Yunyan Pavilion.
Not long after Liu Hanyan returned to the shop, Shopkeeper Huang came up and said, "Miss, Shopkeeper Ren of the Four Seas Bookstore is here."
The Four Seas Bookstore wanted to collaborate with Yunyan Pavilion to publish "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", but was rejected by Liu Hanyan. Liu Hanyan stood up and said, "Let him in."
A moment later, a middle-aged man came up and looked at Liu Hanyan. He pretended to be surprised and said, "It's only been a few days. Shopkeeper Liu, why do you look so haggard?"
Liu Hanyan smiled and said, "There are many things I need to do in the shop. Maybe it's because I've been too busy these days and haven't had a good rest."
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "It's not that I want to say this, but Shopkeeper Liu is still young. Although business is important, it's not as important as your health. You can do less business, but you can't let your health deteriorate …"
Liu Hanyan looked at him and said, "Shopkeeper Ren is right."
The middle-aged man smiled again and said, "If Yunyan Pavilion's business is too heavy, my Four Seas Bookstore doesn't mind helping Shopkeeper Liu."
Liu Hanyan shook her head and said, "This is my Yunyan Pavilion's business. There's no need for Shopkeeper Ren to worry."
Shopkeeper Ren sighed and said, "I'm just afraid that if Shopkeeper Liu continues like this, your body won't be able to take it. If a person is too tired, it's easy for them to have nightmares at night. They dream of evil spirits coming for their lives …"
Liu Hanyan suddenly looked at him and asked, "You did it?"
Shopkeeper Ren shook his head and said, "What do you mean by I did it? I didn't do anything. Shopkeeper Liu, please don't frame me …"
Liu Hanyan took a deep breath and looked at Shopkeeper Ren again and said, "As long as you can stop me from having those nightmares, I'll agree to your conditions last time!"
"I don't know what evil spirits are." Shopkeeper Ren smiled and said, "However, I think Miss Liu might be too tired, which is why you often have those nightmares. Why don't we, the Four Seas Bookstore, help you share some of the pressure? Naturally, you won't have those nightmares …"
Liu Hanyan looked at him coldly and said, "Things have come to this. If you still want to hide it, then we have nothing to talk about!"
Looking at him, the smile on Shopkeeper Ren's face gradually disappeared. He said mockingly, "So what if I am? Shopkeeper Liu, you're new here and don't know the situation in Yangqiu County. Aren't you a little too naive to think that you can get a share of the profits?"
Liu Hanyan asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll report it?"
"Do you think I haven't investigated you? You're an outsider with a maid. How long have you been in Yangqiu County? You don't have anyone backing you up. How dare you report this to the authorities?" Shopkeeper Ren curled his lips and said, "Besides, what's the use of reporting to the authorities? Do you have any evidence to prove that I did it?"
Liu Hanyan looked at him and suddenly smiled.
Shopkeeper Ren's expression froze as he asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Liu Hanyan said, "You said something wrong."
Shopkeeper Ren asked suspiciously, "What?"
Liu Hanyan said, "There's someone backing me up."
While Shopkeeper Ren was bewildered, a cold iron chain was wrapped around his neck.
Zhang Shan kicked him in the butt and said angrily, "You're rebelling. What's the use of reporting to the authorities? Do you think the yamen is run by your family?"
Li Mu held the iron chain and looked at the extremely flustered Shopkeeper Ren. He said calmly, "Take him away."
… …
The Four Seas Bookstore and Yunyan Pavilion were competitors, so they had a motive to commit the crime.
When Shopkeeper Ren admitted that he was involved, Li Mu, Zhang Shan, and Li Si were all present. There were also witnesses.
However, this person quibbled on the way there. When he arrived at the court, he flatly denied it. When he was questioned by Zhang County Magistrates, he said firmly, "Sir, this commoner has been wronged. This commoner has always been fair and law-abiding. How could I do such a thing …"
Zhang County Magistrates was expressionless. He said, "Raise your head and look at me."
Shopkeeper Ren raised his head and looked at Zhang County Magistrates. When their eyes met, the Shopkeeper of the Four Seas Bookstore suddenly froze. At the same time, Li Mu also noticed that Zhang County Magistrates' eyes seemed to have turned into a deep pool. With just a glance, his gaze seemed to have sunk into it.
He hurriedly looked away.
