My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Taking Aqiang and Ade with them, a group of ten people drove three carriages and eleven war horses out of the restaurant. At this time, Uncle Jiu's carriage was injured and Uncle Jiu said to Jiang Li angrily, "What are you doing, kid? You charge people more than a hundred dollars. Aren't you afraid of retribution and loss of good karma?"

Jiang Li smiled and corrected, "It was two hundred and thirty-five dollars. The one hundred and ten dollars was the money I used to buy the horse."

Uncle Jiu saw Jiang Li smiling and became even angrier. "Still smiling? Are you so short of money that you have to ask such a high price?"

Jiang Li continued to laugh and said, "Master, you didn't hear clearly what I just said, did you?"

"The 110 yuan for buying a horse is for the young and strong who can help. Do you think this money can be given to them?"

"In other words, can the dead and injured be compensated? The loot we seized earlier is not enough to share among so many people."

Uncle Jiu seemed to have grasped something when he heard this and said, "What do you mean?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Yes, we will help them get some compensation and pass it on to their families."

Uncle Jiu frowned and said, "There were many casualties this time. I'm afraid this little money is not enough to share, right?"

Jiang Li leaned close to Uncle Jiu's ear and said mysteriously, "I found six small yellow croakers on the female bandit leader. Master took out 200 yuan to share with the families of the seriously injured and the dead. We divided the small yellow croakers between the master and the apprentice."

Uncle Jiu was furious when he heard this, but he still lowered his voice and said, "How dare you keep it to yourself? If people knew about this, would you still have a good reputation?"

Jiang Li said righteously, "This is the spoils of our master and disciple's killing of the evil cultivators. Those young and strong men didn't contribute much, so what's wrong with us doing this?"

"Besides, if I don't hold back, how can you provide compensation to the families of the deceased? Are you really going to let them starve to death?"

"Besides, I am doing this so that your Maoshan branch can be built as soon as possible. Okay, okay, stop talking. Let's go buy some food and go visit the families of the deceased."

Regardless of Uncle Jiu's tangled expression, he got off the car and went to a grain store and said, "Boss, give us 300 kilograms of rice and 50 kilograms of glutinous rice."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper came out and said, "Master Jiang, you are so generous. I just don't know what you want so much rice for?"

Jiang Li said bluntly, "My master and I are both Maoshan Taoist priests. We saw that many young and strong people died this time, so we wanted to buy some food and go visit them. Okay, load the car quickly. You will get the money."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately complimented him, "So that's how it is. It's said that the masters of Mount Mao are all kind-hearted. Today I see that their reputation is well-deserved!"

Jiang Li waved his hand and said, "You are too polite, boss. Let's do business first. We have to hurry after delivering these!"

The shopkeeper quickly called his waiter to weigh out three hundred kilograms of rice and fifty kilograms of glutinous rice and help load them into the car. Jiang Li said hello and took his men away.

Afterwards, Jiang Li and Uncle Jiu visited the homes of the dead and injured one by one. In addition to 20 kilograms of rice, Jiang Li secretly gave 10 silver dollars to the eight dead and six seriously injured families. He also specifically instructed them not to make it public, so as to prevent the lightly injured from knowing and complaining.

After doing all this, Uncle Jiu had only sixty-five dollars left (thirty for rice). Seeing this, Jiang Li took out six gold bars and gave them to Uncle Jiu.

Seeing that he had something to say, Jiang Li quickly stopped him and said, "Master, you take it all. My share will be considered as a donation to the founder. You can keep it for him and build a magnificent Taoist temple as soon as possible."

Uncle Jiu sighed and said, "You are thoughtful."

Then he carefully put away the things, raised his head and said, "This doesn't seem to be the direction to leave Tanjia Town, right?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Indeed, I want to meet someone."

Soon they found Mao Shanming who was buying dry food. Jiang Li called him from behind and said, "Daoyou, please stay."

Mao Shanming saw that it was two real Mao Shan Taoist priests who called him, and he said awkwardly, "May I ask what you two can teach me?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Why don't you get in the car first and talk in the car."

Mao Shanming had no choice but to get in the car. After he sat down, he asked, "Excuse me, why did Daoist Jiang ask me to do this?"

Jiang Li said bluntly, "May I ask what your plans are for the future, fellow Taoist? Are you going to continue running around and cheating people?"

This made Mao Shanming very embarrassed, but he still had to say, "It's really because I'm not very skilled in martial arts, so I had no choice but to do this, right?"

Jiang Li didn't play tricks on him and said directly, "I am a Taoist priest from Mount Mao and also a landlord. I see that you have traveled a lot and should have some knowledge and eloquence, so I want to give you a chance. I don't know if you are willing or not."

Mao Shanming's face lit up and he asked, "I wonder what opportunity you are talking about?"

Jiang Li said, "I have a Taoist friend who is a weasel who turned into a spirit and wants to become a god. Unfortunately, he is not good at speaking and has few followers. I want to find him a temple priest who is eloquent. I wonder if you are interested."

Not only Mao Shanming, but also Uncle Jiu were a little surprised when he heard this. Mao Shanming thought for a while and said, "This temple keeper is indeed a good job, but I know my mediocre skills and I am afraid I am not up to the task!"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "I can build a house for you and ask a matchmaker to find you a marriage partner. You can also ask my master to teach you the Taoism of Maoshan Mountain, so that you can become a real Taoist priest of Maoshan Mountain."

When Mao Shanming heard that he could share his wife, he immediately agreed and said, "I have longed for Mao Shan Taoism. If I have this opportunity, I will definitely practice it wholeheartedly."

Seeing that Mao Shanming agreed, Jiang Li said no more, but just pretended to ask casually, "How did you come to Tanjia Town?"

Mao Shanming then said the truth awkwardly, "To be honest, it was Tan Baiwan who asked me to catch ghosts. Unfortunately, there are dozens of ghosts in his house, and I am not good at it and cannot subdue them."

Jiang Li looked at Uncle Jiu and said, "Master, do you think we should lend a hand?"

Uncle Jiu heard this and said with a righteous look on his face, "Humans and ghosts have different paths. As Taoist priests of Mount Mao, we certainly cannot stand idly by when encountering such a thing."

Jiang Li heard this and said to Mao Shanming, "Then please lead the way, Taoist friend. My master and I will go and solve this matter."

After a period of hesitation, Mao Shanming agreed to Jiang Li's request and brought his team to Tan Baiwan's home.

Seeing that Maoshan Ming Tan Baiwan almost jumped up, Jiang Li stepped forward to explain and promised to properly resolve the matter. Only then did he temporarily stop, because he had met Uncle Jiu and his apprentice before as a country squire and knew their abilities.

Uncle Jiu walked around the yard with a compass, and finally said to Tan Baiwan, "This place is filled with extremely yin energy. I'm afraid there are many ghosts lurking here."

Tan Baiwan said with a bitter face, "That's true. I've seen it before. Please, Uncle Jiu, take action to deal with them and give my Tan family peace!"

Uncle Jiu walked straight into the room after hearing that, but after a burst of gloomy air, he walked out of the room again with a dark face and said to Tan Baiwan, "Mr. Tan built his house on someone's ancestral grave. They are already very generous by just lifting you out of bed."