Cui He bowed solemnly and said, "Master’s profound insights command respect, and I am deeply impressed. On my departure, I will surely take great care of the people."
Chen Shi waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.
"Your student takes his leave."
Chen Shi watched him leave and thought to himself, "The teachings Zhu Xiucai imparted to me truly are the principles of governance. These two County Magistrates were utterly convinced by my words, and yet that was nothing more than the merest hint of what Zhu Xiucai taught."
He returned home for a meal and had barely sat down when Li Tianqing said with a smile, "I find these new County Magistrates to be much better than the previous batch. Perhaps they really will treat the people well. Little Ten, should we...do the same with the other Magistrates?"
He raised his hand, making a chopping gesture.
Chen Shi quickly kicked him under the table and sternly glared at him.
Li Tianqing got the message, knowing he needed to play the role of the dutiful son in front of his own father, so he dropped the subject.
After all, there had been many misunderstandings between father and son, and Chen Shi was also worried that if the crimes he committed were exposed, "Chen Tang" might not acknowledge him as his son.
Seeing this, Creation Little Five felt reassured to himself, "This child is like me. When I did wrong, I also kept it from my old man."
He reconsidered; the wrongs he had done were somewhat different from those Chen Shi had committed.
"There is some truth to Little Ten’s discourse on the fish and the flesh," mused Creation Little Five thoughtfully.
After the meal, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing excused themselves to walk off their food, and as they stepped out, word had spread like wildfire through Huangpo Village that two County Magistrates had come to seek advice from Chen Shi. Suddenly, the villagers no longer saw Chen Shi as a chicken-thieving rebel but as a distinguished and handsome Scholar.
Even Granny Wu Zhu’s gaze turned more reverent when she looked at Chen Shi.
The ducks passing close to Scholar Chen seemed to regard him with greater respect as well.
Chen Shi finally managed to get away from the villagers and pulled Li Tianqing to a secluded spot. He whispered anxiously, "My dad didn’t acknowledge me before, and our relationship has only just started to improve. If you tell him about all the crimes I’ve committed, he won’t acknowledge me anymore!"
Li Tianqing quickly admitted his mistake, saying, "It was unintentional. But the Magistrates of Xin Xiang Province really should be thoroughly replaced, to receive your lecture on the fish and flesh theory."
He contemplated sentimentally that it wasn’t just Xin Xiang Province that needed a change.
Perhaps the whole of the West Bull New Continent with its fifty provinces needed a revamp.
But that was a task not even Chen Shi could accomplish, let alone the Thirteen Families!
For that would cost the Thirteen Families their lives!
Would the Thirteen Families ever venture such a thing?
"How odd, where have the Heaven Listeners gone?"
As the two of them reached the outskirts of the village and looked around, they noticed that the Heaven Listeners who usually surrounded the village were nowhere to be seen. Now that evening had fallen, there were no Evil Spirits near Qianyang Mountain, and an eerie silence prevailed.
Suddenly, Chen Shi caught sight of the Five Ghost Kings standing tall among the trees, poised as if for battle.
"The reason Heaven Listeners are not here is that they have been devoured by Creation Little Five."
Granny Sha’s voice came through, "Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, fall back!"
"Creation Little Five?"
Chen Shi, feeling a jolt in his heart, asked, "Granny, what Creation Little Five?"
He looked toward the sound and saw Granny Sha standing on the shoulders of the Three Ghost Kings, her small old figure solemn, holding a Sheep Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp and staring unwaveringly in the direction of the Chen Family in Huangpo Village.
"You’ve mistaken your father!"
Granny Sha spoke gravely, "This Chen Tang is not Chen Tang but an Ultimate Talisman God created by your grandfather Chen Wu, the uncontrollable Creation Little Five! Now, only the dogs in the Chen Family are left behind, with no one to care for them, Xiaoliang!"
A sturdy man with a beard appeared from the woods, and suddenly, numerous colossal fox tails burst forth behind him, reaching for the skies!
These nine tails shook with deafening roars, and as Huangpo Village split apart, chunks of earth carrying houses flew into the air and scattered in all directions!
All the villagers of Huangpo, except for Black Pot, were inside their homes; those who were strolling through the streets after dinner struggled to keep their balance and quickly lay flat or clung to trees to prevent falling and being crushed.
Even the Divine Tree of Huangpo Village was lifted off the ground along with the earth and drifted away.
The houses flew over ten miles before each one touched down.
Where Huangpo Village once stood, only the Chen Family estate remained.
Creation Little Five sat in the courtyard, lighting a lamp and sipping tea under its glow.
Black Pot burst through the door only to see a vast abyss beneath his feet of unknown depth, hesitant to jump down.
Suddenly, a dark wind blew through, shrouding everything in darkness, and Black Pot disappeared without a trace after it passed.
Creation Little Five continued to drink his tea unaffected.
"The dogs sheltered by the old man indeed have something unusual about them,"
he murmured to himself, "even able to escape into the underworld. What kind of dog is this, and I wonder how it tastes?"
"Creation Little Five, Qianyang Mountain is not a place for you to wreak havoc!"
Granny Sha soared into the air, surrounded by Eight Trigrams Rune, Divine Power radiating from her body, her Primordial Spirit emerged, merging with her flesh; in an instant, she appeared as an empress descending to the world, moving with boundless Divine Power of the Eight Diagrams, rushing towards the Chen Family courtyard!
At the same time, Hu Xiaoliang sprinted, transforming into his True Body, the Heavenly Fox, as he ran. His true form was a white fox with a single strip of black fur under its neck, spanning over ten meters, his tail longer than his body, and his fox fur forming nine swirling patterns.
"Qingqiu Ancestral Land, aid my divine conquest!"
The nine-tailed Heavenly Fox bellowed, and behind it, a magnificent image of Qingqiu Mountain appeared faintly, home to the Fox Clan’s ancestral lands of Divine China!