Chapter 177
"Heavenly... Heavenly Venerable, Your Majesty the Heavenly Venerable..."
When Village Chief Fu arrived, panting, Fan Xiaoxiao and Tianzun were just standing in the woods seeing Bai Chaoyan and Xiahou off. However, because they came from the opposite direction from where Xiahou and the others had left, and there was a river in between, Village Chief Fu did not see the three of them seeing them off.
Therefore, the way these three people were standing at the edge of the woods appeared to him as them impatiently waiting for him to bring his men over.
"Your Majesty, I... I'm late... I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."
Village Chief Fu's face was deathly pale, his cheeks damp with sweat from the long journey. He didn't bother wiping it away; the first thing he did upon arrival was to calm himself and bow deeply to the Heavenly Venerable.
The people behind him knelt down sparsely, kowtowing towards the direction of the Heavenly Venerable. They didn't care about being in perfect order, and shouted loudly, "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable!"
Fan Xiaoxiao was taken aback by the scene before her, silently glancing at the unassuming old man beside her. She wondered to herself: So the Celestial Venerable holds such a high position here? But yesterday, when these people heard she was sent by the Celestial Venerable, they didn't seem particularly respectful. Was it more fear than admiration?
The Celestial Venerable stroked his beard, glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao, and seeing that she was looking at him without saying a word, he raised his eyebrows at her, as if he thought she was waiting for him to speak.
So the misunderstanding Heavenly Venerable cleared his throat and waved to the wealthy village chief in front of him.
“Brother Fu, you’re here to help the little girl build a house, right? Hai, I heard about what happened yesterday from Xiao Sangzi. The place you’ve arranged is quite nice, with mountains and water, and it’s close to Tianshan. This will make it easier for the girl to send things to Tianshan in the future.”
Fan Xiaoxiao: ...My goodness, if you talk like that, people will think I'm delivering a message!
As expected, Village Chief Fu shuddered upon hearing this. The Celestial Venerable said there were mountains, implying this place was remote? Being close to the Heavenly Mountain meant a warning against any underhanded actions they were unaware of?! Just who was this young woman from the Heavenly Mountain Sect?!
Village Chief Fu subtly glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao, his eyes flashing with disgust and apprehension. Fan Xiaoxiao saw this clearly and was speechless: I knew it!
Just as she was about to say something, Village Chief Fu lowered his head, concealing all his emotions.
"Your Excellency is too kind. The land in the village is simply too scarce, so we had no choice but to arrange for this lady to stay here..."
After hearing his explanation, the Celestial Venerable glanced at him, knowing that what sounded like an explanation was actually a complaint. He narrowed his eyes, not intending to point it out, but simply smiled casually: "I have no intention of blaming you. Raise your head and speak."
"yes."
Sang Lan'er, who had been silent until now, noticed that the people who came were empty-handed and looked at them strangely: "Village Chief Fu, didn't you come to help build the house? Why didn't you bring anything?"
Village Chief Fu paused, turned around, and was furious. These good-for-nothings! He'd called them over in such a hurry, and they'd come without bringing anything! They certainly didn't look like they were there to help build a house! Except for Hu San, who was carrying an axe, everyone else was empty-handed.
"I……"
“Sister Sang, I told them not to bring anything. Today's main task is to clear the road. We have plenty of machetes here, but we need someone to help us cut a path that a carriage can pass through so that we can move things in later. Today, Master Lu and I also need to go to the town at the foot of the mountain to buy some bricks. So it will take a couple of days before we can start work.”
Before Village Chief Fu could speak, Fan Xiaoxiao explained the situation, thus resolving their predicament. Village Chief Fu hadn't expected her to suddenly speak up for them, and he glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao again.
The Celestial Venerable saw his expression, subtly curled the corner of his mouth, and then patted Fan Xiaoxiao's head as if by accident.
“Since that’s the case, we’re relieved. We won’t bother you any longer. Girl, I’ll come back to see you again in a while. Xiao Sangzi, let’s go back to the mountain.”
After saying that, he vanished in a flash. The surrounding trees rustled without any wind, and then the Celestial Venerable disappeared.
Sang Lan'er nodded to Fan Xiaoxiao, then leaped a few steps through the woods and disappeared into the forest.
Fan Xiaoxiao, left behind, touched her head. She didn't know what the Celestial Venerable's hand was made of; it still hurt a little when he slapped her. However, she guessed that the Celestial Venerable was a bit temperamental, because yesterday she had asked Sang Lan'er to tell him to come and see the place she had chosen, and also to meet the people who were building her house.
Who is the Celestial Venerable? He would naturally know that I am just using his name to bully others.
Fan Xiaoxiao sighed, thinking to herself why Boss Gu hadn't returned yet. If he were better, she could straighten her back and cling to his leg again.
"Madam Fan, thank you for helping us out of that predicament earlier."
Village Chief Fu slightly raised his chin and gave Fan Xiaoxiao a casual bow. He looked somewhat reluctant, and Fan Xiaoxiao waved her hand.
"No need to be polite. Just clear the trees over here. As you heard, the Celestial Venerable will be coming again in a while. We are outnumbered, and if we don't clear them all, I certainly won't help you anymore."
"you!"
Tiger Three was somewhat annoyed by Fan Xiaoxiao's tone and glared at her, about to step forward. Village Chief Fu quickly stopped him, sternly rebuking him: "Tiger Three!"
"village head!"
Village Chief Fu glared at him, then turned to look at Fan Xiaoxiao.
"You can rest assured about this matter; our people here will clear a path through this area."
Fan Xiaoxiao nodded, turned around and walked to the shed she had set up yesterday. She took out some machetes and axes and handed them to the villagers who came over.
"I've marked all of these! You can borrow them for now, but if one is missing... heh heh."
Fan Xiaoxiao adopted a tyrannical demeanor, as if to say, "You'll have to deal with this yourselves," and threw down her wood-chopping knife. Uncle Wang and Grandpa Lu came out with her.
"Girl, you and Brother Lu go ahead, I'll watch over things here."
After saying that, Uncle Wang glanced meaningfully at Village Chief Fu and the others, then picked up an axe and started chopping down a tree. He used considerable force, and with each chop, the tree trembled and its leaves rustled.
Village Chief Fu knew he meant to watch them work, so he pursed his lips. Although he was displeased, he still directed the villagers who had come with him to start working with a dark face.
Seeing that they had started work, Fan Xiaoxiao felt much more at ease.
"Master Lu, let's go."
She climbed into the carriage, and with Master Lu's command, the two headed towards Tianshan Town.
At this moment, Fan Xiaoxiao was unaware that although she had arrived at Tianshan, danger had not yet spared her...
(End of this chapter)
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