not.

"You can take whatever you find in the mountains within an hour."

Everyone's expression changed; after all, what they really wanted was the stuff in the Black Mountain.

One hundred taels isn't a lot, but it's not a small amount either. If you find a treasure, you've made a profit; if you satisfy your curiosity, you've lost out. But since you're already here, some people are unwilling to give up and become the first to try something new.

Liu Yidao saw that he had actually swindled five hundred taels of silver, but he bet that when those people came out, they would definitely curse him out.

An hour later, the formation activated, kicking the people inside out.

The five men, still holding hoes, looked bewildered, clearly not yet recovered from their shock. The onlookers, seeing them empty-handed, couldn't help but sneer; thankfully, they weren't the first fools.

"Did you find any treasure?"

"No."

"I knew it!"

When the others saw the five men rushing towards Xu Zangyu with hoes, they craned their necks, thinking, "See? Who wouldn't be angry if they were made a fool of?"

This kid's skinny arms and legs, he probably can't take a beating.

Liu Yidao thought so too. He gripped the knife at his waist, wary that the men might kill Xu Zangyu. At this moment, he finally understood why there was such a high-paying job. This was not a guard job, but a group of thugs.

Xu Zangyu patted his shoulder: "Don't be nervous."

Liu Yidao: "You can still laugh? That hoe was about to hit you on the head."

"Thump—"

The hoe missed Xu Zangyu's head; instead, it was swung to the ground by several men, shaking off the onlookers. The five men then pulled out one hundred taels of silver each.

"Continue for another hour."

Liu Yidao: "..."

Onlookers: "..."

Is this a case of being possessed by a ghost after going into the mountains?

Xu Zangyu smiled and accepted it, then activated the formation again without explaining anything to the others.

"Work will be finished at 7 PM. Those who want to go up the mountain should hurry."

He wasn't in a hurry, and didn't even offer much advice. He leisurely ate the spiritual fruit on the table, and even generously shared half of it with Liu Yidao.

Liu Yidao was still in shock when he took a bite and exclaimed in surprise, "Such rich spiritual energy!"

Xu Zangyu: "The fruits grown in the Black Mountain are quite good, aren't they? I plan to develop this agricultural product next year."

After a few bites, the spiritual fruit in his hand was quickly gone. Liu Yidao was still not satisfied and felt that the spiritual energy in his dantian was also more abundant.

The two ate with great relish, chatting casually. The people around them were getting hungry watching them. Was it really that delicious?

But they were too embarrassed to ask Xu Zangyu for more. Another hour passed, and when those people came out, they paid another hundred taels to extend the time for another hour, just like before.

Others asked, "Did you find any treasure?"

The group firmly replied, "No, we didn't find anything. We just fell in love with this pastoral experience."

"I think that cultivation should also be balanced with work and rest. It's good to relax occasionally, and you might have some different insights."

As they spoke, they couldn't suppress the smile on their lips, their faces glowing with an uncontrollable rosy light. No one would believe they hadn't dug up anything.

Seeing that the others didn't believe them, they got anxious, saying, "What are you doing here watching the show? Go home already!"

Suddenly, others squeezed in, offering a hundred taels of silver each. "Sigh, I've been so bored lately that my back aches. I suddenly want to stretch my muscles and bones. Farming is great! It allows me to experience the harmonious beauty between humanity and nature. Isn't this the path of freedom that we Taoists pursue?"

Those around him echoed, "Indeed, I've also suddenly realized it. Fellow Daoist, would you like to join me?"

Once the dam breaks and a breach is made, the floodwaters become unstoppable, like a ferocious beast. In a short time, the Qiankun bag in Xu Cangyu's hand visibly swelled up.

The only one who hadn't yet achieved enlightenment was Liu Yidao, who still looked incredulous. "Can farming lead to enlightenment?"

