Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 423 Taking Office (Part 1)

"These are the 'Qiyun Geese,' unique to Qiyun Mountain. Farmers feed them 'Yunqing Tea' mixed with various ginseng and matsutake mushrooms for a full three years to raise just one. They are highly nutritious, possessing benefits such as nourishing yin and kidneys, improving eyesight, and nourishing the liver!"

The plump goose meat simmered and bubbled under the charcoal fire, producing a milky white broth.

As Qu Qiao introduced the soup, he ladled meat broth into Han Yi's bowl: "Master Han, drink it while it's hot. It tastes better when it's hot, and it can help with hangovers."

Han Yi smiled and accepted it, then slowly savored it.

Although he was not a talkative person and was usually taciturn, under the deliberate flattery of Qu Qiao and the other two, after several rounds of drinking and conversation, the atmosphere became lively and they chatted more freely.

This allowed Han Yi to gain some understanding of the other two hall masters: Zhu Haishan, the hall master of the Eagle Soaring Hall, and Luo Meiwei, the hall master of the Lotus Hall.

Zhu Haishan and Luo Meiwei, although considered veterans, were promoted to hall masters only after Senior Sister Shen Qiuling.

Eagle Soaring Hall—the name sounds imposing, like an organization ready for war and conquest, but that's not actually the case. Zhu Haishan's responsibility was simply managing the most crucial personnel: recruiting staff for the business.

In other words, it's human resources management, similar to HR.

Luo Meiwei, the head of the Lotus Hall, is the smallest of the three halls, and her hall is entirely composed of women. She is mainly responsible for logistics, supplies, and finances, as well as various external exchanges and industrial transactions.

As for the previous inspector of Qiyun Mountain, he was also an inner disciple of Jingtian Manor, and could be considered Han Yi's senior brother.

However, this person is of bad character, greedy and lustful. In fact, it would be one thing if he only embezzled some of the profits from his businesses. The monthly salary of the inspector is not high, and he was able to maintain his large family business by relying on the output of his businesses.

The key point is that this person is extremely lecherous and has a heavy taste. He not only slept with his wife's family, his sister-in-law, and his sister-in-law, but also, after arriving at Qiyun Mountain, he pervertedly targeted many young girls from ordinary families.

This person once caused widespread resentment and anger among the people around Qiyun Mountain. The two former hall masters of Yingyang Hall and Hehua Hall also left in a huff.

But there was nothing he could do; this person had powerful connections and seemed to have become the inspector through the influence of the deputy head of the manor, Fang He.

Now that Han Yi has taken over and replaced this person, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to speculate about the new inspector's character and temperament.

As long as they don't encounter an inspector as twisted as the last one, other shortcomings like being a little greedy, strict, or controlling are not a big deal.

After a bowl of piping hot goose soup, everyone gained a preliminary understanding of Han Yi's background, personality, and character.

Despite his young age, he possesses exceptional potential and enjoys strong support from the head of the inner courtyard. He is calm, reserved, and doesn't like to talk much, making him seem like a good superior.

May Lo may look young, but she is actually over forty. She dresses in a sexy and alluring way and speaks like a social butterfly.

She kept talking about the various interesting things that had happened recently, which helped to liven up the atmosphere of the banquet.

"Have you heard? Huayang City has selected three young masters to fill the vacancies. A young and outstanding man from the You family, known as the 'Swallow-Legged Parade Master,' has been selected as one of the three young masters."

"Oh, the Swallow-Leg Parade? I remember there was a member of the You family before, I think his name was something like Long Yangzi, who was beaten to death while he was out..."

"…Shh, Inspector Han, watch your words," Luo Meiwei whispered. "That's all in the past. You Yang wasn't beaten to death by some thug…as far as I know…"

Her voice lowered further: "My best friend married someone from the You family. This You Yang, he took too much 'Golden Fragrance Ointment,' his body became irritable and restless, and because he was in a dense forest, he couldn't find an outlet for his desires, so he had intercourse with a tree, draining his vital essence until he died..."

"Forehead?!"

Han Yi was somewhat taken aback. Was there really such a way to die?

However, after thinking about it, he realized that this possibility wasn't entirely out of the question.

Disciples from these powerful families have countless tricks up their sleeves, so this kind of death is not impossible.

After all, novels need to be logical, but real life doesn't.

No wonder the You family, despite claiming that You Yang was killed by a villain, has been slow to issue any warrants for his arrest or capture...

This reason is truly shameful.

"Speaking of which, this 'Golden Incense Balm' is extremely valuable. It's clearly a superior medicine for tempering the body, yet these young masters use it as an aphrodisiac. What a pity..."

At this moment, Zhu Haishan seemed to be feeling somewhat emotional, and let out a long sigh.

"Master Zhu, have you also studied external martial arts body tempering cultivation?" Han Yi's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Don't even mention the inspector. I was just practicing randomly when I was young. In this path of hard martial arts, the most important thing is the body-tempering medicine. Without gold tickets and resources, it's practically impossible to advance an inch."

The key point is that even when practicing hard martial arts, with the same resource consumption, the improvement in internal strength can completely strengthen the body. Simply focusing on intensive physical training is simply not worth the effort and is unnecessary.

Zhu Haishan shook his head with a wry smile, clearly indicating that he had also had some unrealistic ideas when he was young.

