The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Dugu Yanyu responded and then stepped into the air and flew away.

Chu Xiu then landed with Murong Qingcheng and the others, and strolled leisurely towards the nearby village.

Before long, Yu Wenyuan, the magistrate of Licheng County, received the news and, together with the registrar of Licheng County, the clerk of Licheng County, and a group of yamen runners and constables, rushed over on horseback.

Lijia Village.

More than a hundred villagers from Lijia Village gathered at the village entrance, looking tense and anxious.

"Old village chief, why haven't the sorcerers from the Yellow Heaven Sect arrived yet today?"

"What if there aren't any free eggs today?"

A thin, middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth, who looked honest and simple, asked a question to an elderly man who looked to be over seventy years old, who was smoking a pipe and frowning.

All eyes were on the village chief of Lijia Village, their eyes filled with tension and trepidation.

"Probably not, maybe the mages were held up by something today."

"Please be patient and wait a little longer."

"The mages will be here soon."

The village chief of Lijia Village took a drag of smoke, slowly exhaled it, and comforted the more than one hundred villagers.

"Yes, that must be it. Everyone, just wait patiently. Listening to the old village chief is definitely the right thing to do!"

The honest, middle-aged man nodded, showing his agreement.

"That's right, the mages must have been delayed by something. It's okay if we wait a little while."

"Don't rush, the mages will definitely come."

"By the way, the mages said that we can formally join the sect in a while. When the great calamity comes, we can enter the Yellow Heaven Paradise created by the Holy Venerable. There will be no more hardships in the mortal world, no worries about food or drink, and we can even live forever. Do you think it's true?"

"How do I know if it's true or not? But I know that the monks are genuinely looking out for us. They give us eggs for free every day. Before the monks started giving us eggs for free, where would we have gotten so many eggs?"

“That’s right. Before, I would keep all the eggs laid by the chickens at home. I wouldn’t even let my youngest son eat one. Instead, I would save them all and take them to the county town to sell for money. These days, there are free eggs being given out every day, and my youngest son can eat eggs every day. I never dared to dream of such a life before. The monks asked us to join the religion, so we joined. We believe what the monks say!”

"..."

The villagers of Lijia Village began to discuss among themselves, but when they talked about the Huangtian Sect, their faces showed gratitude and tears welled up in their eyes.

"You don't need to wait anymore."

They're not coming!

Chu Xiu strolled over leisurely from afar, a smile on his face as he spoke.

Murong Qingcheng and the others followed behind him, one step behind.

Upon hearing this, the villagers of Lijia Village were stunned for a moment, looking at Chu Xiu with a hint of wariness.

They naturally couldn't recognize the imperial flying fish robe that Chu Xiu was wearing.

However, the villagers of Lijia Village were certain of one thing: Chu Xiu's demeanor and the magnificent and dignified imperial flying fish robe made him appear to be either rich or noble, not an ordinary person.

In addition, he was accompanied by three guards. Murong Qingcheng's stunning beauty was like a fairy descended from heaven in their eyes. She was a peerless beauty they had never seen before, which made the villagers of Lijia Village feel inexplicably ashamed and even dare not look at her for fear of defiling the nobleman.

Who is this distinguished guest?

The village chief of Li Family Village hesitated for a moment, then bowed humbly to Chu Xiu and asked cautiously.

"Chu Xiu".

Chu Xiu smiled slightly and said.

"The Marquis of Champion?"

"Chu Xiu, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

The village chief of Lijia Village was stunned for a moment, and said with a look of astonishment.

The villagers of Lijia Village no longer looked at Chu Xiu with wariness, but instead with immense awe.

"Have you heard of me, sir?"

Chu Xiu was stunned, looking at the village chief of Li Family Village with a surprised expression. He had never expected that even in this remote mountain village, someone would have heard of his name.

Moreover, judging from the expressions of the villagers in Lijia Village, they clearly all knew him.

"Greetings to the Marquis!"

The village chief of Li Family Village knelt down before Chu Xiu and called out with utmost respect.

"Greetings to the Marquis!"

More than a hundred villagers from Lijia Village knelt down in unison and shouted with utmost reverence.

"Please rise, sir. And please rise, everyone."

Chu Xiu walked up to the village chief of Lijia Village, personally helped him up, and then addressed him and the villagers of Lijia Village.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

The village chief of Lijia Village expressed his gratitude on behalf of all the villagers.

"Lord Marquis, how could we not have heard of your great name? Although our Li Family Village is remote, the people of our Li Family Village often go to the county town to sell firewood or some of our crops to exchange for living supplies."

"This water conservancy project was undertaken by you and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Everyone in our Li Family Village, and even the entire Licheng County, is deeply grateful to you, Lord Marquis!"

“Our Licheng County has always been plagued by the Yellow River floods, and we often have to leave our homes. Every time we have to leave our homes, it means that countless people starve to death and countless families are torn apart.”

"I'm an old man who has experienced the hardship of leaving my hometown. I'm already lucky to have survived to this day."

"However, the Marquis's current water conservancy project will ensure that the people of Lijia Village, and even the entire Licheng County, will no longer suffer the pain of leaving their homes."

"We must remember this kindness!"

The village chief of Lijia Village took a deep breath to calm himself down, but he was still excited, with tears welling up in his eyes, and spoke in a strong and resonant voice.

The villagers of Lijia Village all looked at Chu Xiu with grateful eyes.

Hearing the words of the village chief of Lijia Village and seeing the grateful looks in the eyes of the villagers, Chu Xiu was filled with emotion.

"That's right. I heard that the money that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was transporting to build water conservancy projects was robbed in the county town."

After a pause, the village chief of Lijia Village gritted his teeth and looked at Chu Xiu with hopeful eyes, saying, "With all this money stolen, will our water conservancy project in Licheng County be affected?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers of Lijia Village showed nervous expressions and stared intently at Chu Xiu.

"I came to Licheng County this time to investigate this matter."

"I have recovered all the stolen money."

"Moreover, it was the Yellow Heaven Sect monks who gave you free eggs who stole them."

"That's why I just said they weren't coming."

Chu Xiu smiled gently and looked at the villagers of Lijia Village.

"What?! These damned devils actually stole the money meant for the water conservancy project!"

"I knew it! These monks wouldn't be so kind as to give us eggs for free. They probably had some ulterior motive in mind when they gave us these eggs!"

"My lord, you must kill them! You will not spare them!"

"These wicked people absolutely have to be torn to pieces!"

"..."

Upon hearing Chu Xiu's words, the villagers of Li Family Village immediately began to curse loudly, wishing they could devour the members of the Yellow Heaven Sect alive.

The Yellow Heaven Sect members did send them eggs, but only a few each day. Their obstruction of the water conservancy project was an attempt to kill them all and to ensure that Lijia Village would be forever affected by the Yellow River floods.

The villagers of Lijia Village could certainly tell which of the two was more important.