Above the Great Dao

Next door, the sound of knocking could be heard as well. Yu Zhu turned her head and saw Chen Shi hanging meat on the neighbor's door, nearly fifteen pounds of it.

Yu Zhu's grandmother called from behind, "Girl, who's that outside?"

"Grandma, it's that dead child you talked about."

Yu Zhu, holding the door's meat, returned to the courtyard and whispered to her grandmother, "He brought us all this meat. Grandma, we haven't eaten meat for so long!"

Yu Zhu's grandmother was astonished, tiptoed out of the courtyard, and saw Chen Shi knocking from door to door. Without waiting for anyone to come out, he would hang the meat on someone else's door.

In this manner, Chen Shi went from house to house, hanging the meat, and soon, the pot of Spiritual Beast Meat had all but halved.

When he arrived at his own home, the pot was almost empty, with only two or three pieces left.

"The child is indeed generous. If only he had not died back then..."

Yu Zhu's grandmother sighed and instructed Yu Zhu, "Remember, don't play with him! He's a dead child!"

Chen Shi pushed open the door, carried the big pot into the courtyard, and gave two sharp whistles, summoning Black Pot. Then, he reached into the pot and took out a piece of Spiritual Beast Meat.

Black Pot was overjoyed, immediately dismissing the idea of scolding him for not returning home for many days, and went under the table to enjoy his treat.

Chen Shi shouted into the hall, "Grandpa, I'm back!"

"Hmph, you still know how to come back!"

Grandpa came out from the hall, holding a half-eaten candle, quite displeased, and scolded, "Going out without a word, think you're brave enough to die out there and never come back? Right, Black Pot? Black Pot! Where have you died off to? Can't you even help chime in with a scolding?"

After grandpa grumbled, Chen Shi took the remaining Spiritual Beast Meat out of the pot and chuckled, "Grandpa, let's have this for dinner tonight!"

Grandpa hung up the meat, wanting to scold him a little more, yet not knowing where to start, and also not having the heart to hit him.

"I made a business deal a few days ago and earned some money. I bought you some new clothes; they're in your room. Go check if they fit."

Chen Shi hurried into his room. These past few days, changing his true blood, he had grown quite a bit and felt his clothes getting tight. He had been wondering how to get his grandpa to pay for new clothes but to his surprise, grandpa had already bought them.

On the bed, there was a new set of clothes, including an undershirt and a small coat, along with a light blue changpao, a pair of white trousers, a teal zhiduo, a red silk waistband, and a blue sachet.

Chen Shi dressed neatly, and the clothes happened to fit perfectly.

He was thrilled and was about to go out when he spotted a red hair ribbon, suitable for a ponytail, also red but a shade of rose, lying on the bed.

After tying his hair, Chen Shi stepped out of his room.

"What a handsome lad!" Grandpa exclaimed with praise.

Chen Shi was very pleased and planned to take a stroll outside but remembered that he was shunned by the villagers and had no friends, so he reluctantly gave up on the idea.

"Grandpa said he did a business deal; what kind of deal?" he asked curiously.

"Shanyin Village encountered a malevolent force. The Wang family's donkey died, as stiff as a board, but in the middle of the night, it came back to life. It got up and ran the mill all night long. By dawn, it had grown claws and sharp teeth and started attacking people, chasing them down the streets and injuring quite a few."

Grandpa sorted through medicinal herbs, leisurely continuing, "The village midwife didn't do anything about it, so they had to call for me. I went there, and one glance told me it turned malevolent under the moonlight. But since it happened right in the village, the midwife didn't bother with it."

Chen Shi asked, "And then what happened?"

"Then? I subdued the donkey and returned it to the Wang family. I earned a tael of silver, which I used to buy you these clothes."

Chen Shi wondered, "What does the Wang family want with a malevolent donkey?"

"To mill grain."

Grandpa answered matter-of-factly, "After the donkey died and turned evil, it never got tired, and just basking in the moonlight made it spirited. It could run the mill all night without rest, earning far more than just a tael of silver."

Chen Shi uttered an "oh."

"But I heard, the donkey died yesterday, probably worked too much and was worked to death by the Wang family."

Grandpa paused, then continued, "Then the Wang family skinned the donkey, made donkey-hide gelatin out of it, and earned a fortune. A tael of silver is nothing in comparison."

He sighed and shook his head.

Chen Shi's eyes widened. Could it actually work like that?

