Chapter Seven: Invoking the Immortal Requires Sincere Devotion

When Zhang Qingyun heard that Tian Guofu, the magistrate of Qingping Town, had arrived, he was visibly surprised. Could it be that after all this time in Qingshan County, someone was finally willing to pledge their allegiance to him?

With this thought, Zhang Qingyun said, "Please, invite Magistrate Tian in."

Tian Guofu soon entered and bowed respectfully to Zhang Qingyun. "I, Tian Guofu, pay my respects to the County Magistrate."

"Magistrate Tian, please, rise. What matter brings you here to report to me today?" Zhang Qingyun asked with a smile.

Tian Guofu immediately replied, "Does the Magistrate know that in the Qingping Mountains, a fierce tiger has cultivated into a demon, wreaking havoc and harming human lives?"

Zhang Qingyun nodded. "I am aware of this. It is said that my two predecessors invited many cultivators to deal with it, but none succeeded, leaving the tiger demon to continue its depredations to this day."

As he spoke, Zhang Qingyun frowned. Could Tian Guofu be hoping that he would be the one to seek out cultivators to exterminate the beast? If it were truly that simple, would the tiger demon have remained so rampant for all these years?

Tian Guofu seemed to discern Zhang Qingyun's thoughts and quickly added, "The Magistrate is unaware that some time ago, a Daoist priest arrived in Qingping Town. He possessed profound abilities and has already eliminated the tiger demon!"

"What?!" Zhang Qingyun was startled. He truly had not expected that the tiger demon, which had ravaged the Qingping Mountains for years, consuming countless people and killing many cultivators, had been slain by a suddenly appearing Daoist!

But in the next moment, a thought occurred to Zhang Qingyun: since that priest was so formidable, why not enlist him as an ally? As a peripheral member of his family, it was already a stroke of great luck to be appointed as the magistrate of Qingshan County. Having come here alone with his daughter to take up his post, he lacked any available manpower, which was precisely why he had been easily manipulated by the local gentry. Once he had the support of a cultivator, the situation would surely be different!

Thinking of this, Zhang Qingyun immediately said, "That Daoist priest’s elimination of the tiger demon is a great relief for our Qingshan County!"

"Magistrate Tian, take these one thousand taels of silver back with you to reward the priest on my behalf. Furthermore, invite him to the county seat; I wish to meet the man who was able to slay that tiger demon."

Tian Guofu had been waiting for these very words and quickly replied, "I shall obey the Magistrate's command."

Soon, Tian Guofu hurried back to Qingping Town with the thousand taels of silver. He then organized his men to wrap the silver and various fruits in red silk, and amidst the beating of gongs and drums, they set off for the Qingping Mountains.

Such a boisterous commotion naturally disturbed Jiang Sheng. Jiang Sheng was a man who preferred tranquility, and seeing a large crowd approaching with gongs and drums, he could not help but frown.

Soon, Tian Guofu arrived in front of the Daoist temple with a large group of people.

"Daoist Jiang, joyous news!" Tian Guofu said with a smiling face.

"What news is joyous?" Jiang Sheng asked, his expression remaining indifferent.

Tian Guofu, beaming, said, "Daoist Jiang, I have informed the Magistrate of your feat in ridding Qingping Town of the tiger demon. Upon hearing that such a priest had come to Qingshan County, the Magistrate was overjoyed. He has ordered us to deliver one thousand taels of silver as a reward."

Tian Guofu added with great excitement, "The Magistrate also wishes to invite you to the county office to meet you in person!"

"Hmph!"

With a cold sneer, there was no warmth in Jiang Sheng's eyes. Seeing Jiang Sheng’s expression, Tian Guofu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat; he felt that he had made a grave mistake. The young men beating the drums and gongs also felt an inexplicable chill and stopped their jarring, festive music.

Jiang Sheng’s indifferent gaze swept over the crowd, causing them to tremble one by one.

"One thousand taels of silver?"

"As a reward?"

"What do you take me for?"

Jiang Sheng’s attitude undoubtedly terrified Tian Guofu and the others. Tian Guofu quickly stammered, "Daoist Jiang, we truly meant well! This was the Magistrate's own initiative to offer you the silver and invite you to the county seat..."

Jiang Sheng looked at Tian Guofu with a look that was neither a smile nor a frown. That gaze made Tian Guofu feel unnerved, and he could not help but lower his head. As Jiang Sheng’s gaze swept past, the wealthy merchants and gentry from Qingping Town likewise lowered their heads like quails, not daring to look up. The old scholar who had so eloquently offered advice just days before was now trembling so violently he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"I have already told you that I do not care for your gifts, and you should stop wasting your efforts!"

"Is my speech too difficult for you to understand, or do you think I am soft-hearted and easily bullied?"

As Jiang Sheng spoke, he flicked his sleeve. A fierce gust of wind swept forth, scattering the crowd along with the silver, fruits, gongs, and silk ribbons.

Tian Guofu felt a gale blow him about in a dizzying whirl, and when his vision cleared, he found he had been blown all the way to the foot of the mountain! The merchants and young men of Qingping Town looked at one another, covered in cold sweat, none daring to utter a word.

Tian Guofu looked toward the mountainside with a bitter face and shouted, "Daoist, it was truly the Magistrate who sent me to invite you!"

Jiang Sheng’s cold, clear voice drifted down from the mountain: "The Magistrate?"

"A mere thousand taels of silver as a reward, and he expects me to go to the county seat to see him?"

"What a joke!"

"If your County Magistrate truly wishes to see me, let him come to the Qingping Mountains himself!"

"Disperse at once. If you disturb my quiet cultivation again, do not blame me for being discourteous!"

Hearing this, the crowd fled back to Qingping Town, all of them disheveled and in a sorry state. The gentry looked at Tian Guofu in distress, and Tian Guofu could only sigh, "Alas, I shall have to go back and report this to the Magistrate."

When Tian Guofu hurried back to Qingshan County and explained the situation to Zhang Qingyun, the Magistrate’s face changed instantly.

"I, a dignified County Magistrate, send men to invite a wild mountain priest, and he refuses to come? He insists that I go to invite him personally?!"

"He is nothing but a mountain priest, yet he is even more arrogant than the gentry in the county seat!"

Tian Guofu stood to the side, not daring to speak. Zhang Qingyun angrily waved him away and then retreated to his private quarters in a huff.

Back in the rear courtyard of the county office, Zhang Qingyun was still fuming. He smashed a teacup, terrifying the servants, who feared the disgruntled Magistrate would vent his anger on them.

Zhang Qingyun could not understand. Why, within the borders of the Qi Kingdom, could he, the Magistrate of Qingshan County, not even summon a mountain priest? Was he truly nothing more than a well-known puppet, a clay figurine stuck in the county office? What was the point of being a magistrate like this?

"Father, why are you so angry? Is there something you might share with your daughter?"

A voice as crisp and moving as an oriole sounded in Zhang Qingyun's ear. He turned to see his intelligent and beautiful daughter, Zhang Qing. Seeing his beloved child, his expression softened slightly. "Qing'er, were you not out listening to stories? Why do you have time to see your father?"