Chapter 2363: Chapter 2353: Lending a Hand
Long Yan rely gave a faint smile. Though he was laughing inwardly to the point of stomach pain, on the surface he still feigned weakness. After all, he had forcibly reversed the so-called karmic cycle. Despite his usual penchant for bullying others, Qin Wei couldn’t help but step forward to support Long Yan when he saw his fragile appearance.
“Master, how are you, Master?”
Qin Wei hurried forward, his expression tense as he looked at Long Yan. Conveniently, Long Yan played along.
“I forcibly reversed karma using a forbidden technique. Now that I’ve perford it, I fear I have only a few years left to live. But saving an innocent life… was worth it.”
Long Yan stifled his laughter and maintained the deanor of a worldly sage, leaving Qin Wei deeply touched, his eyes brimming with tears. Seeing this, Long Yan judged that the timing was just about right.
“This man is also a master of cultivation. If he had acted before, you’d likely already be lying here as a cold corpse. Go and apologize to him at once.”
Although Qin Wei was extrely reluctant, the Azure Dragon Domain skill Long Yan showcased earlier had thoroughly shocked him. With no other choice, he begrudgingly scurried over to Elder Tiansheng and respectfully offered an apology.
“Master, I deeply apologize for my past offenses. Please have rcy. Amitabha.”
Elder Tiansheng’s brows furrowed slightly: what kind of nonsense is this? But Long Yan paid no mind, continuing to speak animatedly with Qin Wei about various obscure Daoist principles—so of which even he had never heard of, including phrases about how “Bodhi is without a tree.”
“Master, I didn’t exactly understand the depth of what you were saying before. But ‘Bodhi is without a tree’—isn’t that a Buddhist teaching?”
Qin Wei looked at Long Yan with a trace of skepticism in his eyes. Seeing this, Long Yan’s expression remained unchanged; he earnestly began elaborating on the philosophy.
“In my view, there’s no real difference between Buddhist Dharma and Daoist principles. The teachings that can save lives are the true path. Don’t forget, I hail from Quanzhen Temple, where one can cultivate not only the Dao but also Buddhist virtues. As the saying goes, ‘Wine and at pass through the stomach, but Buddha resides in the heart.’ That’s the essence of it…”
Following this, Long Yan spewed out another stream of esoteric discourse, leaving Qin Wei utterly baffled. However, as the teachings sounded lofty and the techniques seed powerful, Qin Wei silently tried to commit them to mory.
“It’s getting late—I should head into the city. Here’s the entry fee for the four of us.”
As he spoke, Long Yan took out a silver ingot from his pocket and placed it in Qin Wei’s hand. Yet, the latter refused to accept it. After all, under Long Yan’s persuasive words, he believed Long Yan had sacrificed ten years of his lifespan for his sake. Compared to a valuable life, such money seed utterly insignificant.
Long Yan did not insist. After entering the city, he even reminded Qin Wei that while he could resolve the second calamity for him, he couldn’t ward off misfortunes of bloodshed. He urged Qin Wei to be cautious. Qin Wei folded his hands in gratitude, declaring that he understood.
“Hurry, let’s leave. If we stay any longer, I won’t be able to stop myself from laughing.”
Long Qingli’s lips had already curled into a grin, struggling to suppress her laughter as she walked out of Qin Wei’s line of sight. Once free of his view, Long Qingli burst into hilarity, laughing uncontrollably. Even the typically reserved Yin Yue couldn’t resist showing a smile.
“Long Yan, I have to admit, you truly have a talent for being a con artist. You managed to dupe that poor officer into complete bewildernt.”
Long Yan simply cast her a mischievous glance and replied in a righteous tone.
“This esteed female benefactor, I have no idea what you’re talking about. This humble Daoist does not comprehend such things.”
His response elicited another round of tinkling laughter from Long Qingli, but Long Yan paid no mind, instead walking over to Elder Tiansheng and clasping his hands respectfully.
“This junior pays his respects to Elder Tiansheng.”
So might wonder why Long Yan greeted Elder Tiansheng so reverently. In truth, it wasn’t re flattery. Within the Cultivation World, the sect of Shu Mountain was universally held in high regard. Known for avoiding unnecessary conflict, Shu Mountain’s lack of competitive ambition had undoubtedly prevented the Three Great Forces from becoming the Four Major Forces. After all, the combat power of Shu Mountain’s cultivators struck fear into the hearts of all their peers.
However, strength alone wouldn’t suffice for widespread respect. Shu Mountain’s reputation as a renowned righteous sect was rooted in their consistent integrity and uprightness. This was why they earned the admiration of so many.
Seeing Long Yan’s respectful deanor, Elder Tiansheng nodded in satisfaction. Although this young man had initially resorted to deception to deal with the situation, his actions were aid at punishing evildoers and aiding Elder Tiansheng himself.
Long Yan’s respectful bow was also a calculated move—he feared that those from Shu Mountain might be rigid or old-fashioned. If they resented him for accepting Qin Wei’s money, it could stir trouble for him later. He couldn’t afford to provoke Shu Mountain at the mont, especially since he needed their assistance to rescue Lingxi. Crossing paths with influential forces now would only spell disaster.
Fortunately, Elder Tiansheng wasn’t as inflexible as Long Yan had imagined. Instead, he chuckled lightly and addressed Long Yan.
“Young Hero, you need not overthink things. You’ve helped the old man greatly. At last, I understand why the Sect Leader didn’t want to co this ti—perhaps because he thought I wasn’t tactful enough.”
Long Yan handed over the bundle Qin Wei had carried to Elder Tiansheng. For Long Yan, mundane money had little value. If he were ever in need, he could simply retrieve funds from the Yann Comrce Association. The most significant expenses in the group were likely als at Niu Shan. Hence, Long Yan decided to entrust Zhang Tiann to use the funds to grow the business.
With Jin Business Association collapsing, only Yann Comrce Association and Sword Business Association remained. At present, the two associations were collaborating, dividing the remnants of Jin Business Association’s assets between them.
“Young Hero, what is the aning of this?”
Elder Tiansheng was astonished as he looked at the bundle Long Yan handed him. Though it only contained worldly wealth, it amounted to tens of thousands of silver taels—and the young man had handed it over so nonchalantly?
“I’ve long heard of Shu Mountain’s illustrious reputation and always hoped for the chance to visit. Consider this silver my small token of goodwill.”
Long Yan placed the bundle in Elder Tiansheng’s hands. The contents amounted to several tens of thousands of taels. As it happened, Elder Tiansheng had co this ti intending to visit his old friend Qing Wuya, Sect Leader of Tianshan Sect, to borrow money to alleviate Shu Mountain’s financial woes.
Of course, Long Yan wasn’t aware of this; his gesture was rely an attempt to ingratiate himself with Shu Mountain. Elder Tiansheng hesitated for a mont. Although the offer was tempting, as a man of noble lineage, he couldn’t simply accept sothing for nothing. His thoughts remained pure, untainted by greed.
“Your na is Long Yan, correct? I cannot accept this money. Despite Shu Mountain’s current financial troubles, I must decline.”
Given Elder Tiansheng’s strength, the group of four standing before him wouldn’t have posed a threat. But exacting paynt by force would have tarnished Shu Mountain’s na. Thus, Elder Tiansheng still refused.
“How about this: take this money for now, and in addition, I’ll donate one million silver taels to Shu Mountain. Of course, this isn’t without expectation—I hope that one day, Shu Mountain will assist with sothing important.”
“Oh?”
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