His excitement surged as he glanced at the Black Pot, "If the dog turned evil, could we keep drawing Black Dog Blood..."

Beneath the table, the Black Pot quietly shielded its piece of meat, fearing Chen Shi might crawl under to snatch it away.

Chen Shi had done this before.

In Huangyang Village, Liu Fugui walked along the small paths within the village.

Still a child, he recovered quickly but often felt cold and would frequently wake from nightmares. As for urinating, he dare not do so without an adult's company to the outhouse.

Even in pleasant climate, he was dressed in a thick cotton jacket, his face deathly pale.

As he walked, he looked into the ditch, remembering the large white carp he had spotted there earlier. Today, he had prepared a hook and line, intending to catch it.

Suddenly, he collided with someone as if striking an iron frame, rigid and painful through his jacket.

"Little brat, are you blind?"

The man he bumped into became angry instantly and kicked him into the ditch.

Liu Fugui, heavily clothed and panicking at the thought of drowning, struggled frantically, only to find that what he was slipping on was the very large white carp he sought, which he quickly pinned down.

The water in the ditch wasn't deep, and as he grappled with the thrashing carp, he looked up to see his assailant was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth wearing a square scarf, dressed in a green jacket with a white collar and black square-toed shoes—neat and orderly, probably a scholar from the city.

Behind this young man were more young men and women in similar attire, ranging from fourteen or fifteen to their twenties and thirties, a group of six.

Behind these six were the crimson clad Jinyiwei, wearing horse-faced skirts and armed with swords at their waists—a formidable force of thirty to forty men.

The leading Jinyiwei was a middle-aged, burly man with dark skin and a bristling beard, thick eyebrows angling down like inverted "eight" characters, bright eyes, and a Three-eyed Fire Gun on his back, commanding respect without anger, quite eye-catching.

"Brother Yan, be polite to the villagers. If other noble families hear that the Zhao family bullies children, it would be embarrassing!" said a scholarly man in his twenties with a stern face, chiding, "We are here to investigate the disappearance of my second sister, not to throw our weight around. Everyone, restrain yourselves and don't cause trouble!"

The scholars quickly agreed, saying, "Third brother speaks the truth."

The 'third brother' was Zhao Yue, the third son of the Zhao family from Xuanying Mansion in Xin Xiang Province.

The Zhao family, a large and prosperous clan, had their ancestors fighting alongside the Great Ming's Great Ancestor Emperor, earning military merit, thus sparing them from execution.

Later, the Zhao family relocated to West Bull New Continent, far from the Emperor's gaze, escaping retribution.

In recent years, with the diminished imperial power, the Zhao family rose to prominence, growing their sphere of influence in Xin Xiang Province considerably, establishing four mansions: Tianlu, Digang, Xuanying, and Huangting.

Second Miss Zhao and Zhao Yue were from Xuanying Mansion, their father Zhao Yanlong the mansion's master.

But with Xuanying Mansion's vast scale, Zhao Yanlong had many children, not just with his wife but also concubines, maids, and mistresses, amassing nineteen offspring.

Beyond Zhao Yanlong's own branch, there were many other branches made up of his siblings, multiplying and spreading, resulting in two to three hundred individuals in the next generation bearing the Zhao surname.

And that was just within Xuanying Mansion.

Involving the other three mansions would only increase the count.

Therefore, when Zhao Yue and his companions traveled, they were so discreet, not wishing to give other noble families any leverage against them, nor the scions of the other three mansions any pretext to attack Xuanying Mansion.

After a moment, Zhao Yue sat in the seat of the elder, the tall and fearsome bearded Jinyiwei standing behind him, an intimidating presence.

Zhao Yue picked up the teacup, blew on the few bubbles that hadn't dispersed from the surface, smelled the fragrance, and slightly lifted his eyelids to scan the crowd of kneeling villagers from Huangyang Village. With a hint of helplessness, he said, "Get up. Though I am an official, I'm not here on official business this time. It's not good if it gets out that you're kneeling to me like this."

The villagers from Huangyang hesitated before slowly rising.

Zhao Yue looked up at their anxious, pale faces, hesitated, then said with resignation, "Kneel down again. I find it uncomfortable when you stand."

The villagers quickly knelt down again, motionless.

Zhao Yue took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and asked indifferently, "Speak. The Iron Brush Elder lodged in your village for one night and was poisoned several days later. Who killed him? How dare you, hiring someone to murder a person of the Zhao family?"