The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 57 Anqing Prince's Mansion
Seeing such a precious Buddhist artifact and listening to the Living Buddha's earnest teachings, the shopkeeper was so moved that he immediately knelt down before Du Yuan and kowtowed repeatedly, saying:

"Thank you for your compassion, Living Buddha! Thank you for your compassion, Living Buddha!"

Du Yuan quickly helped him up and said:
"My actions were simply a way for me to accumulate good karma. It was just a coincidence, and it benefited both the people and myself. Shopkeeper, you don't need to do this!"

The shop owner was even more moved.

Even a highly accomplished monk like the Living Buddha would go so far as to say that he came for this little bit of virtue just to appease himself!
It was just a porcelain bowl imbued with Buddhist light, yet it could kill three evil spirits from afar. Even if he knew nothing of cultivation, he should know that such magical power didn't require such things!

This is clearly a compassionate living Buddha comforting a commoner like me!
“Living Buddha! It is my greatest honor to be able to see the true face of the Living Buddha!” As he spoke, he burst into tears.

This left Du Yuan feeling helpless.

'Sigh, well, we've gone off on a tangent.'

Du Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

On second thought: 'Well, this works too. Ultimately, it's a good thing that benefits both the people and myself.'

That's right, the demon wolf from before, the spirit pearl from Qiaoshui Town, and the snake demon from Qing County all had powerful backers.

So the evil spirits that the shopkeeper is encountering now, are they really not caused by something else in the dark?

The water in Qingzhou is a bit muddy!
Meanwhile, at the Qian family's residence, the gatekeeper hurriedly went to find his eldest son.

Upon meeting, the doorman said eagerly:
"Young master, the Taoist priest that the second young master mentioned just came by here!"

"Huh? He's here?!"

Qian Youde was startled. How dare they come, especially since they had abandoned their own brother?

Such a person must be either incredibly audacious or truly capable!

Thinking of this, Qian Youde hurriedly asked:

"And what about the Taoist priest?"

Out of consideration for his father and younger brother, Qian Youde used the compromise term "Taoist".

"Young master, the Taoist priest has already left. But he said he will come to visit again later!"

They're gone? It seems they realized something was wrong and were trying to slip away.

What was I even expecting?

Qian Youde rubbed his temples helplessly and said:

"You're just going to let him go like that?"

“Well, young master, I really think this Taoist priest is quite remarkable, and he also said…”

The gatekeeper glanced around and, noticing several servants nearby, quickly approached Qian Youde and whispered in his ear:
"Young master, that Taoist priest also said that the plaque in our mansion that reads 'Filial Piety, Brotherly Love, Loyalty, and Trustworthiness' only has the character 'Brotherly Love' still shining!"

Qian Youde's expression changed drastically, and he said:

"Swearing so filthyly?!"

Of the four virtues of filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, and trustworthiness, only brotherly love remains. Isn't that just an insult to the Qian family, implying they lack filial piety, loyalty, and trustworthiness?

The doorman understood this principle, but still whispered:

"Young master, you'll understand if you just look at the plaque above our gate!"

Qian Youde glanced at the gatekeeper suspiciously.

In the end, he nodded and followed.

Upon arriving at the gate, Qian Youde, like the gatekeeper, initially frowned as he looked at the gold-painted plaque that had not faded at all.

The difference was that the doorman was filled with doubt and uncertainty, while Qian Youde was genuinely suppressing his anger.

But after the doorman found the right angle and pulled him into position.

Qian Youde was immediately shocked:

"Is that really true?!?"

"No, that's not right, bring the ladder!"

As the servants hurriedly brought the ladder over, Qian Youde climbed up without even bothering to hold on properly. He stepped forward, wiped, scraped, and took a look.

A chill ran down my spine; nothing had been done to it!
"Father! Father! Father!"

Qian Youde, who was struggling incessantly, fell down because he climbed up too quickly.

The guards and servants nearby were so frightened that they rushed forward to help him up.

But as a martial artist who had suffered many injuries from years of practice and had even become a skilled healer, he exclaimed in surprise the moment he began to fight:
"That's strange, young master was only knocked unconscious! He's alright?"

At that height, even a martial artist like him who regularly trains his body might not be able to escape unscathed if he falls, yet the eldest son, a frail scholar, is unharmed?
I subconsciously looked up and glanced at the plaque that hung high above the Qian family's residence.

The warrior noticed that although three of the four large gold-painted characters, Filial Piety, Brotherly Love, Loyalty, and Trustworthiness, had lost their luster, this made the last character, Brotherly Love, stand out even more.
-
Inside the Prince Anqing's Mansion in Qingzhou.

King Anqing, accompanied by several advisors, hurried through the mansion.

Everyone walked with both quick and steady steps.

Although their steps were hurried, their demeanor remained impeccable. This alone reveals that the people here were all scions of prominent families who had received rigorous training in etiquette from a young age, and were by no means uneducated individuals who relied solely on their family's influence.

During the quiet walk, a staff member suddenly stepped forward and said:
"Your Highness, there's been progress in the matter concerning the Han family!"

Anqing Wang stopped abruptly and looked back.

The other party hurriedly lowered their head and said:

"They said they had found an old temple built by the Han family ancestor himself, who carried tiles and piled earth to create it. So they all went out to worship the ancestor's legacy!"

Han Cheng knew he couldn't hide it from them before he came out, so he made two plans.

First, they concealed the fact that the gods truly existed; second, they claimed that they were not going to the temple to provoke the court, but rather to pay homage to the virtues of their ancestors!
In this way, he will have a lot of room to maneuver no matter what.

Han Cheng hadn't expected that the Han family would actually lose.
Looking at his bowed advisors, Prince Anqing suddenly said:
"Your surname isn't Han, is it?"

The aide was startled and bowed even more deeply, saying:
"Your Highness, I was promoted by you and naturally have no connection with any aristocratic families. However, since I am receiving your salary, I must let you know that we cannot do anything about this matter!"

"Then stop saying such stupid things."

After saying this, King Anqing left without caring what his advisors were thinking.

Seeing this, many of the staff members had no choice but to follow suit.

As he walked, Anqing Wang paused for a moment when he passed a small courtyard in the middle of a lake.

This unusual detail was noticed by only one of the many advisors who was left behind.

He glanced thoughtfully at the small courtyard.

He only knew that two people lived inside, but he didn't know who they were, because the prince was keeping a close watch on the place.

The guards outside the lakeside courtyard were even the prince's personal soldiers.

Now that things have come to this point, as an advisor, he certainly can't afford to be suspicious.

While I was pondering this, a companion suddenly asked:
"Brother Zhang, what do you think about the matter in Qing County? Should we tell the Prince about it now?"

The other person turned their gaze away from the small courtyard in the lake, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"Actually, Your Highness knows, but since Your Highness hasn't given any answer, let's not talk about it anymore."

"Ah, Your Highness knows?"

"Alas, you and I both know, how could Your Highness not know?"

His colleague immediately bowed and thanked him.

After they left.

In that mysterious little courtyard in the middle of the lake.

A Taoist priest was looking at the water basin in his hand with a troubled expression.

"I'm really in a bad way. How did I end up in such a big mess?"

"And this hasn't even started yet, how come there are already three missing?"

(End of this chapter)