Chapter 1769
Immortal Traces 7
After a long while, Lian Chengbi finally raised his doubts: "Brother Leng, will you be able to stay peacefully in the Yan residence?"
Liu Dong chuckled: "Wait a while and we'll know, won't we?"
Sure enough, Leng Yubing left the Yan family a few days later.
Just like in the original novel, Leng Yubing angrily rebuked Yan Song and left the Yan family because Zhang Chong, the imperial inspector of Shanxi, urgently requested relief funds for disaster relief.
His actions undoubtedly angered Yan Song and his son.
None of the students dared to associate with Leng Yubing.
Even those inns, even if they weren't full, wouldn't dare to take in Leng Yubing.
Poor Leng Yubing, even with money, couldn't find a place to stay and could only take refuge in a dilapidated temple.
Lian Chengbi found Leng Yubing and invited him to live in their courtyard.
Leng Yubing refused: "I have offended Yan Song, and I don't want to implicate you."
Lian Chengbi said, "We two are not afraid of being implicated. Brother Leng is righteous and does not associate with that treacherous official. We can only admire him. It is our honor to be able to help Brother Leng."
Feeling grateful for Lian Chengbi's righteousness, Leng Yubing went with him to the courtyard.
Unbeknownst to the two, Liu Dong was cleaning up after them from behind.
Liu Dong used illusion magic to conceal the two people's figures.
Therefore, no one saw Leng Yubing enter the courtyard that Lian Chengbi had purchased.
Thinking that she wouldn't implicate Lian Chengbi and the other person, Leng Yubing didn't leave the courtyard after entering it, so no one knew that Leng Yubing had been living in the courtyard all along.
The day of the imperial examination finally arrived.
Leng Yubing went to take the exam, but he knew in his heart that he probably wouldn't make the list this time.
Just like those scholars who spoke ill of Yan Song during the provincial examination.
Sure enough, Leng Yubing did not see her name after the list was posted.
Leng Yubing had anticipated this and accepted it calmly.
He bid farewell to Liu Dong and Lian Chengbi and left the capital.
He knew that as long as the Yan family father and son were still in the imperial court, he would never be able to pass the imperial examination.
Liu Dong and Lian Chengbi were both on the list, but Yan Song and his son were unaware of their relationship with Leng Yubing.
Both of them ranked very high and could easily have entered the Hanlin Academy or the Six Ministries, staying in the capital.
Neither of them wanted to be subordinate to anyone, nor did they want to stay in a court controlled by treacherous officials.
The two men bribed officials in the Ministry of Personnel and obtained the positions of county magistrate and educational commissioner in the same county, respectively, and took office.
That county town was the ancestral home of the Lian family.
With the Lian family, a local power, around, their work couldn't be easier.
During their years as local officials in their hometown, the two also accomplished a great deal.
Liu Dong took out potatoes and corn from her spatial storage and handed them to Lian Chengbi to promote.
Lian Chengbi first planted potatoes and corn in the Lian family's fields, and when the harvest came, he brought many people to watch.
The yield of over a thousand kilograms astonished everyone.
Without Lian Chengbi issuing an order, the people voluntarily came to the government to buy potato and corn seeds and plant them.
Two years later, all the people in the county were able to have enough to eat.
Because of potatoes and corn, the imperial court granted Lian Chengbi a noble title and promoted him to prefect. Lian Chengbi refused the enticements of the Yan family, which made his official career difficult. The Yan family faction made things difficult for Lian Chengbi in various ways, forcing him to submit.
But they dared not go too far.
After all, Lian Chengbi had made a contribution by discovering potatoes and corn, and was a benefactor to the people. If they killed Lian Chengbi, the people of the world would definitely rise up and attack them.
But how could the manor lord tolerate such disgusting methods?
He resigned from his post and went home.
Since he was only resigning from his official post, he still retained his noble title and could still intimidate everyone in his hometown.
Liu Tong resigned from his official post before him, and the two agreed to travel together.
Several years have passed, and Lian Chengbi's strength has become formidable.
Especially after potatoes and corn spread, Liu Tong saw that enormous merits fell upon herself and Lian Chengbi.
With the blessing of merit, Lian Chengbi's cultivation speed increased dramatically, becoming three times faster than before.
According to Liu Qiu's estimation, his current strength has reached the threshold of ascension in this world.
Lian Chengbi himself didn't know how far his strength had reached, because he wanted to go out and find some demons and ghosts to practice against and see how strong he was.
Therefore, after leaving their hometown, they went specifically to find places with legends of demons and ghosts.
The two pageboys were left at the Lian Family Escort Agency. While following Liu Tong and Lian Chengbi, they learned to read and write. Liu Tong also taught them arithmetic. As a result, the two became accountants at the agency, earning enough money to support themselves.
Jin Buhuan continued to run errands behind the two of them.
Previously, when Lian Chengbi was the county magistrate, Jin Buhuan used his connections to become the head constable of the yamen, which made his father extremely happy.
Uncle Jin chose a good wife for his son, so that Jin Buhuan got married early.
The wife is not the one from the original story.
In the original story, the Jin family had no powerful backers, and their restaurant was seized by the brother-in-law of an official.
The Jin family was poor and couldn't afford a good wife, so they married girls from humble backgrounds.
That's why the woman reported her husband's cousin for the reward money from the government, which resulted in her husband also being wanted by the government.
But now, the Jin family's restaurant is still there, and business is booming. The Jin family is considered wealthy merchants, and the wife Jin Buhuan married also came from a wealthy family, bringing with her a generous dowry.
However, Jin Buhuan's wife died in childbirth, leaving behind a daughter.
Jin Buhuan, being a grown man, was unable to take good care of his daughter, so he entrusted her to his stepmother and sister-in-law.
He divided one-fifth of his wife's dowry among his stepmother and sister-in-law as child support for his daughter.
It seems that, for the sake of money, Jin Buhuan's stepmother and sister-in-law treated Jin Buhuan's daughter very well and took great care of her.
Jin Buhuan therefore felt very reassured leaving his daughter in the Jin family, while he stayed by Lian Chengbi's side year after year.
Lian Chengbi discovered that Jin Buhuan had great talent in Xuanmen cultivation, so after consulting Liu Tong, he took Jin Buhuan as his disciple and taught him Xuanmen cultivation techniques.
Liu Dong: After many twists and turns, both of them embarked on the path of cultivating immortality. It seems their names were already written in the register of immortals, destined to become immortals.
Liu Dong and Lian Chengbi rested at the tea stall, while Jin Buhuan inquired about the situation.
Not long after, Jin Buhuan returned and told the two of them some good news.
"Not far from the county seat, there is a place called Liujia Village, where ghost stories are said to occur. It's probably true; it's said that the locals have all taken the matter to the county government. But the magistrate couldn't catch the ghost, so he could only issue a notice asking Taoist priests and monks to exorcise it."
"But the ghosts over there are very fierce. It's said that they once hired a geomancer, but he was almost beaten to death by those two ghosts..."
Liu Dong and Lian Chengbi finished their tea and, with Jin Buhuan in tow, headed towards Liu Family Village, following the directions they had learned. (End of Chapter)