Chapter Forty-Five: The Ways of the Wanderers

After a long while.

Within Wei Fan’s modest courtyard.

He Song had waited in Wei Fan’s home for a full hour before finally seeing Wei Fan return from afar.

Welcoming him into the courtyard, He Song poured a cup of tea for his guest and sat beside him, waiting for Wei Fan to speak.

Wei Fan picked up the cup of tea that He Song had thoughtfully poured for him. He drank it in one gulp, his furrowed brow finally relaxing. Only after exhaling a long breath did he speak.

“Friend, you may inform your acquaintance on duty at the Spirit Herb Pavilion to remove Chen Zhou from the position of Herbalist.” As he spoke, anger flickered in Wei Fan's eyes; then he continued.

“Chen Zhou is not nearly as gentle as he appears in your presence. Relying on his mid-stage Qi Cultivation, he often abuses and extorts spirit stones from those at the early stage. The law enforcement team doesn’t intervene since he hasn’t caused any deaths.”

“The people at the Spirit Herb Pavilion must be blind to have recruited such a man as a Herbalist. I wonder what possessed the one who brought him into Immortal Square; such conduct is disgraceful for a wandering cultivator.”

“Moreover, while I was investigating, Chen Zhou was subtly inquiring about you. Judging by his demeanor, he’s up to no good. I didn’t probe further and returned directly.”

“Do as you proposed: strip him of his Herbalist status, force him to leave Immortal Square, and when the time comes, I will act.”

Setting down his teacup, Wei Fan's expression turned somber.

His words were spoken lightly, but during his investigation, he discovered that Chen Zhou had brought all the corrupt ways of wandering cultivators into Immortal Square, turning the area around his residence into a den of chaos.

Wandering cultivators, untethered by rules in the outside world, naturally become unruly. Murder for treasure, extortion, bullying the weak—these are second nature to them. Such behavior is common among their kind, unless one is innately virtuous, but those rarely survive long in the circle unless blessed with extraordinary luck.

And Chen Zhou? He was originally a wandering cultivator, yet joined the Spirit Herb Pavilion with his mid-stage Qi Cultivation and became a Herbalist.

Had he abided by the rules of Immortal Square and kept to himself after joining, it would have been fine. But he brought all the vices he had learned among the wanderers into this place, exploiting loopholes in the laws, bullying and extorting, sullying the once tranquil atmosphere of Immortal Square.

Thus, when Wei Fan—who had lived since childhood in the Courtyard of Deep Earth and later resided in Immortal Square—witnessed all this, he was instantly enraged.

Such corrupt ways of wandering cultivators, if left outside Immortal Square, could be ignored. But Chen Zhou had brought them in, polluting Wei Fan’s “pure land.”

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Thus, the anger that welled up within Wei Fan was easy to imagine.

From childhood, he had lived in the Courtyard of Deep Earth, cultivated as an outer disciple of the Sect of Deep Earth. Later, due to low cultivation, he was assigned to the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Square as a steward of the Spirit Construction Pavilion.

He had always lived in relatively stable surroundings, and his understanding of wandering cultivators had come mostly from books. Even so, he had always held them in some contempt.

But today, seeing Chen Zhou’s behavior firsthand, he finally understood the true nature of wandering cultivators.

“Very well, I will inform him at once.” Hearing Wei Fan’s account, He Song felt a surge of relief and lingering fear.

Thank goodness for his caution. If not, Chen Zhou might have come knocking in the dead of night, and he would have been caught completely unawares.

He was fortunate to have had Zhao Lin investigate Chen Zhou’s background. Sensing something was amiss, he had come straight to Wei Fan.

Had any step gone awry, Chen Zhou might have targeted him, robbing him of peace.

He Song silently reminded himself again: never judge people by appearances alone. However courteous and genteel someone may seem, one must always investigate their background—especially those one has offended.

Like Chen Zhou. In front of He Song, Chen Zhou acted timid. But when faced with weaker cultivators, he bullied and extorted with abandon.

It was only because He Song’s cultivation was at the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation, and because he had Zhao Lin from the Spirit Herb Pavilion backing him, that Chen Zhou did not turn hostile on the spot.

Had his cultivation been weaker, or had Zhao Lin not been a manager at the Pavilion, things might have turned out very differently.

Furthermore, while things had not yet come to a head, Chen Zhou was secretly probing into He Song’s affairs. His intentions were clear.

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He Song exhaled deeply, his fingers moving slightly as a sheet of white paper appeared in his hand.

“Brother Zhao, Chen Zhou’s temperament is twisted. He bullies the weak, extorts spirit stones, and commits all manner of evil; his crimes are grave, and I have confirmed them through a friend.”

“I had intended to deal with him directly, but Immortal Square forbids internal strife; its rules must be observed.”

“Thus, I ask you to remove his name from the Herbalists and force him to leave Immortal Square. We can decide what to do after that.”

“This matter is significant, bearing upon my safety. I hope you will grant this request.”

“He Song.”

Spiritual power danced between his fingers, and soon lines of script appeared on the white paper.

Just as He Song was about to fold it into a paper crane and send it as a voice transmission, Wei Fan signaled for him to wait.

“Let me add a few words.”

As Wei Fan spoke, spiritual power flowed from his fingers, leaving a name and a trace of his aura on the paper.

“Wei Fan.”

Seeing this, He Song nodded, offering no objection.

It was for the best. With Wei Fan’s late-stage Qi Cultivation aura present, Zhao Lin would immediately grasp the situation upon receiving the message.

He Song had already enlisted the help of a late-stage cultivator to deal with Chen Zhou.

As He Song’s friend, knowing that preparations were already made, Zhao Lin’s cooperation in removing Chen Zhou’s name from the Herbalists would be a trivial matter.

This way, Zhao Lin need not worry about future trouble from Chen Zhou. With a late-stage cultivator acting against a fourth-level Qi Cultivator, Chen Zhou’s death was assured.

Wei Fan added his name and aura to the paper for precisely this reason. He did not know the extent of He Song’s relationship with Zhao Lin, but his presence increased the likelihood of Zhao Lin’s assistance. Nothing more.

The paper crane was sent.

He Song and Wei Fan waited for a while.

Soon, a paper crane carrying a voice transmission came rushing from afar.

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