At this moment, Zhang County Magistrates looked at Shopkeeper Ren and asked calmly, "The Yunyan Pavilion's shopkeeper has been haunted by evil spirits recently. Was it your doing?"
Shopkeeper Ren nodded mechanically. "Yes."
Zhang County Magistrates continued to ask, "Why did you do this?"
Shopkeeper Ren said, "The Yunyan Pavilion stole our Four Seas Bookstore's business. Their shopkeeper is a woman who just came to Yangqiu County not long ago. She has no background, so I wanted to force her to give up a portion of the profits …"
"Who was the one controlling the evil spirits?"
"I found a Daoist priest on the streets and spent ten taels of silver to ask for his help …"
"Where is the Daoist priest?"
"The Earth Temple in the west of the city …"
…
Cultivators were not under the jurisdiction of the government, but if there were any who committed crimes, it would be difficult for them to escape punishment. The imperial court had always had zero tolerance for cultivators who used Daoism to harm others. Those who harmed others' lives would be killed; those who used evil spirits to harm others to achieve certain goals would be beaten 100 times, crippled of their Daoism, and expelled …
Han Zhe led people straight to the Earth Temple in the west of the city and found a wandering Daoist priest.
The Daoist priest was only at the Soul Refining Realm. Han Zhe sealed his Daoism and brought him to the yamen. After being identified by Shopkeeper Ren, Zhang County Magistrates personally crippled his Daoism and destroyed his dantian, cutting off any possibility of him harming others in the future.
As for the shopkeeper of the Four Seas Bookstore, as the mastermind behind the scenes, he naturally could not escape punishment. After being beaten 50 times, he was barely alive. In addition, the Four Seas Bookstore was closed for three months and fined 100 taels of silver as compensation to the shopkeeper of the Yunyan Pavilion …
As for the evil spirit, it would be a pity to destroy it. Li Mu simply applied to Zhang County Magistrates to send her to the Jinshan Temple. After all, Xuandu loved to entertain ghosts and demons. Li Mu would treat it as returning a favor to him.
Shopkeeper Ren was carried away by two constables. Liu Hanyan looked at Li Mu and said, "Thank you …"
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "What are you thanking me for? This case happened in my jurisdiction."
Liu Hanyan did not stand on ceremony and said, "Then I'll go back first. Remember to come back for dinner tonight."
After Liu Hanyan left, Han Zhe, who had been paying attention in this direction, came over and asked Li Mu, "Do you know the female shopkeeper of the Yunyan Pavilion?"
Li Mu said, "She's my neighbor."
Han Zhe looked at him and asked, "Just your neighbor?"
Li Mu asked, "What else could it be?"
Han Zhe asked again, "Is your neighbor married?"
Li Mu glanced at him and said, "Why are you asking this?"
Han Zhe probed, "She's so beautiful and she's not married. Don't you have any other thoughts about her?"
Li Mu said impatiently, "What are you trying to say?"
Han Zhe said, "I just want to ask, if you had to choose between her and Miss Qing, who would you choose?"
Li Mu looked at him in confusion and asked, "Why should I choose?"
Looking at Li Mu's back as he left, Han Zhe touched his chin and fell into deep thought. The best result was, of course, Li Mu and Shopkeeper Liu being together. This way, there would no longer be an eyesore between him and Li Qing.
But what did he mean by that?
Why should I choose …? Did he mean that he didn't choose one, or did he want both?
… …
In the guard room, Old Wang looked at Li Mu and said uncertainly, "You want both?"
Li Mu nodded. "I want both."
Old Wang looked at the books Li Mu picked out and asked, "These books are all basic knowledge before cultivation. You have no use for them, so what do you want them for?"
Li Mu said, "I have other uses for them. Anyway, no one is reading these books. Why don't you lend them to me for a few days? I'll return them to you after a few days."
Although Li Mu didn't need these books, Liu Hanyan and Wanwan had just stepped onto the path of cultivation. They still needed to build a foundation and broaden their knowledge. It was unrealistic for Li Mu to explain things about cultivation to them one by one. It was better to give them a few books and let them read by themselves.
Old Wang nodded and said, "Okay, remember to return them when you're done."
Old Wang was well-read and knowledgeable. Li Mu thought of Wanwan and asked, "By the way, Old Wang, can ordinary people see Wraiths?"
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