"That's what they say, but when you entered Jingtian Manor and chose your courtyard, didn't you still want to join the Chongyin Courtyard, which emphasizes physical cultivation the most..." Luo Meiwei said disdainfully.

"After all, everyone needs to have dreams..." Zhu Haishan chuckled awkwardly.

"By the way, I heard that your Reprinting Institute has had some conflicts with the Nurturing Academy recently. Have you resolved them?" Luo Meiwei asked gossipy.

"This is a big problem. Our Dean of the Reprinting Institute got into a fight with Fang He, and we don't know how it will end... Sigh, what does this have to do with someone like me who isn't qualified enough to stay in the Inner Academy..." Zhu Haishan said with a wry smile.

He was originally a disciple of the Inner Academy. Although he became a martial arts master, he failed to make a breakthrough within the allotted time and had to leave the inner academy to make a living on his own.

If a disciple of the inner courtyard of Jingtian Manor fails to meet the cultivation requirements, they can try to apply for various positions within the manor after leaving the inner courtyard.

After all, they are all inner court disciples, whose backgrounds are well-known and whose records are clean. Jingtian Manor is still very welcoming to these disciples for re-employment.

However, the range of choices is relatively small, and they are usually assigned dirty and tiring jobs.

Zhu Haishan also toiled for many years at Qiyun Mountain before barely becoming a hall master, and even then, he was a hall master under Han Yi.

There are many people like him in Jingtianzhuang.

Many disciples, after cultivating the true skill, are unable to break through to the third level of mastery for a long time, or they barely manage to break through to the third level of mastery through the great medicine, but there is no possibility of further progress.

In the end, he just ended up like Zhu Haishan.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about such discouraging things. Come on, let's keep drinking!" Qu Qiao stood up again, toasted Han Yi, and tried to liven up the atmosphere.

"Come on, let's continue..."

The group stood up and began to drink heartily once again.

After the banquet, everyone saw Han Yi off as he left the restaurant.

As for the meal expenses, they are all recorded in the account and settled at the end of each year.

In any case, Han Yi's status as the inspector of Qiyun Mountain is almost equivalent to that of a local tyrant.

This restaurant, named Shanxiulou, is the largest, most luxurious, and most expensive restaurant in the surrounding area. It was also invested in and built by previous inspectors.

After Han Yi boarded the carriage, the three hall masters also left with their respective groups.

The inspectors have a standard post at Qiyun Mountain, where they are required to reside, work, and handle various matters; it is similar to an official government office.

Han Yi returned to this outpost.

The carriages and drivers were standard equipment at the post. They were essentially drivers, responsible for transporting the inspectors to and from the post.

dong dong dong.

"Sir, we've arrived at the Inspector's Office." The old coachman gently knocked on the carriage, his tone respectful. The old horse, being of advanced age, seemed to understand human nature and, without needing a whip, came to a steady stop on its own.

"Okay, you can go back now." Han Yi strode down from the carriage.

Immediately, Old Ma straightened his back slightly.

Before them stood an antique-style mansion with a peach wood plaque hanging above.

Two stone statues, resembling Qilin, stand on either side of the gate, each with a single horn and wide, angry eyes.

This is a stone statue of the Xie Zhi, which, according to legend, symbolizes bravery and justice, and also represents the duties of the inspector.

The stone statue was covered in a layer of dust, indicating that it had not been cleaned for some time.

Han Yi walked to the gate, just about to push it open and enter.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something interesting.

On the white wall to one side of the gate, there is a conspicuous hole or defect.

He walked over and touched it. There was some dry mud and sand present, not from deliberate destruction, but as if someone had left it there intentionally when building the wall.

A slight smile played on his lips, as if he had thought of a use for it.

He activated his Flying Dragon Technique, using the force to lift his leg and lightly step into the pit. Using the momentum, he leaped forward like a swallow, over the tall wall, and landed in the courtyard.

"It seems the previous inspectors also liked to use back channels..."

Han Yi smiled slightly and left the sandpit.

The spot where he landed happened to be a sandpit, which allowed him to wipe the dirt off his shoes.

At this moment, a large group of people from the Inspectorate who heard the commotion rushed out.

"Your Excellency the Inspector!"

A middle-aged man, dressed quite elegantly and walking subtly ahead of the crowd, rushed over. Clearly, someone had given prior notice or provided a portrait of Han Yi.

This allowed him to quickly identify Han Yi's identity.

Han Yi nodded slightly and looked over.

Judging from their demeanor and attire, these people seem to be servants, such as maids, cooks, or servants in a mansion.

Their eyes were dull and lifeless, and they had no martial arts skills; they were just ordinary people.

"Who are you...?" He looked at the middle-aged man at the front.

"My name is Yang Du, and I am the steward of the Inspectorate." Yang Du said with a fawning expression, then turned around and reminded, "Hurry up and pay your respects to the lord."

"Greetings, Inspector Han!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining group of people immediately bowed and greeted him with utmost respect and trepidation.

Han Yi waved his hand: "It's nothing, you can all go down, I'll wander around and take a look by myself."

Only then did everyone dare to disperse and go about their own business.

Han Yi ignored everyone else and walked around the inspector's office a few times.

Yang Du, accompanied by two pretty maids, followed closely behind him.