Liu Yidao couldn't bring himself to think about finding treasure in the Black Mountain. He even wondered if the trouble in the Black Mountain hadn't been eliminated, since these people were so obsessed.

Liu Yidao had the idea of ​​giving Xu Zangyu a hundred taels of silver to go in and take a look, but just as he reached into his pocket for the silver, he was suddenly jolted awake by his poverty.

That's really weird; he actually wants to pay for this kid's scam.

Fortunately, he couldn't possibly produce a hundred taels of silver.

As the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) arrived, the tourists returned with smiles on their faces, but they didn't mention a word about what happened in the Black Mountain. They only praised the beautiful scenery of the Black Mountain, saying it was close to the original ecology and could make people return to their original nature.

Xu Zangyu also smiled and packed up his stall, paying Liu Yidao one hundred taels of silver as agreed. Liu Yidao was still bewildered after receiving the money.

It seems he really did nothing and yet got a hundred taels for nothing.

He felt a vague sense of guilt for not being able to realize his value, and when Xu Zangyu asked him if he would still work tomorrow, he answered without any hesitation.

"Dry!"

It would be foolish not to take the money!

Three thousand taels of silver a month without doing anything? This is a windfall from heaven!

He used to risk his life to sell sexy portraits of his junior brothers and senior brothers, and he couldn't even earn a thousand taels of silver even if he risked his life.

Liu Yidao felt heartbroken just thinking about it. Xu Zangyu's image in his mind gradually became more and more impressive. He was no longer a liar who could talk nonsense, but a God of Wealth who radiated golden light and whose words sounded like the clinking of coins.

"You should go home early too, and come back to work tomorrow."

Liu Yidao admitted that he had been prejudiced and his previous attitude was a bit harsh. He thanked Xu Cangyu with gratitude before leaving.

As dusk fell, a figure descended from Black Mountain. Xu Cangyu smiled and tossed her the Qiankun bag in his hand, looking smug. "Boss Zheng, here's the money I'm guaranteeing you. How about it? You've pretty much finished turning over the land in Black Mountain, haven't you?"

Zheng Ru chuckled: "It saves you the cost of hiring people; all you need to do is sow some seeds. How did you come up with such a wicked idea—paying people to do your work?"

“I guess when people have money, they’ll always find some fun to do when they’re bored. I can’t guarantee that the gold inside is real,” Xu Zangyu said with great emotion. “People really do get money too easily once they abandon morality.”

Zheng Ruo looked at his face with concern, "You must not let anyone know your true identity, otherwise there will probably be bounties for you everywhere."

Xu Zangyu certainly knew, but since he had been "dead" for so many years, probably no one would suspect a dead man.

“Actually, your master has been looking for you all these years. I believe he would be very happy to know that you are not dead.”

“Master has recently gone on a long journey and his whereabouts are unknown. When Master returns, I will take you to pay your respects and let Master check on your health.”

Xu Zangyu had not yet recalled any memories of Wen Qianchu. When he learned that he had been expelled from the Tianyi Sect, it was Wumen who took him in.

The last time, I was also involved in an accident while helping my master to avert disaster.

This is different from the emotional debts I can avoid; I will eventually have to return to my sect to pay my respects.

"Master, how long does it usually take you back?"

"It can take anywhere from a few days to several months. They basically linger in the Yellow Springs, a place where no living person can enter. Master usually won't be here for too long."

Zheng Ruo asked hesitantly, "What is your relationship with Master? Senior Sister Wan Yan said that no disciple has ever made Master search for him for five years with such intensity."

Xu Zangyu replied without hesitation, "Of course it's a purely platonic master-disciple relationship...isn't that right?"

Xu Zangyu has become suspicious and paranoid, fearing that another romantic entanglement might suddenly arise.

Zheng Ruozhen overestimated him. Even if he was absurd, he wouldn't go so far as to harm his own master.

My senior brother has been looking for him for so many years. Master loves his disciples, so what's there to be surprised about?